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

[LightBulbFun]

Cool (or not in this case?) to see the heater on TPA is working well especially in the current climate conditions!

 

did you get a V5 for TPA? I dont recall seeing it mentioned anywhere (and I noticed she is still shown as untaxed since 2001)

[Zelandeth]

Cool (or not in this case?) to see the heater on TPA is working well especially in the current climate conditions!

 

did you get a V5 for TPA? I dont recall seeing it mentioned anywhere (and I noticed she is still shown as untaxed since 2001)

 

I've actually just sent another letter to them as they have managed to lose the original one sent to them without all trace - despite me having sent it recorded delivery and the tracking system showing that it was delivered.  Fingers crossed that will happen soon, as that will serve to really kick start me into getting something useful done I think as that makes the road start to look far more achievable.

[Zelandeth]

One issue TP has is that there's a stinking great split in the top of the dash.  To the extent that it's not actually attached to the mounting tab on the nearside.

 

It looks a horrible mess.

 

The proper solution will probably to swap it for the spare dash I've got in the back of the garage.  This however is a plan with a few snags.

 

[] All of the dash fixings in the car are utterly seized and/or rusted beyond recognition.

 

[] All of the switchgear/instruments on the spare dash are utterly shot as it's been out in the weather for decades.

 

[] All of the fixings for the above are utterly seized up so getting things off without damaging the relatively fragile dash underneath will be tricky.

 

So at least in the short term I've decided to go for a simpler approach.

 

Cut a piece of Foamex board to size and bolt it to the top of the dash.

 

 

It's not going to win any beauty prizes, but is less offensive to me than a gaping hole and wibbly wobbly dash top.  Especially from the driver's seat.

 

 

It also has returned some of the missing structural integrity to the dash.  Operation of the lighting and wiper switches no longer makes the whole thing creak and wobble.  Could probably do with a couple of bolts at the windscreen side, though access would be tricky to install them because of the proximity of the windscreen.  It's pretty secure at that side anyway as the board is wedged between the dash mounting brackets and the windscreen seal.

 

I have also (against my better judgement) reinstated my Facebook account so I can get in touch with a couple of the groups on there to see whether I can find a fuel tank.  It's very much a "you have one chance" situation though, if the platform starts to pull any more creepy shit with regards to suggestions for people to follow again it will be getting dropped like a live hand grenade.

[plasticvandan]

Alan Hitchcock,Stuart Cyphus,Barry Lees and Simon Mckeown are the guys to get in touch with.

[LightBulbFun]

Alan Hitchcock,Stuart Cyphus,Barry Lees and Simon Mckeown are the guys to get in touch with.

 

on that note, while reading through DWs thread again I came across your post on the Model 70 blueprints

 

whatever happened to those? would be really cool to flick through those (I also imagine they would be very handy for reproducing fuel tanks and large bits of body work for TPA and KPL)

[PhilA]

Now you have a perfect place to mount things like a pipe holder and a tacho

 

 

Phil

[LightBulbFun]

is that a Shift light?

 

on an Invacar?!

 

might wanna check whats been put into your christmas nog... 

[PhilA]

It's also got a water temperature gauge.

 

It was rather a silly suggestion, and intended as such

[LightBulbFun]

It's also got a water temperature gauge.

 

It was rather a silly suggestion, and intended as such

 

I had figured as much, I just found it highly amusing especially as its a CVT so it has no gears   

 

(well it either has 1 gear or infinite gears depending on how you look at it I guess...)

[Angrydicky]

Wouldn't it be better to have a new petrol tank made using the original as a pattern? I'm just thinking that even if you can find a tank its probably going to be just as poor (unless they were used on something else common)

[Zelandeth]

I probably will be adding some additional instrumentation below the dash - oil pressure, oil temp and an ammeter most likely.  Not necessarily permanent additions, but I'll like having stuff like that handy during the shakedown phase...

[Zelandeth]

Went to pop out briefly earlier and the battery really struggled to start the Activa.  It did start, but only just.

 

Got back and checked the charging voltage...

 

Off load:

 

 

With everything electrical whatsoever turned on...

 

 

Seems fine enough to me.  I've been doing a lot of short runs lately, so guessing that's mainly to blame.  Have stuck the charger on and will leave it overnight.

 

It seems to be confirming that the battery is indeed rather flat.

 

 

Will see how it seems in the next couple of weeks...may just be time for a new battery.

 

Noticed when retrieving the multimeter that the nearside door on the Invacar does "just work" now which is quite nice.  Hopefully the offside one will behave as well once it's had a bit of use too.

[Fumbler]

I'm liking the repair a lot!

[Zelandeth]

Activa battery had been on charge all night. Still struggled to start the car today. Balls...that will be needing a new battery then.

 

Will have a look and see if Costco have one the correct type methinks as they seem to be very competitive on pricing.

[Zelandeth]

Well I know what I'll be doing in the morning then.



£68 including the VAT which seems reasonable to me given ECP/GSF etc wanted £140 for the same battery. Plus as I often say I find being able to just walk in and grab it worth a few quid anyway.

I reckon the one in the car has been on the way out since I got the car thinking about it, it's always been a bit slow to crank from cold. Be curious to see if that ceases to be so pronounced with the new battery in.

[LightBulbFun]

well look on the bright-side, the old battery can still probably jump start at least 5 invacars in one go 

 

(it amuses me in an autoshite way how you said the Lada would be getting squirrelled away for the winter, then all your fleet heard that and promptly broke and ran out of MOT, so the lada got pushed into daily duties  )

 

I hope the new battery solves the issues! (and that its not just french electrics!)

[Zelandeth]

This is precisely why I did the injection conversion on it.  It doesn't care whether it's 30C or -10C outside, been sitting a day or a month, turn the key and it will just go. 

 

I know it's my car so I'm biased, but I don't reckon there's a better Riva out there in terms of one you can actually use that's not a show queen.  Just the wings that let it down really, and some tidying up (such as the fuel pump power supply wire which is still sitting waiting to be taped up and routed under the carpet) some of my "masterful handiwork" under the bonnet.

 

Only reason I've wanted it off the road over winter is the salt.

 

Original battery probably wouldn't be any better for an Invacar than Xantia, voltage drops off a cliff as soon as you try to pull any real current from it.  It's sitting at around 10V off load, so I reckon a cell has gone short.  Only place it's destined is the recycling centre.

[Andyrew]

Good price for an 027 that.

 

Is that costco?

[Zelandeth]

Good price for an 027 that.

 

Is that costco?

 

Yep, £53 ex VAT if I remember rightly.

[Minimad5]

Love the Lada, really must crack on with mine.

How you getting on with parts, from Tom at Lada spares ?

He's kicked me from the Lada forum, ignores all emails, and doesn't answer the phone. Great for business and keeping other Ladas on the road (Big sad face)

Shame really, spent a good few bob with him in the past.

 

Also that Xantia is lovely, gutted I missed out on the ROFFLE one recently, must try harder.

 

Keep up the good work, and if you ever think of shifting that Lada, do let me know.

[LightBulbFun]

Keep up the good work, and if you ever think of shifting that Lada, do let me know.

 

nothing to see here move along...  (I hope I get a chance to drive it before it sells )

 

http://autoshite.com/topic/32283-for-sale-1993-lada-riva-1500e-injection-estate-mot-june-2019/?do=findComment&comment=1543448

[loserone]

That would be quite mad. I like it though. That'd include Glasgow, Belfast, Lincolnshire and Lake District just for starters.

Preston Hall, Stockton-on-Tees

 

[LightBulbFun]

Depends if Zel is chasing All invalid carriages or just Model 70s I did "find" a Model 70 in a museum in Northern Ireland!

 

that one is a Tippen Delta, notable that although petrol variants ceased production in 1970, they where produced in electric form until 1976 making them AFAIK the only "competitor" to the Model 70 (im curious why they produced both electric and petrol veriants and why the DHSS continued to buy electric ones until 1976)

[Fumbler]

Keep up the good work, and if you ever think of shifting that Lada, do let me know.

Not if I have anything to do with it!

 

Nice to know there's another Lada liker around!

[Zelandeth]

Love the Lada, really must crack on with mine.

How you getting on with parts, from Tom at Lada spares ?

He's kicked me from the Lada forum, ignores all emails, and doesn't answer the phone. Great for business and keeping other Ladas on the road (Big sad face)

Shame really, spent a good few bob with him in the past.

 

Also that Xantia is lovely, gutted I missed out on the ROFFLE one recently, must try harder.

 

Keep up the good work, and if you ever think of shifting that Lada, do let me know.

Can't say I've ever had any issues getting parts so far.

 

It is technically for sale, though I'm planning to make a point of doing a bit of tidying up in the spring before having another bash at really advertising it. Definitely waiting for the right buyer though as it's not a cheap one. I'm looking for £3500 for it (or at least something in that ball park) which is what I paid for it originally - that's nothing like what it actually owes me... I've never actually added it up, but I don't reckon there was much change from a grand spent on the injection project alone. Never been welded either, and I'm definitely considering getting it treated at the same place that DW had his Favorit done as hopefully that might make it a bit more desirable to a prospective buyer too.

 

Simple fact is that I don't *want* to sell it. However I've currently got two parking spaces and three vehicles following the unexpected arrival of the van...as something has to go as I've got a car parked on the lawn, which isn't a long term solution!

[LightBulbFun]

whats wrong with storing something on the lawn? 

[Fumbler]

Considering the only nice one on Car and Classic is a mishmash for even more money, and the fact it isn't an estate, and has rusty wings and 2107 bumpers, this one would be ideal for me as an instantly working vehicle. It would be a tie between wanting a Lada or a K11 Micra. I think I know what I would prefer

[Zelandeth]

Don't worry Dez.  I said you'd get a shot of it and I fully intend to keep my word.  If any sale happens, one of the conditions will be that I have an opportunity to get you up to have a drive around before it moves on.

 

Fumbler, I think the best way to describe it is as a good, solid, usable project car.  It needs the wings changed (set are in the garage), some of the wiring and pipework for the EFi system needs to be tidied, the ECU needs to be bolted in place and the glovebox reinstated (plan is to screw it to the underside of the shelf under the dash).  The Rotoflex coupling needs replaced (again, have the part) as it vibrates above 60, and it really wants a full exhaust.  I think the timing is a bit retarded too.

 

However it's a car I'd no intention of selling...as such I was expecting it to be a project that I got stuff picked away at over a few years.  I didn't even know if the injection conversion could be done when I started out on that mission! 

 

Despite the list above though, I'd happily jump in it tomorrow and drive it from Wick to Land's End and back and know it would do it without missing a beat.  She'll quite happily (if noisily) sit all day well in excess of the motorway speed limit, much to the confusion of fellow drivers as you sail past in the outside lane in a Lada.

 

She's done four hundred miles or so in the last month or so, open road and much city slogging and in some truly torrential rain... didn't phase her in the slightest.  Just one of those cars that you can jump in and you know she'll start first touch and just get on with the job at hand.

 

Yes, the steering is comically vague.  Yes it feels like it's set in concrete...likewise the brakes require a good shove and the release bearing in the clutch will grumble when it's cold.  It's a flipping Lada!

 

If you think you might be interested please feel free to ask any questions you might have, or if you're in the neighborhood drop by and take a look - and more importantly have a drive.  I'm not in a huge rush to make the sale so sure something could be arranged.

 

Back to today...

 

I wanted to do a bit of a driveway rearrangement.

 

Xantia needed off the lawn.  Dez, this is why.

 

 

Makes a bloody mess, that's why.  Not so much an issue in the summer, but when nothing dries out in the winter it makes a mess no matter how careful you are.

 

Firstly I needed to move the van.  I knew the clutch was still playing up last time I had it out, thinking there was still some air in the new slave cylinder (there was) bleeding it properly seemed a sensible step. 

 

That done, the clutch was still playing up - the clutch acting as though the pedal was being slowly released despite it being held at full travel.  Sticking my head in the footwell, you can hear the pedal "hissing" as this happens.  Bugger...that will be a new master cylinder needed then.  Slave definitely needed changed anyway though (fluid was pissing out of it), so it wasn't wasted effort.  I'll get a new master cylinder ordered.  At least getting to it won't be a problem.

 

 

So we ended up with reversing out the drive being an undignified episode of bunny hopping, but we got there in the end.

 

It did mean I could finally answer one nagging question: could I actually fit the van and a car on the drive and still get the garage door open.

 

 

Yes.  Just. 

 

Puts my mind at rest a bit given that overnight the Lada will be boxed in by whatever modern VAG rubbish our housemate has as his current company car, and the van behind the Activa.

 

Speaking of the Activa, installing the new battery seems to have restored normality.

 

 

Old battery dated from 2010...Seems short lived to me, but folks keep telling me that 5-7 years is a normal expected lifespan for a car battery these days.

 

Moving on, I wanted to get at least something ticked off the Invacar's to do list.  Today's target: the oil leak.

 

This was a bit of an odd one actually as the cause of the leak was the dipstick itself.  There appeared to be a pinhole through the core between where the two ends of the loop that makes up the handle went through the cap.  As a result the dipstick would continually "bleed" slightly whenever the engine was running.

 

Solution to this was a thorough degrease followed by the ugliest bit of brazing in the history of the world.

 

 

The engine had been running at a fast idle for about 20 minutes when that photo was taken...no signs of any oil seeping out.  Will take that as a win.  Will need to hit the tinware in that area with some carb cleaner to get rid of the existing oil film.

 

Was nice when opening the door after it was run for that period and found the interior to be nice and toasty warm...the heater apparently does indeed do what it says on the tin now.

 

The only remaining oil leak is this minor one:

 

 

Reckon it just needs a new copper washer on the sump plug, will deal with that when it gets the next oil change.

 

Someone elsewhere asked me precisely how the doors on the Invacar work - so I snapped a very brief video from a hopefully informative angle showing how they open/close.

 

 

Really need to tidy the damned garage up...

[Fumbler]

Thanks for the Lada details. I'll defiinitely bear it in mind!

[Daviemck2006]

I think that bit of lawn looks ripe to get tarred over

 

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