The new adventures of Brownnova. Abject failure.

[Zelandeth]

Thinking about it, checking for a slipped belt you don't even need a light...just rotate the engine to TDC and see if the timing marks on the crank pulley and camshaft pulleys all line up.  Assuming they're marked anyway...

[SiC]

*looks outside at the beautiful weather today and the last hurrah of the season*

(Sorry!)

[brownnova]

Thank fuck for the Saab convertible ??

[LightBulbFun]

2 minutes ago, SiC said:

*looks outside at the beautiful weather today and the last hurrah of the season*

(Sorry!)

you forget, he owns a 2 2CVs! (2CV2?)

 

 

[SiC]

1 hour ago, LightBulbFun said:

you forget, he owns a 2 2CVs! (2CV2?)

 

 

They're not convertibles. The roof is a sunroofs or essentially a load cover.

This is a convertible 2CV:

[LightBulbFun]

5 minutes ago, SiC said:

They're not convertibles. The roof is a sunroofs or essentially a load cover.

I dunno, looked pretty convertible to me! wind blowing through my passengers hair and all! (picture of me driving from the august FoD gathering, courtesy of @quicksilver )

10 minutes ago, SiC said:

This is a convertible 2CV:

no thats a picture of @dollywobbler from the future during Elly's nTh Rebuild

[brownnova]

The Saab ‘vert has performed sterling service as my daily drive since school went back... MoT is now less than a month off due though... so I’d better get that booked in! 

It’s be a shame to not have the opportunity to drive home from work with the roof down in December. 

[djoptix]

 

That car reminds me of something, if only I could work out what...

 

 

 

Oh yes!

[brownnova]

So the 900’s MoT was due. Having paid peanuts for it and it having previously been owned by an MoT mechanic I was expecting there to be some work needed to get it by an impartial tester.

Ive lost faith in a the last testing place I used, after the debacle with last years Mazda MoT and faced the choice of taking it 35 minutes away to the tester I know will be reasonable (which when not at work is fine, but otherwise is a pain in the arse when you work 7.30-5.00 every weekday)  or finding a local place. Amazingly when getting a tyre on one of the fleet I spotted a friend of my wife’s on the MoT bay at the tyre place. Turns out he does the MoTs there on a Thursday. Ok, I’ll give him a go. 

Now I did expect work, I knew it needed a track rod end and the handbrake was shite. Corroded ferrules I could’ve done without but he showed me and yes they were awful! 

One of my team in world has been off with Covid, and three others have been self isolating due to close contact with him. So my team of 7 had been 3. So this was not the week to be pissing around under a car and when Saturday and Sunday were nearly wall to wall rain I decided to book it in to the Saab specialist up the road for the work.

TBH he charges a little too much, but he knows his Saabs and does a very good job plus he always shows you the work he’s done and the parts he’s replaced- the fails were all fair to be honest. He also gave an overview of the car, which he said wasn’t bad at all, but showing some kinds of neglect from the previous owner which again I knew. He also slated the advisory as exceptionally picky... 

So back up to the tester and retest done... 

I got him to show me the corrosion and tbh it was by far the most picky corrosion advisory I’ve ever seen... but hey ho. 

So the topless Swede lives to fight another day... 

 

I’m now £900 into this car (including purchase) which I think it is worth it considering it’s in low mileage (74k) and in pretty good condition. 

Jobs to do: Service (it’s desperately overdue), and investigate why it doesn’t like reversing up hill... (which is a weird), and why it clonks when turning right... 

And decide whether to keep or sell... I like it, but there’s so much else I want to try... 

EDIT:  TLDR Car has MoT now. 

[Eyersey1234]

Did SMOLL_Brownnova drive it to the MOT? Chodtastic news about its pass

[brownnova]

7 hours ago, Eyersey1234 said:

Did SMOLL_Brownnova drive it to the MOT? Chodtastic news about its pass

Smoll_brownnova and this car don’t mix the best as a) there appears to be no way of turning off the passenger airbag so riding in the front is out and b) roof down the Smoll one struggles to breath... 

[brownnova]

So we’re on local lockdown at present and not supposed to leave the county. Luckily for us there’s an 104 point leisure tour of the county! Never completed the whole thing... until today! 

 

#staylocal

[brownnova]

Just over a week ago I was driving along and the 2CV started sounding very loud! 

This was why... the exhaust had snapped.  Thankfully a kindly chap on here had offered some parts for free which included a complete exhaust. Glad I got them now! 

To access the job I did something that I’ve never done before... took a wing off... 

Now to a seasoned 2CVer this is second nature, and to be honest it was a doddle once I’d sorted one fiddly bolt on the little side panel. I’m not sure if anyone else is the same but the first time you do a job you check and check so it takes longer than it should... next time I’ll have it off much more quickly. 

Exhaust swap wasn’t too challenging, but the old exhaust was a side exit and the new one was a rear exit. Original plan was to cannibalise the new one and keep the side exit end pipe, but sadly the condition of the exhaust when I took it off made me think again. It would fail again very soon. So the whole new exhaust was fitted. I managed to snap one exhaust mounting point in the middle, but bent it round enough to be ok, and then there weren’t any at the back so I’ve rigged up a very temporary fix. I had hoped to fabricate some kind of more permanent arrangement using random crap I had lying around but each but was the wrong size or wrong size bolts etc... This part seemed to take as long as the rest of The whole job!

Wing refitted and mood high, I tackled the other 2CV. It’s due an MoT so I checked it over and bar the rust I know about all looks ok. I also managed to get the fuel gauge working again. The sender had become detached, so I dropped the tank and refitted. 

All the cars now face the same way in the garage too! 

 

[dollywobbler]

Nice work! Getting the wings off is such a joy, especially to anyone who has worked on a Mini or Reliant...

[brownnova]

I kept thinking I must have missed something it must be harder than this... so kept checking... but no it’s pretty simple. 

In other news my fuel filter needs replacing badly... would’ve done it yesterday but could I find the zip ties anywhere? Could I bollocks! 

Job for another day. 

[dollywobbler]

Much as I love cable ties, I think I'd rather have some proper hose clips...

[richardmorris]

1 hour ago, dollywobbler said:Much as I love cable ties, I think I'd rather have some proper hose clips...

That’s also quite a lot of oil. Is the rocker gasket ok?

[Cord Fourteener]

On 9/6/2020 at 4:39 PM, brownnova said:

Throttle behaved itself as we led a convoy of 2CVs round the Nant Y Garth pass and up to Flint Castle today... 

I know that road, Loggerheads to Gwernymynydd? Looking back towards the quarry?

Obviously by the text the second is Flint.

[brownnova]

1 hour ago, Tim_E said:

I know that road, Loggerheads to Gwernymynydd? Looking back towards the quarry?

Obviously by the text the second is Flint.

Yes, that’s the exact road! Top spotting points! 

[brownnova]

5 hours ago, dollywobbler said:

Much as I love cable ties, I think I'd rather have some proper hose clips...

Me too... sadly I’d used the last of them the last time I fixed the Mazda and had forgotten to restock... doh! 

3 hours ago, richardmorris said:

That’s also quite a lot of oil. Is the rocker gasket ok?

Yeah there’s a bit of a leak somewhere... haven’t quite fathomed where (I did investigate last time I was under there but to no avail) - but pretty sure it’s not the rocker cover.

Some point this winter I’ll probably have the whole front off and go leak hunting (once the green one is back up and running properly as I can’t bear to be 2CVless)... although Think a more seasoned eye than mine who knows the common leak spots is needed to help look for the leak... 

[Minimad5]

Did you sort the MX5 out ?

I have a complete engine (well it needs a sump) , throw us a P.M if interested

[brownnova]

11 hours ago, Minimad5 said:

Did you sort the MX5 out ?

I have a complete engine (well it needs a sump) , throw us a P.M if interested

No not yet, it’s at the back of the queue, but that offer might bump it up. I’ll pop you a PM soon. Cheers

 

[500tops]

It might be a leaking oil pressure switch...

[brownnova]

Today was a frustrating day... 

We started well, the only guaranteed MoT fail on the yellow 2CV was the side light not working, lose connection tightened up... 

Tick

OK on to the other 2CV: I know this has rust issues, seatbelt mount in particular. Quick look at them shows they’re worse than I hoped. I’ve Kurusted them and will skim them for neatness. But I will  have to remove the seats to stand any chance of a ticket... if I get one, welding is on the cards.  This will be easier to achieve with an MoT though hence the bodgery. 

Carrying on with the Kurust, I tackled a few other minor spots and oh yeah the hole in the boot floor... that’s worse than I thought too... arse. But can’t get the bridger on it as my rust eater hasn’t dried yet. 

Rear quarter is crumbling away, I’d like to do a temporary fix whilst I address the important rust and then will tackle the more cosmetic things. 
Before: 

(Actually id poked and picked at it so it looked a fair bit worse- this is a library photo)

Not perfect, but looks better, or at least will do when I paint it. Going to order some new rear wings this week. 

This blanket has been on the back seats from when the previous owner had it. Safe to say the sun has done it’s part... 

Ok, the main thing I wanted to do today was get the Nova over the pit and have a good old pole around. Been a few of weeks since I started it.... 

Bugger. Lots of fiddling about but ultimately no dice. I’m wondering if there’s a leak in the fuel tank. One to investigate when it’s light... 

I’ll  try the Yugo that’s been ages since I got it going... 

Flat battery... it’s not going my way today! Note to self, start them more regularly! 

Also checked out the creaky suspension on the 9000, think it’s a bush on the lower arm. Nothing looked too bad so I’ll just leave that for now and sort it after the MoTs... 

Oh and the C5 has only got three weeks test left too... it’s going to be an expensive month!

Mojo levels... not that high. 

[Cord Fourteener]

I definitely have days when all my cars either don't start or end up breaking something.

Grump.

Then next day it changes and I like cars again!

[Cord Fourteener]

In fact, this weekend. BMW: still not fixed fuel tank problem. Mondeo: in garage all weekend smoking £50 notes on rear all in one bearings/hubs/disks things. 924: generally out of shape, out of MOT, I'm skint. Working car: wife's Seat Ibiza modern plucky 3 cylinder thing that I really love to hoon around. So things aren't that bad, I guess!

[brownnova]

59 minutes ago, Tim_E said:

Then next day it changes and I like cars again!

Exactly that, last Sunday I had a successful day on the cars. Swings and roundabouts.

I think I was just frustrated that having managed to get a few hours actually doing the cars (which isn’t always easy) I actually achieved very little... 

[Cord Fourteener]

9 hours ago, brownnova said:

 

I think I was just frustrated that having managed to get a few hours actually doing the cars (which isn’t always easy) I actually achieved very little... 

It's never easy when you have family, work, this and that!

I've decided that, although I've given work on cars a good go recently, for the first time really, I don't enjoy it. That's doesn't help me.

I'd rather be driving them! But they have to work to for that. Oh the irony!

[brownnova]

Updatio! 
 

The yellow 2CV cruised through its MoT with but one advisory for slight lift in the kingpin.

The green one (which I had feared may fail badly) scored a fail on a leaky exhaust and not being able to get an emissions reading! Which was an absolute result! Plan was to fit new exhaust and get the retest done today... of course the new exhaust arrives.... on Monday. FFS. Gives me two options, postpone the retest into next week (not ideal with work), or whip the known good exhaust (which I only fitted two weeks ago) onto the green one and then fit the new one to the yellow one when it arrives... bit of a faff... 

Interestingly the C5 goes in for test today! Coming to the end of 18 months since its last test and with it being a modern I’m getting a trifle nervous about that one... 

In other news I hadn’t  used The 9000 in a few weeks, but pressed it into action for a load lugging job. I’d forgotten how much I like it. It is starting to need a few little jobs doing though, so I should probably get on with them...  

Once the C5 and the 9000 are safely through MoTs I think I’ll move the 900 vert on. Fancy trying something else now. Not sure what... 

[dollywobbler]

I'd go for an aluminium tape bodge myself. As long as it always the duration of the test, all is good.