Florence Is A Machine

Unlike the warbling vocals of a feline sedated with ketamine the Florence that this post relates to is a 2.4 tonne, 4.2 litre, Greta horrifying 1990 80 series Landcruiser and the staccato race/pause process that most be endured in order to get it converted and into Ukraine helping broken people.

The car hailed from beyond the border and as such has to undergo an emissions test, a safety/road worthiness check before any process of design violation takes place.

First things first then, work from nose to tail and fix everything that’s not working correctly. Mostly the issues were back axle related and only really tested my patience a bit because it snowed, rained, froze and baked while I was working outside. The chickens joined in by hiding from the weather under the car and cluster bombing the ground with as much crap as they could muster… crawling around in chicken crap; it just adds that special extra to a job.

Doing cars with unknown ailments means ordering parts as you go and during the pauses occurring in between ordering bits and getting hold of them have been filled with playing mental Tetris.

I’ve made floor panels in wood, vibration dampening rubber and capped with easy clean vinyl. The interior had to be refitted for then government tests and finally Florence made it to the test centre and passed with flying colours. So stage 2 complete.

I’ve been trying to work out how to fit an entire paramedics toy set inside, we’ve blown the budget on med kit, we’ve got a full suite of diagnostics, a Brand new defibrillator, vacuum splints, chest seals, intubation and canulation kit etc etc, we can support all ages from infant to adult, from a sprain to massive trauma and amputation- We can deliver a full UK level of paramedic support in places two wheel ambulances cant reach.

To make sure we spent cash on the important stuff, Joe and I have been upcycling whatever we can; a crash drawer set was £300 secondhand, ours came in at a fiver and a roll of Gorilla tape. The masks bins came from a kitchen shop (2 for a quid) and overhead lockers from a supermarket (4 for a tenner). In keeping with family tradition the stretcher retaining system is made from hockey pucks.

The level of help and support has been incredible Jenni, Lisa, John & Mike, James, Ric, David, the folks at SP services and most vitally the generosity of the folks that put their hands in their pockets made all the med kit possible.

Goodwinch – Will, ffs what a fella, he knew exactly what we needed and why, he saved untold hours of hunting for bits by delivering a brand new winch bumper, with a winch and every nut and bolt required.

Milner offroad – the only question they asked was what do you need and where do you want us to deliver it, we have new dampers and a spare CV because of their generosity

So the next week will combo of high speed building and fitting and learning new stuff. Thanks to Shane I’ll actually be trained to use a gas mask so if Joe’s on the beans I’ve got a fighting chance.

Big love xx