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Posted

This afternoon, some seven years or so after parking my 1982 SC up in my (then) new shed to undertake a house-build I grasped the bull by the horns whilst the wife's back was turned.

Clearing aside all the accumulated grass cutting equipment, tools, bikes and loads of other people's stuff, I managed to create a clear route to push the old girl backwards to the door.

New battery fitted - the old one had died during one of the cold winters when the Aldi charger/ conditioner had given up due the the low temperature - £107 from ECP after £12 discount.

Turned the key with not a little trepidation and a few electrically assisted revolutions resulted in a steady even idle and no smoke whatsoever and oil pressure at 4.

Clutch was not seized onto flywheel and brake pads were not seized onto calipers - I hadn't put the handbrake on.

Engage reverse gear, turn around and then a cheeky little run up the road with perfect gear selection.

Sublime!

However, I forgot how heavy unassisted steering is, so will need to do a bit of work on the upper body strengthening.

Thorough detailed check over now required and then book in for last ever MoT before registering as Historic status for tax and MoT-free motoring.

Today was a happy day. 🌞

  • Like 6
Posted

Was a bit confused when you said you pushed the old girl back towards the door whether you were referring to your wife or car....

Posted

I am running 7" & 9" Fuchs which are currently shod with seemingly very good but certainly aged SO-2s.

There is no cracking or perishing whatsoever as I think they have not seen much use and have probably been inside most of their life - i.e. no UV exposure.

I can identify a date on one front & one rear tyre as week 34 2011 and week 51 2010. I assume the other two are older as they don't have a recognisable date code.

I intend to go back to 6's & 7's but don't know what to do for rubber.

Move the 205/55's from the 7's to the 6's and buy new 225/50's for the 7' on the back?

Or buy new rubber all round - if so, what to go for as SO-2's seem to be no longer available in 225/50?

If the latter, what is the current consensus on available rubber for 6's & 7's?

Thanks in advance.

Posted

Definitely new tyres all round. Regardless of storage 12/13 yr plus old rubber will be hard and unforgiving. You can never underestimate the difference new tyres make until you change. 

TBH I would be giving the car a thorough check over and new fluids/ belts/ filters etc etc before using it in anger just for peace of mind. 

Posted

Any views/ experience on Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 (N0) in 205/55 and 225/50 on 16" Fuchs rims?

Posted

Bit more searching and it seems that PS4's seem to be the preferred fitment on here, although not N-rated.

PS4's only about £10 more for the set, so may well go for them instead.

Posted
31 minutes ago, alastair said:

Any views/ experience on Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 (N0) in 205/55 and 225/50 on 16" Fuchs rims?

This is what I chose a year or so ago when needing to replace old rubber.  I got a good deal at the time and they have been fine but I only do limited miles and I’ve not had PS4s so can’t compare.  The N0 rating can be useful at resale perhaps if that’s likely to be a factor.

Posted

I put Exaltos on the back of mine the other month.  I had wanted PS4s to match the fronts but they weren’t available in the two days I had before heading off on a French road trip.  The dealer said they were N rated so I went for them.  After 2.5k miles they seem good, grip is good etc.

I should have added that they also look right, the shape is good on the car if that makes sense, it’s not square

Posted

Thanks for the feedback Ian.

I have gone for the PS4's (from Camskill) as I noticed others seem to have rated them highly in older threads.

I'm not too bothered about N-rating to be honest as I suspect my car was produced long before the rating system came into being - I can understand the relevance for modern high power models though.

All four corners for under £500 delivered seems like a reasonable deal to me - the Exalto PE2's were £11.90 cheaper though.

Alastair

Posted

My goodness - 7 years is a long time!

I've got that little exciting feeling about all the jobs I will be doing in the coming weeks - I had forgotten about all that (presumably a bit like childbirth for the ladies).

New tyres ordered - need to get them onto the 6's & 7's.

I've got an oil filter and 15litres of VR1 20/50 on the shelf.

Just ordered a couple of washers for the sump & oil tank plugs and a jacking plate to get things up in the air for wheel/ tyre changes

Full check over then get booked for an MoT.

I have a Clubsport steering wheel to fit.

Dig out the flat lid (and hinges) a bought years ago, get it prepped and painted to swap out the original teatray spoiler lid.

Then re-fit (more likely get someone else to re-fit!) the rear screen correctly using the new seal I got ages ago to route the heated rear screen wiring in a way that doesn't create a leak.

Fit the IB badge bought on here earlier this year.

Fit Karsten's shifter spring which he so kindly sent me more than two years ago.

Fit the front bumper oil cooler cooler scoop.

Fit the DDK group buy Classic Autowerks shift rod bushing

Get a new set of HT leads to replace the ancient originals

I will definitely be fitting one of Jonny's fuseboards and CDI boxes, but will need to do a bit of saving up for that - maybe wait for the Black Friday deal for that.

And of course, I need to do some work on my upper body strength after wafting about in power-assisted conveyances for so long.

Oh dear, the genie is most definitely out of the bottle now. :dancer:

Oh, and I nearly forgot - I picked up a couple of new front brake discs from ECP for next to nothing a few years ago, so they will need to be going on whilst the wheels are off.

Posted

We need a pic of the old girl :)

Could I ask what size tyres you were running with the 9" rear wheels? (225-50-16?)

 

Congrats on getting up and running

Posted

Thanks Martin - will try to get some pictures this evening.

9's have 245/45 tyres at the moment.

All tyres seem good, but are definitely rather old - definitely more than 10 years.

  • Like 1
Posted

All the best Alastair, exciting time to rediscover the joys of tinkering! Once you get the shake-down sorted, hope to see you up this way.

Regards,

David

Posted

So the car is sitting up on axle stands with all wheels off and scrupulously cleaned ready for new tyres to be fitted tomorrow.

Engine oil and filter changed yesterday.

I bit the bullet and have booked an MoT for Friday. 🤞

Everything electrical seems to be working except for the windscreen washers - putting a direct supply onto the pump suggests that it is seized, so a new one has been ordered from D911 and is due today.

Despite being brand new 8 years ago and the car having been asleep inside for the last 7 years, I was shocked at how rusty the oil lines in the o/s/r wheelarch were once I took the wheel off. Loose rust rubbed off with wire brush and sandpaper then liberally treated with Phos-Kleen-B followed by Chlor-X salt remover.

Will apply epoxy mastic this evening.

I'm just deliberating whether this engine bay:

IMGP0043.thumb.JPG.1414df357a1902e06dd7fdadf818a8d2.JPG

would benefit from the addition of this:

Achtung Kraft CIS Air Box with BMC Panel Filter - IB Parts - Impact Bumpers

🤔

Posted

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Posted

My arms seem to be just too short and don't quite let my hands reach right down into my pockets. 🙂

I may be overcome with euphoria on Friday which might encourage my arms to grow a little longer.

Posted

Today was the big day - all dressed up and somewhere to go!

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Clear MoT pass, although wheel bearings had very slight play - they have only done 1600 miles, so probably just bedded in and needing the tiniest torque-up.

Straight to the post office before the ink could dry on the new MoT certificate to change to "Historic Vehicle" classification, only to be told that I didn't even need to provide one as a self-declaration is acceptable.

The kind lady at the post office even processed the £0.00 payment for 12 months Historic Vehicle road tax from 1st July so I am all legal now.

Next job is to fit the new front discs and sook new brake fluid through the whole system to replace the 8 year old stuff in there at the moment.

 

Posted

Background just photoshopped in, otherwise it would keep the wife very busy cutting grass 😉

Posted

Back to reality.

Previously fully functioning sunroof now doesn't close - suspect disintegrating switch may be part of the problem.

Windscreen washers now not working - will need to disconnect pipework and clean out nozzles.

A few miles on now, the steering column bush has definitely deteriorated further - need to fit the Mitch Leland bush I have on the shelf (somewhere) and will do the Clubsport wheel change at the same time.

Finally pulled the trigger on the Classic Retrofit fuseboard - might as well tackle upgrading the electrical side before more problems start to develop.

 

Posted

New front & rear discs now fitted with new fluid.

Steering column bush now fitted.

Clubsport wheel now fitted - thank you David Gander.

It took a bit of figuring out the two wires on the horn push - the original wheel only has one.

Just needed one wire to be an earth - fitted between the retaining nut and washer so that it would turn with the wheel.

New sunroof switch coming today so hopefully will get that sorted tonight.

Jonny's fuseboard is on its way and should arrive tomorrow so that is the weekend taken care of.

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