Mad Cyril

Test-fitting run tonight in relation to the water pump.  The set-up on the front of a 912 engine is a bit complicated.  The waterpump acts as a third point for a 3-pointed cradle that connects to the alternator and the engine and they are intertwined together with a vernier wheel (but it's not on a cam - just looks like a one) that sits behind everything and to the side of the waterpump.
Only one picture and this is part way through trying to work out if the triangular cradle goes infront of the alternator (nearer to the engine) or where it is in the photo............I didn't take these bits off the engine, so am not able to remember but I've been looking on images in google etc for hints.  There wasn't a Haynes manual printed unfortunately and some of the prices for workshop manuals (understandably tbh - there just weren't that many cars produced) are eye-watering. So.  Trial fits are the way to go.  

There comes a point where I'll have to cut the industrial cable ties keeping everything correctly timed but that's only a last resort.  Really don't want to be disturbing that for the moment.
Other than that I've been paying close attention to the heater/controls/water pipes and how they enter/exit the bulkhead etc etc.  There's a definite issue with one of the large grommets one of the pipes uses.  Looks complicated to sort properly.  might bodge for the moment (time is really against me now; in fact, whisper it but it's not really going to happen for 2nd may).........but at least I've given it a bloody good try.  It could still be done though - just got to keep going!
 
Onwards! (actually, it's cup-of-tea-time).

Don't you like him😊?

It's all about pricing people out of "old" (15+ year old?) vehicles which are inherently more reliable and long lasting than they used to be. (The MK1 Focus for example is still a remarkably modern feeling, capable, practical and reliable vehicle despite the earliest examples now being 26 years old) 
10 years ago, would a 26 year old car still have been a capable, ubiquitous family car? Not to the same extent as today. 
The problem they have is that there are still too many of these cars around, the scrappage scheme hasn't helped a certain section of the population but you know what will actually hit them? Increasing VED. Seriously, it works. How many people are moaning about an extra £20 a year in VED? Quite a few. And I'd be willing to be most people outside of this forum faced with a £6/7/800 annual VED bill will begin to seriously consider getting rid of the car. 
Now, once they've pushed enough people out of these cars and into the BEV/HEV segment, what's going to happen? 
Free road tax? That's not going to last is it....
Of course they're going to find something else as a cause to extract more tax out of everyone's pockets. Brake and tyre particulate emmisions you say? Sounds good to me! But until they have enough people roped on board for that, they need to find a way of getting everyone out of what is a band of frustratingly (for them) reliable and capable, longer lasting vehicles which are actually great for the majority of people, but of course keeping 15+ year old vehicles on the road for longer is not compatible with the climate agenda. 

My 2cv. 
Wharfedale in the Yorkshire Dales a few years ago.

My 2cv. 
Wharfedale in the Yorkshire Dales a few years ago.

But still taxed🤔

BMWs since the E46 are fucking horrible cheap n nasty shite

My renewal came through at a 50% increase.
I spent an evening on comparison sites and confirmed that the renewal was very close to the cheapest price (which was with a company I've never heard of).
I called to accept the renewal providing they could move a little bit on the price (a fiver would have done for me).
They lopped a decent chunk off so I've finished up with a 21% increase on last year (which is about £30). I can cope with that.
 

Some progress ! Got a new old stock carb from Italy . They are different from 104s and sambas which is a pain in the ass . 
Just given the engine a good jet wash off and ran it back up to dry it out .
Ive booked a few days on it in March to undo dad’s bodges and hopefully get it mot ready . 

 

My renewal came through at a 50% increase.
I spent an evening on comparison sites and confirmed that the renewal was very close to the cheapest price (which was with a company I've never heard of).
I called to accept the renewal providing they could move a little bit on the price (a fiver would have done for me).
They lopped a decent chunk off so I've finished up with a 21% increase on last year (which is about £30). I can cope with that.
 

The little Nissan was put through its test on Friday . Only a couple of minor 2 second repairs needed.such as 1 windscreen washer not squirting and two larger. Front shock absorbers bad and a couple of suspension bushes and also the headlights a wee bit white. All easy fixes and not too expensive. The tester had a look for the bad rust noted on the last test and said it doesn't exist and there is only a bit of surface rust and not worth worrying about. So it is a keeper.

What a great car. Herbert Austin's masterpiece and one of the best cars of the 30's.
Here is the spec. Out of my original John Player cigarette card album.

Ad is slightly confusing - it's an Austin 7 not an 'A7'. The 'A' bit only came in for the Post-War cars etc. The body style is Ruby.
Engine and box are out ('for checking') but easily rectified - these are so straightforward. A really super thing. Huge club following. That doesn't seem expensive for something that's not a box of bits. 
Guaranteed to bring a smile to even the most jaded motoring fan.

maybe the most beautiful car of evah? No way is the E-type better looking.
https://www.lesanciennes.com/encheres/1954-lancia-aurelia-b20-gt-series-iv-a663100

I saw this video and thought the reg rang a bell... 
 
 

Definitely were seen as more mainstream, the fleet buyers loved them for a while in the 80's and early 90's - cheaper than fords and vauxhall equivalent and as all citroen owners know, a better 'an car' with more extras for the price. They literally were the car that saved citroen (again) as did the 2CV, DS, Traction, GS+A etc at various points. The BX is the reason the public took to buying citroens in numbers (think of the numbers AX, Xsara, Xantia, Picasso, Saxo etc sold in) as they could trust them by this point - Apart from all the 'expensive and complex to fix' naysaying idiots that still exist today. I mean, we all know its easier to make a bit of pipe and screw on a sphere than it is to change snapped springs and rusted up dampers in reality. 

First of all thank you to everyone who has messaged and posted their support on here it means a lot. Pretty surprised at the level of interest.
Well today was the big day the BX went to the garage and got some much needed attention. The first up was the radius arm bearing which in the words of the MOT tester "was totally f#@ked".

We got the hub off and (what was left of the) old bearing out.....

With the biggest issue of the bearing now sorted next up was the exhaust blows. The front was holed along the seam at the very top of the pipe making it impossible to weld up without detaching it. As we plan to get a new system shortly anyway it was decided to improvise a repair for the time being. Piece of metal cut to size, bit of paste and a few jubilee clips had it sorted. 
The rear silencer was bodged up in a similar fashion fixed to mot standard. We had planned to remove it, weld a patch over and have done but it wasn't playing ball and ended up making more holes. Cleaned the rear brake discs down and we called it a day having made some great progress.
We must have disturbed the support whilst trying to remove it so was a bit frustrated finding it loose when I got back. 
The day was going far too well so knew something would crop up as things tend to. I ensured the temporary repair was completed to a consistent standard and used a bungee clip to hold the back box up
Anyway after all that drama and excitement..........

Absolute scenes and relief 😍 
Now she's got her test we can keep improving and plan in a bit more work when time and money allow. 
Priority jobs for future are: 
Timing belt kit 
Rear discs and pads to freshen it up
New rear back box and support welded 
All of which will be done before she's driven any distance but for the time being L392GRX can be removed from the "At Risk" register 
To be continued.....
 

This thread reminded me to upload this video that I've been meaning to share for ages.  It's a recording I made in 1996 on the drive from Hessle to Hull Paragon Station.  Follows some of the same route as the old video.
 
Various 80s and early 90s chod to enjoy.
 

as they drive past parrishes, they look down wilberforce st. on the left is a morris traveller. thats my uncles car, my grandparents house is the first on the left.

1990 honda prelude. immaculate engine | eBay

All the old Peugeots on eBay
they're in St Helens, don't you know?
there's an egg in the nest (oh why oh why)
just like the hair on this old guy
 
All the bash marks on the sills
they need some T-Cut I bet
brown rusty marks (whay oh whay)
aren't going to make the ladies wet

Godfrey by the water pipe says
whey oh whey  oh, ah oh whey oh 

walk like you've shit yourself

All the old crocks in the paint shop say
the front's a different fucking shade of grey

walk like you've shit yourself

walk like you've shit yourself

Peugeot 308 1.6 VTi S 5dr Auto HATCHBACK Petrol Automatic 2010 | eBay

Small update on this. Had a moment of "screw it, what's the worst that can happen" and dropped the block off it's final mount on my tod. Felt like HeMan. 
Then this evening, @grogeeand stepson helped me get it into the Golf. 

Hoping the engine machine works fella is free to drop to tomorrow.  Might have a full confirmation diagnosis/root cause of the poor leak down and how to fix by this time next week 🤞

Just spotted this in the car park at Fistral. 
Fucking hideous. A few £££s worth by all accounts, looking online. I initially assumed it was a barried Rangie with a shite bodykit. 
Money doesn't buy taste. 

1997 Honda Legend 3.5 V6 4dr Auto SALOON PETROL Automatic | eBay

Thanks Alusiber,  unfortunately financial circumstance, motor industry politics, and probably a large dose of ridicule / prejudice against the Reliant Robin engine didn't help (actually a neat aluminium 850cc unit derived from the Austin 7 - and very tune-able thanks to the formula 750 club racers).  Tony is more a proud to be Englishman than anyone I've ever met, and his dream was to build a truly British home brewed sports-car ..hence Reliant mechanicals.  Unfortunately most venture capitalist don't care a jot about that sort of thing. They are interested in profit, how secure their investment is, and how quickly can they get their return.  They are not soul-less, but they sure can put on a pretty good impression of being so.  
 
warren t claim..  Please let's not go back to a feud which was being discussed 16 years ago on another website !   Unless one was directly involved at the time (..as an insider) - then anything else is just hearsay.  
I used to know Peter Filby back in the day, and remember his coming up to Birmingham to do the first road-test on the Falcon S.  Unlike mainstream car makers who spend £-thousands on putting on a glamorous show to debute their new models - we, like most kit-car manufacturers were just starting out and laughingly under-financed, so when he arrived we had a cup of instant coffee and talked a little.  We then went out in the cars to look for a photogenic backdrop.  On this occasion he found a golf course, so approached the manager, showed his member-of-the-Press pass and simply asked (very politely) if we might use their car-park with lawns as a backdrop for some photos, and of course the name of the golf club and its manager would be duly credited in print.  They kindly agreed and invited us into the bar, ordered us a drink ..and then another ..whiskey after whiskey.  The conversation and company was great fun ..but as a consequence he hardly drove car and it was dusk before any photos were taken ..we were all a little too drunk.  The golf club of course just wanted a name drop within a national magazine. 
I subsequently met him on numerous other occasions ..as  indeed I did the editors and journalist from other magazines, and also people like Peter James - who was a small-time insurance broker, just starting out in business. He also did OK for himself.   Never were they, nor any of us 'business owners' aka 'manufacturers'  anything more or less than normal guys trying to do our best ..and yes we did make the most of it when perks happened in our favour..  Of course on many more occasions the press guys, as well as ourselves, had to suffer bitterly cold wind and rain  ..and still try and make the cars look like they were in arriving fresh in sunny Monaco..   Peter's / their business, and as far as I'm concerned his / their own genuine desire was to promote the better aspects of kit-cars and the individuals who really went out on a limb to produce something more interesting than the average (at that time) "rusting heap"  or  "euro-box".  
You might laugh at some of these attempts, and indeed at the kit cars I designed and produced, but it's worth remembering that mass production cars of the 1970's were failing their very first MOT due to terminal rust,  or the fact that many cars of that era had appalling heaters, weather seals, wipers and/or screen demist.  Of course those who think they can do better, ought to buckle down to it.. and spend their own time and money on design and development, on workshop overheads and tools, on raw materials and jigs to make a chassis on, and the master plug and moulds, and more costly materials for the body tub and panels. Enough not just for one car but for a show demonstrator and stock to sell.  So don't forget you'll also have to pay out of your own pocket for a show-quality paint job,  nice accessories,  and then professional trim (interior and weather gear).  And once that's done you must spend every weekend going to shows (which you have to pay to transport to as well as to exhibit in) or else spend it talking to 'potential' customers and a sight more tyre kickers. In the meantime you have to support yourself, and pay the wages of any help, keep accounts, manage the marketing and advertizing, produce a brochure and then also a build manual, pay the rent, car insurance, traders insurance, etc, etc.,  Think about it - how many of you sniggering in the back row have got the balls to make such a financial commitment.?   ..knowing that although you might like what you've created ..just possibly you wont sell another.  Talking is one one thing,  but spending every last penny you have for ten years is something else all together..  
And the magazines were similarly working to literally survive from one issue to the next. They had to constantly pay out..  to get their "members of the press" + photographer from one side of the country to the other, to get articles written, proof-read and to the publisher,  each and every month.  Peter Filby's and the other magazines may seem glossy on the book shelf or coffee table  ..but someone had to underwrite the cost of paying the journalist, the editorial and page layouts etc., the printing and distribution - before a single copy was sold.  The background scene to journalism is gritty, uncomfortably down to earth, and almost always on a pathetic budget.  Ask Dollywobbler if he's planning on buying a brand new Audi (or whatever) anytime soon,  or how many days a year he spends travelling in awful weather three or more counties away from home.?   I don't suppose many journalist or editors are anyway near the top of the food chain nor can they even afford a decent family holiday every year.  
So please, let's not get into bashing other people's efforts to add a little individuality to this world. 
Thanks.

Now here's a little story
to tell it is a must
about a hedge find Alfa
that's turning into dust

Some cars can keep your fortune
others make you skint
this Alfa isn't up to much
But the log books worth a mint

Oh...my Alfa's a dustbin
it's a pile of fucking tat
it's damper than Jordan's fanny
and probably smells like that

The bottom's like a banana
so bring your rigger boots
you'll have such a job to pull it out
the bastard's taken roots

Ohhh...my old car's a dustbin
the fucking thing's a farce
that gaping great big rusty hole
is like my ex-wife's arse

Ohh, my old car's an Alfa...
Alfa Romeo GT full Restoratiion project | eBay