Toledo 2000TC: Minimal progress due to modern Swedish shite purchase

[SiC]

Are these the same mounts as the Sprint that crack? If so get the solid mounts from the club. The rimmer rubber ones are crap and disintegrate.

[purplebargeken]

Not sure if exactly the same.

Rimmers are shite.

[leakingstrut]

I don’t think the cracks are as bad as they look, but I had noticed them and I’ve already bought some new mounts. Not from Rimmers but probably the same crap ones. They’ll be fitted before I do the post timing carb tune. 
 

The MGF steels suit the car perfectly. When I repaint I’m going for the original off white, or something pastely and period looking - I’d like it looking relatively stock, and think some chrome trims on the steels may look good, and or a repaint in the silver of the original wheels. 
 

 

[leakingstrut]

I’ve been holding off on updating till I got it running, but there has been a serious outbreak of while-I’m-there-itis.

Got the timing sorted, biggest issue was me having the direction of the rotor wrong 🙈. Had some issues with the coil getting hot. It’s meant to have a ballast resistor but won’t start with it in place, as the voltage drops too much.

Fitted a relay to bypass the resistor, but I was planning on putting them all in a box anyway. So I put all the relays in a box, but now the wires from those relays are too short. Not wanting to bodge in an extension I started redoing the loom that runs below the radiator. Oh, look you can get a prewired headlight loom with relays already in place. So I might as well refit the old headlights while I’m at it.

I’ve also been doing some work on the interior wiring, some relays and fuses under the glovebox, LED lights in the headlining (double sided tape, let’s see if they stay there).  I made up a panel for warning lights and the oil pressure gauge, but it’s a bit shit so I’m redoing it. Big fan of Wago connectors, I used them for all the under dash stuff. I might rip it all out and redo it with proper automotive connectors one day, but it works.

I’m about 75% happy with my wiring. I’ve removed all of the non standard wiring (and some of the factory loom that was no longer required*) so now all the slight bodges are my own, which makes diagnosing things a LOT easier. For me at least.

*I might have also removed some important ones, which I then had to fix. 

 

[leakingstrut]

Oh, have some pics. 
 

 

[leakingstrut]

I’ve still been pottering away on it, carbs are in with new mounts. As expected the new mounts are rubbish, and the old ones were fine on the inside. I might end up refitting the old ones. New ones needed the holes widened as they didn’t line up. Carbs are as close to tuned as I can get with a colourtune and limited knowledge. I’ve been struggling to get it to idle below 1000 rpm, it just starts dying. I think the carbs need a rebuild, but it’s running well enough for now. 

Wiring is all reconnected, but there are a few jobs left to do, and a few things I might redo differently. I might move a few things off the ignition circuit to the accessory circuit and second gear overdrive isn’t working (I suspect the wire fell off the sensor, as it works in 3rd and 4th). I have an oil pressure gauge and lower pressure warning light sensor to fit too. 
 

The ignition switch is shorting - the accessory circuit was passing 7-12v to the starter circuit, so I fitted a starter button and disconnected the original wire. Because I fitted a dolly wiper stalk the tolly column shroud  wouldn’t fit, I got a dolly shroud but also struggled to get that to fit, so ended up cutting up the tolly one. It’s bodged in, and will be redone. 

I’ve made a warning light gauge panel, which has telltales for oil, alt, OD, side, main, dip etc on it. Only the first 3 are wired up so far, and it’s currently very orange. I’ve got some black Perspex to redo it once I decide on final layout and lights.

Proper headlights are in, one has a good lens but a bodged bulb fitment, and the other has a cloudy lens. My Dad brought some more lights up so I’ll make up two good ones from the pile of bits. He also brought up some more front indicators are so rusty I’m amazed they work. I put in some LED sidelight bulbs, but a bit like the LED headlights they don’t seem brighter, just whiter so they may go. 
 

I had it out yesterday with my Dad for it’s first proper test drive in a long time. Temperature kept climbing on the drive, creeping up to just over 100 when I pulled back in after only about a gentle 10 mile run, and that was with a break to cool down, fan on and heater on full blast. We were sweating buckets inside the car, but it didn’t boil over. 

So there is definitely some work needed on the cooling. I suspected this, in fact GMcD mentioned he wasn’t happy with it either in the original advert. Having the koso gauge and matched sensor is handy - much better having a digital readout than relying on the old BL gauge. I’ll flush it, might see how it runs without a thermostat and if that doesn’t cure it I might look at a radiator upgrade but I think the fiesta one that’s fitted is commonly used on sprints, so it should be fine. 

Oh, and I still need to mount the koso speedo sensor, fix the handbrake, fit the brake bias valve, get the diff plug off, and service it! But at least once it’s running cooler and serviced it can become a running project instead of a static one. Oh, and tidy the garage. It’s a state. 

[leakingstrut]

Oh, and the wiring loom is only temporarily fitted, once it’s finished and well tested I’ll wrap and properly fit it. 
 

I also dropped the exhaust by about 10mm to cure a rattle, which kinda helped. 

[GMcD]

Some superb work going into this! 

[leakingstrut]

Cooling system has been flushed with cleaner (Prestone stuff)  once, then again with just water about 4 or 5 times. A decent amount of shit came out, seemed to be a lot cleaner by the end - much less crap coming out. I've fitted a 74 degree thermostat, and a 74 deg fan switch thermostat. So, I think I theory it should run too cool. It's running at about 85-90 degrees in normal driving, peaking at 95 in some situations - I wasn't in stationary traffic long enough to get past that. And this was on a sub 20 degree day, and running the heater on full blast when it was above 90. The heater runs pretty warm, not exactly a furnace though - it certainly makes a noticeable difference in 

I think these temps are OK in terms of not warping the head, but still a bit high considering with 74deg thermostats it should run cold. It ran about the same with no thermostat, possibly a little hotter. The thermostat has a foot which blocks the radiator bypass, so it should run better with one fitted. 

I'm going to give it another flush or two with household central heating cleaner, I've been told it works well. I'll then give it another few flushes with water before filling with antifreeze and distilled water. For flushing this time I'm going to disconnect the heater and flush that separately, and also jack up the back of the car - lying in bed this morning it occurred to me that the engine sits lower at the back, so it might not be flushing the back properly. 

If that doesn't work the possible culprits are, roughly in order of likelihood:

• Dying waterpump
• Fan not powerful enough
• Block blocked past the point of cleaner
• Radiator / radiator airflow issues

If anybody can think of anything else let me know. 

Speedo sensor is fitted to the drivers side from wheel, not perfect but I wanted to see if works there before I spend ages fabbing up a better one. Its accurate to about 1mph against gps after calibrating it, but sometimes under reads over 40 - I think a more accurate fitment (i.e. not a metal cable tie and tape) would fix that.

I had it out yesterday for about 25 miles, and about 50 today, driving nicely after being laid up. Plenty of power, but I still think a play with timing and carbs (probably a rebuild) would make it run a bit better. Drove up to the Lomond car park by Falkland today, 200m climb in 2km, 85deg at the bottom, 95 at the top, but I wasn't being gentle. It's really nice being able to drive it again - had only went out for a quick run, but then I realised I needed fuel and and an overpriced sugary coffee. The A92 at rush hour plus tractors was grim though. 

 

 

 

 

[leakingstrut]

Thanks to the Dolly forum I discovered there is a block coolant drain plug I didn’t know about. 

Got the plug out. Flushed it with water, got plenty of muck out - I took the top heater hose off and flushed from either side of that too.  I was still getting muck out when I ran out of water, and that was with a 25l Jerry Can!

It’s still running hot, possibly a bit better though. I’ll do some chemical flushes with a good clean with water in between and see how it goes - I think it is possible that the very recently fitted radiator has filled with crap from inside the engine, which I can hopefully get out. 

Going to head over to the in-laws to use their hosepipe, as I don’t have water at the garage I’ve had to carry all the water for flushing down three flights of stairs, then put in in the car and drive it over the Tay Bridge! While I’m there I can borrow an extension cable and kettle to check the temp sensor is actually accurate, just in case it is running fine and the sensor is giving duff readings! 

 

[Noel Tidybeard]

85-90 isn't really hot though is it

most thermostats don't open til 88

e.g electric fan on a-series maestro doesnt come on until 102/104

[leakingstrut]

No, not really but that is happening in conditions where I think it should be running cool. It's currently got a 74 degree thermostat in temporarily*, and I'm trying to get it run too cold, then fit an higher temp thermostat to bring the temperature up to a more reasonable level knowing it has some spare cooling capacity. I'm not worried about it hitting 95, but the only reason it's not passing 100 is that because I'm being careful about not getting into a situation where it will climb higher. I'm particularly paranoid as it is an aluminium head on an iron block and I've previously warped a head on a PSA XUD engine due to being lackadaisical about the coolant system. 

*I needed a thermostat gasket at short notice, and all the ones on eBay came with a thermostat, so I got a low temp one for testing. The standard one is 88, it had an 82 fitted,  but I think I have an 88 in a box. 

[leakingstrut]

I have a few trips planned to Alva and Appin this weekend and next, and I was hoping to take the Triumph. Unfortunately it’s in the middle of getting a new radiator fitted, which should have been completed by now but things got in the way. Therefore I present to you :

A tale of two Dougs; A badly written saga of Cars, Crashes and Collectioneering. 

The year is 2016, having been forced to learn to drive for a new job, my wife passes her driving test. She hates the two cars I bought while she was learning to drive. The first one, a nice* blue Ka turned out to be more rotten than expected (who’d a thunk it). My bad. 

Next, a black Corsa C 1.4 twinport SXI. It’s pretty nice, despite my irrational hate for Vauxhalls. She hates it, she is learning in a diesel Pug 208 and can’t get on with the raspy engine and admittedly sharp clutch. Everyone else that drives it loves it, and it ends up with the my Mum for a few until the brake master cylinder gives up. I do feel bad that I hadn’t been aware of the water pissing into the drivers footwell before I sold it to her - in my defence I had left the window open overnight once and thought it was just taking ages to dry out. 

So, a few days after she passes her test we go down to the local Peugeot dealership and buy a Peugeot 208, just like she learned to drive in. 3 and a half years old, 12,000 miles and 7500 quid. Oh for the heady days of pre pandemic car buying. It’s a 1.6 hdi, 90hp and a 5 speed box with weirdly high ratios. Cruise, Air con, Bluetooth, all the niceties. It’s a 3 door - ideally we wanted two more doors but it was otherwise perfect. For obvious reasons it gets christened Doug. 
 

*time warp sound* It’s Tuesday the 1st of October 2023, we are heading to a gig in Glasgow. I’m driving a well used but very loved Doug. Running late as we had been in heavy traffic since before Castlecary, again stopped in traffic less than a mile away from the venue when a Transit runs into the back of us. Everyone is fine aside from slightly sore necks. Guy is apologetic, I’m being nice because I just want to get out of there and he’ll be easier to deal with if I’m not being a prick. Exchange details, give the guy a one ringer and check askmid to make sure he he isn’t pulling a fast one before we head off. 

I park up by the gig, it drove there fine. Lights still work, so we are OK to drive home. A quick look underneath has write off bells dinging though. The gig was great - Willy Mason for anybody fans for vaguely folkish alterna-rock from the turn of the century. We get back to Fundee about quarter to twelve, gubbed. Car drove great, but they always do when their days are numbered.

Next day I submit the claim at lunch. Transit guy gives me a ring, and I politely decline the offer he made the day before to have his mate fix* it, nice of him to give me a ring tbh, even if he was just trying to keep himself out of the shit. I get home and properly assess the damage….

Rear crash bar bent against the spare wheel well.

Spare wheel well dented.

Boot lower lip bent.

Spare wheel jammed in place.

Boot floor creased forward of the spare wheel.

Well, at least it will be a simple write off, I send esure the pics and the above list. By 6pm that day (23 hours post crash) they text saying it’s dead and they’ll give us 4300 before excess. I think about scouring Auto Trader to push for 5k, but honestly I thought I’d be fighting for 4k so we just take it. 

Welp, it’s time to looking for a replacement (I mean, I’d obviously started doing that while having tea before the gig). My Wife wants another 208, she loved this one and it’s been a great car. MK2 208’s are dropping into the 15k range, but having had one as a hire car in Crete we both found the interior to be a step down in quality and space. 

She likes showing unprepared tailgating Audis a clean pair of heels where the a92 goes to dual carriageway before the Tay bridge, so the more common but gutless N/A 1.2 pez and 1.4 HDI are out of the picture, as is the 75hp 1.5 HDI. I definitely could have edged her towards a GTI, but 5 doors were a requirement this time. 1.4 and 1.6 n/a petrols are like hens teeth. 1.2 Turbo is fun, but we might as well stick with what we know. The post 2011 1.6 HDI is meant to be pretty solid, ours never needed more than an oil change in 7 years and 65k.

Oh, and to complicate things I think ULEZ and a nice spec would be good. As the one paying the bill, she would rather not have to dip into her savings too much. 

We settle on 6-8k for a nice spec, nice condition post 2015 facelift or <3k for something older, roughy but half decent. I’m not spending 5k of someone else’s money on something non-ULEZ complaint. 

After looking at a few rough gumtree champagne gold examples with the wrong engine we rule out the latter option. So we are down <10 cars within 3 hours drive. Arnold Shark have some 2016s in a nice spec with 65k ish for 8000. But that’s top of budget and at a bargepole dealership.

We wee place in Inverness has a 2015 with 81k for 5950, looks lovely too. 1.6 HDI 100hp, post facelift ULEZ. I book a visit for the next day hoping I can swing an early escape for work. Get there at 4:30 Thursday thanks to an incredibly lucky early finish, guy sticks some trade plates on it and says crack on. It’s running already, air con light is on but it’s muggy inside. Fucks sake don’t make me go to Arnold Clark. I take a wee trip out along Loch Ness, oh, it’s a cracker. Stop for a pee in some bushes (I was bursting after a non stop A9 drive when I got there, but got distracted by cars) and check it out. 

Bodywork is perfect, undertray intact and unabused. The undertray on the old one only lasted a month - I parked it in gear. Did you know new drivers aren’t taught to dip the clutch when starting? And a 208’s Jimmy Hill chin won’t clear a curb? 

Only rust I saw was on the exhaust - frankly unbelievable for a 8 year old car in the highlands. The soon to be departed 2012 was starting to look awfully crusty in places. Turns out it has CarPlay, DAB and a reversing camera, not all mentioned in the advert. Interior isn’t perfect but pretty decent. Only options that would have been nice that were missing were the glass roof, camera and digital climate control. We’ll survive. Slightly nicer than the old one, with a few leathery bits. £0 road tax unlike the later ones.

I go back and offer 5500 - I reckon 5950 is bang on but no harm in asking. He mumbles about not getting any warranty below asking and doesn’t seem awfully receptive. Sod it, I’ll have it full price and take it home today. I hate negotiating. 

47 hours after the crash, new car bought. Only problem, I took the Freelander up with me and travelled solo. I dump the Freelander in a Go Outdoors car park, sort insurance and tax and head home. Dinner in McDonalds, sitting in as I don’t want to get sauce all over the new car before she’s laid eyes on it. Fuel, no pez station shot - wish I had as there was a pinky orange Fiat 500 slammed with a widebody beside me. Terrible and a loved it. 

It drove great, NVH, power, etc all better than the old one. Home 9:30. Hot toddy as I’ve been fighting a throat / head cold and straight to bed for work tomorrow.

Next day, quick shower after work then I get the 3:53 train to Inverschneckie after work. First class is only a tenner more, unfortunately the refreshments on board were limited to a tray with water and biscuits. A far cry from the free booze, hot and cold drinks and quite nice hot food we had when we went first class to York. When I change in Perth there is a European couple opposite me, guy has a man bun, shoes off and his holed socks on the seat. Boke. There is a funny smell - either is feet or the out of operation shitter. I switch seats. 
 

I walk out the station, I smell food, I see pubs, sun is out brain goes into holiday mode. Wish we had both come up and got a hotel, as much as a like driving a third A9 trip in 2 days isn’t as enticing as a crisp cold pint. Never mind, you’ve got a multi day collection caper on so I hot foot it to the Freelander.
 

Wheel bearing is howling, it’s really not in the best of health - why couldn’t we have taken it to Glasgow to get written off! Foot down, two podcasts, big bottle of iced coffee. Home 9:15, ears ringing from popping coming down the hill into Inverness on the train and the howling wheel bearing, all terrain tyres and heavy foot. Brain boggled and bladder full - I shouldn’t have drank all that coffee. Two cold fancy beers and a fudge donut from the fancy shops up the road were waiting for me. Devoured, bed. 

Saturday out the door at 7:50 to drop the car at a nearby Halfords garage. They have always done decent work for me and are the one place you can get booked in at short notice on a Saturday that isn’t KwikFit. £35 for a full air con check up, tell them just to regas it m8 for another £59 if that’s all it needs. If not let’s see if this warranty is any use. 

Old Doug hasn’t been collected yet, so I might pilfer the spare wheel (new one has a space saver) and battery - I’ve got an old one I can put in for loading. It’s got a decent but not new set of CrossClimates on it, the new one has 2022 dated Launfen CrossClimates knockoffs on the back, and 2018 dated ditchfinders on the front. I thought about swapping them, but the new one has nicer wheels with a wider lower profile tyre. I’d rather not worry about if I have to declare them to insurance. I’ll probably stick two decent all seasons on it and rotate them. The Launfen’s get a decent ranking in tests. 

We are both really sad to see Doug go. It’s been a great car, 8 years and 65k and all its needed were brakes, droplinks bulbs and a rear light cluster. Air con was not longer taking a charge, and I needed some rust abatement if it was going to last but it was a great car we planned on running as long as we could.

It’s been to Galway, Clapham, Orkney and Norfolk and many places in between. It’s been our only car when all I had was a broken Vivaro for a few years. I’ve used it for work whenever the Freelander broke - it clambered up a steep 200m gravel track amazingly well. When we had deep snow a few years back I decided to leave the Freelander at home and see how good the CrossClimates were - it coped admirably on the unplowed steep and narrow streets where we live despite its chinny chin chin doing a snowplough impression. It did do 60mpg when we first got it, but my wife, having a lead footed dad and husband inevitably found her own. It’s still got solid 55mpg unless you drive like a complete arse. RIP Doug, long live Doug MacDoug. 


 

Hoping to get some lanoguard or something on the new one soon to keep it spotless. My wife has no interest in cars aside from having a working 208 with a non shit engine and it’s near enough the perfect spec so hopefully we can hopefully keep it going for many years.

 

 

 

 

[mk2_craig]

11 hours ago, leakingstrut said:

*time warp sound* It’s Tuesday the 1st of October 2023, we are heading to a gig in Glasgow. I’m driving a well used but very loved Doug.

Loved the story! But how did you get all the photos nearly three months before it happened? 🤔 

[leakingstrut]

 

47 minutes ago, mk2_craig said:

Loved the story! But how did you get all the photos nearly three months before it happened? 🤔 

The same way I booked a honeymoon trip to Alcatraz for two months after we had caught a flight home to Scotland. 
 

[leakingstrut]

In  a hope to end the messing about trying to get it to run cool, I decided to bite the bullet and just buy a new radiator. I went for the Saab 9-3 YS3D 98-03 rad, which is known to fit with minimal modification. I got the auto one with the built in oil cooler, which I wouldn't necessarily recommend (I'll get to that later). In fact, by the time I bought all the bits to fit in I was getting close to how much it would cost for a decent dolly sprint radiator - I reckon about £200 vs £250+?

I looked at a few other options, which may have worked, but seeing as the Saab one is a known quantity I went with that. 

Fiesta rad VS Saab rad

Other possible options:

Citroen C4 VTR 2.0 Litre Petrol October 2006 to October 2007 - Sized nicely for fitment, but lower hose is on the wrong side. Would rather not have a carbuncle of connectors to make an S pipe.  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/314709740302

Landrover 2.5 TD - Once again nice size, very deep but possibly too deep to have clearance once the fan was fitted. Also expensive. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/314592925268

Ford Cougar / Mondeo 2.5 Petrol - Big bugger, cheap, but would have to be fitted quite far back due to size. Therefore I’d need to use a pusher fan in front, which would be less effective. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234943244552

I also looked at 80’s Sierra / Granada radiators, Volvo 240 / 750, etc. In the end I decided to avoid the risk of getting something that might not fit and bought the commonly used Saab 9-3 one - the auto one with the oil cooler, which I’m planning on using later. I’m aware of the risk of oil/coolant mixing if it fails - but it’s a brand new rad, and if it fails that’s bad news integrated oil cooler or not.

Rad fitment 

Initial fitment was using the plastic flanges on the radiator onto the mounts for the horn and battery box. Passenger side was via a new hole in the flange, drivers side involved a random bit of metal (I think it was previously an exhaust mount) that I planned to replace with a larger piece if I kept it there. 

This required minimum bodywork modification, just a flattening of the flange on the passengers side. In this fitment and the later one I offset the radiator to the passenger side, my reasoning being for easier fitment of the bottom hose and to leave for room for airflow to the carbs. I was quite keen on this but there was no room for a decent sized fan behind the rad. I could almost fit my existing fan in front of the radiator, in fact with a little adjustment I would have got it in I reckon.

Initial radiator fitment using plastic flanges.

I considered persisting with this option but after a trip to Wickes I found some suitable brackets that would allow it to move further forward. For this I had to flatten or remove the entire lower lip. Constrained by access and tools I had to hand, I cut the corners and flattened it using a mole grip. It looks rubbish, but it’ll do till next time the engine is out. I’d rather not cut the lip off - it could be reinstated by bending it back and welding the two cuts. I’m hoping to bend the lip to face forward to retain strength, possibly getting the corners welded with a filler piece. My only concern with this is creating a muck trap, so I’ll try and keep it clean if I do that. 

For brackets I used some right angle straps, bolted to the existing radiator support locations. The drivers side lined up radiator end tank, but the passenger side was across the body of the radiator, meaning it didn’t sit level. To fix this I added a cross bar, which is positioned so that the tabs on the body/tank joins sit just in front, helping hold it in place. 

Mounting brackets Mk2.

My initial brackets were OK but a bit weak, with a bit of flex if you pulled down so I think with water in it would have sagged over time. While I planned to also support the weight from the top, I’d like good bottom support too. Later I realised some of this flex was actually the front panel of the car, which flattening the flange wouldn't have helped. 

Another trip to Wickes and purchased some stronger brackets with gussets. Being shorter these are only fitted to the bottom support mounts. I have drilled some new holes for a second bolt further up too. I had to use longer bolts on the existing mounts, as the mount is inset into the body slightly. Of course by welding up some custom mounts you could make these even more robust, but have neither the kit or skills to weld so random bits from Wickes it is. The mounts are solid, the only flex is from the panel they are mounted to, reinstating the lip facing forwards would help this. 

Mounting brackets Mk3.

At this point I had trimmed most of the plastic off the radiator, but had left two round tabs near the top. Wickes angle brackets onto those tabs mount the radiator vertically and horizontally. I had to modify these to fit by bending them on a vice. Two mount into new hole from above, two into an existing holes from in front. The passenger side vertical mount wasn’t great, so I remade it from some bar material, I’m not happy with this either but it works for now. I painted the mounts black with the exception of the one I'm not happy with. 

On the passenger side I have a cotter pin into a hole drilled in the plastic, I could put on the drivers side too but given how the mounts work I don’t think it is necessary.

The bottom is just sitting and not bolted in, so I drilled some holes in the bottom lip of the rad to put cable ties through. I could make a bracket, but this will do for now. 

Mounting brackets Mk3 radiator bottom tabs shown.

 

Mounting brackets Mk3, bottom bracket painted and in place.

 

Top mounting brackets drivers side.

 

Top mounting brackets passenger side - forgot to get a good finished photo. This was before I trimmed the end off the top hose connection.

The fan was bolted to the top lip of the radiator and secured with cable ties with a washer to protect the fins on the lower side. A wee bit of tape prevents air being sucked from above the radiator. The battery actually fits better with the new radiator than the old, smaller one. 

Oil Cooler 

Perhaps foolishly I had bought the rad with the built in oil cooler. I started to realise this oil cooler is probably not the best option if I wanted one, and out of the cost of a kit a proper cooler itself isn’t that expensive - it's the stuff to fit it to the engine. 

So what to do with it? I could just leave it disconnected, or I could somehow utilise it. I considered running one of the expansion tank lines through it, but that seemed superfluous. At one point I considered using it as a heated screen wash tank, but given screen wash is quite flammable it didn’t seem sensible to have it that hot. One option would be to see if I could break the wall between the oil and water, and then utilise both the extra capacity and the two threaded ports, temp sensor(s?) and expansion tank seem useful. 

A test of the capacities gave me 1.7l for water and 0.1l for oil, although as it was on its back that may have been low. I think the oil cooler is entirely contained in the drivers side end tank.

Even if I’m off by 50% on the oil capacity, the oil is not taking up that much volume, so I was tempted just to leave it alone, and not use it for anything. After mulling it over I decided not to be a scaredy cat and drill it out so I could use the threaded holes for a temp sensor. Using washers to prevent me going to deep I drilled out 10mm holes in the oil tank via the threaded ports, plus a 5mm one at and angle in the top port at the top of the oil tank to prevent air getting trapped. I then gave it a thorough flush to get the swarf out. 

Hoses 

I had initially hoped to use the existing hoses, but the top hose just didn’t quite fit, and the bottom hose was lower than the old radiator so needed a bend to get past the engine mount.

I also wanted to move the expansion tank connection to the bottom radiator hose, with the fiesta rad it had been attached to the inlet side of the radiator which I gather is not good for the pump. 

For the top hose I used a 45 degree 32 to 34mm leg, plus a 34mm 90 degree leg. The top connector on the radiator was a bit long, so I cut off about an inch, otherwise the pipework would have been against the head 

I had planned on just using a straight connector between these, but when cutting I accidentally cut on the wrong side of the hose clamp I was using as guide. What’s it they say about measuring twice, cutting once? I had a 34mm sensor adaptor which bridged it nicely, and it gives me another option for sensor placement, and a point I can connect a 14mm hose connector for flushing / pressure testing. 

Pressure testing

For the bottom hose I used a 45 degree 34-32mm leg, cut quite short. This goes into a 32-25-32 connector for the expansion tank fitment, then a long leg 32mm 90 degree pipe up to the engine. I forgot to take a pic of this I'll edit that in later.

The expansion tank hose is attached to the passenger side bottom radiator mount (I left these long for a reason) then up to the tank, I left the hose a bit long too. This allows me to move the expansion tank out of the way to access the spark plugs, and to get some extra head for bleeding. 

The top of the radiator has a 12mm spout, I considered piping this into the expansion tank, but a  cap will suffice and can be removed for bleeding. 

The unused m14 holes (top hose, bottom oil cooler connector) are plugged with sump plugs, but give me more options for sensor locations if the top oil cooler one doesn’t work out. I considered using the bottom oil cooler port for the main expansion tank connection, but was worried about constricting flow. 

Expansion tank 

I bought a Volvo 850 expansion tank, and having an anti roll bar fitted this seemed like the best place for it. My first mounting bracket was woeful, but I found some c clamps which along with yet more Wickes angle brackets gave me a height adjustable mount, with final fixing being with short bungee cords. A fancier mount would be very doable. While it is in the way of the plugs, it is quickly removable for access with the pipes being long enough to allow this. I've had the front and rear plugs out since and it wasn't in the way. 

Expansion Tank

Testing

I had a few leaks initially, but a tightening of hoses and using better clips sorted that. I still have a little leak where the line goes into the top of the radiator tank, I need a better clip or a slightly smaller diameter pipe. 

On the test drive, with a 74 degree temp switch in the top of the radiator the fan came on at about 95 degrees at the engine, and off at about 85. I could fit at lower temp one (if I could find one) but I think 95 is fine considering I also have the fan on a switch. 95 will do in case I forget to switch it on manually. Fitting a lower temp one would have the fan and the 88 degree flow thermostat fighting each other as it cooled. 

When siting stationary with the fan on in high teens outside temperature it dropped nicely from 97 degrees. When I had the 74 degree flow stat in it kept dropping to below 80. When driving it quickly got up to about 83, then took a while to get into the high 80s. I've not been out for a longer drive yet, but it sees to sit at about 86 degrees. I think this is decent, but please let me know if not. Same with the fan coming on at 95 ish, I think that's safe for a TR7 engine but I'm not sure. 

I also changed the engine and gearbox oil. Next start there was an awful screeching coming from the engine bay. A bit of listening and poking lead me to the new and terrible carb mounts having failed. That explains the high idle I was struggling with. I refitted the old ones - they were cracked outside but fine inside, and used red gasket paste to seal it properly - I think the rear gasket for these is NLA, and the front one was a terrible fit.  Starting again it refused to idle despite not messing with anything else - I obviously had a massive air leak when I last tuned it. Retuned with a colourtune and balanced it ran great and probably faster that it's ever been. Tune is good enough for now but could do with improving.

[leakingstrut]

On 8/5/2023 at 11:20 AM, leakingstrut said:

I get home and properly assess the damage….

Rear crash bar bent against the spare wheel well.

Spare wheel well dented.

Boot lower lip bent.

Spare wheel jammed in place.

Boot floor creased forward of the spare wheel.

 

Esure forgot to tell copart to come pick up the written off car for two weeks till I phoned them. Then copart tried to send an artic (we live in the narrow lanes of west end of Dundee) suggesting my wife should drive an uninsured car to meet the transporter somewhere more suitable. Thankfully they came to their senses and sent a 7.5t on Monday.

They listed the car today, Cat N. Very surprised it isn’t a Cat S. N is non structural and does not require an inspection, and that looks pretty structural to me. I’m starting to think Copart are a multinational bunch of cowboys.

https://www.copart.co.uk/lot/66060583

Oh, and the triumph is currently getting put back the metal in a few places to deal with surface rust - sills and stuff. Looks good under the paint and will be getting several coats of the finest rattle cans to prevent it coming back. 
 

 

[GMcD]

Upols finest satin black is the colour for a perfect* colour blend. 

[leakingstrut]

As luck would have it that’s what I bought! Novol 395 epoxy primer and Upol Gravi Guard stone chip protection too.  Absolutely shat myself when I saw the sills looked like a teenagers face, but it was just surface rust where the paint had been worn off. Probably due to me finding a little bit last winter and doing a rush job on it before it went into storage.

I thought about doing a full respray (in the factory white or similar) but decided a practice run would be best for now (and cheaper). 

[purplebargeken]

Keep her black, she looks moar cool.

[leakingstrut]

Everybody keeps telling me that, I should probably listen to them 😂 Back when I had my old one that was off white I wanted to paint that black, now I’ve got a black one I want to paint it white! 

Plenty of other stuff to do first so it’ll be black for a while at least. 

[purplebargeken]

Obv if you do paint it something else other than black, could you take a really good picture of the back end for me.  Those stickers were quite important to me. 

Cheers 😊

[leakingstrut]

Stripping and painting still ongoing, but has been delayed due to thinking oh while I’ve got the tools out I’ll quickly tidy up some of the rust on the Freelander. And once again the thread gets derailed by modern shite.

Then the wheel arches disintegrated in my fingers. Maybe I should have tidied it up a few years ago 🙄 It is very repairable. But if I’m fixing it, I want to do it properly, and if I’m doing that I need to do a bunch of other preventative maintenance. I really don’t need another project.

So I start looking at replacements, 5-10k, auto awd, and nice inside. Everything looks shit. Budget increases to 12.5k. Everything is still shit. Maybe I should fix the Freelander. It’s doing that thing where a car knows its cards are marked and suddenly it’s better that it ever has.

Most cars look like they’ve been dipped into the sea when you look underneath and have a full history of bugger all servicing. Glad I bought a code reader, one absolutely perfect XC60 had no lights on the dash but gave an expensive sounding code for the transmission. 

But now my head has been turned by shinier things, and I end up blowing the budget on a Volvo XC70.

2014, D5, 75k, FSH inc timing belt. Adaptive cruise, leather etc.

It handles like a boat, and isn’t particularly sprightly around town, but on the motorway it gets to license losing speeds alarmingly quickly and quietly. I was getting 40mpg till I got a bit lead footed and it was at about 32 when I got home from Edinburgh. That’ll do, pig. 

I’d have preferred a 2015 (ulez) onwards in an actual colour, light interior or sunroof and ideally the polestar upgrades and paddle shifters, but the used car market is a shit show. 

Despite blowing my budget I’m already wanting to spend money on it 🙄 Aero roof rails are a must, so I don’t mess it up inside carrying wood. I can add wireless CarPlay for £450. Sump guard £150. Oh and strip the plastic off and deal with any little bits of rust underneath before it sets in. 

It has two brand new toyos on the front, and decent Pirelli scorpions on the back. But I want a set of matching all seasons or mild all terrains, so I’ll look for some wheels for new tyres and sell the current ones. I think the Freelander wheels would fit, but as they are oversized already I can’t see them not rubbing. May chuck one on the front to see. 

And get a wheel alignment while I’m at it. And a gearbox and haldex service, they are “sealed for life” but I’m not sure that’s a long life. 

Freelander needs to get punted, or possibly parted out but it’s still got MOT at least. A for sale thread my appear soon, but I’ve dumped it in Edinburgh so I need to drag my ass back there to get it. 

[GMcD]

Looks fit AF. Many happy squishy miles of supreme comfort await. 

[leakingstrut]

Shit me, I’ve not updated this in 7 months. Between winter, mission creep and accidentally having three jobs again the partial strip and repaint has been going very slow.

Today I got off my arse, sorted the last few bits and spent the afternoon inhaling paint fumes. It’s black again, no primer to be seen. Needs a second coat, but I ran out of cans.

A rear brake cylinder or union is leaking slightly, so that needs sorted before it goes back on the road, but I’m over the hump. It’ll probably be a month before it sees the road while I finish a few bits, but it’s suddenly a lot closer. 

@purplebargeken Stickers are untouched, so I’ll get a photo when it’s back on the road.