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Ooo a British car thread! Do I ever have a story that fits with the thread title. My father bought a '76 Triumph Spitfire new back in the day, and drove it for quite a while. Through Canadian winters as a ski patroller, with his skis strapped to the luggage rack in the back, and a few sandbags in the trunk. Entered into many a TSD rally, occasionally winning. Along came the realities of life, and the car was eventually sold, much before I was born.  When I was 15, he bought another one that was in relatively rough shape as a project. The floorboards were non-existent, the wiring had been hacked to poo poo, the dash had been poorly redone, the seats were ripped and torn, the top leaked (I'm told the one he bought new started leaking the 2nd day he had it), it leaked a litany of fluids wherever it was parked, but by god it was glorious. Just remember to keep your feet pressed firmly down so the stop sign covering the hole in the floorboards doesn't fly up at speed. The good thing about these cars is that they're relatively simple. The bad thing about these cars is that they're as British as they come. We spent a lot of time fixing most of the issues, and the car mostly ran. Eventually though, we decided to tackle the electrical issues after trying to chase down why the brake lights worked... occasionally, and discovering not 1, but 3 additional fuse boxes that were not original and not on the wiring diagram for the car. After tracing countless splices, finding no less than 15 wires that went to nothing (some with bare ends, rubbing against the chassis) we decided enough was enough. Pull the whole damned thing and replace it. Over to Victoria British we go, and order a complete new harness. (Looking now, they no longer have harnesses for anything newer than a 75, interesting) Including the required sub-harness items for the dash and transmission. There wasn't going to be a single piece of old, lovely British wiring on this car. Weeks went by, and turned to months. Finally, at our doorstep, a beautiful new harness! We had already stripped the old one out, without destroying it in the process, just in case. We opened the box, and lay the new harness beside the old, and... wait for it... it didn't match. Did the new harness match the wiring diagram for the 76? Check. Did the old harness match the wiring diagram for the 76? Nope. Did the old harness with all the extra poo poo removed match the wiring diagram for the 76? Nope. Did some of the connectors on the old harness match the wiring diagram for the 76? Yes. Did... Did some of the connectors on the old harness match the wiring diagram for a 75!? Yes... Did some of the 75 connectors on the old harness plug into things that didn't even exist on a 76, but were present on a 75? Yup. Were these connectors actually in use on the 76 car? Yup. It was at this point that we did some digging. The car my dad had bought was the 3rd 76 Spitfire off the line for that year / model run. Turns out, they decided it would be a great idea to use up the leftover poo poo they had from the '75's before switching to the 76 design, hacking up the harnesses in the factory to make it work. So, we did what any old british car owner does, and hacked up the brand new harness to make it work. Everything worked in the end, we hand made an actual wiring diagram for the car detailing what was from a 75 and what was from a 76. The new spitfire has long been sold (before I was able to buy it, or I probably would have) but I think my dad still has that wiring diagram sitting above his workbench.  This was all pre-cellphone camera days, so I don't have much more in terms of pictures. I've since bought a Miata, which my dad frequently refers to as a spitfire made by the not-British.
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Nov 10, 2018 15:10
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That's a good spitfire post. The Bentley is only making about 2 PSI. Trying to figure out if it is in a limp home mode of some sort or if I just need to adjust the wastegate. I think It only made 4 PSI new so it might be fine to just tuen it up a bit. Driving around on the highway, hood open with hoses running into the cabin , wearing black gloves... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqbnXexxSF4 We miiiight look like car thieves there. EIDE Van Hagar fucked around with this message at 04:59 on Nov 11, 2018 |
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Nov 10, 2018 21:55
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Started reading the service manual sections pertaining to the turbo.  That's right, for $200,000 you got an electronic boost controller in 1989. My '88 Volvo 740 turbo just had a wastegate. The boost controller takes inputs from the knock sensors, and controls a dump valve. The dump valve can dump the boost back out into the airbox.  So the manual says the wastegate will engage at 6 PSI, and the boost controller will start dumping pressure back out to the airbox at 8.5 PSI. Since I'm only getting 2 PSI I'm going to try adjusting the wastegate, and if that doesn't work, then maybe one of the knock sensors or the temperature sensor is causing the boost controller to open the dump valve at 2 PSI. EIDE Van Hagar fucked around with this message at 07:50 on Nov 11, 2018 |
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Nov 11, 2018 04:58
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuwTWujeMM0
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Nov 11, 2018 12:05
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EIDE Van Hagar posted:
SAAB did electronic boost control from 1982  You can check the mechanical wastegate with a foot/hand pump and a boost gauge. Yours looks like the Saab system in that the mechanical wastegate is set to operate at a low boost level (is yours 6psi?) but the solenoid closes the supply line to it in order to hold it stop it opening and let you go past the mechanically set boost level. Get the wastegate setup and working at the correct psi first. Bypass the solenoid to do this if you have too. On the Saab Ecu there was a pin you could use to add a knock LED - which is very useful for troubleshooting. Can you do the same on yours? (Once you get the wastegate setup)
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Nov 11, 2018 15:09
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Driving family saloons for many weeks at over a mile a minute! What is the idea of this grueling trial?
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Nov 11, 2018 17:18
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Tomarse posted:On the Saab Ecu there was a pin you could use to add a knock LED - which is very useful for troubleshooting. Can you do the same on yours? (Once you get the wastegate setup) I don't see an LED pin on this one, unfortunately, but thanks for the advice about the wastegate.
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Nov 11, 2018 17:24
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EIDE Van Hagar posted:Driving family saloons for many weeks at over a mile a minute! Because in Britain between 1952 and 1955 (when this promo was shot) you couldn't do that in Britain - we had no motorways and virtually no recognisably modern dual-carriageways. Our trunk roads were just tarmac laid ontop of 17th century coaching routes which ploughed straight through every market town and city centre and wiggled through every village in the countryside on their way. Sustained driving at 60mph+ wasn't possible, and wouldn't be until the first section of motorway opened in 1959. This was a big problem when the British motor industry was keen to shift its products in places with modern highway networks (USA, Italy, Germany, bits of France) and places which required long-distance driving at moderate cruising speeds even if the roads weren't highway standard (Australia, mostly). Cars like the Morris Minor, Austin A40 Devon and Hillman Minx all had modest success in these markets in the late 1940s but their engines and running gear just weren't up to slogging along at 'high' speeds all day. They tended to overheat and blow out their main bearings or big ends. This was partly due to the lingering effect of the Horsepower Tax which, for reasons, encouraged British car makers to build engines with very long piston strokes - great for pottering around in top gear at 40mph through Cambridgeshire on a road that hasn't really changed since the 1600s, not so good for doing 200+ freeway miles in a day. Those cars in the promo (Austin A30, Morris Minor Series II, Morris Oxford Series II and Austin A50 Cambridge) all had then-new engine designs (803cc 'A-Series' for the little ones and 1489cc 'B-Series' for the bigger ones) which used the latest engine design technology, most of which was cribbed from GM truck engines here during WW2 - shorter strokes, overhead valves, compound valve ports, generous bearing surfaces, pressurised cooling systems and full-flow oil systems - to make the cars capable of standing up to highway use. You couldn't test them properly in the UK so they took them to the Autobahn. There's a brilliant photo of the northern end of the Preston Bypass (the first bit of motorway in the UK) a few days after it had opened - the hard shoulder, verge, median strip and lay-bys are packed with cars with their bonnets up and steam curling out from the engine bays, plus about half a dozen Automobile Association and RAC roadside assistance crews. All these motorists in their 1930s-tech cars had driven up to try out the Fancy New Motorway and ruined their cars by driving them at 60mph+ for just over eight miles. The AA used to have permanent crews there to, in the words of one of them, 'sweep the broken conrods and bearing shells out of the gutters'.
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Nov 11, 2018 19:10
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British Pathe is a goldmine for old footage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqvsjPmhSNg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sItz5ZO2b9Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdHv01IgcWs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbeg0jD-PBk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZNhWmr_X5k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWz5zqsIMiw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlyEIaRw010
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Nov 11, 2018 20:30
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BalloonFish posted:All these motorists in their 1930s-tech cars had driven up to try out the Fancy New Motorway and ruined their cars by driving them at 60mph+ for just over eight miles. The AA used to have permanent crews there to, in the words of one of them, 'sweep the broken conrods and bearing shells out of the gutters'. haha  in that one end bit of the autobahn trial I couldn't not assume they were using english gauges, and trusting them as proof that everything read as A-OK, and then laffing
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Nov 14, 2018 10:28
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Did a small headlight upgrade. Replaced the stock halogen bulbs with LED H4 kit. Replaced the fog lights with retro amber rally style lights.  That’s a LOT more light from the LED kit. Not only on the road, but projected up into the distance too. The house up ahead is lit up by the LED headlight while the house on the left is invisible.
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Nov 25, 2018 04:39
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Don't forget to aim your new lights lest you be That Guy blinding other drivers with his absurdly bright "low beams"
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Nov 25, 2018 05:04
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There are a lot of things to like here:
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Nov 25, 2018 05:12
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Yeah, headlights aimed, it’s nice to be able to see at night again!
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Nov 25, 2018 05:38
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hoods hinging from the front are poop from a butt, but cool colored headlights are nerd poo poo!! throw a gel filter over them, I dunno
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Nov 25, 2018 14:30
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Seat Safety Switch posted:There are a lot of things to like here: Petrol was rationed until 1950 and until 1953 there weren't different brands or blends of petrol - whatever pump it came from it was standardised, government-issue, very low-quality 'Pool Petrol'. So being able to have an ordinary saloon car with an 8.4:1 ratio was kinda worth bragging about in 1955. Way into the 1980s you could buy car-derived vans like the Austin Metrovan and Ford Escort Van with low-compression engines for running on 2-Star fuel (basically the same as the old pool petrol at 89 octane - there was 1-Star which was 87oct but that was hardly ever available) with 8.3:1 compression ratio. It's probably my inherent bias at work but I notice that all the cars with wonky, wandery steering are Austins. 1950s Austin steering systems are dire, being either old pre-war cam+peg systems or scarcely better recirculating ball steering boxes. The Morris Minor and Oxford had a lovely accurate, slick, zero-wander rack and pinion system. I've just ordered a bunch of new panels and repair sections for my 1960 Austin Seven (better known as a Mini, or something like that...) which is 58 years old and has only had patchwork. I was forced to keep it outside on the street for a year which basically meant all the underlying rust bloomed out in its full glory. Still roadworthy and road-legal for now, but the plan is to do a lot of welding, some mechanical work on the engine and an exterior respray next spring to get it back on the road for the Mini 60th anniversary next summer.    
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Nov 25, 2018 19:37
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How goes car??? Even if disastrous adventures, I appreciate the updates!
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Jan 16, 2019 13:13
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BalloonFish posted:Petrol was rationed until 1950 and until 1953 there weren't different brands or blends of petrol - whatever pump it came from it was standardised, government-issue, very low-quality 'Pool Petrol'. So being able to have an ordinary saloon car with an 8.4:1 ratio was kinda worth bragging about in 1955. Way into the 1980s you could buy car-derived vans like the Austin Metrovan and Ford Escort Van with low-compression engines for running on 2-Star fuel (basically the same as the old pool petrol at 89 octane - there was 1-Star which was 87oct but that was hardly ever available) with 8.3:1 compression ratio. That's a beautiful Mini!
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Feb 4, 2019 20:57
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Lucas electrics and stromberg carburetors are'nt that bad... I regret nothing. 
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Feb 19, 2019 06:34
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Well I've gone 3 pages back and this is the closest to a Jaguar thread that I've seen. I'm going hard on wanting an F-Type so this is my life right now.
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Mar 14, 2019 03:09
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Senor P. posted:Lucas electrics and stromberg carburetors are'nt that bad... Stromberg carbs are playing the TR6 on Easy Mode! Try running one with Lucas Electrics and Lucas Petrol Injection, forged in the depths of Canley in the darkest days of BLMC's worst years.
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Mar 14, 2019 14:27
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tangy yet delightful posted:Well I've gone 3 pages back and this is the closest to a Jaguar thread that I've seen. I'm going hard on wanting an F-Type so this is my life right now. Do it.
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Mar 24, 2019 22:23
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So the Bentley’s AC is working now, just in time for the summer heat. Rebuilt compressor, a $10 jaguar thermal expansion valve in place of the $150 RR part, and a $7 MG low pressure cut off switch in place of the $60 RR part. That’s good. The bad is that it needs a new power steering rack. It works but it leaks a ton, I’m basically leaving a trail of red ATF all over Austin like a gunshot victim driving this thing around right now. That’s for next month.
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Mar 24, 2019 22:32
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I'm still envious of your Bentley. Also we had a TR7 when I was a kid. I think it was a 76 but not positive. It was such a bad, bad car.
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Mar 25, 2019 16:54
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Sten Freak posted:I'm still envious of your Bentley. It's been an adventure for sure. Half the fun is hunting down the right Jag or MG parts for the job. Flyingspares.com will sell you perfectly good rebuilt Bentley/RR stuff (I bought the compressor there for $400) but there is almost always an off the shelf part you can use that will cost half the price. This website below is a good place to start, but it's mostly for the models prior to mine. Still a lot of overlap, though. http://mutley.hypermart.net/RollsSubstituteParts.html The best part is stuff like this: quote:-Heater Control Valve: Bosch 1 147 412 013 Complete available exact from Ferrari - part number is 61079000, and is about $150 compared to Rolls $250 You know you've bought a bad decision car when the cheap 2nd source for a part is goddamn Ferrari.
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Mar 25, 2019 23:32
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lol that’s great
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Mar 26, 2019 17:20
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Oh hey, an appropriate thread for this thing! https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2013-mclaren-mp4-12c/ This is probably going to go for more than I've mentally decided my max bid amount will be, but anything I should know about these from a maintenance/ownership standpoint? (other than a recommendation to run away screaming, I mean)
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Mar 28, 2019 01:02
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Good: Bad:  Ugly:  I 'convinced' my dad to buy this Austin Healey 3000 in 1985. (He'd had a Sprite in the 1960s that he'd supercharged . And an MG TD before that) It's been sitting since 2010 and not driven very much at all since about 2000. Now that he can't drive anymore, it's come to me. It's running now, and mostly roadworthy. I've discovered that it is the epitome of a 20 foot car. It looks good from 20 feet, but the closer you get, the more  it gets.
joat mon fucked around with this message at 06:33 on Sep 21, 2019 |
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Sep 21, 2019 06:31
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So I started looking up manual jag f-type coupes and i had no idea they were so cheap used - around $35-40k for a 2016 with under 40k miles. I currently have an ‘18 civic Si and i really love it, but for a slightly higher payment I could get the F. Any word on how modern (XF and above) jags have been reliability wise? I’ll try and get a CPO, but I am somewhat of an amateur mechanic and have a stocked garage, so doing some work would be fine. Downsides would be half the gas mileage and only 2 seats, but I work from home, my wife commutes by train, and I also have a miata and motorcycle so not a huge deal if it needed work here and there. It may be a dumb purchase but the payment would be very affordable and i could set a side an “emergency fund” for unseen repairs.
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Sep 27, 2019 16:16
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My dad had all sorts of british cars over the years. Jag MK2 and Jensen Healey are 2 that I have heard stories of, but he sold them before I was born/when I was very young. The first one that I remember was a 79 Lotus Esprit, that I believe was purchased as a insurance write off since there was an interior fire(I think, I was pretty young when he got it. Lets see if my brother posts any corrections in here). It worked out that he needed to redo the interior, since he is 6'4" and had to have the drivers seat modified a bit so he could fit. Sadly he got bored with it and sold it before I was old enough to drive. Then came the sprite, a 1960 bugeye sprite to be specific. We pulled it out of some guys barn where it had been slowly sinking into the dirt. It took a bunch of work, but eventually we got it all fixed up and looking good  This picture was taken the day he taught me to drive stick in it:  You can see the slight height difference between me and my dad. I was maybe 5'4" at the time, and my dad had "modified" the drives seat by welding it to the floor as far back as it could physically go so he could fit in the car. This made it interesting to drive seeing as I was almost a foot shorter than him. I only drove the car a handful of times before he got bored of it and sold it on. I have seen it pop up for sale once or twice over the years, given the chance again I would buy it in a second. Next he imported 2 lotus 7 replicas from New Zealand(pretty easy to fit 2 of them in a 20ft container apparently) and sold one to pay for the shipping/purchase of both of them. It was mostly used as a dedicated auto-x car, being trailed to events. I drove it on the street a couple times and it was terrifying. I remember a truck pulling up behind me and only being able to see its oil pan in my mirror. It made my aw11 mr2 feel like a giant car in comparison. By the time he got the 7, I had caught up to him in height a bit(6'2"), which was definitely much taller than the car was designed for. I remember I had to drive barefoot since the pedal box was so small, and getting behind the wheel took a few minutes to squeeze past the steering wheel. It still is the most fun car I have ever had a chance to drive, and despite being probably one of the worst cars to own in Seattle, I want to get my hands on one. Eventually he sold the 7 and moved to New Zealand. I don't think he has had a british car since...
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Sep 27, 2019 19:26
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joat mon posted:... haha those penny washers are very good
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Sep 27, 2019 22:53
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Voltage posted:So I started looking up manual jag f-type coupes and i had no idea they were so cheap used - around $35-40k for a 2016 with under 40k miles. No idea but don't buy the one I'm looking at and keep hoping stays available until I get my move done so I can buy it. 
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Sep 27, 2019 23:05
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The Sprite will always be the most adorable thing ever.
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Sep 28, 2019 01:13
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Charles posted:The Sprite will always be the most adorable thing ever. Indeed.
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Sep 28, 2019 03:11
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EIDE Van Hagar posted:Do it.  I need to get some better pictures. 2016 F-Type S w/manual trans and 17K miles.
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Dec 24, 2019 20:54
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tangy yet delightful posted:
Rented one of those on Turo once. Phenomenal fun. Good job.
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Dec 24, 2019 21:00
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My roommate has a thing for British cars, they don't leave the garage much anymore, but they are all in perfect condition and have been fully restored. She took a trip to the UK to get parts she couldn't get here in the early 00s. The E-Type was literally a find in a barn and didn't run. The red spitfire has been hers since high school.     
Rusty fucked around with this message at 00:36 on Dec 25, 2019 |
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Dec 25, 2019 00:33
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Her very own British car museum. I love it.
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Dec 25, 2019 01:06
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Tell her she needs a mg
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Dec 25, 2019 01:53
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