Jenson Velcro

I’ve used JB Weld to fill some slight pitting in the block mating surface before. Worked well

I’ve used JB Weld to fill some slight pitting in the block mating surface before. Worked well

Great fabrication skills 

Thanks 2Flags - appreciate it.  I'm trying to start my own development company (property development) - been working for others for 20 years and thought...........why don't I do it for myself?...................but it's taking a v v long time to put the legals together.  Perhaps too long.  I've found myself (reluctantly) applying for jobs too - i simply can't last a year earning nothing.  
In the meantime I'm trying to work on the lotus - she definitely helps take the stresses away (by creating new ones!!) and allows me to step back.  I'm a firm believer in things happening for a reason.  
I've wanted my own development business for years but things have conspired to stop that (not least, money) but I've thought..........if you don't try now it'll be too late...........and there are opportunities right now; we're going through the greatest transfer of property wealth the world has ever seen as the silent generation and baby boomer generation start to pass away.............as property transfers, the inheritors don't always want to continue (with the businesses handed down or the property associated with those businesses - the types of sites I'm targetting) so there are opportunities.  Enough on that however; tend to bore people rigid when I get going! 

So. 
 
Those bricks. 
 
I fetched them in 3 and 1/2 trips. 
 
Bringing about 190 or so at a time. 
 
Uncle Peter is 86 and long since successfully retired from building houses. 
 
But he spends at least four hours a day working on things. Either at the yard or at home. Currently he is working at repairing parts of one of the barns that had been damaged years ago by a machine hitting the corner of a wall. Also repointing the cement between the bricks. The wall spans two eras. Part is built using lime mortar and parts were done with cement mortar. 
 
I love watching him work. The details in those bits of cement he is replacing. Vertical and horizontal are different. 
 

 

 
I had to figure out where to store these bricks. Ultimately I decided outside Georges door made sense. 
Even sense checking the way the gate opens so I could still get cars and diggers and a crusher and possibly a few other machines through there. 
I moved a pile of 450mm paving stones to the kitchen door as well. 
Hoarder central. 
 

 
Wood store with two cement mixers. 
 

 
So off to UncleBobs yard. 
 
First load in the van. 
 
And first and second loads unloaded at home. 
Onto a plastic pallet. Mistake. Too late. 
Thankfully I bought three pallet or pump trucks for either £5.00 or £15.00 each years ago. Gave two away and kept one. 
 
What a multi purpose tool this is to have in the garage and on site. 
 
 

 

 
 
Last load was smaller but included 23 dark clay bricks. 
 

 

 
And finally all of the bricks packed and sorted. 
 
I took 2/3 and 1/2 bricks as well. 
 
Total is about 623 bricks (23 clays weigh more) 
 
Approximately 1.7 ton at 2.7 kg per brick. 
 
 

 
 
 
So the question of course is WHY?  
 
Well, the BBQ that I built 13 years ago and abused over the years, including a massive fire in it mid winter a few years ago has left it significantly damaged. 
 
So it’s time to destroy it and start a rebuild. 
 
Biggest problem is actually that it needs to dovetail into a bigger job that I have wanted to get done for 14 years. 
 
What we have right now. 
 

 

 
 
 
As always, the invitation is open to anyone interested in helping me get it done. 
 
I could break it down and save the rubble before the next big job, but I am waiting for a price on some 3mm mild steel plate. 
 
I want to build a steel BBQ inner to then sheath in insulation and brickwork. 
 
Something like this. 
 

 
So there you go. 
 
Massive update. 
 
And invitation. 
 
Peugeot 206 CC next. 
 

Another day with no parts, so it was lots of small jobs to prep for reassembly.
First job was to source a new set of exhaust manifold studs. As I had a day off work, I went around all the local factors, including an exhaust specialist to get what I needed.
And I came back empty-handed. Luckily, I've found a company that does the specific studs and nuts for a BX for £11 delivered online, so that'll arrive at some point.
I also popped into @twosmoke300 who had a camshaft sprocket bolt, as well as lending me a set of engine head stands to check the valve clearances again. These turned out to be okay, only one was just out of limits and it wasn't enough to merit stripping down the head.

I also removed the fuel manifold pipelines to measure up the required lengths and diameters of pipelines to replace them. Whilst dismantled, I gave the unit a clean, and marked where the pipelines go.

I did get lucky at the exhaust place though, and got a manifold to downpipe fitting kit - I had to angle grind one of the bolts off during the engine removal.

The cup washers required a sustained twatting effort to remove, but they gave up the goods eventually and I fitted the new cup washers and the conical mesh gasket. One of the bolts had to be fitted with the washer as it cannot be fitted afterwards.

I gave the manifold mating faces a bit of a clean and scrub up too.

Next, I cracked on with the inlet manifold.

The carb had been replaced during my ownership by Dan, but I had a new set of carb gaskets and it seemed silly to let them go to waste.
Noticed a little bit of erosion damage on one of the chamfered edges, so I filed it down slightly.

Removed the old traces of gasket until the face was smooth.

Then I blanked the holes and got busy with some parts cleaner and a brush - the entirety of the engine bay is bloody filthy, and lagged in a thick coating of oil-based grime.

After a bit of time, I reassembled the inlet manifold. Looks much cleaner and nicer to handle!

I also fitted the inlet manifold studs back into the head, after wire brushing the threads, they went back
Finally, I decided to step away from engine and turn my attention to the next big component awaiting fitment. If the engine was considered dirty, this would be considered filthy.

Annoyingly, as I removed the clutch arm for access and a re-grease, the pivot bush disintegrated. Annoying, but better it happened now instead of when I put it all back together. £7 for a replacement bush on eBay and we'll cross fingers that it arrives soon.

The inner bellhousing did clean up nicely though.

The outside of the box is also taking a bit of time, but there is progress being made.

You can see the layer of grime I'm having to scrub off here, hopefully I'll finish this job tomorrow morning.

I'm still waiting for the piston rings and hockey stick seals for No.1 crank bearing to arrive, once they're here I can really get cracking with the rebuild, but I'm not holding out much hope for the NL trip now.
Not the end of the world as it's been a great target to strive for, but finding faults etc along the way adds extra time to the final date.
Cheers 😁

Sorted. A folded up bit of paper on top of the battery to press it down more has worked 😂

"I'm ready for my oil change now..."

I thought about cropping out the wheelie bin, but this is Autoshite!

Been thinking about this post all day. 
Yes it's useful to have a skilled mate who can rescue jobs and provide advice on tap. 
But... Learning is failing. Failing is learning. He will have learned from his mistakes and you can, too. God knows I have. 
I worked in a garage aged 14-21 in an apprentice type role, weekends and holidays in between studying. My mentor was incredibly patient and a good teacher. 
Then I moved away and for a long time I was paying Other People to fix my cars. Usually it was expensive and afterwards I'd always find stuff wrong or something that I didn't like. 
In the last ten years or so I've increasingly taken on jobs myself. Usually justified by the cost of the required parts and tools being less than the cost of a garage job. 
Sometimes, I get it wrong and break stuff. Sometimes I have to do it twice. Each time this happens, I learn stuff. 
My point being: don't be afraid to fail. You've got work to do on this Excel, maybe it would be easier to learn on an old Escort but this is the path you've chosen. The Excel will bite you I'm sure, it's old and British and that's just what happens. But almost everything can be sourced and replaced if needed.
Strip a thread - drill it and tap a bigger one. Learn how to tap at the same time. Fixed, and now you aren't scared the next time you strip something. 
Also I'm certain the Excel isn't your daily driver. This is important, because failure doesn't jeopardise your ability to get to work or whatever. Failure would mean a setback but not an unrecoverable disaster. 
All of this to say - more power to your elbow. You can do it! Get stuck in and you have the hive mind here to ask if you get stuck. 
(Cautionary note: don't listen to my advice. I'm changing my Maestro head gasket for the fifth time, so I must be completely incompetent).

Been a lot of hits and misses this weekend.
First up, trying to torque the camshaft cap studs was a pain, 15nm was simply not happening, even with the two nuts tight against each other, it was still turning down the shaft when close to 15nm. Tried adding a third nut to see if that would help matters, but ended up stripping the threads on the nut.
In the end, I went for 10nm. It'll be fine, I hope. Fitted the cam, and new front cam seal before I torqued down the caps (minus one nut).

Then it came to the camshaft pulley. Following the torque figure, I didn't even get close to the Haynes figure before disaster struck.


That was....not ideal. I messaged Phill on a blind panic asking for advice, and he suggested drilling a 3mm hole in the bolt shank and hammering a torx socket into the hole to extract it. There were almost tears of joy when this came out.

Then joy turned into anger when I decided to check the figures in my Autodata technical data book.
Haynes (stated 80nm) for the sprocket bolt.

Autodata?

So the bolt failure was caused by a massive overtorque. Arse biscuits.
To try and take my mind off it, I tackled some of the minor jobs, first job was removing and re-sealing the body seams around the bootlid hinge. Forgot to get any photos, but I scraped the old, dry seam sealer with a plastic scraper, masked the area off with tape and applied a healthy layer or Pureaflex40 to the joins.
Whilst I was in the area, I managed to push the split section of the wiring rubber grommet into the hole, so it'll be a much better seal than the empty space that was there before!
I continued the minor jobs, treating screen rust spots before they become sinister,

Swapping out the rocker cover gasket:

And getting this dirty bottle cleaned up as much as possible.

Which cleaned up alright, but had highlighted how big the crack in the side of the tank was:

As it was the rarely-used rear washer tank, I elected to try and repair it rather than replace. I used an old soldering iron to re-melt the plastic along the crack. It's not pretty, but it's sealed up and shouldn't leak so that's a win.

The bottoms of these bottles have a sharp lip around their manufacturing joins which has been suggested aids corrosion by chafing through the paint - these were sanded down prior to install. The scuttle area had already been heavily lanoguarded about six weeks ago so all should be well there.
Unrelated to the BX, but a mate  followed me on the commute to work and told me one of the Rovers brake lights wasn't coming on every time. Luckily, I have spare bulbs, but it was quite interesting to see the where the filament had broken loose, flapped around a bit until it made the circuit and 'tacked' itself back on. Herman has had a front fog light doing that for years, so the build-up there must be spectacular.

Eventually, I decided to carry on with assembling the 3 pistons and liners, I'm still awaiting parts to assemble the final cylinder but this is a good start.
Turns out I needed to order another set of piston rings too, thanks to my ill-fated attempt to fit them last time:

Annoyingly, this was a pain in the arse. Autodoc did them at a reasonable price, but the delivery time takes the piss at around a fortnight. I found some on eBay with a two day delivery, so I placed the order on Sunday. I then sent the seller my details, and they cancelled the order! Apparently they weren't compatible. I've told them I want the rings and will assume the risk - the manufacturers of the piston rings list the set as compatible for every 1.6 XU engine except the XU52C. I can't see what difference there would be though, so I guess we'll find out in a couple of days.
Anyway, the ring gaps were checked prior to fitment, they were all bang on at around 0.50mm.


With the new set of plier-style piston ring compressors, I was STILL having issues with the rings. 
I asked Phill for advice, and he very gently pointed out I was being a bit of a fuckwit and assembling the oil control ring at the bottom incorrectly, which in turn meant the ring wasn't compressing properly. 
With the correct advice dispensed, and a slight tweak to the piston ring compressor, we were finally making progress! A fresh seal was fitted to the base of the cylinder liner before slotting it into place.

Eventually, I got all three complete assemblies in.

And clamped the liners down.

Then I nipped back to the house for a pee, and noticed that Mini had snuck into MrsH's car whilst she was unloading, and got himself locked in. Tit.

I decided to crack on with bolting in some external components, so the oil pressure switch, water pump and timing belt tensioner pulley went on (the old one was really rather grumbly and rattly)
The pump came from Autodoc and was their own brand (RIDEX) and it seemed pretty well made.

Next up, the crank bearing seats were cleaned, new shells were fitted, and the crank lowered into place. This was a pain in the arse with the liners and pistons fitted as the conrods were in the way, this was aided with some steel wire to hold them in the middle position.

The crank bearing caps had fresh shells and an oiling before being loosely assembled.

I'm still awaiting the seals for No.1 bearing cap so I've not fitted that yet.
After that, it was applying the last coat of lacquer to the windscreen frame rust spots. The paint colour match is pretty poor, but it won't rust and that's what matters.
I spent the remainder of the evening googling part numbers, dimensions and specs of the cam cap nut. The Citroen parts catalogue specified a nut and washer assembly, the Peugeot catalogue specified a flange nut. Seeing as this was what was fitted, I went with that, got the size and thread pitch and started searching. I eventually got three part numbers, and the phone numbers for potential dealerships that could have the nut I need in stock.
A bit of phoning around yesterday morning ensued. The Peugeot dealership said they could source the nuts, but they wouldn't be here till Wednesday and were £1.25 each.
My second dealership took the part number, said 'Yep, we've got 14 in stock here, and they're 63p each+VAT'. Didn't bother ringing the third.
The dealership?

Yep, I went in my Rover that's really a Honda, to a BMW dealership to pick up some nuts for my Citroen, which was sourced using specs from a Peugeot parts catalogue.

The parts fella that came out was very friendly, and couldn't believe what vehicle the nuts were for I ended up having a chat with him about the Rover parked outside and he was really enthusiastic. Ended up buying 10 nuts as it makes sense to replace the entire set.
Got home and checked the nut - it's a good fit, a bit taller and with a wider flange than the originals, it feels much more substantial. The nut is originally used to hold inlet manifolds onto various BMWs.
I started checking valve clearances but this ended up being a pain to rotate the camshaft without the sprocket bolted in. I checked the first 4 and found them to be juuuuust within limits, I'll check the other 4 later when I've got the camshaft bolt and torqued it in.
Boring stuff, but prepping for when it gets reassembled, the fuel pump gaskets were changed, thedistributor oil seal was replaced:

And the inlet manifold gasket was tackled. 

This took an absolute eternity - it was properly on there! The mating faces were eventually cleaned with a scotchbrite pad and WD40 to get a smoother mating face.

Today, I'm into my two days off that was pencilled in for engine building - not much bloody use of I've not got all the parts together! I'll be working on various other little jobs instead.
Cheers.

I spent alot of time in the vicinity of the Lotus this weekend.  I say vicinity because I was no more than 4 foot away from it for quite alot of saturday and sunday..............but much of it was spent thinking about the jobs that need to be done rather than actually doing them.
I'm a natural procrastinator (plus an absolute pessimist for most the time) at the best of times but what really hit me this weekend is that my friend, a mechanic (and a really good on at that) isn't going to realistically be able to help me with the car.
He's got too much on his own plate (wife has been v ill, now better, but still isn't and never will be, back to 100%) and he's got his own life you know?  He's got sh*t going on that I won't speak about on here but he'd help if he could.
Trouble is, in my own mind, I'd been falling back on him (he'll sort that, or he'll know what to do there, or he'll have a shortcut/know exactly how to do that job) so I hadn't been putting as much thought into the car as I should have been.
I'm not a mechanic..........and I grew up with a dad that did all the jobs on the car, without wanting me around (slowed him down!). I've always been into cars however..........but practical experience?  None really. I know the theory, and I'm mechanically sympathetic....................but actually doing the complicated stuff?  It takes me ages to work through a job, before actually tackling it. Part of the fear is getting it wrong.  And then having to buy more parts to fix it.  I just can't afford to do that right now.  Once I get a job, the pressure of that element will lessen, and speed will pick up.
It's the realisation that I'm on my own on the job that is the Lotus tbh, that has hit me.  
I've got to get on and fix it and I guess the satisfaction will be immense when I do sort it..................but in all honesty I'd rather have the help and know that the car is sorted (because he's worked on it).
I've got to get on though.
So I spent alot of time working out when I'm going to tackle the various outstanding jobs, and in what order.  
The priority is to make sure the engine works (we know it did 3 years ago) but it's been sat here for that time and............if it doesn't, there's no point tackling the door (frame needs changing) and other interior bits, if the engine doesn't work.
So this weekend I put the tank back in, sorted out the new fuel pump (needed bits transferring over from the old one, which I'd kept, thank god) and making sure I had all the bits for some of the ancillaries on the engine (they'd been taken off by my friend and put safely away.......so safely in fact I'd forgotten where..........found now..........they were in an awkward safe place........not using it again!)
I've just got to hook everything up back there in the boot (I'd not done this bit thinking mechanic friend would be over to tell me if I needed to put some of the white plumbers string (?) around the fuel pipe connectors to help stop leaks etc etc (a small thing, but again it slows things down as I have to think about that, whereas mechanic friend just knows.  It's a minor thing.........but the thinking time adds up to quite an amount as each job I tackle takes up unnecessary thinking time.......) and then I can move on to fitting the waterpump...........and putting the dash back together temporarily and then it should be ready to fire (I'll run the engine for a minute or so - it's not going to overheat) before I put the radiator and fans back in (needs a bit of fettling that - not an easy job at all).  And it's heavy as a package too).
 
Onwards!  (with slight trepidation).

Had a trip out with a good friend yesterday to the omoc AGM in Prestatyn, called in at Talacre beech to relive some memories. Did 180 miles yesterday and it didn’t miss a beat. 
 
 

Weekend is over. 
 
Sleep sucks. 
 
Life is good. 
 
I will Copy and paste a single write up. 
 
So apologies for duplicate pics, but you love pics…… Right?? 
 
 
Saturday I washed the van in preparation for Sundays breakfast meeting. 
 
Cleanliness is next to godliness I hear. 
 
 

 

 
 
Making a fire earlier in the day to burn a load of broken furniture wood (non recyclable) it became apparent that the crack in the structure was growing. 
I possibly caused this a few years ago making a massive fire in the middle of winter. 
 
I made the decision to smash this down after 13 years of service. 
 
That will mean another job. 
 
More money. 
 
Buggerr. 
 
 

 
 
Dinner was good.  
 
https://youtu.be/d2glX9aZ3KQ?si=GbrW5mmeUFxd_Bzl
 
 

 
 
Sunday I headed out in the van. 
 
Made a video of the day. 
 
Met some nice people. 
 
Had an offer to buy the van. 
 

 
https://youtu.be/49Tf7UnY8Pk?si=2avF4Vy002_JP3Hh
 

 
All the cars at the meeting. 
 
https://youtu.be/iCkqrX8dV2U?si=gn5LgDBs0sP82Nr8
 
 
Afterwards I headed out to Uncle Bob’s yard to see him and Uncle Peter (86 year old retired builder) about buying some “new” recycled, cleaned bricks.  
 
I did a rough count of the face-bricks used above the preparation area. 
I plan on leaving the concrete foundation and cabinets plus cast, reinforced floor of the chimney as it all seems intact. 
Approximate count is around 500 bricks to replace what is there but I am going to change the design a bit or a lot. 
 
Smashing down the rest of it, the rubble will be processed into another job. 
More about this later. 
 
Uncle Peter was busy pointing the brickwork of one of the barns where he had rebuilt the corner that was smashed by a truck, years ago. 
So I dragged him away from his mortar and we spoke bricks. 
He has about 800 cement style, pressed bricks on some pallets that could be for sale. 
At 50p per brick it’s not as cheap as free, but finding something where the price, look and availability cross on a sweet spot it not that easy. 
 
So I agreed to taking the 800 and fetching and transporting them myself for £400.00 unless he changes his mind. 
 
The excess will be used on another job which is planned for the short term future. 
 

 
 
Lastly…….
 
I looked at this again, not easy to access as it is stored, if you can call it that, in the rear of a massive, disused, damaged greenhouse with loads of junk in front of it. 
 
Uncle Bob the Hoarder owns it. 
 
Wants very strong money for it. 
 
But I do like it. 
 
Think re-body.  
 

 
 
Eventually I left them and headed home. 
 
Moved to green 206 CC down to the workshop as I have done nothing with it and getting the roof to open since weeks ago when I walked away to get on with more important things. 
 
Parked the van and headed to Sallys place to use her broadband to upload my YouTube videos that I can’t do at home due to Sky and Openreach’s terrible service. 
 
Have a great week. 
 
 
 
 

Progress is slow, but we have some progress

Ordered a replacement gas pedal for the BMW for 18 quid. It's probably the throttle body that's the actual issue but its worth a shot.
In Celsior news, the car finally received fresh brake fluid, pads, hoses and wear sensors this weekend. I've also done a few other minor jobs while in there and unfortunately revealed a little more carelessness by the bodyshop. Let the wrenching commence!
Front brakes first. I actually didnt end up using the caliper piston rebuild kits on the left, the pistons were still sliding back in nice and smoothly.

Well, I think we can say I got my money's worth out of those pads. I don't know when these got changed the last time but it certainly been a while considering the car didn't do that many miles in the last 15 years.

The loose wire in the left photo is the wear indicator sensor btw, for some reason whoever replaced the pads didn't know how to or didn't bother installing it again. This is also what I originally expected to be a cut ABS sensor wire a few years back btw, the sensor plugs into the wiring loom of the ABS sensor, bit of an odd design on early Celsiors.

Can't say these are the worst pads I've seen but we haven't had a look at the rear ones yet.

Quick look underneath to see where the minor exhaust leak is coming from. Like the exhaust shop said, one of the exhaust temp sensors is blowing, they tried to goop it up but no luck. Unfortunately impossible to buy now, not sure if it could get welded? I've also had a look at the O2 sensors and tried to measure their resistance. Well, it seems like there is infinite resistance which of course isn't right, it should be somewhere between 5.1-6.3 ohms at around room temperature. I unplugged them to see if it would make any difference to the way the car runs. It doesn't so new sensors it is!

The 135 quid Maxpeedingrods which I only bought to get the car through the MOT are holding up surprisingly well. I've greased them up before installing them so everything is still moving nicely. Unfortunately I just remembered while writing this that I should have put some fresh grease on them... I also found the source for my very noticeable front suspension clunking. I originally blamed the coilovers but its actually the front swaybar bushes that are so worn out that the swaybar can freely move from left to right. So new swaybar bushes are added to the shopping list. I've also fixed the messed up passenger side bumper corner I accidently caught on a wall. No photos yet but some hot air, a tactical ziptie and reinstalling a bumper bracket did wonders.
The rear is next. Working on an incline lifting a rear weel driven car is always fun.

If you are wondering why Im using different brands for pads and hoses compared to the front, so do I. I think they just ended up reducing the combined shipping costs when I ordered them from Rockauto like 2 years ago. Motul RBF600 is probably some of the best brake fluid you can get if pedal feel matters to you.

Yeah, I think its about time to replace those pads...

The disc is getting very thin as well so rear discs are added to the shopping list...

Certainly cutting it thin with these. The rears actually had the wear sensors properly in place, replacing this one finally got rid of the last (permanent) dash warning light. Unfortunately the passenger side rear caliper piston was really struggling getting pushed back in so I might need a new caliper there. I'm not sure how much extra I paid for the Bosch pads compared to the Beck/Arnley ones but they were certainly much more neatly packed and actually came with a sachet of brake grease. I used copper grease on the sliders for the front calipers instead.
About the bodyshop's carelessness mentioned further above:

The rear trailing arm bolt is completely loose, the nut was never tightened after the sill got welded there. Mistakes can happen but I'm really starting to get the feeling that things were just slapped together in the end to rush the car out the door. Something like this is pretty dangerous. I had to replace the nut (with a Mercedes one no less) as it wouldn't properly tighten anymore, I'll have to have another look the next time its on a lift though.

While having the wheels off I finally had a chance to raise the rear coilovers by 20mm to level out the car a bit better. I don't think its perfect yet but lowering the front should result in a nicely balanced stance.

Let me know what you think! The rear discs, swaybar bushes and O2 sensors will hopefully be the last few bits to make it mechanically solid. Being 32 years old now it'll probably always need something but any MOT relevant work should near with these 3 things soon.
Some bonus content, the Cadillac is finally moving again and received a wash. That immediately revealed the various paint defects it has, the photos are hiding them remarkably well fortunately!

Another big blue landyacht that will receive some more attention this summer.

The Royale had a 2.8 — the facelift ones had a choice of 2.5 or 3.0, by which time they were all Vauxhall Senators and the Royale badge was reserved for a burger with cheese.
The 3.0E Opel probably was worth the extra, tbh, but to me the Royale was better looking with its chunky bumper overriders and neater rear end treatment (fnarr).  The facelift ones are even more handsome of course.
Have a couple of bonus pics of my Royale.

Loaded and about to head north. 
 

Final part of the pressure cleaning job. 
 
Wait for a sunny day, wait for pathways to be dry or even warm this time of year. 
 
Slow, systemic and meticulous spreading of the sand, and cleaning away all the excess. 
 
Gaps up to 7mm where heavy stuff like a loaded Transit van used to park daily for years, creating grooves and movement of the stones. 
 

 
Then start high, spread the sand in a way you can push it about with the large yard broom. 
 

 
Done. 
 
Till next year. 
 

 
Short video for those who like it. 
 
https://youtu.be/mVWgthHIQdc?si=rodrWZA-pbllDy1r
 
 
Friday evening was good, typically beautiful sunset as we have this time of the year. 
 

 
Perfect weather for my first BBQ or Braai of the year tonight. 
 
Summer soon. 
 
I hope. 
 

I had some time to look at the cooling system today. And the old coolant that came out it didn't look too bad, but it's old so it's time to change it. The hoses are also very old and soft and not in good condition, so they were also replaced with the exception of the hoses for the heater they will be replaced later.
Old hoses


 
The 4 bolts for the thermostat housing came out without breaking which was nice and the thermostat housing has no gasket but an o ring which is great thank you Mercedes.

 
The cooling system looks very clean inside which is a nice surprise.

 
The old thermostat works but is old so I don't trust it so changed to a new one. I bought a new 79 degree thermostat which was luck as the old one was 80 degrees. And the new thermostat's box is marked with Behr, which is the same brand that made the radiator in this one. And will keep the old thermostat as a spare.

 
With a new thermostat fitted together with a new o-ring, I put on the new hoses.

 
The new hose I marked with a red arrow was a struggle to get on, but after much struggle I got it on. And I had 2 of these hoses, one from Febi bilstein and one from Gates, and the one from Gates was much thicker and seemed better quality, so this one was used.

 
So with the new hoses and thermostat installed, I wanted to pressure test the system but had no adapter that fit so just had to do it the old way and fill up with new coolant and check for leaks and luckily there were no leaks.
Then it was time to start it and let the engine run for a while and the new thermostat opened when it was supposed to and everything worked and there were no leaks so the cooling system is now done.

VW wanted £750 to replace two xenon headlight bulbs on my mates 2014 passat.
No, that's not a mistake. Seven hundred and fifty quid.

Just had a letter from the current owner of my P4 after finding my name in the history. Has given me a load of questions to answer 😂
I'm most glad it's gone to an owner who is going to restore it!

Making good progress and half way.
Heater fan stopped working below half at Stratford area. Now at Birmingham Frankley services to get my glasses out of the boot. Heater fan coming in and out randomly when set to full now. Iirc these are based on E46 and I remember they have a hedgehog something that causes issues? Just some old car fun.
Anyway roof is staying down for now as 18C. Pushing on. 
 

not what you would expect to see parked up on a street corner in byker ! (a not too great part of newcastle)


 
 

Last weekend was the VSCC Light Car Section Welsh weekend. this year marked 100 years since the RAC Small Car Trials, which inspired the event, and in which a Palladium did exceedingly well over 1000 miles of hard test driving at the hands of its designer H F Smallwood. Since the aim has always been to take my Palladium on this event it was absolutely essential that it was back up and running in time. Sadly it hasn't been driven for about 4 years, since it suffered some mechanical problems (on the way home from Wales, funnily enough) which resulted in a load of water in Number 4 cylinder and a couple of bent valves. Anyway, we rallied some troops and had a mad week of putting it all back together (absolutely minimal input from myself, obviously) and a few days before the trip it was running for the first time and sounding nice and healthy. I did a quick trip round the block and all seemed well, so all that was left was to keep a positive attitude and pack lots of tools. Here's how things looked after about 100 miles.

And approaching the border

Noo hood or weather equipment wasn't great considering we were in the grip of Storm Kathleen, but the weather was pretty kind on the way up and I did 200 miles behind the wheel with no problems whatsoever. Made it to Wales and spent two days fannying about, actually much more challenging than the drive up, driving on small roads with lots of hills etc. Here it is in the middle of a section through normally-closed Forestry Commission roads

It shed a sidelamp lens going over a nasty bump annoyingly. Here it is resting at the summit of Bwlch-Y-Groes, 'the Welsh Terror', a absolutely nasty very long climb which saw off a few competitors back in 1924, but which the Pall sailed up without any problems (in first gear)

And here it is going down the other side

After all that, we set off quite early on Sunday. The first leg was quite tough going with awful rain and wind, but the last 100 miles were pretty great going.

Got back by 6pm which was alright. The best part of 700 miles covered in four days, which might not sound like much but it takes a huge amount of concentration and energy to drive this thing at speed. Apart from a blocked slow runnning jet there were zero mechanical issues for the whole weekend. The number plate bolts came loose, one of the wing valances sheered the rivets holding it in and was rattling around, I think the gearbox is possibly even nosier than it was before but otherwise it was smooth sailing! So glad to actually get this heap to Wales and re-enact the 1924 event, which was the marque's most notable achievement, particularly on this anniversary year. Next stop: get a hood made.
 

MG6 is due its six monthly inspection and will need quite a few jobs sorting. I have this as a loan(?) car for a week or so.

265,000 miles and judging by the Cab Direct number plates, been working as a taxi all of its life.
I suppose I should let you all know what my first impressions are.
I should start by saying that my opinion so far is based on about thirty miles of gentle shuttling about on my Tradex policy. No combat miles as yet until I can swap my hire and reward insurance over tomorrow morning.
I'll start by saying that the seating position is VERY low. I'm sure that there must be the facility to raise the driver's seat but as yet I can't find it. This can be an issue as because I have long legs and therefore in Focus sized cars I like to raise my seat to allow a little more rear legroom. The seat also seems to lack any lumbar support either which means that I've had to position the backrest a little more upright than I'd like. 
It's not as fast as the MG but has plenty enough power for the job, whilst driving unladen I'm changing up the box at the same speed as in the MG. I've yet to try it with a full compliment of people and luggage. 
I can't yet gather any MPG figures as it came with a quarter of a tank.
The power steering has three assistance levels.
1. Very light.
2. Mk2 Punto with the "girly button" pressed.
3. 1977 XJ6.
The turning circle is a hell of a lot better than the MG6. In fact, the MG needs Costa Concordia levels of space to spin around so that's no surprise.
Ride quality is leagues ahead of the MG. The Kia rides as well as a modern Focus which is in stark contrast to the MG which absorbs bumps in a way that has me feeling nostalgic for my old XR3is.
Internal storage is miles better than the MG. Instead of having one flimsy pop out cupholder that eats into the leg room of a front seat punter the Kia has two sensible centrally mounted holders to not just house a coffee, but also another to accommodate a packet of Hob Nobs to dunk into the aforementioned hot beverage. The Kia also has storage under the armrest that's at least triple the size of that of the MG. It also has a large central cubby, a feature absent on the MG6.
The Kia lacks the automatic lights and wipers of the MG6.
The leather seat trim of the MG6 is more "punter proof" than the cloth seats of the Kia.
The Kia has a DAB radio. The MG6 has an AM/FM unit that doesn't work anyway. This isn't as bad as it sounds as I used a Bluetooth speaker to stream audio because the MGs Bluetooth isn't A2DP and only works for phone calls, not audio streaming. I've yet to check if the Kia is A2DP.
The MG has built in sat nav, a feature missing on the Kia. As the MG navigation unit is so awkward to input a destination into as you can't search by postcode, this isn't too much of a loss. Anyway, I'm a taxi driver who should know where he's going anyway! The only useful feature of the MG sat nav was the display automatically told me what road I was currently on.
So I suppose it's a case of swings and roundabouts. The next few days will decide which car makes the better taxi.