How much shite is too much shite? Or How Many Miles is Too Many Miles?

[Zelandeth]

3 hours ago, SiC said:

Small tip, it's worth putting the burner air intake outside too. Otherwise it'll be sucking your nice, recently generated hot air through the burner and back outside. While not a enormous difference, I found it made a bit for mine.

How is the ol' Moggie nowadays?

Yep, this is well worth doing.  For a building that's full of gaps it can make a surprising amount of difference.

[SiC]

They also make excellent glove preheaters

[Saabnut]

20 hours ago, SiC said:

How is the ol' Moggie nowadays?

Moggie is nearing the front of the queue at number two for the 2 post. As soon as the Enima is finished (just a couple of small weld repairs left I hope) it will be next. Engine has to come out for a crank regrind and new shells, so whilst it is on the ramp I have 4 new tyres to go on and have sourced a Riley 1.5 differential to help the gearing. I still need to source a brake servo kit for it which will go on at the same time,

[Saabnut]

Back in April of '22 I decided I needed* a small tractor for moving road materials along my drive to repair potholes since the LDV tipper is very dead and it is a long way with a bucket load on the Kubota. This decision might* have been influenced when I was offered a non running grey fergie for a fair price. When collected it looked like this:

Apart from being a non runner, one rear wing and the grill were missing, the rear lift arms seized and the original petrol/TVO tank rotted beyond repair. On the plus side, it supposedly had a rebuilt engine ("the timing slipped and stopped it starting"), 4 new tyres and a homemade petrol tank that would not look out of place on the Titanic!

The petrol tank is staying as it will never work hard enough to build up enough heat to run well on TVO, but it is not possible for the timing to "slip" on a fergie as the distributor is driven by a dog onto the camshaft, so if the distributor itself is tight the timing once set is either right or 180 degrees out. An intial look showed the timing well out, so I set it using a pin into the flywheel for 6 degrees btdc or whatever it is. The engine refused to start! In desperation I tried a sniff of brake cleaner, and it remained dead. Time for a cup of tea.

The next day, I went back to it and started again. A check of the timing again showed it to be miles out! A lot of investigation (OK I pulled the distributor) showed the distributor had not been seated into the dog so was operating only on friction.  Once reset, I was confident and of course it remained dead! A sniff of brake cleaner however saw it burst into life and promptly filled my shed with smoke! I began to doubt the rebuilt engine story, but it had come with a box that contained a set of used pistons, so the jury was out! I was encouraged enough to order a few bits, including service items, a new grill and a pick up hitch for the rear.

A strip and clean of the carb was called for, and never having worked on this type of Zenith I was carefull and took loads of pictures. Several hours later, it was all back together, and joy of joys, it ran on petrol, if dog rough and smokey. Convinced I had missed something, off came the carb again and everything cleaned again, apart from one jet which somebody had tried removing and chewed it up. I checked it was actually clear so could see no reason for it to affect running. The next day it was refitted to the tractor and whilst improved it was still not running well.

Being a follower of Mustie1 on youtube, I decided an ultrasonic cleaner was required  so one was ordered. A week or so later it arrived, so the carb was again removed, stripped and put in the cleaner. A remarkable amount of dirt from what I thought was a clean item came off the carb, and once done it was re-assembled and refitted to the tractor. This certainly improved things, and it became possible to take my first drive up the track, but constant fiddling with the throttle and choke was required and it was still very rough.

Enthusiasm for the job was beginning to evaporate, I was convinced the carb was still at fault but could not for the life of me figure out exactly what. New ones were listed at around 300 quid but were out of stock. I could not find a secondhand one for sale anywhere, so I did what I usually do in these situations and put it back in the barn until a suitable carb became available.

To be continued.........

[Dyslexic Viking]

Don't know if this is the right carburettor but he has a lot about these tractors and the newer ones.

And you may need to do this to get the 3 point to work.

 

 

[Saabnut]

I was planning on going to France for Christmas and returning to Worksop for New Year but work got in the way and France was cancelled. Whilst talking to my friend in Worksop to arrange New Year, he asked if I had sourced a carb for the fergie, as he had found one in his stash. Dave is an agricultural engineer and has had his own business for about 40 years, having served his apprenticeship with a Massey Ferguson dealership, and is my go to expert on anything tractor or mower. As a result, when I went down for New Year, I hooked on the trailer and took the fergie with me! After sitting since May, it started remarkably easily but was still rough and smokey, but at least it drove onto the trailer.

Eight hours and 400 miles later it was wheeled into Daves shed

Here it was in good company with a 135 that Dave has been restoring and is now nearing completion

Along with a 1953 David Brown 30C that was purchased new by his father in law and was laid up in the early 1970s when the block cracked due to a lack of draining or anti-freeze

After years of searching Dave tracked down a crack free block (rare for these, they crack easily) and the engine has been rebuilt with new liners, pistons etc. Most of the holiday weekend we spent rebuilding it and on NYE we fired it up for the first time in over 50 years. When I left, the raadiator governor etc was on, and soon it will be ready for its first proper run.

First we had a look at my fergie. The carb was removed, Dave took the top off and burst out laughing. One jet was completely missing! A lot of the rest of the carb was badly worn, so with mine and the one from Daves' stash, a good one was assembled. It instantly fired up and ran smoothly. Once warm, the smoke stopped and it ran like a sewing machine. We now think the engine was rebuilt but never run due to the previously mentioned distributor problems, and the excess smoke was just whilst the rings bedded in. With that done, the pick up hitch was fitted, the lift arms freed off and adjusted, the new grill fitted, new fan belt, footboards fitted as it only had the ankle breaker studs, a wing off a red 35 was painted grey and fitted and the bonnet properly secured.

Brakes were stripped, cleaned and adjusted and the job declared a good one. I will take some better pictures in the morning.

Now to source a decent tipping trailer......

[hairnet]

even as a pile of bits fergies are flumph

[loserone]

That looks very clean.  I am glad I have had a TED20, but won't miss it.

[Ghosty]

What a winner! 

[Saabnut]

I went out this morning to unload the fergie off the trailer, let it warm up properly and take it for a run up and back down my drive. It rained a bit* last night after raining heavily for 95% of the journey home. A quick check showed the wind this morning had dried everything off, so full of confidence went to start it. Dead. Turned over fine but not a sign of life. After all the carb problems, I tried some brake cleaner but it remained dead. Removed the dizzy cap and could see no spark, a quick clean of the points and a spark returned, refitted the cap and it started first go. Unloaded it, let it warm up and took it for a run. Happy to report it ran fine, so it was returned to the barn. The first picture shows the pick up hitch arrangement and the others show it in its natural environment.

[Saabnut]

A good start to the new year, an actual reduction on the fleet! After advertising the two Disco 2s on facebook, I had the usual flurry of idiots asking questions to which the answer was then ignored. Another made an offer for both, which was accepted, arrangements made fo collection followed by radio silemce. Two people came to look but they wanted new ones for less than a grand. Eventually, yesterday a sensible bloke made contact, turned up when he said he would, looked the blue one over and gave me some cash. i lost a fortune on it but at least it has gone!

[Saabnut]

Today two more left the fleet for the car park in the sky. The Saab 9-5 had a lot of good parts but being an early one a limited market. Despite offering anything free to collect, there were no takers. In addition the Disco of Doom left, don't think I have ever been happy to scrap a car before, but today was a first!

Not 2 weeks into the new year and 3 down. Going well so far.....

[Saabnut]

I was planning on doing this update whilst wrapping myself around a bottle of red in France, but the weather has decided otherwise so while I am trapped at home I might as well do it now. A few days ago we had a light snow fall of about 4" which caused no problems, but since then the temperatures have remained well below zero, so it has packed down into ice. Temperatures have risen to zero plus or minus a bit so of course it is now wet ice, renowned for its excellent* grip. Yesterday I went to the shops and took the Range Rover, which went up the hill fine but really struggled for grip coming back down.

Today I had planned on heading to West Sussex as it is my brothers birthday on Monday, then head on to France on Tuesday. The transport of choice this time is the Vauxhall Disastra, as I have two Range Rover wheels and tyres to return to France which will not fit in the Saab 'vert with all the other stuff I need to take.

Left the house and a temperature of 2c boded ill, as it meant the top of the ice would be moist, but decided to have a go. Those who have been to my place will know I live in a valley, which of course means going up a hill to get out. Made it to the bottom of the hill, and the sun had cleared the corner so full of confidence, I went for it. All was good for about 30 yards before I lost traction and slowly came to a halt. I applied the brakes and slowly set off backwards, despite all 4 wheels being locked, and the car pirouetted nicely before dropping the front into the drainage dich facing back down hill. Bugger.

My brilliant neighbour said he would help, but the ice was so slippy he had to drive on the verge which is narrow and drops off a cliff. His 120hp 4 wheel drive tractor managed to pull it out of the ditch facing back towards home, but as soon as the verge ran out, so did his forward progress. Gave up on that, Dave went back to feeding his animals (without the Disastra he only just managed to get out) and I headed home.

I then walked about a mile across the other neighbours field to see if it was possible to take the secondary route out, and as the field was frozen, decided to chance it. Got across the field but the final section of the hill had the same frozen surface and again defeated me. Came back home having given up for the day and put the kettle on.

The last few days I have been rehoming the old Iveco van, which I am sure will please @Cavcraft as this is the new home:

First the doors came off

Then the roof

This resulted in a lightweight racing Iveco

The aforementioned ice has resulted in a lack of traction so progress has halted, but it is getting there at last. I have learnt that Iveco vans are heavily reinforced and this is the first and last time I decapitate one!

[hairnet]

madness 

many shortbread many laphroaig till the snow melts?

[High Jetter]

Hope you have enough supplies to last until you can break out.

[Zelandeth]

There can't be many more unnerving feelings than sliding backwards down a hill on ice.

Especially when the hill in question is Institution Street in Macduff.

[Cavcraft]

Bit of a bummer about the Astra, but outweighed (in) by the fantastic news about the Iv*co. 

[HarmonicCheeseburger]

7 hours ago, Saabnut said:

The last few days I have been rehoming the old Iveco van, which I am sure will please @Cavcraft as this is the new home:

 

First the doors came off

Then the roof

This resulted in a lightweight racing Iveco

The aforementioned ice has resulted in a lack of traction so progress has halted, but it is getting there at last. I have learnt that Iveco vans are heavily reinforced and this is the first and last time I decapitate one!

You could have dropped it off for a MOT and filmed the reaction.

[camryv6]

What was wrong with the Iveco ? 😂

[High Jetter]

4 hours ago, camryv6 said:

What was wrong with the Iveco ? 😂

Even slower than most of them

[Saabnut]

Back in La Belle France where typically it is considerably colder than Aberdeenshire, so the shorts and T-shirts are not required! I had some bulky items to bring down with me this time, including a recon burner for the central heating boiler that packed up last time I was down, and two 18 inch alloy wheels and tyres for the French Range Rover. After several attempts to fit them in the Saab 'vert I gave up and folded the rear seats of the Vauxhall Disastra and everything fitted in fine. The Disastra came for the princely sum of 300 quid as an insurance write off, after being driven with little of no maintenance by an elderly lady from new, and it was replaced by a newer auto porridgemobile.

I drove the Disastra home, fitted a new timing belt and leant it to a friend whose own car had been written off by a hit and run. Turned out her insurance provided a loan car so it was not needed, so it sat around for a month before I got around to getting it back, so it was basically untested by me. It is a 1.6 SXi and the onboard computer had not been reset for 15k miles and the average fuel consumption over that period was 38.2 mpg, ans as she lived in the Gatwick area suggested it had been driven carefully* for the 92k miles she had done in it.

I did an oil and filter change before leaving home, and the driving style changed a little*. It is a competent if boring car to drive, the main impressions being it is very undergeared (I kept trying to find a 6th gear), it is noisy, and twitchy! But it still averaged 35.8mpg on the trip down.

Overall I would say it is boring, but OK. Everything gives the impression of being OK but with a little more effort/cash could have been good. My brother summed it up well, it is the automotive equivalent of a washing up bowl. Does the job well, but hard to get excited about it.

TL/DR Not quite shite but ask me again if it fails to get me home!

[hairnet]

mais oui

bien sur

how much to bring back flan patissier tarte tatin ou pommes tart  or real madelaines SVP

salut!

[High Jetter]

Ow many euros haz you?

[hairnet]

1 hour ago, High Jetter said:

Ow many euros haz you?

How many you want - was gonna do euro last week but couldnt

[High Jetter]

Many.

[Saabnut]

I am more than happy to provide a loving* and caring* home to waif and stray euros, and will not even charge for the service  

I have the usual GBP accounts as well as a NOK account and of course a French Euro account to provide a caring home!

[Saabnut]

Well, it is official, NOT all Vauxhalls are shite. Not great, but not shite either. Over the last two weeks the Disastra has covered 2500 miles at an average of 37mpg. It uses a little water but fairly sure that a new expansion bottle cap will sort that. Not the most comfortable car but not the worst. I have now covered 4500 miles in it without problems so I think it can stay on the fleet for a while.

In other news, work commenced on the French Rangie, which has sat around for over 18 months. Last trip I collected it and got it running, this time the plan was to adjust the handbrake and fix the screen washers and get it in for a Controle Technique (MOT).  The LH handbrake adjuster appeared to be seized so it was stripped down. The discs and pads are nearing the end of their life, and the handbrake shoes are the originals and not great. The adjuster had been fitted the wrong war round so had been forced the wrong way locking it up, so it was freed up and fitted the correct way. After adjustment, the handbrake it was better but I am not convinced it will pass a test, but decided we would see.

The screen washers were fixed* properly* by swapping the pipe to the rear wash pump that still worked. That will do for now. So, ready for the CT I went online to book a test slot. An hour later I gave up and went down to the local station to do it in person. Despite my wonderful* French, all was going well until I was asked if I had the Carte Gris (log book) so I showed him the photocopy and the attestation from the Notaire. Sadly, this was not enough and the original CG is required and I had no idea where that was. Bugger. Back home and an email to the previous owner was sent.

As I could go no further with the CT I decided that to give it the best chance of passing, a mop and polish to tey and reduce some of the parking and battle scars was in order. Both sides had evidence of the concrete supports in the car park it was stored in.

Many hours with the machine polisher and a fine compound followed by machine polish and it came up well

When I got back to Scotland there was an email from the previous owner saying he had found the original CG and it should be with me today. I will order up some new brake components and next trip down should see them fitted and a CT done. At least then I should know if it needs anything else.

[Saabnut]

Of late, I had begun to wonder if my lifetime mantra of All Modernz Are Shite still held up. In the past I had new company cars (Allegro, Fiesta, Escorts, Sierra) and all at the time were fine but uninspiring. Around the millenium, I had a couple of new MR2s which whilst fun were disappointing and the saving grace was cheap. Lately I have had some newer (for me) vehicles, the 10 plate Disastra, the 06 plate Range Rover etc which have been and are quite pleasant. Perhaps new ones are better and I have been wrong.

This morning, my neighbour asked me to take his 69 plate Toyota Landcruiser in to the dealer for some warrenty work (new partial loom and exhaust sensor) as it was to be done whilst he waited but he was worried it would take longer than planned and he would not be back in time yo feed his animals.

Took the Landcruiser to Dundee where the dealers were very friendly and efficient and it was taken into the workshop whilst I drank their coffee and about 45 mins later they confessed to having a problem as the sensor had ripped the thread out of the exhaust and they need to get a new section in. No problem as they offered a courtesy car, a 72 plate  Aygo X. My god, how on earth do these things sell? It is huge outside and tiny inside. Pressing the accelerator makes more noise but very little else happens. The engine sounds rough, the ride is terrible, it has stop start and lane warning so unless you indicate beeps at you crossing the white line when overtaking on the dual carriageway. Horribly confusing dash, like being inside a box and driving like miss Daisy at a steady 65 for 40 miles showed 49.7 mpg. My AX diseasal is more comfortable, has lots more room inside, is much smaller outside, is quicker and does over 60mpg on a similar run.

It will be handed back hopefully tomorrow with no regrets. Give me old shite evertime!

[SiC]

6 minutes ago, Saabnut said:

No problem as they offered a courtesy car, a 72 plate  Aygo X. My god, how on earth do these things sell?

Because it's a cheap new car! Someone wants a new car but wants to pay minimal as possible. 

However the people wanting to do that versus buying something older (especially with >3yr manufacturer warranties now) is decreasing. Plus there isn't a lot of profit in them for bottom end of the market. With that market shrinking and becoming harder/more expensive to make a car, becoming less viable business. Part of the reasons why cheap small cars are dieing out now. 

[Dyslexic Viking]

The wheels on these are odd for a small car unusually large at 18 inches my i10 has 13 inches for comparison. I don't understand what Toyota was thinking there.