Tuesday, September 26, 2006

International fame!

I was deeply chuffed to find that this humble little blog was picked by Matt Wright, the editor of UK magazine Practical Classics, as his 'site of the day' (see the 6 September entry here). Not that I'd necessarily call 5000 carefree miles of motoring in eight months 'one man's battle' ... but you know journos and hyperbole!

Her Laydship was also pleased, but she has been expressing some concern lately about the state of her undercarriage: a nasty 'clonk' is heard/felt in the front when one is forced to hit a large bump, pothole or tram track; and she's developed a tendency to pull to the right under brakes.

The Pater Familias suspects it could be 'merely' a lower balljoint, but having poked my head underneath and seen the state of some of the many bushes and other rubbery bits that cushion the various bits of the front suspension and steering, I think a more thorough going-over may be in order. And given the 'bouncy-bouncy' way she responds to a sharp prod to any side, some new shock absorbers might also be on the list. I looked up the price of four Konis* - then I lay down for a while in a darkened room!

While she hasn't yet lived up to the 'Moneypitt' moniker, the day may soon be upon us ...

*that would be more than A$800.

Sunday, September 03, 2006

All brand new



There, that's better. Safe, flexible fuel lines that won't split suddenly and pump petrol all over the engine; and a t-piece that won't burst. (I probably should have done this before driving 1000 miles last week!)

I did have a bit of a 'moment' putting it all back together, though. After carefully tightening everything up and reconnecting all the throttle and choke linkages (or so I thought), topping up the radiator to replace the coolant that came out when I undid the t-piece, and turning the ignition on to pump fresh fuel through the filter and into the carbs (and checking that it wasn't leaking anywhere), I hit the starter ... and vroom! She was 'idling' at about 2000rpm!

After scratching my head for a bit, I worked out that I'd connected one of the short throttle linkages the wrong way around and it was holding the throttle open on one carb. After putting it back to rights and giving the slow running screw the tiniest tweak, all was serene.

But just to test, I went for a quick spin around Royal Park, including (I must admit) a few fish-tails in the gravel carpark at the rear of the Zoo ... don't tell anyone! Definitely plenty of power getting to the back wheels ;)

Why fresh rubbery bits were required





The old t-piece was in a pretty poor state - I'm grateful that it held out this long. The fuel line was sound enough, but very hard, so I think it was a good idea to replace it.

Some important rubbery bits refreshed




I've just spent a quite useful few hours out in the garage doing a few jobs that I probably should have done months ago - namely replacing Zara's old (original?) hard plastic fuel hose with new rubber ones; and finally replacing the other t-piece.

To get to the t-piece I had to take off one carburettor. I'd been warned that this is a hideously fiddly job (which is why I didn't do it when I replaced the other cooling hoses), but actually I found it a doddle. No knuckles grazed, no bolts lost down into the darkest recesses of the engine bay ...

The carb was rather grotty, but a quick spray with some carb cleaner had it looking much shiner. (Actually, the engine bay isn't going to win me any concours awards - but Zara is a car in frequent use, not a show pony, so as long as everything works and nothing leaks, I'm not that fussed about how shiny it is.)