August 2002
According to today's Telegraph, there will be a 3,000 mile rally from Plymouth to Senegal, starting on Boxing Day, for cars costing under £100. I feel very tempted to have a go, but my Polo is not eligible. I have spent more than £100 on it, even though the car itself was free. The Telegraph report says entrants can only spend up to £15 on preparing the car, but this may be a misprint - I would have thought £150 would be more sensible for safety reasons.
Actually I don't think I will be able to get the time off work, but I'm still thinking about what kind of car would stand the best chance of surviving the journey. I reckon a Nissan Bluebird, or maybe a VW Jetta 1.8. Somehow I feel almost morally obliged to have a go at this - perhaps I could persuade my employers that it would be good publicity for them. Maybe even get some sponsorship.
Richard Hall
bangernomics.tripod.com Read more
Hello, this is my first post on this splendid site, so please be gentle!
At the moment i have an Escort 1.3 Hcs it's covered 74,000.(93,L)
It's using oil, and visibly smoking upon start- up, however not when warmed up, having inspected the plugs all four are a light sandy colour. I suspect one or more piston rings has gone down.
Obviously i cannot sell the vehicle in this condition.
If the car was in good condition it would be worth ,say, £750-£800.
I have been getting some estimates for a reconditioned engine varying between £500- £650.
The body work is not totally mint(a few rust spots here and there), and i also have the bouncing speedo needle!
I am at a loss as to what course of action to take and would appreciate any tips/pointers anyone could give me.
Just to add further to my dilemma i have been offered a diesel mondeo, or would that be a case of "out of the frying pan, into the fire".
thanks. Read more
Ah-ha (not the pop group). Back pressure - yes!! Blocked or partially blocked breather pipe - check all the pipes and run them through with spray carb cleaner. If you've had this back pressure for some time you may have excessively worn the oil control rings.
Surely the car is still passing the MoT since it's OK when warm? Use good oil, change it regularly and keep those pipes clean. Otherwise leave it alone and just keep running it till it dies, which could be years.
Hello, my car's steering is a bit vague in the dead ahead position but is only really noticeable at speed, it was fitted with a steering rack about 13,000 mile's back and i,m wondering whats the cause ???
TT Read more
Hello again, I have since found out a few things,first of all the steering rack on these cars are hard mounted, the next two are quite peculiar to these cars.
The steering mechanism has a trailing link and steering box along with a power steering rack!!, now i do recall the Mot tester saying that he had never seen that before ,but to be honest i did not pay it much attention, so it may be possible to adjust this, also because of this design ,which incidently is designed to keep the tyre's in full contact with the road at all time's, there are 6 ball joints which apparently are not noted for there durability and can wear out in 20,000 mile's. So there is alot for me to check,i,m waiting to hear from a Maserati garage if it is possible to adjust the steering ..but i suspect these balljoints as i can only find 1 receipt from the PO verifying 1 set of track rod ends . Dizzy, the "new" P/Steering Rack was fitted when the PO owned the car and i did not notice this steering problem when i bought the car, but i did not really start to explore the car's performance until i became more used to it as it is a driver's car and require's full concentration if you really open it up ie: will wheel spin at 80mph if you floor it , also it will reach 100 in 11sec's & go onto 165mph, so great care is needed. I did not realise this when i bought the car and i used to get vibration's when i used to change into 5 gear @55mph,i phoned a Maserati dealer and explained the symptoms and he told me that i should go to 60mph before i attempted to get into 5 gear as it is geared to go to 170mph and 55mph is low a speed for top gear!!
Regards
TT
Anyone recommend a good hotel in Malta to enable a few days pootling about in a rental motor. (yeah, I know it's a diddy island!)
Which is the best resort, not to many yobs about but plenty of entertainment. So much on the web but you canna beat personal experience.
Cheers Read more
I don't understand the fuss either. I drove extensively around Malta and Gozo back in '99 without problems. Sure, they were a little crazy, but not too bad. The hire care was a newish 106, in full working order. No worries there.
Comparing that to the dreadful lump of decaying Seat metal given to me in the Canaries or the unreal driving/mortal combat around Naples after dark, I'd pick Malta everytime...
Apparently an engine can be well balanced statically and dynamically. What does that mean exactly?
Is it true that cylinder configurations that are multiples of 3 give good balance? Or that 4cyl engines have good static balance but poor duynamic balance?
Discuss.
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Parp, Parp!
Note: All Toad posts come with an implied smiley. Read more
you're right about the V6 with 60 deg banks. It seems to be because the crank arms are at regular 120 deg intervals compared to a 90 deg vee. My chart only shows a 90 deg V8, but again the crank arms are evenly spaced at 90 degrees apart. I remember my Rover V8 being silky smooth, as is the current Jag V8.
I think (looking at my chart) that a 5 cyl is good because no two crank arms are in the same direction (or directly opposite) so there are no two forces adding up totally to produce an imbalance like in a 4 in line.
If you were in an auction for a mechanically very fit 1994 (M) Peugeot 306 SR 1.8 Sedan with certified 15k miles, rust free bodywork that just needs a good polish, and mint interior with everything working, what would you bid, please?
I have the chance to buy this very car, which according to Parkers tops at about £2200-£2300, but due to the amount of interest it has generated, the owner (read executor of estate) has decided to do a sealed bids auction.
Given that at this sort of age, condition is more important than mileage, I would appreciate any sage words of advice before I get carried away, please!
Cheers,
Steve Read more
Glad you are happy with it - they are good cars.
Insurance is an issue for me: the 309 in my own name would cost £2500 and its only a 1.4! I do have 3 points though.
My aircon is losing its "coldness" and needs recharging. Is there anything to be gained/lost by waiting until next Spring - I probably won't need it much between now and then - or should I do it now?
Thanks
MB Read more
Thanks Smokie,
I find as long as I have the vents pointing at my face, the air con is cool enough. However having been in a mates Beemer, I couldnt help but feel my air con was inadequate. I dont have climate control, just the on/off system. If I leave the recirc on and put the fan on speed 3, then if outside temp is around 24 deg C I can cool the inside of the car quite satisfactory after some 15 minutes or so, but its cool, not cold. I am wondering if a top up or pressure check is worth having, and if so can a Vaux dealer do this or is it better to visit an aircon specialist. Anyone know of what cost is average for this work?
S.
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SVPworld (incorporating PSRworld)
www.svpworld.com
Difficult to change? Bearing in mind far from a mechanic. Just don't want to pay Peugeot £30 to disconnect and reconnect two hoses. The worry is those two hoses (either end of the filter) will spurt petrol everywhere! Read more
But not if they're flexible nylon.
Remember the 1966 Dodge Charger with the starting problem? I attacked it with a multimeter and found the battery was only delivering around 8.5 volts when operating the starter. It was nearly three years old, and the car had been in storage for a lot of that time, so I wasted no time replacing it. I also checked the battery and earth leads and cleaned up the connections. The replacement battery delivered 10.5 volts when operating the starter, which is fine from what I have read, but the cranking speed didn't seem a lot better, even after I had charged the battery in case it had lost charge while sitting in the shop.
The odd thing is that I drove the car again today, and cranking speed is now very much faster. When you spin it on the starter it actually sounds like a V8 under there, not like a diesel Land Rover on a cold morning which is how it was before. Do new batteries need a 'running in' period before they can deliver their full performance?
Richard Hall
bangernomics.tripod.com Read more
Richard,it is also worth knowing what type of starter you've got.The indirect type which has gearing tend to turn more slowly than the direct type. The starter will always turn faster after a run.
Mikey J.
which has the better rear legroom and boot space, anybody got a clue as i am stuk in me office and cant get to a showroom.
cheers Read more
A "tad" less?
I once heard the 25 described as "the only 4-door 2-seater on the road".
Then there's reliability - but the question was only re space.
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With cheap hotels, a couple of ferries and a one way air ticket Dakar-London, I am expecting it to cost me around £2,000 - £2,500. Not cheap, but comparable to a decent holiday, cheaper than any of the classic endurance events, and I don't have to rebuild the car at the end of it. I suspect the closing date for entries might be flexible.
Richard Hall
bangernomics.tripod.com