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

[Zelandeth]

14” wheels is a tad annoying for finding hubcaps. As I believe all the factory Mercedes hubcaps from the 80s and 90s will be 15” (as you probably already know).

 

I think this style of hubcaps was produced in 14” and would look good colour coded to the blue van graphics.

 

That is precisely the type I'm after.

 

They were also used on the vans as an option - though usually just plain rather than colour coded.

 

I reckon blue would probably look best in this case.

[MorrisItalSLX]

Great minds think alike.

 

I had a quick look on eBay and they can be quite pricey, I would also be wary of sellers flogging of 15” trims as 14” (ask me how I know) as the W123 has 15” wheels and would be the most common source of these hubcaps.

 

(What I am saying could also be complete bollocks, mind you.)

[Zelandeth]

Great minds think alike.

 

I had a quick look on eBay and they can be quite pricey, I would also be wary of sellers flogging of 15” trims as 14” (ask me how I know) as the W123 has 15” wheels and would be the most common source of these hubcaps.

 

(What I am saying could also be complete bollocks, mind you.)

Don't suppose you know the name or part number for them? Searching for "Mercedes wheel trims" doesn't work so well as you usually get a million matches...

 

...The first 3/4 of a page of which are usually neither from a Merc or are wheel trims thanks to sponsored listings and nonsense like that.

 

In other news, I'm hoping to rope my other half into trying to get a few photos and maybe video of the Invacar actually in motion from outside. This far all I've been able to give is crusty onboard footage.

[MorrisItalSLX]

I searched “Mercedes 14 inch hub cap” (substitute hub cap for wheel trim as desired) and filtered the search to Used Only.

 

Used only is the key as it filters out all the aftermarket chinesium tat and the chances of finding NOS trims is so slim that you won’t miss out excluding new items.

[dollywobbler]

TWC has a cardboard carb top gasket made by the fair hands of the artist formerly known as Mrs DW. Still working a treat.

[egg]

Part number for the 15 inch wheels here? Not sure if that helps. 

 

A 1864010025

 

Googling it brings up the right kind of images.

 

http://www.catcar.info/mercedes/?lang=en&l=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%3D%3D

 

The 14 inchers are here, but have no part numbers

 

http://www.catcar.info/mercedes/?lang=en&l=Y2xhc3M9PTF8fGNvdW50cnk9PTF8fHN0PT04MHx8c3RzPT17IjEwIjoiQXNzb3J0bWVudCBjbGFzcyIsIjIwIjoiQ2FyLUV1cm9wZSIsIjUwIjoiMTIzLjIyMCAgICAiLCI2MCI6IjQwIFdIRUVMUyIsIjgwIjoiIDEwNjczICAgICAgICBXSEVFTCBFTUJFTExJU0hFUlMifXx8Y2F0YWxvZz09MjIyICAgfHxjYXRhbG9nMT09MjIyICAgfHx0eXBlPT0xMjN8fHR5cGUxPT0xMjN8fHN1Ym0xPT0yMjB8fHN1Ym0xMT09MjIwfHxhZ2d0eXBlPT1GR3x8YWdndHlwZTE9PUZHfHxtb2RlbD09MTIzLjIyMCAgICB8fG1vZGVsMT09MTIzLjIyMCAgICB8fGRldGFpbGdycG51bT09NDB8fHNhX2NhdGFsb2c9PSAxMDY3MyAgICAgICA%3D

[Zelandeth]

Don't suppose anyone in the know recognises what type/size of gas fittings these are?

 

 

The smaller one at the far end is a standard 8mm compression fitting.  Have been struggling to find fittings that match the thread on the rest locally though, and I only have that one.  Sadly the rest are not in the box of bits that came with the van.

 

May well just change the manifold anyway as I believe what is considered appropriate these days has changed from what was the norm in 1990 when the van was built.

[LightBulbFun]

might be worth posting a picture here?

 

http://autoshite.com/topic/34667-confessions-of-a-plumber/page-1

[Zelandeth]

So I went to the van earlier to pick up some tools.  I then managed to get sidetracked...as I tend to.  The half tiled kitchen was bugging me.

 

Step one...take a bunch of stuff apart so I can get into all the corners.

 

 

Doesn't take five minutes to put back together though.

 

 

Looks far, far better I think.

 

Worktops are the main thing I need to sort in the kitchen before getting the gas piping redone and the cupboards rebuilt.  

 

What I could really do with is to find someone breaking a caravan as that would already be the right sort of lightweight material.  Plus it should also already have holes in for the hob, sink etc...just would save me a bunch of time.  Anyone got a rotten caravan festering in their drive?

[Zelandeth]

This afternoon I went and grabbed my original carb top cover gasket from the garage and used it as a template to make a replacement out of some nice dense card. Don't want to use anything too thick in case it messes about with the float height.

 

Nice quick job, and seems to have worked. Was about to go for a test run...when the throttle cable snapped.

 

It's just the "ball" that has sheared off at the twist grip, cable itself is in decent nick. Unfortunately I can't find any cable ends in the garage so will need to go and see if my favourite cycling specialist can find me one, it's definitely the same type of cable end as the one I've seen on countless bike brake cables.

 

Thankfully there's plenty of spare cable length to allow the frayed end to just be snipped out.

[LightBulbFun]

Line 3, is that a Typo? LOL

 

for the throttle cable, could you remove the plastic casing from a terminal block, and screw the brass bit on to the end of the throttle cable as a DIY cable end until you can sort something proper out?

[Zelandeth]

Line 3, is that a Typo? LOL

 

for the throttle cable, could you remove the plastic casing from a terminal block, and screw the brass bit on to the end of the throttle cable as a DIY cable end until you can sort something proper out?

Bloody autocorrect. I seriously do wonder what the algorithm behind it has been smoking sometimes. I usually try to proof read stuff before clicking submit too, but was juggling the phone while trying to cook dinner this time so didn't. That'll teach me.

 

The terminal strip trick won't work in this case as there isn't room in the twist grip for it. Needs a proper cable end fitted. No big deal, not as though they're expensive or hard to find, just not something I had in the garage.

[Zelandeth]

Mainly working on sorting out the plumbing under the worktops in the van now. This was originally thrown together in a blind panic in the day before we left for the weekend away. They connect the right points together, but the routing between those points was irrelevant at the time so it was a horrendous mess. It also ran straight through the centre of the space the gas cylinder wants to occupy which isn't helpful.

 

Have picked up a bunch of pipe clips (no idea where the ones I know I have have got to) and have spent an afternoon standing on my head under the worktops pulling pipework apart and modifying the routing into something slightly closer to sensible and tidy.

 

Only one photo, which is very early in the day.

 

 

The cold water pipe is the general route things were taking when we started out. This was the first stopping point because I realised I was lacking in any pipe clips. The new ones are twin jobs so everything should end up a lot more nicely lined up at the end of the day. Once this is done illI get the gas piping for the water heater and the cabin heater run back to where I will be fitting the isolator valve manifold.

 

Speaking of that - Picking up replacement fittings for the manifold I already had was going to probably cost £15-20. Plus I would still need to dig out all the old sealant and just cross my fingers it had not suffered from a few years at the bottom of a box of bits. A whole new manifold *with* all the necessary fittings is £30...so no guesses I have ordered a new one. Once that is here I will get the gas locker re-built. I've figured out that building the locker around the pipework will be a lot easier than trying to connect everything up and do leak checks in a tiny cramped locker.

 

Will probably strip out the waste pipe from the sink and drainer to get it it running vertically as far as possible down the back wall as well as it is currently rather a mess.

 

An addendum is that I have an additional task for investigation at the weekend...PC First Aid. My main workstation machine died this morning. I haven't had a chance to look into it yet...but I read it may well be terminal this time. No POST, no beep codes, nothing. Powers up, but does nothing beyond being a large heavy doorstop.

 

In fairness to the machine, I built the thing in May 2007 in a hurry. The only major gremlin it's ever had was tracked down to a dodgy SATA lead. A couple of case fans have been changed and there's been an upgrade or two...but it's never really missed a beat. Been running 24/7 for most of the time too.

 

Hopefully I'll be able to get away with a new motherboard, CPU, CPU water block (current one is for a Socket M2...so just a bit outdated), memory and possibly power supply. Not faffing around with hard drives, card reader, SCSI card etc. I have a horrible feeling though that the biggest option that will be a pig will be finding a motherboard which still has support for a floppy drive and PATA hard drives...Floppy controller isn't a *major* issue as my old Windows 2000 beast has both 3.5" and 5.25" drives on board, but just adds an additional step to any process of writing kmages...

 

Could do without having to drop a few hundred quid on a new PC though...things like an exhaust for the van. Grrrrr...

[Zelandeth]

Had been hoping to get most of a day to mess around with car stuff today...however it was gone six in the evening before that actually happened.

 

So not a massive amount done, but the pipework tidying from yesterday has continued.

 

I did quite early on do my first idiotic thing of the day when an went to remove the first bit of piping to trim it.  I made absolutely sure that the water pump was switched off...I didn't however turn a tap on to depressurise the system, did I?  So the moment I pulled the pipe off, I promptly got a rather cold shower.

 

 

This unsurprisingly made me jump and smack my head on the underneath of the worktop that was folded under at the time.  In the process finding another couple of old panel pins still poking out and tearing a hole in one of my favourite T-shirts (and my shoulder).

 

We're getting there though.  This is actually starting to look like it's being put together by someone who is vaguely competent now...doesn't it?

 

 

 

The pipes heading up through to the worktop will be trimmed above the worktop tomorrow as it's way easier to do  from that side than trying to get it millimetre perfect while standing on your head in the puddle of water you just spilled.

 

The copper pipe you can see there is the gas supply for the water heater, it will be getting run along there just below the water pipes - once I track down some 8mm pipe clips (or I make up some rubber spacers and just clip an additional 15mm one on to the ones already there) I'll get that done.  I'll probably pull that pipe out and fit a new one as I'd rather have a single piece all the way from the appliance all the way to the distribution manifold rather than having any unnecessary joints which could be potential leak sources in the future. 

 

This is where we stopped tonight thanks to another idiotic blunder on my part.  The clips are quite a tight fit (unsurprising given the hoses are thicker walled than the equivalent copper pipe), so you either need to give them a good old shove to click them closed.  Or you can thump them with a hammer (especially for the awkward ones in the corner that are harder to get at) and they click straight in usually.  Right up to the point you totally miss and instead of the clip you thump your thumb.  

 

Ouch.

 

At the time I swore then went about continuing what I was doing - until thirty seconds later until I realised that the *drip...drip...drip...drip...* I could hear wasn't in fact water, it was blood.  Maybe I should actually pay attention to what I just did to myself after all!

 

Given I was thoroughly out of daylight by this point I decided to just call it a day.

 

Not sure if tomorrow will see me get some more stuff done here or if I will put a bit of proper time in on the Invacar instead.  Readjusting the CVT belt tension (reckon it's currently a bit tight based on the snatching I've been seeing when moving off) and taking the fuel gauge sender out and flipping it through 180 degrees because some idiot (that would be me) put it in upside down.

[somewhatfoolish]

On the bright side at least you didn't mash your thumb with a hammer this time.

[Zelandeth]

Skip diving with an Invacar...What do I win?

[LightBulbFun]

depends is there a picture of an 8ft tube poking out the side of an invacar? 

 

(bonus points if theres one poking out of both sides )

[Zelandeth]

depends is there a picture of an 8ft tube poking out the side of an invacar?

 

(bonus points if theres one poking out of both sides )

No fluorescent kit there save for a couple of early 2000s B&Q tat.

 

The stuff did include some old Menvier emergency floods though (that will be the emergency lighting in the garage sorted then!)...and a tiny compressor other possibly the biggest 1/2hp motor I think I've seen in a long while...and a few things I'll need to inspect in more detail to properly identify!

 

Oh, and she has officially done 60mph now too. Once I managed to get out without getting stuck behind other people lazily trundling along at 40mph on the main roads anyway!

[LightBulbFun]

not bad

 

glad to hear she is running well enough to hit 60 (was that before or after loading her up with loot?)

[Zelandeth]

After emptying - though it didn't seem to make a massive difference to be honest...

[Zelandeth]

Finally having time to actually sit down let's get the summary for today down.

 

Initially I went to go and finish off what I was three quarters of the way through doing on the van yesterday evening.  Within 30 seconds I managed to stab myself under a fingernail with a rough edge of some plywood.  I decided that his was a sign from the gods that I should leave the van alone today.

 

No issue there, given I've a list as long as my arm of things that need done on the Invacar.  Oh...and Lada...and Xantia.  Need to see if my desktop workstation can be revived too...Let's just concentrate on the Invacar.

 

Given that the fuel level had dropped below a third of a tank I reckoned that I should have plenty of clearance to pull the fuel gauge sender and flip it around so it was fitted the right way up.  For future reference - the cutout in the case that the wiring comes out of should be pointing directly up.

 

Flipped round and resecured to the tank let's see if the gauge is reading sensibly now...

 

 

Much better.  I did a dip test, and that's actually reasonably accurate, only reads slightly low.

 

Finally got around to re-fitting the number plate light.  I've turned the entire garage upside down several times looking for the little metal trim...No idea what I've done with it.

 

 

Current plan is to stop looking for it - as soon as I do that I'm sure it will turn up, that's how things usually work here.

 

Having paid careful attention to both the behaviour I had seen on the last few test runs I'd done and watching Dollywobbler's most recent video about the new pulleys being fitted to TWC, I had decided that my CVT belt needed to be slackened back off a bit.  It seems that if the belt is too tight it tends to make the behaviour when taking up drive very snatchy, and as it pulls the belt too far down into the grooves it messes up the gearing.  This was quite obvious in that the belt was  sitting a good inch down from the outer edge of the secondary pulley at rest, rather than at the outer edge as it should be.

 

A quick fiddle around with the tension soon had things sitting more sensibly.

 

The drive system here seems to be very noisy at speed - My best guess is that this is due to the fact that the secondary pulley is really badly pitted due to rust.  The primary looks bad in the photos, but feels smooth save for the last 1/2" or so to touch.

 

 

Time to take to the road for a test run.  Once TP got done reminding me that it's far too long since she was last out by blanketing half our neighourhood in smoke when she was first started anyway.

 

 

We spent a good half hour or so trundling around our local area, the drive system seeming *far* happier today than on any previous outing, and so far the carb has been behaving itself.  No bouts of "sneezing" or any carrying on like that were seen other than one or two when she was still cold.

 

I was just thinking about going for an experimental high speed run when I noticed something at the side of the road stacked up next to a skip.  I wasn't initially sure what it was - but it was clearly some form of tech from the 60s or 70s - something that my eye is pretty well attuned to spotting.  Turned out that there were actually quite a few things there which were of interest. 

 

This is what TP looked like when I set off back for home!

 

 

Turns out that you can actually fit quite a decent amount of stuff in there on account of there being no foot controls.

 

I wasn't actually sure what I had grabbed to be honest...Was vary much a case of purely grabbing what really looked of interest.  I may make another run by tomorrow to see if there's anything else worth grabbing hidden a bit deeper.  I did speak to the owner of the house and they were fine with me helping myself.

 

So what is actually in there?

 

Well a pair of these for one...

 

 

 

Doesn't feel like there are any batteries fitted, but once a fresh set are sourced that should sort out the blinding lack of emergency lighting in my garage - worthy of sorting given that it's where our fuse box is.

 

Next box looks to be a 12V DC to mains AC inverter. 

 

 

Given the age I rather suspect that this will be one of the ones which operates at a nice low frequency so as to ensure that it whistles at exactly the right point to make you want to claw your own eardrums out after about ten minutes.

 

Not totally sure what this is beyond "DC Power Supply..." though I'm guessing the uA range on the meter is a lie and that's just a surplus meter that was dug out by whoever built it.

 

 

Nice big vintage power indicator on there anyway!  Will be interesting to see whether it's actually a power supply or is more set up as a battery charger.  Given the era it's entirely likely to contian a selenium rectifier, so testing will be pointedly done *outside* rather than in the garage.

 

Didn't initially spot this, and even then nearly dismissed it on the basis that I didn't initially think I had a use for it...Then decided that it was a terrible waste to see it getting scrapped anyway so bagged it. 

 

 

 

No idea what I'll do with it...If it works I may well wind up offering it to anyone who has an actual use for it.  Bearings seem fine based on the fact that it kept spinning for about a minute after I gave it a spin by hand.

 

The thing I actually spotted that made me turn around to take a closer look though was this.

 

 

 

 

It's a teeny tiny compressor...Beyond that I've nothing.  As with anything from this era though it's just a really nice...thing.  I'll have a run by there again tomorrow and see if there's a receiver to go with this, though I doubt it.  Will be curious to see whether it works.  The big rubber sheathed mains flex isn't actually anythign to do with it - that was just wrapped around it - has huge thick conductors though, so will keep that though as it will be ideal if I ever need to replace the one on anything with a serious power demand like the welder.

 

Spotted a couple of reels of nice old school solder too which were grabbed for the "working on vintage tech" drawer.

 

 

 

Last thing I spotted though - literally as I was initially pulling off - was something I've been keeping an eye out for for a while.  Nice proper old-school pump action oil can.

 

 

That will look right at home in the Invacar regular maintenance tool kit.

 

Having obviously put my actual plans momentarily on hold when spotting all this stuff and dragging it back to my garage, once that was done I decided to get on with my last plan for the day - trying a higher speed run again now that the carb seemed happier and the drive belt had been adjusted.

 

An ideal day for that, as unsurprisingly the grid roads in MK are pretty quiet on a Sunday after the shops have all closed.  First three attempts to get up to any real speed were thwarted by almost immediately catching up with and getting stuck behind modern traffic trundling around the 60mph roads at well below 40.  Eventually though I did get a clear run on the stretch alongside our area - and decided to see if 60 was something that could actually happen. 

 

Yes, yes it is!  She will definitely do 60 (well, indicated anyway!), even within the relatively short run between our side road and the next roundabout, and on a slight uphill gradient.  Time was against me today though given the amount of it I had wasted earlier, so I had to wrap it up there.

 

Here's a random photo of TP parked up while I went to get the keys to the van so I could shuffle cars around to park her up in the garage.  Looking triumphant having set a new speed record in my ownership.

 

 

Properly showing off the hubcaps which were kindly donated by DW as well.

 

Have to wonder, is that the first time that she has ever actually travelled at that sort of velocity under her own power?  You do have to wonder with a vehicle like this!

 

Did get a fantastic double-take from the driver of the first Prius taxi I got stuck behind though when he saw me in his rear view mirror...

 

I'd say that's quite a decent day really.  Will get the Megger out tomorrow and if they pass the initial tests, maybe see if any of this stuff works...Then inevitably make another run past to see if there's anything else worth nabbing that I can justify given the limitations on space I have to play with.  Today's lot seemed far too good to just leave sitting there though.

[dollywobbler]

Great stuff!

[LightBulbFun]

very cool stuff!

 

love the picture of the invacar loaded up with stuff

 

interesting to see such an old DC-AC Mains inverter, not seen one that old before... (love all the other old stuff, too like the rolls of solder and oiling can, you should fire up those induction motors, if nothing else just for the noise  )

 

indeed I have wondered about the speed thing myself, seeing as most of these would of just been used to trundle to the shops at 20-30Mph, as you say, you do wonder

 

all the belt fiddling, reminds me of someone tuning a fine musical instrument

 

On the computer front, I have a Spare Mac Pro here if you can collect it? its the least I can offer you given how much you have helped me over the last year or so

[Zelandeth]

Sad part is that seeing the sheer volume of stuff that's there suggests that this stuff is winding up skipped because someone has passed away. I try to look on the positive side and guess that the sort of person who would have had a garage full of this stuff would want someone to give it a second chance rather than it ending up in landfill.

 

I will try to grab the camera tomorrow so I can document high speed performance now compared to the future. I do reckon that a new secondary pulley may be on the cards. Hadn't realised quite how rough this one was until today. Shame I don't have a lathe as it might be possible to clean it up reasonably with one.

 

Hmm...why am I looking at that motor I just picked up and getting ideas...

 

At least adjusting the belt is a lot quicker now I've unseized the adjuster!

[LightBulbFun]

I wonder if its worth talking to the owners of the house and seeing what the situation is? maybe they have a garage full of stuff and would welcome some help in clearing it out and sending it off to a good home?

 

can you take the pulley down to a local shop and hand them some pictures of the queen in exchange for them quickly cleaning it up a lathe?

[Zelandeth]

Figured today I would mostly have a nose at my finds from yesterday.  Compressor up first as it was probably the thing that I had the most immediate use for.

 

Immediately noticed some "quality" wiring where the junction box originally would have been...

 

 

However it had most likely been working fine like that for decades so I'm not about to worry about it until the thing has proven itself - if it does I'll obviously sort it properly before it gets installed in whichever corner of the garage it winds up living in.

 

Doing first tests on stuff like this is where this thing really comes in handy.

 

 

For those not familiar with their test equipment this is a Megger.  Well, technically it's a high voltage insulation tester - Megger is a brand name.  On your average household multimeter when measuring resistance it will apply less than five volts to the test subject.  This uses 500V to do that - so can spot where you have issues with insulation that is breaking down at higher voltages, especially often where damp is concerned.  

 

You learn very quickly to keep your hands out of the way as it doesn't half sting if you get zapped by it.

 

It tested perfectly and the resistance through the windings looked reasonable for a motor of this size.  There was oil in the compressor (it actually has a teeny tiny dipstick) so seemed time to see if it would work.

 

Here's the verdict:

 

[Youtube]

 

Yes, and it's astonishingly quiet.  Certainly won't be a chore to have it burbling away in the garage now and then.  No knock from the bottom end at all which is nice.  Hooking it up to the only high pressure gauge I have to hand, it almost immediately pegged the thing at 200psi...so it definitely can pump a decent head.  The fact that there was absolutely no change in speed of the motor at that pressure seems to suggest that the motor is somewhat over rated for the job.

 

Not going to be running air tools with it, but hooked up to a small receiver and pressure switch (probably still have one from back when I used to help out with some HVAC stuff) it should be just dandy for inflating tyres, clearing stuff out of bolt holes and blowing water off cars after a wash.  Stuff like that.

 

Happy with that.

 

Number two was the other random motor that I grabbed.  If it's good I'm thinking workbench mounted polisher/grinder.  This one is free of any dodgy wiring at least.

 

Hooking it up really surprised me...Very brief hum, then near silence, just a really quiet hiss from the brushes.  Turning power back off, it kept going for nearly a full minute before it stopped.

 

[YouTube]

 

Now that's a nice set of bearings!  You just don't get quality like that on a general purpose motor these days.  Will definitely need to find that a purpose.

 

The inverter was up next.  Really wanted to see what was in the box, so the lid was pulled.  I wasn't expecting it to be exactly packed full...but I wasn't expecting this little in there!

 

 

Hooking it up and we had a loud buzz and this on the output.

 

 

Not surprised it's high given there was no load connected as there's obviously no voltage regulation to speak of.  Some of these things really don't like being run with no load on, so I won't be leaving it like this - this was only on for about five seconds to snap the photo.  Reckon this may well take up residence in the van...not likely to have a huge need for mains when off grid, bit nice to have the option.

 

The oil can also works a treat, which is no surprise.

 

I had a couple of errands to run, and with a bit of confidence from yesterday's test I decided that TP should be my transport for the day...so she went and confused people at Sainsbury's again.

 

 

Yes...that is a Mazda 2 I'm parked next to...the Invacar is that tiny.

 

On the way home she was fuelled up actually at a filling station for the first time in at least 18 years.

 

 

This literally brought the filling station to a standstill for a few minutes as the cashier felt it was necessary to come and take a look as he had no idea what it was!  Only 12mpg indicated...but there are at least a couple of hours static running , plus the carb was playing up for a while so no surprise there really!

 

Sadly no video of the high speed run as the camera didn't record it properly for some reason...will try again next time I get a chance.  

 

Seems to be running better still...no further fuel leaks from the carb, no oil leaks from the dipstick etc... can't complain.  Hopefully she will keep getting better with use.

 

Only immediate thing I need to do is tweak to Dynastart belt tension as they're slightly loose now they have bedded in a bit.

 

 

Believe it or not...we are nearly up to 50 miles travelled!

[LightBulbFun]

good write up there

 

interesting to see you mention brushes in regards to that motor, i figured it was an induction motor, sure looks like one, is it a repulsion start motor?

 

 

(would be interesting to see the schematic and output wave form of that inverter, something tells me its not a pure sine-wave inverter LOL)

 

always happy to see TPA out and about and running well a similar thing happened with TWC when DW went to a petrol station for the first time in her  (although I dont think he brought the petrol station to a standstill as he was in rural wales)

 

also glad to hear she is holding in all her fluids this time!

[Zelandeth]

The little Crompton Parkinson motor based on the starting behaviour I would suspect to be a repulsion start induction motor - the fact it picks up speed so quickly and something audibly moves once it's up to speed suggests that to me. Given it has a moderately heavy pulley on it must have some silly amount of starting torque.

 

I do plan to trace the circuit of that inverter out at some point purely to satisfy my own curiousity. I'm struggling at this point to see what makes the thing oscillate given there aren't any capacitors present (unless I've missed one) which suggests to me the designers have done something clever and/or sneaky...and I want to know what.

 

If time permits today I'll try to get TP out again so I can get to the magical 50 miles travelled figure. Once that's done it will be time for another oil change I think. Next lot can probably stay in there a more normal time as this latest batch looks to have stayed much cleaner than previous oil has. Will change the washer on the sump plug while it's drained down as that appears to be the source of the only meaningful oil leak these days.

[SiC]

Some sort of multivibrator using the inductance of a transformer instead of capacitors maybe?

 

I'd be interested to see a schematic of it too.

[dollywobbler]

My Dynastart belts are flapping about all over the place after 1800 miles. No matter how I shim it, I can't get rid of the slack. Have a new pair to fit.