:: Wednesday, April 5, 2017 ::
I’ve been busy getting the TVR out of hibernation and ready for its first trip to England this year.
Today, though, after I have changed the TVR’s oil, I decide that I need to go to the shops. And I decide to go in the Chevy, just for a change.
With the shopping collected after the inevitable chat in the car park, I go off for a wee run to get fuel. What do you mean, I could have got fuel at the same supermarket? Where’s the fun in that?
I stop by the local hot-rod-builder, but he’s not in. I speak to his man, though, who says that the car looks really nice - but he would say that, eh?
A couple of miles further on, I’m waiting to go ahead at a set of traffic light, and a lorry pulls up in the lane to turn left. “Nice car,” her says’ “but I don’t think your brake lights are working.” Then we get into a chat about engine size etc, so I give it a wee rev - and the guy in the Golf behind decides to join in (not that I could really hear him, but the lorry driver could).
With another tanker of fuel on board, I head home, and decide to check these brake lights. Bit of wood on the pedal, check lights - nothing. Again, with the benefit of having no acres of plastic trim and shite, I can see right away that the brake switch is sticky - it’s supposed to come out when you press the pedal, but it doesn’t - the pedal just moves away from it. I work it with my finger, and that frees it up a bit, but it’s still intermittent. A wee skoosh of spray oil does the trick - sorted. And no tools required!
I have to get this car sorted for its Sporting Bears debut next weekend (TVR holiday this weekend - it’s a hell of a life…) but hopefully, that will only involve a bit of a clean.
:: Sunday, April 16, 2017 ::
Howdy folks!
Time for an update? Oh ok then…
I went in to see the hot rod man last Friday, to let him have a look at the car and to see if he can get me new bonnet, er I mean “hood” springs.
I then disappeared with Jim and Dave in TVR for 3 days, and we all had a damn good time.
This week, I’ve been busy but on Friday I took the Chevy out just for a wee run to a meeting. I parked up, first person to pass stops to chat. Go to my meeting, come back to the car, have a chat… Anyway, while I was in the meeting, it rained, so switched the wipers on, both go swoosh-swoosh, then the passenger one just parks itself and the drivers one carries on. Bugger.
This happened before, and what had happened was that the spindle had slipped forward out of the drive. I stop the wipers, and push it back in. It swoops once then stops again. When I get home, I look up under the dash and one of the cables has come off - it basically has 2 cables on a drum - one pulls it up, the other pulls it back, and the second one has slipped off. I can’t see how to fix it without taking the heater out…
So last night I gave the windscreen a coating of Rain-X so that I can minimise wiper use if it rains on my way to a Sporting Bears display today.
It’s a good job I did because about 10 minutes after I leave this morning, it starts raining. Rain-X is brilliant - no wipers required.
After a few miles at motorway speeds, though, I notice that the water on the outside of the screen is blowing upwards - but there’s water running downwards. It’s on the inside! The top of the screen is leaking in 3 places, between the seal and the glass, and air pressure at 60 to 70 mph is pushing water upwards over the seal. Nothing I can do about it - bash on!
I get to our show about 50 miles away, and park up. The car attracts a fair bit of attention, after I’ve mopped the water off the dash. It looks good, it sounds good…
At one point i lift the bonnet to let two young lads and their dad see the engine, and notice a little screw lying on the inlet manifold. Can’t see where it’s come from, but eventually spot that it’s a pivot screw for the accelerator pump lever on the rear carb. With 3 different guys holding the pump lever, the spring and the arm in place, I get the screw back in, and tighten it up. Everything works again!
With the show over I set off home. It’s now dry so no wipers required! After a few miles I catch up to two cars following a tractor. The front one is a Honda CRV but the driver doesn’t understand the meaning of the word “overtake”. After two straight bits, driver 2 gets pissed off and passes both of them.
Overtaking in a shoooooge left hand drive car is a pain in the arse - well seeing round a tractor and a Honda CRV is… On the next straight bit I move out enough to see that there are 3 cars coming towards us. After they have passed, I move out again - there’s half a straight left and nothing in it so I boot it, pedal to the metal.
Jesus H Overtaking Christ! I get kick down, both carbs working and full throttle for the first time since I bought this thing. It breezes bast (a very noisy V8 breeze, but a breeze nevertheless) and there’s still a huge straight bit left! That was damn impressive there boy!
I drive back along the motorway at 70-ish - easy (except for watching the gas needle accelerate down the gauge).
Today is the furthest I’ve driven from the house since I bought it, and one of the few times on “open roads” not restricted to 40 or 50 mph. Despite being 60 years old, it can keep up with modern models no problem (which is more than I can say for me). Until you come to a bend…
:: Tuesday, April 18, 2017 ::
Right - on to sealing this windscreen!
I still have a bottle of stuff I bought to seal the TVR’s windscreen. It’s called “Captain Tolley’s Creeping Crack Cure. No, seriously, it is. Look it up. The only problem is that it’s kinda thin, and while it seals cracks, it just runs straight through bigger gaps.
Does anybody remember a product called “Seek and Seal”. You got it in a little tin like 3 in 1 oil, you squeezed the sides and it went into the gap. That was a bit thicker. Unfortunately, I can’t find it in any shops, and the manager in Halfords (who has worked in a few car shops and factors around here) tells me that they stopped making it years ago. The joys of bonded windscreens eh?
Miraculously, though, I remember seeing a tin that’s been lying in my garage for ages. Even more miraculously, I find it in about 5 minutes! The tin says “best before October 1979”. Oh. I take off the cap and press the sides and it’s still runny! I leave a blob on a bit plastic to see if it sets. It does!
Unfortunately, although I can get the nozzle upwards under the rubber along the top of the screen, I can’t squeeze any of the product upwards… bugger.
I pop down to Boots and buy a 50p plastic syringe. Even although it’s got no needle (it’s meant for squirting measured doses of cod liver oil down children’s throats), I am still subjected to an interrogation about what I want it for. They refuse to believe that a man gives medicine to kids, so I tell them that I propose to artificially inseminate my goldfish. They’re happy with that.
Back home, press some seek and seal into a plastic bottle cap, suck it up with the syringe and press it up under the rubber - sorted! I hope…
I also have to get the rear silencer off the Porsche so that I can replace the exhaust mounts. I clean the bolts around the joint with a wire brush, and then spray some penetrating oil and leave them to soak.
:: Wednesday, April 19, 2017 ::
I start by cleaning the whitewall tyres, which are still many from its excursion in the rain on sunday. I think that water comes through the wheel, and then out around the edge of the trim and sprays outwards as the wheel is turning. Or maybe all tyres get that filthy and you just don’t notice.
Anyway, with that done, I set off for a wee drive to see about getting it serviced. I also want him to look at repairing the windscreen cables - I’ve looked online and while it looks simple, there are a few horror stories if you get it wrong. I think you probably need to take the heater ducting out, and while that’s out, I also want to look at the heater matrix because you can smell antifreeze inside the car when the heater is on “hot”.
Anyway, he says that if I buy the bits (plugs, filter etc) he’ll book it in.
While I’m in, I notice that he has the Corvette Pace Car that I saw not long after I got this. It’s the genuine 1978 Indianapolis 500 pace car, no copies!
When I get home I soak the Porsche exhaust bolts again, and then settle down for a confusing session while I work out what spark plugs I need. You can’t get the recommended AC Delco ones here, so I have to find a suitable alternative. I order 8.
:: Thursday, April 20, 2017 ::
Well, the spark plugs arrived today, and they weren’t what I was expecting. These are fat (19mm spanner not 14mm) and short (only about 3 or 4 threads). I haven’t seen spark plugs like these for years and years, but since the car is the same age as me, I shouldn’t be surprised that they are that ancient design.
Just to check, I take a plug out of the engine (after a rummage to find that old “large” spark plug socket) and right enough, it’s right enough!
I’ve already got oil, and a filter (although it’s along at the farm) so I think I’m ready! I’m almost tempted to do it myself, but I’m just too busy, and I want it checked over first by somebody who knows what he’s looking for (I hope I don’t regret those words!).
I give the Porsche exhaust bolts another spray.
:: Saturday, April 22, 2017 ::
First thing - the Porsche. Yesterday I tried a bit of heat on a couple of the bolts with a blow lamp, and although I got them nice and hot, they round off as soon as I show them a spanner. I try a smaller spanner and a range of sockets and bolt grippers - nope they are not for budging. I’m going to have to cut them off.
Before I do, though, I need to get new bolts to put in - in the absence of the proper mountings, this joint is holding up the weight of the silencer so if I cut through two, I might snap a lug off the silencer or the exhaust when all that weight goes on one bolt. I need to cut through them one at a time, and put a new bolt in before I cut the next one.
So today I head off to buy stainless steel bolts. It’s nice, so I decide to take the Chevy. It’s brilliant! Thirsty, but brilliant!
I’m not going to start on the exhaust today, though. Maybe tomorrow.
:: Sunday, April 23, 2017 ::
Or maybe not.
I do go for the shopping, in the Chevy - except that the shop that I can walk to in 5 minutes seems to have moved 20 miles away.
On the way back, I see one of my neighbours and try to give a wee “toot”. Nothing. Bugger… When I get home it’s easy to diagnose a duff connection on the relay (the only relay on the car except for the flasher unit, as far as I can see) and it’s sorted again.
I’m not going to start on the exhaust today, again. Maybe tomorrow.
:: Sunday, April 30, 2017 ::
And so another week passes by… and I still haven’t started on the Porsche’s exhaust.
It’s a nice day today though - so I go for a wee run in the Chevy!
I’ve noticed the last 2 or 3 times I’ve used it, that it seems to be pulling sightly to the left, and I’ve been wondering if it’s just the road camber. I don’t think so, because when you brake, just as the car stops, the steering turns slightly to the left. Brake off, back on, and it turns a wee bit more. Oh…
Well today, I’m getting the occasional “clonk” from underneath just as it stops. Is it a sticky brake or something? Dunno… need to have a look when I get back.
After a bit of stop-go traffic, I head back home and just up the road, the engine suddenly starts misfiring. Oh. Not slightly, but really bad. Oh. It clears up a bit but it’s still running like a wet fart when I get home. Select revers to go into drive, turn steering and there’s a loud clonk and the steering wheel jumps. I need to find that and sort it before I go out again.
So with the car in the drive I lift the bonnet to listen to the engine. It sounds ok but there’s still a miss when you rev it. Oh.
While I’m listening to that, I’m also looking around for any obvious reason for the suspension noises. For some reason, the first thing I touch is a bolt that goes into a rubber bush on the top suspension wishbone - and it’s not even finger-tight! Thing is, because it goes into a rubber bush, there’s no obvious looseness just looking at it - ok the bush is maybe not quite as compressed as it should be, but it’s not that obvious. I still have no idea why I tried that one bolt - strange eh?
Anyway, I tighten it up with a socket, and take the car out again. Misfire still there, but all clonking gone. Divine intervention or what?
I’ll get back to the misfire later. And the Porsche exhaust.
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