Project Strangeangel's Shite-tastic Shenanigans 12/12 NEW MOTOR - ACHIEVED.

[UltraWomble]

Give me a nudge if/when you come to sell the TGB will you and I'll have a bid.

Given that it wont fit in the Astra I'll ride it back too!

[strangeangel]

It's been a while since I posted on this thread, mostly because my Shite Mojo is disappearing at a rate of knots, The BX's gearbox issues were finally resolved when @twosmoke300 rummaged through his dad's stash of old BX bits, and found a gearbox that - while it looked like it had been buried at sea for 20 years - worked perfectly. This place etc. Unfortunately, the car only worked for another week before springing a mahoosive LHM leak from - or near - the rear height corrector.  The Ami's voltage regulator arrived from France, and the car was restored to a running condition this afternoon, only for the ropey old wiper motor to burn out on the maiden voyage. So it goes, although it has to be said that the test drive up into the hills in South Yorkshire cheered me up somewhat.

 

These former events are without doubt expensive, but the most unpleasant concerns a BMW C1 being sold by a relatively recent visitor to a scooter forum I visit. Said character had bought the C1 and was experiencing extreme buyers remorse. He offered it for sale, and then came back saying he was desperate to get rid and would listen to offers. I like the unusual, so I made him an offer. The reply I got back, calling me a profiteer, a flipper etc had to be seen to be believed. The few people on here that know me already understand that I would regard rolling a C1 in the urban scramble as one of life's great achievements ?

 

On the plus side I got my Velosolex and Tula NOVAd the other day - things have clearly changed rather drastically since that scheme was introduced, and for the better; drop me a PM if if what I did might be useful to you.

 

[dollywobbler]

I think we all have days like those. I'm certainly pondering some of my shite choices very strongly indeed! And sadly, as we all know, people on forums can be twats.

[strangeangel]

A brief update, as SHITE_ENTHUSIASM is slowly ebbing back.

• BX - the rebuilt height corrector fitted barely two years ago has indeed failed. As rebuilt units seem a bit shit (the one I bought from an absolute shower of cowboys in the Netherlands pissed LHM out from the moment it was fitted, and they did their very best to fuck me over on the refund) I decided against another one. On the basis that some POS with a seven euro rebuild kit fitted was going to rush me another £100 exchange, I bought a reassuringly expensive NOS one from Chevronics. Let's see how that fares.  On the plus side, I finally got the shagged rear spheres replaced - the magic carpet (and a few enthusiasm points) returns!
• Ami - decent second hand wiper motor obtained from French eBay. Old one off to be rebuilt as a spare. I swear this car could make me smile on a trip to the dentists.
• Trail 90 - running and legal, but has been smoking - as the technical phrase would have it - like a bastard. That's because 15 years ago, when I rebuilt the top end, and knowing no better, I put the piston rings in the wrong way up. Corrected, and rattling around happily.
• Tula - some jiggery pokery has resulted in the issue of a NOVA certificate. More jiggery pokery and shenanigans, and an application for an age-related plate has been made. Cross your fingers for this earnest Russian immigrant, eager to build a new life in the UK.
• Velosolex - NOVA achieved, dating certificate applied for...
• TGB pizza moped - running beautifully. New pads and fluid in the front brake, and just looking for a local MOT station to take it to (dragging it to Leeds to my usual chap will be just too much of an arseache).
• Modern Hassle Alert: the Autocruise's fresh water tank has developed a massive leak; the drive from SA_TOWERS to Norfolk last week was enough for it to empty the entire contents onto the queen's highway. A journey up the Big Ramps beckons.
• I still can't banish the thought of a Pacific Coast from my mind, and no-one else has placed a deposit on the bloody thing either... just got to hope someone else buys it before I cave in. PHWOAR.

 

 

Reading it back now it all sounds surprisingly positive. Off for a weekend's camping on the DN-01 tomorrow; a bit of riding rather than fixing. Nice one.

 

[LightBulbFun]

On 07/08/2020 at 20:32, strangeangel said:

Tula - some jiggery pokery has resulted in the issue of a NOVA certificate. More jiggery pokery and shenanigans, and an application for an age-related plate has been made. Cross your fingers for this earnest Russian immigrant, eager to build a new life in the UK.

very interested to hear how this goes  will you be doing a write up of your methods/experience once its all done and dusted? I do hope it goes well  

I assume by application for an age related plate you mean just in general an application to get  it registered in the UK/for a logbook?

because the application for an age related plate is something a bit different, for example if you have a pre 1963 vehicle that was slapped with an A Suffix plate back when it was robbed of its original plate back in say the 80s, these days you can request an age related suffix-less plate to replace the A suffix plate

or for example if you have a vehicle that was first registered in the UK before August 1983, back then they would give you a number plate according to a date of first registration, so if you import/register a thing in 1983 even if it was from the 1940s say then you would still get a Y suffix plate! but today you can request an appropriate age related plate (starting A Prefix they started issuing age related plates rather then date of first registration related plates to imports and new registrations)

it always pleases me when I see such a pre 1983 import or "new registration" still wearing its "late registration madness" plate, its a fun example of how things used to work, the lane transport museum has a traction avant on a X plate which is a particularly fun example  

 

happy to hear the rest of the fleet is going well too btw  

[strangeangel]

22 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

I assume by application for an age related plate you mean just in general an application to get  it registered in the UK/for a logbook?

 

 

Yeah, I've used the wrong terminology here, sorry. I'm familiar with the phenomenon you're referring to, having owned a 1967 Batavus Batavette which wore a 1982 'X' registration because of the year it was imported to the UK. My reference to an age-related plate came from the fact that with a Soviet bike unaccompanied by any documentation is looking at a Q-registration (ugh). I don't want to say too much about this at the moment, but I've got my fingers crossed that Them in Swansea will grant the old nail the 1962 registration everyone I've spoken to says it undoubtedly should have.

 

[strangeangel]

Aaaaaaaand relax.

 

 

Cheers all!

 

[UltraWomble]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/motorcycle.projects/?fref=nf&__xts__[0]=68.ARB9p1DFSYHm0bSczMl8EKHm0h7C4Zy4yZiKQR21WH6IfJazZ_EYpc_4qOIgSGBA6aiDlov0dvuNFcHZtr1kNvZJ7f0YC70mdpchRGfG67Nu4Olb1liQpUWUcWdhL60h_Rc02TUBBnW7rpcV0FgTFeR7hr-sJsN-pV9AeX8ctX9tNc8ODgMYykkT8Pyz9sQp-cqyTA8mT9uNoXTBPrrnpit_5TdmNEyiGycsLk2WhZw2hbQidywOyYBor1NrYMIfWegcrwDdYp_iASLH0TwCSDziAHms0y0aZvsOstp1AZYV3NNeqyoUWowUbv3sSN1XZ_ODypDtsTPsHHEjtP-fzbluZVExOM8CakN5&__tn__=C-R

[strangeangel]

1 hour ago, UltraWomble said:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/motorcycle.projects/?fref=nf&__xts__[0]=68.ARB9p1DFSYHm0bSczMl8EKHm0h7C4Zy4yZiKQR21WH6IfJazZ_EYpc_4qOIgSGBA6aiDlov0dvuNFcHZtr1kNvZJ7f0YC70mdpchRGfG67Nu4Olb1liQpUWUcWdhL60h_Rc02TUBBnW7rpcV0FgTFeR7hr-sJsN-pV9AeX8ctX9tNc8ODgMYykkT8Pyz9sQp-cqyTA8mT9uNoXTBPrrnpit_5TdmNEyiGycsLk2WhZw2hbQidywOyYBor1NrYMIfWegcrwDdYp_iASLH0TwCSDziAHms0y0aZvsOstp1AZYV3NNeqyoUWowUbv3sSN1XZ_ODypDtsTPsHHEjtP-fzbluZVExOM8CakN5&__tn__=C-R

 

"My intention was to streetfighter it" ????????  

[strangeangel]

I finally got round to the seemingly impossible task of fitting the Ami's new wiper motor today. Try as I might, there is simply no way of getting the nut (and lock washer) that fasten the motor to the linkage back on.

 

 

I've taken pretty much everything nearby to bits in an attempt to get a bit more elbow room - no luck so far.

 

I never mention the camper much on here, because it's modern and therefore not interesting (also it's modern and doesn't break down), but this might be useful to camper owners of all ages... the spring safety catch on the fridge door failed; the first I knew of this was when I went round a corner and the door flew open, food everywhere etc. The 3-way fridge is one that I've seen in loads of conversions, variously badged Electrolux, Thetford or Dometic, and the offending catch looks like this:

 

 

It's operated by a poxy little torsion spring that snapped on mine. Helpfully*, you can only buy these catches in black nowadays, nor can you buy the spring separately. There's a chap selling equally shit replacement springs for £8 on eBay, but I found a suitable coil spring in one of my boxes of bits and jammed it inside the catch like so:

 

 

The assembly was then screwed back to the fridge door. Total cost of repair = £0, and the catch works better than it ever did.

 

[Mr Pastry]

27 minutes ago, strangeangel said:

I've taken pretty much everything nearby to bits in an attempt to get a bit more elbow room - no luck so far.

Err - can't you just undo the big nuts on the spindle housings and take the whole assembly out?

[strangeangel]

5 minutes ago, Mr Pastry said:

Err - can't you just undo the big nuts on the spindle housings and take the whole assembly out?

 

I did that, but it doesn't help because the bit of metal that the motor bolts to is still in the way. I'm hoping that taking the linkage to bits will give me enough leeway to get the job done.

 

[Mr Pastry]

I was comparing it with a 2CV which is very similar and I think the mounting bracket on those only has two additional bolts.  Hard to see from your photo, but isn't there a stud at the bottom of the bracket passing through the bulkhead?

[strangeangel]

14 hours ago, Mr Pastry said:

Hard to see from your photo, but isn't there a stud at the bottom of the bracket passing through the bulkhead?

 

 

There is, yeah, but that's already out cos that's what the dash bolts to. I'm hoping unbolting the linkage from the other spindle will give me a bit of room.

 

[strangeangel]

So the Ami's new* wiper motor is installed, but the anaemic six volt bastard can only manage to drag one wiper across the screen. Admittedly this is something of a victory, as I can at least use the car when it rains now. Nonetheless, adding a second wiper simply causes the whole lot to stop in the middle of the screen. I've cleaned the earth and dismantled, cleaned and greased the wiper linkage to no avail. Of course I only have the word of Le Ebayer that it was working, so it could well be almost as shagged as the one I pulled out... who knows.

 

I'm beginning to wish I'd thought harder about converting the car to 12V; but that was before I coughed up for a rebuilt starter, new mechanical regulator and now this useless wiper motor. I wonder if I can get one of them rebuilt by an auto electrician? I suspect it's either that, or buy more over-priced junk from eBay bullshitters...

 

[Mr Pastry]

6 minutes ago, strangeangel said:

I wonder if I can get one of them rebuilt by an auto electrician?

2CV club SPOG list them.

[strangeangel]

1 minute ago, Mr Pastry said:

2CV club SPOG list them.

 

What is this SPOG of which you speak please?

 

[Mr Pastry]

It is the 2CVGB club spare parts remanufacturing operation.  They list quite a few odd Ami parts, you have to be a member but probably worth it.  Serviced early type wiper motors  are £72.

 

[meshking]

Speaking of spog, I ordered a set of window rubbers that they had remade on Tuesday,  hopefully be with me next week. Why am I telling you this? They have an open day this Sunday if you're anywhere near Lincolnshire it might be worth popping along for parts.

[jonathan_dyane]

Did you replace the grease in the gearbox of the ‘new’ wiper motor? Usually when they go slow/blow the fuse it’s because the grease has degraded into something resembling earwax.

[strangeangel]

24 minutes ago, jonathan_dyane said:

Did you replace the grease in the gearbox of the ‘new’ wiper motor? Usually when they go slow/blow the fuse it’s because the grease has degraded into something resembling earwax.

 

I didn't, but only because the fantasist I bought it from said it had been 'serviced' (WTF does that mean in the context of a wiper motor anyway? But I digress). I will certainly investigate this, cheers. BTW... there's a fuse? Makes you wonder how the first one managed to leak out all its smoke!

 

 

[jonny69]

Something doesn’t sound right there. The old motor would pull both wipers across the screen dry with no problems. It shouldn’t struggle at all. 

[Tadhg Tiogar]

9 minutes ago, strangeangel said:

.... the fantasist I bought it from said it had been 'serviced' (WTF does that mean in the context of a wiper motor anyway? ....

It means yer man took out some important bits that he needed for himself. 

[strangeangel]

24 minutes ago, jonny69 said:

Something doesn’t sound right there. The old motor would pull both wipers across the screen dry with no problems. It shouldn’t struggle at all. 

 

The motor started playing up not long after I got the car home... some days it wouldn't come on, so I by-passed the switch, and that worked for a little while. Then it lost the ability to park itself, so on advice from @dollywobbler I pulled the park wire off and developed the long-lost skill of parking the wipers. From then on it got slower and slower and one day there was smoke... not that lockdown et al has allowed me to do much driving, but when I did it was only on days when West Yorkshire wasn't experiencing precipitation ?

 

I'll have a look at the grease in the gearbox tomorrow if I get chance.

 

 

[Tadhg Tiogar]

If the motor was slowing down, that sounds like the armature was on the way out, or the motor bearings were fecked. Or both.

[strangeangel]

Just now, Tadhg Tiogar said:

If the motor was slowing down, that sounds like the armature was on the way out, or the motor bearings were fecked. Or both.

 

Possibly so, it is a very old motor after all. They both are... if replacing the grease in the gearbox has no effect then I'm going to see if I can get one of them rebuilt.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Just now, strangeangel said:

 

Possibly so, it is a very old motor after all. They both are... if replacing the grease in the gearbox has no effect then I'm going to see if I can get one of them rebuilt.

Grease won't help under those circumstances. More likely new motor bearings and/or re-wound armature. I'd also look at the state of the commutator. 

[somewhatfoolish]

Are the wiper spindles free? If they are clagged up with grease the consistency of earwax or even corrosion then the motor has an uphill struggle regardless of the supply voltage.

[strangeangel]

Just now, somewhatfoolish said:

Are the wiper spindles free? If they are clagged up with grease the consistency of earwax or even corrosion then the motor has an uphill struggle regardless of the supply voltage.

 

A good suggestion, albeit one I'd already thought of. There was a bit of corrosion on the spindles but nothing too serious. All cleaned up, polished and greased then reassembled... to no great effect, sadly.

 

[strangeangel]

Bit of bad news/good news from the DVLA on the Tula front... they've rejected my application, but only because I didn't send them the original registration document. I just have to send them a covering letter stating that I never had it and they will issue it a 1962 registration mark