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1

General Banter / A new vehicle enters the F body garages.

« on: May 24, 2015, 11:50:46 am »

Been spending far too much time on four wheels mainly because I didn't love my excellent Kawasaki ZZR1400

Originally starting discussing this project with Kings Road Customs last year, she is a 1200cc vee twin Harley Davidson, with a Roland Sands stage two tune, which consists of new cams, injectors, screaming eagles EFi tuner and Vance & Hines short shots straight through exhausts.

She has been sat at Elite Painters in Fulham for weeks waiting for my own custom design paint and following broken promise after promise, Kings told me last week that Elite have now gone bust

However they retrieved the tank, mudguards and side panels etc and not only refunded the paint money, but also a chunk of the modification money as a good will gesture

So if you know of a 1st class custom painter/air brusher please let me know (PhilO's bike painter isn't interested and Rocky's number doesn't work)

If you thought my Ducati was loud, this thing is that times 10

Yes I know it doesn't exactly match, but one HAS to have some carbon fibre

Michelin Harley Davidson Scorcher tyres :

Still belt drive despite their recommendation to upgrade to chain and sprockets due to the mods, I hate chains

Handy storage bag :

Extra fuel can because the main fuel tank is tiny and will only give you a 70 mile range tops

The under slung mirrors are brilliant :

Simple dash that actually provides a lot more information than you'd think :

Twin trip meters :

RPM :

Gear Position :

LED Lights, there are actually bright red but look orange in this picture

The bike is also keyless, as you approach the bike with the transponder in your pocket it automatically disables the alarm and rearms as you walk away

As with the trailer it's also been Datatagged :

Always swore that I'd never buy a Harley, but I just couldn't commit to my first choice of a Ducati Deval, because parts of it have been beaten with the ugly stick and second choice the Triumph Thunderbird Storm is badly made

So still plenty to do, custom paint (awesome colour choice that is very difficult to paint so I'm told), some custom graphics (agreed and ordered, but quite a long lead time), recover the seat in brown leather and change the rear shocks to black ones

and Harley haters gonna hate

2

General Banter / 2.7T Under Vehicle Garage Hoist.

« on: April 26, 2015, 12:49:34 pm »

Anyone had any experience with these because they are relatively cheap and almost portable

Could be another useful edition to my 3rd garage and at 110mm high closed would even squeeze under the Camaro

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111652804171?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

3

Classifieds & Useful eBay Links / Wanted - Car Transporter Trailer.

« on: April 06, 2015, 05:07:17 pm »

Been searching E Gay for a while but most decent ones seem to be 90% the cost of a new one

Weight capacity 1600kg ideally galvanised needed for my new project.

4

General Banter / Old Warden Suttleworth Collection Car Show Sunday 5th April 2015.

« on: April 04, 2015, 05:01:32 pm »

Classic car show and auto jumble, my fourth car show this year !

http://www.shuttleworth.org/events/classic-rally-and-autojumble/

Lovely little venue Shuttleworth and I am going to give the Model T a run out, seeing as the Camaro is going to the V8UK Power Tour meet next Sunday.

Spot the pre show preparation

One polished nut

5

General Banter / How to rebuild a Chevy small block V8.

« on: March 21, 2015, 05:19:49 pm »

Andy it only takes less than four minutes

6

General Banter / Camaro News !

« on: March 14, 2015, 12:49:58 pm »

Last week I turned down a reasonable offer for the Camaro because I know I'll really regret selling her.
So this week I've been sprucing her up a bit, before deciding whether to go for a full on restoration to factory fresh standard

After a good clean and very close inspection, despite still having a very good shine, it became apparent that over the last couple of years the paint has got some swirl marks, from being washed and dried

So it was time to break out the cutting compound and machine polisher

WARNING :Unless you know what your doing do NOT attempt to machine cut any painted surface, it is very sensitive to pressure and any curved or corner surfaces. In seconds you can do serious damage to your paint work and I've had a few years experience !

It's also worth noting that it makes one hell of mess with compound going everywhere, so wear overalls, glasses and be prepared for a big clean up operation

It took me about 2 hours to machine and hand cut the bodywork and then a dam site longer to clean the compound off. I've learnt that the best way to remove it, is firstly with a dry clean polishing cloths over all paint work, then the same process using slightly dam cloths, then apply final coat polish thickly over the paintwork, allow to dry and then polish off.

This removes about 95% of the compound, then tackle the corners and joints etc and polish off. Then finally apply a light coat of polish to the whole car, allow to dry and polish off to a mega swirl free shine

NB : This is only the second time in 15 years that she has had a deep cut and red is the best colour to do it with !

Then spend the rest of the weeks spare time detailing :

Also gave the interior a top detailing after parking under a tree last Saturday with the T Tops off

7

General Banter / How to start a well oiled Ford Model T.

« on: March 08, 2015, 04:43:59 pm »

After breaking the transmission brake band a couple of weeks ago and today using the only three tools you need to fix a "T", a large flat bladed screw driver, a large adjustable spanner and a hammer and after spewing some more oil over the garage floor she's running again

But as Henry was quoted as saying when a customer complained about a Model T leaking oil " If a Model T isn't leaking oil, it's run out ! "

So for those of you with your modern new fangled 50 or 60 year old cars, I'd thought I'd show you how to start a 1917 Model T

8

Classifieds & Useful eBay Links / Nice 1987 3rd Gen RS convertible for sale.

« on: February 22, 2015, 08:06:02 am »

But £20k

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/chevrolet/camaro-pre-2002/chevrolet-camaro-rs-convertible-c1987/2866681

9

General Banter / Petrol engine Pre-Heat ?

« on: February 21, 2015, 05:57:33 pm »

I'm using a straight 30W mono grade mineral oil in the Model T, because T's don't have an oil filter it's important not to use any oil that contains a detergent, so the crap stays in the oil

Straight 30W is also the only way to ensure that the transmission linings remain lubricated even when the old Gal is cooking in traffic

However this presents a real problem when trying to start her in the winter, the oil is so thick it's hard to get the engine to even hand crank over

So a suitably low tech solution has been devised

Starting with a gallon of finest Paraffin :

One of these :

4 used household bricks :

One £12 Greenhouse Frost heater from Amazon :

Light wick and leave to simmer for 30 minutes

Then the motor spins freely

NB : Make sure you have no fuel leaks before you try this and the garage door needs to open (hence the brick wind deflector) because Paraffin burns dirty !

10

General Banter / Nice day for a drive out.

« on: February 08, 2015, 01:32:21 pm »

Quoting: F Body

Quoting: FUBAR
Took the IROC for some exercise round the 'block' today, its been on it's battery maintainer for 6 weeks and hasn't turned a wheel so thought it was time to rotate the tyres a bit and give the engine a heat cycle, circulate the oil etc

The usual 19 mile round trip to Hemel Hempstead and back, she was warm enough for the engine fan to come on when I got back

Often wonder how many other people are just driving for the sake of the car

11

General Banter / It's hard looking back..........

« on: January 17, 2015, 04:16:04 pm »

Especially when you don't have any mirrors

But more to the point I've had a couple of near misses with impatient drivers overtaking me when I'm turning

An original "T" would have had a windscreen or door mounted mirror, hard when you don't have either

So I bought a 1950's mirror with an integral parking light, which nicely matches the existing rear lights a while ago on E Gay, always buying bits and pieces if the price is right

Anyway after weeks of searching on and off line I found a suitable hollow fixing bolt (light fitting from B&Q) :

Had to re-wire it and fit a 6v bulb :

Certainly not pristine but well loved

Finally found time today to go and fit it :

Not wired in yet, we''ll do that another day

12

General Banter / Found a Camaro in the garage ?

« on: January 11, 2015, 11:40:06 am »

It really is no way to treat old Gal, even if I did give here a full valet over Christmas, she needs somebody to use her as GM intended

Was going to say I need the garage space, but I finally got the tenancy agreement signed on my 2nd secure garage this morning, it's 5 minutes walking distance away and in a securely fenced yard. There is no power or lighting and the roof needs some attention, but for £300 for the next year job done

If anybody is looking for one of the best 4th Gen's in the country (Tax'd till July & MOT'd till Sept 2015) with the most complete vehicle history you will ever find, drop me a line ! Also comes with a garden shed full of spares and service items including fluids.

Any way's I actually drove her

She's just turned 35..............thousand Kilometres = 21,753 miles

13

General Banter / Starter motor repair.

« on: January 03, 2015, 02:05:59 pm »

The Model T starter motor packed up on Thursday, now she has a hand crank which works OK when it's cold, but it's bastard when it's warm and there is always the chance she'll back fire and break you arm

Here is the front of the starter motor :

Just need to remove the floor boards to reach the other end :

Here is the end of the starter bendix cover :

Eventually got the cover off after removing the four screws, two of them require the clutch pedal pushing in so that you can reach them :

Hard to see but the secondary gear was jammed at an angle :

Quick push with a screw driver freed it and gave it a whirl ?
It turned over fine but spat a shed load of oil out the bell housing

So rather than dismantle it completely, I put it all back together again and started the engine ( NB : You really need three hands to start the T anyway, so my phone was sat on the seat recording the sound if not the video )

She sputtered into life OK, but then when I went to start her again it was jammed again

Here are the bendix parts and tiny woodruff key that's so easy to lose :

The parts cleaned up :

The problem is the secondary ring is cocking sideways and jamming, will have to do some forum research to see what and how the ring is supposed to work

But seeing as it is still garage weather, I took the opportunity to modify the choke lever mechanism :

You had to hold it in the closed position for starting, no that easy when you have a hand advance and retard and a hand throttle. So I drilled the rivet out and replaced it with a bolt and some lock washers, it now holds in any position

14

General Banter / 6th Annual Vintage Stony - 1st Jan 2015.

« on: December 30, 2014, 06:16:34 am »

First show of 2015

Market Square & Cofferidge Close Stony Stratford

An informal gathering of Vintage and Classics Cars and Motorcycles between 10-00 am and 2pm on Thursday 1st January

http://www.stonystratford.gov.uk/Events/6th_Annual_Vintage_Stony_2015/6th_Annual_Vintage_Stony_2015

Umm 90 mile round trip in an open car that cruises at 30mph and does 13mpg

15

General Banter / Last valeting day before Christmas ?

« on: December 20, 2014, 01:48:35 pm »

9c and sunny

Already washed, polished and valeted three cars today

Saving the other two and motorcycle in case there is more good weather after Chrimbo

16

General Banter / The Beast Of Turin.

« on: December 05, 2014, 07:11:47 pm »

Fiat S76 brought back to life after 100 years !

All 28.5 litres

17

General Banter / My Model T is now "offically" a Luxury car !

« on: November 30, 2014, 02:21:08 pm »

I was out in the T this morning when I took a phone call from Management, luckily just for a change I was stopped at Greg's, because the first owner forgot to order the bluetooth option

So Management doing her good deed for the day had taken a load of clothes and shoes to the clothing bank. However when she went to put them into the container there was a roll of car carpet standing besides it, too big to fit inside.
Now with her years of hearing me rabbit on about health & safety, she immediately realise that it was a serious trip hazard, so rang me for urgent H&S advice

I suggested that she put it into the back of her car and bring it home, so that I could conduct a through Risk Asessment

As luck would have it, my Risk Assessment showed it to be a brand new roll of car type carpet, approx 2m wide x 3m long, my years of finely turned Health & Safety experience kicked in and I devised a quick and easy countermeasure to reduce any hazards ?

I'd cut it up to fit the Model T

First remove the floor boards :

Use as a marking template :

Then cut out the carpet (safety first always ask a responsible adult for guidance before using scissors or knifes) :

Stick down with some spray glue last used to fix the headlining in the GMC van. Note : A further task completion Risk Assessment revealed a likely hood of the carpet strips fouling the pedals, so the carpet was cut back around the pedal box area.

Finally Management gave it a once over with the vacuum, the Model T is now "officially" a Luxury car with fitted carpet

18

General Banter / Had a drive out this morning.

« on: November 29, 2014, 02:48:43 pm »

Seeing as the Camaro was last cleaned way back in September sometime

I gave her a run out this morning

Then gave her a good wash when I got back :

Probably her last run this year, just checked the data and she has been driven in 23 different weeks this year, probably about 30 different trips totalling 643 miles which equates to about 21 miles each trip

Note to self, change those horrible Euro Spec MOT legal rear lights back to the American spec ones

Will give her a polish when I'm bored over Christmas, probably by Boxing Day lol

NB: She's still for sale if anyone comes knocking on my door, but I am in the process of completing the documentation for garage number three

Wanted to run the bike, but it just hasn't dried out enough, so run her up and down the dry bit of road until she was good and hot

19

General Banter / Happy 15th Birthday F Body !

« on: November 15, 2014, 08:11:40 pm »

Hard to believe that she was born on Tuesday 16th October 1999

Gave her a good 40 mile run today and took a couple of pictures

I think I'll be buried with her, unless the Model T or bike kill me first

20

General Banter / New Datsun zero star Ncap rating.

« on: November 08, 2014, 09:06:22 pm »

The $7,000 Indian-market Go is meant to provide cheap and reliable transportation for growing, upwardly mobile families, but apparently somewhere along the way between cheap and reliable Datsun (or rather, it's parent company Nissan) forgot to include "safe" as well ?

Because of its failures, NCAP said that the little car carries with it a "a high probability of life-threatening injuries" in the event of an accident, bearing in mind it doesn't have ABS or airbags !

21

General Banter / My little Imp !

« on: November 06, 2014, 01:01:34 pm »

Luckily not a Hillman Imp like the one I took for MOT many years ago and it failed due to corrosion, can you weld it I asked ? The reply still haunts me to this day "You can can't weld the floor pan to fresh air"

Anyway I'm pleased to announce my first purchase of something that is actually older than the car, this is a genuine propeller radiator cap from a 1913 Manchester built Model T , complete with period Imp

As you can see it's standing on a wooden display block, which means that I bought it on E-Bay for just over £30. The owner obviously didn't release it's value when fitted to a Model T, being well over four times that amount

Once I chase some of the threads out with a needle file, I'll post another picture of it fitted to the car

22

General Banter / Lickle Winter Project.

« on: October 25, 2014, 03:58:00 pm »

Planning to fit indicators to the model T, but don't want anything too modern

Picked up these on E Gay last week for £16, the last similar set I bid on went for £95

You can buy new VW 6 volt ones for £158 each

So these are 12v which I will rewind and convert to 6v

They are 1930's Lucas Semaphore Trafficators, a bit modern I know but needs must :

The yellow plastic ends are only £4 each if you know where to go :

Going to strip them down, rewind the coils, replace the 12v bulbs with 6v flashing LED's and buy new yellow ends and chrome strips

23

General Banter / Analogue Engineering.

« on: October 22, 2014, 04:39:49 pm »

In a digital age !

When I first got my Model T I asked on a forum what sized imperial spanners I needed, because many of the bolts are quite large +1"

They all laughed and told me to buy a sturdy 2" adjustable spanner, which had three main uses ?

1/ Undoing any fixing up to 2" size.

2/ Hitting things with.

3/ Using as a pry bar.

Imagine my surprise when I asked were I could buy a 1" size plug spanner socket (them spark plugs is big mother fookers).

The answer rather predictably was "Use the ruddy spanner"

and it works a treat

Took them out to re gap them down to .070" from 0.090 which I hope will improve the hot starting. Pleasantly surprised from the results of my smell mixture tuning a while back

? Just as it say's , run the engine until warm, turn the mixture screw in until you can smell petrol in the exhaust gas (H&S warning it's bloody hot and you could pass out) then back the screw out half a turn. Plugs looked fine

Must stop tarting things up, but old habits die hard

24

General Banter / Went shopping.........

« on: September 28, 2014, 11:55:07 am »

25

General Banter / F Body's New Car ?

« on: September 21, 2014, 04:49:27 pm »

Well this project has been rumbling along for what seems like an eternity

Apologies to Andy who was the first to know many months ago, that a new project had been started and thanks CP for his sticker advice

So this is not going to be be everyone's cup of tea, but I haven't built her for you, this is my project and I've tried to eliminate shiney things, but alas there are five shiney things

So here she is ?
My daily driver from early this year !
Smart CDi, 780cc 3 cylinder turbo diesel with a mighty 54bhp.

Not content with aircon and cruise control, I have also added a 7" head unit with DAB, DVD and digital TV which is great in the London traffic jams :

If I am not working from home I travel up to 1,000 miles a week and with a real average of 88mpg and no congestion charges it gets the job done.

Sorry that is just my daily driver this is the real project :

This is my 1917 Ford Model T Boat tail speedster which is a mere 97 years old

For those of you who don't already know about it, or caught some of the shake down runs on Facebook, I finally managed to get her MOT'd last month and the DivvyLA were persuaded to register it in early September.
Today was her first proper drive out to Putteridgebury Car Show and I took the opportunity to get some decent pictures :

The toolbox is one of the youngest things on the car, I made it as an Apprentice over 40 years ago !

The drive train is standard Model T 2.9L in line four with a two speed and reverse gearbox :

It's much easier to list what it hasn't got

?

An oil pump. a fuel pump, valve adjustment, a water pump, a distributor, brakes to speak of, speedo, gauges apart from an Ammeter, a windscreen or seat belts etc.