My slightly knackered old cars

[RetroShite]

Excellent stuff, always enjoyed reading about your fleet and adventures on the other channel.

Thanks, after a billion pages of chopping and changing over there I thought I'd have a break and continue over here for the time being.

[RetroShite]

Always admire your dedication to the cause. An amazing collection.

Thanks.

I was mildly concerned about joining up to this forum in case my stuff fell into the category of boring mundane shit that nobody really wants to read about.

[LynehamHerc]

They may be a bit knackered but they all look to have character, something sadly missing from most moderns.

You also won't lose them in, say, a supermarket car park among all the silver/grey clones.

[CLINT]

Nice collection of stuff. Apart from the Volvo anyway. One of the few cars I have had that I actually hated. But that was 20 odd years ago, I might like it now!I

Love the Subarus and Mercs though. I must have another soon before they get too pricey

[RetroShite]

Flung some more wob at the Corolla

RJC_8594 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_8597 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_8605 by srblythe, on Flickr

And fitted a set of Carina wheels I picked up for £20. It still looks a bit rubbish but at least the welds have been covered up.

[RetroShite]

RJC_8588 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_8586 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_8584 by srblythe, on Flickr


I noticed that the aux belt had been squealing on this lately so today I went down to my local TMS Motor Factors to buy a new belt, the staff are usually quite helpful apart from one guy who won't entertain trying to find parts for anything old, luckily I got an old guy called Fred who is always happy to look for parts for older stuff, he had two belts listed for the Chevette and made an educated guess as to which one was the correct one.
The great thing about TMS is if the part isn't correct they will refund it without any drama.
I got back to the unit, popped the bonnet of the car with it still running and had a look, the alternator was wobbling all over the place due to it being held in place by only a short bolt on top when it really should have a long one that slides right through.
I searched in my box of bolts for something more suitable but couldn't find anything long enough so just fitted a nut and bolt at each side.
I measured the new belt against the old one and it was indeed the correct size so fitted it, tensioned it and tightened all of the nuts and bolts.
It now runs smoothly with no wobbling.
While I was under there I adjusted the carb slightly, it had been idling quite low and felt a bit lumpy but after twiddling a couple of screws it runs nicer.

[RetroShite]

We made some long overdue progress on the 360 today, I welded a new inner and outer sill on one side and my Mrs welded, filled and painted the door on the other side.

RJC_7845 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_8747 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_8749 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_8766 by srblythe, on Flickr

After grinding the welds, plastering it with seam sealer, primer and black paint it doesn't look that bad.
The quality of the door repair looks pretty good.

RJC_8748 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_8752 by srblythe, on Flickr

I need to weld a few patches onto the other sill and weld a new chassis leg on the drivers side and I think it'll be finished.

[fried onions]

You forgot to weld the diff M8!

Good work. That Chevette has a delightful air of gentle decay about it, and is a really well-proportioned design. Must be pretty economical too?

[RetroShite]

You forgot to weld the diff M8!

Good work. That Chevette has a delightful air of gentle decay about it, and is a really well-proportioned design. Must be pretty economical too?

The fuel gauge doesn't really work all that well so I can't use my typical technique of waiting for the needle to get to the red or for the fuel light to come on then stick £20 in and see how many miles I get.
It also doesn't have a trip counter so I've not bothered to check how many miles I can get.
I don't think it's any more economical than anything else I have.

[RetroShite]

RJC_8603 by srblythe, on Flickr

Mot passed yesterday without any drama.