Anglefire

This is the shot of my head before being refitted and the block with the new pistons in place - but well oiled as the head didn’t go on straight away.

A friend of mines brother in law is into Citroen 2CV’s and bought another One a few months ago. he is in the process of rebuilding it mechanical as the body work etc is in good condition- it is also a very rare colour so doesn’t want to respray it anyway. I digress! He wanted to get a bit of its history from the dvla to track its movements over the years and got the usual data protection fob off. But he persevered and managed to get the history but with the Names etc redacted - annoying but better than nothing. So some information would seem to be available. interestingly my friend had his dads metro (who’d had it from new) after he had died - and when he got the v5 his dads name had been redacted. Which did upset him a little as it was a bit more of his dads history gone.

Which makes the price of a rebuild from ivor searle good value at £2k Inc vat less club discount!

The chap who did the head said the guides were fine - so my money is on the rings. Just remembered the pistons were hepolite and came with rings. They happened to be in the boot of the car when I picked up the head and he said they were a bargain at £100!

My 1500 was using a fair bit of oil and I like you assumed it was guides. I decided to whip off the head and get it sorted. The place I took it to said it would be rings. i got the heat done anyway and had hardened seats - they did need doing as the seats had regressed- probably because the po had reground the valves. I decided to do the rings at the same time and got hold of a set of nos pistons with rings and replaced them just honing the bores. I has measured them and they were standard size with no obvious issues. now it’s not burning oil. 😃

The reg MVC575 - assuming I got it down right still exists on a Triumph from 1953 and is still taxed. But is green.

Condensing boilers are very efficient - if run properly - but most aren't. The return water temperature to the boiler should be about 55'C for condensing to occur. (I'm not a gas engineer, this is just what I have read on the internet on various sites) but I am a controls engineer and I have an industrial control system at home and I've recently added a couple more sensors to monitor the temperatures - I've lowered by boiler flow temperature to about 65'C to then get the return back at 55'C - though when the hot water calls, the return goes up to 60' - I aught to regulate the water flow - but I figure I'd rather have a quicker warm up - ideally I want to change the set point in HWS mode to 75'c to get the thing up faster. I'm monitoring my gas consumption to see if it makes any difference. Electric heating to me is mad as its a pure form of energy and other forms are better?

I wouldn't use silicon, it will be a bitch to bleed - though you will get a solid peddle Much better to use silicone. 😂

Hum, I'm with you there too! I am forever using something and putting it down (in a known location!) and come to pick it up and its gone!

I have a huge amount of allen key sets - no really sure why! But the last one I bought was from amazon because I wanted a really small one for the heater knobs and could only fine the size is a similar style pack to this one 😂 But yours is cheaper (I just looked!) https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0039KE4IC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

For £9 I'll stick with what I have! But electrics is my bag!

My current ones are "held" in with cable ties!

Thanks Clive. I’ve ordered a couple from amazon - each will do from 0.1-150w. Including led. No obvious mounting bracket but I’ll sort something out. £9 the two.

Ah ok that makes sense. If not particularly followed the diagram and assumed that the one some how came into play at the same time- but given a modicum of thought that’s not logical!

When I put the dash back in the car it looks like the flasher relays took a bit of a hit and the case fell off the one and the indicators now operate very slowly! So I thought I'd just replace them -- but can't work out what I need! There are two units - so match up with the wiring diagram I have, but not sure if I just need two GFU2124 or one and a GFU2204 Any one any ideas!

Many diesel cars have a supplementary heater to get the engine warm quicker when its cold and to keep it warm - my Discovery had one - which I added a controller so I could start it before going out and resulted in a warmer car when you get in. My neighbours Range Rover is started on a timer I think in the morning, but its the engine not just the webasto heater. Not sure how that works being an unattended vehicle, but must be legal. Many truck have them too so they can keep warm when they are parked up. As for EV's that is another ball game and is the next one to cause a riot due to the conditions the miners (Often Minors) work in.

There is a tendency to go a bit off topic. Usually after the basic question has been answered to a lesser or greater degree. 😄

Mine often doesn't get driven for a couple of months or so. I just drive it in the garage (Actually push it in a I can't get out of the car once its in the garage) and shut the door.

Doug. Given it was a report by the highways and not directly government I doubt anything will particularly change - they will at least finish the current ones and keep the existing in place. Which doesn’t actually solve any of the issues. What I think is needed is there to be one type. Either all lanes open at all times with speed limits changing as needed - I also think it should be increased to a max of 80, but be more strict With its policing. Given the number of cars and indeed vans that fly past me on the motorways the 70 limit is universally ignored. It would probably reduce some of the bunching too if there were some variance in the speeds of vehicles.

Roger, I don't dispute much of what you say! I do know (I know at least two people that work for the highways agency - two in the control room in Birmingham and one on the roads) and that they can't reopen a closed lane without the sayso of those on the ground and I think in the control room. Much frustration on both sides often ensues! And much of the speed control is automatic and not manual - the words on the signs though is largely manual. And I'm almost convinced that they use prediction algorithms because the same limits and lane openings happen during bank holidays and the like as normal days and I not convinced its bright enough to know when its a Sunday as regularly the limit is 50 or 60 and the hard shoulder open on the M42 and its not got enough traffic for 2 lanes let alone 4. Not that that stops cars being spread over the 4 lanes! Cheap? Not so sure its that cheap. Expedient with the often lack of space to go wider - they have done that once on the M5 and that results in the hard shoulder disappearing quite often around bridges. The section at least from the M42/M5 junction to Worcester is permanent 4 lanes - not sure if a hard shoulder exists along all of it or not - I can't remember despite having driven it countless times!

A smart motorway is where they make the hard shoulder a running lane - the m42 was the first I think and that has the hard shoulder as a part time running lane but later ones are full time. They added lay-bys off the hard shoulder at regular intervals so broken down vehicles could either get there if towed there as a safe place to stop. The M6 north of Birmingham is smart but a full time running hard shoulder. In all cases a smart motorway must have cameras and variable speed limits. With part time hard shoulder ones being restricted to a max of 60mph when active. The M1 is in the process of being upgraded as are several others, though the M1 is already smart north of Birmingham around Nottingham and Sheffield from memory I’m not a big fan. Not because I doesn’t work as there is evidence it does - but because now drivers are allowed to under take they think they can do it all the time and that is not the case. Though that has to be tempered with the fact that lane discipline is appalling and many drivers don’t keep to the left and sit in the middle or outside lanes. In fact only the Aston expressway was it legal to undertake and that was because so many roads come in and out in such a short time it made it more dangerous to overtake in the usual manner.

Since the introduction of “smart motorways” over here undertaking is common place.

M6 is fine. But then I’m a brummy so use it a fair amount. The motorway that puts the willies up plenty of none locals is the Aston express (distress) way. The hard shoulder is in the middle of the running lanes and the number of running lanes in each direction depends on the time of day - so the hard shoulder moves as well 😂 The M25 can be a bit challenging- but normally is so busy that you have plenty of time to react. The worst motorway- is the ring road around Paris. They they are mad over there 😂

The best washing machine we had was the Dyson - it was bloody expensive - about £1200 at the time. But it was efficient and could take proper sized loads - our Samsung is 8Kg - except its not for every program except 1 - most are at best 4kg - some as low as 1.5! The dyson would also take king sized duvets of tog 10 and greater - the whole ruddy family used to bring theirs around regularly In that program the contra-rotating drum would only go in one direction to avoid ripping the duvet apart.

I believe my Skoda has a driver alert system - its in the manual at least. Not a nodding off one, but uses some inputs to decide if you need to stop. It's not come on for me in the last 18000 miles.