New shitter. 1982 Citroen VISA.

[Fumbler]

Have you checked to see if the floats aren't holed anywhere? They could be sinking.

[jonathan_dyane]

It's great to see this running nicely!

I wonder could the electronic fuel pump be too powerful for a carburettor to the point where it is forcing the needle valve open? 

[Lankytim]

3 hours ago, Fumbler said:

Have you checked to see if the floats aren't holed anywhere? They could be sinking.

Yeah, I did consider that but I checked them and they're fine. 

13 minutes ago, jonathan_dyane said:

It's great to see this running nicely!

I wonder could the electronic fuel pump be too powerful for a carburettor to the point where it is forcing the needle valve open? 

It's a possible that's happening. The pump is the type that keeps pumping even when the float valve cuts off the fuel so it's hard to know when it's getting any resistance. Old SU pumps would slowly tick when the float chamber was full but this thing just keeps chattering away.

Either way, I've done some more "trial and erroring" and bent the arm for the floats in a way that it shuts the fuel off when the float chamber is only half full and it seems to have done the trick, it's allowing the floats to apply more pressure to the valve. I also bent the arm slightly closer to the pivot to prevent it fouling.  It's hard to say when something is 100% "fixed" but it's worked so far. 

[Lankytim]

The amount of shite hitting the fuel pump is ridiculous so I’ve removed the fuel tank to take to work and steam clean. It’s been off once before but I didn’t do a very good job of cleaning it out, a house move meant I just gave it a swill and stuck it back on so it didn’t get lost or damaged. Hopefully a more thorough clean will sort things out.

Inside the tank was 5 litres or so of dirty petrol plus loads of corrosion and debris. The fuel sender has certainly seen better days but will hopefully be recoverable. While swilling the petrol around to remove as much crud as possible I noticed a clanging noise. I assumed it was the remains of a damaged fuel sender or filler cap that had fallen inside the tank but it turned out it was one of those bags of lead pellets designed to allow old cars to run on unleaded. They were all the rage in the early 2000s when people started to worry about the damage unleaded petrol would do to cylinder heads and valve seats. Obviously it’s since been proven that these pellets don’t do anything at all. I think it’s the first time I’ve actually seen one of these bags in real life rather than in an advert in a magazine. I’ve kept it to one side to dissect and analyse later.

Im not sure if these 2 cylinder engines would’ve benefited from any sort of “effect” these pellets had, don’t they have alloy heads with hardened seats from the factory anyway? 

[dollywobbler]

Yes, hardened valve seats as standard. One 2CV parts supplier said you might as well add chocolate to your tank if you thought a bag of pellets might do anything.

[wuvvum]

That does look quite manky.

I was actually surprised at how little crud there was in the Volvo's fuel tank when I drained that, given that it had (presumably) been left to its own devices for 50 years.  I was expecting a right old sludgefest.

[Lankytim]

19 hours ago, wuvvum said:

That does look quite manky.

I was actually surprised at how little crud there was in the Volvo's fuel tank when I drained that, given that it had (presumably) been left to its own devices for 50 years.  I was expecting a right old sludgefest.

I was surprised at the level of shite in this tank. It’s been laid up for 10 years but I suppose the tank is still 40 years old in total so there would’ve been plenty of time for rust to form when it was on the road. The tank externally is in great shape. I’m praying that there’s not wafer thin areas formed by internal corrosion that will suddenly make themselves apparent when I jet it all out tonight. 
 

Apart from the rust flakes there seems to be a lot of silt or sediment in there. How this forms is anyone’s guess. Can it drop out of old petrol or something? 

[Fumbler]

7 minutes ago, Lankytim said:

I was surprised at the level of shite in this tank. It’s been laid up for 10 years but I suppose the tank is still 40 years old in total so there would’ve been plenty of time for rust to form when it was on the road. The tank externally is in great shape. I’m praying that there’s not wafer thin areas formed by internal corrosion that will suddenly make themselves apparent when I jet it all out tonight. 
 

Apart from the rust flakes there seems to be a lot of silt or sediment in there. How this forms is anyone’s guess. Can it drop out of old petrol or something? 

I think it's from when petrol starts to degrade into effectively deck varnish and solids form as a result. I imagine powerful thinners would re-dissolve the shite enough to be strained and used as a parts cleaner/lawnmower fuel

[grogee]

8 minutes ago, Fumbler said:

 used as a parts cleaner/lawnmower fuel

Or a warming winter drink. 

[Lankytim]

21 minutes ago, Fumbler said:

I think it's from when petrol starts to degrade into a cheeky little number.

13 minutes ago, grogee said:

Or a warming winter drink. 

I’ll let everyone know how much of a kick it’s got! 

[Lankytim]

I’ve managed to sneak this tank into work and give it a blast on the steam cleaner. With everything turned up to 11 I set about getting it squeaky clean.

Not much crud was evident when blasting it out, possibly the high pressure jet of soapy water made the debris hard to see as it flew everywhere. I managed to clean the inside and outside of the tank several times before the steam cleaner packed up.  A quick peek inside revealed a transformation but some areas of stubborn varnish like material persisted. I’ve half filled the tank with neat TFR for a few hours in an attempt to get it shifted. The light green tinge of the TFR has turned to a murky brown colour so it certainly seems to be doing something.

The tank seems to be in good shape with no leaks and under the grime is galvanised which bodes well. After another hour or so I’ll swill the tank out with a hose and leave it to dry out. 

[Datsuncog]

On 2/11/2022 at 4:59 PM, Lankytim said:

While swilling the petrol around to remove as much crud as possible I noticed a clanging noise. I assumed it was the remains of a damaged fuel sender or filler cap that had fallen inside the tank but it turned out it was one of those bags of lead pellets designed to allow old cars to run on unleaded. They were all the rage in the early 2000s when people started to worry about the damage unleaded petrol would do to cylinder heads and valve seats. Obviously it’s since been proven that these pellets don’t do anything at all. I think it’s the first time I’ve actually seen one of these bags in real life rather than in an advert in a magazine. I’ve kept it to one side to dissect and analyse later.

 

Crumbs, I remember buying one of those lead pellets in gauze things, around 1998. I think I bought it via an ad in Practical Classics or something like that.

Never put it in the Viva's tank; I think deep down it just seemed like a bad idea. I used Castrol Valvemaster additive instead, once LRP supply dried up at the pumps.

Haven't thought about that for decades! 

[Lankytim]

After a final slosh around of the TFR inside the tank I poured it out. I wish I’d taken a photo, the liquid that emerged was a vivid reddish brown colour and absolutely stunk,  It looked a bit like creosote! I used a hosepipe to fill the tank with water and sloshed it around to try and remove any traces of chemicals. After a few swills the water emerging was nice and clear, the tank now looks a million times better inside although I can feel corrosion with my finger on the inner top surface of the tank, although I can’t see it without an endoscope or similar.  It’s currently drying out against a radiator.  I’ll have a look at the manky fuel sender tomorrow and if I can get it to a satisfactory level of serviceability I’ll get the tank refitted. 

[MJK 24]

Sterling work.  That’s got to make a huge improvement!

[Lankytim]

The tank is currently sat in the living room and is now totally dry.  There seems to be quite a bit of loose dust like rust on the inside of the tank on the top panel that’s falling off and rattling around. I’ve used a Hoover to remove it from the filler neck and after a few taps on the top of the tank to make as much rust as I can drop off it seems to have stopped. 
 

On to the sender… after popping it all apart a whole load of crap was removed, including the usual rust and varnish. Unfortunately I broke the earth strap so that will need repairing before it’s refitted. I’m not even sure if it works or not but it seems pretty simple so fingers crossed. 

[Lankytim]

I got the urge today to do some Visa stuff so plonked the clean fuel tank onto the dining table next to the wife’s jigsaw puzzle much to her bemusement. Loose rust was quickly removed with a wire brush and a nice coat of black Hammerite applied. Hopefully it’ll be dry by the morning. I won’t bother doing the underside as it’s already well protected by Waxoyl or some similar product. 

[MJK 24]

I can sense a large mojo boost since the two cylinders sprang back into life!

[Lankytim]

18 minutes ago, MJK 24 said:

I can sense a large mojo boost since the two cylinders sprang back into life!

Oh, most definitely! It’s now a car instead of a thing that just lives in the garden.

[grogee]

I want to see this car do a proper car thing like going to get chips or collecting groceries. 

I love the fact it's twin cylinder and has no right to be alive today. 

[MJK 24]

3 hours ago, Lankytim said:

Oh, most definitely! It’s now a car instead of a thing that just lives in the garden.

As long as you’re happy with the brakes and tyres etc, you can hit the road without an MOT as it’s 40 years old?  That’ll be the ultimate mojo boost to get it ship shape and finished!

[wuvvum]

It's not quite 40 yet.

[Lankytim]

12 hours ago, MJK 24 said:

As long as you’re happy with the brakes and tyres etc, you can hit the road without an MOT as it’s 40 years old?  That’ll be the ultimate mojo boost to get it ship shape and finished!

I’d still like to get it MOTd, plus I think it needs to tick over to 41 to be MOT exempt (either that or free tax, I forget which)

[Fumbler]

4 minutes ago, Lankytim said:

I’d still like to get it MOTd, plus I think it needs to tick over to 41 to be MOT exempt (either that or free tax, I forget which)

Pretty sure once it reaches tha magic 4-0 it's both MoT and tax exempt. You still have to "tax" your car annually though.

[LightBulbFun]

30 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

It's not quite 40 yet.

 

27 minutes ago, Lankytim said:

I’d still like to get it MOTd, plus I think it needs to tick over to 41 to be MOT exempt (either that or free tax, I forget which)

 

22 minutes ago, Fumbler said:

Pretty sure once it reaches tha magic 4-0 it's both MoT and tax exempt. You still have to "tax" your car annually though.

the Long and the short of it is

it will become MOT exempt the moment it turns 40.0 years old (29th of November 2022)

but it will only become eligible for the £NIL rate historic vehicle taxation class on the 1st of April 2023 (since the taxation stuff goes with the financial year)

if you need to tax the vehicle during this period of time when you still have to pay for tax but it is MOT exempt you simply fill out a V112 and present that when paying for tax

 

the 40 year MOT exemption and the 40 Year £NIL Historic Taxation class are 2 separate things and each has their own separate eligibility requirements and are managed by 2 separate agencies, the DVLA for Tax stuff and the DVSA for MOT stuff  

 

for example a car over 40 years old being used for hire or reward or commercially is not £NIL Rate tax eligible, but is still entirely MOT exempt

[bobdisk]

Also make sure your tax class is "Historic Vehicle" on the V5C.  That is the £NIL rating. If it shows "Private/Light Goods" (I think) get it changed.

[Lankytim]

 

I've just found another image of this Visa online. I'm glad those crappy hubcaps have gone!

[mk2_craig]

They look the same as the ones on my mk3 Escort when I bought it back in about 2003.  They were frisbeed instantly, at which point I discovered the rims underneath were a mish mash of various Ford styles, as if the previous owner had refreshed all the tyres by simply stealing the spare wheel from four different cars. 

[Lankytim]

I've spotted this style of wheel for sale online. Theyre obv much less corroded and crunchy than my existing wheels.  Does this style still take imperial tyre sizes or are they metric horrors?

[500tops]

They're 13", Tim

 

 

 

[Fabergé Greggs]

47 minutes ago, Lankytim said:

I've spotted this style of wheel for sale online. Theyre obv much less corroded and crunchy than my existing wheels.  Does this style still take imperial tyre sizes or are they metric horrors?

I don’t know but I do know they’re lovely