Zel's Motoring Adventures...Volvo, Renault, Rover, Trabant, Invacar & A Sinclair C5 - Updated 13/11.

[Zelandeth]

Nice!

Does that go into a battery saver "screensaver" mode after 30 seconds or so like the TI ones do?

[Six-cylinder]

1 minute ago, Zelandeth said:

Nice!

Does that go into a battery saver "screensaver" mode after 30 seconds or so like the TI ones do?

I can't remember, it has been 40 years since it used it properly!

I will let it charge and then check tomorrow.

[Six-cylinder]

My every day on my desk is a Casio JS-10 D I have been using for years. I know I was using it in the mid 1990s by a company sticker on it but I think it pre dates that and I was given in around 1987 when I was working for a Volvo dealer.

In the Volvo dealer we were all given calculators and I put my name on mine front and back, never trust work colleges!

And yes when I had the scientific calculator I could work all but 2/3 of the functions now the basic Casio is just fine.

Back in the mid 1970s my father bought a desk top calculator, basic functions, but big keys that worked really well. Mains powered, they were £40 but he got a discount because the new battery model had just been introduced.

[Zelandeth]

I reckon the Casios from the early to mid 80s were some of the best built calculators out there.  They just never seem to fail, and have nice features like the overmoulded keys so the lettering doesn't even wear off. 

The one out of the quartet you saw earlier that I generally grab is this one.

This one was taken into the office with me and was my "daily driver" there for the whole time I was there.

Nice clear display.

Excellent quality keypad.

For all it's just a basic pocket calculator and wouldn't have been anything special when it was made (April 1982) - it's just really nicely made.

While the VFD displays like this might have munched batteries back when everyone was using zinc-carbon cells (this does have provision for a mains supply - which would look rather comical on such a small calculator), it really isn't an issue with modern battery technology.  The pair of AAs in this one just now were fitted back in 2015...so I'd hardly say it chews through them.

Not quite as nicely made as the LC-826 (1980) though, which has additional features like case retaining screws which are proper machine screws into brass threaded inserts...on a pocket calculator.  In 1980 though that was probably rather an expensive one as LCD tech was still pretty new then - which is why it has the yellow filter on the screen.  LCD chemistry back then wasn't UV stable so they put the filter on there to protect it.  Apparently it worked!

I do keep pondering getting another one of these in better condition as a companion for this apparently nigh on indestructible one...Though that means searching for things like this on eBay and I'm not letting myself do that.  I *know* what I'm like where things like this are concerned.  Especially if they're relatively inexpensive - because then I'll keep justifying picking up another one that piques my interest and before I know it I've got five of them in the post to me and I've spent five times what I originally set out with in mind. 

I did give away quite a lot of things like this from my collection a few years back - and yes I do kind of kick myself for that now.

[Six-cylinder]

☹️ The  commodore was on charge all night but has not been able to storing any energy.  Works when plugged in but as soon as you disconnect it goes dead.

[Zelandeth]

6 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

☹️ The  commodore was on charge all night but has not been able to storing any energy.  Works when plugged in but as soon as you disconnect it goes dead.

Not hugely surprising, probably wants a new set of batteries fitted.  Not too big a job at least.  Worth doing even if you're not really planning to use it for anything just to ensure they don't leak and damage internal components while hidden away inside the case.

-- -- --

It's taken me nearly a year but I finally managed to get a few photos of the Jag at sunset today.  Bit tricky as nowhere immediately around our home has decent line of sight to the horizon, so catching this while I was out picking up food for the dogs was a happy coincidence.

Just a shame the car is filthy!  Ideally this is the sort of shot you want immediately following a good polish and wax session.

[dozeydustman]

2 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Not hugely surprising, probably wants a new set of batteries fitted.  Not too big a job at least.  Worth doing even if you're not really planning to use it for anything just to ensure they don't leak and damage internal components while hidden away inside the case.

-- -- --

It's taken me nearly a year but I finally managed to get a few photos of the Jag at sunset today.  Bit tricky as nowhere immediately around our home has decent line of sight to the horizon, so catching this while I was out picking up food for the dogs was a happy coincidence.

Just a shame the car is filthy!  Ideally this is the sort of shot you want immediately following a good polish and wax session.

Calendar shot for December. That's a cracking photo

[Broadsword]

Congrats on the XJS MOT pass!

[Dick Cheeseburger]

23 hours ago, Six-cylinder said:

My every day on my desk is a Casio JS-10 D I have been using for years. I know I was using it in the mid 1990s by a company sticker on it but I think it pre dates that and I was given in around 1987 when I was working for a Volvo dealer.

In the Volvo dealer we were all given calculators and I put my name on mine front and back, never trust work colleges!

And yes when I had the scientific calculator I could work all but 2/3 of the functions now the basic Casio is just fine.

Back in the mid 1970s my father bought a desk top calculator, basic functions, but big keys that worked really well. Mains powered, they were £40 but he got a discount because the new battery model had just been introduced.

Sorry to drift @Zelandethbut had to share a photo of my father's Casio FL-1. He bought it new in 1979 when he started a new accountancy job. It's still going strong and remains in use every week all these years later. 

It looks like the model was launched in 1975, so Casio got some mileage from it. Photo taken just now: 

[Isaac Hunt]

Forty years without a mug of tea being spilled into it, it's done well.

[Zelandeth]

2 hours ago, Dick Longbridge said:

Sorry to drift @Zelandethbut had to share a photo of my father's Casio FL-1. He bought it new in 1979 when he started a new accountancy job. It's still going strong and remains in use every week all these years later. 

It looks like the model was launched in 1975, so Casio got some mileage from it. Photo taken just now: 

That's a nice one, LCD displays were still pretty cutting edge when that was launched.  If memory serves the first commercially sold LCD calculator was came out in 1972.  Made by Rockwell I think but badged under a name which currently escapes me.

You do have to wonder how many operations those keys have seen over the years and how many of today's plastic bits of tat would have fallen apart in such time.

Dammit...Now I'm browsing vintage calculators on eBay again!  Must be fifteen years since I last bought any but my interest is being piqued again...think half the thing which used to appeal to me was that right up until the late 80s there was such a huge variety in designs for devices essentially doing the same job.

[LightBulbFun]

will say, I really want a nixie tube calculator (and one of the bubble LED examples and a VFD example would be neat)

 

although I do already have a nixie tube DMM  (that im pretty sure I could literally throw out of an Jumbo jet and it would be fine, not pictured but it also has a big matching cover for the front)

currently in storage I must dig it out and see how accurate it is to my fluke 87 DMM (it was my main DMM before I got said fluke 87!)

sadly it does occasionally for lack of a better word spazz out displaying gibberish not quite sure whats wrong there, again been a few years since i looked into it (although in the above photo its just not connected to anything)

(but i do recall reading online someone who solved the same issue by replacing one of the logic chips)

 

and before @PhilA comments, no that sticker on the front was not put on by me and yes I did remove it and correct the plug wiring LOL

[MorrisItalSLX]

Casio really know how to make a calculator. I’ve got a few myself, the best of which is my Film Card...

...with an added automotive connection.

[Zelandeth]

These arrived yesterday.

They should be very, very useful.  It might seem counterintuitive but the parts catalogue is actually probably going to be the most helpful.  The simple reason being that it has nice big, clear diagrams like these.

Each of those pages is full A4 sized so that gives some idea of scale.

Given there's so much on this car you can't see because stuff is in the way so you need to assemble or disassemble by touch having these diagrams showing how stuff actually fits together should be really helpful.

[Zelandeth]

We've been blanketed in pretty thick fog here for the best part of a week so not exactly ideal weather for driving around in a tiny three wheeler with only basic lighting from 1973.  However the weather finally broke today so I was able to get TPA out for a run.

Used my highly technical exhaust gas extraction system to prevent the garage (and then the house as it's poorly sealed) from filling up with exhaust fumes while she warned up while I played automotive Tetris.

Glad to report that with my revised distributor condenser in place (but far from tidy) running has been vastly improved.  There never used to be a hugely noticeable difference between 70% throttle and 100% aside from a bit more induction noise.  You can actually feel the difference across the whole throttle range now and she just generally feels smoother.

It's very obvious that it's done something by virtue of it having brought the idle up by about 350rpm.  Still low enough the clutch doesn't start to drag though, so at this time of year I'm inclined to leave it alone.  A bit of additional heat into the cabin and keeping engine speed high enough for the generator to actually be on charge are both good things.

I didn't actually take a note of where the throttle sat at 60mph before, but it feels like it's less far open now.

Temperatures were hovering around 1-2C outside and while it didn't get it up to feeling warm, the heater was able to keep up sufficiently that the cabin wasn't uncomfortably cold.

A couple of opportunities for photos were spotted while I was out so I took the opportunity to grab a couple.  I know 99% of the photos I have of TPA are just sitting in my driveway or just in a supermarket car park so I'd like to fix that.

Think I've done a reasonable job of keeping things which allow you to immediately identity these as photos taken from 2020 out of frame.

Generally seems to be running well.  Only gripe today was the indicator stalk coming loose again.  It's just a bit of a poor design, held onto the bars by large self tapping screws into the bakelite of the switch assembly.  Rotation is stopped by a peg in the centre, but it's a very loose fit.  As such even with the screws as tight as you dare it can still wobble a bit.  Over time it then works loose.

The proximity of two terminals prevents you using a nut and bolt as it would cause a short.  So I think a little bead of Sikaflex under it and on the screw threads will be employed this time.    I think so long as it's secure enough not to wobble around it'll be fine...just needs a bit if help to get to that stage.

The alternative I'll look at first will be to see if I could use a non conductive washer or spacer and a nut and bolt...but I'm pretty sure I already tried that when I fitted the first one to KPL and discovered that the answer was simply "no." Can't remember for certain though and my fabrication skills have improved a bit since back then.

Despite the indicator switch making a bid for freedom this was the first time I've been out in this car and quite distinctly decided "No, I'm taking the long way home as I'm having a nice drive and enjoying myself."

Think the first time that happens is a nice turning point in the ownership of any car.  Have largely stopped worrying about what every noise is or what's going to fall off next, and just had a nice drive out.

Economy on the last tank came back at 33mpg, so we seem to have pretty solidly settled in the low-mid 30s.  Which sounds about right to me... I'd expect high 30s anywhere else, but MK is murder on economy so I always expect to see lower than average figures. 

Edited December 8, 2020 by Zelandeth
correcting autocorrect

[dollywobbler]

Great stuff. Love this car's transformation.

[LightBulbFun]

very happy to see TPA out and about

some very nice shots, I think its first picture of her with her head lamps lit since you fitted the more period looking ones

 

with all the running improvements you have managed to pull off with TPA it wont be long before she can pull the all fabled wheelie its said that some of the Model 70 Mark A's can pull if you launch one hard enough LOL

 

it is very interesting to hear that the new capacitor condenser setup affected your idle,

I noticed in REV that the revs (LOL) do change as she warms up and from time to time when she is warm she idles ever slightly too quickly so her clutch does not fully disengage

which is all sorts of fun when your trying to carefully back up into a space only for her to keep moving when you let go of the throttle, so you franticly slam down on the handle bars where the clutch finally disengages with a slight shunt (on the plus side it does mean her brakes are doing SOMETHING LOL)

I had wondered if it was an issue with her throttle not fully closing (given how much fun* we have had with her throttle cable) but now I do wonder if its a condenser related issue?

(I have to also wonder if my centrifugal clutch shoe springs have also gone a bit weak? but ill certainly move replacing the condenser up the list)

 

I still really want to see someone hook up a tachometer to a Model 70 and just see when the various things happen at what rev points and see how it compares to book values

I know the workshop manual says that the clutch will start to engage at 1200 RPM and be fully engaged by 1500 RPM, and that the CVT holds the engine at 3500 RPM, it would be very interesting to see close things actual are IRL

[PhilA]

If the condenser made that much difference, makes me wonder how much dwell the points have, they can afford significant dwell being as it's only got 2 positions it's gotta fire...

 

Phil

 

Edit: Bandwagon.

[Zelandeth]

14 hours ago, PhilA said:

If the condenser made that much difference, makes me wonder how much dwell the points have, they can afford significant dwell being as it's only got 2 positions it's gotta fire...

 

Phil

 

Edit: Bandwagon.

It's worth noting that the first round of me trying to change the condenser was also accompanied by the points being cleaned and gapped - so that may well have made a contribution to the improvement as well.

That's a nice old meter, I've got a Solartron one from a similar era here somewhere, though it sadly has a fault which I have a feeling is down to issues with the main logic IC.

-- -- --

The run out yesterday went largely to plan but was marred slightly by the indicator stalk making a bid for freedom shortly before I got home.  The stock mounting arrangement for this is at best "flimsy" thanks to it relying on two self tapping screws fastened into the plastic of the stalk assembly (bakelite?).

Using a nut and bolt isn't really an option due to the proximity of the terminals for the indicator switched circuits to the hole in the body where the fastener lives.

If you find a bolt with a really shallow head you might just about be able to get away with it, just.  Nothing I have in stock is small enough though.

I've a couple of ideas in mind, but the first one I wanted to try was tried today...Drill the holes out, tap them properly and stick a bolt of a carefully measured length in.

Step one...drill out and tap the holes.

Result was a nice clean thread.

I went with a standard M6 thread as I had fasteners that size in stock, and it seemed a decent step up but without risking taking too much meat out of the assembly I was trying to secure.  Also was the biggest I could get away without having to also drill out the holes in the metal back plate.

A healthy dose of thread lock was added before bolting things together.

I took the opportunity to tap out the holes in the backing plate that the plastic cover attaches too so I could get that securely fixed and get rid of two rusty fasteners.

Much better.

Washers were fitted there to both keep the end of the bolt where I wanted it (precisely level with the end of the threaded hole) and to allow me to actually tighten things up without the bolts disappearing into the recessed hole in the backplate.

Really need to get some paint and touch in the space where this switch used to live.

Likewise I need to get a bit more loom tape in and extend the covering on the loom to the stalk the last few inches to the back of the switch.

Nice to be rid of a couple more of the list of rusty fasteners in the cabin too.

Historically the baseplate always wobbled around a bit when the switch was used.  Reckon this is why it was able to work loose over time.  It now seems to be rather more solid from the looks of things.

Hopefully this will stay put this time.  If not I've got a few more ideas up my sleeve...but they're rather more of a bodge. whereas I feel that this is more just an improvement on the original setup.  I need to pick up more dog food tomorrow so will probably take her out to carry out that trip unless the weather is horrible so we can see if it works then.

 

[Zelandeth]

First time I've been out of town since sorting the condenser and cleaning/gapping the points today.  Once on the A5 the difference was plain as day.  Holding 60 is definitely way easier now.  70 has always been *achievable* with a long enough level road, but actually cruising at that speed wasn't really viable.  Now however she's quite happy to reach and maintain 70 with a bit more left in the tank if needed.  The oft quoted 82mph max (though no one seems entirely sure where this came from as it's not in any of the official documentation) feels a lot less optimistic now.

Still can't quite believe how composed she feels at that speed.  No wobble, no horrible vibration, nothing feeling like it's going to fly apart at any moment...she just thurms along quite happily.  Sure she moves around a little in the wind and when you pass a lorry, but nothing alarming.  It really doesn't feel like you're doing anything which is over-stretching the capabilities of the car.

Being absolutely honest, at 70 the Lada buzzed and vibrated more than TPA does.

Random photo from while she was out and about today.

Definitely an effective way of making modern cars look huge.  Still reckon she's a good match for a lot of my journeys as 95% of my trips are on my own.

Also managed to spot a nice coincidence a few miles later on.

I always enjoy catching things where the numbers line up like that.  If I miss 12345 I will be most irked!  12354 is the big milestone though as that will mark 1000 miles since she was brought back to life.

I know the whole "it just keeps feeling better the more it's driven" thing is a bit of a cliché where classic cars are concerned...but it is honestly how it feels lately.

All this talk a while back about calculators and the like...you see what you've made me do?

Ended up buying stuff off eBay!  This cost me a whopping...£0.99 and £5 postage.  There was another mid 90s Casio one in the package too but that's a pretty generic example.  If anyone's interested I'll snap a couple of photos.  However it was this one that caught my eye.  I've not been able to find a date on it anywhere, but from the styling, weight and fact that it's a full 15mm thick makes me think very late 80s.  Oh...and the ZX-80/81 style membrane keyboard too.

Yes, it is *precisely* as awful to try to type on as the aforementioned Sinclair products!

The moment I saw that though there was a distinct moment of "Yep...I need that!" Don't usually find these things of too much interest unless they're particularly interesting from a technical standpoint - I really want to get one of the Casio ones with the funky three colour displays (CSF-**** model series as I recall), and am watching a few on eBay now I've remembered they exist.  I've always wanted to take a proper look at the display tech on those...have always assumed they use some form of pigmented LCD or polarisers with some sort of coating which only interacts with specific light wavelengths (sort of like those coloured dichroic halogen lights that were popular back around 2000).

... There's a job lot of another five late 70s/early 80s calculators on the way as well.

See what you lot made me do?  I hadn't touched this hobby in the best part of 15 years until this week!

[LightBulbFun]

13 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

First time I've been out of town since sorting the condenser and cleaning/gapping the points today.  Once on the A5 the difference was plain as day.  Holding 60 is definitely way easier now.  70 has always been *achievable* with a long enough level road, but actually cruising at that speed wasn't really viable.  Now however she's quite happy to reach and maintain 70 with a bit more left in the tank if needed.  The oft quoted 82mph max (though no one seems entirely sure where this came from as it's not in any of the official documentation) feels a lot less optimistic now.

Still can't quite believe how composed she feels at that speed.  No wobble, no horrible vibration, nothing feeling like it's going to fly apart at any moment...she just thurms along quite happily.  Sure she moves around a little in the wind and when you pass a lorry, but nothing alarming.  It really doesn't feel like you're doing anything which is over-stretching the capabilities of the car.

Being absolutely honest, at 70 the Lada buzzed and vibrated more than TPA does.

Random photo from while she was out and about today.

Definitely an effective way of making modern cars look huge.  Still reckon she's a good match for a lot of my journeys as 95% of my trips are on my own.

Also managed to spot a nice coincidence a few miles later on.

I always enjoy catching things where the numbers line up like that.  If I miss 12345 I will be most irked!  12354 is the big milestone though as that will mark 1000 miles since she was brought back to life.

 

Love how well TPA is doing these days, I was wondering given the improvements the new cap made if she would now cruise at 70Mph, happy to hear she will  (some video of you cruising  and over taking at 70Mph would be fun, think of all the heads it would make explode!)

(bonus points if your able to strap a couple not-a-go-pro's to the inside of the bath tub and front access hatch so we can see the CVT and front suspension work, like in that sadly potato cam resolution video of MHJ22P)

Yeah im not sure where exactly the 82Mph figure came from, and I did wonder for a while how would someone know they did 82Mph exactly when the speedo only goes up to 80Mph, but I realised a few months ago the little graduations after the 80Mph marker take it up to 86Mph! (the Large speedo fitted to the Model 70 from the end of March 1976 onward sadly does not have these post 80Mph markers LOL)

but as you say I do think (and well Hope )  it is possible, I have seen a large enough number of people mentioning getting 80Mph+ out of a Model 70 (or seeing one do 80Mph+ supposedly someone even being under taken by one when they themselves where doing 90!, not sure how accurate that last one is LOL) that I dont think it is purely an urban myth

it makes me all the more curious to see how a Model 70 fitted with something like the 41 horse power 660cc Steyr puch TRII engine would go! 100Mph Model 70? LOL (or would you just run into an aero wall? LOL)

 

all in all I do look forward to the investable vMax run  

[Mr Pastry]

9 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

it makes me all the more curious to see how a Model 70 fitted with something like the 41 horse power 660cc Steyr puch TRII engine would go! 100Mph Model 70? LOL (or would you just run into an aero wall? LOL)

It's not difficult to do the sums for the maximum speed, but I could see the air getting underneath and lifting the front end off as it is so light.

[Mr Pastry]

Ball park figures, if I've got it right - taking the frontal area as 18 square feet, weight 1000lbs, standard engine as per manual, 19bhp, and a top speed of 75 gives a drag coefficient of 0.35 which is quite good - I would be surprised if it is better than that, so 82 looks a bit optimistic with a stock engine.   At that rate 41bhp would give you 97mph, and you would need 44.7bhp to get to 100mph.   All this assumes that the gearing is correct.  

 

[LightBulbFun]

55 minutes ago, Mr Pastry said:

Ball park figures, if I've got it right - taking the frontal area as 18 square feet, weight 1000lbs, standard engine as per manual, 19bhp, and a top speed of 75 gives a drag coefficient of 0.35 which is quite good - I would be surprised if it is better than that, so 82 looks a bit optimistic with a stock engine.   At that rate 41bhp would give you 97mph, and you would need 44.7bhp to get to 100mph.   All this assumes that the gearing is correct.  

 

interesting info   I was going to say a Model 70 Mark A weighs somewhere between 406-410Kg depending which official documentation you look at, but then I realise you do have to account for the driver!

I do wonder about engine power, I know the workshop manual's engine section is literally just the Steyr puch engine manual inserted in with the Model 70 stuff, and is NOT Model 70 specific (for example it gives specs for the 32ICS3 carb but the Model 70 uses the Model 70 specific 32ICS10 or 32ICS10T (still trying to figure that out) carb

it would be very interesting to stick a Model 70 on a rolling road and see what the result is  

50Hp should not be a problem apparently these Steyr puch engines are very tunable, and I think you can even fairly easily go up to 762cc with the use of some VW Boxer engine bits I think

[Mr Pastry]

13 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

interesting info

Just a bit of fun really, but it gives you some idea what you are dealing with.  You can see the effect of air resistance - to get from 75 to 97,  you have to double the power.  There are several online calculators if you want to play around with the figures.    I would guess it was designed for a top speed of around 70.  Yes you would need rolling road and wind tunnel data to get much further with it.  

[Zelandeth]

On 12/10/2020 at 11:43 PM, Mr Pastry said:

...I would guess it was designed for a top speed of around 70.  Yes you would need rolling road and wind tunnel data to get much further with it.  

I seem to recall there's an advisory in the documentation somewhere which recommends never venturing north of 50.  Which being honest to look at the car does seem reasonable...it looks like it would perform exactly how the Mark 67 would.

I need to figure a proper camera mounting solution and grab another video during a run out to compare to those from my first few tests.  Reckon it'll be a case of recording audio and video separately and splicing them together in the edit.  Our off brand Go Pro handles the vibration and such just fine in terms of image - but the audio is absolutely dreadful...as far as I can tell there's no automatic gain control so it just ends up clipping and distorting horribly.  So I'd record video on that and audio on my phone.  Sadly the camera doesn't have provision for an external mic so that's my only choice really.  Or just cough up for an actual decent camera at some point.

Don't think I've ever grabbed a higher speed video, they've all been bumbling around town I think.

Need to do a proper run out in the Jag too like I did with the Lada a couple of years ago, just set the camera rolling then went for a drive out to Buckingham and back.  Didn't make it quite all the way back before the camera battery died, but it got a lot more views than most of my YouTube videos do, so somebody thought it was worth watching at least.

[LightBulbFun]

56 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

I seem to recall there's an advisory in the documentation somewhere which recommends never venturing north of 50.  Which being honest to look at the car does seem reasonable...it looks like it would perform exactly how the Model 67 would.

the running in stickers give a 40Mph max when running in then a 50Mph advised maximum afterwards but the workshop manual gives a 60Mph max speed (at 4500RPM)

but as you (and others) have demonstrated, its clearly talking bullshit  

the sticker on VES108S (ex XEV88S)

and GPG721K

 

(also fixed that for you, I know there where a lot of AC Acedes revisions but they only went up to Mk15!)

[Zelandeth]

Yeah, the engine speed is probably why I wouldn't want to try cruising at 70 for extended periods.  Though granted the red line is surprisingly high on these so probably needless worry to be honest.

[Zelandeth]

The windscreen wipers on the Jag have been becoming increasingly glitchy of late.  Normally a sharp thump on the scuttle would get them working again - until last time I needed to go out in a hurry when they decided to play dead entirely.  The behaviour seemed to suggest the motor wasn't making it quite all the way to the fully parked position (which is slightly further over the screen than the normal wiping range).

Given I knew the drains had been clogged for goodness knows how long the motor had most likely spent some time under water so I was hoping it was going to be a simple case of dirty contacts or dried up grease in the linkage.

Figured it was worth pulling the grill over it off and seeing if I could see anything obviously amiss.  Looked like it would be a simple case of pulling the wiper arms, undoing a couple of bolts and lifting it off...right?

Of course not, because Jaguar.  Having unfastened everything I could see it still wasn't interested in budging more than a few millimetres. 

Peering under the edge it became obvious there was a load of stuff attached to the underside, with no obvious way to detach it.

Eventually I figured out that the whole wiper assembly remains attached to the cover and you just have to sort of wrestle it out through the not-quite-wide-enough gap.

Those spindle gear boxes look suspiciously like the same ones used in the Invacar...given the amount of BMC parts bin hardware in there it wouldn't surprise me.

Nothing hugely obvious amiss, though the whole drive assembly and spindles were really dry.  So everything was drowned in penetrating oil and I then splodged as much grease as I could be hand into the spindle boxes (pretty easy as they're not sealed) without pulling things to bits any further as I was being mindful of having to go out pretty soon to collect groceries.

I'm under no illusions that I won't be back in here, most likely I'll need to dismantle the motor gearbox itself to give it a thorough clean and re-grease as the original lubrication has probably long since turned to plastic.  As it is though the wipers now move at about twice the original speed and appear to be playing ball...the issue has been intermittent though so only time will tell.

With everything back together I headed for my grocery collection slot, via a fuel station (again).

Stopping at the first junction after that I noticed the dash lighting seemed really dim.

Um...yeah, that would do it.

The alternator appears to have lost interest in charging.  I legged it home and switched cars.  Further investigation revealed no working ignition light either...so either bulb has gone or we've got an issue with the brushes most likely.

Of course when I went back to the car half an hour later to park it it behaved perfectly again.

Yep...sticky and/or worn brushes methinks.

Won't that be fun...the alternator is one of the nice easy to get to things...

Oh...no I actually meant the other thing.  You can barely see the damned thing.  I changed the belt for it a couple of months ago and that was a full day's job pretty much!

Never a dull moment...

I did finally get a bit of time to start putting the basic text for a website update together (first time since 2017!), got a ways to go but have made a start at least.  Decided to use something lacking in distractions to assist in concentrating on what I was actually working on.

Really do like the keyboard on this too.  It's definitely physically the same board that Acorn used in the Archimedes range (A3000/3010/3020 at least), which was always my favourite to type on of the machines from that era.  Amiga wasn't bad...Atari ST came miles behind with their horrible mushy mess.  Funky shaped function keys couldn't even redeem it.  No idea when I'll actually get the update finished and uploaded, but at least I've made a start.

[LightBulbFun]

3 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

I did finally get a bit of time to start putting the basic text for a website update together (first time since 2017!), got a ways to go but have made a start at least.  Decided to use something lacking in distractions to assist in concentrating on what I was actually working on.

Really do like the keyboard on this too.  It's definitely physically the same board that Acorn used in the Archimedes range (A3000/3010/3020 at least), which was always my favourite to type on of the machines from that era.  Amiga wasn't bad...Atari ST came miles behind with their horrible mushy mess.  Funky shaped function keys couldn't even redeem it.  No idea when I'll actually get the update finished and uploaded, but at least I've made a start.

oh yay happy to see the website getting some attention, way back before I was on autoshite, back when I was young

it was one of the few stand alone websites that I would make sure check on fairly frequently for updates (still do!)  

of course back then it was just for your lighting pages which I found very informative, but I do recall straying onto the automotive page and reading about the VW camper you had at the time, as it was the closest thing you had on that page to a bus! (my other hobby during my childhood)

so im happy to see it getting some love once more  

 

(PS good thing you posted that picture to twitter as sadly since the latest forum update, the admin, shrunk the max image size down from 2000 pixels to 1280 pixels, which is quite small and as such I could not read what was on the screen)