Wibble’s Wittering - Cortina, Senator & occasional Skoda & family ramblings, soz!

[Wibble]

1 hour ago, danthecapriman said:

Glad the change to electronic ignition has gone (mostly!) well. I was a bit sceptical of the dreaded modern electronics in my lovely old classics to begin with but once you do it and get it set up ok it’s so much better. And just think, never again will you have to ponce around setting the points gaps every 5 mins as it comes out of adjustment, or the contacts have corroded, and never again will you have to buy modern cheap crappy condenser’s that may or may not work straight out of the box!

Saying all that of course, I do still keep my old points and condenser in the cars… just in case!

Yep, old dizzy, points and condenser are all in the boot(with some tools now mind😉)but, you were so right, it is so much better and I wish I’d done it sooner!

[danthecapriman]

13 hours ago, Wibble said:

Yep, old dizzy, points and condenser are all in the boot(with some tools now mind😉)but, you were so right, it is so much better and I wish I’d done it sooner!

Definitely. Some people still don’t like the idea of it but the points & condenser were always the weak points of old ignition systems. Wear, poor part quality, damp and cold always caused problems, but all of that is largely gone with electronic ignition. Obviously nothing is completely trouble free and break proof but they are a huge improvement imho.

Itll be interesting to see how yours starts and runs come winter.

[Shite Ron]

I am glad you posted this, I have an identical kit to fit on my mk4 Ghia estate this weekend.

[Wibble]

4 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

Definitely. Some people still don’t like the idea of it but the points & condenser were always the weak points of old ignition systems. Wear, poor part quality, damp and cold always caused problems, but all of that is largely gone with electronic ignition. Obviously nothing is completely trouble free and break proof but they are a huge improvement imho.

Itll be interesting to see how yours starts and runs come winter.

Definitely, the twin choke Weber carb is pretty new, so with this and the new ignition, I’m hoping it will be alright. Not that I use it much in winter but I will see how it starts.

[Wibble]

4 hours ago, Shite Ron said:

I am glad you posted this, I have an identical kit to fit on my mk4 Ghia estate this weekend.

Do let me know how you get on. You might not have the handy spare 12v feed that I had, with yours being a Ghia an all!

[Wibble]

Well, after 10 months waiting we  have now got our new Luton van. Can you spot which one it is?🤣

The 58 plate has been absolutely brilliant and still going strong at over 225k miles and sold to first viewer. It has been meticulously maintained though and we even wet cleaned the seats for them. Looks new inside!

 

[wesacosa]

[High Jetter]

Hng

 

[Wibble]

2 hours ago, wesacosa said:

Crikey, another publication with my car in it that I’m unaware of! Please tell me more…

[wesacosa]

Its actually from two different issues of classic car buyer.  the single picture article is from 6th July issue and the two picture article is from 29th June issue

[Wibble]

I now have working audio at last!

Unfortunately only with the glove box open as this unit has a large volume/on-off switch and closing the lid switches it off and you have to remove the face to close it🤣

It’ll do for now though

[Wibble]

I’ve just being using the Cortina as “a car” today, with various shopping trips completed and a nice bloke chatting to us in the next lane at traffic lights asking about the car🙂.

Since the new ignition system was installed, it really is much better to drive. It does seem to need more cranking to start though and a bit of throttle but all the low speed hesitation is gone and it’s much more lively. I reckon condenser and the shit state of the old plugs hold much of the blame.

I feel it is now idling slightly high though so will adjust this but need to check the timing again first, as I realised I forgot to remove and blank off the vacuum when I did it a few weeks ago after our minor breakdown🤭

[Wibble]

Decided to swallow a couple of brave pills and get the passenger mirror fitted to the Cortina.

Existing driver’s side mirror removed first and measurements taken from centre of each hole, then measured, marked and centre punched passenger door. First pilot holes drilled, so far so good:

Then holes enlarged with gradually increased bit sizes, edges painted and a slab of grease also and:

I feel much safer out and about and so much easier reversing into garage. That’ll do for now, quitting whilst I’m ahead 😁

[Matty]

On 6/18/2022 at 12:15 AM, Wibble said:

Well, after 10 months waiting we  have now got our new Luton van. Can you spot which one it is?🤣

The 58 plate has been absolutely brilliant and still going strong at over 225k miles and sold to first viewer. It has been meticulously maintained though and we even wet cleaned the seats for them. Looks new inside!

 

Good bus those ivecos. We've had a 3 litre with a 14ft flat bed for work for 3 year now. Proper industrial tool for the job. @Cavcraft knows nowt 😄

[Wibble]

6 minutes ago, Matty said:

Good bus those ivecos. We've had a 3 litre with a 14ft flat bed for work for 3 year now. Proper industrial tool for the job. @Cavcraft knows nowt 😄

Yep, everyone seems to like it but still getting used to it. Drives much more like a small lorry than a van, with low gearing. Rarely need first and will take roundabouts happily in third. Could  do with a bigger tank though as the range is far less than the Transits.

[Matty]

17 minutes ago, Wibble said:

Yep, everyone seems to like it but still getting used to it. Drives much more like a small lorry than a van, with low gearing. Rarely need first and will take roundabouts happily in third. Could  do with a bigger tank though as the range is far less than the Transits.

Same here. That's what I like about ours, the gearing. I left our place for a bit a couple of years ago to work as a site fitter again and got given a lwb hi top transit. A van that won't pull 30mph in 4th on the flat?? Wtf? Small tank is a consequence of having an ad blue tank and the necessity to maintain some sort of reasonable payload. Diesel tank gets smaller.

[Wibble]

Yep, we figured the ad blue meant a smaller tank. The other great thing is the turning circle is bloody brilliant compared to the same size Transit Luton!

[Matty]

12 minutes ago, Wibble said:

Yep, we figured the ad blue meant a smaller tank. The other great thing is the turning circle is bloody brilliant compared to the same size Transit Luton!

Definatly a small wagon though as opposed to a big van 😄

[Wibble]

1 hour ago, Matty said:

Definatly a small wagon though as opposed to a big van 😄

100%, reminds me of a 7.5 toner😁

[Wibble]

Ok, this may, or may not, prove to be controversial to the purists but as I’ve strayed slightly by adding the passenger door mirror, I’ve now replaced the original front plate😬.

The original was damaged, buckled and the “S” was in danger of falling off and I wanted to keep it so I could use it again, for shows maybe.

Anyway, before and after shots below, comments/thoughts welcome:

 

Shame it’s a different font as now I want to change the rear to match.

[danthecapriman]

Looks as superb as ever to me! 👍

Nothing wrong with having it looking tidy and looked after. Tired old parts are nice but sometimes do let the appearance down a bit.

[Wibble]

3 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

Looks as superb as ever to me! 👍

Nothing wrong with having it looking tidy and looked after. Tired old parts are nice but sometimes do let the appearance down a bit.

Thanks, those were my thoughts really. The front looked so good but I felt the original plate was letting it down. I think it looks better now anyway 🙂

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, Wibble said:

Ok, this may, or may not, prove to be controversial to the purists but as I’ve strayed slightly by adding the passenger door mirror, I’ve now replaced the original front plate😬.

The original was damaged, buckled and the “S” was in danger of falling off and I wanted to keep it so I could use it again, for shows maybe.

Anyway, before and after shots below, comments/thoughts welcome:

 

Shame it’s a different font as now I want to change the rear to match.

New plate is better, but shouldn't there be a slightly bigger gap between the 6 & S?

[JJ0063]

Looks great although the 6 would annoy me as it looks like more of a 90s font. 
 

Not being side by side with the ‘correct’ plate you’d never notice though so don’t worry about it! At least it looks period!
 

[Wibble]

Thanks @High Jetterand @JJ0063. Spacing is very different, which is why I had to drill new holes in the bumper. The 6 is why I’ve had the plate for weeks but not fitted it. 

[Wibble]

Well Wiblet junior wanted to make film so here it is:

Thanks to @Mrs6Cfor helping.

[Wibble]

It’s not very exciting but he’s happy with it, he’s only 12 and I think he’s done well for a first time.

 

[Wibble]

We’ll we’ve arrived in Donegal after a few days in Scotland with Alton Toweres on the way up. We were told to park at the rear where the owner keeps his cabs, reckon we fit right in:

Might even make a few Euro while we’re here🤣

[Wibble]

Ps, the Maybole bypass is ace! Didn’t even catch a glimpse of that God forsaken pit, so no child hood nightmares for me tonight😁

[AnnoyingPentium]

16 minutes ago, Wibble said:

Ps, the Maybole bypass is ace! Didn’t even catch a glimpse of that God forsaken pit, so no child hood nightmares for me tonight😁

It's rather good! Saves being crushed by a lorry too.