uk_senator

Bugger.. 😒

Yeah, they all do that sir... The main bearings do tend to be noisy on C501`s, I`ve yet to find an oil that solves it (without resorting to really thick, oil which would cause too much drag). I might try putting a few tablespoons of friction reducer in when I do that leaky gaiter to see if it has an effect.

Not yet it isn't! Still has tax & ticket, only done 13k, totally believable looking at the MOT history. Shame its not ULEZ compliant. Not a very generously sized Disabled space is it.. Must have originally housed an Invacar..

Yep, just looked back at page 2, the selector bar can seize with lack of use as well, eventually leading to the rounding off problem Giles sorted with the drill bit bit.... They can be stripped & re-greased, and if your feeling adventurous, you can drill & tap a hole in the middle & stick a grease nipple in to prevent the seizing issue. They changed them a bit over time, but they all fit on the same studs & do the same thing, so not to worry. Have a look at those change rod bushes though if you haven't already, as new ones also help selection, & will prevent the gear selector loss I mentioned. They were like a rubbery nylon material it was new, & deteriorate with age, crack & eventually fall out, theres every chance yours are original & on their last legs. New ones are stiffer nylon & are a bit of an arse to fit, as you have to push the rigid bushes into the hole in the rods, the bush is a very tight fit, & the nylon is rigid enough to make it difficult to get in, but not quite rigid enough to prevent diagonal distortion when you`re trying to push it through. much easier to do completely off the car in a vice, squarely if you can. KY jelly helps (matron), both getting the bush in & popping it onto the ball when remounting it under the car, with extendable/plumbers pliers or mole grips.

Just saw this on Google streetview & thought of you lot, its in Highgate, London. Its there in 2008 as well, whether its there now is anyones guess (its within the new ULEZ zone).

There is huge debate, for the record I have used cheap 20/50 engine oil in the past, & last time I rebuilt my gearbox (on grey 1990 Uno Mk2, same C501 box as yours) I used non-EP Comma 75/90 . That was about 10 years ago & its been fine (although I noticed yesterday it seems to be leaking more gearbox oil than usual from the OS driveshaft gaiter, so that needs doing again). Sloppy linkage will likely be deteriorated linkage bushes. You need to change them before they go or you`ll have a sudden loss of gear selection, which can be temporarily solved with a luggage elastic hooked onto the OS jacking point (always keep a couple in the boot), but will inevitably happen in rain, at night on a muddy country lane, or on a motorway..

Oh right! I have seen a red Bluebird go down on my CCTV occasionally!

CCTV spot. Just gone past mine:

I think I`m right in saying that the Corsica was purchased from JDHT & running gear etc installed so it now works. I went to the JDHT museum several times when I worked at a Jag dealer, I particularly liked the XJ40 Coupe & estate concepts, such a shame they didn't make them to complete with Merc & BM.

That & the fact UBER & Covid have obliterated the black cab trade. There's fields full of them where so many black cab drivers have packed it in over the last year.

They had my Scoupe a couple of weeks back too. They are non-stop at the moment, I had to wait 8 days for them to collect the Scoupe, a couple of years back they were next day, but according to the bloke I spoke to "we cant keep up because of ULEZ", God knows what gems are being unceremoniously binned...