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

[Lankytim]

11 hours ago, calebaaront said:

Why do I have to be poor? I’d love to drive another P4 back to Portsmouth from Stoke On Trent 😆

You’re not poor, you’ve just got a million cars like me! Might be interested in a swap for something modern, or old. Or middling. 

[Lankytim]

Well….. she’s gone! I’m not sure I can remember the last time I was this sad to see a car go, but I do know the Princess has gone to a great home. Best of luck with her @Weird Car!

In other news, I made an executive high level decision and  have started to get the Scénic ready for MOT. It’s such a practical car and quite frankly, I just like it. So piss off. 
 

I gave it a deep clean and removed the wheels to clean all the brake dust off. They’re now absolutely spotless and really set the old Renault off. The OSR door has never opened from the outside, full function was restored by fitting a salvaged door lock from eBay. A fiddly job but fairly fun to do. 
 

On the way home from work this morning the clutch started slipping, not badly but it it’s rapid onset suggests it might wear out completely quite quickly. A new clutch is £££ and might involve a new DMF so with the already sketchy long term prospects of driving an elderly Renault I’m going to scrap it when the MOT runs out, or the clutch dies, whichever is sooner

You win Renault. You bastard. 
 

[Weird Car]

6 hours ago, Lankytim said:

Well….. she’s gone! I’m not sure I can remember the last time I was this sad to see a car go, but I do know the Princess has gone to a great home. Best of luck with her @Weird Car!

Very flattering picture of me playing traffic warden whist @Jessi reverses out of the drive 

 

pleasure doing business with you, sorry we couldn’t stay too long, once I get yapping about cars it’s impossible to stop, and I didn’t want to keep you too long knowing you work nights 

[Lankytim]

Time for a quickish update….

The Daimler (not a Jag) is proving to be fun, I think it’s been about 50/50 as to wether it’ll break down in some way on an outing but I blame myself for a few of those, Weirdcar did say that the petrol in the left tank was questionable and I couldn’t resist playing with the fuel tank button on the dashboard…. Turns out it was pretty grim. I had to drain the tank and the fuel lines, plus clean out the carbs before it would run again. Approx 15 litres of gunk was drained out. I’m not sure if it’s stale petrol that’s separated out or rainwater through a leaky fuel cap seal. 25 litres of super in each tank has things running better than ever.

Gearbox wise it seems to hang onto first when cold, banging into second and eventually finding top at about 60mph although it does seem to be improving somewhat. I haven’t had time to take anything apart yet but I’ll monitor the situation and have a look at the governor when I’m able. 

 

 

[Surface Rust]

Easy to forgive when it looks that good though!

[Lankytim]

Time for a little P4 fettling, seeing as it’s been a bit neglected recently. First up was a random flat tyre that was traced to a leaking schraeder valve. The tyre had come off the rim which took a little getting back on but everything was soon back together. 
 

The oil pressure light has been flickering on and off recently, there doesn’t seem to be any pattern to it. Sometimes it’ll flicker on tickover and other time will make an appearance when driving at speed. Duff sender or actual low oil pressure?

I’ve got a 3 litre engine sat in the garage I’ve been meaning to refresh with the aim of eventually fitting to the P4 but it’s been steadily being robbed of small parts. This time it donated its oil pressure sender. It was a 2 minute job to swap over and the oil pressure light seems to be now behaving itself, coming on with the ignition and going out on startup. The old oil pressure sender has been fitted to the 3 litre engine and will cause much irritation and head scratching when the engine is eventually started up in the distant future. 
 

 

 

Onto another job that needed doing. The fuel gauge has been showing empty when the tank is still half full which isn’t the worst thing in the world but still something I wanted to sort. With the fuel sender removed I bent the float arm down a bit and after a little trial and error the gauge is more or less showing the correct fuel level. I’ll have to drain the tank and see if it shows empty before I can say if it’s actually fixed or not. 
 

[Lankytim]

Here’s some RED HOT Daimler RUMMAGING! 
(red hot as it’s an absolute scorcher today) 

I’ve been fiddling with the throttle/kickdown linkage . It looks like the clamp that connects the throttle rod thing to the first carburettor throttle spindle has been able to slip, tightening it up a little revealed that “rightie-tightie” had become “rightie-loosie” meaning the throttle lever was in the wrong position.

A new nut and bolt were procured from the boxes of random fasteners I have in the garage and after lots of trial and error I was able to get approx 90% throttle movement on the pedal. I’m not sure how to get the other 10%, it seems impossible. A quick test drive (where I ran out of petrol- this is why Jags have a spare tank) showed drivability much improved. The autobox was also changing up and down perfectly for the first time. This might’ve been down to the nice hot engine thanks to the weather but we’ll see. 
 

Cracking onto the next job, a blowing exhaust. This turned out to be a loose exhaust clamp. With everything nipped up the AJ6 engine sounded sublime. I think it was blowing a little when the Daimler first arrived and has got steadily worse. Every bolt was loose. I’ll keep an eye on them to see if they loosen off again. Proper brass  nuts too! Not some cobbled together rubbish which is what I’m used to. 

[MorrisItalSLX]

4 hours ago, Lankytim said:

With everything nipped up the XK6 engine sounded sublime.

 

[Squarepegroundhole]

No red hot summer 2cv action???

[Lankytim]

13 hours ago, MorrisItalSLX said:

 

Quite correct, I knew it sounded wrong as I typed it! 

4 hours ago, Squarepegroundhole said:

No red hot summer 2cv action???

Unfortunately not yet, I’ve just been too busy so the 2CV has been tucked away in the garage. It’s done approx 0 miles since the last MOT. 

[lesapandre]

It's an XK engine - the AJ6 is the later new one that went in the XJ40.

[Lankytim]

2 hours ago, lesapandre said:

It's an XK engine - the AJ6 is the later new one that went in the XJ40.

Yeah you’d think I’d remember that by now. My uncle was a manager at the Browns Lane plant in Coventry during the 80s and 90s. I’ve seen a photo of him standing next to the last XK engine manufactured- he was pretending to cry, dabbing a tear from his eye with a handkerchief. 

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, Lankytim said:

Yeah you’d think I’d remember that by now. My uncle was a manager at the Browns Lane plant in Coventry during the 80s and 90s. I’ve seen a photo of him standing next to the last XK engine manufactured- he was pretending to cry, dabbing a tear from his eye with a handkerchief. 

You sure he was pretending? Produced for over 40 years, maybe most of his working life. An exceptional power unit.

[Lankytim]

17 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

You sure he was pretending? Produced for over 40 years, maybe most of his working life. An exceptional power unit.

I’ve just been talking to my cousin about him. He started at Jaguar in 1965, worked his way up to senior foreman at the engine shop until about 1985 then superintendent until his retirement in 2000. 
 

 

[High Jetter]

22 minutes ago, Lankytim said:

I’ve just been talking to my cousin about him. He started at Jaguar in 1965, worked his way up to senior foreman at the engine shop until about 1985 then superintendent until his retirement in 2000. 
 

 

If it were me, the tears would be real.

[Lankytim]

Well, the Scénic has been SORNed and parked at the bottom of the garden until I get time to break it and flog some parts off, although I’ve already sold the tow bar. Scénic 2 parts aren’t particularly in demand as there’s hardly any left on the road and those that are still motoring are at the end of their lives. I’ll give it a couple of weeks then it’s going in the bin. 
 

Daimler news… the gearbox still seems To be shifting correctly after the throttle linkage was adjusted which is nice. I also found another source of poor running (other than water contaminated fuel) The Daimler was often reluctant to start and idle and would often cut out at junctions or need skilled footwork on the throttle to keep the engine running.  The distributor cap and rotor arm look new but on inspection the centre carbon electrode thing in the middle of the distributor cap was badly worn and pushed up into the cap, the spring being all crushed inside. There was also evidence of arcing. There was a used cap and rotor arm in the glovebox (presumably removed to fit the “new” items at some point) and with these refitted the engine runs much more smoothly and without the flats spots and cutting out I experienced before. A nice free fix.

I can only think the “new” distributor cap was faulty when it was fitted. Perhap just a poor quality part. 
 

Talking of running issues. I had a look at the filler caps after a downpour and found the drain on the passenger side was blocked, meaning rainwater was able to enter the tank and contaminate the fuel. The drain was blown clear using a metal straw and the rainwater quickly drained away. Pretty satisfying! 

[Lankytim]

Finally one of the other clunkers has had a look in!

Towbar on the P4 has been wired up so I can actually use it for towing. It’s the easiest car in the world to wire a towbar up for, everything easily accessible and the wires just push into the existing thimble style push connectors, easy peasy. It all worked first time too. I need to bear in mind it’s positive earth though, if I plug in my trailer with LED lights it might explode or something. 
 

Daimler- the fuel cap seals have been replaced with some from eBay. Despite deffo being for my car they’re different to the original seals. They fitted anyway and hopefully they’ll keep water out of the tanks. There’s certainly no longer the stench of petrol when you get near the boot which I’m guessing is a good sign. 
 

Gearbag still seems to be shifting as it should. Can I call it fixed yet? 

[dollywobbler]

Seems to recall that the wiper mechanisms on the Scenic are in demand. Didn't Wuvvum have one a while back with wiper woes?

[Lankytim]

1 hour ago, dollywobbler said:

Seems to recall that the wiper mechanisms on the Scenic are in demand. Didn't Wuvvum have one a while back with wiper woes?

That’s the MK3 which has two wiper motors, one for each wiper arm. These Mk2s don’t seem to be in demand for anything at all, apart from its catalytic converter, alloy wheels, diesel In its tank and light iron. 

[2flags]

Do love a Daimler. They truly were a luxurious steed. Has yours got the air-con in it? I know they did fit them to some.

[Lankytim]

I actually got the 2cv out of the garage yesterday… and reversed it into the shed. No damage this time fortunately. It hasn’t been started for a few months and started straight up after a bit of cranking. It’s getting used for my daughter’s prom in a few weeks. The MOT is due soon too! 
 

Last night I drove the Daimler to Leek to attend a  talk/lecture and book signing. It’s only of the few cars I’m actually careful where I park. I returned to it a few hours later to find take away wrappers and food all over the floor  in the space next to it. I checked the great Daim over to see if anyone had done the old “kebab up exhaust pipe(s) trick but it was untouched. Not even a chicken nugget on the roof. Very odd. The  filler caps aren’t locked so maybe they put BBQ sauce in the fuel tanks. Maybe I’m just paranoid, I’m not sure I’ve ever owned a car this nice before! 

[Lankytim]

16 hours ago, 2flags said:

Do love a Daimler. They truly were a luxurious steed. Has yours got the air-con in it? I know they did fit them to some.

From what I’ve read the Daimlers were an upmarket version of the sporty Jaguar, if that’s the case then my one has a very unusual spec. There’s no leather, only the drivers window is electrically operated and no air conditioning. I don’t know what specification these had as standard but it’s like the original owner asked for a Daimler but wanted the “popular plus” version with the smaller engine and excess luxuries removed. Surely he should’ve bought a Jag in that case then? 
 

It’s a bit like ordering a Granada Ghia but having it built to Granada L standard. 

[2flags]

It has been many years, and the memory may be playing tricks on me, but yes, as far as I remember the Daimler was the posh version, leather, electric windows all round, air-con and an electric sunroof. 

[MorrisItalSLX]

The Daimler was certainly the top of the range model in the Series III XJ range.

[Lankytim]

So the Scénic is no more! I did enjoy owning this old clunker, it was comfortable and despite being an ancient Renault it never broke down. It’s replacement is arriving this weekend. 
 

I removed some random parts in the hope that they’ll sell on eBay but as these are about as popular as an escaped turd on the ISS I’m not holding my breath. 

[bangernomics]

Sleep soundly little soldier.

[Lankytim]

The 2cv has finally seen the road! My daughter had the pick of the fleet for her prom and insisted on using the Citroen. Tax was purchased, the little Citroen was cleaned within an inch of its life and bows and ribbons added. The roof was even rolled back, the first time I’d actually done this! 
 

 

 

They’re fun in the sun with the roof open aren’t they! All went off without a hitch. The 2cv is in for MOT on Tuesday, fingers crossed it passes, it’s only done about 30 miles wince the last one.

Other news….. a new clunker has arrived!

This involved train travel…

To collect this from long standing forum stalwart @Minimad5

I then took it to 3 sisters karting track in Wigan

Before taking it home to meet the rest of the fleet.

 

It’s a 1999 V70 2.5d, fitted with the Audi 5 pot diesel muncher. First impressions are good, it wears its 232,000 miles very well and is great on the motorway. Hopefully it should be pretty fuel efficient and be partial to the odd veg oil mixer.  I’m looking forward to getting it as smart as I can. Even the kids like it which a a massive bonus! 
 

There’s a few bits of interior trim that could do with replacing along with a bit of an exterior detail but i’m hopeful it’ll respond well to a little TLC. 

 

 

[Lankytim]

And it’s a pass with only one advisory for an oil leak. Lovely!