Today I mostly .....

Any topics of general interest (not lada related), post them here.
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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by Neil Chowney » Sat Aug 18, 2018 10:10 am

Have you considered putting them in the roof of the cab?
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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by Zelandeth » Sat Aug 18, 2018 10:20 am

Yes, though I'm slightly hesitant given that would involve dismantling a lot more of the cab. I guess one of the deciding factors there might be how and how rigidly fixed in place the headlining is.
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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by Zelandeth » Sun Aug 19, 2018 9:14 pm

Fun fact: I'm a blind idiot.

Look what I spotted today.

Image

It's an annoyingly not quite 10cm driver shaped hole (I reckon it was punched out before the dash was stamped), and I do wonder if there would originally have been a speaker fitting kit available - I will query Mercedes to see if it's still obtainable (they've surprised me twice so far on that front so I'm not discounting it as possible!).

For now though, the speakers are securely, if slightly scruffily, held in place. I've also replaced a few broken clips while I had the dash top off which should hopefully get rid of a couple of rattles.

Has improved the audio quality in the cab beyond recognition.

Can't believe I didn't realise those blanking plates were there when I started this!

Have spotted that the trim on the nearside of the windscreen is coming off...so need to get that reattached tomorrow - sikaflex being the best bet I think.

I also *really* need to get the remains of that tax disc holder off...
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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by Zelandeth » Mon Aug 20, 2018 10:12 pm

Established that I wasn't in fact going mad when I kept thinking I saw something moving over to the left, but which then refused to do it again when I was looking more closely.

Yep, this looks like the culprit, just as I thought.

Image

I've removed the remains of the original rotten sticky foam pads and replaced with some double sided tape. I'll reattach it with Sikaflex when I've got a bit more time and have had the whole trim off to make sure there's no rot hiding under it. If it's clear, Sikaflex will both save it falling off again (they all do that), and should also nicely waterproof the seam between the two panels.

That will be after the scuttle is repaired though as it's quite likely they'll want to be removed for that.

Just done another economy calculation - overall average so far (about 800 miles now covered) is sitting bang on 27mpg. That's better than the Xantia (22mpg) and the Riva (25mpg on the last tank - though that's been all over the place while I was having ECU issues and I've not done enough miles since sorting it to form a new baseline yet).

...It being the most economical runaround in my fleet wasn't expected.

Okay, the Invacar probably will be - smart money seems to be on that managing around 35mpg in the real world - but it's not roadworthy yet. Xantia *can* manage mid 30s mpg if I'm driving it sedately...but it's not a car that encourages you to do that! Milton Keynes is not kind to economy in something that's heavily turbocharged anyway...

Getting the impression that 25-30mpg is about the biggest swing I'm going to see from the Merc irrespective of how I'm driving it. Especially now I've switched to the approach of just dropping to 50mph on longer hills on the motorway and just sticking with light throttle in 4th, rather than struggling to maintain full speed. I've seen too many old coaches overheated doing that and am far more comfortable driving with more mechanical sympathy.

To be honest, I'm really finding that there's a quite a joy to be had just slowing down and wafting along. Obviously in such situations that I'm not actively in anyone's way.

Well, unless it's a BMW, Audi or (modern) Range Rover anyway...then it's a whole different ball game - especially if they're tailgating me so closely that I can't even see them.
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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by Zelandeth » Tue Aug 21, 2018 10:13 pm

Pulled the nearside gutter/roof trim off the spares Invacar to replace the mangled one on the project car.

Image

Also finally got around to clearing enough junk out of the way so I could wheel the spares car out of the garage, stuff it in a corner under a tarp, and finally actually put the project car in the garage where it belongs.

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It was starting to worry me just sitting out front the way it was, no security whatsoever (the lack of door handles meant there weren't even any door locks) and just waiting to be nicked...so happy it's in the garage now.

Also finally got a chance to give the van a good going over externally, starting to actually clean it. Attacking the bonnet with the polish and clay mitt shows that there is actually some decent paint down underneath the oxidisation.

Image

...Will take a while to go round the whole thing though!
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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by Zelandeth » Wed Aug 22, 2018 9:17 pm

Given I'm trying to sell the Lada, it looking like it had been dragged through the Amazon rainforest all the time was less than ideal. With the Invacar shifted into the garage, it was released from the prison under the tree, so I gave it a wash.

Desperately needs a good wax, but isn't green any more at least.

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Need to get a proper sign made up anyhow to replace the 30 second job currently in the window.

Have also continued with the mission to clean the van up.

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Feels like we're getting somewhere now.
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Current fleet: 02 VW Caddy 1.9SDI, 90 Mercedes 208D Autotrail Navajo, 85 Sinclair C5, 78 Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6GL, 73 AC Model-70.

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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by Neil Chowney » Fri Aug 24, 2018 7:55 am

That Merc is loking like it's almost new......
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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by Zelandeth » Fri Aug 24, 2018 9:12 pm

So long as you don't look too closely at the rusty edges of the patchwork quilt making up a fair chunk of the front edges of the cab floor!
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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by Tom. » Mon Aug 27, 2018 10:39 pm

Visited another ex Lada dealership owner, this time in Kidderminster, got myself some more Lada goodies including a Ladascan ( Zel? ) together with other testing equipment, numerous main dealer tools with the associated tool boards. Oh yeah! and a backlit Lada dealership sign from the 90s. :)
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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by Zelandeth » Tue Aug 28, 2018 11:41 pm

If the Ladascan is surplus to requirements I'd be VERY happy to work out a deal for you.

Even if I don't have mine indefinitely, I'm pretty centrally located for this end of the country so would be more than happy to help folks out down here who need to use such a tool. Likewise for Citroen stuff when I eventually get set up with Lexia system. I like being able to be useful and helping people.

Major jealousy on the signage front too...

In other news...my Riva finally idles properly!

Yes, it was a bloody vacuum leak. Inlet manifold to head joint, the moment I nipped up the front nut the idle dropped about 500rpm and smoothed out. I have them all a check while I was in the area. Spraying around the area with brake cleaner (run out of carb cleaner) is no longer having any effect on the idle speed, whereas it was dropping and "chugging" obviously before.

The idle speed fault that was sometimes reported has not reappeared since. Feels better to drive too, not least because the transition between on and off power has been smoothed out a lot. Just need to get the speed sensor to play ball then we'll be properly rid of any spurious check engine light issues.

Moral of the story: if an injected Lada is playing up, it's probably a vacuum leak. In fairness though I'd not really investigated this issue far before as it was purely an idle problem and it drove well enough...bit stupid to put up with it sounding like a sack of spanners for a year when the fix took about ten minutes though.
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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by Tom. » Wed Aug 29, 2018 4:54 pm

Zelandeth wrote:If the Ladascan is surplus to requirements I'd be VERY happy to work out a deal for you.
I'll test it on the weekend ( bought untested ) then come back to you.
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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by Zelandeth » Wed Aug 29, 2018 9:24 pm

Cheers Tom.

Bear in mind that I do have pretty decent background breathing life back into stubborn old bits of electronic equipment if necessary...

Took the Riva out for a better run today, and can confirm that with the vacuum leak sorted that it is driving so, so much better. Should have spent half an hour trying to properly track that down six months ago!

Does need to be taken out of town for a longer run though. Be curious to see if the economy finally picks up a bit now.
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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by Zelandeth » Wed Sep 05, 2018 10:15 pm

Okay, quick update here for folks who don't follow me elsewhere. My presence and ability to post updates may be somewhat sporadic for a bit.

My husband, who has been away attending a workshop through his work, has suffered a suspected stroke. In Shanghai.

Currently we know zip beyond the fact he's in the 10th People's Hospital in Shanghai, and was conscious when the first responders were in attendance.

It sounds like we've mobilised the entirety of the US Embassy if the call we had with them earlier was anything to go by. Having been utterly unable to contact the UK Embassy there, the Chinese Embassy here or the Foreign Office despite several hours of trying. US guys were immediately helpful and have apparently dispatched someone to the hospital to physically check in on him, get a proper update on the situation and give us some idea of what the plan is likely to be.

Sadly given the situation there I can't just jump on a plane and get to his bedside. There's a three to seven day visa process to go through (that's assuming that the process was expidited apparently), and even once there... I'd probably never even get in the door as I've no legal grounds to be there as far as the Chinese are concerned.

Nothing else to say at this stage really as we've no idea what shape he's in. For all we know he could be sitting in a hospital bed, frustrated that he can't get hold of us, or he could be in a coma - or anywhere in between.

So yeah... it's been a day. Tomorrow's probably going to be as bad if not worse. The seven hour time difference doesn't help either.
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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by Tom. » Thu Sep 06, 2018 7:19 am

Zel, Sorry to hear your news, hope everything will be ok.
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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by Neil Chowney » Thu Sep 06, 2018 12:53 pm

Zelandeth, very sorry to hear that, I'm sure it will all turn out OK.
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