A great choice of car and what more could you want for going to the shops in once a week, or when permitted by our leaders in modern day communist Britain.
Those headrest tubes were a pain the arse when the cars were new / nearly new. People hang onto the headrest when they climb out the back seat like it is a grab handle, they alsways used to break.
They are a real fiddle,to get the remenants out sometimes, I seem to recall. The ageing of the plastic will have done the new old stock few favours, I'm not surprised you broke a fekker tbh.
i like your use of creaping fluid sealant to find the route of that water track. I also like your use of arbomast as a non setting sealant. Keep pushing that in. It used to be Dum Dum in the day, but IIRC it was banned by the EU due to some ingredient in it. Whoever banned it wants to get a whiff of tiger seal to wake themselves up.
As for the 'no muff too tuff" radiator shield. My Dad use to fit remote control,units to his old Wolseley Farina. You turned a knob on the dash to open and close the blind. I don't suppose back in the 1960's it was electrically operated, so it must have been mechanical, cable round a pulley wheel. All very posh, unlike an acquaintance of mine who had me driving his Rover 2600 SD1 once. We were on the M42 and there was me watching the traffic when he shouted 'pull onto the hard shoulder'. I can't recall if he sprung the hood or I did, but he disappeared under there and pulled out a sheet of cardboard. He had forgaooten it was there and must have clocked the temp gauge getting a bit hot.
Mrs sutty had one in that colour. I think it was a 320. KD53UCA was the reggo but I think it’s long gone now.
I kinda associate these with the female of the species, did they lop the coupes boot off so it was easier to park? That’s what someone told me when they first came out. Then I think they replaced this with the 1 series.
lad at work has a silver one for his Mrs to drive. It had lacquer peal one side and set about jetwashing the rest of the lacquer off with the industrial steamer at work. Now it looks shit 🤣
Not my favourite shape of BMW, but then, I'm not buying it. Definitely from the era when they still made good solid cars though, lovely engine too. I think you've made a good decision!
Yes it's true, other than smelling of diesel, the Merc is in fact sorted once again, and I'm pleased to report the auto box has emerged unscathed from it's trip behind the van (that'll be for sale soon too if anyone fancies a slightly down at heel Peugeot Expert Hdi)
We haven't had any rusty photos for a few weeks, so I thought I'd put that right.
Put the front end up on stands so I can tackle this wheel arch.
While I was there, I took out it's eyeballs
Reflector is buggered and the lights will need to be replaced.
Started tapping with the little hammer and got carried away
Decided at this point to attack it with the wire wheel. Can tell this is another one if those areas that has been previously "repaired". No surprise really as TADIS.
Filler bloody everywhere again.
Light mounts will need attention. I knew this when looking inside the wheel arch. Again TADIS.
Decided to cheer myself up by looking at the other wing while I was there. Doesn't look too bad.
Again with the wire wheel. Much less filler this side and previously repaired. Not as bad though.
At least these bits aren't structural this time! Club I think does GRP replacements but I reckon these can be fixed up and I'd prefer to have metal rather than GRP wings. Certainly the nearside, offside possibly a bit more work to do though.
Finished the base of the A-Pillar. A lot of welding and even more grinding. Actually quite pleased how it's turned out, given my limited tools, experience and skills.
Not many words apart from that, so I'll do a complete picture history of the job to see the transition.
Next up is to finish a small section in the front wheel arch and bottom of the front wing. After that it's the B-Pillar and continue going backwards!
In 2018 I was still working for DHL delivering into Network Rail sites. I had a regular run down to the West Country, via Bristol, Newton Abbot, Plymouth and sometimes as far down as Truro. I would have a night out somewhere in Cornwall or Devon and then go into Exeter and Taunton on the way back up to Coventry. I would do this twice a week, ie Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday. On a Wednesday I would do a one-day run to another part of the country.
Late in February there were reports that snow was going to be affecting the south west much more than usual, as I believe they usually escape the worst of the OMGSNOKAOS. Although it can be a pain, I've never really been too concerned about heading out in a truck in bad weather; it makes it a bit more of an adventure and - contrary to the moans and protestations of a lot of drivers - you're never under any obligation to take undue risks. I just take a shovel and pack plenty of food and water. With a sleeper cab it's even better as you have a night heater and a bed, so getting delayed isn't the end of the world.
The snow started to hit the north of England on a Wednesday and these pictures are from the A6068 between Colne and Keighley. I was travelling between Stockport and Keighley.
My steed was a DAF26 tonner which, although unladen at this point, wasn't having any bother with traction, although others were and I was held up quite a bit along this section. In fact, although I would usually get in and out of my collection point in Keighley before needing a tacho break, I had to pull into a bus stop a few miles short for a '45'.
Here comes MR PLOW!
IMG_0521.MOV
I was a bit concerned that I'd struggle on the way back over the hills as I'd be loaded but, luckily, although there was a bit more snow, there was less traffic, and momentum could be conserved through the steeper sections. I don't recall any particular issues on the way back to Coventry via Stockport, although the M6 from J15-19 was a flippin' nightmare on the best of days at that time due to the roadworks.
The following day I was brimful of excitement and trepidation at the prospect of heading down to Cornwall in the snow. And to increase the jeopardy, I found that my load was going to burst the lorry that day due to the volume of orders. (This was a quirk of the system they were using - Each delivery point would be allocated to a particular run on a particular day or days. Usually if there was a big order for one site it would balance with smaller-than-average orders for other sites but sometimes there would be big orders for several places and you couldn't physically fit it all on the truck. Although occasionally it would work the other way and there would be not much going out at all. I think my record for smallest load was just four pallets - on a 26 tonner - for a two-day run!)
So, I had to have a discussion with my supervisor about what to leave off. As anyone who has worked in transport knows, these sort of discussions never fall in the driver's favour. I suggested we leave off the pallets for the furthest-away drops (St Austell and Truro) as, what with the weather forecast, there was a good chance I wouldn't reach them anyway. This was rejected as not in line with policy (or some bollox), so I left off 4 or 5 pallets for Plymouth, chucked the rest on and headed off.
First handful of stops were in Bristol but, despite the snow further north, they were yet to have any there and it was business as usual. It wasn't until I reached the bottom end of the M5 that the white stuff started coming down. It very quickly started coming thick and fast and was settling straight away. I made it onto the A380 and up Telegraph Hill (which, for those who don't know, is dual carriageway but very steep, particularly southbound) just in time. I reckon twenty minutes later and I wouldn't have got up. Still on time at this point, the traffic ground to a crawl as I descended towards Newton Abbot.
Thing is, when we get snow during the day, what happens is, everyone puts their coat on and heads home 'before they get stuck at work' and the schools kick the kids out early, so the pm commute, which is usually spread over a few hours, is compressed into about ten minutes. And all while the roads are getting slippier by the minute. Crackers. After a lengthy delay, I finally turned into the industrial estate, beyond which the Network Rail site is located, to find it practically deserted. At about 2pm in the afternoon.
I quickly made the delivery, filled up my water bottles and flask (benefit of working for Network Rail is that tea and coffee are provided foc at all sites - although provision of milk varies) and headed off again, the snow still falling
I had a choice at this point. I could have rung the office and said I was coming back to base as it wasn't safe to continue. But the truck wasn't struggling with the conditions thus far, so I decided to press on to Plymouth. Navigating through the centre of Newton Abbot was a mixed bag. I would get held up by cars sliding around for a bit, then the road would clear and I'd press on. By the time I made it up to the A38 I'd climbed several hills without drama. Not obvious in the pics but I was carrying a Moffet forklift on the back which helps with traction over the drive axle.
Sadly, the A38 was a disaster. At every slight incline there was a significant delay where 2wd cars failed to proceed and had to be towed up by others in 4wds, or else slithered up at 1mph (3500rpm in first). There was one BMW 3 series being towed backwards by a helpful chap in a series Land Rover; Presumably they couldn't find the front towing eye for the BMW! My DAF simply proceeded forth when asked. I was loving it!
The above shot was taken at more or less the foot of an incline that gets steadily steeper towards the top. The queue was inching forwards with every fwd car wheel spinning like mad (does no one think to try second gear?). Where the central reservation was wide enough a '4x4 lane' was created.
Towards the top of the hill, Highways Agency wombles were aiding and abetting the mayhem by instructing all 2wd cars to line up in lane one whereby they towed them to the top one by one, with the help of a couple of tractors. This did at least mean the way cleared for those of us that had traction to proceed over the top.
I eventually arrived at the depot in Plymouth around 5:30pm, I think. About two or three hours later than usual. I dismounted the Moffet and unloaded perhaps 7 or 8 pallets, all the while with driving sleet in my face! No pictures as it was dark by this time. I recall trying to take one but I haven't saved it so must not have come out.
Usually I would have continued down to Par (near St Austell) and Truro and get at least half way back to Exeter before running out or hours around 7:30pm. But I called the office and said I wouldn't be attempting it as I was too far behind. At this point I was thinking how stupid it was that I'd left part of the Plymouth delivery at base and brought the Par and Truro orders which I would be taking back again. I parked up for the night close to the gate so as to not have trouble getting out of the yard in the morning.
There is a big Sainsbury's nearby and around 8pm I decided to take a wander across to get more provisions (in case I couldn't get back to base the following day). It was bizarre. Although the store was open and seemingly fully staffed there was literally about five customers in the place. Even in the lockdown conditions of this year and last, I've never been in a superstore in such odd circumstances. I had the place virtually to myself. It was like a scene from 28 Days Later.
The following morning was equally as eerie, perhaps more so. I took the minimum amount of 'daily rest' (9 hours) and set off again around 4am on the Friday. I wouldn't be bothering to attempt the Cornish deliveries because, even with normal weather I might not have enough driving hours left to do them and get back. I set off into the dark back towards Exeter. It had long since stopped snowing and there was a 'dry line' through the snow along the A38. I had the road to myself and progress was good. After a few miles incongruous, shadowy shapes began to appear in the distance. I backed off and was ready to stop before I realised they were lorries that had obviously been caught in the mayhem the previous afternoon. They'd obviously not even been able to get off the road into a layby and had stayed where they were in the main carriageway overnight. I passed at least a couple of dozen like this and in some places had to sort of slalom around them. Naturally all the stuck trucks were on the uphill sections so it wasn't dangerous, just very peculiar.
I didn't have any issues getting into the Exeter depot apart from the keypad on the electric gate wasn't working. Well, it wasn't until I realised I wasn't actually pressing the buttons as it was covered in a glassy layer of frozen sleet. I had to chip it off before I could enter the access code.
Joining the M5 north of Exeter there was a bit more traffic, but slow going due to there just being a single lane passable at speed. I reached my next call just outside of Taunton to find I was the first to disturb the snow on the access road. Although I could go onto the site on my own it has a long drive down the side of the railway and the turning at the end was extremely awkward at the best of times. Reversing out was possible but would take bloody ages due to the distance. I failed the delivery and hopped out to take a photo of the wagon in the fresh powder.
I drove up to my last call behind the station in Taunton and to my mild surprise the storeman had here turned up for work. By mid morning I was heading back towards the M5 and home. The roads around Taunton were very quiet with few people out and about. I passed a guy stood almost in the middle of the road, whom I thought was taking photographs. Didn't think much of it at the time but, the following week when I headed back to all the same sites again (the snow having melted) I found out that I'd appeared on the local TV news! I tried to find the clip online but to no avail.
Yeah, it's that hard stuff that is shit to work with, I spent nearly an hour gently heating a bit to try and fit a new end but it was having none of it.
FFS....
you might not have disturbed it, but it doesn't mean it wasn't disturbed via previous attention.
as you say, good that it looks as though it is other than the pump
When I did the x-type, I was fairly certain it was the pump. I used something like this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORD-FOCUS-MK1-1-4-1-6-1-8-2-0-1998-2005-IN-TANK-PETROL-FUEL-PUMP-NEW/171943033152?hash=item28089a7940:g:1SgAAOSwRZ9f2exc
i used a unit that was compatible with a v6 Mondeo. I think I concluded that the pressure was regulated by the voltage feed to the pump, but it was quite some time ago and I had never had to do an 'in tank submersed pump before. It worked a treat.
At a tenner, it is worth a try even if to eleminate other components.
When I did the x-type, I was fairly certain it was the pump. I used something like this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORD-FOCUS-MK1-1-4-1-6-1-8-2-0-1998-2005-IN-TANK-PETROL-FUEL-PUMP-NEW/171943033152?hash=item28089a7940:g:1SgAAOSwRZ9f2exc
i used a unit that was compatible with a v6 Mondeo. I think I concluded that the pressure was regulated by the voltage feed to the pump, but it was quite some time ago and I had never had to do an 'in tank submersed pump before. It worked a treat.
At a tenner, it is worth a try even if to eleminate other components.
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