Skizzer’s thread: Honda Aerodeck repairs

[egg]

With your Audi 80 fuel pump, @Six-cylinder's fun with the CX one, and and @RobT and me having fun with similar on a Senator last year, maybe putting them in the tank is actually a good idea after all ?

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

On 2/9/2020 at 6:53 PM, danthecapriman said:

Junkman had a black 2.8 saloon Granny before he had this one. That was the one he had problems with the injection gubbins. I remember because I kept winding him up, my (this estate at the time) one was running well on its carb and I kept bugging him by suggesting to convert his to carb instead!

Aw, man, that thing. What an infuriating car! Every component of the fuel system appeared to work on its own, but together? Not a splutter. We even pestered a Bosch Classic employee at Essen who couldn't point us in the right direction either. Eventually we decided we'd spent enough time being marinaded in petrol and flogged it on eBay, half expecting to see it at the next Stan Woods. A few months later, however, it popped up on the DVLA site as taxed and MOT'd! So I was straight on eBay to ask the buyer to ask how they fixed it, praying he wouldn't say something like "oh yeah, there was no rotor arm in it" . But his response vindicated us - I can't find the message now, but the gist of it was renewal of almost the entire fuel injection system. In short, yes, he should have stuck a carb on it. 

[spartacus]

I've had a recollection and I think the freezer trick is for when the head unit has locked you out after 5 attempts or whatever. It sounds like rubbish but it was definitely a thing.

Good to see you back CDC.

[Skizzer]

Audi 80 news.

In the last episode, we left our intrepid anti-hero wondering why it wouldn’t start.

On 3/1/2020 at 9:17 PM, Skizzer said:

It makes a fuel pump noise and doesn’t leak, which is good, but the car won’t run yet because the battery is shagged.  Or maybe the starter motor, which just clicks, but most likely the battery.

There was a lot of petrol all over things from fitting the hoses, so I’d left it a week and also recharged the battery.

Yesterday I gave it another go, and...

 

 

...obviously it sprayed fuel everywhere and still wouldn’t start.

I replaced that iffy looking clear hose with some proper ethanol-proof rubber stuff and the right size fuel hose clips. That fixed the leakage.  

I also bolted in the subframe with some zinc plated washers and nuts from Screwfix, to avoid galvanic corrosion, and cable-tied that hose securely so it’s no longer the lowest point of the car (??).

After leaving it for the loose petrol to evaporate overnight and tightening the battery terminal connections to make the starter work, I gave it another go this morning.

It ran a bit more smoothly than that once it warmed up and would even rev quite responsively on the throttle.  The petrol had its fourth birthday last week and is even smellier and more yellow than your average four year old, so it’s not doing too badly.

[Skizzer]

Now that the Audi goes, attention turns to making it stop.

The brake pads had seized to the discs and both were (unappetising) toast.  I unceremoniously hammered them off, but being an idiot I then pumped the brake pedal at some point so the pistons have pushed out too far to wind back:

The boot has split too so a rebuild is definitely required.

Mystic Meg tells me that Destiny is pointing to something Bigg Red in my future.

[Skizzer]

Vince Vega made me do it.

 

It’s arrived.

Wanna see a picture?

 

Edit: GIF supplied by @320touring and shamelessly re-used.

[Skizzer]

Haven’t found any rust. 75k on the clock. Runs super sweetly.

 

Seats are like new, and incredibly comfortable.  Interior plastics are the cheesiest ever, and brilliant.

Haven’t driven it yet, because lockdown.

I love it.

[Talbot]

Not only with cheese, but with headlamp wipers.  Rare option IIRC.

I absolutely love these.  The size, shape and style of them is just perfect IMO.  I'd happily use that as a daily, regardless of the tax-and-MOT-exemptness and cheap classic insurance of it.

 

Side-question about storage.  I would love a shed somewhere, but really not sure where to start.  I'm guessing most people get theirs through word-of-mouth or by knowing someone.  The likelyhood of one being available on the open market is fairly slim I'm guessing.

[Angrydicky]

Hey nice work Skizz, that looks really smart and in much better condition than mine. The interiors are really hard wearing which is fortunate because it’s easily one of the best interiors of its time. If I can help in anyway, please let me know because I know them quite well now (having been all through mine)

A lockdown is the best time to buy a Royale. Not necessary to visit half the petrol stations you normally would!

[barrett]

I reckon these have the best interior in the history of motor cars. i've never even sat in one, but I often imagine what it would be like sinking into that crushed velour armchair at the end of a long day smoking fags, chatting up my secretary and making important business decisions (at my double-glazing company or whatever), slipping it into 'drive' and cruising home with minimal driver input. Just lovely. I have been a little obsessed since I discovered a fleet of these rotting behind a shed at my uncle's mechanic's place when I was about 9. Uncle had a couple of BXs at the time which seemed like dull modern tosh to me at that age, but the Royales were just a sight to behold. They were all different colours and each had the matching interior - red, gold and pale green. Flippin' fantastic.

 

I'll go and have a lie down now.

[Skizzer]

1 hour ago, Angrydicky said:

Hey nice work Skizz, that looks really smart and in much better condition than mine. The interiors are really hard wearing which is fortunate because it’s easily one of the best interiors of its time. If I can help in anyway, please let me know because I know them quite well now (having been all through mine)

A lockdown is the best time to buy a Royale. Not necessary to visit half the petrol stations you normally would!

Thanks Richard - I’ll be glad to tap into your knowledge and @Stevebrookman’s, who has also kindly given me some pointers.

Re the fuel consumption, I see from the news that there’s a global shortage of storage for oil, so I’m just doing my bit to help out.

[Hertz]

That looks fantastic. I reckon you have had it right off with that. A white room trader would have loved to get his hands on that and triple nine five it.

 

[MorrisItalSLX]

How glorious is that interior!

That’s how I want my my lounge room done, and my bedroom, and the rest of the house, and my coffin.

[wuvvum]

I am most jealous of your velour.  And your wood*.

That looks superb - definitely a lot shinier than when I saw it at Kings Lynn.

[Angrydicky]

If I’m not much mistaken, we’ve got all interior combinations on this forum now!

@Skizzer has the gold

@Stevebrookman has the blue, and green

and I’ve got the red!

 

[Bren]

Looks fab. Perfect with fuel at £1 a litre. It needs to be.

[Bren]

1 hour ago, barrett said:

I reckon these have the best interior in the history of motor cars. i've never even sat in one, but I often imagine what it would be like sinking into that crushed velour armchair at the end of a long day smoking fags, chatting up my secretary and making important business decisions (at my double-glazing company or whatever), slipping it into 'drive' and cruising home with minimal driver input. Just lovely. I have been a little obsessed since I discovered a fleet of these rotting behind a shed at my uncle's mechanic's place when I was about 9. Uncle had a couple of BXs at the time which seemed like dull modern tosh to me at that age, but the Royales were just a sight to behold. They were all different colours and each had the matching interior - red, gold and pale green. Flippin' fantastic.

 

I'll go and have a lie down now.

It's like being sat in a soho strip club.

[quicksilver]

YELLOW velour!!! Good lord, that looks fabulous. Luton reg too so possible Vauxhall factory history.

[Skizzer]

Just now, quicksilver said:

YELLOW velour!!! Good lord, that looks fabulous. Luton reg too so possible Vauxhall factory history.

Yup, apparently the first owner was Vauxhall Motors. I’m assuming a manager’s company car rather than press fleet or something glam, I haven’t seen it in old photos.

[phil_lihp]

That is glorious, well bought.  I must make a trip to your neck of the woods once the lockdown's passed.

[wuvvum]

Indeed.  I might forget* to turn off the M4 next time I go to my parents' and pitch up at yours wanting to have a go.

[They_all_do_that_sir]

That is bloody marvelous

Sent from my TA-1012 using Tapatalk

[Skizzer]

1 hour ago, phil_lihp said:

That is glorious, well bought.  I must make a trip to your neck of the woods once the lockdown's passed.

 

37 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

Indeed.  I might forget* to turn off the M4 next time I go to my parents' and pitch up at yours wanting to have a go.

You’re both very welcome. Roll on the end of lockdown.

 

I want to be out in it. At least I can look at it.

I’ve got some essential supplies to fetch tomorrow - I was looking forward to an outing in the Aerodeck but somehow I think plans have changed.

[camryv6]

1 hour ago, Bren said:

It's like being sat in a soho strip club.

You presume ?

[Skizzer]

21 minutes ago, camryv6 said:

You presume ?

@Bren has a Rover SD1, marking him out as a slightly louche man of the world. He just knows.

[BorniteIdentity]

Jealousy intensifies. 

SUPERB. Hope to see this buzzing through the square mile as soon as possible. Exec AF. 

[Angrydicky]

Do your headlight wipers work, Martin? I bought a pair of secondhand motors from a breaker with the intention of fixing mine, haven't yet got around to it though.

One of the originals had lost its backing cover at some point and the internals were red rusty. The previous owner had taken the fuse out so the intermittent wipers didn't work either. Probably will be able to resurrect them easily enough, but I've got a pair of decent looking spares if nothing else.

[Royale80]

Green

[Skizzer]

30 minutes ago, Angrydicky said:

Do your headlight wipers work, Martin? I bought a pair of secondhand motors from a breaker with the intention of fixing mine, haven't yet got around to it though.

One of the originals had lost its backing cover at some point and the internals were red rusty. The previous owner had taken the fuse out so the intermittent wipers didn't work either. Probably will be able to resurrect them easily enough, but I've got a pair of decent looking spares if nothing else.

Good question. I was wondering that too; I shall investigate and report back.

Perhaps with video evidence, though that might have to wait until the weekend.

[Royale80]

Blue