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phil_lihp

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  1. Like
    phil_lihp reacted to 4wheeledstool in Cavalier mk2 - another blue giffermobile.   
    Cable ties have been holding the exhaust up since before Christmas. 

    Quick look about to make sure nothing has been leaking.


    I had to shorten the rearward part of the mid section to allow the back box to fit.

    Then the mid section was welded back together as it had been cut to enable shipping. It was now gas tight, so it got a bit of a drive around the yard.

    Just the pinstripes left to do now. (Plus putting the front mudflaps back on, as I've found some better fixings for them!)

  2. Like
    phil_lihp reacted to 4wheeledstool in Cavalier mk2 - another blue giffermobile.   
    Most of my spare time has been eaten up by tidying up the shed. Got rid of a load of junk, rearranged some stuff, and installed a fridge for the summer months.


    A few small jobs were attended to on the car now the shed was tidy, first up was fitting some grommets into the sill ends.

    The front mudflaps went on next.

    The block of wood was used to set them at the same height each side.

    The rest of the tailgate badges went on.

    Now the back end is finally completed!

    The shiny new wheel trims were dug out of storage and the front ones were fitted.

    I need to fit the castle nuts and split pins before the rears can go on, then all that's left to do is fettle the exhaust and apply some pinstripes. I've not been able to find any in a flat grey - everything available is in metallic grey/silver which just doesn't look right. 
    If anyone can point me in the right direction of some flat grey 4mm/2mm pinstripes I'd be most grateful. 
     
  3. Like
    phil_lihp reacted to DavidB in I know Ka's rust, but............   
    This 2008 one is on 15,000 miles and had it's first MOT welding this year to various bits underneath, though not that bad - filler cap is fine though, and it is otherwise close to like new apart from elderly scrapes. I love these cars, and it smells like my Orion from which I got rid of in 2001.
     
     





  4. Like
    phil_lihp reacted to RoverFolkUs in eBay tat volume 3.   
    Mégane I Saloooooooooooon anyone? 
    https://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/renault-megane-saloon-1998-manual-1598-cc-4-doors/1427316401?
    Money shot:

    MK1 Mégane Front end Shiteness factor: 10/10

    Nice rear end M9:

  5. Like
    phil_lihp reacted to RoverFolkUs in eBay tat volume 3.   
    Sad face fiesta van, 59bhp 1.8D for added misery points 
    Looks like it's only ever failed on rot once, and that was about 10 yrs ago. Must be a clean one underneath and looks fairly clean from outside
    http://www.friday-ad.co.uk/19718032

  6. Like
    phil_lihp reacted to Dan29 in eBay tat volume 3.   
    1995 AULT Clio  - £600 - Swansea: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2506840689545455/posts/3177741509122033/

  7. Like
    phil_lihp reacted to MisterH in eBay tat volume 3.   
    https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1413601
    Yum
  8. Like
    phil_lihp reacted to catsinthewelder in Lazy spotters thread   
    Another one from our lass

  9. Like
    phil_lihp reacted to garethj in eBay tat volume 3.   
    Turbo brick.  When these were launched they had a quicker 0-60 time than a Golf GTi.  That was back when Golf GTi’s were good, context is everything 

    https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1987-Volvo-740-Turbo-Manual-/325077585798?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0
  10. Like
    phil_lihp reacted to Scrubworks in Scrubworks Fleet: 1966 Morris Minor 1000   
    Twelve years ago or so, getting a bit of extra grunt out of the Minor would have been pretty easy. I'd have popped on eBay, bought a Spridget 1275cc engine for a couple of hundred quid, dropped it in, and called it a day. However, the days of cheap RWD 1275s are long gone. You can buy a Mini 1275 and convert the block to RWD, but the cost of doing that negates your savings. There are, of course, many other options when it comes to engines. There's the Ford Zetec and Rover K-Series, both of which will squeeze in and make use of the Ford Type-9 5-speed gearbox. There's also the Toyota 4-AGE twin cam from the AW11 MR2 and AE86 Corolla, but finding a RWD gearbox for those is now both difficult and expensive. The legendary Fiat Twin-Cam is also a dying breed, with usable blocks and gearboxes being vary rare. The M16 engine out of the Suzuki Swift sport is an interesting newer option, using a Jimny gearbox to make it RWD, but I don't really want to be fiddling around with all the wires and ECU. There's also the Specialist Components twin-cam kit, which involves putting a BMW motorbike cylinder head onto a 1275 A-Series block. It works extremely well, but is eye-wateringly expensive to build, even if you have a cylinder head and engine block already (which, actually, I do).
    The use of these powerful non-BMC engines would also require me to swap the rear axle for a beefier unit, probably from a Ford. I do actually have a 105E rear axle casing that would be ideal, but it requires a rebuild, and quite frankly I can't be arsed.
    No, I decided that I wanted to stick with the A-Series engine, and use one that could be obtained reasonably cheaply, and would be a notable improvement over the stock, 1098cc, 48 horsepower unit, but would be tame enough to not overwhelm the stock gearbox or rear axle. As you may have noticed reading this, I am a particular little so-and-so, and I decided that no off-the-shelf A-Series engine was going to be suitable for my purposes. You see, the Minor came with three varieties of the A-Series; the 803, which is about as powerful as Sierra Leone, the 948, which is smooth, and a good worker, but lacks a bit of grunt, and the 1098, which is torquey and reasonably powerful, but because of its long stroke, shakes like a Zanussi on spin-cycle at highway speeds. Ideally the engine for me would be somewhere in the middle. A smooth, short-stroke engine, but with more capacity. The 998 seems perfect for this.
    However, there is one small problem; BMC/BL never made a RWD version of the 998. However, one can still be made via several ways. Firstly, you could do what BMC did to make the 998 originally; take a 948, bore it out a little bit, and fit Mini pistons. Secondly, you could de-stroke a 1098 by putting a 948 crank in it; a 1098 is just a stroked 998. Thirdly, you could take a 998 engine, and convert the block to RWD. This would have the advantage of making available the much newer A+ blocks, the ones painted that lovely piss yellow colour.
     
    In the end, I've decided to go with the first option. Nobody really wants 948 engines, so good rebuildable cores are available cheaply. I could have used the 1098 block that's in the car at the moment, but I figure I'd be better off selling it on as a complete engine. The cost and kerfuffle of converting an A+ 998 puts me off a bit, and they're all shagged by now anyhow. Boring out a 948 gives me brand spanking new bores at any size. I've decided on a +40 thou bore, giving me 1032cc, pretty much exactly halfway between a 948 and a 1098.
    As for the rest of the engine, here's where I get my tuner on. The pistons I will be using are Minispares flat-top units, which will apparently give 10.5:1 compression, a massive increase over a standard 948. The rods will be standard Mini items. The crank, rods, pistons, and flywheel will be balanced as an assembly, and also lightened as much as possible. I want this to be a sewing-machine smooth, revvy little engine. The camshaft was going to be an HT from MED Engineering, but I will now be using an AC Dodd cam, more on that later. As for the cylinder head, I will be using a 12G295. If you don't know your A-Series head casting numbers, this was the head fitted to the original 998 Mini Coopers in the late 60s. It is the best factory BMC smallbore head money can buy, and they're rather rare these days. At the intake, I will be using a pair of MG 1100 HS2 carbs, which I scored off a friend about a decade ago. The exhaust will be the performance item I bought for Scrap-proof, which I saved and is in my garage, awaiting its re-emergence. And I will be building the whole engine in my living room :).
    So, first thing was first, I needed a 948. I picked up this one from Stamford for £70.

    It came out of an Austin A35, and seemed perfect. It had a crank, sump, timing cover, pulley, front plate, and of course a block, so I took it all home, and pulled it apart in my living room.

    Unfortunately, the only usable parts out of this engine turned out to be the crank and the front plate. The timing cover is an early sort, which uses a felt seal, which is crap. The later ones use a conventional rubber seal. The pulley is bent. The sump is a colander; I will use it, but I'm going to have to cut the bottom off and remake it. The block itself had some nasty scores down the wall of the fourth cylinder, caused by the gudgeon pin coming loose. I knew that when I bought it, but I hoped that the boring out process would eliminate the grooves. Nope. The engineer I took it to said they were too deep. The only way to save the block would be to sleeve the fourth cylinder, at a cost of £200. Instead, I bought another 948 block, this time out of an A40 Farina, at a cost of £50. The old block will make a nice paperweight until it's rare enough to sell.
    Next thing, the cylinder head. As I said, 12G295s don't exactly grow on trees. A good rebuildable core goes for about £200-£300. I managed to win this one for £180, although it was out in the wilds of Herefordshire.

    There was an interesting story behind it. The chap who sold it to me told me that it had belonged to his friend, and that back in the 70s he had bought it, had it skimmed 60 thou to increase compression, and then fitted it to his 998 Mini to go bombing around, before removing the head again in 1975. It had then sat unused ever since. His friend had recently died, and he was selling off all his stuff, including the head. I knew it was obviously going to need unleaded valve seats, but other than that an excellent purchase, right? Nope. I took it to the engineer, and his first words were, “What the hell has been done to this?”. Turns out, aside from the 60 thou skim, the head had been heavily ported, and had actually been fitted with smaller intake valves. Basically, its departed previous owner had tried to turn it into a racing had, and had fucked it up. Cost to put it even vaguely right? £700. Fuck. Another BMC paperweight. I set about looking for another head.
    I found a chap in Dudley with a 12G295 that he had had fully rebuilt, including unleaded seats, new valves, a 45 thou skim, and chamber-matching.

    It even had a complete set of Cooper rockers with it, all for £650. Beats £700, so I went to fetch it, but I took my other head with me, thinking the guy might be interested in it. In the end, I was able to swap my old head for a freshly reprofiled AC Dodd camshaft, and a set of new followers, a value of about £150. A bit of a result really.
    The new cam has a 252/252 duration. This is a smidge less than the 256/256 duration on the MED cam I was originally going to buy, but AC Dodd's cams are apparently shit-hot in the world of Minis, so we'll see how I get on.
    This brings us up to the present day. The engine block is at the engineers, waiting its turn on the boring machine. In the mean time I'm going to repair the sump, do a lot of degreasing, and paint what engine parts I can. I'm going for MG Maroon; it works well in a green engine bay, and will have the added bonus of annoying any MG purist who sees it in the Minor.
  11. Like
    phil_lihp reacted to DodgyBastard in Retroshite   
    Hopefully I'll have another 505 to play with in the next couple of weeks when this arrives from the other end of the country. The sale of the Mazda 323 has taken a bit of the sting out of having to pay for transporting a car 470 miles.
    With any luck my transport booked via Shiply works this time and the transporter actually turns up.
  12. Like
    phil_lihp reacted to AnnoyingPentium in eBay tat volume 3.   
    On the theme of Fabia Slowest Diesel Imaginable sheds, we have the fridge, more so without the door trims to break it up a bit.
    https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203023115640


  13. Like
    phil_lihp reacted to 11001010 in eBay tat volume 3.   
    https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/q1039663373
     



  14. Like
    phil_lihp reacted to Dan29 in eBay tat volume 3.   
    Mazda Xedos 6 - one owner, 23000 miles - some bodywork damage - West Sussex : https://www.facebook.com/groups/carsyoudontseeanymoreclassifieds/posts/4688849547879782

     
  15. Like
    phil_lihp reacted to cort16 in eBay tat volume 3.   
    Obsure Japanese import 4wd Honda


    https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/4886628808072323
  16. Like
    phil_lihp reacted to barrett in S A Barrett's Sussex shite spots: 2022/23 catch-up   
    Yo gang. Must make more of an effort to photograph stuff, sorry. Here's what February has netted me.
    I've never seen that Ashes to Ashes programme but of course we're all familiar with the main character's catchphrase "Pile in the Quattro!" Sadly the taint of this TV notoriety means I assume anyone who drives one of these is a colossal wanker. You might as well be driving a Del Boy van. Euro number plate does little to disuade me.

    You'll have to forgive this one, my camera went on to the wrong setting and there were 'men' milling about and I was too scared to stand there for one extra second. It was like the dreams I have pretty regularly about seeing shite old cars on the street and really fumbling with my phone camera trying to take a photo and failing, which then makes me realise I'm dreaming (like when you turn on a lightswitch, or look at a clock), and then in my own dream I get disappointed that I haven't really just seen a totally hanging Chrysler Alpine in a front garden. Anyway, you'll have to take my word for it but there's an X/19 in there somewhere.

    Dull old car

    Interesting modern car. I stopped to take a photo because it was a great colour and in really nice condition, and then I spotted the lhd which makes me think somebody did what I talked about a few years ago and found a non-rotten Mult in Italy or wherever and imported it. Absolute hero but also very sensible, which is a sexy combination. Again, Euro plates really let it down considering they've gone to the trouble to get a nice short reg for it.

    This is satisfying. Back in 2009 when Google Street View first hit the scene (before I could even drive!) I spent ages looking round all the towns in Sussex I couldn't actually get to, looking for shit old cars. This Mk1 Fiesta and Triumph 2000 were found that way and it's taken me 13 years to confirm they actually exist and take a photo! I think you'll agree that's pretty dedicated spotting.

    Also seen on Street View, but more recently, this nice old bus gently returning to nature

    I've photographed something far less interesting on this trailer before. You have to wonder where this thing has been dragged out from. Actually looks just about fixable if you were dedicated. I like these much more than 500s.

    This flat-tyred Merc was next to it, plus another lurking in the background. If you want to own this (it actually looks alright) you can telephone 'Barral' who I'm sure is a reasonable, friendly chap.

    I pass this every day and it looks HOT. A real blast from the past.

    Okay, that's it for now. BYE.
  17. Like
    phil_lihp reacted to Saabnut in How much shite is too much shite? Ready for the NEC and I have to decide on the Xantia   
    Monday was wet and windy so was a paperwork day. Yesterday  was lovely so back onto the P5b in between phone calls and more work related shite. Onto the lift and lifted up. Oil drained, what was left in it

    Old filter came off, and I was delighted to find a rusty, damp patch on it so looks like that is where the oil escaped from. My friend sent me a new filter (his spare for an early classic Range Rover he has to save me waiting on a new one, so oiled the seal and went to fit it. After 20 minutes and many repeated checks between the old and new filter (both looked identical, same size, same TPI thread etc) and carefully checking the thread on the filter housing, I began to question my ability and sanity. It would not go on.
    Using the tea fixes everything principle I went inside and made tea. Whilst drinking it, I did some internet sleuthing and eventually I found the problem. The original filter was a Fram PH25 with a 15/16" 16 TPI thread. The replacement was a Mahle OC261 which has a 3/4" x 16TPI thread. That extra 1/16" would explain it! Phoned my parts people and asked for a PH25 and the response was what the hell is that off!  Eventually he tracked down a Mahle equivalent and it should be here Friday. As back up I also ordered a Fram off the bay of evil which should be here Saturday.  That ended Rover progress so I am just going to put this here as it makes me happy!

    Today it was time to tackle the Ruby 900. Now it is running, it needed some tyres that hold air. I thought about finding a couple of cast offs and swapping them over, but then remembered in my small* wheel stash I had a set of the same "curly aeros" that had a set of competition tyres fitted, all be it too old to use in competition (or anywhere else really). These have the advantage that the side walls are so stiff, they remain round even if flat (they were last used on a rally prepared Saab for special stages).
    All the wheel nuts came ubdone but a sledge hammer was required to release the wheels from the hubs. They gave in eventually and it now level and rolling. It is bloody cold out there today, hence this update during the day whilst I warm my hands around a mug of tea. Going to have to find something else to do in the shed for the rest of the day! As it looks now:


  18. Like
    phil_lihp reacted to Crackers in Cars of Crackers   
    ...MPH 941L came along, this week.
    This one pretty much fell into his hands, with a very kind offer from a Land-Rover fanatic friend of his who needed rid of a few vehicles to free up some space and some cash.
    This 1972 Series 3 was offered to him last year for a very fair price, and despite its external appearance it seems pretty good underneath, being solid in all the places that matter. As you can see, it's not got a straight body panel on it, the bonnet's paint has almost all gone, and it's definitely in need of a new canvas tilt and a good tune-up.
    It took a few months to arrange this, due to some unfortunate family news, and some significant work on the garage after it got twatted by the bin lorry. However, at long last, it's finally his!

    It's currently showing just shy of 14,000 miles, which could well be genuine. It was sold by Coombs of Guildford to a farm in the Reading area, where it spent most of its life, so it's not impossible that the mileage is genuine. Certainly it seems healthy, the engine started up eagerly with only one cylinder swinging over before it fired, and the gearbox seems to select well. I haven't driven it more than 20 yards yet as I needed to hit the road, so a full report and some more pictures (I don't like to share too many pictures of their house and driveway for their privacy) will come in a couple of weeks, when I get a chance to have a proper look and hopefully take it for a spin.

    It feels nice to have another bit of Rover group shite in the family, and especially, finally, a SWB Landy of which dad and I are both massive fans.
  19. Like
    phil_lihp reacted to motorpunk in Cars in Colour   
    This was lovely, more beige than yellow in the metal, like that BL sandglow colour. 

  20. Like
    phil_lihp reacted to Saabnut in How much shite is too much shite? Ready for the NEC and I have to decide on the Xantia   
    Whilst the oil filter for the P5b arrived today, as it was sunny and dry I decided to tackle an outside project. A bit of background, about 20 years ago I bought a Saab 9000 for spares from a guy a couple of villages away, Over the years, we occasionally met up at local events but we lost touch. Just over 2 years ago I received an email from him via the Saab Owners Club (he remembered I was their Sonett Registrar) and contact was re-established, and he was stuck as he was about to lose his storage and his project cars were about to be scrapped. I offered to collect them and store them short term until he could make alternative arrangements. The two vehicles were a VW camper and a Saab 900, both of which had been stored outside at a farm until the farmer passed away. The VW he had started work on, but ill health stopped progress, the Saab had failed an MOT and was just driven the 5 miles to the farm to await repair. The VW which features earlier in this thread I sold for him and I bought the Saab for parts as it was a Ruby edition, the run out model of the 900 and only 150 were made and have a lot of desireable extras. The Saab was parked outside my shed to await its turn, and can be seen in the background of a lot of my photos.
    For the upcoming Practical Classics Restoration Show we have an immaculate T16 900 amongst others on the stand, and due to one of the exhibitors having to pull out due to personal reasons, we had a space and decided it would be nice to have a barn find (or more accurately field find) example to put next to it, so the ruby needed to be used. I thought it would be nice if it could drive onto the trailer so yesterday I stuck a battery on it as the original was very dead and it turned over on the key. Today I fetched some petrol and added 10 litres and was surprised that the low fuel light went out so something still worked.
    Next was to try and air up the tyres. Two took air, but two have rotted the sidewalls out, so a patial success.  As it was tucked away, I thought I would try and move it to be more accessible so put it in first and tried winding it over and to my surprise it drove out with no stuck brakes, but no clutch at all, and indeed the joint reservoir for brake and clutch was dry.



    Once I was able to get in the drivers door rather than climb over, I decided to see if there was any life to be found. After a fair bit of churning, it started to fire on one cylinder, which gave some hope. Cracked open the fuel rail to check the fuel supply and narrowly avoided an unleaded shower so that was good. Checked my shelf but it appears I have run out of easy start, but fortunately I had recently stocked up on brake cleaner so that was used. A squirt down the air intake and it fired up but promptly stopped. Several repeat performances and eventually it continued to run, but only on 3 cylinders. I switched it off to add some coolant as the expansion tank (and indeed the radiator) was empty and tried to restart it and was surprised when it easily started, but still on 3 cylinders. I let it warm up then switched it off whilst I went for a cup of tea. The missing cylinder was obviously either a stuck injector, a dodgy lead or most likely a dead spark plug, and decided I would look into it after my cup of tea.
    Whilst drinking my tea, I decided to check the MOT history to see if it really had been parked up for 7 years, as I thought it had been resting at the farm for about 5 years before I collected it. I was stunned to see the last MOT test was a failure, mainly for rear brake pipes on October 31st 2007 with the mileage at test 5 less than now! That means it is in its 17th year of sitting around, outside, in the north east of Scotland!
    Post tea, I went back out to it and pulled a hose off to drain some water off then added half a gallon of anti freeze. Started it up to circulate and mix the coolant and the missing cylinder had returned, so obviously it was a stuck injector. There you go, positive proof that tea fixes cars! Whilst it was warming up, for laughs I tried to fit the face off the stereo. Not only did it fit and fire up, the electric aerial went up and the radio worked, to sounds of the 70s on radio 2, almost appropriate!


    Proof it was running, and not a stuck tacho


    It sounds glorious, so all in all a very good day. Tomorrow, if it is nice I will fit some replacement tyres and investigate the clutch, if not it will be back to the P5b.
  21. Like
    phil_lihp reacted to D.E in eBay tat volume 3.   
    An Astra, but not a Vauxhall or Opel:
    https://www.gumtree.com/p/other-cars/other-1998-1796-cc-/1426761141

  22. Like
    phil_lihp reacted to Stanky in Stanky's Car Fixing Thread - New Car Update 16/3   
    And I'm home! Uneventful journey back down the m4, A34, M3 and M27, returning a highly respectable 53.3 MPG according to the computer. I've still got a bit under half a tank left - thanks @SiC!
    Car drives well, steady at 70mph with no untoward noises or smells, other than ones I was responsible for. Seat is comfortable for a 2+ hour journey and ergonomics are good as per typical 2000s VAG. The clutch bit point is a bit on the high side, but I shall have a look to see if there is adjustment on the cable (?) before going further. It doesn't slip or anything, just sits higher than is comfortable in heavy traffic around Bristol for protraced periods of time. Other than that though, its a good little car and will be a perfect runabout for my wife.
    There are a few things to keep me busy, the passenger door lock module has gone peculiar (TADTS) but a new replacement came with the car, and I'd like to have a look at some of the prime giffer rattle can paint repairs in due course. Tomorrow I will upgrade the car with premium branded rubber floor mats. Overall very pleased with the purchase, the UK rail network and the hospitality extended by SiC during the collection.
    Updates to follow once I've got a rivet gun for the door lock module job.
  23. Like
    phil_lihp reacted to Lord Sterling in eBay tat volume 3.   
    605 V6 FTW £1500 b.i.n

    https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/144400475882?hash=item219ef066ea:g:ZkMAAOSwD~xh~83-
  24. Like
    phil_lihp reacted to Austat in eBay tat volume 3.   
    The only one on the road in this specification (1.5 Auto), £1500 :

    https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224849195976?hash=item345a0e73c8:g:LogAAOSwlCliDRcS
  25. Like
    phil_lihp reacted to Andyrew in Pain, Safrane and misery : Special treatment   
    This morning i dropped into the shithole that is luton to a fantastic place thats done a few jobs for me in the past 5 or so fuel tanks, and a disco rad recore for really good prices. 

    Took the little tank in to see if he could work some magic on it and expected to just drop it off and leave it with them. But he stuck some air up its chuff,  dropped it in the water tank and there was no leak! Now im doubting myself and baffled at the lack of leakage.  
    After a quick hit with some heat from the blow torch this burned off the PSF in that area and then the wee leak revealed itself! Phew. 
    He said he could patch the pin hole or go around the whole thing but he didnt see any benfit to the latter, i said id leave it with him and he could do what he felt best as cash wise i had nowt on me. He tinned it and blobbed on some solder and said not to worry about.  A top bloke as always. 

     
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