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Korean Cortina - MOT day


mat_the_cat

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It's always been ok with the old hose, as there is a vent on the radiator above the top hose inlet, and also the inlet manifold, teeing into the header tank. The new hose is maybe a little higher, but filled easily last night.

I've done around 80 miles today in it, and they do work! It's a very hard plastic, so not your typical heat shrink tubing.

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I didn’t know about that sort of heatshrink. Could you tell us what it is please,  I would like to have a read of the data sheet?

I can think of several occasions such a product could have saved the day, not all cooling system problems either!

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On 6/12/2021 at 7:43 AM, twosmoke300 said:

I assume there is a joiner / sleeve inside the pipe so the heat shrink is just a jubilee clip in effect ? 
 

One minor advantage over a jubilee clip or similar, is that the band can be positioned over the bead on the joiner, giving a more secure seal.

On 6/12/2021 at 7:37 AM, Asimo said:

I didn’t know about that sort of heatshrink. Could you tell us what it is please,  I would like to have a read of the data sheet?

https://www.floteconline.com/categories/powergrip-sb

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  • 1 month later...

580 miles this weekend, first of all to FOTU after a quick oil and filter change.

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Stopping on the way down for some fine dining: 

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It's becoming apparent that something is deteriorating in the cooling system. Any speeds less than 40mph causes the gauge to rise, and the fans kick in sequentially. I've not run it continuously to see if the temperature does level out, but I get a bit twitchy when it gets to the sort of level indicating around 120 degrees C. So a bit of a nervous wait in the queue for FOTU, turning the engine off where possible. Thermostat is fairly new (4 years, 15k miles), and it doesn't seem like a 'stat issue. It feels like that rad needing a higher and higher airflow to maintain the correct temperature, but that has only been in for 7 years/23k miles, and always used with coolant plus soft water.

Anyway, made it in ok albeit without benefiting much from the AC. Chatted to a few friends, then left for the FoD, via Tescos for supplies. Parked next to this, where I got a grin and thumbs up from the owner.

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My tent was duly erected, as is customary after the consumption of food and much drink.

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It was then onto Silverstone Classis where I was part of the Telegraph's 100 rarest cars stand (bribed with a free entry ticket...) When I got to the gate I was almost turned away "That's not enough, you need a wristband or QR code to get in." Only to have a complete change of tone "Oh, complementary tickets, I do apologise sir!"

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I got back in the car to shelter from the worst of the rain, and had a reminder that I do need to increase the temperature of the evaporator, as all the ice which forms on the outside of the casing does melt at some point!

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All in all a very enjoyable weekend, although if I'd had a quid for each time I'd been told "Did you know these were based on the Cortina?" I'd have covered my fuel costs for the whole trip.

That said, I'm pleased enough with this and 26mpg on the subsequent tank:

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Back into Wales yesterday for a lovely evening!

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On 8/3/2021 at 12:13 AM, mat_the_cat said:

if I'd had a quid for each time I'd been told "Did you know these were based on the Cortina?" I'd have covered my fuel costs for the whole trip.

That must be up there with "Did you know Princess Anne had one of those?" and "Where's the flux capacitor m8?" that drivers of certain other models of car will doubtless have been asked at FOTU.

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On 8/3/2021 at 12:13 AM, mat_the_cat said:

if I'd had a quid for each time I'd been told "Did you know these were based on the Cortina?"

I know it's not in your nature to do so, but when they get to "Did you know these were based ..."  You then abruptly cut in with "let me just stop you there".  They then expect you to say something more, but silence ensues.  When queried, you simply say "no, I just wanted to stop you!"

I love the fact that it's such a well-known thing, and yet everyone who mentions it believes it to be the most insightful piece of information that ever existed, and that the *actual owner* of the car wouldn't already be aware of it.

Either that, or if they manage to get the whole sentence out, reply with "no, this actually is a Cortina.  Look at the back, it says so!" and watch their utter confusion.

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I wish I had a pound for every time someone asks if mine is a Ford, I'd have about a tenner. I then have to disappoint them by saying it's a Pug 305. Immediate disinterest follows so I've stuck a blue oval on the grill to keep them happy. If they ask what model I'll tell them it's an Argentinian  Escort. 😁

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16 hours ago, wuvvum said:

That must be up there with "Did you know Princess Anne had one of those?" and "Where's the flux capacitor m8?" that drivers of certain other models of car will doubtless have been asked at FOTU.

See also

"your windscreen wiper switch is upside down!" (when it really is not) and "Hillman imp bonnet hinges!"

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On 05/08/2021 at 01:04, wuvvum said:

That must be up there with "Did you know Princess Anne had one of those?" and "Where's the flux capacitor m8?" that drivers of certain other models of car will doubtless have been asked at FOTU.

“Is this the one with the Volkswagen van engine?”

All the time when I had a Porsche 924…. 

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On 10/5/2020 at 9:01 PM, mat_the_cat said:

ABS would be handy - I wonder if there's a reasonably straightforward way of engineering a system to fit? Note I haven't said that I intend to fit it, just wondering at this stage... (Last thing I want to do is set myself another challenge!)

I have spent a fair amount of time wallowing in 90's vw shite. Prior to ABS they used a brake valve proportioning system attached to the rear axle to adjust the rear brake force depending on the weight over the rear axle, keeping the front braking force as a fixed input. They continued this on the seat inca van I have which is an 04 plate

Given that the front end of your motor is a bit lardier these days, you could start by adding a fixed brake proportioning valve to tune the distribution force to account for the new weight. It won't be as good as ABS, but it would be a vast improvement.

Alternatively, ABS from an early 90's motor might help, something pre- ECU so the SBA module is stand alone.

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A donor with a standalone ABS ECU is what I was thinking too, but you're right, I could probably improve things just with adjusting the bias. I don't think it would help to limit the rears though, as to the best of my knowledge I haven't locked them up.

It's fine in the dry, and in the wet too if I brake progressively - i.e. initiate a bit of weight transfer to the front before applying full force. But a few occasions I've instinctively pressed hard on the pedal straight away, and locked the front wheels. So far always managed to cadence brake out of the situation, but there's a slight doubt over whether I would have the presence of mind in a true emergency! 

I remember working on 205s with some kind of dynamic bias valve, actuated by weight transfer IIRC...might be worth some research.

But first priority is temperature. I'm running a dual pass radiator i.e. the coolant flow is in a U shape so gets twice the opportunity to get cooled by the incoming airflow. Its always been fine on the move, so something much have deteriorated to give me a worrying rise even dropping to 40mph. Obviously the AC condenser won't help, but that was the same last year and I don't recall the same issues then.

That said, it was generally a traffic-free summer, so maybe I haven't experienced the same scenarios? Dual pass radiators obviously have more resistance to flow, so I've popped out the thermostat as a quick means of increasing the flow (and just to prove whether the 'stat is at fault or not). No significant change.

I'm still questioning whether there is actually anything to worry about. Not yet directly measured the coolant temperature, but the resistance of the sender corresponds to around 120°C max. Backed up roughly with an infra-red gun. Fan switch 1st one comes on at 93°C and goes off when (if!) it drops to 88; second stage (fans 2 and 3) comes in at 97°C and drops out at 92°C.

As fans 2 & 3 do cycle at idle, it suggests temperature is dropping ok, but maybe not being picked up by a slow responding gauge...? Guess I need to rig up a decent monitor to be sure!

While I'd drained the coolant yet again, I thought I'd better tidy up one of the coolant hoses pointed out by @richykitchy Once I'd seen it, it was messily nagging at me so I couldn't leave it alone! 

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This motley collection of hoses probably dates from 2005 or so, when all that was really needed was a 25-16mm long reducing elbow. I was probably reluctant to spend money until it ran, then I forgot about it! 

A new hose was purchased and trimmed down to fit - there, that's better!

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  • 2 months later...

Things have been a bit quiet on the Stellar front, and I can't see it on the road until next year now sadly. It'll hopefully *finally* give me chance to sort the gearbox leak at least! 

In the meantime I'm going to try repairing a far less important item (and hence a more appealing task!)

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36 years of use have taken their toll! You can see that the previous owner has obviously decided to put it in a ring binder after it disintegrated, then presumably realised that punching holes along the bottom made it rather difficult to read! I should imagine that trying to find another, for the pre-facelift versions made for only 2 years, might be tricky.

First stage was to straighten it out, and clamp the pages together.

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I've bought some book-binding adhesive although normal PVA can be used. I suspect it's just watered-down PVA anyway, to help penetrate the pages edges, but it was hardly expensive.

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Then I dribbled it onto the spine, and from now on it's just a case of adding a thin layer once dry, and repeat.

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The first layer seemed to soak in very well (hopefully not all over the pages!) so need to build up a thicker layer for strength.  

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After several coats, I've built up a decent layer of glue.

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Then to protect it further and neaten it up, I covered the spine in self-adhesive  tape. It's supposed to be suitable for long-term book repair, so hopefully shouldn't ooze stickiness after the first hot day in the car!

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A shame about the punched holes, but short of scanning and reprinting (no!) I can't see a solution. Loads better though :-)

And no sign of glue running onto the pages either. It seems strange that the edge bond could hold the paper strongly enough to use, but it seems to be holding fine!

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  • mat_the_cat changed the title to Korean Cortina - owner's manual restoration
  • 3 weeks later...

Here's a little bit of fame!

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/classic/uks-rarest-cars-1985-hyundai-stellar-one-four-left-british-roads/

I was contacted by the journalist and invited to the Silverstone Classic event earlier in the year.

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  • 3 weeks later...

This is now on its 3rd ignition switch in my ownership, so it would seem like they are a bit of a weak point. What seems to happen is that the plastic breaks up and no longer holds the contacts together. At least they are  very easy to change, just a single screw and it pulls off from the back of the steering lock.

I'm down to one working spare of unknown age, so I was quite happy to find a seller on eBay who accepted my cheeky offer for a BNIB part. Even better, there was a Black Friday deal on which gave another 20% off!

I do like receiving genuine parts :-)

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The best bit was that it wasn't just the switch, but a complete lock set too, even down to the glove box lock!

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Shiny new keys, moulded with the HD logo (the curved part of the D can break off after heavy use).

I probably won't swap the locks at this stage, just if I have a problem. The only lock which is showing its age is the boot lock, which is chrome-plated rather than stainless and has pitted slightly. 

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At some point in the future it'll need painting again, so makes sense to fit all new locks then. 

This hasn't been on the road since August, so I've been missing driving it! Today the rain stopped and sun came out, so before the gritters started work I took it for a spin for probably the last time this year.

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Roll on spring!

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Top job that 👍.

Finding that lock set and scooping cheap must of felt like a major win? 

I moan sometimes about spares availability with my Nexia. But don't realise it's much worse for others like yourself. 

Just because it's based on a more common vehicle. It's the more specific to that model make it more of a challenge.

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2 hours ago, mat_the_cat said:

This is now on its 3rd ignition switch in my ownership, so it would seem like they are a bit of a weak point. What seems to happen is that the plastic breaks up and no longer holds the contacts together. At least they are  very easy to change, just a single screw and it pulls off from the back of the steering lock.

I'm down to one working spare of unknown age, so I was quite happy to find a seller on eBay who accepted my cheeky offer for a BNIB part. Even better, there was a Black Friday deal on which gave another 20% off!

I do like receiving genuine parts :-)

20211121_160241.thumb.jpg.5d539be794f277adb1ff99cea07f45bb.jpg

The best bit was that it wasn't just the switch, but a complete lock set too, even down to the glove box lock!

20211121_160440.thumb.jpg.718610b0ce5826a0c3b3ca134b456400.jpg

Shiny new keys, moulded with the HD logo (the curved part of the D can break off after heavy use).

I probably won't swap the locks at this stage, just if I have a problem. The only lock which is showing its age is the boot lock, which is chrome-plated rather than stainless and has pitted slightly. 

20211121_172806.thumb.jpg.fb71566e401001c3426751dc59c79ebe.jpg

At some point in the future it'll need painting again, so makes sense to fit all new locks then. 

This hasn't been on the road since August, so I've been missing driving it! Today the rain stopped and sun came out, so before the gritters started work I took it for a spin for probably the last time this year.

20211121_153326.thumb.jpg.9c6de20de5f13fdd9d2f7a0bad062e03.jpg

Roll on spring!

Bargain! Well sourced.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Part 2 of the 'avoiding laying on a cold floor and taking the gearbox out' was to see if I could repair the original tool kit bag, using a motorcycle seat repair kit I've had on the shelf for quite some time!

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The tear in the vinyl I strengthened by gluing on a piece of fabric on the rear.

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Then I mixed the 'filler' material with a dye, possibly mixing up slightly too much!

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It dries to a rubbery texture, and seems to adhere well enough to the fabric and edges of the tear

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And here's what goes into it, although not sure if anything has gone missing over the years.

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It looks in reasonable condition as I re-plated the spanners in 2015, and painted the wheelbrace too. They certainly liked putting their name on everything!

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