Classic car mechanic – Obsessive

‘In the corner of the workshop, Olli Ragbin sits watching events unfold before him’

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved mechanical things. More than that, cars, bikes, watches, anything with a precision engineering element grabs my attention and simply doesn’t let go. For over 40 years I’ve had this monkey on my back and it doesn’t look like it’s shifting any day soon.

Of course the internet and YouTube have helped in exactly no way whatsoever. Fuel for the dependent. My history and channel subscribing activity give a window into the world of the obsessive.

‘Harry’s garage’ and the ‘late brake show’ are probably your more run of the mill petrol head stuff along with ‘Magnus Walker’ for historic 911 content. For the real indication of what drives the interest, ‘Soup Classic Motoring’ summarises nicely.

This guy restores cars and painstakingly documents the process, frame at a time, looped together in what must be the longest and most painfully drawn-out video editing process. Stop-go animation is the method for this particular madness.

Our man re-built a Range Rover like this. Completely. We’re all huge fans of the big luxo 4x4 here at CCM and are certainly no stranger to their quirks and features. Well, our hero at Soup completely stripped and rebuilt one…must have taken years. Filmed it all. Edited it. Then posted it. And then ladies and gentlemen, I watched it.

All of it.

Twice.

You would rightly interpret this as a quiet call for help.

There is something special about making a mechanical object…..well, better. It’s like a Doctor treating an ill patient. We all can get misty-eyed when the weak become strong again, and it’s the same here.

This week, the tears were forthcoming as shrimp-eye Justin completed an engine build. If any obsessives can guess the make and model, then there is a prize of a workshop tour and a cup of tea with the gaffer up for grabs. You’ll enjoy the tour and by the end you’ll know more about Chieftain tank engines than you ever thought you would.

(Yet again, shrimp-eye Justin caught mid-moon walk. He’s obsessed with it. What you can’t see in this pic is Young Chris, but he’s there alright and if you concentrate really really carefully, you can actually hear him raising a dismissive eyebrow. The jury is out on Justin's new illuminated codpiece. )

You may have noticed the regularity of Eric’s new purchase. Lord knows there have been plenty. But what about Ingrid? Equally keen on a classic and a motorbike, we don’t hear many tales of the latest motor to grace her side of the drive do we? Perhaps some rebalancing to come soon.

In the meantime, her lovely Golf cab was in for work this week.

This picture doesn’t really do it justice. Needs a new hood mind.

In other big news, Ingrid passed her CBT this week. An upgrade to the current 2-wheeled whip surely?!

A shorter week than most for me this week as I take a break from my quiet corner of the workshop. Before going though, a quick call on the bat-phone to get Justin over to drop off the 911 whilst picking up me eldest’s Fiesta for yet more self-induced damage correction. I think his insurance company are live streaming his telematics data in the staff canteen for sheer entertainment. Shrimp-eye Justin and Eric are doing the forensics whilst I conduct the remote interrogation. We are slowly piecing together what happened, but it’s a long and tedious process. It would be far simpler if he just fessed up to driving buffoonery and we could all just get on with our lives.

A huge thank you this week to Doctor Ray for 911-wrangling at its finest, to shrimp-eye Justin for the CSI-Miami treatment on the Fiesta along with warm congrats to Ingrid for enhanced motorcycling skills. Will the pressure be felt for a second 2-wheeled purchase at the Collins tea table this week? Who knows.

Right, I’ll leave you with a genuine snap-shot of my sort of YouTubery, the last 3 videos I watched.

First, a compilation of Sean Lock ‘best bits’ (a comedy genius who will be sorely missed), ‘most humiliating skills by Lionel Messi’ (ball-taped-to-foot style football chicanery) and finally Dangerous Giant Heavy Duty Hammer Forging Process (I think the title is all you need).

I really do need to get out more.

So, from the CMM obsessives, Siobhan, Dr Ray, Shrimp-eye Justin, Young Chris, Izzi, Ingrid and Eric, have a great day.

Olli

Ps. Couldn’t resist a couple more pics of a 2 recent favourites. Sit back, sip a cuppa and just drink in the simplicity and beauty sensing that this is the more positive result of obsession. (Well, certainly a step up from giant hammer forging processes that’s for sure.)