How much shite is too much shite? Starting Something

[bangernomics]

Crewe, you are very near to our UK place just above Northwich.

[Saabnut]

Currently enjoying a few pints in the Crewe Arms hotel Madeley Heath

[hairnet]

madness

[Saabnut]

Set off from home yesterday morning with the old 905 Aero estate taking my c900 Carlsson down as we have a superb Carlsson to show with it. Left at 0915 yesterday and arrived at my hotel near Crewe at 1600, All on LPG.

This morning after a good breakfast it was off to the NEC. Checked in, drove into the exhibition hall and left a trail of power steering fluid all around the hall to our stand! The newly fitted pipe appears to have sprung a catastrophic leak to the extent it emptied the reservoir between the entrance door and the stand! No pictures as I was not very popular! After a quick discussion with the other exhibitors on the UKS stand, the SOC stand and the Enthusiasts stand, it was agreed as we had room for the 9-5 on our stand, we would bring it in and see if we can fix it over the weekend the show is open. Hopefully it is just a union backed off, we will see. Of course, as half my track was still attached to it, a quick trip to the car wash was in order (the steering was VERY heavy  ) and we set up.

Some pictures of the UKSaabs stand, more of the others tomorrow.

[jonathan_dyane]

Shame it's broken but great to see the old 9-5 on the stand, looks like it's done a good bit of work in the last year anyway!

[SiC]

I've just booked my ticket for Sunday. I guess I can easily find the Saab stand by following the spill kit powder on the floor to your car 😆

[hairnet]

car in bits does less to disgrace itself than the modern helping it

[Supernaut]

8 hours ago, hairnet said:

car in bits does less to disgrace itself than the modern helping it

Cannae break if it's already in bits!

[hairnet]

least it didnt try to suicide on teh way down

[LightBulbFun]

19 hours ago, Saabnut said:

The newly fitted pipe appears to have sprung a catastrophic leak to the extent it emptied the reservoir between the entrance door and the stand!

aww poor thing got stage fright and had a little incident

[sutty2006]

I’m at the NEC all weekend too, if you need help with owt or any tools just come and find me in hall 1 near the bogs on the manta stand. Will try and and pop over tomorrow to say hello! 

[Saabnut]

7 minutes ago, sutty2006 said:

I’m at the NEC all weekend too, if you need help with owt or any tools just come and find me in hall 1 near the bogs on the manta stand. Will try and and pop over tomorrow to say hello! 

Hall 1? Halls 3a, 4 and 5 are in use  We are in Hall 3a, stand 3-290 in the corner by the auction area and next to the bar and bogs!

 

Good day today, bought a new Sealey trolley jack (that I needed anyway) jacked up the Saab, cut off a bit more of the demolished undertray and the common problem of a union on the PAS pipe backing off was confirmed. Took three turns but it is now fully tight again. I think it has cured it but will not know until Sunday evening when we are allowed to start the engine again to run it and bleed the system.

[sutty2006]

15 minutes ago, Saabnut said:

Hall 1? Halls 3a, 4 and 5 are in use  We are in Hall 3a, stand 3-290 in the corner by the auction area and next to the bar and bogs!

 

Good day today, bought a new Sealey trolley jack (that I needed anyway) jacked up the Saab, cut off a bit more of the demolished undertray and the common problem of a union on the PAS pipe backing off was confirmed. Took three turns but it is now fully tight again. I think it has cured it but will not know until Sunday evening when we are allowed to start the engine again to run it and bleed the system.

I could be wrong, to be honest I’ve no idea what hall I’m in now. but I think the main entrance is in this one along with the car driving charity people. 👍

[Saabnut]

9 minutes ago, sutty2006 said:

I could be wrong, to be honest I’ve no idea what hall I’m in now. but I think the main entrance is in this one along with the car driving charity people. 👍

Aaah, Hall 5 is the one you are in. Will try to stop by tomorrow if I get a chance for a walk round

[Saabnut]

The repair to the 9-5 worked fine and it towed the Carlsson back home without incident. Been back at work and trying to tidy up a lot of loose ends. Last week I finally removed the complete breaking system off the 1959 Saab 93b which has currently taken up residence on my 2-post lift. The wheel cylinders appeared to be the same as fitted to a Morris 1000 (which a few people had told me was the case) so I ordered a set of cheap new ones off ebay. Several of the brake shoes had been in the wars, one had half the lining hanging off, another had some huge chunks out of the lining and several had somehow been bent!

A bit of time with my friends press, my vice and a large hammer soon had them straight again, so they were posted off to Villiers for relining. As today was a nice sunny day andthe temperature was surprisingly above 10 degrees Kelvin (a rare event in NE Scotland in April) I decided some outside work was required. Firstly @Inspector Morose decided to see if we could get to the bottom of why the Merc SLK AS Bike would not drop the drivers window, nor the roof. After much hunting and experimenting, we got the roof to go down, and more importantly go back up! This was not straightforward, but proved there were no significant failures in motors etc but we came to the conclusion the roof ECU Module has died so a replacement has been ordered off the bay of evil.

Next my neighbour has asked if I would remove a few raised flower beds and dispose of the soil. As I need some top soil, it worked for both of us. Yesterday I finally got the pick up hitch I had fitted to my Fergie (No, not the ex royal) to work properly - this involved grinding a lump off it so it would lock being a non genuine imported hitch. My two tonne tipping trailer was hitched up, the hydraulics connected and everything connected.

I fired up the Komatsu mini digger and trundled off up the track having retensioned the tracks on the digger, and went to my neighbours, pausing to dig out the stream on the way. After walking back, I went up with the Fergie and trailor, but of course my neighbour was out.

Gave up on that and went back into my shed to carry on with the brakes on the Saab. Of course, despite looking identical on the ebay listing, the Morris cylinders have enough differences to make modifications to the handbrake mechanism and the front back plates to be required to make them fit which I don't want to do if I can help it. As correct ones are not available anywhere except Sweden, I called a friend to see what he suggested as he has rebuilt one of these before, He suggested that if the bores of the old cylinders are good, and I believe they are, then the easiest solution is to remove the piston and seals from the ebay cylinders and use them in the originals. WCPGW? Thats a job for tomorrow!

[hairnet]

fergie

bassa i love them dont tink ive noticed yours

edit - oof for the 93 content

[Saabnut]

Another glorious day today, and my neighbour was in so the morning was spent digging out and dismantling two raised flowerbeds. In total, about 8 or 10 tonnes of soil was moved, some to my neighbours daughters and the rest down to mine for sorting my lawn.

Tomorrow is back to work, so not much progress to be made over the next few days

[hairnet]

disapoint no geoff smith or peter seabrook

[lesapandre]

1 hour ago, hairnet said:

disapoint no geoff smith or peter seabrook

Both literally pushing up the Bellis Perennis these days.

[Tommyboy12]

I need to get my Fergie back from storage so I can start playing with it more!

[Saabnut]

Time for an update. Firstly the plan for the Saab brakes failed miserably as the Minor wheel cylinders have a slightly bigger bore than the Saab ones. Decided to bite the bullet and sent them off tp Past Parts for sleeving in stainless and resealing them. Not cheap but at least I won't have to do them again. Turn around is estimated to be 2 to 3 weeks so should be good for the summer. Villiers informed me my relined brake shoes are on their way back to me, so all is progressing well on the Saab front.

On Monday, I decided to give the MGB Estate (the Sherpa of AS Calendar fame  ) a run as it had not been out this year. Checked the oil  level and it was on minimum, no surprise as it has done a couple of thousamd hard miles towing since it was last checked so I topped it up and set off to Forfar to see my boss! The van ran lovely, despite the heavy rain, so decided to fill up with petrol on the way back. As I pulled into the petrol station, the oil light flickered on! A quick check showed it below minimum and a look underneath showed a puddle of oil and a rainbow pattern all up the high street. I had to buy a couple of litres of very expensive oil to get me home, but it did and I decided to wait until it was not raining to investigate further.

Thursday evening I got around to looking and it appeared the oil filter was pouring oil out from around the top, but why a seal would give way after a few thousand miles at least baffled me. Of course, I could not find my filter wrench (I have at least 3 different types) and then it started raining so that was that. 

Friday, whilst I was at work, @Inspector Morose decided to fit the ebay special roof module to the SLK AS bike. This module was the cheapest on ebay and cost 26 quid ish with postage and it arrived very quickly. It was a bit fiddly apparently but it worked a treat and I now have fully operational windows and roof. A result for less than 30 quid. 

Next job was to remove the oil filter off the Sherpa as I had borrowed a filter wrench from my neighbour. Once the old filter was off, the problem was obvious. Whilst the seal was in good condition, the actual filter had opened up along the crimped bit between the top and side. A cheap imported filter that could have been expensive! Fortunately I had a decent new replacement on the shelf left over from my workshop days so a free fix. Might tbring it to work on Monday!

[lesapandre]

Seems all too common with a lot of parts these days. Particularly for classics. 

That - in a less attentiveness hands, could have been catastrophic - notwithstanding the oil pollution understandably released into the environment by mistake.

I'd play merry hell with suppliers - the kind of thing that simply should not happen.

Good new on the SL front.

[Saabnut]

The brake shoes for the Saab 93 arrived back so a turnaround time of about 2 weeks. Excellent quality as well. The cylinders from Past Parts also arrived back, an even more impressive turnaround time of about 10 days including shipping both ways. Again, quality appears excellent. None of this was cheap, with the shoes costing around 140 quid and the cylinders around 410 quid, but that was for 6 cylinders and they should now outlast me. I would rather pay more for quality.

Yesterday @Inspector Morose nagged me into going out to the shed and by end of play we had all the brakes assembled and the drums back on. This morning we went back out and adjusted everything and bled the system through. Wheels went back on and it was started for the first time in many months, the last time this car was used was for a few shows in Trollhatten before being put away in 1992. Whilst at low revs it ran fine, trying to add revs to drive it out of the shed resulted in popping back through the carb and a serious misfire.

Twenty litres of fresh premix was added in the hope this would help, and at least it proved the fuel gauge worked! We decided to take it for a run to see if it would clear as I had already taxed it, so the inspector followed in my 900 'vert with a tow rope just in case. The misfire etc seemed to improve so we headed to the local shop for ice cream!

All seemed to be slowly improving, with the brakes working but feeling horrible as expected, so we headed back home to wash the last years grime off the car, as well as the blue protective coating off the new white wall tyres.

With it looking better we headed for Stonehaven for fish and chips to celebrate.  The car ran well and the chips were worth the effort of fetching them and they were consumed overlooking the sea.

By the time we got home 54km had been covered so counting that as a win.

[lesapandre]

I'm not much of a fan of w/w tyres - but on that they look just right.

Shades of Tucker in the descending rear elevation.

[hairnet]

hhnnnnggggggggg svensk

[Saabnut]

Over a month since the last update, but my excuse is that I have been on the road. June to August is my silly season with 4 trips to France planned plus the usual running around and show attendance so it appears that I have been either working or driving! It started off with a trip in this 

from Aberdeen to Lemans via Worksop and Derby. Apart from the alternator failing, rapidly replaced with excellent service from the AA it was without problems. Just over 2,500 miles in two weeks. A day after reyurning home, it was off to Ripon for Tractorfest at Newby Hall for the show, beer and a catch up with good friends. The ideal transport:

Just under 900 miles in that over 5 days. Two days at home (well at work really) followed and this has been the commuter car due to the good weather

and it was off again, this time to Crawley in this

to meet up with my brother and head off to the 24 hour race at Lemans, where the transport for the rest of the journey was this

Again no problems and 850+ miles covered in the TVR before returning home in the Saab. This week and next I am at work, doing a full week this week as the owner of the MOT station is on holiday for a week returning a week on Tuesday. A week on Wednesday it is back to Lemans for the Classic 24hr and the Saab is going all the way this time, three up from Crawley. I have had the AC regassed M8 in readiness and so far it seems to still be working!

Total mileage in the last 4 weeks in 5 vehicles is just over 6000 miles with another 2000 next week and a bit. Then I get a few weeks at home before returning for Merdefest in August. The total mileage over the 4 months will be over 10k. Probably too many!

[hairnet]

nutter

mmm classic

but its the weekend of something else

but also planning a trip to ireland that week

decisions

[Saabnut]

Summer is basically over and an update is long overdue. International Shitefest was a success with attendees enjoying the visit (at least that is what they said!)  and life has returned to what passes for normal here. Not a lot of changes on the fleet, the SLK Merc continues to provide back up duties, the 9-5 Aero keeps on plodding with 209k miles on it now and the AX has been the commuting vehicle of choice with 57mpg. The Sherpa stood in well as an office for a very windy Production Car Trials.

Recently the AX has been hinting that it would appreciate a bit of maintenance with the rear brakes getting a bit weak, the CV joints rumbling and juddering when pressing on around bends and a bit of a fuel leak from the pump. All a bit unreasonable as it has only covered 189k miles. The fuel pump leak worsened over the weekend so I took the decision to take it off the road for a bit as I am determined to get it over the 200k miles. New rear brake shoes and cylinders have already arrived.

Saturday  saw a visit to Errol for the latest Classic auction and as I was not buying I of course paid a deposit to get a bidder number just in case. As it turned out, I did not buy anything at the auction for myself but did buy a car for my friend. Today I collected it for him and we are very pleased with it. As a bonus, after the auction we went elsewhere and I DID buy myself something VERY different. It is being delivered to my friends tomorrow so will update about that tomorrow.

So, what did I buy for my friend? A teaser pic....

Any guesses?

[Snake Charmer]

7 minutes ago, Saabnut said:

So, what did I buy for my friend? A teaser pic....

Any guesses?

Davrian?

[quicksilver]

32 minutes ago, Saabnut said:

Summer is basically over and an update is long overdue. International Shitefest was a success with attendees enjoying the visit (at least that is what they said!)  and life has returned to what passes for normal here. Not a lot of changes on the fleet, the SLK Merc continues to provide back up duties, the 9-5 Aero keeps on plodding with 209k miles on it now and the AX has been the commuting vehicle of choice with 57mpg. The Sherpa stood in well as an office for a very windy Production Car Trials.

Recently the AX has been hinting that it would appreciate a bit of maintenance with the rear brakes getting a bit weak, the CV joints rumbling and juddering when pressing on around bends and a bit of a fuel leak from the pump. All a bit unreasonable as it has only covered 189k miles. The fuel pump leak worsened over the weekend so I took the decision to take it off the road for a bit as I am determined to get it over the 200k miles. New rear brake shoes and cylinders have already arrived.

Saturday  saw a visit to Errol for the latest Classic auction and as I was not buying I of course paid a deposit to get a bidder number just in case. As it turned out, I did not buy anything at the auction for myself but did buy a car for my friend. Today I collected it for him and we are very pleased with it. As a bonus, after the auction we went elsewhere and I DID buy myself something VERY different. It is being delivered to my friends tomorrow so will update about that tomorrow.

So, what did I buy for my friend? A teaser pic....

Any guesses?

Gilbern Invader with a carbon fibre-wrapped bootlid for some reason.