THE GUBBERMINT ALWAYS KNOWS BEST

[Cavcraft]

If he's got a match too I might be interested.

[cort16]

I'm finally making some progress on the SD1 thanks to my new welder. I recon I'll be finished all welding on the drivers side this week then I can make a move on the passenger side. I've bought one of them generic wheel arch repair panels to to try to sort the frilly wheel arch on the passenger side so we'll see how I get on with that.

I'm also considering dropping the tank as there's a wee patch to go on the inner sill, which is pretty close to the tank. I don't want it to go boom after all this.

[Mike D]

This occurred last night on my trusty Civic daily:

 

 

hopefully it'll keep going for the same again!

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I'll be there soon in my Rover!!!

[Shep Shepherd]

The replacement drive gear for The Volvo's odometer arrived today. Not bad considering it was only ordered last weekend and came from Newport News, Virginia:

 

 

The photo shows just how small the thing is; it is definitely the most expensive small automotive component I have ever bought. However, if it gets the car's odometer/trip recorder working again, it will be well worth the outlay.

 

Now, to find time to fit it...

[Guest]

hopefully it'll keep going for the same again!

[Mike D]

LOLita!

 

It has blitzed your estimate DH!

[Cavcraft]

'Site unseen' Clio just purchased. Go it far cheaper than the original buy it now (with submit best offer) price. Turned up expecting the worse to find it's pretty damned straight and tidy, has a fairly good CD player/speakers, two new front tyres, two new discs and some other bits fitted too.

We *think* the water pump problem is actually just the thermostat and there's no signs of water in oil/oil in water. Straight barred it back about ten miles with it running and it was fine.

Shall allow a wry smile or seven if it transpires to be just the 'stat.

[dollywobbler]

Still having trouble with the Rangie. However, it is now at a specialist, so hopefully that'll all be sorted. Fitted the new brake discs and pads at the back but there's still air trapped in the system somewhere I reckon. 2CV's engine is in bits because I'm an idiot and started the cylinder head swap two days ago without any inlet manifold gaskets. That'll be finished next week now - turning into rather more of a job because I've decided that the manifold is in poor condition, so am swapping it for a better spare. Which means changing over a load of carburettor parts. Also need to remember to change the speedo bulb because I keep forgetting. Until I'm driving somewhere at night with no clue about how fast (or slow...) I'm going.

 

EDIT - have a shot of mess.

[cort16]

I went to see an SD1 vitesse tonight for a friend. Pluses are it's almost totally rust free and it's a got a nice manual box and a sweet v8. Minuses are the paint is awful the interiors mouldy and no evidense of the promised 4.2 bored out engine and stage 2 heads (although it could have this and there's no way to tell).

I can't decide if it's worth the asking price or not but it's up to to him as he needs to come up from Engerland if he fancies it.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Today I saw a Triumph Stag being winched onto a low loader at the same traffic lights where my throttle cable broke last week. I couldn't help but I knew how he felt.

 

I especially knew how he felt less than a minute later when, again on the A556, there was a very loud bang and loss of power. Coasted into a convenient layby, where I picked all the little bits of rotor arm out of my distributor. Piece of crap, it only had a couple hundred miles on it. Fortunately I had a spare, but it's the same type as the shoddy one so it's being replaced ASAP.

[Negative Creep]

Some nice new pressed metal plates fitted. Now just need the wheel balancing done and a good clean then it's up for sale.......

[Guest]

Today I saw a Triumph Stag being winched onto a low loader at the same traffic lights where my throttle cable broke last week. I couldn't help but I knew how he felt.

 

I especially knew how he felt less than a minute later when, again on the A556, there was a very loud bang and loss of power. Coasted into a convenient layby, where I picked all the little bits of rotor arm out of my distributor. Piece of crap, it only had a couple hundred miles on it. Fortunately I had a spare, but it's the same type as the shoddy one so it's being replaced ASAP.

 

Was this Stag red, on wires? Had he nearly gone into the hedge near The Swan? I went past him on the way to pick some magazines up early this afternoon.

I've also got some interest in the KN Geminis finally, so fingers crossed.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Was this Stag red, on wires? Had he nearly gone into the hedge near The Swan? I went past him on the way to pick some magazines up early this afternoon.

 

That's the one, I'd have been there about 2:30.

[Cavcraft]

Another bit of a result today:

 

My ace mechanic son cast an eye over the Renner Clio to see what's happening regards the 'stat. He noticed the fan was not kicking in and the seal on the expansion cap is knackered, so we ran it (i.e let it tickover) for ages. Played with the wiring by the fan, nowt doing there so I clouted the (radiator) fan motor with a stick and it started working!

Lobbed the new expansion cap from his 106 onto the header tnak for good measure and all is well. Pondering whether to try and strip the fan motor to see if we can 'rebuild' it (check the bearing or bush and perhaps grease it up) but will probably just get another unit from the scrapyard.

It also needs one or two boot struts (ones is missing and the boot doesn't hold up) and the interior isn't as clean as my OCD would like it.

Pretty happy really and so far it's another good result in the shiting stakes.

[Guest]

Helped SCTSH_ANDY move a mouldering member of his fleet.

 

 

It's been on his Mrs' drive for a wee while, as evidenced by the moss and mould. It's surprisingly solid under all the flora and fauna.

 

 

 

The infamous laquer peel was in full effect under the decay. We had some hilariously unfunny incidents getting it ready though. The tyre compressor broke and then would only work intermittently at 1 psi a time. My footpump was elsewhere, and when we pushed it out onto the road ready to be hitched up to the Disco one of the tyres was so shagged the sidewall delaminated. Not to mention nearly running SCTSH_ANDY over when we crested the brow of his drive and the car didn't stop. Shortly after I twatted myself in the glasses with a strap trying to bungee the knackered OSR door shut.

 

And yeah, the engine's shagged and the leather interior has mould all over it. Good breaker though. SCTSH is going to rebuild the motor and flog it on after the car bites the dust.

[Cavcraft]

Scrapyard visit today. Scored a radiator fan, expansion tank cap and boot struts for the Clio. Realised wiring was different to mine for the fan (luckily I twigged this at the scrappy) so cut off the plug and sorted it when home. Fan kicking in/cutting back out just as it should so well happy with that.

 

Slightly less of a result was the boot strut. The o/s one wasn't there so went to fit it and noticed neither was the bracket that bolts to the inside of the hatchback itself, so that'll be another trip to the scrappy today or tomorrow.

Still, the car seems to run superbly and is easy to work on plus another Brucie Bonus was making my own bonnet check strap as the old one had come apart.

[wuvvum]

Rain stopped play for most of today, but it brightened up early evening so I jacked the Innocenti up and took the driver's side front wheel off to find out how much of a pain in the arse it was going to be to get the broken studs out. It's been so long since I had the front wheels off that I'd completely forgotten that there are spacers behind them - presumably for cosmetic purposes as the track is quite narrow at the front. Both studs had broken off flush with the wheelnuts so with the spacer off there was enough thread left on both to fit replacement nuts quite securely. I didn't have any spare wheelnuts with the right thread, so I nicked one off each rear wheel for now. It's a temporary solution, but it has made the car driveable again - the rear wheels on the Innocenti are under very little stress (it's so light on the back end that an 11-stone weakling like me can lift a wheel off the ground) so shouldn't be a major issue.

 

I also drove down to south Norfolk in the Stagea this morning in the pissing rain to pick up an electric outboard motor I've bought, and found that the combination of soaking wet Norfolk backroads and a powerful RWD car with Pirelli P6000s on the front and Hu Flung Dungs on the back makes for an interesting driving experience.

 

Plan for tomorrow, weather permitting, is to have a look at the scooter I've just bought for running to work on. It's a Yamaha Aerox 100, and it runs well enough but the throttle cable seems very slack, so I'm going to see if there's a tensioner on the carb and hopefully improve on the bike's current 47mph top speed.

[Cavcraft]

Sorry for the slightly o/t subject Wuvvum, but are those electric outboards any good? I fancy a small boat (probably a rower) for some gentle river/canal use and having seen those 'leccy motors dirt cheap brand new on eBay I wondered if they were much cop? Cheers.

[wuvvum]

Well I haven't tried this one yet as it's not really been boating weather today, but I had one a couple of years back and it wasn't too bad - it was a 34lb model and pushed my Mirror dinghy along at a reasonable rate - probably about 5-6mph, which is adequate for river use. This one is 32lb - I'm not expecting the 2lb to make a lot of difference. A lot of the cheap outboards on eBay are 18lb trolling motors, which are designed for moving around slowly and silently whilst fishing and not really for covering any distance. That said, the one I just bought was BNIB and that was only £85, which is still fairly cheap. There's a lot to be said for pottering along in almost complete silence.

[Cavcraft]

Thanks. I don't go fishing but just fancy something to chug along silently on the river of canal so one should be ideal. £85 sounds like a right bargain to me, the ones I'd seen were about £150 for a forty pounder.

[michiel]

Mirror dinghy

 

One of these?

 

 

We had one 25 years ago, not quick but a lot of fun. No outboard though...

[The Moog]

Been out in the rain playing with Saab.

 

Finally flummoxed me. Fitted new fuel pump and I can hear it whirring but no fuel. Took it all apart and checked the height for each bit adjusted and refitted still nothing. Then the fuse to it went. Replaced that. Put more fuel in to see if it is that. Not that.

 

So far I have changed spark plugs, HT leads, Ignition Amplifier,ignition coil, distributor cap, Rotor arm, new battery, new fuel pump, stainless brake line, new greenstuff pads on front, normal pads on rear. Got new wheel bearing to be fitted as well.

 

Then noticed huge hole in floor by wheel arch. Think I have reached the end with it. Might strip off the bits I want and get it scrapped. Tyres are brand new on it so might whip them off and stick them on the Volvo.

 

Thoroughly fed up and wet now. Trying to work not the car in a communal car park with allocated spaces and others are getting grumpy.

[Rod/b]

Is it in tank on that?

[The Moog]

Yes it is. It is MY1983 so has a separate pump and fuel sender. When I disconnect the fuel connection there is pressure there.

[Rod/b]

Is there pressure on the "upstream" side of the fuel accumulator?

[dollywobbler]

Clocked up over 400 miles in the Saab this weekend. Conclusions. It's very serene at motorway speeds. The ride really is quite bad (but no worse than my sister's brand new Golf). Overall, it really is quite dull. S'pose that goes hand in hand with efficiency! Seems to have averaged 33mpg, which isn't bad at all. Odd thing is, it seems to stick at around that whether travelling at 80mph or 40mph stuck behind a bloody horsebox (I could quite easily have another grump about horseboxes. Driven by the most inconsiderate people in the world? Horses have legs. If they can't transport themselves, leave them at home. Same goes for cars being trailered to classic car events).

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Yo Moog, have you got a nice fat spark at the plugs and fuel pressure at the rail/engine end of the pipe?

[boobydoo]

I've had the Chrysler 2-Litre in the bodyshop getting a few bits done. A few chips on the boot and bonnet and the original chrome door mirros put back on.

 

I expected it to be done in about two days...but they've had it two weeks now and it still aint finished.

 

I bought the car nearly a year ago now , but it seems to develop one problem after another so I've driven it less than 100 miles. The fuel problem seems to be now solved with the help of a new fuel tank, but last week it overheated on a short run. I've removed the thermostat temporarily and it drove five miles OK, so looks like that is the problem so easily solved.

 

I was hoping to have it ready for the Harpenden show this month but if the bodyshop don't pull their finger out I don't reckon it will be ready for then.

[The Moog]

Had to give up on Saab today as heavens opened. Will have to have another look tomorrow.

 

Spark was a bit rubbishy yellow hence changing coil etc. Will check it again