The new news 24 thread

[wuvvum]

1 hour ago, wuvvum said:

Skandix appear to have both in stock so I'll be spending some money with them shortly.

Or maybe I won't.  Bastards want 40 Euros to post a couple of small bits.  So they can bugger off.

[captain_70s]

11 hours ago, wuvvum said:

Or maybe I won't.  Bastards want 40 Euros to post a couple of small bits.  So they can bugger off.

I think they have a blanket cost for shipping abroad buying from them only makes sense if you're buying loads of stuff in one big order.

[SiC]

Oops

That's going to be expensive on the insurance.

[Zelandeth]

How the heck did they manage that?  Somehow deployed the tip function while driving?

[Split_Pin]

10 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

How the heck did they manage that?  Somehow deployed the tip function while driving?

More than likely forgot to lower it.

[Dyslexic Viking]

Have to share this from 1963 the world has changed alot since then.

[RayMK]

10 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

Have to share this from 1963 the world has changed alot since then.

I've got a 1930s (I think) book covering motor vehicle servicing. It has delightful drawings showing how to straighten con rods and all manner of solutions to problems which would now be considered bodges at best.

[HMC]

It even goes as far as AA Book of the car (1973) 

Chicken wire and wob into the sills of a mk2 jag? AA approved 👍

[wuvvum]

The Volvo must have thought it was Christmas today.  Shiny new front tyres.

And shiny new rear brake discs.

Now I just need to find out why the offside rear brake isn't doing anything...

Got the offside front hub on the MG most of the way off - everything is undone, just left on by a couple of threads to hold everything together, so in theory it should be a 10-minute job to get it the rest of the way off.  I even managed to get out the manky brake disc retaining screw - I invested in an impact screwdriver off eBay and that got it undone straight away - in fact I'm now wishing I'd bought one years ago.  The top balljoint nut was the most awkward bit to get off but fortunately the Torx head machined into the end of the bolt managed to hold together long enough for me to get the nut undone.  The bottom balljoint came away from the hub just using a pry bar - makes a nice change from the last few I've done.  I've worked out that I should be able to use the pry bar to lever the hub / bottom arm down far enough to pop the top balljoint out of the upper arm, then it should just be a case of lifting the hub assembly off the bottom balljoint.

I ran out of time to attempt the same on the nearside, so that's a job for tomorrow.  Then I'll have to see when the garage can do the bearings - the ideal for me would be if I can just sling them in the boot of the Rover when I take it in for a test on Tuesday, then everything will be done at the same time (apart from whatever the Rover needs doing to pass the MOT obvs).

I've also fitted a battery cut-off switch to the Maxus.

That should make it a little less of a pain in the arse to disconnect the battery than having to undo and remove the negative terminal every time.

[motorpunk]

23 hours ago, richardmorris said:

This is really worth the watch. Tales from rover, etc in the 1990s. @motorpunk

 

 

Thanks. It was bastard freezing when we shot that, I was shivering! Nice to see people buying the book, too, having watched the interview.

(We have a sequel lined up which I hope is as popular).

[richardmorris]

15 minutes ago, motorpunk said:

Thanks. It was bastard freezing when we shot that, I was shivering! Nice to see people buying the book, too, having watched the interview.

(We have a sequel lined up which I hope is as popular).

I’ve put books in the trolley! I bought the petrol station ones too.

sounded both hilarious and very, very worrying. I missed where it was filmed - shuttle worth collection?

[BorniteIdentity]

We've just begun a new working agreement with a local business; a cleaning company that have been around Cambridge for about 35 years now.  When I visited the office, they had this photo proudly displayed on the wall.  Where it all started back in the 80s - one man and one Escort van.  🥰

[vulgalour]

Mental health is a funny old thing and I'd hit a point this week where I had to take some time off work.  I'm not very good at this because I get fidgety when I'm not doing something.  The rules have been laid out to me quite simply though: do whatever you want that makes you happy, just not your regular job.  I consulted my brain and it said "rust removal and welding please".  Umm.. okay.  Whatever makes it happy I suppose.

One Lanchester inner arch stripped of surface rust, rust converted, primed, and painted where I'm not welding, and left as nature intended where I am.  Made the first cut into the inner arch for one repair that I might do this weekend, and worked out the plan of attack for the rear corner which is all delightfully simple shapes.  The sill end I'm still puzzling over because I don't actually know exactly how this is supposed to be capped off, if at all.  I know what the outer profile should be that you see when the wing is on, and I know it needs the whole underside replacing since it's just gone, but the end where it returns to the body I haven't a clue.

Also managed to remove 3 of the seized wing bolts which I was pretty impressed about since I was only using WD40 and vice grips for that.  The others are remaining incredibly stubborn.  The bolts go into a thick steel plate which is in turn screwed to the wooden frame of the car.  The screws are naturally flat head and soft as you like now due to the ravages of time so they don't want to come undone on the last two plates.  I can't really use much heat and I don't really want to drill the screw heads off.  I'm going to try welding a bolt to the remains of the wing bolt and see if that works, sometimes I've got lucky with that approach.  Last resort I'll drill the heads off the wood screws and remove the plate so I can get enough heat into it to remove the remains of the bolt.

I even managed to salvage the splash guard which is just a sheet of steel.  I'm going to repair it rather than replacing it because it's already the shape it needs to be and only needs a couple of localised repairs.  It's a chunk of work whether I repair the original or make a new one, so I'd rather go with the option that I'll find more fun.

I feel much better for doing this today, which is kind of weird because it's the sort of work that can put me in a right grump.  I guess the brain wants what the brain wants and if this is where my serotonin hit was hiding then okay, work that doesn't feel like work is always a good time.

[320touring]

Great work @vulgalour!

[aldo135]

Spent half its purchase price today but my Volvo finally has matching wheels again. Drives so much better, should have done this ages ago! 

[High Jetter]

43 minutes ago, aldo135 said:

Spent half its purchase price today but my Volvo finally has matching wheels again. Drives so much better, should have done this ages ago! 

At under £83 a corner all in inc tracking, I don't think you've been robbed.

[Rust Collector]

Today was the day I found out what my loan vehicle from the in-laws is.

I fancied a go of this after finding it in the cottage in the woods that they are restoring. Apparently it’s no longer road legal though, so can only be used for dicking around in the forest.

Probably for the best given my history on just bicycles alone.

Could my loan car be the sensible family wagon sat spare on the driveway then?

Nope, it’s even better than a modern Dacia!

Here she is in all her glory:

It’s a Corsa B!!

Despite the faded exterior, the inside is like it’s fresh out the box.

I’m really enjoying driving it, there’s something satisfying about simple economy cars like this.

It makes you realise how large modern hatchbacks have become though, even our travel pram struggles to fit and has to be split down and carried part in the boot and part in the cabin. Our Mk3 Clio isn’t huge, but it just about swallows a pram!

[HMC]

55 minutes ago, aldo135 said:

Spent half its purchase price today but my Volvo finally has matching wheels again. Drives so much better, should have done this ages ago! 

That looks great, back suits it, can’t think last time I saw a saloon in the wild.

[Zelandeth]

1 hour ago, vulgalour said:

Mental health is a funny old thing and I'd hit a point this week where I had to take some time off work.  I'm not very good at this because I get fidgety when I'm not doing something.  The rules have been laid out to me quite simply though: do whatever you want that makes you happy, just not your regular job.  I consulted my brain and it said "rust removal and welding please".  Umm.. okay.  Whatever makes it happy I suppose.

One Lanchester inner arch stripped of surface rust, rust converted, primed, and painted where I'm not welding, and left as nature intended where I am.  Made the first cut into the inner arch for one repair that I might do this weekend, and worked out the plan of attack for the rear corner which is all delightfully simple shapes.  The sill end I'm still puzzling over because I don't actually know exactly how this is supposed to be capped off, if at all.  I know what the outer profile should be that you see when the wing is on, and I know it needs the whole underside replacing since it's just gone, but the end where it returns to the body I haven't a clue.

Also managed to remove 3 of the seized wing bolts which I was pretty impressed about since I was only using WD40 and vice grips for that.  The others are remaining incredibly stubborn.  The bolts go into a thick steel plate which is in turn screwed to the wooden frame of the car.  The screws are naturally flat head and soft as you like now due to the ravages of time so they don't want to come undone on the last two plates.  I can't really use much heat and I don't really want to drill the screw heads off.  I'm going to try welding a bolt to the remains of the wing bolt and see if that works, sometimes I've got lucky with that approach.  Last resort I'll drill the heads off the wood screws and remove the plate so I can get enough heat into it to remove the remains of the bolt.

I even managed to salvage the splash guard which is just a sheet of steel.  I'm going to repair it rather than replacing it because it's already the shape it needs to be and only needs a couple of localised repairs.  It's a chunk of work whether I repair the original or make a new one, so I'd rather go with the option that I'll find more fun.

I feel much better for doing this today, which is kind of weird because it's the sort of work that can put me in a right grump.  I guess the brain wants what the brain wants and if this is where my serotonin hit was hiding then okay, work that doesn't feel like work is always a good time.

It seems to have been a week for it.  My mental health has been absolutely down the pan this whole week too.

I'd be wary of welding to that bolt for the same reasons you don't want to use too much heat.  Welding to it will put quite a bit of heat into the surrounding area and you don't want to set fire to or turn the surrounding timber to charcoal. 

Could you potentially get in there with a Dremel or similar to cut the slot in the head deeper and belt it with an impact driver?  Or drill two small holes in the screw head (looks a decent sized dish to work with) and use those as a leverage point?

I'm just always paranoid about fire, so anything avoiding heat on a wooden frame would get my vote.  May just be being overly cautious though.

[vulgalour]

I suspect because the weld will be so localised to the stub, most of it will soak out into the steel plate and not affect the wood beneath.  I don't want to get the stub cherry red, usually it's just the quick cycle of very hot to ambient temperature that's enough to shock the rust/seize free.  I did try  cutting a slot in the original heads first and all that happened is the steel was too soft to hold its shape and they split.  If I cut what's left now I might not have anything grab hold of/weld to.  It's kind of tricky to know exactly the right approach with this one, it's all a bit of a gamble.  The biggest problem with all these fixings is they just aren't tolerant of that much force due to age and corrosion, the thing is essentially a motorised sideboard and built to much the same specifications.

[juular]

2 hours ago, vulgalour said:

Mental health is a funny old thing and I'd hit a point this week where I had to take some time off work.  I'm not very good at this because I get fidgety when I'm not doing something.  The rules have been laid out to me quite simply though: do whatever you want that makes you happy, just not your regular job.  I consulted my brain and it said "rust removal and welding please".  Umm.. okay.  Whatever makes it happy I suppose.

One Lanchester inner arch stripped of surface rust, rust converted, primed, and painted where I'm not welding, and left as nature intended where I am.  Made the first cut into the inner arch for one repair that I might do this weekend, and worked out the plan of attack for the rear corner which is all delightfully simple shapes.  The sill end I'm still puzzling over because I don't actually know exactly how this is supposed to be capped off, if at all.  I know what the outer profile should be that you see when the wing is on, and I know it needs the whole underside replacing since it's just gone, but the end where it returns to the body I haven't a clue.

Also managed to remove 3 of the seized wing bolts which I was pretty impressed about since I was only using WD40 and vice grips for that.  The others are remaining incredibly stubborn.  The bolts go into a thick steel plate which is in turn screwed to the wooden frame of the car.  The screws are naturally flat head and soft as you like now due to the ravages of time so they don't want to come undone on the last two plates.  I can't really use much heat and I don't really want to drill the screw heads off.  I'm going to try welding a bolt to the remains of the wing bolt and see if that works, sometimes I've got lucky with that approach.  Last resort I'll drill the heads off the wood screws and remove the plate so I can get enough heat into it to remove the remains of the bolt.

I even managed to salvage the splash guard which is just a sheet of steel.  I'm going to repair it rather than replacing it because it's already the shape it needs to be and only needs a couple of localised repairs.  It's a chunk of work whether I repair the original or make a new one, so I'd rather go with the option that I'll find more fun.

I feel much better for doing this today, which is kind of weird because it's the sort of work that can put me in a right grump.  I guess the brain wants what the brain wants and if this is where my serotonin hit was hiding then okay, work that doesn't feel like work is always a good time.

Weird this, as I have been exactly the same for the past 10 days or so. Absolutely no reason for it, and normally the longer days would cause an improvement in my mental state, but somehow I have been in the gutter mentally.

And weirdly my brain kind of wanted to do the same today. Had a full day of knocking lumps out of the Amazon and attacking all of the remaining rust with the wire wheel. 

Smashing the underseal with a hammer and watching it split and fall off was incredibly satisfying and I'm finally feeling a bit less shit.

Great work on the Lanchester.

[RoverFolkUs]

1 hour ago, aldo135 said:

Spent half its purchase price today but my Volvo finally has matching wheels again. Drives so much better, should have done this ages ago! 

A mate has a set of Goodyear Efficientgrips on his A6, he swears by them and reports that the fronts still have 5mm on them some 15k miles later. I've seen for myself and they've worn fantastically as well, definitely a great choice of tyre and not bad money at all when a ditchfinder could still set you back £60-70 a corner for that size tyre

[SiC]

Just come back from a couple of days in Norfolk. Never been before.



Saw some broken buildings


Some very old buildings


Fallen down entrances


Old cars


There are big signs in the middle of every village. Presumably because almost everyone in Norfolk is getting on a bit and going senile, so need reminding where they are.


Also stopped by Stratford upon Avon and saw some long dead geezers house.


Then finally popped by to a well known farm shop.


Didn't bother going in as a long queue to just shuffle through a few chiller cabinets.


Then drove home. Passed the dented M5 gantry. Just a ratchet strap is holding up the metal sign holder...


We took the Civic as Mrs SiC said she thought the TT would give us grief. The Civic was well behaved as you expect a Honda to be. Except about 8 miles from home it started juddering. Then EML flashing and was low down on power. Limped it home.

By the time we got home it was very unhappy.


At least it chose to shit itself nearly home than the 700 odd miles we've covered this week.

Code scan said cylinder 2 misfire. Other modules were just throwing their lights up as they were unhappy the engine computer was sad.

Live data made it clear that cylinder was very much not joining in the party.


Super easy to get to the coils on these.



Single 10mm bolt to remove. I swapped both the coil and plug between cylinder 2 to cylinder 3.


Misfire very much moved to cylinder 3.


I now just need to get a new coil thankfully. Except as it's a Honda and stuff rarely breaks, part sellers don't stock them. This is despite being used on many Honda petrols. Euros don't have stock on hand. GSF after trying different car model permutations I managed to find a Delphi unit. £68 so quite pricey and much more than the TT (usually about £30). However there is stock locally so needs must. I'd like to change them all but at that price I think it'll just be the one.

I might also try a local Honda dealer to see what a genuine coil costs and if they have stock on hand. I'd expect so but probably not on the shelf.

Hassle and expense I could do without. But at least it didn't do it in the middle of nowhere (Norfolk) and I'm not paying a garage to fit it.

[Soundwave]

I fear my Rover 200 may not be long for this world. A scruffy R8 is still nearly worthless (great if you're buying, less great if you're potentially selling), with only the best examples being picked up by enthusiasts. Wouldn't be an issue, except its high bite point has now turned into clutch slippage, and its coolant tank now looks like this:


 

It would seem the Honda D series units may not be entirely immune from the shenanigans one usually associate with Rover's K series. I'll try a compression test tomorrow, but with potential engine work and clutch replacement on a car which will still be in the sub £500 category even when they're done... I'm not sure it's worth it. I absolutely hate scrapping things, but I guess at some point we have to admit we can't save them all.

[RoverFolkUs]

1 hour ago, SiC said:

Just come back from a couple of days in Norfolk. Never been before.



Saw some broken buildings


Some very old buildings


Fallen down entrances


Old cars


There are big signs in the middle of every village. Presumably because almost everyone in Norfolk is getting on a bit and going senile, so need reminding where they are.


Also stopped by Stratford upon Avon and saw some long dead geezers house.


Then finally popped by to a well known farm shop.


Didn't bother going in as a long queue to just shuffle through a few chiller cabinets.


Then drove home. Passed the dented M5 gantry. Just a ratchet strap is holding up the metal sign holder...


We took the Civic as Mrs SiC said she thought the TT would give us grief. The Civic was well behaved as you expect a Honda to be. Except about 8 miles from home it started juddering. Then EML flashing and was low down on power. Limped it home.

By the time we got home it was very unhappy.


At least it chose to shit itself nearly home than the 700 odd miles we've covered this week.

Code scan said cylinder 2 misfire. Other modules were just throwing their lights up as they were unhappy the engine computer was sad.

Live data made it clear that cylinder was very much not joining in the party.


Super easy to get to the coils on these.



Single 10mm bolt to remove. I swapped both the coil and plug between cylinder 2 to cylinder 3.


Misfire very much moved to cylinder 3.


I now just need to get a new coil thankfully. Except as it's a Honda and stuff rarely breaks, part sellers don't stock them. This is despite being used on many Honda petrols. Euros don't have stock on hand. GSF after trying different car model permutations I managed to find a Delphi unit. £68 so quite pricey and much more than the TT (usually about £30). However there is stock locally so needs must. I'd like to change them all but at that price I think it'll just be the one.

I might also try a local Honda dealer to see what a genuine coil costs and if they have stock on hand. I'd expect so but probably not on the shelf.

Hassle and expense I could do without. But at least it didn't do it in the middle of nowhere (Norfolk) and I'm not paying a garage to fit it.

Make sure you check if not change the plugs as well, they're the cause of coils failing most of the time and you might be able to save the other 3 if you catch deteriorating plugs just in time, especially at £68 a pop! 

The interval might be something stupid like 60k miles/5 years on a Honda but that's utterly stupid and it still kills coils, if they look shitty or gappy then swap them out 

[SiC]

43 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Make sure you check if not change the plugs as well, they're the cause of coils failing most of the time and you might be able to save the other 3 if you catch deteriorating plugs just in time, especially at £68 a pop! 

The interval might be something stupid like 60k miles/5 years on a Honda but that's utterly stupid and it still kills coils, if they look shitty or gappy then swap them out 

Yeah I always do. Problem is GSF don't stock the correct plug.

The plugs on it were done at the last service at 12k miles ago. Genuine Honda (NGK branded) plugs from a Honda dealer went in, so I know they were legit. Left plug is cylinder number 2, right is number 3.

Old plugs had done 75k odd and looked perfect. But they might have been done on a previous service. Only had the service book with the car and it doesn't make it clear if plugs had been done. 

So when I had it's first service with me last year, I had all the plugs/filters/oils (exc trans and coolant) changed.

 

I'm probably going to stump up the extra for a genuine Honda coil tbh. 

[stuboy]

Collegue at work has treated herself too a new car, all looks ok bar whoever painted the tailgate used a paving slab to prep it, and paint it badly.. but apparantly 2.0 jdtm goes fast..

[RoverFolkUs]

17 minutes ago, SiC said:

Yeah I always do. Problem is GSF don't stock the correct plug.

The plugs on it were done at the last service at 12k miles ago. Genuine Honda (NGK branded) plugs from a Honda dealer went in, so I know they were legit. Left plug is cylinder number 2, right is number 3.

Old plugs had done 75k odd and looked perfect. But they might have been done on a previous service. Only had the service book with the car and it doesn't make it clear if plugs had been done. 

So when I had it's first service with me last year, I had all the plugs/filters/oils (exc trans and coolant) changed.

 

I'm probably going to stump up the extra for a genuine Honda coil tbh. 

Cool, they look relatively ok anyway so fair enough

Delphi are generally ok but if there's not much in it then a genuine one wouldn't hurt I guess

[wuvvum]

4 hours ago, Soundwave said:

It would seem the Honda D series units may not be entirely immune from the shenanigans one usually associate with Rover's K series. 

I believe @Ghosty is able to confirm this.

[Ghosty]

10 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

I believe @Ghosty is able to confirm this.

 

4 hours ago, Soundwave said:

It would seem the Honda D series units may not be entirely immune from the shenanigans one usually associate with Rover's K series

Yeah, they do that. Water jacket blows into the bores on the outer cylinders and combusts the coolant.