What have I done?

I've only gone and bought yet another Acclaim. At £100 with a short tax and test it was well worth a punt and I would say that it is between condition 1 & 2 which makes it worth a lot more that I paid. The car runs perfect and starts first time on the button. There are a few minor niggles that I will deal with but the car is usable as it is. The previous owner had a brand new exhaust fitted which cost more than what I paid for the car. The only thing that I'm not happy about is the 15 inch alloys but the tyres are good and I can sell the alloys later on. I have a few spare steel wheels which will need fresh rubber but I can use Becky's front wheels as the tyres are good. (I've already robbed the back wheels for Margaret) I'm sure that Becky II (as I've called the car on account of the plate) will pass another MoT without any major grief as the car is virtually rust free and is in better condition than Margaret.

Good news, bad news

The good news was that I was able to renew my insurnce with Footman James for only £291 which is well worth it for all 4 cars. (3 Acclaims and the Dolomite) The bad news was that I've 3 points on my licence and £60 lighter (ouch!) which isn't nice considering that I'm unemployed. The other good news is that it won't affect my insurance premium. It happened back in November when I went down south. It was on the trip to Bournemouth. As I was coming out of Sailsbury I'd been snapped by a mobile camera doing 37mph in a 30mph limit. I never saw the van and I thought I'd been following speed limits. The evidence was there to view online and the photo was a good one showing me and Anita who was in the front passenger seat.

Earlier on this week I towed Blue from in front of the garage to further up the drive and parked it in a position to where I could jump start it from Margaret. This has the added advantage of being able to jump start Brown of which more later on. I tried to jump start Blue and with the last of my EasyStart the car would fire up so ignition problems have been ruled out. I removed the fuel pipe where it goes into the carbs and cranked the engine. Nothing. The problem is with the fuel pump. This car is going through fuel pumps like nobody's business. I might end up replacing the fuel tank as well as the pump. The fuel line is fine as most of it runs through the interior of the car so it is well protected from the elements. The first thing I'm going to try is to remove the fuel pump and operated it by hand to see if it works before I condemn it.

Brown had new points and condensor costing me £8. They were fitted and the points gapped. With Blue out of the way I was able to attache jump leads from Margaret but Brown wouldn't fire up. I'm going to start again from scratch and use the "dizzy out" method to set the points gap. This has the advantage of being able to clamp the dizzy in the vice which makes it easier to se the points gap otherwise I'd need several pairs of hands to do the job.

My planned trip to liberate some Acclaim parts has been put back because the owner of the car has been delayed by work commitments so it has been arraged for Sunday which is better for me as I'm kept busy during the week as the family taxi.

Trying to get Brown running again...

Last night I had a try at getting Brown running again. Staring from scratch I set up the static timing and the points gap but the car refused to start. I removed the points and upon closer examination they've seen better days so I'm going to get replacement points and condesnsor. When I was in the garage I noticed the courtesy light switches that I'd salvaged from a scrap Acclaim and I decided to turn my attention to Margaret instead. The courtesy light switches for the rear doors were corroded and getting them out had proved difficult because the screws were also corroded. I was able to get the passenger side switch out and fit one of my spares. The driver's side was a bit more difficult because the screw just wouldn't budge but the courtesy light will now work on the rear passenger door so I've got one more thing working on Margaret.

Clutch troubles

In my last entry I said that Margaret's clutch didn't feel right. After reading the Haynes and looking at Becky I realized that Margaret's clutch cable wasn't fitted correctly. Once that was rectified and the cable readjusted the clutch pedal feels a lot better. The road test has shown that all is well. The heated rear window does work so I'm on my way to eradicating all of Margaret's minor niggles.

A couple of more probems fixed

I've managed to fix a couple more of the niggles on Margaret. It all began when fellow Acclaim owner Craig was having problems with his car. He's now got a CityRover as a daily hack so the Acclaim as been out of use. I fetched some tools, jump leads and some EasyStart and we managed to get the car running. I took it out for a spin (he's swapped his insurance over to the CityRover so he's not covered) and lo and behold it ran perfectly. It even started up again on the button so all is well with this car. One thing I noticed that the clutch is light but Margaret's is stiff. I wonder if the cable's not been refitted correctly or is still maladjusted. He gave me the clock out of his Acclaim for Margaret so I now have a working clock! After I fitted the clock I decided to swap the rear glass. I didn't have any major problems but the finishing strip took AGES as you need to take your time to avoid any scratches as I was only using a screwdriver. Eventually, I got it in without mishap but I won't know if it has worked until the rear glass steams up next. The seal that came with the replacement glass was in better condtition than the one that came out so it is still an improvement. Paul has got in touch with me about the Acclaim that he'll be scrapping and I've arranged to go over next Friday to liberate the bits I need. Craig will be coming with me as he's after some bits as well.

New battery bought

I bought a new battery for Margaret and it has cured my starting problems. I can leave the car overnight safe in the knowledge that it'll start the next morning. I've even tried starting the car with the headlights on and it doesn't let me down. The instrument panel looks bright enough with the lights on so all is well. I need to get in touch with Paul who has an Acclaim which I can cannibalize for spares. He's been in Egypt on business since before Christmas and he said he would be back around this time so I need to give him a call soon. I can then sort out Margaret's remnaining niggles and have her 100% working.

Running again

I was able to get hold of a clutch kit for Margaret for £42 from Champion. Working outside in the sub-zero condtions I was able to get the gearbox off in just over three hours. While it was off I took the opportunity to clean it up with the wirebrush attachements for my drill and it looked a lot better. The release bearing was a absolute pig to remove and I ended up cutting the old one off with my angle grinder. Replacing the clutch was the easiest part but getting the gearbox back on was just as bad as removing the release bearing was. With the help of an extra pair of hands I got it back on and it was plain sailing from there. When the time came for starting the car it wouldn't even turn over. One of the terminal for the starter motor wasn't connected properly but once that was rectified Margaret fired up without any problems. I still wasn't able to get up the drive and I ended up getting towed out by a 4wd pickup truck which was being driven by the guy who helped me with the gearbox. He was a big help and I couldn't have done it without his help. Margaret's battery was put on charge when it was off the car and after letting it stand overnight after I'd finished charging it I checked the voltage and it had lost some charge so it defintely needs replacing. I've also noticed that if she stalls there's not enough power to start the car when I have the headlights on so I have to turn off all the electrics (heater, radio, etc) and sometimes that's not even enough. Fortunately, Margaet has a manual gearbox so I can bump start her. With all this cold weather I need to get a replacement battery sooner rather than later.

Disaster!

Last night when I was about to set off for work I couldn't get up the drive due to the icy conditions. To top it all the clutch has burnt itself out. I've had a look through the service history and there's no record of a clutch replacement so Margaret was probably on the original clutch and I've brought forward the inevitable. The clutch kit won't be too expensive but the hard work will be removing (and replacing) the gearbox. They weigh a ton and I haven't forgotten the time when I had to replace Becky's gearbox in May 2006. I'll have to do the work outside because Brown's in the garage, Blue's parked outside the garage doors with an immobilized Margaret in front of Blue but I'm no stranger to working outside in the fresh air.

Pre-Christmas update

I was able to procure some of the parts I needed to start tacking the niggles on Margaret. There was an Acclaim in Derbyshire that I was able to liberate the bits I needed and better still it was free (apart from the cost of the petrol but was worth it) I got the front door glasses with the all-important holders, the front grille, the lower trim strips off the front doors, the front grille, the headlight surrounds, two steel wheels, and the door panel for the passenger side rear door. I was able to fit the door panel without any problems but in the process I found out that MK1 & MK2 interior rear door handles are different. Well, they're not actually different. They were swapped over. The driver's door glass went in without any trouble so I can now wind the window up and down. The front passenger side wasn't as easy because half of the holder had rusted away so I tried to bolt the remaining half to the winder mechanism but it wouldn't work and I ended up bending the winding mechanism. Fortunately, I've been offered bits of another Acclaim that's in Leeds (from one of my Triumph friends) but he's woring in Egypt until mid-January. I'm not desparate so I can wait. I tested the heating elelments in my spare rear glass with my multimeter and I'm getting a resistance reading so I'm confident the heated rear window will work. If it hadn't been for this snow I'd have had the glass fitted. Ideally, I'd have liked to do the job in the garage but Brown is in there with Blue parked outside the garage and both of those cars are refusing to start. Brown is turning over but there's no spark so I'll have to set the points and that means a "distributor out" job. If I mark the position of the dizzy & and the rotor arm everything should be tickety boo. With Blue I replaced the fuel filter but fuel doesn't seem to be getting to the carbs. To get to the fuel filter the left rear wheel has to come off so while that was off I gave the wheel a coat of silver Hammerite smooth and it looks a LOT better. One down, three to go.

Margaret has been giving good service but I suspect that the battery could be on the way out as it is difficult to turn the starter over of a morning. I've topped up the cells and I'm getting 14volts across the terminals when she's running. I need to get the battery tested before I splash out on a replacement. I have considered fitting Blue's as that is a known good battery and has plenty of life left in it.

Taxed!

Margaret is now taxed and in daily use. After more than a year of autos I'm running something with a manual gearbox. I don't mind autos but cog-swapping is a better driving experience and I've had no problems with swapping back from autos. There's just a few niggles to sort out but I should be able toget hold of the parts I'll need. (more of that later on)

With Blue being relegated to the backup car I can now tackle a few issues that I've been putting off. The wheels will be taken off and given a coat of silver Hammerite to smarten them up. There's the fuel filler vent to sort out. The radio aerial needs replacing. There's an Acclaim in Derbyshire that's being broken and the owner is offering parts for free so I'm hoping to go down to liberate the parts I need for both Blue and Margaret.

She passed!

Margaret now has an MoT. I picked her up today £215 lighter but I now have that all-important piece of paper. Just the tax disc and then I'm road legal with this car. The quality of the welding is good. The sill has had an invisible repair done and once it has had the topcoat it will look like it was never welded. All in all I'm quite pleased.

A run out to Berkshire

This week on my week off from work I went down to deepest Berkshire in Blue. I'd recently fitted a new fuel filter and when I filled up before setting off I put some STP fuel treatment in the tank. The journey down went without a single hitch and when I filled up again at the Sainsbury's in Newbury I was pleased to find out that I'd averaged 40.9 mpg. I'm back and I clocked up a total of 600 trouble-free miles. I've got a couple of jobs to do on Blue. I need to top up the engine oil and sort out the windscreen washers.

Margaret is still not ready. Good thing I'm not in a rush.

I've managed to revive Brown. I put her in the garage before going away. I'll probably have to jump start the car so I reversed into the garage to make it possible.

A few issues to sort out.

I've been having a few problems with Blue's fuel system so it is time I addressed these. Since I changed the fuel tank I've had problems when filling up. If I fill up too fast the petrol filler neck overflows. According to the Guru this is due to a blocked vent pipe. Also, Blue sometimes runs like a bag of spanners. I'm sure that this is due to rust & sediment in the fuel lines. When Margaret is on the road I'll be able to deal with these problems. The windscreen washer pump has packed up so I'll have to rob the one from Becky.

I'm going to do some prep work on Margaret before I take her in for the repairs & retest to make life a bit easier for the garage and (hopefully) to save myself a few quid.

It failed...

...which wasn't much of a surprise. Fortunately it was only minor things. A brake pipe and a few small bits of welding so I'm going to bite the bullet and get the testing station to do it all so Margaret is booked on for next Monday (the 16th) for the repairs and retest which is convenient for me as I can't afford to tax the car until my next payday in December.

Getting ready for MoT

Margaret has been booked in for the MoT for Friday so I was in the garage sorting out the last few jobs. First up was to finish welding the sill. I got it done and primed as you can see below.
The nearside front suspension turret had another coat of the primer.

The nearside wiper spindle had another small piece of steel wedged in to stop the wobbling and after moving the car out of the garage I tested the wipers (it was raining) and it seems to be fine. The nearside windscreen washer jet was blocked so I cleared it out and the windscreen washers now work perfectly. After I'd finished I washed the car so it is now ready to be tested on the big day.

MoT fail sheet

When I went to Barry's to pick up the replacement quarterlight for Becky he gave me the fail sheet from when he'd put Maragret through the MoT back in June. She failed on 6 things:

1. "Offside headlamp not working on dipped beam." When I first checked the lights the offside headlight was indeed not working. I removed the plug, sprayed some Plus Gas and put the plug back in and it has been working since.

2. "Nearside windscreen wiper doesn not clear windscreen effectively." I've already dealt with this one and it works exactly as it should.

3. "Offside rear fog lamp not in good working order (not working)" When I'd checked the lights as previously mentioned the fog lights were working. I've rechecked them and they're still working.

4. "Nearside front brake pipe excessively corroded." I had a look today and I wouldn't describe it as "excessively corroded". I wirebrushed it and coated it with some grease. My local tester wouldn't just fail it if it neede cleaning. He did the same with Blue.

5. "Offside rear suspension component mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded." I wonder if the tester was referring to the holes in the offside sill as they're within 12 inches of the suspension mounting. I might take a closer look to see if there's any corrosion that I've missed. It'll probably be surface rust that can be wirebrushed & primed.

6. "Nearside front suspension mounting precribe area is excessively corroded." There's some rust on the turret but after wirebrushing and priming it should now be taken care of.

I wouldn't describe the rusty areas as "exessively corroded". The testing station are in the business of selling modern cars and most of the cars they test are the ones they sell. They're certainly not a classic friendly testing station. My trusty MoT tester would not fail the corrosion and would have mentioned it as an advisory so I'm quite sure that Margaret would pass without oo much trouble. Oh, and I've also changed the oil. She should run a bit better now.

Nearly ready for MoT

The welding is nearly finished on Margaret. I cut out the thin steel on the other hole and welded a plate over it reusing the remains of Becky's old OS sill. The welding is nearly done now.
I managed to get the wipers working as they should. Just the glass for the driver's door mirror (on order from Champion) and Margaret will be fit for the MoT. The registration document (V5C) came in the post (despite the postal strike) so I was able to declare SORN. I took the car for a quick spin round the back roads to keep things free and once the car was back in the garage I decided to align the steering wheel so it is now straight.

Ups & downs

Starting with the down I noticed that when I was setting off to take Anita to work Becky's driver's window was open. I took a look and found out that she'd been broken into but fortunately, nothing was taken (there was nothing worth stealing) and the ignition barrel was intact. I don't know why the aireheads would want to steal this car as she looks like a shed at the moment and the interior is a tip. I suspect that hotwiring is becoming a lost art and even so, Becky's battery is flat (needs replacing anyway) and needs a jump start every time. I rang the guru and he has one in stock so I can get it replaced. The first night Becky's out of the garage and this happens! As soon as I've finished the welding on Margaret Becky's going back in the garage.

On a slightly more posititve note I made a start in welding Margaret's sill. After a couple of minutes with the grinder it looked like this.
I welded a plate on the rearmost hole but I was blowing holes in the sill even with the voltage settings on the lowest. I think the remaining steel where I've ground off the rust is too thin so blowing holes can't be avoided. Maybe I should've cut a section out. I'll look at doing that on the other section. At least it is a step in the right direction as you can see.

I took off the wiper arms and I've found out why they were loose. The part where the spindle fits in has worn away. When I was on the phone to the Acclaim guru he said the cause was lack of regular lubrication. Becky & Blue are fine so I need to lubricate them both as soon as I can. As a fix I'm going to try to build up some weld to replace what has worn away as the entire spindle assembly is rusty.

There's a guy (I'll call him Craig) who's local who has bought an Acclaim. His car is a beauty and he came round today to see my own collection. I couldn't resist the opportunity to take a photos of all 4 of our Acclaims. This must be the biggest collection of Acclaims in one place that don't belong to the guru. (even though I bought Margaret from him) Craig's car had a new exhaust as the old one was blowing and as a result of this the exhaust bracket was surplus as he'd had a later type exhaust fitted so he gave me the bracket which will go on Margaret as she has an early type exhaust. I gave him a spare parts catalogue on CD-ROM which came from the parts I got from Nick. I'm going to give him one of my spare handbooks as soon as I can find them.

Today I have mostly been...

...servicing a Fiesta. Anita's oldest daughter's Fiesta was in need of a service. It hasn't had any servicing done since she got the car. She got some engine oil and I went to the local motor factor to get the filters and plugs. It all went well. The last person who had replaced the air filter had written the date and mileage on it so I did the same. The car runs a lot better now.
Having to service this car meant that I had to juggle the Acclaims around in order to free up the garage to get the Fiesta in. Becky needed some fresh petrol and a tow out of the garage. (the drive slopes down to the garage) before I could jump start her. Maggie is now in the garage so I can now start plating the grot on the sill. The wipers need sorting out as they're loose. I hope the guru has some replacement parts in his extensive collection. Just lately I feel I've been losing my "mojo" but doing the Fiesta as spurred me back into action especially with Maggie in the garage where I can get some work done on her.

Blue's alternator belt had been squealing so I got a replacement for £3.50 from the local motor factor and once fitted and tensioned it was "job done" and no more squealing.

An addition to the fleet

Maragret is now mine. I bought her last Friday when I got paid. It only cost me £26 to add her to my insurance. I drover her across to the garage and she didn't miss a beat so I declare her to be mechnichally sound.
I've had a quick look around and the only grot I've found are these holes in the driver's side outer sill. An easy enough job to patch even with my welding abilities.

There's not much else that's needed to pass the MoT. It'll certainly need less work than Becky! The car came with some service history going back to 1983 including a recent receipt for some rustproofing work which came to an eye-watering £850! No wonder that the bodywork is as good as it is. I've been going through the receipts and it appears that this car was maintained regardless of expense if the rustproofing receipt is anything to go by.