bxbodger

All 2CV replacement chassis are galvanised too, and don't forget many modern cars are part galvanised. The temperature shouldn't affect it at all- Galvanising temperatures are much much lower than those involved in welding the chassis together. Years ago when I worked for a now long-defunct shutter company I used to regularly visit the galvanisers, it was like a journey into hell!

Don't use gravel- there's a lot of baffling in the tank and you'll either not get it to where it's needed or you"l never get it all out again. - used a hosepipe to clean mine out, nothing much came out other than the remains of a fuel cap (see what did you do to your triumph today thread!). You can, with a bit of careful aiming, shine a torch through the hole where the level float goes, and eyeball through the pickup pipe hole and see what's in there. The light manages to sneak past the baffles (just!) -n my case it was all clean apart from this piece of filler cap which had obviously been sucking up to the pick up pipe at random moments.

I found that all the bulbs in mine were blackened internally from years of use, new bulbs all round and cleaning up the holders/connectors, etc, made a world of difference!

Quote:Are there any moderns that run 18ACR units or at least the same plug configuration?  ...........nobody has used ACR's for years, but they're still available new or rebuilt quite chaeaply, however most 90's on K series engined Rovers, i.e. 100/214/414, etc, use Lucas A127 alternators with the same  old Lucas 3 pin plug connection as used on the ACR, these are similar looking to ACR units, but bigger, more output, and easier to rebuild if neccesary, and they'll take an old style pulley- scrappers should have loads and loads of these alternators.

Basics first.....belt tension!

I have a pertronix unit in the Vitesse, it's been in there about 6 years with no problems, and I've got an accuspark one in the Metro, again no problems. I've not bothered changing the coil on either car. They do require a very good earth to the dizzie body though and ye olde braided bit of cable that you may have still lurking in your dizzie will likely need replacing with something better. The Lumenition unit from rimmers is a very expensive option compared to other hall effect units like the accuspark one!

Quote:it was like  thin Pish when hot.   the oil had reverted back to its OE 20 grade  rating, and NOT  thick,n up to a 50 weight oil as its supposed t,do. Change the Penrite stuff when hot, and its still nice,n thick, the Ole MK 1 eyeball can tell ye alot you no. IF, ye no what to look for.   .........but you can't possibly assess the viscosity just by looking at it when it's draining or in the drain tub, what with the number of variables to contend with: age of oil, ambient temp, oil temp, engine temp, etc, etc.   I would imagine that a quality synthetic will remain within the specced parameters for longoer, but the best we can do is rely on proper independant testing done under proper lab conditions for verification of that.

Quote:it was like  thin Pish when hot.   the oil had reverted back to its OE 20 grade  rating, and NOT  thick,n up to a 50 weight oil as its supposed t,do. Change the Penrite stuff when hot, and its still nice,n thick, the Ole MK 1 eyeball can tell ye alot you no. IF, ye no what to look for.   .........but you can't possibly assess the viscosity just by looking at it when it's draining or in the drain tub, what with the number of variables to contend with: age of oil, ambient temp, oil temp, engine temp, etc, etc.   I would imagine that a quality synthetic will remain within the specced parameters for longoer, but the best we can do is rely on proper independant testing done under proper lab conditions for verification of that.

I use comma - it's what they sell in the spares shop down the road. It seems ok, pressure doesn't drop off despite motorway thrashing. Quote:Halfords classic, castrol classic are  all Comma classic oils. and 1/2 price at a Comma stockists. I tried the oils ,but found that they lost viscosity quite fast if used hard. .........how did you test this? I would have thought it would be very difficult to get a reliable result given the variables involved.

I use comma - it's what they sell in the spares shop down the road. It seems ok, pressure doesn't drop off despite motorway thrashing. Quote:Halfords classic, castrol classic are  all Comma classic oils. and 1/2 price at a Comma stockists. I tried the oils ,but found that they lost viscosity quite fast if used hard. .........how did you test this? I would have thought it would be very difficult to get a reliable result given the variables involved.

Hardtops are still available new for convertibles- try http://www.honeybournemouldings.co.uk/hardtops.htm for a new one, or just watch ebay, I got one for £35, albeit in pretty rough condition.

Mine currently has an 027 from a defunct BX diesel- it's what I had lying about when I needed one, it's tight but it does fit.

In the Vitesse/early Spit/herald factory workshop manual in the brake section there's a paragraph about the problem of brakes that won't bleed- it refers to the possibility of air being drawn in via the bleed nipple threads, and it tells you to close the nipple after each push of tyhe pedal before allowing the pedal to return, and then close it during the final stroke...... maybe worth a try. If all else fails you can try the old trick for bleeding brakes with seized/broken nipples- remove the caliper but leave it connected to the hydraulics, manipulate the caliper so the hose joit is at the highest point, loosen the hose and bleed it through the joint. It's messy but it works, and has got many a Citroenist out of trouble when the tiny 8mm nipple has sheared!

Easibleeds work well but you must use LOW pressure or they do burst, so let some air out of the spare first, down to around 8-10 psi at most. I've not used it on the Vitesse, it's unnecessary, but i use it on the Metro which has four pot front calipers with three nipples on each and an elaborate bleeding sequence, where it's pretty much an essential tool and speeds the job up no end.........but remember, LOW pressure or it will be a big mess!!!

Quote:Don't go for the AVO's as they are to long, and I had two Spax sets and they both were ... euhh ... rubbish after only a few years. I beg to differ! On 12/05/1988 an axle set of spax adjustables cost £54.00 so they've always been pricey...however regarding reliability, the receipt for them came with the pile of papers I got with my car. They're still on there, the yellow paint is flaking off and there's some rust on the outside but the adjusters are still working and the shocks still work fine. Regarding adjustment, start soft and work up until you find a setting you like.

I have 6 or 7 or so 315mm steels sat behind the shed, not 12" but close enough for jazz.......a few even have useable(ish) tyres on, but I can't guarantee current tyre availabilty for them...p.s....massive offset so only really useable on old metro hubs ;)

Mine starts first time every time even throuigh the depths of winter on the standard M35 starter, and the current one is a thirty quid exchange from the local factor- these sterters were specified for many cars for many years, my personal thought is that 'hi torque' starters are a solution in search of a problem as far as petrol engined cars are concerned, an earner for the people who sell them but totally unnessecary...they belong on diesels really. M35 starters were used on bigger engines than Triumph sixes back in the day. As said, the key is to get a good recon unit, from a reliable local supplier, not a unit with nothing more than a blow over of paint.

But to what end? There's nothing wrong with the voriginal design, provided it's maintained properly and in good condition. Snapped trunnion syndrome is an age related thing, it comes from years of use and abuse and extended periods of total neglect, and there isn't a car of 45 years old that won't have been kerbed and potholed at least several times by now, it's not something that was a common occurence when the cars were current and in everyday use, and it didn't send the many competition cars that used the same set up flying into the bales on every corner. Surely the best option if there's any doubt about them would be to replace them and then maintain them, after al,l I don't suppose anyone foresaw the things still being in use 40 odd yearts down the line!

The small gun from halfords is surprisinly effective with oil, don't fill it with any more oil than you need as it will leak out later and leave a mess everywhere! Use it upside down for least mess.......

I use oil because the book says so, but every other trunnion'd car I've had was specified for grease. I suspect I could use a modern grease with no problems but since the oil goes in without any difficulty I'll stick with it. I would suspect though, that many of our cars have spent the banger phase of their lives with little or no trunnion lubircant of any sort or maybe the occasional squirt of whatever grease was to hand. I personally wouldn't go near those trunnionless uprights, at least not until someone can tell me exactly how the bottom bearing is located........the original trunnion should pivot at the bottom around the bottom bolt as the wishbone moves, I can't see how the trunnionless version is supposed to work other than being clamped as tightly as possible in the wishbone, it only has one bolt to fix it, it just doesn't look right- the movement is taken by that balljoint rather than the pivot bolt in the factory design- for it to work the bolt would need to be phenomenally tight as there's only one- why not two??   I know they sell a lot but I'm not convinced and it doesn't look as safe long term as a properly maintained original trunnion. My own thery on trunnion failure-there's nothing wrong with the design, other than it's a victim of age and sloppy maintenance. I reckon a bit of corrosion gets into ye olde trunnion threads, plus the bottom pivot point seizes over the years and no longer pivots with the wishbone, this causes stress as the trunnion takes the movement of the lower wishbone rather than just pivoting with it..........by the time we've rebuilt these assemblies and got them working properly, the years of neglect have already done the damage. That's my theory anyway- plase feel free to shoot it down!!

Well i couldn't say for certain but given the mish-mash of bits that the rest of the car appears to be they'll be repros- 13" and most likely 5.5J. The car has a Mk1 bonnet and badging, a Mk2 dashboard, and in one of the underside shots there's an adjustable tie-rod which points to a rotoflex Mk2  axle, can't see properly though, and the engine appears to be Mk1, but I can't tell if there's pushrod tubes there or not, not a terribly good pic!

Spotted on the car mechanics forum-http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=daVDrGsaDME#.............stop motion Ray Harryhausen style, enjoy!

If the chain is sloppy and worn you might just do it to get the chain off but you'll still need to take the crank sprocket off as well to replace the chain if it's an endless one.But the crank sprocket just slides off, shouldn't be a problem. Mark the cam sprocket before you unbolt it so it goes back in the same place in relation to the camshaft: it can go back on in different positions to change the cam timing. Handy hint for replacing- it can be a right faff holding the tensioner back and sliding the cover back on at the same time as trying to keep the gasket in place. You can try holding the tensioner back with wire like the books say but I drilled a small hole in the cover , I can shove a drillbit through, this holds the tensioner until the cover's in place, then pull the bit out and  close the hole with a grommet: quick and easy!

When you do put them back together, pay close attention to getting the jets centered: it can be a bit of a faff and take a while but makes a world of difference to how the carbs perform, follow the instructions in the manual.

I thought mine had been bodged when I found two treadplates, one on top of the other, but closer examination of the factory workshop book shows this to be how they were built, as a double skinned panel. They're welded to the B post and floorpan edge, but at the A post end they're just supposed to sit over the top of the bulkhead part of the floorpan with a bit of sealant, although you may find they've been welded at some point in the past. Mine had which was a right nuisance as that appears to have caused more corrosion than would have been there if they'd been left alone.