Surface Rust

Quick update! The E38 has sold within 3 days, goes to show the different markets now vs. last October/November when it took 10 times as long to sell a better example for the same price, right when the cost of living crisis became a topic on the news.
I've also received my replacement powersteering pump for the Alfa yesterday, a very lucky purchase as it was only 40 quid and impossible to find on ebay as the description was mostly just the part number.
Went into the car very quickly after work, all sorted now, the car passed it's MOT this morning.🎉 Not before trying to sabotage it all again by pulling the handbrake cable out of one of it's mounts naturally.
Only urgent thing left to do is sorting out the noisy aftermarket exhaust, everything else will be comfort features and cosmetics going forward. If this car wasn't so fun to drive it'd probably be scrapped a long time ago just by being such a pita.
What an eclectic selection of cars we got here now though!

£1750 plus VAT, which I think is a bit steep as I'd have doubts over the condition of the seals at this age.
I'd *like* to have the time to DIY this one, but  I wouldn't be able to even start it until early July, so I could see the summer being over by the time it'd be finished. I did see the reconditioned one on eBay, but I'm probably going to go with an Ashcroft rebuilt 'box. It's obviously still early days, but I'm happy with the LR diff and they have a good reputation. They've always been responsive to emails too which is encouraging.
~£700, which I don't think is unreasonable given the labour time going into it, and the cost of decent bearings. I'll get the choice of gearing, which I'm still pondering over. I'm a little concerned that 5th will be too high to use on non-motorway roads (most of my travelling) combined with the tall diff and peaky camshaft. It'll probably be fine, but I just want to calculate ratios and speed/rpm combinations before I commit.

This place claims to have some NOS RWD 'boxes, but the 'price on application' is worrying!
https://cabmasters.com/product/landrover-gearbox-cer2346/
 

So near and yet so far.

Gearbox siezed up.

Test drive successfully completed.

I can confirm that she is now running *way* better.  Definitely feels more willing in addition to being smoother.  I've definitely got a lot better at driving the car smoothly as well...still not 100%, but vastly better than I was when I first collected it.
I really will need to do an onboard video at some point.  The noise in first gear in particular is something from a very different era.

The trip home was bloody awful.  However we got there eventually.
Time to get back to this.

Spot the difference.

Yep, first new door seal is in.  Looks a bit healthier!


One down, three to go.  You can still see a little daylight around the top of this, but it's far better than it was.  The wind noise is still there, but has been reduced by several orders of magnitude.
I did notice when getting back from the test run I could smell a bit of coolant, sure enough it was dripping from the hose to the heater matrix.

The staining there suggests it has been for quite a while.  The hose actually just pulled straight off as it had compressed so much under the clip.  Lost about 50ml of coolant changing this as it's the highest point in the system and the leak was positioned such that it had let the water drain down into the rest of the system.
I've noticed that she does have a bit of a miss now and then, especially when cold.  While the surprisingly good impression of a V8 burble at idle might be amusing on the right car, it needs sorting.  Investigation has shown that we have a really weak spark on no 1.  Which is interesting as I know SiC has already done some fault finding on this.  We seem to have an absolutely solid spark at the other five cylinders (my eyes have just about stopped spinning from checking that), however removing the plug for no 1 at idle when cold does nothing.  Removing the bakelite lead holder entirely from the equation (as they have a tendency to go electrically leaky) we still have a very poor spark from that HT lead.  So it basically has to be the lead itself or the distributor cap I think - that's the only thing not shared with other cylinders I think.
Ran out of time today, but hopefully that will be pretty simple to sort as there's only so many variables involved.
Also noted this when I got back from a run this afternoon.

That's oil.  Quite a lot of oil.  Not quite as much oil as the Jag used to mark it's territory with, but close.  I was initially concerned this might have been coming from the rear main, but I'm not so sure now.  I'm not expecting this car to ever be 100% oil tight, but that's a little much.
There's definitely evidence of quite a lot of oil running down the right hand side of the block towards the rear.

Also visible pooled oil on the inlet manifold above that area.

I need to remove some stuff before I can really try to track this down.  It's currently a little buried as the right hand side of the engine bay is kinda busy.

Wondering if it might be something as simple as a wrecked intake valve cover gasket given it does look quite well squished where I can see it towards the rear.  No idea when the valve clearances were last checked anyway so would definitely not hurt to check those anyway.
I'm just waiting on coolant arriving so I can get the rest of the cooling system hoses changed.
 

What I haven't mentioned is that the RRC was minging. Really minging.
Covered in slime on the outside it had been stood under trees for most of the past year. The interior was gopping, with a niff so fucking awful I wished I'd brought at least a covid mask, or maybe a welding one. Everything was soaking wet and mouldy, apart from the seats. Frigging hell, it was as miuch as I could do to get in and move it, especially as the wndows wouldn't open. Nasty.
Anyway, we wobbled off past the millionaires, sat in traffic on the M25 and eventually groaned onto the M4, the poor old Disco massing all its 111 horses to drag 3t of trailer and stinking Range Rover westwards.
Eventually we stopped for another wee. Too mucn tea, y'see

You may have seen @Stinkwheel recently sold his Ami to a member of this forum and  delivered over the bank holiday but as documented here Bank Holiday Delivery Caper. The  details of who purchased it and where it ended up were somewhat of a mistery.
Well I can now reveal that I didn't buy it!
However @DaveDorson(my brother) and my parents did as a surprise birthday present for me. The surprise element certainly worked! My birthday isn't until July and as someone who doesn't do much to celebrate birthdays I certainly wasn't expecting a car.
Dave had been trying to convince me to buy this as whenever I've seen one for sale I've expressed an interest that they look cool. I do that with a lot of cars as we were bought up around old cars and it's something we've always done. I bought a house in late 2021 and house maintenance and the general cost of living had meant that I didn't have the money spare to buy the Ami. I'd said to Dave that if I did have the spare cash I would have been interested in buying the Ami as it looks like a great starter classic.
I've no experience of anything based on the Citroen A series platform baring a friends mum having a 2CV when I was in school, but I've been looking into then since Stinkweel listed the Ami and they seem straightforward enough to work on.
I was down in Rutland visiting my parents on Tuesday and yesterday as I'd booked this week off work and had volunteered to run some family errands. Whilst I was there Dave popped by so we went over to his unit. He'd called me on Monday and broke the news that they'd clubbed together and bought the Ami for me, but I wasn't sure what to expect and hadn't really had much down time to process it.
Overall I'm really pleased and excited about it. It needs a few bits doing like the brakes and a bit of welding etc, plus a few bits of tidying up and the seats recovering or replacing. Dave's going to take care of most of the mechanics and bodywork side of things, and I'll pop down again in the near future to help out with this where I can. It's as described though and driveable as is, it just makes sense to go over it whilst it's in the unit. I live 150 miles from where the car is currently, so the plan is to go over it all, ensure it's solid and refresh anything mechanical that's looking like it need replacing before attempting to get it back to mine. Meanwhile I need to get a shed and clear out my garage so I can store it safely and protect it from the less than ideal Lancashire weather. Long term it's never going to be a show winner and I love it's character so it'll be subjected to regular maintenance and rust proofing etc. If I find any wings etc in good condition I'll probably look to replace the rusty or dented parts with less rusty ones but I don't have the budget for a full resto and respray so it'll remain as a survivor. The car came with some spares and Dave's been gathering up a few bits on the side so hopefully we can get it sorted and enjoy it for a bit this summer.
Thanks again to @Stinkwheel and @DaveDorson. I'll either update this thread or start one to cover this and my other cars. I've currently got a W203 C270 CDI and a Peugeot 307 1.6 HDi. I've never started a thread for them as I wasn't sure they warranted it.

Sadly didn't have a chance to update en route, as the garage we initially stopped at was really busy, and then the weather was utterly horrible the whole rest of the way so we were kind of focused on "just get the heck home."
Traditional petrol station shot...yeah, I know most of you saw this coming.

Then about two and a half hours later, home.

Yes I did to back and turn the lights off.
Was an absolute pleasure to meet and do business with you, @SiC - and I'm glad to be able to keep this car on the forum.
The weather was absolutely horrendous pretty much the whole way home, heavy rain with significant amounts of standing water everywhere.  Yeah...ideal conditions for an old British car's first drive!
Didn't miss a beat though, which really is the best you can ask for.
Only real complaint I had was that the windscreen demister is pretty much useless.

It was just about managing to keep up as long as we were moving, but as soon as we stopped immediately fogged up.  Not expecting miracles from a heater of this era, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the cable may not actually be attached at one end.
The wiper blades are also slightly too long so catch on the upper windscreen surround and lift themselves off the screen which is kind of irritating on a motorway when the air around you is about 90% water.
Overall though, performed admirably I think!

After 14 years this wee beastie made it back on the road in the middle of last summer. I absolutely adore this little car. Its still a work in progress, but it runs and is road legal. The 1.7 flat 4 makes a lovely sound with the 2 x twin 40 Webers, but these are proving a bitch to set up........... Anyway, all part of the fun 🙂🙃🙂
Interior from a ph1 GTV, 15" Teledials from a 146Ti, headlining and pillers in an alcantara style material. Steering wheel has now been changed over to the Momo Tuner in last pic. Colour is Rosso Miro that was offered on the 156GTA and in the sun it really does look superb.  My first (and last) resto, and really, truly chuffed to bits. A million miles from perfect, but a good usable wee mota 
 
Yes I should have cleaned it first..........
 

Low mileage? ✔️ 
ULEZ friendly? ✔️ 
Free road tax? ✔️ 
That’ll do, I reckon…

Bakelite caps with rubber boots! Was all the rage

Nice to see it out on the road again. 
That bluff front and the nose up stance do give them a commanding road presence, and does give SUV drivers  reason to think again before pulling out!
Regarding your idle stumble, mine used to drop to 5 at idle sometimes, I eventually tracked it down to the Bakelite spark plug covers which seemed to give a path to ground, especially if a little damp. Being too tight for 6 replacements I fitted rubber boots and it fixed the problem. 

After getting back from the gym, I partake in a bit of evening tinkering. The primary job was to fix the sender.

This was always on minimum. As the needle moved to Empty with the ignition on, I knew the circuit, gauge and sender actually worked.


Easy enough to get to. I opted to remove the wheel for more access.



I found a spare sender gasket from my spares stash that fitted perfectly - I think I bought it for when I had a Morris Minor.


The sender was completely seized up and missing its float. The float was probably in the tank but I couldn't find it. I was impressed with the tank design to have a separate baffle for the sender presumably to dampen the level.



I cleaned out the sender and worked the arm back and forth while putting spray lube in till it moved again.


Then recalibrated the max end point as it was going too far and off the rheostat. So a full tank would show empty until enough was gone to start showing full!



I put a replacement float on. I think it was from a completely rusted out Dolomite tank. Sometimes being a hoarder has its advantages!


I now have a working (but not necessarily accurate) gauge!


The next port of call was the handbrake switch. This was completely solid. Again the same trick with lubing and moving until it moved again. Took a fair bit but it's now spring back to its end stop.




I refitted but it appears the light on the dash still doesn't work. The bulb is fine but no power is getting to the switch. Likewise no power to the brake reservoir switch either. Looking at the wiring diagram it goes straight to a Lucas butt connector and then to the ignition switch. Not entirely sure where the butt connector is but presumably behind the dash. I did have a look but it's not the easiest to get in there and I couldn't see anything disconnected.

Once I get that power sorted, it should work again but the switch off point will probably need resetting for the handbrake switch.

At this point it was 6:50pm. The roads were starting to quieten off from the Easter mania. The road near mine tends to be a cut through when the motorway is shut or gridlocked. Not somewhere you want to pull out onto with an unknown (to me) car. But once off that road I can potter around in my own time on quieter back lanes. Again it can get busy with people racing around but on a Sunday night, it's far less likely to come across someone else.

I checked the tyres and they were all spot on except the front left which was 20psi rather than 36psi. Front right was 36psi. Rears 30psi. What is weird is that I asked the garage to do all 30psi and I don't remember correcting the pressures. Except they're almost all perfect given the location...
However that front left is either leaking or hopefully not pumped up enough originally. I'll keep an eye on it and if it keeps leaking, go back and ask for it to have some tyre sealant on.

With that all done, I went out for a jolly good drive.




Seemed to be running very well. After driving so many old cars that rattle like a ball in a tin can, it's weird to have such a smooth and quiet unit in an old lump.

I think the car is quite imposing when approaching others. At least several SUVs I approached all pulled in when I was barrelling towards them!

Gearing is a bit weird. First is the usual old car super short. Second being what a modern first would be. Third just seemed to be a gear existing solely to get to forth. Basically you can drive around in fourth almost everywhere. Overdrive worked great too. Only engaged in fourth gear which is normal. Also when you let off, there is a switch on the pedal to disengage the overdrive. Many disable this as it's a bit annoying but mine is still active. Gear locations are a bit difficult to find. Not helped by the complex and long linkage these have. All slot in nicely but don't like to be rushed. Especially 4th gear needs a half second pause before slotting in to not crunch it. She's 60 years old after all.

Gearing seems to be 10-20mph is for 3rd gear. 30 to 40mph is 4th. 40mph+ is overdrive. No rev counter so going by what the engine note was. Speeds are very approximate as the needle swings about a fair old bit.

Handling is surprisingly good. I mean there is zero feel through the wheel but you can hustle it around surprisingly well. You have to watch out when turning on sharpish corners (i.e. into a junction) as you can run out of wheel turning. Basically you need to wheel shuffle otherwise you'll find your hand running out of ability to turn the wheel around enough.

Reasonably sprightly old girl. Hills are managed okay. Not as good as I expected but then there is 120bhp to shift 1500kg and that was from new.

If you listen carefully to this video you will hear a slight miss/stumble every so often. Not entirely sure what's causing that. Perhaps those old plug leads don't make great contact?

Also there is a blow from the exhaust. I already knew this as when it was burning brake fluid, it was smoking out of the hole in the silencer. I'll have a look sometime but I might just chuck some exhaust putty on for now.



So the verdict?
Put it this way, if someone offered the right money under my nose to buy it I wouldn't say no. However I can wait just that bit longer for a Spitfire.
I'm quite content with this old bus for now.

It looks absolutely mint under there, has it been restored, or is it a fabled dry state car?
Either way, it looks as good underneath as it does on top.

So Muhammad from swansea delivered in more than one sense…..

Old Bill Lyons used to rate assessing the lines of a new jag, in black, and so do i. I have always wanted a black jag, and also one of the v8 x308s.


Its in black, with ivory leather. Pornographer spec. Its in decent condition and drives well, although a few bushes up front are a little tired as although its slop free, its a bit clunky over pot holes. Generally a nice, slightly sinister looking thing. Its a 3.2 as I didnt particularly fancy taking a chance on a bargain bucket ropey xjr for my money.
 

The princess diaries-
Rover p6 (Princess Grace)
Merc w140 (Princess Di)
ADO16 (VDP princess)

@grogee

Is it the reserve fuel connection?
Whatever you do, don't pull it. I had a test drive in a P6 once and it started to run out of fuel, the salesman promptly pulled the reserve tap, and 40 years of silt merrily flowed into the carbs and blocked everything.
I still bought it obviously.

Spent most of its life in New Jersey/New York, but it was garage kept. 
Its not been restored, that's just me cleaning and painting under there. 

I was watching one of the yank YouTubers who had a land yacht with a similar baldness, they sprayed it with a textured bedliner for a pickup, to the camera at least it looked just like a vinyl top.

So the 65p o- ring arrived today and the p6 no longer leaks petrol out of the fuel reserve tap. Now i can drive it again and it no longer needs to be pointing uphill!

 

Those bumpers have come up really well - definitely worth having a go with the wax to try and maintain it.
If anyone wants a rather well researched history of Rover / the P4, then this is worth a read. I stumbled across it on the web, which wouldn't be very remarkable, except the car in most of the pics (green 95) is mine, parked at work. They are watching you!
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-european/curbside-classic-1963-rover-95-p4-how-one-car-defined-a-brand/
 

I Have now cleaned up the Corgis I bought at the toy fair on Sunday and pretty pleased with how they came out...

In particular the interior is now lovely and while givving it a polish I noticed that this does also have the name HJ Mulliner Park Ward on the base like the RR refered to by @eddyramrod.

The Citroen Safari came up really well as it had a load of yellow stuff over it, more or less gone now

As you can see I've fitted new tyres

The Pathfinder looked good anyway


I thought I took pics of the Classic, but apparently not...
So I have now fitted the jewel to the headlight of the Bentley I got from Dan

and a spare wheel

Happy with that!

As you all know I recently painted some Dinky Mokes to look like Prisoner models for the summer house. I've also painted a Matchbox Super Seven (from dan as well maybe?) even though it's the wrong scale and also the later streamlined style Seven, but came out ok even so (IMO)

Screen from some random clear plastic box and spare wheel from an old Corgi Mini

I see the spare has slipped after I UHU'd it, please don't tell Mrs Concern as she'll have me doing it again and I CBA.
Number plates printed out from t'internet

Headlamps from a bit of sprue that happened to be chrome effect


Lastly I bit of a strange question as I'm undecided what to do. I have my Dinky rally Cortina, owned from new that at some point I repainted

It's hand paint Humbrol, but looks ok

I painted the red Lotus stripes to replace the paper stick ons and did the bonnet and boot in white rather than red

So I'm inclined to re do this by spraying it as I have some white and red paint and could buy repro stickers

I can't decide, leave as is or re do more accurately with spray and stickers?