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

[Lankytim]

Yet another update!

There was a little play in the king pins which turned out to be loose cotter pins, they come in different sizes and I suspect the incorrect ones have been fitted at some time. They’ve adjusted up but some other are on order thanks to the ever helpful P4 drivers guild 

The glass “boulder catcher” fuel filter has been reinstated using parts from the stash and some new pipework. The oil in the gearbox was also checked and topped up via a hatch in the transmission tunnel. The ‘box even has its own rather hefty dipstick! Brill! 
 

All this set the old Rover up for its biggest challenge yet. A 60 mile trip to see my Dad in Birmingham via the M6. Dad has always been a bit of a cynic “you’ll never get that thing up and running” etc so he was pleasantly surprised when it appeared on his drive, he even joined me for a spin around the block, visiting the old Rover engine factory in nearby Tyseley. My Dads father worked there after he was demobbed post WW2 up until his retirement in the 80s. Apparently he was a “Wibbler”. He removed flashing from casting although I’m not sure if my Dad is making that bit up. 
 

We went for a spin around the locale and drove past @St.Jude Rover 800 incase he was around, which he wasn’t.  Dad was dropped home and I headed back up the M6 to Stoke.

All went swimmingly with the big 6 limo running better than ever, I even took the thing through the Birmingham LEZ via the A38 tunnels- great fun!  These old Rovers absolutely own the road and it was great fun thundering up the motorway. Pulling onto the drive the engine cut out and wouldn’t restart. Investigation showed the float chamber was overflowing, flooding the engine. The float seemed to be fine so I suspect a sticky valve. It all worked fine afterwards- I’ll keep an eye on it. This distracted me from the oil slick forming under the bellhousing. It looks like the rear crank seal has finally karked it, which is a gearbox out job. This will at least allow me to change the rear block core plug which is also weeping. Not sure when I’ll get around to doing that though! The rear seal has always leaked a little but it looks like the motorway blast has finished it off. 

[St.Jude]

On 11/05/2025 at 21:36, Lankytim said:

We went for a spin around the locale and drove past @St.Jude Rover 800 incase he was around, which he wasn’t.  Dad was dropped home and I headed back up the M6 to Stoke.

Was slaving over a hot stove cooking for everyone for my moms birthday.

Won't be there near the damn thing until July really, and that'll be to move it to Malvern.

[Surface Rust]

The rear core plug on mine was leaking 12 years ago. I araldited a penny washer in it and it's only started to leak again now. 

Not a bodge if it works*

[Lankytim]

7 hours ago, Surface Rust said:

The rear core plug on mine was leaking 12 years ago. I araldited a penny washer in it and it's only started to leak again now. 

Not a bodge if it works*

That’s not a bad idea, It’ll be easy to replace properly when I take the gearbox out to fix the rear crank seal but might do as an interim repair. 
 

Talking of interim repairs….. a 5 litre bottle cunningly crafted to shape and a couple of bungee cords mean I have an oil free driveway, presumably until it’s full of oil and pours out everywhere. 
 

*no idea why the image is inverted 

[Surface Rust]

That's genius, and with the convenient spout to allow you to pour it back in the engine!

[cbowditch]

If the float in the carb is sticking and overfueling badly I recommend you change the engine oil. I had that happen on my cortina and I adjusted the float and carried on driving. After 20 miles or so, the crank locked up! The oil was so diluted with fuel that the bearings overheated.

[Lankytim]

4 hours ago, cbowditch said:

If the float in the carb is sticking and overfueling badly I recommend you change the engine oil. I had that happen on my cortina and I adjusted the float and carried on driving. After 20 miles or so, the crank locked up! The oil was so diluted with fuel that the bearings overheated.

That’s not a bad call. I did think about the oil getting diluted with petrol but as the oil pressure seems to be OK and it doesn’t have the tell tale smell of petrol I’d discounted it. If the oil has been diluted then it would explain the oil slick from the rear main seal. 

[Zelandeth]

Regarding the carb flooding over, my guess given you just cleaned out the sediment bowl, it's just been a bit of crud that got dislodged from there.  If it doesn't happen again in the near future it's most likely absolutely fine.

[Lankytim]

32 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

Regarding the carb flooding over, my guess given you just cleaned out the sediment bowl, it's just been a bit of crud that got dislodged from there.  If it doesn't happen again in the near future it's most likely absolutely fine.

The glass bowl was missing so I built up a usable one from the spares stash with a new seal. Everything was thoroughly cleaned up but perhaps some debris was left behind. I’ll just monitor the situation and see what happens. 
 

Going back to the oil, I’ve always thought it looked a little thin for 20/50. I bought the cheapest oil I could find to flush the engine out after doing the head gasket and planned on putting some more expensive oil in at a later date, certainly dedicated “classic car” 20/50 is like treacle in comparison to this Triple R stuff. 

[Lankytim]

A nice sunny day out with the family at the local “Auto Extravaganza” which despite being 10 mins away and in its 11th year I’d never heard of. Anyway, the family were coaxed along and a nice time was had by all. The place was packed with interesting old motors! Star of the show for me was the 1986 Maestro city, it’s not even a CITY X which means no side repeaters, no rubbing strips on the doors, glovebox lid, etc etc. I’d never seen one before, excellent! There was also a 2 cylinder air cooled Fiat Panda too, another car I’d never seen before.  
 

The Rover didn’t drive very well, clutch judder and slip means the rear crank seal is more urgent than ever but it got us there and home without incident. I seem to have got my head around the carb though, a nice fella on Facebook sent me images of the workshop manual and I’ve been able to set the idle speed and adjust the jets etc. it seems to run and pull pretty well now. 
 

Here’s a selection of cars I snapped, there was far too many to photograph. A very good show and hopefully I’ll be back next year. 

[High Jetter]

Nice pics! I think the radio in the City would have been an option. Love the white FWD Triumph and that odd-looking Leyland truck.

[chodweaver]

Landcrabs!

TWO Landcrabs!!

ETA

While I'd love to have seen them in the metal, with just the pics, i can continue to imagine that they're the size of small planets...

[Lankytim]

28 minutes ago, chodweaver said:

Landcrabs!

TWO Landcrabs!!

ETA

While I'd love to have seen them in the metal, with just the pics, i can continue to imagine that they're the size of small planets...
 

The Austin 3 litre? They are pretty large. I’ve seen this one driving around and like all big cars from that era they seem to shrink when compared to modern cars. Still a lot of presence to it though. 

[Lankytim]

Hi everyone. Not much of an update as I’ve been busy with work and other random stuff.

The Laguna continues to provide sterling service,  including taking myself and the family all around Wales on holiday, before we left a nice present arrived in the post- the original number plates for the P4! I’d got in touch with a previous owner who’d had the 100 back in the early 80s and still had the plates hanging in his garage. He very kindly volunteered to post them to me and after we returned from Wales I fitted the rear one. Definitely an improvement on the undersized modern item that was fitted before. 

Despite the 2.6 engine in the Rover performing perfectly (leaks aside) I bought an engine from a Rover 3 litre mk3 because it was cheap, and seized.

The engine complete with auto box was collected from Manchester and was soon back home in Stoke and getting taken apart. It freed off with a crowbar on the starter ring  pretty easily. The gearbox was taken off and the engine was stripped to a short block, parts like the box and the power steering pump and specially adapted dynamo it bolts on to will be sold on as I don’t need them. The engine looks to be in good shape internally with no scoring in the bores , no lip in the bores and no sideways movement in the pistons. The engine can be converted to manual using a Rover 80 flywheel and seems to be quite a common conversion in P4 circles. Unfortunately 4 of the 6 spark plugs snapped off in the head and will need be removed somehow, I might get the engineering shop that skims the head to have a shot at that job.  As the engine came from a mk3 3 litre it has a fancy “Weslake” head which helps the flow of gases into the engine and looks really cool, although mine needs a really good clean up! 
 

The whole 3 litre engine conversion malarkey will be a bit of a back burner project for the time being but the engine will look great with the alloy castings cleaned up and the block nicely painted and the increase in BHP and torque should come in handy. 
 

The MOT on the 2CV expires next month, time flies when you’re enjoying yourself! The crossbox in the exhaust was blowing on the last MOT although the tester couldn’t find the leak. It’s steadily got worse so I bought a replacement from ECAS near Stafford, parked outside was a very nice Traction Avant which I thought was worth taking a pic of. They’re glorious cars when viewed up close. 
 

Anyway, that’s all for the time being. 

[High Jetter]

Nice pl8s, M8.

[Lankytim]

A bit of elbow grease and the head cleans up pretty nicely! Not too corroded either. 

[Surface Rust]

Enjoy fitting the crossbow in the 2cv, I found it was a complete bastard of a job in my Acadiane trying to get all the joints to seal.  Those new clamps you've got do help pull it all together!

I think the exhaust manifold bore for the Westlake heads is larger so check your downpipe before trying to fit. I imagine the 3.0 will make it quite rapid!

[Lankytim]

Soooo, I was sat in the barbers waiting my turn for a trim and browsing Facebook marketplace….

Anyway, long story short, it just kinda happened  even though I’m meant to be reducing the fleet, not increasing it. It was local and cheap and I’ve never had one before…

It’s a late 2004 diesel connoisseur. The previous owner was selling as he’d spent a load at the last MOT  on brakes and stuff and a pre MOT check had shown it needed even more spending on it, rear brake pipes corroded, front wishbones, drop links, tyres and a small rust hole on the drivers sill. Nothing too bad. 
 

It’s pretty straight and only has 69k on the clock. It’s a nice looking thing but probably won’t be staying as it just doesn’t seem as good as the Laguna. I know they’re a couple of generations apart but the 75 really does feel like something from the 90s….. which of course it is.

What really lets the 75 down is the interior. Everything feels loose and flappy, fabric on the door cards falling off, poor quality plastics, droopy headliner, boot floor and trim collapsing, it feels like a clapped out Kia rather than a premium product. The spec seems pretty poor too, I thought this trim level was near the top but it has cloth manually adjustable seats. I’m guessing Project Drive is behind this general crappyness but it could be remedied with a nice new leather interior from an earlier 75 in cream or something. Dark blue bodywork and a cream interior…. Yum!

But of course that isn’t going to happen because I’m reducing the fleet… aren’t I? 

[Lankytim]

Bet everyone had forgotten about the 2CV, well I nearly forgot the MOT was coming up so rummaged around to see what was needed, the crossbox in the exhaust was on its last legs for the last MOT and definitely needed replacing this time around. A new was was obtained from the ever helpful ECAS who luckily only down the road from me. The crossbox was soon fitted but this then revealed a blow from behind the torpedo exhaust section, I think all the movement when I fitted the crossbox finished it off. With the MOT looming I did the sensible thing and cancelled the MOT and put a new silencer on order bodged it up with a coffee tin, hose clips and epoxy resin. 

The little 2CV flew through the MOT, the play in the king pins even self healing since last time. Result!

I still need to sort the rest of the exhaust out though.  

[Lankytim]

Hiya gang. 
 

Not much of an update other than the 2CVs insurance has now expired and I want to put it on a joint policy with the Rover but the Rovers insurers don’t seem to be too helpful with that particular idea so I’ll look to getting a multi car policy with company  when the Rovers cover is up in September. 
 

Anyway..

The P4s overdrive has never worked since I’ve owned it and because of this its comfortable cruising speed has been 55-60 which makes motorway travel a bit strained. Last weekend I finally got my arse into gear and started troubleshooting. With help from someone in the drivers guild I eventually tracked the problem down to the throttle switches on the bulkhead. These operate via a cam on the throttle linkage and prevent the overdrive being disengaged at speeds over 100mph to prevent the engine over speeding and trying to disassemble itself.  With these unplugged and bypassed I finally had a nice sounding “clunk” from under the car when engaging the overdrive lever! (The clunk sounds the same as the clunk make when you pull a lever and complete a level in the game DOOM, if anyone can remember that) 

A test drive showed that despite the clunk the OD wasn’t doing anything which was a bit of an anticlimax but after a few miles it finally woke up started doing its thing . 80 is now a perfectly comfortable speed to cruise at and it’s totally transformed the driving experience. Brilliant!  
 

Moving onto today…. 
Driving in shorts often resulted in a bit of a shock as I felt a spider crawling up my right leg. It turned out there wasn’t a previously unknown spiders nest spawning spiders over my lower limbs but the vinyl dashboard top foam filling disintegrating and pouring out of the ends of the dashboard and over my leg while going around corners. The P4 had spent a few years sitting in the sun on someone’s drive and the whole interior was sun damaged, including the dashboard. I had a spare dash top in my stash and the crumbly original was soon removed.  The woodwork on the new dash  was  pretty knackered, fortunately it’s pretty easy to swap the original wooden panel over and after a quick clean and polish the replacement dash top was ready to refit. I hadn’t been looking forward to this job as I thought it might be quite involved but it turned out to be pretty easy and the new dash top looks so much better than the old one. Hopefully that’ll also sort out the spidery sensation! 

[Lankytim]

As a child I spent a lot of time at the Welsh seaside town of Fairbourne in Mid wales and I’d been hoping to drive the Rover over there for a while, once I’d got everything working and I had confidence it would actually make the journey from Stoke on Trent and back. The Rover, like all old cars always has a to-do list which always put me off making the 100 mile odd cross country A road jaunt. 
 

Anyway, today was was the day I threw caution to the wind and together with Mrs Lankytim made the pilgrimage to the Welsh coast.

Here’s a photo dump of what turned out to be a totally uneventful journey where nothing of note went wrong, other than the engine getting a little warm as we ascended the big hill at Dinas Mawddwy on the A470. I remember failing to get conquer the summit in a clapped out MK3 Escort in 1998 and having to roll backwards down to the bottom to get the run up I needed to get to the top.  The Rover barely broke a sweat, impressive. We even managed a couple of overtakes on the windy A roads, 

Things went so swimmingly that we crossed the wooden bridge at Paenmaenpool and went to Barmouth for some chips. 

The return trip via Bala and Wrexham was as uneventful as the outward leg and even the traffic wasn’t too bad. As well as the Rover was driving it was a relief to get back home and get the kettle on. The Rover has come a long way from the seized up hulk I picked up from a driveway in Birmingham last year. 

The only criticism of the Rover I can think of is what smells like oil fumes entering the cabin. The engine breathers are open to the atmosphere and one is right next to the air vent for the heater. I’m not sure what can be done about that, perhaps a breather can be connected to the inlet manifold so any gasses get sucked into the engine and burned. I’ll have to do some googling. 

[High Jetter]

It looks so good.