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Mar 30, 2017 13:45:21 GMT
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Hi, lots of experience here with Lucas 25D (Ford/Hillman, most Brits), no experience with VW. I fitted a "stealth" Aldon under the 25D distrib cap to replace the points on a Cortina, that ran fine for many years (think I've still got it somewhere) The Hunter was fitted with a "black box" Piranah before I got it, KFW reported that it wss a lot happier with that than with points. Some of the older bolt-on units kept the points, and the black-box had LEDs to show when the points opened, I found that a handy bonus when setting static timing The unit on my Hunter might be for sale soon - I like the sales blurb for the Velleman kit (link from fad ) " You can give your old banger the feel of an expensive luxury car with the Velleman Electronic Transistor Ignition Kit." It sounds ideal for my daily, and if it doesn't feel like an expensive luxury motor afterwards I can always give Trading Standards a call Are we taking bets if it will live up the advertising claims My personal choice would be to replace the points with an under-the-cap unit, and keep the points somewhere safe in the car for emergency use.
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Mar 29, 2017 15:56:56 GMT
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... A guy did a head swap on a mk1 escort at bruntingthorpe between track sessions, was very impressive. Try doing that on a modern anything. Too true - I did a headgasket on my 70s daily earlier this week in 2 hours without trying, would have been a lot quicker if I had got the tools organised before starting. On-topic / for comparison, it took me 3 attempts to find the sparkplugs when I got a Nissan 200sx (S13)
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^ as above. Done, but... many questions are confusing, the whole process seems to be "we're going to do it - how do you us to implement it?" DVLA are (arguable) not fit for purpose, most driver & vehicle records have errors, attempting to extending the existing DVLA system to motorsport & off-road cars/bikes is madness. Explain how you will identify an uninsured driver of an off-road car/bike/quad when they do a hit & run when you're parked in a dodgy area? Insuring all "hidden" Classic cars/bikes/barnfinds/restoration projects/bare bike frames/stripped car chassis will generate how much £££ ? Penalties for failure to insure will raise £££ ? Loss of motorsport & off-road industries will stop enjoyment for how many people? I ride an off-road bike at a local track, bike is competition-only (cannot be made road-legal), the track owner insures the site - explain why it needs more insurance? If I decide to strip it a take a couple of years to restore it ... why insure it when it's in pieces etc. Thanks for hilighting the consultation - I wasn't aware of it.
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Last Edit: Mar 29, 2017 0:37:45 GMT by nomad
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Mar 28, 2017 21:09:09 GMT
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Last Edit: Mar 28, 2017 21:10:24 GMT by nomad
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Mar 28, 2017 18:33:44 GMT
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When I got the car it came with a spare set of doors from a Sceptre (thanks to KFW ), I've finally got around to working out what I'm going to do with them If anyone is looking for Hunter doors or chrome bling trim, my spare set of doors are now for sale, info in my ongoing sale ad retrorides.proboards.com/thread/195815/hunter-doors-slotmags-tyres-plugleads In the end I decided to keep the original doors on the car and just cut a small repair section from one of the back door inner skins. I think I've upset the forum image uploader today (or it's got other problems) so no pics of the finished door but this gives you an idea
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Last Edit: Mar 28, 2017 18:46:36 GMT by nomad
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Mar 28, 2017 18:15:50 GMT
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pics only seem to be loading 1 at a time so ...
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Mar 28, 2017 18:04:58 GMT
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Mar 28, 2017 18:02:10 GMT
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I've finally got the doors on the Hunter sorted so I now have a spare set of doors from a Sceptre saloon for sale. All are usable as they are, the fronts are better condition than the rears. No idea of value but I'd prefer to sell them before I move (April)
Price guide : All 4 doors (bare, no chrome, glass, or woodwork) £50 the set Chrome trim around the top edge of the windows (4 upright + 4 curved tops) £40 Chrome wheel arch trim (set of 4 - not in pic) £40
Condition : front passenger door is excellent outside, small rust starting lower front corner inside front drivers door is good but lower front corner has been sanded and now has light surface rust, surface rust inside. rear passengers side has no rust but a repair section has been cut from lower front inner. rear drivers side is rusting at lower front corner inside, starting to bubble outside.
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Last Edit: Mar 28, 2017 18:55:25 GMT by nomad
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Mar 27, 2017 22:54:55 GMT
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I went to buy a car a lot of years ago, the plan was to take my car with my mate as a passenger. If I bought the car I would drive the new one home and he would follow in my car. Bought the car, all fine until we got to the first roundabout - I braked as normal and found the brakes on the new car were super good - mate in my car nearly ran into the back of me but managed to stop just in time. I was very close to writing off both my cars in one hit
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Mar 27, 2017 21:21:23 GMT
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Today has been "fun" Has a trip to mates workshop so I could use his tester to check if the headgasket had blown, got there and found it uses special fluid and he had run out. So much for that idea! On the plus side I did get a coffee and a free heavy duty battery out of the trip Got home, did the headgasket in about 2 hours (no problems) but managed to knock the rocker cover when I was putting it back on the rebuilt engine and lost one of the bolts. Spent about half an hour looking for the bolt in case it had bounced down the pushrod tubes into the engine, couldn't find it in the engine or on the floor under the car so took the car out for a test drive hoping for the best. Nice little run out, got home and opened the garage door and saw the bolt on the floor where I had been working on the engine. I blame gremlins Tip Hunter headgaskets have an extra hole at one end - this goes to the back, if you fit it the other way you block the rear waterway. Spot the latest additions - a new battery and new rad cap
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Last Edit: Mar 27, 2017 21:22:41 GMT by nomad: Typos. Oops...
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Mar 27, 2017 21:09:29 GMT
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Todays entry (based on the theory "don't think about dropping that bit in there or it WILL happen!" ) I finally got bored of having to fill the radiator every time I stopped, couldn't find where the water was going so decided to have a trip to a mates garage (20 mile round trip) so I could use his "sniff tester" to see if the headgasket had gone. Got to his and found he had run out of magic-fluid so the tester wasn't an option. So much for saving time by doing proper diagnostics It wasn't a total loss as I got a coffee and a free heavy-duty battery out of my trip Got home, changed the head gasket in about 2 hours (45 mins to remove head - 15 mins cleaning stuff - about an hour to rebuild it). You have to love 70s low-tech engines I was lining the rocker cover up thinking "that went well - just this last bit and it's done - hope I don't drop anything down the pushrod tubes when they're uncovered" Yep - knocked the rocker cover when I was putting it in place and one of the holding bolts jumped out, I spent the next half hour checking inside the engine and around the garage floor before giving up. Took the car out for a test run hoping if the bolt was in the the engine it wouldn't jump loose and cause havoc. Got home, opened the garage door, noticed the bolt on the concrete in the spot where I had been working on the engine. ( I always keep some sawdust on the floor under the engine to catch oil drips but even so...) Ho hum!
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Last Edit: Mar 27, 2017 21:10:59 GMT by nomad: Typos. Oops...
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Citroen AX ? (same running gear as 106/Saxo but in a smaller lighter body = BIG improvement in power-to-weight ratio ) Small, great in corners, top speed makes it difficult to get "instant ban" type speeding tickets. What's not to like Numbers are dropping very quickly so grab one while you can if it's something you want to try www.axoc.co.uk/phpBB3/
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Mar 26, 2017 21:30:20 GMT
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^ as above (but be quick - it looks like I'm moving house next month hence asking for suggestions about where to live )
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^ I started watching but soon gave up, might retry tomorrow and see if it gets more interesting I used to live in Castleford, West Yorkshire. Found out about a year after moving there that the next street had been on a documentary "10 worst places to live in the UK". I've just checked Google, can't find that episode but I'm seeing Bradford and Middlesbro' listed. Odd that I've lived at both of thoses as well Not quite a hypothetical question - if you were going to move anywhere in the UK, where would you move and why?
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Mar 24, 2017 13:07:49 GMT
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Now you've mentioned batteries... One of my hobbies used to be buying wrecks out of old sheds, garages etc (long before the phrases "barn find" was invented) Got an old Kawasaki (bike), did all the usual recommissioning stuff - strip carbs, sort the brakes, check electrics, new petrol & battery, etc. All seems fine so I grabbed the keys and took it for a pre-mot check ride around the village, all fine until it died a few miles from home. Rang Rac/AA etc, they turned up and soon noticed the bolts clamping the cables onto the new battery were done up nice and tight, but the cables were still loose. A couple of washers under the too-long battery bolts and everything was great. Sometimes it's the simplest things!
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Last Edit: Mar 24, 2017 13:10:50 GMT by nomad
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Mar 23, 2017 23:38:02 GMT
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Keys seem to be a theme... BMW E36 328i, drove it home, parked it on the drive, went indoors - all fine so far. Went to go out a few days later, no sign of the car keys (where they normally are, or in the jeans I was wearing, or down the back of the sofa, or anywhere else in the house - and I checked everywhere a few times) Didn't have a spare key (not quite true - I got the car with only 1 key - soon ordered a spare from BMW using logbook/passport/chassis ID, it turned up fine but wouldn't fit - maybe locks had been changed?), after about a week I asked around to see about rekeying the car and got told about £1200 for new keys / transponder /ecu etc Found the keys a couple of weeks later on the drive almost under the front bumper of the car Same deal - different car (pre-transponder Retro) - parked it up at home as normal, then used public transport for a few days to go to work.Went to drive it a week later, had the keyring but ignition key was missing. Spent a fee days hunting around the house to see if it had dropped off the keyring indoor. Couldn't find it, eventually resorted to some fairly major "customisation" so I could drive the car.Found the ignition key under the boot carpet a couple of month later Different 60s daily (saloon). Went visiting family for christmas, couldn't find my car keys so took the spare set. No problems at all until I needed to put petrol in it, and discovered the only petrol cap key was on the keyring I had left home without Simple to fix - open boot - remove filler neck from inside the boot - fill direct from pump into the tank I bame the gremlins - normally they play with my car engines/suspension/steering/electics, guess they like to try keys occasionally Tyres @ RRG16 (600 mile round trip if I go direct ). You know the con artist trick with 3 coconut shells - marble under 1 - swap them around on a table? Keep that in mind... Got a flat tyre - swapped spare ok - pulled into next services to pump up the flat as a "just in case" spare. Got another flat - swapped (re-inflated) spare ok - pulled into next services to pump up the new flat as another "just in case" spare. Got another flat - swapped again - pulled into next services... Repeat, and repeat again ... I think I ended up with 2 "dud" tyres that had been blown up about 5 tiimes between them. Got back home with no flat tyres - go the problem wheels checked - no punctures, leaks, no explanation why they had gone flat I now carry 2 spares and an inflator on RRG trips Never a dull day
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Mar 23, 2017 20:10:41 GMT
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If the Golf front end is still in 1 piece it seems a shame to unpick the welds so you can fit the wings 1 at a time. Suggestion : Jack the whole car up and rest the chassis on stands (old wheels, big timber, etc) - this avoid problems when measuring due to suspension movement. see pic below (clear hosepipe filled with coloured water to the top of the rear strut) - measure height difference betweet top of rear strut and top of front strut, make a note of the difference. remove outer wings from the car (unbolt, chisel, etc) unpick welds on the car to remove the inner wings trial fit the 1-piece Golf front end, move it up/down until Golf front struts are same height above rear struts as the originals were. Hope it helps, it was good enough for Edwardian engineers to build viaducts across big valleys, the principle still works and a Golf is a lot shorted than a viaduct!
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Mar 22, 2017 23:46:14 GMT
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Another garage build? Bookmarked I invited the local planning officer onsite to my place last year to discuss options for building works, I was a bit unsure what to expect but they were very helpful and friendly. Not at all scary Thoughts from when we built a 4x7m sectional garage in the back garden a few years ago : Drainage - we just dug a decent sized soakaway and ran a drainpipe from the garage roof into that. Electrics - can be left til later if needed, just run a length of steel pipe thro' the foundations when they're poured - makes it easy to feed power thru' once the place is built. Would advise armoured cable to the shed, and a small fusebox in there with 2 trip switches (light + power) Pit? Now is the time to think about it, but you need to find if any service pipes run under the shed base. Materials? Start looking on Gumtree etc and you might get lucky (I got a near new up & over door for about £50 inc delivery ) See if anyone is building a new housing estate in your area, I took the easy option and got a squad of brickies to turn up on their day off - extend the existing foundations - put shuttering in - order & pour concrete base (3.5 ton from memory) over a grid of wiremesh fence panels (to stop the base cracking). I normally do my own work but this saved so much hassle and avoided any daft mistakes If buying prefab roof beams confirm the sizes, and work out how long (exactly) the walls will be. Get the base made to fit them (you want the base a few inches oversize for rain runoff etc). It would be *very* silly to make the base the wrong size or shape! Ask me how I know this
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Mar 22, 2017 21:54:02 GMT
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I have family in Europe who do a lot of miles with big/bulky loads. They have been running a Passat estate for a few years and seem to love it. Big load space, comfortable mile-eater, spares (& folk who know how to fit them) are fairly common if anything breaks ... it's not very interesting or exciting but is great for what it is.
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Mar 21, 2017 22:01:29 GMT
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I'd heard nothing about this - the update is appreciated ! I don't think I've ever got tired or bored of the show when Ed was on, but Mike is just way to OTT to be enjoyable for me. Will be interesting to see what the future brings.
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