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Phil's Automotive Activities


phil_lihp

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Update: seller says it runs and drives OK...so it should at least be capable of getting to the MOT station in Barnstaple 10 miles away from where it currently resides.

 

So that's a 90s Toyota, 90s Honda and 90s Daihatsu on the fleet...bit of a theme here.  Never had a Daihatsu before, mind, so that's something.  No idea how decent a steer these are with the autobox, anyone care to weight in?

 

It will likely be moved on swiftly if it can be MOT'd easily, watch this roffle space.

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I had no intention of buying anything at all.  I looked at eBay for no real reason this morning, saw the listing, bid on it for reasons I cannot fully explain (although the maximum price was more than the winning bid) and promptly forgot about it until about 5PM.  It finished while I was driving home.  

 

Sigh.  Minor collection capers next week one evening.  Nothing exciting given the distance.

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Collection shenanigans tonight...tame stuff, a mate is giving me a lift to the seller's house, then it's just a 10 mile drive to my tame mechanic for inspection and hopefully an MOT.  Will book day insurance later on.

 

Details are still sketchy, he says 'parts missing' in the description but I've no idea what.  It's supposed to be fully running and driving - at £93 though I will not be complaining.  The worst damage seems to be the passenger front door which looks a bit battered, rest of it looks straight enough.  He reckons it needs a CV boot for its MOT, the last couple of years have been clean passes with only a few hundred miles between tests but we'll see.

 

I had a quick search for this generation of Charade - the GTi versions go for £4,000!  I suspect the humdrum auto version is a little less sought-after.

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I declare this collection a success.

 

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What a little cracker.  The owner turned out to be a young bloke who bought it about 8 months ago, he told me he has been using it as his family car until a baby meant getting an estate instead.  Not quite the owner I was expecting.

 

It's a very solid, honest little car and drives extremely well.  The engine is smooth, responsive and surprisingly boisterous, while the autobox is just plain remarkable - I was expecting it to be snatchy, jerky and generally unpleasant but it is the complete opposite.  Smooth changes, eager kickdown and no slipping.  All in all, the car feels like it's done even less than the 35k showing on the clock.

 

There's no history beyond some stamps from the early 90s in the service book but he says he's recently serviced it and changed the front strut tops as they were creaking.  I can well believe it - the oil filter looks brand new and mechanically, I reckon it's about perfect.  Slight misfire at idle but started instantly with a sniff of choke and runs like a sewing machine.  I think being sat around for months and very low on fuel didn't help and after a run and a glug of fresh BP Ultimate the idle seemed fine.

 

The bodywork has dents and scruffs but rust-wise it seems absolutely rock solid.  The engine bay is immaculate and although I've only seen it by torchlight in the dark, I could not see a single rust spot anywhere.  It really is remarkably solid.

 

The downsides are a partially stripped interior, missing power steering pump and bashed passenger door.  It seems that the guy he bought it off used it as a source of spares for another car, the dash has been pulled apart with various trim bits missing, including the glovebox, sunvisors, grab handles, rear view mirror and the two rotating knobs either side of the instrument binnacle (no idea what those knobs are meant to do, mind).

 

On the plus side, all the tyres have loads of tread, it doesn't need the power steering at all anyway and is fine without it, the interior is functional with seats, heater, fan etc all present and correct and all in all, aside from the missing mirror which I'll have to replace, I cannot see much standing in the way of an MOT.  We'll see if writing that comes back to bite me - it's now at my tame local mechanic waiting for whenever he can get to it.

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Well it got up to 60 briefly without any fuss but the road from Torrington to Barnstaple doesn't offer much opportunity for high speed shenanigans, particularly in the dark and rain.  Cars quite often end up upside down in hedges at various points along its length and I can see why. 

 

That said, while it's a bit loud inside (the boot carpet and parcel shelf are also missing) it seems fine and is pretty responsive off the line.  Once it's MOT'd I will take it for a proper drive and report back in full.  I've plenty of spare carpet so will see about cutting out a piece for the boot.

 

It will be up for sale pretty soon. I know from past experience that 3 cars is one more than I can comfortably keep so much as I already like it, assuming the MOT isn't too much of an issue it will be rehomed fairly rapidly.

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Sadly that might be difficult, these are surprisingly rare things now, none breaking on eBay right now and not much in the way of interior bits but if I spot anything cheap I might grab it.  There's nothing missing that prevents it being used in any way at least, everything works minus the illumination on the heater controls and I can plug the stereo gap with a spare I've got knocking about.

 

One thing that would brighten it up is some wheeltrims but I'm not sure what it's supposed to be wearing - I'm not going to spend any real money on this car if I can help it but if something suitable crops up I might look to smarten it up a little.  Any idea what trims these came with?  It's a 1.3 CX auto if that helps.  

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In other news, the Hiace is back at the garage having the driver's seat replaced with the Galant one (so that's two of my motors clogging up his yard at present).  It rewarded me with this show of love and care by nearly killing me - first downhill stretch away from my house is up to the junction on to the main road, where the brake pedal dropped almost to the floor.  With a violent shove and not a small amount of bad words I got it to stop but in doing so it locked up the rear wheels.  Pumping the pedal put it back to normal and it hadn't shown any signs of this issue over 200 miles at the weekend so no idea what's going on.  I've left it to my mechanic to investigate, it's only done this twice and it's only been since it had all the brake lines replaced for the MOT so I suspect a small leak somewhere.  Last time it happened, I found it had lost a little fluid in the reservoir but not a lot, was still on the Min mark.  I topped it up and over the next few weeks it showed no signs of dropping.  Didn't get time to check the level this morning after dropping it off as I had to unload my bike to get to work and it started raining.

 

Also: cycling in sideways torrential hail: just don't.  

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We have Daihatsnews!  I wasn't expecting it to be MOT'd till next week but he did say he might run it down to his tester today.  And the result is:

 

Reason(s) for failure
  • Offside Front Front constant velocity joint gaiter damaged to the extent that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc (2.5.C.1a)
  • Rear fog lamp not working (1.3.2b)
  • Offside Front Wheel nut(s) loose (4.2.A.1e)
Advisory notice item(s)
  • Nearside Front Front constant velocity joint gaiter damaged, but preventing the ingress of dirt (2.5.C.1a)
  • Front Brake pad(s) wearing thin (3.5.1g)
  • Nearside Rear Rear wheel bearing has slight play (2.6.2)
  • Offside Rear Rear wheel bearing has slight play (2.6.2)

 

Yes, it's a fail but frankly I'm made up with it as it's trivial stuff.  Bad on my part for the wheel nuts, I didn't check them the night I collected it and there was no wobble at all but it's a free fix (unless it needs new bolts or studs, hardly a bank breaker either way).  

 

As CV boots come in pairs (I think) that'll take care of the main fail and one advisory, I suspect the foglight switch is at fault here as as I think that might be one of the missing things on the dashboard - that might be an issue but I'm sure something can be rigged up.  Overall, dead chuffed.  I haven't actually spoken to the garage yet, I just got curious checking the MOT site but I doubt there's any really bad news to come.  

 

Advisories-wise, I'll change the brake pads when it comes back and not worry about the wheel bearings too much.  She'll be ready for our next local nav scat in a couple of weeks!

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Turns out I was talking nonsense, it still has its foglight switch and it works, I've just been down to pick up my van and had a quick play with it.  I think they must have already changed the bulb as there's nothing wrong with it now, I've been told it'll get its new CV boot next week and then it's MOT'd for another year, huzzah!

 

The Hiace is like a different van with the Galant seat fitted, he's done a neat, simple job with a couple of bits of steel and it's a huge improvement.  It's vastly more comfortable, supportive and importantly not missing a large chunk.  Very pleased.  It turns out the brake incident is a knackered master cylinder, so that's the next job on the list,  The brakes are currently working but mushy and gentle, steady pressure on the pedal makes it sink.  I'll go shopping for one online later on as I want to sort that pretty soon,

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Thanks, yes I pumped the pedal after the brown trouser moment at the junction which restored normal braking for the rest of the short trip - however it is definitely knackered now I know what to look for, when stationary if I hold my foot on the pedal and press gently, it slowly sinks to the floor.  It works as far as stopping goes, but it's not ideal.

 

Hopefully they're not expensive, some parts for these can be quite pricey but it has to be done regardless.  Haven't changed a master cylinder since my Nova but it couldn't be more accessible so shouldn't be too hard...he said with fingers crossed.

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The master cylinder in the van actually looks quite new so I'm slightly surprised that it's failed so soon, however my mechanic reckons that bleeding the brakes after changing the lines may have finished it off.  Seems logical.  The fluid is sparkly clean, however, which is good.

 

With all this in mind, I can spend around £80 on a new one of questionable quality, or I can buy a seal kit for about £20.  It doesn't seem overly complicated to rebuild one having read up on it and watched a couple of Youtube how-to videos, so assuming the metal parts are all in good shape, how many puppies and kittens will suffer terrible fates if I have a go at rebuilding it?  I'd quite like to have a crack at it anyway and it seems less wasteful than throwing the whole thing away.  

 

On that note, regardless of the rebuild/replacement option, presumably the best approach is to siphon off as much excess as possible from the reservoir first, then just refill when completed?  Will I need to bleed the brakes again afterwards or will any trapped air at that end find its way out and up through the reservoir?

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OK, I feel slightly dirty now but perhaps an admission in the Autoshite confessional will absolve my sins.  Forgive me, for I have transgressed, I have had impure thoughts about modern cars.  Specifically one modern car.  What follows may upset some viewers and parental discretion is advised.  I'm going to attempt a review here as well, something I've had in mind to do for a while.

 

To explain: my father has just traded in his competent but dull and jerky, underpowered VW Up 1.0 auto for something much more interesting which I've been badgering him to try for ages...he's gone and got a Nissan Leaf.  2017 ex-demo, 6 months old, 24kw Activa spec in white.  It has approximately a 75 mile range but this can be extended slightly if regenerative braking can be used effectively, which is fine for him as my mum has a car they can use for longer journeys and he only does local trips.

 

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Unusually, he's put me on the insurance and as I popped over for a visit he was keen for me to try it out.  I've never driven an electric car before and it's been something I've been very keen to try for years so earlier today I took it on a quick 10 minute test drive up the A39 and around town.

 

All I can say is it's pretty much ruined internal combustion for me.  I generally can't get excited about many cars post-2000 and brand new ones leave me completely uninterested in the main.  I cannot stand gadgets, toys, bright touchscreens, things that go 'bong' and 'beep' or a stern dash matron telling you to press the clutch/press the brake/put on your seatbelt/sit up straight and stop doing that.

 

However, it turns out that all of these things are only wrong in a car powered by pistons. cranks and dinsosaur juice explosions.  When you put them in a car with a little electric motor that makes a funny whining noise, it's OK.  Fun, even.  We unplugged it from the mains supply in the garage (a proper charging point is on order), he showed me the oddly USA-ish foot operated parking brake and how to make it move, and we were off.

 

My first impression is, it's hard to get past the voice in your head telling you the engine's cut out.  It's silent, there's no vibration, no clunks, clicks or indeed anything to suggest there's any means to propel the car at all.  Rolling backwards off the driveway into the road, I had to stifle an odd impulse to reach for the clutch pedal for a bump start.  Using the slightly flimsy-feeling controller (I can't really call it a gearstick, there are no gears) which switches it from R to D, everything then starts to feel quite normal aside from the almost complete silence.  A gentle whine from the motor is audible when you accelerate at low speeds but otherwise, all you can hear is the tyres and the heater fan.

 

On the move, it picks up speed remarkably fast but the disarming thing is how easily it does it - 60MPH from a standing start at a junction produced a small scrabble from the tyres and a little yellow triangle on the dashboard illuminated briefly to tell me it disapproved of such boisterous activities, then a few seconds later the digital dash readout counted up to 60.  I didn't time it, but it was fast and felt nothing like as dramatic as accelerating in a petrol or diesel car.  No noise, no delays between gears, it just got there and stayed there with zero fuss.

 

Driving-wise, I'm finding it hard to make a comparison with any other car I've driven.  The steering is heavily assisted, very vague but surprisingly direct.  It's quick off the line and feels powerful without being stunningly fast and due to the heavy batteries under the floor and decent weight distribution it corners remarkably well, staying flat and planted with no body roll.

 

The seats are unusually soft and squidgy for a modern car and feel very supportive and comfortable.  Visibility is good all round, the dashboard is conventional enough to be easy to use and the interior space is enormous.  It's actually a surprisingly large car and has ample room for a family of four, together with a large boot.  

 

It really does seem to be all the car anyone could need.  It's about £3 to charge from 'empty' and if you have solar panels on your roof, when the sun's out it's pretty much free to run. 

 

I can only see one real downside: the age old problem, range.  Sadly for me, even an early 2011-2012ish one with a useless heater is more than I could ever warrant spending on a car which can't be used for longer journeys.  As I cycle to work most days, my car is mainly used at weekends and often for relatively long trips around the country.  Yes, I know there are charging points in lots of places and North Devon is now starting to catch up in this regard with lots of new ones popping up but realistically a 200+ mile journey will still be a hassle and I have heard that the charging network is not entirely to be relied upon. 

 

Combined with the issue of not having a driveway I can park it on for charging, this is one car I will be content to borrow whenever the opportunity arises for now.  However, I firmly believe this is the start of the future and I am really looking forward to seeing what can be done to fix the battery capacity issue as I reckon once this is fixed it will be the turning point for this technology.

 

I still like my petrol and diesel cars, don't get me wrong, I like the space, power, reliability and range of my 2.3 Honda Accord but jumping back in it after the Leaf felt like a backwards step.  Not a bad step, understand, just a backwards one.  I think I'm trying to say that old things are cool and old tech is fine in old cars, it won't change my mind on that and I will continue to buy, drive and tinker with old cars for a long time yet but I do think that if I was in the market for such a thing, the only new car I would ever consider buying now is one with a motor fit for the time.

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I have to be honest, I was expecting a seriously dull car with an unusual powertrain.  It was anything but, just a highly likeable and competent car with enough Japanese quirkiness to be fun without descending into pointless or irritating nonsense.  I haven't had a chance to try out the braking yet, I'll need a longer run to play with that.  I'll start working on a good excuse.

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