Author Topic: Industrial Birmingham  (Read 38630 times)

Spud

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Re: Industrial Birmingham
« Reply #220 on: October 08, 2019, 05:06:04 PM »
Mini Cooper S had a mooch round the Net as already said the 'S' does really seem mean anything there was some talk in the early days that John Cooper and Mini Designer  Alec Issigonis had a bit of a fall out and Cooper added the 'S' meaning Special.
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Peg Monkey

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Re: Industrial Birmingham
« Reply #221 on: October 09, 2019, 08:57:44 AM »
OK folks, a pub quiz style question is long overdue, right? What does 'S' stand for in Mini Cooper S? (original model, not the new one) Feel free to search the web far and wide - many have tried to answer, many have failed.
Hint: Top Gear Presenter Richard Hammond got it wrong. :-\
Peg.
It's fair to say the evidence on the net is largely rhetorical and that wont change after my expert(?) witness testimony, some have suggested S for Supercharged, no Mini came off the production line with a supercharger as far as I know. S for Sport? The obvious choice (and Richard Hammond's on Top Gear), so what is the truth?
It was 1970 and about the time I was due to finish my GKN Birfield Apprenticeship, At Salisbury Transmission Ltd, when my boss of the day, who had worked at British Leyland, arranged a visit for me to BL's Tractor and Transmissions Factory, Drews Lane, Washwood Heath. I was treated to a 1:1 VIP tour by the official factory guide and during the tour we approached an assembly area where the guide explained: These half shafts are for The Cooper Special.
So, what was The Mini Cooper S? The Cooper was a high performance version of The Mini and The Cooper S was a high peformance version of The Cooper.
Peg.   
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Peg Monkey

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Re: Industrial Birmingham
« Reply #222 on: October 10, 2019, 09:14:37 AM »
..........So does any of this affect our everyday lives? ........ :-[
Peg.
If I need a new tyre within the next few months I think I'm gonna ask Mrs Monkey to go to the dealers. :-[
Peg.
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Peg Monkey

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Re: Industrial Birmingham
« Reply #223 on: October 15, 2019, 03:28:29 PM »
Run flat tyres - anybody ever purchased them? A few years ago they were hailed as a god-send but I've heard nothing recently, sounds like a good idea as long as whatever causes the puncture does not stay in the tyre otherwise a nail, for example, would trash the tyre.  :-\
Peg.
 
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Peg Monkey

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Re: Industrial Birmingham
« Reply #224 on: October 19, 2019, 10:34:57 PM »
My dad, a South Wales Miner, came to Birmingham to escape the pit in the late 30s but ironically the only work he could get was down the pit at Hampstead Colliery although he did get a job later in a non-ferrous rolling mill (Earle & Bourne). As a miner in WW2 he was not called up as mining was a reserved occupation, but he did do his bit on fire watch duties, he told me he was sited on top of a factory near The Lad in the Lane, Bromford, Erdington.
Peg.
P.S. Hampstead Colliery was the scene of a national disaster in 1908 when 26 miners died in an underground fire.
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Peg Monkey

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Re: Industrial Birmingham
« Reply #225 on: October 20, 2019, 10:42:56 AM »
Birmingham - City of a 1000 trades, some main trades gave birth to many others, an example being the Jewellery Trade. My grandfather was a ring maker and related trades were: gem cutting, setting, engraving, polishing, assaying, etc.
He was made redundant late in his career and set himself up as self-employed (probably had no choice, I don't think there was unemployment benefit) and worked from his bench (peg) in the front room of his Heaton St terraced house. My mother (the youngest of his 11 children) was pressed into service collecting his supplies of gold bullion from dealers Johnson Matthey in the Jewellery Quarter, her route: along Heaton St to Lodge Rd (The Flat), along lodge Rd towards Key Hill turning right at the junction with Icknield St, past Key Hill Cemetery, under the railway arches of Hockley Station where she then made a left up Pitsford St, when at the top she would make her way to the dealers, I thing they were in Vyse St., she returned with the solid gold bars in a carrier bag. :-[
Peg.
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Peg Monkey

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Re: Industrial Birmingham
« Reply #226 on: October 21, 2019, 05:28:51 PM »
......My grandfather was a ring maker .........He was made redundant late in his career and set himself up as self-employed.....
With the benefit of hindsight I think I should have taken a leaf out of my Grandfather's Book - choose a profession which offers the chance of self-employment if you want (or need) it.
Peg.
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Peg Monkey

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Re: Industrial Birmingham
« Reply #227 on: November 09, 2019, 02:08:00 PM »
I worked in the aircraft industry for a while, even the local cafe had to be vendor rated before you could savour your lunchtime beans on toast there, well almost.
Peg.
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Peg Monkey

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Re: Industrial Birmingham
« Reply #228 on: November 15, 2019, 04:03:15 PM »
Alloy rims losing air - I'm having to pump up my daughter's tyres almost weekly, no punctures, new valves and rims refurbished, still losing air, I thought I would try an aerosol puncture repair (which you get on new small cars these days instead of a spare wheel) anyone tried this as a remedy?
Peg.
P.S. Based on my daughter's experience, give me boring steel rims everytime. To buy steel rims and re-fit tyres: £75 each wheel!
P.P.S. In days gone by when I had a similar problem I would fit an inner-tube, my friendly tyre dealer says you can't do that anymore with modern tyres.
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mw0njm

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Re: Industrial Birmingham
« Reply #229 on: November 15, 2019, 07:47:15 PM »
Also, unlike steel wheels which are pressed, aluminium wheels are cast and are therefore more likely to have a faulty porous spot.


We usually refer to aluminium wheels as alloy wheels, which is not strictly true as the definition of an alloy is simply 'a mixture of metals', i.e. we should refer to them as aluminium alloy wheels
Magnesium wheels. Magnesium wheels are wheels manufactured from alloys which contain mostly magnesium. ... It is 1.5 times less dense than aluminium, so magnesium wheels can be designed to be significantly lighter than aluminium alloy wheels, while exhibiting comparable strength

Ian Dalziel

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Re: Industrial Birmingham
« Reply #230 on: November 16, 2019, 03:55:27 PM »
Alloy rims losing air - I'm having to pump up my daughter's tyres almost weekly, no punctures, new valves and rims refurbished, still losing air, I thought I would try an aerosol puncture repair (which you get on new small cars these days instead of a spare wheel) anyone tried this as a remedy?
Peg.
P.S. Based on my daughter's experience, give me boring steel rims everytime. To buy steel rims and re-fit tyres: £75 each wheel!
P.P.S. In days gone by when I had a similar problem I would fit an inner-tube, my friendly tyre dealer says you can't do that anymore with modern tyres.


Peg, I don't think you were given entirely the correct information. I think you can fit an inner-tube into a tubeless tyre, in fact I have done it myself. However you have to make sure that inside the tyre and rim, there is nothing to puncture the tube (like a rough surface or pressure sensor) and also be aware that, in the case of a puncture, tubed tyres can deflate much more rapidly than tubeless. I used to carry a spare tube  and tyre levers with me when travelling abroad, just in case I could not locate a spare tyre.
Let's make the best out of a bad situation.


 

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