Crazy & Co.

Classic Mini Restoration

30 January 2020

Continuing our restoration we have just finished the front subframe. That’s the classic Mini version of a chassis, they have one front and one back. The front one here carries the engine, front braking system and front wheels.

This one was a bit worse for wear than the rear frame. Necessitating replacing the entire metal structure with a new one. We took the opportunity whilst doing this to replace and upgrade the braking system, drive hubs and brake pipes.

We replaced the entire front subframe to give us a firm base to start from.

We also made the decision to go back to solid mounts on the front subframe and semi solid on the tower mounts. Although it is meant to slightly worsen the ride quality, it is supposed to vastly improve the handling, and lets face it, the best part of a classic Mini is the ability to throw it around corners, fast.

We also decided that we were going to replace the brake discs with some uprated versions. After much research settled on some Red Calipers from KAD. To be honest this was as much for the looks as anything else. They are absolutely stunning in anodized red, we also added vented and grooved discs, and lightweight alloy drive hubs for a little weight saving.

Braking System

We also added the obligatory Goodridge braided brake pipes. Fully adjustable tie bars and bottom control arms to allow the suspension to be set up to perfection.

Specialist Components LIghtweight Tower Bolts

The late great Colin Chapman once said, give a car more power and its faster on the straights, make a car lighter and its faster everywhere. To this aim, we swapped the tower bolts for lightweight alloy alternatives. Another product from Specialist Components, a little weight saving along with stunning looks.

Its meant to be a classic mini restoration, but the aim is to use modern components to make it better than original.

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Catering, Fun Story, General

Edible Coffee Cups…Whatever Next?

25 January 2020

Edible coffee cups are a new green innovation being trailed by Air New Zealand; a leading national airline. The Cups made from vanilla flavoured biscotti are made by a local New Zealand company Twiice. When first hearing about this trial my first thought was no one wants a leaky coffee cup! Imagine sat minding your own business and before you could finish your coffee the biscotti gives way and hot frothy coffee leaks all over your lap staining your clothes and making you uncomfortable for the rest of your flight! However after further research I have been informed these cups are apparently ‘leak proof’.

Numbers Don’t Lie

Statistics show that 99.75% of coffee cups are not recycled, the UK alone are estimated to throw away 2.5 billion coffee cups away each year and only 0.25% are recycled. Air New Zealand are responsible for serving more than 8 million cups of coffee a year and said that they want to reduce the amount of waste that the company sends to landfills. This is just a small step on a large scale global issue. Many people have said that a change in cups is not a big enough environmental commitment for a company that size to make however in a statement released by Air New Zealand said that these new cups was being trailed both on the ground and in the air and was a small step into finding new innovative ways to meet sustainability challenges.

The cups have been a big hit so far with customers and they have also used the cups to serve desserts in rather than plastic dessert bowls. The cups are said to have a really good impact on the environment especially if it catches on to other companies around the world. The switch is from compostable cups made of paper and corn that is used in most of Air New Zealand’s lounges and aeroplanes, these cups are environmentally friendly however still fill up the landfill sites and take years to decompose. The plant based bio degradable cups have still been made available for consumers that may have a food allergy as the cups may contain traces of nuts, dairy and eggs.

Edible Coffee Cups Saving Reputations

Air companies and travel companies come under a lot of scrutiny when it comes to the environment. Flights produce a lot of greenhouse gases from burning fuel which contributes largely to the world’s global warning issue when the fuel is released into the atmosphere.

All companies no matter how big or small can take steps to help reduce their carbon footprint… if these new edible coffee cups literally take off and become popular than we may have to look into them for our coffee cart events.

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Event Planning, Fun Story, Photo Booths

Beginning Jaspers Restoration

22 January 2020

The engine out of our mini is in bits, spread around a number of specialist engine builders (MED and Southam Mini Centre), to be tuned up and the power output cranked up a bit. Although Jaspers restoration was meant to be a quick tidy up, its ended up becoming a complete makeover.

The bodyshell is in the blasters to be stripped of paint. So we have turned our attention to the rear subframe, the first of the parts we are refurbing in house.

It was a bit grotty to start with, but mainly surface rust so nothing to major to put right.

The swing arms were blasted, coated with cold galvanizing spray then topcoated with a Rustbusters product. The bushes and bearings were changed, new pins fitted, Goodrich brake lines, alloy brake drums, and specialist components rear hub assemblies fitted, along with DSN retrosport alloy brake plates.

Things like the handbrake quadrants are really for looks rather than performance, but hey if you are going to do it, might as well look the part.

To finish the subframes we fitted alloy trunnions, adjustable swing arm brackets, and seam sealed the subframe to prevent water ingress. Once the subframes are fitted we have some Bilt Humber anti rust wax, but we don’t want to coat the parts yet as it will make a mess fitting them.

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Event Planning, Fun Story, Photo Booths

Jasper’s New Clothes

21 January 2020

Jasper is our British Racing Green Classic Mini photo booth. One of our most popular booths he has travelled the highways and byways of our green and pleasant land. Dispensing lashings of fun and weddings and corporate events. This will be a running tale of Jasper’s new clothes, also known as a full restoration.

After much hard work it was felt that Jasper was starting to look a little frayed around the edges. The decision was taken to patch up some of the rust that is starting to appear. Then to paint the engine and engine bay to spruce him up a bit.

However, like many of the best laid plans, once we started stripping him down, this suddenly morphed into a complete nut and bolt restoration. Similarly it was felt that a little extra power would be nice on the engine front. Which rapidly became a full engine rebuild with numerous upgrades to increase the power and drivability.

Currently Jasper is in bits, (and we mean in bits, there isn’t any 2 pieces still connected together). Pictured below he is being carried into the shotblasters. He is going to be taken back to bare metal before the new body panels are fitted.

Jasper Being Carried Into The Shotblasters

Over the next few months we will post regular updates to keep you informed of how he is coming along. At the minute the shell is in being blasted, the engine parts are at various experts getting work done. The sub frames are at our base being rebuilt by us.

All in all we are sure Jasper’s new clothes will result in a stunning example of this classic British car.

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Fun Story

A great Expedition for a small boy

4 December 2019

There is nothing more frustrating than playing on the grabber machines in an arcade…when you spend all your loose change on the stupid bloody machine because each time you get so close you know it’s just going to happen the next time…but it very rarely ever does. You may even get so frustrated you try rocking or booting the machine. But the designers was one step ahead of you they made it impossible to cheat your way to a prize.

Yes this game is purely about luck and how much spare change you have to keep playing and trying your luck. However one three year old boy had an idea how to cheat his way to a prize. He ventured into the machine in order to grab a toy from inside with his own hands instead of the claw.

Noah

Noah and his twin brother was on a visit to a play centre in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire when their mother turned her back for a second to hear the screams of other people their asking if that was her son, when she turned back round she seen Noah inside the machine. In the hopes of trying to get himself a toy he was now lodged in the machine.

The rescue lasted 10 minutes having to break three padlocks and prising the machine open to reveal the three year old child. The machine was then delivered an out of order notice so no one else could challenge the machine that day. The grabber was owned and installed into the arcade of the play area by a third party so they didn’t have the key to rescue him meaning that they had to break the padlocks with tools to be able to help him break free

Noah had gotten himself lodged in the crane machine and couldn’t move to retrieve a teddy. This was a great Expedition for a small boy. I have to say though hats off to the young lad for his determination and skill to think outside the box…or should we say inside the box haha.

An hilarious expedition for a young lad.

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Catering, Fun Story, funfair events

CBD pale ale Bevvy

30 November 2019

Cannabis oil has made quite a launch in the UK recently with CBD oil becoming a miracle cure for many health issues from skin problems to anxiety to chronic pain relief. With many people appealing to make the strongest form of cannabis available in the UK, with little or no luck so far.

From Hemp skin care products to CBD oil a new launch has now come to the UK. Cannabis craft beer. Green Times Brewing has partnered with a Leeds-based Northern Monk to create a 7.2% CBD pale ale which contains cannabis oil.

The pale ale named Green Heathen contains a legal 10mg of cbd oil per pint. This is legal and highly popular. It has been described as having a soft resinous tropical flavours. CBD oil is mean to be packed with natural ingredients meaning that this CBD pale ale should be good for you theoretically. With the boosted liver function that is meant to come with the oil then technically the alcoholic beverage should help process alcohol more efficiently meaning you should recover from drinking faster. There is also anti-inflammatory effects which not also could help speed up your recovery but also make sure your skin stays lush.

Perfect partnership for CBD pale ale

Green Times Brewing and the MD of CBD ultra described their CBD pale ale product as the perfect partnership. The MD said that he is honoured to be working with the ale company and that for more than 10,000 years both beer and cannabis have been used to enhance health and mood so both together is the perfect infused partnership

As well as creating the perfect pale ale that will fly off the shelves they have helped to boost trade in the little northern area they are from. This is a perfect way to boost income as well as create new products. We may even have to get some of this unique and special pale ale to try on our bar.

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Catering, Event Planning, Fun Story

Pizza Themed Wedding

27 November 2019

Wedding Pizza. For most people getting married follows a set of traditional trends that’s been around for century’s, a church, till death do us part vows, a big white dress, something old, new and blue and of course sharing the day with your family and friends. However for some they may want to think outside the box and do something a little different, something that will set their wedding apart from any other wedding in history. This can be hard though to think of something that hasn’t been done or how to put your own personal spin on a wedding but still manage to keep within your set budget…a very stressful times for many newly engaged couples starting out in the big wide world of wedding planning.

Chicago Town

Chicago town pizza may have just the answer. The fast food pizza chain is offering a competition for all soon-to-be-weds to enter with the prize being a pizza based wedding package. Who wouldn’t love a pizza wedding????

The wedding package includes a fairy tail elegant, princess worthy bridal gown fit for any beautiful bride…with a cheesy twist instead of the traditional white lace this dress dons the detailed print of a scrumptious looking pepperoni pizza on it, complete with a thick crisp crust. There is also accessories accompanying the dress such as a matching pizza bouquet and a six tier pizza cake that the lucky couple get to cut into, a honeymoon to Chicago and some spending money to treat yourself once your there. The competition is not only aimed at the quirky couples or the lifelong pizza lovers but also the couples that may have a small budget.

Research First

The fast food chain decided to run the competition in the first place based on a poll that was conducted with 2000 brits. The research conducted found that overall wedding guests consider the food at a wedding to be more important than the actual exchanging of vows, with around 2 fifths of poll people saying that they would enjoy having a pizza meal at a wedding. And around 64% of brits said that they are excited to attend a wedding if they now that pizza is on the menu.

The competition package was created to appeal to both newlyweds to be and their guests. The Chicago Town Brand Manager, Rachel Bradshaw said that “Weddings are the ultimate celebration of love, but it seems like our obsession with food trumps everything else when it comes to anticipating and enjoying someone else’s big day.

Check out our other catering options.

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Fun Story

A small trip for man…one big trip for toddler

24 November 2019

One small trip for man…one large journey for toddler We’re all used to hearing the stories of how you can’t take your eyes of a toddler for two minutes as the fearless children take seconds to get up to any type of mischief. Even in their cots you hear of children learning to take a leap and jumping out the cot and escaping however it’s unusual to hear that a small child escaped down the street to a fairground!

Kenneth Allen is a toddler from a home in Minnesota. The child’s parents had to called the police in a frenzy when they realised their small son had gone missing in his toy tractor. The police was called when worried parents couldn’t find their small child who had been playing in his battery powered tractor.

Local Reports

According to reports it was found that the small independent child had taken a trek to the local fairground which was two blocks away from his home. Having visited once the child miraculously managed to navigate his way through his home town to get back to the fairground.

The police arrived and responded to the incident quickly and managed to locate the boy watching the Tilt-A-Whirl ride at the Chicago County fair ground. The child was found safe and happy and returned to his very worried parents. It seems that once the incident was over and the toddler was found safe that the funny side was seen by all involved. I have to say I can’t blame the poor boy for wanting another day at the fair before it leaves his town!.

Once found and returned home the tots father removed the tractors battery! Hopefully the Child’s license was revoked as well and he won’t manage to escape on another journey to his favourite local spots and keep to small trips.

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Catering, Event Planning, Fun Story

Traditional Sweet Treat Favorites

20 November 2019

Who remembers the good old traditional sweet treat favorites …the Palmer violets, pear drops and lemon sherbet. Well how good would it be if these was new gin flavors that you could drink with a fresh cool lemonade or a slim line tonic. Well Asda are making this dream come true with their launch of the new traditional flavored gin. This comes just in time for the summer months and in time for all our summer gin bar events.

Gin is the new popular spirit at the moment with a number of trendy gin spots opening on every street corner. With new colorful flavors ready for your taste buds. Asda has upped their game among other supermarket stores offering the most colorful and delightful flavors. With a number of different flavors and garnishes available in store. Such as strawberries, juniper berries or a fresh slice of cucumber.

This traditional sweet treat favorites drink will make take you straight back to your childhood. With every long lasting sip you take but it will also make you the pro at throwing the summer barbecue party. It’s not only the flavor that will be the talk of the party but the colour too. Both the lemon sherbet and the Pear drop gins have a glittery shimmer appearance to them. The Palma violet transforms from a deep purple spirit to a light pink color when mixed with a tonic water.

Its important to experiment with gins and different flavored tonics till you find the right one that compliments the natural zest and flavor of the Gin. On our gin bar we have worked with experts and mixologists to find the perfect soft drink. And garnishes to put with the different flavored gin so that we can recommend to you what’s the best. We hope to launch some new gin flavors at the end of the month creating a unique and full bar. We will also be looking to introduce more of these
traditional sweet treat favorites to help take you back to your childhood.

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Catering, Fun Story, General

Atomik Vodka

16 November 2019

We’ve heard of some wacky ideas for types and flavors of drinks but this one really takes the biscuit, Atomik Vodka!

33 years after the worst nuclear energy disaster in the world scientists have used crops from the waste area to create a new atomic vodka. The science team behind the drink have assured tasters that the drink is radioactive-free and that it could ‘possibly be the most important bottle of spirits in the world’. Scientists from both the UK and Ukraine who spent over 24 months researching the area and looking into the scientific transference of radioactivity the local area of crops.

Locals to the area

Locals hope that this new product will help the region to recover economically as if crops and land can now be used without any radioactive side effects. They also hope to start a new enterprise launching a spirit company producing the Chernobyl vodka and selling it on.

A professor from Portsmouth University who worked on the project said that he hoped this would be the start of something brilliant for the local area and that he is hopeful that these special bottles of vodka which is made from grain local to Chernobyl will make a path for future endeavours. Describing the spirit as the most important in the world due to the help it could give to the recovery of the economic in the local areas in and around the abandoned areas of the Chernobyl. He plans for over 70% of the profits to be given back to the local community

Scientists behind this product explained the process. They took the rye that was slightly contaminated in the contaminated area and water from the Chernobyl aquifer and they then distilled it. Although some radioactivity was found in the grain the process of distillation reduces the impurities which means that this spirit is safe to drink matching other brands of spirits also avalible on the shop floor. The main exclusion zone is a wild life reserve area and therefore shouldn’t be used as an agricultural site however there is areas around the area that could be used.

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