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What did you do to your car today?
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Rick
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Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 22429
Location: UK

PostPosted: Fri May 21, 2021 10:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

MikeEdwards wrote:
I finally got around to swapping the cars around, so the Audi is now temporarily on one side and covered up while I crack on with the Sportshatch project. The nearside seems in some areas to be better than the offside, but it's all a bit superficial. It's had a sill fitted, but it hasn't been done very well so it will have to come off. It's also got a lot of little patches fitted really badly and with up to 15mm thickness of filler over them. I broke the end off my chisel getting some of it off, so I've got a shorter chisel now.


So refresh my memory, I'm right in thinking that you have two Sportshatches, the one I've seen in use, plus the project?

RJ
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MikeEdwards



Joined: 25 May 2011
Posts: 2463
Location: South Cheshire

PostPosted: Sat May 22, 2021 6:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, that's correct Rick. Hoping to crack on with it quickly, but I've spent most of last week and will spend a lot of next week making repair panels for other people.

And reading my post back, when I say the "Audi is now temporarily on one side", I mean I've put it to the side of the shed out of the way a bit, not tilted it over on it's side.
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1976 Vauxhall HP Firenza, 1976 Vauxhall Sportshatch (x2), 1986 Audi coupe quattro, 2000 Audi TT
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Rootes75



Joined: 30 Apr 2013
Posts: 3785
Location: The Somerset Levels

PostPosted: Sun May 23, 2021 1:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

We are spending a lot of time rubbing down the cab on our Commer, previous owners have simply applied thick brush paint each year to protect the panels. Its taking an awful lot to rub this down as a result!
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MikeEdwards



Joined: 25 May 2011
Posts: 2463
Location: South Cheshire

PostPosted: Sun May 23, 2021 6:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've had both Vauxhalls running today. The Sportshatch was very reluctant again, but did finally burst into life. The Firenza needed a little boost on the battery, but I need to run it around at bit as I'm intending to take it to a show on Bank Holiday Monday.
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badhuis



Joined: 20 Aug 2008
Posts: 1390
Location: Netherlands

PostPosted: Sun May 23, 2021 9:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

First day of replacing the seat covers from a 85 XJS.

I imported this car from mid USA last October. As expected the leather had gone hard and has cracks and splits. I hope the foams can be re-used.
A few months ago bought a set of new leather covers for the front seats from lseat.com. They were much, much cheaper even with postage from the US to the Netherlands than having the seats recovered by an upholstery shop (I asked two shops). The new covers look good, the set contains a full set including head rests and the middle arm rest cover. The seat covers are full leather all round, not partly vinyl as is original.

It is amazing how delicate or labour intensive these old seats were when they were new. Metal frames, rubber diaphragm, separate centre cushion, wooden parts, 5 types of foam (main parts of the bottom seats are Dunlopillo foam), staples, metal clips, screws, hooks, rubber bands in the back.
I managed to get the old covers off without damaging the foams. The rubber bands (Pirelli?) are toast - they look OK but are very hard and crack if you try to bend them!

For the rubber bands I need to find a supplier. I guess one of the two upholstery shops I contacted before will have them.

I glued the leather to the bottom parts and it looks pretty good. Need to fasten them with the clips to the outside of the frame but wanted to make sure the glue has had the time to set before stretching the leather.

Tomorrow I will get staples (I found out I ran out of them) and finish the seat bottom of the first seat. The back rest has to wait until I get new rubber bands.
If I have time I will start on the second seat but my son called and asked for help in hanging a bathroom cupboard. Of course this will take precedence!
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Rootes75



Joined: 30 Apr 2013
Posts: 3785
Location: The Somerset Levels

PostPosted: Sun May 30, 2021 1:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

We are rubbing all the layers of rough army paint off our Commer cab at the moment. The windscreen has two cracks in it so we have removed that today and found the rubber is awful and the inner frame is so rusted it simply fell apart.
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Rootes75



Joined: 30 Apr 2013
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Location: The Somerset Levels

PostPosted: Sun Jun 06, 2021 2:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Got the rear window and cab door windows out now. The rear needs a new rubber and the door windows are actually perspex so need replacing with glass.

The windscreen looks a very difficult prospect. Replacing the rubber is fine but the lower surround is jus rust, the pattern of it with 2 internal lips will be very difficult near imposdible to fabricate.

It does share the postwar Q4 windscreen so I have put out some want ads on the Q4 forums.
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MikeEdwards



Joined: 25 May 2011
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Location: South Cheshire

PostPosted: Sun Jun 06, 2021 6:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ran the Sportshatch yesterday, much less reluctant to start. Maybe because it's warmer weather, or perhaps because I'm trying to run it more often.
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lowdrag



Joined: 10 Apr 2009
Posts: 1585
Location: Le Mans

PostPosted: Mon Jun 07, 2021 5:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The hood of the E-type had shrunk, and I was given a tip to get some hot water and Lenor fabric softener and rub it in vigorously. Well, it's done the trick and while the seal isn't perfect (is it ever?) a second strip of rubber where the hood meets the screen rail should save the cost of a new hood.
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MikeEdwards



Joined: 25 May 2011
Posts: 2463
Location: South Cheshire

PostPosted: Sun Jun 13, 2021 6:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Finally finished putting the windscreen wipers back into the hatch (they were very slow, I was trying to make them better) and tried to run it, it jumped very quickly into life. So this morning I took it out of the shed and washed all the dust off that's gathered since last time it went out, despite it being covered up all the time. Then I took it home at lunchtime for a run out, where it rewarded my hard work by running badly, as if it's on three cylinders. When I got back, I checked the Stromberg diaphragms were OK, which they seem to be. I swapped the plugs back to the previous ones (I'd swapped them when trying to get it to start recently) and I'm not really sure now if it's helped. I'll try to take it out for a run tomorrow to see - it seems OK when it's in the shed.
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Rootes75



Joined: 30 Apr 2013
Posts: 3785
Location: The Somerset Levels

PostPosted: Sun Jun 13, 2021 6:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Continuing to rub down our Commer. This morning though we started to cut out the rotten metal from the cab, plenty of fabricating and welding to be done in the next few weeks.
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lowdrag



Joined: 10 Apr 2009
Posts: 1585
Location: Le Mans

PostPosted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 9:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Saw it out on a transporter to come home.Very sad. We left Saturday morning to go to the west coast of France to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the E-type, mine being one of the oldest in the region. On the motorway, we were continuously being overtaken by cars way, way over the limit, and they were local plates, so we thought we should join in. We had been cruising at 90 mph but, in one flurry, did see 120 mph although I don't want to repeat it again until the suspension has been stiffened.

We arrived at my friend's house, grins fixed, the car purring, and we had dinner and then bed. The moring I started the car, she purred, we were ready to set off and as I turned around in the garden I saw a big puddle of oil. Engine off. To cut a long story short my car was absent from the day, then in the evening we found that the gasket behind the oil filter had given way, probably as a result of our rather forceful exertions the day before. Whatever, the car will come back tomorrow and we are, thanks in great detailsw to my insurers, home this evening. But why is it, that despite all these years, the gasket that I need is the one that is hung up in the garage?
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peter scott



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 7113
Location: Edinburgh

PostPosted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 11:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well looking on the bright side you at least spotted it before you lost all your oil. Assuming your oil pressure relief valve was working correctly then I don't think your high speed running would be the cause.

Peter
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Peter_L



Joined: 10 Apr 2008
Posts: 2680
Location: New Brunswick. Canada.

PostPosted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 11:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

peter scott wrote:
Well looking on the bright side you at least spotted it before you lost all your oil. Assuming your oil pressure relief valve was working correctly then I don't think your high speed running would be the cause.

Peter


My opinion, that perhaps the high speed run/ extended mileage run brought forward something that was due to happen........... I just added a not dissimilar occurrence. The round trip I mention was nearly a year's worth of COVID motoring.......

https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/forum/phpbb/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=22119
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MikeEdwards



Joined: 25 May 2011
Posts: 2463
Location: South Cheshire

PostPosted: Wed Jun 16, 2021 9:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

In an attempt to figure out why the Sportshatch was running badly, yesterday I managed to clear enough space to get the Crypton machine next to it and ran through the various tests. Then followed a bit of research on the net into dwell angles and points gapping, which also led to this thread ( https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/forum/phpbb/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=21791 ) which confirmed a conclusion that I'd come to - the dwell angle is more important than the points gap.

I'm not used to points - the Firenza has Lumenition fitted - so I'm hopeful that the fact it was reading 14 degrees dwell when the manual says it should be 35-37 degrees could result in it running poorly, due to the coil not having time to generate a decent spark.

I tried a couple of new set of points which my mate had given me during a recent clearout, and got no ignition at all. Turns out that in storage they'd developed a bit of a coating on the contacts - I should have thought to give them a bit of a clean before fitting them.

Later on, then, I'll adjust the gap to get the correct dwell (rather than adjusting it to get the correct gap) and see if it's any better.
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