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

[Zelandeth]

Today I basically made an excuse to take the longest possible route around while running a few errands.  My brain really hasn't quite wrapped itself around the concept of this being my car rather than one I've borrowed or rented.  

Know I've mentioned it before, but the noise it makes is bloody addictive.

Have spent a bit of time getting my phone properly paired with the Grom unit.  Quite a smart solution.  Though I'm not so sold on the audio quality.  There's an odd almost echo like artifact when playing audio, especially on high frequencies - not unlike listening to a low bitrate MP3.  

I originally thought this was potentially something in the head unit itself trying to do some overly clever digital signal processing and not doing a good job of it - right up till the point at which I realised that I'd listened to the radio on the way home and it seemed fine.  

Grabbed the Bluetooth FM transmitter I've been using for a while - which involved buying five of the damned things until I found one which actually had halfway decent audio quality aside from a bit of background hiss at really low volume.

Tried it through that, and it sounds really bloody impressive.  Especially without the Pro Logic function turned on (which ties in with my prior experience with most systems using it for music).  So speakers and head unit are more than capable of proper quality reproduction - and delivering sufficient power to properly kick you in the back and make all the mirrors vibrate impressively if cranked up.

A bit of Google searching reveals a handful of other people reporting similar issues with audio quality with the Grom units - mostly from ~10 years ago though and without any real resolution.  I'm sure 95% of users wouldn't even notice the difference - I do like my music though and absolutely can notice the difference.

Not actually too worried about this.  Based on the impressions the car has made on me so far, and how absolutely up to date the car feels to drive, I honestly think that this is the first car I'd consider installing an Android based head unit in.  Just feels wrong having something stuck on the windscreen for navigation and such with how clean the cabin otherwise is.  Also it's hard to find somewhere with it in the windscreen that it's not in the way of your vision as the dash top is relatively high compared to anything else I own.

Biggest challenge is likely to be finding a fascia adapter which doesn't delete the cup holder, as I'd rather retain that if possible and all the ones I've seen in a quick Google search just have flat plastic there.

Feels like that really would bring the only bit of the car which gives any real hint of it being 17 years old right into the current day.

Will be doing my homework on this properl though when I'm at an actual PC rather than using a phone as whatever gets done I want to absolutely do it right, look like it left the factory that way (as otherwise we're missing half the point) and have everything be 100% reversible.

[RayMK]

We had a petrol V70 about 4 years ago.  It was a superbly comfortable distance muncher and had excellent luggage capacity .  The only aspects which we could criticise were its huge turning circle, thirst (33mpg on a run but typically 24mpg locally) and temperamental sunroof and interior lighting electrics.  The 5 cylinder sound was glorious but the petrol version is very quiet.

[Zelandeth]

So begin the little fixes.

The switch for the backrest adjustment on the passenger seat was broken.

You could still move it by manipulating the little stub in there, but it was really fiddly.  Also drew my eye every time I opened the door.

Not a difficult fix.

Step 1, locate a suitable parts donor.  This was grabbed from a local Volvo breaker for less than I could get one from eBay.

Even if I did swear a lot attempting to get one of those plugs out.  This isn't actually a direct fit for mine, the plugs are totally different - but all I actually need is one little bit of black plastic, for which it will do just fine.

It goes without saying that before doing ANY work involving electrics on a car this modern and complex, the battery should be isolated.  One slip of the screwdriver or dropped screw in the wrong place could result in a short that wipes out very expensive to replace ECUs.  It's *unlikely* but for the sake of ten minutes work, do you really want to take that risk?

One screw holds the trim on, then it can be lifted up at the front and unclipped at the back.

There's no need to actually disconnect the electrical connector for this job, the wiring is plenty long enough.

Removal of three screws then allow the switch module to be withdrawn from the trim.

Then 9 small Philips screws need to come out to allow the PCB to be released - do this with it board side up, or you'll end up with all the switch sliders falling out.

Yes, I learned that the hard way and had to pick all but one of them up out of the grass.

Here's what was actually broken.

Reassembly as the Hayne's loves to say is the reverse of disassembly.

Worth checking that everything is properly lined up before adding any screws.

Then the switch caps can be clipped back on.

Reconnect the battery and we're done!

Looks much better without something obviously broken visible once you open the door.

I also replaced the blown bulb in the driver's footwell light - though I can't test that yet as the car is smart enough that it only turns the interior lights on when the doors are opened if it's dark.

It's booked in tomorrow to have the wheel balance checked to hopefully eliminate the slight vibration at 70 which really does detract from the otherwise completely serenity of cruising.

Have done some driveway shuffling today so the Volvo is now further from the tree, actually parked on the driveway.  This also vastly reduces the odds of me kerbing a wheel of I misjudge the angle when backing in - which given that the Volvo only just fitted on the slabbed bit was highly likely to happen at some point.  Also means the Rover is now boxed in overnight behind the Volvo, which is an arrangement I far prefer given it's likely to be by far the biggest theft risk that I own.

Edit: Confirmed.  We do now have working illumination in both front footwells when the car is unlocked.

[Zelandeth]

She doesn't scrub up half bad.  Astonishing how much difference the wheels being clean makes!

This car is bloody long!

Pointless but satisfying job was attacking this with the metal polish.

Much better.

Might need to try some of this new fangled ceramic coating stuff to protect the paint, see if it lasts any longer than a good quality traditional wax.

The wobble I thought was a wheel out of balance looks to be actually being caused by the soggy rear suspension bushes as it's allowing quite a bit of movement of the wheel which is letting the camber wander.  I'll look to get a new set ordered at the weekend and booked in to get them changed.  Doesn't look to be a bad job from the brief reading I've done, but it's the type of thing I just don't like getting involved in.  Once the bushes are changed a four wheel alignment will be done to make sure the geometry is spot on.

Somehow I've already managed to do nearly 500 miles in the car.  Probably because I've been coming up with excuses to take the long way round getting to places as it's such a nice place to be.

[ruffgeezer]

Looks really well for a good scrub up, especially the wheels.

 I must confess I've now found the full size spare I meant to pop in the boot, Perhaps we can sort out a shitely express?

[Shandylegs]

If it's anything like a V60 watch for uneven wear in the rear tyres for the wobble.

[Zelandeth]

17 hours ago, ruffgeezer said:

Looks really well for a good scrub up, especially the wheels.

 I must confess I've now found the full size spare I meant to pop in the boot, Perhaps we can sort out a shitely express?

No worries.  Sure we can figure something out to get it over here at some point.

Given your history with these cars, don't suppose you have to hand the part number for the bush that needs changing do you?  No worries if not, just seemed worth asking.

17 hours ago, Shandylegs said:

If it's anything like a V60 watch for uneven wear in the rear tyres for the wobble.

The rear tyres are noticeably feathered, though we already know that there's a bush that needs replacement to resolve this as it's allowing the rear toe setting to wander slightly.  At least two of the tyres are going to want changing before the winter anyway, so it'll probably get a new matched set thrown on it once everything's been sorted out and the alignment got back to spot on.

Fuelled up today.  Trip computer claimed an average of 40.3mpg since the last fuel up.  I've usually found these to be a little optimistic on every car I've spent any real time in so equipped - sure enough running the numbers actually spits out a figure of 37.5mpg - which seems more believable, though still not bad for a car that size propelled by a 2.4 litre engine by any means!  Especially with a fair chunk of the miles being around MK which is absolute murder on economy in anything.

Funny how it always seems to come out looking way darker in colour in the photos than it looks in person.  Despite looking almost black in a lot of the photos, this is more accurate.

[Zelandeth]

First of the things I've bought for this car arrived today.

Proper touch up paint.  Just want this for a couple of nicks on the trailing edge of the doors mainly.  Cheaper direct from Volvo than Halfords paint which might be vaguely similar.

Parts guy was helpful and enthusiastic as well which was nice (he apparently has a 2011 V50), though couldn't help me with the suspension bushes as they're NLA from Volvo.  So third party it will have to be.  Not really surprising for a 17 year old car, but it was worth a shot.

Given how ridiculously complete the service history for this car is and how well it's clearly been looked after, OEM will be my choice for parts throughout where it's an option.

I'll be having a chat with a couple of garages I use and see if they'll take on the job of swapping out the rear suspension bushes, and if they want to source the parts or me to get them (they both seem to flip-flop on that), as I'd like to get that done sooner than later.

Probably aim to get the Partner a bit of a scrub up tomorrow and get some photos as it will likely be going up for sale in the next week or two.  As we have family visiting over the next week having an extra car is actually kind of handy, but once they head back home it will be going up for sale.  Does mean I need to figure out what the hell to ask for it!

Really wasn't planning on selling that so soon, or indeed really at all as it's such a jack of all trades.  However the V70 is kind of a step up and does all the same things, so keeping both would be rather silly (and expensive).  So time for her to move on I think.

[Zelandeth]

Finally got this little rattle box out for a run today.

Just five miles or so running about locally, but enough to blow the cobwebs out and get things properly warmed through.

Brakes are a lot better than I remember, and while still unavoidably bouncy given the small wheels and light weight, the ride is surprisingly compliant.  The Trabant definitely shakes you around a lot more as a passenger.  I'm holding off making direct performance comparisons yet given I now know how many issues that engine had so it wouldn't really be fair!  Once there's a healthy unit installed I'll be able to make more meaningful comparisons there I think.

The Trabant definitely feels orders of magnitude more solidly put together though.  The fact the Invacar's body is just an unstressed fibreglass box on top of an (admittedly quite sturdy) platform chassis rather than part of a body frame which encompasses the whole cabin is very much obvious when driving.  The impression I get as well is that while they're both fibre reinforced plastics, Duroplast has quite different characteristics to fibreglass in some ways - I reckon it's a good bit less flexible for one.  Skinny, bendy indicator stalk aside it's surprised me from square one how fragile that car *doesn't* feel.

Still want to give TPA a proper end-to-end inspection and a service before going too much further, but glad she's made it out of the garage at least!

[LightBulbFun]

1 hour ago, Zelandeth said:

Finally got this little rattle box out for a run today.

Awesome! its really awesome to see TPA out and about, it been far too long  (it does tickle me me that relatively soon after I got sent and I posted the video of REV at speed, suddenly all the other forum Invacars have come out to play @dollywobbler having gotten TWC out a few days ago, and now TPA  )

1 hour ago, Zelandeth said:

  I'm holding off making direct performance comparisons yet given I now know how many issues that engine had so it wouldn't really be fair!  Once there's a healthy unit installed I'll be able to make more meaningful comparisons there I think.

how far away are you from @richykitchy? that would be an epic video for him to do with his rolling road that he has, Trabant vs Invacar, or @dollywobbler's TWC vs TPA  

I have always wanted to see an Invacar on a dyno  

 

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, Zelandeth said:

 

I remember those accessory mounts, the textured matt finish. Can't recall the maker, was it in the Paddy Hopkirk range?

[mat_the_cat]

On 23/07/2024 at 00:41, Zelandeth said:

I honestly think that this is the first car I'd consider installing an Android based head unit in.  Just feels wrong having something stuck on the windscreen for navigation and such with how clean the cabin otherwise is.  Also it's hard to find somewhere with it in the windscreen that it's not in the way of your vision as the dash top is relatively high compared to anything else I own.

Biggest challenge is likely to be finding a fascia adapter which doesn't delete the cup holder, as I'd rather retain that if possible and all the ones I've seen in a quick Google search just have flat plastic there.

@philibusmo is your man!

[plasticvandan]

Duroplast is a much better material than grp for making panels,it doesn't tend to crack or star craze,and is generally stiffer and more like a steel panel in comparison,but it doesn't lend itself to making body shells in the invacar/reliant way that grp does.Reliant used a similar process to duroplast (only with fibreglass) to make their doors and other panels in heated presses.

[Zelandeth]

44 minutes ago, plasticvandan said:

...Reliant used a similar process to duroplast (only with fibreglass) to make their doors and other panels in heated presses.

I didn't know that.

Noticed I had a number plate light out on the Volvo.

Stainless screws securing the light units, for something on the back of the car subjected to all of the resulting salt spray etc that's nice to see.

Really well sealed little unit containing the lamp holder as well.  The entry point for the wiring is actually potted as well.

Sorted.

Nice when a five minute job is actually a five minute job rather than turning into an hour long swear fest.

[GlenAnderson]

23 hours ago, High Jetter said:

I remember those accessory mounts, the textured matt finish. Can't recall the maker, was it in the Paddy Hopkirk range?

I have one in the shed somewhere. 

[High Jetter]

2 minutes ago, GlenAnderson said:

I have one in the shed somewhere. 

Only one? 

[philibusmo]

On 05/08/2024 at 00:12, mat_the_cat said:

I honestly think that this is the first car I'd consider installing an Android based head unit in.  Just feels wrong having something stuck on the windscreen for navigation and such with how clean the cabin otherwise is.  Also it's hard to find somewhere with it in the windscreen that it's not in the way of your vision as the dash top is relatively high compared to anything else I own.

Biggest challenge is likely to be finding a fascia adapter which doesn't delete the cup holder, as I'd rather retain that if possible and all the ones I've seen in a quick Google search just have flat plastic there.

There isn't a fascia that will retain the cup holder.

Pre-facelift there is a Chinese version that includes various bits of plastic and metal that don't really fit together that if it worked would keep the cup holder but on a later car like yours it hasn't been made.

I sell this fitting kit which is suitable for both amplified and non-amplified cars, retains steering wheel controls and provides outputs for the speed pulse and parking brake (needed with most Android Auto units) and a reverse output which is useful if you fit a reverse camera.  

https://phautoparts.co.uk/product/volvo-s60-v70-xc70-2005-2008-single-or-double-din-car-radio-fitting-kit/

The fascia doesn't retain the cup holder but is a decent fit in the dashboard. I don't know what it is about Volvos but the amount of ill fitting pieces of plastic out there for them is really surprising. The original FM antenna isn't suitable for DAB, so you'd need a windscreen antenna (or start drilling holes in the roof for a bee sting or a shark fin antenna) as most Android Auto units will have DAB as well.

[richykitchy]

On 04/08/2024 at 22:49, LightBulbFun said:

Awesome! its really awesome to see TPA out and about, it been far too long  (it does tickle me me that relatively soon after I got sent and I posted the video of REV at speed, suddenly all the other forum Invacars have come out to play @dollywobbler having gotten TWC out a few days ago, and now TPA  )

how far away are you from @richykitchy? that would be an epic video for him to do with his rolling road that he has, Trabant vs Invacar, or @dollywobbler's TWC vs TPA  

I have always wanted to see an Invacar on a dyno  

 

I'm game

[Zelandeth]

2 hours ago, philibusmo said:

There isn't a fascia that will retain the cup holder.

Pre-facelift there is a Chinese version that includes various bits of plastic and metal that don't really fit together that if it worked would keep the cup holder but on a later car like yours it hasn't been made.

I sell this fitting kit which is suitable for both amplified and non-amplified cars, retains steering wheel controls and provides outputs for the speed pulse and parking brake (needed with most Android Auto units) and a reverse output which is useful if you fit a reverse camera.  

https://phautoparts.co.uk/product/volvo-s60-v70-xc70-2005-2008-single-or-double-din-car-radio-fitting-kit/

The fascia doesn't retain the cup holder but is a decent fit in the dashboard. I don't know what it is about Volvos but the amount of ill fitting pieces of plastic out there for them is really surprising. The original FM antenna isn't suitable for DAB, so you'd need a windscreen antenna (or start drilling holes in the roof for a bee sting or a shark fin antenna) as most Android Auto units will have DAB as well.

Same conclusion I'd come to.  Short of some overcomplicated messing about with 3D printing/fabrication, I'm going to lose the cup holder.  Shame but it is what it is.  At least there are another pair of them in the centre armrest so it's hardly the end of the world.

Honestly not bothered about DAB.  I can't honestly remember the last time this side of 2010 I've listened to anything in the car other than Spotify streaming from my phone.

Biggest priority for me aside from the sound quality being decent for the head unit is the ability to make it look like it was there from the factory.  So ability to dial in the correct colour for the button illumination is high on the wish list.  Normally I'd insist on a physical volume control, but I'm less precious about that when I've got separate buttons on the wheel at least.

One question about that kit is regarding the "vehicle audio" for want of me knowing the technical description.  As I understand it, things like the audio for the parking sensors, the warning chime for door ajar, seatbelts etc are handled by the audio system in the Volvo rather than a separate speaker.  Would that functionality be retained here or would that need further hardware?  I'm assuming there is a way to handle that as it strikes me as likely that a fair few moderns probably do things that way.

This is the first foray into car audio that's even vaguely this modern and involved, so apologies if some of these are really daft questions.

[philibusmo]

9 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

One question about that kit is regarding the "vehicle audio" for want of me knowing the technical description.  As I understand it, things like the audio for the parking sensors, the warning chime for door ajar, seatbelts etc are handled by the audio system in the Volvo rather than a separate speaker.  Would that functionality be retained here or would that need further hardware?  I'm assuming there is a way to handle that as it strikes me as likely that a fair few moderns probably do things that way.

Ah yes, I forgot about the parking sensors. You'll also need this which you connect to the CAN wires (easiest to add this into the steering wheel control interface I've found) 

https://phautoparts.co.uk/product/multi-vehicle-can-interface-parking-sensor-and-warning-chime-retention/

The seatbelt and indicator chimes are controlled by the dash so those are not affected, but this interface will retain rear parking sensors through this speaker which you mount behind the dash.

14 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

Biggest priority for me aside from the sound quality being decent for the head unit is the ability to make it look like it was there from the factory.  So ability to dial in the correct colour for the button illumination is high on the wish list.  Normally I'd insist on a physical volume control, but I'm less precious about that when I've got separate buttons on the wheel at least.

For sound quality, get something from a known brand. they also tend to be more reliable and less of a faff to use. Your car has an HU850 which I'm certain will have a separate amplifier which will sound awful with a Chinese unit attached to it.

I have a Sony XAV-AX3250 in mine (pre-facelift V70) which has a row of physical buttons on the bottom in white which looks decent in a Volvo, its a touch sluggish and I'm not keen on the way the USB cable is hardwired to the back of the unit, but it was bout £200 second hand, sounds great and I've fitted plenty with only one ever coming back. 

They've just released the XAV-AX6050 which seems very good with the physical controls and wireless Android Auto - although its not cheap at around £550 at the moment.  

I'd also recommend the Pioneer SPH-DA250DAB which isn't wireless but is a cracking unit otherwise. Don't be tempted to go for the cheaper Pioneers which are cheap Chinese units wearing a Pioneer branded jacket.

[Zelandeth]

6 hours ago, philibusmo said:

Ah yes, I forgot about the parking sensors. You'll also need this which you connect to the CAN wires (easiest to add this into the steering wheel control interface I've found) 

https://phautoparts.co.uk/product/multi-vehicle-can-interface-parking-sensor-and-warning-chime-retention/

The seatbelt and indicator chimes are controlled by the dash so those are not affected, but this interface will retain rear parking sensors through this speaker which you mount behind the dash.

For sound quality, get something from a known brand. they also tend to be more reliable and less of a faff to use. Your car has an HU850 which I'm certain will have a separate amplifier which will sound awful with a Chinese unit attached to it.

I have a Sony XAV-AX3250 in mine (pre-facelift V70) which has a row of physical buttons on the bottom in white which looks decent in a Volvo, its a touch sluggish and I'm not keen on the way the USB cable is hardwired to the back of the unit, but it was bout £200 second hand, sounds great and I've fitted plenty with only one ever coming back. 

They've just released the XAV-AX6050 which seems very good with the physical controls and wireless Android Auto - although its not cheap at around £550 at the moment.  

I'd also recommend the Pioneer SPH-DA250DAB which isn't wireless but is a cracking unit otherwise. Don't be tempted to go for the cheaper Pioneers which are cheap Chinese units wearing a Pioneer branded jacket.

Cheers for that.  Useful to know.  Pioneer or the (not bottom of the barrel) JVC have generally been my go-to options in years gone by.  The newer Sony linked to there definitely looks the part, even the shape of the buttons doesn't look like they would stand out too much as not being original.  As you've suggested, yes this does have an additional amplifier fitted to tie the plethora of speakers together, so having something which will be able to properly drive that definitely will be a must.

I think given one of the main aims here is to get rid of stuff stuck to the windscreen or cables strewn over the dash, wireless would be nice.  The obvious location for a USB input though will be hidden away inside the central storage compartment.

The aux socket is currently in the storage compartment to the rear of this one - though that's a bit of a faff to get to because it's a long way back.  Sure pulling things apart to get that lot installed will be a bundle of laughs.

Really do appreciate the input from first hand experience here.  I'm rather out of my comfort zone, so it's really valuable information I reckon.

[Zelandeth]

Started polishing up the headlights today.

The plastic on these is a lot harder than the last set I polished as it's taking forever.  Making progress though.  May actually pick up one of the purpose made kits tomorrow.

Making progress at least.

I'd assumed the front corner markers would be LEDs like the rears, but closer inspection shows there's an incandescent W5W lamp behind there.

Gave the engine bay a quick wipe down, mainly to clean up the fine mist of polish I'd managed to cover everything in the immediate vicinity in.

Spotted a bit of sound insulation on the offside just sort of resting against the engine.  A bit of poking around didn't reveal any obvious central attachment point.  Until I realised it had self adhesive strips on the back.  Which evidently had never been deployed and still had the protective backing on.

Now stuck firmly in place.

If only all fixes were that easy!

This is the suspension bush that needs changing.

Pushing and pulling on the car you can clearly see the centre attachment point moving left to right by quite a bit, which is allowing the rear wheel toe angle to alter.  Has been booked in to a garage to have that sorted (on both sides, and then a four wheel alignment obviously).  Just a shame nobody could fit it in before the end of the month.

[Zelandeth]

Road trip time!

0945 I left MK.  1900 almost on the dot I pulled into my hotel car park in Dyce, Aberdeen.

Smidge under 500 miles covered, and still have that much range left.

I'll find out tomorrow what that actually equates to, but it's going to be somewhere north of 40mpg, which given the traffic was really congested for the first 2/3rds of the trip so my speed was all over the shop, in a 2.4 litre engined luxury car still breaks my brain a bit.

Only things which detracted from the enjoyment of the journey is the wheel wobble which we'll hopefully have sorted soon, and the driver's side wiper juddering.  That I will look into sooner than later as if something needs greasing up I want to do that BEFORE the linkage self destructs or anything like that.  It may also just need the blades thoroughly cleaned.  Seems to be the downside to these aero type blades, they really do work better than the old school ones, but they do seem a lot more prone to judder.

Other than that, it really shows that this is absolutely the sort of thing this car was designed for - it absolutely decimates miles on the motorway. 

Once the back end wobble is gone it will be even more serene...seems like an excuse to do this again later in the year.  In fairness, I just really enjoy long drives like this (when the traffic is playing nice!), so don't really need to go looking for excuses.

The only other car I've had which comes close was the Xantia Activa - though the lack of cruise on that really did detract from it a bit.  I still don't understand why it wasn't even an option on the Activa.

This thing though, it's just so easy to drive.  Visibility for a modern is really good, seats are supremely comfortable, AC actually behaves in a sane manner when just left set to auto, and I was most surprised to find that the auto wipers just...work.  Which is actually really nice when there's on/off light drizzle.

Okay - actually one other car which gets an honourable mention on the motorway mile munching league table - and it's one which I absolutely never expected it of.

It wasn't ever really noticeably comfortable, or particularly quiet or anything - but somehow it just never got uncomfortable, even after 8 hours or so.  It just seemed to have an absolutely uncanny ability to seemingly compress hours on motorway travel.  I did Aberdeen and back I think twice in this and at least one run up to Glasgow, and on every occasion got out at the other end feeling like I'd been driving for a couple of hours if that - not a whole day.  It's really not a car I would have ever expected to be a great choice for a road trip, but it really did surprise me there.  Really was one of those vehicles I'd have happily jumped into and driven anywhere in the country without a moment's hesitation.

I mean, you *expect* a top spec Volvo V70 to be a great motorway companion.  A rebadged Seat Inca with the normally aspirated 1.9D engine, not so much.  Though as I said once I'd driven it a few times, there had to be a reason that they were so popular and still seem to have quite a following even now.

[LightBulbFun]

1 hour ago, Zelandeth said:

0945 I left MK.  1900 almost on the dot I pulled into my hotel car park in Dyce, Aberdeen.

the V70 doesn't have a tow bar per chance?  

[Noel Tidybeard]

18 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

the V70 doesn't have a tow bar per chance?  

isn't it THE LAW that an ovlov has?

[LightBulbFun]

32 minutes ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

isn't it THE LAW that an ovlov has?

apparently so!  it would help if I engaged my eyes before asking earlier!

On 25/07/2024 at 22:48, Zelandeth said:

Much better.

 @Zelandeth how far away are you from @Saabnut at this point? asking for a friend* nothing to do at all with the fact REV is currently in Aberdeenshire and is pretty much ready to head back south at all   

[High Jetter]

Subtle 🤣

[Zelandeth]

On 11/08/2024 at 20:41, LightBulbFun said:

apparently so!  it would help if I engaged my eyes before asking earlier!

 @Zelandeth how far away are you from @Saabnut at this point? asking for a friend* nothing to do at all with the fact REV is currently in Aberdeenshire and is pretty much ready to head back south at all   

Not that far, but I have to admit that I'd really rather not be making a trip with any real weight hanging off the back of the car until I've got the rear suspension properly sorted.  It's weird enough feeling as it is if you hit a bump and it's up to a random number generator exactly what direction the rebound is going to push the back of the car without a trailer also trying to push the car around.

Also, furthest I've ever driven with a trailer is two miles to/from the tip with our tiny one full of garden waste.

Unless a Volvo B7LA counts...though legally it doesn't, apparently that's why the "trailer" has the engine in rather than the front - which still weirds me out.

Also not going to have much spare time sadly.  

Aside from catching up with a long, long term family friend I've not actually seen in person for the last 12 years for various reasons, I got to pick this up.

Has been sitting in storage for the last ten years as they have been working abroad.  This used to have the party trick of being able to make their (bloody heavy) sofa walk it's way across the living room floor.  I'd never managed to track this exact version down at a sane price secondhand, and mentioned that in conversation a while back and they said they'd rather it was used as intended than sit in the back of their garage for ever more.

Looking forward to getting that cleaned, serviced and set up.

 

Also got a chance to have a look at a potential future project, one I've had my eye on since 1992.  Not a car, but it does involve an engine.

Buried back in that corner of the garage is an old single cylinder Lister diesel engined generator.  I *think* it's a JP1.

Meant to get a photo of the plate on the generator, but forgot.

Anyone able to date this thing?  I did have a nose around for any obvious serial number or anything like that (about 20 years ago too), but couldn't see anything that gave any pointers.  I'm guessing 50s?

It was last run back in the mid 90s, when it was a bloody godsend when our whole area's power went out for nearly a week, and a fair portion of the village ended up basically living in that house.  I spent many hours absolutely transfixed by the thing, and can still remember the ridiculous decibel levels produced outside that wall by the totally unsilenced exhaust.

I've wanted a stationary engine of some sort for basically forever.  For no purpose other than the fun of having something to tinker with that's not involved in my ability to get around, and one day might even prove useful.  Unlikely though that may be!

Engine is still free, thankfully.  Guessing the fuel side of things will be well gummed up after this long, but don't imagine it would take much to get it going.  All of the original control gear is still there, including the contactor/interlock gubbins in the control box on the wall which allowed the generator to be used as an electric starter rather than having to hand crank it - imagine that would have been quite a pleasant luxury at the time.  Do admit there was more than a bit of temptation to see if it would just run - but that struck me as a good way to potentially break things without doing some research and taking some precautions we just didn't have time to today.  So I just left the crank handle where it was.

This isn't going anywhere now, or indeed likely soon.  Not least because there's the small question of how the fluff to get it out of there.  I probably don't even want to know what that lot weighs, though I know the short answer is "a lot." Imagine that lot is probably not going to be far off a tonne once you've put it all together.

I don't think this will be a "borrow a couple of friends and lift it into the back of a van" sort of job.  Sure there are tips and tricks to make it easier that are well known by those who regularly mess around with this sort of kit, though my best plan so far would be to try to get it onto a pallet, appropriately wrapped and get a professional shipping company to worry about getting the damned thing into, strapped down and back out of the back of a truck.  Open to suggestions on how to make my life easier there - I've only ever messed with stuff like this in situ before, never actually had to move it.

That's a ways down the road yet, but was good to get a chance to confirm that it indeed wasn't seized and made it clear that at some point I'd like to re-home it.

[High Jetter]

10 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

Open to suggestions on how to make my life easier there - I've only ever messed with stuff like this in situ before, never actually had to move it.

Looks like it's bolted to that condrete plinth too, the nuts could be a mare to move then you'de have to lift it over the studs. The hire of toe-jacks and skids may be involved, I'd say.

[LightBulbFun]

33 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

Meant to get a photo of the plate on the generator, but forgot.

Anyone able to date this thing?  I did have a nose around for any obvious serial number or anything like that (about 20 years ago too), but couldn't see anything that gave any pointers.  I'm guessing 50s?

It was last run back in the mid 90s, when it was a bloody godsend when our whole area's power went out for nearly a week, and a fair portion of the village ended up basically living in that house.  I spent many hours absolutely transfixed by the thing, and can still remember the ridiculous decibel levels produced outside that wall by the totally unsilenced exhaust.

I've wanted a stationary engine of some sort for basically forever.  For no purpose other than the fun of having something to tinker with that's not involved in my ability to get around, and one day might even prove useful.  Unlikely though that may be!

Engine is still free, thankfully.  Guessing the fuel side of things will be well gummed up after this long, but don't imagine it would take much to get it going.  All of the original control gear is still there, including the contactor/interlock gubbins in the control box on the wall which allowed the generator to be used as an electric starter rather than having to hand crank it - imagine that would have been quite a pleasant luxury at the time.  Do admit there was more than a bit of temptation to see if it would just run - but that struck me as a good way to potentially break things without doing some research and taking some precautions we just didn't have time to today.  So I just left the crank handle where it was.

This isn't going anywhere now, or indeed likely soon.  Not least because there's the small question of how the fluff to get it out of there.  I probably don't even want to know what that lot weighs, though I know the short answer is "a lot." Imagine that lot is probably not going to be far off a tonne once you've put it all together.

I don't think this will be a "borrow a couple of friends and lift it into the back of a van" sort of job.  Sure there are tips and tricks to make it easier that are well known by those who regularly mess around with this sort of kit, though my best plan so far would be to try to get it onto a pallet, appropriately wrapped and get a professional shipping company to worry about getting the damned thing into, strapped down and back out of the back of a truck.  Open to suggestions on how to make my life easier there - I've only ever messed with stuff like this in situ before, never actually had to move it.

That's a ways down the road yet, but was good to get a chance to confirm that it indeed wasn't seized and made it clear that at some point I'd like to re-home it.

@AdgeCutler to the stationary engine phone, thats @AdgeCutler to the Stationary engine phone please