Builds My LC 80 thread. (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

I wish you a speedy recovery Dave and a better year ahead. 🙏
Many thanks for that, it has been a bit of a trial, and being cut from above my right eye across my head down to my left ear,the scar put many a Halloween costume to shame! :rofl:

Fingers crossed to pass the cognitive tests on the 13th of January to get my licence back. 🤞


Regards

Dave
 
Last edited:
Many thanks for that, it has been a bit of a trial, and being cut from above my right eye across my head down to my left ear,the scar put many a Halloween costume to shame! :rofl:

Fingers crossed to pass the cognitive tests on the 13th of January to get my licence back. 🤞


Regards

Dave
Dave, I wish you the best on recovery!

Using our Land Cruiser for therapy is a big deal!
It helps with logical thinking patterns, planning, and processing. Then when we get out there to do the work, it helps with motor function, fine motor function, and just getting the blood moving.

I am happy to hear about your improvement and how you are able to get back to doing something you enjoy.

Keep working on it!

We're pulling for you!
 
Dave, I wish you the best on recovery!

Using our Land Cruiser for therapy is a big deal!
It helps with logical thinking patterns, planning, and processing. Then when we get out there to do the work, it helps with motor function, fine motor function, and just getting the blood moving.

I am happy to hear about your improvement and how you are able to get back to doing something you enjoy.

Keep working on it!

We're pulling for you!
Many thanks for that, the hardest thing has been the isolation, I live in the countryside which under normal circumstances is great, I live in the tiniest of villages (5 neighbours), they have been great getting shopping and so forth, friends calling around and taking me to and from hospital all of this has helped, but I have had to keep away from crowds to make sure I kept clear of the Covid, I have lost a couple of friends/clients from it and could not go to their funerals. The rot sets in quite quickly when you cannot even get up from the floor without finding something or someone to help you. And of course memory losses have been hard to deal with,

EDIT: Reading back on a few previous posts earlier from last year, I did write about having memory lapses or 'blonde moments' as I call them, it never occurred to me that it was the tumour growing, a few friends had mentioned I had forgotten this or that and it was blown off as getting old (62 now), but it seems the tumour was the cause.

Anyway, slow but sure though I have started to become motivated to do easy little jobs on the 80 in anticipation of getting my licence back, next review on the 13th of this month. 🤞


Stay safe out there.

Regards

Dave
 
Last edited:
Well despite looking my brightest shaved and showered and feeling sure of my progress I entered the neurologist office and failed pretty much every test she threw at me! For starters if I hold my arms out in front of me and shut my eyes I have no sensation of falling backwards, she was ready as she grabbed my arms and frightened the life out of me! Other tests showed my right side is weak, hand shaking, right leg lacks control under load, I am also having small 'mini crisis's' as they call them in Spain, they are small fits in my speech and thinking, better known as mini fits with a duration between one to three seconds i.e. enough time to not see a red light, so driving licence suspended for a further six months. And just to finish my day off, the tumour which has been sitting in the laboratory for three months had done nothing and two weeks ago it started regrowing and changing shape, and this confirmed it is malignant cancer in the brain! When they cut it out they took around 1 cm of 'good brain' (no idea where they found that!) in an attempt to get the root out, so a change of meds and six monthly clinical and cognitive tests to see if the tumour has started regrowing, the good new is the tumour is slow growing, so the plan is to use laser targeted radiation on anything that untoward that appears.

Right enough of that, and to the 80 @284.450 miles I took out the dashboard to see if I can fix the reset on the trip meter, no joy there, so still looking for a replacement speedometer, the electric ariel needs replacing, as does the wiper motor (second speed not working). So the car now has no front wing on it and no dashboard in! On the brighter side the window of the right rear door dropped down when off road a couple of years ago, I just pushed the window up and pressed the 'up' button and left is as was, one of those 'I will get around to that' jobs. I assumed it had come off the runners due to a broken wheel, close but not quite right. The window glass had pulled out of the channel where it is clamped in a rub 'U', as the window had been wound up and down the glass had worked it's way out of the channel, this allowed the channel to moved forward and the wheel to come free. I took the opportunity to dismantle the motor innards and give them a change of grease, the drive cog and and arm teeth got a good greasing as well. Once back together the window works fine albeit a little slow. The only reason for the glass to pull free of the channel is because the rubbers the glass slide up and down in go hard with age and grip the glass slowing the movement and of course the motor pulls the arm down leaving the glass behind. I have lubed everything up and so far so good, so not sitting around on my jack side.

That's all for now, although if someone has a spare ariel they want to flog on the cheap let me know.

Many thanks for reading and keeping up.

Regards

Dave
 
Last edited:
Dave, I don’t know you but follow your thread. It’s been a pleasant read and you seem to be a man of character and sincerity. I’m sure the entire cruiser community feels the same and I wish you the best, most methodical and deliberate path to a full recovery. It’ll be tough but, may you outlive your 80!

Best,
Pell
 
Well despite looking my brightest shaved and showered and feeling sure of my progress I entered the neurologist office and failed pretty much every test she threw at me! For starters if I hold my arms out in front of me and shut my eyes I have no sensation of falling backwards, she was ready as she grabbed my arms and frightened the life out of me! Other tests showed my right side is weak, hand shaking, right leg lacks control under load, I am also having small 'mini crisis's' as they call them in Spain, they are small fits in my speech and thinking, better known as mini fits with a duration between one to three seconds i.e. enough time to not see a red light, so driving licence suspended for a further six months. And just to finish my day off, the tumour which has been sitting in the laboratory for three months had done nothing and two weeks ago it started regrowing and changing shape, and this confirmed it is malignant cancer in the brain! When they cut it out they took around 1 cm of 'good brain' (no idea where they found that!) in an attempt to get the root out, so a change of meds and six monthly clinical and cognitive tests to see if the tumour has started regrowing, the good new is the tumour is slow growing, so the plan is to use laser targeted radiation on anything that untoward that appears.

Right enough of that, and to the 80 @284.450 miles I took out the dashboard to see if I can fix the reset on the trip meter, no joy there, so still looking for a replacement speedometer, the electric ariel needs replacing, as does the wiper motor (second speed not working). So the car now has no front wing on it and no dashboard in! On the brighter side the window of the right rear door dropped down when off road a couple of years ago, I just pushed the window up and pressed the 'up' button and left is as was, one of those 'I will get around to that' jobs. I assumed it had come off the runners due to a broken wheel, close but not quite right. The window glass had pulled out of the channel where it is clamped in a rub 'U', as the window had been wound up and down the glass was had worked it's way out of the channel, this allowed the channel to moved forward and the wheel to come free. I took the opportunity to dismantle the motor innards and give them a change of grease, the drive cog and and arm teeth got a good greasing as well. Once back together the window works fine albeit a little slow. The only reason for the glass to pull free of the channel is because the rubbers the glass slide up and down in go hard with age and grip the glass slowing the movement and of course the motor pulls the arm down leaving the glass behind. I have lubed everything up and so far so good, so not sitting around on my jack side.

That's all for now, although if someone has a spare ariel they want to flog on the cheap let me know.

Many thanks for reading and keeping up.

Regards

Dave
Sorry to hear about the malignancy.

Again, I wish you the best of recovery and a quality of life that you deserve!
 
Thanks all for the sentiments, despite the occasional low moment I am staying positive and just keep getting stronger, the 80 sitting outside is a strong motivation to keep moving and get the little jobs done. I have never owned a car this long and living where I do with plenty of countryside and mountains around that adds to the motivation.

Yesterday I tried to fix the electric ariel but it would not accept the new mast I had purchased, and the only way that (that seemed easiest) the entire ariel can be got at is to remove the wing or fender as it is called across the pond. I was surprised how easy it came off, with IIRC just four bolts broken where they were rusted (one in the top gutter, another under the sill or rocker panel and another two where the captive nuts came free under the arch), by pulling away the top of the wing I was able to get a pair of Knipex pipe grips on them and release them. With the wing off I could see why the motor was not accepting the new mast, the lower half of the motor where the nylon serrated 'push pull' strip winds up had rusted away despite being protected by the inner wing. The good new is only two small areas of the inner wing where the bolts attached was rusted, a little clean up of the inner wing and some rust prevention with Hammerite and I will drill alongside the bold hole and use self tapping bolts. The top gutter bolt will be drilled out and tapped more from the cosmetic point of view, the bolt under the sill might get drilled out and tapped or use the self tapping bolt, there are two bolts side by side, but I may find I create more work by having to take off the step and off course perhaps breaking more bolts and more work? Now I just need to find an ariel that does not empty my wallet!

Thanks all for reading.

Regards

Dave.
 
Last edited:
Well despite looking my brightest shaved and showered and feeling sure of my progress I entered the neurologist office and failed pretty much every test she threw at me! For starters if I hold my arms out in front of me and shut my eyes I have no sensation of falling backwards, she was ready as she grabbed my arms and frightened the life out of me! Other tests showed my right side is weak, hand shaking, right leg lacks control under load, I am also having small 'mini crisis's' as they call them in Spain, they are small fits in my speech and thinking, better known as mini fits with a duration between one to three seconds i.e. enough time to not see a red light, so driving licence suspended for a further six months. And just to finish my day off, the tumour which has been sitting in the laboratory for three months had done nothing and two weeks ago it started regrowing and changing shape, and this confirmed it is malignant cancer in the brain! When they cut it out they took around 1 cm of 'good brain' (no idea where they found that!) in an attempt to get the root out, so a change of meds and six monthly clinical and cognitive tests to see if the tumour has started regrowing, the good new is the tumour is slow growing, so the plan is to use laser targeted radiation on anything that untoward that appears.

Right enough of that, and to the 80 @284.450 miles I took out the dashboard to see if I can fix the reset on the trip meter, no joy there, so still looking for a replacement speedometer, the electric ariel needs replacing, as does the wiper motor (second speed not working). So the car now has no front wing on it and no dashboard in! On the brighter side the window of the right rear door dropped down when off road a couple of years ago, I just pushed the window up and pressed the 'up' button and left is as was, one of those 'I will get around to that' jobs. I assumed it had come off the runners due to a broken wheel, close but not quite right. The window glass had pulled out of the channel where it is clamped in a rub 'U', as the window had been wound up and down the glass was had worked it's way out of the channel, this allowed the channel to moved forward and the wheel to come free. I took the opportunity to dismantle the motor innards and give them a change of grease, the drive cog and and arm teeth got a good greasing as well. Once back together the window works fine albeit a little slow. The only reason for the glass to pull free of the channel is because the rubbers the glass slide up and down in go hard with age and grip the glass slowing the movement and of course the motor pulls the arm down leaving the glass behind. I have lubed everything up and so far so good, so not sitting around on my jack side.

That's all for now, although if someone has a spare ariel they want to flog on the cheap let me know.

Many thanks for reading and keeping up.

Regards

Dave
Thoughts and prayers for healing.
 
Well a brand new OE Toyota ariel is on it's way, a member from a UK forum has done me a great deal on one, and yesterday another member of the same forum found me a secondhand speedometer for a really great price. The wiper motor can wait for the moment, I might be able to find one later? So 'stuff' on the way, keeping with my 'improve as you go' thinking when doing repairs or mods while the outer wing is off which like the inner wing are in good shape, I purchased an anti rust spray paint that is used on boats here in the med and will make sure they both get a good coating once the ariel has been fitted and before reassembly. It was the same when the rear arch was cut out and a new one cut in, everything was welded up and with IIRC POR 15 sealer putty and sealer paint that a good friend (Rodger) brought over when he came and helped.

So again I am keeping busy even if tidying the workshop up, and jeez I have found some crap lying around! 😮 Of course I pick it up and put it in a different place with a comment to myself I say "Hmmm I might need that for something else?" 😀

Many thanks for keeping up.

Regards

Dave
 
Update.

The new ariel has arrived but the speedometer is held up in customs, a PITA as it makes you feel the EU is making sure the UK (or rather it's citizens) get a good caning with import duty and seriously over complicated paperwork, you know for leaving 'the club', a sort of semi hidden warning to any other member state who might be thinking about leaving as well.

So to the 80. the wipers on high speed have become slower and slower over the last few years and I could not find a replacement that was cheap enough to consider worrying about it, I then found the motor seems to be suffering the same fate as the window motors, the armature/brush contact area gets burned up with age. So with the engine running and the wiper arms removed I left the wipers on high speed, the motor was making all sorts of noises and then it got smoother and faster, within around ten minutes the motor was going flat out, so for the moment the wiper motor search is off.

Anyway, the L/H wing was taken off to reveal surprisingly very little rust so very happy about that. I jet washed off the inner wing and it was a nice sunny day today it being the first in about three weeks! With a couple of hours of drying of I run a wire brush over the fine rusty areas and it basically left the colour of rust and only one bolt hole actually pulled through where the 'speedy clip' broke free, a new speedy clip will sort that. I had made inquiries at a paint shop in town, the guy is very helpful and once we....well I had made it clear that I did not want the tarmac or rubber like under seal, he showed me a can of black paint. He explained it is an anti rust paint that is not porous and not only kills rust bur prevents it reoccurring. I asked if he meant like 'Hammerite' paint and he said yes but better...much better and it was in a spray form. I wondered if this was like the much vaunted here on MUD POR-15? Very thin but sets rock hard? Anyway, I thought I would give it a go as my friend used it on my right rear arch after we welded in a new one. and that was long before Covid and no rust has shown up anywhere the POR-15 was used soooooo.

So with the surface rust wire brushed and dry I gave the inner wing a good coat, and it really is very 'runny' almost impossible to get it to spray without running, perhaps that's the secret of POR-15, it runs into all the nooks and crannies making sure everything is sealed up?

I drilled out the bolt that broke off in the gutter line and I will use a self tapping bolt to replace the original bolt, there is another hole to be drilled out, that is one of the pair under the sill or rocker panel to you guys and girls over the pond, so I will give another coat of this black anti rust paint on the inner wing and inside the outer wing or 'fender' tomorrow, it will be Monday before I tackle the broken bolt under the sill as no one makes a noise around here on Sunday's, it is an unwritten rule I have adopted, I mean I have five whole neighbours so it makes sense just to keep quiet and enjoy the 'day of rest'.

So all being well with the paint dried then Tuesday the new ariel gets fitted and tested, if all goes well I will lose my 'machine gun' buttons, the noise made by the ariel motor when the ariel mast gets broken.

Next update as and when.

Thanks for reading and keeping up, pictures below.

Regards

Dave.

Inner wing..jpg

Inner wing mild rust..jpg

Anti rust 2..jpg
 
Last edited:
Update:

The second nice day in Spain in three weeks, don't believe everything you read! 🥶

I drove the 80 out of the garage and went to work fitting the ariel, when I took the old one out I cut the cable leaving a 'tail' so I could pull the new cable through....yeh right! The cable did not budge in either direction, taking out the glove compartment I could not see where the cable came through, I took out the various boxes glow plug timer and so forth and still no sign of the cable, I took the radio out and could see the cable disappeared behind the heater/AC assembly, working out the route I caught a glimpse of it clipped up above and beside the heater, and then I saw an inline connector which was not stock, only then did I remember I had fitted the 'shark fin' style of ariel and cut the OE cable around ten years back because I had no plan to replace the OE ariel, BTW the shark fin ariel was crap! So I cut back as much of the OE ariel as I could and it still would not move, so I gave it a good tug (read a 'good' tug), and it came out. Sometimes you have to resort to brute force, or of course remove the heater and AC unit....not gonna happen!

With the batteries disconnected I threaded a thin piece of steel through the OE hole in the wing and see if I could get it to run along the top of the heater box, lo and behold it did, so with the plug on the new ariel taped on to the the steel wire I gently pulled it through until it exited the hole for the radio. This was the only thing that annoyed me during the fitting, laying under the dashboard is not good for me now and tests my patience. The ariel itself is only actually mounted by a bracket at the bottom with one bolt in the body and then the hole in the wing with the screw down chrome nut for want of a better word 'steadies' the upright section. The bracket is held against the body by a bolt that comes through from inside the body and screws into the threaded hole in the bracket, given the only way to get to the ariel is by removing the wing or fender I see no reason for this whatsoever? The bracket is used to earth the ariel so I cleaned up where the bracket meets the body and then drill out the threaded hole a 'tad', this made it ease to pass a bolt through the bracket then through the hole and into the nut that could be held with two fingers, with the screw now easily accessible it was done up tight, this is the only fitting holding the ariel body. With a guess that the ariel was pretty much vertical and done up tight I then used the anti rust paint and 'drowned' the bolt and bracket to make sure this did not rust like the OE bracket did, despite no dashboard being fitted I plugged in the UP/DOWN switch and all is well, I tuned the radio to a local station and for the first time in around 9 years the radio was on!

I would point out the drain for water that goes in the vent at the bottom of the screen drains into the cavity between the inner and outer wing, this means there is quite a lot of water running into this area right next to the ariel body, probably the reason mine rusted away? The plug on the ariel is exposed to some of this water, and on mine whilst looking OK.....ish I cut the plug off and crimped on a couple of spades and wrapped them with self amalgamating tape, the plug on the actual motor is also exposed to the running water, so I gave this a good drowning of the anti rust paint as well for good measure.

The CD and tape player packed up years ago, but with the dashboard out along with the radio I might take it apart and have a look see, true it does not have the posh screen, or Bluetooth software....in fact no USB either so I might change it but not sure at the moment, I like the OE unit but I cannot remember if it will play CD's I have burnt myself or not, but hey baby steps.

With another coat of the anti rust paint put on I brought the couple of relays back through the hole where I had pushed them out of the way to get the anti rust paint into all the right places, the hole big enough to get them out without taking the wing off unlike the ariel. With the relays bolted back in I decided to call it a day. It was only when the 80 was back in the garage and I set the alarm I see the bulb flash for the indicator on the wing flash, I had not brought it back out though the same hole as the relays, it was trapped behind the relay wiring and plugs, no big deal but it is silly things like that which makes me mad! On the plus side the inside of the outer wing is also in very good condition, but I wire brushed the odd rust patch and gave them a good squirt of the anti rust paint, just need to let that all go off and run through the outside temperature sensor for the digital gauge I have fitted in the dashboard, then the wing can go back on, that will be a couple of weeks as I am staying at friends for a couple of weeks, as I am being 'told off' for doing too much and not resting.....ah bless. :D

Thanks for reading and keeping up, stay safe.

Regards

Dave
 
Last edited:
Yesterday I decided while the weather was good I would address the sound deadening felt under the bonnet..........well sort of. When I dared to touch it a few months ago it crumbled much like a fresh cracker! It had pulled through the 'buttons' and as every one knows you touch them buttons and they are toast. Hunting around I could not find a secondhand 80 under bonnet felt that anyone dare fold and post, and there was no way I was giving up my first born for a new one!!

So a few days back I had purchased some self adhesive sound deadening material and had it posted from 'Surga Performance' in Germany (no affiliation blah blah), I had also noticed in the past the bonnet skin sort of.....well floating when on the move at speed, this was because the adhesive used to stick the inner bracing and bonnet skin together had start to come away. So looking at cost (I am still unable to work or drive), I decided on using some silicone adhesive, the solution was OK....sort of but there were other gaps and the silicone preferred to sink into the hollows of the bracing and it was going be expensive, the bracing in places slightly bent down out of shape by some big hefty guy climbing on the bonnet......alright this fat git!! So I hit on an idea....expanding foam! If you have never used this stuff you are in for a surprise as it is fantastic, I had put windows and doors (house not the car sillly) in with this stuff and it expands and tightens every thing up. It was a little awkward as the foam only comes out when the can is upside down, so with a piece of flexible rubber tube I sprayed foam into the gaps between ribbing and bonnet skin, and apart from looking like s***e it has done the job! There is no flexing of the bonnet skin, I broke off the 'snots' and there were plenty rather than cut them and risk cutting the paint/primer and then went about cutting the sound deadening material, it is similar to that found on the inner door panels of vehicles.

So cutting some rudimentary (read rough) templates I cut the stuff up and with the backing pulled off I stuck in place in the triangles/squares/odd shapes between the bracing, it has a 'shiny side down' and is heat/flame proof.......well like most of this stuff until it get really hot, but by then you car would be toast anyway! It sticks like the proverbial and once I get a sheet of under bonnet felt from another 80 in good nick or from a more modern car, that will be that for now, and of course when I do get the full undercover it will cover the rather nasty looking expanding foam.

Note:

If I had a solvent such as petrol or thinners and could clean the expanding foam from where it should not be and it would have looked great....but I didn't!

Stay safe.

Regards

Dave
 
Last edited:
Just a small update.

On the way is the mastic used to seal the inner and outer wings or fenders to those over the pond, I wanted something that would not set rock hard and the one sold by Mr T comes in a box of six cartridges! I probably need around a quarter of one? I have also ordered a set of 'speedy clips' and bolts to hold the two lower halves of the wing together, they should be here this coming week.

The digital in/out/time conversion I did to replace the stock clock has been finished, those of you who have followed this thread may recall I did this a number of years ago? I had worked fine for awhile and then it packed up. I have since found a replacement and renewed the conversion, and as I type it is 'on test' in the workshop and is working well and has been for over a month! Why so long you ask? Because while the dashboard was out I decided to replace the speedometer, mainly because the trip reset and the timing belt warning had become U/S.....well I broke them during normal everyday use, my fault big clumsy hands! Well I found someone on the Land Cruiser club site in the UK who sent me a second hand one, and this started a nightmare with the Spanish customs, their website is ridiculous to say the least, and the very very long and short of the story is that after around two months it was until a couple of days ago, it was sitting in Madrid, and now probably on the way back to the UK!!!! Am I angry, your damn right I am. Since 'Brexit' the EU is forcing countries to charge incredible amounts of money for importing ANYTHING, so a 5.00 GBP calendar could attract 17 GBP import duty! This is seen as an attempt to punish the UK for leaving the EU 'club', what they (the EU) do not understand is this is going to cost them thousands in revenue, people are simply asking friends and family to bring articles over in their cars or in luggage, the complaints site reads like war and peace, the stupidity of these bureaucrats beggars belief! And trust me the speedometer WILL get here without paying import duty, the only listing they accepted for a second hand plastic speedometer from the 'drop down list' was 'Wood and derivatives'.....yeh you go figure. Then you put in the description and they write back sating you cannot have a wooden speedometer!!! I/we (Spanish friend) have filled out THREE customs forms two in Spanish and one in English, the problem is the English has boxes for you to fill in so fill in the box that is labelled 'STOPF' what the feck that is I have no idea? Complaints direct are impossible as they do not respond!! Has the whole affair made me angry you bet it has!

Sorry that was sort of related to the 80 but I am venting off, LOL! So the wing should should be back on by the end of next week, a little tip here, removing the wing was very straightforward, but yesterday outside my house I found a piece of plastic a couple of inches long with two holes in it and a clip to hold it 'somewhere', I found out it is a spacer that goes between the wing and sill, or fender and rocker panel, it must have been stuck in place when the wing was removed and later came adrift when I jet washed the exposed inner wing and surrounding areas, so if you do take a wing off then keep and eye out for it, if you don't and you lose it you will find the lower part of the wing buckling as you tighten the bolts into the sill or rocker panel.

Today I plan to run the outside temperature sensor and wire for the digital clock weather permitting, my garage has a friends car in it at the moment with a suspension leg off of it, and we have had serious high winds here for a couple of days now that will easily will take a door off, , remember what I said about not believing all you hear about the great weather we have here?

EDIT:

I added this now as I was not sure I would get the sensor done today but have.

I run the outside temperature sensor cabling taking advantage of the outer wing/fender off. The sensor wire is quite thin and fragile, so hiding it in between the inner and outer wing made sense. A couple of things of note, the sensors are quite fussy where they are placed. If simply attached to the bodywork they will give a false reading, that is air temperature reading as the car may be left in the sun, many of you who have modern vehicle will notice the indicated outside temperature is high when getting in the the car if left in the sun. you drive for about ten minutes and the temperature drops to the correct reading as air blows over the bodywork/sensor. To alleviate this as best as possible the sensor should be forward of the radiator/AC condenser, out of direct sunlight/weather or connected to anything with a lot of metal mass, very difficult, even heat radiated from the hot tarmac can give false readings. So as mentioned the wing is off my car, and I am close to the perfect place (I think), I have fitted the sensor to the steel bracket that holds the AC dryer, I will need to test but IIRC the dryer stays cool when the AC is on? The bracket is out of direct contact with the weather and in the shade, no doubt there will be some radiated heat from the tarmac, but hey what more can you do?

In the event of a sensor failure to have to take the wing off is a little OTT to access the wiring, so I allowed plenty of excess cabling behind the headlight/grill assembly, and to make double sure there is a connection behind the glow plug relay which sits in the void between the inner and outer wings, the relay is easily accessed by undoing a bracket held on by one nut, then the relay is drawn through the access hole into the engine bay, I can then get access to the sensor connection, testing with the extended wiring I had to add will be done before refitting the wing.

That's it for today, thanks for reading and keeping up.

Stay safe,

regards

Dave
 
Last edited:
Another update, blimey I must be getting better!

This morning 26/04/2022 @284,450 miles, yeh I know the car has not been used for eight months and the last change was not long before she got parked up so I could spend some time in hospital to get a tumour removed from my brain....as you do.

So I changed the oil and filter. My usual method of drain the oil and change the filter, refill with oil and fit a new filter and then run for awhile and repeat. Normally this is enough to give me crystal clear engine oil but not today, the refill and drain despite the new filter was still not as clean as I like it. So I left the new filter on there and filled again with some more fresh oil and run for ten minutes and drained again, this time the oil was a lot cleaner. So with a second new filter I refilled with Repsol 10/40 fully synthetic. Those who follow this thread will recall I found it odd I had slightly lower oil pressure at the last oil change? This was down to Repsol who had turned the usual 10/40 mineral oil into a 'synthetic blend' (super small label advising this ). And regardless of 10/40 or not it DID lower the oil pressure, I had an adjustable oil pressure switch and light/buzzer, and this never came on at idle, after the change and the engine was hot the buzzer was sounding and the light was on, further checks with a master meter showed the pressure down IIRC by something like 5 - 10 psi? It is back in this thread somewhere, not far but it is there somewhere, I adjusted the switch to allow for this loss and no more issues except, at the lower pressure the switch was not reliable, it was not designed for such low pressures being for a competition engine. So I fitted an ordinary oil pressure switch in it's place and no further issues.

When the oil arrived yesterday it is in a new style container and is now announced as 10/40 fully synthetic, there has been a lot of conjecture about using modern oils in old style engines and I am a little on the fence about this. On one hand I get the more free flowing for cold starts, and maintaining pressure at hot temperatures (well we have proved that is BS in my last paragraph!), there is also the issue of it bringing on leaks and blocking oil filters as 'lumps' of old mineral oil that has been sitting around in the engine for years break free and clog the filter medium. But I also see the advantage of it keeping the engine cleaner inside along with better lubricity. For me given the ludicrously short intervals I usually change my oil at I would say the inside of my engine is pretty much spotless and also it has been run with the sneakily creeping in of the 'synthetic blend', so the change today using fully synthetic I am confident there will be no issues (Dave says trying to type with his fingers crossed), but for those who WILL be forced in this direction I would say start with your next oil change and purchase a semi synthetic and TWO oil filters. And once the change has been made run for say 3,000 miles and change the filter only. At your next change do the same again with the semi synthetic and again with the two filters, at least your engine will have been 'prepared' to accept fully synthetic.

Thanks for reading and keeping up.

Stay safe,

regards

Dave
 
Last edited:
Glad to hear you're on the mend!
 
Glad to hear you're on the mend!
Thanks Ian, next two sets of tests will dictate whether I get my licence back, so I am being as positive as humanly possible.

Stay safe

Regards

Dave
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom