Actually, old cars are rubbish - Dollywobber's fleet

[dollywobbler]

Gah. Never rains but it pours. Mini conked out last night, had to go and rescue my wife and coax the bloomin' Mini home. Opening the points gap as wide as I could convinced it to run well enough to make it back. Sodding points.Rover sounds like it's blowing from the manifold now. So that's the entire exhaust system FUBARd, as it's already blowing in several more places. Great. Having to use it as my wife is now in the Subaru and the 2CV...The 2CV has a very knackered wheel bearing. Might force her to do the commute tomorrow though as I don't really want to drive the Rover too much if the manifold is damaged, just in case it's a blowing gasket.I've no idea what to try and fix first at the moment!Things must be bad, because even my wife, who has terrifying faith in her little Mini, muttered something about getting another car last night...

[Father Ted]

Points on the mini are easy - even the Ducellier ones, though I had my grille on quick release thingys and usually did them about once every two months - lets put it this way, I always had a set in the boot.You could of course go the way of a Lucas or 123 electronic system ( think i had a sparkrite one on the 1300 ADO16).Take whoe exhaust off rover and weld up as one piece - refit and forget for a bit. Again, done this with a Fiesta when I got fed up of chasing leaks.

[dollywobbler]

Yeah, quick release fittings for the grille might be a good move! Sodding thing.I've had three electronic ignition units (two of them 123) break on me, so that seems like a jump from the frying pan into a very expensive fire. That said, I've got a points-assisted set up on the 2CV, and it's great.Was pondering a side exit system on the P6. Brrrapppp!!

[FredTransit]

I don't do points if I can avoid it, always fit leccy ones. Luckily the later Mk2 transits have them as standard, which I think is why I didn't get used to them. There must be a conversion kit for the mini surely?

[M'coli]

I don't do points if I can avoid it, always fit leccy ones. Luckily the later Mk2 transits have them as standard, which I think is why I didn't get used to them. There must be a conversion kit for the mini surely?

Indeed there is, it's usually called a mk2 MG Metro engine... (Dolly, this is not a dig at you!!!)

[garethj]

I've found points are fine as long as you get good quality ones. I had some decent Bosch ones on my old VW and I'd adjust them every 6 months. Some Halfords ones fitted in a moment of weakness and the things needed doing every 2 weeks.Exhausts and wheel bearings go on newish cars too. Take heart

[dean36014]

If its got a 45d4 distributer try one of these, can't go wrong for the price.

http://www.mm-4x4.com/britpart-electronic-conversion-kit-replaces-the-existing-points-and-condensor-2720-p.asp

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Our family Mini lost it's temperature and fuel gauges, ignition, oil and main beam lights yesterday. I hate dicking about with dashboard wiring.

[FredTransit]

I've found points are fine as long as you get good quality ones. I had some decent Bosch ones on my old VW and I'd adjust them every 6 months. Some Halfords ones fitted in a moment of weakness and the things needed doing every 2 weeks.Exhausts and wheel bearings go on newish cars too. Take heart

Well I still have all but one original (20+ years old) leccy ignition modules in ours. Can't remember when I ever bought a new dizzy either.

[dollywobbler]

If its got a 45d4 distributer try one of these, can't go wrong for the price.http://www.mm-4x4.com/britpart-electronic-conversion-kit-replaces-the-existing-points-and-condensor-2720-p.asp

Ah, shame I keep forgetting which sodding dizzy is in our Mini...At that price, just get two!

[pompei]

My 500 was always burning condensors and self harming its points - I got a Lumenition electronic ignition for it - not the cheapest but had heard mixed reviews about the 123 system - and Bob's your auntie after the sex change.

[garethj]

Our family Mini lost it's temperature and fuel gauges, ignition, oil and main beam lights yesterday. I hate dicking about with dashboard wiring.

Yeah but not but yeah, but you try electrical fault finding on a modern car There's only about 4 wires on a Mini, if it ain't one, try the next etc, job done in 10 minutes.

[Negative Creep]

Worrying none of your cars will make a simple trip across town? Yep, that's old car ownership!

[dollywobbler]

Pah! Apart from the Mini, which lets my wife down on a fairly regular basis, mine rarely stop me getting anywhere. They may make worrying noises and occasionally a bit falls off, but they always soldier on! Alternator once snapped its mounting on the 2CV. Took it off and drove home without it! Minimal electrical drain FTW!Oh and I feel a bit better after cleaning the Rover this afternoon. Sadly, it failed to cure the many exhaust leaks though. Must have done it wrong...

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Our family Mini lost it's temperature and fuel gauges, ignition, oil and main beam lights yesterday. I hate dicking about with dashboard wiring.

Yeah but not but yeah, but you try electrical fault finding on a modern car There's only about 4 wires on a Mini, if it ain't one, try the next etc, job done in 10 minutes.

Hah. This is a bastard Mini - just before they started putting proper fuseboxes in them. There are inline fuses hidden all over the place. I cured the fault by removing the instruments and testing them (fine) then testing all the feeds in the car (all except main beam okay). Sod this, I thought, and put the instrument panel back, after which everything worked perfectly.

[dollywobbler]

I think ours has a duff condenser. By heck it was backfiring like a backfirey thing this evening! Was only trying to move it on the driveway. Got stuck as I lost nearly all power. Then it suddenly came back and the tyres lit up in quite an alarming fashion, especially as I was only a few feet away from my garage!Sadly, my wife heard all of this and now wonders why I was torturing her Mini. Humph. Her Mini scared my poor 2CV, which was in the garage, looking alarmed at the time!

[pogweasel]

Her Mini scared my poor 2CV, which was in the garage, looking alarmed at the time!

Nurse! Mr_Wobbler's medication is wearing off.

[dollywobbler]

Ahem. Sorry.Feeling much better about old cars today. Got the Mini running a treat with a fresh set of points and condenser and even treated it to some grease in the greasy places - this very rarely happens, but the sun was shining and I felt quite good. I even looked at the front pads. Yes, they still need replacing...Felt so good that I removed the manifold heat shield on the Rover to see why it sounded like there was no exhaust. A nice, huge crack in the exhaust manifold. So, my bodgery skills were put to use as I used lots of exhaust paste and a hose clip to cover it up, which seems to be working as an interim fix. Exhaust is still blowing from two of the silencers, but I can ignore that as Rover's sound insulation is excellent!

[Guest]

I've found points are fine as long as you get good quality ones. I had some decent Bosch ones on my old VW and I'd adjust them every 6 months. Some Halfords ones fitted in a moment of weakness and the things needed doing every 2 weeks.Exhausts and wheel bearings go on newish cars too. Take heart

Agreed +1 for Bosch points. FTW on the Amazon.Wheel bearing is going on my C4, so kudos there as well.Bizarrely the original exhaust on my 306 TD lasted 133,000 miles before it went in 9 different places simultaneously. QUAL.

[dollywobbler]

Fiddlesticks. I think the clutch might be going on the Rover now. Will it ever end?!I think it might actually be the thrust bearing that's unhappy. Occasionally get a lot of noise with the clutch down. It isn't very happy reversing up a slight lip on the driveway either.

[j-j]

I don't know, both my old Shitroens are actually pretty reliable. Sure the CX wouldn't start on Thursday morning but it was actually just down to dampness affecting the ignition - WD40 and a 10 minute wait soon sorted it.Only ongoing symptom is a sharp 'clack' noise engaging reverse after stopping due to worn tri axles but on the whole they're not so bad.Condenser? the best way to check for a duff condenser is to remove the cover for the points, switch on the ignition and with an insulated screwdriver, part the points. If there's a big spark at the points then the condenser is not doing its job! there should be at most a tiny spark a the points but really you shouldn't be able to see it as the condenser smooths out the current and prevents the points burning out.

[STUNO]

Sod this, I thought, and put the instrument panel back, after which everything worked perfectly.

They can't be Lucas then, they work perfectly until you reassemble the car , then fail totally again

[dollywobbler]

Mini's still running beautifully, and has had new pads fitted today. My gawd these things are fun on bends! (yet horribly painful the rest of the time - fenland roads + Mini = OW!)However, getting it up on a ramp revealed that the rear subframe is getting mighty ropey. I'm going to soak it in anti-rust wax in the hope that it won't dissolve for a bit yet...2CV gets a new wheel bearing next week and the Rover's horribly bodged exhaust manifold is still holding up. Wonder if I can carry out some similar bodges to the blowing silencers...Oh no, hold on. Performance is up with leaky silencers. Sod it. Sports system stays!

[Alpineandy]

No, No, No, No. That was the perfect time to forget fixing anything and buy some Cr4p off ebay! You'll be kicked off here if you make that mistake again...........