Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[baconsdozen]

A few years back when I was doing the sunday markets I bought some chinese hacksaw blades.
In vain I tried to find something they'd cut,putting them upside down in the frame so the teeth faced upwards made no difference to their cutting ability (it was zero) and cutting anything made of iron left a neat pile of pale blue ex hacksaw blade teeth on the floor under the vice.
They were flexible enough to tie in a knot and in a good hacksaw tightening the frame too much made them stretch,the only variable TPI blades in the world.
After a while I made up a sign "Throwaway hacksaw blades,made in China,10p each or ten for a £1" and sold out within hours.
There's nowt as queer as folk.
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Thirty years selling imperial hand tools for old machinery(Now happily retired).

[Jim.Walker]

[Castellated nut]

Round about 1960, for a birthday present, an uncle bought me a "socket set". This was the type of kit with a socket for every possible size and all stamped "FOREIGN" on the side. They were made of the type of metal described by Nic Jarman in his 30th June post - somewhere between Stilton cheese and mild steel.

However they have actually been immensely useful over the years! Being so soft, they are machinable and weldable and whenever I need a spanner for a special awkward job I just go to the scrap box and dig out one of these of a suitable size. For example: originally, whenever I wanted to turn the crank of my Triumph 2000 to set timing etc, I used to have to put it top gear and roll it, which was never very accurate. By turning down the OD of one of those sockets so that it would fit into the crankshaft pulley and on to the hexagon at the front of the crank and welding it to a strip of steel bent to a suitable shape, I have the perfect tool for the job.

[Richard H]

I've had a few duff sets of points and condensers, also a set of (new) repro bumpers for a Mini bought from Ebay had the chrome flaking off within six months.
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Richard Hughes

[welshrover]

dont get me started on shonky so called british landrover parts

[michael1703]

Ive had a bad landrover master cylinder, about £35 new, failed within 3 weeks.

On Ebay there are rear wheel cylinders for rover p4, I bought a pair and the studs stripped their threads upon tightening and the bore was rusty.

[Nic Jarman]

And Mosses came down from the mountain bearing 10 comandments. He anounce to the gathered crowd that there was an eleventh that was " Thou shallst not buy cheap, new, made in china, classic car parts from Ebay" but it broke just after he received it.
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1936 Morris 8 Series 1
1973 MGB roadster
1977 MG Midget 1500
Dax Rush

[MikeEdwards]

I was a bit depressed about the lack of parts avialability for my cars (70s Vauxhalls) until I was talking to a local chap about his MGB that was recently sold. He also mentioned that although there's great availability of parts, he's had to send back more than 50% of the stuff he's bought recently, just because it's rubbish or doesn't fit.

[michael1703]

[baconsdozen]

If you want to spens money on pellets you put in the tank or things that attach with a couple of wires or stuff you pour in any of various holes that all laim to repair,renew or revitalise your engine gearbox etc,Ebay is the place to go.
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Thirty years selling imperial hand tools for old machinery(Now happily retired).

[Desperatdan]

Remember replacing a wonkey ignition switch with a brand new out of the box one on a Sprite a while back, annyone who has done that knows how fiddely it is, only to find it did´nt, switch that is.
I wunder what it was made for?

Dan.