A few issues with Brown

In my last post I mentioned that the exhaust was knocking on the autobox crossmember. Also, I noticed that the engine seemed to be rocking more than it should. I've started to eliminate possible causes. First, I finally fitted electronic ignition. A secondhand Newtronic unit was bought from S&S Preparations and once that was fitted I managed to get it working and it has made a huge difference to how the car drives. I wished I'd done it sooner. I also noticed that one of the engine mounts had seen better days so a replacement was ordered and was fitted. This has also made a difference but the knocking is still there so the next thing wil be to fit the original type exhaust clamp and autobox bracket. I found what looks to be the correct type clamp among my collection of parts so I'm still on the hunt for the bracket. There's also the problem of the tickover which seems to be too high. I might have to fit my other carbs.

Brown is back together

The replacement flex plate arrived and I was able to put everything back together and reinstall the engine. The only problem was that one of the engine mounts wouldn't go on but I got there in the end and Brown is now up and running again. The main problem I have is that the exhaust is knocking on the rear crossmember. I suspect that the engine mounts need replacing. I've also noticed that the engine seems to vibrate quite a bit. I wonder if a good tune-up is needed. I'd like to fit electronic ignition which should help but the cost is a bit prohibitive now that I'm back out of work.

Plenty of work done on Brown

I managed to get hold of an engine crane. The guy who brought it down also gave me a hand with getting Brown's engine out. The only thing that needed to be done was to unbolt the exhaust manifold and once that was done the engine came out.

The autobox was easy to separate apart from the torque converter bolts which were a pig to undo but we got there in the end.

It soon became obvious what the actual problem was. The flex plate (which takes place of the flywheel) had broken in the middle. This explains the noises I heard and the loss of drive in all gears because the torque converter wasn't being driven by the engine. This means that the original autobox can go back in (once I've cleaned it and changed the fluid).

I've put in an appeal for an replacement flex plate and there will be one on they way to me next week. In a way this is good because I can get everything cleaned and painted at my leisure. They guy who fetched the engine crane down has let me keep it so I can refit the engine once I've got the flex plate fitted. I've already cleaned up the engine bay and beneath all the grime is a half decent subframe.

I'd already got the replacement autobox but it is now surplus to requirements and is now for sale.

Another disaster!

First Brown and now Becky II decides to break down.

I had sourced a replacement autobox for Brown. On my way to collect it Becky II's timing belt decides to let go when I'm dong 70 mph on the M62. Ironically, it was the same stretch between junctions 11 & 12 and even more ironic was that it was the same recovery driver who rescued me as before. Diagnosing the problem took some time as at first I thought it was ignition related. I was swapping various ignition bits from both Becky & Blue to no avail. I even checked for fuel delivery but the penny finally dropped when I was wondering why the engine seemed to turn quite easily when I operated the starter. Once I got to the timing belt it was obvious that it had snapped. Normally, this would mean the end for the engine as on most cars the valves would hit the pistons. I've read about other Acclaim owners whose timing belts has snapped and were fine again after replacing the belt. I had a belt in the garage so I set to work. Aside from the crankshaft pulley bolt it went well. Once I'd finished the car ran like a bag of spanners which turned out to be the No. 2 & 3 HT leads the wrong way round. After that was rectified the car ran perfectly and some road testing followed and I can say that Becky II is none the worse for the timing belt letting go. I will now be able to make the next local TSSC meeting.

Brown's engine/autobox is new ready to come out. The car is now back on all four wheels and I've even painted the radiator with some black Hammerite smooth. The engine bay will look better once I've fitted the replacment autobox.

Getting things fixed.

I put the spare radiator in Becky II and that has cured the overheating problem. I can now get the original rad repaired at my leisure. An oil change is overdue so I'm planning on doing that tomorrow.

Brown's engine is nearly ready to come out. I need to remove the centre exhaust section, remove the autobox crossmember and undo the speedo cable and it will be ready to lift out. I also need an engine crane or a few hefty blokes with a scaffolding pole. Can anybody help me? I've got a replacement box lined up and I'll go pick it up once I've done the oil change on Becky II.

Disaster!

This morning on the way to a show Brown's autobox decided to let go on me leaving the car immobile. Brown is now back in the garage and I've already begun to prepare to remove the engine/autobox. I've already been offered a replacement auto very cheaply so I'll end up taking the offer up. While the engine is out I can sort out the exhaust and the engine mounts. The radiator will have to come out so I can renew the coolant at the same time.

Having aborted my visit to this show (the TDCIR, the Triumph Dolomite Club's annual get-together) I ended up going over to Ripon in Becky II. On the way over the temperature gauge started going towards the red. I topped up the radiator but on the way back it did the same again so the problem needed addressing. Fortunately, I had a spare radiator that was known to be leak free (it was Blue's original radiator which I had repaired) so that was put in. I filled up with plain water and gave it a road test. I managed to get a couple of litres of ready mixed coolant from the local Esso/Tesco Express for £5 so I'll put that in and top up with plain water. It'll do until I get the original radiator reapired and refitted.

Brown's turn for some attention

It's been a while since I posted any photos so I thought I'd get a couple up. I've started making a list of post-MoT jobs for Brown and I got a couple of them done already. The first job was to top up the autobox. I bought a litre and it all went in. I think it might still need a bit more. I also managed to fit a replacement windscreen trip. This only cost me £7 from Rarebits4classics down at this year's TSSC International. Below are the photos before and after and it has made a difference to how the car looks.

I've still got the timing and the carbs to adjust. I could also do with a half decent stereo (the CD player went in Becky II) so I'll have a rummage round and see what I can come up with.

Back on the road

Brown is finally road legal once again after 2 years. The failure points have now been rectified and the certificate was issued on Thursday. It only cost me £160 (excluding the test fee) which was a lot less than the last time. With free road tax it was worth doing. With a week to spare I can now shake this car down. There's the windscreen trim to fit, the tracking to do and the autobox fluid to check. I'll be trying to use Brown as much as I can.

I did some work on Blue this week. I had partially stripped the interior in readiness for removing the fuel line. I decided to refit everything and tried to revive the car. Really, Blue needs a new battery but this will have to wait until I have recovered financially from getting Brown back on the road. The brakes need overhauling, one of the sills needs welding, the transmission fluid needs topping up ate least and then there's the fuel problem. Somebody has suggested blowing through that fuel line with an air line to unblock it. This would save me from trying to replace it.

At last!

I managed to put Brown through the MoT and it failed. The failure points were:

Headlight aim too low.
Play in the front wheel bearings.
A twisted front brake hose.
Handbrake efficiency below standard.
Corrosion around one of the front subframe mounts.

Mostly minor things and not bad considering this car has been off the road for the last 2 years. It is really down the the hard work I've put in during these last 2 years. It will be ready by the weekend which means I've beaten my deadline by a week which gives me some time to shakedown this car before the TDCIR in September.

Handbrake day

Yes, today's spannering has a common theme.

Becky II's handbrake has been getting slowly worse (only scraped through the MoT back in February) so I had the rear wheels, the drums and the brake shoes off. I gave the lot a good clean and freed off the linkage. The result is a better handbrake. I'm not 100% happy but I'll give it change to all settle down. Definitely an improvment.

Brown needed some hadbrake adjustment too. I only had to do the nearside because that side had the cable replaced. I haven't done anything with the offside (if it ain't broke...). This job was much easier than on Becky II. And after testing it with the help of a Citroen AX I declared it much improved.

There's been a slight problem with arranging the MoT for Brown. My usual testing station doesn't open on Saturdays. That means I either have to take some time off work or I'll have to use another testing station.

Tyre-some

Brown has had the front tyres replaced.

Due to cost and the use Brown will be put to (club meetings, shows and back up for Becky II) I decided to get some part worns. All the local tyre fitters were closed so I had to look a bit further afield and I found a place near to the centre of Bradford which had a pair for only £15 each. With the replacement rubber I am now one step closer to getting an MoT certificate. Just the handbrake to adjust, the exhaust manifold-downpipe nuts to nip up, and some basic checks to do (lights, fluids and suchlike) then I can book the MoT. I've been promising the tester that I'd bring Brown down and now I should be able to make good on that promise. To focus my attention I've decided to set myself a definite deadline. The Triumph Dolomite Club are having their annual get-together (the TDCIR) on the 4th September so this is my deadline for getting Brown road legal and this should be achivable.

SORNs all round

I had to SORN Blue last week before the end of June. Since then I've had the reminders for Becky & Brown which are due at the end of this month. They both came in the same envelope so the DVLA seems to be getting their act together. Unless I can get either of them MoTd they'll be getting SORNd at the end of the month.

Front wheel tracking.

After replacing the front tyres on Becky II I got the front wheels alinged. I rang round a few local tyre fitters and the prices ranged from £20-£45. The cheapest price was from the closest one who I'd used before when I replaced Blue's rear tyres on the morning of the MoT back in August 2009. As expected, the tracking was wayyyyy out so it was adjusted without any difficulty and the steering wheel was lined up as well. Well worth the money.

Time for an update.

It's been 2 months since my last post and Brown is getting closer to being MoT-worthy. The rest of the wheel nuts and the headlight surrounds have been painted. The engine oil and filter were changed (not without incident). I've removed the remains of the wing mirrors which put up a bit of a fight but as always, I prevailed. A brand new battery (£46 - ouch!), fresh petrol, new points and condensor saw the car running again. I swapped the voltmeter with a spare one I had which is more accurate. The exhaust manifold-to-downpipe nuts needed nipping up to make the exhaust leak-free. I still need to adjust the handbrake and replace the front tyres before I can put this car in for the dreaded MoT.

Staying on the subject of tyres, Becky II needed her front tyres replacing. Because I'm not driving to work any more (40 miles a day plus the cost of parking puts a dent in my meagre finances) I went for part worns at £25 each (ouch, again!) The old tyres were worn on the inside edges which is indicative of the front wheel tracking being out. The tyre fitters told me the same so I'll be getting the tracking done at the weekend.

Plenty of more work done on the Dolomite

I've repainted the back panel. I've repainted the bootlid. I've replaced the windscreen. I've replaced the exhaust. I've adjusted the nearside front bearings. I've sprayed the nearside wheel nuts. And that's just for starters. I've got a few more jobs to do before I put Brown in for an MoT. I've been promising my MoT man that I'd bring Brown down to test. With no road tax to pay for I can justifiy spending money on getting this car through the MoT.

A small confession...

...I should have posted this a few days ago. I finally did a bit of work on Brown (Dolomite 1850). Somebody on the TDC forum was offering some parts for free. He was in Leeds so it was handy for me because I'm working there at the moment. I arrange to meet up with him and I ended up with a set of rear light units and a windscreen. These parts will be of use to me to get Brown back towards MoT-worthiness. Some time ago when taking the trolley jack out of Brown's boot I dropped it breaking one of the reversing light lensse. When I checked the price of a new one on the Rimmer Bros website I decided to live with it. With these spare rear light units I was juat able to swap the one that had the broken lens. The job went without a single problem. It may be a small thing but I don't want this car to fail the MoT on something small which brings me on to the windscreen. Brown's windscreen has some scratches and if that's an MoT failure I now have a decent one which I can put in if need be. I'm also thinking about improving some of the poor paintwork. My plan is to start on the back panel. A rub down and spray with some satin black should leave it looking like new. This means that I'll have to strip the back end to prep it.

Service part 4

I got the coolant changed without any problems. I undid the bottom hose to drain the system, I then filled up with clean water and ran it up to working temperature. I then drained the system again and filled up with fresh coolant. I removed the overflow bottle and cleaned it and put some fresh coolant in after I'd refitted it. I put in two litres of antifreeze and then I topped up with clean water which should give approxiamtely a 50/50 mixture. I made a start on changing the timing belt but I couldn't undo the crankshaft pulley bolt so I've had to give up. If I had an air wrench it would have been an easy job. Oh, for a compressor!

Service part 3

I've managed to source an air filter from Champion Motor Spares so I stopped by on the way home from work to collect it. At £12.50 I felt it was reasonably priced. Just the coolant and the cambelt to replace and that's the service done. Next I can move on to Brown. The first thing I need is a new battery and some fresh fuel which will got a long way towards getting this car running again.

Service part 2

I went to my local motor factor and the radiator cap was there so I took it leaving me £5 lighter. I decided to swap it there and then and I wasn't really surprised to fin that there was no pressure when I removed the old cap. It was obviously way overdue for replacement. When I got back I removed the cap to top up the radiator and there was some pressure in the cooling system so all seems to be well. I'll be still flushing the system out and refilling with fresh coolant. I've had no problems and I want to keep it that way!

Service part 2

The brake pads have now been fitted. I got the job done inside of 45 minutes from start to finish. The time included getting my tools out of the garage and putting them away. Changing the brake pads on the Acclaim must be one of the easiest pad change jobs and it all went without a single hitch.

Next on the list will be the cambelt change, the air filter and the cooling system. The top hose appears to be fine when the cooling system is under presure so I might not have to replace it. The small amount of coolant lost must have caused a vacuum. In any case, I'll be flushing it and renewing the coolant.

Service Part 1

I have made a start on servicing Becky II

The engine oil, oil filter and spark plugs have all been changed. With the front end up on axle stands for the oil change I removed the front wheels to check the brake pads and they're in need of replacment soon so I've bought a new set. I'm still waiting for a new air filter which I can't get until next Tuesday. When I was changing the spark plugs I noticed the the top radiator hose had collspsed so I'll have to rob the on that's on Becky. I removed the radiator cap and found some sludge so I'll need to flush the cooling system and replace the coolant. This is turning into a major service. I think the cambelt will need replacing as well. I've also bled fresh brake fluid through the front calipers so they're fine.

I'll be fitting the new pads tomorrow.

Something sorted out

I was washing and vacuuming Becky II when I decided to take a look at the cig lighter socket as it has been loose. I had a spare so I canniblaised it for parts and put it all back together. WHile I was at it I decided to test my phone holder/charger as the charger wasn't charging my phone. After sorting out the socket I plugged in my phone holder and the charger is working so I'm pleased with my work. While I was in the garage I decided to make a list of jobs that are needed to get Brown roadworthy. These are:

Replace the battery.
Replace the front tyres.
Sort out the blowing exhaust or replace it.
Replace the ignition parts or fit electronic ignition.
Fit solid carb mounts.
Adjust the carburettors.
Change the engine oil and filter.
Replace the transmission fluid.
Adjust the handbrake.
Respray the car. The car has had a poor paint job at some point in the past.
The widscreen might need to be replaced because it is scratched. I'll need a new sealing rubber.

I've finally manged to get a job (albeit temporary) so all being well, I should be able to get Brown back on the road.

Taxing

I overcame the final hurdle this morning when I got 12 months road tax for Becky II. I'm £125 lighter but the car stays road legal for the rest of the year. On another positive note, I've finally managed to get a job albeit temporary (until the end of March). If I can get Brown through an MoT then that car will also be back on the road. A bit unlikely but putting the car through would give me an idea if what is needed to pass. I keep on promising to take this car down to the testing station that I use. One day hopefully...

Ups and downs

Yesterday (I'm writing this at twenty to one in the morning!) was an emotional roller coaster. Becky II went back to the garage for the welding and retest so I was without transport for the day. 5 o'clock came round and I hadn't heard anything so I made my way down and when I got there the welding had just been finished and the car was having the retest. Fortunately, she passed so I have that all-important piece of paper. All seemed well and on they way to get Anita from the local Sainsbury's where she works Becky II died on me and wouldn't start again. I ended up calling the breakdown service (included with my insurance) who couldn't get the car going again so they recovered the car back home. After some head scratching and component swapping (from Becky) I decided to consult my workshop manuals. To my surprise, it was the Haynes manual that provided the answer. I was getting a spark fron the coil but there was no spark at the plugs. According to Haynes, this is either a faulty distributor cap or rotor arm. Both these had been replaced recently with new parts. I knew better than to assume that the new parts were fine so after more part swapping the fault was traced to the rotor arm. I'd already swapped the HT leads earlier on and because they were in better condition I kept them. A short road test proved that all was well. In fact, Becky II seems to be running a bit better with Becky's HT leads. I'll be returning the rotor arm to get it exchanged. Lucky I kept the box it came in!

I think I've sorted it...

I took a look at the handbrake today. I removed the OS rear brake drum and I found out that the linkage had seized up so I freed it off, cleaned it, greased it and it has done the trick. The handbrake now works on both wheels and holds a lot better. I think I need to adjust it further to make sure it'll pass on Thursday's retest.

More MoT work done

I've now crossed 3 items off the fail sheet. I've completed the lower suspension arm swap with the donor parts coming from Becky. She also had to donate the anti-roll bar after I was unable to liberate the nearside lower suspension arm. It is a lot better and even Anita has noticed the difference. No more rattles.

Just the handbrake to do next...

Well well well...

...in the words of Jeremy Kyle.

Becky II failed her MoT. I was expecting this so it isn't much of a surprise. This is what she failed on:

Offside rear tail light.
Offside front suspension mounting corroded.
Offside front floor pan corrosion.
Nearside rear outer sill corrosion.
Nearside rear inner wheel arch corroded. I found this when I was adjusting the handbrake and is the worst of the corrosion.
Nearside lower suspension arm bush loose.
Offside lower suspension arm bush deteriorated. This explains a knock which I've been ignoring.
Offside rear parking brake recording little or no effort.
Handbrake efficency below requirements.

I've arranged for the garage to do the necessary welding and got the car booked in to have it done the the car retested. I'll do the rest of the work myself. I've already fixed the tail light. I had a spare bulb which I've fitted so that's one item ticked off the list. To fix the handbrake, I'll just have to clean and regrease everything which should sort it out. I'll just swap the front lower suspension arms with Becky's as they should be fine.

Looks like I've got my work cut out for me...

MoT time.

Becky II's MoT is due on the 21st so I've booked her in for Friday. That should give me enough time to sort out any failure points. The only thing I'm worried about is the handbrake efficiency so I'll adjust it before the test. I'm using the same testing station as last year so I know the job will be done properly.

Fingers crossed...

Phew!

I've just had a scare.

As mentioned in an earlier post, my insurnace was due for renewal and I was able to make the payment so a cheque was posted. I hadn't heard anything since. Because today was the last day of my current policy, I was waiting for the postman with baited breath. Nothing arrived from Footman James (my insurers) so I gave them a call and I was told the the documents had been posted yesterday so that's a weight off my mind and the first hurlde overcome.

The next one is the MoT which is due on the 21st. I shall be getting the car tested before this date like I did last year and I shall use the same tester again as they're classic friendly. I was looking at the soon-to-expire current certificate this morning in the car and noticed that the mileage was just over 56,000 when I had the car tested last year. Becky II's mileage is now just over 76,200 at the time of writing so it now comes as no surprise that the front tyres were worn. The joruneys "down south" I've been doing have contributed to a fair percentage of the 20,000 miles I've done in the last 12 months. This will be coming to and end soon and the trips to Thatcham will be to Ripon so less mileage and wear-and-tear. Fortunately, I have unlimited mileage on my insurance so that's not an issue.

The third and final hurdle is the road tax. I might put 6 months on to avoid it coming due at the same time as the MoT and insurance. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Tyre-some.

I was checking the tyre pressures on front tyres of Becky II when I discovered that the front tyres were seriously worn. Because I don't have any money buying new tyres wasn't an option but I had other options. Because I have 3 Acclaims and a spare set of wheels in the garage, I can just swap wheels over which have better tyres. The only problem is that all 3 cars have different size tryes. Becky has 155s, Blue has 165s, Becky II has 175s (with a 155 on the spare) and the spare set has 155s. What I ended up doing was picking the best 3 out of the spare set along with Becky II's spare wheel. I preapred the wheels by inflated them to 30psi, blackening the sidewalls with my tyre dressing spray (97p from the local Wilkinsons) and fitting the best 2 to the car with the other going into the boot in the spare wheel well. After that I got my torque wrench out and after looking up the figure I toruqed the wheel nuts up to 59 lb/ft (80 nm) as per the workshop manual. I now heve 155s on the front and 175s on the rear. This is not illegal and it certainly won't fail the MoT (which is due in 5 weeks!) I've since put quite a few miles on which included a stretch of dual carriageway where I got up to 70mph and all is well.

That's what I call a result!

Insurance renewal...

I got a letter from Footman James today. My insurance renewal is due on the 3rd of February. If things stay as they are then I won't be able to renew my insurance and this will finally force me off the road and put an end to all this. It is something I've dreaded for the last 12 months. It's as bad as losing my licence. I feel like a part of me has died. Things can only get better as the song goes.

Moving forward

Since my last post I decided "sod it!" I'm not going to let my personal problems get in the way. It'll take more than unemployment to stop me.

One of the first things I did was to tidy up the garage and it is now a much better place to be. It is certainly a good way of giving my "mojo" a boost. During my tidy up I came across an Acclaim cambelt which I'd originally bought for Blue. Becky II has done nearly 71,000 miles and will need a cambelt change during the next oil change at 72,000 miles so that'll save me some money. I also tidied up the interior of Brown. If I'm to get this car back on the road I'll need to get in the mindset of the car being in use which means a tidy interior. One of my pet hates is a car interior which looks like a bin on wheels. I was fixing a Fiesta last week and the interior was a mess so when I'd done my spannering I cleaned the car inside and out. Anyway, getting back to Brown. I charged the battery but I think it is past it as there's a label dated 2003 which puts the battery as at least 7 years old which in my book is past the useful lifespan of a car battery. With a duff battery I'm just using the nearest car (a Citroen AX) to jump start Brown. When I had this car on the road I've been having no end of trouble with the points. I bought an ignition booster kit from Maplin a couple of years ago which I'd assembled so I wired it up so that it was operational and jump started the car and it ran so the ignition booster works. I just need a permanent home for this booster and I think somewhere under the dashboard will be the best place. The reason I'm going to get Brown back on the road first is that the only money I have to spend will be getting the MoT certificate. The road tax is free. The other jobs I know will need doing will be:

New front tyres (the last pair I fitted have worn on the edges due to the tired front suspension prior to rebuilding and rebushing it)
Replace the scratched windscreen and the rubber.
Replace the battery
Finish fitting the handbrake cables (I only did one side. I unearthed the other new handbrake cable during my tidy up) and adjust the handbrake.
Replace the brake fluid.
Change the engine oil and filter.
Change the transmission fluid.

I've also got a list of jobs to do on Blue as and when money permits.

Change the transmission fluid.
Check the brake shoes and the handbrake mechanism.
Sort out the rust on the sills and front valence.
Clean/replace the fuel line
Fit a battery
Repair the aerial socket on the radio/cassette
Clean and repaint the front wheels

There will be no futher posts...

...for the forseeable future. Don't worry, I won't be closing this Blog. Due to my continued unemployment with the associated lack of funds (I've had my benefit stopped so my income is zero) I won't have anything to write about so I shan't be posting any updates unless my circumstances improve. Becky II is still my daily driver but if things stay as they are until next February then I'll be forced off the road as I won't be able to afford the insurance is it'll be due then along with the tax & MoT.

That's all folks! (for now)

A minor breakdown

I was on my way back this morning when I drove through a puddle and the Becky II lost power and then died on me. She wouldn't start again so I had to abandon the car. The ignition had got wet and the only thing to do was to leave it to dry out. Fortunately, I wasn't far from home so I walked the rest of the way. I'd just bought the current edition of Practical Classics so I had a read of that. An hour and half later I returned to Becky II and she fired up on the button. I wish they could all be that easy!

Not much to report...

I've not really had anything to report of note recently. I had to replace the brake pads & shoes on Becky II in late May/early June, Blue's tax ran out so that's on SORN, Brown's tax is also due so that'll be SORNd as well and Becky's SORN is due for renewal. Becky II will be due an oil change soon but fortunately, it isn't an expensive or difficult job. Just messy! The last few oil changes I've done (not on any of my cars) seem to have got more oil on the drive than anywhere else!

Cosmetic work on Brown

Having got Brown running again I decided to do some cosmetics on the car. First I repainted the rocker cover with silver Hammerite smooth and then I refurbed the alloy wheels with some wet & dry and repainted the segments with black Hammerite smooth. The beauty of these jobs were that I didn't have to spend any more money because I already had everything I needed to do both jobs.

Handling things

The driver's door handle on Becky II broke last night when I was at the local Sainsburys. I knew it was on it's way but I didn't expect it to let go so soon. Like I did on the passenger side before the MoT I robbed a door handle from Becky to replace the broken one. Apart from trying to undo a screw with the wrong size screwdriver everything went perfectly. Becky II now has MK1 door handles on the rear doors and MK2 door handles on the front doors. Not ideal but 100% functional.

Servicing on Becky II

With another journey "down south" and with Becky II coming up to 60,000 miles I decided to do a service. First was the engine oil and filter change costing me less than £10 because I still had an oil filter among my spares. The spark plugs cost me £15 for a set of four. I thought that it was a bit steep but I'm sure that not all NGK spark plugs are created equal. There's the ones made in Japan and ones made in Brazil (or somewhere in South America) but the Japanese ones are supposed to be better quality. My £15 plugs were the Japanese ones so I'm not so worried about the price. Due to the Easter holidays I'm unable to get hold of an air filter until next Tuesday. I still had Margaret's old air filter and that was in better condition than the one that was in Becky II so I swapped the air filter. I'll do until I can get a new one. All this has made the car more responsive and hopefully I'll get even better fuel economy on my long distance run.
While I was at it I decided to tacke some minor niggles before they got any worse. One of the windcscreen washed jets was blocked so I removed the vent panel to get the jet out to unblock it. I noticed the there was a patch of rust on the bulkhead (a common rot spot that often gets missed) so I wirebrushed it to get rid of the loose rust and paint and painted it with some Hammerite.
The handbrake seemed to have quite a bit of travel and wasn't quite holding on so it was adjusted and is much better.
The front bumper had been bent so I had a try a straightening it out. The best way would have been to remove the bumper but I didn't want to fight lots of rusty bolts so I removed the nearside front corner. The bolts came out surprisingly easy so I coated the threads with copper grease to avoid any future problems. Using a steel bar I was able to straighten the bumper. It still isn't 100% perfect but it is now much better. Maybe a visit to the Guru might be the answer. I had a bit of difficulty lining up the bolt holes for the bumper corner but with the help of my persuaders (2lb lump hammer and a jack handle) I was able to get the bolts back in.
I washed the car, vaccuumed the interior ,used my upholstery cleaner on the seats and blacked the tyres.
I touched up the bootlid badges with some silver Hammerite and this has made a big difference to the look of the car.
While I had the Hammerite out I also touched up the wheels where spots of rust had appeared.

Brown lives!

Brown is now running again. During a search for a Windows XP installation disc (this PC went down so I ended up reinstalling Windows. I turned the house and garage upside down to find it) I came across the print outs from the BL workshop manual for the Dolomite 1850 distributor. Today was a glorious day so I decided to open the garage doors and drag Brown partly out to do some spannering. Following BL's words of wisdom to the letter I removed then replaced the distributor and set it up. Hooking up some jump leads from Becky II I was rewarded with Brown's engine coming back to life. I set the timing with a stobe light and gave the car a short run. The car isn't quite running right but I think this is most;y due to lack of use, stale petrol and the need for some fine tuning. I've noticed that the front carb is overflowing but whatever the problem is it can be easily fixed as I have some spare carbs. It is either a sliver of rubber stopping the float valve from closing, a sticking float valve or a leaky float. I treated Brown to a wash afterwards. This is a big boost for me so I can now move forward.

Blue has had the replacement fuel tank fitted and the car is now running again. There is a fuel filter in the engine bay just before the fuel pump to catch the rust that's in the fuel line. Ideally, I'd like to replace the fuel line but because it runs along the interior of the car I'll have to remove the seats and carpet to get at the fuel line. I had the chance of a decent fuel line when I helped break the Acclaim at Paul Darbyshire's on the 31st of January. I wish I'd liberated it at the time. I can either rob Becky's or see if Barry McGrath has one in his collection of spares. Once a replacement fuel line is fitted Blue's fuel problems should be gone for good.

Becky II just keeps on going. I liberated the CD player from Brown and fitted it and got it working on all 4 of the speakers so I now have a decent sound system and FM radio which is better than the MW/LW radio that I had before.

IT LIVES!

Yessss!!!!!!! Blue is running again. The weather improved enough for me to be able to fit the replacement fuel tank in Blue. The whole job went without a hitch apart from one of the fuel tank bolts shearing off. Fortunaterly, I had some spare bolts from when I'd helped dismantle the donor car. To avoid a repeat performance (not that I'm planning to drop the fuel tank again soon) I coated the threads with copper grease. I had problems getting the car running again but once I'd got petrol to the carbs to prime them the car ran without any trouble. I road tested Blue and she performed faultlessly so I'm sure the fuel problems are banisahed for good. To be sure I've fitted a filter just before the fuel pump to catch any crud that's still in the fuel line (even though I flushed it out) as the replacement tank has it's original fuel filter.

Taxing times

Becky II's tax disc runs out at the end of this month and because I still had enough money from the sale of Margaret I bought a 12 month tax disc so I'm road legal on this car until next year. I wish the weather would get a bit wamer and drier. I woke up to yet another dusting of snow. Things aren't much better in the garage. The replacement fuel tank for Blue is getting under my feet and because it is so cold I don't particularly fancy doing any spannering on Brown. Once I'm earning a decent income I can lavish some money on getting this car back on the road again. Getting her running again would be a big boost for my "mojo" but it probably won't happen without some spending of money.

It passed!

Becky II has passed the MoT without even having any advisories so I'm pleased about that. I was quite confident that she would pass but not having had a good look underneath was the only worry I had. Barry had a good look on Friday at the Club Triumph Pendle & Pennine meeting and he identified a future problem. It'll give more something to do when the summer comes. Brown will be next for MoT when I can get that car running again.

Time for MoT

I've booked Becky II in for MoT for 10.30 this morning. I can't see her failing on anything major but there was one thing I had to attend to. The front passenger door handle had broken off (before I bought the car) so to get by I took a door handle from Becky and fitted that. Becky is a MK2 car but Becky II is a MK1 so the door handle is different to the others but it will suffice until I can get a MK1 door handle from the Guru. According to the current certificate there were no advisories on the last test and the car's done about 7,000 miles since so that bodes well.

Wish me luck...

Getting tanked up.

Among the haul of parts I got from the stripping down of the Acclaim last weekend was a petrol tank and filler neck. The tank that's in Blue has a ropey filler neck so rather than messing around with rusty fixings it is easier to drop the whole lot and fit a replacement. I had to leave the tank in Paul's garage becasuse I didn't have enough room to take it with me. I collected the tank this morning from Paul and on the way back I called in at the local Bodge-it (B&Q) and bought some black Hammerite smooth and some thinners. When I got back I made a start on painting the tank. I wirebrushed the top half by hand to remove the muck and loose rust then I brush painted it and it already looks better. Once it has dried I'll do the bottom half and when the weather gets a bit drier or if I can free up the garage I'll fit the tank to Blue. I'll flush out the fuel line and hopefully the fuel system will be finally sorted. I've been having problems with it since I bought the car nearly three years ago.

The key to it all...

Becky II's key had snapped and as it was the only one I had a solution had to be found. Margaret's original Triumph key opened the driver's door and worked on the ignition so that gave me some time to get a replacement key cut. I'd tried a couple of branches of Timpson to no avail but at last night's Club Triumph Pendle & Pennine meeting one of Barry McGrath's mates (Dan) was having problems with his Acclaim. It was due for the MoT and the nearside rear wheel arch was rotten and with no chance of getting through the MoT in time a replacement Acclaim was needed and Barry asked me if any of my Acclaims were suitable for Dan. Becky was ruled out as she's in worse condition than his car (Boo). Becky II was ruled out because Dan hated the colour (Opaline Green), Blue was also ruled out because she's a Troimatic and Dan doesn't like Troimatics. Besides, Blue has 46,000 miles and she's too nice to have the miles put on. That left Margaret which is the same colour as Boo and like Boo is a MK1 Acclaim. She was sold for £325 and I left the remainder of the tax. Dan has a solid base on which to improve the car. I'd sorted out most of the faults and the car has left me in better condition than when I bought her. I'm glad she's going to a good home and I can use the money to get Becky II through the MoT and I can re-tax the car at the end of the month.

Anyway back to the story, because of the sale of Margaret I had to get a key cut for Becky II. I tried one more branch of Timpson without success but the answer came in the shape of a market stall that does shoe repairs and key cutting. The stallholder had a box full of older key blanks and he came up with one that was perfect. £5.50 lighter I had a key for Becky II which works.

A productive couple of days

Yesterday was the day I went over to fellow Triumph enthusiast Paul Darbyshire to liberate some bits from his Acclaim that he was scrapping. With the help of Acclaim Guru Barry McGrath we got the car stripped down to a rolling shell within 6 hours and I got all the parts I needed inlcuding parts I'd robbed from Becky. Most of the parts I've got were for Margaret most of which I've already fitted. Becky II needed a boot seal and a set of steel wheels. Blue needed a fuel pump, petrol tank and a radio aerial. I rescued the battery and put it on charge last night and it is now on Blue. The firstthing I did when I got back was to fit the steel wheels on Becky II and she looks more like and Acclaim. They have nearly new tyres (Paul found the receipt when we stripped the donor) so I'm quite pleased with the result. Today I fitted the fuel pump and got Blue running but I'm still having problems. The Guru said that the fuel line could be the problem so I'll have a go at flushing it out. This will be done when I fit the tank which is still in Paul's garage. Tonight I replaced the steering column stalks (wiper & indicator stalks) and the steering column shroud and everything is now working perfectly. The fact that it also looks better is a bonus. I've got the air cleaner to replace the existing one which looks a bit shabby. This is purely cosmetic but it gives the impression that the car is being looked after. I've also got the cables and levers for the boot and fuel filler flap releases. I thought that Becky II's fuel filler flap release wasn't working but it is fine. I might fit it on Margaret as she only as a boot release. This is a very easy job which just requires the cable to be fitted and the lever assembly to be swapped over. I've got a few bits for other Acclaim owners and they will be winging their way in their respective directions.

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.

This week's update

Blue wasn't warming up properly so I replaced the thermostat which cost me just short of a fiver from Champion. The head gasket set had a sealing ring for the thermostat so I was able to use that when I fitted the new thermostat. On reassembly I copper greased the bolt threads and tightened up the bolts carefully as the thermostat housing can break if the bolts are overtightened (been there and had the t-shirt) so it was torqued as per the manual. Blue now warms up as it should.

I bought a set of brake shoes for Becky (£2.99 on eBay) and when they arrived I started to fit them. While I was at it I noticed some more grot as you can see in the photo.
It has since been cleaned up with the trusty angle grinder and plates will be welded on. Why do I keep on finding more corrosion? It would've cost me an absolute fortune to pay for it to be welded. Going back to the brakes I had difficulty getting the drums back on. I found out that the handbrake linkage (which incorporates the self-adjusting mechanism) had seized solid at one end where it is supposed to pivot. Once I'd freed it off (it was the same on both sides) I was able to refit the drums and now the handbrake feels a lot better. It needs adjustment because I'd been turning the adjusting nut all the way in and it was never going to hold the way it was before I'd freed off the linkage so I need to undo the nut. As it is I can only just pull the handbrake on to the first click of the ratchet so it is too tight. I don't want to stretch or break the cables because replacing them means dropping the petrol tank to get at them.

I've now made a start on welding the outer sill and already it is looking better than it has done for a few years. Once that is finished then I'm over the worst. There's just the rear floorpan to strengthen and then I can move on to the nearside. Last Wednesday I got something in my left eye and ended up going to the local A&E the day after. I've now made a full recovery but I have hardly done any spannering since.

Blue wasn't warming up properly so I suspected the thermostat. I bough one from Champion costing me just short of a fiver and I fitted it tonight. There was a sealing ring in the head gasket set I'd bought so I was able to use that and on reassembly I copper greased the bolts and torqued them up as per the specs in the factory workshop manual as the thermostat housing can be broken too easily by overtightening. (been there before and got the t-shirt!) I took Blue for some roadtesting and the temperature was reading where it should be so I'm confident I've solved it.

I mentioned that I'll be getting another Acclaim. I paid a visit to Barry the Acclaim guru and took some photos of Margaret (or Maggie as I call her. She was registered just before the Falklands War so I think of a certain Prime Minister!) and she is quite solid in the usual Acclaim rot spots apart from a small hole in the OS outer sill which is an easy enough repair even with my welding abilities!

Latest progress

I got Brown's lower wishbone bushe fitted when I went to Brian's. With his vice we got the job done in 5 minutes. The upper wishbone bushes came in the post so I was able to rebuild the front suspension and it has has transformed the front end. New pads & shoe have been fitted and the handbrake has been adjusted. There is some improvement but I'm still not happy with it. I'll try again once the shoes have bedded in.

Becky's rear arch repairs have been completed and undersealed. A couple of plates have been welded on the rear floorpan. The remains of the offside outer sill have been cut off and repairs to the inner sill have been done. I can now complete the repairs to the rear floorpan now I've got something to weld to and once I've trimned a bit more off the old outer sill I can fit the replacement outer sill which I got from the Acclaim guru for only £20. Once that is all complete I can turn my attention to the nearside which is nowhere near as bad.

There's going to be a new arrival. I've been offered an early beige Acclaim HL which is in better condition then Becky. At £50 it is well worth a punt. There's a couple of places that need welding, the wipers need attention and the driver's door mirror is missing. This shouldn't take much to get through the MoT. I won't be getting it until my next pay day and this car has sidetracked me from getting Brown back on the road. As a cheap and easy project it was too good to miss and it is one of the oldest surviving Acclaims.

The weldathon continues...

The offside inner rear arch welding is nearly complete. There's just a small patch to do. A simple enough patch but in an awkward place. I can hardly get the grinder in to clean up the area. I could do with a Dremmel. The alternative would be to drop the rear suspension which I'm a bit loath to do. The other biggies are the offside outer sill and the rear offside floorpan which split when I jacked the car up by the jacking point. I've put some weld on it but I'll weld a patch to give it enough strength. I got an estimate for having the outer sill fitted which was about £60-70 so I'll have a go at it myself. My welding skills are slowly improving so I'm confident that I can fit it when I get round to doing it.

The lower wishbone bushes for Brown arrived but my vice isn't up to the job so I'll get Brian to do it as he's got a bigger vice than me.

Bushes ordered

It is payday today so I'm spending my allocated budget on the parts I'd planned to buy for this month. Superflex lower wishbone bushes have been ordered from Chris Witor and I've ordered brand new rubber uppers from ANG Triumph. The reason I ordered the upper wishbone bushes in rubber was because my payday was a bit short due to having a day off sick which has put a small dent in my budget. For the same reason I'll be skipping the front wheel bearings as I'm sure I can make up a decent set front the two I have, clean them up and regrease. New pads & shoes will be ordered but I might try the discs from the spare Sprint suspension. (one of them is already on Brown) Once I've got all the bits I can then crack on with fitting them on the car.

The welding begins

I had to buy some protective equipment from a local welding supplies shop before I could begin welding. When I was ready I used my angle grinder to clean up the area. There was too much to do in one go so I decided to plate it with several plates.
This is the first plate and the card template I made as a guide.

First plate welded on.

Second plate welded on.

Third & fourth plates welded on.

Fifth and final plate welded on.

My welds aren't the prettiest but I'm sure they'll be passable and I'll get better as time goes by. I wouldn't like to think how much a garage would charge for that little lot. I've run out of CO2 so I'll get some more on Friday when I get paid. I've got an entire OS sill to replace so I might get a price to have it done unless I feel confident enough in my own skills.

Work on Becky begins

The first thing I did was to sort out the blowing exhaust. It turned out that the manifold joint isn't blowing. The downpipe is starting to split. I've put some exhaust putty on for now but the only cure is to weld it. Becky needs the later type exhaust (like Blue) where there is a degree of movement which avoids the downpipe splitting. The exhaust clamp is now fitted so that might help as well. Next was to adjust the brake shoes. While the rear wheels were off I had a poke around the arches and I found a lot of filler in the offside arch. I've wirebrushed it and painted the remaining metal with the rust killing primer. Quite a bit of fresh metal will need to be welded. I'm really gonna have to learn how to weld. If I could get hold of some sheet steel then I could have a go. Getting back to the brakes, I adjusted the shoes but the handbrake still isn't holding. I'll need to adjust the handbrake but I didn't think of that until after I'd locked up the garage. While I had the primer out I did other areas of the car where there was rust. I'm hoping I've stoppped Becky getting any worse and once new metal replaces rust I can think about putting her through the MoT.

SHE LIVES!!!!!!!!!!

Becky is back in the land of the living. I fitted the charged battery, the fuel pump, the carbs, put in £5 worth of petrol, squirted some Easystart into the carb intakes and Becky started up without any problems. She was ticking over at about 2000 rpm but other than that she was running fine. I drove her round the block and all was well. The brakes still work (the fluid will need changing) but the handbrake was as bad as ever. I think the battery is past it's best (it was on the car when I bought her 4 years ago) but once started I'll be able to drive her across to my garage where I can work on getting her ready for the MoT. The biggest hurdle will be getting the welding done. The offside outer sill needs replacing but the Guru has some sills so I'll need to get one from him. The other jobs I can see that need doing are to adjust the brake shoes, change the engine oil, change the oil filter, change the air filter, sort out the blowing exhaust manifold/downpipe joint and to fit the exhaust brakcet to prevent this reocurring. The rust I'd ground off a few months ago has started to come back but I can deal with that easily enough.

Blue has had an oil and filter change. I had a couple of oil filters in stock so that saved me a few quid. The cheap oil I'd put in when I did the head gasket had only done less than 1000 miles but it looked like it had done 6000 so it has done the job of flushing out the engine as I'd intended. I'm now back on decent oil. Instead of Duckhams I used Miller's 15W/40 from Champion. (paid for by the refund on the head gasket set) It is the right oil for the Acclaim and at just shy of £12 I know it is decent quailty. I've also ordered an air filter. The old one doesn't look too bad so I'll put it on Becky now she's running again.

The revival of Becky.

I'll be trying to get Becky running in the morning. The battery is fully charged and I've got a fuel pump and the carbs ready to fit so I'll be going over to my parents' house to fit the bits and once I've put some petrol in I can see if the car will run. I can get a refund on that head gasket set I got from Champion which will give me some much needed cash.

Tonight I was messing around in the garage with the spare front hub assembly which was a dry run for replacing Brown's front wheel bearings. When I fit the new bearings it'll be a strightforward job as I can avoid the pitfalls I've discovered. I'm also toying with the idea of using new rubber bushes on the upper wishbones which will save me a few quid (£1.50 from ANG Triumph against £7.47 for the Superflex ones is quite tempting...) but this month's planned expenditure will be just over £150 with Superflex front bushes factored in so I might not bother with rubber bushes and I'm not sure a mix of new rubber and Superflex is ideal as I've already started going down the Superflex path with the tie bar bushes...

Acclaim bits

I was given some Acclaim parts by somebody local I knew who had an Acclaim. (he sold it to the Guru) He came across them when he was packing up for a house move. The parts were a complete cylinder head, two oil filters (handy for the next service), a brand new coil and a pair of carburettors. This has prompted me to start reviving Becky. I've got a replacement fuel pump from the Guru after I'd liberated Becky's for Blue when Blue's fuel pump died on me. The battery has been liberated and is on charge. Once I've fitted all the bits and got some petrol in Becky should be ready to fire up and all being well should move under her own power. The brakes will need overhauling (like I did with Blue) and once the welding is done she should be somewhere near fit to put through an MoT. The carbs had been separated but it was a simple enough to put them back together and they're now ready to go back on.

Time for some budgeting and planning

I seem to have gone a bit mad with the expenditure on repairs. This is what I've spent since the last payday:

Welding on Brown's floorpan - £45
Front suspension bolt set for Brown - £20 (eBay purchase including postage)
Fuel filter for Blue - £4.39
Brake pads & shoes for Blue - £28
Two new tyres for Blue - £70
MoT test fee for Blue - £40
Pair of new track rod ends for Blue - £10
Temperature sender for Blue - £12
RH bottom balljoint for Brown - £30 (another eBay purchase which also included postage)
LH bottom balljoint for Brown - £28 (bought from a TDC member in Holland which again included postage)
Lower wishbone bush seals (£8 from Rimmer Bros)

This comes to a grand total of £295.39 which is a fair chunk of my income. Clearly this cannot be sustained so like Baldrick in Blackadder I have a cunning plan. I'm going to budget for only a few items and that way I won't be overspending like I've just done. Also, as Blue now has an MoT there won't be as much money spent on that car as before. Here is my plan of action:

September
Brake discs, pads & shoes for Brown (priced at approx £100 including postage from Rimmer Bros)
Front suspension bushes for Brown (priced at about £50 from Chris Witor)
Front wheel bearings for Brown (£20 for both sides from ANG Triumph)
Zircon blue paint for Blue (unknown as yet. I might try Halfords)

October
Exhaust for Brown (£200 from the TDC)
Track rod ends for Brown (the gaiters have split despite being recently fitted. Probably £5 each from Champion Motor Spares)

November
New front tyres for Brown (£30-40 each depending on where I go)
Front wheel tracking (probably about £15)
MoT test for Brown (£40 if I use the same testing station again)

If I follow this plan I hope to avoid any overspending.

Suspension progress

I've got the lower wishbones back from Brian which have now had their bushes separated. I've got the bottom balljoints and a set of seals for the lower wishbone bushes which I'd ordered from Rimmer Bros. I just need the bushes and then I can start to fit my refubished suspension to Brown. My plan is to get Superflex bushes from Chris Witor.

Blue is now running like a dream. The fuel problem has now all but disappeared. I took the car for a run out to Scarborough and it didn't miss a beat. I think a good run was what it needed. I've also dealt with one of the advisories on the MoT. I wirebrushed the sills and gave them a couple of coats of rust killing primer. I'll leave it a couple of weeks then I'll rub it down and give it a topcoat (if I can find Zircon blue. Most motor factors won't stock it.)

It passed

I picked up the track rod ends and fitted them last night. This morning after work I went back to the testing station for the retest where Blue got that elusive green piece of paper (MoT certificate) so now Blue is road legal once again.

Turning my attention to Brown, I've dropped off the repainted lower wishbones at Brian's to get the old bushes out. Once I've got new bushes I can then do my suspension rebuild.

It failed...

...on a track rod end! There were a few advisories as well.

The OSF brake disc was slightly pitted
OSR brake pipe slightly corroded (cleaned up by the tester and is OK)
Both outer sills corroded but not excessive
The front brakes imbalanced but just within the limit (caused by the pitted disc according to the tester)

I've ordered a pair of track rod ends from Champion and I'll be able to deal with the advisories. The sills will be wirebrushed, rust treated (got some rust killing primer), and then topcoated. I'll waxoyl the sills to stop the rust in it's tracks. A pair of new brake discs will be fitted to deal with the brakes. A nice easy winter project. Before I took Blue in for the MoT I replaced the rear tyres as they were on the car when I got it and due to the 13 year lay-up they must have been at least 15 years old and therefore overdue for replacment. One of them looked like it had been on since the car rolled off the production line and the tread looked like it was worn to the limit. £70 for the pair is a small price to pay for total piece of mind and was one thing less to fail the MoT on. I forgot to mention that I'd fitted a replacement front bumper yesterday. The Acclaim Guru (Barry) had kept it for me and when I was fitting it I decided to clean up the front valence and gave it a couple of coats of rust killing primer. Once the primer has hardened I can topcoat it. I'll be doing the same thing with the outer sills. The only problem was when I came to remove the headlamp washer jets from the old bumper the threads had sheared. The Guru has a couple in stock but he's on holiday at the moment.

Final prep

I adjusted the handbrake and jetwashed Blue and the car is now ready for tomorrow's MoT. I discovered that I'd refitted the fuel pump wrongly which could be the cause of the poor running. I've topped up the radiator with the last of my antifreeze. I'd like to get the temperature gauge working again to see if Blue's overheating.

MoT preparation on Blue

I've been working on the brakes. New pads, shoes and the fluid has been replaced and the brakes seem better. Just need to put some more miles on the car. I'm still having problems with it running but I've replaced the fuel filter and I've been spraying carb cleaner in the carbs. Maybe a bit more fresh petrol might help things. I'm still waiting for the temperature sender to arrive but I'll stick with the motor factor I've orderedit from as they're moving Heaven and Earth to get one and it is local to where I am these days.

I'm gradually getting the bits I need to bring Brown back up to MoT standard. The floorpan was welded last Friday costing me £45. I've got a nut and bolt set for the front suspension for just shy of £15 via eBay. Another eBay bargain was a bottom RH balljoint for £20 and I've been offered a LH one for the same price. The suspension refurb is coming along slowly. I've cleaned up the upper wishbones and I've even managed to remove all but one of the bushes. I'll be fitting new bushes and I'll probably get Superflex ones like I did for the tie bars. Blue will be taking prioroty but I'll get things if the opportunity arises.

IT LIVES!

Yes, Blue is up and running again. I've changed the engine oil and bled the brakes as the fluid had seen better days. I went to get some petrol and the brake fluid level went down. (the warning light came on) Shortly after putting some petrol in the car started running like a bag of spanners. I don't know why but it'll have to wait until tomorrow. I'll try some carb cleaner then. I'll also see if that temperature sender has arrived. I hope Blue isn't overheating like before.

Setbacks

I've ordered a new timing belt and I'm waiting for it along with the temperature sender for Blue. I'm also waiting for Brian to finish the head so I can reunite it with the block and time is running out. I'm going to end up without transport at this rate as Brown's MoT runs out very soon. I can see myself walking to work. Night shifts & public transport don't mix. I've enquired about parts at my trusty local motor factor for Brown for when it comes off the road. It might be worth getting them from there if it works out cheaper than getting them from Fitchett's or Rimmer Bros.

Getting there with Blue

No joy with Drake's. They couldn't get the valve stem oil seals so I ended up getting another head set from Bradford Grinders with the correct seals for a tenner. I dropped it in at Brian's so the head will be ready soon. I'm sure I had a spare timing belt (bought for Becky) but I can't find it anywhere. I'll probably leave it until after the MoT when I can get an air wrench on the crankshaft pulley bolt to loosen it. All the old head gasket has been cleaned off the block and it is now ready to recieve the head. I've also cleaned the mating faces on both the inlet & exhaust manifold. While I was working on the inlet manifold I noticed that the temperature sender had the terminal snapped off. I wonder if I've been getting a wrong reading on the gauge or I might have damaged it when I was removing the head. It certainly had seen better days. The outlet at the bottom looked like it had blocked up so that might have been causing cooling problems. It will be all flushed out when I put the car back together. At least I know the radiator's fine. I bought a set of NGK spark plugs & once the car's running again I'll be changing the engine oil with some cheap stuff and I'll change the oil and filter after a few hundred miles to flush out any crap. I'll be doing the same with the cooling system.

I checked into running a newer car and it is going to be too costly because I'd have to insure it separately. I was quoted just over £1500 for a 1995 Vauxhall Astra 1.4LS by Footman James so my best course of action is to get Blue through the MoT once the car is up and running again. I went to the garage where I had the brake pipe made and the guy reckons that the floorpan damage I sustained least year can be repaired for about £25-£30 and at worst it would be double that so I'll get that done on Brown before it comes off the road. The other work that I know will be required for an MoT I can do myself. I'm not much good with a MIG. The same guy knows a classic friendly place for MoT testing so I'll be looking into that.

Progress on Blue

I rang a couple of local engine builders and Drake's (who rebuilt a Pinto engine for Practical Classics a few years ago) have ended up getting my business. I called in with a sample and they'll be ordering it in so it should be in on Monday. I bought a gasket scraper and set to work on getting the rest of the gasket off the engine block. I'm also going to change the timing belt which means that the crankshaft pulley has to come off so that the bottom half of the timing belt cover can be removed. It is just a matter of removing the crankshaft pulley bolt but it is fighting me. If only I had an air wrench. It would be off in seconds so it looks like I'm going to have to remove the starter motor (easy to get to with the head off) and jam the flywheel as per the Haynes manual.

Blue's cylinder head

Brian rang me earlier tonight to tell me that the replacement valve stem oil seals were too big because they foul the inner valve springs so I went over to his place to pick up a couple of the old ones as samples so I can order replacements. I'm going to try one of the local engine building places in the morning as I need Blue back up and running as soon as possible to be able to put it back on the road. The valves needed doing and the head needed decoking which is most likely due to the low mileage (22,600) clocked up from new until the car was laid up in 1993. I consulted the Guru and all he could tell me was that he's never had this problem.

Time for an update

I've done quite a few things since the last update. Brown as had a new tax disc as it was due. The suspension problem turned out to be seriously worn bottom balljoints. I fitted the ones that were on the Sprint front suspension I had but the left one wasn't much better. I'm going to rebuild the spare suspension so it'll have new balljoints when it is done. I stripped the vertical link on the left and regreased the front hub. The handbrake stopped working so I ordered new brake shoes and fitted them. Then the rear left wheel cylinder started to leak so a new one was ordered. When I triedto fit it the union rounded off. I was eventually able to remove the wheel cylinder with the pipe still attached and separated them. I ended up getting a new section of brake pipe costing me £5 and after when I fitted it the unions were leaking. It turned out that the unions were metric so I got some replacements and when the pipe was refitted it was leak free and it is still holding up. I think I'll have to replace the rear shoes because the linings are contaminated with brake fluid. The MoT runs out on the 14th so Brown will be coming off the road to have everything done properly for the MoT including the previously mentioned front suspension refurb which I've already started.

Blue has already had some attention too. I've taken the cylinder head off and I found out where it had failed because No. 4 cylinder was clean but the others were coked up. (probably didn't help with running) Water was getting in the cylinder and it had the effect of steam clening it. The head has gone down to Brian's to have the valves reground and the new valve stem oil seals fitted. (they cam with the head set I bought) When that is done the head can go back on by which time Blue should be ready for the dreaded MoT but Blue has a better chance of passing than Brown. I've wirebrushed the tops of the pistons and the only thing left to do before the head goes back on is to remove the remains of the head gasket.