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Buy some blank tapes and an old tapedeck with VU meters (ideally) (you can still get tapes, though it is hard). Make playlist in iTunes or whatever, apply sound check and EQ to suit your car, then record your 46.5 minutes per side of carefully-lined up C90. Bingo!
For bonus points, design your own "Drivetime" album covers and track listings. "Songs to Stroke Velour To", "I make Pulp look like wannabes", "Obscure Tracks To Pull Birds With"[1] and so on and so forth.
Acceptable songs post 1980 may include La Roux, St. Etienne, Ladyhawke, anything by Pulp.
Unacceptable songs post 1980 may include things from X-Factor, anything involving having moves, particularly ones like ageing rockstars, and the Bieber. I believe that British Leyland pre-emptively installed a "sudden and expensive engine death" mechanism should Bieber ever be played inside the car.[2]
My favourite tapes in the VX2300 and Victor were these Time-Life compilations. Came in huge, album-like boxes, and were hits of a given era - '60s and '70s being particularly awesome. Nowhere else would you find Rod Stewart on the same side of a tape as Hendrix, it's like they got a sadist with ADD to compile the tapes.
[1] Or just find a Tindersticks album at a carboot sale.
[2] Seriously. I'm lead to believe that this is why so many BL cars have disappeared from our roads since 2009.
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looking good. Does it have points? If so you're best to adjust them first, then do timing, then carb adjustment. Run it with the engine under load ( too higher gear ) to make sure it does'nt pink, if so you will have to retard the timing a bit. Carry on enjoying it!
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Also those timing lights are reasonably cheap - I got one for my Sunbeam. Halfords Trade Cards are bad for your wallet, easy access to sensibly priced toys. Look online though, I'm sure it wouldn't have been much more than £20 otherwise I wouldn't have bothered (and yes, mine's just hanging on the wall, as all my current cars lack distributors).
If you just want to check it with a light, if you're passing near Nuneaton you're welcome to borrow it.
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Last Edit: Mar 6, 2012 16:10:02 GMT by Deleted
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djefk
Part of things
Posts: 844
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Only a little update today.  Mate I am absolutely loving the bonnet prop old man stylezzz solution for an old man motor you have going on here - Did the stick come with the car? ;D Some thoughts (and expanding on Fray-Bento's post): The timing being adjusted (or not) for unleaded is such a small difference (a few degrees), so it shouldn't really affect how the engine idles. If it's running points and condensor then as the points wear this would affect both the gap and the timing setting much more substantially. Also just because the engine is running smoothly at idle now doesn't mean the timing is correctly or near-correctly adjusted. If I were you I'd start by adjusting it using a strobe light to the "book" settings, which may well be slightly too advanced for unleaded fuel. If it is, you'll hear the engine pink under hard acceleration, in which case put a strobe on it again and knock the timing back a couple of degrees (or do it without the strobe by loosening the clamp and moving the dizzy a miniscule amount at a time) until it stops pinking under load. You will need to do this every time you change the points or adjust the gap for peak efficiency. Also, I know I'm like a stuck record but upgrade to electronic ignition to have your wear / poor spark / adjustment woes banished in one! Finally, the timing being correct will probably now mean the fuel / air mixture will need some adjustment again, so only once you're sure the timing is correct, adjust the fuel / air mixture again. Unlike ignition timing, it really is a case of the mixture being correct once the engine is running at its smoothest - The trick is to twiddle the adjustment until the idle speed is at its highest, then lean the mixture off until the engine speed is JUST about to start dropping away again. Apologies if I'm telling u stuff what you already no's innit.  |
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Last Edit: Mar 6, 2012 17:53:42 GMT by djefk
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Also, I know I'm like a stuck record but upgrade to electronic ignition to have your wear / poor spark / adjustment woes banished in one! I put one of those 123 ignition replacement distributors on my Alpine - built in timing via LED, totally non-destructive to fit, until something else stopped the Alpine from running properly (I even tried a replacement dizzy) it was brilliant. The Rootes dizzy was a fiddly thing to set up, with clear abuse of the vacuum adjuster compounding issues. I'd definitely fit one to a car being used regularly. |
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Mix tapes is a top idea, I'll be onto that one as soon as I can.
Walking cane is one of my own, I have several that I like to use, because I'm odd.
Engine... well for now I just wanted the car to be using less fuel and running smoother, which she is. When I do the proper health check I'll give the points and whatnot the once over and readjust accordingly, which will probably be before I tootle out to Sheffield/Rotherham way on the 21st for the club meet. Eventually, I will upgrade and adjust the system accordingly but it's not very high on my priorities right now as I shuffle money about, I'm still playing catch up from the time I had off last year due to being in hospital, frustratingly.
I get the feeling with this car that it's been used too lightly. On average it's done about 500 miles a year for above a decade and just had the problems glossed over so it looks good parked at a show. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad car, but it does mean some things that wouldn't be an issue for 500 miles a year are going to become an issue for a car that will do closer to 500 miles a month.
In a week or two I'll do the health check, for now my attention is on cleaning and finding problems rather than spending money. Once I'm free of the insurance payments on the Polo (at about £82 a month, I have very little left aside) I can start pushing funds into the Princess properly, but until then I'm a bit stuck.
That is, unless something good happens with the bank (which I'm not really expecting).
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My bank handed me enough to buy the SLK from that PPI thingy. Would have been more, but I shared one with the ex... so if that's what you're referring to, be optimistic  |
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retrolegends
Club Retro Rides Member
Winging it.....Since 1971.
Posts: 3,726
Club RR Member Number: 94
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Buy some blank tapes and an old tapedeck with VU meters (ideally) (you can still get tapes, though it is hard). Make playlist in iTunes or whatever, apply sound check and EQ to suit your car, then record your 46.5 minutes per side of carefully-lined up C90. Bingo! For bonus points, design your own "Drivetime" album covers and track listings. "Songs to Stroke Velour To", "I make Pulp look like wannabes", "Obscure Tracks To Pull Birds With"[1] and so on and so forth. Acceptable songs post 1980 may include La Roux, St. Etienne, Ladyhawke, anything by Pulp. Unacceptable songs post 1980 may include things from X-Factor, anything involving having moves, particularly ones like ageing rockstars, and the Bieber. I believe that British Leyland pre-emptively installed a "sudden and expensive engine death" mechanism should Bieber ever be played inside the car.[2] My favourite tapes in the VX2300 and Victor were these Time-Life compilations. Came in huge, album-like boxes, and were hits of a given era - '60s and '70s being particularly awesome. Nowhere else would you find Rod Stewart on the same side of a tape as Hendrix, it's like they got a sadist with ADD to compile the tapes. [1] Or just find a Tindersticks album at a carboot sale. [2] Seriously. I'm lead to believe that this is why so many BL cars have disappeared from our roads since 2009. I wont play anything newer than 1992 in my 100a,it just does'nt seem right. ;D You can still get those dummy cassette thingys so you can play your MP3 player through your tape deck. |
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1974 Hillman Avenger 1500DL1992 Volvo 240SE1975 Datsun Cherry 100a flying custard1965 Hillman SuperMinx Rock N Roller1974 Austin Allegrat Mk1 1.3SDL1980 Austin Allegro Mk3 1.3L1982 Austin Allegro Mk3 on banded steels2003 Saab 9-3 Convertible 220bhp TurboNutter1966 Morris Minor 1000 (Doris) 2019 Abarth 595C Turismo (not retro but awesome fun) www.facebook.com/DatsunCherry100a |
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I was gutted when I found out those USB cassette decks from Maplin only play back tapes for you to record on your computer. I was hoping they'd let me record via USB.
Of course, for real '70s coolness, you need to crack open an 8 track and hide an iPod and a tape adaptor in it.
Or just use an 8-track. I even had some Pink Floyd on mine! (But also more Mantovani than any person needs to hear).
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brc76
RR Helper
Posts: 1,108 
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Of course, for real '70s coolness, you need to crack open an 8 track and hide an iPod and a tape adaptor in it. Or just use an 8-track. I even had some Pink Floyd on mine! (But also more Mantovani than any person needs to hear). I have plans for exactly the above for my K70. I have the 8 track player, need to get a cassette. I've got access to touch screens and LCDs in work, was really tempted create a hidden mini PC HU in the 8 track cassette to access a remote Ipod. |
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Update time again. More of the same, I'm afraid. Really wanted to make use of the decent light and get my headlining finished. After using three buckets just to do the bit over the driver's seat I was expecting the rest to take forever. Started by working on a section at a time. Less than pleasant work if I'm honest, but it did need doing.     Almost halfway done, and only the one bucket this time.  Still a grim bucket though. In total I took three (including this one) buckets of greb out of the headlining and while it does still have the brown, what I'm lead to believe are glue stains, around the edges it is now clean. A wipe over with a cloth and cleaner brings nothing off.  A blast with some Autoglym for vinyl to freshen it up and make it smell less like a clean kitchen and I'm happy for now. I think I'll tackle the glue stains with some very mild bleach at a later date.     Other little job was to refit the cleaned trim for the top of the dash. The driver's side one is missing a couple of clips, but it at least sits in place okay.  Moved the car around, fiddled with the timing a teensy bit more, as you do, and got her back into place. Felt and heard a weird thrubthrub noise which confirms, along with the marks on the arch liner, that those front tyres really do need to go. Front tyres are this size:  Which means they do this:   Because they should be this size:  I daren't swap them round because there's not much space in the rear arches and I don't want to shred the tyres on the arch edges whenever I go over a bump. The fronts only rub on full lock so as soon as I've got an opportunity to do so, I'll be off to the local tyre place to get a proper pair fitted to the front. Just have to clean the chrome legs, passenger seat and rear bench to finish the deep clean of the interior off. Then I'll start saving and spending money on the outside and on the general maintenance stuff that's needed, which is minimal. Interestingly, the gearbox appears to be improving with use, as does the handbrake. |
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Mar 13, 2012 16:22:17 GMT
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Further investigation was done today into my tyres. I'm supposed to be shampooing the seats and putting them out on the lawn to dry in the sun, but I really cba for some reason. Instead, I wanted to do a cleaner, drier job, hence getting the wheel brace and trolley jack out. I was alarmed, but suspicious, when I was told my front tyres that are too big were probably from 1960 and did some investigation into it. Had to get the front wheels off because the date code is on the back face of the tyres. I thought originally that this was my DOT code and was very confused as it didn't line up with anything I was finding online, not even the very comprehensive Tyre Bible site.  If I look on the back at the DOT code there, it shows me the date stamp I was looking for. I went round and checked all the wheels, front and back, for codes.      If I've read the codes correctly they're as follows: 1995 2 Kingpin 185 70 r14 remoulds stamped "07/95 circle" 2004 2 Camac 195 70 r14 stamped 4004 and 3104 2006 1 Infinity LMA3 185 70 r14 stamped 2106 Obviously, not only the age but the condition of those Kingpin remoulds will mean they're up for replacement post haste. The other tyres aren't too old or unsafe looking, but I'll likely replace the Camacs and put the Infinity in the boot as the spare as soon as I can afford to. Just to show how bad the Kingpins are in addition to the shot above showing the DOT mark.    Swapped the Camacs onto the back. I thought they might be a bit too big to clear everything but thankfully it looks okay. Tight, but okay. Certainly makes the car look more balanced, even if she is parked on my crazy drive, another job for rectification later this year... it's all money!     I've got a small oil leak too, as is to be expected of an old Austin really, but it's something I'll sort out eventually if I can.   I'm still getting used to the Giger-esque contraption that serves as suspension, it's so weird not seeing springs and shocks.  Finally, just some arty fluff.   |
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Mar 13, 2012 18:20:08 GMT
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Yes, I'd be replacing those tyres ASAP. I appreciate the money situation - really I do - but I wouldn't want to drive on those. A set of part-worns would be cheap - for example there is a place in Chesterfield that does part-worns starting from £15 fitted (and 185/70R14 should be easy enough to find): www.tyreshome.co.uk/ |
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Mar 13, 2012 18:24:00 GMT
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I'm not 100% sure, but I think that's the same place I'm planning to go before driving anywhere else on those tyres. I certainly don't want to go to Sheffield on the ones that are fitted and the eBay auctions I have running at the moment will cover the cost of a pair of tyres so I'll do it that way.
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Mar 13, 2012 19:22:38 GMT
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#2 on a set of part worns Looking forward to seeing the results of the rest of your re-furbing the 'soft furnishings' instead, and not simply because I have a worrying addiction to before and after photos. I'm sure you've seen this site before but when I saw that you hadn't got to the second C pillar I thought I had to give you this like to a late Princess dealer special:  www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/2012/02/21/blog-clubbed-to-death/I'd never seen the treatment on a Princess before and reckon its pretty cool. |
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Mar 13, 2012 19:33:11 GMT
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The Club 100 special is a very rare beastie. I did have a fleeting notion of two-toning the Princess in the same way, but with brown and beige instead. I don't know that I'll go for the optional roof-mounted road sign.
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Mar 13, 2012 19:55:29 GMT
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But the reception for LW is absolutely crystal with it installed...
Beige and Russet Brown would be very BL
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retrolegends
Club Retro Rides Member
Winging it.....Since 1971.
Posts: 3,726
Club RR Member Number: 94
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Mar 13, 2012 21:18:03 GMT
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I didnt know the Club 100 even existed! Every days a school day!
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1974 Hillman Avenger 1500DL1992 Volvo 240SE1975 Datsun Cherry 100a flying custard1965 Hillman SuperMinx Rock N Roller1974 Austin Allegrat Mk1 1.3SDL1980 Austin Allegro Mk3 1.3L1982 Austin Allegro Mk3 on banded steels2003 Saab 9-3 Convertible 220bhp TurboNutter1966 Morris Minor 1000 (Doris) 2019 Abarth 595C Turismo (not retro but awesome fun) www.facebook.com/DatsunCherry100a |
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Mar 14, 2012 10:11:00 GMT
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You've got both Camac and kingpins? Blimey. It's a wonder the princess wasn't found in a ditch!
Please go for part worns when you can afford it from a half decent brand. It's a safety thing!
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Mar 14, 2012 13:53:19 GMT
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Tyres now sorted in the flavour of 3 part worns from a club member. Just got to organise collecting (which I won't be doing in the Princess) and fitting them.
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