A40 - Another year

[Matty]

  On 23/04/2023 at 14:11, SiC said:

You're probably sorted now by the looks of it. If you do have engine trouble, I have a 1098 and a 948 if unknown quantity but has compression that I have no home for that you can have mega cheap 

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I got a 1098 off @Mally a bit back as he wanted it gone. Still sat under the bench at work. I just got it freed off, put plenty of oil down the bores and plugged everything.

[Matty]

  On 23/04/2023 at 14:57, Leyland Worldmaster said:

I think this is a A40... 🤔

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It was. Fit as fuck though that. Phwoar 

[2flags]

Good to see that it was too bad. Blown head gasket, not the end of the world. 

[Leyland Worldmaster]

  On 23/04/2023 at 15:00, Matty said:

It was. Fit as fuck though that. Phwoar 

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It sounded fucking lovely and the driver was certainly 'committed' even in the perfect* weather conditions...😅

[MiniMinorMk3]

If that is a 12g295 head then the compression might be a bit low. A standard 295 has 28cc combustion chambers because the pistons on a 998 Cooper had a raised top on them. 6 bar compression is only 90psi, which is low. It might be worth getting the engineers to measure the combustion chamber volume to see what it actually is.

 

I saw that red A40 at Castle Coomb in 2019, the driver liked to get sideways now and again.

[SiC]

Isn't there different 12g295 heads? I.e. they may be marked as that but different types.

[MiniMinorMk3]

  On 23/04/2023 at 15:48, SiC said:

Isn't there different 12g295 heads? I.e. they may be marked as that but different types.

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No. 12g295 heads were used on 998 Coopers and the MG1100. There is an earlier version which is casting 12g206.

The valve sizes on both types are Inlet 1.218"/30.93mm, exhaust 1.00"/25.4mm

[SiC]

Maybe I was thinking of the 12g940??
I need to check my stash of heads as I have six or so in various (buggered) conditions.

[MiniMinorMk3]

Yes the 12g940 was used for years and years and years. It's pretty much the standard 1275cc head used from around 1969 with differing valve sizes dependant on application. There should be some other identifying number to show what the application was.

 

By the way bare 12g940 heads a worth hanging onto if they are not cracked or skimmed to much. The going rate is between £50 and £100 for anything salvageable.

[Christine]

Midget Sprite 1098 too

[SiC]

  On 23/04/2023 at 16:19, MiniMinorMk3 said:

By the way bare 12g940 heads a worth hanging onto if they are not cracked or skimmed to much. The going rate is between £50 and £100 for anything salvageable

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I have four 12g940 and two 12g202. All look original but some are pitted on the mating surface.

[Matty]

Calling @DaveDorson. Trying to pm you pal but its saying you can't recieve messages.

[DaveDorson]

I've done some admin, try again bud

[Angrydicky]

  On 29/01/2023 at 18:44, Matty said:

Tbf, at my age I should be buying a nova. 50s and 60s cars seem already on a bit of a slide value wise. Eventually they'll go the same way as even older stuff, the people that actually want them are too old or have left the building. At this point it's more important that people are taking them on and caring for them, not what they're doing to em. Case in point, I've never wanted a standard Minor, but I'd rock @Joey spuds Boris into the middle of next week. But crucially, Boris is subtle, it's not like the shells been hammered over a Mk4 Golf or owt. Period go faster mods that can be put back, love em

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Me too. I'm 32 and I own cars old enough for my great-grandad to have driven around in when they were current!

I don't see values sliding as a bad thing. Classic car values have been inflated for too long, hopefully they are heading in the right direction.

[Angrydicky]

Good to see it was only the head gasket at fault!

[Matty]

  On 23/04/2023 at 19:48, Angrydicky said:

Me too. I'm 32 and I own cars old enough for my great-grandad to have driven around in when they were current!

I don't see values sliding as a bad thing. Classic car values have been inflated for too long, hopefully they are heading in the right direction.

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I think what you're doing is brilliant. And I agree, periods of car manufacture sliding in value can only be good for the people who won't only buy them but actually get out there and use then.

[Matty]

  On 22/04/2023 at 18:18, S2000 said:

Had a similar thing on my Wolesley last year on the A40 near Oxford and turned out to be HGF, similar metallic noise to what you explained. Unfortunately mine resulted in much more than HGF….

Hope it’s not that bad and you get recovered soon.

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Any chance of a pic or two of the wolsley for the sake of it? 

[S2000]

  On 23/04/2023 at 20:17, Matty said:

Any chance of a pic or two of the wolsley for the sake of it? 

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Rebuilt last year with a 1043 block, cooper head, evo1 cam, SU38, straight cut gearbox etc etc far too much than I can remember currently.

it will be for sale come June.

[Joey spud]

On Bangers and Cash this week an old boy was selling a '74 Granada XL estate a '70 P6 2000sc and a '53 Sunbeam Talbot 90 that was gorgeous and had done sod all miles in the thirty plus years he had owned it.

The Granny made an obscene £16k the very honest Rover £7.6k but the lovely Sunbeam struggled and finally sold after the auction for £4.5k.

£4500 for a really nice 50's Sunbeam Talbot 90 has to be the bargain of the century it's a seventy year old car can still be used everyday no problems and has buckets of style and charm.

It's old stuff every time for me,how can an admittedly very clean Granada be worth £16000.

[Matty]

  On 23/04/2023 at 20:40, S2000 said:

Rebuilt last year with a 1043 block, cooper head, evo1 cam, SU38, straight cut gearbox etc etc far too much than I can remember currently.

it will be for sale come June.

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That's lovely

[Matty]

  On 23/04/2023 at 20:45, Joey spud said:

On Bangers and Cash this week an old boy was selling a '74 Granada XL estate a '70 P6 2000sc and a '53 Sunbeam Talbot 90 that was gorgeous and had done sod all miles in the thirty plus years he had owned it.

The Granny made an obscene £16k the very honest Rover £7.6k but the lovely Sunbeam struggled and finally sold after the auction for £4.5k.

£4500 for a really nice 50's Sunbeam Talbot 90 has to be the bargain of the century it's a seventy year old car can still be used everyday no problems and has buckets of style and charm.

It's old stuff every time for me,how can an admittedly very clean Granada be worth £16000.

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How the market works for me. Its whatever generation has the cash on the hip and what they wanted when they were young. Stuff like novas, astra gtes,  xr2s and 3s were for penny's when I passed my test in 98. We all ran AX GTs cos they were cheap and quick. Most of my mates first quick cars were SR Novas. Look at that market now, mental. 

[SiC]

  On 23/04/2023 at 20:45, Joey spud said:

On Bangers and Cash this week an old boy was selling a '74 Granada XL estate a '70 P6 2000sc and a '53 Sunbeam Talbot 90 that was gorgeous and had done sod all miles in the thirty plus years he had owned it.

The Granny made an obscene £16k the very honest Rover £7.6k but the lovely Sunbeam struggled and finally sold after the auction for £4.5k.

£4500 for a really nice 50's Sunbeam Talbot 90 has to be the bargain of the century it's a seventy year old car can still be used everyday no problems and has buckets of style and charm.

It's old stuff every time for me,how can an admittedly very clean Granada be worth £16000.

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Go back a decade or two and the sunbeam and granada values would be reversed taking into account inflation? 

I've noticed pre-80s stuff taking a dive late last and this year so far. Post-80s is pretty vibrant. 

Like you lot I'm a similar age (in my (late) 30s) and find the old stuff with their associated social, mechanical and car history more interesting than pure nostalgia. 

I don't see it as a bad thing as it allows enthusiasts to enjoy cars without fighting with "investors" and the mass market that are more interested with shiny things in their garage to look at. 

[Matty]

  On 23/04/2023 at 20:55, SiC said:

I don't see it as a bad thing as it allows enthusiasts to enjoy cars without fighting with "investors" and the mass market that are more interested with shiny things in their garage to look at

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This. Win in my book.

[High Jetter]

  On 23/04/2023 at 20:40, S2000 said:

Rebuilt last year with a 1043 block, cooper head, evo1 cam, SU38, straight cut gearbox etc etc far too much than I can remember currently.

it will be for sale come June.

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Not a Hornet, no bustle! 

[Joey spud]

In the mid eighties my mates had Escorts and Chevettes but I had a white G reg Hornet with white eight spokes and black plastic wheel arches I also painted the roof black with a speckled coating that was supposed to look like a vinyl roof.

Everyone laughed at it but I loved the little thing and surprisingly so did the girls.

A dismal MOT failure saw it scrapped so I swapped the wheels and arches onto a K reg black tulip coloured mini 850. I looked at putting the Hornets nose on too but that needed skills I hadn't yet learnt.

[MiniMinorMk3]

  On 23/04/2023 at 21:59, High Jetter said:

Not a Hornet, no bustle! 

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Wolseley 1000 from South Africa. The white reflector near the headlamps is the give away.

[MiniMinorMk3]

  On 23/04/2023 at 16:44, SiC said:

I have four 12g940 and two 12g202. All look original but some are pitted on the mating surface.

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Depends how bad the pitting is. An A-Series head can be skimmed quite a bit before you hit the water galleries. All A-Series heads were 2.75” (69.85mm) thick as standard (from rocker cover surface to block surface).

[Joey spud]

  On 24/04/2023 at 11:15, MiniMinorMk3 said:

Wolseley 1000 from South Africa. The white reflector near the headlamps is the give away.

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That's good knowledge,I thought it was a Mini with a Hornets nose grafted on too. 

[S2000]

  On 24/04/2023 at 12:02, Joey spud said:

That's good knowledge,I thought it was a Mini with a Hornets nose grafted on too. 

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It’s 1 of 2 or 3 in the UK I think. I’m finally on top of putting right all the shit the previous owner did and my MOJO has now been depleted so once the new carb is fitted and the cam is dialled in I’ll be putting it up for sale.

[artdjones]

  On 23/04/2023 at 20:45, Joey spud said:

On Bangers and Cash this week an old boy was selling a '74 Granada XL estate a '70 P6 2000sc and a '53 Sunbeam Talbot 90 that was gorgeous and had done sod all miles in the thirty plus years he had owned it.

The Granny made an obscene £16k the very honest Rover £7.6k but the lovely Sunbeam struggled and finally sold after the auction for £4.5k.

£4500 for a really nice 50's Sunbeam Talbot 90 has to be the bargain of the century it's a seventy year old car can still be used everyday no problems and has buckets of style and charm.

It's old stuff every time for me,how can an admittedly very clean Granada be worth £16000.

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It's all about fashion. There's a well known artist called Alma-Tadema who was extremely fashionable in the late 19th century and is now fashionable again. His stuff sells for £10 - 20m. In the 50s they went so far out of fashion that the city of Exeter sold a couple of them for 2 or 3 hundred for the two, about 10% of what they would have cost new.

I agree about the Sunbeam. A lovely car with plenty of performance for its time.