plasticvandan

Many years ago I bought a 96 Mini a long way from home and lost the clutch almost as soon as I left.managed to drive 150 miles home at night without the clutch,figuring I would be on the motorway for most of it and wouldn't need to change gear. It was a loss of pedal that just seemed to be air in the system,I bled the system and topped the master up and never had a problem with it afterwards,just one of those weird one off problems.

Yes,swivel pin is kingpin

Did wonder if these used oilite bushes which are self lubricating,but seems unlikely to me.reliants have two nipples for the pin in the hub,must be some sort of lubrication point or would wear out very quickly 

I did remember reading that those gaiters are actually a pig to remove,the trabi club FB group may have some info on it

27 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

its not meant as an excuse, just a statement of preference thats all, 

ill figure something out and once im in the right head space ill drop them a line  

 

, I dont *think* the sons know of me and I would be effectively cold calling them, but I want to make a good first impression, and for better or worse, my social anxiety always gets the better of me here so I am going to need some time to overthink things and plan it all out

and thus I was just stating that I personally would feel more at ease if I did have REV, for the reasons I stated above

 

I mean your post is a prime example of why I do overthink these things, I make a statement of preference and I suddenly get comments like "piss poor excuse" so yeah thats exactly why I tend to overthink things like making contact with people etc...

Just encouragement from someone who broke the autism test many years ago.

A similar message to what I wrote is all that's needed,casual,to the point,and with enough info to garner a response. Anything more as an introduction isn't needed,and they will likely be more amazed that it has survived and you have found them than the fact its waiting for a new kingpin.

Piss poor excuse to not contact them,the fact you own it is reason enough.hi,I own your dads invacar,which is undergoing reatoration so i can use it on the road,have you any photographs or history you might be able to share,would love to reunite you with it once it is back on the road..etc etc

14 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Give me strength...

Just had another letter from the Council.  Apparently they're under the impression that I have started operating a vehicle restoration or repair business out of my property, in contravention with the local planning regulations.  They are investigating the matter and invite me to provide evidence to prove that I am not in fact operating said business.  Um, how exactly am I supposed to provide evidence of NOT doing something?

Guess that's going to be a fun hour sitting on hold tomorrow trying to get through to speak to an actual person.

This is in addition to the planning enforcement notice received from them a few weeks ago about us having apparently built a fence on their land - despite every single set of plans I've had sight of (including from the land registry) clearly showing our boundary to butt up right against the footpath.  Still waiting for them to confirm the details on that one, though at least they have acknowledged they've received my initial response.

It'll be the Trabant that has tipped whoever it is over the edge,I used to have a neighbour ask if I could tell them if I was going to start mine so they could bring their washing in beforehand.

I stand by it from my own experience,pretty sure you will find a lot of retorquing needed when it's cold again.

Based on doing many reliant head gaskets and having them blow again,till I was told this method by an old timer,tho something obviously wrong with your gasket,coolant can and will seep through before it's got some heat into it,and the whole retorque after 500 miles thing is bonkers,which I'm sure you will find by how much the nuts turn after they have expanded and contracted a few times.

I always run the engine for a minute with no coolant,this melts whatever laqquer is on the gasket which creates a seal,this applies to composite ones as well which have that red bead around the edges.Then cool,retorque and fill with coolant,I then do a few hot and cold cycles,retorquing each time,before even driving it.of course if this uses stretch bolts that isnt applicable.

I've certainly used car 7" headlamp units on bikes and had no issues with the beam,it's still a rhd headlamp

Always used to stick cork rocker gaskets on with hylomar or similar on reliant rockers,mainly to stop them falling off when trying to shoe horn them back in the engine bay.you may find soaking it in hot water for a while aids finding its shape 

Decided that even though I have paperwork to say it was done 2000 miles ago,I would change the oil and filter on my newly acquired Berlingo,having researched the recommended oil (total) to use it would be good peace of mind to get it done.filter change one of the easiest I've done,cartridge type and done from above,no mess! On unscrewing the sump plug it was tight all the way,never a great sign,and low and behold the thread looked... interesting.

Shows that despite a fully stamped book you can still find problems.fortunately there is a gsf up the road who had a new one on the shelf,which felt like it was.recutting a thread all the way in.It did at least tighten and seal on the new washer,but unless I go down the oil sucker route next time.i suspect it will be new sump time for the next oil change as I won't be able to trust it.That said it could.be fine now it's got a new plug in it.

Does seem a bit quieter and smoother.

Air filter looks a pita to do so will leave that for another day 

Head gaskets on these are a side of the road job,and an item to keep on stock alongside a coil,fan belt etc.

I daily rode my 250 MZ for 50,000 miles,and used westway semi synth off eBay (that mileage I used a lot) when i stripped it for rebuild following a gearbox fault,after 30,000 miles I had little to no carbon build up,the bore was still excellent,and no gummed up rings etc. so I can personally recommend that. I tend to use 40.1,the factory said 50.1 but suspect that was just to keep the smoke to a minimum. Once you get even more used to it,I would recommend switching the fuel tap off a certain distance before home,so that the bowl can empty while parked,this prevents too much gumming up in the carb from crap ethanol fuel and oily residue.

The theoretical max figure is surely dictated by gearing and maximum revs?

All fairly irrelevant as road conditions,weather and laws of physics play their part.i have traversed in a Reliant at an indicated 97-so perhaps 90 but I never liked to take them much above 65,cross winds or rough roads make keeping them in a straight line difficult. Air gathering under the front end tends to start lifting them up resulting in ever lightening steering.During the aftermath of a named storm I was driving a regal along the M5 and actually had to leave it asap,as I had had to drop my speed to 25mph as I was needing 2 lanes to keep it going forwards,due to wind blowing me around.

To be fair to the pigs I only ever had to do a couple,most of the time a good greasing would sort them out,I never had too much issue with the kingpins,and only had one that was really worn,front tyre bald on one side 

Can't recall exactly but I think they had a check over every three months and a major service every 12,of course most went to the repairers more often than that. A favourite story my grandad told me was he was at a customers.house servicing their invacare,then got the call from the garage to go attend a breakdown,on route to that car he came across another one that had broken down and fixed that before heading to the other one,all in a morning LOL

It's not the easiest job,usually requiring a reamer. On the Reliant removing the tapered peg that locks it in place is the worst part.

Might be worth seeing wether a reliant kingpin is the same...

Here's a side question,does anyone know if I was to take a policy out with no NCB to use on it,would I be able to provide NCB from another policy once I had cancelled that policy (different vehicle and insurer) and hopefully get a refund based on the added ncb?

When they were in service,they were supported by a multi million pound stock of spares in a central stores,and a network of repairers around the country,who would come out and fix it,take it to the workshop,and issue you with a loan car.all of that no longer exists,and that I think is where you need to separate the past from the present,and your own circumstances.

I was a bit like Dez when I first started driving,completely obsessed with Reliants,which I had been since a toddler.This culminated in the years between 17 and my late 20s owning 27 of them.i had skills,facilities,contacts and the spares to keep them running,and it was a constant stress and constant work.a crash in my last one ended my reliant love affair,i was lucky to get out.

I suspect the fact that dez has sat typing for the last 2 years with no transport answers the question of whether he wants or needs everyday transport.

Even if he gets it back in a roadworthy state it's only a matter of time before something else knocks it out of action,and that would need planning for.

I don't think having it for two years is much pressure really

On 23/01/2024 at 18:19, plasticvandan said:

If all you want is your invacar,use the 2 grand you've got for a kangoo and insurance to get it lifted from Worcester and fixed,or,as.its only 10 miles away from them,get reliantspares in Cradley to fetch it,fix it and mot it,and deliver it back to you,you pay him and he will do it,three wheeler and classic specialist,even had a mk12 c.15 years ago.

Again