Today was the day of waiting for tradesmen who were meant to be coming to do survey/quote work. Out of the four, one turned up. So I was left with a day where I couldn't really go anywhere or do anything major as I was waiting for them. Of course the one who did turn up did so within two minutes of the end of their 2-4PM window.
This meant it was a day of small jobs on cars etc.
First up was an oil and filter change on the Cavalier. The oil which came out was a lot dirtier than it looked on the dipstick and reeked of fuel, but there was absolutely no metal in it and while it was dirty there weren't any chunks in it.
Filter was well and truly stuck on there but eventually relented and came off.
That's definitely been on there a day or two and had very nearly rusted through around the base.
Can't say I'm that thrilled with the replacement.
I've never had any issues with Napa stuff personally, but a filter that's been sourced from an OEM so cheap they've not even put any form of markings on it save for a wonky plastic label just doesn't instill confidence. Methinks I'll be buying the next one from elsewhere so it can be a Mann, Wix or Bosch one. Takes the same filter as the Invacar I now know which is helpful as it minimises the difference things I need in stock.
Did notice something less than ideal when crawling around for the drain plug (which is quite awkward to get to because it's towards the rear of the sump and the engine is a long way back already).
While I'd poked several bits of surface rust in the vicinity of this bit, apparently I totally missed this crispy but of chassis rail. It's absolutely not the end of the world, it's a simple rectangular box section so pretty easy to reconstruct, could have done without it though and I'm irked with myself for not spotting it before.
I did wonder if it was historic damage from jacking improperly or something, before I realised the cause.
That damage lines up absolutely perfectly with the centre of the dent in the nearside door and the slight kink in the exhaust. Was clearly caused by the telehandler fork when the car was picked up (though it's obvious the area was weak before so would have needed work sooner than later anyway).
It's just never nice when you find structural bits that have turned crunchy.
Also noticed while changing the oil...I suspect I may need to come up with something more durable than duct tape to cover this unused PCV port in the rocker cover.
Though it's clearly been on there a while and is well and truly stuck...guess it's a good demonstration that this engine doesn't have much blow by...
The oil is now looking rather cleaner, to the extent that it's kind of hard to see on the dipstick even after letting the engine run for half an hour or so.
Was really quite surprised how little oil it took, pretty sure including the filter it was just under four litres. Was expecting nearer to five.
I get the impression that a new set of shock absorbers probably wouldn't be a bad idea. They're kind of crusty, though do seem to be working for now at least.
Well nobody had showed up by then so I got the vacuum cleaner and cleaning supplies out and went after the interior.
Pretty sure this must have had a going over when it arrived with the previous keeper as aside from being a bit dusty it really wasn't bad. Though the plastics are basically just drinking the conditioner, which is why the dash top currently looks patchy.
Once the seats and carpets have been shampooed it will pretty much look like new in there I think. Even as it is, for a 44 year old car you can't fault how that's come up.
I really don't understand why car makers insist on making interiors so dull these days, what was wrong with a bit of colour? Is there some unwritten rule which says we can't make an interior look warm and inviting any more?
I did notice today that one of the headlights has previously been used on a higher trim level car at some point as it has a scratch on it from a wiper which this car has never had.
Moving on from there I went and checked the various fluid levels on the rest of the fleet, checked all the tyre pressures, topped up the steering box on the van, and paired all my socks. Still no sign of contractors.
Turned my attention to the recently acquired bike. Main thing it needed was a fresh set of tyres. The ones on it were quite badly perished and were more off road focused than I wanted. An easy change.
That quite predictably made a huge difference in how it rides - the difference in rolling resistance is truly remarkable.
Then gave it a bit of a wipe down, peeled some of the already disintegrating stickers off and replaced the smashed up rear mud guard.
Need to investigate the play in the front fork top bearing and tweak my previous adjustment of the gear shift as I over compensated slightly when I moved the limit screw on the front gear set when I adjusted it last week. I'll also need to put a new rear reflector on, the original would have been totally obscured by the rear mud guard, so I'll swap it out for one on the seat post. I'm not too bothered about lights as I'll never be riding on road save for a couple of hundred yards to the cycleway here or after dark at all. If that changes I'll obviously fit a decent set. It's just something else to break/get nicked otherwise.
At this point the last of the four people who we were expecting actually appeared so I had to down tools - then get a whole day's worth of errands run after they were left in about an hour.
Loving reading all about the Cavalier restoration project Zel... Keep up the great work 
