RichardKs wanderings: PT Cruiser or SLK? The MOTs are passed, so... dilemma!

[danthecapriman]

Sounds alright to me.

Id never get back what I’ve spent on my 740 sorting it all out, but that’s ok. It’s a car I love and I enjoy messing around with it so it’s money well spent to me.

Use it and enjoy it! The estate’s do come in very handy at times too!

[83C]

On 6/4/2023 at 5:13 PM, RichardK said:

Already done (in both senses of the word)

Got them a present

Matching plate surrounds...

It's not looking bad is it...

I've looked a few times at those plate surrounds, may have to get a set.

[RichardK]

36 minutes ago, 83C said:

I've looked a few times at those plate surrounds, may have to get a set.

They're nicely made - EMP stock the Reise Reise one for rather more reasonable cost + shipping than Rammstein merch or Amazon, but there's a much wider choice elsewhere. The proper ones have 3D moulded legends, squashy bushes inside to stop the plate rattling, and a nice hinged system ideal for trailers; there are knockoffs with gel print or just stuck on words but nothing like the same quality once you've seen what they should be like.

[RichardK]

So this is what I need:

The problem being this way of connecting the speedo...

Wherefore art though, weird-ass 1992-1994 working used dashboard?

Love this car though.

[RichardK]

Important:

[AnnoyingPentium]

Great choice with that Elastica album, by the way. 👍

[RichardK]

15 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

Great choice with that Elastica album, by the way. 👍

Spot on for the year, though I mostly remember playing it in a Mk II Escort I got for £50 along with Leftfield. Lost a load of tapes in/around 2018

Case for Elastica I thought I had seen recently but has gone . I need to make a new mixtape for the Volvo - Jane's Addiction will definitely be on it, need the dogs barking/drop the clutch moment.

[RichardK]

More tinkering, it also now has an undamaged boot light, a spare OSF headlight without a hole in the glass (I'm saving it) and an undamaged ashtray, plus a full toolkit.

Guy I got bits from is a professional Volvo tinkerer, has broken many dead 7/900s and has never seen a Highlander...

Also a proper rear washer jet and a new non-return T-piece for the headlight washers.

Both damaged doors have had the trims fitted with new clips and maybe tomorrow (I'll try to settle down) it'll get four Goodyear Efficientgrip 2 tyres and lose rusty dented rim.

[RichardK]

Bricks

"Just provide a good strong cup of tea"

"It's not running right"

Worth a trip to Tesco

But I took my Dacia to the other shop.

Which was a good plan.

But not a mark on the tough little Sandero

[RichardK]

In which Lilith finally gets an oil change and despite needing to be jacked up does not try to kill me.

Did, despite my best efforts to prepare, dump the contents of the unfeasibly-long-thread oil filter on the garage floor though 😕

12V vacuum pump: success.

(Always leave dipstick UP when car has no oil)

[Inspector Morose]

Please, please let me have a go on that recumbent!

[Christine]

I find that Lilith symbol most attractive...so,  i  started to make an iron one  this morning .. 

Just ordered some 2" steel letters , it'll save me a hellava lot of  time  filing the buggers out !   I think i'll use it as a finial on an obelisk for some wayward garden plant ..

 

 

 

 

 

[RichardK]

On 6/16/2023 at 12:04 AM, Inspector Morose said:

Please, please let me have a go on that recumbent!

Of course!

[RichardK]

2 hours ago, Christine said:

I find that Lilith symbol most attractive...so,  i  started to make an iron one  this morning .. 

Just ordered some 2" steel letters , it'll save me a hellava lot of  time  filing the buggers out !   I think i'll use it as a finial on an obelisk for some wayward garden plant ..

 

 

 

 

 

How much for a duplicate?! That's excellent!

[Christine]

26 minutes ago, RichardK said:

 That's excellent!

I know , i fucking love it .. and it's not even finished . I'm now looking at other similar symbols !  

 Duplicate ?  As it happens  , i ordered 4 L's , 4 I 's ,2 T's and 2H's .  The  bloke on the phone said

 "I'm trying to work that out..  What does that spell ?  "  

" Lilith , twice "

" So you want W, C and E  too? "

 "?? Err..No... "

[Christine]

Bah , lettering hasn't come .   I thought i'd  see what it would look like set  into  an obelisk anyway..   

 

 

 then there were 2 ..

 

 

 

[Christine]

Bloody cool ... or what ?     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RichardK]

Ah, the 1990s dream, a Volvo estate of moderate decadence and a two-berth Mercedes you can do a poo in*.

Yes it will fit.

Such fine proportions.

*but please don't.

And yes I am aware you can also do this in the Volvo but you're cleaning the boot liner or floor mats afterwards before I burn the car and get therapy.

[RichardK]

(And yes @Zelandeth is awesome and made sure this was behaving and then made it appear on the driveway - after two deaths in the family in as many months had decided to not put off doing something I've always been tempted by but had just had a rusty VW and a rotten Transit before. This one actually smells nicer and less damp than the last hotel I stayed in).

[Zelandeth]

I'll miss that old crate.  Very mixed feelings moving it on, but it's hard to argue with the logic given she's barely moved lately - when a vehicle has been sitting around enough the brakes are complaining that's always a sign for me I think I need to consider if I'm using it enough.

Hope she treats you as well as she has me over the last five years.

I do wonder how long it will be before I stop finding things.  Just discovered a fork in the kitchen that belongs to the van...

[RichardK]

Well, you know where it is - it's one of those things where if it's working and not being worked on, what's the point of it sitting around parked!

[RichardK]

It has some mugs now...

My friend noticed the cat bed immediately:

[Zelandeth]

4 hours ago, RichardK said:

My friend noticed the cat bed immediately:

A.k.a. The place you put down and forget everything when you get out somewhere.

[Noel Tidybeard]

On 16/06/2023 at 00:04, Inspector Morose said:

Please, please let me have a go on that recumbent! and video it for all to see

fify

[Inspector Morose]

4 hours ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

fify

Well, i did build one myself but it would be nice to see what one is like that isn't built out of scrap BSO frames, a hand laced, disk braked bmx wheel and steered using the drop links from a fiat panda.

[RichardK]

Festival* at the weekend and I feel completely unprepared - Taylor (the van) is now insured with Adrian Flux *grits teeth* as they had the policy with european cover and european breakdown and low excess, and my friend has used their breakdown cover for things as trivial as "I can't get the pod back on my demountable because something broke" and they sorted it, which is a pretty good endorsement.

Visit to the dentist has done some good, I think this panel could be wire brushed and repainted with some decent rustproofing behind.

It hasn't lasted too badly really, particularly by the standards of a commercial vehicle.

Finally, after months, getting the garage clearer...

MOT runs out soon but not worried about that.

Have to strip seats and rear 1/4s out to fit the rear speakers, though. Argh!

Still looks stylish though. IMO. Y tho/Grumpy Cyberman agrees.
 

*not that one. Music one.

[RichardK]

Trial run:

Sort out some kit...

McLeod cannot wait to jump into the vacant spot

Do a drive...

Thirsty on way to Thirsk...

Found a spot...

If you ordered Finch (film, on Apple TV) on Temu:

The battery is too big for the space in the van... it's also heavy. Gave me The Fear on the floor of the back though I am sure it is fine.

Destination:

Eat food, buy things, look at stuff... This is my first festival...

At the gate "Are you Sarah's friends?"

"How did you know?!" "She said you'd be driving a blue and white vintage camper"

Vintage?! I remember when H-plate was new!

Does stand out though ❤️

Time for tea. Because I had zero prep time we had no gas bottle - I heated water and teabags in a Remoska 600W pan-with-heated-lid and it worked but there's no handle so pouring was fun.

Solar is good, but what about a van powered by rainbows?

The same energy is used to power the big top...

We stuck around to see Pet Service Boys, I mean, Public Shop Broadcasting, I mean... Well, PSB.

This cymbal REALLY got into the act for Spitfire...

Then late evening back to van - we ended up not staying because of early morning start for my friend but we could have done, her son had reached a level of "cope" but given everything we saw and did that was a first, it was glorious. He loved seeing PSB, and while I don't do festivals or crowds I DO camp out at the barrier to see live musicians, so he got to see it all close-up...

How welcoming is this on a dark evening after a lot of "stuff"?

Now I need to recharge too. Also 2 hours each way at 55-60mph (hills) - you'll need to shout. Phone gave me two health warnings for prolonged exposure to loud noises!

Need to suss out the van wiring, I think I blew a fuse trying to get the 240V, 12V, leisure battery, fridge etc. figured out, and the brakes were interestingly noisy when we got home - it feels like a steering damper and an alignment wouldn't go amiss but drives very nicely otherwise, rides well and feels less rattly than I expected. And we did overtake some things!

The end:

[RichardK]

Have been studying campervans and wiring and other such things and saw this:

I mean this is essentially how I felt at the weekend.

But I have found pics of an Autotrail Cherokee which might help understand how the kitchen pieces might have gone together.

(I hate that Facebook prevents saving images on a phone).

I'm not thinking restore to original, but more "how can I upgrade using modern materials while learning about the original design".

The row of drawers is interesting and I think the Cherokee must be a longer body.

But first, I'm getting the genuine exhaust. The fruity one works and is absolutely fine but on a longer drive it is a bit much. Also I wonder if the crackly/rattly sound as it's pushing 70 and working hard is related to back pressure or similar.

[Zelandeth]

2 hours ago, RichardK said:

Have been studying campervans and wiring and other such things and saw this:

I mean this is essentially how I felt at the weekend.

But I have found pics of an Autotrail Cherokee which might help understand how the kitchen pieces might have gone together.

(I hate that Facebook prevents saving images on a phone).

I'm not thinking restore to original, but more "how can I upgrade using modern materials while learning about the original design".

The row of drawers is interesting and I think the Cherokee must be a longer body.

But first, I'm getting the genuine exhaust. The fruity one works and is absolutely fine but on a longer drive it is a bit much. Also I wonder if the crackly/rattly sound as it's pushing 70 and working hard is related to back pressure or similar.

The rattle is the handbrake cable vibrating against one of the eyes where it passes through a cross member.  It took me about three years to figure out what the hell it was.  I'm guessing there must have been a bush or something there originally to stop it vibrating and rattling - but it's long gone.  My other idea was to put a light spring to pull it against one side just enough to shut it up as the noise is bloody irritating.

I only found it because I was doing something totally unrelated under the van and happened to touch the cable and heard it make that exact noise.  

[RichardK]

Ahhhhhhhhhhh!

I thought it was gear linkage related but there's also quite a spicy amount of induction noise when you need that last 4th gear "COmE On!" when a box van decides to take offence at being overtaken... That makes a lot of sense!