Estate(s) of the nation

[brownnova]

Very much looking forward to (hopefully) seeing this beautiful car in the flesh at Chumley!! 

[chaseracer]

You will NOT be disappointed.  Be good to see James again, too.

[Heidel_Kakao]

I think I may have encountered my first parts sourcing hurdle I could do with a pair of front discs as the ones on the car are a bit thin. It has brakes from a 430 series Cedric which being a later car I assumed would be easy to get discs for, pads seem plentiful but unless my Google fu is terrible I can't find discs for sale anywhere.

 

Those are what I need if anyone is better at finding parts than me.......

[Tamworthbay]

Phone EBC, they can enter the dimensions into their system and see if anything comes up. Chances are they will have something that will either match or require a minimum amount of machining to work.

[Heidel_Kakao]

5 minutes ago, Tamworthbay said:

Phone EBC, they can enter the dimensions into their system and see if anything comes up. Chances are they will have something that will either match or require a minimum amount of machining to work.

Thanks for the tip, I have only been searching online so far so ringing companies will be the next step.

[hairnet]

brakes international worth a ring too - that listing of specs should get a result

putting 252mm into google got suzuki swift 05 right dia and thickness but four bolt

it was throwing up toyota hiace also so if they do 5 bolt you might be in there too

edit bassa the new shape swift is 5 bolt but 272 mm ffs

 

[Tamworthbay]

Diameter is less critical as that’s easy to turn down on a lathe, offset is the biggy, it can be adjusted a bit by skimming or using spacers if needed but 29.3 is well within normal range so something should crop up.

[Heidel_Kakao]

Can anyone identify what this orange warning light means? I want to guess it's ABS but I don't have an owner's handbook to double check. The 405 has it's MOT due next month and I had been merrily ignoring this light but I guess it could well be a fail item.

[richardmorris]

Could it be ESP stability control and not ABS.

[Tamworthbay]

Yup looks like traction control, some are linked though and the ( ) around the outside could suggest brake shoes. There is usually a way of turning off any ESP/ traction for when it snows. Could be worth cycling it a few times.

[Heidel_Kakao]

Ok thanks, unfortunately it doesn't have an OBD port which is annoying, I think you have to do something with a paperclip and count bulb flashes. I haven't seen any buttons for ESP but I will investigate further.

[Heidel_Kakao]

According to the 405 owner's club on Facebook it is ABS, dunno why they just couldn't put the letters in the warning light. I will have a go at cleaning the sensors and see if that makes any difference. I kind of hate ABS as it always seems to be annoying to fix and I can happily drive cars without it, the Corrado often used to put the ABS light on but it would stay off long enough to go through the MOT test.

[wuvvum]

Wes going to say, ESP on a 405 is a bit unlikely...

[loserone]

1 hour ago, Heidel_Kakao said:

According to the 405 owner's club on Facebook it is ABS, dunno why they just couldn't put the letters in the warning light. I will have a go at cleaning the sensors and see if that makes any difference. I kind of hate ABS as it always seems to be annoying to fix and I can happily drive cars without it, the Corrado often used to put the ABS light on but it would stay off long enough to go through the MOT test.

I thought I'd seen that picture there too! Going back down to just one 405 tomorrow

 

[richardmorris]

40 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

Wes going to say, ESP on a 405 is a bit unlikely...

My c5 symbol for abs said abs. The traction control / esp  was the “oh god we’re all going to die” skid symbol. Given that Peugeot own Citroen I’d have though they were similar, but obviously not, because French:-)

[brownnova]

Nah that’s the “You’ve run out if oil for your James Bond style oil slicks choose a different method of evasion” warning light... 

Not an MoT fail unless it’s on an Aston Martin. 

[Heidel_Kakao]

Today I found out while making the above measurements (I can't take credit for the diagram) for some custom wheels I am having made that my rear axle is not exactly centered. On one side I measured 110mm and the other 125mm, it obviously doesn't affect the way it drives so meh. 

[Snipes]

Probably like that when it left the factory. Or 40 odd years of wear and tear has "helped" it over. 

[Heidel_Kakao]

1 minute ago, Snipes said:

Probably like that when it left the factory. Or 40 odd years of wear and tear has "helped" it over. 

It's not the original axle, it's a later disc brake one from a 430 series Cedric. I don't know how much if any it needed to be modified to be fitted so maybe something was welded slightly skewiff when installing it but I won't lose any sleep over it.

Maybe (highly unlikely) I will swap it one day as LSD's for the H190 diff are unobtanium and I have always wanted a car with an LSD 

[Heidel_Kakao]

Just took Cedric down to a local car trimming company to get a quote to have a headlining installed and it was £800! I was expecting £300 or so. Apparently it's quite a big job which would involve removing the windscreen and I also need to track down the inside sliding cover for a Mercedes 190 sunroof.

That's what it looks like currently, I am tempted to try and bodge some kind of temporary solution involving thin hardboard and self adhesive felt sheets but I don't know how terrible that would look.

[danthecapriman]

Man, that’s expensive!

You can get that stretchy interior carpet for doing camper vans and stuff on eBay for not much. I did my van out in the grey stuff. Dead easy to put on with spray glue too. It can cope with awkward bends and corners etc too.

[Heidel_Kakao]

Cool I will check that stuff out. I may get one more quote just to make sure those guys weren't talking bollocks but I got the impression they knew what they were doing. Otherwise I will have a crack at it myself, I can tolerate a much crapper job if it costs a fraction of what I was quoted.

[danthecapriman]

It is often normal and the right way to fit headlining by taking glass out. Maybe that’s why they wanted more? I don’t know how easy it’d be to get a new screen for this car if they broke it!?

When I had my Capri done it was one of the very first jobs after paint. Glass was already out so ideal timing. I don’t see why you couldn’t make a nice enough job of it by getting a nice tight fold in the edges of the material where it meets the glass/rubbers though. I bet if you spent a bit of time doing it and getting it right you’d never know.

 

Edit; I’m pretty sure a few on here have had good results from using generic fabrics as roof lining. Sure it was Vulgalor and Bollox...

[wuvvum]

Catsinthewelder had a Rover with a home-made headlining.  Not sure I'd necessarily describe that fabric as "generic" though.

[danthecapriman]

5 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

Catsinthewelder had a Rover with a home-made headlining.  Not sure I'd necessarily describe that fabric as "generic" though.

Was it Vulgalor that did one using material with little rabbits on it!? Sure it was one of his cars.

[Asimo]

[Heidel_Kakao]

Ermmm not sure if that fabric would suit the aesthetic of Cedric but can't fault the execution.

[Heidel_Kakao]

I bought Wickes largest size of 3mm thick hardboard yesterday for £12 and will be attempting to turn it into something resembling a headlining. God knows how successful I will be but it's worth a try, I will need to wait for my brother to be available to assist though so watch this space.

[Heidel_Kakao]

So I had/have a self imposed rule whereby once I have sold a model of car I will never buy another one again, this is designed to promote diversity in car ownership, well today I broke that rule for the first time. At the very start of this thread I had a 940 and now I have another  I needed something to replace the 405 and I tried to find something new but I couldn't get Bramz's A6 on classic insurance for example. I then spotted this 940 on Retro Rides (http://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/210638/volvo-estate-warwick-cheap-workhorse) for £400 and only 40 miles away so I messaged him asking if he would take £300 and he replied in the affirmative. So for just £300 I think I have acquired the ultimate two litre winter beater. Compared to my old one which was a 2.3 turbo manual SE this one is a lowly 2.0 non turbo GL but apart from the slower acceleration, inability to break traction, lack of cows and manual sunroof it's pretty much the same. Stepping into it felt like returning home and it drives really well, it doesn't feel baggy at all, about the same as my old one which had half the milage. Electric windows work, it has a CD player so I could listen to Dookie on the journey home, what more do you want lol.

 

The only issue it has really is an erratic speedo which I believe is a very common problem so I will probably fix that soonish but can just use a GPS speedo app on my phone in the meantime or go by the rev counter. It will need front tyres at some point too but they won't be expensive. I feel this car was worth breaking my rule for and it has virtually a 12 month MOT so it will be my daily till at least the middle of next year, not sure if I will keep it for five years like my last one but we shall see. A few more miles & I will be in the 200K mileage club which will be a first for me!

[danthecapriman]

Nice purchase, and one certainly worth breaking your rule for imho!