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Someone better! It's been a long road for a lot of us here on this side of the puddle too! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by rspears
I hope you get even a little bit of satisfaction from these recent developments Johnboy. It can never make up for all the time passed, but. It's gotta feel a little good to see them squirm! :LOL::LOL:
Been a bit busy the last day or four, haven't had time to spend on the pooter.
Karen MacArthur is the #1 of NZTA Hamilton, and is responsible for all of the Waikato region.
Ian Baggett is c.e.o. of the entire operation NZ wide.
Karen MacArthur, in our conversation, told me of how this whole botched endeavour had unfolded according to the information she had.
I, in turn, told her of how it had occurred according to the facts.
(Thank God I keep a diary!)
"From where did you get this information?" she asked at one point.
"I cannot tell you. Suffice that it's true. When Mr. B***** told you the file was on his desk one day only; I know for a fact it was there for a minimum of six weeks before he even thought about actioning it. And I can prove it."
There were several (many) other points I refuted, and I'm afraid I wasn't very pleasant about it . . . thirteen months of frustration vented itself.
She finished up apologising to me; and asked what could they do to make things 'right'.
"You can't make it 'right' . . . that opportunity is long gone. But a step in the right direction would be to waive all costs/charges."
"That's beyond my power, but I'll get Ian Baggett to contact you."
All this was last Wednesday, about an hour and a half after the Fair Go team had left.
That was when I told her to tell him to contact me Friday; as I would be unavailable Thursday.
Then our phones went out . . . only rectified late this morning, Monday.
Not long after we were re-connected, Mark Crysell of Fair Go rang, to tell me that Ian Baggett had contacted him, and told him that NZTA have agreed to waive any costs due to them incurred in the certification of the bus.
Not long after that, Noel McMillin of Nostalgia Motors rang, to say that things are suddenly moving very rapidly on the bureaucratic front.
Well pardon me for feeling underwhelmed on all counts!
It's about bloody time!
Mark Crysell also told me that TVNZ have put a 'stop' on their site to stop anyone overseas viewing; but he would send me a cd of the interview, and if I wanted to copy it and post it overseas . . . he would know nothing about it.
Rant over.
now its time for Ice Cream. and a look at that cd
No matter where in the world it happens............"I'm from the government and I'm here to help you...." pretty much ends up meaning the same thing.
It was a long and frustrating fight my friend, but I think you won this round. Good on you.
Yep, some of the most feared words ever spoken, if the listener has any sense. Hopefully the man in charge of the program will use this as an example with his people, and change will result. That's about the best you can hope for, other than maybe becoming a Folk Hero with the local hot rod community.... :LOL: But then you've likely already attained that honor, right??;):)Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter
When I hear those words I Laugh at the person......Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter
.
Many thanks for the kind words people.
You lot have been privy to this virtually from its inception; so are aware of the frustrations we've had to endure at the hands of the 'grey men'.
Still; nil bastardo carborundum!
(Don't let them grind you down!)
On to the next step . . . the fitting of the interior!
(What can go wrong there?)
.
(What can go wrong there?)[/QUOTE]
Why would you ask that??
Because I know there's some fella sitting out there who looks down and says: "Look at him! He thinks things are going smoothly. Here's a handful of spanners thrown in the works!"
Kaching!
PERSISTENCE johnboy, the only thing that works every time.
o
o
True that.
And NZTA persisted me off greatly.
So I just watched last nights "Fair Go" on NZTV OnDemand, Channel One. The Fair Go team was very supportive of your complaint, and did a nice little segment on the bus, it's origin and the problems of it taking sooooo long to get certified. Pretty cool!! Here's a link that I used - Fair Go, Series 2013, Episode 29 | TVNZ Ondemand It's the last segment in the thirty minute "programe".
The phones went mad at the end of the programme, with all the comments positive.
It's a good feeling to know that so many people are on your side.
I don't know if this link will work overseas, but it's worth a crack. . .
Waiting for the bus to come - TV News Video | TVNZ
. . . and I don't know why they wanted to feature the Morris Minor . . .
:confused:
Thanks for the link Roger. That was a nice piece they did for John. And glad they got involved and provided a push to them pols...
jb,
The link you attached goes direct to the lead in for your segment, while the one I posted is for the entire episode and you have to select your start point. Also, your link did not seem to have the mandatory commercials....
Good deal Glad it almost behind you
Cool!Quote:
Originally Posted by rspears
I'm pleased it worked.
Things have moved really fast since Fair Go became involved.
We'll very shortly be able to pick it up and take it to get the interior fitted.
Unfortunately, because of NZTA's intransigence, I won't be here to drive it on its first major on-road trip; I'm gonna be in the States, so that's quite a disappointment.
On the bright side however; it's a major step forward on a project that has been stalled for thirteen months by paper-shuffling bureaucrats.
A pox upon the lot of them.
May they end up in Hell with their backs broken.Quote:
Originally Posted by johnboy
o
o
The bus is now in Thames having the interior fitted.
It is registered, (to me too! Someone pulled some strings there, dunno who yet...) has a Certificate of Fitness, (even though the speedo is not yet working; some more strings were pulled obviously,) and we're heading up there Sunday to check it out first thing Monday.
Graeme Cox and Scruffy Dover drove it over to Thames for us while we were in the States, and reported back that they were very impressed with the way it drove, handled, performed, and braked.
So it seems we got things pretty well right.
Obviously I'm disappointed that I wasn't there on its maiden trip; but at long last things are starting to move again.
And that's got to be all good!
hooray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Who is doing the upholstery on it over at Thames Johnboy ? How did you get on with getting into the paintshop again for it's Yellow coat ?
Yep, that's about how I feel Uncle Bob!
:D :D :D :D
Its been a saga.
Whip: the interior is being done by Mathew Donaldson of TraNZtech using a Duralite module system, a laminated foam would be about the best way of describing it.
It's light and well insulated, and a special joining strip locks the panels together.
A fairly simple process.
My original choice of painter has ceased trading as a painter; he now does panel work only.
So I asked him to recommend someone and he told me to deal with Kurt Broker at Waitara.
So I approached him, and he's got it booked in for some time around Christmas.
So that's all good.
Yup,,Kurt's a good dude..Does a lot of truck work,,in fact,,the last Western Star front I did went to him..He does a bit of Hooker Pacific's work..Quote:
Originally Posted by johnboy
Thought I'd better update this thread a wee bit . . . we headed to Thames 3rd November to check out progress; the stanchions for anchoring the seat belts are being installed, and they too require certifying by an hgv engineer.
(We couldn't mount them sooner because we weren't sure as to exactly they would be mounted until we started installing the interior.)
The engineer involved turned up, took one look and said: "This is that bus that was on Fair Go."
"Yep," said Matt.
"Well I'd better not make a faux pas (euphemism) on it then!"
:)
Meanwhile I've had a plaque made that says:
"The top of this gear lever is from the joystick of a Corsair Fighter/Bomber F4U - 1 as flown by the late Flight Sergeant David Howlett RNZAF of New Plymouth over Manus and Rabul Papua New Guinea during WW II in 1945 with the 19th Fighter Squadron, and still retains the bomb release button and machine gun trigger.
Aircraft stats: 2250 hp Pratt and Whitney R - 2800 Double Wasp Radial Piston Engine.
Max. weight: 14000 lbs.
Max, speed: 417 mph @ 20,000 ft.
This will be mounted on the dashboard immediately in front of the gear lever.
We have also made arrangements for the graffiti on the ceiling to be photographed and transferred to vinyl for re-installation when the ceiling goes back in.
I've not had any progress reports since then from Matt, I'm hoping the philosophy of 'no news is good news' prevails; but we'll shoot up again in a week or two.
And it's progress!
After thirteen months of stagnation.
I'm also thinking on getting a vinyl print made saying:
'Baby Elephant.'
So named because the obfuscation and recalcitrance of NZTA ensured that this project took longer than an elephant to gestate.
Is that rude enough?
Or should I say what I really feel?
I think you have earned the right to put anything on there that you want. (and then some)
SAY IT JB! SAY IT!
Is that clear enough??? 8-)
Those blokes are far too dense to catch the drift of the name alone, so you've GOT to spell it out!! Maybe......
Attachment 59970
The Baby Elephant
So named because the obfuscation and recalcitrance of NZTA
Ensured that this project took longer than an elephant to gestate!!!
With sincere thanks to the folks from Fair Go!!
:LOL: :LOL: :LOL:
You've got it!
That's pretty well exactly what I had envisaged.
With perhaps a few signature bars of 'Baby Elephant Walk' from Daktari.
As an aside; Matt Donaldson told me that the engineer told him that that bus was the cause of an internal audit in NZTA.
True or not; I can't say.
But I'd like to think so; so that no other poor bugger has to endure what we did.
Also: re the reference to the top of the gear lever; it came off a Corsair that Dave Howlett actually flew (and crashed) during WWII, and upon him becoming late it was gifted to me.
So it's a piece of nostalgic history that will mean nothing to anybody else; but it does mean something to me, and even though Dave may be late, his memory will be kept alive.
Let's see if this works..
That's it!
Thanks for that.
I note it's from the movie 'Hatari',not 'Daktari' as I called it.
There is a reason for that; it's called 'senile decay'.
:eek: :LOL: :LOL:
I do remember now that Daktari was a 'made for tv' programme, and Hatari was the movie.
It's a bugger getting old!
Our 50th wedding anniversary is just a bit over three years away . . . I'd better remember that!
(Now what's my name again?)
Ya know.. I don't think I really know your name!!! and you HAD BETTER remember that anniversary date! :-)Quote:
Originally Posted by johnboy
It's still the same; I've not changed it in nearly seventy years!Quote:
Originally Posted by 34_40
What date?Quote:
Originally Posted by 34_40
What anniversary?
HAH! Let me know how that works out for ya!!!
Seems to me that no matter what side of the earth you're on.. A wife will react the same if you miss the wedding anniversary!
Then she'll give you the "LOOK"! And then you're done for!!
So jb, how's the progress on the bus? Ran across this picture, and wondered if maybe you'd changed plans a bit....
Changed plans?
Ummmm . . . no.
I'm a gabby / mouthy sort of fella.
But that has me speechless.
I don't know what to say.
I don't even know what to think.
In all probability the fella that built that . . . that . . . that . . . that whatever it is; had a very deprived childhood and needs a mother really badly.
:whacked: **) :HMMM:
Crikey!
That experience left me all shaky!
I don't know if my heart can take shocks like that!
Seriously though; the bus is making progress, albeit rather slowly, there has been the long Christmas / New Year break, and of course the Donaldsons had projects that had been booked prior to the eventual certification of our machine.
The anchorages for the seat belts have been engineered, mounted, and certified.
The floor is all done, and while not level, it is all now on one plane, sloping slightly to the front.
That was a surprisingly major job; as it varied as much as 5/8" in several places.
But it was achieved with string lines about a foot apart, and many packers of varying thicknesses.
Straightforward enough, but time consuming.
When we saw it last (about three weeks ago,) the wall panels from the windows down were being affixed to the walls.
Arrangements too had been made to have the graffiti that the kids of Billings Oklahoma High School had written on the ceiling to be photographed and then transferred to the new ceiling.
We're now about due to take another run up to Thames to check it out again.
