HMC- FEAT. Dull , worthy and Indestructible.

[HMC]

Considering the dreadful rep these have, I was suprised at the level of iron curtain instrumentation…

Vacuum, volts, plus the usual. They are not damped, so the volts in particular tend to flick about erratically, but seem accurate. I like that this info was considered important even on a cheap car.

Bizarrely despite these details there is no clock on this mid level SL. Presumably such frivolities only happened on the top trim level?

There is also no rear view mirror, but thats because its just fallen off.

[wesacosa]

 

 

[HMC]

Ms_HMC would like to do the mongol rally in it, as its finish point is a Russian lake that she used to go on holidays to, i think they may have a countryside house (Dacha)  there. Sadly the next scheduled one isnt allowed into Russia from the —-stan border, and also IIRC the car needs to be 1 litre or less, and this is a mighty 1.5

[IronStar]

1 hour ago, HMC said:

 

They are not damped, so the volts in particular tend to flick about erratically, but seem accurate.

I never understood this. It costs pennies to dampen them, and having them undampened makes it look incredibly cheap and is shit to use. 
Fuel gauge bouncing around always drives me insane. Is there half a tank? 1/4? 3 liters and about to run out of fuel? No clue, make a guess! Surely it’s not about to stall and that hiccup just now didn’t really happen, it’s just you overthinking? Right? Right????

[Ian_Fearn]

On 01/09/2024 at 17:31, HMC said:

 

 

 

 

@HMC useless bit of trivia for you….. Rally Motors still exists. It’s owned by a good friend of mine and he pretty much remembers every customer and car they’ve ever sold. They’ve not sold new cars for years now but they remain a local landmark in Allestree, Derby. The phone number is still Derby 559901 too!

[HMC]

Flashback to 2020 and the crown vic i had at the time…

Its available on facebook marketplace (for more money than i paid at the time when i bought it) , but is looking a little sad, minus its engine and gearbox…

[Schaefft]

That sucks as I remember this being on here. Looks like they have a few interesting cars in their yard.

[grogee]

On 25/10/2024 at 18:28, HMC said:

Considering the dreadful rep these have, I was suprised at the level of iron curtain instrumentation…

Vacuum, volts, plus the usual. They are not damped, so the volts in particular tend to flick about erratically, but seem accurate. I like that this info was considered important even on a cheap car.

Reminds me of another Soviet engineering triumph*

[grogee]

On 25/10/2024 at 18:46, HMC said:

Russian lake that she used to go on holidays to

Is it this one? 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Karachay?wprov=sfla1

[HMC]

On 28/10/2024 at 17:47, grogee said:

Is it this one? 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Karachay?wprov=sfla1

I think its further east toward the border with Mongolia.

Fleet news…

Samara is a great little runabout, great for parking with a massive glass area- presumably not so handy in a crash 😂

Jag being great also, although im not a fan of washing cars i should clear the bird crap off it

And i have done a buy. 2 cylinder turbo. Free tax, dirt cheap insurance. Itch being scratched on  a 500 twinair arrives friday. Ive read mixed reviews but i want to love it from the technical description.

 

[Schaefft]

Not the biggest fan of my GF's 65hp 500 (or the automated manual "convertible" I drove on Santorini which was probably one of the worst cars I've ever driven). The Twin Air certainly is an interesting choice though, the extra 20hp will come in handy.

[HMC]

This little 500 was dropped of by a nice Lithuanian guy this lunchtime.

“This is Lady car” was his proclamation- maybe, but I like them. My first was an Abarth, but what attracted me to this one was the twin air engine- and its ambition, and the (tenuous) link to its 2 cylinder forebears.

Here in a sort of What Car? group test photo…

 

[grogee]

I had a twin air for a weekend when they came out. I drove it like an absolute nun and still only got about 40mpg. Word on the street is they were designed to ace the old EU test in order to get good co2 figures. 

I hope yours behaves, you seem to do quite well with the shite turnover. Of course if the Fiat shits itself you've got the luxury of a brown Lada on standby. 

BTW I have an XK8 book that I was going to give to you @HMC, I can post it if you're keen or I'll deliver it when I next venture into Tavi. 

[DSdriver]

On 04/10/2024 at 09:13, loserone said:

No more so than anything requiring welding, HGF, a DPF, DMF clutch...

That's the problem with any car less than 20 years old, too many three letter things in them. 

[EyesWeldedShut]

22 minutes ago, DSdriver said:

That's the problem with any car less than 20 years old, too many three letter things in them. 

Most truly modern stuff I get into has multiple WTFs fitted - that's enough for me

[crad]

1 minute ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

Most truly modern stuff I get into has multiple WTFs fitted - that's enough for me

i found all my old banger's had/have lot's of WTFs in them as well!

[tooSavvy]

When I collected AVAS the guy confirmed NOT TPMS = GR9👍...

Later I discovered 1.8 Z18XER manuals have a bad rep for DMF = GR9👍...

I'm currently cutting the rad/tranny cooler off... NO cross contamination= GR9👍...

It's not disgraced itself *expensively YET 😁

🚙💨

[wuvvum]

I had a Lancia Chrysler Ypsilon with the Twin Air engine.  I really liked the way it drove and it didn't give me any issues, but the fuel economy was so far adrift of the official figures that it was almost laughable.

On 25/10/2024 at 18:46, HMC said:

mongol rally

@willswitchengage is our resident expert on that topic if you do decide to give it a go.

[HMC]

Been pottering in the 500 which apparently is finished in “cheeky red” as far as i can translate…

Im still getting used to driving it. with the “eco” button off its surprisingly fast. Ive been driving with it on/ off and experimenting. Im trying to figure out how best to drive it (and how it was intended to be driven) on the torque or on the power? its possible to labour the engine a bit (and the dash instruction to shift up what feels a bit too soon seems to encourage this) but it likes to rev as well.

Im not sure which technique gets the best out of it in terms of a balance of performance/ economy. Reading online its seems possible to fail massively compared to the published economy figures, so i would imagine there a very particular window/ method to get those figures. Im sure ill find out soon enough.

Its also got a coolant leak (a drip when cold) that wasnt noted on the ad, although it was a fairly thorough listing with a vendor with solid feedback. It seems to come from the engine on the bulkhead side behind the starter/ alternator and looks a pain to get to. it seems worse when cold, and nill when hot, but that could also be because the liquid gets burn off when the car is hot. Im keeping a close eye on the level. Its fairly level and seems a very low rate of loss. Caveat Emptor! But still, its a decent, practical car and im happy overall with the purchase. I feel like its a new car but its 13 years old.

 

[wuvvum]

The Eco button made absolutely no discernible difference to the fuel economy on mine.  I did a run from here to Somerset driving like a nun, in eco mode all the way (other than one brief moment when I had to overtake a tractor on the A428), and it did 48mpg.  On the return journey I was in normal mode and driving reasonably enthusiastically and it did 48mpg.

[HMC]

29 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

The Eco button made absolutely no discernible difference to the fuel economy on mine.  I did a run from here to Somerset driving like a nun, in eco mode all the way (other than one brief moment when I had to overtake a tractor on the A428), and it did 48mpg.  On the return journey I was in normal mode and driving reasonably enthusiastically and it did 48mpg.

Good to know- those official figures seem “high” (68 mpg on one cycle)? im just glad the tax is free and the insurance is so cheap. The M.O. of the purchase (a fake reason to buy another car) was the low running cost and the option of a newer mode of transport to lean on when needed than.. 

1996 // 1989

All of which means i can choose between 2/4/8 cylinders as my mood takes me. Basically i can go for more displacement, and less practicality; or the exact opposite.

So the  compromise choice in my world is apparently a communist peoples’ car.

 

[Marshall2810]

20 hours ago, HMC said:

Been pottering in the 500 which apparently is finished in “cheeky red” as far as i can translate…

Im still getting used to driving it. with the “eco” button off its surprisingly fast. Ive been driving with it on/ off and experimenting. Im trying to figure out how best to drive it (and how it was intended to be driven) on the torque or on the power? its possible to labour the engine a bit (and the dash instruction to shift up what feels a bit too soon seems to encourage this) but it likes to rev as well.

Im not sure which technique gets the best out of it in terms of a balance of performance/ economy. Reading online its seems possible to fail massively compared to the published economy figures, so i would imagine there a very particular window/ method to get those figures. Im sure ill find out soon enough.

Its also got a coolant leak (a drip when cold) that wasnt noted on the ad, although it was a fairly thorough listing with a vendor with solid feedback. It seems to come from the engine on the bulkhead side behind the starter/ alternator and looks a pain to get to. it seems worse when cold, and nill when hot, but that could also be because the liquid gets burn off when the car is hot. Im keeping a close eye on the level. Its fairly level and seems a very low rate of loss. Caveat Emptor! But still, its a decent, practical car and im happy overall with the purchase. I feel like its a new car but its 13 years old.

 

I had the twinair engine in the panda I had. Apart from the book MPG it never gets close to even driving like a nun, I found it to be very nippy and fun to drive. Good an car 

[HMC]

Blasted the cobwebs off the Jag this afternoon. Despite being parked under a tree for a week and crapped on, it started perfectly. I was half expecting a discharged battery- because 28yo Jag.

[2flags]

So, a lovely drive out in the sunshine, what there was of it. 

[HMC]

Oh dear. Basis for fiat 500 purchase- have something other than either a 28yo jag, or a 35yo communist car to depend on. 

Today on the commute- brake failure to add to the coolant leak. Turns out the heavy flywheel and 875cc are not so good at retarding the car as they might be. Anyway no accidents, except for in my trousers 😂

 

[lesapandre]

On 10/11/2024 at 15:22, HMC said:

Blasted the cobwebs off the Jag this afternoon. Despite being parked under a tree for a week and crapped on, it started perfectly. I was half expecting a discharged battery- because 28yo Jag.

Is that the Penrith Tea Rooms?

Enter louche Jaguar owner...

[Schaefft]

1 hour ago, HMC said:

Oh dear. Basis for fiat 500 purchase- have something other than either a 28yo jag, or a 35yo communist car to depend on. 

Today on the commute- brake failure to add to the coolant leak. Turns out the heavy flywheel and 875cc are not so good at retarding the car as they might be. Anyway no accidents, except for in my trousers 😂

 

Make sure the oilpan isn't too crusty, or you might be able to add an engine oil leak on top. It rusted through on my gf's 1.2 (maybe not an issue on the Twinair?), only caught it because it happened to have its MOT at the same time it must have started leaking.

[HMC]

I had a look under the 500 and theres a brake fluid slick in the OSF arch, so presumably a hose or pipe has let go. I can do brakes with confidence, but with the temperature lower and evenings dark, i simply couldnt be bothered so its gone into a local garage for that and assessing coolant leak- from somewhere between the block and the bulkhead under / behind the starter and alternator. 

Im hoping these are hiccups on the way to having a  cheap to run reliable and characterful spare.  Ironically the xk8 and samara are the dependable ones!

[HMC]

21 hours ago, Schaefft said:

Make sure the oilpan isn't too crusty, or you might be able to add an engine oil leak on top. It rusted through on my gf's 1.2 (maybe not an issue on the Twinair?), only caught it because it happened to have its MOT at the same time it must have started leaking.

Whilst inspecting the brake fluid leak i had a look and its got a finned alloy sump, thankfully.

[HMC]

Well the cheeky 500 is back. I dropped it at an untried local garage with brake fluid and coolant pissing out underneath it. 

So one brake hose and one coolant hose and its sorted. They fitted it in quick (against my expectations) and turned it around quick too. Im a firm believer in positive feedback (human nature these days feels like either you shout negative stuff the rooftops or stay silent) So i left them a great google review.