Rich
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,327 
Club RR Member Number: 160
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Exporting larger items from the UK?Rich
@foxmcintyre
Club Retro Rides Member 160
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There are loads of options around the customs bit you mention. you can list it as 'gift', 'warranty' or even just put the value at £20 or less, job done. I don't know where you are getting all tied up with vat or commercial etc, it makes absolutely no difference either way No one is getting tied up about VAT. Plenty of sensible actual answers offered here already. |
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Rich
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,327
Club RR Member Number: 160
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Anti-freezeRich
@foxmcintyre
Club Retro Rides Member 160
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If you use the desktop search function with the thread title containing antifreeze you will find the thread easily. 👍🏻
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Rich
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,327
Club RR Member Number: 160
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Does the MX5 use a negative trigger rather than a positive? Some Japanese cars had one 12V feed and 2 switched earths to operate the filaments in the bulb. That config won’t work with LED lamps, worth double checking that.
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Rich
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,327
Club RR Member Number: 160
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as any budget American compact was for catching fire at the slightest tap on the back bumper. Fixed that for you. Don’t even get me started on the Chevy C10 class action suit.  |
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Rich
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,327
Club RR Member Number: 160
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Finally getting around to addressing one of the things which has been bugging the heck out of me in the Caddy since day one.  The gear lever gaiter has had it. It's shrunk so there's no way to get it to stay on the clip at the top and there are two holes in it anyway. It's just past it. The interior is generally really surprisingly tidy so this really sticks out like a sore thumb. Used ones are generally all just as bad, yet eBay sellers still want £30-50 for for some reason. So we've gone for a third party one priced at a more reasonable £15. We'll see how awful quality it is or isn't when it gets here. If it's hopeless I will probably just end up making a new one, it's hardly a complicated bit of construction. Basically just four triangular pieces of fake leather stitched together. Nothing I can't recreate with a sewing machine and a tatty leather jacket from a charity shop. A set of properly shaped floor mats is also on the way, hopefully they'll fit better than the first ones did. Also on the "has been bugging me forever" list. A somewhat careworn looking exterior I will stand for to some extent, but the interior must be tidy or it will drive me round the twist. This is the other matter I need to investigate in more depth in terms of actual mechanical things. There's a bit of free play in the steering. This feels like in the column rather than rack or track rod ends. So I need to get the trim under the dash out so I can see the UJs down there while I get a helper to move the wheel. I will do that checking the track rod ends first though as they're easier to get to! I do need to check it's not something dead simple like the steering wheel being slightly loose on the splines too as there is a little fore and aft play in it. I wouldn't say no to finding a leather trimmed wheel either, as the Caddy has the really hard plastic one which A: isn't that nice to hold, and B: Is really quite slippery. Shouldn't be too hard to find one at least given the amount of vehicles it was shared with. Best fresh wheel would be a facelift mk3 golf cabriolet, known as the ‘mk3.5’, it’s a later style with airbag to fit the Mk2 type column in the Caddy. |
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Rich
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,327
Club RR Member Number: 160
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Rear electric windows blow fuseRich
@foxmcintyre
Club Retro Rides Member 160
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Sounds like a short in the door harness to me. That would give the symptoms you’ve described
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Rich
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,327
Club RR Member Number: 160
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Mar 31, 2022 12:09:52 GMT
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I’m gutted to hear of the issues. Haven’t really thought of anything to say else what’s been echoed but I’d probably be trying to find which cylinder is causing the issue (the compressed gas thing), re-torquing, putting a steel seal in (from cold, allow to run until at temp and then another half hour, then turn it off and leave it for 24 hrs) with the plug causing the bubbling removed and the injector for the associated cylinder(s) disconnected and see what happens. Nothing to lose and it may solve it. I really hope you find a way round this. You’ve come such a long way and it’s been an epic journey.
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Last Edit: Mar 31, 2022 12:10:30 GMT by Rich
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Rich
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,327
Club RR Member Number: 160
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E46 Touring interior lightsRich
@foxmcintyre
Club Retro Rides Member 160
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Mar 26, 2022 18:07:39 GMT
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Hi I've got an issue on my wife's daily, driving me mad and I cannot for the life of me find an answer via Google... The courtesy lights in the boot have stopped working, the bulbs all seem fine, connections clean etc. We've recently had a warning for rear lights on the dash, but they're all functioning. I'm guessing this is related, I want to check the "boot open" switch, but can't find out where it is!! Any gurus on here help a brother out?? It’s a micro switch, Built into the boot latch mechanism itself. Sounds like it’s the trunklid harness failing potentially if you have a rear bulb warning showing too. |
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Last Edit: Mar 26, 2022 18:08:21 GMT by Rich
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Rich
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,327
Club RR Member Number: 160
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Romini caravan wantedRich
@foxmcintyre
Club Retro Rides Member 160
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Mar 25, 2022 21:37:52 GMT
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It is strong money but also remember the rarity factor with these. I got very lucky with mine, and it was a lovely van considering what I paid. They made so few of them to start with finding them isn't too easy, but they truly do last forever so you can't really price them by other 80's caravan standards as they don't rot, leak, go soft etc. Brilliant use of interior space too. Really radical design. Bear in mind that that one has been for sale since I sold mine nearly a year ago and got my Eriba Triton, so maybe worth having a chip and seeing if the seller bites.
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Rich
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,327
Club RR Member Number: 160
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Following the above suggestion that the issue I was having with the Caddy could be down to that throttle unit having lost track of its home position so was closing too far, choking off too much of the air supply. That fit pretty well with the symptoms I was seeing. The tinge of blue to the smoke as well, as it's basically resulting in a shedload of vacuum being applied to both the EGR and PCV systems. The suggestion to try in that case was to physically remove the throttle plate from the assembly...figured I'd nothing to lose really as it will be getting replaced anyway. What do you know? It only went and worked. And I wouldn’t be in any rush to refit the bloody thing either. Leave it in a state of ‘no EGR’ and after a few oil changes you’ll see it stops fouling the oil black quite as badly. If not at all. |
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Rich
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,327
Club RR Member Number: 160
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Membership RenewalRich
@foxmcintyre
Club Retro Rides Member 160
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Mar 23, 2022 19:27:57 GMT
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You'll get an email when it's due renewal. Check your junk and spam folders for it in case.
ETA: Beaten to it by HotWire.
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Last Edit: Mar 23, 2022 19:28:13 GMT by Rich
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Rich
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,327
Club RR Member Number: 160
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Retro rides gathering 2022Rich
@foxmcintyre
Club Retro Rides Member 160
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Mar 22, 2022 20:02:27 GMT
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Are tickets for Retro Rides Gathering 2022 on sale yet ? Have I missed the link ? No, you haven't, they won't be on sale until later. |
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Rich
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,327
Club RR Member Number: 160
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Wheels borrowed from other makes...Rich
@foxmcintyre
Club Retro Rides Member 160
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Mar 22, 2022 13:18:11 GMT
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As penance and an attempt to get back on topic, here is an Volvo estate/shooting break/sports wagon with apparently mx5 wheels on  Aftermarket Rota type clones. Liking the Volvo on Ford wheels though. Sneaky, looks OE. |
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Rich
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,327
Club RR Member Number: 160
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Mar 20, 2022 22:29:38 GMT
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Theory is the EGR valve opens and the throttle valve closes causing the engine to draw on the exhaust rather than fresh air. Sounds like the throttle valve is closing or sticking closed when it shouldn’t. Try removing the throttle plate and leaving the spindle in place. If it’s the throttle valve at fault it will ‘fix’ it. And in truth, if it does, just leave the throttle plate out and slip a blank in the EGR up pipe. It’ll do wonders for your engine oil quality. Our D5 Volvo with 155,000 on it has spotless golden oil because a offcut of steel plate fell in between the EGR and inlet elbow accidentally  |
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Rich
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,327
Club RR Member Number: 160
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Mar 20, 2022 19:30:45 GMT
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I suppose I'm asking for insight as to whether or not this is a typical symptom of a duff alternator or bad wiring or a bit of both. A little from column A, a little from B but I suspect that it's more likely a failed alternator in this case, they can cause failure to light the GEN warning on total regulator failure, if the reg is 'saying' the battery voltage is less than the GEN output then the light won't come on. Even if that isn't true. |
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Rich
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,327
Club RR Member Number: 160
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Mar 20, 2022 17:53:59 GMT
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The light in a 2001 Lupo will be an LED driven by a controller in the dash so not a part of the circuit like it used to be. Sounds like a faulty alternator to me. All you can do it check a wiring diagram for the car really just to be sure.
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Rich
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,327
Club RR Member Number: 160
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Austin metro 1984 HLERich
@foxmcintyre
Club Retro Rides Member 160
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Mar 18, 2022 23:36:04 GMT
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IIRC rear seat belt fitment became mandatory on the 1st of April 1987. Lovely Metro BTW.  |
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Rich
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,327
Club RR Member Number: 160
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Tamiya Haulers - Update dayRich
@foxmcintyre
Club Retro Rides Member 160
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Mar 17, 2022 10:27:25 GMT
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Green twin steer Atki in your first refueling pic is awesome. 😃 That is a beautiful little wagon. Caught it running at one point but we didn’t get any pics. I NEED to remember my DSLR really. |
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Rich
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,327
Club RR Member Number: 160
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Might be worth a bit of internetting before you fit that valve - I understand closing the heater circuit can cause overheating/head gasket issues with the MX5 engine. Might need a Taxi bypass valve as used on Caterhams, or something similar - closes the heater circuit off, bypassing it when "off" to allow coolant to still flow. Anyone on here able to confirm this? kevins ? I’m sure the MX5 uses a mix flap in the air box so the matrix has a constant flow of coolant. I wonder if the ford electro valves with 4 hoses on are a bypass type? Can just have a heat on-off button or switch. |
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