The day Trigger turned into Junkman - P6 Content

[trigger]

To be honest I've never know a car marque to be so cliquish, it puts me off asking for advice or even enjoying the car which is annoying.

When i was getting the Dolomite back on the road the members of the FB group and forum were no end of help for me, they were really helpful.

Anyway back to today, i popped over dads this morning to get him to help with go over the brakes a few other little jobs.



The front brakes squealed and squeeked so had the wheels off, one of the bearings is a little worn so nipped it up for now and put some fresh copper slip on the practically new pads, dad thinks it was the bearing causing the squealing when braking, it certainly seems a lot better on the drive home.

We then had one of the rear wheels off, again it all seems fine, it's had new calipers and pads although the pads are a little worn, they looks a pain in the arse to change through.







I was pleased to see that the floor all looks good, part stainless and part rusty metal exhaust is a bit odd, the box is stainless and pipes are metal?



We also fitted the last seat belt, they look a bit shite, I've ordered 2 black 17mm nut caps to cover the nuts up, see if that looks better.



My £7 Amazon Prime mats also arrived and look ok.



I still need to sort the manifold out, it needs to come off and be refaced as it's warped and blows a little, it's about the only thing letting it down now.

[trigger]

The mats don't look bad for £7, they are £6 today!

 

 

 

 

I also fitted one of the AA stickers, I want to buy a AA grill badge for it too, does that look ok or a bit much?.

 

 

On the way home i stopped at the garage which used to do all it's work and is on the number plates, there's a pub opposite and a few people out front on the benches drinking were watching me, clearing thinking what a weird bellend.

 

[captain_70s]

part stainless and part rusty metal exhaust is a bit odd, the box is stainless and pipes like metal?

The Rimmer Bros stainless system on my Dolly 1850HL is the same, shiny backbox and rusty pipes, despite being new on the car just before I bought it. Can only assume its because the pipes get hotter and suffer worse for it?

[ShiteRider]

Looks really good. They've really grown on me, the older bl saloons like the p6 and triumph 2000, the have a kind of understated class if that makes sense. They ford and vauxhall stuff of the same era now looks very, of it's time.

Kind of like you could wear the same suit as Lee Marvin or Michael Caine would've worn in the sixties now and it'd still look cool.

If you tried the same with something from the seventies or eighties you'd look a bit of a tit.

[Junkman]

Those rear pads look fine to me. They are actually wedge shaped, so always appear thin on one side and thick on the other.

[Honey Badger]

Quality car and thread Trig.

[Eddie Honda]

Can only assume its because the pipes get hotter and suffer worse for it?

Different grade of stainless?

[seth]

Different grade of stainless?

More than likely.  Stainless exhaust systems are usually made with different spec metals for the pipes and the silencers.  I think its to do with the need for the pipes to have to put up with more vibration and twisting without fatigue cracknig.  The pipework can often take on a rusty looking appearance after some time.  If you're the sort to park your car at a show with mirrors underneath it to show how perfect it is then you can always spend every other day uder there polishing it to keep it looking fresh but otherwise its probably best to drive it and not worrry about it for a decade or so.

[trigger]

This old car lark is getting expensive now, my poor overdraft is in meltdown...

 

My exhaust has been blowing since i had it and it sounds a bastard, i needed to sort it as it lets the whole car down, last week i fitted new gaskets but it didn't make much difference so today I've took the manifold off properly to take a look.

 

Thankfully this only took about 1/2 hour once i managed to grind through the rusted up downpipe joining bolts. Soon though victory was mine.

 

 

Bearing in mind that the gaskets have only done 60 or so miles i think i can see the problem.

 

 

It's warpped to buggerly, i nipped to a local engineering firm to see how much it would cost to skim, i was expecting about £20 but after seeing a straight edge on them and how much need to come off they said be it a hours work and I'll be looking at £60. The trouble is even if i sourced a replacement theres no promise that wouldn't be any different. Ho hum, looks like more overtime for me then.

[cort16]

If you get a big sheet of 40 grit and stick it to a flat table you can rub the manifold across sheets until you get a flat edge . Go to 80 grit once you get it flat. It takes a flat surface and 2 maybe 3 cold beers to complete .

[garbaldy]

/\ if you are going to have a go at that then you need something a bit stronger than ordinary sandpaper,

I use strips from floor sanders as they are far stronger.

[Junkman]

I'd rather pay someone 60 quid and wait in the club until he's finished.

[trigger]

I did think about filing it but there a hell of a warp across them, I'd be there all day!

[danthecapriman]

I don't think that price is all that bad tbh, at least once it's done it's done and won't need any more attention anytime soon.

[plasticvandan]

but 60 quid better off.welcome to autoshite

[cort16]

Okay 5 beers

[anonymous user]

Trigger, if you'd like an AA grille badge for the Rover I'm sure I still have a spare one, pm your address and I'll stick it in the post. I would warn you that it may be cursed, as I did send one to xtriple for his Bentley and we all know how that turned out

[trigger]

Haha! Thats really kind of you! Thank you!

[Junkman]

Are you still sexually active, or do you already put a grille badge on your car?

[plasticvandan]

im assuming putting an aa sticker in the window is the autoshite equivalent of having a ferrari keyring,but no ferrari?

[trigger]

Had a few presents arrive in the post today, thanks to plasticvandan for the tip off about the cheaper wipers.

 

 

 

Much better! I've also cleaned and painted the expansion bottle and fitted a new cap and new pipe work, the radiator pipes have also arrived but i need to get some new jubilee clips for them and I'm still waiting on the new rad cap.

 

[Eddie Honda]

Postage rates are starting to get plain ludicrous often postage is more than a part!

 

Someone has to plug the RM's pensions black-hole.

 

Maybe the specialists want to avoid using Yodel and Hermes?

[trigger]

I got the manifold back yesterday...

 

 

It's still a bit pitted but i decided a little bit of exhaust paste on that port with the new gaskets probably wouldn't hurt so today i put it all back together. Sadly i didn't take any photos but i gave it a quick lick of VHT paint and it all went back easy enough.

 

 

As you might be able to see I've also replaced the radiator hoses and refreshed all the coolant. I must say this has transformed the car, it just sounds so much nicer now, not like a bloody tractor!

 

Mind you i did breakdown so i had to call Nancy's 24 hour recovery service to tow me back home...

 

[Squire_Dawson]

Why not paint the bare seat belt mountings matt black? Cheap, cheerful and good.

[trigger]

I should have done that really before fitting them. I have bought this black covers though which cost me a big £1 which makes them look a bit better i feel.

 

[Felly Magic]

I got the manifold back yesterday...

 

 

It's still a bit pitted but i decided a little bit of exhaust paste on that port with the new gaskets probably wouldn't hurt so today i put it all back together. Sadly i didn't take any photos but i gave it a quick lick of VHT paint and it all went back easy enough.

 

 

As you might be able to see I've also replaced the radiator hoses and refreshed all the coolant. I must say this has transformed the car, it just sounds so much nicer now, not like a bloody tractor!

 

Mind you i did breakdown so i had to call Nancy's 24 hour recovery service to tow me back home...

 

Last photo is a calendar shot

[trigger]

After my little joke about breaking down, i broke down for real the next day.



Can you see that puddle of water under the car?. Well it seems flushing the rad out with the hose pipe wasn't such a good idea as it sprung a leak. This afternoon i whipped it off.







It's no wonder it expired to be honest, it wasn't looking in rude health, I've took it to a radiator specialists which are a few streets away, they have quoted £150 + vat to recore it and do it all up, i nearly cried at the price but its the same what the P6 specialists are asking and i can't find any other replacements online so I'll have to pay it.

[danthecapriman]

Well that serves you right for joking about it doesn't it!

 

 

I'm joking of course. That's a bit of a bummer. Do you think maybe the cooling system had some sort of stop leak in it which was removed when you washed out the system causing it to fail again? I'd have thought the systems normal operating pressure was higher than a hose pipe.

If it makes you feel better the radiator on my Mercury cost a lot more than that to recondition!

[trigger]

I could have, I know it got hot in traffic last week so recoring it isn't going to do any harm, I'm really not happy about spending so much money so quickly on a new car! I'm also a bit pee'd today as i was seriously considering buying the Allegro from yesterday's BL show but i don't think i can justify it so soon after buying this with all the money I've recently spent out. Getting old and sensible with responsibilities is no fun at all!

[cort16]

My p6 radiator recore was 150 inc vat. I had the same issue as you did I couldn't find any cheaper so pretty much didn't have a choice but to pay for a recore.