Spiny Norman Posted December 17, 2013 Posted December 17, 2013 Still one of the best reads on the whole forum this thread, love it on the new wheels, keep it up VL. beko1987, purplebargeken and vulgalour 3
drum Posted December 17, 2013 Posted December 17, 2013 They fill the arches nicely. If I had smilies, I would give you the thumbs up. The off side front wing looks a bit rippled or is that my eyes? That scoop Car article I scanned in described the mystery car as "unusually stylish" . Quite right too.
vulgalour Posted December 17, 2013 Author Posted December 17, 2013 The rippled wing is the one I straightened with hammers and a Maestro. It still needs more work but now is not the time to be doing it. I've got used to it now, I don't really notice it anymore. beko1987 1
Mr Livered Posted December 17, 2013 Posted December 17, 2013 Looking fantastic Mr V. Really really good. It's probably my favourite Autoshiter's car. vulgalour 1
mercrocker Posted December 18, 2013 Posted December 18, 2013 I think its the very spririt of Autoshite, both as a vehicle (in that colour) and as a symbol of dogged determination. There should be a medal of some kind (maybe a specially minted* beige BL roundel mounted on a Supercover windscreen sticker) vulgalour, HMC and DSdriver 3
barefoot Posted December 18, 2013 Posted December 18, 2013 the wheels are 4 winnahs I can't believe that they are quite so spectacular. I've found, since being a bit regular on here that my attitude towards aftermarket/alternative wheels has changed quite dramatically.I'd never even have thought about looking at wheels from a Lotus. Well done Sir. vulgalour 1
Rocket88 Posted December 18, 2013 Posted December 18, 2013 Would look great on colour coded Minilites, but the Lotus wheels are very "Space 1999".
Guest Breadvan72 Posted December 18, 2013 Posted December 18, 2013 This thread is like the bumper Christmas Special edition of Razzle circa 1979, except even better. mercrocker, Anglevan, cms206 and 1 other 4
wackywacerwill Posted December 18, 2013 Posted December 18, 2013 Check it looking all sporty like, well done that man. Sent from my commode using crapatalk Squire_Dawson 1
garethj Posted December 18, 2013 Posted December 18, 2013 When I had my Ginetta G26 I was after the same kind of Lotus wheels, they look DA NAILZ on wedge shaped cars. A Princess, in beige, with Lotus wheels is the Autoshite version of a triple orgasm. If it had a K Series in there it would probably be a squirter as well. ShiteRider, cms206 and vulgalour 3
beko1987 Posted December 18, 2013 Posted December 18, 2013 Quote of the thread for me right here - "The rippled wing is the one I straightened with hammers and a Maestro." cms206, eddyramrod, GrumpiusMaximus and 1 other 4
vulgalour Posted December 18, 2013 Author Posted December 18, 2013 Would look great on colour coded Minilites. You wash your mouth out! tooSavvy, catsinthewelder, cobblers and 1 other 4
drum Posted December 18, 2013 Posted December 18, 2013 Wonder if I could get wheels like this for the allegro...
vulgalour Posted December 18, 2013 Author Posted December 18, 2013 You could. Prices vary, I think I paid £120-130 for my set of four with reasonable tyres. I'm after a fifth wheel to have as a proper spare. You really do need the proper Lotus wheel nuts too, and they can be a bit of a bugger to find but I'd be happy to pass on the details for where I bought mine if/when you need that. You don't need spigot rings and shouldn't need spacers for the Allegro. Prices seem to yo-yo, I bought mine at what I thought was a fair price but I've seen sets go for £200+ in similar condition and £100 for painted ones without tyres. There are other Eclat and Elite wheels you can get too, these would, I think, look better on the Allegro than the ones I've got and they're the same fitment. Can't remember whether or not they're staggered as a proper set though. drum 1
Mr_Bo11ox Posted December 18, 2013 Posted December 18, 2013 ^^^^^ I've got a mint set of those with good tyres drum 1
drum Posted December 18, 2013 Posted December 18, 2013 VA, you should be a consultant for pimping cars the autoshite way. That pic you did of the black allegro estate was the dog's hairy balls. vulgalour 1
drum Posted December 18, 2013 Posted December 18, 2013 ^^^^^ I've got a mint set of those with good tyresI hear they're currently retailing at £5 a corner.
Mr_Bo11ox Posted December 19, 2013 Posted December 19, 2013 Oh dear, I've been bummed then I think, can't remember how much I paid but it was more than that
Mr Livered Posted December 19, 2013 Posted December 19, 2013 VA, you should be a consultant for pimping cars the autoshite way. That pic you did of the black allegro estate was the dog's hairy balls.Ace idea. Shiters who were short of ideas could employ you to provide a "Shite My Ride" service, whereby you would provide artists impressions of how their car could look with some modifications. A bit like they do with photoshop on RR.
vulgalour Posted December 19, 2013 Author Posted December 19, 2013 I'd be like Boyd Coddington but with Crayolas and that never ending stripey green-and-white daisy wheel printer paper. cms206, eddyramrod and SilverMachine 3
PhilA Posted December 20, 2013 Posted December 20, 2013 CliveWagerfield-EM by renault9gta, on Flickr A BL choke symbol on each corner. I approve. vulgalour and Conrad D. Conelrad 2
vulgalour Posted January 2, 2014 Author Posted January 2, 2014 It would appear my ball joints have worn out, a problem that has become more apparent since doing the head gasket and restoring a good amount of power, torque and efficiency to the engine. I've had a read through the manual and tried to find info online but as usual, information is fairly scarce. It would also appear that replacing ball joints is not a job you usually have to do on a Princess so I'll chalk that one up as yet another odd thing this car has thrown at me. I wouldn't mind, but I've just spent a pile of money and effort sorting the engine and the suspension out so I could do without this. Symptoms - Car pulls right when accelerating from a standstill or at anything more than gradual pace. Car pulls left when decelerating (but not braking). I'd put this down to the additional torque from the engine, but it's gradually getting worse and having passed the wheel to my brother he concurs that it's very much like the Fords he's driven that have needed ball joints replacing. There's no bangs or squeaks, knocks or rattles, just this abnormal pulling behaviour. There's no play in the steering and the tracking is good, there's no other untoward sensations to hint at any other problem. My theory is that by fixing various bits on the car it's put stress on a weaker component which has caused it to fail as it now has to work properly, this seems to be the theme of pushing a neglected car back into service. Has anyone out there done ball joints on one of these cars? The book makes it seem like an intimidating job of special tools and internet prices for ball joints ranges from £7-£60 each and when you need four to do the job that could be very expensive indeed. Feeling a bit disappointed about it, really, but I'll get it done. I'm just after a bit of advice from those with experience.
plasticvandan Posted January 2, 2014 Posted January 2, 2014 has this problem appeared after fitting the aftermarket wheels?have you actually jacked up the car and rocked the wheels/steering to check?
vulgalour Posted January 2, 2014 Author Posted January 2, 2014 Before the head was fixed and while still on steels - problem was there, but only with a mild left pull and no discernible right pull.After head was fixed, while still on steels - a right pull on acceleration became apparent, the left pull remained the same.After the alloys were fitted - right pull more noticeable, left pull remained the same. It's gradually got worse, it was only today having someone else drive the car that it made it apparent how much worse it's become as I normally don't hoof it, unlike my brother. I've also spent the last 100 or so miles driving gently as I didn't want to overstress the engine after having done the head gasket. Steering is quite sharp, particularly since doing the suspension, and there's no float or vagueness to it. If you hold the wheel the car can be preventing from pulling left or right very easily. I doubt it's the track rod ends as they were done less than a year ago and I've not done a huge amount of miles to warrant failure (though I admit it is possible). Front wheels didn't appear to have movement in any direction they shouldn't when the front was last off the ground when I fitted the alloys. Wheel nuts have been checked twice since fitting the alloys and found to be torqued up correctly and the wheel nuts are the proper special wheel nuts for the alloys so they seat correctly. I'll get it up in the air and have another wiggle just to see if any additional play is apparent when the car is stationary. It's something that has become progressively worse over a period of months rather than something that's gone bad all at once so I would be surprised if it's the alloys that have caused the problem though I understand fitting a differing offset to factory can cause additional stress and wear. It is also possible that the too-low rear end is contributing to the issue as it is nose-high and has been throughout my ownership due to seized pivot shafts not allowing me to reset the rear arms correctly, a common Princess problem.
Rusty_Rocket Posted January 2, 2014 Posted January 2, 2014 The wider tyres/ wheels will exaggerate the problem I would say. I've never seen how a Princess is set up suspension wise, but in my experience, pulling in one direction under acceleration and t'other when you let off is more likely to be worn-out bushes showing excessive movement.The balljoints would have to be very badly worn to give enough play to affect the car's direction..
vulgalour Posted January 2, 2014 Author Posted January 2, 2014 Probably cheaper and/or easier to replace the bushes. Most of the rubber components on the car have needed to be replaced so that does tally with what I've had to do so far. Can worn out bushes really cause that much play?
Lacquer Peel Posted January 2, 2014 Posted January 2, 2014 Can worn out bushes really cause that much play? Definitely, I've driven cars with badly worn wishbone bushes that practically crab along the road.
vulgalour Posted January 2, 2014 Author Posted January 2, 2014 In a way, that's reassuring because the bushes are easier to get and quite affordable. I'll investigate cost of replacing all the bushes before doing the ball joints then.
Mr_Bo11ox Posted January 2, 2014 Posted January 2, 2014 You'd never have all four ball joints dying all at once, it does sound more like some dead bushes. Also if you had worn out ball joints you'd have metal-to-metal clonks all over the shop. Are the cross-tube mounts on the rear end all in good nick? The ones you can see by looking in the rear wheelarch.
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