THE GUBBERMINT ALWAYS KNOWS BEST

[warren t claim]

£130 would of got you the whole car! I really should of posted that I was scrapping it so it's my fault!

I wouldnt have minded buying that off you as I've still no car at the moment

 

Hopefully, though will be putting one of my cars on the road soon anyway.

It wasn't road legal I'm afraid!

[Lord Sterling]

£130 would of got you the whole car! I really should of posted that I was scrapping it so it's my fault!

I wouldnt have minded buying that off you as I've still no car at the moment

 

Hopefully, though will be putting one of my cars on the road soon anyway.

It wasn't road legal I'm afraid!

No worries, was it all well to drive? If so, its just a matter of insure it, stick some MOT on, tax it. Job done, got to do that with my Micra soon anyway.

[Cavcraft]

Nice little run out today (Birkenhead) on the scooter. Pulled up outside my garage when I got back: PING! Another clutch cable snapped, this time from the handlebar end.

Oh well, at least I got home

[eddyramrod]

I find it increasingly difficult to deal with people

 

I know what you mean (I have the same thing), and therefore Much Respec' for doing what you did; many thanks for remembering to snap us a few pics too. Capri is 70s-tastic, mate! I'm sure I remember one like that in Custom Car, or maybe Hot Car, both of which I read throughout the decade in question. If it was done way back when, then all power to whoever preserved it; if it's a re-creation, equally well done sir!

[Guest]

Laurel's back from the gearbox place, took them a few goes before the right clutch turned up, but to be honest it's got every single thing against it as far as the parts book goes.

 

 

Now I just need an exhaust making up for it.

[dollywobbler]

CX can haz mirror, thanks to Masterglass Windscreens, Huntingdon who stuck it up for nowt. Turns out that metal boss mirrors are too heavy for shitty pads...

 

Sadly, my attempts to find relays and fuse holders for the 2CV's headlamp upgrade drew a temporary blank. Picking up the bits tomorrow now while the BX is having its clunky anti-roll bar drop links replaced on Thursday - the day that someone is coming to see the Westie with a view to buying.

 

CX is still for sale, reluctantly as I like it the more I drive it. Mini may also end up on the market but only if we have to.

[Gompo]

Hirst, the Laurel looks ace.

[Lord Sterling]

Laurel's back from the gearbox place, took them a few goes before the right clutch turned up, but to be honest it's got every single thing against it as far as the parts book goes.

 

 

Now I just need an exhaust making up for it.

 

Look nice Hirst.

[Pete-M]

Right folks, I'm away for a few days now, so play nicely and I may just post some pics of French / Belgian / Dutch / German / Polish and Czech shite I spot. TTFN!

[Guest]

Cheers for the Laurel praise, now I just have the headache of getting a stainless steel exhaust made up for it as the back half of the system is absent, unavailable for purchase and probably quite difficult to bodge up. Being that it has no test, it means my recovery truck driver will get more money off me shifting it around.

 

Then I've still got to sort the wheels/tyres - the tyres on it now are shot, but I don't want to buy new tyres for the wrong wheels and I'm having trouble obtaining the right ones (U11 Bluebird steels, if anyone spots any).

 

Sodding money pit, the painful thing is that I know how "nice" it is to drive so I don't want to move it on.

[dollywobbler]

A good car is worth forking out money for though Hirst.

 

I was thinking about what's been replaced on the BX in the past year of ownership:

 

Front tyres

Strut pipe

Battery

Alternator

Starter motor

Cambelt

Anti-roll bar drop links

Rear arm bearing

 

Mix in a few services and a complete LHM flush treatment and all the labour and I've probably spent over £600.

 

And I consider that money very well spent. It's a superb car. Only yesterday I was bombing along a really bumpy track at 60mph - 20mph is painful in the Mini! The BX? Barely noticed a thing. Ok so last weekend, an 80mph motorway blat cost me - the economy dropped to 47mpg.

 

Now it has the rare distinction of being one of only five cars that I've owned for longer than a year, I plan to do a recap thread. Watch this space...

[meggersdog]

This week I bought an MGF only to sell on again.Seeing as it's fitted with the K-sealies engine I thought this post might be of interest to others.At the auction and on tick-over there didn't seem to be any pressure in the header tank although around the neck of the tank were caked on deposits of oil.Looking through the grill in the boot it did appear that the head had been disturbed fairly recently.

When I got the car home and on the drive it was pumping water out of the header tank,oh dear. .But wait, some numpty had cross threaded the cap.I bought a new cap and went for a drive.Oops,the water was banging and popping and the header tank resembled a kettle.The fan was cutting in and out all the time yet the temp guage never once went above half way.The little engine cooling fan kicked in when I switched it off too.I was fairly sure it was just a bleeding problem and upon seeing a broken then silicon'd back together bleed screw in the radiator convinced me.

After ordering a new bleed screw yesterday I began the task of removing all the sound deadening and engine cover behind the seats.Now for the important bit.I then removed in inlet manifold and sure enough the little ball bearing was still inplace.On the driver's side of the inlet manifold is a small pipe connected to the bypass hose.There is a brass insert with a very small ball bearing that acts as a non return valve.The brass insert is crushed at the end to stop the ball bearing falling into the head.I drilled this open enough to flick the bearing out and with it came all the oily gunge that was blocking the waterway.I then put it all back together minus the ball bearing and bled the system.

This morning I went for a 30 mile drive and everything seems fine.The engine cooling fan didn't cut in and neither did the radiator fan.

[mnde]

This happened yesterday:

 

 

Soz for the blurry cameraphone shot.

 

The mileage isn't strictly accurate because when I bought the BX off eBay, it had had a broken speedo cable for the best part of a year - and I couldn't get it fixed straight away either. So I guess it's more like 111K really. Still it means I've done between 30 and 35K since December 05. It was crocked for most of last year but got it back into daily service in May. The noisy wheelbearing turned out to be the other side to what I thought (having got the other side done that needed doing anyway although that one wasn't as bad) - and now it is silent for the first time in a long while

 

Mark.

[barrett]

Odd, I once spotted a very tatty Lancia Aurelia Berlina in same carpark!

[Justin Case]

It was only a few short years ago that Hay was the epicentre of new-age-self-sufficiency-bollox and that car park would have been full of Renault 4s and ex GPO Morris Minor vans, with an occassional badly converted Bedford SB mobile home to liven things up. Now the Gruniad have started sponsoring the literay festval, the place is no doubt full of Toyota Piouses and Audi A4s

[Guest]

Chintz My Ride!

 

 

"Yo dog, we heard you like chintzy trims, so we err..... put some on your car."

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

I like them, they look like something a Rebel Vanner would fit to their Econoline.

[Lord Sterling]

Nice discs Dan, suits the car down to the ground. Where did you get them from?

[Mr_Bo11ox]

My Rover is back on the operating table, I am fitting a replacement engine to it now.

 

 

this odd metallic lump fell out of the engine side of the catalytic convertor while I was dismantling it, lord knows what it is, I'm assuming its something to do with the 50% loss of cylinders.

 

 

PS Check out my new work space:

 

 

Why is the RHS of the photos being chopped off nowadays?

[retrogeezer]

top looking work space B, I saw your cards in Tesco etc..

 

Bad news about the Rover though eh..

[Lord Sterling]

Great stuff there Mistah B0110Xs hopefully the new engine wont commit suicide. How I 'd love to have barn to store and work on stuff like that, how did you come by it and is it expensive to rent?

 

Why is the RHS of the photos being chopped off nowadays?

 

Its due to the screen resolutions, phpBB obviously think the whole world has there new fangled HD flat screens. If you press the CTRL and +/- buttons and you should be able to increase/reduce the screen size and see the rest of the photo, the photos actually disappear under the new avatar panel, something phpBB FORGOT/couldnt be arsed to address when rolling out thier new forum software.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Its not really 'my' workspace as such, i'm renting a bay in it, perfect for me though!!! I can't believe my luck.

[retrogeezer]

Its not really 'my' workspace as such, i'm renting a bay in it, perfect for me though!!! I can't believe my luck.

 

oh yeh, I realise it's not all yours!

 

Are you in sunny Crewe permanently now?? If so, I might pop round for a brew if I'm welcome? Be good to catch up with you.

[Lord Sterling]

Its not really 'my' workspace as such, i'm renting a bay in it, perfect for me though!!! I can't believe my luck.

 

Nice one, could really do with some luck, still got my Sterling festering outside, not moved for about a month.

 

Bah - Just read your location bit Bol, and you've now got me bopping to Sweet Like Chocolate, remeniscing about my school dayzzzz

[dollywobbler]

I do hate it when you call the AA/RAC out for something obvious...

 

My favourite was when my Acadiane developed a misfire. Started ripping the points box apart trying to find the fault. Gave up, called the AA and the bloke immediately spotted the HT lead resting on the exhaust manifold...

 

There have been some truly awful 2CV coils doing the rounds, so everyone tends to carry a spare these days.

[Cavcraft]

Bastarding Italians.

 

Vespa been off the road since the clutch cable snapped and another super-fixer friend came round to fit the new one. Getting the old one out/new one in was far easier than I thought.

And then we came to adjust it. What an awkward fucker of a job that is. Access is a twat though to be fair the aftermarket exhaust which exits the other side from normal and an aftermarket engine cover are a real hindrance. In the end it had to be bodged slightly (washer and bolt on the business end of the cable) as the scooter kept trying to creep forward with the clutch held in and in gear. So bodged but fixed, ace.

Came to put the panels back on: one of the fucking lugs that hold them in place has sheared off, looks like signs of pathetically piss poor previous weld has given way.

 

On the plus side as said at least it's rideable now and I have managed to put some screws into the headstock which should stop the annoying rattling from that area.

[Richard]

The borderline-shite C5 passed its MOT today with no advisories, assisted by a precautionary clean of the struts with brake cleaner.

[messerschmitt owner]

Bought a Fiat Punto Cabrio on Friday - one owner from new, full main dealer service history - in the garage on Friday for a timing belt and major service.

[Anglevan]

Well having fun in't old motors department

Been checking the Lancer out for MOT and found the front exhaust had a small hole, tried to weld it but couldn't get to top of it to weld properly. Sod I thought i'll by another !! 1st quote £160 then £115, cheapest quote £106 + carriage. Sod it's it's coming off and i'll weld the sodding thing. Spoke to MOT guy today and he said still to take it in and he'll check it for me. Hopefully it's just the exhaust to sort.

While I was at exhaust place thought i'd ask about full system for the Talbot camper £100 which I didnt think was bad so I;ve ordered that only problem is by all accounts they are a sod to fit and snap head bolts when taking manifold off (it's spitting from manifold as well as exhaust) zero room to work in so watch this space.

Capri is still off road waiting for me to fit the new inserts and bushes. and thats about it

 

great eh !!

[RedSparrow]

Bought a Fiat Punto Cabrio on Friday - one owner from new, full main dealer service history - in the garage on Friday for a timing belt and major service.

 

Oof. My dear old ma had one of these. They manage to rust in different places from normal Puntos, fuel tank, brake lines etc. Plus don't break any of the interior plastics, a lot of them are specific to the Cabrios and are a bitch to get. Some dodgy Italian firm bought all the stock and charge a fortune for it.

 

Hope you have got a good-un though.