Six Cylinders Motoring Notes

[phil_lihp]

And don’t break the gate - lots of brute force and ignorance went into it!

 

I can confirm that the repair was still holding up when I left around 2PM today, so it's already exceeded its design specifications.

[Slowsilver]

 

There was plenty more, plus a lot of tea and biscuit consumption.  All in all, you couldn't ask for a better time really.  "Daycare for grown men" is about right, I was a bit concerned that there were no responsible adults around to supervise but nothing got too out of hand.

 

Hey, I'll have you know I was responsible, I'm just not prepared to admit what I was responsible for!

 

Believe it or not, riding a stripped-down moped over a bumpy field with a 25 litre container full of water wedged between your knees can be fun once you get the hang of it.

 

I am now also fully qualified to drive a JCB entirely by remote control using only hand signals.

 

Another fun weekend and nice to put faces to some more of the names on here.

 

Looking forward to doing similar silly stuff again over the FoTU weekend.

 

[Mrs6C]

Nice to meet folk briefly on Saturday evening. Sadly work and other duties prevented a longer visit over the weekend, but I'm glad everyone enjoyed themselves and the weather stayed good.

 

Will the other half of the Herald get washed at the FotU weekend?  

[Six-cylinder]

Monday was not a good day, I drove to Bedford about 30 miles in the Gamma and the last mile in the town the temp gauge started to climb and by the time I stopped in the town car park there was a hissing noise from the expansion tank overflow pipe. Nothing obvious wrong, after 1 ½ hours I topped it up and started to drive home, but the temp raised a bit so I went into my favourite garage and they diagnosed the radiator fan switch not working, they by passed it so the fan came on with the ignition. They had me do a local test drive and all was well.

 

I set off home on urban road around Milton Keynes and had to stop often at various traffic lights and roundabouts and all was well. I just cleared Stoney Stratford leaving some country lanes to get home and the engine gave a horrible heavy mechanical rattling sound and stopped. The AA restarted it briefly and declared it had a serious engine problem and towed me home on a dolly. 

[Guest Hooli]

Eek, that should be easy* to find parts for.

[richardmorris]

Oh no - so much for legendary Lancia reliability!

[hairnet]

You animal

 

Fix it ASAP or else

[Mrs6C]

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for it being the newly revived electric fan giving up the ghost and clattering against something... we'll see... in the meantime, the naughty Lancia has gone off to the barn and S2 Daimler has been pressed into service... it's a hard life...

[Mrs6C]

I'm visiting my folks in Wales this week, so to celebrate the lovely weather today on the Summer Solstice, Dad and I took the ZX off for a trip to the Mumbles and came back the mountain road - with bonus Shetland ponies!

 

At home on the farm...

 

Crossing the ford...

 

Parked up for a seaside ice cream...

 

On the way home, we stopped at the old milk stand, which is still at the finger post, where the milk churns from the farms used to be put for collection...

 

Are those wild ponies?

 

Yes!

[HMC]

Fingers crossed here the Gamma death rattle is straightforward. I always remember the stories about the pas and cambelt but that doesn't sound anything like it's present lancianess

[hairnet]

you did mumbles and didnt speak the other lancia botherer???

 

shame on you

 

ps gamma how about now

[Mrs6C]

you did mumbles and didnt speak the other lancia botherer???

 

shame on you

 

ps gamma how about now

I don't think he's home yet!

[richardmorris]

Could the thermostat be stuck?

[Mrs6C]

Could the thermostat be stuck?

Six-cylinder tells me it doesn't have one, but the electric fan wasn't working because the switch was broken. Oil pressure was fine, apparently. We haven't inspected it all yet or done any tests, so there will be more information to come as we discover the state of things...

 

PS I recommend the Square Peg café in Mumbles...

https://www.squarepeg.org.uk/peg-2/

[hairnet]

seeing as youre posh and southern

 

recoomend somewhere between chipping norton and worcester on monday for lunch please

[Mrs6C]

seeing as youre posh and southern

 

recoomend somewhere between chipping norton and worcester on monday for lunch please

Apple Barn Restaurant at the Evesham Vale Country Park.

https://www.bluediamond.gg/restaurant/apple-barn-restaurant-evesham

 

Sadly the Evesham Vale Light Railway (run by a very enthusiastic husband and wife team) won't be running on Monday, but if it were, you would get a fantastic trip behind a cracking little narrow gauge engine, through the historic plum orchards of the Evesham Vale. Have some nice lunch on this occasion and then come back on a day the train is running...

http://www.evlr.co.uk/

[hairnet]

you and the big man (and anyone else)

 

are invited

[richardmorris]

Six-cylinder tells me it doesn't have one, but the electric fan wasn't working because the switch was broken. Oil pressure was fine, apparently. We haven't inspected it all yet or done any tests, so there will be more information to come as we discover the state of things...

 

PS I recommend the Square Peg café in Mumbles...

https://www.squarepeg.org.uk/peg-2/

Hmmm.

 

Getting hot seems like the fans, but what would make the awful noises? I’m not sure this is just getting hot.

 

Water pump seized?

[Mrs6C]

Hopefully something not too expensive, easily unbolted and replaced!

[quicksilver]

Broken Gamma is sad, hope it can be fixed. In happier times it got spotted by Craptical Plastics at the Citroen rally and has just appeared on their Facebook page. Maybe it caught French from all those Citroens?

 

https://www.facebook.com/PracticalClassics/posts/1952485234769754

[Supernaut]

Broken Gamma is sad, hope it can be fixed. In happier times it got spotted by Craptical Plastics at the Citroen rally and has just appeared on their Facebook page. Maybe it caught French from all those Citroens?

 

https://www.facebook.com/PracticalClassics/posts/1952485234769754

Or even worse, it infected the Citroens with Italian?!

[Guest Hooli]

Or even worse, it infected the Citroens with Italian?!

 

You mean they'll run away before exploderating?

[Mrs6C]

Broken Gamma is sad, hope it can be fixed. In happier times it got spotted by Craptical Plastics at the Citroen rally and has just appeared on their Facebook page. Maybe it caught French from all those Citroens?

 

https://www.facebook.com/PracticalClassics/posts/1952485234769754

Thank goodness Six-cylinder hadn't dozed off in his chair in that photo!

[320touring]

Is this thee?

 

[Six-cylinder]

The Gamma was at the DS rally 9/10 June, since then I have dented the DS and now the engine has gone on the Gamma!

[320touring]

That'll be a yes then:)

[Six-cylinder]

Wednesday was a happier day, I went to the Earls Barton (Northampton) evening classic gathering on a splendid summer evening in my Vitesse convertible and a flying Reliant came and landed next to me!

 

Also my M3 turned up unannounced looking splendid, the lady I have lent it too for the summer likes cleaning cars!  

[Six-cylinder]

My friend who has my E30 BMW says it has developed a mid range on load misfire and could he borrow my spare ECU to try. He came round, we spent an hour searching the garage for it without success and when he left I went to switch the garage lights off, moved a box and there it was!

 

His reply when I messaged him -Bugger!

[dougiefourspeed]

That M3 is the nuts.

Aye. A saloon one of those is pretty much my perfect car. One day...

[Six-cylinder]

Aye. A saloon one of those is pretty much my perfect car. One day...

 

Saloons are very rare, I have had my convertible for 5 years.

 

It is a M3 Evo, 321 bhp 6 speed manual and completely civilised.