Well another weekend has passed and another update to follow. We managed to add another 170 miles to the tally this weekend, with a visit to see a good friend in Croydon, some late night b-road blasting, and a trip down to the South coast and back. All of which has come with experiences of their own.
The friend is a big car guy but not really into his classics, he was suitably impressed with the car albeit we didn't get the chance to go for a brief spin. As usual the styling won hearts and minds as did the colour :-D
Having now been able to take the car and get a feel for its capabilities on some very familiar back roads as expected some serious flaws were shown up. The car can only be described as wafty when pushed along. There is lots of body roll present which I'm sure will be solved with the fitment of an uprated front ARB and addition of a rear ARB. The struts were unable to cope with the road surface on occasion bottoming out, leaving the car feeling unstable at various points. Certainly putting a suspension upgrade high up the list and debating the available options to find the most suitable solution. As mentioned elsewhere and to some of you, will be looking for a fast road setup with a bias towards comfort. I think I'm currently leaning towards eibachs and tockio illumias as it stands. The brakes were reasonable for the setup however I'm sure a change of brake pads would likely make a big difference, if not consideration to a mild setup later down the line.
With that done on the Saturday both myself and my dad road tripped in the car down to the South coast, with him driving down and myself taking to the wheel in the evening. On the way down we stopped for various photos (mainly to get our insurance valuation sorted) however I couldn't resist with a few locations and light on route. We also met a couple of bikers who were very enthusiastic about the car and had a good look around, they seemed very happy at the opportunity to jump in the car and have a look themselves. Had some interesting bikes with some nice mods to discuss as well
Once we got down to the coast I gave the car its first proper cleanse inside and out getting all of the carpets out to get all of the **** out. The air vents had obviously seen little use from the previous owner as crud kept flying out when they were first put into service by us covering the car in debris. Safe to say it cleans up really nicely, there's some stone chips here and there over the car as to be expected (not sure if it chips easily) however it cleans up really nicely. I even discovered the original luggage straps under the rear carpets which have now reappeared.
With sun set looming it seemed mad to to go and get some pics of the car near the sea front with some unobstructed sunlight. Safe to say the results were stunning, I need to do a full download however they will be going up on my instagram page for those that are familiar with it, so check them out! @ 'm_woodrow94' I'll be uploading some in the coming weeks.
Got a load of attention from several gents outside of the local sports bar by the curry house who were very complimentary and enthusiastic about seeing the car and its condition. One of them hadn't even seen one before, with all of them commenting what a rare sight they are these days. Both me and my dad grinning away proudly, talking merrily away about our new pride and joy
Nice bit of dinner followed by a 60 mile drive back home through Sussex B-roads past Goodwood with Minimal traffic to contend with or dispatch all the way home
A quick refuel revealed a reasonable 21.6mpg, so we're sure these more to come on a more relaxed cruise. We have concluded the car feels as though it needs a 5 speed and leaves you looking for another gear considering it merrily plods along in 4th from 30mph upwards. A 5 speed, diff change and LSD will therefore be on the cards along with the suspension as my two priorities. I'm sure some extra performance and economy will be exploited by these mods as well.
I'm definitely feeling a lot more comfortable and at home with the car now, having originally being left feeling tired from my first major trip. I've not been at all bothered having done some decent miles in the car. Its different to drive to my other chariots, however its not taxing. I'm putting my original feeling of tiredness down to the amount of new factors I was having to concentrate on, and excitement/emotion of finally having acquired the car after so long waiting.
Unfortunately blowing out the cobwebs did not come without its share of casualties, strangely the tachometer broke at about 4k rpm in 1st breaking out onto the A3
Only to find that having left the car around overnight and messed with some other electrics that it came back to life.... Very baffled by this
The heater appears to be broken, so any tips with where to start looking would be much appreciated as with winter on the way it will become an essential piece for continued use for the front screen as well as comfort.
Getting a passenger mirror is also becoming quite essential for driving to make the drivers life considerably easier. As while manageable without the drivers life could be made considerably easier. Having failed to find bullet mirrors that will actually be functional as well as aesthetically pleasing I think we may have found some round chrome mirrors on stalks that will fit the bill enough that we bite the bullet with them
Finally the old man put his electrical skills to good use and after some messing around doing some investigation work we have the inspection light working again
It turned out to be a blown bulb, and then and earthing issue was preventing the replacement from sparking into life, some soldering later and job done. We just need to find a 12v 8w bulb as we only had a 12v 6w available to get us going in the meantime. I'm sure we will be looking to upgrade the two interior lights to LED's to boost the interior lighting in due course. Some research needed on that front to brighten the place up.
Enough rambling for now a a quick teaser pic from the Saturday and our fixed inspection light. However a new adventure well and truly embarked on