cros
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Posts posted by cros
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Which one of the geezers in the photo thought of that? The balding bloke to the left of the front wheel looks a little sheepish...
That's what they used to dispense from the ad-blue pumps.
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I'd have this particular mechanism up on eBay in a trice, I'd wager the novel birdshit trick palls pretty fast.
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This looks better than half as good as Cavs one...
- Banger Kenny, Remspoor, ProgRocker and 1 other
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4
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I like cars with senseless gadgets because I can unbolt them and get some of the purchase price of the car back. This was one of my more lucrative bit of mechanical declutterings-
Who wants that shit hanging off the axles for 5 years, then when you finally get a puncture it's seized solid and all the oils pissed out?
- JeeExEll, Heidel_Kakao, egg and 1 other
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Need some fake brake discs and calipers for those alloys; the ashtray-sized drums give it away.
Have you seen the contraption on the side of that faux-roller? It might be an auxiliary pedalling mechanism or something. I think this motor is right up there with the car that had a swans head on the bonnet and could actually do a shit.
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Here's a nobby little chap, the Volvo Venus Bilo from 1933. A concept car, they only did just the one which scuttled off to Denmark. I went to a tractor museum in Denmark once, just thought I'd mention it.
- Lacquer Peel, vulgalour and JeeExEll
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I often regret selling the Sunbeam, its just that gearbox. The cruciform chassis makes it hard to go down the type 9 route though its been done. The big let down with many old cars (P4 particularly) is a horrible gear change, the Daimler gets round that nicely, though overall gearing isn't very tall for motorways. Both my P4's got 3.54 Disco diffs, Minors and A35's can be swapped to 3.9's easily and cheaply which is a big help. I've driven quite a few pre-war Austins and always found them great, but have never owned one. I wouldn't be put off by beam front axles, some work very well, the Range-Rover managed with them for years. The only car I had with rod brakes was a Ford Popular and they were fine unlike some other aspects of these primitive devices. The FX3 taxi stuck with them and stopped quite a few times, and its civilian brother, the post war ohv 16 has always been a car I'd like to own.Good shout on the Sunbeam Talbot 90 - they are a great steer for a car of that era and with plenty of poke for modern traffic, although as said they do need overdrive. Don't confuse them with the earlier 80, which looks much the same but has a weedy little engine and beam axles.
Daimler Conquest Century is another decent 1950s drive - bit more room than a Sunbeam and the pre-selector 'box is surprisingly easy to get used to. They do rot like a bastard though.
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I ran a 38 Morris 10/4 with an A series in it. I bought it like this and had it for about 8 years. It mostly did long journeys and was fine at 55-60, but this wouldn't have been practical on the original engine even though it was the first year of an OHV- old long strokes are hopelessly thrashy due to high piston speed as already mentioned. Fuel consumption was surprisingly good, mid 30s, and the car coped well in London traffic where most trips ended. The hydraulic brakes are marginal but kept in good nick just about coped. The car originally had a dual plate oil bath clutch, the standard minor box saw this ditched. The later '39 on unit construction 'xpag' engined Morris 10 lost something in looks but rides and handles better even though still on leaf springs. This engine is liveable with due to MG commonality. Spares availability surprisingly good too. I personally wouldn't entertain regular use of anything pre-war other than Austin/Morris due to finding parts.
The Vauxhall 10/12 is a revelation to drive in comparison to the aforementioned stuff, but previous comments about spares and long stroke engines are worth heeding. I will soon be finding the downside of the 'knee-trembler' front suspension which gives them such a good ride.
I had a 2.2 l Sunbeam 90 until a couple of years ago. These are relatively cheap, have a decent cruising speed with overdrive and are not too bad on fuel. Downside is their pokey interior, fiddly construction and the stupidity of hooking this engine to the gearbox from a sidevalve Hillman of half the capacity. Quite a few have received 'modern' Rootes gearboxes to good effect, not an easy conversion though.
It's noticeable that the desirable attributes for useful cars was readily available on American stuff which is probably why the P4 Rover got so much right, having been inspired by a Studebaker.
I like mine, but if there was no LPG to reduce the cost of running it I'd have a Wolseley 15/50. I've never actually even driven one, but it's a much cheaper alternative to a Magnette which I've used lots, and which has to be one of the nicest 50's cars for day to day driving. Precise rack and pinion steering, ready availability and upgradeable 'b' series engine, the only other car to offer all this is the Morris Oxford, back to the marque I started with.Just found this picture of my old P4, sold on here to a shiter a few years back. It sometimes took a mate with it on the 110 mile trip to the capital. No failures to proceed.
- garethj, UltraWomble, Bfg and 6 others
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9
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Twin cam had a few issues to be sure; I had the PA in mind, it's amazing how people coped with the location of that dynamo. At least you didn't get rust in the electricity though.MGA twin cam? Most recalled. Jowett yes - rushed into production and snapped crankshafts galore. Pity as it really killed Jowett.
- Asimo and Uncle Jimmy
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2
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I decided to clean and gap the plugs on my Bedford's engine in preparation for starting it for the first time in situ. I consulted the manual so I was sure to get it right, but found a special tool is needed for the job.
I'm having no luck finding one of these machines so far and might end up having to buy 4 new plugs instead.
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The 250cc BSA and Triumph engines of the late 60's early 70's. Utter wank. Can't beleive they are fetching good money now.
I briefly had a BSA Starfire which broke down with alarming regularity, everything from cracked pistons to knackered big end and rod, via sticking slide in the carb, slipping clutch and about 50 false neutrals.
∆∆ A fine example of a lightweight ride-to-work engine stretched beyond belief. Even more flagrant was Enfield supplying a 'spare' 4 speed gear cluster with their grenade-like 5 speed 250. I believe the Doncaster built Javelin cars were similarly fragile, but as is often the case, this gets overlooked on niche cars.
MGs which drove the overhead camshaft via the dynamo shaft are a massive ballache, but, as with Ducatis, folks will pay for a good rattle.
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The land rover 2.25 was actually introduced as a 2 litre diesel before being 'petrolised'. This may explain its lardyness. It can be long lasting, smooth and quiet for a 3 bearing engine of its size. I once put a different, lighter petrol engine in a Landrover (as have many others) and it still used a lot of fuel.
Most modern designs make old ones look pathetic, but thats progress. Some reasonable engines have gained a poor reputation because manufacturers overstretch them, fail to maintain production tolerances, or don't do enough to keep the coolant inside. My Rover will stick with its prehistoric '4' and I'll roll in a few minutes later than you
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I always remember it as an actual Estate Car but I was only 6 at the time. A bloke down our street had one and traded it against an Austin 7 Mini at about this time, which led me to speculate to Mum that No.28 might well be Harry Roberts' hideaway......
I see the gentleman in question no longer has to rely on mates for lifts as he took his test after his 42 year stretch. Parently the infamous Vanguard had a TR2 engine and floor change.
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Are you as daft as a fucking brush? This'll be right up your street then, as long as you give it a week after actually turning into your street.
£30,000, 950cc. As useful as a bull's tits.
- JimH, Jerzy Woking, RobT and 4 others
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My son in law has just bought a 2001 1.0 Corsa and asked me to check it over for him. I know very little about these cars other than they seem to be the object of quite a lot of derision.
I changed the oil and replaced the rear tyres as they were the same age as the vehicle. (It's done 42000 miles).
Are these vehicles supposed to sound like two skelingtons copulating on a tin roof? It's not so bad once under way, but at tickover it sounds like a diesel.
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We was robbed.India-only, I believe
I've found this snappy advert for the Standard 20. Looks like they cunningly slipped in some extra panels to make the already bloated Atlas even bigger.
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More Standard shite. Belgium (Imperia) built Vanguard Estate for when you prefer a scramble to gain entry to the rear seats. This vehicle wouldn't be top of my list for going on a cop shooting spree with two other hoodlums, but it was the perps choice in the Shepard's bush massacre.
I can't find a picture of the side, but believe it was originally a van with windows added later. The marque became distorted by a recent lazy author-
"The Vauxhall Vanguard car was quite quickly recovered by the police and closely examined for fingerprints..."
- somewhatfoolish and Asimo
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What's this? Did the Atlas have a bigger brother? I know its cab was tried as a Scammell mechanical horsey horse replacement but I've never seen anything as exciting or exotic as a Standard 20. Maybe its just a dream.
- mercrocker, Yoss, Asimo and 5 others
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A quote from "The Hunt for the 60s' Ripper" by Robin Jarossi
"How long had she been in the car park, a chaotic jumble of Minis, Bentleys, Oxford Morrises and other top models of the fifties and sixties?"
Will it prove as popular as the Robin Reliant?
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Close, but this is more what I had in mindFor some reason the title of this thread makes me think of this:
As you were...
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This time I'm going backwards. Wheels are off because when I started plumbing in the brakes I got suspicious about the standard of work on the previous owners overhauled axles. He'd used an old mangled copper washer under the union so it was off with the wheels and hubs (nasty tapered halfshaft type, special tool and hammer involved). The linings were new and everything painted silver in there, but the cylinder bores were pitted. Shiny brakes are no comfort with fluid squirting everywhere and the pedal on the floor- no second chance dual circuit here.
It was a similar story with the 3 other brakes, so out it all came. One possibility was to see if the cylinders in the vans original axles would be recoverable, doesn't look promising...
Out of 4 one was usable after a good honing, the others need resleeving. I got a price for this, £70 a pop, which is the price of new ones, so won't be going to the pub tomorrow night.
On the subject of brake parts, I've always found it very easy to get stuff for old vehicles. Everything for my Morris Commercial and Seddon was available off the shelf, the latter being quite unusual. Its cylinders live outside the backplate so you don't have all that unpleasant business of taking the wheel and drum off to change them. The bloke I sold it to earlier in the year phoned to see if I wanted to buy it back, but I've got nowhere covered to keep it.
Back to the Bedford, I connected up the sidelight for a quick wink. In modern speak they have been repurposed and the little white bulbs moved to the headlamps.
The only other progress has been on the gear change, I've brewed up a linkage that does away with the external selectors (they're still in place under the screwed plate), and with some bushes made from slices of oil hose the change is decent enough. Its easy to slice another bit of hose off when things get sloppy, just need a cable to move the selectors into the first and reverse plane to finish.
Handbrake stuff is also, well, in hand, with 3 very long cables to make up as the lever hangs down under the dash.
- Sigmund Fraud, Burnside, Tickman and 7 others
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10
Homemade number plates on peoples cars
in AutoShite
Posted
I haven't bought a plate for years; all my motors except one are legally on black and whites and the only source of properly fonted pressed ones charges about £946. 19s. 11d. each plus carriage. Anyway, I often go over the Dartford crossing (for work, not fun) and have to report that, unfortunately, they never fail clock and charge me.
Her Maj. is not required to have a plate at all so takes the M6 toll even after she's just brimmed the Phantom.