brownnova

Have another favourite Nova picture… 

A little time investigating the convertible roof situation this evening.
a) Fuse, situation normal there. 
b) Hydraulic fluid situation. 

Yep we’re ok there. That’s a good sign I think.
c) anything visible… 
On all the bits I have watched the boot hood storage section seems to raise and lower, but on mine it just dangles into the boot. Theres a hinge which looks like it’s supposed to be upright like this…  

 
But I’m holding it here and as soon as I let go it flops back. Closer inspection reveals

This spring section appears to have sheared off at some point. No idea what it is, or what it does, but maybe this is what is stopping the roof from working… 
Sadly on this discovery I lost the light… one for some Google-fu and awaiting another day! 

Yeah this is very true, I’m trying to check the obvious first, but will be giving the Saab specialist in Wrexham a call this week for Tech 2 read! Sadly the one up the road in Rhyl has now closed so it’s a nearly an hours trek to the nearest Saab specialist. 
Someone on UK Saabs has had the same exact symptoms recently and appears to have solved it by cleaning sensors. So I’ll have a look at that too. 
Joined that now - thanks for the tip! 

Yeah this is very true, I’m trying to check the obvious first, but will be giving the Saab specialist in Wrexham a call this week for Tech 2 read! Sadly the one up the road in Rhyl has now closed so it’s a nearly an hours trek to the nearest Saab specialist. 
Someone on UK Saabs has had the same exact symptoms recently and appears to have solved it by cleaning sensors. So I’ll have a look at that too. 
Joined that now - thanks for the tip! 

You really need someone with Tech 2. There are many sensors in this mechanism which, if they go faulty, will stop the roof from working. 
I'd strongly recommend, if you haven't already, to join the Saab Convertible FB page and a local page as well. You'll definitely find someone who will be able to help, that's been my experience anyway

I hope it's a really common problem and you'll pay £12.99 posted for some really good stronger replacement parts and a good pdf how to guide 🤞🤞
Any shitty cheap wet vacs on your local Facebook marketplace? That'll dry her out nicely

Going by the obstruction message that popped up, I’ll wager it’s the switch that detects when the boot divider is in place in order to let the roof operate. Sort that out and it’ll almost certainly result in a working soft top.

A little time investigating the convertible roof situation this evening.
a) Fuse, situation normal there. 
b) Hydraulic fluid situation. 

Yep we’re ok there. That’s a good sign I think.
c) anything visible… 
On all the bits I have watched the boot hood storage section seems to raise and lower, but on mine it just dangles into the boot. Theres a hinge which looks like it’s supposed to be upright like this…  

 
But I’m holding it here and as soon as I let go it flops back. Closer inspection reveals

This spring section appears to have sheared off at some point. No idea what it is, or what it does, but maybe this is what is stopping the roof from working… 
Sadly on this discovery I lost the light… one for some Google-fu and awaiting another day! 

A little time investigating the convertible roof situation this evening.
a) Fuse, situation normal there. 
b) Hydraulic fluid situation. 

Yep we’re ok there. That’s a good sign I think.
c) anything visible… 
On all the bits I have watched the boot hood storage section seems to raise and lower, but on mine it just dangles into the boot. Theres a hinge which looks like it’s supposed to be upright like this…  

 
But I’m holding it here and as soon as I let go it flops back. Closer inspection reveals

This spring section appears to have sheared off at some point. No idea what it is, or what it does, but maybe this is what is stopping the roof from working… 
Sadly on this discovery I lost the light… one for some Google-fu and awaiting another day! 

A little time investigating the convertible roof situation this evening.
a) Fuse, situation normal there. 
b) Hydraulic fluid situation. 

Yep we’re ok there. That’s a good sign I think.
c) anything visible… 
On all the bits I have watched the boot hood storage section seems to raise and lower, but on mine it just dangles into the boot. Theres a hinge which looks like it’s supposed to be upright like this…  

 
But I’m holding it here and as soon as I let go it flops back. Closer inspection reveals

This spring section appears to have sheared off at some point. No idea what it is, or what it does, but maybe this is what is stopping the roof from working… 
Sadly on this discovery I lost the light… one for some Google-fu and awaiting another day! 

Job #1 the exhaust was hanging very low at the back, on closer inspection there were no rear rubber mounts. So a quick trip to ECP and we now sit properly. 

It repaid this intended investment by completely jamming the drivers seatbelt… it’s been a little temperamental but this morning it jammed totally. Managed to eventually free it off by wiggling the mechanism for about 15 mins… now it seems to be fine again!
Anyway, it’s now sat windows open in the sun trying to get rid of the damp smell! 

A little time investigating the convertible roof situation this evening.
a) Fuse, situation normal there. 
b) Hydraulic fluid situation. 

Yep we’re ok there. That’s a good sign I think.
c) anything visible… 
On all the bits I have watched the boot hood storage section seems to raise and lower, but on mine it just dangles into the boot. Theres a hinge which looks like it’s supposed to be upright like this…  

 
But I’m holding it here and as soon as I let go it flops back. Closer inspection reveals

This spring section appears to have sheared off at some point. No idea what it is, or what it does, but maybe this is what is stopping the roof from working… 
Sadly on this discovery I lost the light… one for some Google-fu and awaiting another day! 

A little time investigating the convertible roof situation this evening.
a) Fuse, situation normal there. 
b) Hydraulic fluid situation. 

Yep we’re ok there. That’s a good sign I think.
c) anything visible… 
On all the bits I have watched the boot hood storage section seems to raise and lower, but on mine it just dangles into the boot. Theres a hinge which looks like it’s supposed to be upright like this…  

 
But I’m holding it here and as soon as I let go it flops back. Closer inspection reveals

This spring section appears to have sheared off at some point. No idea what it is, or what it does, but maybe this is what is stopping the roof from working… 
Sadly on this discovery I lost the light… one for some Google-fu and awaiting another day! 

Oooooft!!! What mine should have been like! 

I probably will regret it at some point… but… I can now reinvest the money I would have spent on it (and the sale price) in something I can actually use now, and in moving some of the other projects (including whiteyugo) further forward.
I have agreed a sale… it isn’t sold yet, but SSTC. The good news is it will live on.
I’ve also agreed a purchase… but that’s for another day. 

I probably will regret it at some point… but… I can now reinvest the money I would have spent on it (and the sale price) in something I can actually use now, and in moving some of the other projects (including whiteyugo) further forward.
I have agreed a sale… it isn’t sold yet, but SSTC. The good news is it will live on.
I’ve also agreed a purchase… but that’s for another day. 

I do think it would be just my luck if this changes just as my cars start to become tax exempt… April 2026 for the Yellow 2CV… 

If they are 2 cheeks of the same arse, then Galloway can only be what you find in between them...!

This afternoon Colin came round to work on his Mercedes 450SLC.
He jacked it up and removed the front wheels as he has new tyres to have fitted. 
The big one was trying to start it. We had established previously it was not locked up but could not hear any noise from from the fuel pump. We checked for a spark and that was good so we just sprayed a bit of easy start and the engine came to life smoothly. We called that a win!
Feeling very pleased at the progress he celebrated by cleaning some chrome!
Next is to get the fuel pump and lines sorted.
Also while there is little rust there are a few bits of body that need rubbing down and rust protecting. 

It's been relatively quiet with the fleet as of late. Everything is behaving itself. Even the 65 year old Cambridge!
I did however manage to fix the horns on said Cambridge. They were non-functional when I collected it and I imagine it was to do with the original wiring potentially being positive earth or the fact the cars been converted from a dynamo to an alternator at some point. Regardless the wiring to the horn was seeing a constant 12 V which dropped to zero when pressing the horn. As such I have done some light wiring work and used all red wires to wire the horns (via a fuse) directly to the battery. Then used the horn button as the earth. They are lovely sounding mechanical horns!

I also set about changing the fan belt but I have the wrong size ordered it seems. It's fitted with a 10x950 belt which means it's right at the max of it's tension and quite floppy. I bought the standard 10x900 but it doesn't fit. Because the new alternator hits the engine mount and can't be adjusted all the way back. Annoying really because it just about clears the steering box. Clearly someone else found this problem because the engine mount has been taken to with a hammer....
Regardless I managed to squeeze on a 10x925 belt which gives me plenty more life.

I'm also in the process of reinstating the missing heater. The matrix has been removed from the loop and the blower box removed. I bought a Smiths blower motor of the correct vintage but it was clocked the wrong way round so I've had to disassemble it and swap round the motor to the other side. It now fits but I can't find the wiring for it. I am also hoping the heater matrix isnt holed... Although having a blower is probably the biggest battle.

I've been taking it on regular trips to work regardless. I love how old and mechanical it is but it doesn't really fit in well in the car park!

I also replaced the wiper motor on the MGF which had been very loud and grumbly since I put it back on the road. I fitted a new/old rack and motor which I had to wire in as it had the wrong plug fitted. It's quieter, but still more noisy than I would like.

The Mini has not progressed. I'm starting to think with 52 days left that I'm probably not taking it to Germany. It's amazing how quickly you run out of time on projects! Luckily @sharley17194 has made good progress on his Mini so I think we'll be taking that instead.
Finally. I bought myself a new daily (probably wise as my newest car was 24 years old to this point). I'm over the moon about it as it's been on my radar for a long time. I've been saving relentlessly for some time to be able to get one and I couldn't be happier with it! For those that will ask it's a Cayman Gen2 2.9 PDK. It looks and drives great!

 

Slow drive down. The M25 was horrendous. However, a collection has occurred. I'm in love already!
 

Wait what

It's been a minute. There hasn't been a lot to report over the last month. I've been travelling with work so the fleet has sat mostly idle. I did enjoy a rather large F150 in Texas for ten days. It impressed me with it's sheer pace considering it's size. Apparently it was the 400hp twin turbo V6 version. Quick in a straight line but terrible ride quality. I did take it off-roading over the weekend and unfortunately it wasn't very good as it was only the RWD version with road tyres. But I still gave it a go.

 
Roll forward a week to today and the sun has been shining today so I took out my MGF for a spin. Despite it being a rather rough example it doesn't look too bad in the rolling countryside. It isn't the quickest car with the CVT gearbox but it makes for a nice bumble round the country lanes.

 
After I went out for a spin I set about some more welding. It feels like a long time since I last did any welding. Partly because it has been! But today I did manage to finish off the rear panel. When I took off the boot hinge panel the boot floor was also rusty. So I started by cutting all that out.

Then replaced the central section.

Then set about cutting out the other corner

Unfortunately I made the mistake of not measuring twice and ended up cutting the panel too small as can be seen here... A bit of cardboard aided design helped fix that. Although I also had to cut out a bit extra due to thin steel.

New panel under the rear light too

Then onto the hinge panel

Finished off with a lovely coat of brown direct to metal Hammerite

And that's it for today! There's still a hole in the wheel well to fill which can be spotted earlier on in the pics but I ran out of time today. That'll be next weekends job as well as hopefully starting on the rear floors in the passenger compartment

And a pass for the MGF at last!
 

The communal 25 GTI got treated to a fresh cambelt this morning. The old one looked ok but I wasn't willing to risk a 9 year old cambelt when it's meant to be a 4 year interval. Fresh new Gates cambelt fitted at both ends and a new water pump and tensioner. Lovely.

The old one looked fine but I wasn't super comfortable risking it.

I also noted an oil leak from the vvc valve block today. Something to look at down the line. I gather they can be changed without interrupting the vvc mechanisms but I'm not willing to risk that while I rely on the 25 as my daily.