Aaron Donohoe

I’m secretly a big child. The Fire Engine is used to play Fireman Sam and have massive water fights, whilst the Ambulance will be used to bring myself or innocent bystanders to hospital when things go wrong when playing Fireman Sam. You see — there’s method to the madness. More in-depth details on them here.

It’s been a busy and hectic few weeks lately. I’ve just returned from a few days in Cork, initially we were going down for the night to deliver a bus from Northern Ireland which had been converted into a tow-truck! Anyway, long story short, it ate it’s big-end bearings at Urlingford where we stored it in a friends yard. From there we stowed away on an Aircoach to Cork, where I had such an epic nap.

We were still adamant on returning the following afternoon, but we found out that we were needed to bring two buses to a show in Mogeely, which we did. The show had a good turn out, but it was along the lines of a festival organised by the Craggy Island locals. Yeah, it was that bad.

We were going to return to Dublin that evening when the news came through that a bus considered to be the Rolls Royce of coaches had come up for sale, and it wasn’t to be missed. We thought that it’d be a nice addition to the operational fleet, so we stayed a further night in Cork and viewed the Coach the following morning — we bought it on the spot!

So it was now Monday, we had a new V8 powered toy, and a load of scouts to pick up in Baltimore at 1pm the following Wednesday (up the arsehole of Skibbereen) — we decided to stay another two nights (reluctantly). The following day rescue to stranded bus we abandoned in Urlingford with the ERF tow-truck and went chasing some tail in Cork City

Arriving in Baltimore on Wednesday, we first held up the town for 20 minutes as the locals and tourists can’t park to be fucked and the bus got wedged! We also had an argument with an American who when we were reversing onto the pier parked right in our way and got all cunty about the situation. We had the bigger vehicle so won the argument by default. The new coach is so comfortable on the road it isn’t even funny, it’s better than some brand new coaches! The passengers were happy with it, and so were we despite its thirst – it drank half a tank of fuel…a 500 litre tank of fuel at that! I also had an epic nap on the way home…but woke myself up by falling over!

So now I’m back in Dublin, 5 days later than expected. Today I had to sort out some stuff for college, found out my 86 year old grand-mother had a bad accident whilst I was away and I had two naps! Tomorrow I find out if I will become the proud owner of a Fire Engine and other misc Fire Brigade vehicles. I also have to finalise some more college stuff and get some other paperwork sorted, and I’m sure some other financially draining things will crop up. Who said I’d be bored over the summer?

What’s all this about?

Subscribers of old (pre-August 2008) would be aware that I have an embarrassing secret. I used to be heavily, and I mean fully immersed in the preservation of old cars, buses, fire engines and other noisy, smoky, filthy things. I used to spend countless weekends in Cork (1), Wicklow (1) (2) and anywhere else where there was an old relic in hibernation; tinkering around with them, learning how to drive them, repair them, restore them etc. — Yes it’s a weird hobby, but it was my hobby nonetheless, and one that I shared with close friends and family. Inevitably, the group dynamics broke down as I thought it would be best to take some time off to focus on more important things — the Leaving Cert.

Well since my Leaving Cert is over, my abstinence from noisy stuff is over, and now I’m looking to further my horizons and cast my net further afield into the depths of obtaining a category ‘C’ driving license, which would entitle me to drive Rigid Lorries. However, unlike the acquisition of my category ‘B’ driving license, there is a lot more to becoming a dirty trucker.

1. I need to book & pass a theory test for HGVs.
2. I need to book & pass a number of CPC tests (Competency Tests).
3. I need to get a medical and be signed off by my doctor to ensure that I’m fit enough to drive a HGV.
4. I need to obtain an eyesight report.
5. Following the above are in order, I then need to apply for a Learners Permit for the ‘C’ & ‘C1′ categories.
6. I need to book lessons from a certified and credible instructor on driving a truck, protocols etc.
7. I need to book & pass a driving test for the category ‘C’ license.

The above is a mean feat, if I thought obtaining the car license was a challenge, I am sure obtaining a truck license will be 10 times as hard! But I think I’m up for it, and my graceful youth and enthusiasm should help my drive and driving! Basically, since I was a kid, I have always been fascinated by HGVs, for some strange reason. Yes, I am still a petrol head, but I prefer the simplicity and presence of a larger vehicle. So now I’ve come of age, and qualify to take the HGV theory test (you need to have a full category ‘B’ license before you can take it), I thought that now is as good a time as ever! My motivational flame has been fuelled with my excessive playing of Euro Truck Simulator in my spare time

Wish me luck. I’m sure I’ll keep you all updated — whether you want to be kept updated or not

Nothing got to do with web development, but motors instead – I can hear the groans already! Anyway, gave the car a once over with a fine tooth comb to see what needs doing, or what will need doing soon. Came up with a shortlist of the following:

Replace Head Gasket – new gasket kit, shims and have to get head skimmed. Will also replace water pump, thermostat, aux. belt & cambelt whilst I’m here. No ‘mayo‘ under oil filler cap, or oil in water, but failure on outside of Gasket as leaking oil between block and head.

Radiator Hoses – I noticed that the radiator wasn’t holding any pressure, and coolant levels had dropped considerably. Tried to bleed radiator – open bleed screw and squeeze hoses, but when squeezing bottom hoses I could feel something inside and it was slightly perished. Only a few Euro, and held on by a jubilee clip. Will give me opportunity to change coolant and and bleed system thoroughly – will be done during HG replacement.

Full Service – Oil is a bit grubby, last service was 2 years ago, so I’m sure it’s well overdue. It hasn’t been driven on the oil, but leaving it idle with the oil in it isn’t good. Needs new spark plugs, HT leads, new battery and new filters. Will also clean block and dress engine whilst I’m here (have to impress NCT guys)

Wheel Bearing - Front wheel bearing is humming slightly. On its way out, better to change it sooner rather than later…I don’t want my front wheel overtaking me – I don’t need to know how robust my brake discs are!

Brakes – Life still in pads, but they will need doing in the near future so will do them now whilst I’m doing the Wheel bearing. Could do with adjusting handbrake cable too.

Other – Bodywork needs a tidy, two dents – one on drivers door (minor) and one on boot lid (big enough), will probably pull the one on the door out with a suction cup, but the boot lid might be difficult as it’s on a curve – but might be able to beat it out! Will look 100x better with a good wax and polish and I’ll run over it with a clay bar also.
Need to reattach the rear view mirror and tidy the mess the former owner left the electrics in – home fitted radio and speakers…which look rubbish, I’ll tidy the wiring and put them somewhere more discreet. There’s also some cheap Halfords “GX” badges on it, I don’t need my car to have a fake veneer on it!

It’s a list alright, most would probably scrap the car, but I’m doing the work myself and all will be done around the time of the Head Gasket replacement. I’ve done one before so I’ve a good idea of what I’m doing, costs will be kept to a minimum, I anticipate to spend around €150-€175 on parts and accessories, and seeing as the car was free it will only owe me around €450 (inc. tax).

On another note, I’m afraid I’m up to my old tricks again RE: Vintage Buses. I’m off to inspect a potential preservation project in the next couple of days, I’ve promised myself that I’ll focus headlong on my Leaving Cert, but if it comes to it, and it does come my way, I’ll put it into storage until next June.

Well we made it back from Cork in one piece, although only barely. I tried to keep you updated via my Twitter feed (on far right sidebar), but I’ll give you the whole story about what happened.

As I said we were delivering a little red bus, which I used to own – but decided to give it away due to the amount of problems that arose with it – such as brakes not pulling on n/s/r wheel (left back wheel!), and some ‘minor’ electrical faults.

We left our yard in Wicklow at around 7pm, to head for the N8. All was going smooth, we adjusted the brakes before we left so we could stop without being slammed into oncoming traffic. We also filled the bus to the neck with parts for down in Cork – a complete set of seats, glass and some tyres (surplus to our requirements).

All was going well, until just as we entered the N11, we noticed the batteries came loose from their cradle. A quick fix, just had to put the retaining bar back into place and lock it down. Then came the issues, about 5 miles up the road, we had a small electrical fire in the form of the stereo exploding and catching fire. Reminds me of an episode of ‘Only Fools and Horses’…

Ironically, the bus in the video is similar to the one we drove to Cork, except ours didn’t explode – we believe the fault was caused by a faulty radio.

On the way, we needed fuel, so stopped off at the Esso just at Kill, Kildare. Nothing out of the ordinary, except for the guy working behind the counter. He was from India, but had a fascination about Irish buses and was full of questions about it, and even went to the trouble of taking down the registration number!

Everything was fine until when we passed Urlingford, when the brake warning light lit up the dash. We pulled over, and found nothing out of the ordinary, we had ‘brakes’, although the word ‘brakes’ is optimistic. We knew that it was just a short in the dash.

We arrived in Cork at around 12:30 that night, and found we had no handbrake, and barely any foot brake. So we had to block it up, and park it on level ground. It was then time for a drink and then to bed! As we were up at 8:00 the next morning with intentions of buying a coach down there – sale didn’t go ahead as the owner stripped the bus bare and still wanted money for it!

The day went grand, until when we went to go home. Another bus we bought developed an injector fault and wasn’t idling right, but as we were rushing to get back to Dublin for the next morning we loaded up a Fore Scorpio that was down there – that apparently ran 100%. Well that assumption was incorrect, as before we even got on the road it began to backfire and immediately we knew the electronics were shot.

We eventually got back at 2:30 am on Wednesday morning – absolutely knackered! I had the fortunate task of finding two of my sites down upon my return, and also found the server in which this blog is hosted was having load issues.

Maybe I shouldn’t go away as often as I do…

I haven’t the time, nor motivation lately to make daily blog posts – quite simply I’m out the door with work, school and trying to maintain sanity around the yard! I know I like to give a concise update bi-weekly, but lately I haven’t even been able to do that!

With the good weather we’re having at present, I’m lapping it all up in my stride, as knowing the Irish weather’s traits I know it won’t last for long! Over these past few days I’ve been found anywhere there’s sun, but unfortunately, my Irish skin isn’t used to the sun…so I just burn and then give out about how I’m “Burnt to Fuck” for the next week or so!

And with the improvement in weather, I acquired myself yet another bus – why? Because I wanted to! Plain and simple, I used to travel to school on it when I was a younger youngster, and always liked it. I seen it most mornings until recently, so I went in search and came across it – looking sorry for itself.

So after some carefully practised blagging, it was mine. Even got loads of spares, glass and a tank of diesel for my efforts! So last week, it made its maiden run to our yard in Wicklow where I set to cleaning and fixing it – it had a timing problem from the injector pump, and a ropey steering wheel, all since have been fixed.

As you all know, I’ve owned other in the past (still own half of them), but this one will be something for me to mess around with. My others have been ‘show vehicles’ meaning they have to be finished to the highest of standards in minimal time, whereas this although it will be finished to a high standard, I will be taking my time to learn as I go along – something I couldn’t do to my other vehicles.

The above photo was taken whilst out and about in Wicklow on Sunday. The weather was superb, so the opportunity was seized to remove the Dublin Bus logos and take it for a 50 mile road run into Arklow and back as well as around a few other seaside spots around.

While we’re on the subject of photos, I have to admit my stupidity on Saturday, of myself drowning my camera with Club Lemon. I wasn’t looking while I was opening my ‘refreshment’, and with Steve’s driving it caused an eruption of Lemon all over my camera – which soon became rather sticky!

Although I managed to clean it all off when I go home, I feel that it was the final blow for my long suffering Olympus, it’s been dropped several times, soaked with diesel, been in unbearable cold and hot weather, had the lens shot with steel shavings from an angle grinder, it’s been nearly crushed multiple times and thrown at something when I’ve been pissed off. It’s had a hard life, so maybe it will be time to retire the old girl to a reserve camera. I’ve been thinking of a Fujifilm SLR, maybe S9600, or perhaps a secondhand Canon 30D? It will indefinitely be a pity, as it takes great photos! See below.

A bridge over the former Dublin reservoir, near Vartry, Co. Wicklow

Unintentional closeup of greenery with VW ‘Type 2′ in the background.

I’m way to bust lately to be blogging, I just had a spare half hour to throw up a post – not even on the computer neither. I’m blogging on the laptop whilst doing a history essay and renewing a few domains at the same time – who says men can’t multi-task?

Between school, and other online work I haven’t the time to blog, I’ve three websites to get up in the next few weeks – I’ve a habit of starting (designing) and not finishing them, the arduous task of making the content! I also want to get a portfolio online to showcase my work (what little there is!).

In the time since I’ve last blogged I’ve gotten on the road to nowhere, I’ve ‘acquired’ my first car – and two days later acquired my second car . Both Fiat Punto’s, I know you’ll be gritting your teeth at the unreliability and cheap feel of them, but I got both for free – one a 1999 1.2 60S from ‘Payne in the Arse‘, which needs a new camshaft and some other minor work, and the other a 1997 55SX from my uncle – he bought it for my cousin to start driving and she had other ideas. It was a wreck when he got it, but as he’s a mechanic he put a new engine into it, 5 new tyres and a fresh NCT.

So now I’ve motivation to get my Full License, which I hope to get come June. I would have done more driving lessons – if Irish School of Motoring hadn’t ‘lost’ my file after I paid for 5 hours of lessons and only partook of one! For shame ISM!

And on another note – we’ve painted the bus! My uncle (same one who gave me the Punto), gave his time to paint and buff the bus, a big job. We’ve only got it white so far, and we’re awaiting a sign writer to apply blue and navy striping and logos. The pic below is of it in Greystones on Saturday 5th of April 2008, still requiring completion – needed corner trim, wheel trims, a good waxing and striping.

For those who are interested, we’re organising a run upto Belfast in the above bus for a show held up there annually. It’s not an anorak event, but a gathering of vintage cars, buses, trucks and anything else with Irish heritage. Click here for more info.

I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m no longer going to say “I’ll be back shortly” and so on, as frankly, these days I don’t know what I’ll be doing and when. I’ve been offline the past few days, as I’ve been doing proper work – more info here. Myself and ‘Payne in the Arse‘ have been tackling the arduous task of replacing the head gasket in a 1979 Leyland Leopard – hardest work I’ve done in a long time!

Don’t get me wrong, I love doing work like that, it’s challenging, but it’s a trade that I’m learning. I don’t know many people who would give up their weekends to strip down a huge lump of an engine, to replace basically a piece of re-enforced cardboard, and then rebuild the engine – would you do it?

I could have easily stayed in bed on that cold Saturday morning, gotten up at 2pm, and lazed around for the day, maybe going out or maybe working online. But, instead I was up and ready at 8am, in Wicklow for 9:30, and had no feeling in my fingers by 10:00!

Before retiring for the day at 11pm, and going home to get the metal shavings from my hair, and trying to get the smell of semi-synthetic oil and diesel from my hands.

Up the following morning and out the door at 9am (a lie on ), to do the same thing again! What those people have been saying is true… I am mad! . But I love it, for some sick twisted reason. You have fun, gain a skill, get free lunch, and get whacked out with the fumes – and in my case set myself on fire…twice .

So, I’ve decided to focus on career prospects – instead of the blogs, websites, and other dealings I’m involved with. I’ll keep the websites open, just I doubt they’ll have many updates over the next few months. School is major reason to why I’m cutting down severely on the making money side of the web – I made good money while I was focused, but once I didn’t get as good results as I had wished, a decision was made on my part to sever my online activities. It won’t benefit me in the long term aspect of things.

Don’t get me wrong, this blog will be fairly active. But from a personal aspect only. Very few business and blogging articles will be written in the foreseeable future. I’d like to thank everyone for their support in the past few months, but I’m retiring from the exciting world of blog entrepreneurship for now.

Aaron Donohoe

Well I’m finally back from Cork – at last! I’m now sick of buses and HGV’s for a few weeks, having spent the past 6 days (24 hours a day) working on them, and the week beforehand working on my own vehicles! I’m starting to get the feeling back in my fingers, after the trip: All outdoor work in minus conditions!

We drove an old Bedford down, without fault, except we had a turbo problem which caused it to crawl along at some paces and die coming upto the crest of a hill – got there in the end! I drove it down there, and I don’t know how ‘Payne in the Arse‘ got her to Cork, it’s a diabolical machine! The clutch is nice, but the gear linkage is dreadful – you’ve to beat it into gear, and second is impossible! In comparison to our Volvo, which is a great machine but a bit heavy, even though the Beford is 1987 and Volvo 1984, the Volvo is far more advanced!

I froze the bo****ks off myself down there at first, but once you get working you don’t ‘feel’ the cold. It was getting dark at 4:30pm, so a lot of work was completed during the night – lucky I remembered my torch this time! We were supposed to come home on Saturday night, but due to the ice, and the nature of the vehicle we were traveling home on, we thought it best to wait until the next morning to leave Cork.

We brought an old Leyland home – 50 MPH all the way from Cork to Dublin, with a big stack exhaust and Leyland engine, the CD player and 6 speakers we installed didn’t make much of a difference as we couldn’t hear them over the noise! I really pity any poor sucker who had to travel alongside us! I suffered too though, frozen all the way from Cork to Dublin, and having to listen to the noise, I’m glad the only sound I’ve to put up with now is that of Level 42.

I’m glad to be home, as there is no place like home! Where there’s central heating, hot water on demand and no buses! I’m not back at school until Tuesday, so I can recover tomorrow and have no disturbances from my hibernation while everyone is back to work/school! I’ve got a cold, so I’m hoping it doesn’t turn into a flu!

Sorry I haven’t been blogging recently, I’ve been busy getting as much work as possible done about the yard. For two days we were stripping my coach, all the seats had to be removed – an easy task, but not so easy when the bolts are 30 years old and locked shut! Then it was the task of hoarding all the seats up to the upper deck of a double decker we own – for ‘safe‘ keeping!

We then began the big job of repainting said decker into London Transport red! Our present sheds don’t offer much roof clearence, so the roof had to be painted outside in the yard – and we also couldn’t get a long enough airline up at that point in time, so it had to be hand painted .

We got the roof painted, I lost the circulation in my finger tips through sanding the bus by hand! So we called it a day, got upto the yard this morning, both of us in rags from the night before, after I went home I went to a party at a neighbours before finishing the night at home. I wasn’t drinking past midnight so my resolution is still on course! Did some coding at 2 this morning, over on Irish Transport Forums – just tidying it up a little, added some new user ranks, a new usergroup for the Motor Vehicle Preservation Society of Ireland personnel, added a new background, and messed around with the postbit. Crawled to bed at 3:30, and up again at 9:30 !

Don’t be expecting many, if any posts over the next few days. I’m spending the rest of the week until Sunday in Cork. Like the rest of the expeditions, it will be focused on learning mechanics. For those of you who care, I practacly serve a Diesel Engineering Apprentiship, with Stephen Payne in the Arse. It’s great down there: learning how to drive buses and HGV’s, carrying out mechanical repairs as well as bodywork, and it’s a bit of craic in the evenings when we’re winding down and go out and about in Cork city.

I should be back on Sunday, and the usual day to recover, meaning I won’t be back on track until the Tuesday – which come to think of it, I don’t have to be back to school until Tuesday the 8th of January .

See you all then!