More Old Car Stuff

Just cleaning up some video off the camera file and I put this one onto youtube. Its another project I started and never finished. I have a few of those. I started too late in the year and the weather turned against me. Hopefully the old car comes home in the spring. Been sitting for probably sixty years so its about time. If it happens, there will be video.

Cold Morning At The Century Shack

I call it the "century shack" but in fact it will be 115 years old this summer. My grandfather, T. Goff and his brother , Alf, cousin Jack all spent their first winter in Canada in this little log shack. No, not the red barn at the beginning of the vido. About 10x12 feet built of vertical poplar logs. It must have been "cool" but maybe if they kept the wood burning stove well fed it would be ok. Jack was reported to have stated that he would be "back in Dorset for next Christmas" although he never did go back. Saskatchewan winter must have been a shock for these Dorset lads who likely didn't see a lot of snow before.
It had warmed up to about -15F when I did this latest Roosty6 video tour this morning. Made me appreciate the modern gas heat even more.

Today's History

February 2, 1870 was the birth date of Uncle Alf (great uncle to me) Goff in Dorset, U.K.  Not much is  known  of  his early days but at some point in the 1890s he spent some time in Queensland, Australia working on a sheep ranch. For a fellow named Quick according to my memory.

No information as to how long he was there but he returned to England briefly and then traveled with his brother Tom to North America. Not sure of the route but they worked some on the Canadian railway in the mountains. Alf spoke of being very sick at one point with cold or flu and he claimed the only thing that saved him was "Jamaica rum". In later years he was known to make some very fine wine of his own from rhubarb.
Alf and Tom also put in some time working on threshing crews eventually making  their way back to England in 1902.
Attracted by the advertising campaign of free  homestead  land in the district of Assiniboia,  (later Saskatchewan),  Alf, Tom, and cousin Jack all headed to Canada in the spring of 1903 to claim their "free" land. Many years of hard work eventually turned the homesteads into productive farm land.
From that point on Alf mostly lived his  life  on his homestead in  his log cabin.  He died there on the homestead in 1942 at the age of 72.

Today In Family History

January 30, 1971, my grandmother, Mary Goff (Lane) died. Aged 85 (we think). I know there was some question as to her actual year of birth. Along with pretty well everything else about her prior to coming to Canada in 1911. We do know she worked at various locations along the south coast of England such as the Railway Hotel at Broadstairs, Kent.

This is the only existing photo of her before leaving England. 

Grandma in work uniform on the right

With her first two children, Doris and Tom.

Working hard on the farm through some hard times. 

Grandma and Grandpa about 1951.

With her first grandson in 1954. 

Out With The Dogs

I shot this video while "dog sitting" for a few days last summer. A hot morning in July but those two dogs were always eager to go for a walk, or run, to explore their territory.

A Decade On Youtube

According to their records I have been on youtube as Roosty6 for ten years on Jan. 26. It does not seem like that long but considering there are 382 videos on my channel I guess it has been a while. I like to think the videos have improved a little since the very first one I put on. It was a short clip of converted VHS video from 1989. Fuzzy focus and grainy video of my old 72 IH Scout and me taking a little spin down the driveway. I don't recall how long it took to upload on dial up internet in those days but it would have been a long while I think. So much faster these days on wireless internet.
I've learned a lot and met some interesting people on the channel.

53 Merc Door and Drum

Took a break from the floors today and decided to investigate the source of the disturbing grinding noise coming from the back wheels of the car. I was afraid it was from the differential but hoped it might just be in the brake drum. A broken differential would relegate the car back to parts car status. Good used diffs are likely few and far between for a 64 year old car. New repairs likely very expensive.

So its good news and bad news. The good news, the noise was just a loose rivet head inside the brake drum and that differential is just fine. The bad news, the drum was so hard to get off that I cracked a couple of chips out of the flange around the outside of the drum. It won't affect the braking surface and might be "fixable" with JB weld. Also the brake shoes are worn beyond redemption.

I was able to discern the numbers on the diff. Its not the "stump puller" 4.10 ratio. Just the standard 3.90. Seems fairly tight and smooth operating, better than the 52 in fact.

I was also able to fix the left rear door that was originally bolted shut by a previous owner. It just would not stay shut otherwise. I was able to loosen up and adjust the hinges as well as the door catch. Result, the door now opens and shuts as it was meant to.