Iain's (Delta Racing Car) Builder's Tea Break 2015

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

For Vulcan XH558 fans, you will probably know already, but C4 have made a docu with Guy Martin on the planes farewell tour. On C4 this Sunday 1930hrs. Perhaps we'll find out if the plane really did perform 'an illegal barrel roll', as reported...



And just found this, impressive enough to be in Octane this month!

http://www.farewellvulcan.co.uk

Brilliant Mike, thanks for letting me know. I'll set the recorder thingy so I can watch that when I'm allowed access to the TV!

[Lancsbreaker]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

For Vulcan XH558 fans, you will probably know already, but C4 have made a docu with Guy Martin on the planes farewell tour. On C4 this Sunday 1930hrs. Perhaps we'll find out if the plane really did perform 'an illegal barrel roll', as reported...



And just found this, impressive enough to be in Octane this month!

http://www.farewellvulcan.co.uk

Enjoyed the Guy Martin programme - not much new, but some insights and some cracking photography.....and the Howl!

[Mike Bell]

I've downloaded it using All4, so can use earphones for full noise and replay if get distracted! That and last Dr Who still to be watched.....

See there are a couple of 'shorts' related to the Vulcan prog to be aired tomorrow sometime.

Congrats to the British winners of the weekend (the tennis was definitely more exciting than the GP!), but curious as to whether our new heavyweight boxing champ was given his name from birth?

[terence]

I heard he was of gypsy origin Mike? That being the case, any name is possible.

[delta]

Stewart my son is into boxing and we had the fight on Sky. I watched it with him. Not like the old Cooper /Clay days.

[Peter Mallett]

Definitely not Clay/Cooper. But a significant win nonetheless. Apparently the Brit comes from a family of bare knuckle fighters. Good luck to him. I believe from the quotes that Klitsco was magnanimous in defeat.

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by Lancsbreaker

Enjoyed the Guy Martin programme - not much new, but some insights and some cracking photography.....and the Howl!

I really enjoyed the programme a great insight into the machine, some very interesting interviews with the guys who were involved with the thing 'back in the day' and some fantastic archive footage.
(Surely there's a space for another programme about The Vulcan in general?)
Being local, I was disappointed that there was no mention of the contribution that David Walton & those at Bruntingthorpe made to this particular aircraft. (Also, a Bruntingthorpe air show was where I first saw a Vulcan as a very frightened 4 year old in 1960!)

[bauble]

In my 78 years of life I have had many things to be thankful for, and I have realised that one of my blessings is never having worked with the denizens of the Historic Forum! Don't get me wrong, I am sure that you are all jolly good fellows, pillars of society, salt of the earth types, however, tea breaks would have been a miserable experience. Endless, tedious discussions on aeroplanes, degrading tyres, border crossings, the price of brass tacks, Ironsides Theory of Negativity!

I am convinced that after no more than two minutes I would have been looking forward to all of the excitement and good humour of bolting wheels on Vivas at the production line again.

I wonder what part of 'light hearted' you don't understand?

The Police knocked on a man's door; "We have some good news and some bad news." They said.

"Tell me the good news first", He said.

"The plane bringing your wife back from America has crashed killing everybody on board."

"MyGod!" He said, "What is the bad news?"

"Your wife missed the flight!"


Joe King.

[Alan Morgan]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

Definitely not Clay/Cooper. But a significant win nonetheless. Apparently the Brit comes from a family of bare knuckle fighters. Good luck to him. I believe from the quotes that Klitsco was magnanimous in defeat.

I'm sure it's been said before, but the two purest forms of sport are probably boxing (trying to win a fight) and running (trying to avoid one).

Having said that, the Davis Cup Final was hugely enjoyable. Luckily I'd recorded the GP so was able to fast forward through most of it...

I was driving quite a bit over the weekend and 5 Live kept on saying about how the "Big Fight" was going to be broadcast live on the radio. For those of us of a certain age, that might have been a very nostalgic way of enjoying it.

[delta]

After last week disappointment with the McQueen /LeMans film tonight me and Mrs Delta watched "Bridge of Spies ". Go see it .

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by delta

After last week disappointment with the McQueen /LeMans film tonight me and Mrs Delta watched "Bridge of Spies ". Go see it .

Coincidentally set during the Cold War? I watched the Vulcan docu last night and agree with Viva that it left me wanting to know more about the plane. Most remarkable fact I learned- that the designer was also responsible for the Lancaster, only 5 years earlier than he drew the Vulcan....

The Davis Cup brought Nationalism to a usually individual sport, and the way the 'stage' was set up seemed to encourage the support. Specially liked the screen around the court that dropped after the lights came up. Cool....

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by bauble

In my 78 years of life I have had many things to be thankful for, and I have realised that one of my blessings is never having worked with the denizens of the Historic Forum! Don't get me wrong, I am sure that you are all jolly good fellows, pillars of society, salt of the earth types, however, tea breaks would have been a miserable experience. Endless, tedious discussions on aeroplanes, degrading tyres, border crossings, the price of brass tacks, Ironsides Theory of Negativity!

I am convinced that after no more than two minutes I would have been looking forward to all of the excitement and good humour of bolting wheels on Vivas at the production line again.

I wonder what part of 'light hearted' you don't understand?

The Police knocked on a man's door; "We have some good news and some bad news." They said.

"Tell me the good news first", He said.

"The plane bringing your wife back from America has crashed killing everybody on board."

"MyGod!" He said, "What is the bad news?"

"Your wife missed the flight!"


Joe King.

Baub, I understand your requests for levity on this forum, but that is not always the subject matter of tea break conversations.
I am sure that during your Vauxhall career, break times spent in the Cresta Café (or more upmarket Wyvern Wine-Bar) the conversations didn't just consist of joke telling. Pertinent matters of the day on all manner of subjects would I'm sure have been raised, and I see no difference here.
Please do keep on with your feisty witticisms, they do most certainly brighten my day.

[gary396]

Bloody classic cars! Think I might do a Basil Fawlty and beat mine with a tree branch - or something heavier.

I never wanted to be a mechanic anyway.....

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by gary396

Bloody classic cars! Think I might do a Basil Fawlty and beat mine with a tree branch - or something heavier.

I never wanted to be a mechanic anyway.....

Are you going to expand on that, Gary?

Or are you too busy beating your car with said tree branch....

[Nick JM]

Please expand...other peoples' problems with old motors are always more amusing than one's own ...

[Nick JM]

BTW does anyone have any experience with 996 series 911's?

There is one at an auction I've got some stuff in estimated between £8-10k which seems very cheap. 110k miles, convertible, manual, new engine and g'box at 58k 1999 car ?

Seems a steal ... Or is there something I don't know?

[gary396]

It's a simple problem really but has so far defeated me. Driving back home in my MGB a while back the water pump failed - and pushed the fan forward into the radiator (which is only about 2/3 years old). Got recovered home without issue and then set about removing the broken water pump. But one of the bolts securing to the engine just won't budge, the rest came out without problem although all looking a bit rusty - tried spanners, sockets but the bolt head is just starting to 'round' so I'm wary of making it worse. Tried some of those socket heads that are supposed to tighten up on the bolt to no avail.

Been like this for weeks now - I keep giving it a go and the odd grumpy stare but to no avail. Going to have to find a local garage that will come and sort it I think (sadly the chap who did the restoration for me passed away earlier this year - big loss to the classic car owners locally, and his family of course).

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by Nick JM

BTW does anyone have any experience with 996 series 911's?

There is one at an auction I've got some stuff in estimated between £8-10k which seems very cheap. 110k miles, convertible, manual, new engine and g'box at 58k 1999 car ?

Seems a steal ... Or is there something I don't know?

996 was first water cooled flat 6 and they did have probs- Hence new engine possibly! I'd do a lot of research, but price sounds good.... As a model prices are lower the previous 993 and later 997.

[Duddha]

Originally Posted by Nick JM

BTW does anyone have any experience with 996 series 911's?

There is one at an auction I've got some stuff in estimated between £8-10k which seems very cheap. 110k miles, convertible, manual, new engine and g'box at 58k 1999 car ?

Seems a steal ... Or is there something I don't know?

I have heard from many that first 996 have a problem, known by Porsche, to the engine and particularly the crank. Therefore, I suspect, it's the reason and Porsche never officially corrected the issue.

[bauble]

My 1997/98 Vauxhall Astra has an annoying fault that despite a full diagnostic check is still undefined. It will start quite readily, but once the temperature reaches the 'automatic choke' point it will stall unless I can catch and flatten the loud pedal. It is obviously a sensor problem, however, the best guess, crankshaft sensor, would cost £90.00 plus presumably fitting and VAT. This is more than the car is worth insurance wise, so I just have to live with it as I cannot afford to replace it.

Now! Why do I bother my friends on this site with my problem?

Well it is just to cheer up NickJM, who now knows that he is not alone in having car troubles. I hope this makes him feel better.


Festive Greetings to all.

Bauble.

[Cliff Ryan]

My latest project won't start either, for some reason, any ideas as I'm applying for an HTP and I think it needs to be running, other than that I think it should be ok, as I've been told it's all original.

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by Cliff Ryan

My latest project won't start either, for some reason, any ideas as I'm applying for an HTP and I think it needs to be running, other than that I think it should be ok, as I've been told it's all original.

No problem for HTP Cliff, engine doesn't need to go!

Bauble Bob, think most repairers would suggest an Astra of that age should have been scrapped years ago, which is sad. Comes under the heading 'Uneconomic Repair', I believe....

Gary, a lot of the time the bolts are seized in the pump housing itself, due to this being aluminium which reacts with the steel bolt and corrodes. It may be possible to 'destroy' the housing to release the bolt, or get it very hot and quench with water to break the bond between them. Difficult to say without seeing it! Good luck, anyway.

Going back to 996 Porkers, I was told by an owner that the later cars were sorted, but unfortunately 'mud sticks' and the model type became devalued for that reason. It could be that makes buying one a better investment, as history sometimes forgets....

[bauble]

Bauble Bob, think most repairers would suggest an Astra of that age should have been scrapped years ago, which is sad. Comes under the heading 'Uneconomic Repair', I believe....

I understand that Mike, but how many people on this site would not have an historic if people like myself did not keep 'modern' cars running. One day some member of the HSCC will be proudly batting round in his (probably much modified) ex Bob Bull Astra 1.6.

We have a duty to the future.

Look at VivaGT, a true hero.

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by bauble

I understand that Mike, but how many people on this site would not have an historic if people like myself did not keep 'modern' cars running. One day some member of the HSCC will be proudly batting round in his (probably much modified) ex Bob Bull Astra 1.6.

We have a duty to the future.

Look at VivaGT, a true hero.

That's why it is sad that such cars are just scrapped. If it does the job and hasn't got bad corrossion, surely better for the planet and everyone else to keep it going!

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by bauble

I understand that Mike, but how many people on this site would not have an historic if people like myself did not keep 'modern' cars running. One day some member of the HSCC will be proudly batting round in his (probably much modified) ex Bob Bull Astra 1.6.

We have a duty to the future.

Look at VivaGT, a true hero.

Baub! You appear to have the Rolling On The Floor Laughing smilie a line too high!

Anyway, back to the problems with your DisAstra. Unfortunately I doubt if the problems you have is down to the Crankshaft (position) sensor. As a general rule they give problems starting, once running they are usually OK. When the fault occurs does the 'check engine' lamp illuminate, and if so, what error codes are stored?
Like most people 'in the trade' I can't tell you what is wrong with your car without seeing it, but I can suggest things that might not be the problem...