vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 7,271
Club RR Member Number: 146
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Mar 24, 2018 19:37:07 GMT
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Oh no, FTP! Pulling into the unit I lost power as if I was in the wrong gear, it was very odd, and on pulling into the yard the car just DIED. After it being so good for the last couple of weeks this was both mortifying and completely expected! Popped the bonnet, had a look, and whenever you had it idling there would be fuel pouring out of the carb overfuel until it just... died. Some application of a hammer to the carb got it to stop overflowing for a bit but it would quickly start again. I just wanted to get it into the unit to pull apart suspected culprits and we made it with hammers and patience, having to push the last foot or so because it wouldn't even idle. At least the car had the good grace to die at the unit which I was where pre-MoT stuff was being checked since it's the only day I have free until the MoT now. That cause? Collapsed fuel filter. This filter hadn't looked too bad last time I'd looked under the bonnet and certainly hadn't caused issues so it wasn't on my priority list for jobs to do. Bought the last one in stock at the local motorfactors and replacement of that was nice and straightforward.  20180324-01 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr On removing the carburettor, it was clear that it the float needle was stuck and the bowl was full of orangey sediment from the filter itself. This was confirmed when refitting everything and running the car showed the new filter to be lovely and clear and free of any sediment at all, so it's most likely not a fuel tank issue. Took a little while to clean the carburettor out and the car was a bit recalcitrant to start again, but once it had primed properly it idled perfectly happily. Look at this mess. The whole carb was full of this stuff.  20180324-02 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr Unfortunately that ate rather more in to the time I did have than I wanted and nixxed the plans to get the welding work done I wanted to. With the clocks going forward and the trip to get Rover stuff tomorrow, I had to be super careful with how much time I used and my personal energy levels. Work has had me pretty flat out lately and I don't want to burn out on non-work stuff if I can help it, deadlines are pretty important to me like that. The other thing that needed sorting for MoT was securing the rear suspension hoses which proved a little trickier in practice than theory. We went with the best solution that prevented itself to us so the cables aren't flopping about but are secured in a way that they won't get overstretched when the suspension is in use. As an aside, I really need a rear bump stop if anyone has one. I've had zero joy through the club or online finding one and I don't have spares. As far as I know they're not shared with other BL cars either and are a unique slotted and curved shape to accommodate the displacer unit.  20180324-03 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr There simply wasn't time to weld up the 'sharp edges' at the back of the car so I went with the temporary default instead.  20180324-04 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr She's as MoT ready as she can be now. Lights all tested fine, brakes are as good as I can get them without a rolling road thingy to double check, wipers are good, washer jets are aimed correctly now, etc. If we fail, we fail, but we should pass. Next up, the Rover. It's been sat around for ages while I've been using the Princess as my daily but since we're off out tomorrow to hopefully scavenge some bits in it, I wanted to be sure it wasn't going to throw a problem at me. On opening the driver's door I was surprised to see the floor mats were wet. It's never stood outside for this long without moving before, so it has been unintentionally a good opportunity to find out where the water is getting in.  20180324-01 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr What was surprising was the rear floor mat that had the moisture trap on was properly wet. This was mostly because the lid had come off and the water sloshed when I moved the car.  20180324-02 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr It's quite a lot of water.  20180324-03 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr On hunting around the cabin and checking door shuts, everything was very dry, peculiarly. No sagging or staining in the headlining, no damp smell, no mould... then I saw the driver's door frame and the culprit became clear!  20180324-04 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr I have a spare door to go on and I know this frame is a little bent so after all this time it looks like the water ingress issue is actually from the driver's door frame not sealing properly. Hopefully fitting those replacement doors will fix this! Finally, a little 1100 news. I had a few minutes left that weren't enough to do Princess welding but were enough to tinker with the little purple monster. There is *some* progress on the clutch front, but not a lot. You can now put it into reverse with the car running, as I found out by accident at the same time that I went for the brakes and stabbed the accelerator. Well done me! Nothing hit, no harm done, thankfully. First you can almost select with the engine running too, just not quite. I did put the car into gear, and with the handbrake on you can start it in gear, it will move, but it then won't come out of gear. If you try and start the car in gear with the handbrake and foot brake applied, it hasn't the strength in the starter motor to do it. With some persistence I can probably get this freed off. Unless I've misunderstood the directions, of course, and what's happening indicates a more different problem. |
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Mar 24, 2018 20:47:00 GMT
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glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,330
Club RR Member Number: 64
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Mar 24, 2018 20:52:28 GMT
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Sounds like the clutch might have popped free, and it’s just the rusty surfaces dragging.
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My worst worry about dying is my wife selling my stuff for what I told her it cost...
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vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 7,271
Club RR Member Number: 146
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Mar 24, 2018 21:12:14 GMT
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There was a bit of a thumpety-bang before reverse started working. I'm guessing that was things starting to free off?
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glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,330
Club RR Member Number: 64
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Yes, a clonk/bang is indicative that it might have let go. As I said earlier, if you can get it in gear with the engine running, but without the car moving, then it’s freed off. Because there’s almost certainly a build-up of rust on the flywheel and pressure plate, the clutch will be very grabby/draggy until a bit of use polishes all the surfaces up again.
Your little purple peril may have just cut you a little slack. 👍😃
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My worst worry about dying is my wife selling my stuff for what I told her it cost...
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vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 7,271
Club RR Member Number: 146
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Mar 25, 2018 10:23:08 GMT
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Could it be, might I have acquired a vehicle that doesn't need a clutch replacement? There is a first time for everything.
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vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 7,271
Club RR Member Number: 146
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Mar 26, 2018 12:17:10 GMT
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Went on a little daytrip yesterday. Big thanks, once again, to Krujoe for being, well, Krujoe. If he were a stick of rock he'd have GOOD EGG written through him. The drive over highlighted on one particular section of B road that my suspension can make you seasick when the undulations are just so, it's the first time the improved suspension has really made me unhappy since doing it. Still, got us to the destination without drama other than that and being such a narrow car, even road-hogging SUVs and the like could be avoided on the narrow North Yorkshire lanes. When I got home I had a boot full of goodies and stuff.  20180325-01 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr One thing that did surprise me was how well the Rover acquitted itself clambering up into the slightly damp field. The route in is two slightly deeper grooves in the muddy grass with some strategic grip-giving rocks which was fine the last time I visited, but now we're sitting a little lower. Made it without a hitch, all the same. It was a lovely day for this sort of thing too, bright and clear and with a cool breeze. I barely did any work, Joe and Mike just got stuck in and bish-bash-bosh everything was out. I mostly just took some pretty pictures and pointed at what bits were needed.  20180325-02 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr  20180325-03 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr Joe's camera is better than mine, he took some better pictures, and caught me putting my work boots on.  20180325-04Krujoe by Angyl Roper, on Flickr  20180325-06Krujoe by Angyl Roper, on Flickr  20180325-05Krujoe by Angyl Roper, on Flickr It really is a super location and a beautiful part of the world. I was jolly tired because of the clocks going forward and being up, effectively, three hours earlier than usual. That meant we didn't stay as long as we might and even though I thought I'd be okay to drive back, Mike did have to take over while I had a nap in the passenger seat. One bonus of this was that Mike got to confirm that some of the niggles, and some of the things I really enjoy about the car, weren't my imagination. Overall, his impression of the car was much the same as mine that it's a very nicely put together thing now, that the gearbox isn't quite as good as it could be and that about 60-65mph is the sweet spot for higher speed driving with anything higher being a bit of a dronefest from combined engine and wind noises. Very, very strange being a passenger in my own car, but Mike is a good enough driver that I could relax once he'd got used to the very light clutch. The scavenged parts then:  20180325-07 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr 1 pair red rear seat back/parcel shelf supports 1 pair green rear seat back/parcel shelf supports (just in case I cock up the red ones) 1 pair rear arch plastic trims - the saloon trim is narrower because saloon seats are wider 1 pair rear seat back locating pins - these are spotwelded with a bracket to the inner arch, we salvaged a large piece so it can be attached as per factory 4 captive nuts in plate - the plate is also on the saloon, but has no holes or captive nuts. This allows us to drill the relevant holes in the saloon so the seat back hinge can be bolted down. BONUS - pair Kenwood speakers in good shape. We did learn that underneath the captive nut plate there are fuel lines running. None of us especially wanted to drop the fuel tank on the spare car so Mike very skillfully sliced the section needed out without blowing us up. I won't be reusing the plate itself that we cut out, it's purpose is to be a template so I can save time figuring out just where to drill holes and fix nuts. The same is true of the inner arch mounted pegs. The base of the back seat is much easier as that lines up in the saloon without effort so there was no need to salvage any pieces from the hatchback body. Actually converting the saloon body won't be that challenging. A couple of spotwelds and a couple of captive nuts are all I need to add. The large metal brackets need trimming down to lose the parcel shelf supporting bit, but the holes in the are identical to those in the braces already fitted to the saloon, so they're a bolt-in swap once the excess is trimmed off. The thing that might make the job a long one is dropping the petrol tank might be a necessity just to do it all safely so there are no lines or tank at risk of getting accidentally drilled through when sorting out the captive nuts for the seat hinges. Once this is all done, it should look perfectly factory, especially if I don't mess up trimming the red brackets which are an identical colour to the rest of the car. |
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vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 7,271
Club RR Member Number: 146
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Mar 27, 2018 15:38:43 GMT
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First, the good news.
That's Mike sniggering behind the camera. If you're wondering, the clutch is a bit stuck on at the moment so driving it around the yard is an interesting experience. I managed to get a first-to-neutral gear change and a first-to-second (surprisingly scary speed change in the space!) gear change while the car was running which is an improvement. I can *almost* select all gears when the car is idling now, but still have to select first before starting the car. Once driving around you can take your feet off all the pedals and just steer, it chugs around as if it's an automatic. I would have chugged about for longer had I more free time and I reckon with persistence this clutch will free off properly just chugging about and attempting to change gears.
Now the bad news. This tiny little drive has highlighted that my fears about the driving position are valid. The seats and suspension make it more comfortable than a Mini, but only just. The other issue is the offset is so bad, when I went for the brakes in the video so I didn't hit the Vauxhall, I stabbed the accelerator at the same time, which was particularly alarming. I am completely the wrong shape for this car and so it is with some regret that I can categorically say the 1100 is not a car for me. Just driving it in circles in the yard left me in some back pain that I've been free of completely since piloting the Princess and 414 about daily over the last year or so and I have no desire to inflaming that particular issue.
Still, you can now see it drives, runs and stops quite happily, even with a sticky clutch. Now just to find it someone who can take all the parts I've bought for it and get it back together again.
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melle
South West
It'll come out in the wash.
Posts: 2,006
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Mar 28, 2018 19:58:06 GMT
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Good job getting it moving! Let the clutch slip for a bit, that should clean the muck off the flywheel.
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www.saabv4.com'70 Saab 96 V4 "The Devil's Own V4" '77 Saab 95 V4 van conversion project '88 Saab 900i 8V
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vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 7,271
Club RR Member Number: 146
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I can't really get it to slip on purpose though. It's like it's part-stuck/dragging now. As it warms up it's easier to slip. I'm hoping to get in this weekend and have a little more chugging time with it to try and free it off a bit further. I've got someone interested in taking it on too, we're just trying to figure out the best way to meet in the middle on price and such. Feels like the right person to take it on at any rate.
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Now the bad news. This tiny little drive has highlighted that my fears about the driving position are valid. The seats and suspension make it more comfortable than a Mini, but only just. The other issue is the offset is so bad, when I went for the brakes in the video so I didn't hit the Vauxhall, I stabbed the accelerator at the same time, which was particularly alarming. I am completely the wrong shape for this car and so it is with some regret that I can categorically say the 1100 is not a car for me. Just driving it in circles in the yard left me in some back pain that I've been free of completely since piloting the Princess and 414 about daily over the last year or so and I have no desire to inflaming that particular issue. It's pointless owning something that's a painful experience to drive and it's not just restricted to older vehicles either - in 2012 I had new company vehicle supplied - Toyota Hi Lux 4 x 4 - well speced and cost £26k at the time - you would expect it be comfortable to drive then !  Apologies for the non retro pic but absolutely the most uncomfortable vehicle that I have driven my 40 year driving history - I could drive for 2 hours in this and have to crawl out of it on my hands & knees at the end of the journey - having owned all types of vehicle with some seats being not much more than a household cushion on a wooden box - you would not get me back behind the wheel of an Hi Lux |
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vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 7,271
Club RR Member Number: 146
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Mar 29, 2018 18:14:24 GMT
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As a passenger, I had a similarly tortuous, and mercifully short, ride in the back of the similar looking Mitsubishi Warrior crew cab truck. I've ridden in more comfortable three-wheeled Reliants! You'd think after all this time we could get comfort right. --- MoT's are always a bit scary, especially when it's an older car and one that you've decided to rely on as a daily as I have with this one. I couldn't really find anything amiss so I got in the car to set off in convoy with Mike only to find the dash-mounted cigarette lighter won't power the sat nav, which is a bit odd because it didn't have a problem before. That meant convoying without knowing exactly where I was going and Mike not realising that his fuel injected straight six turbo Supra has just a little better acceleration than my carburettered straight four Princess. The drive out was a teensy bit stressful. As was rediscovering Princess blind spots, made worse because I couldn't take the time I would normally for fear of losing where Mike was going. We arrived without drama, happily, and the weird chuntery hunting thing the engine has been doing was still happening. One look under the bonnet and Scaryoldcortina noticed that one of the spark plugs was loose! I'd checked this several times and completely missed it, when I went to tighten it up it was only finger tight. Glad we figured out what was causing the chuntering and resolved it before an errant spark plug could cause any damage. Princess went through the MoT first and decided not to play nice with Scary and not let him have gears without a fight, behaved perfectly fine once I got in. This car is a character like that.  20180329-01 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr I assumed I'd missed something somewhere really obvious and while I did get a mild ribbing for the Arrowspeed (circa 1992) tyre that's on because the Camac (second hand from a Porsche, of all things) for that corner has a leaking rim, she went and passed with flying colours. I was actually surprised at this, I had expected an advisory on something even though we've only done a couple of hundred miles since the last MoT because of breakages.  20180329-02 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr So here's to another year of happy motoring, I hope! On the drive home we did get caught in the sleet and rain, which was less than pleasant, and the whining speedo cable is pretty annoying at motorway speeds. Oh, and the hazard switch celebrated the pass by now not working, so I need to fix that. Clean sheet though! I'm really happy about that, it makes all the hard work feel like it's been rewarded properly. Had a flash of inspiration and looked in the fuse box. I reckon I've found my issue with the non-operational hazards and cigarette lighter.  20180329-03 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr |
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Last Edit: Mar 29, 2018 18:15:16 GMT by vulgalour
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Mar 29, 2018 18:23:08 GMT
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a certificate for exceeding minimum road safety standards, the official thatll do seal of approval  p.s i read "caramac" tyre for some reason, |
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Good news on the mot.
Are Camac tyres decent then? I’m seen them advertised in the size I use on my Acty (classic mini) but judged them on the name sounding “cheap”
Also I’m intrigued by the offset seating position in the Austin - are they like that as standard or has it been converted in some way? Or are you too tall to sit in the normal position?
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vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 7,271
Club RR Member Number: 146
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Mar 30, 2018 15:16:28 GMT
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Camac tyres: They're okay. For something like the Princess which is lightweight and no sports car, they're a competent tyre in all weather conditions, they're even reasonable enough in sub-zero temperatures. Not too noisy either, unlike the Arrowspeed on one corner which is fairly loud.
Austin: If I sit square in the seat, my right foot touches the inner wheel arch and my arm is against the door. I need the seat to be moved across several inches, which you can't do. Nothing has been modified, it's just like this. Some people have no problem with it, some people absolutely hate it. I have the same issue with other cars, any amount of offset between steering wheel, pedals and seat causes my spine to twist just enough to be very painful because of hereditary issues. For context, when I got the Princess it had a smaller Ambassador steering wheel and by fitting the larger proper Princess steering wheel, I corrected the seating position enough that I don't get pain from having to hold a smaller steering wheel. I'm just a difficult shape when it comes to finding a comfortable car. I'm not particularly tall or wide, I'm just the wrong shape.
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Mar 30, 2018 20:07:18 GMT
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When I was buying Minis in the 90s, Camac produced one of the "cheap" alternative of the 165/70 tyres for the 10" wheels - far less expensive than buying anything from Dunlop. They looked great and had a good looking tread, but they were terrifying in the wet and seemed to be a really hard compound so never seemed to wear out! Definitely one for looks rather than performance!!
Great news on the MOT - keep up the good work.
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Two contrasting views on the camac tyres then.  The Acty is light and slow so similar to the princess. Maybe they get pushed more in an enthusiastic mini drive. Interesting point about the seating position etc. Just think if you’d found it out after a three year full restoration only to find you can never drive it! |
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vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 7,271
Club RR Member Number: 146
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Mar 31, 2018 18:00:38 GMT
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They're... adequate. Neither good nor bad. I'd like to fit some Michelins when I can afford them, hopefully later this year.
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orangecords
Part of things
yawner extraordinaire
Posts: 892
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Mar 31, 2018 20:30:06 GMT
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I used Camac in the 205 60 13 variety on my 2.8i Capri years ago.
A bit noisy and fairly grippy....and CHEAP!
Having said that I was in my late 20s and and enjoyed childish burnouts (usually at the window in mcdonalds drive thrus where girls worked) and drifting before it became popular (by drifting i mean massive slideways action round Coventry ring roads roundabouts lol!)
Hence they were only on the back but the hard compound was awesome. Theyd last me almost 2 weeks instead of a weekend!
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I then wanted to start cleaning the interior as it stinks of wood (the material not the smell of a boner) best quote ever! |
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i can highly reject debica passio, which are somewhere in-between nylon and copper in terms of coefficient of friction
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