Zel's Fleet Blog...Rover, Renault, Peugeot, Trabant, Invacar & Sinclair C5

Post pictures and stories about your cars both present and past. Also post up "blogs" on your restoration projects - the more pictures the better! Note: blog-type threads often get few replies, but are often read by many members, and provide interest and motivation to other enthusiasts so don't be disappointed if you don't get many replies.
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Zelandeth
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Re: Zel's Fleet Blog...Jag, Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70

#761 Post by Zelandeth » Fri Dec 04, 2020 6:24 pm

Finally. Only taken me the best part of a year to actually get some photos of the Jag at sunset.

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Still irked I didn't spot the streetlight in the front on shots until I got home. I know it would only take me ten minutes to edit it out, but I shouldn't have missed something that obvious when I was framing things.

On the plus side I now know that little dead end road is a good spot for this sort of photo so can head back there in future.
My website - aka. My *other* waste of time
Current fleet: 73 AC Model-70. 75 Rover 3500. 84 Trabant 601S. 85 Sinclair C5. 88 Renault 25 Monaco. 06 Peugeot Partner 1.6HDi.

Dick
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Re: Zel's Fleet Blog...Jag, Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70

#762 Post by Dick » Fri Dec 04, 2020 8:30 pm

Beautiful pictures, Beautiful car mate.. well done... re bamboo... its evil stuff.. id rather have a triffid, ive had several jobs trying to control it..good luck :thumbs:

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Zelandeth
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Re: Zel's Fleet Blog...Jag, Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70

#763 Post by Zelandeth » Sat Dec 05, 2020 10:06 pm

Dick wrote:
Fri Dec 04, 2020 8:30 pm
Beautiful pictures, Beautiful car mate.. well done... re bamboo... its evil stuff.. id rather have a triffid, ive had several jobs trying to control it..good luck :thumbs:
Too right! Six grand later this is what's left of what used to be our back garden!

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So obviously we've now got to go about getting the whole lot landscaped now!

-- -- --

A couple of very useful documents turned up yesterday.

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They should be very, very useful. It might seem counterintuitive but the parts catalogue is actually probably going to be the most helpful. The simple reason being that it has nice big, A4 sized, clear diagrams like these.

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Given there's so much on this car you can't see because stuff is in the way so you need to assemble or disassemble by touch having these diagrams showing how stuff actually fits together should be really helpful.
My website - aka. My *other* waste of time
Current fleet: 73 AC Model-70. 75 Rover 3500. 84 Trabant 601S. 85 Sinclair C5. 88 Renault 25 Monaco. 06 Peugeot Partner 1.6HDi.

Dick
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Re: Zel's Fleet Blog...Jag, Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70

#764 Post by Dick » Tue Dec 08, 2020 9:01 pm

By landscaping your garden do you mean concreting it ?
;)

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Zelandeth
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Re: Zel's Fleet Blog...Jag, Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70

#765 Post by Zelandeth » Tue Dec 08, 2020 9:43 pm

Mainly we just want a space we can actually use and not spend half our lives maintaining...that much concrete would be expensive! I think it will likely mostly be paved (the bulk was before anyway), possibly stealing a bit of room at the side nearest the road to make a bit more driveway space.

-- -- --

We've been blanketed in pretty thick fog here for the best part of a week so not exactly ideal weather for driving around in a tiny three wheeler with only basic lighting from 1973. However the weather finally broke today so I was able to get TPA out for a run.

Used my highly technical exhaust gas extraction system to prevent the garage (and then the house as it's poorly sealed) from filling up with exhaust fumes while she warned up while I was playing automotive Tetris to clear the access to the garage.

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Glad to report that with my revised distributor condenser in place (but far from tidy) running has been vastly improved. There never used to be a hugely noticeable difference between 70% throttle and 100% aside from a bit more induction noise. You can actually feel the difference across the whole throttle range now and she just generally feels smoother.

It's very obvious that it's done something by virtue of it having brought the idle up by about 350rpm. Still low enough the clutch doesn't start to drag though, so at this time of year I'm inclined to leave it alone. A bit of additional heat into the cabin and keeping engine speed high enough for the generator to actually be on charge are both good things.

I didn't actually take a note of where the throttle sat at 60mph before, but it feels like it's less far open now.

Temperatures were hovering around 1-2C outside and while it didn't get it up to feeling warm, the heater was able to keep up sufficiently that the cabin wasn't uncomfortably cold.

A couple of opportunities for photos were spotted while I was out so I took the opportunity to grab a couple. I know 99% of the photos I have of TPA are just sitting in my driveway or just in a supermarket car park so I'd like to fix that.

Think I've done a reasonable job of keeping things which allow you to immediately identity these as photos taken from 2020 out of frame.

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Generally seems to be running well. Only gripe today was the indicator stalk coming loose again. It's just a bit of a poor design, held onto the bars by large self tapping screws into the bakelite of the switch assembly. Rotation is stopped by a peg in the centre, but it's a very loose fit. As such even with the screws as tight as you dare it can still wobble a bit. Over time it then works loose.

The proximity of two terminals prevents you using a nut and bolt as it would cause a short. So I think a little bead of Sikaflex under it and on the screw threads will be employed this time. I think so long as it's secure enough not to wobble around it'll be fine...just needs a bit if help to get to that stage.

The alternative I'll look at first will be to see if I could use a non conductive washer or spacer and a nut and bolt...but I'm pretty sure I already tried that when I fitted the first one to KPL and discovered that the answer was simply "no." Can't remember for certain though and my fabrication skills have improved a bit since back then.

Despite the indicator switch making a bid for freedom this was the first time I've been out in this car and quite distinctly decided "No, I'm taking the long way home as I'm having a nice drive and enjoying myself."

Think the first time that happens is a nice turning point in the ownership of any car. Have largely stopped worrying about what every noise is or what's going to fall off next, and just had a nice drive out.

Economy on the last tank came back at 33mpg, so we seem to have pretty solidly settled in the low-mid 30s. Which sounds about right to me... I'd expect high 30s anywhere else, but MK is murder on economy so I always expect to see slightly lower than average figures elsewhere.
My website - aka. My *other* waste of time
Current fleet: 73 AC Model-70. 75 Rover 3500. 84 Trabant 601S. 85 Sinclair C5. 88 Renault 25 Monaco. 06 Peugeot Partner 1.6HDi.

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Zelandeth
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Re: Zel's Fleet Blog...Jag, Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70

#766 Post by Zelandeth » Thu Dec 10, 2020 12:42 am

The run out yesterday went largely to plan but was marred slightly by the indicator stalk making a bid for freedom shortly before I got home. The stock mounting arrangement for this is at best "flimsy" thanks to it relying on two self tapping screws fastened into the plastic of the stalk assembly (bakelite?).

Using a nut and bolt isn't really an option due to the proximity of the terminals for the indicator switched circuits to the hole in the body where the fastener lives.

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If you find a bolt with a really shallow head you might just about be able to get away with it, just. Nothing I have in stock is small enough though.

I've a couple of ideas in mind, but the first one I wanted to try was tried today...Drill the holes out, tap them properly and stick a bolt of a carefully measured length in.

Step one...drill out and tap the holes.

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Result was a nice clean thread.

I went with a standard M6 thread as I had fasteners that size in stock, and it seemed a decent step up but without risking taking too much meat out of the assembly I was trying to secure. Also was the biggest I could get away without having to also drill out the holes in the metal back plate.

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A healthy dose of thread lock was added before bolting things together.

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I took the opportunity to tap out the holes in the backing plate that the plastic cover attaches too so I could get that securely fixed and get rid of two rusty fasteners.

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Much better.

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Washers were fitted there to both keep the end of the bolt where I wanted it (precisely level with the end of the threaded hole) and to allow me to actually tighten things up without the bolts disappearing into the recessed hole in the backplate.

Really need to get some paint and touch in the space where this switch used to live.

Likewise I need to get a bit more loom tape in and extend the covering on the loom to the stalk the last few inches to the back of the switch.

Nice to be rid of a couple more of the list of rusty fasteners in the cabin too.

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Historically the baseplate always wobbled around a bit when the switch was used. Reckon this is why it was able to work loose over time. It now seems to be rather more solid from the looks of things.

Very short YouTube Clip

Hopefully this will stay put this time. If not I've got a few more ideas up my sleeve...but they're rather more of a bodge. whereas I feel that this is more just an improvement on the original setup. I need to pick up more dog food tomorrow so will probably take her out to carry out that trip unless the weather is horrible so we can see if it works then.
My website - aka. My *other* waste of time
Current fleet: 73 AC Model-70. 75 Rover 3500. 84 Trabant 601S. 85 Sinclair C5. 88 Renault 25 Monaco. 06 Peugeot Partner 1.6HDi.

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Re: Zel's Fleet Blog...Jag, Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70

#767 Post by Zelandeth » Thu Dec 10, 2020 10:32 pm

I never realised quite how much the indicator stalk was wobbling around before. Now it's properly secured the action is so much more positive. You can also now reliably cancel the indicators with a tap of your finger now - you used to have to make a very deliberate action to do that. It's a small detail but it makes the car far nicer to drive.

First time I've been out of town since sorting the condenser and cleaning/gapping the points today. Once on the A5 the difference was plain as day. Holding 60 is definitely way easier now. 70 has always been *achievable* with a long enough level road, but actually cruising at that speed wasn't really viable. Now however she's quite happy to reach and maintain 70 with a bit more left in the tank if needed. The oft quoted 82mph max (though no one seems entirely sure where this came from as it's not in any of the official documentation) feels a lot less optimistic now.

Still can't quite believe how composed she feels at that speed. No wobble, no horrible vibration, nothing feeling like it's going to fly apart at any moment...she just thurms along quite happily. Sure she moves around a little in the wind and when you pass a lorry, but nothing alarming. It really doesn't feel like you're doing anything which is over-stretching the capabilities of the car.

Being absolutely honest, at 70 the Lada buzzed and vibrated more than TPA does.

Random photo from while she was out and about today.

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Definitely an effective way of making modern cars look huge. Still reckon she's a good match for a lot of my journeys as 95% of my trips are on my own.

Also managed to spot a nice coincidence a few miles later on.

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I always enjoy catching things where the numbers line up like that. If I miss 12345 I will be most irked! 12354 is the big milestone though as that will mark 1000 miles since she was brought back to life.

I know the whole "it just keeps feeling better the more it's driven" thing is a bit of a cliché where classic cars are concerned...but it is honestly how it feels lately.

The appearance of the TI-30 calculator a while ago sparked a bit of discussion in a few places. This one...

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Got to love a classic LED display.

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Just a shame the camera can't capture the colour properly.

I used to collect a few things like this years ago, but it's been a good 15 years since I really looked at things like this, and I gave quite a lot of them away a while ago...however following the conversation I got thinking about it again...and ended up rummaging around eBay. This arrived this morning.

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This cost me a whopping...£0.99 and £5 postage. There was another mid 90s Casio one in the package too but that's a pretty generic example. If anyone's interested I'll snap a couple of photos. However it was this one that caught my eye. I've not been able to find a date on it anywhere, but from the styling, weight and fact that it's a full 15mm thick makes me think very late 80s. Oh...and the ZX-80/81 style membrane keyboard too.

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Yes, it is *precisely* as awful to try to type on as the aforementioned Sinclair products!

The moment I saw that though there was a distinct moment of "Yep...I need that!" Don't usually find these things of too much interest unless they're particularly interesting from a technical standpoint - I really want to get one of the Casio ones with the funky three colour displays (CSF-"nnnn" model series as I recall), and am watching a few on eBay now I've remembered they exist. I've always wanted to take a proper look at the display tech on those...have always assumed they use some form of pigmented LCD or polarisers with some sort of coating which only interacts with specific light wavelengths (sort of like those coloured dichroic halogen lights that were popular back around 2000). I've never actually seen one of these in person though, so am really curious. This one was obviously a pretty early example of this type of this type of product though so was worthy of interest.

...There's a job lot of another five late 70s/early 80s calculators on the way as well.

See what you lot made me do? I hadn't touched this hobby in the best part of 15 years until this week!
My website - aka. My *other* waste of time
Current fleet: 73 AC Model-70. 75 Rover 3500. 84 Trabant 601S. 85 Sinclair C5. 88 Renault 25 Monaco. 06 Peugeot Partner 1.6HDi.

Dick
Posts: 1280
Joined: Wed Sep 11, 2019 7:31 pm

Re: Zel's Fleet Blog...Jag, Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70

#768 Post by Dick » Sat Dec 12, 2020 11:22 am

You made a tidy of of the indicator switch, id never have thought of trying to put a thread in plastic.. good on you for saving the collection of old calculators that should have gone to silicon heaven years ago.. are they worth anything? Are there other people who collect such things? Can you restore them?

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Re: Zel's Fleet Blog...Jag, Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70

#769 Post by Zelandeth » Sat Dec 12, 2020 11:08 pm

Dick wrote:
Sat Dec 12, 2020 11:22 am
You made a tidy of of the indicator switch, id never have thought of trying to put a thread in plastic.. good on you for saving the collection of old calculators that should have gone to silicon heaven years ago.. are they worth anything? Are there other people who collect such things? Can you restore them?

Yes and no. Anything old enough to have a Nixie or Panaplax display is usually worth decent money, more recent stuff seems to be a lot more random, though they're not usually worth big money unless you're talking about some of the more iconic models - oh, or anything with a Commodore or Sinclair badge on. The box of three currently in the post (mainly for the Sharp EL-8130A which is an interesting looking design I've not seen before) cost me £12 for the three, and the organiser mentioned in the last post was £0.99.

As far as restoration goes...yes you can, but none I've had has really needed more than a really good clean and some corroded battery terminals cleaned.

I just enjoy the fact that there used to be such a variety of designs to do essentially the same job, and that they used to be nicely made things which someone would have been proud to have on their desk, not just some £0.50 chunk of plastic.

-- -- --

The windscreen wipers on the Jag have been becoming increasingly glitchy of late. Normally a sharp thump on the scuttle would get them working again - until last time I needed to go out in a hurry when they decided to play dead entirely. The behaviour seemed to suggest the motor wasn't making it quite all the way to the fully parked position (which is slightly further over the screen than the normal wiping range).

Given I knew the drains had been clogged for goodness knows how long the motor had most likely spent some time under water so I was hoping it was going to be a simple case of dirty contacts or dried up grease in the linkage.

Figured it was worth pulling the grill over it off and seeing if I could see anything obviously amiss. Looked like it would be a simple case of pulling the wiper arms, undoing a couple of bolts and lifting it off...right?

Of course not, because Jaguar. Having unfastened everything I could see it still wasn't interested in budging more than a few millimetres.

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Peering under the edge it became obvious there was a load of hardware attached to the underside, with no obvious way to detach it. Attempting to get a wrench into the bolt only resulted in me dropping it into the void under the grill.

Eventually I figured out that the whole wiper assembly remains attached to the cover and you just have to sort of wrestle it out through the not-quite-wide-enough gap.

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Those spindle gear boxes look suspiciously like the same ones used in the Invacar...given the amount of BMC parts bin hardware in there it wouldn't surprise me.

Nothing hugely obvious amiss, though the whole drive assembly and spindles were really dry. So everything was drowned in penetrating oil and I then splodged as much grease as I could be hand into the spindle boxes (pretty easy as they're not sealed) without pulling things to bits any further as I was being mindful of having to go out pretty soon to collect groceries.

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I'm under no illusions that I won't be back in here, most likely I'll need to dismantle the motor gearbox itself to give it a thorough clean and re-grease as the original lubrication has probably long since turned to plastic. As it is though the wipers now move at about twice the original speed and appear to be playing ball...the issue has been intermittent though so only time will tell.

With everything back together I headed for my grocery collection slot, via a fuel station (again).

Stopping at the first junction after that I noticed the dash lighting seemed really dim.

Um...yeah, that would do it.

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The alternator appears to have lost interest in charging. I legged it home and switched cars. Further investigation revealed no working ignition light either...so either bulb has gone or we've got an issue with the brushes most likely.

Of course when I went back to the car half an hour later to park it it behaved perfectly again.

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Yep...sticky and/or worn brushes methinks.

Won't that be fun...the alternator is one of the nice easy to get to things...

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Oh...no I actually meant the other thing. You can barely see the thing. I changed the belt for it a couple of months ago and that was a full day's job pretty much!

Never a dull moment...

I did finally get a bit of time to start putting the basic text for a website update together (first time since 2017!), got a ways to go but have made a start at least. Decided to use something lacking in distractions to assist in concentrating on what I was actually working on.

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Really do like the keyboard on this too. It's definitely physically the same board that Acorn used in the Archimedes range (A3000/3010/3020 at least), which was always my favourite to type on of the machines from that era. Amiga wasn't bad...Atari ST came miles behind with their horrible mushy mess. Funky shaped function keys couldn't even redeem it. No idea when I'll actually get the update finished and uploaded, but at least I've made a start.
My website - aka. My *other* waste of time
Current fleet: 73 AC Model-70. 75 Rover 3500. 84 Trabant 601S. 85 Sinclair C5. 88 Renault 25 Monaco. 06 Peugeot Partner 1.6HDi.

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JPB
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Re: Zel's Fleet Blog...Jag, Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70

#770 Post by JPB » Sun Dec 13, 2020 11:18 pm

Dick wrote:
Sat Dec 12, 2020 11:22 am
......Are there other people who collect such things? Can you restore them?
:mrgreen:

Looks and works like a new one, photos taken in July 2011 and it's still in occasional use:
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And the box is still with it, though being a protective thing for the calculator, it's taken some abuse:
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Rich, anyone (especially Zel, by the looks of everything else in this thread 8-) ) can restore anything if they have the time and pain-free hands with fingers that all work.
Parts are unlikely to be available except by buying an additional specimen to harvest said parts from, but there's always the possibility of reproducing case sections by the sorcery that is 3D printing.
J
"Home is where you park it", so the saying goes. That may yet come true.. :oops:

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