:: Diary - July 2009 ::

:: Sunday, July 5, 2009 ::

I'm going to a car show today with the Sporting Bears, 100 miles away. That's the furthest the Cerb will have been from home since... em... well since I got it, to be honest. Will it overheat? Will it get there? Will it get back? For the answers to these questions and more, tune in to this week's thrilling instalment. Oh wait... you have... Ta!

But first let's recap on last week's episode... I didn't fill it right up, I bled it hot and running, and I've done 200 miles since, and it seems to have been ok. I'm not going to refill it, let's see what happens.

I'm not daft though, I take half a gallon of antifreeze mix with me. You can't be too careful.

So I meet up with Dave at the back of 7am, and we set off to meet our leader, who happens to be driving a Skoda diesel, which we then follow for about 70 miles to the show. I notice that the temperature climbs a bit when the car's going slow, but goes down again at higher speeds. It also heats up going up hills but goes down when going downhill. Nothing too bad though, the temperature never goes above 90, so nothing to worry about.

The Cerbera is really quite a pleasant car, when you're not worried about it. It's comfy, fast, and the aircon works so it's nice and cool too.

We arrive at the showground and park up. I'm surprised (and delighted) at how much attention it attracts. Before I've even got it parked there's an old couple (and I mean really old, even older than me) telling me it's a lovely colour, sounds nice etc. Then the wee old woman, sweet wee granny that she is, says "I'll bet driving that car is like being inside a beautiful woman". The only reply I can think of is "yes but it's a bit noisy" which she seems to find amusing. Then the two of them toddle off like Darby and Joan. Great. See when I get old(er) that's what I want to be like - don't give a toss what anybody thinks.

Anyway, back to the show. As soon as I finish speaking to one passer-by, somebody else asks me about it. Yes it's TVR's own engine. Yes it's a V8. Yes it scares me too. No I haven't "maxed it out". Yes it's broken down. No I'm not pissed off with it. Absolutely fantastic!

I end up starting it up to let people hear it, and every time, that draws more people round. Wee boys, dads, mums, everybody likes it, either for the noise or the colour.

Ian is there with his 3000M, which is very nice. Dave's also tidied up his wedge a bit. Well, a lot. They both look good. Mine is a shed. A fast shed, right enough, but still...

I also meet KeTVRin and Elfit, both owners of S-series from the area, which is great - haven't seen them since S-club last year.

The journey back is just me and Dave, so a wee bit more progress is made. I decide to test the "hotter going up hills" theory to the extreme, so absolutely tank it up the steepest long hill on the route. After that, it's definitely running warmer. Dave also tells me next day that there was a wee bit steam from the right hand exhaust, so maybe the "repair" isn't as good as I hoped it was.

By the time I get home, it's about 5 degrees hotter overall, than it has been. Still max is 95, not totally unacceptable. Then it boils as I'm reversing into the drive - 105 degrees and steam from the cap.

Still, that's 450 miles since I last put water in, and 1,000 since it broke down on its way to Chatsworth in April. Putting water in every 400 miles or so is a bit more acceptable than every 20 miles...

:: Monday, July 6, 2009 ::

I put some water in the car, and bleed it. I also add a bit more K-seal, since the last stuff must have been diluted by the gallons of water I had added since.

A short 10-mile test drive confirms everything seems to be ok.

I've also realised that the MOT runs out on 19 August. That means I can put it in for MOT in a couple of weeks or so. No point though because I know that some of the drive shaft gaiters are split, and at least one of the rear shock absorbers seems to be leaking. Oh and one of the exhaust rubber mountings has perished - I've bought a replacement but not put it on yet. I'll have to fix those things at least before I take it near an MOT tester.

:: Saturday, July 11, 2009 ::

Well, I'd better start thinking about the MOT - and the one thing on Hexham's list that would be an MOT failure, was the drive shaft gaiters. I find an ebay shop selling kits that let you put the gaiter on without dismantling the jointalthough you still have to take one end off to get the gaiters on - basically the kit includes a big plastic cone that you grease up like cross-channel swimmer, then you pull the gaiter over the cone, so that the tight end stretches over the joint. There's a wee video on the ebay site, and it's a bit like watching a man trying to get a sumo wrestler into Woody Allen's wetsuit, but anything for a laugh so I order 4.

:: Tuesday, July 20, 2009 ::

I don't think I've mentioned yet, that I've been looking at buying another house. One with a garage. A double garage. And a big drive that I should be able to fit a fair fleet of cars in. Well today, my offer was accepted, and under Scots Law, that's it - neither side can pull out unless the missives show some major problem. Gazumping is illegal up here!

:: Saturday, July 25, 2009 ::

I have another trial run in the Cerbera, just to make sure it's ok before I take it to a show with the Sporting Bears tomorrow. It gets a little bit warm, not too bad, so I decide that maybe it's a bit low on water. When I open the bleed valves no water comes out, so it's lower than I thought. I refill it and bleed it, but I'm not sure it's bled properly, I think there's some still in there. Can't get it out though, the engine has got too hot and I'll have to wait until it cools down and depressurises.

:: Sunday, July 26, 2009 ::

I set off for the car show. It's about 70 miles and the car behaves perfectly all the way there, but starts to get a bit hot (well, really hot!) as I am waiting to park up.

Again, the car attracts lots of attention, but this time I don't start it because I want it to cool down a bit so that I can bleed it again before heading home.

At the end of the show, bleeding doesn't take long - take off cap to add water, leave cap loose to allow the system to bleed, then bleed it through - and right enough, there's a fair bit of air comes out. Happy that it's now fixed, I chuck my pliers in the boot and set off.

2 miles up the road and the temperature is off the scale. After a few seconds confusion I realise - I didn't tighten the cap and the system has depressurised. By the time I find somewhere safe to stop, the inside of the engine bay is covered in coolant and it's steaming like the Flying Scotsman going up Beattock Summit. Sometime's I'm my own worst enemy, me. What a plonker...

So I wait a bit for it to cool, and then add some coolant from the bottle in the boot, and bleed it.

It seems to be ok the rest of the way home, but it really needs to be bled from cold...