Six Cylinders Motoring Notes

[AxWomble]

  On 18/03/2025 at 22:50, Six-cylinder said:

The case of the missing 2 pints!

Tonight was not without hitch, I went to a Triumph Club meeting tonight 20 miles away in the Carlton Estate.  The temp gauge read high, rising and falling on the way.

Checking the radiator, it was hot but not boiling. Before I came home we checked the water level and found it to be 2 pints of water short. On the way home the temp gauge was steady and read a little low as usual.

What happened to the missing 2 pints!

Expand  

Airlock that managed to burp it's way out? I've had that before with an old Panda - more of an issue with such a tiny coolant capacity 😬

[beko1987]

  On 19/03/2025 at 07:42, AxWomble said:

Airlock that managed to burp it's way out? I've had that before with an old Panda - more of an issue with such a tiny coolant capacity 😬

Expand  

I thought that. Id be carrying coolant in the rear footwell and keeping a hawk eye on it for now and 🤞🤞

[Six-cylinder]

  On 19/03/2025 at 07:42, AxWomble said:

Airlock that managed to burp it's way out? I've had that before with an old Panda - more of an issue with such a tiny coolant capacity 😬

Expand  

 

  On 19/03/2025 at 07:46, beko1987 said:

I thought that. Id be carrying coolant in the rear footwell and keeping a hawk eye on it for now and 🤞🤞

Expand  

It has been on the road since 13th Oct 24 when it got it's new MOT without any issues.

[comfortablynumb]

Someone saw the price of a pint in that pub, and decided that two pints of your finest antifreeze was a much more sensible option.

Methanol all round then? 🤣

[wuvvum]

Sounds like a warranty claim against the person who did the engine work... 👀

[AxWomble]

  On 19/03/2025 at 12:08, Six-cylinder said:

 

It has been on the road since 13th Oct 24 when it got it's new MOT without any issues.

Expand  

If it doesn’t do it again, I’d say that an airlock is the most likely scenario, although I’ll agree it’s odd. The inlaw’s Panda had an airlock for literally months until we visited and I cleared it with a 2L pop bottle with the bottom cut off, raising the effective fill level and pushing all the air out of the matrix. Has the heater been decent since the overhaul? 

[richardmorris]

  On 18/03/2025 at 14:05, Six-cylinder said:

I hate it when I get sold dud cars that bits just keep falling off!

Expand  

That headlight is dechroming a bit too.

[Six-cylinder]

Yesterday was the first warm day of the year and @Slowsilver helped me take advantage of it.

The aim was to get the Vanden Plas 1500 running and inspected to return to the road.

It has been out of use for over 3 years while @Andyrew had done a miracle job saving it as more and more rust was revealed. Without him that would have been the end for this car.

Plan “A” was to take the plugs out and put a drop of oil in each bore but the first problem was the ignition switch was stuck and would not turn at all. After much WD40 and working it suddenly it worked and the engine turned over.

We added some petrol and looked for a spark but there was not one. We cleaned the points but still no spark so we took the points and condenser from the old engine. The condenser fitted but not the points, however we now had a spark at the plugs. We had spun the engine over quite a lot but no sign of petrol so Easy start was used and it ran, but not enough to draw petrol from the tank under the car into the fuel pump and push it up into the carb.

Next time I will try my old 2CV trick of back filling the fuel pump by taking the pipe from the fuel filer inserting a small funnel and poring petrol in.

 

[Six-cylinder]

In @Zelandeth thread I looked at the cost of the cheapest 1300cc Ado16 against the VP1300 Auto.

 In April 1968 my Morris 1300 listed at £698 and the VP1300 Auto at £1135. The VP cost 63% more.

My poverty model, Morris 1300 2 door had saved the first owner £26 over the 4 door!

---

This week with @Slowsilver working on the Vanden Plas 1500 we pondered what the cost difference was between base and VP Allegros.

In 1976 the year of our VP1500 the base Allegro 2 door 1100cc cost £1626. The cheapest 1500cc was the Super deluxe at £2015. While the VP Auto was £2775. The VP1500 cost 38% more than the standard 1500 Allegro.

[flat4alfa]

  On 17/12/2024 at 15:54, Six-cylinder said:

Expand  

I love that car

[Six-cylinder]

  On 23/03/2025 at 12:03, flat4alfa said:

I love that car

Expand  

That is the Series 1 and Mrs6C won't let that go.

One day when I prepare it I might let the Series 2 go.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

  On 23/03/2025 at 12:01, Six-cylinder said:

In @Zelandeth thread I looked at the cost of the cheapest 1300cc Ado16 against the VP1300 Auto.

 In April 1968 my Morris 1300 listed at £698 and the VP1300 Auto at £1135. The VP cost 63% more.

My poverty model, Morris 1300 2 door had saved the first owner £26 over the 4 door!

---

This week with @Slowsilver working on the Vanden Plas 1500 we pondered what the cost difference was between base and VP Allegros.

In 1976 the year of our VP1500 the base Allegro 2 door 1100cc cost £1626. The cheapest 1500cc was the Super deluxe at £2015. While the VP Auto was £2775. The VP1500 cost 38% more than the standard 1500 Allegro.

Expand  

I guess you can't really put a price on Plah. 

[Six-cylinder]

Be jealous!

After 18 months our Alfa 156 V6 six speed manual Sports Wagon has finally come back to us in full working order.

The intermittent non starting turning out to be corrosion on the wires to the fuel pump relay.

[Six-cylinder]

As  @ianbmw took his Monza to the NEC this weekend I got second dibs on his welder.

So back to my Discovery MK1 today, the repairs to the offside bulkhead and inner wing has been completed.

[hairnet]

  On 23/03/2025 at 12:01, Six-cylinder said:

In @Zelandeth thread I looked at the cost of the cheapest 1300cc Ado16 against the VP1300 Auto.

 In April 1968 my Morris 1300 listed at £698 and the VP1300 Auto at £1135. The VP cost 63% more.

My poverty model, Morris 1300 2 door had saved the first owner £26 over the 4 door!

---

This week with @Slowsilver working on the Vanden Plas 1500 we pondered what the cost difference was between base and VP Allegros.

In 1976 the year of our VP1500 the base Allegro 2 door 1100cc cost £1626. The cheapest 1500cc was the Super deluxe at £2015. While the VP Auto was £2775. The VP1500 cost 38% more than the standard 1500 Allegro.

Expand  

apart from maybe a kadett what opel could you get for that /contentious

[hairnet]

alfa door lol

park the 308 and the rangie on the drive

@IronStar will be round to nick the alfa

 

[Six-cylinder]

  On 23/03/2025 at 22:23, hairnet said:

apart from maybe a kadett what opel could you get for that /contentious

Expand  

In 1968 Olmpia started at £1040 and Records at £1351.

In 1976 Ascona started at £2000 and Record at £2900.

[Six-cylinder]

  On 23/03/2025 at 22:33, hairnet said:

alfa door lol

park the 308 and the rangie on the drive

@IronStar will be round to nick the alfa

 

Expand  

We bought the 156 with minor damage to the offside front wing, then a nurse visiting next door forgot to turn the steering wheel and dented the front o-s door. The big one was a run away Focus from my neighbour drive that pushed in the o-s rear door right in and pushed the car into a tree in the hedge.

I bought a new door from a silver car 2 years younger and it was a different shade.

We have had it 10 years and it has lived a life!

When it was delivered back today I took it for a drive and can report it is still a great car to drive with a peach of an engine. 

[hairnet]

id have been upset only if it biffed the c15

 

[IronStar]

  On 23/03/2025 at 23:04, Six-cylinder said:

We bought the 156 with minor damage to the offside front wing, then a nurse visiting next door forgot to turn the steering wheel and dented the front o-s door. The big one was a run away Focus from my neighbour drive that pushed in the o-s rear door right in and pushed the car into a tree in the hedge.

I bought a new door from a silver car 2 years younger and it was a different shade.

We have had it 10 years and it has lived a life!

When it was delivered back today I took it for a drive and can report it is still a great car to drive with a peach of an engine. 

Expand  

This will be Grigio Sterling 694, sticker is on the right side of the boot door to confirm. The wrong colour door is Grigio Stromboli 651/A.

Yes I can tell the color code without even looking it up, just by looking at the photo. Yes I’m that sad.

Lovely, lovely cars.

@hairnet Depending on the immo box, stealing it ranges from needs immo box replaced to fairly trivial as ROM can be dumped. The box is under steering column and single-plug, not in the ECU itself, so fairly easy to swap out for the one you have the right key for. You need to virginise ECU for it to accept the new immo box though, but that’s also trivial.

No, I’m not into stealing cars. I just lost the transponder in the key when swapping out the key shell, as it bounced never to be found again and learned all this whilst locksmith was pairing my car with new immo unit. 

[flat4alfa]

I'll buy it

Because it is ULEZ and I have a set of GTA sockers to fit and refresh it 

And my (owned 15 yrs) 2.4 JTD Wagon isn't, and I need to get in and out of London Boroughs with job at moment

All-round vision in a 156 wagon is brill, compared to moderns

 

[IronStar]

  On 24/03/2025 at 00:34, flat4alfa said:

 

All-round vision in a 156 wagon is brill, compared to moderns

 

Expand  

Except that huge blindspot caused by the rounded mirrors. Caught me out more than once after driving other cars for a while. 🫣

[flat4alfa]

Can't say I've ever had a problem there...  I'm going to be watching out for it now arghhhh

The Giuletta poor visibility when reversing drives me nuts so the 156 is my go-to for urban parking efforts, because of that

[hairnet]

  On 24/03/2025 at 00:23, IronStar said:

 

Lovely, lovely cars.

 I just lost the transponder as it bounced never to be found again 

Expand  

oopsie

[dollywobbler]

The Discovery is wearing Disco 2 wipers for some reason. I am pained. Lovely colour though!

[Six-cylinder]

  On 24/03/2025 at 17:54, dollywobbler said:

The Discovery is wearing Disco 2 wipers for some reason. I am pained. Lovely colour though!

Expand  

I didn't know about the wipers but I do believe the headlights are Disco 2.

I am not keen on the colour.

[beko1987]

It'll look lovely once polished 👌

[High Jetter]

PERB! 🤣

[Six-cylinder]

  On 24/03/2025 at 22:38, High Jetter said:

PERB! 🤣

Expand  

I had to look it up "Public Employment Relations Board"?

[Talbot]

  On 24/03/2025 at 17:54, dollywobbler said:

The Discovery is wearing Disco 2 wipers for some reason. I am pained. Lovely colour though!

Expand  

It is.  Probably because a Discovery 2 somewhere is wearing the D1 wiper arms, as the blades for a D1 (generic) are significantly cheaper than those to fit a D2 arm (specialist).  It's seen as somewhat of an upgrade to put D1 arms on a D2.  As will come as no surprise, the mechanism between D1 and D2 is largely identical, and also similar to RRC.  Hence the interchangeability.

I never did it on my D2, but I wanted to.