HMC- Mr Chowdhury’s Mercedes

[HMC]

29 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

You need a toffee wheel for that bootlid

I was beginning to wonder what to do, was worried the paint might be more attached to the sealant stuff than the metalwork.

[Bazfr69]

On 04/05/2024 at 08:48, HMC said:

 

Those wheels are lovely.

VW Cyclone Interceptors are very similar and I wouldn’t say no to them for my bug if I could find a set in 15”. 
 

[HMC]

6 minutes ago, captain_70s said:

That looks so much better on those wheels.

I managed to sell the old capri laser type ones quickly through e bay as well. I didnt ask the earth compared to some but it helped make the swapover a fairly cheap process overall.

[smoggy]

13 hours ago, bunglebus said:

I brought my eldest home in mine in 1998, here it is in the hospital car park. She's 26 this year

 

A 1.6 Ghia! That's arriving home to start life in style! Beautiful.

[Conan]

Can you imagine putting it all back to standard (and rightly so) but once you pass it on the new owner just put the schporty credential tats back and ruin it once again? I'd be livid. 🤣

I spotted this back in 2017, now the same car (still alive!) is lowered on banded stock dartboard and with stuck on spoiler. It seems to be a universal thing with old Fords.

[egg]

2 hours ago, HMC said:

Jr_HMCs are suprised how “low” it is to the road

Yes, they sit very low with 3 kids in the back and a boot crammed with luggage like my parents used to do as late as about 1993-4 on holiday, all with 54bhp. Not that long ago, but clearly very different times.

Edit, the last year we had it, I think Dad realised it couldn't do it any more, and so he rented a 7 seat Montego Countryman which meant my little sister could insult the drivers behind all holiday...

[HMC]

Another thing i didnt realise was the choke linkage had partly come apart and was wrongly adjusted. It (so far) is running better than ever. I changed the fuel filter as there was a bit of sediment or something on the old in line one, And i rechecked the ignition timing as that had been done with the choke incorrectly adjusted.  Strange so many simple things were off. But satisfying to tinker with, even within the capabilities of an ejit such as myself!

Spent this afternoon tootling about local b roads road testing the results. Different hills, engine loads gears etc.  Im happy that the ignition / fuel system is set up properly, the brakes are good but drag slightly- im hoping use will help- or just service them if not. But things getting better with use is one of the pleasures of playing with this particular toy.

[bezzabsa]

found any wet roundabouts yet ??? 

[Essex V6]

On 30/04/2024 at 17:55, Jenson Velcro said:

How about the chrome trim rings as well? Or was that an aftermarket thing?

This belting 1.6 Ghia (Spanish) has managed to avoid the modifier. Spotted at a car shown in Forres today

[bunglebus]

17 hours ago, bezzabsa said:

found any wet roundabouts yet ??? 

You haven't lived until you've been sideways in a 70's Ford. I'm surprised they didn't come with wipers on the side windows.

14 hours ago, Essex V6 said:

This belting 1.6 Ghia (Spanish) has managed to avoid the modifier. Spotted at a car shown in Forres today

That's a beauty, and an unusual colour for a late car, most Ghias seemed to be silver, gold or midnight blue by then.  The earlier ones came in fantastic shades, Jupiter red, Roman Bronze etc

[Essex V6]

On 06/05/2024 at 12:04, bunglebus said:

You haven't lived until you've been sideways in a 70's Ford. I'm surprised they didn't come with wipers on the side windows.

That's a beauty, and an unusual colour for a late car, most Ghias seemed to be silver, gold or midnight blue by then.  The earlier ones came in fantastic shades, Jupiter red, Roman Bronze etc

It is apparently called Nova Green

[HMC]

Mudflaps (with a red ford logo (!)) are the next decontenting target for HMC project drive.

[EspenO]

On 06/05/2024 at 13:04, bunglebus said:

You haven't lived until you've been sideways in a 70's Ford. I'm surprised they didn't come with wipers on the side windows.

That's a beauty, and an unusual colour for a late car, most Ghias seemed to be silver, gold or midnight blue by then.  The earlier ones came in fantastic shades, Jupiter red, Roman Bronze etc

 

Any idea what this colour is called? I remember a relative having a two-door GL resprayed similar to this one.

I always thought it was a non standard colour 🧐

[bunglebus]

7 hours ago, EspenO said:

Any idea what this colour is called? I remember a relative having a two-door GL resprayed similar to this one.

I always thought it was a non standard colour 🧐

Neptune Blue

[Nullzwei]

Nice. If mine i would be forced to rattle can black those 4 silver screws in the front grill.

 

[EspenO]

12 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Neptune Blue

Thank you! 🙂 Always liked that colour, but you rarely saw it around here. I think Miami Blue was a more common choice.

[HMC]

More local pottering and road testing (aiming for shitefest trip but aiming low at the mo) has shown;

1. Rad is knackered- absolutely fine if you potter to - for instance- a local car show with a foldable chair and plaster it with stickers as per its recent life- but if you hammer it a bit the old rad starts to leak- and feeling the lower part of the rad suggests its partly silted up. Reverse flush and cross fingers? No. Im quite old skool with asethetics , but current mk2 escort motorsport means wonderfully welded 3 row alloy rads are readily available for beer money and thats what im going to swap over this weekend.

2. the brakes are strong, but drag badly. Its the front discs that are the issue- to be investigated this weekend also. 

Meanwhile i went for a drive in the nice weather 

 

[tooSavvy]

@HMC... "Meanwhile i went for a drive in the nice weather".

Yeah, so did I.....

 

[HMC]

En route back my friend and local bargain basement motor trader Marko followed behind and circled around to allow a mutual inspection of oldskool fords

[HMC]

The new rad arrived from the Czech republic so fitted it this morning. The old rad was partly silted up and was leaking at the bottom.

Slight difference in dimensions! but fitted just fine, the new one just fills the openings in the front panel more fully. For me this is one area where modern design and efficiency trumps original spec if you are more interested in simply using it.

Quite satisfying to put a nice new, way more efficient one in, and change the coolant as well. Its so basic and simple with great access.

Road test on some long steady climbs shows what a difference it made. No more constantly looking at how hot it was getting; just relax and listen to the mechanical thrashing underbonnet of the 1.3 crossflow.

[mk2_craig]

Well done! This car just keeps on improving. 

[N Dentressangle]

Agreed - a decent modern radiator seems a good investment to me too.

That old rad will be silted to buggery with corroded fins etc, and was probably only marginally big enough in the first place knowing Ford's attitude to avoidable costs.

[Rightnider]

Just a question, where did you order the radiator? I’m looking for a new one for my S1 Xj6. 

[EspenO]

I do find it a bit funny the car is being returned to relentless standard humdrum spec…. But with a radiator straight out of Fast Ford ca 2001 😅

(The reasoning is perfecly sound though!) 

[danthecapriman]

Good call on a bigger better radiator, especially with the original being so old now. 
I bet if you gave the new one a quick blow over with some under bonnet black spray you’d hardly even notice it unless you were looking for it.

On my Capri I’ve got a rebuilt Capri 1.6 radiator top & bottom tanks with the core for a Cortina V6 in between, with more tubes and vanes. It actually holds quite a bit more coolant than the original did. Seems to work perfectly for it.

[High Jetter]

5 hours ago, Rightnider said:

Just a question, where did you order the radiator? I’m looking for a new one for my S1 Xj6. 

No radiator refurbers over there?

[Rightnider]

7 hours ago, High Jetter said:

No radiator refurbers over there?

Yes, but I’ve been quoted £700 and upwards…

Back in the day that was £80, but now those one man workshops are gone. Just shiny industries working with farming equipment left. 

[HMC]

16 hours ago, Rightnider said:

Just a question, where did you order the radiator? I’m looking for a new one for my S1 Xj6. 

I got it through e bay, it was listed from the czech republic with a few weeks lead time but it arrived 6 days after the order. 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/386319619121

with a discount code it was £140. Actually it sounds like it was from china.

[HMC]

Meanwhile the Galaxy of shame plods on.

It recently swallowed an enormous  sofa (also off fb marketplace like the galaxy but a freebie) came in 4 sections and was fitted in like a giant jigsaw.

I removed all the seats except the front 2 so it was basically a nicely trimmed van, without any of the insurance or council tip visiting ballache. Nobody ever parks near it either (presumably the panel damage and general vibe make car proud people wary?)

In this weather the broken a/c and a few semi broken windows means it gets a bit hot inside, but this rescue dog is a good ‘un 🐶 

[HMC]

So the Focus CC sold to a shiter, and the Galaxy of shame proved resistable to the forum even just above scrap money. In the end i decided to go to one “classic” (the escort mk2) and one front line vehicle (read on)

Ive done this before, but thought id try again. I was tempted by a 7 seater as every so often i do need one. Mileage is low so outright economy isn’t critical. Plus as it would be the only car id be taxing, it being in a mental tax bracket wouldnt be the end of the world either. I struck up a convo with the sort of seller looking for xyz in the ad so i decided to wade in with, well not xyz but the most ruined galaxy with an mot and a temperamental fuel pump relay…..

Enter a 56 plate mitsubishi shogun lwb elegance.

Originally bought by a famous hedge fund manager for use on his northumberland Grouse moor, lately its been used by a horsey lady to tow horse trailers with. Ive got a fascination with the engines in these (from a canter truck IIRC) old sloggers with 3.2 litres but only 4 cylinders. Each cylinder sweeps 0.8L!

Bought at the bottom end of the market, its actually quite decent. Oddly its cheaper for me to insure than the focus, and a lot less than an L322 i looked over.  Its already earnt brownie points as the none operational a/c has been tested , serviced and put back into ice cold working order (with nearly a kilo of the gas stuff (!) ) using a special offer where it was just over £40. Im not a hedge fund guru, but seems VALU from my chilled driving seat!