Alpine Wins

At the late month mileage count the Alpine, despite all the issues, made first place. This was closely followed by the Talbot. Talking of which the batteries are both charged so it should be ready to go next month.

Late PM SAAB and then MK7 up to Harkstead.

28 degrees too so quite hot for 5:00 pm - more to come though.

Then SAAB back again  as we'd forgotten to drop something off - still 28 degrees and now it's 6:00 pm !

Dumb Ass and Ditto

Off we go again - Alpine work first thing. However things were conspiring against me.

First the jack bends the lower seem in the rear wing. What a Dumb Ass.

I must watch that. I managed to straighten it out a bit so you have to look closely to see it now.

Then the car fell off the jack - luckily before the wheel was fully off - and me not under it. What is happening ? Some one up there does not like me today I thought - so being very careful I kept going.

Jack in a different place, wheel off and then axel stand to support the er ... axel in case the jack fails. I painted the tank a couple of times to get the mastic to stick but it should be ok for a while.

Finally I strapped the hand brake cable to the leaf spring to stop the rattle. Then a mile drive to the Dr. and back to chase for pills - but they were on the way - and some 'death' admin.

PM I cleaned the MK2 and used aqua-wax on it to try to restore some shine. It was sort of successful too but the rain suddenly arrived to I put it back into the car port for a bit.

Then I put both the Talbot batteries on charge for the break. 

When the rain stopped I took the MK2 around the block thinking it was going well but I really should sort out the rust. I stopped at the layby for a 'bridge shot' as it was empty - mind you the bridge was gridlocked with the roadworks again.

Yes I thought I really should do something for it.

Finally an evening run to Stutton to pick some things up. 

OK the rattle was still there but the car seemed to be better/worse and would 'trickle' along at 25 mpg ok at times if I was ginger with it. We'll see. The steering still needs attention though 

Oh and did I mention I locked up the rear wheel braking hard again ... no I thought not.

More Red Car Adventures

Well adventures is stretching it a bit. MK2 out and about first - mid morning into town (much less traffic I was pleased to see) and street parking for dental check.

Then PM Riley to Harkstead to finish off yesterday's tasks.

It was so 'wobbly' on the rough patches of road though. Even so I decided to take the longer run home which was better. Mind you the standard of driving was worse as big cars almost pushed me out of the way or did not attempt to pull into passing places.

Evening was Mr. E's turn. 

It ran well and looked good in the dying sunlight even it it is dusty and it looks like autumn on the drive.

One well behaved Talbot

Woke to rain first thing which was a surprise so plans changed. Eventually it cleared so trusty SAAB off to shop - and of course to save the world. Traffic slow over the bridge as they are working - well the cones are out.

Then after lunch as it sun was back out I cleaned the Alpine - again mostly just dust and pollen - so that looked sparkling again.

I dried it off by a quick run for jobs at Harkstead - where else ? Seemed fine on the way there and 'ok' on the way back - but it was a lot hotter than yesterday.

Finally evening run for supplies and petrol - so weapon of choice ...

However the traffic in Ipswich was gridlocked and it took me 20 mins to do the mile to the petrol station - stop start and multiple hill starts. However the Talbot seemed to take it all in its stride and the driver was the one frazzled after all that.

195 miles and 11.5 gallons so still about 17 MPG. Fine.

ION: The Donald says 'Fuck' on live TV. Earlier he announced he'd got a a sudden ceasefire between Iran and Israel and then they both proceed to lob missiles at each other ! Bigly Bad.

Patch Me and Feed Me !

Decided to work on the Alpine first thing. Started by pumping out some fuel - well only about 5 litres. After that it would not pick any up ?

Odd - so I pushed the pipe in all the way and then still nothing pumping out. I thought I'd got the pipe stuck in the tank too as it would not come out ! Eventually with a bit of jiggling it did though - thank goodness.

I jacked the car up at the back and started to work on the split. I did wonder if the angle of the car would just make the petrol flow forward though ? Anyway - I cleaned the mastic off the tank, wire brushed and sanded it too. This was the 'weep' once I'd stripped it back. It looked suspiciously like it had had the same process applied before ...

I made up the metal/putty/filler and pushed it on the patch as much as I could and left it to cure.

Next I re-routed the fuel pipe. I'm not sure when it was routed that way now but strapping it to the hot water pipe was probably not my best idea. However I lagged a new length of pipe and routed it on the lower crossmember so it's in the cool airflow. I also added more insulation under the other weber.

Here is the non return valve - now under the car.

After packing up I had a call to help in Stutton so baby sitting was next. SAAB out there and that was the day gone.

However even though I only got home about 7 pm I decided to take the Alpine for a short test run. Well the weather was not as hot as the other day but I think the re-routing has made a difference. Much smoother all the way around the block this time. 

The wheel wobble is still there but that's another task.

Oh and no sign of a drip when I got home. We'll fill the tank again and see ...

Talbot Time

So off to Pakenham Water Mill for a vintage event. I started the Talbot first thing with almost no faff although I did use the new 'start' control. Not sure it was a proper test though.

The run up was very hot but the car shrugged it off - the oil pressure gauge fluctuated a little - wobbled more - but the car ran well and the temperature was fine. We arrived and were directed onto the end of the row of vintage cars with a Riley Special parking beside us. [I recognised the chap and he has a lovely Talbot special too]. 

We wandered around, chatted to some people and I took a few car pics. On the way out we were waved down by a nice lady asking if it was Rowlands' old car. She/they had several vintage cars but was impressed when she heard we had an Imp too.

That done ... was the car was making an odd noise on the way back ? Or was it just my fertile imagination ? I do need to grease the steering bushes etc. though soon as we've done over 1500 miles now. Oh and the new 'rattle' still comes and goes.

Finally a SAAB dash to release Harkstead resident from being trapped in the loo by a large [Stag] beetle. Honestly I kid you not.

ION: The US bombed Iran over night - just because 'The Donald' wants the Nobel Peace Prize - or just to spice things up.

I guess that puts my Alpine problems into perspective.

Running to Empty

I started the Talbot and warmed it up late morning. Again seemed harder than it was a year ago. I also found another control - is that the choke ? I'll experiment.

Then PM Alpine around the block in 30 degrees or so - very hot whatever the temperature and more to come.

It was suffering after a few miles on slow running as the fuel bubbled but fine running a higher revs. The wobble is OK too when you know what it is but something new is rattling under the car. I'll investigate next week. 

When back I re-set the mirrors again.

Lets see if that is better.

Finally SAAB off to fill with £95 of the good stuff.