Lankytim’s general shite related ranting, Ft mystery 2CV and P4 shittery.

[Lankytim]

11 hours ago, Surface Rust said:

 

Changing gears in P4s is a delight, the long throw gear lever and weight of the bits you can feel moving, combined with a solid 'snick' all make it feel like your selecting drive in the Titanic or similar (before the accident).

I'm hoping my box will be a fair bit lighter as I have a poverty spec 95 with no overdrive.

I'll PM about the release bearing, that's a very kind offer.

There is definitely a very mechanical and precise feel to the gear change, like a bolt action  rifle or something. With everything lubricated and back together the gear change is feels even smoother. 
 

The non- OD box is quite a bit shorter and lighter than this one so is easier to remove. I’m after a diff from a 95 as they have a shorter diff to counter the lack of an overdrive. Overdrive cars with a 95 diff can crack 100MPH with ease apparently and make great motorway cruisers. I think classic range rovers have a similar diff that bolts straight in but they have their oil filler on the axle case rather than on the diff housing meaning once fitted to a P4 there’s no way of filling them.  

[EyesWeldedShut]

3 hours ago, Lankytim said:

I think classic range rovers have a similar diff that bolts straight in but they have their oil filler on the axle case rather than on the diff housing meaning once fitted to a P4 there’s no way of filling them.  

This any good?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/357677212021

I think what he's doing is getting the guts out of a Range Rover diff and putting them into the front housing from a Series Land Rover - that way a filler is on the flat section of the front housing. Could also be a DIY option if the P4/P5 front housing will take a RR diff straight in?

[Lankytim]

4 hours ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

This any good?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/357677212021

I think what he's doing is getting the guts out of a Range Rover diff and putting them into the front housing from a Series Land Rover - that way a filler is on the flat section of the front housing. Could also be a DIY option if the P4/P5 front housing will take a RR diff straight in?

Quite possibly, I’m hoping score a diff for next to nothing tbh, via a complete spares car or job lot of parts. That one does seem a bit pricey for my budget. 

[EyesWeldedShut]

7 hours ago, Lankytim said:

Quite possibly, I’m hoping score a diff for next to nothing tbh, via a complete spares car or job lot of parts. That one does seem a bit pricey for my budget. 

Aye - there's Series LR diffs all over the place for little money - if you can snag a 3.54 drive's internals then a DIY would be fun? The LR crowd back in my day were always banging on about how 'rubbish' the diffs were and that you needed a Salisbury or an Ashcroft's 'stronger' one - I never knew one to break up as they're proper lumps of Victorian engineering  

[chaseracer]

On 09/10/2025 at 06:42, Surface Rust said:

Changing gears in P4s is a delight, the long throw gear lever and weight of the bits you can feel moving, combined with a solid 'snick'...

Yes!  You look at that metre or so of cranked tube and think OSHIT but it's one of the nicest gearshifts I've experienced.  

Thank you @Inspector Morose for trusting me with The Sideboard (1956 Rover 60) way back when.

[Lankytim]

Sooo the daily Laguna was in for its MOT last week and it disgraced itself by failing on two items, an incorrectly fitted headlight bulb (that would explain why oncoming motorists keep flashing me- though it was just because I’m so popular) and a rust hole in the drivers sill.. eek!

 

The headlight bulb was easily fixed, especially as it was the passenger side which is easy to get access to, replacing an 80p sidelight bulb on the drivers side requires engine removal. The hole in the drivers sill was a slightly bigger issue.

There’s a patch welded on the drivers sill, apparently a previous owner drove over a set of car ramps and caved the sill in and the patch was there to give the sill its shape back, which it didn’t do a very good job of and looked terrible but there wasn’t any point in disturbing it. This patch has rotted out and behind it was a badly bent sill.

After discussing the situation with the tester I decided to cut the old patch off and see what was behind. The sill really was caved in, the top of the sill had been hammered down to allow the door to open and had been skimmed with filler. With all the corrosion and filler ground away the full ugliness of the sill was revealed. 
 

I pullled the dent out of the sill as best I could via levers through a couple of drainage holes, the whole thing was just looking worse rather than improving. When I couldn’t get any more of the dent out I skimmed the whole lot with filler to give it its shape back,  I painted it with high build primer from Halfords (covers sanding marks apparently), a tin of silver paint I found in the boot and under sealed with some random stuff I found in the garage and stuck it back in for retest which it passed. Hurrah! 
 

This sill repair looks absolutely gash but probably looks a bit better than the massive patch and filler that was there before. Plus there’s another 12 months motoring on the old jalopy which is a bonus on an 18 yr old high miler Renault I think, so overall I’m pretty chuffed. 

[Lankytim]

Another little update.

Who arrives with presents overnight, has a beard, is dressed in red and makes children very happy?  Well the 10 yr old me was made very happy as the red jacketed jolly man wasn’t Santa but a recovery agent dropping off an Austin Princess at 2am-ish!
 

Yes, it’s the 2200 HLS @Dippy was selling. I’d always wanted a Princess but they usually need an absolute ton of work, far outside what I can deal with but this one seemed to fit the bill as it doesn’t look like it will take a huge amount of work to see the road again. The P4 seems to be at a reasonable level of sortedness after having its crank seal and clutch replaced so having an extra old motor to work on won’t even be noticed, right? See. It all makes sense when you think about it.

Anyway. I work nights and the recovery agent offered to bring it up overnight after he’d collected it from Dippy’s base near Bude. We managed to time things to happen as I got home from work and in a rare moment of luck the stars aligned and everything went to plan. 

A wedge was offloaded, money was transferred, coffee quaffed and the fella left for his long journey back to Cornwall- and I had a Princess!

After a disturbed nights sleep (I was too excited to sleep) I was able to view the wedge in daylight and set about cleaning the leaves and moss from it. It had sat for 18 months or so and was a non runner. After a good scrub and vacuum things were looking much nicer. A battery and booster pack were brought into play and the engine was soon running. A couple of fuel lines were perished and leaking and after replacement the only leak came from one of the carbs overflow, presumably a sticking float or valve. The brakes and steering seem to work fine so after putting a plastic bottle on the overflow to catch the excess fuel the Princess was driven down the drive and up to the garage where I can investigate things further. 
 

The interior is amazing and smells just like the interior of the  Allegro my family had when I was 6, even the sound of the doors closing brings back memories. The engine is like silk and the suspension is fantastic. I think I’m in love. 
 

More updates when I get chance! 

 

[Zelandeth]

That looks lovely.  One of those cars I've always liked the look of.  Never even sat in one yet though.

Really looking forward to getting my P4 going again after the arrival of a puppy kinda brought things to a halt a couple of weeks ago!

[comfortablynumb]

Bet your neighbours were as pleased with you for hoovering and jump-starting at 2am! 😂

[Lankytim]

1 hour ago, comfortablynumb said:

Bet your neighbours were as pleased with you for hoovering and jump-starting at 2am! 😂

I’m keen but not that keen! 

[calebaaront]

Wouldn’t mind driving that back to Portsmouth when you eventually sell it! 

[Dippy]

Im really glad its gone to someone who will love it, youve done more in a day than me in the last 18 months. Its to good a car to sit rotting away on my drive.

Wait till you drive it properly it just wafts along and has a sweet spot of acceleration between 30-50mph, I surprised a few tourists dawdling along the A39 overtaking them in a Princess 😁.

[Lankytim]

I’ve been busy today neglecting the family and working on this Princess. The perished fuel lines have been replaced and a battery borrowed from the 2cv strapped into place (the battery was in turn stolen from a scrap Honda Jazz and is way too small) 

With the engine running I noticed the distributor cab moving slightly, turns out there’s a couple of large cracks in it and the 123 distributor body is really quite badly corroded. I can scrape big flakes of it off with my fingernail. Hopefully a clean up and some protective paint will help, along with a new distributor cap. Has anyone else seen aluminium corrode like this? 

[tooSavvy]

Would that be *value driven Chinesium Cake icing-esq aluminium 🤔

🚙💨

[bangernomics]

I’ve been busy today neglecting the family and working on this Princess. The perished fuel lines have been replaced and a battery borrowed from the 2cv strapped into place (the battery was in turn stolen from a scrap Honda Jazz and is way too small) 
With the engine running I noticed the distributor cab moving slightly, turns out there’s a couple of large cracks in it and the 123 distributor body is really quite badly corroded. I can scrape big flakes of it off with my fingernail. Hopefully a clean up and some protective paint will help, along with a new distributor cap. Has anyone else seen aluminium corrode like this? 

Well played with the wedge its properly cool. Thats had a nice moist enclosed world and something reactive to get that alloy so fluffy.

[captain_70s]

I've had modern alloy stuff corrode at alarming speed. I don't think any of these classic car parts are intended to live outside and even your standard lockup is pretty damp.

[Lankytim]

Yeah, it is a weird one seeing as these 123 ignitions systems are a qualify piece of kit and not cheap. I ordered a new cap from eBay but realised just in time it was the wrong one and managed to cancel the order. It turns out the aftermarket dizzy uses a Mercedes distributor cap which also fits the Porsche 911 weirdly enough. With a new cap delivered the distributor was cleaned up a bit and the new cap fitted securely into place. The engine now seemed to start and run well, apart from the other carb overflowing which needed to be fixed using the official BL method of mole grips on the fuel line until the engine splutters, then release the grips and the sudden flow of fuel dislodges whatever is obstructing the float valve. All very technical. 
 

Work intervened for a few days but I was finally able to take her for a test drive! I tentatively reversed off the drive and set off, suddenly realising I hadn’t bothered to clean the brakes up to remove 2 years odd worth of corrosion. Oh well. Noisy brakes aside everything went very well. Some of the electrics packed in after 5 minutes meaning I had to complete the trip around the block without indicators, fuel/temp gauges or an ammeter to monitor battery charging but journey was uneventful and I was soon safely back on the drive. It was certainly less nerve wracking than the maiden voyage of the P4!

After fixing the electrics several longer journeys have been completed including a 70mph blast up a local dual carriageway. It’s a great car to drive,  very smooth with its Hydragas suspension, lovely light steering and sumptuous interior, a real contrast to the P4 which can be hard work, especially at low speed, the Princess feeling very modern in comparison.  The brakes are getting better with every mile and are very sharp. It’s not exactly a fast car but the kick down can used to hurry things up a bit. It’s definitely more of a comfy cruiser than a racer. The tiny Jazz battery is still under the bonnet and can’t start the engine from cold, a booster pack being needed to get things going. The local breaker didn’t have any decent batteries in stock so I might have to pick a brand new one up Halfrauds. It’s annoying having to buy things like batteries as I usually just have one kicking about I can use, but not this time.

One of the things I’ve noticed is the reaction from other motorists and pedestrians, everyone seems to love it. Traffic stops to let me out of junctions and I often get a wave or a thumbs up. Great fun! 

 

[Zelandeth]

Please don't be fleeced by Halfords for the price of batteries.  Tayna will probably deliver the actual correct type to your door cheaper than Halfords cheapest one.

[Lankytim]

16 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

Please don't be fleeced by Halfords for the price of batteries.  Tayna will probably deliver the actual correct type to your door cheaper than Halfords cheapest one.

I managed to blag a Halfords trade card years ago and found batteries are pretty reasonable when using it, although you never know what the discount is going to be until you get to the till. I did consider Tanya last time as they come highly recommended but buying from an actual real shop means I can return it easily if there’s any issues.

[Lankytim]

Hi everyone

I’ve been using the wedge for daily commuting/shopping duties and working through any issues that crop up, which to be fair have been few and far between. I bought a used battery from the local breakers for £15 and it’s been spot on, starting the Princess with ease in the recent cold snap we’ve had. The heater fan kept melting fuses until I cleaned up the terminals and used proper old fashioned fuses from the spares stash rather than the new type fuses I bought from Amazon which seem to just fold up and collapse after 5 mins of use. An ongoing electrical malady involves the indicators. The drivers side repeater gives a weak flash when the NS indicators are operated , the NSF indicator also flashing weakly. I suspect an earth fault which hopefully shouldn’t be too hard to sort. 
 

In other Princess news I dug out some Rover 75 saloon rear seat belts and fitted them, the mounting holes already being present in the Princess, the only drilling being to the fibreboard parcel shelf. They fit really well and work perfectly. The centre three point belt from the 75 can also be fitted but there isn’t a captive nut in the steel panel below the parcel shelf to fit it to so it will require some drilling and a large washer. I’m not even sure the parcel shelf will be strong enough in the centre to take the stresses from a seatbelt reel, more investigation is needed before I start hacking things about.

The only real annoyance with the 75 belts are that they’re covered by trim in the 75 and are exposed in the Princess, I need to find something suitable to house them in. They also have pretensioners which shouldn’t prevent them being used as “normal” belts but look a bit unsightly I did look at removing them but decided not to meddle too much incase I rendered them completely inoperable. 
 

In other news, the P4 languishes under a cover and the 2cv hides in the garage. I’ll take the P4 out on a run soon! 

[Dippy]

Im really pleased to see this car being used after 2 years stood in my garden. Also pleased it seems to be working ok.

I find the electrical faults strange as in all my ownership never had any troubles there, probably poor connections due to standing in the damp for 2 years. How do you like the ride, its just seems to float and with such comfy seats and power steering it is a lovely way to get from A to B.

[Lankytim]

On 25/11/2025 at 17:43, Dippy said:

Im really pleased to see this car being used after 2 years stood in my garden. Also pleased it seems to be working ok.

I find the electrical faults strange as in all my ownership never had any troubles there, probably poor connections due to standing in the damp for 2 years. How do you like the ride, its just seems to float and with such comfy seats and power steering it is a lovely way to get from A to B.

Considering the amount of time it’s been standing it drives absolutely fantastic. The driving experience is very pleasant if a little strange at first. It’s a 45 year old car but feels very modern and includes many of the creature comforts of modern cars, the Hydragas suspension is excellent and soaks up bumps and potholes with absolute ease. Super light power steering and automatic transmission makes the whole package very easy to drive. Even Mrs Lankytim has driven it and she refuses to pilot nearly all of my old clunkers. As you say, seats are very comfortable, you could daily this thing and totally forget you’re behind the wheel of something so old. 
 

 

[N Dentressangle]

I was really tempted by that Princess, but good that it's found such an appreciative home.

It's a shape that's aged really well I'd say - rather gawky and ugly at the time, but now it looks modern and clean, and wouldn't look daft next to Teslas and modern stuff. Maybe Harris Mann was really that ahead of the game.

I even quite like those massive trapezoidal headlamps now, whereas when they were new as a kid I much preferred the twin round setup. Weird.

btw, I have an RRC diff that has munched bearings if it's any use for your P4. Free, if it's any good to you.

[Lankytim]

18 hours ago, N Dentressangle said:

I was really tempted by that Princess, but good that it's found such an appreciative home.

It's a shape that's aged really well I'd say - rather gawky and ugly at the time, but now it looks modern and clean, and wouldn't look daft next to Teslas and modern stuff. Maybe Harris Mann was really that ahead of the game.

I even quite like those massive trapezoidal headlamps now, whereas when they were new as a kid I much preferred the twin round setup. Weird.

btw, I have an RRC diff that has munched bearings if it's any use for your P4. Free, if it's any good to you.

I agree, the shape has aged really well indeed. I’ve always liked Princesses but they were always seen as a bit of a joke. When I had an Allegro I’d get all the regular Alleg-rot jibes and the occasional comment about how they “weren’t all that bad really” but this Princess has had nothing but compliments and people of a certain age drifting off to their childhood momentarily. It’s like all the bad BL wedge stereotypes of the time have been cancelled out by rose tinted nostalgia. 
 

Thanks for the offer of the diff. I’ll do some research and see what I’ll need to do to get the bearings replaced. Do you know what ratio it is?

[N Dentressangle]

1 hour ago, Lankytim said:

I agree, the shape has aged really well indeed. I’ve always liked Princesses but they were always seen as a bit of a joke. When I had an Allegro I’d get all the regular Alleg-rot jibes and the occasional comment about how they “weren’t all that bad really” but this Princess has had nothing but compliments and people of a certain age drifting off to their childhood momentarily. It’s like all the bad BL wedge stereotypes of the time have been cancelled out by rose tinted nostalgia. 
 

Thanks for the offer of the diff. I’ll do some research and see what I’ll need to do to get the bearings replaced. Do you know what ratio it is?

I think it's a 3.54 : 1, 10 spline. Might need planet gear pins too - I'd need to dig it out and see how bad the damage was, and whether you could make something usable out of what you have.

[Lankytim]

A little more progress. The glowing OS repeater lamp has been an ongoing issue and so far my investigations have mostly involved looking at it with my hands on my hips but yesterday I actually had a go at finding out what was happening.

Theres some rodent damage on the wiring to the repeater although it shouldn’t affect operation and just needs a little insulation tape to fix. Taking the sidelights and front indicator lenses off I found the NS unit was corroded and full of water. The bulbs had been replaced with LED items and were absolutely soaked. With these replaced with conventional bulbs the glowing repeater seems to now be fixed but the NS front indicator needs a little work. The bulb  holder is corroded and might need replacement, unless I can bodge something.

Also… check out that dash, absolutely lush! 

Onwards and upwards!