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LightBulbFun's Invacar & general ramble thread, index on page 1, survivors lists on Pages 24/134 & AdgeCutler's Invacar Mk12 Restoration from Page 186 onwards, still harping on...


LightBulbFun

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2 hours ago, gm said:

Excellent news - I hope you have a fantastic weekend and enjoy every minute that you have been waiting so long for :) 

+1 on some good security, that would be a very obvious target for drunken idiots on the way home from the pub 

Thanks :) 

to be fair most people even sober aren't able to figure out how to work a Model 70 LOL (and Villiers/Electric machines are a whole other fun ball game LOL)

(and where she is parked is not a thoroughfare between anywhere)

19 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Absolutely brilliant news! I can imagine how excited you are.

If you weren't up early and already out on the road, try to find some quiet streets nearby to get used to it first.

Keep safe, and keep it safe.

Yeah Im planning a local chippy run in the next few hours once I have worked through my morning hot chocolate and worked up a suitable appetite  :) 

one of the things I need to figure out is how to adjust the wing mirrors!, I tried quickly last night, but the entire assembly just swings on its spring loaded base (I assume its some sort of early pedestrian safety thing so if you run into someone it just swings out the way)

I do wonder if the mirror head itself is supposed to swivel about on the stalk via a ball joint or something such and its just a bit sized and needs attacking with some plusgas type fluid...

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1 minute ago, LightBulbFun said:

I do wonder if the mirror head itself is supposed to swivel about on the stalk via a ball joint or something such and its just a bit sized and needs attacking with some plusgas type fluid...

Yes, although you may find that there is a nut where the mirror stalk joins the mirror, to be loosened off beforehand and then tightened up again  after you get the mirror to the position you want it.

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12 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

I assume its some sort of early pedestrian safety thing so if you run into someone it just swings out the way

It was exactly that, IIRC the base is angled so the stalk rises as it's turned (like a rising butt hinge) to assist the return spring.

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4 minutes ago, bobdisk said:

@LightBulbFun I remember those Desmo (almost spelled correctly, Dez !) mirrors.  Its a 2 person job. Driver sits in his seat, and second person slackens the nut on the back of the mirror to the stalk, and moves it to where the driver wants it, then tighten it. It is a ball joint.

@LightBulbFun - maybe an ideal opportunity to go introduce yourself to your SD1-owning neighbour and ask for his help to adjust your mirrors?

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14 minutes ago, bobdisk said:

@LightBulbFun I remember those Desmo (almost spelled correctly, Dez !) mirrors.  Its a 2 person job. Driver sits in his seat, and second person slackens the nut on the back of the mirror to the stalk, and moves it to where the driver wants it, then tighten it. It is a ball joint.

I bet that was fun back when vehicles equipped such where used by driving schools! even in the modern driving school car I learnt to drive in it took me a good couple minutes of fiddling with the electric mirrors to get them adjusted just right (because obviously every time you have a lesson some previous pupil has messed it all up!)

10 minutes ago, Mrs6C said:

@LightBulbFun - maybe an ideal opportunity to go introduce yourself to your SD1-owning neighbour and ask for his help to adjust your mirrors?

thats a really good shout actually :) when I go down ill knock and see!

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in sadly true Autoshite Fashion I did not get very far!

first of all the Door fell off (yes really!) but I was able to finagle it back onto the bar it rolls along

image.thumb.png.4fd3117b3388d84998c2e917ed4dda3c.png

but much more worrisome is when doing my pre-flight checks, I noticed that while she was at Adams the engine has been massively over filled (I have highlighted the min max marks)

1061130003_ImagefromiOS(35)E.thumb.jpg.1dc016f7cfeb71e9c81e5b9e5633bb61.jpg

 

now im worried that perhaps what Adam thought was a charging light coming on was actually a Low oil pressure light or something such and shes blown an internal oil seal or something

if thats the case then im really up shit creak I think! I have messaged adam about it but still waiting to hear back,

currently debating what I should do, I know ill need to drop the excess oil, thankfully the sump plug is not too difficult to get too, but ill need to be careful I dont dump all the engine oil out! and I need to find a suitable container to catch it in (annoyingly we had just emptied our recycling bag the other day so I cant fish out any milk bottles to cut a hole into)

or is she just not on level enough ground and its giving a false reading? but its still fairly level where she, and I cant see it causing such a massive over reading?

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Have you wiped the dipstick clean and popped it back in again to check? It's possible that the angles at which the car was loaded and unloaded has sent oil up the dipstick tube and it has clung to the stick.

Glad you managed to get the door back on again. IIRC there should be a stop somewhere to prevent that happening. Has it gone walkabout or just become loose and isn't doing its job?

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First of all, MASSIVE congratulations on finally getting REV home. What a journey! You must be so damn pleased to finally be able to have your very own Model 70 parked outside of your gaff, almost ready to go. I'm so chuffed for you.

As for the oil situation, make sure you don't start the engine again until the issue has been resolved. I recently bought an oil siphon pump following recommendations on here, and they're actually pretty good. It would be perfect for your situation and would mean you could pull small or large quantities of oil out without getting your hands dirty. Perfect for future oil changes too. 

I don't know the finer detail of your arrangement with Adam, but I'd say it would be easier for you to sort oil rather than him fiddle around on the street. It sounds like he's already been a lifesaver as far as recommissioning goes. 

Looking again at the photo of the dipstick, is the oil crispy clean? Maybe it's just the light, but it looks a bit grim on my phone screen. 

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1 hour ago, Mrs6C said:

Have you wiped the dipstick clean and popped it back in again to check? It's possible that the angles at which the car was loaded and unloaded has sent oil up the dipstick tube and it has clung to the stick.

Indeed I did, 3 times infact I even checked with my phone what sort of angle she is sitting at and she is only about 2 degrees to the left side...

1 hour ago, Mrs6C said:

Glad you managed to get the door back on again. IIRC there should be a stop somewhere to prevent that happening. Has it gone walkabout or just become loose and isn't doing its job?

the stop is still there thankfully but whats happened is overtime I think the rollers on the door itself have worn sufficiently that the pipe they roll on can now pass through the gap between them if its jolted or such (thats how I got the door back on anyhow!)

1 hour ago, Dick Longbridge said:

First of all, MASSIVE congratulations on finally getting REV home. What a journey! You must be so damn pleased to finally be able to have your very own Model 70 parked outside of your gaff, almost ready to go. I'm so chuffed for you.

As for the oil situation, make sure you don't start the engine again until the issue has been resolved. I recently bought an oil siphon pump following recommendations on here, and they're actually pretty good. It would be perfect for your situation and would mean you could pull small or large quantities of oil out without getting your hands dirty. Perfect for future oil changes too. 

I don't know the finer detail of your arrangement with Adam, but I'd say it would be easier for you to sort oil rather than him fiddle around on the street. It sounds like he's already been a lifesaver as far as recommissioning goes. 

Looking again at the photo of the dipstick, is the oil crispy clean? Maybe it's just the light, but it looks a bit grim on my phone screen. 

Thanks! :) 

thats a good shout on a oil Siphon pump, but I dont currently have something like that to hand sadly

Yeah I have asked Adam about it to confirm what warning light it was that lit up on him, but I dont think there is much he can do given im In London and he is York!

and yeah the moment I noticed the Oil was massively overfull I packed up shop so to speak and came right upstairs, theres no way I was going to even attempt to start her like that!

the Oil and filter are fresh but somewhat dirty still, I think ideally she could do with a few oil/filter changes in quick succession, I know Adam planned to do so after the first change he did but Im not sure if he actually did or did not in the end

 

I will say this has gone very autoshite very quickly! LOL

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9 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

Indeed I did, 3 times infact I even checked with my phone what sort of angle she is sitting at and she is only about 2 degrees to the left side...

the stop is still there thankfully but whats happened is overtime I think the rollers on the door itself have worn sufficiently that the pipe they roll on can now pass through the gap between them if its jolted or such (thats how I got the door back on anyhow!)

Thanks! :) 

thats a good shout on a oil Siphon pump, but I dont currently have something like that to hand sadly

Yeah I have asked Adam about it to confirm what warning light it was that lit up on him, but I dont think there is much he can do given im In London and he is York!

and yeah the moment I noticed the Oil was massively overfull I packed up shop so to speak and came right upstairs, theres no way I was going to event attempt to start her like that!

the Oil and filter are fresh but somewhat dirty still, I think ideally she could do with a few oil/filter changes in quick succession, I know Adam planned to do so after the first change he did but Im not sure if he actually did or did not in the end

 

I will say this has gone very autoshite very quickly! LOL

Seriously, buy yourself an oil syphon pump. Stop buying credits on the dvla checker site thing and spend the ££ on getting your car up and running properly. Even if you don't get it sorted for a couple of weeks, at least you know your car is finally home safely. 

Edit: I reckon teh haterz will raise a wry smile at the door falling off before you've even gone anywhere. The rest of us would just put it down to part of the charm 😅.

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1 hour ago, Dick Longbridge said:

Seriously, buy yourself an oil syphon pump. Stop buying credits on the dvla checker site thing and spend the ££ on getting your car up and running properly. Even if you don't get it sorted for a couple of weeks, at least you know your car is finally home safely. 

Edit: I reckon teh haterz will raise a wry smile at the door falling off before you've even gone anywhere. The rest of us would just put it down to part of the charm 😅.

Yeah! if anyone can recommend anything, that would be good! keep in mind it will have to handle 20W50 oil so fairly thick stuff (I know when one fellow shitter was coming to the FoD to do an oil change on a more modern car I asked if he could help with REV and he said the oil in her will be too thick for his Pella type pump)

in the meantime I think I have found myself a suitable catch container, so im debating going back down yet again to try and drain some of it off, but I am a bit worried about what damage has already been done?

(I did try the neighbour with the SD1 but no response/signs of life they are either out, asleep or im not knocking hard enough again LOL)

 

and yeah I thought exactly that when the Door fell off, it was like something out a Cartoon/comedy Movie LOL

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A syphon pump would be ideal if there is access for the tube down into the oil. You should be able to order one online.

If you want to drain out some of the oil via the sump plug instead, find yourself a turkey roasting tin , a cheap plastic funnel and a roll of heavy duty dustbin bags. GIven that there is only a mximum of 2 litres of oil in a Model 70, you can use old 500ml plastic screwtop drinks bottles to store your waste oil until you can dispose of it properly.

Find a heavy china mug in which a 500ml drink bottle will stand. Put an empty bottle into it and take off the lid, keeping it safe. Put the funnel into the bottle.

Cut open a bin bag to make a big square and lay it out under the engine to catch any drips. Weight it down with stones/bricks/tins of beans etc. at each corner so it doen't blow about. Use the turkey roasting tin to catch the oil. Have some kitchen towel or old cotton rags to hand for wiping up drips.

Clean around the sump plug to remove all dirt and dust from around it.

Crank open the sump plug just enough to let oil start to dribble out and let it do so  slowly until you have a pool across about half of the turkey tin.

Close up the sump plug and check the oil again. See how much it has dropped and use the ratio of area of turkey tin covered to dipstick oil drop to work out how much more to let out.

Tighten the sump plug only as far as needed to stop it leaking. You don't want to strong-arm it!

Remove the turkey tin and pour the oil into the bottle/s via the funnel. Put the bottle lid on tight. Repeat until you have dealt with all the waste oil. Wipe up the oil dribbles on the engine, plastic sheet and from the turkey tin with the paper towels / cotton rags.

Roll up the plastic sheet and keep it with the turkey tin (or other pan you have to hand) for the next time. Dispose of the paper towels, cotton rags etc. safely. Dispose of the oil properly in your local oil recycling place.

I'd suggest you wait until tomorrow now to do this. It's 4pm and you will be losing light soon after 5pm. Do it tomorrow and perhaps call in on your neighbour again in the morning and see if they would help you or at least supervise as it's your first go at doing something like this.

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1 hour ago, Mrs6C said:

A syphon pump would be ideal if there is access for the tube down into the oil. You should be able to order one online.

If you want to drain out some of the oil via the sump plug instead, find yourself a turkey roasting tin , a cheap plastic funnel and a roll of heavy duty dustbin bags. GIven that there is only a mximum of 2 litres of oil in a Model 70, you can use old 500ml plastic screwtop drinks bottles to store your waste oil until you can dispose of it properly.

Find a heavy china mug in which a 500ml drink bottle will stand. Put an empty bottle into it and take off the lid, keeping it safe. Put the funnel into the bottle.

Cut open a bin bag to make a big square and lay it out under the engine to catch any drips. Weight it down with stones/bricks/tins of beans etc. at each corner so it doen't blow about. Use the turkey roasting tin to catch the oil. Have some kitchen towel or old cotton rags to hand for wiping up drips.

Clean around the sump plug to remove all dirt and dust from around it.

Crank open the sump plug just enough to let oil start to dribble out and let it do so  slowly until you have a pool across about half of the turkey tin.

Close up the sump plug and check the oil again. See how much it has dropped and use the ratio of area of turkey tin covered to dipstick oil drop to work out how much more to let out.

Tighten the sump plug only as far as needed to stop it leaking. You don't want to strong-arm it!

Remove the turkey tin and pour the oil into the bottle/s via the funnel. Put the bottle lid on tight. Repeat until you have dealt with all the waste oil. Wipe up the oil dribbles on the engine, plastic sheet and from the turkey tin with the paper towels / cotton rags.

Roll up the plastic sheet and keep it with the turkey tin (or other pan you have to hand) for the next time. Dispose of the paper towels, cotton rags etc. safely. Dispose of the oil properly in your local oil recycling place.

I'd suggest you wait until tomorrow now to do this. It's 4pm and you will be losing light soon after 5pm. Do it tomorrow and perhaps call in on your neighbour again in the morning and see if they would help you or at least supervise as it's your first go at doing something like this.

Thanks for the tips! :) 

although I had only seen your post after I did it, thankfully I was able to find a suitable container and drain all the excess oil out before I lost daylight without too much of a fuss! 

Note to self get gloves LOL it was a bit cartoon like in that no oil came out of the sump plug until it came off in my hand and then it all just gushed out all over my hand LOL

thankfully being 20W50, its gloopy as all get out so I was able to just screw it back in, check the level and rinse and repeat a few times until I got to about 5/6th way up the Min-Max gauge which is good enough for me :) 

now im trying to decide what to do next/tomorrow, do I now attempt to start her and see how things go or is there something else I should before then?

Annoyingly the chippy is going to be closed as it will be Sunday! LOL

 

15 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Or, is there any other Shiter in the vicinity who might be able to spare a bit of time to assist?

I dont think theres anyone nearby sadly, I dont think anyone actually winningly lives in Central London LOL

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Just now, LightBulbFun said:

Thanks for the tips! :) 

although I had only seen your post after I did it, thankfully I was able to find a suitable container and drain all the excess oil out before I lost daylight without too much of a fuss! 

Note to self get gloves LOL it was a bit cartoon like in that no oil came out of the sump plug until it came off in my hand and then it all just gushed out all over my hand LOL

thankfully being 20W50, its gloopy as all get out so I was able to just screw it back in, check the level and rinse and repeat a few times until I got to about 5/6th way up the Min-Max gauge which is good enough for me :) 

now im trying to decide what to do next/tomorrow, do I now attempt to start her and see how things go or is there something else I should before then?

Annoyingly the chippy is going to be closed as it will be Sunday! LOL

No problem! You tried it yourself and were successful, so that's the main thing.

Wipe around the sump plug so everything is clean and dry and pop an old towel or folded cloth under it overnight, so you can check in the morning if there are any leaks without them getting onto the road. If no leaks anywhere, happy days!

Check levels again and start up. Let her sit there and idle for a while and see what happens. Take photos! Take video! First start up etc. for your You Tube channel!

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It is an unavoidable law of nature that when you take a sump plug out the first (what feels like) billionty litres will go up your arm. I did one traditional oil change when I started driving then thereafter have used dad's Pela pump. It's a much more civilized affair, and on my cars completely removes the need to put the car on ramps as the filters are accessible from the top. They do need the oil quite warm to work well I've found, but I was always told to warm up the car by taking it for a drive if possible before doing an oil change anyway.

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14 minutes ago, Mrs6C said:

No problem! You tried it yourself and were successful, so that's the main thing.

Wipe around the sump plug so everything is clean and dry and pop an old towel or folded cloth under it overnight, so you can check in the morning if there are any leaks without them getting onto the road. If no leaks anywhere, happy days!

Check levels again and start up. Let her sit there and idle for a while and see what happens. Take photos! Take video! First start up etc. for your You Tube channel!

yeah ill have to do that for next time :) (im feeling very broken from all the up and down today so I dont want to go back downstairs especially now its dark out) but apart from getting my hand drenched in the stuff, thankfully it all went into the container in a civilised manner!

6 minutes ago, auntiemaryscanary said:

Start it up! Even if you don't drive it anywhere. Play with  the lights, get used to it being yours. Most importantly have fun. Well done on sorting the oil.

 

 

yeah I guess I will, I want to thats for sure! im just worried what damage might of been done to the engine having been overfilled to such a massive extent

she was on 23097 when she left the FoD she is now on 23104, so she has done 7 miles potentially with the overfilled engine (as I know the oil change was done before Adam and his friends took her on the road)

IMG_0047.thumb.JPG.45780506f4edfcab7cc6902ef47a508b.JPG

I really hope nothing terminal has happened! does anyone have any experience with massively overfilled engines

perhaps @Talbot?

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17 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

Thanks for the tips! :) 

although I had only seen your post after I did it, thankfully I was able to find a suitable container and drain all the excess oil out before I lost daylight without too much of a fuss! 

Note to self get gloves LOL it was a bit cartoon like in that no oil came out of the sump plug until it came off in my hand and then it all just gushed out all over my hand LOL

thankfully being 20W50, its gloopy as all get out so I was able to just screw it back in, check the level and rinse and repeat a few times until I got to about 5/6th way up the Min-Max gauge which is good enough for me :) 

now im trying to decide what to do next/tomorrow, do I now attempt to start her and see how things go or is there something else I should before then?

Annoyingly the chippy is going to be closed as it will be Sunday! LOL

 

I dont think theres anyone nearby sadly, I dont think anyone actually winningly lives in Central London LOL

Well done!

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Can't be any worse than the time I was ragging my 205 across the Tay Bridge (long and straight, basically a drag strip) trying to keep up with a friend's Clio when it started to smell rather hot, pulled in and checked the oil (along with other things that might have been wrong), none on the dipstick, fresh oil in, took nearly 2l to get to the minimum, they only take something like 4.5l! Was convinced that would have killed it but it carried on as if nothing had happened.

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If you start her up tomorrow and let her idle, you will soon find out if there is anything amiss. She might smoke for a bit if any excess oil has found its way into the exhaust pipe but that will go away when it has burned off.

Did you check that the battery is clamped in place tightly? I can't remember if it had both battery clamps and they fitted or if we had tied it/strapped it in place previously. You won't want that making a dash for freedom if you go over a bump!

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yeah! will just have to start her and see and hope she builds oil pressure and runs good!

indeed I did check the battery was secure which it is :) she has a full sized battery now, and properly clamped in via the original factory method from what I can see :) 

(I also gave the petrol tank a good shove and it also seems secure as well so thats good!)

reminds me I need to get some sort of tyre pump and a reliable pressure gauge, Im pretty sure there should be a good digital pressure gauge somewhere in the house from back when mum had a car temporarily back in 2014, but ill have to see if I can find it first!

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14 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

How much oil did you have to drain?

Most cars are quite tolerant and I would be surprised if there is any damage.

Im not sure exactly as the container I was using was not graduated sadly 

but if its any use I think adding it up I had left it draining for a total of about 10 seconds or so to get the level down to an acceptable level

(I think with some maths, you could figure out the flow rate of 20W50 at 13c through a 19Mm hole to then figure out how much came out in the end, but ill let someone else figure that out LOL)

 

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Oh BTW heres a good view on the door roller assembly from the Model 70 workshop manual hopefully this helps better explain how/why the door fell off!

image.thumb.png.4aa77e3e5f63ba740a0f5ce48b3cc22f.png

 

also separate from Model 70's

this arrived in the post yesterday as well :) for which I entirely blame on @Zelandeth LOL as after he got one, I just had to hunt one down myself

(well a device with a DSM LCD screen that is, just so happened that the one that i eventually found for a reasonable price was the same one he got a few months back! and yes I do have the manual upside down in the photograph LOL)

image.thumb.png.22c7ffd77e1ce0cfaedec157eb87436a.png

its a bit weird to think that its older then REV! its from 1974-1975! will be 50 in a few years! and such an interesting/mesmerising display technology 

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2 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

yeah! will just have to start her and see and hope she builds oil pressure and runs good!

indeed I did check the battery was secure which it is :) she has a full sized battery now, and properly clamped in via the original factory method from what I can see :) 

(I also gave the petrol tank a good shove and it also seems secure as well so thats good!)

reminds me I need to get some sort of tyre pump and a reliable pressure gauge, Im pretty sure there should be a good digital pressure gauge somewhere in the house from back when mum had a car temporarily back in 2014, but ill have to see if I can find it first!

Aldi have got 12volt tyre pumps with a preset function and digital display for 20 quid this week. Their stuff is usually ok, I've found, certainly for amateur use. 

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