Zel's Fleet Blog - BX, Jag XJ-S, Sinclair C5, Mercedes 208D & 230TE, AC Model 70.

[Zelandeth]

Yep...sounds about right! Cats always figure out how to get dogs to do exactly what they want after a short while!

[Hell Razor5543]

My cousin Ailsa has made a suggestion re Tesla shedding;

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&key ... knoel2nb_e

They do a good job of grooming, to the point where people will use the result to stuff cushions with as well. Take the time to let Tesla get used to it, and he should enjoy it.

[Zelandeth]

Yep, we already use very similar brushes. This time of year it's quite possible to go through a grooming session and wind up with a pile of fur as big as he is. 24 hours later you can do the same again...there seems to be no end of it!

He's not too bad about grooming compared to some dogs I know, though there is still some puppy in there so he does squirm a bit and will only take so much before he's had enough. Do wish he could make the connection between putting up with it and the fact that he itches far less afterwards as I'm sure he would co-operate completely them.

[Hell Razor5543]

Sounds like the Husky in him has a lot to answer for. However, it also sounds like he is such a lovely person you would not have him any other way.

If you need any help with training him my cousin Ailsa has found something that her dog Barnham loves, and will pay attention for. Slow cooked liver. Put some liver in an oven on the lowest setting for a couple of hours, just to dry it out (so you could have it loose in your pocket). Then cut it into small pieces (about the size of the first joint on your little finger). Next time you are training Tesla use them as a reward. Barnham becomes a lot more attentive when he smells the liver (and he is attentive all of the time).

[Zelandeth]

Thanks for that, will have to give that a try. He's pretty good to be honest, only issues we ever really have with focus is the "oh my god another dog!" reflex, but that's getting a lot better these days.

The husky definitely has a lot to count for both in the shedding and the vocal department. You should hear him when he sees me getting the bike out and figures out he's going for a run...have had to alert the neighbours so they don't think I'm murdering him!

[Zelandeth]

Had a bit of time for the Lada today, which is always a good thing. Not least because I spent a good couple of hours driving it around (which I enjoy greatly), had an extremely enthusiastic reception from a member of staff at Subway where I stopped to grab lunch (yes, I know...fast food and all that...) and had a nice chat with her. Turns out she's originally from Poland and is quite the enthusiast, and has grand designs on getting hold of a Fiat 126 someday. Can't argue with that, would love one myself, and it's definitely on the "if I had unlimited space" list. Was happy to let her grab a few photos, as let's face it, letting people enjoy it is half what owning cars like this is about isn't it? Even if I did own some highly exotic Ferrari (F-40 please!), or some current exotica (most likely a McLaren), it wouldn't get hidden away in a garage. It would be driven and enjoyed, and yes I'd let people sit in it at classic car shows! People always seem shocked when I walk up to them when I'm at a show and say "Door's open, have a proper look around!" and seem massively grateful afterwards. Obviously I'm on the lookout for a kid with chocolate covered hands, and make sure that anything not bolted down is at the least out of sight, but seriously what's the point if people can't enjoy it?

Most importantly though, had a care package from Tom at Lada UK arrive today. This wasn't unexpected as I'd ordered some stuff (more on that later), but was surprised to see this when I opened the box...Tom's thrown in some goodies!



There's a full parts & accessories catalogue for the Riva range circa 1992 there (that will be handy when I'm looking for bits as it should have the majority of the parts numbers I'll ever need listed), and very interestingly a Samara injection manual. Which I find interesting as I was never aware of the Samara being injected, just a "standard" carb, and later the electronically controlled ones as on the Riva...you learn something every day. Have only had a very quick flick through that so far, but one thing I've already found that is of *very* great use to me is a plot of a normal time vs voltage trace of what to expect from the lambda sensor...so I can compare to what mine is doing! Yes, this is for an injected car, but that shouldn't be hugely different, especially at idle where the fuel metering on the solenoid based carb is actually pretty darn accurate (when it's behaving). It's really the transition from idle to power that this setup struggles with a bit. It looks to be a fantastic technical document which really explains the principles behind a lot of things...Look forward to getting a quiet rainy afternoon at some point and sitting down in a quiet corner and reading through that.

Lifting them out though revealed what must be one of the best bits of unexpected "stuff" I've received in a long while. An A3 sized full colour dealer's...Not sure how to describe it...It's half way between a full colour art book, and a technical manual for the Lada 2107 (the "posh version of the Riva)! It's truly a thing of beauty...and the diagrams go into incredible detail. Even down to the innards of the shock absorbers and cut away views of everything even down to which bits are perforated in the exhaust silencers, not to mention a fold-out full colour wiring diagram.





I have to assume in the absence of a date anywhere that this dates back to 1983 when the Riva first arrived on UK shores.

Not entirely sure how to go about digitising this one as it's in A3 (if not slightly larger) format, and as such well too large to fit on my scanner...

This is as a Lada enthusiast though definitely something to go under the heading of "stuff to treasure forever" and I need to figure out a way to share it at least digitally. Sadly the odds of me ever owning a 2107 to go with it are about as likely as it raining frogs in central Milton Keynes tomorrow.

This was what I ordered though, with the additional bonus documents in shot too, the big blue VAZ 2107 book in the background.



Forgive the mess on the table...Kinda busy there just now!

...Also somehow forgot the brake pads...so here's a random close-up of those. Got to love that high quality, showy packing! Yes...These have come straight from Lada themselves.



Now, this is the bit which is going to make a lot of your jaws hit the floor...What I paid for this lot. This is effectively "main dealer" price for these parts, as they have all come direct from the factory via an official UK importer.

Brake hoses (3x): £5 each.
Copper washers for front hoses: £0.50 each (might have been a quid...can't remember).
Brake pads front set: £12/set.
Steering idler shaft: £5.
Steering idler shaft bush & seal set: £5.
Rear light clusters: £35 each (literally brand new, QC label in them stamped February this year).
Carb solenoid gaskets: Thrown in for free.
Heater hose bulkhead gasket/bung: £3.

Hard to argue with those numbers really! This is one of the real bonus points of owning a Lada! Yes, some of the bits won't last as long as they will in an 80s Mercedes...but generally they're cheap enough that you just kinda shrug and admit that it's hard to argue with! More often than not the process of changing said part is generally painless enough so long as you have a big enough hammer that it still makes sense afterwards too.

Also decided to pop over to Motorserv to pick up some fuel hose to change the few bits I didn't have in stock previously as some looked suspiciously original. This meant that I needed to pop the hose off the brake servo to measure its inner diameter...Oh joy...35 minutes later and a couple of bleeding knuckles and this was what remained of the hose clip (think there's the remains still here of the last one I pulled off to the left too!).



Have I mentioned how much I hate these hose clamps? They seriously are the invention of the Devil himself. Especially if you can't get at them.

Finally for the day though, I treated the car to a bit of tasteful chrome for the sake of chrome...because let's face it, there's enough brightwork on the car that it just makes sense.



...should also help stop making such a mess of the rear bumper and garage door hopefully, and I reckon suits a car of this era just nicely.

Hopefully get some of the rest of this stuff fitted over the next few days.

[CitroJim]

Wow! Fantastic Zel What a lovely set of wondrous stuff in that parcel! And those parts prices are amazing...

Are those new production rear light clusters now fade-proof or will you only go out in the dark with them?

I love the exhaust embellisher - now that is proper old-school retro

[Zelandeth]

Sure they will fade too Jim, but if it takes 23 years for them to get to the same level again I think I can deal with that!

Having said that, not all of them did it, and it only generally seemed to be the estate that was so afflicted (though the ones for the saloon tended to cloud internally instead!), so it may be they are now UV stable...only time will tell I guess!

Will make sure to bring the book with me next time I'm out your way.

Need to find some suitably genuine 80s door protectors to finish the look (plus the paint is marked where they obviously have been before or I would never do that!) back to proper time-warp appearance. That, a reproduction tax disc, and a Feu Orange air freshener hanging from the rear view mirror (hopefully de-scented after all these years!).

Thinking about it...I think I do have some discs still floating around from back then (I found the different colours every year fascinating so collected them for a while as a kid) on which the written text has long since faded to nothing...so could do that myself if I can find them...if I can find them and if they didn't eventually get binned when I cleared Dad's house out - though I'm pretty sure they were in the boxes that got filed under "there's all manner of stuff in here and only 50% is junk...pack it and deal with later" so is probably buried in the garage still...

No car stuff today, got sidetracked cleaning the phone I picked up a couple of weeks back, finally have a working (and immaculate) Type 746 phone here (8746 I think to be precise). Count myself lucky to have found one in ivory which hasn't turned yellow.

Scared me half to death when it rang earlier, had forgotten how loud they are!

[CitroJim]

Zel, I'd love to see the books!

Feu Orange!!! Urrgh They always made me feel sick but very right for the time... Air fresheners of all sorts still do. can't be anywhere near them, those or women wearing perfume...

I have a load of old discs here but not sure if they have faded enough... I know there are people in the classic world who do repro discs...

Yes, proper 746 bells are proper loud and ring as 'phones should... I have a fair facsimile of a 746 as my mobile ringtone but it's not quite right... No way it can be done in an audio file and catch all the subtleties of it...

[Zelandeth]

The air freshener is purely for the look. I remember them smelling pretty dire!

No car stuff today, been playing with the latest petrol powered tool. Zel now has a chainsaw. Be afraid, be very afraid!

Was really only practical way to start bringing those hedges down to a sensible height as they have been growing unchecked for at least ten to fifteen years. Made a decent dent today, much to the gratitude of our neighbours there who have seen daylight for the first time in ten plus years!

[Hell Razor5543]

Wait until you get to try a proper stump grinder! About 10 years ago I helped a friend to sort out the jungle that was his back garden. The grinder had a large engine, with a very heavy toothed vertical wheel. Turned those stumps into match wood very quickly. What it also did very well was to take a big bite out of a large chunk of concrete that was hidden in the jungle! The teeth were not bothered by it.

[Stickyfinger]

Get the paint gun out

[Hell Razor5543]

My god, a young Ayrton Senna at Lotus, with customised Sinclair C5s! I wonder what he would have made of the Citroen C5?

[Zelandeth]

Those must have been a pain to do...body on the Sinclair is polypropylene, and as such is an absolute pig to paint - as many folks have found when they have tried to customise them!

Won't be grinding any stumps here as the trunks are staying - just after a couple of metres have been hacked off the top. We're basically taking things back down to the two-ish metre height they should be. Maintenance should be relatively easy then...but they're about five metres high at the moment as the previous owner totally neglected them for years. Along with a bunch of other things around the house...including but not limited to the plumbing, half the electrical system...oh...and the roof.

[spider]

I remember the last (I think?) Lada's to arrive. Sold cheaply (ish) at about 4.5K from what I recall. 'R' plates ?

I could be wrong as its a long time ago. I think it was the emission and safety which the EU tightened up about this time that stopped them. I've not read a lot of your Lada information though yet.