I am a twat.

[wuvvum]

Glad you're pleased with it Matt - it's a nice old thing to drive.  I'm not surprised the roof mech needed a bit of grease - I've not had much opportunity to put the hood down in recent months...

[wuvvum]

No luck on a bumper I'm afraid. I only have Micra, N10 Cherry, B11 and B310 Sunny. 

 

No worries -  thanks for looking.  I'll just have to straighten the existing one out as best I can.

 

Been out and about in the Stanza again this evening.  The fuel starvation issue is getting rapidly worse, and hasn't been alleviated by the addition of pez, so I don't think it's a pickup issue.  It was juddering badly round any right hand bend and when accelerating up anything resembling a hill.  It's now starting to judder when I floor it in a straight line, and if flung into a tight right hand bend it cuts out completely.  Left hand bends and downhill it runs perfectly.

 

I'm wondering whether it might be a failing fuel pump.  I notice the pump is on the nearside rear of the engine, so in right handers and going uphill it's pumping against the prevailing G-forces, and if it's getting weak I thought that might be enough for it to starve the engine of fuel.  Can any of the resident Nissan experts / people who actually know about engines let me know if this is likely to be complete bollocks, before I go and waste money on a new pump?

[Ratdat]

Have you got a 'leccy pump you can chuck on it to test the theory?

[stuboy]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NISSAN-STANZA-FRONT-BUMPER-VALANCE-/291081640364?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&fits=Model%3AStanza&hash=item43c5d159ac

 

any good?

[Ratdat]

^ Wow! Get on it man!

[Angrydicky]

I reckon I might be able to pick that up by doing a slight detour on my way to Brooklands, and relay it up to Stalham next time I'm there if there's no great rush.

[wuvvum]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NISSAN-STANZA-FRONT-BUMPER-VALANCE-/291081640364?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&fits=Model%3AStanza&hash=item43c5d159ac

 

any good?

 

Excelsior spot Sir!  Have bid.

 

 

I reckon I might be able to pick that up by doing a slight detour on my way to Brooklands, and relay it up to Stalham next time I'm there if there's no great rush.

 

That would be superb (assuming I win it - although the laws of supply and demand for NOS Stanza bumpers are, I would hope, in my favour).

 

 

Have you got a 'leccy pump you can chuck on it to test the theory?

 

The Volvo has an electric pump which I could remove - the fuel line connections are too big for the Stanza but I could probably bodge something together using bits of hose and inline filters.  I just didn't want to go to the hassle if I was blatantly talking out of my arse with my theory.

[Ratdat]

The only misfire problem I've had with those engines  was recently on my Prairie but that turned out to be knackered plug leads. The misfire was sensitive to RPM and throttle position/load but not cornering or anything like that so I doubt that's what yours is suffering. Has the Stanza carb got a little window into the float chamber?

[wuvvum]

Yes, it does have a window in the float chamber - not a feature I'd ever seen before on a carb I have to admit.  The pez level is about half way up the window - I assume this is where it should be?

[Ratdat]

Yeah. If it's a round window they usually have a dot in the middle to indicate the level. Might be worth trying to get it to conk out by driving in a circle then having a look to see if the fuel's gone down in the float chamber.

 

Also check that all the harness connectors onto the engine and carb are good and the loom is supported properly. Swinging harness plus poor connection could cause it to stumble and cut out.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Increase energy efficiency by having the window in the carb double-glazed

[Split_Pin]

Top purchase there, love the colour too! I can't remember the last time I saw one of these.Hopefully you will be able to get the bits to make the front straight again.

[trigger]

 

Someone's just posted this as a "spot" over on Facebook.

[hairnet]

youve outshited blx

[wuvvum]

Well, the replacement headlight is fitted and working.  I was a bit apprehensive at first as I didn't know how badly bent out of shape the existing headlight bowl was, but as it happened, with a bit of jiggling I managed to get all the bolts in the requisite holes.  The grille was a bit more of a pain though - I've had to hold one corner on with a cable tie, as trying to line the clip up with its hole it felt like the grille was about to snap.

 

I then bodged on the electric fuel pump off of the Volvo, using inline fuel filters to join the 1/4" pipe from the Nissan with the 5/8" needed to fit over the fuel pump ends.  I took the car for a blat up the winding back road to the next village, and initial impressions are that it's fixed the fuel starvation issue - I was able to keep my foot down round right-hand bends without any spluttering or cutting out.  In fact the only issue I encountered on the drive was nearly being wiped out by a fully-laden sugar beet lorry coming far too fast round a tight corner.  It's amazing how much the sidewalls flex on HGV tyres when the driver overcooks it.

 

Anyway, I've now got to decide whether to try and find an original replacement pump for the car, or whether to buy another universal electric pump and fit that in line with the existing mechanical pump, as per my current bodge.  I think I might do the latter - not least because electric pumps are cheaper than OEM ones.  For the time being, I might try and improve my bodge slightly by wiring the live feed for the pump up to an ignition live so it switches off with the ignition (rather than me having to pop the bonnet and pull the wire off the battery).

[Skizzer]

Some Grade A bodgery going on here.  Keep it up.

[cort16]

Cmon wuvvum we need to see some more picture of this!

[wuvvum]

Due to popular demand*, I've taken some more pics.

 

 

Front view - looks better than it did before now that it has two intact headlights (and I can see where I'm going in the dark better too), but still needs some straightening out.  The NOS bumper I've just won for 99p on eBay should help with that.

 

Rear view - somewhat more respectable looking from this angle.

 

 

50 shades of grey.

 

Azevs and Pirellis - someone must have loved it.  I'm half tempted to flog these and replace them with 13" steels and Wang King remoulds, and see if I can recreate the photo from the road test that Trigger posted.

 

Bit of grot on the front wing - this is probably the worst visible bit on the car, although the bonnet inner skin is also going rusty, especially near the front.

 

Fuel pump bodgery.  It now takes its live feed from the heater fan live, which means it switches on and off with the ignition.

 

Slam panel bendiness.  Hopefully my friendly local garage will be able to straighten this out like they did with the front corner of the Vectra.  This is basically what's pulling everything out of line.  Note the Sparkrite ignition.

 

 

So that's the old crate in a bit more detail.  I've done quite a few miles in it this weekend and it seems to be behaving itself so far.  I've decided to leave the electric fuel pump on there and I've ordered a new one for the Volvo.  Only other problems encountered so far are that the passenger front door won't unlock, and the interior light has lost power - it's not the fuse, and it's not the switch because the warning light on the dash still comes on, so it's either a wire come off or an earthing problem in the light itself.  I like to have a working interior light in my cars, so that's a job for next weekend.

[wackywacerwill]

Have the same prob with a interior light at the minute, right PITA when you pull up in the dark and have to grope around for all yer shite. Would the Azevxzs make good coin in that size? I reckon you'd miss the handling* if you got rid unless you find some steels of similar size with good rubber.

[stuboy]

anyluck with the bumper?

[cort16]

Looks great hopefully the front'll straighten out okay. Have you had the bumper off yet to check for damage under there?

[wuvvum]

I've been having a bit of a play with this over the last couple of days.  I stripped off the front end yesterday.

 

 

As you can see, as well as the front panel being somewhat bent on the offside, the two bumper mounting brackets (next to the radiator at the bottom) are bent to feck.  This is the main reason why the bumper was so far out of line before - once I took it off it actually turned out to be fairly straight, if still somewhat battered.

 

 

Anyway, this is the result of my highly amateurish bodywork efforts so far:

 

 

As you can see, it's better than it was (the sparkly new front bumper helps here), but still far from perfect.  The reason the bumper is so saggy on the offside is that the mounting bracket on that side is completely knackered and sags like an 85-year-old's tits, and the mounting hole on the arch where the end of the bumper screws onto is rotten so nothing holding it up there either.  Also the bonnet is still shutting on the piss, and I don't know why - I tried adjusting the catch, but it doesn't seem to have made a lot of difference. 

 

The offside half of the bumper is currently held on with a selection of cable ties - my current plan (when I can be arsed) is to drill a hole in the mounting bracket on that side (as there's no way the original hole is ever going to line back up again) and then shove several large thick washers between the bumper and the bracket to lift the bumper up before putting a bolt through.  I'm also in two minds whether to fit the fecked front indicators (I broke them even more getting the bumper off) into the new bumper, repairing with orange tape where necessary, or to go back to the bloke I got the headlight off and ask how much he wants for the ones he has. 

 

Thing is, I'm loath to spend any more money on the old crate - it ain't never going to be perfect and I feel there'll come a point where I'm basically just throwing good money after bad.  I'm probably going to tidy it up as much as I can without spending out on it, then flog it as it is.  Reliable and pleasant to drive though it is (I used it to run to work in all last week), it doesn't really have a particular place in the fleet at the moment.  Not sure what it's worth as is, but I didn't pay much for it so hopefully won't lose too much when I flog it.

[Angrydicky]

That looks a hell of a lot better, top work. You say it'll never be perfect, but it's something you can gradually improve over time, and potentially get really nice.

 

As for throwing good money after bad, I can think of much worse things to spend money on than a beige Stanza.

[wuvvum]

 

As for throwing good money after bad, I can think of much worse things to spend money on than a beige Stanza.

Aye, fair point.  I can think of a few too - like a green Laguna diesel, for example.

 

I've just got to decide when I've got to the point where I've done as much as I can with it without either forking out for loads of new bits (if I could even find the bits it needs) or paying a professional to sort it out.  I think I can get it a bit better than it is now before I reach that point though.

[wuvvum]

OK, been pissing about with this a bit more this weekend, and this is what it looks like now:

 

 

 

The bumper is now fitted properly (ish), using bolts and everything.  I drilled a hole in the offside bumper mount and put a bolt through it as there was no way I was going to get the original hole in the right place without snapping the thing off completely.  There's still some bumper saggage, but it's better than it was - I've raised the bit under the headlight by shoving some thick old washers 'twixt bumper and mount, but the corner could still do with a bit of additional support.  The valance / air dam bit isn't quite right either - again probably due to being fastened to bent mounts.

 

The indicators are the original broken ones, but repaired with some of Poundland's finest self-adhesive lens repair tape - it actually sticks surprisingly well (so far) and looks OK from a distance.  The bonnet is straighter than it was, but that's 'cos I cheated and left a screwdriver under the nearside front corner.

 

I also stripped all the loose paint I could find off the underside of the bonnet and went over everything with Kurust, which should help stop the bonnet disintegrating for a while.

 

I'm going to have one final bash at it next weekend, weather permitting.  I've figured out a way I can straighten the bumper corner (in theory at least), and I'm going to make something a bit more permanent to lift the nearside corner of the bonnet, probably using old exhaust rubbers or something.  I'm going to try and get a tin of paint mixed up at Wilco so I can touch up the scabby bits and paint over the wob on the front wing, and then that'll be it. 

 

I was going to put it up for sale straight away to try and raise funds to buy Mr. Glover's Sana, but it looks like I've been beaten to it.  I'll probably be moving it on fairly soon anyway though - if I keep it for too much longer I'm going to end up getting attached to it, like I have with the Solara and the LNA, and then it'll never go.

[wuvvum]

Latest on this:  I got a can of paint mixed up yesterday at the motor factor's using the paint code.  Tried it today and the colour match is hopeless.  Not really worth complaining as they'll just say it's a 30-year-old car so the paint must have faded, but I could have bought a can of Ford Daytona Yellow for a fiver which would not have been any worse.  I touched up some bits with it anyway as I don't like leaving bare metal or filler - it looks OK-ish from a distance but a bit rubbish close up.

 

I also tidied up the electric fuel pump installation a bit, shortening the fuel line and fastening the fuel pump to the battery tray with a proper nut and bolt rather than the knackered self-tapper that had been holding it on hitherto.  I then managed to raise the nearside bonnet bump stop thing so the bonnet closes more or less straight without having a screwdriver wedged in there.  Then I replaced the Poundland cable ties on the bumper with proper chunky ones from the motor factor that I could pull tight with a pair of pliers without them snapping, and stuck the front number plate on with proper sticky pads instead of the Velcro that was holding it on before.

 

I think I've done as much as I can to it (at least without taking it to a paint specialist and getting them to mix up some paint using a spectrometer, no doubt at huge expense), and I need moneyz to T&T the Solara at the end of the month and then start getting the Rover of Doom back on the road, so the Stanza will now be going up for sale.

[Sloth in a bowl]

What happens if you T-cut the current paint, does it go back to being close to the new batch?

 

If so then a lazy day of T-Cut and polish will get all the paint matching 

[phil_lihp]

You've done a good job of straightening it out with minimal cost, you'd hardly know by looking at it now.

[Mat.T]

just found this thread googling for Stanza spares. Stanza collected from today! Purchased from Wuvvum by my mate jack

 

The cutting out issue earlier in this thread reappeared on the way home, turns out it was the 'sparkrite' electronic ignition module playing up (keeps the points replaces the condenser)  We found plenty of fuel getting through with the electronic pump ticking away, but a pretty poor or non existent spark. Luckily the original condenser was still in place. Disconnect the sprakrite thing reconnect the condenser disconnected the electric pump and it runs spot on! Mechanical fuel pump seems pretty good but a new one will be sourced any way.

My mate is very please with the car it will make a great pairing with his 1983 Toyota Tercel!

[wuvvum]

Ah right, it didn't occur to me that it might be the Sparkrite module causing the problem.  My investigations didn't get that far - fitting the electric pump "cured" it, although it looks like that might have been just a coincidence...

 

It was nice to meet you both.  I hope the impromptu meeting of the Stalham Saab Owners Club didn't delay you for too long...