Shite Ron

Done a few more miles so it's time for an oil leak update.

Fuel pump - seems to have stop leaking. If it is leaking it's such a tiny amount I can't see it.
Oil filler tube - no more leaking. More to the point, the oil that was on the front of the block as pretty rapidly self-cleaned off
Belt side - No reappearance of oil. However, there is an appearance of muddy water all over everything which does look and feel slightly oily. There might be a minor gasket weep for the oil filter/pump housing, but that might also be dirty road water.

Clutch hydraulics are remaining trouble free too, if I had a leak there I'd definitely expect to see it by now and I'm not losing a drop of fluid or having any gear selection woes. I've also apparently cured the dead spot issue and I have a theory on why that might be. Since the deadspot would only happen after changing gear, often when setting off, and nothing else - carb settings, ignition timing, etc - made any lasting difference I suspect I've had a bit of air stuck in the clutch hydraulics. If my theory is correct that means that most of the time the air is in just the right spot that everything works as it should, but every now and then the air is in a place where I can't get proper travel on the clutch arm in relation to the pedal, and that was causing the dead spot issue. It was a lot like the clutch wasn't engaging properly, but not a slipping clutch, and because of the intermittent nature of the problem it had proven impossible to pin down. Now, it could also be that the problem has just gone away for a bit like it has in the past so I'm not counting any chickens and that's why my theory is just that.

I am actually enjoying just having the Princess to worry about lately, it's all the car I need and it's nice not to be distracted by other project cars for the moment. I'm also looking forward to heading back down to Kent later this year to see Pat and the Lanchester and for that I think I'd like the Princess to be trustworthy enough to take me since she is cheaper than the train and takes no longer to get there and back. Might have to install some sort of tunes first, it's a 4-5 hour drive and I don't fancy that in just my own company.

This looks a great find. I am sure they are exactly* what you want @eddyramrod. They may be the new shape but those sliding doors are fantastic:

 
And if that is not exciting enough, there are three of them!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/166729883721?itmmeta=01HW8G662WTWD9NN76NH6YY56N&hash=item26d1e02049:g:1VcAAOSwq2hmKPBb&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAAwKAPrlIOV6%2FEoQRgikaSREkwPs1LKWOUDEiou%2BZqOwBmvUIoR0DFnqJ2qDYzM%2BCNcZosKToiSDvSoxh94%2F4UgyApiu8nsWn75K2hAvqI7cOq4MgLMXgDYCi8QBhFzz7wZaqMtdsyMdDnA1TBWy222UaEGICrW7cEL575mXwYwyMD5bxAmSFk5Pq4fWK%2FwZ9OA%2Ffn6eG5zrI03TK1ZEpncF%2BeF%2F8eRgzOppA958XivusQnb4%2B1LfxnhAaLleyLPnnNg%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR8LhmJDiYw
How big is the field of dreams @Six-cylinder?
If for some strange reason Mr. Ramrod doesn’t want all of them, they would make very stylish storage units.

This listing sold on Wed, 24 Apr at 10:38 AM.
 
You bought it didn't you!

I love the looks of these, but no more projects!!!!!
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285828127033?itmmeta=01HW7Q9G2T2TE0BGHAB8KK2A5F&hash=item428caf1939:g:iPsAAOSwyDhmKMu~

It's still not perfect but it's a great GROCERY GREATER and STATION SHUTTLE. Park anywhere, don't worry about it, worth nowt, let every seagull shit on it, no worries* motoring. 
Its nippy enough, comfortable enough at 74mph, small enough to fit anywhere, and isn't really even that cramped inside for a 6ft4 22stone travesty of a pilot. 
It's returning low to mid 40s mpg on mixed driving and costs nowt£ in tax and insurance. Lowest group on insurance and tax is about 2$ per month. 
ECCONOMYICAL
 

 

 
Still stuff to iron out, foibles-wise. 
Idles a bit high randomly, still misses a bit sometimes and has cut out randomly twice.  I'll keep piling the miles on and keep picking away at it where funds allow. 
 

I love these Pandas. There's one round the corner from me in that bright blue that I ogle enviously.
I've noticed Sainsbury's sell the perfect colour matched paint for yours, handy for touch ups:

I also fixed this smoll hole. 

 


 
Perfect* fit*. 

Have some pics from various famous* local* landmarks and from general pottering. 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 
 
 

Next was onto small service items. The car did seem a bit flat and felt a bit missy occasionally at times so start with plugs I guess. 

 
 

 

 
using the power of my sheepskin house slippers I was able to read the plugs in mystical ways and came to the conclusion that yes, I'm pretty sure it's about time that these be changed. 
 
Air filtre. 

 

 
Out with the old, in with the new. 
Also did the oil and filter and added a go slower sticker. 

 
Rear wiper improvements. 

 
 

 
 
 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/126443495994?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=Hp6CEXLZTQO&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=8AFYP6nlRMa&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
 

When we met back in 2008, MrsDC was driving a three-year-old Yaris that she'd owned from new.

Sixteen years on... still driving the same Yaris.

Looking a bit frilly underneath these days, and with plenty of battle scars, but still plodding on.
She's announced her intention to drive it until it's only fit for scrap, so we'll see if it makes it to its twentieth birthday next year.
I would scoff, but this thing has outlived fourteen of my cars over the same timeframe - so I'll just appreciate its cockroach-like tenacity...

This is some of my assortment of shite that’s ULEZ compliant. Interesting for me means more than 4 cylinders, but YMMV.
V8 - LS430

V8 - E430

V6 - Mitsushitty Shogun Sport*

V6 - SLK 320

Flat 6 - Legacy 3.0l Outback

Mine are all scrap on wheels sadly, but if you got a working example then you’d be able to go terrorising London with vehicles of increased displacement.
I’ll add that they’re all enjoyable cars to run daily if you don’t mind the cost of fuel and fixing the bits that fall off.

Cheap eclat in St Albans,
 

Aside from those horrible number plates, this looks proper class

1972 Austin Mini Clubman. 1000cc. Mallard Green. Matching numbers. Very rare. | eBay

My wife's first car was an Austin 1300 when she started learning to drive in the late '90's  Gifted to her by her grandad who had kept it in the garage for her for years.  Sadly its next MOT was the death of it, much welding & other work needed saw it scrapped, then life got in the way and she didn't end up passing her test until we got married 10 years later (then we got her a Citroen C3)

My other half didn't drive when I first met her back in 2008.   She learned to drive when at Uni and was a bit of a shiter for a few years.  I helped her buy her first car - an N-reg sadface Fiesta 1.3.  It drove nicely and then decided to do an impression of Fred Flintstone's vehicle of choice and went over the bridge after about a year.
Then there was a Rover 200 that got ditched due to OMGHGF.  At this point she was training to be a teacher and the University had a deal whereby you could hire a car (rural area) if your car was questionable, so she drove around in a brand new Seat Leon, a sporty Clio and a Corsa.  She hated the Corsa.
Then there was a MK1 Ka.  She got a job in Guernsey a few months later.  Rather than taking it through an MOT, she decided to export the car to Guernsey as there are no MOT rules over there.  This I think, is the height of 'shiter spirit'.  After she came back, we parted ways for a couple of years.  I think she had another Ka that got written off but in the end the car that 'stuck' the longest was an 06-plate MK2 Focus 1.4 Studio.  Possibly the slowest thing on four wheels.  This would have been around 2014.  She had that up until about 18 months ago when my Mum's old BINI R56 Clubman Cooper Diesel replaced it.
Her sister's first car was an S-reg Seicento 1.1 Sporting in bright yellow.  She owned that for about 12 years.  It failed its MOT on rust (after being welded the year before) and it's currently sat on her parents' driveway... she now has a MK5 Fiesta.
 

Makes my heart glad when people knock moderns on the head and go back to old cars. If its not 20 years + old or more, then you are just driving a modern to my eyes.
I remember my drama teacher having 2 successive Scirocco's when i was at school - I liked them so much better than anything else VW ever made  

Best combo I ever saw was a 1300 Ghia two door in signal green with a green interior. Old boy in Brentwood had it for donkeys years.
I do remember an N plate near my mum's too, even in the early 90s they were unusual 

Also a cool book arrived…..