Six Cylinders Motoring Notes - Parade of 1990's Estates!

[hairnet]

need a pic of you posing with a 740 in period

[RobT]

Looking for a photo today I found one I had forgotten about, The Vauxhall dealer I worked at for 3 years 1991-1994. I think this photo was taken Sep 1993. 

 

Heaven in Buckingham!  I'll have the £8,499 CDi Cav please.

[Six-cylinder]

need a pic of you posing with a 740 in period

 

I have the individual cars I got to use, but I don't think I have any of the either dealership.

[Mrs6C]

Looking for a photo today I found one I had forgotten about, The Vauxhall dealer I worked at for 3 years 1991-1994. I think this photo was taken Sep 1993. 

Isn't that your Astra convertible in the background? The one you insisted on putting in the garage, so that my Herald 13/60 convertible had to live outside?

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Looking for a photo today I found one I had forgotten about, The Vauxhall dealer I worked at for 3 years 1991-1994. I think this photo was taken Sep 1993.

Compare and contrast....

[Schaefft]

Oh look, an Eldorado! If its a Northstar, how bad was it to replace the alternator belt pulley? I've got the instructions but it sounds like a total pita...

[Mrs6C]

Compare and contrast....

The Vauxhall dealership was housed in the old Buckingham cinema, which was a nice Art deco building. It was all demolished to make way for the new Sainsbury store, but the neat thing is that the store was designed to look like an Art Deco building that had been converted into a shop! It is a nice piece of architecture (and a decent store as well) that salutes the past admirably, even though it's entirely new-build.

[Mrs6C]

Oh look, an Eldorado! If its a Northstar, how bad was it to replace the alternator belt pulley? I've got the instructions but it sounds like a total pita...

It is a Northstar and it's the early tensioner pulley, with retaining bolts on the outside of a hefty bracket, which featured only on the 1993-94 model years. When the initial repair was done, it wasn't too hard to move the pulley into a position where I could slip the belt over it.

 

This time, there was a bit more tension on the spring, so it was harder to do. I looped an old electrical flex around the mended tensioner pulley and pulled on that to bring it into position, then pulled and pushed the grooved belt up and across until it was almost into place. Then I used another loop of insulated electrical wire around the belt itself to lift it slightly away from the tensioner pulley and skid it across to drop it into the pulley slots. When it was all lined up on that, I checked that it was straight and in the slots of the water pump and engine pulley wheels. Then I checked that there was some give in the longest side of the (now) triangular-shaped belt loop and that the tensioner pulley still moved freely, which it did.

 

It wasn't that hard, just a bit more awkward than before. I hope I don't have to do it again for a while!

[Six-cylinder]

Then and now

[Six-cylinder]

At the last FoD open day Slowsliver took the cutter cylinder off our Hayter Condor mower and came round yesterday to help me with the struggle to get the old failed bearing out. In spite of him bringing his best bearing puller in the end we had to resort to grinding it off. The good news is it it a standard size and I now have its replacement, this time sealed for life!

 

I am now waiting for 5/16 UNF countersunk screws I have ordered to arrive as I had to drill the originals out to get the bearing housing apart.

 

I hope over the F o U weekend we might get it back together and do a test mow. 

[Six-cylinder]

More skiving off work!

 

This morning instead of answering work emails I met my Auto Sparks to have another go at getting my Citroen CX to start and it was worth it because we succeeded.

 

We checked the fuel pump pressure, which was fine and then he changed the injectors for me. A Citroen car club member had given me a used complete rail to try but some of the rubber pipes were slitting so he changed the individual injectors onto my own rail. Bingo old fuel and everything it burst into life, revs and ideals smoothly. The throttle cable is burnt so the Auto sparks operated the throttle and I put it into drive and steered and we moved forward 20 feet. The bad bit is the rear suspension collapsed in a pool of HML fluid, one step forward One back. 

 

Because I had gone AWOL Mrs6C decided she had better do the shopping, trouble is I stopped and did the shopping on the way home. Yes our fridge is full to bursting!

[richardmorris]

More skiving off work!

 

This morning instead of answering work emails I met my Auto Sparks to have another go at getting my Citroen CX to start and it was worth it because we succeeded.

 

We checked the fuel pump pressure, which was fine and then he changed the injectors for me. A Citroen car club member had given me a used complete rail to try but some of the rubber pipes were slitting so he changed the individual injectors onto my own rail. Bingo old fuel and everything it burst into life, revs and ideals smoothly. The throttle cable is burnt so the Auto sparks operated the throttle and I put it into drive and steered and we moved forward 20 feet. The bad bit is the rear suspension collapsed in a pool of HML fluid, one step forward One back.

 

Because I had gone AWOL Mrs6C decided she had better do the shopping, trouble is I stopped and did the shopping on the way home. Yes our fridge is full to bursting!

Well it’s an improvement I suppose.

I bought my first cx in 1999 ( New Year’s Day from Roger Bradford) and sold the second and last to him in sept. 2006. In that time, and as daily cars doing 15,000milex a year, I never had a high pressure leak. Lots of other, mainly rust, issues but not a hydraulic failure.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Meanwhile, on a driveway somewhere near Little Tel Aviv, a CX is in need of yet another jet wash session due to feckin' tree sap.

[hairnet]

Lurl shopping

 

Boo you Citroen breaker

[Six-cylinder]

Well it’s an improvement I suppose.

I bought my first cx in 1999 ( New Year’s Day from Roger Bradford) and sold the second and last to him in sept. 2006. In that time, and as daily cars doing 15,000milex a year, I never had a high pressure leak. Lots of other, mainly rust, issues but not a hydraulic failure.

 

I bought this CX in 2006 and in the early years used it quite a bit peaking at 9400 miles in a year. I have had 4 CXs and had not had hydraulic failure, but both our DS (Pump) and Xantia (return pipe) have.

[Six-cylinder]

I had a request from the Buckingham Canal society to launch our boat in the newly watered, but currently isolated Cosgrove end of their canal in readiness for the festival 21/22 July.

 

However much a pain in the wallet a Range Rover is, you can’t help admire the way it handles a 2 ton trailer over rough tracks into the canal bed and out. 

[SiC]

Just needed a snorkle to just* undo the straps, drive it straight in there and drive the Range Rover out...

[Talbot]

That's *only* 2 tonnes? I would have guessed at double that!

[richardmorris]

That's *only* 2 tonnes? I would have guessed at double that!

 

Did the RR even notice it was towing something?

[quicksilver]

Don't know about the boat but it certainly didn't notice the Renault 6 when that was on the back. Admittedly the Renault is a lot lighter but I don't think Range Rovers really care how much weight you put on them.

[Noel Tidybeard]

indeed not a chap i used to work with told me about west mids plod giving a 40 tonne artic a tow past his house (up hill) when it got stuck in the snow

[Talbot]

I've done this too. Many years ago in a RRC fitted with a Perkins 4.182 turbo engine. Bloke had broken down on the side of the M74 and was looking at an arm, a leg and a major organ to be recovered from the motorway. It was about 2am and I saw him break down, so pulled in to offer assistance.

 

Ended up dragging him about 8-10 miles in low-box, up a sliproad and into a services at a junction, so it was no longer a motorway recovery and he could get some kip while waiting for recovery.

 

He was unbelievably appreciative (owner driver) and bought me a whole tank of fuel for my trouble. Apparently it saved him "a bastard fortune" by being on a general purpose road and not the motorway.

[Six-cylinder]

Over 18 years of Range Rover ownership I have pulled quite a few things, the MAN lorry at max gross weight with a load of steal had slipped sideways into a farm gateway to let a vehicle pass and was properly stuck. The driver said "you will never get it out with that"

 

I went to a Bond Mini car rally and 7 campers were stuck at the bottom of grass slope in the wet, one at a time they came out with the P38 I had at the then.

 

The heaviest lorry I have helped is a 17 ton articulated dray lorry who tried to turn round on grass in March! Fortunately my P38 could stay on tarmac and while I needed to hurl its 2100kg with a snatch action several times I got him out.

 

I have never put the L322 to any real test, but last December I found a Passat stuck at the bottom of a iced, snow covered hill and while it was difficult to stand while fitting the tow rope the L322 just went straight up on road tyres.

 

Today manoeuvring the boat carefully over some large dry ruts and in a confined space was made easier because it is not fighting for power or grip.

[bezzabsa]

Have seen Plod RR's drag artics up 'Windy Hill' on the M62..and seen them drag cars from the side of The little House on the Praire also on the M62..

[panhard65]

I just came on here to post a pic I got at St Malo yesterday and find mrs cylinders boat has been out and about as well.

I caught up with it again later heading west on the A303. No camera that time as I was driving

[Mrs6C]

That's Wilderness Beaver "Tophyl" from Taunton (lives on the Bridgwater & Taunton Canal) returning from cruising in France these last few weeks, with our friends Bill and Alison!

 

"So today we successfully finished our cruise of Brittany’s waterways at Glenac. Totals: 17 days cruising; 425km (268 Miles); Average 25km/day; 98 locks; 83 litres of fuel or 1.08 litres/hour. We’ve had a brilliant time and stunning weather and scenery."

 

The Wilderness Boat Owner's Club FB page has a few photos of her trip here:

https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWildernessBOC%2Fposts%2F896624047209026&width=500

[Guest Hooli]

Talking of towing. When I had my disco I got roped into helping at a soap box derby. Three of us with various 4x4s were seen towing convoys (about four each) of karts up the side of a Welsh valley for them to hurl themselves back down it again.

[panhard65]

That's Wilderness Beaver "Tophyl" from Taunton (lives on the Bridgwater & Taunton Canal) returning from cruising in France these last few weeks, with our friends Bill and Alison!

 

"So today we successfully finished our cruise of Brittany’s waterways at Glenac. Totals: 17 days cruising; 425km (268 Miles); Average 25km/day; 98 locks; 83 litres of fuel or 1.08 litres/hour. We’ve had a brilliant time and stunning weather and scenery."

 

The Wilderness Boat Owner's Club FB page has a few photos of her trip here:

https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWildernessBOC%2Fposts%2F896624047209026&width=500

I suspected you would of known about it. I only just spotted it as I was checking in hence the rubbish picture. They were obviously one of the first off or he wasn't hanging around towing it home. It took me until the A303 to catch him and my 806 still flies along even full of French motorbikes.

[oldcars]

I towed a Corsa c off the motorway with my old Hyundai Santa Fe. Its was shit. Thought i had left the handbrake on in both motors.

[Mrs6C]

I suspected you would of known about it. I only just spotted it as I was checking in hence the rubbish picture. They were obviously one of the first off or he wasn't hanging around towing it home. It took me until the A303 to catch him and my 806 still flies along even full of French motorbikes.

May I post your photo on their FB page? I can credit you with it, of course...