HMC- Return of the Cheeky 500

[HMC]

I figured out why the speedometer isn’t working, or at least one reason. The truck had cruise control from the factory and this means it’s got 2 Speedo cable runs. The lower cable is disconnected and  a bit mangled. As the cruise is partly dismantled and the indicator stalk has even been swapped for a non cruise item at some point, im just going to simplify it by binning the redundant bits and having once cable straight into the gearbox.

I also took the dash apart to clean up the uv degraded  clock plastics. 
 

I Found some bits of paper under the bench seat and one former keeper keeper was a suitably American sounding Chase Hanks. There was a card for a hairdressers in a town called seaside, In the Monterey Bay Area of California. Sort of between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Later on I went for another spin.  
 

[HMC]

With the allegro sold I now had a 1977 Chevy c10 and a Nissan micra on the fleet. 
 

I’m all for a noisy American toy but that micra. Actually I like k11 micras for their chuckability but decided I needed something a little bit nicer as my daily….

Hence I’ve sold the micra and bought a 1992  merc 220ce. In “Nutra” - named after a semi aquatic rodent. It’s metallic brown basically. Probably a very unusual choice in 1992, long before it was rediscovered by car buyers.

Its also been very thoroughly gone over.  All the stuff that rots or goes wrong has been sorted. 
 

Anyway here is the rodent brown merc coupe

 

[brownnova]

Oh I like that a lot!! You do seem to find some fantastic cars! 

[Jim Bell]

Yes!

Brown. Coupe. Three pointed star. 

Mint. 

[Marm Toastsmith]

I've said it before, but never felt it so strongly:

Dibs when you get bored.

 

[gadgetgricey]

That is beautiful,

[BL Bloke]

That Merc looks lovely. 

[HMC]

I also got hold of a roll back vinyl cover for the truck bed. Its not lockable, it’s just about keeping the good old Dartmoor weather out of the back. 

The company hq is in South Dakota, with a very USA name…

 

Yes the company is called truXedo. A tuxedo for your pickup? 

[SiC]

That truck is incredibly cool. Is it a thirsty, thirsty beast? Or does fuel crisis era tuning have helped keep things remotely sensible?

[HMC]

40 minutes ago, SiC said:

That truck is incredibly cool. Is it a thirsty, thirsty beast? Or does fuel crisis era tuning have helped keep things remotely sensible?

I’m not sure. It converts fuel into noise in a highly efficient way what with the (farmer) importers nascar tastes. I’m assuming thirsty beast but apparently the 305ci plus quadrajet carb can be ok ish on fuel, relatively speaking 🤪

[HMC]

I was still having problems with the pickup stalling, particularly on the overrun, with a bit of clever footwork needed to prevent loss of braking and steering on descents.

In the end replacing more vacuum line and using larger bolts to seal redundant vacuum tubes has done the trick. Also now the gearbox has a proper vacuum supply it shifts up nicely on a light throttle. This definitely helps the nascar soundtrack as around town it’s relatively discrete and not deafening. 

I’m finding it amusing that whilst some drivers pick a noisy exhaust and then let everyone know about it, I didn’t choose the exhaust system on the truck and I’m tip toeing around with it. It actually is quite a cruisy sort of vehicle anyway and suits a laid back approach; and anything that avoids kickdown stops Detroit iron heaven/hell being unleashed.

I celebrated by going for a pizza

 

 

[hairnet]

On 6/11/2022 at 10:09 AM, HMC said:

 

 

 

 

 

[hairnet]

On 6/11/2022 at 10:09 AM, HMC said:

 

 

 

@Faker @Datsuncog @They_all_do_that_sir will have all their jealousy and oofs in one of those🤣 /stereotype

*runs

[AndyW201]

 Ohhh, Nutria brown! As you say, a VERY rare colour. It was only available on the 190 for one year, in 1993 and known examples were reckoned to be barely into double  figures. I managed to own two...

I think the colour was even rarer on the 124 series, a Nutria coupe must be almost unique, I love it! Looks clean as a whistle too.

[loserone]

On 03/06/2022 at 17:03, HMC said:

Chase Hanks

[loserone]

I love that C10 so much I'm looking at radio controlled ones because I'll never be able to afford a real one.

 

It's a million times better than what it replaced.

[eddyramrod]

2 hours ago, Nyphur said:

I love that truck. Fantastic

You are not alone

[yes oui si]

Truck and Merc are both amazing. Top buying. 

[Honey Badger]

2nd baggsy for that brown Merc, it's a great looking car.

[Ghosty]

4 hours ago, loserone said:

Probably not her. Asheville and the Appalachians are in North Carolina on the opposite side of the country.

Chase is a woman's name, though. 

 

[Jenson Velcro]

10 hours ago, Ghosty said:

Chase is a woman’s name, though

Don’t fancy yours much.

Chase Carey.

 

[HMC]

Been using the pickup and marvelling at how  Un rotten it is. Minimal rustproofing and paint , and in quite a few places no seam sealer even. 
 

45 Californian years have helped a lot. The British climate is a force to be reckoned with and would soon start dissolving the body.

 

I cleaned up things with a wire brush and as it is all so clean I decided to take inspiration from the underbody prep that @TripleRich did on his Granada. After wire brushing and panel wiping I painted some por 15 over the panels. Where there is no seam sealer I will apply some tiger seal with a scotchbrite pad and then after preparing the surface use some upol gravitex stone guard and pump the box sections with wax.

 

I’m doing it in sections, Its a slow steady process but it’s very therapeutic!

[Yoss]

On 6/13/2022 at 12:06 AM, Ghosty said:

Chase is a woman's name, though. 

 

On 6/13/2022 at 10:27 AM, Jenson Velcro said:

Don’t fancy yours much.

 

[hairnet]

Hazmat suit and a mask and goggles.andlie under and pump action squirter

[wuvvum]

2 hours ago, Yoss said:

 

Interesting - I would have expected a V-plater to be a National 2

[stuboy]

[Yoss]

31 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

Interesting - I would have expected a V-plater to be a National 2

Dunno, it was just a random picture I pinched off the Internet. It is ex LT though and they were often a law unto themselves. I don't know enough about Nationals and I intend to keep it that way. 

[Steve79]

I can see you 😂

[Steve79]

I see you're selling this

[Cookiesouwest]

2 minutes ago, Steve79 said:

I see you're selling this

He has had it a month. In HMC car owning years, a month is like a normal person's 4 years

I'm amazed it stayed on fleet so long. He must have really liked it.

Now where is the advert and will Mrs CSW let me spend the kitchen renovation fund on a pick up