The Dark Wob

The price of petrol is largely irrelevant to me. I have small cars for local use and a large car for long distance work. But I would expect a car in the 1500 class, which are always trying to be the best of both worlds, to do better than 21 OMGMPGES. For its engine size, and class of car, that is excessive, and irks me somewhat.

It is rather excessive as I don't get many less from a slightly* larger more modern car.

Mind you when I had a LR S2 Lt/Wt with a RR V8 in that did a massive* 13mpg on a run.

OK, I drove the MO all of 130 miles to the premises in South Snowdonia, a lovely journey it regularly does, to give some maintenance attention to the other two, viz. Morris Traveller and Austin Allegro. I swapped the MO for the Trav to rotate, and gave the Aggy a good run. I should really sell the Aggy but something is stopping me, it's like an old friend. The Radiator I had recored 5 years ago is now showing signs of rot in the cooling fins, as I realised when changing a headlamp, for the grille had to come off.
I like the moggy because its a big go-kart, but it wants a lot doing to it. It is using an excessive amount of oil - a quart over 90 miles - but not smoking. I suspect the engine breather pipe is pissing it out, though it could be engine wear; at 95,000 miles I don't know if it's ever been rebuilt. I will post up a photo of the pipe and all will be clear because there are two different types. I am getting a disgusting oily/greasy film on the rear windows, which lends weight to the pissing out the breather pipe theory. It's also incredibly uncomfortable on anything but the shortest journeys, despite me renewing and then adjusting the seat webbing. I am MOST VEXED.

It still amuses me that there are people (not here) literally quaking in their boots at the mere thought of taking an old car a few miles... to me and pretty much everyone here I think its just a matter of course. It will take me a while to get out of that habit of stating the trip mileage.

That always amazes me too, or indeed driving them at a normal speed. What exactly do they envisage they were designed for originally?

Precisely old bean. It's laughable. Many of my cars were horrifically asthmatic until I woke them up by using them and gradually it breathed new life into them, freeing the engine up. They had hitherto only covered very small mileage/short journeys.

All my cars have only ever been more reliable with regular use, even the ones which deteriorated during my ownership... Which is all of them.

I stand by the concept that if one has the money to run a modern car on finance they have the money to run a pair of old (pre-1990) cars as daily runners and keep them in decent fettle. Technically I can't afford to run a car at all, so it's a miracle I even have anything that works well enough to pass an MOT...

I reckon you also have to be content with the fact that car probably won't be constantly running perfectly and that there will invariably be a constantly changing list of minor work which needs doing to keep the car in fine fettle. A willingness to be constantly improving a daily driver classic is required but I think perfectionism will only work against you.

I reckon most people just can't be arsed with the hassle of maintaining an older car and the different manner in which you have to use them. 15,000 mile service intervals and 90mph motorway cruising are the expected norm. a 0-60 time in less than 10 seconds is "dangerous" and anything remotely involving actually sensing the road you're driving on and the conditions outside the cabin is "instability" and "lack of refinement".

Its funny but the world at large sees cars that were once reliable when new as unreliable now there old

But in reality they are no less reliable than they were just less used which in turn makes then unreliable

Ive had both low mileage classics and high mileage classics and the high mileage ones have always been more reliable!

Cars whatever age like to be used the more they are the more reliable they become

Time for some Snipe news. The front brakes used to squeal like a bitch until I fitted these shims from Past Parts that Angrydicky helped me with finding.
To briefly recap, I have done a lot of work to this car to bring it up to scratch. The brakes were giving trouble because the servo was a later bodge-on causing the brakes to stick on. A new, correct servo cured this. The brakes are very effective and the rear drums are massive. Series I cars were drum/drum and amongst other smaller details had a 2.6 litre engine. The Series II we have here benefited from a 3 litre engine (same design) which remained throughout Super Snipe production, and front disc brakes. They were always servo assisted on these cars and I believe a servo was also standard fitment on the Series Hawks.
The disc pads are a piece of cake to remove. Look at this caliper compared to the photos people take of their modern tosh looking like its been left in the Solent for 5 years.
The dust seals are in good condition on this side, sadly not so on the other. This will need rectifying at some stage, but they are working fine as it is.
I found yet another grease nipple I'd overlooked, only accessible with the wheel off. With some 20-odd lubrication points to attend to every 1,000 miles this is no joke.
The anti-squeal shims have worked perfectly and I am very pleased. Noise has been completely eliminated.

I fitted the Lucas Stop Lights Warning gadget which illuminates as you apply the brakes. It does have 'STOP' lettering as it illuminates, hard to see in this picture.
The brakes in good fettle, I went back to the cooling system to fit some replacement parts I'd collected. First, a complete drain tap. The existing one had sheared at some time in the car's life, meaning I had to completely unscrew it using a spanner whenever I wanted to drain the radiator.
The next item is a genuine Mopar top hose, seen here at the top unfitted.
So I now have genuine Chrysler/Rootes top and bottom radiator hoses which are of a quality to last for many, many years. I cleaned up the original hose clips in my quest for authenticity.
All that was left to do was test drive, which I always enjoy. When you open up the throttle the engine really does roar through the exhaust in an authoritative manner.
There's still a fair amount to do but this is largely bodywork now. Mechanically it is now nearly first class.

That's a great looking car. I'm very jealous.