Ask a Shiter

[wuvvum]

 

*That car also had the enormous benefit* of vacuum operated wipers. If you went slowly in the rain you couldn't see a thing, so had to speed up so the wipers got quicker. On wet roads with crossply tyres that was always something of an adventure. 

Really?  On my 100E the harder you put your foot down the slower the wipers went - the vacuum in the inlet manifold is strongest when the throttle is closed.  Mine being a posh model had a vacuum tank to keep them going for a while, but on earlier / more basic cars, you'd floor the throttle and the wipers would stop dead.

 

My old Vauxhall Ten had the wipers driven off the camshaft, and early 2CVs had them driven off the speedo cable IIRC - those would get faster the faster you drove.

 

 

My stupid question is this:  What is the obsession with "Barn finds" on eBay?  Why do so many sellers think that advertising their vehicle as a barn find is going to make it more appealing?  Yesterday I was looking at a fugging Rover 75 Tourer which was listed as being a barn find - then when I read the advert it became clear that it was just a car which had been parked in the owner's garage next to his suburban semi for six months whilst he'd been out of the country.  WTF???

[barrett]

Really?  On my 100E the harder you put your foot down the slower the wipers went - the vacuum in the inlet manifold is strongest when the throttle is closed.  Mine being a posh model had a vacuum tank to keep them going for a while, but on earlier / more basic cars, you'd floor the throttle and the wipers would stop dead.

Yep, same deal as our Lincoln. Utterly ridiculous really when you think about it. Problem solved by the wipers just packing up completely last time it went out in the rain.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

I once bought a 1959 100E* Anglia. 'You mind out, said the seller, reverse is where first is'. Yeah, yeah, I'll be ok. One mile down the road I missed the front of a double decker bus by a whisker as guess which gear I selected instead of first?

 

I was once sat at some lights absent mindedly squeezing the reverse lock on the gearknob. The lights changed while I was squeezing it, and I stuck the thing in reverse instead of first. The car behind hooted frantically as I tried to figure out what was happening. 

 

Fortunately there was no contact, but being 18 at the time, I could have written 'playing with knob' as the cause for the accident and I don't think anyone would have questioned it. 

[Cavcraft]

That's how I remembered it but that was about 28 years ago now.

 

Ref. 'barn find' its simply the digital version of 'not recovery truck Escort Mexico VW Camper boat tail biscuit bollocks' aka keyword spamming

Quite what buyer after a ten year old Rover Piss & Biscuits would type in 'barn find' first is mind boggling, but I expect sellers think it will make a massive difference.

[inconsistant]

Toyota Space Cruisers from the late 80s/early 90s had 'Toyota Model F' written above the reg plate in big letters... Why? What did it mean?

 

(photo courtesy of the bloke that took it)

[Station]

Think the Model F's were the import names? They were known as Space Cruiser over here.

Probably mean something ridiculous like Fortune or Fun or Fluffy. I was looking at one of these yesterday, I think they're nice looking motors.

Aren't they similar to the TownAce/MasterAce/HiAce things?

 

Is this the most pessimistic and misleading review online?:

 

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/toyota/space-cruiser--town-ace-1983/?section=bad

[barefoot]

Thanks for the insurance answers.

I am planning to stand at the back until its all sorted.

 

In other stupid questions, tomorrow is summer solstice and to celebrate I plan to launch a Chinese lantern.

However I am a responsible fella and I've read so many terror stories about kittens being killed I am amazed that's you can still buy them. I plan to launch mine attached to 200m fishing line.

Has anyone done this?

What is likely to go wrong?

Apparently They shouldn't be launched within five miles of an air port - balls to that bit.

[Junkman]

With a 200m fishing line attached to it it could go down in the Channel, become tangled in the propeller of a French ferry ship, which will inevitably put a strain on the British-French friendship.

The last time the British-French relations were disturbed, it led to the 100 Years War, as a result half of Europe was a smoldering pile of ashes and embers.

Do you really want to be responsible for this to happen again? And does your liability insurance policy cover it?

[willswitchengage]

Is it possible for the rear wings of a car and its roof to be made by one single stamping? On the Subaru the three panels blend seamlessly into each other, no evidence whatsoever of a weld unless they just ground and polished it immaculately after joining.

[Junkman]

This has been done many times.

[Station]

The skin is usually one piece, but the inner structure is made up of loads of welded sections.

[Station]

I've snapped two bolts in the exhaust manifold on my Saab engine. Would I have to take the head off and get the bolt holes helicoiled? This doesn't bother me too much, but will the manifold blow a lot - there are six to eight bolts, and only the two on the far ends have snapped.

[Pete-M]

Door cards.

 

Just a mainly flat piece of thick cardboard wrapped in embossed vinyl with a few bits of RF 'stitching' and a thin bit of foam for 'luxury'.

 

How hard would it be to get a run of door cards made to spec? Anyone know anyone who does it?

[John F]

Door cards.

 

Just a mainly flat piece of thick cardboard wrapped in embossed vinyl with a few bits of RF 'stitching' and a thin bit of foam for 'luxury'.

 

How hard would it be to get a run of door cards made to spec? Anyone know anyone who does it?

 

This place do them, Pete: http://www.aldridge.co.uk/services/schematic.cfm?id=3

 

They're not cheap, but they should be spot-on and probably cheaper than getting a short run made up.

[Junkman]

I did quite a few in my life.

Mind you, what looks to be easy usually isn't.

[Danblez]

Engine blocks that have liners, what do the liners sit on and why do they drop?

 

Also what is the advantage of this way of building an engine apart from weight saving, it looks a bit fragile to my expert* eye.

[Junkman]

They usually sit on sealing rings, which can collapse (there are exceptions though, where they sit in a groove without any sealing).

The advantages are:

 

- Better heat dissipation

- Easier to manufacture

- Easier to rebuild

[nigel bickle]

Fuel pump relay. Which pins do I have to bridge to get the pump to run continuously, pretty please? Done it before -forgotten! Old age- doah!

[Danblez]

Fuel pump relay. Which pins do I have to bridge to get the pump to run continuously, pretty please? Done it before -forgotten! Old age- doah!

 87 + 30

[Danblez]

They usually sit on sealing rings, which can collapse (there are exceptions though, where they sit in a groove without any sealing).

The advantages are:

 

- Better heat dissipation

- Easier to manufacture

- Easier to rebuild

Cheers

[nigel bickle]

Ta DB

[Wilko220]

Should the best tyres always be on the back or should they be on the drive wheels?

I thought the former but someone i know insists its the latter. Grateful for advice!

[Mr_Bo11ox]

That sounds like one of those questions that gets argued for hours in the pub when really there is no proper answer to it.

[Richard]

They should normally go on the back, although I would put them on the front if my car had serious understeering or traction issues.

[catsinthewelder]

Howdo chaps,  another dim question.

 

I've bought a cheap cycle carrier from the bay of doom with the half arsed single sheet of pidgen english for instructions.  I havn't tried to use anything like it since before I could drive.

 

Now if I pick up a couple of heavy 1940s bikes with it like this

 

 

Will I die in a fireball/kill kittens/require the services of Gary from Autoglass?

 

Ta muchly

[DSdriver]

I've snapped two bolts in the exhaust manifold on my Saab engine. Would I have to take the head off and get the bolt holes helicoiled? This doesn't bother me too much, but will the manifold blow a lot - there are six to eight bolts, and only the two on the far ends have snapped.

If you can get a drill in there try using easy-outs. Just don't do what I did and break the easy out in the bolt. If you leave the manifold bolted in place with the remaining bolts you can use it with a collar over the drill to centre the drill in the broken stud.

If there is no room to get a drill in there and there is any stud sticking out of the head try taking the chuck off a drill and use that to grip the stud because as you apply anticlockwise force (with a monkey wrench or similar) to unscrew the stud it tightens the chuck onto stud. 

Let me know if you want to give this a go but need clarification of my rubbish description.

[Cavcraft]

^{People keep telling me that my bike carrier is going to smash my rear screen and what not, yet I've picked up probably a hundred bikes using it so far with no ill effect.}

^{Obv. it could be me that has it wrong, but yours does seem to point a bit too high I think. On mine I have that top 'bar' (the one with the pads on it  that sits on the screen) further up the window which means the actual carrying parts (red blocks) face more down wards than yours seems to. As I say I may have it wrong myself, but I think you'll struggle like that.}

^{By the way you should be able to get two bikes in the back of the car no problem. It's easier (if poss) to remove the front wheels as it makes it simpler to get them in/out.}

 

^{Wilco: front for grip and steering, rear because that's where you're most likely to get a puncture so best (more tread) on rear as presumably more puncture resistant. Apparently a tyre company did some tests and found cars are more likely to lose control/be harder to handle if a rear tyre punctures.}

[willswitchengage]

Howdo chaps,  another dim question.

 

I've bought a cheap cycle carrier from the bay of doom with the half arsed single sheet of pidgen english for instructions.  I havn't tried to use anything like it since before I could drive.

 

Now if I pick up a couple of heavy 1940s bikes with it like this

 

bike rack.JPG

 

Will I die in a fireball/kill kittens/require the services of Gary from Autoglass?

 

Ta muchly

 

That type of carrier should be adjustable for flat booted estates and more "hatch" styles like the BX, although they work best with a mildly raked boot. I found on previous cars that using the glass as an anchor was better as the metal panel on the boot will buckle and deform under many bicycle loads - it will easily dent permanently.

[Richard]

Howdo chaps,  another dim question.

 

I've bought a cheap cycle carrier from the bay of doom with the half arsed single sheet of pidgen english for instructions.  I havn't tried to use anything like it since before I could drive.

 

Now if I pick up a couple of heavy 1940s bikes with it like this

 

bike rack.JPG

 

Will I die in a fireball/kill kittens/require the services of Gary from Autoglass?

 

Ta muchly

 

I would get hold of some roof carriers. They are easier to use (although you're lifting the bikes a bit higher it's a more natural movement), better for the bikes and doesn't raise issues with lights/number plates. The way that's sitting would put nearly all the weight directly onto the back window. I'm not sure you're meant to use them with plastic tailgates anyway.

[catsinthewelder]

Cheers Billy,  I've re-angled it down a bit and it looks safer

 

I would just wedge them in the back sans wheels but they've been sat for god knows how long so I could be expecting seized up bolts and with rod brakes that could be a bit of an arse ache,  I might have got them in complete with the seats down but our lass is working today so I've got the kids.

 

EDIT

 

Soz chaps, didn't see the other replies before I posted.  I think it's the glass tailgates on AX's and C1/107 etc that you can't use them with,  not sure why but I don't really fancy the roof systems.