THE GUBBERMINT ALWAYS KNOWS BEST

[Rocket88]

Someone at Rover designed them to be built by dangling a headgasket from a rafter in the factory, and then constructing the rest of the car around it. Hateful bloody things, and far gayer than an MX5. If you can find a good one, Mk1 MR2, or an early Honda CRX might be worth considering.

[ashmicro]

MGFs can be GR32 when they work, but a world of pain when they don't . The K Series is the wrong engine for so confined a space in terms of cooling. It was designed to be a fast warm-up engine for small-ish cars. Didn't Station have one of these, and it nearly drove him round the bend? My ex had one, which I spent weekend after weekend putting right after GHF. Then the stupid cow crashed it.

 

Lots of abused ones about GGS, so choose carefully.

[Angrydicky]

I love that TR7 Sir Tainly Barkin, great purchase! Looking at the pictures on RR it needs to lose the alloys though.

 

Re the Fiesta, could you get a car cover?

[dollywobbler]

I've driven an MGF and found it fairly unremarkable. You certainly need to do a fair bit to keep them reliable (later, stronger head gasket, cooling system mods, low coolant warning etc) but the VVC ones must be a right giggle. Lots of tuning mods available, so you can have great fund winding people up in your super-quick 'gay' car.

 

(What is it with referring to cars as gay? Surely the Mondeo that tried taking my 2CV up the arse was gay? I don't really get the whole 'gay is bad' thing).

[HillmanImp]

I don't really get the whole 'gay is bad' thing).

 

We had a faux pas a while back when my gay mate and her new girlfriend came round for dinner and Caz came downstairs in her outfit and asked if it 'Looked okay, or is it a bit gay?'. Obvously trying to remedy the situation, i explained that she 'Did not mean gay as in gay, but gay as in shit'.

 

That sorted it...... Did not see them again for a bit after that.

 

Love the TR7 by the way. There is one that has been off the road since 93 in Berwick on Elmet i have my eye on as a future purchase. It looks quite solid too from 1st impressions.

[Angrydicky]

I think A30/35's are a bit of a 'gay' car as well. I have a friend in the A30/35 club who drives a 1957 A35 called Percy and his boyfriend drives an MGF. Baby Austins are certainly very cute, girls love them as well

[fotorabia]

My Grandad sold his fuel injected V12 E-type and had to replace with something more suited to Highland and Islands roads..so he got a TR7..we went for a spin in it and he said..I hate this car!

[boobydoo]

Any more pics of the TR7?

 

Triton Green was available on Canley and Solihull built cars up to July 1981, but was usually listed with Tan check interior trim, not Blue...maybe yours was a special order?

 

Certainly the UK launch was delayed due to it's initial success in the States...although they soon cottoned on to its reliability and build issues.

 

For the initial launch there in 1975, some 35 cars were shipped over to Florida, but the build quality was so poor a team of mechanics had to amalgamate bits from each of them into just 17 useable good ones!

 

I even read that at the swanky launch show , the 'dollybird' who drove the car onto the stage couldn't get out 'cos the interior door handle broke off!!!

 

I'd love to own an early Speke built Fixed-Head.............one day!!

[garethj]

Yesterday I discovered that 6 cylinder Beemers are actually considerably better on fuel on a run than they are in town. Considerably better.

I found the same last weekend with the Volvo 740. Normally I get 23mpg, 25mpg if I’m very lucky. 200 miles to Wales on Saturday at a steady 65mph and I got 35mpg! It’s doing less than 2500rpm in overdrive top but even its best friend wouldn’t call it aerodynamic, so quite a good result.

 

On the trip home on Tuesday I left a bit late and was due to hit the M25 and M1 at the worst times, unless I went a bit faster. 85mph is enough to make a difference, so with the traffic it was always more than 80 and occasionally up to 100. Above that and it gets a bit noisier, it’s also “sorry officer, it was a moment of madness†time. Filled the tank on Wednesday morning and got.... 32mpg!

 

Verdict: it’s hardly worth going slow

[dollywobbler]

See? Told you they could be surprisingly economical! Forgot how relaxing they are at speed - even the autos.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I went down the garage last night and got the Chavalier out, gave it a hose off to shift the dust. After that it would not start! Cheers. Eventually traced that to shitty HT leads which I bodged up and got it running again. Then I noticed a big pool of oil under the engine, in all the water where I had just washed it. Cheers! That was down to the oil filter which had rusted through!!! FFS. I changed the oil/filter and cleared up the mess. Put it back in the garage 2 hours later and went home. net achievement yesterday evening: ZERO

 

Nice car the Chav though nonetheless, with a bit of luck i'll get it in for a fresh ticket next week.

[barefoot]

surely gay in this instance is spelled 'ghey'

and is correspondingly meaningless

[mnde]

Sir Tainly, I am jealous of the TR7! Moar pics please.

 

Makes me wish 1) my wife liked them and 2) I'd prized dad's TR7 off him before he went mental on paid resto work he couldn't really afford and ended up having to hand it over in settlement...

 

Mark.

[Cavcraft]

I've been sort of promised 'an old Jag that doesn't start'. Apparantly the last one the fella had got taken by pikies and typically I can't get there until the weekend. From where I've been told it is I think it's one of two I 'spotted' in someone's garden on a walk a few months back and it's a S3 XJ6. It does sound like a complete no-hoper as in it returning it to the road or even getting it running but I'm hoping to land it anyhow.

[Shep Shepherd]

Taking advantage of the current weather, today I set about giving TV2 its first proper clean and its first polish since the late autumn, transforming a slightly foxed, nearly 160,000 mile, 14 year old Volvo V70 into something which looks like a low-mileage 5 year old from ten yards:

 

 

 

 

Not bad for a couple of hours' work with various proprietary cleaners and polishes, is it?

 

I hope to subject The Volvo to similar treatment in the near future, as it is in desperate need of a deep clean. I am eager to use the Meguiar's three-stage polishing kit I bought in December on its paintwork, in order to bring back its invigorating redness, a job which will probably take me hours, but will be well worth the hassle. Watch this space

[dollywobbler]

Just had the Mini out for a test after the brake caliper rebuild. Pedal's a bit soft, so a bit more bleeding needed. I think I let the reservoir get too low so ended up with MORE air in the system. Duh. I'll have a go at that and then conduct a longer test. Always a bit un-nerving driving around with brand new pads and discs. Nice that the car is once more pushable though... (they really had got VERY bad!) First time I've ever really worked on disc brakes - other than replacing pads on the 2CV, which is so simple it doesn't really count.

[Station]

Didn't Station have one of these, and it nearly drove him round the bend?

 

Yes, I still have it!

They're decent enough cars, but the HGF thing is just a factor you have to accept in everyday driving if it has the standard single layer gasket. The MGF supposedly comes off worse as the coolant pipes to the radiator are at least 6 feet long and there's some claims about the thermostat letting cold water too quickly (leading to thermo-shock), but I think these claims are just clutching at straws on what is an engine that wasn't developed properly when they bored it out from 1.4 to 1.8 - the problem is, Rover no longer exists and were reluctant to sort the problem out or take responsibility, so the only information is on internet forums, which aren't great for genuine technical advice. The best advise I can give is let it warm up before you thrash it, that's just common sense thermodynamics, it's not a sentient being waiting for it's next HGF. The problem seems to be a 50/50 engine/owner thing. I can't imagine the majority of owners of what is a 'woman's car' having a clue about overheating/coolant/etc.

Mine had the original HG on after 130,000 miles - I could bore you about the first time it overheated, and the trouble that developed after it (I've bought a new engine now!).

 

Make sure you have the MLS gasket on the car if you ever buy one. There have literally been a tiny fraction of HGF's since this (due to warped heads, shifted liners, etc), meaning the problem is pretty much sorted out now.

[Station]

Just had the Mini out for a test after the brake caliper rebuild. Pedal's a bit soft, so a bit more bleeding needed. I think I let the reservoir get too low so ended up with MORE air in the system. Duh. I'll have a go at that and then conduct a longer test. Always a bit un-nerving driving around with brand new pads and discs. Nice that the car is once more pushable though... (they really had got VERY bad!) First time I've ever really worked on disc brakes - other than replacing pads on the 2CV, which is so simple it doesn't really count.

 

I've just done the same. After a day of no pedal pressure, I bled the master cylinder by having two pipes* come from the cylinder, and back into the reservoir, and pumped it until no bubbles.

 

(*Two old unions with 1cm of copper pipe coming out, with clear plastic pipes pushed onto the copper pipes!)

[seth]

You may have seen on my R-R thread that I tackled some rot at the baser of the Herald's B pillar last week.

 

 

 

 

 

That was the only welding I thought it needed for the MOT this year and I also fitted some new brake pads too. Booked a test up at DaveRapids for today and its passed. Eight and a bit thousand miles since last year. Here it is one the way back in from the brake test.

 

 

Going to try and get the pass side rear arch done next week.

[dollywobbler]

Cracking. Wish I had metalwork skillz0rz! I think the problem is that I hate learning and have no patience, but apart from that, there's nothing stopping me...

[Angrydicky]

Got my sister to hold a hose over the Cambridge's windscreen and scuttle panel earlier while I looked inside with a torch in an effort to find the persistant water leak (I came back to my car yesterday after it had been sitting in the rain all day to find 2" of water on the parcel shelf under the dashboard). It was quite obvious where it was coming in, it was leaking onto the bulkhead and then through the hole around the bonnet hinge onto the carpet. I stuffed loads of silicone sealant and grease round there to see if it would help. Currently the front carpets are on the radiator for the third time this week

 

Also washed and polished the Maestro in preperation for its first ever show, the Brooklands Austin/Morris Day next week. Myself, 109Landy and BMC Dan are going, anyone else?

[TagoraSX]

HT leads.

 

Bought a set on ebay for my 1973 Audi 100, correct description engine number etc. Went to fit them today and they are 300mm too short, bastards.

 

Went to the local motor factors who give me the same set, I ask if there is another set listed for the car which is longer?

Computer says no.

 

Where can I get a set made?

[Shep Shepherd]

Tried to fit a leather steering wheel cover to TV2 today, in order to cover up the wheel's worn and horrible plastic covering. To cut a long story short, after half and hour of swearing and stabbing myself in the thumbs several times with the blunt end of the needle (ouch!), I managed to get two stitches done before the needle snapped

 

I couldn't help thinking at this juncture that it would be far easier to obtain a good secondhand leather-bound steering wheel, even if it involved disturbing the airbag to fit it, as I really didn't want to waste any more of my free time on this sort of bullshit!

 

I quickly found one, complete with airbag (which I don't actually need) off a 1999 ex-police V70 T-5 on the eBay for £20:

 

 

I bet fitting it will be interesting...

 

To make myself feel better, I re-sealed the car's tailgate washer jet with RTV, a job which only took five minutes, but one which will hopefully banish the slight dribble of water down the inside of the tailgate window during heavy rain to the land of wind and ghosts. Quite why Volvo mounted the V70's tailgate washer jet in a hole in the glass with only an O-ring and a compression clip as a seal is beyond me...

[Lukas]

The Legacy is somewhat annoying, but overall, very reliable. There was a horrible sounding noise from the rear brakes, sorted by dismanteling them and putting it back together. There was a horrible sounding noise from the exhaust, sorted by taking all the heat-shields off and throwing them away. There is a rod-knock when it´s cold, but my mechanic said it´s no problem because it stopps when the car gets warm. There is another knocking noise from the back, maybe a part from the suspension or the shock-absorber, but I don´t bother!

 

It´s horribly boring, but reliable and when I look at it what the winter has done to it since october 2010, I´m really happy my beloved Camry is stashed away in a dry garage until spring.

[wuvvum]

I thought my 166 was a bit of a bargain, but a mate of mine has just scored a 156 1.8 TS, with very short T&T and a seized alternator but otherwise in full running order with a bodykit and a recent cambelt, for £100. Jammy git.

[Cavcraft]

Seth, you're welding is kwal. How did you get the repair section to blend in with the exisiting metal? I always though you had to weld all the way round and stack it up with Isopon but you've made your's look like it's blended into the original tin. Very impressed indeed with that.

 

Wuvvum: I had a poke on an Alfa forum recently and by God they're cheap. Hats off to them too, most owners forums are full of overpriced shizzle just because they have the original windscreen sticker or something but there was a couple of seriously cheap 156s going.

That's how I'd get one tbh, I reckon if you could score one with a long MOT and a bit of tax for under about £350 you couldn't really go wrong.

[seth]

HT leads.

Where can I get a set made?

 

Are they ordinary ends? (don't know what with it being foreign and that.) If so then you could make your own.

 

http://www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/category/13

 

Cavette, practice, patience and my new shrinker/stretcher I guess. Actually it doesn't always go to plan but that day I seemed to be in the groove.

[Rusty Pelican]

These back ends are lovely and the best looking estate arse of EVA , id have one in a heatbeat but would have to leave Mrs Rusty as she hates them , tasteless wench

 

[Shep Shepherd]

These back ends are lovely and the best looking estate arse of EVA , id have one in a heatbeat but would have to leave Mrs Rusty as she hates them , tasteless wench

 

for the first sentence, for the second.

 

To be honest, I wasn't awfully keen on the big FWD Volvos until I actually drove one for the first time (TV2), as I like 'traditional' Volvos so much. To be honest, I think that they are far better in daily use than the RWD models, and they remain great cars which make a lot of sense for a lot of people

[Cavcraft]

+1. One of Volvo's finest hours I reckon. They have that combination of (fairly) modern looks with a sort of classic (Volvo) hint at the back. I had to sack mine though as the fuel consumption was a bit silly.