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Father Ted

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Today I have managed to swap over speakers in the front doors. what a faff! door cards off and while the driver's door went back on easily enough, the passenger side put up a proper fight! While I was doing the passengers side, I popped the fuse for the interior lights when reconnecting the door open 'telltale' - big red light at the bottom of the door. No biggy, change the fuse... Off I went in search of the relevant fuse in the fuse box under the drivers side crash pad, no fuse listed for interior lights. What? So I pulled each fuse out and checked them individually in case it was another of those cases where the fuse was not listed. Of course, all the fuses were fine. Into the boot in search of fuses, under the bonnet in search of fuses and when all else had failed, I read the owners handbook. Another fuse box under the passenger's side and there was a nicely popped fuse smile.gif

So expecting instant success, I changed the fuse and it didn't work! Really dodgy contact in the fuse box so the lights would only work if lateral pressure was applied to the fuse, not really ideal if working interior lights are wanted unless you want to hang in the passenger's side footwell pressing fuses while opening doors and getting out. Eventually, a fiddle/bodge was dreamed up which worked so interior lights now working. Of course, it took longer to do the lights than it did to do the speakers! It seems to be the way with the car: one job leads into another which was totally unplanned.

While I was in the door, I took apart and cleaned the mirror switches on top of the door, one now works but the other is dead (but if you swap switches then the fault changes to the other mirror so definitely the switch) - partial success is better than none?

As I had used a fuse, I wanted to get some more to keep the fuse box full, it seems no one sells them anymore. Factor, accessory shops nothing, finally, Halfords came to the rescue at the grand sum of £1.14 after application of trade card... I did buy a load of other stuff, even I am not 'cheap' enough to use the trade card on a £1.99 purchase smile.gif Also Waxoyled the underfloor areas where the radious arms bolt on - a notorious rust spot - both sides are solid and rust free but the drivers side has been done, quite well to be fair and nicely painted etc. A decent blast of Wax everywhere couldn't hurt though, so I blasted the stuff everywhere - road now slippery when wet :)

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Cruiser now sorted for another year - decisions, decisions....

 

Total pig to drive in town, changing gear is like waving a finger in the air in the Royal Albert Hall, cumbersome, very clattery, clumsy, face only a mother could love etc etc

 

-vs-

 

But then....sunroof open today, turbo POW-AH (it does have a good old kick low down the rev range - GR9 for TLGP) , great loadspace for ultimate tip trips, good on dizzle, smoothest ride out of the three in my fleet and great fun to thrash on an A-road.

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Mr Tomkins has just collected my Mercedes.Practical Classics are doing a feature on large coupes and my car is going on a photo shoot. I was invited along but work commitments meant Matt has taken it.There were hints there could be a cover photo too.

The Mercedes has been background fodder before but never actually featured.

Much excite.

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Not been very active of late, cars all running swimmingly. 

 

The C1 went through it's MOT yesterday no problem. So confident was I in it's sortedness that I went for the cheapest fast fit tyre place MOT I could find.

 

Currently debating whether to take the 405 off the road over winter or not - have the offer of secure(ish) outdoor storage at my parents.

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Phone call this morning from the boss of the auto transmission workshop to confirm that he would call me next week about when the CX will be called in by him for the gearbox repair and rebuild to begin and to discuss costs (anywhere north of £1500 + VAT would be my guess).

 

"It won't be cheap" he says, before going on to quickly say that if he had a CX that was in the same condition as mine, he'd go ahead and spend the money regardless.....

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Had the Mercedes’ Air con serviced today. Two years since he last did it and some of the gas had run away, so needed a little extra putting back in.

John at www.air-care-automotive.co.uk if you’re near Surrey. He’s mobile and based in elstead near Farnham.

 

Performance test was getting 6degrees at the vents so all good.

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Air conditioning in room of computers has decided to want a raise, so took fire escape and turned off the mains and tried again. The results were highly informative: it didn't work. At least it gave me an opportunity to find a forgotten (but working) fire alarm with its tag. Made by Carter's of Burnley. Funnily enough I have some smoll sirens made by them.

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No idea on the lights. Here they are.

 

It's the METRO 6r4? engine though the guy said.

 

Sorry. Late to the party. Metro 6R4 was naturally aspirated, whereas these are twin-turbo, and more related to the racing engines that were developed from the 6R4 lump. Not much that's interchangeable but same heritage.

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