The new news 24 thread

[HMC]

Passed what I think is/ was the legendary  tytes yard on the way from Weymouth to Weston today in the new sprinter. Would have stopped as I could see a load of old lorries and a stash of AS worthy cars but was wary of being a trespasser/ tourist (which of course we would have been)

 

 

[Saabnut]

On 1/3/2020 at 8:16 PM, Skizzer said:

 

It still has engine issues: the heads have been removed after it massively overheated when Junkman delivered it to Breadvan about 18 months ago.  Unfortunately the mechanic who was fixing it had a drastic career change, so the engine is still in bits. They’re all there though, and won’t be hard to reassemble.

 

 

I am pretty sure I have heads and exhaust manifolds for both 2.8 and 3.0 V6 engines in my shed if you need them. Will check and see just what is left.... (Might even be Scimitar 3litre ones if they are better/different)

[Skizzer]

11 hours ago, Saabnut said:

I am pretty sure I have heads and exhaust manifolds for both 2.8 and 3.0 V6 engines in my shed if you need them. Will check and see just what is left.... (Might even be Scimitar 3litre ones if they are better/different)

That’s very good to know, thanks a lot.  

My plan is to reassemble what I’ve got with new gaskets, attempt to run it and see what happens.  As things stand I’ve got pretty much no idea what the symptoms are, never mind the cause(s).

I need to fix the Audi first (fuel pump and its mounting) to make more space in the workshop, which will be a few weeks.  

I’ve ordered a 2t portable lift so I can get underneath cars better.  This will greatly help with the Audi, Rancho and probably the Granada too.
 

[skattrd]

28 minutes ago, Skizzer said:

I’ve ordered a 2t portable lift so I can get underneath cars better.  This will greatly help with the Audi, Rancho and probably the Granada too.

Will you be doing a little review on the portable lift when you get it?
I'm guessing one of these scissor things that lift the car a couple of feet?

[Skizzer]

11 minutes ago, skattrd said:

Will you be doing a little review on the portable lift when you get it?
I'm guessing one of these scissor things that lift the car a couple of feet?

Yes and yes

One of these: 

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F333196002474

I looked at the mid-rise hydraulic ones, but they are too heavy to move around and delivery is a problem down the narrow winding track to the sheds.

Some of the lightweight scissor lifts/tilters look terrifying, but this one looks ok especially with some extra stands underneath for safety.

Due to arrive in a week or so, they’ve been off for Christmas.

[wuvvum]

12 hours ago, HMC said:

Passed what I think is/ was the legendary  tytes yard on the way from Weymouth to Weston today in the new sprinter. Would have stopped as I could see a load of old lorries and a stash of AS worthy cars but was wary of being a trespasser/ tourist (which of course we would have been)

 

He's parked the van pretty well for a 5 year old.

[Tickman]

57 minutes ago, Skizzer said:

One of these

They are quite stable so no real need for an extra stand. 

I does take a bit of effort to get the right spot but once the car is up it is great.

A decent drill will also help otherwise it can be a bit of a workout

[cms206]

Start a new job tomorrow. Unusually nervous.

Also going to spend this week commuting in the blue Stellar. I want to make the right impression in the staff car park.

[cms206]

In other news I may have bought a car on Friday night. WIFE_CMS is furious and she doesn't even know yet. It's out of test and I have nowhere to put it.

 

Situation normal.

[bramz7]

So I've been trying to avoid posting here just to calm myself down with cars. Unfortunately old habits die hard and in the last few days I've acquired two new steeds. 

Firstly:

Now on daily duties. Late, Project Drive 45 TD. Yeah, I can feel the penny pinching going on with this one. Some utterly bizarre interior quirks, the wood is dismal, the seats are reasonable yet cheap, the mismatch of the window switches bizarre....the stalks from the long standing parts bin are the most robust feeling pieces inside. 

Saying that, it benefits from having the MG suspension (a late deletion of the Rover set up, again due to cost) makes it quite grippy and fun round bends. It's not really got any history, and JT makes a weird ' screeching bird ' sound when slowing down....good. It's quite something how old feeling the L series is, although the wave of torque it eventually builds up does give it a good shove. Happy to sit at 70 for ages and ages. 

Then:

This appeared on C&C for not that much, I had to raid my savings to get it (which I hate doing) but my plan was originally to get it, test it, tidy it up and flip it, but by god it's a nice thing to waft in. Being a Turbo, it's got some beans as well. I think this is just about old enough to still be the 182hp model...there is some service history with it, and it's clearly been looked after, but the last cambelt was a concerningly long time ago. Not due by mileage yet, but let's not mention age! A previous owner decided to tear down the headlining and the hard board? it's in the boot. No rust worth mentioning, some niggly bits on the rear arch passenger side but solid otherwise. Gearbox seems fine. Fluid a bit dirty, but it doesn't smell burned. It's really tidy other than the small defects mentioned. Has a massive roof rack which is fucking awful on the motorway blowing s draft and dragging the whole car back, grim.

Interior is nice:

 

 

[Split_Pin]

Oil change on the Mini this morning. I went for 5w40 this time instead of the recommended 5w30. The last oil change made the car smoke on pulling away after idling and it burnt it at quite a rate. It stopped this behaviour after a few thousand miles after the oil got older. 

I have been driving around in it most of the day now and no smoking as yet.

[skattrd]

That 760 looks gr9 @bramz7 and probably quite rare with velour. Iirc the automatic option on the 760 turbo was something like £2300 extra. a lot of money back in the 80s.
If you're short of funds I reckon selling the roof rack might get a few quid, as well as saving the odd mpg.

PS. I'm not asking for dibs on the 760, as I'm being sensible, and getting my 850 fixed. 

[Cavcraft]

60 odd mile round trip to Llangollen today. Glad I put two t-shirts on under my hoodie and coat, it was very cold.

 

 

 

 

 

[clayts450]

Part Two of the Streetwise rad hose replacement.

Before - bulginess

After - no bulginess

Pure filth

Opulescent and cherry red

Perfect temp gauge position, heaters in full on blast furnace mode

I think that's a success - happy days. Bled perfectly, and the worse job was getting the clip on the bottom rad hose back on. Much swearing again.

At least it can go back to commutawagon duties this week. Still a fair few jobs to do, such as replace cam cover gasket, replace front discs/pads, and do some rust scraping underneath. Old girl fired up first time.

 

[stuboy]

After much nagging and moaning I finally got round to swapping over the missus wheels, so I told she had to go get it washed as someone had been writing rude words on it....

[Six-cylinder]

A trip out today for the VP1500 to Milton Keynes Classic Car Club monthly gathering.

I have know for a week that the n-s rear indicator had stopped working but half an hour after I should have left I was still fixing it. The VP then decided to be difficult to start so I warned it that if it did not start off its own battery I would not be getting the jump pack out, just the keys to the Peugeot to replace it with, it did start just in time because I meant what I said!

I had to show the picnic tables off to the Escort MK2 owners!

The Micra is a 75 bhp SR.

[Six-cylinder]

1 hour ago, stuboy said:

After much nagging and moaning I finally got round to swapping over the missus wheels, so I told she had to go get it washed as someone had been writing rude words on it....

When I saw this today I thought you were visiting the same event as me in Milton Keynes!

[xtriple]

Post oil/filter change... forgot spark plugs as well, the car feels.... different.

It feels smoother and more sedate at low revs/tiny throttle openings but still goes like a stabbed rat if the pedal is prodded a tad. I long for the old days where when your Champion N9Y was 12000 miles old they were utterly fucked and looked it. These irridium/platinum things looked fine when I took them out, almost, just chuck them back in but I had the new ones so may as well... Old ones were burning a lovely colour as well...

So God alone knows how old those plugs were. Could the car have lived all this time without a plug change? 11years and 90.000? Been right through the service history and there is no 'tick' in the 'change spark plugs' box. Everything else has been ticked multiple times, even had a transmission oil change (at MB main dealer so that was nearly a grand alone!) so could they be the originals?

It is definitely running smoother at low revs and the idle is smoother but to be honest, it feels the same when you boot it (it makes a LOVELY noise above 3000 rpm ) but, I have noticed I am not having to push the throttle as much to get away so consequently it is always in higher gears as it is being driven in a more gentle fashion to go the same speed. Of course, the acid test would be fuel consumption increase/decrease s as I fill it up about every two months, I'll report back if I ever think about it again... which is doubtful!

[SiC]

As per my MGB thread I went down to the Haynes Breakfast meet today and saw a couple of mates. Because the MGB disgraced herself, the Boxster needs some suspension work and the Dolomite is in bits, I took the Laguna.

Not the busiest Haynes I've been to, but was busy getting in. As the standings was all muddy and churned up, many just abandoned their cars on the edge of the hard surfaces. I did try parking up on the embankment outside Haynes but managed to get stuck. Luckily I could get off on reverse - even if it did rip the offside of the front bumper out of its mounts. Oops.

Car wise, there was less classics than there is in the summer. A few nice fancy stuff that was very pretty but of course I took pictures of the less fancy stuff...

Dolly 1300


Granny with rust spots all over the body. I had forgotten how big these were. Not seen one in years. Interior looked pretty minging



Best we could figure is that this has a FWD setup in it. I guess a GT-Four or similar. The track is ridiculous on it. Not actually very wide tyres though. 185/60/13 iirc. Wide I guess to fit the engine.



I do like these. Helps that yellow is a great colour for cars.


Panel gaps so wide that you can literally fit your fingers in.




A great colour on this. Quite a lot of Midgets and Sprites at the meet today.


"Mini"



These were about the only vehicles that didn't have trouble.


I don't seem to have taken anymore pictures today. Probably just me being a bit too busy chin wagging.

[Eyersey1234]

@cms206 Good luck with the new job. Hopefully wife CMS will come round and not be too cross about the new car. 

[brownnova]

Second MX5 meet of the weekend!! Off to bunch of fives today.

 It’sa static’s meet in a services where there’s a Costa and a Maccies!

Brownnova the younger (the 11 year old not the foetus) took some photos... 

Bring a mk1 person my favourite was this tastefully upgraded one... 

There was also this nice clean and almost standard UK car one too... 

 

Another nice topless drive home in it too... 

[Cavcraft]

Good luck @cms206 Andy, what are you going to be doing now?

[Arthur Foxhake]

There was no escaping the horrible fact that the LDV Maxus had shat it's head/gasket.

As I need a van everyday for work, I believed myself to be quite fucked.

Not one to wallow in self pity, nor to blame anyone else for an old van to become incontinent, I had what can only be described as a "eureka!" moment!

My brother rang me to ask "when are you going to move this fucking van off my land?"

Aha! I bought a Peugeot expert last year and left it in his field! 

This would now become my daily transportation, with such issues as "it only blows hot air M8".

Along with, " Yeah, all the gears are in there, just some need encouragement, they're a bit shy."

Not to forget, "Oh, tyres aren't supposed to have wire and chord poking out?"

An excellent start, to what can only be, a brilliant year, of scrap wrangling.

[Broadsword]

A quick heads up for anyone considering buying a mk. 2 Mazda MX-5 very soon. I will have a W-reg MX-5 with long MOT for sale some time next week. It's dark green, drives really well, has a stack of receipts for important work done and most importantly has had all the important bits welded. All arches and outer sills solid, front chassis rails also done so it's a good one. I'm no MX-5 aficionado but I did about 35 miles in it today and it was the most enjoyable drive I've had in a smaller sized vehicle in a long long time. Anyway this is sort of a preamble. A full for sale ad will appear one some of the crud has been cleaned off the thing, and there is enough sunlight for a half decent photo.

[loserone]

How much, and where?

[wuvvum]

I sold two vehicles to shiters in November, and both have shat their head gaskets in the last week.  Neither was a vehicle particularly known for being prone to such issues, and neither had shown any signs of impending problems.

Weird.  And embarrassing.

[Broadsword]

24 minutes ago, loserone said:

How much, and where?

£999, location close to York, usual collection from station available etc.

[Craig the Princess]

2 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

I sold two vehicles to shiters in November, and both have shat their head gaskets in the last week.  Neither was a vehicle particularly know for being prone to such issues, and neither had shown any signs of impending problems.

Weird.  And embarrassing.

Was thinking of resuscitating the MGF, think I may wait until this curse is broken.

[cms206]

3 hours ago, Cavcraft said:

Good luck @cms206 Andy, what are you going to be doing now?

Back to what I know Billy... just a different colour.

[hairnet]

9 hours ago, cms206 said:

In other news I may have bought a car on Friday night. WIFE_CMS is furious and she doesn't even know yet. It's out of test and I have nowhere to put it.

 

Situation normal.

do you have a space on yer body for a fresh bruise or 37 or do the boss just give up now