:: Diary - February 2020 ::

:: Sunday, February 2, 2020 ::

Another first Sunday, another TVR Car Club day! And this time Dave isn't going, because he is apparently playing with his Scalextric with his young pals with better eyesight and reactions quicker than a fossilised sloth...

The weather is atrocious, so no TVR driving, so I pick up Jim for the trip through.

There aren't a huge number of people at the meeting (or indeed any huge people), but the chat is up to usual standards, while we plan our excursions for later in the year - 3 invasions of England plus a Scottish tour. We also talk about squirrels, polishing, crashing, Minis, crisp packets, roof panels, Premier Inns, fire extinguishers, snow, and car ports.

We also talk about ethanol in fuel, and Jim and I both decide that we are going to change our fuel hoses for modern ones that don't dissolve in ethanol.

On the way home, I also decide to find out how much it will cost to repair the bonnet crack that has been there for years, and also the stress cracks around the boot opening.

TVRs are never finished!

:: Wednesday, February 19, 2020 ::

Around 2 weeks ago, I called up the bodyshop that fixed the chevy, to arrange to take the TVR in. They said "just pop in anytime".

Since then, the weather has been terrible. It's rained nearly every day. On the days it didn't rain, it snowed. There have been howling gales. Floods. We've had storm Ciara and storm Dennis. The weather forecast doesn't show a dry day until about June. So I haven't taken the car in yet.

Instead, I ordered up bits to make a wee rose-jointed turnbuckle thingy (hope that's not too technical) to replace the alternator adjuster bracket, so that I can get the belt a wee bit tighter so that it doesn't squeak like Minnie Mouse having an orgasm (or, indeed, the girl in the hotel room next to mine at Burghley 2 years ago).

First I remove the old bracket - 2 bolts (of different sizes - whose idea was that?) and it's off.

The new one is slightly too long though, so I take out the joints and cut about 5mm off each end of the middle bit, and smooth out the holes, and refit the joints.

I put an M8 bolt through the big bracket from the engine side, and tighten a bolt onto it. Then I put on a couple of thick washers and fit the joint, then a washer and nut. .

At the alternator end, I fit a slightly longer bolt than the original, with a washer.

Then I can turn the middle bit to tension the belt correctly, tighten the locknuts, and voila!

It's now 1pm. It's dry but rain is forecast. There's no salt on the roads. Sod it, I'm going to get to this bodyshop! I put the roof on, fire it up, and drive 40 minutes to the place, by which time it's raining steadily.

They have a look, give me a reasonable price, so I book it in for early March.

The drive home is a wee bit drier (by that I mean, slightly less wet) but at least the car doesn't leak!

:: Monday, February 24, 2020 ::

I'm such an arsehole. A fat arsehole, at that...

On Thursday, I decided that the bolt I used to fix my adjuster to the alternator was too short. I didn't notice at the time, but saw it from the photos. So, natcherly, I decided tho loosen it off, take the bolt out, and put in a longer one. Sounds easy? It was!

It would have been easier if I hadn't leaned my belly on the brake fluid reservoir while I was reaching down to adjust the belt, which resulted in it popping out of the master cylinder and throwing all the fluid on the floor.

Twat.

Now, when I was driving the car up the road from Yorkshire in November, I thought that the brakes were a wee bit spongy. They stopped that car ok, but didn't seem as good as I remembered. When I drove to the bodyshop on Wednesday, I thought the same, and thought I should maybe bleed them one of these days. Changing the fluid for fresh stuff would be a good idea in any case eh?

Well, it looks like today is the day!

First, I use a wee vacuum pump to draw most of the fluid out of the reservoir.

Then I start at the rear nearside (the wheel furthest from the pedal). I jack up the car and remove the wheel, then I loosen the nipple, put a bit of tubing on, dip the other end of the tube in a jar with a wee bit brake fluid (to stop air getting sucked back in), and then pump the pedal slowly a few times. Well, many times, till I have pumped another inch of fluid into the jar (making sure to top up the reservoir so that it doesn't empty). Tighten the nipple, wheel back on, 1/4 of the way there!

On to the other back wheel - same procedure.

The front brake nipples can be reached without taking the wheel off, so I start with the nearside. Same procedure loosen nipple, tube on, pumpity-pump, top up reservoir, pump some more, tighten nipple...

Then the front drivers side brake, and we're all done. The pedal feels much firmer for a start, but I can't take the car out to try it because there's a skip in the way (or the near vicinity, and my record with passing skips isn't immaculate.

Definitely noticeable that the fluid out of the rear cylinders was pretty clean, but bleeding the fronts pumped out a lot of much dirtier, cloudier fluid. Hope it's better now!