Cardinal Wolseley

Cheap Chinese death rings acquired.

 
I say cheap, £98 the pair fitted. But, I'm hoping they're better than what came off. So far, ride improved, handling unaffected, perhaps a little too keen to lock up (or at least get the ABS working) on an emergency stop from 50mph. But at least that proves that the brakes do actually work, even with the crap pedal. They are Saferich tyres, which means safe and wealthy, so they must be excellent.
 
Thanks for the bleeding tip. What a stupid design.

Drat. Keep forgetting to take a photo of the engine. It's hilariously ancient. A bit like removing the cover on an iMac to find a BBC home computer inside it. 
 
Today, I drove over 100 miles to do this.

 
Use a lift so I could strip the brakes and assess. Not much photo content I'm afraid, but some greasing and cleaning seemed to result in a car that actually stopped. The nearside rear caliper was still binding though, but then someone local to where I was offered a pair of home-refurbed MGF calipers. That did the trick.
 
Pedal is still shite though - we think because of tired flexis. The master cylinder seems to hold pressure, but the pedal still has a long travel on first application, but firms up if you're quick with a second push. It's certainly a lot better, as I actually got the ABS to kick on on dry tarmac, but it surely can't be right. So, new flexis to be ordered.
 
Eventually got back home. 430 miles since Sunday, 31mpg, still probably 300 miles to do before the first week of ownership is up...

 
Interior trim rattles are starting to annoy now. Even the seatbelt squeaks. FFS! Also, I had the wipers on intermittent this morning, but they just decided they'd had enough after a while and parked themselves (which they do off the bottom of the windscreen). But, it's comfortable and quite joyous to drive. The engine makes suitably lusty noises.

Just watched the video, this is excellent.  I had an 827 Vitesse once, and although the engine was gr9 and very addictive I bet the O-series is more than adequate.  Plus the cloth seats are probably more comfortable.
 
Edit: just found a pic.  Bloody hell it was five years ago, how time flies.
 

Painted the body and bits on Monday, this evening it was time for the roof.
I'm always nervous removing the masking..

Mainly because I'm crap at it..

Nothing a bit of white spirit can't sort.
A bit of detailing and a coat of laqure at the weekend and it'll be done

I'll be there.
 
DSCF0090 by timothy jones, on Flickr

i will be there

Springtime for Rover. 
 

ShiteKnight's ultra-base Chevette ES
 

HillmanImp's GT6 from the news 24 thread:
 

Dollywobbler's TWC meets another blue car

Mercrocker
 

And shoring up the Consul - why, it's yet another Hillman Super Minx.

Again, no shot of the front end, and no ID either.
And that concludes this row of the yard...
So we've only this bit still to go on our super- swingin' shite-safari.


So let's keep going...

Two more for tonight, then: another Ford 204E, which looks like it's trying to be a Zodiac with the two-tone paint job but appears to be just another Consul, going by the indicator position on the wing and 1.7 litre 4-cyl motor.


ALB914A - the non-age related plate indicating another blameless victim of numberplate theft.


And with some seriously wonky rear-engined re-engineering going on.
Yeah, that's toast.

Off with its head.

Cheers man! Glad you're enjoying, and I'm hoping to get back there on Easter Monday (hence the push to get last year's pics out of the way before I take any more...)
 
I love the homebrew Aussie variants of BMC cars! The hunchbacked Morris Nomad and Austin Kimberley are particular favourites...

The silly dualling of the Hillman range with virtually identical cars, one slightly bigger,  and problems with the Imp were a couple of factors that led to Rootes going to Chrysler.
 
That and the Cortina grabbing all the mid-range market...as well as having better fuel economy which was a big factor in those days.

No pic of the front, but I believe that the car behind the Triumph is a Singer Gazelle MkV.

The modern-ish registration number of LAZ8648 suggests that a quick 'n' dirty plate transfer took place back in 1996, quite possibly followed by a swift and ignominious exit for this once-glam Rootesmobile...

In the crazy world of BMC this was meant to be a Minor replacement but because the Minor proved such a good seller it was instead used as a Wolseley...however...in Australia it was sold as the Austin Lancer or Morris Major (major...minor geddit?).
1958-64. In '59 the shape developed bizarre rear tailfins. Designed by Dick Burzi at Longbridge. Not sure he was responsible for the later fins. Bit like your aunt Maud in a party frock.

Getting up close and personal with the HA Van, is a creamy yellow Triumph 2000 - this one a very definite Mk2 version.


Lovely big cars, with that delightful poise between sportiness and practicality which Michelotti was so adept at bringing to his designs.
One day, mebbe… though probably not this one.

And, as you'll have seen from the corner of the last pic...

…a Bedford HA van which has, typically, been epically bodged by its final owner.
Hmmm, I'm detecting a subtle hint of British Telecom in this vehicle's past...

I think this particular vehicle might just win the hotly-contested award for 'Most Optimistic Use of Gaffer Tape' - or 'System G-T' as I believe it could be successfully rebranded by such entrepreneurs as JML.


"Is YOUR van totally fucking fucked with rust, m8?"

"Simply use SYSTEM G-T to tape up all the rust holes, and give it a quick blowover with Wilko rattlecans in a mate's lock-up with a scarf over your nose."

"The MOT man will never guess!"

"Lifetime guarantee for total piece of mind"

"Apply NOW and receive a plastic triangle and tube of mastic to replace those rotted-out door corners ABSOLUTELY FREE"

"AND you'll be automatically put into a bonus prize draw to win half a ton of random scrap."

"Ask YOUR local motor factor about System G-T - TODAY!!"

Next to that - I'm not 100% sure, but I think this may well be a W120 series Mercedes Benz 180 (Ponton).

I haven't any clear pics of the front, annoyingly. Any Merc-lickers here to confirm or deny?

No plates to point towards ID, sadly.
At this point in the yard, very few seem to be wearing any form of registration plate now - possibly reflecting that some of them wound up here as collateral damage from a 'cherished plate' transfer in the 1990s?
I can only speculate.

^^^ Heh, it might be worth me having a look, then - should I get up there for another poke-about in a week or two!
And so, then... behind the Escort, and craning over the roof of the Ford Hearse, here's an awkward-to-reach Triumph 2000 in a fetching shade of yellow.

And what do we have here...?

Yet another Z-car, but with a hearse body.

(No pun intended.)
Actually, I couldn't be quite sure there's not a body still in there...

But I didn't much fancy investigating further.

Plenty o' grot.

Interior is pretty ruined, I'm afraid. Plenty of bulbs left for LBF, mind.

Though how cool is that big 'Z' on the dash?
They laughed at me in school for decorating my GCSE art folder with Zephyr and Zodiac insignia, but I know I was right.
Surprised to see the three-pedal arrangement on the floor - I would have assumed that any hearse would have had an autobox. Although, I'm led to believe that things were a bit different in Ireland, where hearse building tended to be a bit more homegrown and ad-hoc than in GB, where specialist coachbuilders like Coleman-Milne have been the norm for a long while.
Anyway. Ashes to ashes, rust to rust.
Rest in peace, Big Ford.

Also forming part of this alarming gestalt Zephyr/Anglia entity, is another Ford:

OMG MK1 E$$$CORT
Could be an interesting Shite-based Crystal Maze-style game show in here - the first contestant to make it out alive with the VIN plate wins a squillion quid and ten thousand 'Is this still for sale?' messages from eBay and Facebook Marketplace mouth-breathers.
Except it doesn't seem to have a front end, so presumably the VIN's long gone.
And it's a 4-dr anyway, so not much good for Mexico/RS1600 clones.
Meh.

Now, things get a little messy from here on in as the cars are a bit heaped up against the far fence, some stacked, and access is somewhat limited. Equipped with only a wet phone and the early stages of hypothermia, these shots are not award-winning, I fear. But here we go.

More Z-cars - this time another Mk3 (211E, for those who prefer Ford's internal coding system) - maybe a Zephyr 6? Hard to tell. 


The Zep' seems to be missing its rear end, although also pggybacking half a 105E Anglia, just for funsies.

Mmm, super-frilly.


No plates visible on any of these, so their identity and history may be forever lost to us.