Six Cylinders Motoring Notes - Playing car Tetris!

[Six-cylinder]

What I drove yesterday.

The day started collecting a friend from Bicester North station.

Then errands and a bit of an enjoyment drive was done using a smaller car.

Evening outing was done 1st class.

 

[Six-cylinder]

Today I received a special request to change from the C6 to the Range Rover as the C6 was too low and difficult to get in and out of.

It was nice to have air-con today.

[Six-cylinder]

Todays errands transport has been the Lancia Fulvia. 

That means it has lasted 2 weeks starting easily and running well!

[auntiemaryscanary]

Now the Fulvia is running well has it had any examination for rot? The bodywork is self evident. It got a cursory glance underneath at SF26 but nobody wanted to prod anything as it wasn't their car.

[Six-cylinder]

1 hour ago, auntiemaryscanary said:

Now the Fulvia is running well has it had any examination for rot? The bodywork is self evident. It got a cursory glance underneath at SF26 but nobody wanted to prod anything as it wasn't their car.

It is going to Mark at my favourite garage for the handbrake cable replacement and will go up on the ramp then for inspection.

Last time Mark had a Lancia of mine was the Trevi and his comment was, at least the holes are not joined together!  He welded it for me. 

[hairnet]

On 25/08/2026 at 22:10, Six-cylinder said:

What I drove yesterday.

The day started collecting a friend from Bicester North station.

Then errands and a bit of an enjoyment drive was done using a smaller car.

Evening outing was done 1st class.

 

when do the anthill hob want it back

[Six-cylinder]

The guys swear they could hear a fizzing noise, would you dare take your Lancia out in the rain!

A breakfast meeting this morning in Heath & Reach. 

[hairnet]

funny theyre all looking at the italians not the german shite

 

[Six-cylinder]

Fire in the hole, well the engine bay anyway!

The aim of the day with @Slowsilver help was to start and get to the front of storage our Citroen LNA Inca and Citroen Visa Twin Pot. I had not run either car since 2024. I plan to take them to Chevrons Citroen Rally Little Horwood, near Milton Keynes 12/13 Sep.

A difficult day started with the lock seized on my storage unit. My landlord came to help and managed to open the security door with his key after some trying. That used @Slowsilver's first hour cleaning and lubricating the lock system.

We needed to move the Opel Manta, Daimler Sovereign Series 1 and Lancia Gamma. The Manta stated after some churning on its own battery.

The Sovereign started easily with its manual choke conversion and @Slowsilver drove it outside across the yard. He jumped out proclaiming smoke and real fire! I took half a 5Ltr bottle of premixed antifreeze and quelled the fire and my neighbour turned up with his CO2 extinguishing the flames. We still had smoke from the air filter box and removing the lid revealed the paper filter was smouldering. We fully emersed the paper filter in a bucket of water. The car started up as nothing was wrong and the bonnet was open so only a bit of smoke soot to the inside of the bonnet. My theory is the one of the float chamber petrol valves did not shut off and it dribbled petrol into the air filter box and maybe a spit back ignited it. (sorry no fire pictures we were too busy)

The Gamma is currently a non starter so needed pushing around.

The LNA would not pull up any petrol even with Easystart so refused to start. The plan is to go back with a tiny funnel to back fill the fuel pump in an effort to prime it.

We then went to the Ami only to find we had forgotten we borrowed the battery from it for the GS. I think I had bought a new one, but did not have it with me so we connected the jumpack directly to the battery cables and it started and moved out of the way of the Visa Twin.

The Visa Special Twin battery was flat, but it started with a jump. After a lot of shunting to get it out of its tight sideways parking space it was free. Trouble is the alternator light is flickering along with the lights. By then we had run out of time.

I predicted 2 hours work and after 4 hours they were not ready for the show.

[hairnet]

UNLIKE

gamma ungrateful bastard

twin pot oof

[hairnet]

47 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

 Citroen LNA Inca and Citroen Visa Twin Pot. I had not run either car since 2024. I plan to take them to Chevrons Citroen Rally Little Horwood, near Milton Keynes 12/13 Sep.

 

UNLIKE x2

MASSIVE DISAPOINT

so angry i could crush a grape go to sleep without a cuppa

 

[wuvvum]

My LNA always used to struggle to pull fuel through if it'd been sat a long time. 

[Jimblob]

Do you have stale fuel issues with the cars if they're sitting for this long? 

[catsinthewelder]

I just had THE FEAR that I'd ballsed up something when I changed the fuel pipes on the Fulvia!

Glad you got things sorted without major damage.

Speaking of Fulvias this was at the garage I got a Focus MOTed at yesterday.

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

9 hours ago, Six-cylinder said:

(sorry no fire pictures we were too busy)

This is a serious contestant for the Autoshite stiff upper lip award of 2026 !

[Six-cylinder]

4 hours ago, Jimblob said:

Do you have stale fuel issues with the cars if they're sitting for this long? 

I don't seem to for a couple of years.

[Six-cylinder]

3 hours ago, catsinthewelder said:

I just had THE FEAR that I'd ballsed up something when I changed the fuel pipes on the Fulvia!

Glad you got things sorted without major damage.

Speaking of Fulvias this was at the garage I got a Focus MOTed at yesterday.

 

Looks the same colour as my friend's one, which I know is a colour change from red.

I had wondered if it was an original Fulvia colour as I had never seen one in that blue before, maybe it is.

[Six-cylinder]

The Fulvia was the car of the weekend with three car meetings and some errands on Friday.

Since I bought the Lancia Fulvia  Berlina it has done 465 miles. @catsinthewelder did 291 miles and  I have done 174 miles doing local errands and taking it to the odd local car meeting.

I have done a fuel consumption check and got 26.8 mpg. The Autocar road test 4th Nov 1971 says they got 22.4 mpg and say you can get upto 30mpg driven gently.

It is still running after 3 weeks!

I even bought it a new pair of windscreen wipers, I hope it is not offended as they were supposed to be for a Land Rover!

[hairnet]

Much tart 

[Six-cylinder]

This weekend 12/13 September is the Citroen Chevrons Rally at Little Horwood Milton Keynes.

 

All Classic cars welcome. If not park outside the Rally field and you can just walk in as there is a public footpath through the event anyway.

I will be there most of the weekend, it will be tricky to just spot my car as the plan is to bring 8 Citroens!

PM me if you are coming and want to meet.

 

Today I put my Fulvia away to get out my Visa 652cc for the Citroen gathering. This meant I drove back to back drive my Fulvia and Visa 652cc. Trying to ignore the obvious performance advantage from the 1300cc Lancia, the Lancia feels nicer to drive.

 

[hairnet]

Plane gets in at 1910 drive to Warwick

Zzzzzz

Turn up at horwood

I was thinking about it but I think.not.sadly

[Six-cylinder]

Today was a big Success and we got all 8 Citroens planed to the Chevrons.

A BIG THANK YOU to @Slowsilver for all his help making this happen. 

 

[Zelandeth]

Didn't expect to see this today...

Upgrades for the DS?

[Six-cylinder]

What the hell, who invited you to star in our LNA photo shoot!

[Momentary Lapse Of Reason]

2 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

What the hell, who invited you to star in our LNA photo shoot!

 

 

 

What is the story of the Souris?

 

Team Member?

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

9 minutes ago, Momentary Lapse Of Reason said:

What is the story of the Souris?

Perhaps an unsuccessful attempt to go for a "rat look" ?

I'll get my coat...

[Six-cylinder]

17 minutes ago, Momentary Lapse Of Reason said:

What is the story of the Souris?

 

Team Member?

 

The LNA is stored on a farm so he was a stowaway when we drove to the show.

Tomorrow we plan to give him a chance with a humane trap and if he will not go for that then it will be the Little Nipper trap for him.

[richardmorris]

2 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

The LNA is stored on a farm so he was a stowaway when we drove to the show.

Tomorrow we plan to give him a chance with a humane trap and if he will not go for that then it will be the Little Nipper trap for him.

Have you considered a cat? I’m a huge nature fan, but not inside home or car.

[Momentary Lapse Of Reason]

8 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

if he will not go for that then it will be the Little Nipper trap for him.

Land Rover Passenger Control Module had to be fitted to the Doomed Discovery after they started eating the wiring.

[hairnet]

On 02/09/2026 at 10:21, Sigmund Fraud said:

stiff 

Yes.