Clutching at Gas ?

Warn (8 degrees) but wet start. Dreary and very wet roads though so I decided not to take the Talbot out ... being a coward in many ways.

However I put the Alpine on the fan first thing for an hour or so - tried to turn it over but it had a very weak battery. Odd - I left it warming for another hour or so. When was it last started ? Over a month ago it turns out and we've had some cold weather in between but never the less it was still quite flat.

Good news was the clutch was fine though which was actually the objective of the exercise.

I left it heating for another hour and came back to use the booster back. No luck so I moved booster around and left it running on the battery a bit and then it started to turn over better and fired up after a couple of turns.

I did look at a little run but however it was raining by then. So that's where we stopped. The car sounded great though once warmed and I revved it up just for the fun of it. Child. I used the battery cut off this time in case there is a little drain somewhere in the doggy wiring.

PM it was utility run time and SAAB out for gas. We went to Fox's but they only had a 30m+ mast being delivered and they would not fit Fidra.

Anyway so we went to the Tattingstone Garden Centre and they had one.

Good old SAAB swallowed it easily.

Virtual Touring

It was a grey, dull and cold day that started icy. Glad I did the Talbot yesterday.

The only car action was creating book to be printed from my VW Mini-Me adventure.

That seemed a while ago - 2018 in fact.

NOT ANY MORE !

I was in two minds about working on the Talbot today, but the sun was out and so I said to myself I'd 'just do something' knowing I'd do more.

It was a one degree start as I put both fan heaters on in the Garage and after an hour and a half it was bearable. Actually dressed in four layers it was fine - if a bit cramped in there with the two bubbles.

Ok here we go - lift the floor again. 15-20 mins later the batteries are disconnected and we're ready for stage two. Next check have I blown any if the fuses ? No all the fuses were good. 

However the poor connection I made was instantly loose and virtually fell out before I could undo the bar holding the wires in.

The blue female fitting I had bought was far too small, but the yellow was correct so I re-did the connection with that. It felt OK at first but when I put the wire into the connection and reconnected it - well it just fell off again. Odd. So I did it again and eventually we had a good connection both ends.

We still had that odd spare blue wire but we had everything else back and firm.

I tried fitting the battery cut off and thought I had some success the strain it was put under actually bent the whole unit so that the fitting wouldn't work.

I also discovered if you connect the front battery, then the power is in the system and the ignition comes on so obviously the second battery is just for the boost which might explain why that needs more to be charged or is it the other way round ?

Anyway by 12:00 I'd finished putting the car back together - so start or leave it ? Oh go on no guts no glory. It was a bit hesitant to start but ...

NO RED LIGHT

OK it looks 'on' in the picture but it is not. So we might have fixed the final broken car and the team is fully functional again - for now.

Funny thing was, looking at my first volume of LDOTC what did I find ? The Talbot that we saw that Drive it Day at Kersey Mill. "Rewarded by a great Talbot" I wrote - and look at us now. 

Gloomy - Me ?

All day working on the Imp book to finish it off as heavy rain fell and the wind blew.

The best bit of the morning was the VdP group Facebook post of the Talbot Ulster VdP - a bigger version of the one in the VdP book.

I finished the Imp book though, so we'll see how it turns out.

Later it was a run in the gloom to Harkstead.

Lots of admin and Tech jobs. Well someone has to do it.

I also spotted the Alpine at the NEC in the club mag. 

Not the best of pictures - but it is nice t see it in the mag again.

10 Red Lights

Off to clear the boat this morning - before Storm Goretti arrives. The roadworks in the village had moved down a bit, but then there were another 4 sets on the road to Shotley to get through before we got to the boat.

It was a quick job to load up though - easier than before it seemed. Then 5 sets of red light home too.

Of course it was off to Harkstead for jobs in the afternoon. So I jumped into the 39 year old classic car.

The Golf was cold, a bit fugged up but still going well.

VAN DOWN !

We returned the van first thing and noticed most of the snow has gone for now.

RGEA meeting this evening though so SAAB pressed into service as its cold and dreary but we're not really expecting much more snow for a while - just rain and the coming storm.

Talking of which ...

ION: In something strangely like a video clip from a PC game like Call of Duty, the US show how they boarded and seized two oil tankers in international waters.

Battery Boy

Walked to Harkstead to pick up the van first thing. There it was.

It was in the garage but as expected only  j   u   s   t    started. It was so low it zero'ed the clock. I thought I'd better fit a new battery.

So PM off we went to collect it only to find ...

Without warning the bloody road is closed again.

Back again and the battery was quite easy to fit. 

One side was an automatic quick release fitting and the other was a really tiny nut - 8 mm I think.

Exciting stuff.

Snow Day !

Wow Snow ! Well a little smattering - but it means most of the country comes to a halt.

Anyway - not a classic car day so SAAB out instead.

Up to Harkstead in fact - but I'd not counted on it being quite frozen. Not really a problem though.

There is Always One

Another bitterly cold day - but nice and sunny. 

I decided to fix the MK2 boot catch first. so off came the five plastic 'studs' that hold it on with a small screwdriver. Of course one went 'ping' and disappeared into the gravel - but I think that was the broken one anyway.

That revealed the mechanism. 

It's the fitting to the left under the serial number on the lock that doesn't move. The bar that pulls/pushes it is attached to the spindle that the little white fitting is on. I greased both bits and it quickly freed up and worked fine again.

I put the cover back on and as I had a similar stud it looks fine.

I last fixed that in October 2020 - and I don't think the hole I found will actually let lubricant get to the mechanism.

PM I wanted to do my bit for the planet.

So off we went - the roads were very 'white' with the salt, but quite dry. When I got to the bottle bank the key would not come out again. Too cold I guessed - about 20 taps and prods and it did pop out.

The car could do with a wash now though.

Booting It - and Boots on the Ground

A very cold and frosty day but no snow. Roads looked very salty and bad though so no Vintage Ventures today.

Instead an afternoon MK2 run to Stutton.

The only problem is that the boot would not stay shut. Ah that happened before - in October 2020 in fact - so I hope it is the same fault. Just a stuck/dirty internal catch.

ION: Trump decides to initiate regime change in Venezuela, launching a military assault to capture President Nicolas Maduro and extracted him to the US. They are now going to 'run the country' including re-starting the Oil production ... it seems to have been flawless. What happens next ?

More Motoring Madness

Clear blue skies but a cold Winter's day. Off in the SAAB looking for photo opportunities AM then.

But to be honest there were not many.

Back home I thought perhaps the Imp needs a run - it was only two degrees though. Never mind., put the heater on and see what it feels like a bit later.

Well it felt fine - if bitterly cold to start with. We went around the block - slippery salt stained roads all the way. Good though.

Deja Vu

See January 1st 2025.

A day of walking not driving after yesterday's excitement. I did spot this yesterday though and today thought it might echo my Vintage car focus.

Apparently I've already Started  too.

Am I Doing it All Wrong ?

What to do ? More admin or get out in the cold crisp sunshine  ?

Well it was only the SAAB but it's the last day of the year and I can't do a 'Nil Pointer'. However another mad thought hit me ... What about getting the Talbot out ?

Mad - as it's not charging and is a pain to start ! But why not - so two heaters for an hour or so and with some trepidation I decided to try. This time without spinning it over to get oil pressure, the hand throttle on full and five pumps of the accelerator.

It stared first time !

So we're friends again. Have I been flooding the plugs by churning it over a few times ? I'll have to look at the first time it was harder to start and/or when I started to get the oil pressure up first.

More madness - we'll do a quick and dirty film as we go.

So we did.

Very glad I braved it too. I can't believe how easy it started - it must be a fluke after running it yesterday, but for now I'll just take it as a great ending to the year.

Talking of which ... how did the fleet do in 2024 ?

The surprising winner was the Ferrari at well over 1k. The early test runs, substituting for the Aston and then Grimaldi and back three times might explain it though. Next was the Alpine with a respectable 800+ - the opposite of the Ferrari though - the years miles were back-ended with the run to the NEC in November.

Next down the list was the E-type, which I'd have sworn I'd not used much - 700+ but I'm not sure where we went ? The Talbot pipped the Aston - 653 to 637 - today's run being the tipping point. Finally the Imp with a respectable run just shy of 350 miles. The MK7 managed just shy off 700 but has been subbing for the SAAB on accasions.

Finally the [miss-behaving] SAAB and the MK7 swapped placed - the MK7 doing the French, German and Belgium runs gaining about 4k miles in the process.

So what next ? Fix the Talbot and improve the Alpine steering. The interesting thing is that I'm planning more events for those two than the E-type and Ferrari and thinking about another pre-war car - has 'Peak Classic' been reached ?

Big Boys Don't Cry

Cold but bright start to the day. I'd put one fan on the timer for 5am and then set the second when I got up. Two fans for a couple of hours and the garage was warm I was glad to find.

One by one I cut the wires and attached the fittings and then put connectors on the wired like I was defusing a bomb.

I did not think the red wire was actually fitting well so I re-did that in-situ, but by 12 o'clock the unit was on and all the wires connected - although one wire was a little bit suspicious as it did not make a 100% connection. I taped it up and fitted it, I think it's ok.

Next job is to re-connect the batteries. That done I could not resist turning the ignition on. Well no sparks or "phut" noises so I'll take that as a positive sign ...

What next - leave it on charge all night and try the car in the morning ? Actually I decided to complete the re-fit which took me up to 1:30.

Then SAAB off to Harkstead for jobs but back as the skies looked threatening.

I decided to tidy up and keep warming the car - everything was packed away by 3:45. Fans both on by then so we'll see if it starts.

Well it started - after the usual palava - and for a while gave me hope. The red light glowed far less - I could have sworn it was out in fact so I turned the garage lights off - was it still slightly 'on' ? I revved the car a bit to see it change and then - "Pop" bright red again. 

I could have cried - but I was sort of expecting it.

No noise but it changed in an instant. I don't think the extra revs did it though. However, I thought I'll stop there. Look at the fuses in the new year - and check the slightly loose connection.

Tiger Time

Washed the MK2 Golf first thing. Bloody cold out there. But it was well worth it. It even shone a bit after I'd got the wax on the bonnet. Here we are at Glevering to pick up Chris.

Looking good - but not as good as John's Tiger - which was rather splendid in blue. 

Here it is at John's in Wickham Market where we went to the pub for lunch. I do like a courtyard.

After lunch he dropped Chris back and left me to thumb through some mags and admire the Vauxhall 30/98. 

There are worse ways to while away 15 mins - although it was getting a bit cold by then.

On his return it was my turn and we went about 40 miles for fuel and back - it was a shakedown run as he had just fitted a huge new carb. The car really did pull though - far faster than Chris'.

MK2 pottered home in the dark [the lights are poor] and we were back. One thing in the bundle of mags John gave me was a picture of TAS from 2009.

So that should spur me on to get the new regulator fitted tomorrow. 

Hippo Time

A dull and cold start to Sunday - which just kept on getting duller as the day went on. I did a couple of jobs and then we had to save the planet. SAAB at the ready.

But wait.

Why not get the Beast out instead ? Because it is cold and the roads are shitty. Ah fuck it.

Use it or loose it. Supercars to the shops ! Well it made sense to me. What was the quote "No one died thinking 'I should have used the Aston Martin Less !' "

I took it steady as the roads were quite bad - and now the car is quite dirty - but again I'm glad I did.

So the planet breathed a sigh of relief. 

So when will I 'fix' the Talbot I was thinking ? We'll try that task next week.

Imp in the Wild

First job was to wave everyone off as they left for several destinations.

Next job was to drop off a food parcel and leave the van (and associated clobber) in the Harkstead garage.

So that fits fine - although a bit hard to start again first thing.

Then what ? Well warm the Imp up and get it out for a run. So I did - but first I shot several films of it to make a short montage. Here is a still.

Oh and a pic too.

Cold, bumpy and it got the car dirty but glad a did it.

More Van

Yep - AM run back to Harkstead with the van for pick-up. It started better even though it had been colder over night - a bit of use probably helps.

It seems the wheelchair can drive up the ramp too - so no faffing with the straps and winch.

Then PM re-trace my steps.

Finally SAAB run in the late afternoon to Stutton and the Pub which was a shock.

Van-ageddan

Well van run twice. Holbrook to Harkstead to Holbrook.

All well. 

The reverse not so as I did the strap badly and it go trapped on the wheel. Then the chair kept beeping and we could not find out why ? The manual said a motor was malfunctioning or had become disconnected ?

Bugger.

In fact it was the house phone still in the bag on the side warning us it was out of battery !

A final Xmas present

Dawn broke an I could see the drive starting to get full again.

Early trip in the van planned - so off to Harkstead. Here we are in the cold.

Note no bubble in that large empty garage this year. Off to the Food Hall for breakfast and then back later.

Finally PM run back to Harkstead in the SAAB with everyone for Birthday tea and cake. Cold and dark when we left though.

However the good news is that the replacement voltage regulator arrived. So that's my Xmas sorted.

Lets hope the wires are the same colours ...

Wood-Man and a Man with a Van

Well more a large tipper truck. 

AM waiting for the wood delivery only to find it turning up with the Passat and family.

He squeezed in nicely and tipped it close to the wood store - so an hour later it was all packed away. We dragged the trailer back too.

Then we went off to get the van, just to fit in.

I'd forgotten how uncomfortable it is - mind you I'd just been packing wood for an hour before.

Trailer Trashed ?

I started by moving the trailer out of the wood pile working area - where it has been sitting for for almost 8 months. I needed to get it out of the way as we have wood being delivered tomorrow morning.

Looking closely at the back where the manure had been leaking, it looks like the hinges and the lights may be shot. I'll have to give it a deep clean and test them when it eventually gets emptied. 

Any guesses when that might be ?

I was actually working on the garage though and started by fitting a longer bottom catch so it won't slam shut (or open) now. I also changed over the hinges - back to match the existing ones. They are a bit bright but they will weather over the Winter.

Finally I took the SAAB to get it washed. It looked like the aliens were watching me in there.

Then fuel topped up too. Se we'll all ready for driving over Christmas.

Finally MK7 tyres checked and inflated. Not down much but then again down enough to trigger the warning system.

That pump is great.

ION: Someone will not be 'Driving Home for Christmas' any more though - Chris Rea died today.