HMC BIOHAZARD B5 passat

[lesapandre]

3 hours ago, grogee said:

Bit late to this thread, but it's ace as ever. 

I'm idly pondering what the political and technological/transport of the day (1924) would allow re: cross channel ferry. 

Was it possible to cross the channel with a car then, and could one do it from Plymouth? 

Did it involve someone in a brown tabard & Woodbine winching the car onto a boat, or could you drive on/drive off? 

Also - big up the Tavi massive. 

Stuff was craned on up to 1953 when the first roro ferry came into use. 

Cars were going over pre 1900 - and certainly in numbers by 1910. By 1914 that went up dramatically at the start of WWI as ambulances and staff cars etc went over.

[lesapandre]

Thought from the 30's to the 70's there was a train that went on a ship Dover - Dunkirk. But I don't know it carried any cars on the train. 

https://www.cruiselinehistory.com/the-night-ferry-carried-the-duke-and-duchess-of-windsor-from-london-to-paris/

[Surface Rust]

The best way to traverse the channel with your car was surely the air ferry:

Flew from Southampton and started in the late '40s

[lesapandre]

Flew to Le Touquet - which was - and is - a fashionable resort.

https://www.hagerty.co.uk/articles/automotive-history/come-fly-with-me/

There were flights (passengers only) to Deauville from the UK - but I think they have stopped now too. Mainly for the horse racing and casino.

[DSdriver]

13 hours ago, lesapandre said:

Thought from the 30's to the 70's there was a train that went on a ship Dover - Dunkirk. But I don't know it carried any cars on the train. 

https://www.cruiselinehistory.com/the-night-ferry-carried-the-duke-and-duchess-of-windsor-from-london-to-paris/

Yes the train ferries also took cars, I can remember being a child  on a night crossing  kept awake by the noise of the wagons surging backwards and forwards. Probably late fifties/early sixties.

We also crossed once on the three car argosy? plane from Lydd or Lymne to Le Touquet.

[lesapandre]

Ok. Wow. Were the cars on wagons? I think so? They probably loaded on a ramp somewhere like motorail.

Which itself is just hanging on.

https://www.seat61.com/motorail-trains.htm

[DSdriver]

1 hour ago, lesapandre said:

Ok. Wow. Were the cars on wagons? I think so? They probably loaded on a ramp somewhere like motorail.

Which itself is just hanging on.

https://www.seat61.com/motorail-trains.htm

No the cars and trains were both on the same deck which had the tracks in the floor. I think they were passenger carriages, maybe a London to Paris overnight job. The ferry only loaded from the stern so there was a turntable at the bow end to turn the cars around. The bit where we went to sleep was right up the front end so not only was there the noise from the train carriages there was also the sound of the waves hitting the side of the ship right by my ear. The bench was just wooden slats, no extra comfort in those days.

[HMC]

p4 progress…

I fitted some door seals where they were missing, and also some jubilee clips to the fuel tank filler joints where there were none. 

I also junked the inoperative radio and fitted a central glove box to turn the wood factor up to 11…

And continued to feed the dry leather- it does look a bit less grubby in the photos. and is certainly a lot less dry. I also replaced the voltage regulator, swapped the terminals in the ammeter and double checked the dynamo had been re-polarised (its set up as negative earth) - and we now have a charging situation!

Im currently ordering a pizza in it..

And en route did a spot of a little austin 7 with a cool number plate…

[Wibble]

From my past life in restoration, cleaning leather was often required, whether it be smoke damage or mould etc. I always found the best solution to be soap flakes, like these for example:

Some of these, add hot water and then whisk into a foam. Using a soft cloth and the foam is brilliant for cleaning leather, then allow to dry and feed and condition. Did it on my old Jag years ago too and the difference was amazing.

[Matty]

13 minutes ago, Wibble said:

From my past life in restoration, cleaning leather was often required, whether it be smoke damage or mould etc. I always found the best solution to be soap flakes, like these for example:

Some of these, add hot water and then whisk into a foam. Using a soft cloth and the foam is brilliant for cleaning leather, then allow to dry and feed and condition. Did it on my old Jag years ago too and the difference was amazing.

Thread drift i know but. Having been reading the cabin boy thread, is it not time to put all these skills and knowledge and go out on your own. You must have loads of insurance industry contacts and an excellent reputation so it's almost begging to be done. Be a waste of a talent otherwise.

Sorry to you and @HMC. Stream of consciousness moment.

[N Dentressangle]

2 hours ago, Matty said:

Thread drift i know but. Having been reading the cabin boy thread, is it not time to put all these skills and knowledge and go out on your own. You must have loads of insurance industry contacts and an excellent reputation so it's almost begging to be done. Be a waste of a talent otherwise.

Sorry to you and @HMC. Stream of consciousness moment.

Completely agree.

You have SO many skills that 'modern' people lack, and will happily pay for. JFDI.

Sorry @HMC for the thread swerve, the P4 is gorgeous. But as a thrusting young exec it's the P6 for me 😉

[Wibble]

39 minutes ago, N Dentressangle said:

Completely agree.

You have SO many skills that 'modern' people lack, and will happily pay for. JFDI.

Sorry @HMC for the thread swerve, the P4 is gorgeous. But as a thrusting young exec it's the P6 for me 😉

Thank you and @Matty and sorry for the thread hijack @HMC. I appreciate your comments and miss what I used to do every minute of every day but, as I’ve said on my thread, I can’t see how to make a return to that industry viable. Yes, claims people at numerous insurers and loss adjusters know who I am but they’re not the ones approving suppliers, that’s down to their procurement department, who only want national suppliers. I can’t afford the set up costs but, if folks want to talk more about it, please post on my thread and keep this one to  the amazing shenanigans of @HMC🙂

[HMC]

Been commuting a bit more in the QP. The aircon is lovely, and its needed, as its quite an uncompromising drive for a luxury saloon.

Early tech single clutch paddle shift transaxle; Ferrari couldn't quite just order a conventional saloon. It had to have special DNA. Anyway this needs an adapted driving techique in stop start traffic to minimise frying the clutch. You basically have to either have it in neutral, or speedily get above about 1400rpm, and avoid lingering about below this as the ECU for the gearbox starts adding clutch slip. Quite an expensive habit for an ECU to have. You need to read the road and traffic flow quite carefully. Not a particularly chilled drive in heavy traffic; apart from the A/C that is. There is an “auto” setting when it behave like an auto with the gearbox ecu self shifting- apparently using it in this mode in city traffic is basically the fastest way to fry the clutch.

I think this is why some buyers guides have the duoselect as an “enthusiast choice”. Ie a bit more special but a bit more hard work and costly (clutch and flywheel job is about £3K) so you have to love it.

The later ones could be had with a conventional zf auto - quite an engineering change that moved the tranmission forward to the engine and deleted the dry sump lubrication. I guess i qualify as an enthusiast (or an idiot) as i like the silliness of the original configuration.

PS  i washed it for the first time.

[Six-cylinder]

36 minutes ago, HMC said:

Been commuting a bit more in the QP. The aircon is lovely, and its needed, as its quite an uncompromising drive for a luxury saloon.

Early tech single clutch paddle shift transaxle; Ferrari couldn't quite just order a conventional saloon. It had to have special DNA. Anyway this needs an adapted driving techique in stop start traffic to minimise frying the clutch. You basically have to either have it in neutral, or speedily get above about 1400rpm, and avoid lingering about below this as the ECU for the gearbox starts adding clutch slip. Quite an expensive habit for an ECU to have. You need to read the road and traffic flow quite carefully. Not a particularly chilled drive in heavy traffic; apart from the A/C that is. There is an “auto” setting when it behave like an auto with the gearbox ecu self shifting- apparently using it in this mode in city traffic is basically the fastest way to fry the clutch.

I think this is why some buyers guides have the duoselect as an “enthusiast choice”. Ie a bit more special but a bit more hard work and costly (clutch and flywheel job is about £3K) so you have to love it.

The later ones could be had with a conventional zf auto - quite an engineering change that moved the tranmission forward to the engine and deleted the dry sump lubrication. I guess i qualify as an enthusiast (or an idiot) as i like the silliness of the original configuration.

PS  i washed it for the first time.

A friend bought a new one in 2005 what a stunning looking car. He let me drive it and I am sorry I hated the gearbox.

[HMC]

24 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

A friend bought a new one in 2005 what a stunning looking car. He let me drive it and I am sorry I hated the gearbox.

Can very much understand why

[MAF260]

The fastest way to wear the clutch is to reverse uphill - avoid doing this at all costs! There are some aftermarket upgrades (mostly from Formula Dynamics in the US) which can help with throttle response and gearbox changes, but the single most important thing to do in order to minimise wear and reduce jerky engagement is to get the PIS (point of initial slippage) set correctly. This needs to be done by somebody with the correct software. Emblem in Poole are probably your closest specialist and are well-respected.

[grogee]

3 hours ago, MAF260 said:

Poole are probably your closest specialist

Bloody hell, that's 3 hours away. 

I get it though, it's a pretty niche thing and it's not like trying to find a Jag or Merc speciaist

[HMC]

P4 progress.

The choke hasnt ever worked. The HD8 SU on a 110 has got a linkage that allows initial movement to raise the idle without changing the mixture, via a cam and rod that alters the idle stop.

Quite a nice arrangement- except on stuff that laid up the brass rod and the hole it slides through in the carb body can get stuck, and on MUO it had too, during a period of slumber.

Much careful application of plus gas and wiggling / tapping eventually freed it up…

Alas it was a bit chewed up and although it was free, there was a roller missing from it and it still didn't work properly….

So i ordered one from Moss, after measuring and checking that this part, whilst for an Hd8 equipped e type, should fit- and it did.

 

So now the linkage works as it should with the throttle shaft being adjusted and later the mixture also.

[wuvvum]

8 hours ago, grogee said:

Bloody hell, that's 3 hours away. 

I get it though, it's a pretty niche thing and it's not like trying to find a Jag or Merc speciaist

Most things are a long way from Tavistock.

[HMC]

what to take for an early morning moorland trip?

Answer: austin 12

[lesapandre]

The moor you say...

[bezzabsa]

I feel like you need a rough n ready French chateau to park these outside...the kind that has had 1 family from initial build has outbuildings full of old furniture (and the odd 2cv)

The perfect blend of Modern-ish and vintage

 

[HMC]

Further 12/4 news.

A while back i mentioned the leaky water pump. A constant dripping that was enough to mean you always had to carry water around with you. A make do and mend enthusiast advocated simply by passing it, sat where he was, bearded and in the 50s.

Apparently a fair few of the 12/4 based london taxi fleet did that from the 30s to the 50s- and they did ok*

But they had cooling system different in detail.  And my rad had better be tip top if i was going to rely on thermosyphon cooling. What to do?

I was about to bypass the pump and chuck it away. But i found a spanner in the tool box. Could this be the ‘c shaped water pump spanner” id read about on a facebook page? 

 

yes it was. 

I adjusted very slightly the castellated nut, and the leak is fixed.

[N Dentressangle]

1 hour ago, bezzabsa said:

I feel like you need a rough n ready French chateau to park these outside...the kind that has had 1 family from initial build has outbuildings full of old furniture (and the odd 2cv)

The perfect blend of Modern-ish and vintage

 

Don't tempt him

[HMC]

Fleet news…

A change of work pace (spending a bit more time teaching/ supervising at the university rather than in my work home of 22 years in tavistock l) made me re evaluate how many cars i had, and how risky each one was, and some cash in the bank would be nice.

Hence the maserati was sold to a local farmer, and the 12/4 to a shiter. 

Ive still got the p4- as its old but usable and better able to withstand a life outdoors that the 12/4.

So whats my “modern”?

 

a 2011 navara double cab pick up. Why? well ive always fancied a double cab pick up so wanted to try one.

Its suprisingly economic (i can get over 40mpg(!) and although essentially to euro 5 spec, is on the crossover and doesnt have a DPF. 

Having a car known for snapping its chassis might seem like living dangerously, but then again ive had a maserati quattorporte (which cost nothing except fuel)

[Matty]

I've been using a Hilux as a site van for 5 years now. Surprisingly adept and refined motorway cruisers. That info is of absolutely no use to you in deepest Tavi mind 😁.

Great news that the 12/4 has stayed in the fold. Now could whoever bought it please make him/herself known and stop being a tease. Need to see more of that brilliant old bus.

[Bear]

The only thing that kept me away from a Navara was the part time 4x4 - that's why I went L200/Fullback, as aside from those the only AWD trucks are the posher Amaroks and V6 X-Class.

Quite liked the Navara cabin - at that age it was the most aspirational truck as the Ranger was still pretty crude, too.

[MAF260]

How much did you let that QP go for? I was entertaining ideas of enjoying a wafty barge if it had come up for sale!

[HMC]

4 hours ago, MAF260 said:

How much did you let that QP go for? I was entertaining ideas of enjoying a wafty barge if it had come up for sale!

About 5k, which is what i paid for it.

[MAF260]

3 hours ago, HMC said:

About 5k, which is what i paid for it.

Thanks. That's a decent price!