Working on your own vehicle - Advice & Tales of Woe
- Thread starter UnderOpenSky
- Start date
Saul Goodman
It's all good, man
Possibly the most hated car in the UK, but not hated as much as the people who call them a Robin Reliant.
That one was a classic Regal van.
I remember the owners used to flash their lights and wave to other owners!
There was a time if you criticised the ownership of a Reliant, the offended owner would say quite proudly that even Princess Anne owns one. Yes, a Scimitar.
just needed a 350
DownwardDog
Riding a Brompton with a power meter.
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DownwardDog
Riding a Brompton with a power meter.
Just ordered a set of 348GTC wheels from Hong Kong for the "investment". They can't possibly be fake... can they? I feel sick.
DownwardDog
Riding a Brompton with a power meter.
I once took a chance on a set of really cheap "replica" Regas that looked, and turned out to be, real! However, I've been shafted with fakes many more times...
DownwardDog
Riding a Brompton with a power meter.
Like almost all Ferrari parts, and in stark contrast to Lamborghini, the quality is generally very good although they are cast. On limited editions like the Competizione or Stradale cars they sourced forged wheels from Speedline which are belissimo.
OzT
Online early mornings when at work ....
Talking of piston rewinders ( I know you weren't ) but people nowadays with their brought tools will never, I'm afraid, have the chance to enjoy lying on your back in a dirty workshop, under Rover P Series at the back axle, winding back in the piston of the inboard discs they had, using just a short welding rod bent an inch back from the tip 90 degrees. At least on outboard discs you can be outside the car working on it.
Ahhh I sometimes miss my days as a plant and commercial fitter
though I also did a whole heap of car work, had a partnership in a garage business in Canterbury for a while, and before that always were doing the boss's cars and assoicated randoms' cars.
One of the joys was when I was doing my 5 years apprenticeship was the Christmas bash. There were 2 arms to our company, the car and the comercial side. The cars used to sell BMC then BL cars, strangely Roll Royces as well, whilst the commercial side did BL trucks but also open to all other makes.
Anyway, you can always tell the car fitters from the comercial ones, the car people were cleaner and their cars were full of mods, whereas us commercial side were permantly oily, and our cars were generally tacked together models that just works without need for finess.
Enjoyed it even better when I finished my apprenticeship and became a fully paid up plant and commercial fitter for large companies, the joy of the open road with my works transit, tools and oils in the back, going to sites and breakdowns, happy days
Ahhh I sometimes miss my days as a plant and commercial fitter
though I also did a whole heap of car work, had a partnership in a garage business in Canterbury for a while, and before that always were doing the boss's cars and assoicated randoms' cars.One of the joys was when I was doing my 5 years apprenticeship was the Christmas bash. There were 2 arms to our company, the car and the comercial side. The cars used to sell BMC then BL cars, strangely Roll Royces as well, whilst the commercial side did BL trucks but also open to all other makes.
Anyway, you can always tell the car fitters from the comercial ones, the car people were cleaner and their cars were full of mods, whereas us commercial side were permantly oily, and our cars were generally tacked together models that just works without need for finess.
Enjoyed it even better when I finished my apprenticeship and became a fully paid up plant and commercial fitter for large companies, the joy of the open road with my works transit, tools and oils in the back, going to sites and breakdowns, happy days
OzT
Online early mornings when at work ....
Well for me deffo Perkins for the workhorse they are, their V8s were solid if unspectecular.
Cummins used to get speeds up on the freeway that used to put quite a few cortina 1600's to shame!!! lol!! I never got to work on their 2 stokes, just use to listen to chats about them down the pubs at weekends.
To be fair they're all easy to work on. Just have to know how to time the fuel pumps on them, as same engine can use different pumps.
Tell you what those little Lister/Petter diesels can be more trouble to work on, as ignition is set by bumping clearance, and that can take a couple goes of head on with solder on top of piston, crank, remove head, measure solder and shims etc ...
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I liked Perkins.
Spent many hours on Lister/Petter and Hatz diesels. Setting bump clearances is a bit of a dark art at times, though I wouldn’t say fun!
Valves were always a joy!
I now on occasion get to work on the big Mitsubishi diesel generator sets. It’s great having the space to work in.
My mate has a chromed set of four CVA injectors on his mantelpiece. They look the dogs.
My nephew used to be a machine operator at Cummins, in Daventry on cylinder heads. His best job ever he said.
Riklet
procrastinación
Thinking about taking out a spark plug on my honda civic to see what condition theyre in and if they need doing. Not been done for 27-28k and like 7 years. No problems currently, tbf.
Never done spark plugs before but got the appropriate tools (no torque wrench actually tbf) and would like to give it a go. Any tips?
Never done spark plugs before but got the appropriate tools (no torque wrench actually tbf) and would like to give it a go. Any tips?
Do them one at a time. Remove the bolt holding the coil pack in place and remove the bolt. Unplug the coil pack and gently pull it away to reveal the spark plug. Use a long spark plug socket to undo and remove it from its thread.
When putting it back, put the socket onto the spark plug and slowly turn it anti clockwise, by hand until it drops into place in top of the thread, you should be able to feel this, then turn it clockwise to tighten it. Do not overtighten it.
Replace coil pack, plug and bolt before starting next one.
Good luck.
OzT
Online early mornings when at work ....
If you have some I woudl recommend smearing some copperslyp on the plug's thread. In my time have had more than one seized plug thet had required helicoiling after, copperslyp stops them being seized. though to be fair these were on older engines that has got some mileages on them, modern ones then to be serviced quite regular.
and what Sprocket. said, do not overtighten.
and what Sprocket. said, do not overtighten.
UnderOpenSky
baseline neural therapy
The last owners of mine had a towbar fitted. The Mondeo is not a high car and it was stupidly low. And caught on everything. Sort advice from someone who knows there shit and he said it was likely to be a nightmare to try and take off myself, so I bit the bullet and took it my local friendly garage.
They have advised me the rear springs are freshly snapped. Which isn't a surprise as it made a hell of a noise when it hit the ground. They have quoted £434 to do them and the rear wheel bearings. Looking online that seems to be fair, but still a fair bit of cash. I take it it's a pretty hard job to do with my limited resources and experience? Wish I had someone who I could call to guide me through this shit, but the few mates I can think of all live many hours from me. Also told me the rattle that I'm getting is from the aux belt.
How bad is it to leave having this work done till next month/maybe 800 miles?
They have advised me the rear springs are freshly snapped. Which isn't a surprise as it made a hell of a noise when it hit the ground. They have quoted £434 to do them and the rear wheel bearings. Looking online that seems to be fair, but still a fair bit of cash. I take it it's a pretty hard job to do with my limited resources and experience? Wish I had someone who I could call to guide me through this shit, but the few mates I can think of all live many hours from me. Also told me the rattle that I'm getting is from the aux belt.
How bad is it to leave having this work done till next month/maybe 800 miles?
weltweit
Well-Known Member
UnderAnOpenSky I recommend you go to your local taxi rank and ask the cabbies where they get work done on their cars. When I lived in my last place there was a bloke many of the cabbies went to who was way cheaper than garages and yet was a professional mechanic working on vehicles for extra cash in his evenings.
I once had quotes from garages for a new clutch at £450 which he did for me for £170
I once had quotes from garages for a new clutch at £450 which he did for me for £170
existentialist
Tired and unemotional
I thought that was the point of Reliant RobinsI am sure this is very good advice but I do sometimes wonder how careful the garages,or some of the garages,themselves would be.Would they use virgin brake-fluid from a new pot each time or might they charge for new fluid while in fact using some from quite an old pot.It is often not that clear when you take your car in for professional attention what exactly has been done to it and by whom.Long while ago now but I left my Reliant with a Coventry garage and came back hours later to find it badly damaged because the apprentice had roared up a ramp designed for cars with a wheel at each corner. I wouldn't have minded but they had bunged on some fibre-glass and paint and were going to pretend that all had gone smoothly
I thought that was the point of Reliant Robins
Still don't know how Clarkson managed that-in 70k miles which included many trips to Scotland mine never once rolled over.Was on two wheels quite often is all.
Saul Goodman
It's all good, man
You obviously weren't trying hard enough
It was rigged underneath especially to roll for ‘a laugh’.
It was quite funny tbf.
DownwardDog
Riding a Brompton with a power meter.
Took the catalytic converter out of the Supra and replaced the down pipe. The dashboard is now lit up with so many warnings it looks like Tokyo by night. Hmmm...
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