I wasn't home for very long before I got stuck into the list of jobs which was growing ever longer while I was away. There was some welding to do and a job in the cow shed where a concrete purlin had to be replaced.

The ends of the new wooden purlin looked a bit vulnerable so I was asked to make up a couple of saddles - one for each end. Next up, the Hillman's pinion carrier. The problem, it turned out, was not one of collapsed bearings but that the dope who did the wire-locking of the two adjustment rings got it wrong - which is a bit worrying considering how many propeller bolts and turnbuckles I've locked up in my time.

So the carrier decided to adjust itself and spoil the day. I gave up trying to get one of the old ones apart to remind myself of how to put it together again and took the carrier off the car. It came apart very easily (and in so doing demonstrated why the old one wouldn't).

I played about with it for a while and then went off to see The Great Collector who had in his files a general arrangement drawing. I still can't quite get to grips with how it all works as the bottom cup has to go on the shaft first, then the Woodruff key is inserted, the drive plate and locking ring is then threaded onto the bottom cup.

There's almost no way of telling if the lower face of the cup is still up against the inner race (preserving the loading) when you put the drive plate nut on and finally tighten the locking ring.

Anyway, I did what I thought was going to be about right and put it all back on the car. The test run was a bit of a revelation as the bearing rumble on the over-run that was present from the word go, had disappeared, suggesting that the wire-locking wasn't the only thing dopey got wrong. I shall keep an eye on it all from now on.

On the way out from The Great Collector's, I glanced in his shed to see that the Talbot is coming back together following its engine rebuild. As the weather was holding, I decided to service my Peugeot. The oil and fuel filters have plastic caps with hexagonal shapes on top to which you apply a socket or spanner to undo. The car has done only 73000 miles and already the plastic 'nuts' are showing signs of rounding off and both caps were extra tight. I didn't do the fuel filter, the cap was so tight I was in danger of breaking it. To change the cabin filter, the glove compartment had to be removed. OK, sounds a bit daft but I had some time on my hands. First, the lid comes off. Could I get the lid off? No - not without breaking something. I left that as well.

Do designers think anything through?