Blue Skies and Red Cars

Sunny and cold - but a good day to be out and about. The sky was a deep blue and made even the dusty E-type glow.

Here we are at the recycling. Old clothes this time - from the cupboard I cleared out to get the Talbot Archive put away.

I also put the top on the E-type bubble and zipped it up - the car needs a clean really but it will keep it better for now.

It was also the end of the month so I took the miles. The Alpine had done as many miles as the SAAB - both over 270 - mind you the Alpine miles count double as the rood was off !

The rest of the fleet did respectable miles for the time of year - although both the Aston and the Ferrari were boosted by the trips to get repaired. Finally the Riley only managed a couple of short trips and the poor old Talbot did zero. I must fix it now.

Follow the Money

A dull and rainy day here - so no car action. Back to the archive then.

I went through the boxes and found a few nice things. Like the original invoice from Warwick Wright to Fox and Nicholl for the 1932 Alpine Trial Team Cars.

This is for the first one PJ 7361 - driven by Lewis and Fox.

Italian Stress Puppy

Ferrari to Grimaldi today. 

I almost cried when I started the car. It was terrible - would I make it ? I decided to give it a go - pop and bang all the way to the petrol station. Filling it up I had to wait behind a car for a while but the Ferrari was ticking over ok. So a good omen.

Then as I accelerated away it was backfiring again and down went the blackness - but it seemed to settle. Then the same happened again as I accelerated on the A12 but again it settled in the end.

It was very tense run but I relaxed a bit by the end. The car dropped on to 7 and a half cylinders after a few miles but kept going - and at last we arrived safely.

Steve thought it was the same plug as before #8, but Roberto said #4 last time. They have also fitted several without other reports and problems - so am I just unlucky ? Here it is with the dead one top right.

After an hour of them working they had fitted the car with a secondhand Marelli distributor cap and fired it up. It was almost as bad as before. I took a deep breath. Then after checking (and correcting where the leads were plugged in) it was better - but still not right. My heart sank.

They cleaned the effected plug a bit more - better but still a bit rough. However changing the plugs to a new set brought the result. Smooth tick over and clean revving. Smiles all round.

The run back was good - the car was car back to its old self - how many times have I said that in the last two years. 

So there we are - it really needs a clean again before I put it away for the Winter but we'll see.

What next ? To celebrate I took the Aston out on a run to save the planet - just like old times.

I noticed the splitter was home to several Ladybirds - odd.

I can only assume they liked the warmth.

So two down and one to go.

Next Patient Please

First task was to check Grange actually did fit four tyres.

Indeed they did. Also having looked at the (brief) guide to the Carplay integration I decided not to bother as it was a bit basic. Better to spend the money on Summer tyres.

Then back to the Ferrari and cleaning the lead (came up well) and cap (not so well). 

Start to finish about 45 mins. 

We’ll see how we get on tomorrow when I run the car over to Grimaldi. I did leave the tools in the boot in case I need to do a road side repair too - call it extra insurance. 

Finally I checked and I’m almost out of fuel though - so that’s a small added complication. 

Next a run to Harkstead for jobs - it was almost dark at 3:00.

Then a hop to the Co-op too as I was feeling lazy.

The Beast Lives !

So did last night's prep work ? The clue is in the title.

Well at 6:20 am it was cold and foggy but the garage had the chill taken off it and the car had been warming since 5:00. I though I'd risk trying to start it after almost seven weeks (the last run was October 8th) and ... YES - with a ROAR I was told.

That saved a lot of stress and hassle. However the run down was stressful enough as the fog closed in and we had a frosty zero degrees on the road. I kept the speed down down at first but by the time the sun rose it was easier too see so I sped up and just pottered along in the heavy traffic. After the very early start I still only got to Grange just on 8:00 am.

What next. After yesterday's history focus I thought I'd continue and visit Barlby Road and do some research. After taking to long way there by tube and foot here we are.

Behind the building was a development on the factory grounds with a plaque saying the first brick was laid back in 1995 - with 'appropriate' road names too. Well tangentially. 

Then off to 'The London Archives' at Farringdon. An easy tube ride it turns out - direct from Ladbrook Grove. I registered and asked them to get me the 1932 Olympia Cars Show Autocar Review from storage.

Then I got a call from Grange - they did not not have the Airplay unit in stock and it is delayed - Dho ! Well back to dropping it off in December.

Returning to the records office I looked through the magazine ... thinking it's the one I have got. [Checking when I got home it was]. However it was an easy tube ride back on the Elizabeth line - I should have changed at Farringdon before to get to Barney Road as it turned out.

I picked up the car as dusk fell and had a very good run home. Was it just me or was it slightly less bumpy on the new tyres ? Er ... the three that they charged me for that was. I must tell them.

So here we are back home again.

One down and two to go.

History Man - with a 'Van'

So SAAB out first thing in a quite chilly 4 degrees - today's job was to collect 20+ box files from Sussex. The run down was OK - just under three hours with a quick stop

Here we are loaded up with the Talbot Archive. I'm sure that will keep me busy for the next few years.

The run back felt much slower and lots of traffic - especially trying to go North on the Dartford Bridge - but oddly took about the same time.

I then got the Aston ready for tomorrow, set the fan on a timer, got the charge pack ready and put a light in the garage.

Finally I unpacked the archive from the car and had a look at a box which had a colour picture of a green Talbot. 

I found it on the TOC web site but not the actual photo. So it's a Talbot AV 105 from 1931 with a BROOKLANDS TOURER body.

I was happy with that - adding value already.

It could be worse

I checked on the Aston in the morning - I'd hoped the battery would be a bit charged but no.

I had to fix the door lock though as it had moved again in the damp and would not lock.

The good news is that the tyres are now all in so I'll take the car down Wednesday for the work. For being so patient I've given it a treat. I'm upgrading the Satnav to Apple Car Play. Whatever that is !

I also sent Grimaldi the pictures of the distributor - he confirmed it's gone again but says to clean it out so it runs a bit better, get the car to him and he'll put an old OEM unit on. So that's more progress.

On the Talbot front Ian Potts has offered to help so I'll move that job forward when I can.

Finally I've also been following Ed and his XJS on the RAC rally - unfortunately he disappeared from the daily results and looking for him I spotted this.

Luckily the reports say he's ok though. So it could be worse on all fronts.

Burnt and Red (Faced ?)

It was a cold, wet and windy day which was not encouraging me to get out and work, but I put the fan on the Talbot first thing and eventually I dragged myself into the garage to look at the Ferrari. 

The bloody car alarm kept going off though - so loud in there. Anyway I took off the cover to get access to the leads and as planned I used the endoscope to get a clear(ish) view of the lead ends and distributor cap. 

I also thought I'd better label them as I went. 

I managed to get to five of the eight for a look. Here is plug lead 3 where I started vs plug lead 8 next to it. 

Spot the difference. Number 3 is clean and bright at both ends and number 8 is burnt out. Oh.

After that 'success' I started Talbot - a bit rough - it's not been running since early October - but settled down. I did notice the charge light did not go out though - so that pointed to a blown fuse.

Yes the fuse was blown but even with new fuses the charge light refused to go out. So have I bugged up the voltage regulator ? I did feel that I'd been there before but at least I can now move the car and put it away for Winter.

Finally a quick Harkstead run in the SAAB to computer jobs, followed by shopping an filling up with petrol for Tuesday's run.

Talbot Time - Again

So back to work early and into a very cold shed now I have the right type of diaphragm - well I hoped so.

It seemed obvious what I had to do - get the new diaphragm seated into the little notch inside the pump body - push and turn. Unfortunately every time I tried it didn’t seem to be in the right position. I decided to mark the top of the diaphragm with a couple of pencil marks - for zero and 90 degrees - to try and help me get it into place.

After a couple more frustrating failures I realised I had to keep the lever arm fixed so that I could push the inverter down into the hole and twist it. Twice it went in and I couldn’t turn it enough to clip under the rim of the fitting. Then of course it got stuck halfway in and then pinged it when I moved moving the lever up and down. This wasn’t gonna be as easy as I’d hoped.

I decided to experiment using the old diaphragm and see if I could get the technique. That just proved it was very difficult and then the old one got stuck again. Eventually after 20 minutes I realised it was irrevocably stuck so I was going to have to do something drastic to get it back out. I decided as it was broken anyway I would just have to cut the top off to give me access to the peg.

I put tape around the base of the pump to prevent any metal dust getting in to and grounded away gently with the Dremel. I managed to cut the top off the old one, but even that took 15 mins of very gentle work. Eventually I’d removed the top and could see the peg had jammed under the mechanism - with a little wiggle it was out. 

I then used the stump of the old diaphragm as a guide and realised I’d been pushing it in far too far. I clean everything inside and out again and went back to fitting the new diaphragm. Now knowing how far to push it was then easy to align and let it sit a little proud of the pump body.

Next I cleaned the threads of the machine screws and reassembled the unit. Making sure I did so in the right orientation having almost put it on back to front. I also added a tad of grease to the newly cleaned threads for good measure. The diagram kept moving in the pump so I put a couple of strips of tape to hold it in place while I got the first screws in. 

That done I went to remove the small tapes - well one of them. The second tape seemed to have disappeared. I looked at the floor and looked at my bench and I couldn’t see it anywhere. I thought then that it was going to interfere with the diaphragm so I looked more closely, only to find it hidden behind the bowl - so the pump came apart again. Third time lucky. I managed to align first one and then the second screw opposite and then proceeded to fit the rest quite successfully.

So all in all almost two hours to reassemble the pump body.

I then went back to the garage and re-fitted the pump to the block - that proved relative easy - I attached all the fuel lines, replaced the coil and even managing to do the nuts up myself. I then refilled the bowl using the priming leaver - that immediately felt different and far more positive. I felt for leaks but could find none so left it to settle for a while.

Later I returned to refit the interior - and job done. So did the car start ?

Stay tuned for tomorrow's exciting episode.

Ended the day with a SAAB run to Harkstead with tools for jobs, in the rain.

Ferrari Frustrations

Heated the 308 up this morning and gave it another go.

It was worse than ever - pop bang and hard to start. Ho Hum.

At least the Talbot fuel pump part turned up. We'll see how I get on with that tomorrow.

Talbot Trials

So it's cold start to the day again, but we're in the garage and having another go at removing the Talbot fuel pump. First job was to remove the top part of the carpet and the top wooden inner firewall to get access to the coil clamp bolts.

That done I wedged some bubble wrap in the gap to try to stop the nuts just falling down again, I loosened them and then put tape over the nuts to catch them as I took off the coil clamp from the other side.

I disconnected the wires from the coil and taped up the ends as well as photographing their position and noted the positive terminal faces away from the engine and towards me.

That removed I now had very good access to the rear fuel pipe union. Using my thin vintage adjustable wrench I quickly removed the fuel pipes - making sure to capture the very thin washers that sits next to the thin nut.

Looking next at the fuel pump body itself I could only see two nuts holding it on and guessed at 13mm.

Having suspected it hadn't been off for a long time I was rather surprised to find the first bolt was actually quite loose. I then slightly undid the bolt on the top right and yes, that was slightly loose too. The top one was harder to get to but soon they were both off and I eased the pump away from the engine. Here is a view of the lobe that drives it - so it looks like the pump leaver goes above it.

Into the shed we went and I gave the pump a bit of a clean to remove some of the grime - especially the underside of the machine screws I was taking off. The six screws can off fine but the top did not want to come away. I'd been working over a bowl to capture any petrol drips which was a good idea. I gave the lower part of the pump a few taps with a large plastic screwdriver handle and I'd fell away - splashing petrol all over the bowl as it did.

There were three layers of membrane inside but to me it looked fine. I inspected the central nut I had to remove to release the diaphragm but it looked completely rounded off. Odd.

I carefully turned the central metal plate and was a bit shocked when it disconnected and it shot up and out. I had a good look but there seemed to be no faces on the central nut at all. At that point I realised I had the later model fuel pump. Dho. 

So we had to stop work and order the correct part - a bit of a guess but I think I have the correct one this time.

Later a Harkstead run in the MK2 for jobs. I ran into a snag so it was a run into town for parts.

Cold and then dark on the run home too but car going well.

No Luck and then Luck !

We started with the fan on - to heat up the garage - ahead of having a look at the Alpine. Very heavy rain and very cold - mind you there is suddenly snow across most parts of the country so we were lucky.

So door alignment. I replaced the nearside door screws - I did not disturb the strike plate though as I'll 'leave well alone' as it fitted fine. Mind you it was a tad too tight so I tweaked it out. Fine.

Then I attacked the drivers door - whatever I tried it just would not sit correctly. I tried grinding off a bit.

But still no success. So I just realigned it on the first catch and will live with that. It won't open and looks a little better I think.

So next I thought I 'd look at the Talbot. Did that panel reveal the back of the fitting ... No. Especially as it was riveted on. But it gave me a clue. I found the wooden bulkhead came away so I undid that. Ah bingo. That allowed me to get to the back of the mounting point. 

Then taking off the lower part allowed me to see below and behind it - there was the nut - no washer though. Anyway - with a helper holding one nut firm it was 2 mins to fix it back and 10 to put the car all back together. I'm sure the washer will find its way out sometime.

So should I revisit the fuel pump ?

While I thought about it I had a quick SAAB trip to save the planet (locally) as the sun was out for a bit.

Then I thought I'd look for a very thin spanner. It's 18mm or 3/8 ww for the big fuel union nut but I found a vintage adjustable spanner that was thin enough to fit the small nut too.

So that's it then. I'll try again tomorrow.

Then Mk2 run to Harkstead for jobs before the gloom came back.

Mind you the rain hit before I left and the sky looked evil.

Salt and Steamy Session

So the first frost last night and therefore the first salt on the roads too. What ! They must have loads to spare then this year. Bugger.

Anyway AM was time to get the MK2 out to meet up with Video Oliver for a Marketing chat in Mistley.

Cold and a deep blue sky when I got there.

Misty windows when I got back from lunch though.

I guess that confirms its Autumn.

OK - I'll Leave it to the Professionals

So Talbot on fan first thing to warm the garage. Yes I got up the courage to attack the fuel pump.

I started by cleaning area and the pump and ancillaries because they were pretty shitty.

I then undid the first patrol pipe union. Less petrol than expected came out when I undid it - the one that runs up to the carburetor, but then I don't know how much it should've been. I then attacked the rear union - umm no way to get to it with everything in the way.

I decided I would have to take the coil off to get enough clearance at the rear. I slackened off the pinch bolt but I found it was already slack but it was just jammed in by the tight holder. SO I had to take that off too. Slackening off the nut to take out the first fitting from that my worst fears were confirmed. It was a bolt with a nut and washer behind the bulk head - it and they both fell out. Somewhere.

I managed to get the coil holder out of the way only to find the spanner was turning the whole union - so I stopped. It felt like I was going to Fuck up royally.

It was then that things started to go from bad to worse. In order to get what I thought might be a route to the coil clamp I took off the regulator box cover but that was a route to madness - and putting it back on it went spark spark spark ! I think it's okay as I checked the fuses and none looked blown.

Finally as I felt very deflated I tidied up the tools and swapped the battery charger over and noticed that there were nuts holding a panel inside the car which might give access - so I'll investigate that next.

Mid afternoon it was Van time again.

Hard work getting the wheel chair in and clamped down but we did it  - off to Shotley for jabs we went. Dodging Sugar Beat lorries along the lanes. 

Unpacking and re-packing (by this time in the gloom) were easier - but it'd quite hard work. Well for me anyway.

Not so Exciting

Back to Tattingstone village hall, this time avoiding floods and fallen trees. It was open too.

We tested the satnav to come home and it was only 1 minute longer going on the main road, rather than through the lanes. But the boss likes the lanes.

Then jobs. First the SAAB to get a light so Harkstead/Ipswich/Holbrook/Harkstead.

Then I took the Van out to put petrol in it. So it looks like grey is the colour.

Exciting !

Well not that exciting really. We set off first thing in the MK7 to the Tattingstone Christmas Fair. Only to find debris strewn and flooded roads and then this in out way.

We managed to drag it off the road enough to get past though. Then we found the Fair is tomorrow anyway. So we came back the long route.

Next exciting job was to clean off the bird crap and leaves from the van.

This was just some of it. I hosed it down only to find the van window had been left open so had to dry it out too. It also turns out that the fittings I removed to get the wheel chain in were the ones to clip the seatbelt to.