Six Cylinders Motoring Notes

[Six-cylinder]

An interesting experience today was I swapped cars with @wuvvum for run out and I got to drive the Volt that I have not done for 9 years. It drives really well except maybe the suspension is not great at smoothing bumps.

[hairnet]

@wuvvum dave can you get many equiv mpg out of these like they say?

or is it 50-60 mpg like most things

[Dick Cheeseburger]

29 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

Last night I went to MK Modern classics gathering in the Ferrari. It was a great show with a large variety of cars in good weather and friendly faces. 

That's where the good news stops.

The Ferrari now has a bad engine water leak that entailed me buying several cases of Buxton spring water to get home!

Rolls Royce has a bad intermittent misfire.

E-Type won't start.

Blue Range Rover is stuck at the specialist because the underbody captive nuts spin and the can't get the cover off to determine why I have a suspension clonk.

Somebody took my LNA keys home with them.

There can't be many people who can say their Ferrari sprung a leak so they had to keep it hydrated on premium spring water! It sounds like the highly strung members of the fleet have engaged diva mode - fingers crossed they aren't too complex to sort. 

[Six-cylinder]

7 minutes ago, Dick Longbridge said:

There can't be many people who can say their Ferrari sprung a leak so they had to keep it hydrated on premium spring water! It sounds like the highly strung members of the fleet have engaged diva mode - fingers crossed they aren't too complex to sort. 

We have had it 23 years and it has given us little trouble. It has had regular servicing including Cam belt changes more or less on time. The good news with the 308 is you don't have to take the engine out to change the cambelt. 

[Six-cylinder]

Today's trip was small car gathering at Pure Triumph Woburn. 

Citroens round the back! Not really just I arrived a little later and all the front spots had been taken.

I used my Visa Twin as the Ferrari is leaking water very badly.

My aerial gained wings!

[richardmorris]

LNA keys is not me as I didn’t drive it  sorry to hear about the other woes, it was a fun weekend. I can take the Ferrari off your hands if it’s causing you bother

[chaseracer]

You've already got a Fiat, Rich... 😉😁

 

[Six-cylinder]

FoD open 2/3 September – Free camping for Radwood

Following the success of our last FoD open weekend we are opening up again for the weekend 2/3 September.

I am aware this is the Radwood weekend at Bicester Heritage but that is only 14 miles away and I am offering the FoD as a free campsite for Shiters. Stay before and/or after a night or a few days if you like.

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For those not booked for Radwood there are other off site activities Saturday, at 10.30am Buckingham Canal Society are removing the stop blanks from under bridge No.1 for the first boat to traverse under the new bridge.

There will be a bit of a party and naming ceremony for Buckingham Canal Society "new" (ex CRT) narrow dredger "DIANA".

THERE WILL BE CAKE !!!!!!

Location is MK19 7JR near lock 21 on the Grand Union at Cosgrove

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At 1.45 pm @Mrs6C will be leading a group walking around an old area of Milton Keynes, Simpson Village. The theme of the walk is to look at old maps and find how many of the orchards marked still have fruit trees in them. Tea and coffee in the hall at the end.

Location is Simson Village Hall, Hanmer road, Milton Keynes, MK6 3AD

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For the rest of us

·        The priority is to get the Saab 95 running.

·        I would also like to attempt to start the 1979 Vauxhall Royal. I bought the Vauxhall collection 2 years ago and this is the only one I have done nothing with.

·        It would be great if somebody could get one of the field bikes working.

·        Motor bike trailer – fit the new wheel bearings

·        Or do nothing and drink tea!

[grogee]

This is a society I want to live in. Cake and old shit cars. Unfortunately we're in Turkey having an overpriced school-holiday friendly package holiday but I hope to visit a FoD meet soon and lend a hand breaking fixing old motors. 

[Six-cylinder]

Today's main car project was to diagnose where the Ferrari was leaking water.

It was dripping that gave us a clue it was at the front of the engine. We got it in the garage and @Mrs6C jacked it up and climbed underneath the car to find the offending component. It turns out to be a hose that joins the main water transfer pipes. Mrs6C got it out and it didn't look destroyed like the Saab one but a bit tired so I have ordered some new hose.  

This is a 1970s Ferrari and they are relatively simple with most components being understandable.

[Ghosty]

I might stop in the field around Radwood as I'm going with my Civic hatch. I'd camp, but I'm bringing @Speedy with me and he's averse to camping, also my tent isn't big enough 😅

[Talbot]

31 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

That explains rather a lot from the last FoDaves.

[hairnet]

1 hour ago, Six-cylinder said:

 @Mrs6C jacked it up and climbed underneath the car 

BEAST

 

Mrs6C got it out 

MATRON!!!!!!!!!

This is a 1970s Fiat and they are relatively simple with most components being understandable. (by @Mrs6C)

 

 

[mat_the_cat]

On 8/14/2023 at 4:44 PM, Crackers said:

The 308... I really like it.

Sorry, not a fan.

[Six-cylinder]

Rubbing down filler and paint is so very boring!

Yes my car task for today was to fill, sand and brush paint primer the bonnet of Error 404.

I still have the front panel, rear inner wing fins, back panel and a door and half to go to complete the first coat. I want to drive it so further coats will have to wait.

[Talbot]

22 hours ago, hairnet said:

This is a 1970s Fiat

The similarities and parts-bin sharing between the 308 and a Bertone X1/9 is quite remarkable.  The 308 is rather like a "grown up" X1/9.  And I really liked my X1/9s, all 6 of them.

[hairnet]

20 hours ago, mat_the_cat said:

Sorry, not a fan.

bad man

[AnthonyG]

Maybe the vital bit of hose for the Ferrari’s cooling system will turn out to be also used on the Fiat 128 or something, and will turn out to cost 3 Euros. 

Alternatively it may have been handcrafted by a Modenese artisan, and as he only makes 10 a year, subject to major Ferrari Supertax. 

The cooling system diagram does demonstrate what a relatively simple car the 308 is. Unlike the 1990s onwards ones, 348, 355 etc. 

The 404 is looking (almost) respectable now!

[wuvvum]

On 8/18/2023 at 9:32 PM, hairnet said:

@wuvvum dave can you get many equiv mpg out of these like they say?

or is it 50-60 mpg like most things

You can get the computer to show quite silly average MPG figures if you drive it mainly on electric.  The car records the lifetime average MPG and I saw a few that were showing 250 or something ridiculous as they'd almost exclusively been used for local pottering.

[richardmorris]

21 hours ago, Talbot said:

The similarities and parts-bin sharing between the 308 and a Bertone X1/9 is quite remarkable.  The 308 is rather like a "grown up" X1/9.  And I really liked my X1/9s, all 6 of them.

It’s my favourite Ferrari design, and like the x1/9 very well thought out. Either the x1/9 has Ferrari door handles or vice versa. And I also noticed that the Maserati biturbo has x1/9 door mirrors.

[hairnet]

37 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

. Either the x1/9 has Ferrari door handles or vice versa. 

fiat 128? or lancia?

 

[richardmorris]

54 minutes ago, hairnet said:

fiat 128? or lancia?

 

Yes, the giant agnelli parts bin of Italy,

[Six-cylinder]

Tonight was an attempt to make the Rolls Royce run without a misfire. 

Duncan from the TSSC and @Andyrewcame round and we cleared out the fuel filter which had some dirt in it but not much.

I had already cleaned and gapped the points but there did not seem much wrong with them.

We let it fully warmed up on the drive and did a test drive but the misfire started again after 4 miles.

[LightBulbFun]

4 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

We let it fully warmed up on the drive and did a test drive but the misfire started again after 4 miles.

that sounds to me like something breaking down as it warms up

do you know the history of ignition components are? given that all modern automotive condensers are shite, that would be my first port of call

IIRC it also has magnetos, thus out of just sheer curiosity  does the miss-fire go away when you switch to those? (or are those not for running use?)

[Saabnut]

Last time I bought points they were 90 quid a set!

Chris, have you cleaned out the Autovac unit?

[Six-cylinder]

1 hour ago, Saabnut said:

Last time I bought points they were 90 quid a set!

Chris, have you cleaned out the Autovac unit?

I don't have any gaskets for the Autovac so I am reluctant to open it. 

[Saabnut]

You will need to open it as if there is that much sediment in the system the autovac will be full. I reused the gasket on mine no problem 

[Six-cylinder]

Another day with a lot of rubbing down and painting.

[Six-cylinder]

I got my Range Rover back today. Another DPF forced regen, aircon works lovely with just a gas top up. No fault found for my suspension clonk, Dorrell's had said it needed to get worse before they could find it and it seems JLS are the same. Estimate £500 for a wiring loom to put out the intermittent airbag light. A least they found a good parking spot for it.

[Six-cylinder]

I know,  I keep posting Error 404 photos but its my thread! In spite of everything slowing me down returning it to the road I still like it very much!

Today I have been test driving 404 and completed 18.6 miles including stopping for petrol without any problems.