Jenson Velcro

It was the Polos turn today.
Old pollen filter looked fine but I had a new one...

That should make a difference.
Then the air filter. On this car the housing is part of the engine cover with 7,000 screws holding it together. That got changed and all this detritus was disappeared as well.

The sump plug came out no bother with two copper washers and ptfe on it as well. I think it was done up quite tight!

Nothing wrong with the plug or the sump so I cleaned it all back and it was screwed back together.
The oil filter was a bit awkward as I had to take a bracket off to get it away from the engine. It was also rather tight so the new one went on hand tight with a bit of oil on the face. Glad this wasn't done on the drive as this would have made it very awkward.
I also don't have a drive!
Normal service of nothing happening should now resume for a few weeks.

Finished the headlining and now ready to put back in the car after lunch. 
First attempt last night was going well until I spent a bit too long with the heat gun and burnt the fabric. Oof.
.

Nothing for it except ripping it all off and doing it again. Thankfully I bought double the amount of fabric. 
I didn't buy double the amount of glue so I had to carry on as this lot hadn't fully set. Didn't finish till 2am last night.

 
This morning I trimmed up all the edges and folded it over. Had some other spray glue which I used for these bits. Isn't high temperature resistant (at least the can has no mention of heat resistance levels) but actually was much sticker. Tbh that made it more difficult to work with. 

Then reattached the trim.


What did I learn?
 - It's not hard to do. However it's hard to do well. Experts on videos make it look easy. It's the curved sections that are the hardest parts and trying to avoid bubbles or creases. 
 - Buy spare fabric and glue 
 - 2 meters was enough for one go. I bought 4 metres and still had some spare
 - Heat gun is useful for reshaping the fabric and keeping the glue tacky. 
 - Your cat will want to jump all over it and try scratching it when you're not looking. I'm still removing cat hair from it.
 - While not perfect, I think it turned out pretty well and a million times better than the droopy mess before. Much better than thumb tacks or other bodges.
Now I just need to get it back in without damaging it. 😬
 

Little more done today.
Plan was to get the locks and handles to work as they should.

Knocked the pivot pin for the handle out on both handles to replace the return springs on them. They now work as intended. With a couple of coats with that plastic dye to finish the job.
Washed all parts I reused with G101. Quite a bit of muck came off every thing. Fitting the windows was a little annoying. 
The final result looks quite good (to me) though.

Used a razor blade to scrape the shit off the windows with glass cleaner to finish. Amazing how well they came out.
Tomorrow will be spent on the car. Might jump to a different part. 

The inner panel repair is now complete.

So I then made a couple of holes in it! Just so I could inject some cavity wax into it, as it's far easier to do it from above - and it also is so penetrative, it highlights any pinholes in the welding.

I've hacked up my new panel, and sat it in the correct position...

...before beginning the slow process of trimming to match what I've cut feom the van.

I replaced the Jeep's O2 sensor today. That cured the hanging RPM issue. Engine feels like it has better mid-range performance, too.
Ordered sway bar bushes as well. The existing bushes weren't causing an issue, but looked a bit knackered. 
before:

After:

Next issue was the steer wheel - it's off centre and that annoys me. 
There's a rod (don't know what it's called) that connects to the steering box pitman arm. You can set the steering wheel position by adjusting the length of this rod. In theory, once you loosen the locking clamps, you should be able to twist the rod (which is threaded at both ends) and adjust the length. As expected, it was rusted solid and had to be removed entirely.

After a torture session in the bench vice with a blow torch, I got everything freed up. The joints weren't loose, so I just replaced the boots and re-greased them.

I think I have it centred now. At least I can adjust it easily if I need to. 
Lasting thing on the Jeep is a new CB antenna. I didn't like the two-piece version I had, so got a proper one from the States. Very happy with it aesthetically, just need to install the radio. It even fits* under the carport!

It's taken bloody ages to get to this point. 





Let's not talk about how I had to disassemble this who b-pillar trim to retrieve the one screw at the top that holds all this in after it fell down. Good 45mins doing this alone. FFS 

Still didn't come out with a fight. 




Then spent a good hour with a wire brush getting all the old foam and glue off that wasn't already in my hair from removing this.


The best time to do this of course is when Mrs SiC is away and I can get away with having it in the living room!

 
Now to cut up the new fabric and glue it on! Might have some food first though.
 
Then it'll be a big fight getting it back in and all the trim in place. Not really looking forward to that bit. 

So the Caddy continues to deliver great service both as a cheap daily (cost me £1200.00 as it stands)  and as a load lugger and functional tool. 
 
Amazingly I saw it early, and bought by it mid October. 
Making it 6 months ago. 
So in doing basic man maths, (which usually includes insurance and fuel) the car as it stands on the driveway cost me £200.00 per month. If you include insurance pro-rated to 6 months and diesel it probably comes to an unscientific £250.00 per month. 
The longer and more  it works here, the cheaper it effectively becomes. 
 
So a tip run to dispose of my two lodger spare room double bed mattresses and two large TV’s, two TV stands, cardboard and polystyrene resulted in me scavenging out of the metal disposal bin (with permission, in the UK where I live, you can be prosecuted for removing a paperclip.) a small rotten kids size cast metal garden bench. 
 
Bench as seen and into the Caddy before I got rid of the mattresses. 
 

 
Back home I quickly unloaded my treasure and took stock of what I had. 
Hmmmmmmmm……?? 
 
Why do I do this every time? 
 


 
Coffee and a digestive, chat with a buddy, check email etc  
Then headed out to go play  
Disassembling with caution as its old and I really don’t like breaking stuff like this  
Also headed into my secret wood store to find some correct wood. Something the right thickness, texture etc  I love old bed frames, IKEA shelving  and such as its already planed, smooth and usually good quality, so the Caddy could pick those up when you drive by  
 


After preparing the wood I cleaned up the rest of the frame and proceeded with etch primer and then painted the parts  
Originally I had some dull blue to use but the can (was 50p years ago on an end of production sale)  kept failing  
I eventually switched to a can of burgundy, which actually turned out to be a good choice  
 


 
Overnight the paint dried nicely. 

So yesterday I continued with assembly 
And this was the loose assembly. 
 

 
And finally completed. 
Looking a lot better than 18 hours before. 
 

 
Stepping back, I noticed that there was more to do. 
 
So another piece of wood liberated from the store. 
 
My £20.00 bootfair router from a weekend away about 10 years ago came out, along with a sander Mickey threw out years ago. 
 
So I made and detailed a name plate for the grandkids. Sally’s, not mine. 
Harry is 5 years old and Alfie 9 months old. 
 
After a quick practice session I free handed the names. 
 


drilled holes in the sides just for detail  
Painted…….
 

 
And finally the 24 hour turn around  
If I were to value my time, this becomes an extremely expensive bench for a couple of kids that are not even related to me  
 

 
Delivered to Sallys place  
Now she wants one in adult size as well  
Looks great with the sand box I fixed last week  
 
Not sure what to do today  

 

Quick conclusion to recommissioning the Daimler's ventilation . . .
   
^ Silly little-too-short screws and 3/8" square nuts hold the baffle plate in place.  In the first photo you can see the scuttle vent cover's brackets are not evenly adjusted (height or angle). They are bolted to the recirculating-air / bulkhead flap and needed adjustment for the lid to close level. I managed that (with a hammer !) which slide the RH bracket down a bit.  next time i do it I'll know to adjust those more precisely before I put the baffle plate on.   I'll also find some longer screws.

^ Looks like it was meant to be like this ! 

^ all the screws were reassembled with CopaSlip and the right washers.  I've slotted the mesh so that when the screws are just loosened - the mesh can be dropped down for easier access to the cover's nuts.   The vent now works as it should, open or closes with a clunk. and the recirculating flap closes against it seal when the scuttle vent is opened.   Yeah      (..delighted by the prospect that this car's ventilation might now actually work !)
Well almost . . . 
   
^ with the heater's control cover removed, you can see the hot/cold control cable tightly bent routing ..and why it wasn't working very well.  There's also a plain washer missing where the end of the cable connector joins to the lever.  Without that the cable's pivot doesn't work very well.  
Part of the issue was the bowden cable's routing, and part of its problem was that the back end of the radio wasn't supported, so everything was being twisted more than it should have been. 

^ It's amazing that it actually worked at all.    I made a bracket to support the back end of the radio, an inch higher, and dropped the bowden cable out from under the trim to ease its tight curvature. after straightening the inner wire, I liberally oiled it so it now works.       

^ The other side (footwell or screen demist control cable) had lost its nut, so the lever wasn't connected to the cable.  And odd size and very tiny nut took me ages to search for and find. 

I tried to clean the leather of the monstrously big and heavy cover, but to no avail. The black is staining that wouldn't wash off. 

^ definitely in need of restoration, but that'll wait.  The live feed to the radio was just dangling, just waiting to short out, but with power to the radio - it did hum ...but nothing more.  
I've now put it back together, and took the car to the shops and then around the block to warm its engine.  Hey ho, the heater works. The heater (hot/cold) control works. the heat to car / to screen demist works well too !   Who knows perhaps this car will both be warm in winter, cool in summer, and demist when it's needed ! ?  All very useful rectifications.  I still need to replace the squirrel fan for one which isn't bent and out of balance. but we're very close to.. Job done.
 
  
^ Of course for all that effort ; an onlooker, or even a buyer would notice nothing but the scruffy interior.  Indeed even as I drive the car ..now the weather has suddenly turned warmer, I have the heater control set to cold ! 
. . . yes, the speaker grille is original. It's big and bold, but there's only one.. for mono Radio 1 of the 1960's. 
 
I do look forward to a thoroughly good clean of the leather and trim, to re-lacquer the timber, and to replacing the carpets. but that'll happen after the car's resprayed. 
Bidding you all a good weekend, with sunshine and happy pottering around.
Pete
 

I guess it comes down to one's mindset and approach to the task. If you think of it as a job (unpaid and for an unappreciative boss - a grumpy yourself ! ) then it's a chore. Even more so when you see the bodges of prior owners and the 'mechanics' as x_ _ _s. 
But....  if you like old cars and you 'just potter around'  for an hour or two,  ..as n' when you choose to (mostly in the afternoons for me) without an impending deadline, ..and you take some sort of satisfaction out of loving / improving the old girl,  ..and you look on those bodges as quite funny reflections on humanity and our culture - then the tasks become a hobby.
Every part of the car becomes a little wonderment.  Fk me this part is 56 years old and I'm cleaning it and putting it back on.!    Lucas, Smiths, Lockhead, Girling, GKN, Triplex Dunlop, and every other sub-contractor's component takes on its own life.  Whether mechanical, electrical, a piece of wood, leather or fabric trim  ..whatever can be be saved and reused becomes a thank-you  to motor industry men and women whose names have long since been forgotten.     
Once done, most of these rectifications last for decades and don't need repeating.  With one task after another done n' dusted - in time the car become useable, reliable and a pleasure ...all for minimal running costs.  After major structural and major-mechancal and paint., with no road tax and cheap classic car insurance - it does, in the long-term, become inexpensive.
     
Personally I hate being in the limelight, so I don't tidy up the car to be admired.  I do it because I feel these old girls deserve a bit of loving care and attention ..after years of abuse, neglect and making do.. When I go somewhere ; I park the car and walk away. She's the centre of attention.  I can do that because I'm a sentimental old sod who loves her ..even her shortcomings.  I wouldn't want to swap her creaks & wrinkles for a soulless manikin or an electric car.  
I like my cars to be decent autoshiter drivers rather than a polished restorations, so originality is less important to me than function. Then, driving the 'maintained' rather than 'precious' car becomes a nostalgic pleasure ..as if I'm driving a ten-year-old car back in the 1970's.   And any other old fart who happens to see you driving down the road also derives pleasure from seeing her still being used. Not at necessarily to shows ..but just around around town and to the shops. 
I'm not interested in bodging the car to sell and make a profit.  Indeed I'm of an age where I know that anything i have will be dispersed within a month or two of my passing. However if I can get each car into a useable and reliable condition before I go, then I'll be gifting them to best friends.  For those friends to own and enjoy a nice TR4, or a Daimler 250, or a sailing boat ..even if just for a year or two (before they sell them on) then that's more a lovely gift than its monetary value.    
The other half of my hobby is to share what I've been doing. It's a therapy for me to see that I'm achieving something. That I'm not yet on the scrap pile. And through these forum blobs - I very much hope inspires and helps others.
win + win + win whichever way I look at this hobby.  
Pete
 

Iran. Believe Ed March said that Iranians were one of the friendliest people he had met and if he had to choose a place where he would have woken up naked with nothing, it would have been Iran.
Ed March drove from Thailand? to the UK on a Honda C90.
https://www.youtube.com/c/c90adventures/videos

Sodding Google. 
Anyhow, looking at it myself I'm not sure whether I should go through Iran or Russia? 

Bloody hell. Progress! 
He says I’ll have it back in a couple of weeks. Fingers crossed. 

Okay here we go.. a task which proves that cars were built for lack of maintenance 50+ years ago, and like modern cars were built where one thing needs to be dismantled to get to another. . .

^ the scuttle vent, under the windscreen on quite a few cars of the era, took outside (supposedly fresh !) air into the car either directly (cool) or via the heater matrix (heated by engine coolant).  There's a lever under the dashboard which manually operates it.  And a spring under the vent which toggles to hold it either open or closed.  Never half way.!
Unbeknown to many.., there's another metal flap connected to this one, at approximately 135-degrees downward. That one opens, or closes-off, a hole through (the vertical face of) the bulkhead. 
When the scuttle vent is closed, the flap across the bulkhead is open.  That's for when the fan is used. Then air is drawn from the car's interior (from behind the central console) and ducted through the (closed) chamber below the scuttle vent flap, to the heater matrix, before being ducted back into the car.  This is the recirculating air flow circuit.  
Conversely when the lever is operated - whereby the scuttle vent opens ; then the recirculating air flap is closed  ..and outside air is used for fresh-air ventilation or heating, depending on separate heater controls.  What is important is that one flap is closed when the other is opened, and vice-versa.   Simple in't it. 
 
As it was (this car) ; the lever inside didn't work the flap, and my physically wrenching the scuttle vent up from the outside only ever got it half open.  And because the two flaps are bolted together - the scuttle vent being half open meant the bulkhead's recirculating-air flap was similarly half open.  With them both half open.. half of the (cold) outside being air taken in, via the scuttle vent, doesn't go down to the heater matrix ..but rather takes a short-cut straight into the car.  That's not so very cosy !
Nor is it good in the rain ..for example when trying to demist the screen., because rain and road spray is taken directly into the back of the central console ...with its array of switches, electrical connectors, and minor gauges. There is a baffle plate to stop driving rain getting straight in there, but with a coarse wire mesh on the underside of the vent.. driven rain gets 'meshed' into a fine spray.        
So, what is the problem when the bloody thing don't open or close fully ? 
Well, it could be the operating mechanism, something fouling, or perhaps the flaps hinge seized. Note ; plural flaps, single hinge.   I was to discover on this particular car, which sat around unused for donkeys years - it was the operating mechanism almost seized, the toggle spring almost seized, and the flap hinges a little bit more than almost seized.  The good news was ..well there wasn't much good news..,  save the fact that I'm now retired and can spend two days sorting the darn thing out. 
  
^ With any car that sat around for 5+ decades, there's always going to be some screws and nuts and bolts that are seized.  It's just something you've got to deal with.  I forced the vent open and stuffed a block of wood in there to hold it open.  Starting off with cross-head set-screw holding the mesh in place.  However careful I was to get exactly the right size bit, a huge amount of force to hold that bit in its slot, without and then with penetrating oil ..it wouldn't shift.  There's x3 such screws holding the mesh in place and the other two gave in to my persuasiveness. This allowed me to tilt the mesh down so that I might get a spanner on the nut which holds the top scuttle cover in place.  The stubborn little thing* fought me to the last thread. . .
  
^ even with the scuttle vent lid removed, only my best vice-grips managed to get that screw to move.   ^^ not much to see but the wire spring, and the hinge brackets.  The black hole to the left side of the car (top of photo) is the trunking down to the fan and heater matrix.  58 minutes between the first and last of these four photos.

^ The centre console hinges down for easy access to wiring connections. The feature is a carry-over from the Jaguar big saloons and XK models ..which also housed the fuse-box behind their console.   
   
^ with no sign of the scuttle vent's hinges, from either inside the car (behind the centre console) or from through the scuttle vent, I reckoned the baffle plate needed to be removed.  Seized nuts again..  A full hour of battle between these two photos.    And then.. still no sign of the vent's hinges.
     
^ I unclipped the spring-wire from the vent's (supposedly hinging) brackets, and found that it too was almost seized. 'Almost' meaning that I could force it to move but it needed several douses of lubrication and much working back n' forth before it moved as freely as it should.  
That's where I stopped work, to go out in the car ..with no scuttle vent fitted, on Tuesday evening.  4-3/4 hours into this five minute job. 
Moving on to this afternoon  . . .
 
   
^ Having ascertained the flaps were seized at their hinge, but unable to find that.. I needed to dig deeper.  I opted out of removing the glove box and main-gauge instrument panels in favour of seeing what I might find if I just removed the dashboard top.  There's just two nuts to undo, noting the shims which level its height. But then to actually remove the panel I needed to also remove the timber capping up the A-post. I reckoned with care I could about get away with just removing the driver's side.  At its bottom of it is a simple screw from under the dashboard lid (first photo)    ^^ The top of the timber though is screw fastened behind the (glued-on) door's weather seal (2nd photo).
  
^ It's an oddly shaped piece of timber.  I cannot imagine how Jaguar productionised it left and right handed.
Removing the dashboard's vinyl-covered lid would have been much easier if its sides were parallel ..so it could be slid straight back, without taking A-post timber off.  But.., it's ends are shaped around the A-post at the sides, wider towards the screen.  It cannot be slid straight out, nor lifted up.  Even with the A-post timber removed - the lid needed to be tilted and pulled down ..being careful to not scratch the dashboard with its fastening studs.  
It's tight.. but it does come out  (and later goes back in again !).   I think the later cars ..the XJ6 used skinny vinyl trim up the A-post.
  
^ And still not sign of those flap's (top) hinges.   In the first photo you cannot see the scuttle vent's operating lever, because it's down below the centre console.  It seemed to move freely but., I wondered if it was moving freely for the full range ..which it couldn't yet do because the flaps were still seized.  I opted to remove the console's hinges - to drop it out of the way and to give me clear access to that operating-lever arm's hinges. Various electrical connections were released to give the console more travel, so that I could better see what i was doing.

^ On the left hand side a bent metal bar. That's the flaps operating arm, and it's supposed to be bent like that. I've released the bolts to its hinges so it can tilt, so I could see to lubricate them. But for just a little free movement - they were seized.  With penetrating oil and then 25w-50 and a fair amount of wiggling back n' forth the operating now move freely throughout its range. The flap though, now disconnected both from the inside and outside was still seized  ..and its hinge was still nowhere to be seen.     I think only by pulling the whole dashboard out might I discover how it was built ?
   
^ Still unable to see those hinges - I played a long ball. There are two holes into the windscreen frame which I sprayed with WD-40 using its extension pipe, and then using another brand of penetrating oil (with considerably more squirt) I flooded up either side of the bulkhead flap.  I did the same from the scuttle vent side, until it was literally dripping with the stuff.   Forcefully man handling the flap back n' forth dozens of times - I finally got it to move, and then some more, and then some more again. 
 

^ Finally... the flap opens and closes as it should.   2 hours today to get to this stage.   Here looking down into the scuttle vent trunking., you can see (because the baffle is still removed) the bulkhead's air-recirculation flap closed against its bulkhead seals. The scuttle vent's brackets / arms, bolted to that inner flap, bend from forward to upwards ..for its lid to be open by 45-degrees.
It works..   Now I just needed to put it all back together again. . .
    
^ Work in progress..      ^^  Dashboard top is back in place, as is the centre console, but presently the switch label plate is yet to be refitted, also the A-post timber.    The splash baffle and scuttle vent's lid I hope to get back on tomorrow.
That's all for now.
Pete.
 

Like Prozac the Berlingo, the VW Caddy continues to earn its keep. 
 
Every time it does a new job, it ticks a mental bank account box for me, justifying its existence throughout igu “man maths “ 
 
Two double bed mattresses, two TV’s, a wooden TV stand, some other random junk. 
 
Tomorrow it fetches a wooden double bed frame and disposes of a double bed base. 
 
Yup…….
 
Function over Form.  
 
 

 
 
Caddy delivers. 
 
And at an average of 43 MPG (imperial gallons)! I think it’s a bit more special than it looks.  
 
Almost the weekend too. 

The blue is one:
The eBay aux belt should have arrived on Wednesday but it didn’t even arrive before the Easter break, it finally dropped through the letterbox this morning. I swiftly set about installing it and immediately realised it’s much too small, <sigh> that was well worth the wait! I decided to try and get a 10x750 off the shelf somewhere but the web search for GSF and ECP only search by car so that wasn’t working. Pre-armed with a couple of part numbers I trundled off to GSF where they were able to cross match a belt. They got one branch transferred from Bradford to Leeds in 2hrs which I though was good. Should have done this in the first place.
Belt 1 10x740 - £4.19 inc del. eBay
Belt 2 10x750 - £6.96 GSF 

Even the 2nd belt was tight. No way it was going on by hand but it flicked on with the starter motor trick. No need for additional tensioning!
And with that I declare the blue one ready to be moved.
 
The Gold one:
As previously covered this one starts and moves but has no brakes. I don’t really fancy loading, unloading and driving up the steep driveway without any so this was the next task. 
Surprisingly I managed to get both front bleed nipples out ok, though they will need replacing down the line as I gave them one hell of a beating. Got one rear out but the other wouldn’t budge. Gave the pedal a pump and it built some pressure, that’s promising. So I started it up and tried shunting it but the pedal went to the floor again. Bummer. Loads of fluid coming out of one drum so that’ll be a popped wheel cylinder. I’m not digging myself a new hole by taking these drums apart, it’s time to engage bodge mode… just snapped the rear brake line and squashed the end over. An initial leak was fixed by getting a bigger hammer and with that the rear brakes are isolated.

Gave it a shunt and yep we have brakes, rubbish brakes, but that’ll do.
Wedged a fuel can in down the back and strapped it so it can’t fall on the exhaust manifold, also threw a strap on the battery. That should suffice.

I declare the Gold one also ready to be moved.
-Steve-

Been quiet for a good while, built a spare Yaris over winter.  Raced a couple of Autograss meetings for Amelia recently.  Ste's wife, Hannah has won a race or two.
Reason for this posting is I've just been told the Stephen will race an F2 at Kings Lynn on Saturday 6th April.
We were going watching, it's a big F1/F2 meeting. But a hire car was on offer,  so £550  and on you go. ( plus licence and whatever, he's not booked in yet).
Last time he raced an F2 was well over 2 years go. It's good to watch him, but I thought the worrying was over for me.
Next day,  Amelia races a Yaris at Nottingham Autograss, on the way back, which is much more sedate.

You took a dump in the services car park whilst crouched behind the front wheel?

Saturday and today's pottering . . .

I used the Daimler on Thursday evening (70 mile round trip) ..oddly enough to go to a TR Register club night at Eight Ash Green, Colchester.  The reason being is that although I've now repaired Katie's (my TR4) backlight frame ..that being the rear window frame for its Surrey top (above), I need to order a length of glazing-rubber chrome-insert, as that fitted has always been the wrong size.   Bottom line being that I didn't want to take Katie out, with the rear window uncertainty (possibility of it falling out) at night.   As it happens Thursday afternoon it pee'd with rain, and I really find the TR too low to be driven along motorways in the rain at night. Too much road spray seriously diminishes this aged-driver's visibility. Whereas the Daimler saloon (although still diminutive by today's standards) is a foot higher. 
Anyway, because the Daimler got mud splattered, I wanted first to give her a Saturday afternoon car wash.  That done I spent an hour or two a day doing jobs ..which on the whole are minor but useful improvements.  Doing a couple of hours a day should see them all done ..in let's say five hundred years !
First up, was reversing the driver's-side wiper blade. For whatever reason the rubber has pimples on one side of it, and so the blade only wipes on the other side.  One way wiper blades I've not come across before, but with it reversed it wiped the windscreen 50 times better than it was.
Next up..

^ alongside the driver's seat you'll see a keeper plate whose trim is shredded. That's happened because the outside edge of the seat squab was sitting over that plate and so the driver's seat wobbled. Not seriously but a little uneasy.
You'll also note the position of the handbrake, low down beside / below the seat, on the floor and down the narrow gap between the door trim panel and the seat..  Honestly that would not be the most convenient position for it, especially when some plonker decides to position an arm rest directly above it on the door trim pad.   In my humble opinion this was not only dumb, but also because of the brake being difficult to reach easily - dangerous. 
So . . .
      
^ work  in process ; the arm-rest being removed.  You can see the brighter area of the door trim pad, indicating where it was, and can possibly relate that arm-rest protrusion to the handbrake when the door is shut.  As seen in the second photo, the gap down the side of the seat still isn't much, but now at least I can get my arm more or less straight down to reach the handbrake (only just visible).    As I say - minor jobs but useful.
 
^ On the passenger side .. the inertia reel of the seat belt was falling off.  Aside from it being insecure, the angle it tilted to meant that the passenger couldn't pull the belt out.   I might only guess it had been like this for years, but of course the car has rarely been used for the past four decades, and I'm sure very much less with a passenger.  It was an awkward sod to tighten up., as that bolt was to a ball joint which allows the inertia reel to be adjusted upright. And like many ball joints they turn when you try and do the nut up.   Never-the-less another little job done.
While trying to get to this, I realised the passenger seat wasn't adjusting fully.  Simply because its sliders were crudded up.  When cleaned and lubricated the seat now adjusts as it should ..Amazing !  
Another job I discovered needing doing on Thursday evening, was that the screen wash didn't work.
I looked into this, just before I was due to come home for the evening, and noted when the (electric) pump was switched - nothing happened (no sound either) but there was a slight draw of power registering on the ammeter.  This indicated that the power to the switch was fine, and that the switch was operating. So the likelihood was either the wiring connectors to the washer pumps were poor or more likely (because of the registered power draw) the pump itself wasn't working.  A quick visual check suggested the wiring was serviceable, and so I deduced it was the pump.  
This (Sunday) afternoon's task then was to look into that. . .
   
^ the washer motor pump. Seized ..until man handled (turning that spindle you see projecting from the underside).  Not familiar with these, but if I took it apart - what could possibly go wrong ?

^ interesting. I'd never seen an electric motor like this one before.   First impressions was that the windings looked okay, but the armature contacts and brushes were filthy. The spindle though the bottom cover plate was overly tight, but overall - there was only the lightest of corrosion. 
    
^ After cleaning and a little lubrication, I reassembled it.  Albeit weird, it's a neat little motor.   While at it I cleaned up the top of the washer bottle, onto which the motor is screwed. In my fingers is the blade to blade adapter.  The first blade being on the bottom of the motor (see photo above ..before I cleaned it) and the second blade is on the end of the spindle which disappears into the plastic leg. At the bottom end of the leg is a gauze filter, behind which I might only assume is a centrifugal pump.
   
^ all back together and ..it works.  
The windscreen washer's jet on the passenger side took three or four attempts to clean out, but we got there in the end.  Both jets were then adjusted to wash the screen rather than splash off the wiper arm.   Success.   I'm pleased with that as I'd much prefer original parts to after-market ones.        
So windscreen washers as well as wipers..  Is it the 21st century already ! ?
To close off, I adjusted the car's headlamps as well.  They were busily trying to illuminate down drain gratings at the side of the road.  Now perhaps they'll illuminate the road in front of me.    Will Daimler wonders never cease ?
Bidding you a happy Easter,
Pete 
 

Well, the ferry was an emotional experience - key lowpoint was out overtired 2 year old just wouldn't go to sleep, and kept getting up, and wanting to wander about. I totally understand that, she'd been sat in the car seat for nearly 11 hours at that point.
They all eventually fell asleep, leaving me to stay too wired to follow them.

We got out of Dieppe ferry port around 0515, and immediately happened along the Alpine factory 😁

Didn't realise just how poor the lights got after the beam deflectors were fitted, they were like bloody candles!

Thankfully, a reinvigorated MrsH had planned ahead and filled a thermos of tea, which was still piping hot the following morning!

Can tell the British influence in the Rover, it was practically made for this purpose!

This only worked on the French roads, which were impeccable, with only two potholes observed. Belgian roads are a different kettle of shitey fish altogether.
Entered NL, and took a quick photo whilst adding to the PC.

And triumphantly arrived 45 minutes later at my destination, staying with my brother @chatsharris and his wife who has recently had a baby.
The Rover was absolutely faultless, it worked an absolute treat the entire time and I definitely made the right call to take it. Even the seats that were a bit firm at the beginning, became supportive in the end.
PC: 7, with one false start.

Eight years ago today this turd landed at mine. Tomorrow I will apply for historic tax and, judging by the complete lack of progress on the Mini, proceed to use it over the next few months. 

Both the other cars in this photo since sold and scrapped, the house SSTC and and my lovely friend Emma has moved onto a better place. Then again she lived in Hemel, so a move to Strangeways would have been a positive move. 
Happy bASe day, fellow motorist. 

This arrived in the post today. 

And, putting it next to the old one for comparison, it’s about a foot longer, but the ends and fittings are identical. 

I think we can easily lose the extra length. Either by carefully rerouting the cable, or by relocating the place it comes out of the dash, which is currently over on the left hand side of the instrument binnacle. You can just about make out the stubby broken off end of the original cable in this picture, where the white arrow is pointing. 

Well..
 
You all warned me that it'd happen and I ignored you.. 
 
Last night I was celebrating my dad's 70th and as we left the pub, my media system (which is sort of integral to a load of stuff on these, like the clock, the trip computer, the suspension and so on) stopped working.
Those who've owned and worked on these will be absolutely aware of the MOST bus, but for those who aren't familiar, the actual head unit is buried deep in the dashboard, the touch screen infotainment bit is linked to that via an optical fibre bus, which loops to a number of other modules in the car, the CD changer, the amp, the traffic module, and the Bluetooth connectivity.. unfortunately the Nokia Bluetooth module on these gets full of condensation and blows up, and when that happens the optical fibre loop is broken and nothing works.. you get the Landrover logo, a flashing LED on the dash and you can't access the stuff you want to access.
Modules come up used all the time but they're all inherently flawed, as such the below is inevitable.




 
I'm sure I could repair this, but it's easter Sunday, I don't like driving the car without stuff like access to my suspension and trip calculator (or music) and I need to adjust the clock.  You'll probably have heard of people using loops to bypass modules, but I want to use the car today so I found a way to bodge it until I can get a new unit which I'll add some confirmative coating to the boards of and properly seal to stop this happening again..  I'll probably opt for a later module too so it's actually useful as these Nokia ones are useless.
Anyway the fix..

 
So I'll take these.. some tesa branded electronics tape and the plastic tube from an empty bottle of oven cleaner spray, washed out and dried off.
 

Unplug the faulty module.

To reveal my optical cables, as you can see "in is working, out isn't and won't if plugged into the module as that's cooked.
So I trimmed a patch lead.

Used it to make the jankiest ever fibre splice

Don't do this..it's stupid.

Badly taped it together and cable tied it out the way.
As a result I've now bypassed the module and it all works again.
Total cost to fix, albeit temporarily, £0.00.
These cars man..too complicated, to expensive to run..

Just out of interest the work so far has cost:
Walkinshaw cat-back stainless steel exhaust (secondhand): £1000
Superpro springs, dampers and front topmounts: £949
Pair of front droplinks: £70
Pair of rear droplinks: £75
New suspension arms all round, new track rods and ends, and new GM alternator from the States - £1050 including shipping and import duty.
Both rear hubs and driveshafts (secondhand): £300
Rear discs (secondhand): £150
HEL braided brake lines: £108
Rear ABS sensor: £10
Front ARB Superpro polybushes: £45
Steering rack Superpro polybush: £45
MoT + fitment of new exhaust, braided brake lines, fresh brake fluid, set up tracking: £407
Total: £4209.
Plus the parts that aren’t fitted yet:
Pair of good condition headlamps: £300
Set of alloys for refurbishment: £300
Rear subframe for refurbishment: £150
Total so far: £4959.
Still to spend:
Clutch (LS7 upgrade, fitted): £1700
Tyres: circa £600 for something decent.
Wheel refurbishment: ?
Rear subframe refurbishment (strip, blast and powdercoat), plus fitting: ?
So after all that I’ll have spent £7259 + whatever the wheels and subframe cost to refinish.
That’s a huge amount to have spent on a car, and the vast majority of that is with no labour charges. I don’t know the ‘book times’ for the work I’ve done but I’d be surprised if a pro garage didn’t book at least 2 solid days for the work I did, so that’s probably 15+ hrs at £50-£75 per hour adding another £750-£1000 at least. I’ll not count the money I spent on extra tools as they’ll get used on other things. 
So how does it compare to buying a properly nice VXR8? MWPerformance in Chester are well known for retailing good quality VXR8s, they have a red 6.0 VXR8 in at the moment for £16,995 but it is an auto. It’s somewhere close to what I will have spent including purchase, but on the upside I have a car I know is solid underneath because everything is new. That’s not to say the MWP car (or any tidy VXR8) is worn out, it’s just that those cars might need suspension work long before mine ever should. So it’s swings and roundabouts - buy the good one for an instant hit of fun and nothing to worry about immediately, or buy a rough one, spend the money putting it right and then enjoy. I could have saved money by not buying the Walkinshaw exhaust and just cocooning the crap joints on the old system in gun gum and exhaust bandage, I could just leave the subframe refresh, the spare alloys, spare headlamps and not bother changing the tyres, and the springs and dampers would have passed an MoT as they’re not cracked or leaking. But I certainly wouldn’t have been happy doing half a job, and I really dislike having to come back to something a few months later because of a job that could have been done when everything else was apart got missed for the sake of saving a few quid. 
Horses for courses, you takes your pick etc.
Hopefully I’ll pull a few quid back by selling the old exhaust backboxes, the stock springs and dampers, the old headlamps, what will become the spare set of wheels and tyres etc, and maybe someone might even want the old subframe for their own refurb/swap project. 
All of the above is probably applicable to any performance car, it’s the old triangle of choice; you can have something that is a combination of fast, reliable, cheap. Pick any two…

It’s on. It took 225 degrees, 20 minutes and hammer and brick chisel BUT ITS ON. 
 

 
and it’s fitted. 
 

Today I’ve collected some of my tools from work. I’ve left, start a new job on Tuesday. This wouldn’t have gone in the Audi. The rest will need to go in a van.