I was very happy to see that they have done a very nice restoration on the Victor bomber.
BHPian Jeroen recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
Mrs. D and I spend four days in the UK with friends. As always when travelling to the UK, we take the Jaguar. Performed without any problems.
We, particularly Mrs. D, did a lot of early Christmas shopping. She managed to fill the Jaguar’s boot and the rear seat, too!
In between doing various parcel runs, I managed to visit my favourite aviation museum, IWM Duxford. I did a thread about my visit in 2014!
The overall collection doesn’t change much. But several various aircraft have been beautifully restored.
I was very happy to see that they have done a very nice restoration on the Victor bomber. I am always fascinated by this aircraft. Unfortunately, could not get close to it. It’s set apart whilst still being worked upon.
I visited Duxford in 2018 with Peter during our annual Alfa Spider drive. The Victor was still being restored. I posted this image then:
Look at her now!!
And another shot of another favourite of mine; SR71 Blackbird. Mesmerizing.
On the way home on the Stena Ferry I also spotted this beauty. These Bentley boys are a hardy lot. They drive this beast year-round. It was approx 3oC!
Our good friends Cees and Annelies looked after our house and our cat Molly when we were away. Cees had picked up the special size socket I had ordered a week ago.
When we arrived back home, I changed straight into my workshop clothes. Cees and Annelies would have to leave soon, but Cees had promised me he would help me get the cylinder head off.
I used my breaker bar to give each nut a small jerk, just so it got loose. I used the same sequence as when you do when tightening the nuts/ Puts less stress on the head and block.
All 12 bolts came out easily! Big relief. I have had cylinder head bolts snap on me before and it is a real PITA to remove them.
Removing the head from the engine is a two men job. It is very heavy and it is very awkward to lift over the engine. So very happy Cees was there to lend me a hand.
For now up put it on a plank of wood.
We took the bolts out one by one and again ensured we kept them in the same order as they came out. According to the workshop manual, these bolts need to be replaced. I will see if I can get new ones, if not the old ones will have to be used again.
Yesterday I managed to lift the head onto my workbench and started cleaning up everything.
Notice how the inlet and outlet valves are positioned differently for each cylinder? Also, notice how relatively clean everything looks! Good combustion!
I have had a first look at the inside of the cylinders and I tried wiggling each and every piston. I must say I am pretty impressed as all the cylinder walls look really good! And the wiggling is very very small.
So I am not sure yet what I will do. But I am thinking of just bolting everything back together again, rather than replace a piston.
Jeroen
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