THE GUBBERMINT ALWAYS KNOWS BEST

[mk2_craig]

Sierra progress. Transmission selector bulb holder, boot lamp, windscreen washer jets and missing bit of dash trim all replaced with bits salvaged from the old brown GL. Throttle response has become poor when cold though - feels like the engine is momentarily flooding on pressing the accelerator. Any suggestions? It's the DOHC EFi engine built around Nov 1989.

[dollywobbler]

I think I've finally sorted the Rangie's brakes. You need a pressurised bleed kit - but I think I've managed to get away with just opening the bleed nipple on the pump. Some definite air bubbles in the fluid. It'll do to get me to a specialist who can complete the job properly.

 

So, I turned my attention to the electric windows. Pulled the passenger door apart and got the motor out. Jammed solid. Pulled the motor apart, and managed to get it working! Problem is, I now can't get the motor back together again. I don't think it's designed for DIY folk to pull apart and fix. So I might need to buy another motor anyway. Still, it's been interesting! And thankfully, it hasn't rained while the passenger door has been in pieces...

 

For now, I think I'll do the classic bodge of jamming a piece of wood under the window. Hopefully I can pick up a motor for not too much dollar next week.

[Negative Creep]

Repainted my rear drums as for some reason one had been painted yellow. Needs an oil change but not sure if I can be arsed faffing around and driving all the way to the tip to get rid of the old oil so might just get one of those fast fit places to do it

[dollywobbler]

Oh go on NC - how hard's it to change oil? Nice day for a drive too.

 

Pleased to report that I've managed to re-assemble the window motor. Bit of grease and it's working fine. Nowt like saving yourself a few quid to bring a smile to the face! That's two working windows now. Next plan is to find out what's up with the rears, as they keep blowing fuses even when not actually operating. Must have a short somewhere...

[Cavcraft]

Jag and BMW battery both went flat. Trusty Cavalier to the rescue on both occasions, there's nothing that car won't do.

 

Have been enjoying using all three cars recently, sort of playing their good/bad points off against each other. Out of the three just for everyday running round and whatnot I'd still chose the Cavalier.

It's not as comfortable (and far more basic) than the others (obviously) but I just love the way these things drive, you just know you'll get wherever you have to without any agro or without supping shit loads of fuel.

[wuvvum]

My new camera arrived last night. It's a Fuji Finepix Z300, bought refurbished from the Fujifilm website. Haven't really had the chance to try it out properly yet, but it seems a nifty little thing - it has an internal 5x optical zoom, which I think is quite clever - I'm used to zoom lenses buzzing out of the camera body. All the mode selection functions etc. are done via touch screen, which I'm not 100% sure about yet but I'm sure I'll get used to it. I'm going to try it out by taking some pics of the Aggro tomorrow, weather permitting. Its main advantage over my previous camera (a rather bulky old 4MP Vivitar thing I bought six years ago) is that it has a Li-ion battery rather than running on AA rechargeables which last for about half a dozen pictures before they need changing.

 

I've also bought a couple of video cameras - a Samsung DV camera which was in the window of my local CEX shop for £42 with a carry case etc. but which I'm struggling to find a DV to USB lead for so can't load owt to the PC from it at the moment, and one of those tiny little mini DV cameras people strap onto their cycle helmets or whatever, which I'm going to use as a dash cam for recording trackdays etc.

 

So hopefully more and better shite pics coming soon (I've lost track of the amount of times I've wanted to take a photo of something but the camera batteries have been dead), and maybe some Youtube videos at some stage too...

[Shep Shepherd]

In order to get The Volvo's odometer and trip meter working again, I have ascertained that I need to replace a small nylon gear inside the speedometer head which has shed some of its teeth and therefore won't mesh with a bigger gear which makes the numbers move:

 

 

Due to being completely unable to find a replacement in the UK, I have had to resort to buying one from the States. I bet that none of you will be able to guess how much it cost, including postage - I'm trying hard to forget! However, the prospect of the car having a functioning odometer and trip meter again more than makes up for the financial outlay.

 

I'm still looking for a reasonably-priced printed circuit board for the car's instrument panel, in order to get the dashboard illumination working once again. I fear that I'll have to bite the bullet and buy one from Volvo, as they seem to be virtually impossible to obtain in good order secondhand nowadays. If only I hadn't thrown out the spare one I had in 2006 - I wasn't ever expecting to use it and the broken instrument panel it was attached to was taking up space. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, isn't it?

[tonedepear]

Was it more than £20?

[dollywobbler]

Just been for another green lane session in the Rangie. Managed to avoid the ONE LIFE brigade, though there were a lot of Landies about today! Rightly so - a lovely spot for some off-road action. Very impressed with the beastie - the engine really is perfect for off-roading. Much better than a V8. Now about to give it a thorough hose-down, though I think it looks good muddy...(it isn't all that muddy, because I don't drive like a twat off-road. Gawd knows how some of the people today had got their steeds so dirty. Gawd also knows why they feel the need to dress their 4x4s up as if they've about to cross the Sahara!).

[Lord Sterling]

More on the 827 Sterling saga....

 

Finally managed to get down to my 827 Sterling yesterday, tried the new fuel filters, one didnt fit, another seemed ok but the bleedin' thing still wouldnt start. A mate of mine reminded me of the ECU computer underneath the drivers seat, it flashes codes when there is a problem, I read 9 blinks and checked it out, turns out to be a 'Faulty crank angle sensor'.

[Shep Shepherd]

Was it more than £20?

 

Including P&P, yes. The economics of older Volvo ownership are all over the place.

[tonedepear]

Was it more than £20?

 

Including P&P, yes. The economics of older Volvo ownership are all over the place.

 

Ouch.

[Shep Shepherd]

Was it more than £20?

 

Including P&P, yes. The economics of older Volvo ownership are all over the place.

 

Ouch.

 

Needs must, I'm afraid. The fact that I have no reliable way of recording the car's mileage and trip distance is driving me mad, especially as my cla$$ic insurance policy limits me to 3,000 miles a year; using basic Shepmaths, I have calculated that the car has travelled a smidgen under 200,000 miles so far, so when I get the odometer working, it will be set to that mileage.

[RoadworkUK]

So, I've decided that my career has been one of almost total underachievement and that I desperately need to sort things out.

 

After Uni I decided that earning some cash would be a good idea, so I started selling cars. That turned out to be a bad idea. It's now 5 years on and I realise that my degree has got me nowhere, and worse still, technology has moved inexorably onwards since graduation.

 

My degree was in Transport Design, or "Colouring In" as my mates mock it. Basically I do (did) pretty pictures of cars. It's all I ever wanted to do. I've always dreamt of having a career based around something I actually had a talent for, something special to me. Of course, actually becoming a car designer was never extra-likely, but, had I put the effort in, maybe I could have ended up getting paid to design something.

 

The one thing that I just know will hold me up is that I have absolutely no CAD skill whatsoever, apart from Photoshop, which doesn't really count. So my new evening project is going to be teaching myself to use 3D Studio Max to create concept vehicle renderings. But you can't really start with a blank screen and just sketch something (well, you can if you're intensely skilled, but not if you're wet behind the ears like me) so I needed something on paper to aim for.

 

I had agreed to work on Saturday to cover the receptionist. Rather than get totally bored I got myself a sheet of A4 and a biro, and started sketching. I wanted to put something together which could be put together easily as a first project with 3D Studio Max, so it needed to be constructed out of geometric shapes and have as few curves as possible. So some kind of SUV, 4x4 would be ideal.

 

 

This was what I came up with. A bit rough and ready and not the most attractive vehicle in the world but challenging enough to for me to get stuck into. I was actually reasonably pleased with it since I haven't wielded a pen in anger for a few years. First step will be to photoshop it up into some kind of rendering, then, when I pluck up the courage I'll get the old 3D Studio Max Bible dusted off and see if I can 3D model it.

 

So I really ought to leave the internet alone for a while and concentrate a bit, which will be hard.

 

And I've just opened an account on RR. Probably not a good idea.

[Pillock]

You did that with a biro?

 

"sketching"?

 

Talented bastard

[RoadworkUK]

Talented bastard

 

...which must be why I was acting as cover for the receptionist!

[Craig the Princess]

 

Needs must, I'm afraid. The fact that I have no reliable way of recording the car's mileage and trip distance is driving me mad, especially as my cla$$ic insurance policy limits me to 3,000 miles a year; .

 

Is that not the ideal time to have a non-working odometer?

[Guest]

Pssst....! WataKnobbie, your "4th Eagle" has landed. I say, the "4th Eagle" has landed. That is all. Galahad out.

 

Oooh. Pics?

[The Moog]

which I'm struggling to find a DV to USB lead for so can't load owt to the PC from it at the moment,

 

it will probably need a firewire connection. USB isnt fast enough for a data transfer sothe cables wont work .. .

[John F]

Jag and BMW battery both went flat. Trusty Cavalier to the rescue on both occasions, there's nothing that car won't do.

 

Have been enjoying using all three cars recently, sort of playing their good/bad points off against each other. Out of the three just for everyday running round and whatnot I'd still chose the Cavalier.

It's not as comfortable (and far more basic) than the others (obviously) but I just love the way these things drive, you just know you'll get wherever you have to without any agro or without supping shit loads of fuel.

 

 

I'm 100% with you on that, Billy. I really miss my old '94 SRi hatchback.

[Rusty Pelican]

Took the Singer to Powderham car show on Saturday but had a bit of bother , A fire to be exact , just coming of the M5 and the interior disappeared in a cloud of smoke , shut it down instantly and shoved it on the grass verge , wrenched a few singed wires out , let the smoke clear and nervously turned the key , car ran but id no wipers , horn , indicators were erratic and main beam warning light was permanently on , got to the show and diagnosed an earth fault somewhere , bodged it so the wipers worked and got home ok, Had the dash out sunday and twas a right mess ,

Ive spent 15 hours rewiring it and traced the fault to the earth return on the horns

Fuckin lucky no-one was hurt and to still have a car left

 

Tail tail damage

 

 

Halfway through re-wire , what a bloody nightmare

 

[Lankytim]

Volvo 240 est arrived today on the back of a transit beavertail. Very pleased. Honeymoon period is over, now its time to spot all the dents and scratches I didnt notice when I first viewed it. I have already found a crunchy bit on the end of one sill!

 

Good news though. I bought very cheap as a non-runner, tried to start it and after a bit of misfiring it started up! Runs lovely .

[Angrydicky]

Took the Singer to Powderham car show on Saturday but had a bit of bother , A fire to be exact , just coming of the M5 and the interior disappeared in a cloud of smoke , shut it down instantly and shoved it on the grass verge , wrenched a few singed wires out , let the smoke clear and nervously turned the key , car ran but id no wipers , horn , indicators were erratic and main beam warning light was permanently on , got to the show and diagnosed an earth fault somewhere , bodged it so the wipers worked and got home ok, Had the dash out sunday and twas a right mess ,

Ive spent 15 hours rewiring it and traced the fault to the earth return on the horns

Fuckin lucky no-one was hurt and to still have a car left

 

 

 

That was very lucky indeed. Bloody lucky you spotted it before it became much worse, hope the rewiring goes ok.

[barefoot]

Originally looked a bit like this.

 

 

After 11 years, blew the bollocks out of it, now looks like this

 

 

the nice bloke Bruce at Supertrapp in the states supplied me with the following list of replacement bits

 

P/N 400-1140, core assembly (w/packing)…MSRP $156.50

P/N 404-6512, 12 pack of 4†discs………….. 40.00

P/N 406-3046, closed end cap………………. 21.10

P/N 404-7206, 6 pack screws………………… 15.50

 

At $232 I thought that enough was probably enough,

Turbo Thomas is currently engaged on building me a nice quiet silencer / muffler

 

pictures to follow

[tonedepear]

There's sommat in the end of it by the looks of that picture as well!

[Cavcraft]

BMW gone and another Kraut mobile taken as a chop-in. Goodbye 6 cylinders of adrenalin rush, hello VEG OIL FRENDLY, partially scene attacked VAG shit.

[sporty-shite]

hello VEG OIL FRENDLY, partially scene attacked VAG shit.

 

Shouldn't be too hard to punt on, then?

 

RAT LUK NOT BEETLE ROOFRACK PINEAPPLE OILDRUM WHITEWALL BIG TRAINERS CRAP HAIRCUT

[HillmanImp]

Took the Singer to Powderham car show on Saturday but had a bit of bother , A fire to be exact , just coming of the M5 and the interior disappeared in a cloud of smoke , shut it down instantly and shoved it on the grass verge , wrenched a few singed wires out , let the smoke clear and nervously turned the key , car ran but id no wipers , horn , indicators were erratic and main beam warning light was permanently on , got to the show and diagnosed an earth fault somewhere , bodged it so the wipers worked and got home ok, Had the dash out sunday and twas a right mess ,

Ive spent 15 hours rewiring it and traced the fault to the earth return on the horns

Fuckin lucky no-one was hurt and to still have a car left

 

And that is why I keep fire extinguishers in my old cars. Especially if I did the wiring.......

[Mr Lobster]

Lobster fleet news - Summary - Mojo very low, feel like selling up and buying a new Kia

 

SEAT has broken its gearbox. 1st, 2nd and reverse gears vanished this morning. Mechanic reckon its something broken inside the box. Deep joy.

 

I'm supposed to be taking the red R4 to France at the weekend, but partly because of the miserable weather forecast I really don't feel like I want to.

 

Deeply fed up with cars presently.

[Cavcraft]

hello VEG OIL FRENDLY, partially scene attacked VAG shit.

 

Shouldn't be too hard to punt on, then?

 

RAT LUK NOT BEETLE ROOFRACK PINEAPPLE OILDRUM WHITEWALL BIG TRAINERS CRAP HAIRCUT

 

 

Unfortunately though it's going to be a short-medium term keeper. Getting a bit fed up lobbing pez into (relatively) expensive to run cars so want to feel like I'm getting something back.