Good & bad.

I'm gonna start off with the bad. Project Blue has let me down big style. I was supposed to go down the the Heritage Motor Centre on Saturday. The car started to run like a bag of spanners which I put down to the fuel filter being blocked. After changing the filter it happened again so I turned back at Nottingham and I managed to get back as far as Birstall when the car died and wouldn't start again. I called out the breakdown people and got the car towed the rest of the way to Anita's house. The ongoing fuel filter blockage problem is due to a rusty petrol tank the only cure for which is replacement of the tank. Fortunately, the local Acclaim Guru has provided me with a replacement tank (rust free!) so Project Blue will be out of action until I can fit the tank. This shouldn't be too difficult because I've done it before.

Moving on to the good. I cured a small problem with the Dolomite Sprint's cooling system in that it wouldn't go above the quarter mark on the temperature gauge. The first thing I did was to replace the expanison tank cap, then I flushed the cooling system and refilled with fresh coolant. It seems to have done the trick as the heaters feel a bit warmer and the gauge reads a bit warmer but it still doesn't go above halfway. Problem solved! This car is less trouble than Project Blue at the moment.

Round Britain Reliability Run

It was suggested that as my Sprint had done the last Round Britain Reliability Run in 2006 that I should enter next year's. The entry has now opened but I'm faced with a couple of dilemmas:

Which car? Project Blue (the Acclaim CD) or the Dolomite Sprint. The Acclaim would use less fuel but the Sprint would be more fun to drive.
I will also need at least one co-driver.

The other problems that would stop me doing this run before (cost and getting time off work) no longer apply so I'm up for this one. Anybody care to join me on a 2000 mile non-stop drive around the country next October?

There's just one more thing...

...as Columbo would say. I also took the liberty of cleaning up the engine bay a little. I cleaned up the inner wings with some baby wipes. I painted the blower with some more of the black Hammerite smooth and I painted the air cleaner box with some silver Hammerite smooth.

This is the end result. A smarter looking engine bay. Not pristine but it looks a bit better.

That's it for the time being. I'm really enjoying this car. Project Blue gets a bit of use at the weekends to keep things free.

Mirror images

After doing the wheels I then got round to fitting the passenger door mirror I'd bought the week before at Stoneleigh. It came with 2 types of plinth so I decided to use the same one as the mirror on the other side.

I cleaned the paintwork where the mirror was going to go...

I then applied masking tape in order to avoid any damage to the paintwork should the drill slip. Also useful for marking where to drill.

The holes were drilled and the plinth fitted into place ready to receive the mirror.

The end result. A very useful and worthwhile addition and it looks like it came with the car when it was new.

Wheely good

I finally got round to smartening up the wheels on my Sprint. This was before any work was started.


This was after the first application of Wonder Wheels.




This was after the second application.



This was after the third application and compared to the first pic it is a whole lot better.



I then moved on to painting the segments with some black Hammerite smooth. I did some prep work by removing the flaking paint and rubbing down.

The end result! It looks much better and it may not be the best but I'm pleased with it. The best thing is that it didn't cost me a single penny as I'd already had everything I needed to do the job.

No further progress...

I don't seem to be getting anything done. Life it seems, is just getting in the way and the dark nights don't really help either. I went to see a Brian, a former work colleague (who restored a Herald 13/60) to show him my Dolomite Sprint. He was quite impressed with it. So much so that he's thinking of getting one himself. Like Blankety Blank I didn't come away empty-handed. He gave me some stuff to clean my alloys with. It is called "Wonder Wheels" which is manufacrured by CarPlan. He swears by the stuff so I'll give it a go. He's still reading my Blog (I'm glad somebody does!) so watch this space!