Angrydicky

For aslong as I can remember I've wanted to be directing my own path in business but never had the actual confidence to overcome huge self doubt and fears of failure, in 2021 when I nearly met with my mortality thanks to covid I remember hating that I'd played things safe as houses like a boring nobody and literally despite continued health maladies I feel that I've got a second run up at life , so I'm starting from nothing at 35 and want to get pushing forward with what is abit of a dream for me .
So basically my sister and I have teamed up to create a new garage/engineering works of which provides the usual bread and butter garage services and also more specialised work less commonly found like large manual machining capability and welding.
We're looking to stock up on a range of common classic parts too so that we can take on most project work without waiting on parts turning up in ebay etc albeit limited space prevents stocking a vast amount.
So far over the last 8 months !

Obligatory huge lathe brought back somewhat inappropriately 


Company car brought down , inappropriately 

Lathe electrical rebuild done because it was dangerous as hell, 415 through the soaked push buttons etc ,,horrible ! Once cleaned and generally setup it's been put to work straight away!

 
this s100 k series swap was quite aquite to drive, getting one to fit the earlier car isn't bolt in like with the estelle and rapid !

Cambelt snappage job on an iveco 2.3, lots of new valves and lapping required!

loads of work done, and loads more hopefully to come ! 

Papped at the weekend @Austin-Rover

 
Is this still in your ownership? 

I've long admired the original Daewoo range launched here in 1995. I even managed to convince my dad to test drive an Espero from the 'motorshow' in Bristol in 1996.
Today I took delivery of three of the few surviving Esperos left in the UK. 
The silver N reg is a lovely original car with loads of history. Not mint but hopefully easy to bring it up to scratch, the P reg will be a parts donor as it has structural damage that won't repair.
The green N reg is well known on the 'socials, bring a ULEZ survivor rescued by Jude Currie. It's tatty in places but too good to break up. Realistically it'll only be staying with me briefly as I have other projects that need my time and money. 

Your man for plates is called Retro Plates on Facebook/IG. They are about £50 a set which seems expensive at first, but they are first class. I had a set made for my RAV last year from a photo on Flickr of a different car and they are perfect. 
Top bombing btw. This is proper ‘work from home childminder’ spec. I imagine there’s even a wax crayon crushed into the carpet somewhere. 

Fitting a filter is a nice idea, but to be honest I’m not that bothered. I’ll just change the oil regularly. I’ve already changed it once. I don’t like SAE 30 (it always seems too thin for cars) I settled on a quality 20w50 instead. Oil pressure at idle when cold is 50psi and about 20-25psi when hot. That’s pretty decent for an old sidevalve and I’ll happily take that. The oil is staying very clean on the dipstick which shows the sump is good. The engine must have had work done over the years but I really don’t know exactly what. It’s nice and quiet and doesn’t smoke.
I bought a new set of number plates from Tippers to replace the dreadful, cheap rubbish it had fitted.
Also fixed the headlights, the switch was faulty so I got a good secondhand switch and swapped the original ignition barrel into it to keep the original key. 
Not a lot else to do on it really. I’ve trundled around a bit in it locally, the longest trip was about 15 miles. It’s definitely no speed demon. Quite like driving a prewar car with better steering and suspension. Great fun though.







 

I've been looking forward to this day since I bought the Sierra.
I used T-Cut and water to cut the paint where it was faded but not scratched.

And this stuff where the paint was badly damaged.

And then this stuff to polish the paint after cutting.

The cutting made a huge difference.


Looking better already.

Another before / after photo, spoiled by a crappy iPhone camera.

Job done. The paint responded well to the cut and polish. The deepest scratches remain and I did not try to get them out as I didn't want to risk cutting through to the primer. I almost did along part of the bonnet. Under my workshop LED light, the scratches are still obvious but under a halogen light and, most likely, daylight, the paint should look ok.
Since my first inspection of the Sierra, I knew that the paint was bad and getting it to this standard wasn't quick or easy and I am happy with the results. The nearside front door is not a good colour match and there are various flaws around the car where it was previously painted. Doesn't matter, it looks ok. 




It will look better outside, in natural light.
Then my wife brought me lunch.

After lunch, I had to do something with the two tone sills.

I masked off the bottom of the doors and sprayed both sills with the blue aerosol (no primer). Again, no chemical reactions, no cracking or wrinkling. 


Much better.
I'm getting there.

I made good progress with the bodywork repairs today.
I got the Sunday Times out again and had another go at spraying the windscreen pillars.


Success, this time no more chemical reactions. The paint match is approx 95% correct.

I had a third attempt at spraying the bottom of the offside rear door. This time everything went ok.

I used a 240 grade padded sand paper to take the shine off the sills. Messy business.

But a good result.

I painted both sills with the new paint I bought on Monday. The previous colour was too loud, it looked more turquoise than blue. This shade is darker than it should be but looks less offensive. 
As previously advised, my iPhone's camera struggles to correctly present the original blue paint. The flood light doesn't help either. The paint match is actually a lot better. 


Next, I had to sort out these storage scars.

I rubbed down the corrosion down to fresh metal.

I masked up the scars to keep the repair patches as small as possible.

I then squirted blue aerosol paint into a pot and used a small sponge to dab multiple thin coats of paint over the masked off patches.

I did this wherever the paint was damaged.

With the masking paint removed, you can see where the paint was applied, however once cut back and polished, the repairs should look ok.


There was a deep scratch in the middle of the offside rear door.

I applied masking tape close to the edges of the scratch.

And applied numerous thin coats of aerosol paint.

With the masking tape removed, the scratch is almost invisible and will look better still once the paint is cut and polished.

The rear screen side plastic panels were also damaged during storage.

I dabbed some matt black paint onto the plastic. The paint was still wet when I took this photo.

Last week I found out that acrylic primer and aerosol paint reacts with oil based paint and causes wrinkles and cracking. Today, by chance, I discovered that dabbing the blue aerosol paint over the oil based paint that was applied 3 hours earlier, without using primer, does not cause any problems. Very odd. I dabbed paint over the offside rear arch, which now looks a lot better.


The fuel filler panel seal was covered with blue overspray.

Five minutes with a stanley blade got the old paint off. Much better.

That was it for today. 
I will leave the paint repairs to dry overnight and tomorrow I am getting busy with this stuff.

I hope the paint will respond well to a good cut and polish.
Can't wait to see the Sierra shine. 

Fitting a filter is a nice idea, but to be honest I’m not that bothered. I’ll just change the oil regularly. I’ve already changed it once. I don’t like SAE 30 (it always seems too thin for cars) I settled on a quality 20w50 instead. Oil pressure at idle when cold is 50psi and about 20-25psi when hot. That’s pretty decent for an old sidevalve and I’ll happily take that. The oil is staying very clean on the dipstick which shows the sump is good. The engine must have had work done over the years but I really don’t know exactly what. It’s nice and quiet and doesn’t smoke.
I bought a new set of number plates from Tippers to replace the dreadful, cheap rubbish it had fitted.
Also fixed the headlights, the switch was faulty so I got a good secondhand switch and swapped the original ignition barrel into it to keep the original key. 
Not a lot else to do on it really. I’ve trundled around a bit in it locally, the longest trip was about 15 miles. It’s definitely no speed demon. Quite like driving a prewar car with better steering and suspension. Great fun though.







 

Fitting a filter is a nice idea, but to be honest I’m not that bothered. I’ll just change the oil regularly. I’ve already changed it once. I don’t like SAE 30 (it always seems too thin for cars) I settled on a quality 20w50 instead. Oil pressure at idle when cold is 50psi and about 20-25psi when hot. That’s pretty decent for an old sidevalve and I’ll happily take that. The oil is staying very clean on the dipstick which shows the sump is good. The engine must have had work done over the years but I really don’t know exactly what. It’s nice and quiet and doesn’t smoke.
I bought a new set of number plates from Tippers to replace the dreadful, cheap rubbish it had fitted.
Also fixed the headlights, the switch was faulty so I got a good secondhand switch and swapped the original ignition barrel into it to keep the original key. 
Not a lot else to do on it really. I’ve trundled around a bit in it locally, the longest trip was about 15 miles. It’s definitely no speed demon. Quite like driving a prewar car with better steering and suspension. Great fun though.







 

There's no comparison, the Somerset is like a rocket in comparison!
I'm actually going to be moving it on soon. I prefer driving the Hampshire and it's just sitting there not being used so it deserves to go to a new home with someone who can lavish more time and attention on it than I can.

Fitting a filter is a nice idea, but to be honest I’m not that bothered. I’ll just change the oil regularly. I’ve already changed it once. I don’t like SAE 30 (it always seems too thin for cars) I settled on a quality 20w50 instead. Oil pressure at idle when cold is 50psi and about 20-25psi when hot. That’s pretty decent for an old sidevalve and I’ll happily take that. The oil is staying very clean on the dipstick which shows the sump is good. The engine must have had work done over the years but I really don’t know exactly what. It’s nice and quiet and doesn’t smoke.
I bought a new set of number plates from Tippers to replace the dreadful, cheap rubbish it had fitted.
Also fixed the headlights, the switch was faulty so I got a good secondhand switch and swapped the original ignition barrel into it to keep the original key. 
Not a lot else to do on it really. I’ve trundled around a bit in it locally, the longest trip was about 15 miles. It’s definitely no speed demon. Quite like driving a prewar car with better steering and suspension. Great fun though.







 

There's no comparison, the Somerset is like a rocket in comparison!
I'm actually going to be moving it on soon. I prefer driving the Hampshire and it's just sitting there not being used so it deserves to go to a new home with someone who can lavish more time and attention on it than I can.

Fitting a filter is a nice idea, but to be honest I’m not that bothered. I’ll just change the oil regularly. I’ve already changed it once. I don’t like SAE 30 (it always seems too thin for cars) I settled on a quality 20w50 instead. Oil pressure at idle when cold is 50psi and about 20-25psi when hot. That’s pretty decent for an old sidevalve and I’ll happily take that. The oil is staying very clean on the dipstick which shows the sump is good. The engine must have had work done over the years but I really don’t know exactly what. It’s nice and quiet and doesn’t smoke.
I bought a new set of number plates from Tippers to replace the dreadful, cheap rubbish it had fitted.
Also fixed the headlights, the switch was faulty so I got a good secondhand switch and swapped the original ignition barrel into it to keep the original key. 
Not a lot else to do on it really. I’ve trundled around a bit in it locally, the longest trip was about 15 miles. It’s definitely no speed demon. Quite like driving a prewar car with better steering and suspension. Great fun though.







 

Fitting a filter is a nice idea, but to be honest I’m not that bothered. I’ll just change the oil regularly. I’ve already changed it once. I don’t like SAE 30 (it always seems too thin for cars) I settled on a quality 20w50 instead. Oil pressure at idle when cold is 50psi and about 20-25psi when hot. That’s pretty decent for an old sidevalve and I’ll happily take that. The oil is staying very clean on the dipstick which shows the sump is good. The engine must have had work done over the years but I really don’t know exactly what. It’s nice and quiet and doesn’t smoke.
I bought a new set of number plates from Tippers to replace the dreadful, cheap rubbish it had fitted.
Also fixed the headlights, the switch was faulty so I got a good secondhand switch and swapped the original ignition barrel into it to keep the original key. 
Not a lot else to do on it really. I’ve trundled around a bit in it locally, the longest trip was about 15 miles. It’s definitely no speed demon. Quite like driving a prewar car with better steering and suspension. Great fun though.







 

Fitting a filter is a nice idea, but to be honest I’m not that bothered. I’ll just change the oil regularly. I’ve already changed it once. I don’t like SAE 30 (it always seems too thin for cars) I settled on a quality 20w50 instead. Oil pressure at idle when cold is 50psi and about 20-25psi when hot. That’s pretty decent for an old sidevalve and I’ll happily take that. The oil is staying very clean on the dipstick which shows the sump is good. The engine must have had work done over the years but I really don’t know exactly what. It’s nice and quiet and doesn’t smoke.
I bought a new set of number plates from Tippers to replace the dreadful, cheap rubbish it had fitted.
Also fixed the headlights, the switch was faulty so I got a good secondhand switch and swapped the original ignition barrel into it to keep the original key. 
Not a lot else to do on it really. I’ve trundled around a bit in it locally, the longest trip was about 15 miles. It’s definitely no speed demon. Quite like driving a prewar car with better steering and suspension. Great fun though.







 

Fitting a filter is a nice idea, but to be honest I’m not that bothered. I’ll just change the oil regularly. I’ve already changed it once. I don’t like SAE 30 (it always seems too thin for cars) I settled on a quality 20w50 instead. Oil pressure at idle when cold is 50psi and about 20-25psi when hot. That’s pretty decent for an old sidevalve and I’ll happily take that. The oil is staying very clean on the dipstick which shows the sump is good. The engine must have had work done over the years but I really don’t know exactly what. It’s nice and quiet and doesn’t smoke.
I bought a new set of number plates from Tippers to replace the dreadful, cheap rubbish it had fitted.
Also fixed the headlights, the switch was faulty so I got a good secondhand switch and swapped the original ignition barrel into it to keep the original key. 
Not a lot else to do on it really. I’ve trundled around a bit in it locally, the longest trip was about 15 miles. It’s definitely no speed demon. Quite like driving a prewar car with better steering and suspension. Great fun though.







 

Fatha and dog approved.
Shame the weather hasn’t been up to much lately.

Fitting a filter is a nice idea, but to be honest I’m not that bothered. I’ll just change the oil regularly. I’ve already changed it once. I don’t like SAE 30 (it always seems too thin for cars) I settled on a quality 20w50 instead. Oil pressure at idle when cold is 50psi and about 20-25psi when hot. That’s pretty decent for an old sidevalve and I’ll happily take that. The oil is staying very clean on the dipstick which shows the sump is good. The engine must have had work done over the years but I really don’t know exactly what. It’s nice and quiet and doesn’t smoke.
I bought a new set of number plates from Tippers to replace the dreadful, cheap rubbish it had fitted.
Also fixed the headlights, the switch was faulty so I got a good secondhand switch and swapped the original ignition barrel into it to keep the original key. 
Not a lot else to do on it really. I’ve trundled around a bit in it locally, the longest trip was about 15 miles. It’s definitely no speed demon. Quite like driving a prewar car with better steering and suspension. Great fun though.







 

Fitting a filter is a nice idea, but to be honest I’m not that bothered. I’ll just change the oil regularly. I’ve already changed it once. I don’t like SAE 30 (it always seems too thin for cars) I settled on a quality 20w50 instead. Oil pressure at idle when cold is 50psi and about 20-25psi when hot. That’s pretty decent for an old sidevalve and I’ll happily take that. The oil is staying very clean on the dipstick which shows the sump is good. The engine must have had work done over the years but I really don’t know exactly what. It’s nice and quiet and doesn’t smoke.
I bought a new set of number plates from Tippers to replace the dreadful, cheap rubbish it had fitted.
Also fixed the headlights, the switch was faulty so I got a good secondhand switch and swapped the original ignition barrel into it to keep the original key. 
Not a lot else to do on it really. I’ve trundled around a bit in it locally, the longest trip was about 15 miles. It’s definitely no speed demon. Quite like driving a prewar car with better steering and suspension. Great fun though.







 

Fitting a filter is a nice idea, but to be honest I’m not that bothered. I’ll just change the oil regularly. I’ve already changed it once. I don’t like SAE 30 (it always seems too thin for cars) I settled on a quality 20w50 instead. Oil pressure at idle when cold is 50psi and about 20-25psi when hot. That’s pretty decent for an old sidevalve and I’ll happily take that. The oil is staying very clean on the dipstick which shows the sump is good. The engine must have had work done over the years but I really don’t know exactly what. It’s nice and quiet and doesn’t smoke.
I bought a new set of number plates from Tippers to replace the dreadful, cheap rubbish it had fitted.
Also fixed the headlights, the switch was faulty so I got a good secondhand switch and swapped the original ignition barrel into it to keep the original key. 
Not a lot else to do on it really. I’ve trundled around a bit in it locally, the longest trip was about 15 miles. It’s definitely no speed demon. Quite like driving a prewar car with better steering and suspension. Great fun though.







 

Fitting a filter is a nice idea, but to be honest I’m not that bothered. I’ll just change the oil regularly. I’ve already changed it once. I don’t like SAE 30 (it always seems too thin for cars) I settled on a quality 20w50 instead. Oil pressure at idle when cold is 50psi and about 20-25psi when hot. That’s pretty decent for an old sidevalve and I’ll happily take that. The oil is staying very clean on the dipstick which shows the sump is good. The engine must have had work done over the years but I really don’t know exactly what. It’s nice and quiet and doesn’t smoke.
I bought a new set of number plates from Tippers to replace the dreadful, cheap rubbish it had fitted.
Also fixed the headlights, the switch was faulty so I got a good secondhand switch and swapped the original ignition barrel into it to keep the original key. 
Not a lot else to do on it really. I’ve trundled around a bit in it locally, the longest trip was about 15 miles. It’s definitely no speed demon. Quite like driving a prewar car with better steering and suspension. Great fun though.







 

Fitting a filter is a nice idea, but to be honest I’m not that bothered. I’ll just change the oil regularly. I’ve already changed it once. I don’t like SAE 30 (it always seems too thin for cars) I settled on a quality 20w50 instead. Oil pressure at idle when cold is 50psi and about 20-25psi when hot. That’s pretty decent for an old sidevalve and I’ll happily take that. The oil is staying very clean on the dipstick which shows the sump is good. The engine must have had work done over the years but I really don’t know exactly what. It’s nice and quiet and doesn’t smoke.
I bought a new set of number plates from Tippers to replace the dreadful, cheap rubbish it had fitted.
Also fixed the headlights, the switch was faulty so I got a good secondhand switch and swapped the original ignition barrel into it to keep the original key. 
Not a lot else to do on it really. I’ve trundled around a bit in it locally, the longest trip was about 15 miles. It’s definitely no speed demon. Quite like driving a prewar car with better steering and suspension. Great fun though.







 

Fitting a filter is a nice idea, but to be honest I’m not that bothered. I’ll just change the oil regularly. I’ve already changed it once. I don’t like SAE 30 (it always seems too thin for cars) I settled on a quality 20w50 instead. Oil pressure at idle when cold is 50psi and about 20-25psi when hot. That’s pretty decent for an old sidevalve and I’ll happily take that. The oil is staying very clean on the dipstick which shows the sump is good. The engine must have had work done over the years but I really don’t know exactly what. It’s nice and quiet and doesn’t smoke.
I bought a new set of number plates from Tippers to replace the dreadful, cheap rubbish it had fitted.
Also fixed the headlights, the switch was faulty so I got a good secondhand switch and swapped the original ignition barrel into it to keep the original key. 
Not a lot else to do on it really. I’ve trundled around a bit in it locally, the longest trip was about 15 miles. It’s definitely no speed demon. Quite like driving a prewar car with better steering and suspension. Great fun though.







 

I’ve been improving this car since picking it up on Saturday. Greased all the points, changed the oil (no filter on these) therefore it’s important to change it regularly. 
Second gear was an awkward bastard. It was very reluctant to engage going 1st-2nd, but going down and the other gears were fine. The previous owner who traded it in for a Minor got in touch and said that second gear problem was one of the reasons he got rid of it, the other was the lack of speed. We can’t do much about the latter but what about the former. 
He said he used to slip the clutch and move off in second which is less than ideal. Although the accepted thing to do with the Hampshire is pull away in second, it’s got a very torquey 2.2 OHV engine which the Mayflower, well, hasn’t so it’s important to have all the gears working correctly.
Adjusting the gear linkage made it so it always went in but it wasn’t very smooth unless I double-declutched. I had a look at the clutch adjustment. The free play should be 1/2” but it was at least 2- 2 1/2”. Adjusted that up correctly and now it works perfectly and smoothly in all gears. 
Other jobs included tuning up the engine, and feeding the very dry original leather with the leather cream Vulgalour used on his Lanchester, I went and bought a bottle on his recommendation. It’s had two applications already and it’s getting there but it hadn’t been done for years so it really needs another application. I also tightened up the fuel pump and the stator tube on the end of the steering box, both were leaking and topped up the steering box. I think the fuel pump may need a new gasket as it’s still weeping slightly but the steering box is now dry which is good. Unfortunately the (recently recored) rad is leaking from two places, the drain tap and a soldered joint on the side so I’ll have to whip that out and repair it. I’ve got a spare tap which should fit.
The only other thing I’ve had to deal with is the non-functioning headlights. The car has a brand new loom so my first thought was they’ve forgotten to connect something or wired something in wrongly. I couldn’t find anything wrong with the loom so tested the switch with my test meter which showed it was faulty. To prove the point I ran a link wire across the back of the switch from sidelights to headlights with the switch turned on and the headlights came on. I ordered a secondhand replacement from the Austin Counties car club (same switch used on Somerset etc) which turned up and I tested it and it’s a goodun. Unfortunately you need to turn the ignition switch to the on position to remove and swap the barrel over and none of my keys would operate the switch. So that’ll have to wait until a key turns up for it.
So far though, I’m loving it. It drives beautifully and it’s brimming with character. Also it’s nice to have something that doesn’t need welding!

Holy thread resurrection!
I bought myself a Mayflower on Saturday after years of wanting one. For once I spent proper money (four figures!) and got a decent one as my project queue is out of control and it’s embarrassing how few of my cars are actually on the road. The solution is obviously to buy MOAR cars.
It’s a bit of a sad story this. It was cherished for years by some old boy in Northumberland who bought it in 1969 and presumably when he died or gave up driving it was sold and immediately got plate raped. The original number MRM 79 ended up on a Range Rover and the car ended up down south with a chap who spent over £7k at a vintage Rolls Royce and Bentley specialist having work done. It’s had a full suspension rebuild with all new springs, bushes, kingpins, new loom, fuel pipes, recored rad, rebuilt carb, distributor, new brakes all round, 5x new Michelin XZX tyres and loads of other stuff. 
He then became ill and died before he had a chance to enjoy it. His son sold it for a fraction of the money spent to a chap who barely used it as he found it too slow. Also the gear linkage had been apart when the gearbox was out and they hadn’t got the adjustment correct so 1st to 2nd was very difficult. He used to slip the clutch and move off in 2nd which isn’t ideal on a Mayflower as 2nd is quite tall, being only a three speed. So he PXd for a Morris Minor it after doing about 150 miles. And made another whopping great loss on it.
I bought it from the dealer.
Spent a bit of time adjusting the gear linkage and now it’s a lot easier to engage, it was possible before but there was more of a knack to it.
It drives like a new Mayflower in 1953 would have done. The ride is excellent and the engine quiet and smooth. The steering is nice and taut with little play and it’s a delight to drive. 
There are a couple of minor tinkering jobs to do. It has no headlights at the moment. I’ve traced the fault to the switch so I’ve got a good used one winging its way to me.
The drivers seat is sagging and it needs restuffing. The leather is all quite dry and needs feeding. But the interior is amazingly well preserved, it’s all original. The headlining is in perfect condition and it even still has its original rubber mats under the carpets and underlay .
It also needs some decent numberplates as the cheap and nasty ones fitted look crap. The rear one hasn’t even been stamped, or fitted, straight. I’ll get onto Tippers when I get the V5 through.
One of the most amazing things with this car is how straight it is. It’s had the undersills replaced but apart from that, it’s had no welding at all and doesn’t need any. I can’t see any filler in it at all. 
It’s a great little thing to trundle around in and ok, it’s no speed demon but it’ll go at 45 all day and I’ve had it up to 50 a couple of times.
Here’s some pictures. Is @vulgalour still around on here? I’m sure he’ll like it.