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

[NewcastleFalcon]

It is indeed on my driveway receiving lots of TLC. I shall write about it in my blog soon

Well scanners are the new spanners, and you dont have to get your hands so dirty

Regards Neil

[CitroJim]

It is indeed on my driveway receiving lots of TLC. I shall write about it in my blog soon

Regards Neil

That was the over-zealous spell check on my 'phone Neil Bloody thing's a menace... It does not ask but substitutes what IT thinks is right Some Facebook and Insta posts I make have some right howlers in them as a result!!!

Mind you, I should run my ELIT over Zel's car so in a way the 'phone got it right after all

[Zelandeth]

After three days of faffing around with it I've got the paint on the engine cover...looking not quite as good as it did before I started messing with it.



I just really need to accept that bodywork isn't really my forte. It wasn't going to go well when after sanding things back and degreasing the panel, the primer proceeded to do this as it dried.



The worst of that was flatted back but I had to admit to having lost patience with the job a bit by that point.

During the long cold evenings in the winter we'll see about totally stripping the panel back...or getting a professional to do it.

Trying to smarten this up was a daft idea and I should have left it alone. Will get everything put back together later...then stop messing about trying to make things pretty. Just concentrate on what it needs to be a working car that's reliable and pleasant to use.

The Activa has also been receiving some much deserved TLC as is documented over on Jim's Blog as he's been doing the vast majority of the heavy lifting. I've so far been most useful as ballast to hang off the far side of a vice while trying to unscrew a stubborn ball joint from the wishbone...

[CitroJim]

I just really need to accept that bodywork isn't really my forte.

Judging by how that engine cover is looking and all the other bodywork you've done I'd seriously disagree with that statement Zel, it looks very good indeed

That crazing is just a reaction to whatever is underneath. A very common occurrence and a change of paint to a compatible type should resolve...

I've so far been most useful as ballast to hang off the far side of a vice while trying to unscrew a stubborn ball joint from the wishbone...

As I said in my blog, had you not been hanging off the other end I'd have turned my bench through 90 degrees the way I was leaning on the breaker bar to get that ball-joint undone!!!

[Zelandeth]

The Jag is now off the road until such point as I get the tyres replaced. The front ones are ancient and had turned to more plastic than rubber and were out of round. However at £220 apiece it's one of those jobs which it takes a bit of time to build up to, especially as my husband is now looking for work as their work contract has just come to an end, especially as while they weren't great the tyres were still legal and I just made a point of not using the car in the wet - especially as it's near impossible to keep the thing demisted without working air con. The rear ones are older than ideal but still nicely compliant and have some life left in them. However I can't really just change the front ones as the tyres it's fitted with aren't correct. It should be fitted with 215/70 R15 tyres with a W speed rating. Not the 205/70s with a H rating on the front or T on the rear.

A very, very, very near miss with another driver (which looking back on it I reckon may have been a Crash for Cash attempt) earlier today saw me laying down a truly impressive set of skid marks, left a sufficiently dense cloud of tyre smoke you couldn't see through it, and has left a huge flat spot in both of the fronts. The resulting vibration actually was sufficient that I pulled over as soon as it was safe to to confirm I hadn't blown a tyre completely. The front tyres now are thoroughly dead as the vibration is sufficient to render the car pretty much undrivable above 30mph. You can see the flat spot from about ten feet away.

It's my hope that we will have the Xantia back in service at some point this week, parts delivery and MOT garage willing. If that's the case the timing will work out pretty well as there are a number of jobs I want to get done on the Jag which require quite a bit of stripping down - not least changing ALL the rubber fuel lines on the car for ethanol resistant ones, replacing the leaking cam cover oil seals, the blown inlet manifold gasket and changing some of the harder to get to coolant lines. Have a set of front brake discs and pads to go on to. Assuming I do get the Xantia back this week, the Jag can go into "dry dock" for a month or so while those jobs are tackled, and it can get the new tyres fitted immediately before returning to the road. Hopefully by that point our household employment situation will be more solid so dropping a grand on tyres will be slightly less stressful...though given the current job market I'm not holding my breath.

Something I did spot that's a little worrying though was that there's something funky with the rear ride height. I can't remember off the top of my head which is left/right here...but compare the two photos below.





Something ain't right there. I did crawl underneath to see if I could immediately see any evidence of a broken spring (remember, there are two on both sides on an XJ-S just for added fun/misery) and I couldn't immediately see anything obvious...so further investigation may be required there. I'll be able to get a better look when the wheels are off. I'm *hoping* that there has historically been a broken spring/springs on one side and it's been replaced...and the difference is just because they were cheap about it and only did one side...so one side has 35 year old springs on, the other doesn't. I rather doubt I'm going to be that lucky though. I need to investigate that before going too far down the tyre replacement path as this has the potential to be hiding some really nasty bills. Especially as I have a horrible feeling that a spring change is a subframe off job on this car.


The Invacar engine cover repaint has progressed today. I gave it a skim over with the sander this morning which got rid of *most* of the remaining chunks of paint. I'm not worrying too much about it at this point as I fully realise that there are about 50 steps needed to get a properly smooth uniform finish that I have neither the time nor patience for. If I can get it back to looking reasonably cared for and more or less presentable from ten paces I'll be happy. Somewhere down the line it will need to be more aggressively stripped and sanded back, the well and truly rusted on hinges and lock removed, the surface properly filled, sanded, filled, sanded many times over, before being repainted in a proper spray booth or at least a properly equipped garage. That ain't happening today though!

A couple of thin coats of cheap. basic primer (rather than the expensive high build stuff that started this whole mess) were applied and didn't appear to do anything unexpected. So topcoat number one went on...For some reason I forgot to get a photo of the primer stage.



This was repeated a couple of times until I was satisfied I had decent even coverage, and I just had time to get the first layer of clearcoat down before it started to cool off and I started to lose the light.



It was then very carefully placed back on the car in the garage so it can cure overnight in there rather than being left outside to get damp which would almost definitely make it go cloudy.



It will want a few more coats on, but should be able to get it put back together tomorrow. Then I'll leave it the heck alone and concentrate on stuff which actually will make the car better to use rather than worrying what she looks like.

One of the things the events of today have definitely pushed back into the forefront of my mind though is that I really *need* to get dashcams fitted to the rest of the fleet (the van already has one installed), as that was a very close call I had earlier today and without video evidence the suspicion of guilt would automatically have been pointed at me given I'd have gone into the back of another car. Basically, quiet derestricted dual carriageway. I saw a car and a bus behind them on a side road waiting to join, so I moved over to lane 2 to let them do so. Given the suspicion I treat all other road users, I'd backed off quite a bit by this point, even though I was only ambling along just under 60 anyway. Good thing as after a second or so they without any warning whatsoever moved over into lane 2, where I was about to pass them. I couldn't dodge left as the bus which had followed them out was now there, and the only option to my right was a barrier. As such the only thing I could do was stand on the brakes and pray. Thankfully A: The brakes on the Jag are far better than most cars from that era, and B: Nobody was tailgating me at the time. If I'd been blasting along there at 70+ as a lot of people do and not assuming that the merging car was likely to do something stupid, I'd have wound up parked halfway through their car. The skid marks and cloud of smoke were rather impressive. On this occasion it was in full view of a bus that's bristling with cameras so getting hold of footage to pass on to my insurer and the police wouldn't have been a problem, but this really highlighted to me that in 2020 I need to get permanent recording hardware installed in my cars. It's just not a "good idea" any more, it's essential.

[xantia_v6]

XJ rear springs do sometime sag, so you may need to replace them. Fortunately it is a relatively easy job, provided that the upper shock mounting bolts are not rusted into the spacer that goes inside the rubber bush. That can create a world of pain due to the lack of access. Note that many spring compressors won't safely grip the rear springs due to the small diameter and clearance with the shock absorber.

[Zelandeth]

Thanks for that. Nice to know that in theory a spring change isn't a huge job. That's not one I'd likely be taking on myself, that's the sort of job that gets farmed out to a garage. Dealing with spring compressors even under ideal circumstances scares the hell out of me.

If the springs are just tired that's fair enough, it can just go on the wish list. I've not noticed anything amiss handling or ride wise so if she just sits a little lopsided at rest I can live with that.

The current to do list I believe is:

[] Tyres.
[] Sort cam cover oil leaks.
[] Welding repair to inner wing under the secondary coolant expansion tank.
[] Replace inlet manifold gaskets.
[] Replace all rubber fuel lines.
[] Replace injector seals.
[] Change spark plugs (would be mad not to do them while I've got 90% of the stuff off the top of the engine!). May well throw a fresh set of HT leads on while I'm at it.
[] Replace air con compressor.
[] Replace front brake discs.
[] Replace remaining coolant lines.
[] Get proper tailpipes made up.
[] Replace oil pressure switch.

I've actually got everything to do about 80% of that in stock, a huge amount of the engine bay stuff had been held up for a while because I was waiting on the injection overhaul kit becoming available. Plus as it will obviously take the car off the road for a while I needed another car to be available, though the matter has been forced now, I'll just have to manage with the van and Invacar until we can get the Xantia back up and running. She really wants a sphere set too to be honest...Rears in particular have been getting tired for a while...and memory tells me she's due a timing belt too.

[CitroJim]

All the required spares are now in place for Zel's Activa and tomorrow should see some good progress Maybe not too much as a part of the day will be spent with my daughter whom I've not seen for a while...

[Hell Razor5543]

Zel will understand. Family always comes first (especially those whom you haven't seen for a while).

[Zelandeth]

Zel will understand. Family always comes first (especially those whom you haven't seen for a while).

Absolutely, family has to come first. Always has and always will.

As I've made very clear when speaking to Jim I'm massively grateful for all his help in this and that there's absolutely zero rush on anything. It'll be done when it's done. There's no massive urgency on this as I've other vehicles available to me. I'm not commuting or anything anyway so even if it was my only car it would be a relatively low priority in the grand scheme of things.

-- -- --

A few days ago I went through my Citroen spares stash carefully three full times checking for a lower ball joint before I admitted defeat and ordered one.

Today what did I spot sitting on the pool table...about a foot away from the P-bush which has been waiting to be dropped off at the car once the new ball joint arrives?





I must have physically picked this up and moved it TWICE when I was digging through the boxes of parts. I really do worry about the state of my brain sometimes...

Anyhow...It has now been dropped off with the car. Jim has indicated that his plan is to build up the control arm in the interim and we'll hopefully get it put back together on Friday which is when we're next both free. When the new ball joints arrive they can go back into the spares stash as ball joints are one of those things which you're always going to need at some point.


I've decided to call time on fiddling around with the paint on the Invacar for now. The finish on the engine cover isn't even close to great if you look at it up close, but given the state of the rest of the car it'll do just fine. "Obviously cared for even though rough around the edges" is the basic target we're after.



We called it good there and I set about putting things back together again.



While I had the painting kit out I gave the top cowling on the engine a quick sand back and a coat of paint as it was flaking off there badly in a few spots and it was bugging me.



Something I did before putting the engine cover back on was to move the block I used to set how far forward I can pull a bit to give me more clearance at the back of the car. On three separate occasions now I have taken a chunk out of the engine cover with the latch on the garage door when turning it to lock it.



The way the door sits means that you actually have a good six inches or so less clearance than it really looks like you should have...I really don't want to have to touch in a chunk out of the engine cover there for a fourth time.

Given the Jag is now off the road until the tyres are replaced, the Xantia is still in bits and a couple of places I needed to visit today have height barriers, she was immediately dragged out of the garage and pressed back into service.



It's definitely one of the easiest ways of making normal sized parking spaces look comically huge.



She's a bit tidier now than the first time I took a photo of her in that car park on her first trip out onto the road...Still held together by duct tape, cable ties and hope!

I noted that the new Dayco HP2020 belt I picked up has clear instructions on the packaging instructing a 20 mile break-in period during which you shouldn't exceed 50mph so I applied this procedure to the NOS belt which was fitted as well. You wouldn't think to look at this car that trying to keep it below 50 when on the open road would be quite so tricky...



We're now well outside that 20 mile period though so we're able to drive normally again. The new belt is a LOT quieter at speed than the previous one was and has completely done away with the judder when taking up drive which has plagued me since the day I got the car which is nice.

[Zelandeth]

Now the Invacar is back into regular-ish use I figured it was time to start trying to properly clean the interior a bit. I'd got the very worst of the grime off originally, but there were quite a few areas which needed more detailed attention. This is where we left off after maybe an hour or two.



At a glance not a huge difference, but a lot of the effort has been in some of the smaller areas. Particularly the doors, both of which had quite a lot of rust staining down below where the windows had been leaking for decades.



This one was particularly bad at the front. I'll need to put a touch of paint at the front there as it's actually stained the fibreglass below the runner, but it's a lot better. I also need to get the thinners and remove that paint drip just forward of the door handle as that's driving me crazy.

Nearside door wasn't anywhere near as grubby at least.



The colour IS that different, I believe one of the doors is an Invacar made one, the other is AC made. I *really* need to do something more elegant by ways of a repair to that rear corner. The only reason I didn't glass it up originally was fear of getting resin into the door latch assembly. Realistically I'll need to get the latch out to do this properly (or anything vaguely resembling properly).

In addition to the doors, the area between them and the rear bulkhead is looking a lot better now.





The access hatch really needs hitting with the power polisher and some cutting paste to try to get rid of some of the flaky paint etc on it but we're getting there.

Definitely need to look at getting the flooring sorted out because it is really letting things down - and I'm fed up of nearly faceplanting into the tarmac when climbing out.

Small stuff in the grand scheme of things, but making the car a nicer place to be is important in my book.

[Zelandeth]

I feel quite honoured that a friend has entrusted me with a very rare bird in need of some minor electrical rehabilitation.

I really miss Lancia from this era. They really were one of those companies who just did things their own way for better or for worse. I've never really had much exposure to them until recently, but between the Gamma Berlina and this one I'm finding myself quite drawn to them. The Gamma is absolutely on my lottery win shopping list in a heartbeat. Never mind how pretty a car it is, it's just so, so comfy. The ride in particular has nearly Citroen levels of waft to it which I was absolutely gobsmacked by.

I want one of these in my life...

So, so comfy...

Nothing too groundbreaking I'm doing here. The biggest complaint is an erroneous bulb failure warning from the tail lights (which also lights a large red "central warning" light which is essentially the equivalent of the "Check Gauges" light on some US car dashboards) which I've already pretty much traced to a dodgy ground. The walkround test pretty much did this as I ascertained that the indicator flash rate on the affected side dropped by roughly half whenever the headlights of brakelights were activated. Looking at it after dark you can see that whenever either of those lights are on, the indicator bulb is also glowing barely visibly. I'm not even going to go hunting the dodgy earth here, I'm just going to clean up and/or reterminate any ground connections I can find anywhere in the vicinity of the tail lights. Given this is an Italian car, never mind one that's been sitting unused for many years, they're all probably going to cause trouble at some point if not fettled.

The other job is to do a blanket replacement of the dash lighting lamps as it's looking a bit sad just now.

There are at least two lamps out and there's a lot of light leakage out behind the "damage report machine" into the area around the dash warning lights which are just below it. I don't know if the switchgear uses the same fibre optic setup as a lot of 80s Fiats to light them, if so I'll probably convert that to use an LED as the light source to bring the illumination level up to better match the rest of the dash. I don't see any need to mess with the rest of it as the dash is actually quite nicely lit and knocking the dash rheostat down to 95% rather than flat out should make the lamps last perfectly fine.

I don't *think* there's actually any illumination of the demist/AC/Off control buttons...but I'll confirm that when I've got the panel out. It's hard to tell just looking at it.

The dash in this car is something else. Heck, the design of the whole interior is something you'd expect to be on a concept car rather than something that actually hit the market.

Those seats are wonderfully comfy.

While the dash looks absolutely mental in photos, especially from that sort of angle...I was surprised when sitting in the driver's seat that the ergonomics and sightlines actually work astonishingly well. Oil/Temp/Volts/Fuel warning lights are directly in front of you next to their gauges, and the rest of the lights while slightly further out of your eyeline than they would be on a normal instrument panel, are at least twice the size they would be on a normal instrument panel and are angled towards the driver...I can't see visibility being an issue.

I really wasn't sure what to make of it initially, but it's very much grown on me.

Looking forward to getting stuck into this. I want to double-check the charging voltage too as according to the gauge on the dash it's a touch low...though I trust that gauge to be about as accurate as a Channel 5 weather forecast, it's most likely just fine.

Still feel quite honoured to be trusted to work on such a rare motor.

[CitroJim]

What an absolutely awesome dash in a very gorgeous car Zel I can see why you'd love one in your life!

Looks like that dash could be a lot of 'fun' to remove! Or is it a lot easier then it looks?

[Gibbo2286]

I've had two of those Gammas, well I bought and sold them never kept them for my own use.

One as in your photo and the other a coupe.

The coupe didn't need much prep but the saloon had head gasket troubles, two heads off then discovered both camshafts were worn out, took an age to source used replacements and a right headache to set up the valve timing.

[mickthemaverick]

I loved all my 3 Lancias, the Beta Spyder for its looks and novel cruise control, the Delta HF Turbo for its Martini paint scheme and road performance and the Beta Coupe for its plain authenticity at the time I was trying to recapture the fun of the Spyder. While it didn't really bring back the open road freedom of the Spyder, its taughter handling and perky engine brought a smile to my face