THE GUBBERMINT ALWAYS KNOWS BEST

[Cavcraft]

Dragged two cars back yesterday behind the 80. On was the Paseo, the other was a massively awful 54 plate Corsa my neighbour bought. It's a chav'd up horror that's covered in primer and stick on tat and has apparantly had six insurance claims against it in it's fairly short life.

[M'coli]

Dragged two cars back yesterday behind the 80. On was the Paseo, the other was a massively awful 54 plate Corsa my neighbour bought. It's a chav'd up horror that's covered in primer and stick on tat and has apparantly had six insurance claims against it in it's fairly short life.

Probably scraped the garage wall 6 times in succession!

[wuvvum]

Went for a run in the Scimitar last night and found that although the fuel gauge doesn't work, the fuel light does. Which is a bonus, as it should help avoid any embarrassing running-out-of-pez incidents, and it also means that the problem must be with the gauge itself rather than the sender unit, which should make it easier to fix.

[cort16]

Been offered an 3dr xr4i as a swap for the Merc. Probably similiar in value but the xr's a bit more specialist. I'd have it like a shot but my partner in shites a bit more cautious when to the really old stuff.

[Lord Sterling]

Dragged two cars back yesterday behind the 80. On was the Paseo, the other was a massively awful 54 plate Corsa my neighbour bought. It's a chav'd up horror that's covered in primer and stick on tat and has apparantly had six insurance claims against it in it's fairly short life.

 

Bloody hell Cav, what are your plans these latest purchases?

[Guest Len H]

How much was the 54 plate Corsa? Scrap value I hope.

 

I towed a Land Rover Defender 110 with the 405 the other night, I feared for the clutch taking off from a stop, so I tried not to stop, but once moving it was fine with the turbo spooling.

[Cavcraft]

I think he paid just short of £300 for the Corsa. To be fair whilst it's undoubtably horrible there's a fair bit of money in it as it has a new cylinder head and some (albeit tacky) 17" alloys with new tyres.

On top of that there'll be a good few quid in breaking it I imagine and he'll keep lots of bits back as he specialises in the Corsa C. I might have even found him a buyer for the engine.

 

Paseo should be getting weighed off tonight but bloody typically I can't find any sodding 4x100 wheels to put on it before it goes.

[MK5 Escort]

I'll be coaxing the Escort awake over the next few days after being laid up for the last few weeks in the garage.

 

I'll be using her back and fourth to work towards the end of the week to make sure everything is 'tickety-boo' ready for it’s 250-odd mile trip down to North Devon on Saturday. It's 15th trip/holiday to the West Country in it's 20 (and a half) year life.

 

I'll be spending much of Friday evening under the bonnet giving the 'traditional' final checks, probably. No doubt overloading it with excessive luggage we won't need at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning. GR8 for rear springs and shockers...

 

I'll probably plough up there or thereabouts a 1000 miles in the week I'm down there. It usually does.

[wuvvum]

Had a poke around the Å koda this afternoon and confirmed that it was indeed a knackered fuel pump which was preventing the thing from starting. With a new length of fuel line running into a can precariously propped against the rear screen, and at the expense of a gobful of unleaded, the old heap ran quite happily for ten minutes or so. I still think the head gasket's gone though - the oil on the dipstick looks like milk and it's using water at a rate of knots. One of these days I'll get round to taking a proper look at it...

 

Also fixed the screenwash on the Scimitar and fitted new wiper blades - 13" this time, so they shouldn't get caught on each other every time I put the wipers on high speed like the previous 14" incumbents used to do. Not yet managed to get the driver's side jet on the Solara working - I think there's gunk in the pipe, but the pipe is awkward to get to without taking off the scuttle vents, which I haven't had time to do - but I directed one of the passenger jets to spray on the driver's side, which will do for now.

 

Preliminary investigations into the Solara's lack of heating appear to suggest a blocked heater matrix - the inlet pipe seems to be getting warm, but the outlet is stone cold. That could be a fun job... On the subject of heaters, I tipped a bottle of the expensive K-Seal stuff into the Ducato today - it claims to cure leaking heater matrices, time will tell if it does or not, but at least the heater in the van gets warm.

 

Tomorrow's list of jobs (wind permitting) includes tracing and trying to cure the whirring / rubbing noise emanating from one or more of the Solara's engine ancillaries, treating a couple of bits of rust and hopefully doing an oil change on the R6, attempting to find the cause of the ABS light on the Stagea, and if I'm feeling brave, having a poke round the Solara's heater matrix to see if I can backflush it without taking it out of the car. Then on Wednesday the van is going in to get the tracking done and I'll be checking the 106 over in preparation for its run to Stansted in the small hours of Thursday morning, and if I get time I might pop up to my mate's where the 156 is stored and see if I can sort the exhaust blow.

[Angrydicky]

I'm currently perving over a 1966 Austin 1100

 

And I've just bought it! She drives like a new car, much better than I was expecting. The garage put it up on the ramp and it's super solid underneath with no evidence of previous welding. The front valance and wings are a bit scabby, but it's very sound where it counts. The interior has been protected by seat covers from new so that's all very good. Managed to negotiate a new MOT with the deal as well!

 

If all goes to plan, I will pick it up on Friday once it's MOT'd and it will take over with daily duties, until such time as I can get my Austin Cambridge all welded up and back on the road.

[Cavcraft]

/\

 

Oof! Is that the crinkly grille model and can you please post some pictures of the car up?

[Angrydicky]

It is! I don't have any photos of the car at the moment but some will follow when I pick it up.

[M'coli]

That was meant to be a bloody PM!!!

[dollywobbler]

Nice one Dicky! I suggest bathing it in anti-corrosion products ASAP!!

[Shep Shepherd]

Will you be driving it to work, Dicky? If so, I'll look out for it

[Angrydicky]

I'm sure it won't be long before you spot it!

[trigger]

Since Saturday I've done 500 miles in the Mondeo, I had to fill it up tonight, a 58 ltr tank cost £67 to fill from nearly empty. That didn't seem to bad for a change.

[M'coli]

You need to pay more tax on the fuel you import.

[HillmanImp]

Paseo should be getting weighed off tonight but bloody typically I can't find any sodding 4x100 wheels to put on it before it goes.

 

Hi Billy,

 

Have you had any luck with the wheels? From speaking to Chris I understand that they are not great anyhow, so we may be reluctant to swap them for the ones we have which are a bit rubbish looking but scrub up nice. If you cant get any its not the end of the world and I can still pop over to pick up the other stuff.

 

What I might do is see about getting the wheels off my mates Toyota Corolla and she can have the set we dont want. But that depends on her. TBH her car might look a bit silly with nice wheels on.

 

Scotty.

[tonedepear]

Now the Impian has overheard me mentioning that it's going in a couple of weeks, it's remembered to be shite and every little bloody thing is breaking, one item at a time. Today it's the osf indicator. It's not the bulb, or the holder, and to get the unit itself out is a bumper off job, which itself looks like an impossible task. Having spent a good hour on the floor scraping my knuckles and face I reckon I'm just going to start planning my routes to avoid right turns til the end of the month.

[Guest]

Now the Impian has overheard me mentioning that it's going in a couple of weeks, it's remembered to be shite and every little bloody thing is breaking, one item at a time. Today it's the osf indicator. It's not the bulb, or the holder, and to get the unit itself out is a bumper off job, which itself looks like an impossible task. Having spent a good hour on the floor scraping my knuckles and face I reckon I'm just going to start planning my routes to avoid right turns til the end of the month.

 

 

Hand signals! (no, not gesticulations). I used them once when I took my Amazon to Sheffield. The electrics failed and I lost my wipers and indicators.

 

67 Quid = $106 US

 

58l = 15.3 US Gal

 

So, you're saying you got 32.68 MPG.

 

Pretty good.

 

Except your fuel costs precisely 2x what fuel costs here. Yours = $6.93/ US Gal. Ours = $3.45/ US Gal, as of this evening.

 

Gutted. But fuel in the US is like wee compared to what we use. The last time I went to Colorado their Regular was something like 87 Octane. Not sure our comparatively high test stuff is worth double what you're paying, but there's one difference for you right there. I read somewhere that the States isn't exactly abundant in the sweet light crude that's easy to refine, hence the interest in, erm, imported oil.

 

Of course this may not be accurate. Why the difference in octane ratings for fuel, Norm? Is that why low tune, understressed V8s became popular?

[Lord Sterling]

 

Shiters, what you are seeing here is a picture of my car now actually sitting at home. Yes, I've actually managed to complete a task that hasnt gone completely wrong. I finally got the bastard thing home. This is the first time I have ever brought this car home since I bought it in early 2008. I cant quite believe it myself either.

 

What should have been a simple box fitting job with added tax MOT and insurance turned out to be months of farcical shenanigans, parts getting lost in the post, wrong parts ordered, parts that wouldnt fit despite being made for that model and lack of money have all contributed to this long wait.

 

The car was ready yesterday for me, but as soon as I got it going, the expansion tank decided it would be great to snap one of its hose connectors. I didnt want to risk wrecking the engine, so left it and brought another newer expansion tank I had down with me today.

 

Driving it home was pretty good, the car is quiet and smooth, steering a little stiff, and the front wheels feel slightly wobbly but then it has been standing around mostly for about 4/5 years. It also cut out on a roundabout which didnt help, as the roundabout had a slight incline to it, it didnt quite make it but thankfully there wasnt too much traffic so I managed roll back into the junction I came out and after a few tries got it started again.

 

Once I'd actually made it home I started to half-arsely scrub up the interior, I got most of the muck off the drivers seat so at least it matches the rest. My fellow Rover-800 enthusiast mate invited me down to his house next week so I might just do the interior properly then.

 

I've driven it around a bit and it seems fine so far. At least I managed to get home. It probably need to be used a bit more to free it up.

 

Next thing on the list will be to unload my boot, its full of car crap (Wheel trims, floor mats, LPG tank + parts etc...)

 

[M'coli]

^^^ Getting that home - now that's cool.

[HillmanImp]

Paseo should be getting weighed off tonight but bloody typically I can't find any sodding 4x100 wheels to put on it before it goes.

 

Hi Billy,

 

Have you had any luck with the wheels? From speaking to Chris I understand that they are not great anyhow, so we may be reluctant to swap them for the ones we have which are a bit rubbish looking but scrub up nice. If you cant get any its not the end of the world and I can still pop over to pick up the other stuff.

 

What I might do is see about getting the wheels off my mates Toyota Corolla and she can have the set we dont want. But that depends on her. TBH her car might look a bit silly with nice wheels on.

 

Scotty.

 

Erm, this was meant to be a PM. Whats that all about then?

[Angrydicky]

That Rover looks fantastic LS, well done for getting it back on the road

[Negative Creep]

Messing around with wheels, tried some OMG JDM RWD offset wheels and they do fit as long as I don't go too wide. Then for some LOLZ fitted my mate's stupidly dished wheels

 

 

 

But I still need some with a more sensible fitment

[Guest]

Your experience in Colorado is simply non-existent in places like kentucky, Ohio, Alabama, Texas, North Carolina, etc. High octane ratings, by the way, are easily obtained for high compresson engines these days. Many new car engines are coming off the line with c:r that sound like the 1960's all over again

Hey Norm, I've been reading up about the Clean Air Act thing and the loss of high-octane fuel in the early 70s - it sounded like it happened quite suddenly. What happened with all the people with the more wild high-compression muscle cars? Did they detune them, have some strange source of fuel, octane booster? Just wondering as I can't seem to find out what actually happened at the time.

[Cavcraft]

Gave thew Mongdeo it's first proper road test today. Seems to drive ok and, dare I say it, is actually quite nice inside. Feels like a big car (more like an Omega size) and the seats are going to need some adjusting to be more comfortable.

 

Toyota Paseo on it's way out tonight. Pilfered the bits a fellow shiter wants and the scrap man cometh. Volksy, you have pm.

[retrogeezer]

Cavette in ' mondeo actually o.k' shocker!!

[tonedepear]

Hand signals! (no, not gesticulations). I used them once when I took my Amazon to Sheffield. The electrics failed and I lost my wipers and indicators.

 

Oh, I know my hand signals, sir. Unfortunately item one on the "things that bust on the proton" was the driver's electric window. So I'd have to open the door to do them.