THE GUBBERMINT ALWAYS KNOWS BEST

[Richard]

Had a go at resurrecting the PeteM-spec 205 GTi this morning. That involved fitting a battery that's been lying in my garden for months and seeing what happens. The car hadn't been started for months.

 

 

It didn't really want to move, but it did in the end.

 

 

I did the underbonnet wiring for the conversion. I wasn't there when the engine was installed but I'm told that only one thing didn't work when it was all put together.

[pogweasel]

Just spent a miserable hour or two failing abysmally to get the clutch thingy put back together on my BMW.

 

Now have dismantled so much of the car I think the next step is to tug the engine out.

 

I would pull the brake servo off but the HBOL say DANGER TO TEH ABS, and that amatuers (of which I am the most amateur of all) should under no circumstances attempt this job, as it may cause a tsunami or the death of a people's princess or house prices to fall or SOMETHING.

 

(Anyone know what they are on about?)

[pogweasel]

Here's the problem.

 

I need to get the bit with the red arrow to slide into the bit with the green arrow (master cyl) then theres a pin thing goes in the m/c to hold it all together.

 

 

However the bit that slides in seems to go in on the piss no matter what I do, and it won't push in far enough.

 

I have tried everything, gently pushing, welting it with a hammer (such as you can with the access), making a tool thing up to apply more pressure one side than t'other in the hope it will go in straight.

It's a total fucker.

 

As you can see it's quite well buried, even with the coil pack thing removed and the PAS fliud gubbins hoiked out of the way, you still struggle to get at it.

 

ANy ideas gang, as this is really pissing me off now.

[trigger]

Just got the Escort back, As Retrogeezer asked, here are the photo of the repairs.

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see, I've got a bit of work to do now, Still all this plus a new rear wheel cylinder and the mot for £200 doesn't sound too expensive.

[M'coli]

Pog - have you asked a BMW-speciifc forum, or are they all full of bell-ends telling you to stick on 20" rims and that?

 

Trig, there appears to be about 3" of missing weld at the bottom of the arch, is it meant to be like that?

[pogweasel]

Pog - have you asked a BMW-speciifc forum, or are they all full of bell-ends telling you to stick on 20" rims and that?

 

Yeah, asked over a week ago for advice on this, not a single fucking response. Wankers.

Should have started a thread about which stickers to put on or which HIDeous headlamp kit is the best.

[trigger]

Trig, there appears to be about 3" of missing weld at the bottom of the arch, is it meant to be like that?

 

Very good question, I noticed that as well, I'm not taking it back now so it's going to get some fiberglass pushed into it.

[M'coli]

Pog - have you asked a BMW-speciifc forum, or are they all full of bell-ends telling you to stick on 20" rims and that?

 

Yeah, asked over a week ago for advice on this, not a single fucking response. Wankers.

Should have started a thread about which stickers to put on or which HIDeous headlamp kit is the best.

Have you asked on what used to be the Car Mechanics forum?

http://www.kelsey-forums.co.uk/cgi-bin/ ... board=mech

[Guest]

Almost finished valeting the Galant, so I took a photo.

 

 

I like when the weather gets nice, I can start giving the car a gradual clean when I get home. A panel or two every evening until the whole lot is sorted. Clay bars and polish and wax and all that business. I like cleaning cars with solid colour paint, it goes from flat to shiny and looks superb when it's done. Looks very conspicuous in the work car park amongst all the 07-reg Amicas and suchlike. Having a crap job is bearable if you get to drive to it in a chintzy old car.

[Angrydicky]

That Galant is gorgeous! Love that era of Mitsubishi.

[Tayne]

.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

 

I "refurbed" half the Golf's steelies today, it's amazing what a difference it makes to the overall appearance. It's still a grim old shed though, another thing to do is get rid of the "pogweasel pink" action on the C pillars, boot and rear quarters. Tesco's own T-cut isn't really doing the job. Time for some red Hammerite?

[Mr Lobster]

"pogweasel pink"

 

Been trying to rid the R4 of its Pogweasel Pink hue as well with reasonable results so far. Hard work but Farecla G3 + Autoglym seems to be working so far. Also, got some proper paint mixed for the rear bumper and redid that (breaking one of the rubber overriders in the process) and painted the wheels. Looks loads better already!

 

[scaryoldcortina]

Time for some red Hammerite?

 

Don't you fuggin dare. I'll come round and kick you in the nuts. Hammerite will look shitter than faded paint, and be a bastard to remove when you are sick of it. I've just spent ALL DAY with a DA sander removing silver hammerite from a capri, only about a third of it is done and I'm almost out of discs.

 

Also, investigated the rough running. The brand new motorcraft plugs I fitted 6,000 miles ago have mysteriously evaporated and been replaced by 3 ngk and one beru that look like they did 20,000 miles and then got buried in a swamp for 4 years. The rest of the box of plugs are now el cheapo brand and the wrong type for a pinto (long reach B thread not short A thread..) but still in the motorcraft boxes...... ah well, I better buy some plugs.

[M'coli]

Is that a bit of cereal packet in there?

Nah, it's the Hadrian sticker.

[scaryoldcortina]

Very odd is what it is Norm, back plug came out easily enough (and wasn't the odd one) and I'm absolutely sure that you had the right ones when you set off because I opened a new box of 10 motorcraft plugs, fitted 4 to the engine and put the rest in the boot!

[scaryoldcortina]

Don't worry about it! New plugs are only a phone call away, and I'm sure I own something that these ones will fit

 

worry about all the other stuff I found in the car I feel a thread coming on....

[BMC Dan]

The VDP may possibly be going to a new home in Brightlingsea soon. The owner plans on using it as his daily, mainly to commute to his workplace and back in Colchester...

[AnthonyG]

Defintely grovel to your brother and keep it in his shed.

[trigger]

The VDP may possibly be going to a new home in Brightlingsea soon. The owner plans on using it as his daily, mainly to commute to his workplace and back in Colchester...

 

Great news, I might see it about then!, I past a blue Allegro today in Colchester funny enough.

[wuvvum]

Replaced the fanbelt on the Renault 6 today after yesterday's little incident, and without wanting to tempt fate it looks like I've got away with it - I've driven it a few miles (far enough for the heater to get warm) and there's no sign of water in the oil, and the engine's still running the same as it always did. It would appear that whoever fitted the last belt ran it the wrong way round the tensioner pulley, which may have contributed to its demise - this has now been corrected, and the car now appears to be charging and pumping water as it should. Which is good.

[HillmanImp]

Decided to replace the crankshaft oil seal on the DAF today. In some sort of automotive miracle, nearly all the nuts and bolts came away easily and I bobbed down to Machine Mart along the canal on my bike to pick up a pulley lever before it closed.

 

Came back and set about getting off the oil cooler and it has one of those 2 bolt attachments like you see on brakes. Dont know what they are called. However its a bit stiff so i give it some welly, one of ther the spanners slips, spins the pipe and puts a fucking kink in it. Fucksticks.

 

Hopefully should be able to lob a new pipe on. Dont think the kink is coming out unless anyone knows any tricks?

[scruff]

Had a kwality weekend!

 

Cut big chunks out of my Land Rover

 

 

 

 

 

Then went to a partay/BBQ for a mate's birthday, then after getting home this afternoon put a CD player in the 205 for commuting choons, hurrah

[dollywobbler]

Nice one Kev. Do like the Series 1s. There's a 107 pick-up not far away from here as well as that LWB I saw in town!

 

Anyway, the promised 2CV roadtrip story. The first step was to get to Kent. I was hoping to do the trip in my new car, but logistics prevented me collecting the Saab until the journey home. Given the subsequent discovery of a non-working cooling fan, it's a good job the Tin Snail got this trip!

 

Firstly, we needed to get to a motorway. That took us the best part of 2 hours but after a lunch break, we hopped onto the M4 for a 'free' trip across the bridge into England (you have to pay to get into Wales). On this section, we saw lots of tank transporters. Bloomin' huge things towing massive tanks. Are we planning another invasion?

 

I kept the speed to an indicated 70, which is 63 according to the sat nav. That's about 5000rpm. Not exactly relaxing but with the roof back, most of the noise can escape and sun worship is always fun. After an hour of this, we reached a stop-off in Berkshire, where I had a little work to do. Then we continued until we hit the M25. We were just in time for rush hour. Balls. This was very frustrating and slow, especially annoying as the 2CV's throttle linkage kept sticking, so it'd idle at about 2000rpm. I'd blip the throttle. It'd settle down. Then we'd have to move again. Throttle would stick again etc etc. Tedious.

 

Eventually, we reached Medway in Kent where we recovered by staying up until 3am. Got up at 8am the next day as we were visiting friends in Lingfield, Surrey. Another joyous drive in the sun marred only by yet more motorway. Back to Kent and knowing that I had to drive home the next day, I went to bed at 8pm. Shattered.

 

Felt a lot better after 12hrs in bed so with levels checked (well, engine oil - there's not much else to check!) it was time to refuel and head home, collecting the Saab from South Wales en route. There were no congestion worries now, but plenty of frustrating times. Quite a few people would accelerate as they saw me trying to overtake and one bloke in a Nissan CashandCarry just carved me up completely. The 2CV gamely soldiered on. We reached Pontypool after about four hours of pretty much flat-out driving and aside from a hot coil causing starting issues, we were soon underway with my wife driving the 2CV and me in my new car demonstrating how good the MPG could be.

 

We made it back home just over six hours after leaving Kent. The 2CV really is remarkable in the way it just sits at near-motorway-limit speeds for hours on end. The only slight issue is an exhaust leak that steadily got worse and the sticky throttle linkage. The total mileage covered in three days (after actually looking at the numbers rather than just guessing) is 669. Well done Tin Snail!

[michiel]

Nice! I'd love to drive mine to Belgium (about 340km one way) in a few weeks if I can trust it enough.

[Shep Shepherd]

After just over five years of use, The Volvo's hitherto superb Blaupunkt Boston stereo decided to malfunction on the way home from work this morning, repeatedly turning itself off and on and therefore becoming totally unusable:

 

http://s512.photobucket.com/albums/t326 ... ction=view¤t=VIDEO0001.mp4

 

Interestingly, the Blaupunkt Ontario unit fitted to the car from 2004-2006 failed in exactly the same way...

 

Luckily, I managed to snag an identical new-old-stock replacement for £49.95 all-in from the eBay when I got home (apparently, the unit was offered as an accessory on VW vans in the 2000s, so there are a lot of them around), which is good, as if I had to fit a cheapo unit from Halfords, Argos or wherever, I'd lose the ability to play cassettes (and use my cassette-derived MP3 adaptor) and my CD changer would become redundant, as A) cassette players are seemingly almost impossible to find new nowadays and Blaupunkt CD changers only work with Blaupunkt stereos. Hopefully, I'll receive it within a few days

 

Shep asks: I wonder if there's any practical way to fix it? In any case, it will soon be joining its predecessor in my 'it might be useful one day' cupboard.

[trigger]

Today i attacked the wheel arches on the Escort, Filler work is one of those messy jobs i hate doing but find quite rewarding when it comes out looking good.

 

 

What a mess!, Mind you it's starting to look more like the right shape now.

 

 

This was the easy side, Looks a bit better now.

 

 

 

I've sealed the welds in the battery tray with some Tiger seal and I've now etch primered it ready for some proper paint tomorrow.

 

 

Tomorrow I plan to etch primer the arches, Run some stone chip on the rear end of the sill and maybe depending on time spray some grey primer on them ready to flat and paint on Wednesday.

[Spottedlaurel]

Good to hear the Escort's getting some TLC. Its overall condition and excellent history justifies it.

[scaryoldcortina]

Shep - I had a Blaupunkt Cambridge in an audi that failed with the same symptoms as your two... I took it to bits and it was a dry solder joint where the on/off/volume knob meets the PCB. Maybe a common fault?

[Cavcraft]

More Corsa fun today. Seeing as the bellend I bought it off nicked the fucking bulbs and the holders out of the dash it's been unbelievable fun to try and get some holders. Ended up buying a dash off a posher model with a rev counter and nabbing the bulbs out of that, only to find out I'm still three or four short

Oh well, my lad removed the front seat (again) so we could tidy up the cable to the pre-tensioner and I started trying to polish out some more marks etc. Bit of a result with my Halfords Trade Card too: oil filter (about £4.50), engine flush (about £4.99) and a new headlight bulb (£6.99) and I got the lot fort something like £6.12 so that wasn't too bad.

 

Next up (due to no time tonight) is engine flush, oil and filter change and the last few bulbs for the dash. At least the ECU, battery, oil and handbrake lights are working now and we took the Cortina to Halfords for a run out..