The new news 24 thread

[Skizzer]

Unfortunately it was rendered inedible by a plethora of light bulb, plastic and a marinade of concentrated screenwash

I'd have thought the screenwash would have tenderised it nicely - probably means it wouldn't freeze well though.

[andrew e]

Indulgingly dragging Mrs E across Europe in the worlds most economical 4x4 (21.7 MPG!) to visit a posh car show in Europe, just like they do in the car mags (except I'm funding it from overtime!). In the unlikely event anyone is in lake Como Sunday, give us a nudge

[dollywobbler]

Tomorrow, I shall mostly be overhauling the BX's brakes. New discs and pads plus try and find out why the nearside front brake is binding. Prace bets now as it's probably:

 

1) Handbrake cable

2) Seizing piston

3) Seizing piston sliders

 

I bloody hate single-piston brake calipers. The tricky bit will be winding the piston back in as I'm now banned from using my wife's wood chisel. This is very annoying as it's a perfect square section! It fits a treat. However, my wife is likely to suggest alternative places it might fit, so I shall have to find something else. I hope I don't need a new caliper as I'm rather fed up with throwing money at this car. I paid £500 and I reckon I'm pretty close to having spent another £500 on it. Still, I could clock it and sell it for a grand I reckon. Shame I can haz guilt.

 

Green 2CV is now up for sale. I've already managed to sell the front bumper separately. That makes me feel a bit fail to be honest, but the problem is I want a Land Rover.

[Cavcraft]

In a 'know-I-can't afford-because-I-have-no-money-but-I'm-going-to-ask-anyway' style, how much do you want for the green 2CV please and is it roadworthy?

[dollywobbler]

Running and driving, but not roadworthy yet. I'm asking £250 but discounts could apply. Needs two areas of major welding and some recommissioning. Brakes mainly. Bonnet hinge is entirely not there. It's pretty solid for a project 2CV though!

[Cavcraft]

Can you enlighten me on this 'major welding' bit please, Ian? Would it be expensive to get done as I can't weld myself? Cheers

[phil_lihp]

todays shenanigans were to remove the front seats for a clean and hoover/clean the rest of the interior, it all went to plan thanks to the advice on the cav forum about taking out the seats with the pre-tensioners. It's a much nicer place to be now and I got to use armor all for the first time in well over 10 years! New gear and handbrake lever gaiters are on order.

 

That's a tidy car for the money, it's always good to see someone putting proper time and effort into making older cars more presentable, it can only help them last longer. I'm feeling quite nostalgic looking at that interior as I remember my father turning up one snowy winter's night in 1993 with a brand new Cavalier 1.7TD Envoy company car. No flashy velour seats for us though, Envoy trim meant abrasive itchy cloth trim and windy windows. Still, after the elderly mk1 Fiesta it replaced, it seemed like pure luxury. I'm pleased to find L752 CFX still taxed as well!

[dollywobbler]

Can you enlighten me on this 'major welding' bit please, Ian? Would it be expensive to get done as I can't weld myself? Cheers

 

It won't be cheap. Windscreen panel is £280 for a start, before you've even talked someone into trying to weld Bacofoil. It's cheap for a reason!

 

BX brake overhaul went fairly well. It had the wrong pads fitted, which can't have been helping matters. One disc is a bit rusty but within wear limits, the other looks brand new. Odd. Pads one side were almost down to the metal while the pads the other side looked fairly new. I think the piston is a bit icky on the nearside - that's the one with all the new bits but it has been binding lately.

 

Decided against fitting new discs, but have fitted new pads. The nearside caliper wasn't keen on being wound back, which does indeed suggest a piston issue. I'll keep an eye on it - I don't really want to go to the expense of a caliper. Test drive was successful. I need to replace discs and pads on the 2CV as well, but that's tricky as my wife has driven off in it.

[trigger]

A chap at work has just had his car hit by a hit & run driver, I'm more shocked at the state of that alloy, I've never seen one shatter like that before.

 

[wuvvum]

Some cheapo aftermarket alloys do shatter like that so I'm told - it's unusual for OEM wheels to do it though.

 

I got the first signs of life out of the new scooter today. Admittedly it involved removing the carb and spraying Easy Start straight into the intake pipe whilst turning the engine over with a drill and 17mm socket directly on the flywheel nut, so it's still a way from buzzing off into the sunset, but it's progress. I'm going to have a go at stripping and cleaning the carb this evening and see if that helps.

[cobblers]

Yeah, those look like fake BBS LM wheels that are popular at the moment. Nice looking wheels and I considered a set for a van, but it seems my worries about the strength of them weren't unfounded! I'd be mega surprised if that's a proper BBS wheel that's shattered like that.

[dollywobbler]

Note to self. When starting a 2CV on the starting handle, do make sure the battery terminals are connected first. That was a tiring and entirely pointless workout! Just got the green one out into the sun for a bit, so I could remove the front bumper.

[garethj]

Can you enlighten me on this 'major welding' bit please, Ian? Would it be expensive to get done as I can't weld myself? Cheers

There's never been a better time to learn...

 

There are still a few garages that do it, and because there's so little call for it compared to 20 years ago the prices for getting stuff welded is usually reasonable. But if you want to DIY, here's what you'll need:

 

1. Mig welder with gas. I use a 90 Amp Clarke one and it's fine for car stuff. It's like the horsepower race so anything less than 150A should be cheap second hand as people trade up.

2. Mask suitable for MIG welding. Gas welding isn't as bright so make sure you get the right one.

3. Welding gauntlets, because burning your hands isn't funny.

4. Angle grinder with wire brush attachment, cutting disc and grinding disc. I can't believe how cheap these are now, even Argos are doing them.

5. A few mole grips, handy for clamping stuff together as you weld it.

6. Eye protection, goggles are needed for when you're grinding because that rust comes off at a fearful speed, red hot and your eyes are squidgy.

[wuvvum]

I took the LNA for a run into Norwich today as it hadn't been out for a while, and it rewarded me by losing its rear silencer halfway round a roundabout on the ring road. So it now sounds rather chavvy - it's not offensively loud as there is a silencer in the front pipe, but it does sound rather at odds with the look of the car. The pipe snapped flush with the end of the silencer, so not much hope of welding it back on. I've found a replacement on the Bay for £27.10 delivered, which isn't too bad I suppose, so will probably be going down that route.

 

In more positive news, I've managed to cobble together enough odds and ends of 10W40 semi-synthetic to carry out a long overdue oil change on the Rover 400, so I'll be doing that tomorrow, weather permitting. I've also got about 5.5 litres of 5W30 fully synth, which should do for the Vectra.

[retrogeezer]

Nearly finished polishing the Cav, roof, bonnet and above mouldings all done now. A few pics of before and after from today:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She is starting to look pretty good now:

 

 

 

[phil_lihp]

Blimey that scrubbed up well, with the outgoing Bluebird in the background it's 1995 again.

[retrogeezer]

Yes, it's coming along nicely - cheers for your comment somewhere else as well Phil.

 

Hard work but very satisfying seeing the results, I've seen loads of 'pink' red cars on the road and had an itch to polish them, now I have my own!

[Lord Sterling]

My mate up the road got his W-reg E46 BMW 318i back on the road a couple of months ago after spending probably 5/6 years catching busses/trains/trams to work after his MR2 (also a W-reg) blew its engine (said MR2 has sat outside for just as long too) he was enjoying rediscovering the freedom of having a car again, sadly, the BMW blew its expansion tank and probably gasket a few weeks ago and has sat at the other side of Birmingham since then. Tired of catching busses etc...he then went and bought a T-reg Vauxhall Corsa Breeze with the lawn-mower powered 973cc engine, smaller engine and less powerful than my Micra!

 

I used my RAC card to call out a breakdown truck who confirmed that expansion tank had blown to pieces, sadly the RAC blokes shift was coming to a finish so a third-party truck was called out to tow it home, but I didn't fancy waiting between 60 and 90 mins in the car for the recovery truck, so popped back home now, I'll be out again in a bit I reckon.

 

EDIT - BMW finally recovered and safely tucked up on mateys drive, which is now again full of cars that don't work, 1, BMW with an exploded expansion tank and probably a fucked head gasket (still starts and pulls well though) and 2, the MR2 which needs an engine, brakes overhaul MOT etc.......

[dollywobbler]

That Cav is lovely. Nice work!

 

2CV has sold to another club member. Still haven't bought a Land Rover.

[retrogeezer]

Nearly done - just the glass, wheels and black trim to go. It all stops for the F1 though!

 

 

[Cavcraft]

Hey, LS, none of that will matter now he has a proper car

 

Ian: ahh, that will defo be beyond my remit then sadly. After seeing yours in action I'd love to have one now but will have to try and save for one that's MOT'd and useable.

[dollywobbler]

A late highlight from yesterday. Low.

[retrogeezer]

plenty of wear left on that!

[retrogeezer]

Cav all pretty much much finished today, glass and wheels/tyres cleaned and black stuff done. I need to repair the o/s/r bumper and a bit on the inner lip of the rear arches but they are solid. Might take it to Capesthorne Hall show tomorrow..

 

These are from my phone, I'll take some tomorrow with a proper camera if the rain stays away.

 

 

 

 

[HMC]

^^^Great result on the cav paintwork!

 

THe w124 estate didnt warm up particularly quickly and was running too cool on long down hill runs. Suspecting a dicky thermostat, i ordered a replacement and swapped them over. Used to older mercs it came as a suprise when i opened the box that it came complete with housing.

Quick test run and all seems well.

 

 

I have been trying to re instate the ancilliaries for the s type heating and ventillation system which were bypassed when the old bits broke at some point in its life. Some of it is vacuum powered and the bits are hard to come by. What i did manage was to repaint the underside of the bonnet which was quite grotty and has improved the underbonnet area no end. Fo0rgot to take an after pic due to being high on paint fumes

 

 

The car was originally green, and by the looks of things elsewhere was at one point light metallic blue and latterly old english white.

[wuvvum]

I had a rather unproductive day today from a shite-fettling point of view. The Bali still won't even try to start, even after I spent yesterday evening stripping and cleaning the carb. It seems to be flooding itself up somehow as every time I take the plug out it's soaking wet, although it seems to be as much oil as petrol. Fuck knows what's wrong with it. To be honest I'm losing patience with the bastard thing now so it's probably going to end up getting shoved in a corner, and I might drag the Spacy out and have another go at getting that running instead.

 

I also got most of the way through doing an oil change on the Rover, then found out that the oil filter that had been in the footwell for ages and that I had down in my head as being for that car wasn't in fact for that car at all - the screw thread was much too small. So it's currently sat folornly on its ramps until I can pick up the correct filter. I can't even put the old one back on as it was on rather tight and I buggered it up a bit getting it off. Anyone know if Halfrauds is open on a bank holiday?

 

I did manage to get the two knackered front brake pipes off the Volvo - they actually came undone pretty easily considering that they've probably been on there for 40 years. Sadly I then couldn't find where I'd put my brake pipe flaring kit, so I wasn't able to make up any replacements.

[hairnet]

Note to self. When starting a 2CV on the starting handle, do make sure the battery terminals are connected first. That was a tiring and entirely pointless workout! Just got the green one out into the sun for a bit, so I could remove the front bumper.

 

arm like popeye but only one side

[rml2345]

Time for a Volvo based update.

It had developed an annoying rattle at the front end. Previously this had (apparently) been down to a loose caliper bolt so I was pretty surprised to find this;

 

 

The pad retaining spring was bloody missing. I'm beginning to worry about my favourite local garage now...

A rummage in the spares box for this;

 

 

And all was well. At least until yesterday when the ungrateful big bastartd shit it's fuel pump relay... So I'm off to Bellshill tomorrow to collect a replacement as no one has stock. Actually it's porobably been going for a wee while, so it's kinda my fault really but that doesn't make it any better.

[retrogeezer]

I'm sure you are all bored to tears with pics of my new Cav but these are the last pics I promise! Taken today at Capesthorne Hall.

 

I really am very happy with how it has come up...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[trigger]

That looks spanking!