The Chat Thread - Back at it - WC 20/11/23

[HoTWire]

Hey Folks!

Another week, another weekly chat, your place for stuff that may not warrant a full thread or stuff that is just going on right now that you want to share.

Had a bit of a break from forum stuff last week due to an overwhelming things todo list. I started the week with sixty things on my list that I need to sort before the end of December, I did twelve of them, so now I only have fifty-six things to do....... Back at it this week and got some ideas stocked up for actual threads, something I've been very slack at in recent months (see previous comment about things to do list).


The most important car thing that has happened recently is that the Toyota MkII Kaido racer has been insured with the very wonderful classiclineuk so that HARDCORE can take it for an MOT and I can do some actual paperwork to get it registered in the UK. There is also the possibility that it will be going to the Custom Motor Show in Elmia in Sweden www.custommotorshow.se/ ... however that may be hampered by the extreme amount of time required to actually get there, show it, and then come back as it is a 4-day event with a load in on Thursday and two-day journey either way.


Forumwise I've got a November Update theme on the go, but not much done on it yet. I do have the image uploader putting images in the order they are selected though, which is kinda very useful. I want to test that a bit as the way I'm doing it is a little ripe for issues. I really want to get to some of what feel like smaller issues around spacing and padding and alignment, as every time I do even one of those things it makes the forum feel more solid.


Club RR wise I've just got the Xtra Large Club Tshirts to pack for GTi members and then I'll be off to the post office to ruin someone's lunch time who is stuck in the queue behind me.


Anything exciting happening? Any cool cars spotted on the interwebs?


Previous Thread: forum.retro-rides.org/thread/226012/chat-thread-funk-wc-06

[zeberdee]

Finally got this back in its wheels .

It’s a slow build , with a very tight budget , but hopefully out test driving it soon .

(Obviously still needs altitude adjustments )

[akku]

Plans for the week are to recover my Morris from the garage, assuming they have finished the door adjustment.
Get the Country Squire back to the farm and get my Mercury out to play again, subject to having sealed the rear window.
Lanoguard the Fiesta
Chase up people who need to be chased up about things happening, or probably not happeneing, elsewhere.
Sort out over-winter storage for the Humber. I don't want to pay for MORE storage but I don't want it stood outside. I don't want to use it until I have finished painting and so on the underside etc.

Check back in a few days to see how I did with this list....

[halkyon]

I have four days off this week and may summon the courage to go and see if I can get the Pao running if it doesn't rain or snow on me.

Slightly intimidated by doing the bodywork afterwards, I'm still a journeyman and need to cut and shape every repair part as replacements don't exist.

[HoTWire]

Idly browsing various for sale sites and this jumped out at me. Love these things in black.
www.beverlyhillscarclub.com/1979-mercedes-benz-300td-c-15958.htm

[stealthstylz]

The project creep on the Qashqai intensified dramatically. Ended up with the fuel tank and everything out so I could clean up the scuzz. However after a solid weekend of progress and a 15 minute blast this evening after work I got the subframe bolted back in. Just the new trailing arms to fit, which was the job that kicked all this off, and it'll be done till next year when I do the same on the front.

Actually enjoyed the whole job which has surprised me been that it's outside.

[mrbounce]

I spent a dusty Sunday afternoon tidying up the garage, and more specifically, the 3 workbenches. It's now very much tidier, the benches are (mostly) clear and the spare garage vacuum has been moved to somewhere where I don't trip over it.

I just need to wait until my spare set of wheels are picked up, and I will have everything almost back to how it should be. It's the seemingly simple things that just take WAY too long.

[Nathan]

Finally got the Anglia painted at the weekend, so this week I shall start to refit the brakes and anything else on the underside before mopping the body etc.

[gtviva]

I never seem to have time to do my own stuff but having seen the problems a few folk are having with projects I'm determined to get cracking on a few of my own! I'm not working outside though so this space is getting cleared at present for car stuff!

[vulgalour]

I've been turning the outer skin of this Lanchester boot lid that I've already robbed for all the useful bits (the wooden frame was rotten, hence it being a donor) into boot interior trim panels for the Princess.


Five years ago the inside of the Princess boot looked like this and it still does. I always found something else to do instead of making nice covers for all this exposed wiring and since it had never been a problem it just sort of got forgotten about.

What I really want to be doing is addressing the minor bits of welding I should have attended earlier in the year when the weather was nice, I just wore out my desire to do that because of all the welding I'd been doing on the Maestro and to a lesser degree, the Lanchester.  As I've been clearing things and whittling down what I own in readiness for the house move in a few months, it really has highlighted just how much stuff I've let slide on this car for no good reason.  I've now left it so late this year that finding a window of good weather is proving quite difficult, I just need one good dry day and I can get the worst bit of repair work done.  In the meantime, I'm twiddling about with stuff I can do just to keep things moving and keep the mojo up, better still if it's jobs like these interior panels I can do with what I already have so I don't need to spend any money.

[The Cat Herder]

Took a little road trip in the Murano from home base to Lawrence, KS today. About 150 miles each way. Idea was to browse the second hand stores, eat some good pie, then walk at a lake. Well, we get there, the pie shop is closed and we didn’t buy anything at the second hand stores, but did get some proper tea at the all things British store…



Was too cold and windy to walk far at the lake, and most of it is closed for the season anyway. Still, nice to see a large body of water in the middle of the US.

Leaving the park, there was an odd shudder as we pulled onto the main road. Odd, says I. It’s been doing that lately says the Mrs. Ah, nice to know. Taking the cross country route to the turnpike, we roll up to a roundabout and as I give it gas to move out, nothing. Well… nuts. Roll across the roundabout and pull off to the side and mashing the accelerator does nothing. Drop it into neutral and it revs just fine. Put it back in gear and it makes a loud “thunk” then goes again. About 1/2 mile further along, same thing. Neutral to drive does nothing, but reverse works with a clunk, then drive works. Check the trans fluid and the level is fine and it doesn’t look or smell burned. We’re about five miles from a U-Haul depot so we head over there. It’s driving okay, but not great, but there’s no way I’m taking it on the highway. So we rent a box truck and trailer, one way to get us home. Almost $400, but still cheaper than getting a tow truck the 140-odd miles home. An empty box truck with a three tons of car and trailer on the back drives badly. A bit of a case of the tail wagging the dog. Still, home now, got a brew going, and I’ll unload the darned thing in the morning and see what I can find, see if there are any stored codes, that sort of thing. Nagging suspicion it’s an electrical gremlin though.

If it is the CVT going bad… trade in time. Not going to put a $4k transmission in a 16 year old, 160k mile car.

[johnthesparky]

Tom passed his driving test today!



And then got to do a grown up thing and pay for insurance.
Which was an eye watering amount

[jimi]

Well done that man

[The Cat Herder]

Spent some “quality” time with the Murano today. Getting it off the trailer was fun… it fired right up but died as soon as it went in gear. Third attempt it wouldn’t turn over. Got 100Ah of Lithium Ion power hooked up and it fired up and I was able to drive it off the trailer and onto the driveway. Put a meter across the battery as it idled and it showed 14v, but when I put a load on the electrical system (lights on, AC on, full blower, heated rear window)and it held at 14v for about 30 seconds then started dropping. Turned all the stuff off and as it idled the voltage continued to fall past 12v, and revving the engine did not increase it. So, guess it’s a bad alternator. Going to be a fun change; by the Nissan book, the radiator needs to come out. Going to be a fun project, although I did replace the radiator a little over a year ago so all the fixings are new and free from corrosion. At least stuff doesn’t rust horribly here.

Always figured I’d start a build thread for the truck first, but maybe the Murano should go first. Ha!

[vulgalour]

Sun came out! That means I can switch away from those boot trim panels and back to a more important job. Princess has assumed the position so I can trim away the frilly bits of the sill. Cause of the frill is someone in the past had left the bottom inch of the original sill still attached to the (remarkably solid) inner sill and then just slapped a new outer sill on top of it all. No protection inside this sill either, I'm astonished it's lasted this long without bigger issues really. Just having some lunch and then we shall glue it all back together again.

[ironmighty07]

For me the focus is decorating the office at the new workshop whilst I wait for the security shutters to get fitted..
Couple of interesting fresh Imports land next week to extend the current collection. Both need significant work but with this indoor space execution of that is far easier to execute than at home.

[Seth]

Another week, another 600 mile round trip to The North in the Hillman. Don't think I've ever been north of J36 on the M6 before but that next 30 miles is pretty amazing road, paritcularly with a sun setting below cloud level leading to rainbows everywhere.
I was mostly working next to a small castle near Penrith/Ullswater then home yesterday via Barnard Castle.

[akku]

Oh I know that M6 services, I love the tower. Last time I was there I had a slap-up fry-up for breakfast. That was a few years ago.

[The Cat Herder]

Saturday morning, time to break out the tools and get the wife’s car fixed so I can do some actual project work, right?

Nope.


Hovering right around freezing and snowing. The Murano fits in my shed, but it’s tight and leaves no space to work around it. Supposed to be 10C next weekend.