Autopaints! Now that really takes me back. Didn't they have a place at Lewes too at one time?

They did me a large aerosol and lacquer for a SAAB, Scarab Green semi-metallic, pushing 15 -20 years ago for £ very reasonable which was not only an excellent match but also sprayed very well indeed and covered much better than I expected. Been using it for little odd jobs ever since, just finished it off in November last. OK I don't do much where dark green is a good colour but to keep working after so many years must say something.

Clive

As moderator for the Bridgeport_Mill yahoo group I see very little spam. Almost 3,400 members. All very well behaved, years since I had to jump on something in a legitimate forum discussion. Did have to pull about a half a dozen spam messages last year which all appeared to come from hacked E-Mail addresses belonging to ex- or inactive members.

Requiring an E-Mail message containing relevant reason to join followed by holding the first post for moderator approval before conferring full membership privileges seems to be pretty effective at keeping the riff-raff out. I reject any empty joining requests with no message out of hand but usually ask those with a simple "Hello, can I join up" attached for more details. About half never reply but the returns from those that do can be amusing demonstrating that said hopeful oiks not only have no idea what a Bridgeport is but are too darn lazy to do the relevant research. Odd one or two are legit from folk who don't quite get how its done.

Clive

When I made preliminary enquires about LPG conversion, aborted as the local Autogas supplier shut down, the folk I talked to said they wanted the engine recently serviced and to have done a "reasonable" mileage on petrol after significant engine work before they would touch the vehicle. My impression was that this was more to ensure the customers took things seriously and to pretty much avoid having to deal with any non-LPG related issues during installation. I suppose its logical that any adjustment and tweaking due to settling down issues after significant engine work are best dealt with on petrol before putting LPG on top but how much that actually applies, if at all, in practice if the job is competently would be a whole n'other matter.

That said I do recall one serial optimist with another species of vehicle who reckoned that doing an LPG conversion would magically reduce fuel costs and eliminate the need to actually fix the sadly worn engine!

Clive

There's a Bridgeport with 3 axis DRO standing in the corner of my man cave so knocking out a spacer or three should be no problem given dimensions and material. Safe sorta job for me too whilst I'm on light duties after hernia op last week! Must remember that 61 is not the new 21.

Would probably have had a spacer on the go already if the green-machine, needs head job, deal hadn't gone pear shape for reasons I don't understand. Getting tired of the official unofficial kid sister moaning about the 22 mpg fuel consumption of her TD6 L322 and astronomical costs of servicing and new parts (4 sets of front suspension arms in 40,000 miles!) so throwing an LPG converted P38 her way ought to keep her quiet long enough to decide she does like P38's after all! Even if only for fiscal reasons.

Clive

True. You are stuck with making the installation shrinker even if the set provides everything else. There are ways of doing rather better than the bit of threaded rod for folk without a press. Once made an adapter to take the screwed body of the common import hydraulic puller which reportedly worked a treat. Even a simple screwed pusher with similar large diameter fine thread would put a lot more force on than the bit of chinee threaded rod.

Clive

I admire folks who have the determination to make improvised methods work but I bailed out on the Haynes Book of Errors style tooling years back after one set of scars too many. Easy to say tho' when you have enough machine shop equipment in the man cave out back to make producing a functional equivalent to proper gear almost as fast as finding stuff to improvise with.

I figure something around £10 to £15 plus materials would cover pullers for both front and rear bushes if I could do a batch of 5 or 6 so as to use up a length of bought in steel stock. Maybe £5 more if you wanted sophisticated with roller thrust bearings under the nuts. For one or two I might well have enough offcuts about the place. I do wonder about those cheap E-Bay £30 - £40 (ish) 28 piece bearing and bush puller sets. Dead useful or every size except the one you want? I really should get one to see.

What annoys me about the bush removal tool pricing is the make surcharge. Same thing but different size is under £30 in pretty box for Vauxhall Vectra et GM al put pushing £100 naked for our P38s and even more for Bimmer/Merc boys. Looks like Laser charge more for the combined front & rear set than they do for the two separate ones which is seriously annoying. Not that I'd ever buy one of course.

Clive

Given the dimensions I can easily make up bush removal and insertion tools for £ very reasonable. Only simple turning jobs after all. Laser components appear to be taking the P with their version:- http://www.lasertools.co.uk/product/6505 at £200 (almost). OK its got a (tiddly little) thrust bearing in one nut so its um "sophisticated" but not an extra £170 worth over a simple bush and allthread kit used with smooth finished well greased washers.

How much pressure does it take to shift the front ones? My press is only 12 tons. Still a decently scary bang when well tight stuff lets go.

Clive

Clive

Pity you are so far away 'cos I have small hands. Can do both the HT lead change in situ and coil pack removal with very little verbal encouragement.

Clive

Mine behaves itself up to 20°C on auto, which is as hot as I ever run it.

Have you checked the cabin temperature sensor fan runs properly and that there is no fur or dust insulating the sensor itself. Both my SAAB 9000 hatchbacks came with similar heat distribution issues. Cured when I unjammed the fan on one and cleaned out seriously furred sensors on both. Big balls of lint'n crap on them. I suspect there is a fallback setting inside which limits how hot the face air can get if the system inputs are out of range. SAAB certainly had one.

Clive

Hi Mark
Disk skimming is a DIY job for me as both my lathes can swing a Rangie disk. Probably use the Pratt & Whitney as that has a lower bottom speed. Just need to remove the wear ridge really. Got new factory disks and new pads for front and rear at a very good price shortly after I got the car but front pads are lasting very well. Rears were shot.
Saw the headline refurb service on E-bay. Very good price but by the time I've driven down there and back fuel costs for 400 odd miles means it comes out about the same.
Clive

Hi Mark

Hopefully get to look at it next week if I can sort things out with Ben.
If I buy it plan is to have Chris do the heads then I need to find good home for my big red beast now that Mike has gone all funny and bought a VW Toerag. Sounds a OK ish buy and gets me off the expert (???) consultants seat. Which didn't stop him bending my ear on t'dog'n bone for half an hour this afternoon about the aftermarket tablet thingy its got in the dash.
What happens really depends on what the green one is like underneath. Big Red needs a good going over with a wire brush underneath followed by painting and his front disks skimmed to get the MoT man and his advisories off my case. Can get his headlining done local for £300 odd and he's pretty much set to go up to 100,000 miles on normal maintenance. Financially it looks close to a wash after budgeting for airbags et al that are certain to be needed on the green one in the next 5,000 to 10,000 miles. Going to boil down to how much I want Vogue creature comforts and how much I don't want to be crawling under on scrubbing duties.

Glad your wanderer has finally made it to safe harbour and looks to be sound.

Clive

For not much more money this one ;- http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201610269157972?model=RANGE%20ROVER&make=LAND%20ROVER&postcode=tn62pd&onesearchad=Used&advertising-location=at_cars&radius=100&fuel-type=Petrol&price-to=5000&sort=distance&page=1 looks a much better bet. But not a Vogue. Just down the road from me, lots further for you.

Actually some choice in not too silly miles, say 80,000 - 110,000 ish, not too silly price, say £2500 to £4000 cars in my neck of the woods right now. Which is unusual.

Clive

Chris
PM sent.
Had a chat with my local 4x4 man and he says same thing about corrosion. Also reckons that it depends on which head gasket has been used s well as the anti-freeze. Later gaskets (composite?) and wrong or infrequently changed anti-freeze being bad in his experience.
Clive

Mark- pm sent, eventually haven't quite got the hang of the system.

Hi Mark

Thanks very much for the heads up on that car.
I've had chat with Mike and we are going to have a serious think about it overnight. We both have stuff on and may not have time to do the gasket before the new year but if Chris can do the job for what Mike considers reasonable money I'm pretty sure he will go for it.

I'm seeing Mike in the morning, catch up tomorrow.

Clive

Orangebean

Yeah pretty much so although I'd rather not have to deal with a headgasket level issue as I can't get a car into the garage at the moment even though the world most over-engineered garage door is sort of working at last. Object is to minimise the chance of getting issues I've not seen or having to sort things that have been Bubba'd or he will have me bouncing back and forth over 20 miles from my place to his like a demented Yo-Yo in horizontal mode every time anything tricky surfaces.

Pity he didn't come up with this idea last month then he could have bought the really nice one at Haisham, only three miles away from him. Or, more likely, I'd have bought it and sold him mine.

Clive

Gilbertd wrote:

ere's a classic one to avoid unless you want to spend a lot of time getting it sorted http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Range-Rover-4-6-HSE-V8-P38-Vogue-Alloys-Autobiography-Wood-NO-RESERVE-/122228188219?hash=item1c755e243b:g:0PcAAOSwTA9X4Zd- (although Chris will probably go and buy it.....).

Be worth a punt if it hadn't been mucked up with coil springs and I could get in my garage. £3,000 and time spent would almost certainly get it good. Hafta be prepared to spend on the do it right do it once principle. Pensionable age parts aren't really the problem folk think. But you must be prepared to be ruthless and strip hmm maybe parts out whilst you are in there. Trying to save £1,000 by cutting corners will haunt you. Easy for me to say 'cos I can afford to do things that way! But not going there on someone elses car 20 miles down t'road! Sorting his Bridgeport was enough nightmare for me.

On the higher mileage ones its finding thems that had major work done properly thats the issue. Most of the high mileage ones are on skimp schedules so lord knows whats been half overlooked, called good enuf for now or outright bodged where it can't be seen. I know where I am on the 65,000 to 80,000 mile cars.

Clive

Thanks for that guys. I think I've got him calmed down a bit and the nose ring in (bit of a bull & gate type). When I posted was looking at 6 hours in the car to see "real nice" (?) 135,000 mile car at £3,500 (ish) if cash waved around and driving it home for him that day if he bought it. Figured we are both old enough and ugly enough to avoid getting caught with major mechanical issues but I wanted some idea as to what the second round of aged out / end of life parts was likely to include so I could make sure that things due soon had been changed. Absolutely didn't want to risk catching the "still good looking but we will sell it now before it needs money spent" car. That one was from a serial owner semi-trader type too "best P38 I've seen" quote. Oh Yeah! Got my wiskers twitching. You can do quite well from such folk as they see more cars and have a vested interest in picking decent ones but they have to unload everything without loosing out so their mistakes just get passed on.

Anyway back on familiar territory as he's agreed to hang on for something like mine was when I got it. Looked after, normal servicing to good standard but not very far into the replacements cycle, if at all. Hopefully steering clear of the P38 values are rising mob. Mine was £3,000 in 2011 with 77,000 miles so they are holding their money.

Clive

My pal Mike has pretty much decided to get a P38 for second car / caravan tug duties. Estimates around 3,000 miles a year, keep at least 5 years. I've been roped in as the expert consultant to ensure he doesn't buy a money pit. Pretty much settled on a Thor V8. Even at V8 thirst he will save a bundle on payments towards the His part of His'n Hers cars. Given the fairly limited price range covering nice cars on wildly different mileages I'm wodering what the spending on parts over and above ordinary servicing is for various mileages.

I suggest he waits to find something in the 65,000 to 75,000 (ish) miles range which will cost a bit more but, judging by my car which I got at 77,000 miles with pretty much everything except one airbag original, around £2,000 should cover the expected replacements up to 100,000 mile range.

However he is also looking at cars in the 100,000 to 140,000 mile range which claim to have most of the first stage part replacements covered. But 100,000 to 140,000 mile cars seem to be £1,000 to £1,500 cheaper. I'm my view such cars are likely to be false economy but I don't have a handle on what extra replacements are likely to be needed and what the risk of serious engine work is.

Clearly anything beyond 150,000 will be just too leggy and has a good chance of needing engine work in his ownership. Which isn't going to be viable as Mike's looks at engine work like Marty does. Patch it up till the next pop isn't gonna happen.

Clive

All back together but now the compressor and one of the solenoid valves are arguing over what the correct pressure in the system should be. Compressor fills tank OK, he comes up fine to normal ride height then one of the solenoid valve does the click click click thing letting a bit of air out whereupon the compressor cuts back in for about 30 seconds to bring it back up to pressure. Compressor stops. Valve releases the air. Compressor starts and so on.
Only thing I can think of is that I hit a wrong setting on the Lynx box of tricks when trying to depressurise. I investigated a button called transport mode which I discovered drops it down to access hight and inhibits the system. No way on the Lynx software to bring it out so I assumed simply removing the inhibit and using as normal was right thing to do.

Under orders from her ladyship to go to Welwyn tomorrow so I have to fix him.

Clive