» Inspiring young people

Inspiring young engineers of the future...

So, its the summer holidays, the kids are off school and already driving parents crazy. So what’s the answer? How about visiting The Maurice Project?

It really was a pleasure to receive three young lads into the workshop one afternoon. They were respectful and refrained from climbing all over the car like it was a climbing frame, instead listened as I explained the car to them and what was taking place.

Having been fore-warned of their arrival, I thought it was best to prepare some things for them to do ‘straight off the bat’. I planned to get them to help me remove the ‘Standing Pillars’ that support the hinge for the rear windows. These are simply held in place with four screws, two at the top and two at the bottom.

I knew that the screws holding the pillars had probably not been removed since the car was first built. So, before the boys arrived I worked them loose and sprayed them with WD40. The last thing I wanted was sheared screw heads or slipping screwdrivers. I even prepared one of my screwdrivers on the bench grinder to ensure it fitted the screw heads perfectly. I really wanted the boys to succeed at their first workshop experience.

With my oversight, the boys set to work taking turns with the screwdriver to remove all the screws. They took the task really seriously and did a great job with no slips or mishaps.

So what next? The obvious choice as far as far as I was concerned, was to give them a go at the blasting cabinet. I had a lightly corroded exhaust manifold they could have a go at. One problem was, I knew they would be too short to see in, so before they came, I quickly knocked up a wooden ‘hop up’ step to make things easier.

This worked a treat, giving the boys the access they needed. Once I had convinced them that there was nothing nasty hiding in the gauntlet gloves they quickly got to grips with the blasting process.

The blasting cleaned the manifolds really well, however, we did discover that the corrosion was hiding a crack in one branch of the manifold on the engine facing side. So, I will try to get this weld repaired, otherwise we will have to replace it.

You can see how the costs so easily continue to tick up!

Thank you boys, you were great, engineers of the future…..

Provision House (formerly known as Loaves n Fishes) is a Christian charity based in the West Midlands. We are committed to the relief of poverty and all its effects on the people of Sandwell, Dudley and the wider Black Country. We aim to do this by delivering care in the way of furniture, clothes, household items, food and more to help those that need it most. We help them to build a home for themselves and also try to establish links with organisations for their ongoing benefit. Charity No: 1147775