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

[Zelandeth]

5 minutes ago, SiC said:

You need to preload the spring on the throttle linkage so it holds it shut. Basically undo the connection between the pedal linkage and carb, then wind it back a bit and then tighten up the lot. It's incredibly overly complex just to save the mess of a throttle cable hanging over the engine bay!

Some pics for others reading this thread to understand all the bits that make up this throttle linkage! That black cover hides essentially a springing rod. 

It's not the most overcomplicated throttle linkage I've ever seen, but it's close.  I still think the one Lada used on the later Rivas still wins.  From memory there were eight changes of direction involved on that contraption...when they could have just used a cable!  I seem to recall the linkage also had the added excitement of having the ability if you've got a soggy engine mount to flip over centre as you pull away leaving the throttle stuck fully open.  Fun!

It was remembering reading you having similar issues with this which clued me in on what I needed to do with it.  Imagine that everyone who disconnects that forgets to apply the preload the first time round!

[Zelandeth]

Been pretty busy over the last few days so there's not been a huge amount of car fettling going on.  TPA was out and about yesterday though.

A decision I was quite thankful for as I got stuck in an absolute stinker of a traffic jam on the way home.  Would have been far more tiresome in any of my other cars.

This afternoon before making another foray out into the world to run a few errands I tweaked the throttle linkage on the Rover so it no longer hangs up with it still open a fraction, and tamed my inner hooligan by refitting the intake silencer.

Which is of course absolute insurance that within the next 48 hours I'll want to get to something it's in the way of and I'll need to take it off again.

Seems to be back to driving like it's old self again now though which is nice.  

[Zelandeth]

The Rover had one very annoying fault which rendered it all but undriveable in the rain.  That the driver's side wiper was catching on the top of the windscreen surround and lifting it off the screen for about 20% of the sweep.  Literally smack in front of my face.

That was a pretty easy fix by trimming the end off the wiper blade, being careful not to go too deep to uncover the metal.

Sorted.

Now I expect the wipers to merely be awful rather than it actually being worse having them turned on than off.

Quick fix but nice to have done.  Been meaning to since the (very wet!) day I picked it up.

I was having a nose around on the Renault today grabbing some measurements for the drop link bushes (confirming that the bushes on the links I have that are too long are indeed also wrong), when I spotted another job for the to do list.

Oh joy.  My favourite job.  Nope, a garage will be doing that.

Unexpectedly an additional fleet member was acquired today.

This turned out to be abandoned in a hedge along the side of our properly that was removed today.  It's clearly been there for a long, long time (but less than eight years as it definitely wasn't there when we originally put the fence up).  Given the level of problems we've had with narcotics abuse in the space behind that hedge (which was one of the main reasons we wanted shot of it - hopefully with their cover gone the users will go find somewhere else to loiter) I made a point of checking with our local police station to ensure they didn't have note of the frame number as having been reported as stolen.  They checked a couple of databases and confirmed they had nothing on file for it - and seemed thankful for a face turning up at the window that wasn't hurling abuse at them.

It's been sitting for long enough in the weather that it'll need completely going through, and I *rather* doubt from the look of it that it was exactly a high end bike to start with. 

However there's a simple satisfaction to be had in reviving something totally against the odds whether it makes sense or not.  So provided there aren't any total show stoppers like cracks in the frame it'll likely have another shot at life.

[Dobloseven]

Changed an outer driveshaft gaiter on my 25 last year. Not too bad a job. I used one of those universal stretchy ones. To those who say they're no good, I would say I used them on the 10 reg Kangoo I bought almost new, and they outlived the originals. 

[Zelandeth]

7 hours ago, Dobloseven said:

Changed an outer driveshaft gaiter on my 25 last year. Not too bad a job. I used one of those universal stretchy ones. To those who say they're no good, I would say I used them on the 10 reg Kangoo I bought almost new, and they outlived the originals. 

Will be about the only option I imagine.  I couldn't find the correct boot for my last one, and that was in 2003!  So I don't doubt it would be any easier now.

 

The wipers on the Rover are definitely working better - but still crap.

There isn't enough pressure being exerted by the spring in the arm to keep the blade fully in contact with the screen.  It's extremely wobbly where the spindle passes through the scuttle to suspect we've got knackered bushes in there which won't be helping anything.  I'll investigate later in more depth (ideally when it's not raining).  The wipers at least now are actually worth turning on when it's raining.  Beforehand they literally just made things worse for the driver.

While driving in the rain we do have one bit of obvious water ingress from the top of the rear windscreen.

Which isn't surprising given you can see daylight around the top of the join between the left hand and central sections of glass.  A carefully positioned blob of sealant will hopefully sort that.

[Zelandeth]

Finally got around to actually removing these things today.

It turns out that things held together by snap rings come apart a lot easier once you've noticed and removed said snap ring.  I definitely didn't spend about 30 minutes staring at and poking this thing trying to figure out how the heck to get it apart.

I've had a suggestion on another forum that the drop links for a VW T4 Transporter are very similar.  Based on the specs I've found, that does indeed look to be the case.  Upper bush is to accommodate an M10 bolt (well, stud) which is an exact match, and the lower inner diameter is listed as 23mm, which looks to be a match (I know it's kind of hard to see in the photo).

They are a touch shorter, but not enough that I think it will be an issue so long as they're matched on both sides, it will put a bit of extra pre-load on the anti roll bar, but we're just going to have to see.  They're really cheap, so worth a try.  If it comes to it, we might even be able to do a bush transplant as they're far cheaper than a set of new bushes!

Watch this space...

I also ticked off one job on TPA that's been on the to do list for...uuh...about four years.

Replaced the missing valve cap on the front wheel.  I know, riveting stuff.

[somewhatfoolish]

You could cut the new ones in half and lengthen them with bits cut out of the old, bit of a faff though; if the short ones don't result in mystery cornering clonks that's a definite win.

[Andyrew]

On 8/4/2023 at 4:39 PM, Zelandeth said:

Ha! I had to double check then as i see one of our vans and thought it was a photo i had taken!

[Zelandeth]

14 hours ago, Andyrew said:

Ha! I had to double check then as i see one of our vans and thought it was a photo i had taken!

Well if you keep your eyes open you never know where that car might turn up!

-- -- --

I need to take some actual temperature readings on the Rover I think following a high speed run.  Yes it's been moderately warm here this afternoon, but it's not exactly roasting.  However it felt it necessary to do this about 30 seconds after the engine was switched off after a run out today.  Yes, I always let it idle for a bit first rather than just pulling into the drive an immediately turning it off.

The odd little dribble from the overflow I can deal with, but this was a bit ridiculous.  I've also now added a small hose to the end of the overflow as the water from it before was running down the inside of the front valance and making a bloody mess.

Temperature was sitting where it normally does around town, about a needle's width above the bottom of the white section on the gauge - this is as far as it crept up to after stopping the engine.  So hardly roasty toasty according to the gauge.

I think I'd like to confirm that the gauge is reading accurately. 

I'll need to wait for the engine to have cooled further before I can really check the coolant level, but I've not topped it up since last time it decided to burp coolant out (checking after that showed the level to be about an inch or so above the top of the core).  This was rather more of a barf than a burp though so I imagine it must have impacted the level a bit.  I have never seen it vent when the engine is running though, it's always after stopping when there's the inevitable temperature spike then due to the circulation stopping plus heat soak etc.

Edit: Oh dear.  Apparently I'm working towards buying something else again too.  Oops.

[Zelandeth]

Pair of VW drop links has been ordered.  Hopefully get them picked up start of next week then we'll see how the fit is.

Didn't get a photo as I was driving and there was nowhere safe to pull over at the time, but TPA ticked over 15K miles during the trip.  For which this was definitely the right car for the job given that once again due to the utterly stupid traffic on seemingly all the roads around here a round trip of just under 40 miles managed to take very nearly two hours.

She could really do with a wash!

Being covered in greasy handprints from in the garage and me perpetually using the engine cover as a workbench doesn't help either.

Spot the difference here compared to earlier photos of the Rover?

How about from here?

Yep, sorted the mirrors so they actually stay where you put them now (or at least I hope so, haven't been out of town yet since securing them).

Passenger side one is still kinda pointless - I do wonder if it's got the correct arm fitted as it's pretty much totally hidden behind the bonnet unless you lift yourself up from the seat a bit.

Though equally I do know the springs in the seat are a bit tired.

Will make parking a lot less stressful at least.

Edit: Confirmed.  Collection capers are on the horizon.  Exact logistics still being figured out, but something is inbound.

[Zelandeth]

Collection mission Part I complete.  Well part I was a delivery.

Which despite having been delivered to me is not what I've bought, just to throw you off the scent.

Part II begins in about half an hour.

[Zelandeth]

Aaand home.

I'd been keeping my eyes peeled for one of these for a while, so when I got a second shot at this having missed it on the for sale forum here a couple of weeks ago immediately pounced.  Especially as this has one pretty rare option ticked which was high on my wish list.

Air con.  Which even works.

Needs a little love in a few areas, but for the price paid is in pretty good shape.

A really good valet and deep clean of the front seats will make a big difference.

Given these tend to be vehicles which earn their keep by working pretty hard though it really isn't bad at all.

Nice to see this still has the fold out load cover.  Those have usually long since vanished by this age.

Engine bay deeeeeefinitely has an appointment with some degreaser and elbow grease in its near future.

Aside from some bodged on wiring for an aftermarket horn (currently run to a button on the steering column) at a glance it seems free of hackery though.  Just needs a clean.  Guessing the horn issue is likely to be a clock spring problem, so we should be able to hopefully get rid of that in due course.

I didn't realise these got the Pug 206 style fitted at this age, though I'm not quite sure what possessed PSA to think that silver was a good colour to make your instruments.

Depending on the ambient lighting the visibility varies from absolutely fine to completely unreadable.  I pity anyone who actually wants to read the Km/h scale on the speedometer.

Drives really nicely though.  Clutch is a bit heavy, but I'm used enough to diesel PSA products to know that's par for the course.  General refinement and ride quality are streets ahead of the Caddy, as you'd kind of expect.  Aside from being a newer design, it's something that was designed from the ground up to be what it is rather than a small hatchback that someone welded a box onto the back of.  It's miraculous really that the Caddy drives even half as well as it does, but it does have shortcomings, particularly in the road noise and suspension refinement departments.

I need to double check, but I'm pretty sure that adding cruise control to this is as simple as plugging the stalk in and activating it via Diagbox...

Given I'll likely be rummaging for second hand parts anyway to replace this wonderfully painted wing...

... I'll see if I can find one at the same time.  There are two holes (I'm assuming for a long gone hands free setup) in the driver's B-pillar trim as well which are likely to big my OCD now I've spotted them.  Plus a couple of wheel trims have seen better days.

Be interesting to see how different she looks in a couple of weeks!

Edit:

I'll be damned, not a single dash light out.  I know the previous owner fixed the ones in the radio display, so thanks to them for that.

All nice warm, amber lighting save for the contrast of the pointers.

[vulgalour]

Regarding the Rover's barfing issue, that could be down to a partially blocked radiator.  I don't know the science behind why partially blocked rads cause this barfing issue, only that I'm told it is a thing.  Best thing to do is drop a couple of Steradent tablets in the rad, fill it with water, and then flush through. Make sure the rad is isolated from the rest of your cooling system when you do it so you're only working on the rad, you can do it without removing the rad from the car and flush through with a garden hose.

Once you're happy that's clear, flush the block too as that might also have sediment build up in it, cars like this usually have a drain on the engine somewhere, a hang over from pre-antifreeze days when you'd drain the water out to prevent the block freezing, so do tend to be able to be flushed out pretty effectively.

[SiC]

Presumably because a partially blocked up core will cause more water flow over the top and thus more likely to go out the overflow as more water pressure directed through that way?

Only risk in cleaning out an old radiator is that it may then start to leak if dirt has been blocking up a hole for years!

 

[Zelandeth]

11 minutes ago, vulgalour said:

Regarding the Rover's barfing issue, that could be down to a partially blocked radiator.  I don't know the science behind why partially blocked rads cause this barfing issue, only that I'm told it is a thing.  Best thing to do is drop a couple of Steradent tablets in the rad, fill it with water, and then flush through. Make sure the rad is isolated from the rest of your cooling system when you do it so you're only working on the rad, you can do it without removing the rad from the car and flush through with a garden hose.

Once you're happy that's clear, flush the block too as that might also have sediment build up in it, cars like this usually have a drain on the engine somewhere, a hang over from pre-antifreeze days when you'd drain the water out to prevent the block freezing, so do tend to be able to be flushed out pretty effectively.

Not a bad thought.  I'm not going to go to town flushing the block though.  We already know there's a crack in the water jacket which weeps very slightly.  I'd rather not provoke that into progressing from a slight weep into being an actual problem.  Flushing the rad though isn't the worst idea.

[Zelandeth]

Spent half an hour on car things this afternoon.

Also known as "how to make a car look at least 50% less shonky in less than 20 minutes."

Treating the plastics.  Definitely made the car look tidier.  As has giving the interior a quick clean.

Definitely been a while since the interior plastics had any attention it looks like.

A car never really feels like it's mine until it's been given a bit of a clean.  Given how decent the paintwork mostly is, a good exterior clean, polish and wax will probably happen soon.  The guards on the lights could really do with some fresh paint as they're looking a bit scruffy.

Front seats could really do with going over with the wet vac too, which will happen in the near future.

Have already generated quite a shopping list for this next week for this car.  Gut feeling is that this may be getting a few quid spent on it in the near future to tidy a few things up.  Having been driving it for a couple of days I really quite like it.  Comfortable, feels nippy enough, has enough room for all of our needs, handles far more positively than I expected, and initial indications are that the economy should be pretty decent.  Everything you could ask for really...which may well be why everyone seems to like them I guess!

A friend back up north has already expressed significant interest in the Caddy, so I imagine that may be where it will be off to in the not too distant future assuming I don't find any horrors on the Peugeot over the next few days.

[SiC]

I think it was Jay Kay on a very old Top Gear said that, despite his large, fancy (multi million pound) car collection, he usually drives around in a Berlingo. Easy to get the dogs in and out, anonymous and a car you can use without even thinking of worrying about it. 

[PhilA]

On 8/13/2023 at 4:26 PM, Zelandeth said:

Not a bad thought.  I'm not going to go to town flushing the block though.  We already know there's a crack in the water jacket which weeps very slightly.  I'd rather not provoke that into progressing from a slight weep into being an actual problem.  Flushing the rad though isn't the worst idea.

Blocked rad causes barfing because of simple physics. If you trap hot coolant (which should be able to continue to circulate via convection after the water pump stops) then it'll flash to steam and find the easiest escape route, that being the pressure relief in the radiator cap.

That's why late model turbocharged Renault cars with the Cléon series engines had an electric water pump to circulate the coolant after the engine was shut off- the convoluted system failed to allow convective flow through the turbo and that would pressurize the system and burp it after shutdown.

 

Worth a try, these cars likely have a very powerful impeller, capable of pumping adequate coolant around, but lacking that free flow it'll just boil around the valves and cylinder walls.

(Also the reason they say to idle the engine for a short while after a high speed run before shutdown, the metal in those areas retains a lot of heat that needs to be pulled away into the coolant before the pumped flow is stopped).

 

Phil

[Zelandeth]

If anyone fancies a shot at the Rover, go take a look in the For Sale section.

I hadn't been planning on moving it on anywhere near this soon, but it looks like something that's been on my bucket list since we'll before I could even drive has potentially popped up, so I'm following that to see where it leads.  If it works out, the Rover would need to go to make both space for it and to pay for it.

Will be sad to see it go, but realistically it was likely to be a toy for the summer more than anything else.  Longer term it really needs someone who's in a better position to stabilise the bodywork as it will decay if left unchecked.  Even better would be if it went to someone with covered storage.

Obviously if the potential inbound candidate doesn't work out that thread will be closed as I AM rather enjoying the car as it is.  Just given the choice of what I'm looking at it would be the second choice.

[LightBulbFun]

24 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

If anyone fancies a shot at the Rover, go take a look in the For Sale section.

I hadn't been planning on moving it on anywhere near this soon, but it looks like something that's been on my bucket list since we'll before I could even drive has potentially popped up, so I'm following that to see where it leads.  If it works out, the Rover would need to go to make both space for it and to pay for it.

Will be sad to see it go, but realistically it was likely to be a toy for the summer more than anything else.  Longer term it really needs someone who's in a better position to stabilise the bodywork as it will decay if left unchecked.  Even better would be if it went to someone with covered storage.

Obviously if the potential inbound candidate doesn't work out that thread will be closed as I AM rather enjoying the car as it is.  Just given the choice of what I'm looking at it would be the second choice.

I will admit I was quite alarmed when I saw the Rover up for sale already, given that it did appear you had been getting on with it quite well, so I was worried that something bad may of happened that was forcing the sale

I am glad to hear thats not the case and that its just another vehicle which you have coveted has cropped up! I look forward to seeing what it is  

[Zelandeth]

Nope, nothing untoward.  I have and am very much enjoying it.  It's at a stage now where I'd quite happily jump in it and drive pretty much anywhere.  Just needs the rear suspension refreshed to make it actually pleasant to waft around in.

[Zelandeth]

A quick and simple job I had wanted to get done on the Peugeot was sorted today.

...My failure to take a "before" photo means you're a bit clueless as to what's going on there.  I've changed the indicator bulbs as all four had turned almost completely white due to the coating flaking off the bulbs.   The side/brake light bulbs were also very blackened so probably at the end of their lives - those were also changed while I was in there.

Only took five minutes, though I did add something to the to do list.

Why on earth does it seem that nobody in the history of the universe has ever done a neat, professional job of wiring in a tow bar socket?

I'll deal with that later.  It's actually all working (well, I've no idea if the tow electrics work, but the vehicle part does) so I'm filing that under Do Not Poke for now and I'll sort it properly when I've got a bit more time on hand.

Tomorrow I've got a good bit of driving to do to go look at the potential new purchase - couple of hours each way looks like.  I did look at taking the train, but £200 plus change with no assigned seat and four hours each way with two changes says "Hell no!" I'll just drive, thanks.

[Zelandeth]

300 miles plus change done in the Peugeot today, mostly in horrific traffic thanks to the M1 being closed right about where the halfway point in my trip should have been.  So traffic was bloody awful both ways.  

Observations: One. I'm bloody glad I sorted the squeaking clutch pedal, or that would have driven me insane.  Two. The Partner is a bloody awesome thing for covering distance on any sort of road.  Only thing it really wants for is cruise as she would far rather be doing 80 than 70 on the motorway.  Used barely half a tank of fuel, so 500 miles on a tank looks to be entirely doable.

So what was so special I was willing to do a 300 mile round trip just to look at?

I'll tell you tomorrow if you can't guess.  However it's always been a bucket list car for me, and suffice to say I was impressed with what I saw and have left a deposit.  I now just need to arrange transport to get it home.

The car does run, drive and apparently stop - however hasn't been in regular use for Quite A While so will want to be properly recommissioned really before it does anything beyond a gentle bumble round the block at walking pace.  So it will not be making the trip here under its own power.  So I'm sending out a few messages to see if our usual suspects with regards to transport are likely to be in the area over the next week or so.

This does mean I'm officially DEFINITELY over capacity though!

[LightBulbFun]

37 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

However it's always been a bucket list car

aww, theres a reason I was specifically saying vehicle in my comment above

[Zelandeth]

57 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

aww, theres a reason I was specifically saying vehicle in my comment above

No buses, coaches, Alvis Stalwarts, hovercrafts or other such nonsense are on the cards currently.  That situation may well change in a few years if we get settled in somewhere with more space and less neighbours to hack off.  I'm sure ours currently hate me enough as it is.

A tiny home built hovercraft could be an absolute hoot at the FoD mind you...me and Craig built one over a couple of weekends back up north with random scrap found from around the farm and plans off the internet for the skirt.  I don't think you've ever seen two guys laugh as much as we did when we messed about with that thing.  It actually worked like a dream.  Completely uncontrollable until you'd got about half an hour of crashing into or running over everything (including yourself) under your belt, but once you got a knack for it it wasn't too bad.  Well...until the wind picked up.  Then complete chaos unfolded which I seem to recall ended up with me buried in a gorse bush and muttering something unpleasant about the laws of conservation of angular momentum.

[GMcD]

I think I know. Maybe. 

Does it do lovely burbley noises and have inboard brakes at the rear? 

 

[Erebus]

31 minutes ago, GMcD said:

I think I know. Maybe. 

Does it do lovely burbley noises and have inboard brakes at the rear? 

 

Rover P6 V8?

[LightBulbFun]

Hmmm I think I know *exactly* what this, as in not the exact car down to its reg mark, but certainly what it is/its specifications are etc  

as a clue, I spotted one of these running about locally and posted about it, but I THINK the one I spotted was a facelift version....

[Zelandeth]

9 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

Hmmm I think I know *exactly* what this, as in not the exact car down to its reg mark, but certainly what it is/its specifications are etc  

as a clue, I spotted one of these running about locally and posted about it, but I THINK the one I spotted was a facelift version....

Oh you sneaky little...Turning one of my own "Can you guess what it is?" games back on me...I'm now exceptionally curious and have been trying to figure out exactly what you're referring to, and have spent longer than I probably should have trying to find the post you're referring to.

I'll post the details up later today anyway once we've got the logistics of shipping properly confirmed.

[Zelandeth]

Okay then.  Now that money has changed hands and we've pretty much sorted collection arrangements I feel I can actually reveal what it was that I was willing to spend basically a whole day going to look at yesterday. 

One of you definitely got it.

The answer is this:

Excuse the blurring.  As the photos were taken in the seller's front garden I wanted to blank out the background as far as possible to remove any landmarks.

A P6 has been on my wishlist forever, but finding a viable one with a reasonable price tag was something I'd given up on a good few years back.  I did look at a few about 15 years back, but all the ones I could afford then were complete basket cases.  

Then I read @Rocket88's tale of woe a couple of days ago.  I figured it was worth pinging them a message to find out some more details.  The rest is history.

From the look around the car I did it seems astonishingly solid.  Bit of surface rust here and there and some historic repairs, but nothing worrisome.  It hasn't been in use for Quite Some Time however, so will want to be properly recommissioned.  It does however run, drive and apparently stop - so not a bad situation to be starting from.

Have to admit I'm really pleased it's not brown with a black interior.  I mean they do look good in those colours, but it feels like virtually every one you see is brown/mustard or a very similar greeny grey to the P4 and with a black interior, and it's no secret that I like lighter or more colourful interiors.  Exactly like this.

Odometer is showing 01034 - so that'll be 101K.

The handles for the doors are in there, reckon they were taken off when some paintwork was going on.   I've not spotted anything that's actually missing yet.

Have always been curious to see what this panel looks like at night.

Nothing scary under here.

The previous buyer claimed that the oil was full of fuel and that a head gasket had gone because of the moisture on the oil filler.  Yes, there's a bit of fuel in the oil but nothing you wouldn't expect from a car that's been out of use so probably hasn't been run off choke in years.  Likewise there's a bit of condensation on the cap, but absolutely nothing you wouldn't expect.  We're both kind of baffled over what the previous buyer was playing at.

Even the vinyl roof is in decent shape.

Exact date has to be confirmed, but hopefully it will be getting delivered next week at some point.

Pretty clear very basic plan of attack for when it arrives - plus anything else that I think of then.

[] Change all rubber fuel lines.

[] Chase any electrical gremlins.

[] Change tyres.

[] Change all fluids.

[] Sort any sticky brake issues - anything causing issues there will just be chucked at Bigg Red to be rebuilt, I'm not faffing about trying to wrestle sticky pistons and such into behaving myself, especially with how bloody awkward to get to the rears are.

[] Put back together the bits of the interior which are currently on the floor and give it a damned good clean.

[] Get it professionally rust proofed so it hopefully *stays* this solid.

I am extremely excited to be bringing this on fleet.  As I've said before I'd long since really given up on ever owning one of these.