It's grim up north....tales from the Primate House

[NorthernMonkey]

Arrived at the station with 30 minutes to spare.

After extensive calculations of the associated risk to reward ratios, it was decided to use Starbucks for the relevant morning ablutions and subsequent refreshments.

Yes, I’m aware the coffee cost in the region of 1% of the purchase price of today’s acquisition but in all honesty, the toilets in the station weren’t exactly awe inspiring ?

[NorthernMonkey]

Not sure what the first train was...I forgot to look at the number...but it was remarkably comfortable for a local commuter thing. Certainly an improvement on the old Pacers.

We are now on a Virgin thing heading towards Carlisle...

This is due to arrive at 10.40ish whereupon we have a stopover until the next connection Scotland bound just after 12.00

Lets take a look at google maps and scope out the possibilities for passing time...

It’s currently a toss up between sitting on a platform for 80 minutes or retiring for brunch courtesy of chief brexiteer, Tim Martin.

Place your bets now.....

 

[The Moog]

I think we all know the answer to that !

Are you going to give the boys and girls any clues?

[NorthernMonkey]

26 minutes ago, snagglepuss said:

I think we all know the answer to that !

Are you going to give the boys and girls any clues?

Yep. It involves Sausage.

[Fumbler]

Red Light District collection?

[NorthernMonkey]

1 minute ago, Fumbler said:

Red Light District collection?

As long as they’re not on the dashboard...

[NorthernMonkey]

Note to self. Think twice about ordering a pint of fresh orange juice when suffering with a sore throat.

[Saabnut]

Square sausage by any chance? Must be a Volvo

[NorthernMonkey]

50 minutes ago, Saabnut said:

Square sausage by any chance? Must be a Volvo

Nope, the sausage was consumed just south of the border and was quite acceptable by Wetherspoons standards.

We are currently speeding through the Scottish countryside towards Haymarket. Unfortunately we are 8 minutes behind schedule so instead of arriving one minute ago at 13.19 as planned, we are now due to arrive at 13.27.

The next (and final) train is due to leave Haymarket at 13.26.

I thought it might have been a bit tight....luckily the onward connection runs every 15 minutes so ground zero should still be achieved in the next 40 minutes or so.

[dome]

Neil has left to to me to do the reveal....

 

See below for a timeless piece of engineering, Woollarding on an old Ford in front of an older bridge.

 

It was great to meet you Neil, I hope the Exploder does you well!

And makes it home for you!

 

 

[Floatylight]

Nope, the sausage was consumed just south of the border and was quite acceptable by Wetherspoons standards.

We are currently speeding through the Scottish countryside towards Haymarket. Unfortunately we are 8 minutes behind schedule so instead of arriving one minute ago at 13.19 as planned, we are now due to arrive at 13.27.
The next (and final) train is due to leave Haymarket at 13.26.
I thought it might have been a bit tight....luckily the onward connection runs every 15 minutes so ground zero should still be achieved in the next 40 minutes or so.

Opportunity for a quick delay repay to recoup some monies?

Sent from my Moto G (5) using Tapatalk

[skattrd]

Ah, you beat me to that Mr_NM … can I have dibs please … if no-one else has already.

[NorthernMonkey]

1 hour ago, dome said:

Neil has left to to me to do the reveal....

 

See below for a timeless piece of engineering, Woollarding on an old Ford in front of an older bridge.

 

It was great to meet you Neil, I hope the Exploeer does you well!

And makes it home for you!

 

 

Likewise, and thanks for the on board catering...

Did a quick fuel stop at Tesco’s around the corner but no photos I’m afraid as there was a queue on the forecourt.

Currently at Annandale for a pee stop before tackling the last two hours home...everything seems fine now we have sounds and phone charging...

 

[NorthernMonkey]

1 hour ago, Floatylight said:

Opportunity for a quick delay repay to recoup some monies?

Sent from my Moto G (5) using Tapatalk
 

Not sure it’d work considering it was only 7 minutes late and the ticket was only £9.50 to start with

[NorthernMonkey]

39 minutes ago, skattrd said:

Ah, you beat me to that Mr_NM … can I have dibs please … if no-one else has already.

Duly noted ?

[NorthernMonkey]

Having spent the last couple of days catching up on sleep and outstanding jobs, I thought today may be a good time to actually take a good look at the latest acquisition before it’s appearance tomorrow at Cholmondley.

On the journey south on Thursday, a brief stop for coffee at the services revealed an empty expansion bottle although the rad itself was full. This was topped up and checked a couple more times but no further drop in level was detected so it was put down to one of those things. Other than that and an errant airbag light, it behaved impeccably.

One big issue I had with it though was a severe lack of legroom with the drivers seat back as far as it would go....for the size of the thing, I find the driving position pretty cramped.

First thing to do was get it up on the lift to have a poke around underneath....err, perhaps not. It’s too bloody big to go on my two poster!

Oh well, let’s forget that and have a nosy under the bonnet. Oil level is spot on still, as is the ATF which is bang on the mark and beautifully clean. The coolant however had dropped again slightly so it was fired up and the torch came out. It’s impossible to see on the photo but there was a steady drip of coolant from the stub where the top hose joins the engine...

The clip was removed and the hose taken off to reveal quite a bit of corrosion on the metal pipe. A good rub with some emery paper got it significantly cleaner...

The jubilee clip had seen better days too so this was replaced...

Finally, the coolant was refilled and the engine run up to temperature (using another £2 worth of unleaded!) and bingo, dry as a bone.

[NorthernMonkey]

Next up...the seating position. It’s not really feasible to relocate the seat base further back without copious amounts of fabrication but examination of the set up revealed the seat itself to be simply bolted to a couple of alloy rails on the base.

Firstly, four 10mm boots holding the seat base to the body were removed...this enabled the seat to be removed and relocated to the tailgate area for inspection...

You can see the seat is fastened to the base by another four 10mm bolts either side. Once they are taken out, the base including the motors etc simply lifts off...

Then, two small pilot holes were drilled and opened out to enable the seat to effectively be repositioned further back...not really visible on here are the mounting holes tapped into the steel seat base itself. At the rear, there are three holes suggesting the seat was designed with some flexibility in its mounting position but at the front, there are just one pair of holes.

Anyway, by drilling the two extra holes in the base rails about 25mm further back and using these in conjunction with the forward most holes on the seat itself, it was effectively moved back on the base by 65mm in total.

A further two holes were then drilled at the front of the base 65mm further back...

Then the seat and base could be reunited...

Finally, the seat was returned to its correct position in the front and bolted back into place after a thorough clean of the airbag connector. 

Success!! Not only does the airbag light now extinguish correctly but more importantly, the seat now goes back another 3” or so resulting in a far comfier seating position for those of us built the longer side of six foot.

 

 

[NorthernMonkey]

The only other job undertaken today was the removal of the tint film from the drivers window along with the residue of glue from the other windows that had already been de-tinted.

Then, whilst I assembled various tools and spare bits to go in the boot for tomorrow in case anyone needs basic roadside assistance, Mrs NM busied herself with some Autosmart 101 and a tin of raspberry flavoured dash shine in order to make the interior a more pleasant place to be.

Jobs remaining...

Investigation of a small oil leak on the offside rear rocker cover area which deposits just enough onto the exhaust manifold to provide a minor* odour of burnt oil fumes after a good run.

The LPG valve seems to click in and out correctly but there appears to be a slight leak in the system somewhere around the rear of the vehicle. The tank itself has seen better days with copious amounts of surface rust and the plaque under the bonnet suggests the system was installed in 2004 with the tank certified until 2014.

Research online reveals a new tank complete with associated valve can be obtained for less than £100 so that seems to be the way to go. The under bonnet plumbing seems to be in good order and neatly installed so hopefully that will be fine. It’s only the equivalent of putting a new regulator on the bbq and connecting up a new bottle of propane...WCPGW?

Then, the tracking needs looking at as the front end just feels a little vague and the steering wheel is about 20 degrees out which is a pet hate of mine. It may actually get some new tyres too if it hangs around a while as although the ones on have excellent tread, they are of a quite blocky off road tread design and are also 265/70s instead of the 235/70s that should be fitted, resulting in some arch/tyre interaction when manoeuvring at low speeds.

[dome]

It's great to see this getting some attention, it's clearly gone to the right home. 

For the oil leak, check the chain tensioner on the back of the right bank. It dribbled a bit of oil when running when first fitted but nipping it up cured it. There was some chat about not using a copper washer because it meant the tensioner wasn't as tight on the chain which I wasn't sure about, that's how it's fitted though.

A fresh and more experienced set of eyes is just what this needs!

[NorthernMonkey]

Fleet update time!!

Until now, Mrs NM has been using the 9-3 Convertible for work. It’s a perfectly fine specimen (the car that is) but the tax is in the silly £500+ bracket due to it being a Heather Mills edition and that, combined with the good lady’s heavy right foot means it’s running costs are around £250 a month which, originating from Yorkshire, quite frankly pisses me off to an alarming degree.

So what to do?

Well, some time ago I bought a lovely old 9-5 Aero from ohdearme of this parish...

It had a few issues but was fundamentally a straight car with a lovely interior and excellent service history. I’ve been gradually doing a few bits on it here and there between paying jobs and was having dirty thoughts which included a full stainless 3” exhaust and a stage 3+ map.

Now in the meantime, I finished up buying a Legacy H6 with issues from Flat4 too...it was one of those cars which I’d always wanted to try so I justified its purchase by trying both that and the 9-5 side by side, seeing which I preferred and selling the other.

After a bit of soul searching, I’ve got to admit the Saab wins hands down. I love the styling of the Legacy but on the road, it just doesn’t do anything for me. The ride is too firm, the power is too far up the rev range for my liking and I can’t get really comfortable in the seats whereas the Aero just seems to cosset you from all angles whilst propelling you towards the horizon at a great rate of knots.

To be continued after tea...

[NorthernMonkey]

So the plan was to replace her 9-3 with the Aero therefore I bought the Explorer from Dome for me to use as a daily and dog transporter.

To that end, I’ve been getting the 9-5 ready for a test so she can start using it from the start of October and I can then prep her 9-3 for sale just in time for the peak cabriolet selling season.

On Thursday morning just gone, all my best laid plans went to pot.

A friend of mine from the local theatre group I’m involved with mentioned to me a week or two ago that he was planning on replacing his Wife’s car. I didn’t think a great deal about it at the time but I’d just settled down with a brew on Thursday whilst waiting for some bits to arrive from Euro when he pulled up in the yard.

He went on the explain that he’d just come back from We Buy Any Car, where they’d offered him £bugger.all for his old car....would I like it for the same money as he’d rather I got the benefit from it than the ‘shiny suited prat’ from WBAC.

I thought about it for a few seconds before deciding it would be rude not to. Meet Mrs NM’s new daily....

It wasn’t until he’d gone that I had a dig through the docs and discovered a full Citroen service history, last serviced three weeks ago along with the fresh MOT and a V5 with no former keepers!

It needs a bit of a clean inside and a couple of bits of trim here and there, and I’ve just spent the grand total of £15 for a Lemforder drop link to replace one that was starting to rattle a bit but otherwise I can’t fault it. It even had two thirds of a tank of diesel. We’ve run around all over the place since then and it’s still showing nearly half a tank so I reckon that combined with the lower tax of around £14 a month, it’ll save us around £150 a month in running costs alone, or in other words, it’ll have paid for itself by Spring!

 

[shedenvy]

Oh bloody hell I love these. Keep trying to convince the wife she needs one so I can get rid of the Multiplop and Eggs type. This one looks really clean from that pic. Ace seating and a cavernous boot. Top buy!

[Saabnut]

But it is not a Saab.......

 

[NorthernMonkey]

Right. As we were saying....fleet update.

The real advantage to her indoors getting her hands on the Blingo is that I get to keep the Aero. Jobs to do include refurbishing the alloys and getting some new rubber, sorting out the blowing front flexi, ideally by replacing it with a 3” down pipe and sports cat if I can find one at a sensible(ish) price and poly bushing the rear arms.

The Legacy? To be honest, I still haven’t got to the bottom of the coolant issues. You can top it right up and the heaters etc will work fine for about 5-10 minutes before blowing cold. The weird thing is though, it only ever drops about a litre of water....after that, it’ll continue to drive perfectly with the temp gauge on halfway. If you sit on tickover for a minute or two, it’ll rise to just under red but no higher then as soon as you get moving again, it’ll drop back to halfway. I’ve done a sniff test with no conclusive result, bypassed the thermostat and replaced the pressure cap. 

Im not convinced it’s a head gasket but it could be....there are tiny bubbles appearing intermittently if you leave it running without the rad cap.I’m still thinking it’s potentially a water pump issue but I’ve gone just about as far as I’m inclined to go with it.

I can’t see anyone on here wanting to take it on as a project...it stands me at £500 if anyone wants to prove me wrong but jump in quick otherwise it’ll be getting parted out shortly which should at least get my money back, if not a bit of profit hopefully!

The Explorer? After briefly hinting on someone else’s thread the other day that it may be up for grabs, it’s been snapped up by a shiter of great repute and should be heading to it’s new home in the next week or two...I’ll leave it to it’s lucky new owner to break cover as and when he (or she) feels fit.

That just leaves the P38, an AX and three old Mercs.

The Range Rover is currently parked up awaiting a bit of a light restoration prior to recommissioning. The plan is to get it tested before the winter kicks in so it can back up the Aero if the snow kicks in up here as it’s prone to do.

The W140 V8 Coupe was half heartedly offered up on here for sale but having taken Mrs NM to Chumondley recently, she seems quite amenable to getting it shined up for some shows next year so it may well have a reprieve.

My W124 300CE Coupe will hopefully get some much needed attention this year...this really is the one car I’ve vowed I’ll never part with so once it’s finally sorted, it will probably replace the W140.

The third Merc needs transporting from the other end of the country where it currently resides but plans are afoot and will hopefully take place in the near future. The AX fits into this plan. It’s complicated ?

And that’s just about it. Apart from my elderly T4 which has sentimental attachments and is currently living on the farm.

Oh yes, and the MX5, which just needs testing. And converting to manual. And supercharging. And a bit of paint wouldn’t go amiss.

 

 

 

[The Moog]

And a Rover...

[NorthernMonkey]

There’s actually a XC90 I’d forgotten about too.

Feck, I think I’ve got issues.

[NorthernMonkey]

When the mechanic tells you to replace your water pump at the same time as your cam belt but you know better because your mate in the pub tells you they’re all metal and don’t fail and it’s a waste of money and it’s just the garage trying to get extra work.....roll on 7 months and....

.....which results in this.....

 (It wasn’t me that replaced the cam belt on its own 7 months ago, by the way....?)

 

 

[Tickman]

Ouch

[Jim Bell]

For the price of a wp it's worth it even just for the placebo effect.  Theres no real reason not to do it with a belt imo. 

[paulplom]

Yup. Along with the tensioner and idlers. I always get them done as a set.