spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on May 11, 2009 19:09:36 GMT
Well, decided to give Alton Towers a miss and look at her lights instead. Turned out to be two unrelated faults. The indicator was a simple blown bulb (not visibly but definately dead using a meter). The front sidelights were a bad connection in the boot. Previous owner had really screwed up the lights wiring when he tried to set fire to it and the easiest way to rewire was to run one back from the boot to the front lights. That isn't a problem except when it comes to tracing why the fronts aren't working - the boot is the last place you think to look. Anyway, got them sorted and noticed by accident (leaning on the wheel) that the horns were intermittent. Well, the quiet one worked but the louder one didn't. That made it sound like Toad of Toad Hall's fine automobile - probably not what an MOT tester wants nowadays ;D Traced that to the connections on the second horn and all seemed good. One last check round and...... I'd forgotten to fill the screenwash. It squirted for about 1/2 second and then threw bubbles. That would have been a very embarrassing fail! Now fairly happy that she's ok for the morning. My only slight worries are: A little bit of play in the steering rack mounts - it's rubber mounted so there's bound to be some but I'm not sure how much they'll be happy with. Main front-rear brake pipe is a little rusty. Don't think it's too bad but their judgement will decide Rear brake flexi pipes are held in their mounts by tie-wraps (than you again, previous owner!). As far as I'm aware, as long as they're secure and not chafing that shouldn't be a problem but I'm not the tester. Any fail other than those three points will upset me. Well, will upset my pride anyway
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on May 12, 2009 19:00:21 GMT
It's a And all on things I didn't anticipate, so I'm feeling a little foolish - not least because it's all stuff I've been working round so nshould have spotted! Front number plate insecure. I fitted it to the old holes when i put it back in place and didn't notice that they were a little frayed round the edges - enough for the self-tappers to shake loose. Handbrake below required efficiency. o/s was fine but the n/s lever was jamming inside the hub. Really should have seen that one when I was doing the bearings back there! O/s/f wheel bearing play. That's potentially a nasty one. They're taper rollers and still running silently so should be possible to tighten. Only, they're pre-loaded and adjusted by spacers and shims on the driveshaft. You need Triump Special Tool S325 to do them. And a supply of spacers. And shims. All are available from your local Triumph dealer. Errr, right - anyone seen one of them recently? Plate and brakes are now sorted, bearing should be ready to resubmit sometime next week (I will find a way )
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pauldaf44
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Post by pauldaf44 on May 12, 2009 21:05:06 GMT
Unlucky there looks like youve joined my club "stupid fails that I really should have spotted"
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daf44
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Post by daf44 on May 12, 2009 22:10:10 GMT
hi paul.
i've been in your club for YEARS.
no water in the washers. bulbs blown even though you check them outside the MOT bay. number plate barely held on with one screw. exhaust falling off as examiner drives car on to the ramp.
the list goes on.
any other suggestions...
paul44
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on May 13, 2009 23:11:02 GMT
My usual from the past was gaping holes that I'd "failed to notice" lying on my back and was naive enough to hope that they wouldn't notice when it was up in the air ;D Meanwhile, the bearing is sorted and full piccy story is at www.dafmobile.ournet.org.uk/index.php/page/14.html for anyone who's interested. Will get the Daf How-Tos transferred as soon as I get time!
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on May 19, 2009 9:53:51 GMT
Back to the nice MOT man today. 5 minutes in the bay, retest fee changed hands, and I walked away with a: So that's another year out the way. Got an advise that there's still slight play in the o/s/f bearing but I'd rather have that than shim it too tight and have it overheat Betty in July is next - will have to go for the first time again on her ;D
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pauldaf44
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Post by pauldaf44 on May 19, 2009 10:25:18 GMT
Congratulations on becoming road legal hope to see her around soon
Paul
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Post by dafdaffer on May 19, 2009 22:57:25 GMT
well done joe ;D it works the other way as well.............. i brought a hyundai accent from a woman at work for the grand total of £1 when she handed me the keys she said i dont know what you want it for but you can have it its going to fail the mot as the front axles are rotten it had a new clutch fitted and they advised me that i needed doing. puzzled i wondered what she was on as it was a front wheel drive. i took it for the mot and it passed, razzed round in it for 6 months then put it in the garage as the daf was ready to be used. i then lent it to my sister as there car had died and they used it until the end of the mot. i took it back for the mot and it failled on the exhaust, brake pipes and emmissions so i told the inspector not to worry as i was going to scrap it anyway, he said that he would like to buy it from me so i said £50 but i want to use it untill the mot runs out. he said fine so a deal was done. that night i picked up a friend from work and we went via the dual carridgeway, as it was going we thought we would see what it could do so floored it all the way to work. (speed undisclosed ) on arriving at work i drove over a speed ramp and there was an almighty crack and the steering went all over the place, as i tried to manuver into a space the car fell flat on the floor. the bottom ball joint had torn off the bottom arm the drive shaft had come out and gearbox oil was all over the car park, also on inspection the other side also had a hole in the wishbone. this had been undetected for two mots and if it would have happened 10 minutes earlier then there would have been one less daf owner the only thing that i can think off is that the beam jack obscures the bottom of the wishbone when it is jacked up however he paid for the parts and i repaired it at work and its still going today ;D but the same as you guys there must be a washer bottle gremlin at the test station and another that does bulbs ;D
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pauldaf44
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Post by pauldaf44 on May 20, 2009 8:11:11 GMT
Similar story my first car a Fiat Uno was given to us as an Ideal learner car as it had a severe oil leak and would never pass an MOT. Got it home opened the bonnet pushed the dipstick in properly problem solved. Passed its MOT for the next 4 years needing only handbarke adjusting and new wiperblades. Now in the scrapyard in the sky sold it as we noticed it had developed a tendency to overheat and had a creamy oil cap. They rallyed it around Brechfa forest untill the cylinder head gave way.
Now thats what I call 4 years free motoring
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on May 21, 2009 22:52:37 GMT
Had a count up a couple of weeks ago and I work it out that, out of the 18 cars I've owned over the years, 6 of them were free, including the one I owned longest and got the most miles from - a 1978 Renault 14 which I ran for about 5 years and around 55000 miles. It got "this car is dangerous to drive" on it's last two MOTs for rot (like, back suspension falling off - one side each year), which I duly welded up and re-presented in time for the 14 day free retest ;D The most expensive was a 12 year old 7-series BMW that cost £650 and I couldn't afford the petrol for
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on May 27, 2009 20:02:24 GMT
Decided it was time to do something about the state of the carpets this evening. I've got some black dye so thought I'd pull them out, give them a damn good clean, glue the loose bits back onto the backing and then see what happens if I dye them. It also gives a chance to see how the floorpan is looking from the inside. First impression wasn't all that bad. Some surface rust round the (damp) driver's footwell and a slightly worrying split in the seam sealer down the inner sill but other than that pretty clean really: But there were problems. Two of the seat mounts broke out as I was undoing them (rear outboard on both seats). Not from rust, but there are signs of stress fractures round both of them. The driver's side's left the biggest hole: Also, at the back end of where the two stiffeners fit around the exhaust there's stress cracking as well: Not sure whether to put it down to her age or blame the previous owner again for the way he drove her. Still, if in doubt... ADAM!!!!!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: None of these areas are visible from underneath (hidden by the bits that fit underneath them) so can't complain about the MOT not picking them up and, really, I'm glad I've found them now rather later when they've got worse! Also on the plus side, digging out the cracked sealant shows spotless primed metal so that can be re-sealed and forgotten about
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Jun 1, 2009 18:55:11 GMT
With the feeling that summer's here and will probably be gone again in a few days, I finally got around to attacking Sheila with cutting compound over the past few days. By hand. In the sun. About 8 hours of rubbing later I have no feeling left in my shoulders - which is a good thing cos it means I can't feel the lobster effect just yet :suntan: Sheila, meanwhile, is starting to look a little more like something worth saving (as opposed to being something worth saving but looking well past her sell-by date. All the rust, blemishes, scratches and dents are still there but at least they're shiny rust, blemishes scratches and dents now :lol: :
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Jun 23, 2009 13:18:57 GMT
After a few weeks of life, other things and weather getting in the way I've finally managed to get some more paint on the old girl. It needs a lot of flatting and polishing but my excuse for that is, working outside by the road I have to work a little faster than would be ideal so (a) I don't upset the neighbours too much and (b) she's in one piece at the end of each day :lol: Anyway, at least from a distance, she's starting to look presentable:
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Jun 25, 2009 21:50:11 GMT
Managed to find time this evening after the cosmetics on Isabel to start attacking Sheila with flatting paper and polish. Only got to spend about 15 or 20 minutes on her but I'm happy with the results. Figure 1/4 hour to do a wing-top, the rest of the car might just be done by Lichfield Not quite as dramatic as the work on Isabel but getting to this: from this three days ago: has made the slight sunburn worthwhile ;D
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Aug 2, 2009 21:12:14 GMT
We were off to a local show today where, yet again, Betty and Sheila got more attention than many of the very shiny cars on display On the way back, she reached the magic mileage so I now have a Triumph 1300, aged 40 years 5 months and 12 days with delivery mileage only... Mind you, from the look of the bodywork the delivery driver's getting the sack :lol:
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Aug 10, 2009 21:54:26 GMT
Sheila now has central locking courtesy of a £25 kit from Maplin ;D I'd been forgetting to lock the back doors when the dogs have been in her a little too often so Sian very kindly treated me to the bits. Fitting hints are at www.dafmobile.ournet.org.uk/index.php/page/26.html if anyone might want to try one. Next jobs in line are a towbar for Sheila and Betty's belts, which I hope will sort out the noise she's developed as well!
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Aug 15, 2009 23:14:04 GMT
And there's more...... How long till I rip the back end off? ;D
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Post by kookiebrook on Aug 16, 2009 9:54:54 GMT
Must admit its looking good, I remember the one I had (for my wife at the time) needed a lot of welding where the inner wings meet the bulkhead, now bearing in mind this was 30 yrs ago I was driving this car, yours must have been a much better car to start with..Paul33kb..
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Sept 9, 2009 20:36:35 GMT
Well, we made it to the New Foreat safely with Sheila putting in a virtually faultless display of tow-car-ing. The one slight mishap was getting caught behind a lorry stuck in crawler gear on a 2 mile hill. When I could finally get past pulling 400kg of trailer from a standstill to nearly 40 in second (still up hill) pushed her temp up from 1/2 to 3/4 on the gauge and she coughed a couple of times in protest ;D Apart from that it was an excellent trip with an overall fuel consumption of 36mpg (fill to fill). Beat that with a modern and no AA cover
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pauldaf44
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Post by pauldaf44 on Sept 10, 2009 8:15:04 GMT
Will be joining you friday night, not taking the DAF Mum said no. Ive got my brothers with e and she wouldn't let them go unbelted so thats the end of that. Look out for the Seat Ibiza with a cross bloke driving it and an even crosser 6 foot 6 bloke in the boot,
Paul
p.s. bringing 2 bbqs and give sheila a pat.
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Sept 10, 2009 15:05:09 GMT
Look forward to it, Paul - we'll have a member of the TDC turning up for a BBQ one evening (he's bringing me a wheel trim ) so any extra grill space is welcome! When you get here, look for the house:
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Sept 10, 2009 15:09:06 GMT
Oh, but watch out for the neighbours on the way in. They're pretty quiet but not much road sense:
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Post by dafdaffer on Sept 10, 2009 17:54:57 GMT
looks fun guys, look out for them horses they get pretty mad if you got some food and they haven't. don't leave anything out !!!!
Paul
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33grinder
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Post by 33grinder on Sept 10, 2009 18:23:39 GMT
I'm jealous!!
There's more horse power in that field than currently in my 33! ;D
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Post by Richard DAF Webmeister on Sept 10, 2009 21:55:36 GMT
Nice pad and view!
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Sept 11, 2009 20:30:21 GMT
Part of the view has now been blocked by Paul's Palace but it's still a lovely place to be winding down for the next few days. At £5 a night each for the camping I'm wondering if it's worth moving in permanently ;D
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Sept 13, 2009 15:03:28 GMT
It's beena little chilly the past couple of nights, John. But not so bad that putting the grill and both burners of the cooker on couldn't help Paul's now disappeared, as have most of the others who suddenly invaded the field last night, and I'm enjoying the peace by (avoiding) completing the assignment on genetic comptuting that I have to submit by Tuesday. We're only a few pounds lighter from the Autojumble but had a great look round and have come away with a set of brand new rockers for Sheila, new wiper blades for betty and a new (not original unfortunately) screen wash pump for Isabel. Also, a TDC member popped over yesterday and donated a couple of wheel trims and an un-dented spare rim for Sheila which would have cost about £60 + postage from Quillers. The old wheel makes an excellent BBQ stand.... All-in we've picked up about £170 or so of bits that were needed and only cost us £17 and a few burgers, so the campsite and fuel has cost nothing . Now back to studying......
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pauldaf44
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Post by pauldaf44 on Sept 14, 2009 12:34:42 GMT
the palace wasn't blocking your view i forgot the poles
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Sept 15, 2009 22:11:38 GMT
I was being nice and not mentioning that, Paul ;D Anyway, we got back safe today in a reasonable 8 hours including 4 stops - 50mph wherever the roads would allow and still over 30 mpg towing. We also got back feeling a hell of a lot less tired than we would have in the Colt - even though (or perhaps because?) the trip would have been faster. Really do get the feeling that a proper investigation of these cars "green" credentials would destroy a few of the myths out there. Wonder why no government has sponsored one yet?
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Post by pyoorkate on Sept 18, 2009 7:30:41 GMT
Perhaps we should band together all the disparate classic car owner's clubs and get a proper study done and publicise the results
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