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

[Michel]

If you are able to do this it could be a nice little earner for you!

It's more likely to land him in court as the offender, as clamping on private land was outlawed in 2012..

[Hell Razor5543]

Ah, I did not know that (but I did suggest he gets it checked out). However, surely parking in such a way as to deprive the lawful user of that space is an offence as well? If it is not it should be!!!

[Zelandeth]

Sadly, having done some digging when it last happened the main conclusion I came to was that the law was utterly stupid, and that anyone is basically free to do what they like, and unless I were to have the area managed by a registered parking enforcement agency, I'll land myself in court for doing anything. Even giving the offender an earful could land me in hot water if they decided to report me for breach of the peace...

Long term solution is obvious, fit a gate!

[Hell Razor5543]

Long term solution is obvious, fit a gate!

Either that, or conveniently have a vehicular breakdown that will require extensive dismantling to fix! To make it more awkward (for the offending party) have it happen when they are on your driveway, and you had to get on with the repairs, so you blocked them in. If they get upset and called the Police you can respond that they did NOT have permission to park there, and you had to get the vehicle repaired. Ideally you will need to order some parts, and they will take time to arrive. If you remove the right parts said vehicle will not be mobile, so pushing it will not be an option.

[Zelandeth]

Nice day today for a run out.

Started out at the British Motor Museum at Gaydon...

Then onward to Bicester Heritage.

Had no idea that there was so much heritage vehicle work going on there...the whole site more or less is one giant collection of businesses who do various aspects of vehicle restoration...

Was quite surprised to find this poor little Visa looking very forgotten in a corner there (which every Citroen enthusiast immediately made themselves conspicuous due to as we all immediately materialised in that corner).

A couple of folks apparently did go off to ask the relevant questions though, so hopefully it will have a bright future. Being parked up in the middle of a gigantic car restoration complex, it's got far better odds than most. Looked astonishingly solid and complete a project.

Never really seen a Visa up close before, quite an attractive and charming little thing.

Almost managed to avoid sunburn...almost! Sadly managed to miss a couple of spots with the sunscreen.

[CitroJim]

Looks like an excellent trip Zel

Bicester Heritage seems to be growing all the time; I pass it regularly and it's great to see how it's turned from a derelict RAF station to what it is now... Not only do they preserve cars there but they've done a great job of preserving the heritage of the RAF Station too..

I managed to avoid the sunburn yesterday by applying copious amounts of sunscreen... I spent most of the day out of doors variously running, walking and cycling...

Must do the same again today.. Running the MK Half Marathon... Be aware lots of closed roads in MK as a result... Come and spectate... I'll be easy to spot, wearing my green Redway Runners top with 'CITROJIM' written on it...

[Zelandeth]

Lada is in for the MOT tomorrow, so had a check over. Cable ties the fuel lines to the vapour line (which is firmly affixed to it's original fasteners) so they don't wobble and can't wander anywhere near the suspension.

Added some very period appropriate bodgery to the nearside front wing top to deal with the sharp edged rust hole left after a kid from the school poked it.

New wings are going to go on shortly after the test I've decided. Will be a pain in the rear to do on the drive, but I just can't justify throwing £1500 at a body shop for it. Will probably get them to do the paint though.

Missing an exhaust hanger on the back box annoyingly. Don't have a suitable one in stock, so will see if I can find one in the morning, if not it's not a hassle to fit and take back. To be honest, the whole exhaust really wants changing anyway...so that might just end up being part of the same task. The one right at the back has split in half and has been held on by a cable tie ever since I got the car too...

Let's see what tomorrow brings...

[CitroJim]

All the very best for the MoT Zel

Call round and see me... I should be home - likely potentially still recovering from today

[Zelandeth]

Test's at 12:00, so may well swing past on the way back.

Fingers crossed nothing dire and unknown surfaces!

[Zelandeth]

Well we have a fail.

However it was purely down to a high emissions reading, without any rust or brake issues turning up, so could have been a lot worse.

Definitely is overfuelling (CO sitting at 4.910%), but it's sitting dead stable so my first suspicion is that the coolant temperature sensor has drifted in value. I'll have a look at that after lunch.

Cue this no doubt turning turning into a major epic game of "chase the gremlin."

[CitroJim]

Sorry to hear that Zel What's the limit now for a vehicle of that age? 3.5%?

[Zelandeth]

0.3% CO and 200ppm HC, same as any cat equipped vehicle up to the mid 2000s. 3.5% applies for vehicles made prior to the mandatory introduction of catalytic converters. This is why the usual advice of "just stick a Weber on it!" with regards to the original carb is a non-starter I think. The one way to get around this is to stuff an engine from an earlier Riva in it, as in that situation it has to pass the test based on the date of manufacture of the engine rather than the car.

On the plus side, it's running rich enough that it will register on my ancient Heathkit exhaust gas analyser at the moment, so I'll be able to see whether I've made things better or worse when I start poking it.

First stop...

[daviemck2006]

Would a bottle of cataclean and some spirited driving make a difference to her?

[Zelandeth]

Would a bottle of cataclean and some spirited driving make a difference to her?

I doubt it Davie, if it was just slightly over I'd tend to believe it, but this is quite a spectacular fail!

I have just done some temperature checks, and it looks like it's definitely reading out - 90C should be 241R, and I've got 200R on the actual sensor...so I think the sensor may be struggling. Going to have a rummage to see if I've got another suitable one floating around, if not I'll either get one ordered in...or improvise a "compensation" adjustment shunt resistor!

Interestingly, this does actually suggest that the system thinks the engine is hotter than it actually is...so you'd think it would be lean rather than rich...Hmmm....

[Zelandeth]

Evening update.

Have had a play around, and putting a lower value (but still feasible) resistor in place of the coolant temperature sensor doesn't seem to make as much difference as I'd hoped. The values quoted I've always been told are distinctly approximate anyway. I'll have a rummage through the manual tonight to see if I can get an actual hard number on what range is acceptable at what temperature.

Next up, now I've dug the ECU out again is to get the meter onto the lambda sensor and make sure it's doing its thing, as the signal path isn't accessible at the engine end now I've got the proper sensor in there.

I do have to wonder now I think about it, given that the donor vehicle was a relatively high mileage example if the injector might be struggling a bit. Do have to wonder if dropping the fuel pressure slightly might do anything...Looking at the pressure regulator (it's right on the top of the throttle body and accessible once you've got the top off the air cleaner), there's a torx screw in the middle of it...Hmm...That's probably last call though as the moment I start "twiddling" stuff, I could wind up chasing my tail forever.

This is how the car has been left overnight...

Fingers crossed that I'll make some more sense of things tomorrow.