3C Mk2 4 in 1 with Forks [Wanted]

[Slooby]

Some bucket bracket options for you:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/323992390748

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/333817793869

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174334289801

[Megasong3]

Wow 1 1/4 is certainly a bit more than the 20mm my cutter is supposed to be capable of (and in my experience nothing will ever do as much as it's meant to) . On the plus side I have an old crane adapter for a forklift that has a large chunk of something that measures up to about 32mm as its backplate and it is plenty big enough to make several attempts out of so I may lift it out and have a go at making a small cut to see what happens, to hell with the electric bill lol.
The other option would seem to be to make the brackets out of doubled up thinner material to come to at least the 1 1/4". I'm all in favour of a bit of work over money and it could be a fun challenge.
Thanks for the eBay suggestions, the first one looks perhaps the best option if I decide to buy as it's a) cheaper and b) made from the solid.
Many thanks also for all the help, wish you were local and this COVID thing was sorted.

[Slooby]

Yes C19 has certainly been putting a dampner on things...but it has also meant not having an excuse to keep going out and ending with more time to be getting on with those little jobs.

I'm a great believer in 'discovering' things from other items, mending not replacing for the sake of it and, to use the modern idiom, upcycling and recycling wherever possible. That I get from my upbringing and having the space to put things to one side because it might come in useful later...

For my part I'm in the middle of a divorce and this resulted in me having to leave my home and return to the bosom of my family down in Kent. The upside to that is being back at 'the farm' (it's not an active farm but we do have 20 odd acres of field, paddock, orchard, drainage problems and wood) which means space to play outside again without upsetting the neighbours quite so easily. That led to the 3CX joining our trusty dumper and the MF65 tractor this summer. The downside was being separated from my son, all my tools and other projects. But much like I see my son now at weekends all my toys will be sending their way here soon

[Megasong3]

So sorry to hear about personal issues but I hope it will be a positive in the longer term. I had a large house and several acres in Kent before my divorce (from a woman who totally changed the minute we were married after 9 years together and the marriage lasted 6 months before she divorced me on totally spurious grounds but, I was so glad to get rid of her I didn't put up anything of a fight. She got about 80% of everything) but she was 20 years my junior and this happened almost 20 years ago. I am happier now than I've ever been before with a 'new' partner of 8 years who is 24 days older than me and understands me completely. Space is invaluable isn't it, and tools and stuff. My ex sold all my tools and equipment whilst I was away working within a few weeks of our marriage, and my classic cars (MGB, Bentley, Mercedes etc.) the next time I was away, apparently to make space and allow me to devote more time to her and not be obsessed with my hobbies!!!! At least that's what she told the (female) judge. I hope you get your toys back. I was lucky to be able to move to a lower cost area and still have a reasonable amount of space and outbuildings in a much better part of the country but I'm still finding things I need that I know I used to have but which a stupidly expensive to replace now. I have bought most all of what I have now in various (non eBay) auctions and am pretty well equipped.
Like you I'm of an age where you mend stuff or make stuff. I retired in 2006 but am never bored or without loads of projects. You will come through and be better for it. Always be yourself and never expect anyone to change or let them try to change you.
Thank you again for all your help and suggestions with my JCB.

[Slooby]

Similar age gap between my ex and I, but I'm in my late forties so retirement is a way off yet, especially as my son is only 2 1/2 so I've a lot to pay for still. My make do and mend philosophy comes from my upbringing and following my dad's hands on approach to everything that's ever needed doing, I too have learnt there's no harm in giving it a go. The MkII Mini in my sig we got way back when I was 13, my dad and I restored it together in the late 80's in time for me to use it in the 90's after I passed my driving test (my licence is 6 months older than my ex, and just celebrated its 30th anniversary!), the Mini needs restoring again now, maybe it can wait till my son is a bit older and can usefully wield a spanner...

[Megasong3]

Yes, much younger than I but I think age gap between partners is not such a great thing. I love the old minis, I rallied them back in the day and even stuck a Rover V8 into a mini van (it went in the load space driving an S type (same as E type) back axle in a fabbed up subframe mount, inboard discs and so**ing great big back wheels made it stand out - just a bit. Had to be the Autobox as I couldn't figure a way of changing gear in a manual and I had to get out to put in in reverse! Went like stink and pulled wheelies though even after making a base and putting a few council paving slabs in the front under the petrol tank. Those were the days. I actually managed to pass my bike test on my 16th and car test on my 17th birthday, in my day I was driving tractors and trailers legally on the public highway in my pre-teens (plus all sorts of stuff including series 1 landies) on our farm, shows how easy it was back then. Caused a lot of problems later when the new licences came out and Swansea in their wisdom concluded there was a mistake on my passing my tests as it was the same day as the licence was issued and I had to fight to get my entitlements back - I permanently lost my bike entitlement even though they had proof of an endorsement for speeding on a motorway where there were no other offences so I MUST have had a licence. Still ancient history.
Yes 2 1/2 is possibly a bit young but it won't be long. I hope you infect him with the bug and he carries on the tradition, so few youngsters seem able to do more than fit new bits, they call themselves mechanics but are just fitters in my book.

[Slooby]

There's a photo of me taken before my second birthday standing on the seat of the dumper holding onto the steering wheel while it trundled along in first gear at idle on full lock with my dad standing in the middle of the circle it was making, a bit like someone teaching a child to ride a pony on the end of a tether. I was driving it properly by 6. My first word was car, so it was kind of inevitable I might have an obsession with things with wheels and motive power...my ex is seriously into her motorbikes and taught me to ride, while I taught her to drive, a couple of weeks back I let our boy steer the JCB while we trundled back across the field, he's doomed

Your Mini Van wasn't red and featured in a magazine or two by any chance? Because it sounds awfully familiar...if the prices of Minis hadn't gone mad I had such plans to build a space framed mid engined rwd Mini Pickup using a Subaru boxer 4 turbo lump, thus combining two of my automotive favourites.

[Megasong3]

You did start young, isn't it great to have had such freedoms? In today's over safety and politically correct world it's a wonder anything interesting is still allowed to happen and even worse there is no such thing as an accident any more, someone is always to blame hence people not being able to take risks. Oh for those simpler times.
No. my mini van was matt black when I swapped it for a Plymouth Savoy, I know the guy who had it sold it very soon after as he got nicked for no insurance as he told his insurance it was a standard mini van and after that he couldn't get insurance, silly boy. I was lucky our farm policy in those days covered anyone for anything. I know it was still on the roads some years later as a friend saw it at a show but I dont remember mention of the colour.
I did have a Jag featured in a magazine, I fabbed up a plate that allowed me to put 2 electric lock up torque converters back to back in front of a model 12 autobox from an XJ6 into a 1965 S type. I also fitted triple DCOE Webers which necessitated cutting out the inner wing and making a box into the wheel arch and that coupled with (if only I'd kept it) a D type head and AWB cams, plus a load of work on the bottom end and an E Tyoe diff which gave about 33MPH/1000RPM made it seriously quick, topping out at over 165MPH on a test by the magazine (Cars and Car Conversions if I remember right)

[Slooby]

If you think I started young my eldest nephew (who is now 16 and seems only interested in things with screens) is and has always been a bit of a giant, he was walking at 10 months and we have video of him at that around that time 'driving' the same dumper just like I was just before I turned two, he was jumping up and down and squealing with delight!

We are very lucky that my parents decided not to buy the tiny 2 bed flat they were renting in London and for a only a little bit more money than the flat was on the market for bought the farm the year before I was born. For the same money as they paid for 2/3rd's of a rather hacked about Wealdon Farmhouse, a tractor shed, workshop, stable, yard and about 2.5 acres of orchard and garden some friends in the same village bought a brand new 3 bed semi, no-one wanted old houses in need of work then(!). A few years later they bought the threshing barn which came with the drive and a bit more land, we eventually bought the 15 acre field behind the house in around 2000. Because it is our space we are free to do as we like when it comes to driving or riding, there's a pic in my project thread showing my nephews and I gearing up to head off into the far far field to clear some brambles, with the tractor, dumper and JCB. I am so thankful that we have been blessed with this space, it's known locally as a place where all concept of time seems to evaporate and in more normal times local friends pop round for a coffee and find themselves staying for tea...

All I need to work out now is how I can re-claim my workshop here and a bit more space to set up my 4 post ramp when it comes down here so I can get on with building the Landies, fixing the camper to sell it, finishing the service I started on my 'bike (and then decide if it goes or stays) over a year ago, then look at what the Mini needs...

[Megasong3]

Sorry for the long delay replying. Have been able to take the opportunity to get on with some attempted cutting (no the plasma cutter would only gouge the plate, it will however cut 16mm albeit slowly so when I can get to the stockholder I'll see if they have any useful looking bits) and was swapping the rear bucket on my old girl to do a bit of levelling when there were two jolts. The front wheel bearing has completely collapsed and the rear wheel is loose (probably has been for some time looking at the stud holes) All computer time has been sourcing necessary spares and going to get them. Now have all needed and it'll be my next job. Bucket and forks will have to wait.
Oh how I wish I had a decent (or any) dumper, it would make getting rid of earth etc. so much easier but wouldn't be used enough to justify the purchase. One of the reasons for the 4 in 1 was to grab piles of spoil to take to my tipping area rather than having to shovel what I couldn't scrape. When I bought this place the JCB was purchased to clear a field which had loads of wartime remains and was used as a bulldozer for several months.
I made a mound about 400yds wide and 12ft high which you can see a bit of here


What sort of price was land fetching down your way in 2000? I had a bidding war a couple of years after that trying to buy some woods and a bit of arable opposite me. The woods were full of remains of wartime airfield buildings and the arable (more like pasture) had about 2ft of concrete a couple of feet down! It was only about 20 acres in total but fetched about £6000 per. Typical price up here for good arable at that time was only £3000. Fortunately the new owner wanted to preserve the woods (which I look out onto) and rents out the field for sheep. He was hoping to be able to build a new house on the footprint of one of the existing remains but the council put paid to that. He's a nice chap and sadly hadn't realised about the concrete situation.
I know what you mean about the value of space, I could never live in a town or have neighbours to worry about. Like you we have (or rather had) pretty much open house and the kettle was always on and one never knew how many for dinner until dinner time. It's all so different now but our daughter has her horses here so at least we see her every day.
What sort of 4 poster have you? I got a new 2 post with 3.3M clearance between the posts and strong enough to lift our lorries when our old Ravaglioli died a couple of year back, but two posters are a pain in the proverbial with side skirts, great for cars though. I've been wondering about a 4 poster to supplement it but need a bed length of at least 6M and these seem in short supply. I've been looking at a 6 poster but it's just too big.