Dollywobbler's Consolidated Tat Thread

[Zelandeth]

Interesting video on the Econoline camper.  Really surprising how cramped it seemed in the back, even keeping in mind it's based around a van rather than a coach built body.  Given the sheer size of it I expected more room back there.

Can't imagine trying to exist with six people on board... you'd have to be really friendly

Definitely have power unit envy though!

[dollywobbler]

12 hours ago, maxxo said:

thank you!

shall do an order

did they come with the loom adaptor? i recall from the video you had one

They did.

8 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Interesting video on the Econoline camper.  Really surprising how cramped it seemed in the back, even keeping in mind it's based around a van rather than a coach built body.  Given the sheer size of it I expected more room back there.

Can't imagine trying to exist with six people on board... you'd have to be really friendly

Definitely have power unit envy though!

I was amazed at how cramped it was - definitely feeling the fact it was a standard van body. The torque was just lovely. It wasn't exactly brisk, but it was effortless in its ability to gather pace in a way European motorhomes just are not. 12.5mpg though...

[dollywobbler]

Gave the C5 a wash yesterday.

It does not bear closer examination but looks good from a distance. Then, today, it was a 230-mile drive to Devon. Miss HubNut wanted to take the A39 and Porlock Hill. Thankfully no hill starts which is just as well. I really struggled to get it moving on a hill in Minehead!

The temp gauge keeps dropping out but despite a slow climb up Porlock Hill, it didn't seem to overheat. First time I've seen the oil temp reach the middle of the gauge though!

Let's hope I can treat it to a clutch.

[Spurious]

It may be worth checking if Lexia has a live readout of the temperature. I do think it's a faulty sender in that one, already replaced one on another C5, when it started to go it would randomly drop to cold, max temp and then read normal. If it fails entirely, it does have a failsafe of kicking the radiator fans (plus maybe the Aircon fan)  into warp drive that'll suck everything in. 

[maxxo]

2 hours ago, dollywobbler said:

First time I've seen the oil temp reach the middle of the gauge though!

mine does that when sitting at 70 for a while, usually just below middle

if you're ever oop north i've got no issues meeting up and running lexia on it

[dollywobbler]

Decisions have been made. C5 has been sold, in a manner that should facilitate the collection of its replacement, which will be announced once it happens. 

GSA is going to have to go as well, though not urgently. I probably need to sort out those deep scratches and at least try to tidy up the interior a bit. Truth is I just don't enjoy driving it as much as other Citroens and would rather focus on reviving the Oltcit. (hoping for brake progress next week). 

Also considering selling the Fox. It's not family friendly, isn't terribly comfortable and I don't really like working on it, which I suspect is why I've not got around to putting a fresh MOT on it since it lapsed at Christmas. I don't have the luxury of just being able to keep every car I like or have saved, so decisions need to be made. I need more room at the unit, and need to feel like I'm actually keeping up with the work key members of the fleet need.

I still thing selling the Sana is going to be a wise move too, though whether it actually can be sold remains to be seen.

[R1152]

Tough call on some of those - especially the Fox, of which I avidly followed the revival of when you got it.

Selling the Sana for spares might be the best option: there's a LOT of electrical work needed on that car, it appears to have been butchered in so many other ways too.

You'll have enough 'oddness' to play with in the shape of the Oltcit and the remainder of the fleet whilst giving yourself some finances and perhaps room in the unit for storage pending a future house move?

[egg]

Ultimately nothing rationalises one's life choices as much as buying a house!

Good luck.

[Remspoor]

1 hour ago, egg said:

Ultimately nothing rationalises one's life choices as much as buying a house!

Good luck.

Or obtaining  a full family.

I am saddened at the choices. But at the same time I do understand the logic.

[dollywobbler]

Not sure non-car reasons come into it to be honest. It's just that I am in no position to be Jay Leno, with huge storage space and a team of mechanics.

Even during things like the 2CV, Invacar and Fox restorations, I was steadily ignoring the needs of other fleet members. Only so many hours in a day.

I do have someone helping a bit now, but space is the main issue. I can cram seven cars into the unit, but that leaves precious little space for working on them, and three more cars outside.

[St.Jude]

21 hours ago, dollywobbler said:

Also considering selling the Fox.

The one regret I have over your Fox is that you never explored the electric conversion of it. Could've called it the Tamworth Tesla!

[R1152]

3 hours ago, dollywobbler said:

Not sure non-car reasons come into it to be honest. It's just that I am in no position to be Jay Leno, with huge storage space and a team of mechanics.

Even during things like the 2CV, Invacar and Fox restorations, I was steadily ignoring the needs of other fleet members. Only so many hours in a day.

I do have someone helping a bit now, but space is the main issue. I can cram seven cars into the unit, but that leaves precious little space for working on them, and three more cars outside.

You're talking to someone with six storage units, two sheds and a garage full of his "acquisitions" and a storage bill of about £7k per annum. So a reduction of what's in the units is a priority as that amount is over a third of what my pension will be if I don't deal with it and soon.

As you say - only so many hours in the day to deal with them too. Do you have an idea of what the ideal HubNut fleet is?

[R1152]

1 hour ago, St.Jude said:

The one regret I have over your Fox is that you never explored the electric conversion of it. Could've called it the Tamworth Tesla!

You could always buy it from Ian and do that to it?

[St.Jude]

2 minutes ago, R1152 said:

You could always buy it from Ian and do that to it?

My wife soon-to-be-first-born Lada forbids that.

[R1152]

First of all - congratulations! 🙂

Secondly - could you not swing it as an investment in St. Jude Junior's future?

[St.Jude]

2 hours ago, R1152 said:

First of all - congratulations! 🙂

Secondly - could you not swing it as an investment in St. Jude Junior's future?

She's already annoyed that I've spent all year so far trying to get the RAV4 back on the road, when I should be on the Lada, and if I suggest electrifying anything I genuinely think she'd kick me out on safety grounds!

[Talbot]

You could also consider keeping *either* the Charade or the Matiz.  They're cars that battled for the same market, and you don't need two essentially identical cars on the fleet.  Very much like having the Oltcit and the GSA.  I know the G is (slightly) larger, but they're far too similar to keep both.

[dollywobbler]

The Charade and Matiz are surprisingly different to drive though. The Charade is quite a lot better as 'an car' and far better suited to a novice driver. I think I decided yesterday to try a new inlet manifold gasket on the Charade, and perhaps tackle the valve stem seals in a bid to stop the hideous smoke. 

Also, the Matiz is very special to me. Not sure I'd be comfortable letting a novice drive it. 

VIDEO SPOILERS. Has been a good week for the fleet though. First, my new helper took TWC the Invcar's throttle cable with him last time, and properly soldered on the cable end for more security. That was refitted and TWC went for a yard drive for the first time in many weeks. I didn't take any photos of that, but here she is afterwards.

Then it was on to the Oltcit. Mark had also taken away the master cylinder last time, and managed to discover that LNA brake master cylinder seals fit the Oltcit - albeit with a little difficulty getting them on. 

The picture above is Mark preparing to bleed the brakes. We pumped a LOT of air and crap fluid out of the system, and to my disbelief, the brakes now work perfectly! It has a very hard pedal (non-servo discs) but stops well. I'm sure that'll improve as the braking surfaces bed in again. The rear discs are still like new (30k miles) so it's good that the damp hasn't got to it. Very solid underneath too, which is good. I paid over £1000 for this car, which is most unlike me. I'd estimate that once road legal, it'll be worth £3000-4000. 

Had a drive of that too, after unsticking the carburettor again. Next thing will be steering as it's stiff and clonky - Mark noticed the driver's side wheel wobbling about even as I drove gently into the unit.

 

[Remspoor]

Is Mark your Welsh Wizard?😉

[dollywobbler]

Ha! He has certainly been making himself useful, when I'd really got myself into a rut.

[LoftyvRS]

18 hours ago, dollywobbler said:

Ha! He has certainly been making himself useful, when I'd really got myself into a rut.

Sometimes we need a tinkering buddy to spur us on. My long term project in the garage (only the 5.5 years to date) is near completion and when i was losing my rag the other day with it my best mate threatened to punch my head in if I didn't stop fannying about and get it sorted. 

Positive motivation i called it.

[R1152]

1 hour ago, LoftyvRS said:

My long term project in the garage (only the 5.5 years to date) is near completion

Hmmm. I have projects in the garage (admittedly, not automotive) that have been there since 11/9/01 and remain part-finished to this day 😔

Some are even older.

[Eyersey1234]

This popped up on my Faceache feed @dollywobbler

[dollywobbler]

Interesting paint scheme. It's a Dolly and a Charleston at the same time.

Fittingly, we had a run out in the 2CV yesterday.

Arrived at Gwili Railway just as the train came in. 

We only grabbed an ice cream before heading to a tiny classic car meet, the video of which is now live. We bought more cars...

We should have bought the entire box at 50p each, but there you go. 

Very hot in the sun, but the sunshade did a grand job of keeping us relatively cool. 2CV has been used a lot this week, even doing the grocery run. The rest of the time, she sits under a tree getting covered in sodding sap. Wash time. Rare occasion, though I think that's twice, maybe even three times this year for this one.

 

Major fleet news coming this week. I'm very excited for a new collection caper!

[Fumbler]

10 hours ago, Eyersey1234 said:

This popped up on my Faceache feed @dollywobbler

Rhubarb and custard?

[dollywobbler]

Got the new number plate fitted to the Matiz today. 

Marvellous. Wheels and wheeltrims left to do now. I'm just using Vactan on the wheels as it cures to a shiny black finish anyway. A friend is refurbishing the trims but I won't see them again until FOTU.

I also cleared the C5 out as it's heading to its new home on Thursday as I collect The New Car. 

I only ever seem to clean cars out when I sell them. It was looking a bit 'family car' in there, but the new owner should appreciate not having some McDonalds fries in the rear door bin at least. The car rewarded me by now popping the latch on the tailgate EVERY time I unlock the car, and sometimes if I just merely open the driver's door. Because French I guess.

Then I did a post run, got stuck behind an ice cream delivery van and found myself alongside this lovely MERDE.

Also, we did some investigative work on the Oltcit yesterday, discovering that the stiff steering was entirely because someone had used shit tons of grease on the upper steering column bush. Which is rubber... Looks like I'll have to raid the parts Oltcit for the column support unless anyone has any clever ways of undoing oil contamination in rubber bushes. Spares car will also be giving up its rear seat upper section, tailgate struts and passenger window mechanism. 

There is also a lot of play in the driver's side front hub somewhere. We didn't get around to identifying where, but one of the balljoint dust covers is split.

You can't see it there, but it's a interesting look at the frankly bizzare front suspension. Lower wishbone connects to a torsion bar. No idea if I can get balljoints and how much faff they are to replace. 

[Talbot]

40 minutes ago, dollywobbler said:

Lower wishbone connects to a torsion bar.

Much like the Talbot Horizon/Alpine/Solara.  As the bottom ball joint is under constant tension, it can be very hard to spot play in it.  You often have to jack up under the arm so that the hub can be moved to reveal play.

40 minutes ago, dollywobbler said:

anyone has any clever ways of undoing oil contamination in rubber bushes

Brake cleaner will get you a long way.  If the rubber has swolen, I'd clean it off as best you can, then leave it out in the sun.  Have recovered some very swolen seals like this before now.

[dollywobbler]

11 minutes ago, Talbot said:

Much like the Talbot Horizon/Alpine/Solara.  As the bottom ball joint is under constant tension, it can be very hard to spot play in it.  You often have to jack up under the arm so that the hub can be moved to reveal play.

Brake cleaner will get you a long way.  If the rubber has swolen, I'd clean it off as best you can, then leave it out in the sun.  Have recovered some very swolen seals like this before now.

Cheers. I like that plan, as the less stuff I have to pull from the spares car the better really. Especially as removing the steering makes it a pig to move!

 

13 minutes ago, HarmonicCheeseburger said:

Any clues on the upcoming new arrival?

None, but the reveal should be at the weekend all being well.

[St.Jude]

35 minutes ago, dollywobbler said:

None, but the reveal should be at the weekend all being well.

So it's a weekend car?

Quite clearly going to be a Mazda MX5 in that case.

[maxxo]

1 hour ago, dollywobbler said:

I only ever seem to clean cars out when I sell them. It was looking a bit 'family car' in there, but the new owner should appreciate not having some McDonalds fries in the rear door bin at least. The car rewarded me by now popping the latch on the tailgate EVERY time I unlock the car, and sometimes if I just merely open the driver's door. Because French I guess.

that's probably a bad earth within the tailgate/tailgate loom

mine did that just before the rear wiper stopped working

mine also illuminated the reg lights when unlocked as i noticed last night, just letting it get on with it now