CitroJim wrote: 27 Apr 2018, 17:57
I've spent most of today sleeping...
Good.
It was just what I needed Mike And a perfect day for it too
Zel, I hope the weather soon allows you to progress on the Lada very soon... Tomorrow looks a bit better and Sunday even better...
Fingers crossed. Once I get the fuel system sorted out I'll get it booked in for the MOT.
I've got a full new set of brake flexis for it as well, so may well throw those on as well, I know the originals are a bit crusty. Especially given I've got brake pipe and the flaring tool here now so it's not the end of the world if I damage one of the rigid lines getting them off. Not having that to hand was the main reason I left them well alone last time I was doing work on the car.
Main barrier is likely to be the windscreen. I have found one possible source, albeit expensive...so crossing my fingers that I can turn one up cheaper, rather than paying nearly a third of what the car cost...
Current fleet:
07 Volvo V70 SE D5, 88 Renault 25 Monaco, 85 Sinclair C5, 84 Trabant 601S, 75 Rover 3500, 73 AC Model 70.
Had forgotten about these at the time...figured some of you lot might be interested in seeing the videos I recorded when I tested out the drive system in the AC a week or so back at speed - albeit firmly fixed to axle stands (ratchet straps to ensure it stayed that way!).
[Youtube]P3NUhRmoeBc[/YouTube]
Also, who doesn't like being able to actually see a CVT doing its thing...
[Youtube]9H448ixeJGU[/YouTube]
Enjoy!
Current fleet:
07 Volvo V70 SE D5, 88 Renault 25 Monaco, 85 Sinclair C5, 84 Trabant 601S, 75 Rover 3500, 73 AC Model 70.
CitroJim wrote: 29 Apr 2018, 04:14
The CVT video is awesome Zel
Thanks Jim. It seems to show the behaviour pretty well, how the engine speed comes up, then sits pretty constant until 45-ish then it essentially locks up and behaves in a more "normal" manner.
Really curious to see how it behaves in actual use.
Just wish I'd had the camera rolling the first time I ran it up so you could see how much detritus got blown out of it!
Current fleet:
07 Volvo V70 SE D5, 88 Renault 25 Monaco, 85 Sinclair C5, 84 Trabant 601S, 75 Rover 3500, 73 AC Model 70.
I didn't really know what the Model 70 was, well I did but not to connect a name to it, but a quick search not only clears away some ignorance but finds it's slightly topical today
Yep...his getting that one and his subsequent thread and series of YouTube videos was responsible for my discovery of the little blue menaces, and ending up with this heap.
Their antiquated and simplistic external appearance and basic cabin hide some surprisingly well thought out engineering in some areas, and very effective use of parts bin scraps in others.
Good as an owner that, as it means there aren't *that* many bits that are unique to them.
Current fleet:
07 Volvo V70 SE D5, 88 Renault 25 Monaco, 85 Sinclair C5, 84 Trabant 601S, 75 Rover 3500, 73 AC Model 70.
Realised that I've managed to do a very good job of burying the Invacar while getting the Lada's fuel system sorted out. I'll need to dig my way back into the garage at some point this week.
Despite having made an awful mess of the garage, I did manage to get the new fuel tank installation in the Lada properly finished today. Was 95% done earlier in the week, but I ran out of time to get the wiring sorted out. Today therefore consisted mainly of retrieving the wiring originally routed under the car to the old fuel pump and rerouting it via the cabin to the new pump.
I did have to do a bit of detective work there on account to someone having decided to change the type of connector used on the top of the tank at some point. This was made slightly more time consuming when my multimeter for some reason decided to turn itself into a doorstop. Far more confusion was caused by it spending the first ten minutes giving nonsense (but plausible) results, causing me to chase my tail for a while.
Once I figured out that the fancypants modern meter was lying to me and I called in the old standby, things quickly made rather more sense.
Inner two pins are the pump, outer two are the gauge/warning light. Easy.
Connected it up, and glad to report that it just worked "out of the box." Pump is so, so much quieter than the old one (C900 8v one originally), and the car seems to be running better. Not sure if this is because the fuel pressure/volume being delivered is closer to what the pressure regulator is designed to handle or whether in my poking around in the engine bay I've eliminated a couple of potential minor vacuum leaks. Vacuum leaks are the bane of this injection system, even the tiniest one being quite sufficient to cause it to throw a major tantrum. Either way, it seems to be running a good deal smoother.
Still want to tidy up some of the pipework in the engine bay a bit, but that's a smaller job and is more for the sake of tidiness rather than functionality. Hopefully get it booked in for an MOT this week, really looking forward to driving the old crate again...
Will need to think about picking up a replacement for the meter that has apparently died as well...Got a few cheap ones floating around the house, but never really trust them...Have always wanted to add a Fluke to the workbench...Just really can't justify the price for them!
Current fleet:
07 Volvo V70 SE D5, 88 Renault 25 Monaco, 85 Sinclair C5, 84 Trabant 601S, 75 Rover 3500, 73 AC Model 70.
Zelandeth wrote: 29 Apr 2018, 19:09
Realised that I've managed to do a very good job of burying the Invacar while getting the Lada's fuel system sorted out. I'll need to dig my way back into the garage at some point this week.
Despite having made an awful mess of the garage, I did manage to get the new fuel tank installation in the Lada properly finished today. Was 95% done earlier in the week, but I ran out of time to get the wiring sorted out. Today therefore consisted mainly of retrieving the wiring originally routed under the car to the old fuel pump and rerouting it via the cabin to the new pump.
Poor Invacar but excellent work on the Lada!
Zelandeth wrote: 29 Apr 2018, 19:09
Once I figured out that the fancypants modern meter was lying to me and I called in the old standby, things quickly made rather more sense.
Inner two pins are the pump, outer two are the gauge/warning light. Easy.
Excellent!
You just can't beat a proper AVO Zel I'd never be without one...
Jim
Runner, cyclist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
Had hoped to get quite a few things done this afternoon, but it just turned into one of those days where I couldn't seem to find anything I was looking for no matter how I tried, nor the fact that I know it must be right under my nose. I'd planned to take all the fuel hoses in the engine bay of the Lada apart, re-route them a bit and just generally tidy things up. Stuff like my having been totally paranoid about fuel hoses blowing off when I first put things together, so a couple of hoses have three hose clips on...I've now proven to myself that this is totally unnecessary.
I figured while I had it in bits though, I'd change the fuel filter. Except for the fact that I couldn't find the new one. I've turned half the garage and about three quarters of the house upside down, but can't track the sucker down. Annoying.
So I stuck the air cleaner back on and did a check to see whether the gauge agreed with the photo I took before draining the old tank...It was sitting at exactly the same position. Then I shunted the car back and forth a couple of times in the driveway to see whether the light would blink as per the old sender.
...Yep, that's exactly the behaviour I was expecting. The light starts making an appearance under braking from about 1/2 a tank onwards as there are neither any baffles in the tank nor any damping on the gauge.
I've also been under the car and applied a few cable ties to the fuel hoses towards the back of the car to make sure that they stay in sensible locations and can't rub against any sharp edges. I've also wrapped a bit of hose around the metal lines from the pump where they come down the side of the tank. They sit very close to the flange where the two halves of the tank are pressed together, and I'm worried that they might rub against it, so that should give some protection. Sorry, forgot to snap a photo of that.
The exhaust is a mess though...This abomination is what I cobbled together when the middle box decided to disintegrate one day. I kid you not, it basically exploded.
I might take it back off and re-do the welds (with a not empty gas bottle this time!) and see if I can at least get it properly gas tight for the MOT. Realistically though, it wants a whole new system from the cat back.
I have to admit though that I don't think I'll be returning the middle silencer to the system...The soundtrack without it I reckon seems much more in keeping with the period of its design.
You really can't hear it at speed in the cabin either...The sheer mechanical cacophony from the various bits of the car see to that, likewise the brick-wall aerodynamics and the fact that it's far quicker to list the things in the interior which don't squeak and/or rattle than those which do. It's a design essentially from the 60s, and that's quite evident in some ways!
Quite obvious in that photo is you'd seen the car when I took it off the road for the winter though is how much better it's running there - Blipping the throttle before was resulting in a very sluggish response with it obviously overfuelling. Not sure whether it's sorting vacuum leaks or having a better matched fuel pump to pressure regulator...but neither of these things can hurt I reckon.
Will have another dig around tomorrow and see if I can find the bag of seals and the new fuel filter, then tidy up things in the engine bay, it's bugging my OCD...
Current fleet:
07 Volvo V70 SE D5, 88 Renault 25 Monaco, 85 Sinclair C5, 84 Trabant 601S, 75 Rover 3500, 73 AC Model 70.
After six years in my fleet, my Saab has now left for pastures new.
On the plus side, the gent who's bought it sounds like they're going to give her the best chance at seeing the road again that I could have possibly hoped for.
I'll really miss that car, she's quite something special. Was given the name The Ambassador by my mother (after the colour, Embassy Blue), and it really fit the dignified character of the car.
Even with the blown head gasket, she started first touch and drove herself out the corner without any drama. Given how spectacularly the gasket has gone, the fact she runs at all is nigh miraculous, never mind sounding perfect... obviously ran only for the bare minimum of time due to there being no coolant in the system.
If I hear anything more of the restoration progress I'll mention it here.
Money going in one pocket, and straight out the other to the Lada...
Just realised, this is the first time since 2004 that I've not owned a Saab 900...
Current fleet:
07 Volvo V70 SE D5, 88 Renault 25 Monaco, 85 Sinclair C5, 84 Trabant 601S, 75 Rover 3500, 73 AC Model 70.
I was heading through London today (god, I HATE driving within the M25!!!), and I spotted a couple of vehicles which had been wheel clamped. I suddenly thought of a possible solution to your issue with people parking on your private driveway.
Get hold of a couple of decent car clamps, and have a sign or two made up, as well as a camera overlooking your driveway. The sign should read something like the following (but you need to get it checked out);
"This is private property. Any vehicle parking on it without proper authorisation will be clamped. The fee to release the clamp is £150 for a first offence, incrementing by £50 per repeat offence. After three repeat offences the release fee will increase by £100 per repeat offence. This property is being monitored by CCTV.".
If you are able to do this it could be a nice little earner for you!
James ex BX 1.9
ex Xantia 2.0HDi SX
ex Xantia 2.0HDi LX
ex C5 2.0HDi VTR
ex C5 2.0HDi VTR
ex C5 2.2HDi VTX+
Yes, I am paranoid, but am I paranoid ENOUGH?
Out amongst the stars, looking for a world of my own!
And a perfect day for it too
