MadaboutKitcars

Molleur - Cheers.

Replacement fuel cap on its way from Ebay.

+ Happy Independence Day!

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On days like these when skies are blue and fields are green…









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The photos above were taken on a 50 mile drive that was pure joy.
( With the exception of some stationary traffic on the M1. )

But the day actually started with a quick oil level check.



Until next time, take care, Paul.

Great pics, thanks for sharing!

Molleur - Cheers.

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A quick job my ar$e!
My second hand replacement petrol cap arrived from Ebay.



But there was a slight technical problem as the fitting tube was not smooth like mine.



So I drifted out the pivot pin from the replacement cap and fitted the new rubber seal.
( The fitting of which caused all these problems in the first place. )



There was no way to get at the pivot pin with the old cap in position, so that had to come out.
( Don't look at the mess all the petrol spills have made of the paintwork. )



I also needed to transplant this catch spring from the old cap to the new one, which didn't have one.



Now I could fit join the new cap to the original tube and I was good to go.



By the time I had finished fitting the cap, it looks like the rain clouds were coming.



Unfortunately, I was so distracted by the clouds it appears I didn't take a take photo of the cap in place.

But if it helps, it looks just like the old one, but now everything works properly.

End of Part 1…

Monday - Part 2:
As soon as I'd covered up the back half of the car, the sun came out again.

So I peeled back the covers from the front of the car and spent a few minutes under the bonnet.

As I am thinking about my options for creating something like Dale's Formosa.



I figured the radiator shroud would be the starting point.



Note: This needs to angle down to avoid hitting the bonnet which only just clears the radiator.
( Hence the bulge required to clear the radiator cap. )

At this point I was just using some scrap cardboard to give me a rough idea of where the sides might go.



Especially as I will need to maintain access to the expansion bottle.



As with everything on this build, I expect this may take a while to work out.

So as the sun was still shining I packed away the cardboard and took the scenic route to Sainsburys instead.



Until next time, take care, Paul.

A decent run out…
Went to visit an old friend today to discuss a new job opportunity and to go for lunch.



Racked up 105 miles, which is my longest drive in a long time.

Unfortunately, it was back on with the jumper today and the M25 was blustery to say the least!

Spotting this Tribute somewhere between Chelmsford and Brentwood in Essex.



Will pop 'next door' in a minute to see if anyone there knows it.

Cheers, Paul.

Friday
Wanted to make a quick trip shopping trip to Greenford.



But this ended up being a traffic jammed nightmare in both directions.

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Tuesday
In a rare moment of clarity…

It dawned on me not to look at the fuel gauge problem with a full tank of petrol.

So with a few miles racked up, it was now safe to remove the rear cockpit wall access panel.



But before I removed the fuel gauge sender itself, I checked the fuel gauge with the car on my sloping driveway.



Then I marked up the high and low points of the float.





Plan A
This was to 'somehow' switch the float over to the left hand side.

But it quickly became apparent that the sensors would only work with the float on the right.

Plan B
Put a kink in the wire and switch the float to face inwards.
( Where it previously faced the other way. )



But it seemed that this approach made the wire itself foul the fuel pipe.

Plan C
Make the kink in the wire inwards and put the float in the original outward position.
( Remember that the new float was slightly longer than the old one. )



Note:
I used the markings on the cardboard to make use the float was still hitting the right high and low levels.

With the sender unit refitted, I tested the fuel gauge again and the reading was slightly higher.



But just in case there was still a problem, I only used a few screws to hold the access panel in place.



I then headed to the petrol station to see what impact filling up would have, and…

Success!



Note:
Ever since the tank was re-positioned in the original Cordite framework, the gauge never shows fully full.

So that will certainly do for now and when I got home I fixed the access panel properly.



End of Part 1…

Tuesday - Part 2:
I was due to meet a mate for a beer, but decided to make the most of the sunshine and picked him up instead.

We then took a lovely drive up to Hampstead Heath and, quite by chance, ended up in …

[Music Hall] The Old Bull and Bush. [/Cockney Knees Up]



But there was no making eyes at me or drinking port wine with me.

I stopped off at the local shop on the way home and it was still light (just) around 9.20pm.



Until next time, take care, Paul.

PS
In other news…

A new bamboo shoot in our garden is doing a great impression of 'Jack and the beanstalk'.



I will see how high it gets before trimming it down to match the rest of the bamboo.

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Got a decent view, but not a decent photo, of the partial lunar eclipse.

As a Marlin owner with a Ford sender and a Marina gauge, I had the problem of an empty tank with a gauge showing half full. I cut the Ford sender out and fitted the Marina sender. Like you, I had a fun time bending the float lever to get it right, the Ford sender is at the top of the tank, the Marina, on the side. But now I have Full-scale readings, If it was easy anyone could do it.

Nice jaunt, and still a great build. Quick question... are you having any problem with the heat from the tail pipes cooking the paint on the bumper? It looks quite close, so I'm wondering how close I can get away with too.
Thanks.

I think that nicely sums up the world of kit cars.

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Kon - I had a quick look at my tail pipe exits today.

Due to the angles of the pipes and body shell, the gaps range from just under 1cm to almost 3cms.



As far as I can tell, there is no problem with the paint due to heat.



Note: I had rubbed some of the paint off the rivets and alloy guard panels on purpose.

Although, repeatedly spilling petrol over the paint work does cause a problem.



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Cheers, Paul.

Well done in sorting out the fuel sender, I had the same trial and error process of making small bends in the float arm until it read correctly when I replaced mine.

That shot of your car next to the 'baby' of the Range Rover, erm, range says it all about how bloated modern suv's are getting. Everyone's blathering on about saving the environment while driving huge 4x4's to Waitrose. It's much kinder to the planet to take an existing car and rebody it as a lightweight, economical and environmentally friendly runaround...

Kon - I ran my tailpipe out through the side of the body on my Spyder -



I had no problems with heat damaging the paint. There was a little staining around the outlet after driving it, but it would always wash/polish off. I eventually made an aluminium trim to fit round the outlet but that was just to make it look finished rather than to protect the paintwork -

Thanks for the info guys. Looks like my plans will be ok then, without cooking my rear bumper
I will start my own thread soon, i promise

Catch up…

Insurance
My car was insured a few weeks before I got on the road.
( As the risk of something happening while it was almost complete was too much to bear. )

So I'm now approaching the end of my 3rd year on the road.

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Sunday - Visitors
An old friend was over from Poland for a quick visit to London, along with her brother and his son.

So we met up with them for a meal at one of our local pubs before heading back to our house.

I then took all three for a spin in the car and the sun was setting by the time I got the last one back.

No photos from me, but they took a load of photos and videos while we were out.

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Tuesday Spin
Managed to get out for a 61 mile trip and boy was it hot out.

Just stuck in traffic in St.Albans, at which point the temp. gauge nudged over the half way mark.

So I adjusted the two vents to ensure that just the passenger side was open and turned the heater on.

At which point I discovered that I'd been making a text book school boy error for ages.

This is how the heater switch usually looks..



But, by chance, I twisted it and it kept going further to the right.



At which point, I remembered I had set the dial to look like it was at maximum, but it wasn't.

This means that during the winter months I was a lot colder than I needed to be.

With apologies to Mister Towed who was my only Winter passenger who I could have kept warmer.

But rather than worry about driving the car while getting cold, here are a few photos from shorts and T-shirt weather.











With a quick stop at Sainsbury's on the way home.



Until next time, take care, Paul.

Feeling hot, hot, hot!
After driving my daughter around in my Mondeo, I was getting used to the air conditioning.

So it was 1.30pm by the time I could take the Swordfish out and the heat was unbelievable.

Came to the aid of a guy with a very nice Mustang on his way to the Silverstone Classic.



I was able to add some duct tape to his improvised cooling duct made from a Lucazade & water bottle.

Turns out the petrol in his filter bowl was evaporating due to the heat in the engine bay!
( I noticed a Cobra badge on the front and the V8 engine was HUGE! )

So just time for one other photo on the way home.



Again, the temp. gauge only nudged past halfway just once in traffic, but no need for the fan.

Until next time, take care, Paul.

Odds & Ends
Took the car out for a brief spin last Monday (5th August).



Although I'd only done about 10 miles when the sky went black and I decided to head home.
( As the amount of rain we've had since the brief heatwave has been ridiculous. )

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The extra rain also meant it was time to trim my garage wall again.



I then had to push the car back a bit so I could sweep up afterwards.



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Ace Cafe
My wife's brother is staying with us this week, so I took him to Classic Car night yesterday.

Which meant pulling the car out onto the street...



In order to check & top up the engine oil.



When we arrived, I was directed to park next to this beautiful Lotus.



Note: Later on, I'm sure the MG Midget was directed to park next to 'that green car'.

I couldn't find the owner of this Spitfire.



But the engine bay was stunning.





End of Part 1…

Ace Cafe - Part 2:
This was only my second visit to the Classic Car night at the Ace and there is a wide variety of cars.

I've always had a soft spot for Morris Travellers.



And here are a few more random photos from the evening.













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I'll include a couple of biker shots, as this CX500 'Bobber' conversion caught my eye.



And this 'Predator' style crash helmet, complete with dreads, did make me smile.



Note: I did ask permission before taking this photo.

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After chatting with two bikers about my car, they gave me the 'Quote of the day'.

"I'd take your car over that Roller any day".

Which was a great compliment given that this was the Roller.



As before, quite a few people wanted to chat and find out more about the car.

Thankfully, I'd brought a few photos along this time which made it easier to explain.

Until next time, take care, Paul.

Nice motors. The Spitfire owner must spend most of his life polishing it and crying if it gets wet, lovely. Was that a genuine 7 next to you? I want it!

Very nice pictures, Paul. Makes me jealous

I'm no expert, but I think so and the owner looked the part too.

Here are a couple more photos of it...





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Mr T - Did you finish spraying your Midget?

As I am sure that would really look the part at a car show.

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Flying Visit
Took the car out for a very quick spin yesterday, as I need to park on level ground.



As my car had been dragged into a debate about legality over on the Agent Thor thread.



Turns out that 'The Road Vehicles Lights Regulations' have a minimum height requirement for front indicators of 350mm.

Where as, mine are closer to 250mm.



The MOT test works to a different set of rules and the indicators are 100% OK for that test.

Most of the time, I drive in, and around, London, where these indicators also pass the real world driving test.

So I am happy that my car is both safe to drive and not causing a hazard to other road users.

Unfortunately, the Bank Holiday traffic seemed to have started early, as I was stuck in traffic at every turn.

With a bit of luck, I'll get a chance to take a longer drive in the next few days.

Cheers, Paul.

Hi Paul, presumably your car was registered correctly not fiddled. Therefore it is OK so don't get dragged into someone else's spat. There are modern cars production flashers that are almost invisible. Yours are obviously well visible and look right.

Dpaz - Yes, I followed the re-body approach (radically altered 8 point rule), so no IVA required.

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Have hedge trimmer, will travel.
Loaded up the car...



And headed over to my mum's to trim her hedge.



Had to wait until after 3pm to miss the rugby playing at Wembley and QPR playing at home.

So it was seriously hot out and a great time to be driving around.

I took a very scenic route home that involved lots of twisty roads, 3rd gear and 4,000 revs.

Although I did forget to stop and take a few photos.

Until next time, take care, Paul.

PS
Based on my experience on the A40, I really should have fitted the 'magic indicators' that Nissan use on their Juke model.

Apparently, as soon as you flick them on you are able to swerve straight into the next lane and as if by magic no one will get killed.

Obviously, by 'magic' I mean that I will see this nightmare coming, slam on my brakes, blast the horn and miss their car by inches.

Two women in the front, and based on the way they were looking towards the back seat, I can only guess the horn woke the small kids in the car!

If I was one of the people driving an SUV while using their mobile along the A40 I guess the magic indicators wouldn't have worked so well.

Paul, the roads are full of idiots, smile and patronize them, you are infinitely superior to their pathetic mediocrity. Don't let them spoil your day. Also, remember you are more vulnerable to the psychco. Go in peace and harmony and sod the rest.

Dzap - Well, I do try to put the 'Class' is classic car driving…

So, lots of giving way and letting others cross/pull out/turn in, etc.

Plus 19 years on motorcycles required a high level of road craft to survive.

So I do keep my distance, as I know the car is hard to see.
( See Micra photo below. )

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With apologies to George Gershwin and Ella Fitzgerald…

Summertime, an' the driving is easy.
Exhausts are poppin' an' the revs are high.

Managed to squeeze a quick drive yesterday morning, before some family stuff.

Starting with a trip to B&Q, where even an old Micra seems tall.



Then headed out to The Grove near Watford.

But I'd forgotten that it is hard to find a good spot to park for photos.
( Plus all the spaces next to the Ferraris and Aston Martins were taken. )

So this was the best I could do.





I know the shorts and T-shirt weather will not last for much longer, but it is great while it lasts.

Until next time, take care, Paul.

PS
Someone on Rods 'n' Sods aged one of my photos.

Love it, really atmospheric.