Six Cylinders Motoring Notes

[Six-cylinder]

In case anybody wonders what my involvement was with a green van going North today and a BMW going southwest here are the answers.

Ultra Womble found me an engine for the field Honda that needed to come south, I needed to get a Bucketman as I thought I was going to buy a car in Wales today! Well it turns out the best place to get these items is Gloucester Services!

Car buying was a disappointment as like many ebay ads not quite truthful. "Drives  and stops like it should,  so you can jump in and drive home" this was not quite the whole story the car was laid up for many years and some work has been done to recommission it, but when we got there he showed us the new bushes because there was a terrible clunking noise and admitted he had never used the car in the year he had had it. I had my sensible head on and did not consider it suitable for Bucketman to drive 120 miles and could see thousands of pounds of restoration costs ahead. Shame the idea of owning a 1955 MG Magnetta really appealed.

[Six-cylinder]

What a pleasant change I enjoyed a 54 mile drive out this evening going nowhere. Recently where ever I drive I seem to grind along in traffic but this evening even the 03 plate Toyota Yaris Verso managed to cruise at 60 mph in a 60 limit!

There was a purpose, Mrs6C had asked me to get the Daimler Sovereign S1 out of storage so on Friday she could take her friends daughter to her prom. S1 had started to have sticky brakes in storage and yesterday after 6 miles I could smell hot brakes when we stopped for petrol in Tesco. The battery was still flat when I went to restart it so my friend pushed it backwards slightly downhill  away from the pump before we used the jump pack. I felt the brakes free up the moment we went back and it started to roll. Today it was my duty to risk spending 3 hours on the side of the road waiting for the RAC to ensure the brakes had really freed off and it was running fine. 

The result is all is well and the bonus is I had forgotten that when we did some bodywork on S1 we fixed the second fuel tank so I went back to Tesco and put 10 gals in the other tank as well!

 

[beko1987]

"did not consider it suitable for Bucketman to drive 120 miles and could see thousands of pounds of restoration costs" 

 

Awww, but those make the best threads on here! I r dissapoint

[wuvvum]

9 hours ago, Six-cylinder said:

this evening even the 03 plate Toyota Yaris Verso managed to cruise at 60 mph in a 60 limit!

That must be the highest speed ever recorded by a Toyota Yaris Verso.

[Eyersey1234]

10 hours ago, Six-cylinder said:

What a pleasant change I enjoyed a 54 mile drive out this evening going nowhere. Recently where ever I drive I seem to grind along in traffic but this evening even the 03 plate Toyota Yaris Verso managed to cruise at 60 mph in a 60 limit!

There was a purpose, Mrs6C had asked me to get the Daimler Sovereign S1 out of storage so on Friday she could take her friends daughter to her prom. S1 had started to have sticky brakes in storage and yesterday after 6 miles I could smell hot brakes when we stopped for petrol in Tesco. The battery was still flat when I went to restart it so my friend pushed it backwards slightly downhill  away from the pump before we used the jump pack. I felt the brakes free up the moment we went back and it started to roll. Today it was my duty to risk spending 3 hours on the side of the road waiting for the RAC to ensure the brakes had really freed off and it was running fine. 

The result is all is well and the bonus is I had forgotten that when we did some bodywork on S1 we fixed the second fuel tank so I went back to Tesco and put 10 gals in the other tank as well!

 

Good to hear all is well 6C. I didn't know these had 2 fuel tanks to be honest, how big are the tanks? 

[Six-cylinder]

1 minute ago, Eyersey1234 said:

Good to hear all is well 6C. I didn't know these had 2 fuel tanks to be honest, how big are the tanks? 

They are 11 gals each, a change over switch on the dash which activates a separate fuel pump for each side, but uses the same gauge on the dash.

The picture is the old Offside tank before we fitted a replacement 2 years ago.

[SiC]

Why did they fit twin tanks? For long distance high speed touring or just fuel guzzlers? (Or both?)

... Or reliability because SU pump?

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Useful consumer information, a late S3 V12 on tickover will take 3 hours to run a practically full tank out. Well I say full I'd done about 60 miles ( probably 4-5 gallons) prior to sitting with the air con on full , on a 30c day . After switching tanks I turned the engine off, luckily I was only there for another hour or so.

[wuvvum]

I had an early (pre-HE) V12 when I was 19.  Trying to run it on a student budget was interesting - I may* have run out of fuel a couple* of times.

Fortunately for my finances I then got banned for speeding and had to sell it.

[Six-cylinder]

Our Metro is back from the paintshop this afternoon, but it started to rain so inside quickly and no photos.

I have the decals on order, but I still need weather strips for the doors.

[dozeydustman]

Metro looks mint!

[Slowsilver]

On 6/14/2019 at 2:36 PM, C1am said:

https://www.woolies-trim.co.uk/

Met a guy at a car show on Sunday who had a wedge Princess to which he had just fitted new front side window to door seals that he bought from this Woolies place.

If they stock Princess ones I would think that they probably have Metro ones as well.

Can't see them on a quick look at their website, but it might be worth contacting them to ask.

 

[Six-cylinder]

Nothing ever goes to plan but at last I have the BX head back, refitting is now due to start Thursday.

[richardmorris]

Ooh, shiny.

[hairnet]

SOD FITTING IT

 

HANG IT ON WALL

[Mrs6C]

2 hours ago, Six-cylinder said:

Nothing ever goes to plan but at last I have the BX head back, refitting is now due to start Thursday.

The remains of the manifold gasket were left in situ! Out with the soft scraper...

[dozeydustman]

15 minutes ago, Mrs6C said:

The remains of the manifold gasket were left in situ! Out with the soft scraper...

If you've sent a head off for work, leaving the old gaskets on is a really poor show. I would personally complain and demand a smoll partial refund.

[richardmorris]

1 hour ago, Mrs6C said:

The remains of the manifold gasket were left in situ! Out with the soft scraper...

Really? If they've been skimming the head, how do they not remove the old residue? Can you fix it?

While I’m here. Any date for the next field of dreams workshop? I have an ill Henry hoover to bring up for Beko.

[Mrs6C]

12 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

Really? If they've been skimming the head, how do they not remove the old residue? Can you fix it?

While I’m here. Any date for the next field of dreams workshop? I have an ill Henry hoover to bring up for Beko.

The head has been skimmed nicely but the manifold mating surface hasn't been cleaned nor the remains of the old gasket removed. See the upper-facing surface in the photo. It is a little surprising, to be honest.

[richardmorris]

Now I’ve zoomed in  I can see it. Sorry I didn’t notice the manifold and head gasket difference originally.. I’ve been self medicating with something red after a rather painful cycle home involving the seat coming off.

[Mrs6C]

25 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

I’ve been self medicating with something red

Wine, I hope!

[richardmorris]

1 minute ago, Mrs6C said:

Wine, I hope!

Naturally, hic. Nighty night.

[wuvvum]

1 hour ago, richardmorris said:

a rather painful cycle home involving the seat coming off.

[richardmorris]

11 hours ago, wuvvum said:

Not that painful! Fell onto the crossbar, not the post.

[Ghosty]

Why were you cycling on a football pitch?

[Tadhg Tiogar]

7 minutes ago, Ghosty said:

Why were you cycling on a football pitch?

Probably trying to avoid the sheep.

The newspapers seem to be fixated on the state of BoJo's 24-yr-old Previa. Photos of the interior suggest that it's actually tidier than mine...

 

 

 

[richardmorris]

4 minutes ago, Ghosty said:

Why were you cycling on a football pitch?

I really should stop this futile and boring thread hijack. The seat post- the bolt holding the seat to the post snapped and the whole lot fell off leaving just the exposed end of the post to sit on. And, although I’m by no means light, I’m not putting that much strain on the seat at 80kg.

[Six-cylinder]

20 hours ago, richardmorris said:

 

While I’m here. Any date for the next field of dreams workshop? I have an ill Henry hoover to bring up for Beko.

I would like to set another tinkering date before the Festival of the Unexceptional 20th July with the view to getting the Honda field bike working.

 29/30 June or 13/14 July ok?

[richardmorris]

Either weekend is fine by me, but my lack of knowledge of cars is completely eclipsed by my lack of two wheeled mechanicals.

[UltraWomble]

The metro is utterly lush - a Mk2 is on my dream garage list because first car I nobbed the (now) missus in the back of innit.

I'd start with pulling the plug and lobbing some diesel down the bore of that moped engine - it did 650 miles before the owner had a bad "off" and it ended up getting first put in a shed, then put behind a shed for 20 years without even a tarp over it - the frame was uber rusty. I only really bought it for the lights and remaining un broken panels. The kick didnt want to move the engine but it did try to turn when I lobbed 12v on the starter. Rear wheel and brake seem to function as they should. Ive still got a front wheel and brake here and some other bits.