Oil change

I've decided to to this in 2 stages. First I drain the old oil and fill with some cheapo 20W/50 that I have kicking about. This is to flush out any crap in the sump and it's the best way (so I'm told) of flushing the lubrication system. The next stage is to drive just a few hundred miles and then change the oil and filter using some decent oil. (Castrol GTX or similar) Regular oil changes will benefit the car and will get rid of any crap before it can cause any harm. As the Acclaim is in daily use I will be trating it just like my everyday car and spend whatever money is necessary to keep it in working order.
On a different note I'm going to be rescuing a pair of Triumph 1500FWDs and hopefully I can put at least one of them back on the road.
Going back the the engine torque rod bush, the judder is almost gone. It's defintiely a lot better. Maybe if I do the front one it might cure it completely. The previous owner said that it went through several clutches before he had it and that might be the problem. I reckon that I'm on the right track with these bushes.

More done

My rear engine torque rod bush came through the post today so I fitted it. I decided to remove the air cleaner to improve access and once it was out of the way I had discovered that one of the cooling system hoses had split which explained Thursday's mysterious loss of coolant on Thursday. Fortunately, the split was near the end of the hose so I removed the hose cut it back and refitted it. Problem solved! Fitting the bus was very easy once I'd managed to loosen the bolt using a breaker bar. Unfortunately, the clutch judder is still there but the bush was defintiely worn. I might have to replace the front one as well. I'm planning on changing the engine oil and replacing the cam belt. I want to get the job done before I go to Middlesborough next Tuesday.

I went down to Manchester last night but before I went I fitted a new set of spark plugs and put some Redex into the carbs and the petrol tank. It has worked a treat because the car is now running better that ever. Not only did I get everything I originally wanted, I also got a battery clamp. I've just fitted all the parts and everything works. The biggest struggle was threading the wire of the radio aerial down the windscreen pillar but I got there in the end. It is great to have perfect reception on the radio now! Sticking the bootlid badge was a problem (don't use superglue!) until my next-door neighbour suggested that I use bathroom sealant. He lent me a tube and it worked a treat. The stuff's waterproof too so it makes ideal adhesive for badges and suchlike. The rev counter cable wasn't too bad apart from the lack of space to get my hand in. I had to get at it through the radio slot and got the job done. I also fitted an extra pair of speakers and hopefully I'm getting a decent sound from the stereo now. As you can see from the pic the spares car is almost identical to mine. 

Getting more bits

I've been in touch with a bloke from Manchester who's breaking an Acclaim that's identical to mine. He only wants £10 for the parts that I need (rev counter cable, "Acclaim" bootlid badge, glovebox handle and radio aerial) I now have CD quality music. I've dig out my portable CD player with the adaptors to power the player and to hook it up to the tape deck. Nice to have some decent music at last!

I went on my first long journey yesterday to the first north east meeting for Club Triumph. It wasn't a bad turnout considering the meeting was arranged at such short notice. There seems to be some interest and hopefully it will take off. The Acclaim behaved itself and didn't miss a beat or put a foot wrong. 

Just like a bus service!

You wait ages and then 2 come at once! Andy Ellis, fellow Club Triumph member and the guy who runs the Triumph Plus website has a rev counter cable available. Also somebody on the Club Triumph forum points out that there's an Acclaim on eBay that the seller is going to break for spares and the car is in Manchester so I'll be sorted!

Now that my speakers are on the rear parcel shelf the sound is a lot better. The stereo is the most important driving accessory! 

Here is one of the replacement door switches and it looks better than the previous one having less rust! 

More things sorted out

I searched all over for a rev counter cable and the only place that could supply one was the local Honda dealer for about £38. I went to see Barry the local Acclaim guru and he gave me a couple of door switches for the courtesy light as the light never came on when the back doors were opened. I also called in at my local Maplin for some speaker cable so I could relocate my speakers onto the rear parcel shelf. Fitting the door switches was easy and now the courtesy light comes on when any of the doors are opened! As I was relocating the speakers and routing the wires the heavens opened which delayed things a little. (It's no fun when the rain is bouncing down!) There was even some thunder and lightning. Anyway I got done and I'm pleased with the result. It looks like I'm gonna have to bite the bullet and got back to Honda for that rev counter cable as I can't get one anywhere else.

More stuff to do

At the moment my Acclaim is now my everyday transport. When I washed it yesterday at the jetwash in my local Morrisons I was amazed at how much mud came off the inner wheelarches. It's looking better now. I'm gonna try to get the courtesy light switches for the back doors to work. It is just the red peril (rust) and hopefully nothing a bit of WD40 won't solve. I've bought a bush (on eBay) for the rear engine torque rod as there's LOTS of free play in the top bush on that one. This is probably the reason why the car vibrates when I set off in 1st gear. The vibration is horrible and the bush only cost me £15 plus £1 P&P. I'm hoping to win a timing belt on eBay and then get it fitted. I think I'm wearing Barry down on getting him to part with his front seats (came out of a low mileage CD) as the drivers' seat has seen better days and is getting saggy and worn. He's also got a radio aerial and a bootlid badge. Talking of things radio I've wired up a pair of shelf speakers which aren't ideally situated but once I've got hold of some more speaker wire I'll put them on the parcel shelf and the sound will be better.

I've fixed a few more faults. I removed the bit of broken key out of the drivers' door lock then realised that I didn't have a key to lock the doors so it was off to fellow Acclaim owner Barry who tried several sets of keys and the ones that worked was a set off one of his cars (not surprising really considering that 133,000 Acclaims were produced) so it was off to my local Timpson to get a new key cut. Imagine my surprise when I found out that my key worked on all of the locks. I've fitted a new ashtray bulb and I fitted a modern radio/cassette. Not in keping with the era but as this car is in daily use I need some decent quality tunes and this will do the job quite nicely.  

I think I've sorted it out...

I bought a new radiator cap for £4.50 from a local motor factor so now there's pressure in the cooling system. I took a closer look at the old cap and I noticed "Unipart" so I think it could be the original 1982 part! I bought some antifreeze, some radiator flush and some fuel additive. I put the additive in when I filled up the petrol tank (the Acclaim's in daily use now) and when I got home I drained the radiator, filled it up with clean water, drained it again, put some more clean water, added the radiator flush and ran the car for 10 minutes as it said on the bottle. I then turned the engine off, drained the radiator, refilled with a 50/50 mixture of water and antifreeze and then I took the car for a run and it seems to be running better. It hasn't made much difference to the temperature but some Acclaims do run hot (i.e. the gague hits halfway) and the cooling fan kicks in so at least the car won't overheat. I feel I've done all I can with the cooling system. The coolant that drained out was quite clean so I don't think there was anything seriously wrong.
While I was at it I checked the rev counter cable and lo and behold the inner cable was missing! I'll have to source a replacement. I gave the engine bay a degreasing with some degreaser spray (won at the quiz at the local TSSC meeting!) and it looks a bit cleaner! When I get time I'm gonna do a proper job with it.

Getting there...

I managed to fit the thermoswitch and the fan now kicks in but I think the engine's still running hot as the gague is on halfway. The radiator cap looks like it needs replacing and I might have to flush the radiator out. Other than that the car seems to be running fine.

Got some more done

The cig lighter is now working again. It was all disconnected so a simple reassembly job was all that was needed. I've bought a new thermoswitch for the cooling fan for £3.99 from my local Halfords (reduced from £10.49) I was hoping to just be able to replace it but I'll have to remove the bottom hose to get to it and I might have to buy a 30mm spanner if I don't have anything suitable to use that will fit.

Made a start

I bought a new thermostat today and fitted it taking only half an hour. I've taken one of the Club Triumph stickers out of the Toledo and put it into the back window of the Acclaim. The car is now running a bit cooler but the cooling fan still doesn't seem to kick in. It's either corrosion on the connectors or a faulty thermoswitch on the radiator. I've refitted the plastic trim that fits beneath the back doors, cleared all the rubbish out and vacuumed the interior. I've already found another job that needs doing. I'm missing an "Acclaim" badge off the boot lid. The carpets are really grimy and could do with a good clean. The mats I've got with the car cover a multitude of sins! I reckon a bit of coathanger wire should suffice for the aerial until I get a replacement. I won't have much time to do any more jobs until later on in the week. The Acclaim is now in sevice as my everyday car until I know what's hapenning with my Ford Mondeo (it was damaged in an accident on Monday 2nd May) The Acclaim will be making its first appearance at the West Yorkshire TSSC meeting. I hope nobody's too bothered about the Club Triumph sunstrip at the top of the windscreen! Maybe I should've left the TSSC sticker where it was! It'll be good to go to a Triumph meeting in a Triumph!

Jobs to do...

I've now got a list of jobs that need doing on the Acclaim:

Sort out the drivers' door lock. One of the keys broke while in the lock (the previous owner's mother!)
Replace the radio aerial (I can still get reception on the radio!)
Clear out all the rubbish
Replace the broken glovebox catch
Rewire the cigarette lighter
Replace the thermostat
Clean and vac the carpets and upholstery
Replace the rev counter cable

I'll be posting more jobs as I find them

I've now got the Acclaim. When I collected it from Totally Triumph I took it up to Morecambe. Apart from running hot it was fine. Upon returning to Bradford I visited fellow Acclaim owner who looked it over and came to the concusion that the thernostat had failed therby causing poor circulation. The cooling fan which wasn't coming on was checked and found to be working.

And here is a view from behind... 

Just after taking the Acclaim for the test drive I decided to take a couple of pics. Here is the first... 

A new addition...

I'm now the owner of an Acclaim. I'd seen the car on eBay and I seriously considered putting a bid in but decided to let it pass me by. Imagine my surprise when the owner was offering the very same car for FREE on the Club Triumph forum so I enquired about the car. I e-mailed the owner and he replied saying that he would take £50 for the car and leave the tax in. There was some welding needed on the rear floor by the wheel arch. I met up with Stephen the owner at a meeting just outside Preston on Thursday 28th April (which was the day the MoT was due to run out) and had a chat. We arranged to have a look at the car the following day as was I off work. Stephen told me about a few minor faults. These were a key which had broken in the drivers' door lock, the rev counter not working and the radio aerial had been snapped off by vandals. I wasn't bothered by these as I can easily fix them. The car was at Totally Triumph in Cheshire and it started up from cold without any problems. I took it for a short drive and it performed faultlessly despite the fact that not being used to the clutch the drive was a bit jerky when changing gear! (fault of the driver not the car) We had the Acclaim on the ramps and I had a good look underneath. It was absolutely solid. Max the guy at Totally Triumph reckoned that the car would pass the MoT so I decided to have the welding done (charged on the amount of labour which was 3 hours at £20 per hour which I thought was very reasonable) and get it in for the test. Money and documents were exchanged and the Acclaim was mine. The welding was arranged and the test was booked for the following Wednesday and the car arranged to be picked up on the Saturday. I had a look on eBay for a Haynes manual but a bid in for one at 99p and won the auction! As the seller lived locally I thought I would save myself some postage and collect the book. On the way there I was involved in an accident so while my everyday car is off the road I might have to put the Acclaim into daily use. I phoned Totally Triumph up on Wednesday and I was told that the car had failed on a small hole in the drivers' side sill and Max reckoned that it would be a maximum of 2 hours welding to put it right so I gave hom the go-ahead to do it. I insured the car with Lancaster Insurance who gave me the lowest quote at £153 fully comprehensive (this was a couple of hours before I had the accident!) including travelling to and from work. The insurance documents arrived yesterday so I'm all set now. I'd also bid for a handbook on eBay and won that auction too! The book arrived in the post today so another eBay bargain! Roll on Saturday!