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Memoirs from the Hard Shoulder: bASeman's Spot of the Year award.


BorniteIdentity

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2 hours ago, BorniteIdentity said:

Today saw me breakdown, albeit briefly, in the ever dependable Avensis.

Sad as I am, I wanted to drive the new stretch of the A14 which first involved me driving the old A14 (now signposted A1307). 

The approach road was flooded on the inside, and i was unable to pass wide due to a vehicle turning right. Now, the Avensis has never really liked getting wet. Hammer through rain and the PAS will stop working for 20 seconds, and sometimes the car can hold back as the lights dim briefly.

However, today it just proceeded to die. I dropped down a gear hoping to hop it back into firing but nothing. 3rd? Nope. I just cruised to a halt. 

Plenty of grunt to crank it, but no dice. It briefly ran at the 4th attempt as steam came from the bonnet. After it dried out for a few minutes, it started - cleared its throat - and off we went. 

Any ideas? I probably went through 2” of water at about 30 mph.

Ps. The A1307 was the weirdest experience. When it was the A14 you clung onto the wheel and hoped for the best- it was manic. Now? Like dystopian end of world stuff. I wasn’t overtaken for 8 miles. It was like driving on Christmas Day. Never made the new A14 because the exits are really limited and there’s only W/B access at Papworth. 

You’ve sprayed water where it didn't like it. Probably ignition coil area. I did something similar one jet washing the mercedes at my parent’s house. I was making sure the wheelarches and all underfloors were flushed out. It did not want to start afterwards and was lumpy for a few minutes.

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34 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

You’ve sprayed water where it didn't like it. Probably ignition coil area. I did something similar one jet washing the mercedes at my parent’s house. I was making sure the wheelarches and all underfloors were flushed out. It did not want to start afterwards and was lumpy for a few minutes.

The two coils are up nice and high - but I reckon you’re right. The problem is there’s only a “cropped” undertray; it only reaches to approximately the front of the wheels. There isn’t, afaik, a bigger one available from any model of Avensis that would fit. 

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5 hours ago, BorniteIdentity said:

It was absolutely definitely 100% a thing.  

It absolutey definitely was, my sister’s Father in law had a new one on a Y plate, bought on his Fords employee ticket. I remember him hating it solely for being so underpowered, and it was sold to buy a second hand Cortina Crusader within a year. 

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Now the bASe is back in the land of the living it needs to meet its slightly older sister. A 1982 Cortina 1.6 Base that's only done 11,000 miles and is quite magnificent in its poverty spec glory.

48322528521_a9a49bc15d_c.jpg

PME 576X - 1982 Ford Cortina 1.6 Base by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

And for the ultimate base-model Ford repmobile chronology it would be great if egg's Mondeo could join in too.

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7 minutes ago, quicksilver said:

Now the bASe is back in the land of the living it needs to meet its slightly older sister. A 1982 Cortina 1.6 Base that's only done 11,000 miles and is quite magnificent in its poverty spec glory.

48322528521_a9a49bc15d_c.jpg

PME 576X - 1982 Ford Cortina 1.6 Base by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

And for the ultimate base-model Ford repmobile chronology it would be great if egg's Mondeo could join in too.

That's one chodtastic Cortina, where was it papped? 

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1 minute ago, Eyersey1234 said:

That's one chodtastic Cortina, where was it papped? 

I think it lives somewhere near me in the Milton Keynes area as I've seen it at a few local shows - this was at one of Milton Keynes Museum's evening meets. It's a FOTU concours contender if ever I saw one.

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Collection tomorrow.

It doesn't matter WHAT you've got your wife for Christmas - it's better than what I've got*.  

Hopefully she'll see the humorous side.  I'll report back on boxing day - possibly with a black eye.

 

 

 

*For my wife, not for yours.

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On 12/12/2019 at 9:05 PM, wuvvum said:

They were 59bhp if I remember correctly - not a lot for a big ole lump like the Sierra.  1.3 Mk2 Cav was noticeably perkier.

It is about the same weight and power as the Corsa D 1.0l. The Corsa is naturally a wider car than the Sierra. 

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Collection time. 

070DC49D-C1AF-4131-9B45-D342079C27D0.thumb.jpeg.f77ad1c0c2cf6750b32ae74a07bc836a.jpeg

It’s most discombobulating. Last time I travelled to London from SNO the destination of the train was, quite appropriately, “London”. It’s now Horsham - you can go straight through! This opens up myriad options on the south coast for shitin’ (no g) with minimal friction. 

It’s a very dull car I’m collecting. Possibly the dullest on AS. But it’s a collection and an addition to the fleet. 

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