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General Murphio's Meanderings

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General Murphio's Meanderings

You’ve probably worn the starter motor brushes out with the number of miles you clock up. I assume you didn’t risk switching Murf off again in the last 75 miles?:D
 
Vitesse said:
You’ve probably worn the starter motor brushes out with the number of miles you clock up. I assume you didn’t risk switching Murf off again in the last 75 miles?:D
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I stopped on a steep hill purposely to check things but it didn't turn the engine so I needed the gentle hill start to get going again.
It's odd because that starter has actually had an easy life with the long journeys and not being stressed; as I have never had any difficult starting issues with this engine.
If necessary I'll have it stripped-down over the weekend; I don't think our Continental parts suppliers provide any warranty longer than a couple of weeks and I have an overhaul kit in stock. If it is faulty I suspect that it will be more than just the brushes, but I have a spare starter which I might just renovate first and then replace the existing.
 
Update to the above:

I found the problem as soon as the starter was removed. The pinion bush had fallen out of its housing which will have upset the whole "show".

MAL_7244 by Peter Thompson, on Flickr

I found it in the base of the well in the bellhousing for the starter motor. The damage (compared here next to a new one) might explain an obscure chattering noise I heard after the starter went AWOL.

MAL_7246 by Peter Thompson, on Flickr

The new bush is too loose being a push fit in the end of the pinion housing so I used very good spare assembly from the starter which came with my 594 engine and I will repair the original with some bearingfit adhesive.

This starter was professionally refurbished item which was bought from a well known German supplier at significant cost. It has only been used since March this year. I actually bought it just over a year ago so even if a warranty exists it will be well beyond that by now. It just goes to re-inforce my belief that it's best to fix things yourself if you have the skills and equipment.:bang:
 
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Oh when you mentioned originally that it was a refurbished starter. I assumed by you! I am disappointed now as I had loads of sarcastic replies lined up about poor workmanship etc...:D

I am quite surprised you bought a completely refurbed starter, knowing your penchant to fix most things! Did you not have one in stock?
 
'Twas very annoying as I wanted to have a pull starter on a 650 engine but only had the boring modern solenoid version and it looked to be in a bit of a state. The side mounted pull starter seems quite rare so that's why I ended up simply going for an exchange. Then drat and double drat, I bought the bargain 594 engine for less than the price of the starter; it had the correct one fitted. :)
 
I'm cheating here a bit and technically, going off-topic.; I don't care...there's now't much else going on.
I posted this on Facebook today and someone quickly wondered where the "wee car" had gone; fancy...a whole ferry to myself!

MAL_8784 by Peter Thompson, on Flickr

The fact is that it was a three and a half hour drive and a 50 minute ferry each way to Lismore....most of the driving in the dark, and through road-salt. Murf would have looked great on the tiny ferryboat and the single main road on the island, 7 miles long, is tailor-made for a Fiat 500 . Never mind, it's a destination for next summer.

Here's gratuitous couple of photos for those who like the scenery.

LIS_9243 by Peter Thompson, on Flickr

LIS_8939 by Peter Thompson, on Flickr
 
Murf has earned a bit of "me" time after all his long journeys this year. So first he got a thorough clean and polish (the second this year :)). After that I had decided to sort out a few dodgy areas of paintwork on the sills and a front wheelarch. These have been meticulously scratched back to find the rust and this was etched with phosphoric acid until I had bare steel. Finally, after painting with epoxy-primer I sprayed with three coats of colour.
But before this, a very rusty spanner was found in the works when I realised that we had a few holes in the bottom of the sill. :cry: The welder was going to have to be summoned, which despite my tendency to self-harm by taking the car out in all weathers, at all times of the years, through rivers and roads full of salt, I really did not expect. :nutter:
The sills were brand new and fitted back in 2009. The bodyshell had a damp and chilly four years in an open-fronted shed and was finally taken out, on a day when the roads were flooded, to be MOT'd in 2014. So technically, this level of rust has happened in slightly more than three years of continuous use.:eek: The sills had been painted inside using zinc-primer and loads of Waxoyl had been sprayed inside on a very hot day prior to the car going on the road.
It looks like the cause of the corrosion was probably due mainly to the unstoppable seepage of water through the windcreen seal and under the rubber floor-covering. I decided to do a wholesale chop of the run of small holes and formed a repair from some 20 gauge steel, which I am sure is thicker than the original. There was even a small section of the floor edge that needed replacing. I'm such an expert now :D:D:D that it didn't take long and here's Murf with the damage repainted and awaiting fitment of the stainless-steel strip which will cover the welded joint that I couldn't be bothered to spend days filling over. He's also sporting a nice, patinated pair of door-mirrors supplied by Tom the hobbler.
I don't see any moral to the story other than to say, you have to be dedicated to keep one of these monsters on the road full-time.:bang:

LIS_9976 by Peter Thompson, on Flickr
 
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Well I found a pic or two of Murp and Peter in his younger days.. I'm sure it must be him, and one of Mrs Fiat 500 too....

Mr & Mrs Fiat500 in their younger days...


Mrs Fiat500 doing the "Gay Gordon with Murph"


Murph Off Piste
 
fiat500 said:
That's before he was piste off. :D
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"Ayeee the first was by the oldeeeee Loch, I remember it well twas the time when the S/S Politician ran aground on the rocks..." (lets see who knows what that is)

"The Second, is when I showed my dear lady our new top of the range company car.. she'd never seen such a machine, made the bicycle almost redundant"

"And yes the snow storm of 68, where we were snowed in for several weeks, living only on the oats I had in me Sporran and an old dried Haggis, ohh but of course I had a weee dram to keep the spirits up"
 
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Murf's been having a very relaxed and sheltered winter in the garage. But he's raring to get out into the Scottish countryside. Today I misjudged the weather, seeing dark clouds on the horizon and not wanting his first big journey of 2018 to be a wet and windy one.
It just shows how you have to keep up the momentum and how easy it is to get out of the habit of driving these cars. When I reached the West Coast in my modern car I was kicking myself for the wonderful scenery and weather I could have enjoyed in Murf; next week then?

A taster from today at Gruinard Bay:

DAL_6283 by Peter Thompson, on Flickr
 
Peter;
A short while ago you mentioned the S/S Politition, but commented that nobody would know about he. Not only do I know the history of the REAL "Whisky Galore" story, but I can vouch that the pub, "The Politition" does provide some good tucker. In the summer of 2016 I did some sailing
up on the Outer Hebrides (one of the great sailing areas in the world). We visited Eriskay, moored on the fishing-boat pontoon at the top Eriskay loch and then walked to "The Politition" for lunch--and it's a longer walk than one is led to believe it will be. Luckily, we (just) beat the football crowd into the pub (and the football pitch is famous for its slope!). Sadly, the real story did not have as happy an ending as in the film---the police and 'the excise men' got quite narked about the amount of free whisky floating around (22,000 cases, destined, in 264,000 specially moulded bottles, for the USA) and quite a number of the islanders did 'porridge'
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I think it was other Peter who mentioned Whisky Galore. I've not been to Eriskay, I think it's a very small one and undoubtedly not much driving there. The one I want to revisit this year is Lismore...one narrow main road about 7 miles long and a couple of short side roads. :)
 
He's back! After a long winter rest with only a few short trips to the shops to keep his heart beating, I startled Murf from his slumber with a 150 mile round trip to the west coast. Obviously we had to stop for vanity shots here out on the open road:

FER_7724 by Peter Thompson, on Flickr

and here in Ullapool:

FER_7734 by Peter Thompson, on Flickr

The car ran perfectly, keeping up a pace of 55mph for most of the journey but with plenty of speed left in reserve. With the outside temperature at no more than 5C and a biting easterly head-wind to fight on the way back, the heater was struggling to overcome all the little drafts that you get coming in around the switches and the ash-tray etc. But I'm pleased to be properly back in the saddle.
 
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