The new news 24 thread

[richardmorris]

22 minutes ago, Stanky said:

I may be in the minority here, but these AM Zagatos look totally shit to my eyes. It looks like a low volume kitcar, based on some utterly uninspiring mechanicals. Why would anyone ever pay actually money for one, let alone the market prices they seem to command? Baffling

 

i agree, most of the zagato's of this era look terrible.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

51 minutes ago, Stanky said:

I may be in the minority here, but these AM Zagatos look totally shit to my eyes. It looks like a low volume kitcar, based on some utterly uninspiring mechanicals. Why would anyone ever pay actually money for one, let alone the market prices they seem to command? Baffling

 

To me, that one resembles a slightly enlarged Renault 19 convertible. 

[Zelandeth]

3 hours ago, richardmorris said:

Now we're talking...if I had deep enough pockets I'd totally daily that...

[Jon]

11 hours ago, 320touring said:

Hello @Jon

We recently had success after replacing a both rear calipers on the burd's 172 by doing the following (as researched by @jaypee)

Engine off bleed the car in the following order:

Right rear

Left front

Left rear

Right front

This bleeds both the brake circuits independently and should get all the air out.

For each corner, the process was:

Pump pedal a few times

Hold down

Open bleed nipple.

Close bleed nipple.

Repeat as required.

 

Other potential issue especially if it's a phase 1 square headlight 172 is that the servo may be rotten. If you discover that is the case, let me know and I can likely source one here

Excellent advice, thanks for that!

We've done the sequence in the right order but I've not tried the pumping brakes before releasing the bleed nipple, so I'll look to give that a go when Mrs_Jon is home from work tonight to pedal pump.

Here's a photo of the offending article - seems it's quite a late (phase 2?) 172:

[richardmorris]

1 hour ago, Zelandeth said:

Now we're talking...if I had deep enough pockets I'd totally daily that...

I wonder how many gallons per mile it does? For a moment this afternoon it was like an early episode of the Avengers.

[Fumbler]

My coworkers, who were unfortunate enough to be behind me when leaving site, told me this morning that stench of petrol from my car was enough to make their eyes water. That being said, I did manage 42MPG on this tank- the second best in my ownership🤨

Cue a complete re-tune of the carburettor. I don't know if it's made it any better, as I strongly suspect the O rings inside have dissolved with the ethanol. At least I can get on with replacement at some point.

Also, the 100% brown steering wheel is now 100% blue.

It even matches the centre plastic!

[artdjones]

4 hours ago, Stanky said:

I may be in the minority here, but these AM Zagatos look totally shit to my eyes. It looks like a low volume kitcar, based on some utterly uninspiring mechanicals. Why would anyone ever pay actually money for one, let alone the market prices they seem to command? Baffling

 

Can't help agreeing. The wheels are very bland, the chin spoiler is awkward, and I don't like white hoods.

[anonymous user]

1 hour ago, richardmorris said:

I wonder how many gallons per mile it does? For a moment this afternoon it was like an early episode of the Avengers.

Fun 'fact', they used several Bentleys over the course of the Avengers. Patrick Macnee was not very good at driving them and if an action shot was required generally put it in any gear he could find, relying on the power of the engine to get it moving.

Also Diana Rigg had not learned to drive when she was cast as Emma Peel

[TheOtherStu]

On 10/25/2021 at 8:41 PM, Dick Longbridge said:

Swine ad infinitum! 

I really regret selling the bargainous Corolla T Sport I bought to 2ZZ my MR2 a few years back. The 190 lumps seem to be harder and harder to source for reasonable ££ now. 

I bet it's a proper hooligan on the road. Any videos? 

Weirdly, no. I should really shouldn't I.

It's absolutely nuts and so much fun. It's got the JDM ECU so the lift kicks in at 6000 but redlines at 8600. It's honda like (and sounds like a bike). And yes, it wasn't cheap. I paid someone to do it as I worked out to do it myself would have saved £500 at best, and this came with a 3 month warranty.

All in, was just over £3k, including the Lotus flywheel. There's a fair bit to it. The expensive bits being the manifold, the loom and the engine mounts. Was a 55k rebuilt engine and included my 6 speed gearbox being entirely rebuilt.

[richardmorris]

36 minutes ago, anonymous user said:

Fun 'fact', they used several Bentleys over the course of the Avengers. Patrick Macnee was not very good at driving them and if an action shot was required generally put it in any gear he could find, relying on the power of the engine to get it moving.

Also Diana Rigg had not learned to drive when she was cast as Emma Peel

Lovely interview with her daughter in the guardian on Saturday.  Did everything they could to make sure she wasn’t in hospital when she died.  Edgar Wright in an  earlier interview said that he needed a couple of voice overs for her last  film role and called - is that dame Diana rigg star of stage and screen? Yes dear, blind and bed ridden but still working!

[Dick Longbridge]

32 minutes ago, TheOtherStu said:

Weirdly, no. I should really shouldn't I.

It's absolutely nuts and so much fun. It's got the JDM ECU so the lift kicks in at 6000 but redlines at 8600. It's honda like (and sounds like a bike). And yes, it wasn't cheap. I paid someone to do it as I worked out to do it myself would have saved £500 at best, and this came with a 3 month warranty.

All in, was just over £3k, including the Lotus flywheel. There's a fair bit to it. The expensive bits being the manifold, the loom and the engine mounts. Was a 55k rebuilt engine and included my 6 speed gearbox being entirely rebuilt.

Worth every last penny I reckon. They're a fantastic shell to build a 190 into. Even with the standard  140 and a few tweaks to wheels and suspension, they're a hoot to drive. I still love driving mine.

A lad local to me now has a Honda K20 setup in his and its also a complete animal. 

It would be great to see some footage of yours!

[Fumbler]

I've adjusted the carburettor as best as I could but there's still a sort of petrol-y smell from the exhaust. Then again, the engine wasn't exactly at operating temp either. The crankcase breather filter thing seems to be blocked as oil is weeping through the vacuum connection.

[richardmorris]

3 minutes ago, Fumbler said:

I've adjusted the carburettor as best as I could but there's still a sort of petrol-y smell from the exhaust. Then again, the engine wasn't exactly at operating temp either. The crankcase breather filter thing seems to be blocked as oil is weeping through the vacuum connection.

Does it have an auto choke? I don’t think Citroen did them, but could be stuck if it has one.

otherwise it’s just going to need a carb, guy to check it over- if idle is ok and still running rich it could just be float levels.

[Fumbler]

Just now, richardmorris said:

Does it have an auto choke?

No, it's manual choke. I had the choke completely off when I did the "smell-the-exhaust-gases-with-my-hand" action, but I think there was still residual gas in the system from when I had used the choke to get the car started. It's definitely in a better state of tune today than it was (now that I've found an actual guide). I'll have a sniff of the exhaust again tomorrow after I've driven to work. The car will definitely be warm then.

[greengartside]

SMOL update on the Modus.

First major drive of it, and I am very impressed. The little 1.6 16v ran like a sewing machine. Nice and comfy as well.

I was waiting for dad to finish his hospital appointment and was bored. I found a secret compartment in the passenger seat and when I flipped the base up….

Treasure! The last owner had left his CD collection in there. Luckily it seems him and my dad share the same taste in music - sadly the CD on the top must have broke when someone sat in the seat.

It was quite grubby despite looking clean…

So we called in at the local hand car wash and they went to work on it. They even cleaned out all the green slime from the window rubbers and other areas.

Shiny as a penny. Next job is the timing belt (and dephaser pulleys) which is scheduled for next week. Also having a new set of front pads put on it. There is a creaking noise coming from the OSF which I believe is the top mount which really should have been replaced when the spring went, but hey ho. I haven’t told dad yet.

 

[Tadhg Tiogar]

2 minutes ago, greengartside said:

...

....sadly the CD on the top must have broke when someone sat in the seat....

 

It might still be playable if you're careful in gluing the broken bits together.

[JJ0063]

I had a sat nav listed on FB

Man asks for my number late last night to talk about it 

Calls me 5 times when I’m at work today and can’t take the call

Messages on FB saying when am I free, I reply saying I’m at work, is there anything I can help with via message. Asks a couple of questions. I’m getting weirded out by the fella at this point so I fob him off saying I’ll have to get back to him as I’ve had an offer on eBay.

2 mins later I get an offer on ebay clearly from this fella as it shows the postcode and it’s his area. 
 

5 mins later I get a “is this still available?” On FB from his mrs account.

He then messages again saying do I want more money or something? So I reply saying no I’m just hanging on to check spec, I’m really weirded out now. I even found the same one on the CEX website for £50 less than my price and send the link saying if you’re desperate perhaps order from here, no he wants to drive almost 2hrs each way for mine and pay more.

 

At this point I’m decided he’s not buying it, I initially offered to post it for free but no he doesn’t mind a drive, I’m then getting pestered constantly. 
 

I now can’t work out why he’s so keen, I’m assuming possibly rocking up with fake notes or something? Just feels fucking weird. 
 

Deleted the ad off FB, ended the eBay listing and if I get one more message from him he’s getting blocked.

 

Proper weird. 

[Tadhg Tiogar]

13 minutes ago, JJ0063 said:

....Proper weird. 

Or maybe wants to see where you live in order to burgle it later?

[JJ0063]

11 minutes ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

Or maybe wants to see where you live in order to burgle it later?

I wondered that but it almost seems legit but weird. FB is public and is clearly a family man who is a HGV driver, occ listed as HGV driver for an aggregate company too. It’s a HGV Sat nav im selling.

 

[wuvvum]

7 hours ago, Stanky said:

I may be in the minority here, but these AM Zagatos look totally shit to my eyes. It looks like a low volume kitcar, based on some utterly uninspiring mechanicals. Why would anyone ever pay actually money for one, let alone the market prices they seem to command? Baffling

 

I agree re the convertibles.  The coupes are rather better looking to my eyes though.  Not that many of Zagato's designs can be described as traditionally beautiful.

[louiepj]

I reckoned that it would probably be a bit long delivery time. But I saw that there were some in the UK also on ebay but they are new and seem to be made of plastic so am skeptical of the quality and how well they fit but post pictures of one of these below.

My local motorfactors stock the later plastic housing for £35 but unfortunately I need the earlier version with integrated egr ports.
I have now redrilled the bad side and will try a Helicoil today (friend is dropping off a kit) in that side as it still has 3 good bolt holes out of four to hold the egr on.

[somewhatfoolish]

If the thread is just stripped a helicoil should work fine. 

[Jon]

On 10/26/2021 at 6:47 PM, 320touring said:

Hello @Jon

We recently had success after replacing a both rear calipers on the burd's 172 by doing the following (as researched by @jaypee)

Engine off bleed the car in the following order:

Right rear

Left front

Left rear

Right front

This bleeds both the brake circuits independently and should get all the air out.

For each corner, the process was:

Pump pedal a few times

Hold down

Open bleed nipple.

Close bleed nipple.

Repeat as required.

 

Other potential issue especially if it's a phase 1 square headlight 172 is that the servo may be rotten. If you discover that is the case, let me know and I can likely source one here

Sit rep.

Did a first for me and got the car off all 4 wheels at the same time, in prep for take 2 of the brake bleed saga:

4 axle stands and two backup trolley jacks did the job of keeping it stable.

Mrs_Jon did the pumping - we opted for 10 whole pumps, release bleed nipple whilst the pedal is held down, then nip back up before releasing. Is this correct @320touring? I also kept the cap off the reservoir but kept topping up the fluid regularly. That said, I can read the maximum level but can't see the minimum, as it's so buried in the engine bay. 

Pedal feel is good - right up until we turned the engine on, when pressure immediately dropped and the pedal went almost to the floor when pressed. There's no signs of leaks, we did each caliper several times, then when it failed, we did all the calipers again. Same results.

We did get a few good air bubbles out at first, so there's a slight chance I'm not good at bleeding Clio brakes but I think there's something else broken.

I've resigned myself that this'll be a garage job to sort but I'll need to work out how to get it there and just hope they don't play parts bingo.

But that said, I'm open to any bright ideas, as so far, I've had better advice on here than from anywhere else!

[Tickman]

Is the drop of the pedal fast once you start the engine?

If you do this a few times has the fluid level dropped in the reservoir?

If it hasn't dropped then fluid must be passing a seal in the master cylinder, if it has dropped but there are no external leaks it could be leaking into the servo.

This is all on the assumption that the rest of the system is leak free.

[Jon]

6 minutes ago, Tickman said:

Is the drop of the pedal fast once you start the engine?

If you do this a few times has the fluid level dropped in the reservoir?

If it hasn't dropped then fluid must be passing a seal in the master cylinder, if it has dropped but there are no external leaks it could be leaking into the servo.

This is all on the assumption that the rest of the system is leak free.

The pedal feel is nice and firm before the car is started, then the pedal feel is soft and resistance is lost, at the first press of the pedal once the engine is running. Resistance is still low once switched off, although I've just been out now and given the pedal a few pumps and pressure feels good.

It's currently dark and rainy here, so I'll take a check on fluid levels in the morning. But there's no signs of leaks.

Assuming it's the master cylinder, I'm guessing this'll need some diagnostic attention to purge the ABS? 

Also, thanks so much to all involved for all your help so far. Scrabbling about helplessly yesterday was truly a low ebb in owning an interesting obsolete car in a far away country, I can tell you!

[wuvvum]

Sounds to me like the easiest solution would be to leave the engine switched off - the brakes will work fine then.

[TheOtherStu]

In car news, I bought a W204 estate yesterday. Seems great so far.... A ULEZ refugee no less (although it was in Hemel Hempstead, the owner's family and friends all live in London and he'd already realised that he was going to have to pay £12.50 for the privilege)

The 2zz MR2 mentioned above has its first MOT this afternoon. I'm absolutely shitting it if I'm honest. I really should have had one done within the 3 months warranty period, but it was summer and I was busy and kept putting it off.....

It's always passed in the past with little to no advisories. However, if I have any problems with emissions, this could be a challenge. It's got a bean can for a cat and has been throwing the odd EML for running lean (which I have a potential fix for, but haven't yet implemented). Could be worse I guess. If it was running rich, no way in hell would it pass emissions.

And those of you who know MR2s of all varieties, yes, I tightened the handbrake last night.

[Tickman]

33 minutes ago, Jon said:

The pedal feel is nice and firm before the car is started, then the pedal feel is soft and resistance is lost, at the first press of the pedal once the engine is running. Resistance is still low once switched off, although I've just been out now and given the pedal a few pumps and pressure feels good

Can you pump up the brakes with the engine running or just constant sinking?

[320touring]

@Jon good effort - did it the correct way. 

Pity it did not solve it.

Does the car lose fluid if you press the brake when running? It sounds much like @Tickman says - that there is fluid seeping past a seal somewhere. Key suspects would be master cyl or servo.

if you need a hand getting parts let me know.

[Coprolalia]

The central locking wiring in the Octavia:

Ungrateful VAG POS.