Ask a Shiter

[Albert Ross]

There's a specialist PSA breakers in Stainforth, just near Thorne....

 

http://www.rtnmotorspares.co.uk/

 

Hope it helps.

[willswitchengage]

I'm currently looking at a few road bicycles on ebay, and am a complete novice to some of the nomenclature. What is it called when the shifters are mounted in the same unit as the brake levers? And, how are these shifters typically operated, just trigger left/right for up and down? I've only ever ridden mountain bicycles

[Albert Ross]

Not called a "gripshift" are they?

[Vin]

There's a specialist PSA breakers in Stainforth, just near Thorne....

 

http://www.rtnmotorspares.co.uk/

 

Hope it helps.

 

Thanks Albert, I shall give them a ring.

[The Moog]

One of the T25 MOT advisories was for a temporary fuel cap. It has got a proper locking one fitted with a key etc. Why would this be an advisory?

[M'coli]

I'm currently looking at a few road bicycles on ebay, and am a complete novice to some of the nomenclature. What is it called when the shifters are mounted in the same unit as the brake levers? And, how are these shifters typically operated, just trigger left/right for up and down? I've only ever ridden mountain bicycles

These type of gear shifters are excellent. The brake lever and gear shifter are one unit, the whole brake lever moves towards the centre of the bike to move from small cogs to big cogs, and there is either a small lever behind the brake lever or a little lever on the inside of each brake hood that releases the tension and lets the chain go from big to small. The gears are indexed and should be wonderfully slick and easy to change. I'm a big fan!

 

Edit - Shimano call them STI shifters, Campagnolo call their's Ergoshifters.

[barefoot]

Why do people lower cars, it makes the ride shit?

When I was a lad, people used to raise cars with blocks on the leaf springs,

It used to make the ride shit.

 

Is there something inherently wrong with the ride height that the designers presumably spent more than about ten minutes thinking about?

[HillmanImp]

Why do people lower cars, it makes the ride shit?

When I was a lad, people used to raise cars with blocks on the leaf springs,

It used to make the ride shit.

 

Is there something inherently wrong with the ride height that the designers presumably spent more than about ten minutes thinking about?

 

You can lower a car with the right springs and make it drive better. However I think most people just lower them with any old kit and just fuck up the handling as well as the ride.

[Morgan84]

The thing to do is to get a crap looking car,the sort no one would think of as a boy racer car.A good one would be a MK1 Skoda Octavia,but a fast one with a 1.8T engine in it ( or faster if possible ),but to have stiffened springs,and the car sit at a standard looking ride height,and to have the car on steel wheels,preferably with a missing hubcap,or some Halfords fly-off specials.Have it in a really drab colour,and then pee off boy racers as you blow them away !

[willswitchengage]

What's the etymology behind the Leyland in British Leyland? Why not British Weston-super-Mare or British Happisburgh?

[M'coli]

The obvious answer is from the town of Leyland, where the company that made lorries came from and is named after, and eventually was merged with BMC to form the flying plughole.

The name of the town is of old Anglo-Saxon origin, meaning "untilled land".

[cort16]

Why do people lower cars, it makes the ride shit?

When I was a lad, people used to raise cars with blocks on the leaf springs,

It used to make the ride shit.

 

Is there something inherently wrong with the ride height that the designers presumably spent more than about ten minutes thinking about?

 

It reduces body roll and will make a car handle better if you use the right kit (as said above). My SD1 has the heavy duty rimmer bros springs on it and it looks better (stock sd1's look like a giraffe on a unicycle) and handles 900% better. It's does have a stiffer ride but it isn't totally compromised or choppy.

I don't understand the spring chopping thing as okay it looks lower but has the opposite effect on handling AND you get shit ride.

[John F]

Why do people lower cars, it makes the ride shit?

When I was a lad, people used to raise cars with blocks on the leaf springs,

It used to make the ride shit.

 

Is there something inherently wrong with the ride height that the designers presumably spent more than about ten minutes thinking about?

 

You can lower a car with the right springs and make it drive better. However I think most people just lower them with any old kit and just fuck up the handling as well as the ride.

 

^ What he said. Factory settings are designed as a compromise between (comparatively) smooth first-world roads and the sort of rough tracks you get in many parts of the world, so lowering the ride height isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, many sports-spec vehicles have lower ride height than the cooking versions (e.g. DTM Calibra is -20mm over stock). Dropping the centre of gravity and fitting stiffer springs reduces roll when cornering, although with serious lowering there may be a penalty in increased wheel camber unless a compensation kit is fitted. And there's the possibility of fouling arches when steering / braking, but this really only applies to slammed suspensionz innit yo.

 

Also, there may be a cost implication. I priced up standard suspension components to replace the worn-out originals in my old '94 Cavalier SRi - over £350 all in. For a bit less than that, I was able to get fully-adjustable Koni suspension with matching springs, which was a vast improvement over the standard - but bafflingly expensive - kit.

 

My Calibra is on slightly lower suspension than the DTM version - again, because OE suspension costs considerably more than better-quality aftermarket replacement kit. And again, there's been a noticeable improvement in roll and rebound berformance over stock.

[jakebullet]

Mig welding gas:

I've lost my source of pub co2 bottles. If I'm having to pay for it I've the choice of co2 or co2+5% argon (argoshield light clone?).

 

Is there any advantage in the argon one?

[cort16]

I think argoshield light is better on thinner metals than just plain c02.

[CreepingJesus]

Anybody any idea what car a Unipart air filter GFE 2285 fits? Sure as guns is iron, it ain't a Ph1 V70!

And if it's any use to anyone, PM me.

[outlaw118]

I've been saving my pennies for literally years now, in order to get my Capri sorted. I've done as much as I can, with my limited knowledge and skillorz, and now there's not a lot left.

My question is, is there any disadvantage to getting the welding done, car to mot pass standard, but not painted - obviously primered - or should i wait until i've got enough to do everything all together? I appreciate that that once the paint fund is gathered it will take a bit more work but how much? An extra day?

Need to make the decision shortly.....

[cort16]

Primer's pourous so it's not a good idea to drive it around in primer for ages as it'll not be too healthy if it keeps getting wet. It probably wouldn't make much difference if it was just a couple of weeks.

[scaryoldcortina]

To me, the paint (or primer) is a secondary problem to making sure the welding is done PROPERLY and not just slap-a-patch MoT standard toss. Really, if you are keeping the car, 6 months to a year in primer does less harm long term than rot trapped under a patch

[outlaw118]

I've found a bloke to do the welding - he's fairly local, and having had a guided tour round the workshop, i'm confident that a) he'll do a good job, and it won't be cheap. I don't want patches, i'd rather replace the whole floor quarter, it'll definitely need outer sills too. He's a full time restorer, specialising in "modern classics", had a MK2 Zodiac on a spit while I was there, as well as a Frogeye Sprite, and a Sherpa Coupe.

The car won't be used much, certainly not between 1st october and 31st march, and will be garaged without fail every night. Whilst it may be tempting to play on a wet roundabout, since Mr Cort16 says primer is porous (Thats two things I've learnt today!) that won't be happening either!!

I'll have to try and find a photo of her when she was "nice"!

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Car shop had a nice vacuum gauge in their clearance section, so I picked it up.

 

Only thing is the supplied manifold take off is too small to fit the servo hole on the Triumph 1300 manifold I have, so I'd need one of these:

but to fit what I believe to be a 5/8 UNF threaded hole. Do they exist and if so what is the proper term I should be searching for because I'm not finding anything.

 

I could get a carb spacer with a built in vacuum take off but if it's even a millimetre thicker than the standard one I'm going to have clearance issues.

[CreepingJesus]

AFAIK----Toyota--Carina,Camry,Corolla,RAV. Thats all i can tell you.

Brian.

 

Cheers, I can work from that.

[Morgan84]

It's best to wait till its painted before you use it really,not only will it look better,but the top coat will give it protection which primer can't,although its better than being in bare metal !

[Morgan84]

It's best to wait till its painted before you use it really,not only will it look better,but the top coat will give it protection which primer can't,although its better than being in bare metal !

[Cavcraft]

Anyone know if these wheels are called 'bottletops' please? I think they're off an E36 Beemer.

 

 

Tbh I think they'll be getting weighed off but I may have a buyer if they're bottletops. Cheers in advance etc.

[Cavcraft]

Anyone know if these wheels are called 'bottletops' please? I think they're off an E36 Beemer.

 

 

Tbh I think they'll be getting weighed off but I may have a buyer if they're bottletops. Cheers in advance etc.

[Morgan84]

They certainly look like 3 series wheels to me

[Morgan84]

They certainly look like 3 series wheels to me

[KruJoe]

... 'bottletops' ...

I believe that's what they're called, because they resemble crimped crown type beer bottle lids.

Send him that picture Billy?

I hate scrapping good wheels...

[KruJoe]

... 'bottletops' ...

I believe that's what they're called, because they resemble crimped crown type beer bottle lids.

Send him that picture Billy?

I hate scrapping good wheels...