Got one finally!

Hi All,

I travelled the 200 miles from Leeds to Ipswich to collect my new Ebay purchase, on spec, A VDP 1500 auto, 1976 with long ish tax and test

However, it was not really as described in the advert

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251185657592?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

Serves me right really, I should have known better, but I've taken a punt before on vehicles and been vindicated, so tend to be trusting of ebayers.

This was described as being better looking in the flesh than the photos suggested, having had a respray in red - the car was photographed with a covering of mist over it, which actually covered up the crazing all over the roof, and general poor quality over the rest of it - never mind, I was planning on respraying anyway.

The vendor stated the brakes probably needed new pads, so I thought I'd take a chance, after all, it had a long MOT and maybe needed driving to bed them in or something!

I was met by the vendor's partner, who had a small child indoors, so because I was in a rush, didn't give the car an inspection, I just jumped in and set off on the 200 mile return trip.

I only got a mile or so down the road and decided to pull over and call my breakdown company out to look at the brakes, and investigate the rumbling noise

The patrol person advised the front two tyres were borderline illegal, and so we agreed I'd follow on to a garage to have them changed and the brakes looked at. The assistant manager was great, he knew his stuff about classics, and amazingly they had two budget tyres in stock - £58 including balancing and fitting - and they tightened up the offending wheel bearing, checked all the brakes, checked them on their rolling tester (MOT garage), and all was fine, apart from the brake lights and rear tail lights weren't working now

The garage weren't auto electricians, but the assistant manager was brilliant, and had a go at sorting them, but we were running out of time, as they closed at 6pm - I called the breakdown service again, who sent a patrol out to assist, and after an hour and a half, we had illumination Suffice to say the vendor didn't take a picture of the engine bay - if he had, it would have revealed the TWO starter batteries, and the godawful bodged wiring all round, most especially the fuse box, which had all four fuses with wiring bypassing them - very untidily as well, which made it look worse!

If anyone is in the Ipswich area, I fully recommend the garage in question, the assistant manager stayed with me for a good couple of hours after the rest of the staff had gone home, and was very knowledgeable, and honest with the pricing - he really went above and beyond the call of duty - PM me if you want to know more

I finally set off about 8pm, in intermittent rain and wind (last Thursday - picked a cracking day for it ), averaging 50 - 60 mph, tailgating HGV's where possible to benefit from their slipstream, and to help follow the road, as the rain was lashing it down in parts.

She drove rather well, nice and smooth, engine purred along, hardly shaken by the gusts of wind, and one high point was when I drove over a bump, and the dashboard lights came on, and stayed on, which was nice

Overall, the car is solid enough, as I got to inspect the underneath whilst on the ramps, and the engine plainly works well, as does the gearbox - but, there is plenty of tidying up to do.

I suspect there may be a cooling issue, as the electric fan is wired up permanently, there was a thermostat in the glovebox, presumably removed to allow the car to cool better - maybe explains why I need the choke out so long from cold? Having seen the price of cooling spares on ebay, I'm not worried, I'd like to change the rad, the water pump etc.. anyway for the future.

I found this morning the autobox struggled until the engine warmed up - I suspect an oil and filters change will sort that.

The front footwell is soaking - haven't had time to look over the rest of the car for leaks - anyone point out any usual areas to check for water ingression?

Well, I wanted a project, so I've ordered a Haynes manual off Ebay for £3.25 inc p&p, I'll start with the obvious stuff like wiring and cooling, oil and filters, then onto the cosmetics - I want it to be a rolling resto, as past experience has taught me that cars taken off the road often don't come back

If anyone has any tips for where to get cheap new parts, or good advice, then I'd be very pleased to hear from you,

Cheers,

Jim

With the help of my mate, I started the first stage of getting the car something like useable!



We discovered there was no thermostat, apart from the one in the glovebox!



If you look carefully you can see all the fuses have wire bypassing them - scary!



Front footwells absolutely sopping, moreso the passenger side, which was coming in thru hole in the inner wing area - not sure how to describe it - we drilled a drain hole as a temporary fix before serious welding in the passenger side, the driver side seems to be coming in thru a rust hole in the upper wing/bulkhead area - not sure how we're going to tackle this yet





Carpets hanging up, water literally pouring off them!



Spot the TWO batteries, both too small to turn the engine over on their own so we found when getting rid of the excess one which was completely unanchored - so that's a new battery required!





No air filter assembly at all - anyone got one for sale please???



The electric cooling fan comes on when up to temperature, but refuses to turn off - I guess a new Temperature fan switch is required? Can they be cleaned up or are they sealed units?



I'm considering buying an uprated alternator, as the constant use of the cooling fan, driving lights, heater on, stereo on etc.. seems to be too much for it - I have seen one on Ebay for £49.99 inc postage, rated 60 ah, as opposed to the 45 ah standard ( I think, not got the workshop manual yet to check)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/170934385354?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Anyone any thoughts on this - will it be too powerful, any issues I haven't thought about? I would like to put a Bosch battery on - here's one on Ebay again which would fit the battery tray, and looks like it's got plenty of oomph in it!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261131617595?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

I think the one for £45 is the one for me, hopefully the alternator would be compatible?

The car didn't spin over very well even with the two batteries in place, and needed a jump from my Daimler to get properly going - I wasn't pleased with this, and I'd rather go a bit OTT to sort that out hence the alternator and huge battery power - the starter was fine when the power was applied, just clicked when one little battery only.

I'd also like to fit electronic ignition, found this kit on Ebay -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/180596231091?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Anyone any experience of fitting similar? Looks quite simple, but we all know how that can go

We discovered petrol spits out of what looks like a relief hole on the carb when she'd been idling a while - is this normal for SU carbs?

There was a bunch of little jobs like opening up the windscreen washer jets, sorting out little wiring jobs, (lots of them - someone didn't feel the need to use spade connectors at all all over the car - proper bodger ), and I need to do the usual oil, filters etc.. jobs yet.

Phew, that lot is only half the story, but I think there's hope, she's quite solid, good engine and box, just badly mistreated for a while, not to mention the rubbish paint job - more on that another time,

Cheers,

Jim

Another couple of hours at my yard revealed this little shocker



Yes, the blackened area is indeed some localized fire damage

Luckily, the previous owner must have decided to save him/herself the inconvenience of reporting it to their insurance company, and effected a solid and aesthetically pleasing repair, by stuffing not one, not a pair, but several football socks into the affected area on the seat base






I speculated as to the scenario whereby this would be the logical solution, and came up with this -

The owner/driver was ferrying his mates back from five-a-side works league, and celebrating a glorious victory with a number of the finest Doobers, all of which were freely passed around the occupants and driver. (I submit the extra large rizlas and cheap lighter found underneath the seat, and just about everywhere else on the car as evidence to back up my theory M'lud).
Unfortunately, in the drug induced haze, one of said bifters went astray behind the rear seat, leading to some melting of foam and carpet, before being extinguished with half a bottle of Dr Peppers - also to be found under the driver's seat.
Now, this is where only those who have had their consciousness radically enhanced could have dreamt up this rolling repair - noticing that the comfort levels (literally) had fallen below the standards he had become accustomed to, one of the young fellows enterprisingly fed the contents of the kit bag into the springs surreptitiously until equilibrium was once again restored 8-)
Come on, you might say, how did the driver not see and smell all this going on? Easy, he was plainly stoned within an inch of his gourd, and the sickly sweet sensi smell masked the burning foam, simples.

I read on a forum somewhere that if a fat lad sat on the back seat in a particular position, it would engage the handbrake unwittingly - I dismissed this as a piece of nonsense, until I saw this -




This is a car that just keeps on giving!

I had a look thru my Jag spares to see if i could bling up the VDP, and tried this look -



The only real useable spares were the doorhandles, but they'll need the circular bits cutting out, as my finger is pointing out -



This is my Honda VF750 c trike project - not too far off now, no rush till spring, but I'd like it finished by then 8-)




I need a lie down now

Cheers,
Jim

Blimey!! as you say the car that keeps on giving..... Looks like it's had a right bodger for an owner in the recent past. Have you looked in the boot yet????

Andy.

Bloody freezing today (Tuesday), but did six hours of hard labour

Started off with new oil and filter - got a filter for £3.25 off ebay, used some spare diesel 15/40 oil (mineral), figured it more than meets the specs for the Allegro from 36 years ago




Then changed the spark plugs, which were handily set correctly out of the boxes. (£7.93 ebay inc p&p)

Had to "re-engineer" the universal pancake filter, as it plainly didn't fit, and was supplied with bolts designed to screw into the SU carb - We needed nuts on the end as there was no internal thread on my carb anyhow (£15.30 inc p&p)






Changed the radiator temperature switch for a brand new one - the old one had what looked like radweld all over it, not nice and shiny at all - this worked very nicely indeed. (£17.69 inc p&p off Ebay)

I'd forgotten how dramatic a change a good service can make on a vehicle - she was loads quieter, and loads smoother - use of the manual choke was down to a minimum, very rewarding

Next job was to sort out the sidelights - had to wire them up to the headlights as only got a single rocker on/off switch available - when I find a replacement on Ebay I'll change it.




Finally, made a start on the stereo wiring - decided to start again - the earth and live were sent straight to the battery unfused - that had to go



The speaker wires to the only speakers (wrong size for the holes in parcel shelf ) were twisted onto the speakers, and extended by more twisting and wrapped in masking tape - not good The ISO plug from the stereo had been bypassed and butchered - again more twisting and general bodgery, so I re-instated the connector, and fitted an ISO adaptor to loom kit I had spare from a motorhome project.


We ran out of daylight, and enthusiasm, so I need to work out what speakers I have that work, and where to put them, along with finding a switched positive to tap into neatly.

My mate also solved the Mystery of the Localized Fire Damage - he correctly pointed out that someone had plainly tried welding the sills without removing the soft furnishings to a safe distance, and a stray fiery blob had jumped under the seat I still like my explanation 'tho!

Cheers,
Jim

Finally got around to dealing with the rat's nest fusebox, with the glass fuses, one of which was spectacularly blown, but kept re-animated like Frankenstein's monster with steel wire bridging it



Having pushed the fusebox back inside the car into the driver's footwell, I inspected the state of it, and it wasn't too bad to be honest, but I'd bought a new six fuse, spade type connector box, so decided to fit that, as I've got hundreds of spare blade fuses kicking around, and of course if there was going to be lots of fuse issues, I'd need them



I cable-tied the new fusebox to a fat chunk of wiring loom, mainly because there was no excess wiring to facilitate a move somewhere more body-like, and I figured it would be fine, there's no play, and it's out of knee range, plus it's where you would expect a fusebox to live in a car of this age, unlike the old one which was hidden behind gaffer tape in the engine bay exposed to all sorts of possible elements




Rubbish Gooman's stereo, fitted the two rear speakers correctly using spade connectors, new wires etc.. only to discover on test run to the gym, that it skips constantly on the slightest bump in the road - works fine if you're stationary 'tho



I'm seriously considering a replacement from Aldi for £49.99, with Bluetooth and all the bells and whistles, not really in the budget before electronic ignition etc.. but this is a rolling resto, and I do like some music on my travels.

Also fitted some roof channel chrome-style trim, dead easy to cut and fit, and makes a world of difference



Refitted the chrome bootstrips, after cleaning the red overspray with white spirits and a green scouring sponge from the kitchen (don't tell the Missus)



I've ordered some chrome strips to run along the natural coachline along the side of the car, which will "join up" with the top boot strip, same width hopefully, off Ebay, still to arrive.

Next job I think is sorting out the boot - needs re-carpeting/lining, and I want to protect the rear light connections from heavy stuff damaging them, which I suspect has been happening (I have redone them all securely now, but still not happy with situation, then onto carpeting the rest of the car.

Cheers,
Jim

Looking good Jim, Wish I had the time to spend on mine, seems to take me ages to get work done on the old girl. I've got some in boot pictures for you i'll upload them tomorrow along with a few of the rest of the car in general. You can see my odd paint colour - Mirage. That looks like a pretty robust fuse unit too. What about the hole in the bulkhead? you bunged it up, or left the old fusebox in it?

The trim you replaced - was it the one that goes along the roof gutter? if so where did you get it from as i'd like to change mine sometime it's sun damaged. Cheers..... Andy

...Good progress there Jim, Its getting better with every post, can see where you've been on it all the time, nice one

Thanks for the kind words chaps

This is where I got my trim from Andy -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150807636419?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

In the spirit of previous owners, i gaffer taped up the hole, until I get round to neatly siliconing a blanking plate on

I bought an offcut roll of carpet today, and whipped out the carpet set - not hard at all - I'll be using the old carpets as templates tomorrow as it's due to persisit it down all day - nice job in the warmth of my kitchen

I'll take some pics and post a "how to" I think - might encourage others with stinky, rotting, 36 year old carpet (if I don't make a pig's ear of it )

Cheers,
Jim

My grown up Daughter bought me stereo from Aldi, £49.99, for Xmas, with a bit of prompting from me



No need for the instructions, I'm a bloke



I'd already tidied up the wiring and fitted an ISO to wiring loom adapter, so fitting was literally plug and play



The finished product, in black to match the surrounding plastic



Finally, some period music - the Rolling Stones compilation



Next job apart from the carpets, is to shoehorn in some more speakers in the front preferably - luckily whilst flicking thru the Haynes for Andy's blue thingy, I discovered there is room for a speaker ON PURPOSE in the centre console, just below the stereo, see pic above

Cheers,
Jim

Bit the bullet and had a go at fitting a speaker in the centre console, as per previous post, and guess what? Piece of cake

I'd already removed the two parcel shelves either side of the console, so only two screws held up the console, a flat head on the left, and a philips head on the right In the interest of "carcheology" (I've just invented a new discipline ), I thought I'd put them back as they were, as a reminder of simpler times

So, the console flopped down, held only by the stereo wires, which I didn't bother to disconnect, and upon inspection, there's room for (I think) a 3 inch x 5 inch speaker, but I only had a JBL four incher (again, I didn't bother with the measuring tape), so I used one existing screw and hole, and self-tapped the other three holes into what seemed to be a composite - card/ sponge type material, wired up the speaker, replaced as a reversal of removal (thanks Haynes for the terminology at least ), et Voila!

The sound was transformed, much more depth, and thank God the new speaker wasn't blown, as I wasn't sure

I forgot to take the camera out with me, but honestly, it's not hard to figure out, and well worth the fifteen minutes it took

I'm still hunting for somewhere to stick another speaker, but less rush now that the sound is certainly adequate, and of course I need to stop prevaricating with the carpets.

Cheers,
Jim

Spent a day working on the brakes, and cleaning out my new (very used) American motorhome, at my lockup yard.

Not much to report, but I did take a couple of photo's and I need to report on the carpeting, however I'm too tired and full after a particularly pleasing take away curry, so I'll do a proper job maybe on Sunday, as I'm away all day tomorrow

Got a list of bits I need which I'll outline as well, if anyone can help

Cheers,
Jim

I seem to have been at this job for months, but really still not finished

The original carpets were thirty six years old obviously, and had finally had enough of the leaking footwells and the march of time, here in a stinky pile in my kitchen, but useable as templates



A roll of offcut, bargained down to £30 -



Some tools I used - stanley knife, impact glue, strong thread, set of needles, scissors, felt tip pen, carpet tape etc.. All in I reckon I spent less than £50



Old carpets laid on new roll, outlined and cut out - I marked the edges that needed "bordering with some old faux leather vinyl from a previous job -





I could swear I took more photos of the finished, edged carpets, in the car as well, but can't seem to find them, so I'll have to take some more - unfortunately the car is in my lockup at the moment as my Daimler needs a good run out, snow permitting, so it'll be a few days before I get them posted.

Overall, I'm not over the moon with the way they've turned out, but they're an improvement on the old ones, and they don't stink

I should have picked a darker colour I think, as I'm constantly worrying about the slightest speck of dirt, and some big lumps too

I think once I've sorted out the bits I'm not completely satisfied with, and got some decent beige overmats (it seems they're unavailable at this time of year for reasonable price, ie less than a tenner), then I'll be OK with everyone judging my handiwork

I've got to compile a list of parts I need, and thanks Andy for the offer of a boot carpet, I may well have a couple of items you can help me with

That's all for now, been a bit poorly recently, so not had much enthusiasm, along with a new (used!) american motorhome, which runs but leaks like a sieve, and really needs selling straight on -



No rest for the wicked!

Cheers,
Jim

...Fit ramp doors at the back, we could do the Italian Job, mobile workshop?

I reckon you could get an Aggro in the back of this beastie

It's so damp inside it would probably rust quicker than on my driveway 'tho

Cheers,
Jim

I have finally worked out how to get my Iphone pics onto photobucket - hooray

Fitted some new underlay in parts made of laminate flooring leftovers, in keeping with the tiny budget, it's the green stuff in the photo - it doesn't hold water, and hopefully won't let any past onto the carpet above



Seats out, new carpet waiting to go in



New carpets in rear



New carpets in front



As I've said, still not 100% finished, but good enough for now, hate having a car parked up unuseable,

Cheers,
Jim

That looks superb Jim. Like the colour looks fresh & brand new. You have made great progress on your car - wish mine moved at that speed.

I've put the boot carpet to one side for you, looks in pretty good shape.

No progress from me, working straight through January it seems - everyone got broken boilers this time of year

Andy.

Thanks Andy,

my boiler's been playing up as well

I had a lad my mate recommended come and have a look, he diagnosed a faulty expansion vessel, so he fitted a kit under the floorboards, which sorted the pressure problems, now I need to get the diverter valve serviced I think, as turning the hot water on sometimes knocks the central heating off, so I have to reset the central heating.

Sorry for the plumbing speak, but sometimes it's good to share with people who know what you're on about

I'm prevaricating on my list of bits required, as A, it seems quite large, and B, I don't want to pay for it right now

Please keep that carpet for me, the one I have in the boot is plainly wrong, so it would be great to use it as template for new carpet

I need a few boring parts such as steering rack gaiters, track rod gaiters etc.. which I'm sure I can get from the motor factors, just not very excited by the jobs in this weather when I can cheerfully ignore them for a while

Cheers,
Jim

Hi Jim,

Yeah, if your boilers tripping out in hot water mode, diverter is good place to start. I would also clean out/de-scale the plate heat exchanger (sardine can shaped thing) while your in there as it might be going out on high temp. If your hot water is not as hot as it should be it's sure sign of scaled up plate heat exchanger.

Boot carpet is in my workshop now & stored. Looks pretty mint. Can't believe how much stuff my dad has stored in his garage - he had lot's of BL cars in the 70's/80's and looks like he stored most of them in bits, like aladdins cave it is

On your carpet pictures, is that the original colour on the door slam panels? looks like champagne beige - I know it well!! had a Morris Marina in that colour in the 80's.

I've been changing steering bellows, brake hoses & CV gaiters as I go. Figured at 39 years old it would be wise to change them. I didn't have any joy at the motor factors getting these parts so let us know how you get on.

Got free day sunday so hopefully bit more progress, although we've got 8 inches of snow on the deck now so workshop will be damm cold

Andy