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BMC/BMH/BL Readers wives #End of year round up#


Matty

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I was heading out to @320touring's unit, made it as far as the petrol station and then one street along and it conked out. A couple of fellas came by and had an admire and helped me push it off the double yellows.

The £12 unbranded fuel pump I bought on eBay had inexplicably* ended it's life after about 45 miles worth of work. Replumbed the old mechanical pump which worked fine, but not before drinking a lot of fuel because I thought the line has blocked so gave it a good suck (oooh errr missus etc)

A Chinese woman who was passing wanted to know everything about the car. Specifically the engine and how it all worked. By the time she went away I'd taught her pretty much everything I knew about the basic operation of an internal combustion engine running a carburettor. 😂

 

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11 hours ago, captain_70s said:

I was heading out to @320touring's unit, made it as far as the petrol station and then one street along and it conked out. A couple of fellas came by and had an admire and helped me push it off the double yellows.

The £12 unbranded fuel pump I bought on eBay had inexplicably* ended it's life after about 45 miles worth of work. Replumbed the old mechanical pump which worked fine, but not before drinking a lot of fuel because I thought the line has blocked so gave it a good suck (oooh errr missus etc)

A Chinese woman who was passing wanted to know everything about the car. Specifically the engine and how it all worked. By the time she went away I'd taught her pretty much everything I knew about the basic operation of an internal combustion engine running a carburettor. 😂

 

Quite impressed with the basic road Facit pump I've fitted to mine so far. Just put one on an Essex v6 on a car my dad's doing up as well (albeit a fast road version with a higher flow rate). Not cheap at £60 odd mind.

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I've found the Hardi pumps just fine. I did have one suspected faulty but that turned out to be earth issues and then later the bullet connection for power. 

They are the same form factor as SU pumps so fit existing mounts. Also give the reassuring tick as they work.

Tbf a SU pump with point is alright but they are invariably knackered and need a rebuild. Rebuild kits aren't far off something like a Hardi or Facet pump. 

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2 hours ago, SiC said:

I've found the Hardi pumps just fine. I did have one suspected faulty but that turned out to be earth issues and then later the bullet connection for power. 

They are the same form factor as SU pumps so fit existing mounts. Also give the reassuring tick as they work.

Tbf a SU pump with point is alright but they are invariably knackered and need a rebuild. Rebuild kits aren't far off something like a Hardi or Facet pump. 

Tbh Si I couldn't be bothered. It wanted a rebuild but ten minutes down the road and half an hour fabricating a mount and I had a modern solid state pump. Basically laziness won. It should also just do its job for many years without my input (touches wood) 😄

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Iirc generally Austin vehicles had mechanical pumps while Morris vehicles had an electric fuel pump. I believe that was because Morris bought up SU in the early days and so preferred them for all their fuel system parts. This behaviour carried on after their mergers.

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few of my past ones Metro was a 1.0 dog slow (1991 I owned this) 

Allaggro was originally an 1100 but had the MG 1275 under the bonnet, great fun...this was about 2006/7 cost me £200 with 9 month MOT!!

metro.jpg

tweety.jpg

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8 hours ago, SiC said:

Iirc generally Austin vehicles had mechanical pumps while Morris vehicles had an electric fuel pump. I

Nope. Look at the larger Austins. Like my Westminster or an Austin Healy. All ADO16s had an electric fuel pump. The ADO 17s had a mechanical pump whilst the likes of the MG B and C had an electrical pump.

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8 hours ago, SiC said:

Iirc generally Austin vehicles had mechanical pumps while Morris vehicles had an electric fuel pump. I believe that was because Morris bought up SU in the early days and so preferred them for all their fuel system parts. This behaviour carried on after their mergers.

Best as I know mine was electric from the off. There's a section on stripping down and repairing the pump in the workshop manual.

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14 minutes ago, Remspoor said:

Nope. Look at the larger Austins. Like my Westminster or an Austin Healy. All ADO16s had an electric fuel pump. The ADO 17s had a mechanical pump whilst the likes of the MG B and C had an electrical pump.

I must have imagined it all. I did say iirc!

Not all ado16 came with electric fuel pumps though. 

But then ado17 first came from Austin and then branded Morris. MG is more aligned to Morris. Healey did his own thing. 

C-series engines used in the big Austins came from the Morris design offices iirc?

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4 hours ago, Essex V6 said:

As there seems to be a bit of love for Minis, here some of mine (the Cooper is my current mini)

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Definatly would still have one if prices weren't out my reach. Gorgeous that

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On 5/19/2022 at 12:00 PM, SiC said:

Iirc generally Austin vehicles had mechanical pumps while Morris vehicles had an electric fuel pump. I believe that was because Morris bought up SU in the early days and so preferred them for all their fuel system parts. This behaviour carried on after their mergers.

My Austin A40 had an electric pump. It also taught me how important is was to keep the points in said pump clean and adjusted!

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I had a go at replacing the rear boot floor yesterday with a new panel I have but it dawned on me that it was never going to be a five minute job.

The spring hangers and the ends of the inner wings attach to it and the lower boot surround panel is peppered with holes too.

Time to order a boot surround panel and another box of cutting discs.

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46 minutes ago, Joey spud said:

Haven't got a scooby how well it'll fit,it's awfully thin.

Awful from my experience and others I've read on many of their panels! Unfortunately it is the only source for some of the panels though. 

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On 5/18/2022 at 9:40 PM, captain_70s said:

A Chinese woman who was passing wanted to know everything about the car. Specifically the engine and how it all worked. By the time she went away I'd taught her pretty much everything I knew about the basic operation of an internal combustion engine running a carburettor. 😂

 

Probably a spy for the 'The No 72 Long March Paraffin Lamp, Wicker Work and Plastic Washing Up Bowl Combine' who are looking to branch out into fuel pump production.

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  • 5 weeks later...

Thought this was the right place to share this. Now has an A60 Countryman estate come up for sale here I guess these are rare? 

Galleribilde

Galleribilde

Galleribilde

It was bought new by a doctor and was parked in 1989 and has only done 134,000km. Adds a link to the ad where there are more pictures.

https://www.finn.no/car/used/ad.html?finnkode=263575266

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I have just come back from a jolly good holiday in Jersey. While I was there, I had a hire car for a day. I took the sensible option of a Dacia San...













Don't be silly, I got something much more exciting to drive!
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No, not the Honda! To be fair, being a Honda fan, I'd give one of them a go too.


Yes a proper Frogeye Sprite.
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The rental place had a choice between a TR6, MGB Roadster, Stag and VW campers. Naturally I chose the smallest, impractical and most uncomfortable out of that. They used to do a 90s Mini, Rover P4 100 and Morris Minor Traveller. But they appear for sale - presumably the less popular options.

It had the most fucked engine I've ever driven. Cold it had a respectable 50psi but as it warmed up it dropped and it dropped and dropped some more.
This is the pressure at 40mph - it didn't get above this, no matter the revs (rev counter was broken).
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Thankfully that is the maximum speed limit on the island as the 1098cc engine didn't have too much extra horses left after that. Presumably the rental place keeps the numbers matching 948cc for if they ever sell it on. I bet this engine gets absolutely shagged by rental drivers who have no clue, long forgotten or shouldn't be driving anymore. Made some impressive smoke clouds after overrun on steep hills.


Anyway many fun times were had in the space of the 24hrs rental. Parking was a doddle being tiny and nearly 360 degree vision.
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We went to see some beaches.
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And some harbours.
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And some big guns.
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Exploring pretty much every nook and cranny on the small island in a whistle stop tour.

After a hearty dinner, we even watched a sunset.
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Then it was tucked up overnight in a multistorey. I was a bit apprehensive leaving it in such a place but the rental company assured their customers do park there all the time with no trouble. Apart from CCTV, you can't really have a car to escape the island without going through an ANPR/shipping container x-ray onto a ferry. Basically Jersey gets nowhere near the trouble like I'm used to in big cities like Bristol and others.
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In the late morning I dropped it back. All in I think we managed around 120miles in 7ish hours of driving. Probably far more than it ever usually gets!
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Not only am I in love with it, Mrs SiC is also. Plus it gets the most admiration that I've ever known. Everyone young and old looks at it with a smile. If you stop, you need to be prepared to lose considerable amounts of time to people wanting to know more. Especially if you park outside a pub full of old people. 🤣

I'm also interested to see what the difference is with my later Midget. From what I've been told, they drive very differently in comparison. Not quite the same pure Donald Healey design as the Frogeye.

They are damn expensive to buy. Especially for what they are - i.e. not a lot of car, rattly, bumpy and totally impractical. But I can certainly see what the charm is with them and I'm smitten.

I've already been searching around at what "affordable" project Frogeyes are about! Possibly a combined Midget and BGT replacement...

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Frogeyes are brilliant little things. My father owned one in the late 1960s and I recently tracked it down. I've also found out my old A level DT lecturer found and restored my father's old one and has owned a few since. His current project is an American dry state import which he reckons is structurally amazing. Worth a consideration. 

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