What's made you smile today?

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Sometimes it’s not what you know but who you know…

See this picture taken today outside the body shop my brother owns… my Golf with his very nice T6
View attachment 474594
I have my own on call car bodywork expert who has all the gear and lot more idea than me. To be fair I could have all the knowledge and all the tools but without a car sized oven you’ll never get it perfect

That's a wonderful advert for your brother's skills. They look great! I've always been attracted to vans for some reason, especially if they are small ones.

When a lot younger, my youngest boy had an accident with the Mk1 Panda we had at the time. He bent the N/S front wing so badly it was tucked in behind it - ie. the wheel was totally exposed like a F1 race car! The insurance wrote the car off but I'd done so much work on it I knew the rest of the car was in A1 condition. It looked horrendous but nothing structural was damager so I bought it back from them for peanuts. I spent quite a lot of time reading books on panel repair - as opposed to simple replacement - Bought a set of panel beating tools and an SIP spray gun and taught myself to use the tools and "read" the damage. In the end I straightened out all the existing panels and resprayed it in my garage. That was back in the days of cellulose paints. The results were very good with most people unable to tell it had been repaired. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of her. I do though, have a picture of My Hillman Husky taken shortly after I'd resprayed her (in the garage you see behind her) Unfortunately they then brought in Isocyanate paints and cellulose became very difficult to get so I "retired" my spray gun and haven't done any serious bodywork since.

Here's the picture of the Husky with a very much younger me in the background.

The garage now has so much stuff in it you can't get a car inside anymore!

 

[AnthonyH]

The Hillman Husy looks almost space age!

 

[Steve gt]

That's a wonderful advert for your brother's skills. They look great! I've always been attracted to vans for some reason, especially if they are small ones.

When a lot younger, my youngest boy had an accident with the Mk1 Panda we had at the time. He bent the N/S front wing so badly it was tucked in behind it - ie. the wheel was totally exposed like a F1 race car! The insurance wrote the car off but I'd done so much work on it I knew the rest of the car was in A1 condition. It looked horrendous but nothing structural was damager so I bought it back from them for peanuts. I spent quite a lot of time reading books on panel repair - as opposed to simple replacement - Bought a set of panel beating tools and an SIP spray gun and taught myself to use the tools and "read" the damage. In the end I straightened out all the existing panels and resprayed it in my garage. That was back in the days of cellulose paints. The results were very good with most people unable to tell it had been repaired. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of her. I do though, have a picture of My Hillman Husky taken shortly after I'd resprayed her (in the garage you see behind her) Unfortunately they then brought in Isocyanate paints and cellulose became very difficult to get so I "retired" my spray gun and haven't done any serious bodywork since.

Here's the picture of the Husky with a very much younger me in the background.

View attachment 474600

The garage now has so much stuff in it you can't get a car inside anymore!

my parents had an imp van in a similar blue with lighter blue flash down the side .
I remember traveling on holiday in the back down to Devon from chesterfield in the 70s during the hot summers . I can remember my dad saying look at the cars broken down overheating but the imp made the trip ok

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

my parents had an imp van in a similar blue with lighter blue flash down the side .
I remember traveling on holiday in the back down to Devon from chesterfield in the 70s during the hot summers . I can remember my dad saying look at the cars broken down overheating but the imp made the trip ok

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Blue seems to have been a popular colour for Imps in general. Mine was resprayed in a DAF blue because I had access to it cheap as I was working in a DAF garage at the time. Mine was not a converted van, as was popular at the time, it was actually a genuine Husky estate.

They were smashing wee cars, I was really into them many years ago with a number of spare engines, trans axles and chassis parts. I doubled the size of my shed to house it all!

They were not a car you could neglect though. Regular checks on the cooling system were "derigeur" and the radiator was mounted alongside the engine in the back where it could "conveniently" recirculate hot air through itself when stuck in traffic jams on hot days - not the best of ideas! Also the engine was all aluminum when the competition were all using cast iron for heads and blocks. The result was that heavy handed mechanics were stripping threads and breaking bolts and studs left right and centre. Very much a car before it's time.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

When you mentioned that Pinto plug my head said NGK AP6FS.
Not aware of it fitting anything else.
I used to have a rack of NGK spark plugs in my workshop which I topped up everytime the rep came round, until one day I looked at it and thought, there is £400 standing around doing nothing, this was in the 80s!

Just had to take a look in my box of old plugs and found one which probably came out of a Cortina or Sierra. It's a APR6FS, picture attached below. So, only difference to yours is it's got inbuilt resistance for purposes of suppression of Radio frequency emissions, which in those days was all about stopping the ignition crackle on your MW/LW radio!

When you get into horticultural/garden machinery, especially the older stuff, you run into some plug types you don't see anywhere else. I've attached pictures below.

On the left are some quite "Diddy" sized ones and second from left is one I've only ever seen once. It's small in all respects both thread wise and on the hex size but it's the only one I've seen so far, in this size, with a taper seat. By the way, on the right/nearest the camera, is an N9Y Champion. All you oldies will have handled one of them eh? But how about the plug next to it. The shorter reach version which you found in the OHC bedfords and Vauxhalls were bad enough for snapping off where the taper seat is, leaving the threaded part in the head. I really wouldn't want to deal with one like that in the picture if it did that. Funny thing is I can't remember what i took it out of. you'd think it would have made a big enough impact for me to not forget?

The wee taper seat plug comes from an old, probably 1970's? "bent shaft" strimmer I was given because it couldn't be started. I stripped the recoil mechanism and found broken plastic parts which managed to repair. Unfortunately, when I started it, although the engine ran well it wouldn't turn the drive. Stripped that down and found the centrifugal clutch completely worn to the metal so the drum was scored and the flexi drive shaft twisted. It really needed everything from the engine to the strimmer head replaced. It was for the bin. I did briefly look for parts but found no source of supply. This is often a problem with cheaper machines in general I find, especially stuff bought from discount sources. Here's the engine:

Which runs very well so I didn't bin it - no idea what I might use it for though. It has one really big factor against it though, can you guess what?

Well it's an upside down engine. The cylinder is at the bottom so if you flood it it can be a real sod to start but can, in extreme flooding, hydraulic lock! Also the tank is at the top and gravity fed - a system done away with years ago because, of the tank leaks it can all catch fire and with the engine behind you and out of your sight, it can really get going before you realize it, very nasty. Modern machines have their tanks at the bottom and are pumped.

 

[Steve gt]

Blue seems to have been a popular colour for Imps in general. Mine was resprayed in a DAF blue because I had access to it cheap as I was working in a DAF garage at the time. Mine was not a converted van, as was popular at the time, it was actually a genuine Husky estate.

They were smashing wee cars, I was really into them many years ago with a number of spare engines, trans axles and chassis parts. I doubled the size of my shed to house it all!

They were not a car you could neglect though. Regular checks on the cooling system were "derigeur" and the radiator was mounted alongside the engine in the back where it could "conveniently" recirculate hot air through itself when stuck in traffic jams on hot days - not the best of ideas! Also the engine was all aluminum when the competition were all using cast iron for heads and blocks. The result was that heavy handed mechanics were stripping threads and breaking bolts and studs left right and centre. Very much a car before it's time.

My mum worked at a dealership that sold the imps , Hillman , talbots etc . got a few old photos

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

While I'm hanging around here, if anyone is thinking about spark plug sockets, can I thoroughly recommend looking at the type with a magnetic element?

For many years I've been happy with the bi-hex 14 and 12 mm ones I bought way back when. They do have one big problem now though in that their rubber inserts, which lightly hold the plug in place so it doesn't drop off when accessing difficult situations, have now degraded to such an extent that they don't hold onto the plug anymore. - I've taken to using a length of stiff rubber tube pushed over the ceramic to get the plug to start in the thread then removing it to get the socket on. But, sometimes, this is not easy. A few years ago I saw a set of two sockets, single hex - so gets a better grip - and with a magnetic ring embedded to hold the plug. It did worry me that the magnetic force might grip the plug tightly enough to let the extension pull out of the socket leaving it on the plug! I needn't have worried though, it holds the plug quite lightly and has never left me "fishing" for the socket. Here's a picture of the old and new ones - you can easily see the magnetic rings in the new single hex jobbies

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Hey! I'm on a roll today! All this talk of sockets, spark plugs, etc and rummaging around in boxes of old plugs etc has turned up a box of points and condensers. Remember those? Well that dates you!

For those not familiar, points looked something like these:

I won't go into what they did but suffice to say a new set were fitted at every "Big" service. The earliest types came as two part kits, like the one on the left. Later they "cassetted them like the ones on the right which made replacing them easier and quicker. By the way the thing at the top is a condenser which our boss insisted was changed at the same time but, could really be left unless the points showed signs of "blueing" due to heat which indicated the condenser was failing.

Ok you old timers, have you seen a set like this?

I actually can't remember what it fits. Anyone? I think the idea behind it was to stabilize the cam which controlled opening and closing of the points. If the shaft wore in it's bearings then the shaft could "wobble" which would then detrimentally affect points gap and so timing. This was quite a problem on some makes of distributor. I remember once watching the dwell angle on a Vauxhall Viva jumping all over the place and the shaft had so much wear in it you could rattle it back and forwards with your fingers. The only cure was a, relatively expensive, new distributor.

EDIT And how about this for a plug "on steroids"?

 

[Cheest]

Well, Jock, that looks like the stuff I'd find in my groj(Upper Mideast for 'garage'). The RJ19LM Champion plug was in just about every other Briggs engine before the advent of the Vanguard engine. Tho, the 19 shared shelf space with the 17 and the CJ8. Though I can't precisely ID the points(contact)plate, I have two similar units on my shelf for the Ural if the Ducati Energia electronic ignition ever fails as those are no longer available. Truth be told, I have schematics to convert to GM V8 points set, which I'd trust more than Russian sets. AND...if I can do GM points sets, I should be able to convert to Pertronix electronic.

Back on topic, if I do a thorough search of my groj, I'd find Model T plugs and coils, plugs for the DeSoto, which I've switched to NGK from Champions, NGK BPR7ES Ural plugs laying around, some Chinese things for the kids ATV, loooong NGK Iridiums for the Honda, and probably some Ford plugs, though the only Ford I have now is a diesel.

I was raised not to throw things away that might be used again in a pinch but sometimes you just have to bin it.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

My mum worked at a dealership that sold the imps , Hillman , talbots etc . got a few old photos

Great pictures - thanks! I love the "Imp". F and she's right beside that wheel fitted with the, then standard, Dunlop C41 cross ply tyres, if I'm not much mistaken. They promoted some "interesting" handling characteristics - you could do quite dramatic 4 wheel drifts at relatively safe low speeds! I think that's a Humber at the kerbside outside the showroom and the tantalising glimpses of what's for sale inside is very frustrating!

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Well, Jock, that looks like the stuff I'd find in my groj(Upper Mideast for 'garage'). The RJ19LM Champion plug was in just about every other Briggs engine before the advent of the Vanguard engine. Tho, the 19 shared shelf space with the 17 and the CJ8. Though I can't precisely ID the points(contact)plate, I have two similar units on my shelf for the Ural if the Ducati Energia electronic ignition ever fails as those are no longer available. Truth be told, I have schematics to convert to GM V8 points set, which I'd trust more than Russian sets. AND...if I can do GM points sets, I should be able to convert to Pertronix electronic.

Back on topic, if I do a thorough search of my groj, I'd find Model T plugs and coils, plugs for the DeSoto, which I've switched to NGK from Champions, NGK BPR7ES Ural plugs laying around, some Chinese things for the kids ATV, loooong NGK Iridiums for the Honda, and probably some Ford plugs, though the only Ford I have now is a diesel.

I was raised not to throw things away that might be used again in a pinch but sometimes you just have to bin it.

Yes the RJ19lM and 18LM I've seen too. In the flathead Briggs I've also seen the J8C and it's much shorter C8J in stuff like blowers and brushcutters. Back in the day, Champion ruled the world!

If you look at the picture with all the different points displayed and look at the one with the blue plastic, can you see the forked white plastic bit? It fitted over a fixed post in the baseplate of the distributor (Lucas type) and was a clever idea to combat points pitting. As the advance mechanism moved the points unit back and forwards with the vacuum capsule, this forked thingy caused the moving point to track up and down sideways across the fixed point on the baseplate. So the points were not all the time meeting in exactly the same place. It actually worked quite well and this design lasted longer than the, otherwise identical points without this feature. Unfortunately they required a distributor base plate with the pillar so were not backwards compatible.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

I was raised not to throw things away that might be used again in a pinch but sometimes you just have to bin it.

Don't let it worry you. It's not your fault, it's a mental infirmity and i suspect it's all part of being a car/mechanical things, enthusiast. It's harder to give up then smoking or drinking.

 

[The Panda Nut]

I have a pile of posts flagged as new today but where date and time is shown, they all say tomorrow at various times. Maybe Im now a time lord and Ruby is a tardis. I shall pinch myself.....

Nah... still sats today is tomorrow

 

[AnthonyH]

While I'm hanging around here, if anyone is thinking about spark plug sockets, can I thoroughly recommend looking at the type with a magnetic element?

I had the fun of fishing spark plugs from the engine last year. When the same happened this year i had a cheapie magnetic pickup tool to try, and it did just the trick.

A magnetic element would be better though.

 

[bugsymike]

Hi Jock , I made a point of not fitting resistor plugs as they used higher voltage to fire them so more prone to damp conditions breaking down, hence I knew them as NGK AP6FS.
Yes Chamion N9Y very common, the long reach taper plug on as you say OHC Vauxhalls 1.6, 1.8, 2.0 anfd 2.3, Victors and Firenzas etc. Also Bedford CF Vans, I hated those engines as 500 miles after fitting head gasket, you had to remove cam belt and cam carrier to access the head bolts to retorque them and then reassemble everything.
The odd set of points were adjusted with an Allan key and fitted to some Renaults I think? Did you note the ball end to fit the vacuum advance to? The ones with the moving contact height were on Lucas distributors and you had to locate the white plastic finger to allow the movement, along with that condensor with the long lead on some later classic minis and Allegros, Maxis etc.
I only owned one Hillman Imp, previous owner had fur lined inside the roof, dash and door cards, I paid £40 for car taxed and Moted.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Ok. complete change of subject matter - felt we needed a little light relief. Mrs j watching recorded episodes of EastEnders and Strictly so had to find something to take my mind off committing suicide! Came across an AI music channel on you tube with a strong accent on some of the kind of music I Iike and cars, cars and more cars! It's making me feel young again. Strongly recommend you take a look and wear some good cans so you get the full effect!

Oh, forgot to mention what the channel is called. Snakebite Stereo. Another one I like, more for the car pictures, is Hotrod Rockabilly Radio.

Have you heard of a guy called Billy Strings? Now there's a guy who can pick guitar strings:

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

and another. Go to you tube again and tune into Sam Dad Radio. I'm listening to "Porch Rattlin' Mojo: Delta Blues Thunder" right now.

 

[Cheest]

I helped out my young neighbor yesterday with removing a broken bolt from his snowmobile. He tends to be a drama queen when things go south but I showed him how to make things right. Years ago, I made a couple of small chisels from damaged drift punches just for the purpose of removing broken bolts. I whacked the bolt a couple of times and yeah, not moving. I put some heat on it for a couple of minutes with a profane torch. Whacked the bolt again and it moved slightly, then no more. More heat, then I draped a wet rag on the shaft to 'shock' the bolt. Whacked it again and it moved some more and again, stopped. I could wiggle the bolt from side to side, but not turn it. That told me that there was a bunch of crud in the threads. Okay, heat it one more time, shock it with the wet rag, then shoot it with a bit of PB Blaster. Whacked it one more time and the bolt spun out. I finished up by chasing the the threads and cleaning off the shaft splines for him. There was a lot of junk in the threads.

The story I got from him was that he and his friends were sledding in upper Michigan when they had a problem with this one. The driven clutch locked up and they ended up having to replace the clutch on the trail. He said they probably dropped the bolt in the snow and it was wet when they got it all back together. I told that when he was ready to put everything back together to give me a holler as I have spline moly and copper grease on hand so he doesn't have to go through this again.

 

[bugsymike]

I helped out my young neighbor yesterday with removing a broken bolt from his snowmobile. He tends to be a drama queen when things go south but I showed him how to make things right. Years ago, I made a couple of small chisels from damaged drift punches just for the purpose of removing broken bolts. I whacked the bolt a couple of times and yeah, not moving. I put some heat on it for a couple of minutes with a profane torch. Whacked the bolt again and it moved slightly, then no more. More heat, then I draped a wet rag on the shaft to 'shock' the bolt. Whacked it again and it moved some more and again, stopped. I could wiggle the bolt from side to side, but not turn it. That told me that there was a bunch of crud in the threads. Okay, heat it one more time, shock it with the wet rag, then shoot it with a bit of PB Blaster. Whacked it one more time and the bolt spun out. I finished up by chasing the the threads and cleaning off the shaft splines for him. There was a lot of junk in the threads.

The story I got from him was that he and his friends were sledding in upper Michigan when they had a problem with this one. The driven clutch locked up and they ended up having to replace the clutch on the trail. He said they probably dropped the bolt in the snow and it was wet when they got it all back together. I told that when he was ready to put everything back together to give me a holler as I have spline moly and copper grease on hand so he doesn't have to go through this again.

I love the "profane" torch.