Thermostat doesn't look like too bad a job now....:)

Hers was a Japanese-built T30 (not one of the later half-Renault cars). Electrically, the car was bomb-proof. By the time it did at 12 years old, all the toys worked and even the battery was original. The only electrical repair I ever did on it was to replace some wires that had fatigued near...

I don't know. I've always done all my own work, and some cars have endeared themselves to me, whilst others haven't. I once had a white Citroen BX diesel. I bloody HATED that car! Not sure why. it was a stopgap car that I bought when I resigned from a job that came with a car, so I needed...

You're gonna need some real bad boy Scotchloks for those big orange wires!

Oi! That's my sister you're talking about! :p Well, she wasn't the mechanic, but she was the previous owner. She and her husband aren't really technical and were poor as church mice at the time they owned it. It was maintained on an absolute shoestring while they had it (which is why they...

Thanks guys, That's depressing! They seem to be about £200 (or about 25% of what my car is worth)! I notice there are LUK ones for about half that. Are they seriously no good? Also, yes, I was wondering about bleeding. I understand they come pre-filled with fluid and there's some sort of...

Hi All, It's getting hard to engage 1st and reverse on occasions. I need to push the pedal all the way to the floor to do it. Some months ago, I had a look in the master cylinder, topped it up and bled it, but the problem has returned. Previous owner had the clutch done, but can't remember if...

OK, that's not what I was picturing from the description. I thought he was pushing directly upwards on the end of the balljoint stud (presumably leaving the nut loose on the end). Doing that, would exert no load on the housing (or the plastic liner) but maybe I misunderstood!

I wouldn't have thought there would be any strain on the joint by doing that, but a risk of chewing the treads on the end of the stud. Presumably he runs the nut on loose before doing that? I'd be more worried about bending the steering arm than anything else. They're not designed to be...

I'll threaten them with that if they stop laying!

Many thanks Nodge! That does, indeed, seem to be exactly what is happening. I have a couple of these: which have built-in charge controllers, but on the brightest day we've had, angled to the sun at mid-day, they do seem to have a no-load voltage around 18. They have built-in regulators...

OK, ta. I'll wait & see what the MOT throws up. Funny you should mention the chicken house! Yes, it's just about there now - which is good because he's going to have to hand in the project any day now. It was supposed to be in at the end of the Summer term but with the whole Covid thing going...

Hi All, MOT on Wednesday :eek: and a slight knocking from the front. I can't find anything wrong with droplinks, ARB bushes, track rod ends or bottom balljoints, but I think there might be a tiny bit of play in the inboard end of one of the track rods, where they bolt to the centre of the...

The funny thing, was that a lot of the custom / hot rod guys were often absolutely fine for "sharp edges"! Their penchant for having no door handles and minimalist dashboards served them well in that respect! Emissions.... ...notsomuch...! Poor Pat. It's awful when the medics we're supposed...

Ah yes, I love the Suffolk! I used to (vaguely) know Roger Williams. He was one of our clients when I worked at STATUS. Nice old chap. Presumably long-retired now? And yes, by definition, if it's any good as a replica, it WON'T pass an IVA! It's not just the belt anchorages and the sharp...

Thanks Stan, that's very kind. And of course, my best wishes to your wife! I doubt, at this stage of her career (she's 54 but don't tell anyone I said that!) she probably wouldn't re-train as a GP. She's a consultant anaesthetist at present, so becoming a GP would mean "going back to school"...

Hi Stan, thanks for asking! Sadly, not too good, I'm afraid. It hasn't improved much since the last operation and they're out of ideas now. There's talk of early retirement on ill health grounds, which has got her a bit down-in-the-dumps. She's coming to terms with the fact that she's...

Fair enough. I don't know the gear ratios, but I guess maybe 20 MPH at redline in 1st? Maybe 15 MPH at 3000? I don't know where peak torque is on that engine, so I'm guessing in the dark, but if 3rd gear is about 2.75 - 3 times taller than 1st, then will you not need 2.75 - 3 times the...

The only thing I'd urge caution on, is that the Rebuilt and Radically altered "rules" are actually DVLA guidelines, rather than law. They're not very good, to be honest - and hopelessly out of date. There's a link here: https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-registration/radically-altered-vehicles but...

I don't know how much it made on ours, but I reckon maybe 10%. We had to ditch the regenerative over-run (which added very little) but we kept the braking. It's the single best bit about an EV! Watching the power consumption going negative is a big psychological thing too! To get round the...