Six Cylinders Motoring Notes

[Zelandeth]

Pin a couple of tarps over the open doors?  With a couple of layers that can actually be surprisingly effective at keeping heat in.  We survived most of December and January in the mid 90s with a significant portion of the rear wall of our living room basically being that when some renovation work turned out to be a little more...shall we simply say "involved" than had originally been budgeted for.  Wasn't exactly toasty, but the ratty old gas fire mostly kept up.

[Six-cylinder]

I haven't had a lot of time or weather for car tinkering this week but today is a good day.

I have collected the MG TF with a fresh MOT. It has had a bit of welding, a new catalytic converter and service. Then just to test my resolve to drive around in winter in a low slung soft top the alternator stopped charging while still with my favourite garage. Thank you to @Andyrew who rushed around and found me a new one and delivered it to my house Monday. I took it to my usual garage and yesterday they messaged to say it was all done.

The Yellow peril has even managed to sneak into the garage for a while because I want to give it a polish before I start using it.

As unusual as it may seem @Slowsilver came to help me today, we put Error 404 into storage to dry out as it is leaking rain water into the cabin badly. I sent him home with some homework, to see if he can fix the broken wire in the Saab 95 fuel sender unit.

The Metro has also been put into storage and SORN declared, but my Seicento is back out and about for a while.

[hairnet]

Slowsilver - powered by cake

[richardmorris]

Leek and Rudyard Railway owner selling up for retirement - BBC News

@Mrs6C

[New POD]

25 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

Leek and Rudyard Railway owner selling up for retirement - BBC News

@Mrs6C

I've walked around the lake, but never been on the railway.  I kind of assumed that it would be owned by 235 (white) retired men with beards via some sort of charitable trust. 

During lockdown I had discussions with the lake committee chairman, about testing an amphibious automotomus track laying vehicle, with a military application, in the lake and even did a risk assessment. In the end we found a more suitable* location. 

[Six-cylinder]

Exciting I have a parcel from Australia!

It all looks like it have travelled in good condition thanks to @MorrisItalSLX expert packaging, thank you very much.

[beko1987]

Will it be fixed and mot'd in time to be a winter beater? 

[Six-cylinder]

3 hours ago, beko1987 said:

Will it be fixed and mot'd in time to be a winter beater? 

It should be ready by Christmas.

Lights to fit and I have 4 replacment tyres that @Andyrew has volunteered  to fit on the rims.

I believe the rest of the list is done thanks to @Talbot

Front indicator not working. FIXED

N/S anti-rollbar link knackered.  FIXED (both sides changed)

Horn not working.  FIXED

Nearside brake lamp inoperative.  FIXED

Oil leak from engine.  Will be fixed when I get some repair goop for the rocker cover gasket.

Nearside Steering Rack Gaiter knackered.   FIXED.

 

[MorrisItalSLX]

Very happy to see the parts have made it to you!

They have had quite the journey from multiple suppliers around Melbourne, to my home near Sydney and across the world to the UK.

Not to mention being chauffeured around in the the back of my Corolla.

Bring on the MOT and long live the Sigma!

[Six-cylinder]

8 hours ago, MorrisItalSLX said:

Very happy to see the parts have made it to you!

They have had quite the journey from multiple suppliers around Melbourne, to my home near Sydney and across the world to the UK.

Not to mention being chauffeured around in the the back of my Corolla.

Bring on the MOT and long live the Sigma!

If you ever spot a Magna/Verada TR TS KR KS in the wild please photograph it for me.

[MorrisItalSLX]

Just now, Six-cylinder said:

If you ever spot a Magna/Verada TR TS KR KS in the wild please photograph it for me.

I will need to track down a photo of the one Dad had as the family wagon when I was a kid, the one that got me hooked.

[Six-cylinder]

1 minute ago, MorrisItalSLX said:

I will need to track down a photo of the one Dad had as the family wagon when I was a kid, the one that got me hooked.

I didn't realise you had one as a family car.

They were a rare choice in the UK and I don't remember anybody I knew having one. Working in the parts motor trade I do not remember anybody asking for parts although that would have been an early car in the 1980s or even later in the motor trade ever being offered one in PX.

Always aware of them it was a visit by @mitsisigma01in 2016 with this very car that awakened the intrest. 

[MorrisItalSLX]

Thanks to my Dad being an early adopter of the digital camera and working in IT back in the '90s and '00s he has all his photos neatly filed on a hard drive. So a quick phone call and an email later and I have the photo of the family TR Magna wagon when it was sold.

It was the family car from 2000 to 2007, Dad sold it to a group of back packers who were going to take it across Australia.

I have fond memories of "helping" Dad install a CD player and a pair of 6X9s in the boot.

[Six-cylinder]

23 minutes ago, MorrisItalSLX said:

Thanks to my Dad being an early adopter of the digital camera and working in IT back in the '90s and '00s he has all his photos neatly filed on a hard drive. So a quick phone call and an email later and I have the photo of the family TR Magna wagon when it was sold.

It was the family car from 2000 to 2007, Dad sold it to a group of back packers who were going to take it across Australia.

I have fond memories of "helping" Dad install a CD player and a pair of 6X9s in the boot.

Thank you for finding the picture of your dads old car for us.

Next I need some help to get the car moved to the house and wheels taken off.

[MorrisItalSLX]

16 hours ago, Schaefft said:

Have we had this yet? Very clean looking low mileage Sigma with a manual, offers...

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/231484979939748/?ref=facebook_story_share

Look what has appeared in the eBay tat thread.

[Six-cylinder]

1 hour ago, MorrisItalSLX said:

Look what has appeared in the eBay tat thread.

Wow and I thought I was the only Sigma in the village!

[richardmorris]

FYI @Six-cylinder, @Mrs6C

 

[Six-cylinder]

12 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

FYI @Six-cylinder, @Mrs6C

 

I like the fact that David Conway's is white  because I have a blue C15 model to represent our white van. I can't find it on eBay yet but probabley won't buy it anyway.

Did you know I also once owned a red C15 van, I bought it without MOT and the deal with the seller was it should pass with a little work. Turned out it needed extesnsive welding and the seller gave me my money back without any argument. I was disapointed but not out of pocket and I had bought the model, hence the red van.

[richardmorris]

Vin rouge et vin blanc

[Six-cylinder]

1 minute ago, richardmorris said:

Vin rouge et vin blanc

I sold them new!

[Six-cylinder]

Spooks day but I went into my garage alone to polish the MG TF.

I realised I was not alone and some sort of demon was making noises in there. I looked around and the sounds came from different parts of the garage maybe there was more than one demon in there with me.

Finally I caught site of the demon, turned out to be a small bird. It’s not that cold so I opened the garage door and carried on polishing thinking the bird would simply fly out. No I watched it fly out twice and straight back in, so the fun began it did not like the dark and I had to set up some lights outside and turn the garage lights off.

Yellow is now polished ready for a small car breakfast gathering in Milton Keynes Sunday morning, all welcome if you want to join me.

[beko1987]

Awww a little pet! Could work on taming it and have it as a garage buddy... They can't see in the dark, it's how I cna reliably catch Phoenix! They go blind and just see, then when he feels my hand on his chest he climbs in and snuggles up! Any light at all and he flies around and becomes a little sod

Good job on protecting the paint, was looking very haggard and tired before! 

[Six-cylinder]

3 hours ago, beko1987 said:

Awww a little pet! Could work on taming it and have it as a garage buddy... They can't see in the dark, it's how I cna reliably catch Phoenix! They go blind and just see, then when he feels my hand on his chest he climbs in and snuggles up! Any light at all and he flies around and becomes a little sod

Good job on protecting the paint, was looking very haggard and tired before! 

I think he must have been there 30 hours because it was the day before I opened the doors to take out the car to wash the car. All I could think of was what have you sh1t on!

Anyway @beko1987where were you when I needed you because it needed more work and lower section of the car has only been washed! 

 

 

[Six-cylinder]

I got a message last night from a fellow shiter, it was simply a link to a Volvo 480 for sale on FB. I knew this member loved 480s so it was not a surprise and offered a lift to view/collect it. The reply was not good timing for me. Well I like them too so said if I buy it for now, would you buy it from me when you are ready.

Today we went to Loughborough together and agreed it is a good car so now I own a 1989 Volvo 480 ES Auto. MOT 19 Sep 2024, 67,000 miles with original hand book pack including service book showing it was originally a Volvo Concessionaires car and the last service in 2016 was 4,000 miles ago including a cambelt. It came with a heap of spares that filled the slave car including refurbished front sub-frame, steering rack, Lower arms, door glass tailgate with wiper, wiper stalk, gearbox mount, spare driver’s front wing, seat and some other stuff. I have just read the folder with later services Dec 2021 and Sep 2022. Also an Auto gearbox service including seals replaced in Feb 2022. There are other repair in the last 2 years including Wishbone ball joint, rocker cover gasket, brake light switch, window regulator and rear wiper blade, central control Module.

Yes there are negatives, there is a battery drain, the info centre requires soldering to make it work, there some minor rust spots around the car and the driver’s seat is poor but it came with a replacement. Volvo 480s were always poor quality so I am sure we will find other issues. It also needs a good clean.

Interestingly I did not think that 480 Autos became available until late 1989 on G reg so this one being Concessionaires car maybe an advanced Automatic model before the general sale cars arrived.

Also this goes against the rumour that FB sellers were not good to deal with as this one held the car because I had agreed to see it, the description was spot on and the interaction was very pleasant.

Unfortunately the car is not taxed or insured so I held back from driving it away and when it is legal we will collect it.

[richardmorris]

I like these. But, and it’s a big but, they seem to be worse than Italians for electrical issues. And I like Italians.

[wuvvum]

The last one of these I sold was in the depths of winter so it was dark when the buyer turned up.  The headlights decided they were going to refuse to pop up.  They switched on, but they weren't illuminating anything other than the inside of the bumper.  I had to knock some money off and he drove home using the foglights and driving lights to see where he was going.

[richardmorris]

4 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

The last one of these I sold was in the depths of winter so it was dark when the buyer turned up.  The headlights decided they were going to refuse to pop up.  They switched on, but they weren't illuminating anything other than the inside of the bumper.  I had to knock some money off and he drove home using the foglights and driving lights to see where he was going.

Naturally any car with pop up headlights has a thousand get-out-of-jail cards.

[Zelandeth]

Random thing I remember from my first encounter with these was that it was from the peak era of fibre optics being the cool new thing that everyone was trying to find uses for - Volvo had decided that one of the things they would use them for was providing illumination of even the seatbelt buckles.  Haven't ever seen that on another car since.

[DSdriver]

1 hour ago, Zelandeth said:

Random thing I remember from my first encounter with these was that it was from the peak era of fibre optics being the cool new thing that everyone was trying to find uses for - Volvo had decided that one of the things they would use them for was providing illumination of even the seatbelt buckles.  Haven't ever seen that on another car since.

My Citroen DS has a fibre optic cable from the back of the instrument cluster to the ignition key barrel to light it up. That was how they did it in 1973 before the accountants took control.

[New POD]

4 minutes ago, DSdriver said:

My Citroen DS has a fibre optic cable from the back of the instrument cluster to the ignition key barrel to light it up. That was how they did it in 1973 before the accountants took control.

I think you'll find that was purely value engineered to save a bulb and a bulb holder.