BL Bloke's Motors - 205 still here but the garage has gone

[Lord Sterling]

Ah yes! Was at my garage in Telford yesterday and I do indeed have 2 x wheel trims of the same style for the Fiesta. I'll try and pop up on Saturday and fetch them if I can.

[sierraman]

Nothing too bad on that fail sheet, a bottom arm, a CV stretch boot and resetting the rear drums. An afternoons work. 

[BL Bloke]

After dropping the Fiesta off at the garage yesterday for the MOT work to be done I picked it up this afternoon in between the showers. ? As it's done 27K in the past two years  (who'd have thought you could clock up so many miles delivering takeaways) it should easily cope with the 5k a year that I usually do. As I have 4 other cars though this does mean that there will be some departures in the near future as with my low annual mileage I don't really need 5 cars, nor can I afford to run them all.  

[BL Bloke]

I managed t get off my fat backside today and adjusted the Saxo's washer jets . Although one of them was aimed at the screen the middle two were aimed to hit low flying birds and the nearside one was ideal for squirting passing pedestrians.

DSCF0925 by timothy jones, on Flickr

After some work with a pin they were all pointing at the screen. I do need to give it a good clean though as there are still things growing on it. Car shampoo or weed killer? ?

DSCF0928 by timothy jones, on Flickr

DSCF0929 by timothy jones, on Flickr

I did do a bit of cleaning under the bonnet and it came up quite nice, I just need to do the rest now.

 DSCF0927 by timothy jones, on Flickr

The Rover has been off the road since I bought the Saxo and I'm feeling a bit sorry for it if I'm honest. My modern Skoda has only been used twice in the last couple of months so I've been thinking of selling it, putting the Rover back on the road and sorting its coolant loss issue properly.' 

[paulplom]

I had a 1999 vts in that colour when it was 3 years old. one of my favourite cars ever.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Moss has the ability to grow just about anywhere....

[BL Bloke]

I'd been umming and aahing over whether to attend the HubNut Social as I'd missed the first two. I made a last minute decision to go as I knew that if I didn't I'd just be sitting at home regretting not going so I set off for Aberystwyth in ELF, arriving just before 10am and parking next to a couple of ELF's relatives. A variety of other cars were already there, including a huge Chevy Caprice wagon and a K11Micra.

DSCF0930 by timothy jones, on Flickr

DSCF0932 by timothy jones, on Flickr

Soon after @dollywobbler arrived in TWC, parking next to another twin cylinder powerhouse*.

 DSCF0934 by timothy jones, on Flickr

After a scenic trip on the train to Devil's Bridge refreshments were consumed, HubNut merchandise bought and more cars perused, including another Saxo, this one a 1.4 and the entire HubNut fleet, with added Nippa.

DSCF0944 by timothy jones, on Flickr

DSCF0943 by timothy jones, on Flickr

DSCF0941 by timothy jones, on Flickr

DSCF0942 by timothy jones, on Flickr

DSCF0946 by timothy jones, on Flickr

DSCF0947 by timothy jones, on Flickr

A return trip on the train was followed by a drive back up to Devil's Bridge where ELF parked next to a smoll Jag.

DSCF0954 by timothy jones, on Flickr

Shortly after the Nippa nipped off so I took the chance to get a pic of ELF with Elly.

DSCF0956 by timothy jones, on Flickr

A couple of hours later and it was time to set off for home. As I was near to the coast I wanted to get a photo of ELF by the sea. Unfortunately the prom at Aberystwyth was choc a block so I ended up driving through Borth to Ynyslas sands for a photo with the Dovey estuary in the distance.

DSCF0959 by timothy jones, on Flickr

Sunday we were off again, this time to Ellesmere for the North Shropshire model show. This time I was able to get a photo of ELF with the mere in the background (no sign of Elle though ?),

DSCF0960 by timothy jones, on Flickr

Over the weekend ELF covered just under 400 miles and never missed a beat. I was thinking on the way home from Aberystwyth whether I need a modern car as a £200 smoll French hatch can do the job just as well.

 

[BL Bloke]

The Rover has been off the road in disgrace since the Saxo arrived but today I thought I'd start it up and move it round a bit. That was the plan but when I tried to start it all I got was a staccato noise like a machine gun and a flickering ABS light. Apart from that it's dead. I did try starting it with the lights on to see if they dimmed but they looked OK and there was no noise when they were turned on. I know it might be something simple but I have never been so fed up with a car as I am with this one. I never thought that I'd be considering scrapping a 32000 mile car with six months MOT left but I am at the moment.  ?

[strangeangel]

Have you put a meter across the battery? Sounds like it's flat to me.

[BL Bloke]

You're probably right. I'll check it out tomorrow, hopefully I'll be in a better frame of mind by then. 

[clayts450]

Yup, trademark flat battery sound on a Rover K.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

[BL Bloke]

Since the weather has started to get colder I noticed that the Fiesta's heater doesn't, so I'm guessing that there is a problem with the thermostat as it also runs cool. I was told by the PO that the thermostat housing had a small leak (I have had to top the coolant up a few times) so probably best to change both.  On the plus side the Fiesta's thermostat is on the front of the engine below the alternator so it should be easy to get at, unlike the Rover's which is tucked away round the back below the inlet manifold.

Speaking of the Rover, despite the battery being as flat as a pancake that didn't stop the alarm from going off a few days ago. I eventually had to disconnect the battery to get it to stop. ☹️ I also seem to have mislaid one of the Saxo's keys. I do have a spare but for some reason it won't unlock the driver's door but will unlock everything else. The mislaid key unlocked the driver's door no problem so I've no idea why the spare won't.

The 205 is tucked away in the garage for winter although it will come out for some occasional exercise when the weather is dry and my modern (2013) Skoda Fabia has recently clocked up 30,000 miles from new. 

[dtulip8]

Oh god, please don't remind me about Ford's with broken heaters! Just had to get rid of my Focus as the heater flap stuck in the closed position after the cable snapped, an £800 repair job!

[Skut]

At least disconnecting the battery can kill the alarm. In the last Pektron fettled MGs and Rovers there is a battery backup supply that will keep it cheeping away at a reduced volume for days.  At least there was in the 25/ZR so I assume the rest were the same.  

Nice 205. I learnt to drive in a C reg 5 door in bright red with a 4 speed. Your interior pictures are bringing it all back. Mine had the smallest engine you could get on them. 954cc? Didn't even have a heated rear window. 

[Lord Sterling]

On 8/5/2019 at 12:14 AM, Lord Sterling said:

I *may* have a couple of thise wheel trims in that style spare. If I do, they're yours foc. I'll even drop them to Birmingham as I seem to be there most weekends.

Right. Been up to my garage finally. It appears that I don't have the right wheel trims. I have these but they are 14": (I got the better ones, not the cracked one)

[BL Bloke]

Thanks for looking, shame they aren't the right size. ?

[sierraman]

The heater is probably the heater tap on the bulkhead. They always end up seized. 

[BL Bloke]

Last Saturday I made my usual pre Christmas trip to Pontypool to visit my brother and his family to deliver the presents and cards. I decided to go in the Saxo as I thought it would be fun for the presents to be delivered by ELF. ? The trip down was uneventful and included passing 1000 miles since arriving on the fleet.

  DSCF1031 by timothy jones, on Flickr

The trip back was a very different matter. As soon as I turned the key the alternator belt started squealing. I said it didn't sound too good but my brother said it would probably quieten down after a bit, which it did. However, as I turned onto the M50 the battery light came on. By this time it was around 10pm, raining and I had no torch or tools with me. I decided to press on and try and get home before the electricity ran out but as it turned out I only got a few miles north of J7 on the M5 before the wipers and instruments packed up. Pulling over onto the hard shoulder I had a quick check and the rear lights had also gone out so carrying on was out of the question. I tried ringing the RAC but I didn't have enough credit on my phone. Some cursing later I set off hoping that I wasn't far from an emergency phone, which luckily I wasn't.  They put me through to the RAC who said someone would be with me in around 45 minutes. By now it was 11pm, the car was on the hard shoulder with hazards on and I was standing on a wet verge in porous trainers.

 DSCF1035 by timothy jones, on Flickr

DSCF1033 by timothy jones, on Flickr

Just over an hour later no one had turned up and the battery was now completely flat so the car had no lights at all on an unlit motorway so another trudge up to the emergency phone was in order. I was told that some Highways Agency staff would be along shortly with some lights and the RAC said a recovery vehicle would be with me in 75 minutes. The Highways guys arrived after about 10 minutes and set up a couple of lights and cones behind the car and left me with a couple of thermal blankets and rain ponchos as it was now drizzling and around 12'40 am. The recovery truck arrived at around 1.30 and by 2.30 I was back home having spent nearly 3 hours standing at the side of the motorway. In one of those 'it's a small world' moments, when the truck pulled up outside my house the driver remembered buying one of my old Maxis off me back in the day. 

It turned out that the alternator belt had come off, presumably when the battery light came on, hence the lack of charge, If that's all it is at least it'll be a cheap fix.

DSCF1037 by timothy jones, on Flickr

Lessons learned: carry a torch in the car and make sure I've got credit on my phone as if I hadn't been close to that emergency phone I'd have been well and truly fucked. 

[GBJ]

Hasn't your phone got a torch?

[loserone]

I've somehow missed this thread until I noticed your end of year accounts post.  What a cracking fleet!

[BL Bloke]

A quick fleet update. As the Saxo's faux pas before  left me with two cars with flat batteries I bought a battery charger and the Rover has been started for the first time since August ?.

The Saxo is running again and I have bought a new alternator belt but haven't fitted it yet. I did try yesterday but a 15mm socket was too small and a 17mm was too big so it looks like I need to get a 16mm. 

The Fiesta's heater is now blowing warm air but the temperature gauge still doesn't go past a quarter of the way up so it probably does need a new thermostat. Also, the other week this happened.

DSCF1069 by timothy jones, on Flickr

I went out with a can of upholstery cleaner this afternoon and used it on part of one of the front seats as they need a good clean.

 DSCF1120 by timothy jones, on Flickr

DSCF1121 by timothy jones, on Flickr

As the weather was dry I took the 205 out for a run as it hasn't been used much. While I was out I thought I'd take a photo as it hasn't appeared on here for a while.

DSCF1116 by timothy jones, on Flickr

It's due for its Mot in a few weeks and while having a look round I noticed one of the front tyres will need to be replaced as it's worn on the inside edge. The tyre on the other side looked OK  but I'll check the date code as it could be old enough to need replacing too. The tracking needs to be done too as it does pull to the left. Apart from that it looks OK though.

 

 

[BL Bloke]

After an unsuccessful attempt to loosen the Saxo's alternator bolts I decided to fold the passenger's door mirror back out as I'd folded it in to give more clearance when opening the Fabia's door. I'd done it before with no problems but this time there was a cracking sound and this happened.  ?

DSCF1137 by timothy jones, on Flickr

A replacement was quickly ordered which arrived yesterday.

DSCF1143 by timothy jones, on Flickr

Another package arrived today which will help when it comes to fitting it.

DSCF1142 by timothy jones, on Flickr

I've also bought the correct sized socket and spanner to adjust the alternator so that I can fit the new belt, along with a pair of ramps so that I can get to the lower bolt from underneath. 

In other news, the 205 is booked in for its Mot next Friday. On the way home from Cannock last Saturday it clocked up all the fours.

DSCF1133 by timothy jones, on Flickr

 

 

[Zelandeth]

Still love the instruments on the 205...

[BL Bloke]

A couple of abortive attempts to fit the Saxo's new alternator belt have happened since the last update. These included getting a ramp stuck under the car when it slipped off, a flat battery and discovering that the lower bolt appears to be a different size to the upper one, which I have managed to slacken off. 

As the rain had stopped this afternoon I thought I'd try and fit the replacement mirror I bought a couple of weeks ago. I stated with this.

 DSCF1137 by timothy jones, on Flickr

After finding the right kind of screwdriver in my meagre tool box I soon had the door panel off so I could get to the mirror's bottom two retaining screws.

DSCF1165 by timothy jones, on Flickr

They were a bit reluctant to move but with a little penetrating oil they were soon out and the mirror removed.

DSCF1166 by timothy jones, on Flickr

The new mirror was fitted and  the door trim replaced.  Success!!

 DSCF1167 by timothy jones, on Flickr

Storm Dennis hasn't been kind to it though as there was a smoll pool of water in the driver's footwell which I had to bail out. The Mot runs out in just over a month so I need to get the belt done before then. It also needs front wiper blades and the airbag light is on so they'll need to be sorted too.

With Pride of Longbridge coming up in a couple of months I'd like to get the Rover back out so the Saxo or Fiesta will probably be coming up for sale in the next week or two.  

[BL Bloke]

With the Saxo's Mot fast approaching I needed to sort the wiper blades. It looks like this one won't get through.

DSCF1192 by timothy jones, on Flickr

Definitely not!!

DSCF1193 by timothy jones, on Flickr

The other one doesn't look too healthy either.

DSCF1194 by timothy jones, on Flickr

A pack of wiper refills and a few minutes later the situation was much improved. ?

DSCF1195 by timothy jones, on Flickr

Meanwhile, while storms Tom, Dick, and Harry do their worst the 205 is tucked safely away from the elements. ?

DSCF1196 by timothy jones, on Flickr

[BL Bloke]

As it wasn't raining, hailing or blowing a gale today I thought I'd bite the bullet and make another attempt to fit the Saxo's new alternator belt. This time I managed to get it up on the ramps without too much trouble.

DSCF1199 by timothy jones, on Flickr

Once I was underneath I could get to the lower bolt a lot easier.

DSCF1200 by timothy jones, on Flickr

After some penetrating oil and socket action I finally got the belt fitted. My first attempt at tightening the bolts left the belt loose but the second try got it sorted. ?

DSCF1201 by timothy jones, on Flickr

DSCF1203 by timothy jones, on Flickr

After getting it down off the ramps I took it for a drive for the first time since before Christmas and everything seemed OK. ?   

 

[BL Bloke]

A bit more tinkering. The bonnet stay is now safely secured after following @TheDoctor's example and investing £1.49 in a proper clip.

Before...

DSCF0644 by timothy jones, on Flickr

After...

DSCF1206 by timothy jones, on Flickr

Money well spent if you ask me. Next, there has been a lot of condensation on the windscreen during the stormy weather we've been having which presumably was responsible for the dashboard looking like this...

DSCF1205 by timothy jones, on Flickr

..so this afternoon I gave it a spray with some diluted  Mer pvc and vinyl cleaner which is probably older than the car. After a  wipe over with a cloth it looked a lot better. ?

DSCF1212 by timothy jones, on Flickr

Finally for today I thought I'd try and get the airbag light to go out but when I looked in the rear footwell I saw this. ?

DSCF1213 by timothy jones, on Flickr

I'm not sure how it got in but considering how much wind and rain there has been recently I suppose it would get in through any small gap available, although it's possible that a blocked drainage hole may be partly responsible as I did clear some dirt and slimy crud out of here.

DSCF1207 by timothy jones, on Flickr

The Mot runs out in just over a fortnight so I'll be booking it in to see what needs doing. Hopefully it won't be too much. 

[BL Bloke]

As mentioned in the News 24 thread I managed to get the Saxo's airbag light to go out yesterday ready for its Mot today. Good job I did as it passed with just a couple of advisories for number plates and a sealant repair to the back box. The tester did say that it was in very good condition for its age. So it now has a clean bill of ELF for another year. ?

DSCF1218 by timothy jones, on Flickr

The Rover's Mot runs out at the end of April but who knows what things will be like by then. 

 

[BL Bloke]

With the recent Rover 45 activity on the forum I was feeling more and more that I wanted to get mine back out, as since I put the Saxo on its insurance policy last August it has been sitting up the corner so with its Mot approaching I insured it a couple of weeks back, (for £200 less than it cost last year) with the policy due to start April 1st, amazing what difference a couple of weeks notice makes. I taxed it, topped up the coolant and took it on the weekly shopping run this evening.

DSCF1345 by timothy jones, on Flickr

It sounds a lot less tappety than I remember from the last time I drove it but the exhaust sounds like it might be blowing a bit. After 7 months I'd forgotten how nice it is to drive . On the way back from Sainsbury's this happened.

DSCF1346 by timothy jones, on Flickr

Now that Mot testing seems to have been suspended I could carry on after the Mot runs out but I plan to use it until the end of the month, then it will be SORNed until things start to get back to normal and I can get it tested.

If the lockdown ends before the Fiesta's insurance finishes in July it will be up for sale and the proceeds from the sale plus some of the money saved by not having to renew the tax and insurance will be used to get the Rover's coolant leak sorted properly.

[BL Bloke]

As you may have seen elsewhere the Fiesta that I saved from an uncertain fate last year has departed for chez @Floatylight. It has served me well while I've owned it and has covered 1500 miles with no problems. I did need to reduce the fleet though and it's good to know that it's gone to a good home. 

DSCF1441 by timothy jones, on Flickr

Proceeds from the sale will go towards getting the Rover through an Mot and finally sorting out it's coolant loss issues so that I can finally use it properly.

Meanwhile as Summer is nearly here and lockdown has eased a bit I'll be taxing the 205 and getting it out for a quick once over and a run as I haven't even seen it since the middle of March.