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My apologies for not having properly responded to every comment, over the past few days I've had to do a lot of planning for the COVID lockdown to keep my elderly parents safe. I'm grateful for the contributions so far! The decision has already been made that this work needs to be done due to potential for failure and peace of mind, the only thing now is which kit. I'm hoping that reliantreviver will chip in when he's next online. We know the Gilbern had an engine rebuild when it was just a few years old, I'd guess there's a good chance this could have been due to a timing gear failure. That's great news that the engine has been rebuilt once already you may not need to change it if you remove the fuel pump you can see the timing gear easy way to check first.
Lets hope it has been done.
In a similar boat with my mom 90 and in the end family is more important.
Stay safe and keep us all up to date with what you find?
Yes, get your mother locked down with doorstep grocery deliveries! OK, my approach towards this has been less than thorough and based upon assumptions, (i.e. that the engine is still running on the early fibre or nylon timing gear). At the moment I don't have the time or inclination to start tinkering and I don't want my Dad to start doing any work on it, he's in his 80s, his approach to maintenance is not as methodical as it used to be and I don't want him causing more problems than he's solved. That said, I'm working towards pulling the drawbridge up for the next few months to keep them safe so that will result in ample time to investigate as it will now have to be put on the back-burner. Your 'removing the fuel pump' tip will be useful as I'd assumed I'd need to remove the timing cover which would immediately mean new gaskets would be needed. Having reviewed the file for this car I can see that the original engine was swapped out for a reconditioned engine in 1979 when the car was 10 years old. I'm guessing that whoever reconditioned the engine knew their business as it's still pulling like the proverbial train. The poor guy who owned the car at that time got saddled with a catalogue of major bills which would have, almost certainly, exceeded the value of the car by some considerable margin. Would these replacement steel / alu / alloy gears have been available back in '79?reliantreviver - not trying to waste your time. With origins in West-Walian farming stock my Dad is notoriously difficult to part from his pennies so I only want to lay the most attractive options before him!
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Last Edit: Mar 20, 2020 7:15:47 GMT by MkX
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Mar 19, 2020 20:45:05 GMT
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Sold.
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Mar 19, 2020 14:07:40 GMT
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Peugeot 106 Diesel: Cons - rattly, cheap feeling, slow, harsh ride. Give it a good check over for underbody corrosion. Pros - cheap to buy, good spares availability, engine not too fragile, get the lighter 3 door version then drive it carefully and it will reward you with 65+mpg!
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My apologies for not having properly responded to every comment, over the past few days I've had to do a lot of planning for the COVID lockdown to keep my elderly parents safe. I'm grateful for the contributions so far! The decision has already been made that this work needs to be done due to potential for failure and peace of mind, the only thing now is which kit. I'm hoping that reliantreviver will chip in when he's next online. We know the Gilbern had an engine rebuild when it was just a few years old, I'd guess there's a good chance this could have been due to a timing gear failure.
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The Ford Essex V6 is generally quite a robust engine, originally the block was designed to be adaptable as a Diesel unit as well as a petrol engine, (although the Diesel option did not ultimately materialise). As an engine it had two significant weak points however, one of which was the camshaft timing gear. In the earliest versions of the Essex this had 'fibre' timing gear, this proved particularly fragile and was replaced by gearing with nylon teeth which was somewhat of an improvement but still proved problematic. The unreliable timing gear problem was eventually provided with a remedy; replacement timing gear in either steel, aluminium or alloy.
I have finally persuaded my Dad that, after quarter of a century of ownership, he should replace the original timing gear on his 50 year old Gilbern Genie to reduce the possibility of engine failure & resultant damage. He was using the car as a daily for many years, he put a lot of miles on it and drove it hard. There's a lot of anecdotes online about the steel timing gear being particularly noisy, some think the alloy gear noisier. Lots of people say they've had no issues at all.
I was hoping to get some opinions from people who have had first hand experience of fitting steel or alloy timing gear to their Essex, specifically problems. I'm also interested to hear of recommended kits / suppliers or kits / suppliers to avoid.
Any assistance much appreciated.
Chris
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Mar 15, 2020 23:08:36 GMT
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Audi A4. Northampts. £2,695.00 1996. Long MOT, drives well. 2.6 litre V6 manual. Low mileage with only 20K miles over past 15 years. Fairly clean MOT history. Current owner has owned car for 20 years, judging by the badges he is BIAM and is presumably giving up driving. The car has obviously been garaged and well looked after.
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Mar 15, 2020 12:17:42 GMT
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. . . people may remember how easy and cheap pre-computer cars were to fix and maintain. Also if you leave your mobile phone and sat-nav at home MI5 can't track you as easily!
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In a word, Yes.
As far as 'Lets keep this about cars and not what we already know about on the news.' unfortunately the 2 are inextricably linked.
We have been skating on the brink of a global recession for a while. The UK, in particular, has been more at risk of recession due to Brexit, (I admit this as an active Brexiteer). COVID-19, its effect on economies and the international markets, increases the likelihood of a worldwide depression, (a deeper and much longer lasting event than a recession). Classic cars are always one of the first investments to take a big hit. Petrol-engined cars, particularly thirsty old beasts, have been gaining increasing disapproval levels for years. The Greta Thunberg effect is gaining momentum. I think it's possible that this years 'car season' will be a non-event due to coronavirus. It's likely a significant percentage of people who have the money and intended to invest invest in classics will be wiped out during 2020 and their money inherited by generations who perhaps have less interest in old cars. It's likely a significant percentage of people who already own classics will be wiped out, thus dumping many additional cars onto a suppressed, flooded marketplace.
It will make me dreadfully unhappy to be proved right so I really hope mercdan68 's one word prediction pans out. On the flip side of the coin, if I'm somewhere near right, it could result in dream cars coming back into the ambitions of mere mortals! If it was my £, I'd wait 6 months before jumping.
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Last Edit: Mar 15, 2020 1:25:21 GMT by MkX
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Mar 14, 2020 20:52:10 GMT
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You really are an artisan of the highest order!
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Mar 14, 2020 15:09:50 GMT
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Seems really cheap, looks good as well. Someone else obviously thought so, already sold!
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Mar 13, 2020 21:35:22 GMT
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Mar 13, 2020 19:03:23 GMT
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Combining a Jolly type beach car with the earlier Michelotti link. The 1966 DAF Beach Car. Designed by Michelotti.
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Mar 13, 2020 18:51:32 GMT
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Alvis TD21 drop-head coupé. Hamps. £30K 1959. 3 litre manual with coachwork by Park Ward coming out of long term storage. She appears to be a slightly tired old gal but no rotbox. I imagine you could recommission and use this 'as is' or it would be an excellent basis for a full renovation, (perhaps with a colour change?) These are an iconic British marque and values have been steadily escalating. I think the claims of good examples being worth over £100K might be (generally) a tad optimistic but in tip top condition this would probably be an £80K car. A concours winning example originally owned by Douglas Bader sold for £91K a couple of years ago. I think there's a fantastic opportunity here for someone to be able to run around in a dream car they'd have never believed they could own, or for a fastidious restorer to make a chunk of money. EDIT: Price has been increased by £5K!
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Last Edit: Apr 21, 2020 9:26:50 GMT by MkX
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Mar 13, 2020 10:26:06 GMT
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. . . and BMW build quality You were selling it well before you pointed that out!
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Mar 13, 2020 10:11:17 GMT
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Was given a trial in Poland in 1939:
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The first ever armoured car; the 1901 Simms Motor War Car: (At the Crystal Palace).
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Mar 12, 2020 23:56:31 GMT
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Using the GN Akela as the link, an Akela was in charge of my Cub Scout pack back in 1981, so here's a Daimler Ferret Scout Car. I envisaged this as the most likely next link!
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Mar 12, 2020 23:02:39 GMT
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Wrong side of the water for you unfortunately. I don't think it'll be around for long at that price.
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Mar 12, 2020 22:02:37 GMT
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Morris Marina 1300 Coupé. Wilts. £1,400.00 [SOLD]1979. Full MOT. Drives. To enjoy & improve. The asking price appears very fair.
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Last Edit: Mar 14, 2020 15:06:07 GMT by MkX
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