Lacquer Peel

Did you mean a Rover 618i or Rover 620Di?

Today I learnt that diesel starter motors are NLA ... 
"The one we look after" has indeed shat it's starter.
Even the trusty MG dealer, brown and gammons, can't help on this one, they don't have any in stock and they said the starters are no longer supplied by MG. 
A few dodgy silver paint affairs on eBay for £500
Spoke to a local factors who have tracked one down for a salty £290 + VAT
These cars are NOT cheap to keep running unfortunately. 

Last Friday the NSF headlamp decided to blow. Replacement involved removing the wheel arch liner and many swear words that'd get me banned from here. All went well until a few days later when the liner fell down and got caught in the front wheel dragging out part of the front bumper in the process. 
Front electric passenger seat has stopped reclining.
Stop/Start has stopped working.
Hill hold, ABS, TCS shits itself several times a night.
Proximity sensors are seeing ghosts.
Current MPG 46.6.

This looks like it is going to be a fixture in my life for longer than expected. Lucky you!

It seems the Mark 3 Granada had a six digit odometer from the start:

All this has done is help prevent a future FTP.
 
Be grateful.

Blessing in disguise, it probably had multiple micro cracks in it. Better that to happen than it disintegrate on the road, Ford seem to have this problem on their tanks after a few years. 

Don't be tempted to the clean your expansion tank with the pressure washer, especially with the nozzle used to pressure wash your driveway. 

Big shout out to https://www.weldingdirect.co.uk/ who had a new control board on the shelf for a 10 year old Chinese welder, and only £26!


Back to the LT, and I cut back a bit more of the pillar which had been thinned by rust. It's very little extra work to weld in a larger section, compared with battling constantly blowing through. I didn't want to use the whole repair panel though.

Reason being to weld in the top it would be quite tricky welding in the roof gutter, and potentially difficult to seal well again afterwards. So I wasted most of the panel and just cut out what I needed. 

Unfortunately I had to leave it there as despite wearing goggles I got something in my eye, so writing this post from hospital. 
 

Not one to rush a job I've made a start on the A pillars. I was right, there was more rust hidden!


But I've already bought the A pillars, which I initially thought would be all I needed. However the lower panel has also holed through in places, so will need to find one of those, or make up a repair strip from some angle section. 
I've cut out the worst of the rot now but am leaving the lower bit until I know what I can replace it with, as that will dictate where I cut. Also need to fix the welder before I can do anything!


At least it makes it easier to replace the aerial now!

Well, that was a pleasant surprise! 20 minutes on the dot from entering hospital until leaving! Only a few minutes wait on a Friday night was not what I expected. All out now although a bit sore.
The thing I can't  understand is how the spark got inside my goggles. It's not the first time, which I put down to coming through the vent holes. But these new googles have a convoluted path which should prevent that happening. 

In the excitement of getting another pass I forgot to mention that my heart sank slightly when I dropped it off. They were having a DVSA inspection so half expected them to be really picky on it. At least I can be confident they didn't miss anything!

He was at least honest in acknowledging that the 205 was better in every conceivable aspect, and that the benefit for Ford would be the increased number of people buying 205 diesels and then assuming all diesels were that good.

I fitted this1.8 turbodiesel and matching 5 speed gearbox into my FE.
Went surprisingly well,although was slow enough of the mark,but combined with the FE's higher ratio automatic rear axle it could happily cruise along without feeling strained,it once showed 90+(on a private track Cough cough )there was more there,but the old FE wasn't able 🤣

Quick quiet and clean........
 
I may have already posted this video so apologies if so

The only option was a 50/50mix of TFR and water, plus a floor scrubbing brush.
Progress was swift and vengeful. 
 
It was done a panel at a time.
Skoosh on,
Sit for 30 secs
Attack with scrubbing brush
Decimate the ecosystem
Rinse off with water to avoid the TFR stripping the paint.
 
 
The results were spectacular!






 
After a pass over with a wash mitt it is almost passable.
 
It'd benefit from a polish and a wax - just to seal the paint and stop any recolonization of the panels.
 
Lastly, on the way home it was topped off with finest derv.

Bearing in mind this is a 55L tank, I'd say it was needing some fuel.
 
Then it was off for a jaunt up to Kinross for a stoat with some shiters

this is what came out the carpets and seats..
 
 
Anyways, we moved on to the Exterior.
As @Dave_Q mentioned above, these were a run out "Taxi Special".
Any colour you want as long as it was metallic black
Windy windows in the back
No AC
No trip computer.
 
So it should be black? Only in the shutlines!

The car itself is painted, not wrapped. 
It appears to be something that is almost like a lime wash😂
 
Handily, this lends itself to propagation of numerous lifeforms as photographed below.

Fast forward bro Saturday and I was over at the Clio doing some welding.
@jaypee was also in attendance and keen* to get stuck into this tub!
 
Many thanks to him for all his graft!
Much hoover and @sdkrc's wet vac were deployed to great success.


 
The rear seats are incredibly easy to remove for cleaning, and the fronts are a couple of nuts and a couple of grub screws each.

Before anyone asks, no the 323f is not mine nor is it for sale!





 
Over lunch we had a "Skoda Inception" by sitting in an Octavia, looking at an Octavia. Both had done time as private hire vehicles, and despite 7 years (and two iterations) between them, the mileage difference is only 50k.

Suffice to say @jaypee 's MK3 Octavia has had a much easier life doing airport transfer runs!
The interior is now so much nicer it is hard to believe it is the same car!
This was independently* verified by @sdkrc on a jaunt in it on Sunday.
 
 

With that done it was time for deployment.
I went out to the car on Wednesday morning and realised 2 things:
1. The heated rear windscreen switch on MK1 Octavia's has no warning light and will remain pressed in.
2. The cig lighter socket is a permanent live - so the Bluetooth to FM doodad I had plugged in had drained the battery overnight.
I swapped the battery for a charged one - the one from the car was from 2016 and still had one of the vent holes blocked from shipping..

It went onto charge and seems to have come round alright. It'll get refitted in good time.
then it was off up the rank

 
JOAKS!
I was assisting @Lacquer Peel dae an flitting.
The boot on these hatchbacks are pretty spacious.

 

A bit more of the bitsa interior. Upside- it’s semi trashed so very usable. (OSR door card- partially eaten by a dog?)


Dog guard secured by a ww2 soviet machine gun sling
The headlining is just the backing only, as it the internal a b c d pillar trim-

The NSR 1/4 window still has the breakers yard markings on it for extra couldnt give a fuck points. Actually this glass is more tinted, and is optikool rather than the other side windows being triplex- so off a later model i think.
 
Farthest off road so far

Verdict- must try harder
 

Just behind where the passenger side fog light blank/grill would be is where the transmission cooler lives, Make sure you check it for leaks as it has a hard time as it quite exposed to road crud and the steel pipe fittings cause it to corrode as it’s alloy, I’ve actually seen them corrode to the point where the pipes have actually snapped off with corrosion. 
Fun fact - you could never spec a p38 diesel auto with fog lights due to the location of the transmission cooler but you can spec them on the manual p38 diesel 

Ive got to say i just dismissed the p38 as junk but basically its nicer to drive, less rot prone and WAY cheaper than a classic, and also more unusual than an L322. As those age they are throwing up their own issues (weirdly they seem more rot prone than a p38)

Actually it seems to have been a rarely washed  L322 

P38 still going well, Quite a relaxed drive- not fast but it makes you relax and waft. It came with a George Michael cd in the player. Didnt he crash one into some parked cars at some point?
Anyway I decided to slap a plate I had on it to add to the old money vibe….