project 1980 Austin Princess

[vulgalour]

Ah Bad Taste, never a more aptly named film.  I genuinely expected the rear brakes to be compatible with something, anything, it's weird that they're not.  Same thing with the clutch slave cylinder, that's Princess/Ambassador specific and not shared with anything even though it looks really similar to a classic Mini item.  It is very tempting to get some musical horns but I think I'll stick to just the plain duo tone ones like I have fitted.

The van isn't a Chairman conversion.  That's also my first ever Preview video, so we'll have to see whether or not anyone turns up early for the chat on that one, not really sure what to expect there.

[SilverMachine]

5 minutes ago, vulgalour said:

The van isn't a Chairman conversion.  That's also my first ever Preview video, so we'll have to see whether or not anyone turns up early for the chat on that one, not really sure what to expect there.

apologies i was using chairman like people use hoover i did think you had mentioned it was formerly a wheelchair carrying van though? i could be wrong! did you see the amendments i put about insomnia, although that was related to your even earlier post

 

[vulgalour]

It is a wheelchair van but unusually, not done by a coachbuilder in the way Chairmans were.  As far as I can figure out so far, they were done in-house by Renault themselves by a specialist company Renault employed for the purpose.  Gotcha on the use of 'Chairman' like 'Hoover', makes sense.

I'd missed the edit on the post re: insomnia.  My eating habits etc. are still much the same they always are.  Since that last health update things have steadily improved.  I'm getting about 6 hours sleep a night, usually unbroken, and getting as much daylight as this time of year really allows.  I don't drink caffeine late, I barely have sugary drinks since I have to avoid sweeteners and sweeteners are in all the sugary drinks I used to enjoy now, and supper is a rarity.  The thing I'm having the most trouble with is pain.  I've had pain constantly for twenty years, that's nothing new, it's just the level of it since my recent spell of very bad health.  Ibuprofen were working, but since I maxed out the dosage and was getting bleeding gums, I've had to stop taking those.  Paracetamol and codeine which I've been prescribed recently don't touch the pain at all, might as well take Smarties.  The only thing offering me any relief, allbeit temporary, is hot baths.  When I get cold I physically seize up in addition to the pain, to the point I'm having to walk with a stick fairly often now.  This all lines up with the experience of others with ME that have reached out to me.

Since I can't get pain relief, I'm just tolerating it, out of necessity.  When I can manage it, I do some work outdoors for an hour or two and then rest for a few days.  I'm slogging away at my job doing 6-8 hours a day five days a week and it's helping keep my mind off the pain most of the time, except for when it isn't and it's so bad I can't draw or type or hold a cup, etc. Gym time is down from three 1 hour sessions a week, to one 30-40 minute session once a week at most.  I go to the gym because some movement is good, I have to be careful because too much exercise triggers the fatigue and stops me working.

Best of all, I'll get no answers until at least mid-February because of NHS waiting times and I can't afford to go private to get a quicker investigation/diagnosis.  On paper I'm fit and well, in reality I'm physically disabled, the Job Centre is not a fan of this and just want me in work unless I get a note from my gp.  I can get an indefinite fit note for 'stress' from the GP but then I can't do my self-employment.  It's rough.  I'm also moving house in a few months which I'm dreading as that's a lot more physical labour than I think I can really do easily and it's going to take a heavy toll on my ability to work and therefore earn.  I'm not letting myself worry about that for now, I'll deal with it when it happens.  Who knows, maybe my health will be better by then, it's so much better now than it was in October after all.

[bunglebus]

2 hours ago, vulgalour said:

the Job Centre is not a fan of this and just want me in work unless I get a note from my gp

Just keep at it with that lot, I'm pretty sure their role these days is to try and prevent spending, more than it is to provide the help that people need. I'm sure there are great individuals within the organisation but overall they're hard work to deal with.

Must be especially hard if you're on your own and finding things difficult anyway, best of luck and don't give up.

R5 van looks great, I'm still kicking myself because I dithered over one being offered on here years ago, for a giveaway price. I had my R5 Campus at the time which was a really fun thing to own, and a van with a ramp and higher roof would have been great for transporting bikes etc.

[vulgalour]

Keep an eye on this one then.  When I'm done with it the plan is to sell it and I reckon you could get a small motorbike in the back, or a couple of pushbikes, there's all the factory tie down points and even the wheelchair ratchet straps still present which is handy.  I just need to figure out how to get the rear lift/ramp wired up properly, everything is there apart from the wires themselves so hopefully it won't be that difficult to figure out.  I've got very little to actually do on it, which is good because I didn't want a project, so when I come to sell it the van should be all sorted and road legal and whatnot... I hope.

[Noel Tidybeard]

now you've had a break from ibuprofen have you considered taking a lesser dose midway between co-codamol doses?

[vulgalour]

That's what the dr suggested I try.  I want to leave it a bit longer so I can be sure the gum issues are resolved.

[vulgalour]

Princess was a bit grumpy on the drive to and from local friends for Christmas.  Got home and there's bubbles in the coolant, so that'll be a blown head gasket probably and would explain the occasional loss of power.

No overheating though or mixing of oil/coolant, so it's likely gone coolant to atmosphere, which isn't as bad a thing to sort out at least.

[SilverMachine]

another head gasket ? is it worth trying an egg white or potion in the coolant? although i do understand if that is not an option! just trying to put a plaster on until fairer weather / circumstances! im pretty sure you have done hg before on the old girl, are all the bits n bobs still fairly obtainable for that job there? dont mind checking round our local parts guys i use if you cant!

[vulgalour]

It could be a bad gasket in this instance, quality is very hit and miss on them.  Didn't even get close to overheating so I'm pretty sure the head is actually fine.  Don't really want to put potions in, they can wreck the heater matrix and the radiator, neither of which I want to risk especially with how difficult the radiators can be to find.

I'll know better when I do a compression test tomorrow and find out what's amiss, check the head bolts etc.  Bit of a nuisance really, I'm not in a position financially or physically to really do this job myself or send it to a garage 😕

[SilverMachine]

just for silliness i put in princess 2 1.7 on autodoc and it came up with 4 results! two full set's, one random aux gasket, and one lonely head gasket alone. but, none currently in stock. bum. dont suppose you know if the 16v evolution of the E / O series shares the head gasket? or the 8m?

[vulgalour]

As far as I'm aware, the only gasket compatible is the O series for 1.7 and 2.0, the later evolutions are a different shape.  Normally I pick up kits or individual gaskets on eBay since that's the only place I can find them. Rarely expensive, I've usually got a kit in stock too just in case.

As I've said before, in an ideal world I'd get the engine hoiked out and rebuilt so I can get to the bottom of whatever is actually wrong with it, it's never been quite right even from day one.  Unfortunately I've had a habit of making poor financial decisions and just generally being a bit unlucky so it's not happened yet.

[vulgalour]

Well I braved the damp and cold and have learned the head bolts are all torqued properly and one cylinder is low on compression. Off with its head. The timing on this is wretched, I'm saving for a new work PC, moving house, and have the van to put through an MoT that may or may not need a windscreen to pass so having the Princess choose now to break in an expensive way is not ideal.

Realistically the engine needs pulling out and rebuilding, I know that. I just don't have the resources to do it. It's 2024 getting the boot in one last time.

[SilverMachine]

may be a silly question, but did you not have a spare engine laid about at some point possibly from an orange car? maybe when you were at your parents or when you had a garage/unit possibly with your brother? i could be remembering something different altogether though, yes 24 having one last kick. hopefully the luck will improve in the new year. the twatty timing issue with other issues is only reason i suggested a potion! are you staying yorkshire ish when you move or do you not have that info yet?

[plasticvandan]

Not what you want to hear but I would have thought possibly the Renault might be the better thing to put money into for transport right now?

[vulgalour]

@SilverMachine the spare head I've been using for parts was off that car, the block and gearbox from it are long gone.  Not decided on the next move yet, putting that aside for now.

@plasticvandan agreed, it might be.  Trouble is the Renault might not pass an MoT without a new windscreen because of the crack in it and sorting that is going to be a similar cost/timescale to the Princess.  I'm considering taping over the crack, moving the wipers up, and just chucking it in to see what happens once the last few exhaust mounting parts arrive, I'm waiting for a clamp to turn up.  I have no easy routes out of this right now, so I'm going to rely on public transport until stuff sorts.  Christmas and New Year are getting in the way a bit.

[plasticvandan]

The princess seems to lurch week to week with a new or recurring problem,and doesn't seem to have changed in all the years I've been reading about it.£50 for an MOT on the Renault,assuming nothing else is found with it,might be a better immideate solution?

[SilverMachine]

15 minutes ago, plasticvandan said:

The princess seems to lurch week to week with a new or recurring problem,and doesn't seem to have changed in all the years I've been reading about it.£50 for an MOT on the Renault,assuming nothing else is found with it,might be a better immideate solution?

i think i agree, the van probably is the best to concentrate on short term, assuming it needs nothing else, then after the move you can maybe get the princess engine pulled out while still hopefully having a usable van. the tape on the screen may draw attention to it, hopefully the tester is in a good mood or is distracted by some nice biscuits and hot chocolate.... remember a gift is not a bribe unless previously agreed!

[vulgalour]

There's a bit of survivorshop bias at play too.  I don't report on the days the Princess behaves because that's boring, and they're more common than the days it misbehaves.  The vast majority of the time this year I've just got in and driven it and not thought anything more of it, I've just had a few little problems here and there until we got the big one with the head gasket most recently.  Bear in mind I was commuting in it daily with no real bother, and I'm out in it almost every day, including moderately regular 60 mile round trips to see friends before I was ill, headed over to Hull too with no real issues.  I'd had some parts break, a headlight switch that had always been a bit iffy gave up, the cheap air compressor for the horns died, a connector fell off a wire... nothing major until the head gasket recently.  These days the problems I have with it are small ones and usually repairable in a couple of minutes rather than weeks providing I don't have to wait for parts to turn up.

The Princess will get fixed, naturally, if for no other reason than to wind up @vinyljunky who has been enjoying my misfortune lately

As for the van, on the whole it does look to be in better general shape but it has its own problems.  The overheating and head gasket issue I think I've fixed, I need to drive it more to find out for sure.  The exhaust is almost fixed, just waiting on parts.  The windscreen is the big one, it needs to come out so I can weld the surround and fit a new screen, they're bonded so it's not something I'm confident I can DIY.  I can bodge what's there and hope it passes but honestly, it feels shitty of me to do that when I know there's a problem that should be fixed properly.  If I turn up with an old van with an expired MoT, tape covering rust holes and a cracked windscreen, it's not setting a great first impression is it?

I'm not getting rid of the Princess, it'll be done when it's done.  It's my decision to make and other people are welcome to their own opinions on that.  I've been collecting parts and putting plans in place to deal with its biggest issues, money has been spent just not where people are seeing it - new windscreen, new windscreen seal, repair panels, etc. - and that will continue until we either win or it dies catastrophically.

When the parts I need have arrived and I've spoken to some garages I can make a plan as to who gets what first.  Both vehicles will get sorted, one will be fully road legal before the other, and it won't happen until at least the end of the first week of January.

 

I know it drives everyone spare that I've not put all my resources into fixing the Princess.  I'm a mess, that's unlikely to change.  I make stupid decisions, I'm bad at gambling.  It's fine, the people are entertained.  If I were to apply logic and reason I'd just give up driving and the expense and stress of car ownership.  That sounds very boring to me so I'm not going to do it.

[plasticvandan]

Suggestions are just that.inwas the same when I dailied worn out Reliants for ten years,cars which weren't that great at being cars when brand new. Eventually,I wanted out of that cycle,and quite frankly I don't know now how I had the time or mental capacity to manage back then!

[vulgalour]

It was good reading about them though, made me feel better when I was having a bad day with mine, and hopeful when you had the wins with yours.

[24vdiamond]

Did you want to borrow something for a couple of weeks to get you mobile?

[SilverMachine]

who said get rid of the princess? didnt even think that was an option thought it was a life long obsession! theres a good few gaskets on everyones favorite auction site, as you said there would be! which engine is in the van?

[auntiemaryscanary]

6 hours ago, 24vdiamond said:

Did you want to borrow something for a couple of weeks to get you mobile?

Sounds v generous to me. Not that far from you either.

[vulgalour]

@SilverMachine nobody suggested getting rid of the Princess yet... yet.  The van is the venerable Cléon-Fonte lump.

@24vdiamond I may take you up on that offer.  I want to see what the timescale is from the garages I've had tip offs from for the work on the Princess when I call on the 2nd, if they can do it quickly enough I'll be okay as I am and I'll save you the trouble.

Today I did tweak the wiper location on the van and put some fresh tape on, I might just scrape through with an advisory.  So as with the head work on the Princess I'm going to see who's available and friendly and take a chance.  Worst case I'll get a list of jobs to fix, best case I get an MoT.  Stuck waiting for that last exhaust part in the meantime and the awful weather that's blundered in and is set to hang about for a few days.  Luckily, I don't have anywhere I need to be for a week now.

[Noel Tidybeard]

just watched the video and i have o say the tongue in cheek style was very good👍

[vulgalour]

Good news!  Spoke to the local garage and they have a very short lead time on the head work, with a pressure test and skim being £80.  It's going to take me longer to order the fluids and cam belt I need than it is for them to fix the head.

[plasticvandan]

Hasn't it been off several times already? If so the question needs asking why has it gone,I would have thought it was a pretty low stressed engine.

[captain_70s]

My guesses would be:

Shit gasket(s).

Loose head bolt(s).

Warped head.

 

I've had the top two. One cheapo gasket that failed within a few hundred miles, some I've not fitted as they'd been badly stored.

A head that untorqued itself despite my having re-torqued it after initial run-in post rebuild, I retorqed it again and it's been fine since.

You have to get a Dolomite OHV head VERY hot to warp it, I've yet to achieve it.

[24vdiamond]

On 31/12/2024 at 16:41, vulgalour said:

@SilverMachine nobody suggested getting rid of the Princess yet... yet.  The van is the venerable Cléon-Fonte lump.

@24vdiamond I may take you up on that offer.  I want to see what the timescale is from the garages I've had tip offs from for the work on the Princess when I call on the 2nd, if they can do it quickly enough I'll be okay as I am and I'll save you the trouble.

Today I did tweak the wiper location on the van and put some fresh tape on, I might just scrape through with an advisory.  So as with the head work on the Princess I'm going to see who's available and friendly and take a chance.  Worst case I'll get a list of jobs to fix, best case I get an MoT.  Stuck waiting for that last exhaust part in the meantime and the awful weather that's blundered in and is set to hang about for a few days.  Luckily, I don't have anywhere I need to be for a week now.

No problem, the little Astra is here if you need it