HubNut Blog

What’s on my mind?

XM: I hate servicing

I really dislike servicing cars, mostly because I seem to be completely unable to do it without spilling horrible liquids all over the place. Thankfully for my driveway, I learnt long ago that putting cardboard down beneath the car is a useful way of capturing most of the spillage.

The XM has covered 10,500 miles since its previous service last summer, so it really was time to do it again. The oil was dropped, most of it going into the catch tanks (two because the capacity is over 5 litres) and quite a bit over the sump as I removed the oil filter. Situation normal, but at least I managed to avoid getting oil drippled down my arm. It must be said, there are worse places to carry out a service too. Look at that view!

Not a bad spot eh?

With the oil dropped and a new filter in place, I could fill the engine with lovely, fresh oil. Comma Oil‘s website recommended its 5w40 Syner-G oil. I wasn’t going to argue and while 5w feels like water at cold temperatures, it should firm up nicely with engine heat. The lower cold rating should allow for happier starting during the winter. I look forward to testing this.

Syner-G oil from Comma, as recommended.

I then replaced the air filter, which is simplicity itself. The fuel filter turned into an utter debacle though. The box size worried me for a start, as the new filter looked shorter than I remembered. I foolishly went ahead and pulled the filter housing apart, spilling fuel all over the sodding place as I did. There may have been cursing, especially as I’d arranged a catch can specially – then missed it. I wiped up the mess as best I could, cursed again when I realised just how spectacularly wrong the new filter was, and then had to just refit the old filter – which fortunately seemed in good order. That’s reassuring, as I have experimented with vegetable oil on this engine – which it didn’t seem to like. Certainly, there were no bits of gunk in the canister this time. I recall there were last time I did a filter change (I somehow avoided too much spillage that time).

All this faffing about lost me time, so I haven’t been able to check the rear brakes as yet. I know the pads are a bit low, because they have been for about 13,000 miles so far. Not desperately low, but I do keep a set of pads in the boot just in case! I’ll try to find time to do that next week. I know the front brakes are ok, as I’ve just overhauled them. Similarly, I’ve kept an eye on other areas of the car. I do need to do an LHM change and filter clean, but lack the necessary tool for the pipe connectors. I’ll leave that for another time rather than destroy the clips.

But, I really did need to give the poor girl a wash. It’s only a few weeks since it was last done, but she was quite grim! Not now.

Sparkly clean!

I’m annoyed to have added another scrape to the many the previous owner had already put on this car. While in Yorkshire, I failed to spot a stone jutting out of a bank as I squeezed past a car that looked like it was going to stop for me, but didn’t. There’s now a scrape just above the bumper on the nearside front wing. Oh well. At least there are plenty of other scars already!

I don’t like to leave a car sitting after a wash, as the brakes benefit from a good dry out. Also, after a service, it’s a foolish man/woman who doesn’t go for a test drive. I’m glad I did, because it revealed that diesel had made its way onto the clutch plate. BOTHER. Or similar, possibly stronger words applied, as the revs shot up as the boost kicked in.

I dashed back home, splashed Jizer degreaser all over the engine, and hosed it off. I did this twice and went for another drive. Still slipping, but less so. By feathering the throttle, I could avoid slippage. Those ‘manual traction control’ off-road skills were coming in useful!

Steam! Trying to wash away the diesel.

I’m now very glad that I did this job after hauling the 2CV’s body to Bradford and not before. Getting up the M62 with a slipping clutch would have been a most frustrating business! I now hope I haven’t finished this clutch off completely. I suspect it could be the original, and no, I really don’t fancy having to change it.

On the plus side, the engine bay looks a lot cleaner after the degreasing session! Still, it has been a very frustrating afternoon as once again, a simple service proves anything but.

Project 2CV: Body delivered

Today was another big day – transporting the bodyshell to Citwins for its major makeover. The day began with a rather bleary feel, due to the earliness of the hour. And possibly a dirty camera lens.

A bleary start to the day.

Now all I had to do was get to Bradford, 160 miles away. I hoped the motorway gods would be kind to me. Things didn’t start too well when one of my straps came loose before I’d even left the village. Thankfully, employing a little bit more physics soon had things safe once more.

As I eased towards Llangurig, I was astonished to see that they’ve FINALLY started work on a damaged section of the A44. It has been reduced to temporary traffic lights at this spot for several years now. I was amused to see a Renault Twizy in use as a convoy vehicle. Nice.

But, the XM was playing up a bit. Every now and then, the power assistance disappeared from the steering. I’ve had this on BXs before, and the heavy steering suggests a possible issue with the pump or flow diverter valve (FDV). Or, it could just be that it really needs a good flush of the hydraulic system – something I’ve been meaning to do for ooh, about 16 months now…

It wasn’t too bad, so I carried on. The route took me up towards Oswestry, then Chester and the start of the motorway madness – M53, M56, M6 and M62. To be honest, things were flowing beautifully, and the XM is even more relaxing at 60mph than it is at 70. Sure, it was frustrating to not be able to use the third lane when the trucks started getting in the way, but my speed was not very far from theirs, so it didn’t feel like much of a hold-up. Soon enough, it was 50mph for everyone due to carriageway widening.

The XM did feel the strain going up Windy Hill on the M62. This rises to a summit of 1221ft (372m) and is the highest section of motorway in the UK. My foot was right down to keep up 60mph, though the bountiful torque of the engine at this speed – just over 2000rpm – meant speed did not drop. Nor did the temperature gauge, which crept up towards the middle – very unusual in normal driving. Not that this climb was that normal!

Soon enough, we arrived in Bradford. Getting the body off the trailer was made much easier by a block and tackle!

Up she goes! Ready for some sorting out.

I was quite anxious, but Alan Rogers (the man who is Citwins) reckoned it wasn’t that bad. Well, obviously, it is quite bad, but by the time he’s cut the rotten bits out, he reckons there’s plenty of good metal left to weld to. As it happens, he had a very similar ‘shell that he’d just finished for me to examine. Pretty much the entire bottom six inches had been replaced. Encouraging and nice to see what mine will hopefully look like before too long!

Then all I had to do was drive the 160 miles back home. Thankfully, the XM behaved perfectly this time.

A last pause in Yorkshire before heading back.

This is going to be a rather long pause in proceedings I think, as there’s other work Alan needs to do, and panels need to be gathered. Don’t be alarmed if nowt happens for a while on the 2CV front. There’ll be lots of other action of course – the XM now needs a thorough service, the Dyane still needs a spot of engine fettling, and the Prelude may well be disappearing to a new home. Stay tuned!

Project 2CV: Ready to go!

It’s been a fantastically beautiful day here in Wales – bendigedig! Sunshine helped ease the sorrows of yesterday’s Six Nations rugby match. Before I get to the 2CV, let’s have a quick look at the other aircooled Citroën in my life.

Camouflage Dyane out for a hoon.

I do love driving the Dyane. It’s a complete attention magnet. I’m still having to take it slightly easy after the winter engine rebuild, but I can still get a shift on. There is still work to do on this engine though – the cylinder heads are still whiffy. Ah well. At least I found something nice to park next to in town.

Wow! Second C6 I’ve spotted this week. Dutch plates, RHD.

Yes, a Citroen C6. On Dutch plates no less, though it was a right-hand drive example. It’s the second C6 I’ve spotted in a week – I was following one for a time on Tuesday as I hurtled to Coventry and back in the XM.

Speaking of the XM, it’s got another mega-mile week ahead. The 2CV’s bodyshell is ready for transport!

XM ready for some haulin’ action.

It’ll be a long old slog to Bradford and back tomorrow, thankfully featuring rather more major routes than Tuesday’s cross-country dash to Coventry. It should be pretty relaxing given a maximum of 50/60mph depending on road type. I’m looking forward to Alan’s assessment of what needs to happen and can finally discuss exactly what needs to happen.

Of course, the focus for the time being is on the bodyshell. But it isn’t quite as simple as getting it all welded up again and refitting it. Some panels are too rusty to just bolt back on, so will need to be replaced. Others need a certain amount of fettling – doors and bonnet especially. Then there’s the running gear. I really do need to go over it while everything is so accessible. I’ve got a seriously sticky carburettor linkage to deal with, and very rusty suspension cans. I also need to replace all of the wheels and tyres.

So, plenty of expense yet to come and while your contributions have made this project feasible, I can see that the Dyane is still going to have to go at some point. That was always the plan – the Dyane was meant to be fill-in until the 2CV was back on the road. I have grown rather fond of it though. But, two projects (for the Dyane needs welding too) is just too much to consider at the moment, so when the 2CV is closer to returning to the road, the Dyane will have to go. Until then, I hope to have plenty of fun in it. Let’s hope for lots more sunshine!

Project 2CV: Memories

I can’t do much with Project 2CV at the moment – Monday is the next time anything will happen. I thought I’d give a bit more background to what I’ve got up to with this car. We’ve had far too many adventures to list here, but this is some of what we’ve done together.

Let’s start in 2004. I was working for NFU Mutual at the time, being paid far too much money for what amounted to little more than admin. Welcome to the expensive world of IT. My daily commute took me from the delightful village of Byfield, Northants to Stratford-upon-Avon, and NFU Mutual’s large office building. The job paid well enough for us to buy a new front door. But how to transport it?

Elly hard at work, transporting a door back in 2004.

It must be said, this commute route was an absolute joy. I barely saw any traffic, and could cover the 25 miles to work in just over 30 minutes on a good day. That’s an average speed of 45mph. In a 2CV with 29bhp! I was hurtling through some very pretty scenery, with plenty of bends to contend with, and arriving at work very happy indeed. To put that into perspective, I’d previously been living in Birmingham, commuting from one side to the other and taking 45 minutes to travel just 12 miles. The scenery was definitely not as good either.

There were other adventures too, such as driving to France, Belgium and Scotland in 2005. That was my first overseas foray in the 2CV, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was also the first time I’d taken a 2CV to Scotland for at least seven years. The reason for Scotland was the thoroughly epic (and muddy) World Meeting of 2CV Friends in Kelso, Scottish borders. An exhausting but thrilling few days, though at one point, the need for dryness and warmth was so strong that we went and stayed in a B&B for the night…

Elly lends scale to the Glastonbury dance tent – 2CV World Meeting 2005.

A few years later, after the second part of the restoration, Elly the 2CV got to drive right around the perimeter of Scotland as part of the Eight Ball Rally – well, all around the mainland GB in fact. By now, I was working as a writer for Classic Car Weekly, and living in Cambridgeshire. Turns out 2CVs are absolutely ideal for the bumpy roads of The Fens. I was still enjoying my commute.

Pretty far north in 2008

2010 was the big adventure though, and I’ve talked about it before because it still excites me to look back at it. Taking the 2CV to Switzerland remains one of my most favourite adventures. It was certainly a lot more comfortable and enjoyable than taking an H van to Sweden in 2007 – the most annoying aspect of which was not taking Elly to Sweden and Norway when I had the opportunity.

Elly rests in the most scenic multi-storey car park in the world. Saas-Fee in Switzerland.

After we moved to Wales in 2010, circumstances dictated an end to such adventures and Elly’s annual mileage dropped to 3000, or even lower. It had been typically 5000-10,000 a year. I think the amount of time she then spent parked up, not being used has only made the rot issue worse. I work from home, so can go several days without driving a car at all. Then, when I do go for a drive, I generally have a choice of shambolic vehicles to pick. The mileage did start going up a bit after we sold our Mini, as the 2CV became the default choice of vehicle for Rachel – she doesn’t like fancy gadgets like power steering and electric windows. The 2CV is perfect. Leaving the 2CV sitting around in the soggy Welsh climate really wasn’t doing it any favours though.

Not that we haven’t had fun since moving here! After all, there are greenlanes to explore…

Elly takes to the greelanes of Wales in 2011.

Elly takes to the greenlanes of Wales in 2011 – on this very day five years ago in fact.

In fact, you can watch a video of that adventure below. We’ve certainly had some fun together over the years. I’m looking forward to many more.

Retro Japanese magazine – on sale now!

Yes, the day is here at last. Retro Japanese magazine is now available to buy. I find this massively exciting. Putting the title together was a simply joyous experience, thanks to my combined love of Japanese tin and the retro era – typically 1980s and 1990s.

Sure, there’s some content featuring cars prior to this, such as the test drive of a Honda Civic Mk1 Hondamatic, but generally, the title focusses on the cars I remember very clearly from my childhood. Which is a reminder that when it comes to classic cars, nostalgia is one of the key reasons to get involved.

Retro Japanese magazine is on sale right now! Video below.

Now, look at the front cover, and you might assume there’s a focus on sporty stuff. That emphatically isn’t the case though, I’ve simply picked the cover stars that I think are most iconic. The content of the magazine itself is rather more varied. In the pages of Retro Japanese magazine, you’ll find Nissan Bluebirds, Toyota Carina Es, Honda Accords battling for space with such variedbeasts as the Isuzu Piazza and VehiCROSS, Nissan Patrol, Honda NSX and Subaru Impreza.

I even managed to find a picture of a Nissan EBRO van, remember those? It came courtesy of SpottedLaurel on FlickR. He’s got over 11,000 photos if you fancy losing yourself for a few hours.

Ye gads! A Nissan Ebro Trade!

It was a right walk through memory lane for me, and all the more enjoyable because of that fact. As well as editing, I did a whole heap of writing and research and found it thoroughly fascinating, even if it isn’t always the easiest research topic. When it came to writing about Nissan’s Spanish operations, even Nissan’s own websites seemed to contradict themselves! That was part of a feature called Far East Invasion, where I looked at how Japan brought its efficient production techniques to Britain and wider Europe.

There’s also a super guide on the Mazda MX-5, which looks at buying, deciphering the baffling range of Mk1 and Mk2 options, and then tells you how to modify your steed if you so wish. Supercharging looks fun for a start.

Anyway, thanks to Kelsey Media for this opportunity, and thanks to those who helped along the way. I hope you enjoy the magazine – please do let me know what you think. Finally, here’s a video of the cover stars in action. Best day at work ever?

Project 2CV: Non-2CV stuff!

Today, the 2CV project took a big leap forward, which was nothing to do with the 2CV.

Yes, I’ve finally got the trailer sorted! What follows is a lengthy form of therapy.

Huzzah! 2CV body can now be transported.

The trailer has been out of action since before Christmas, as one of the wheels had rotted so badly that air was leaking from it. Not much of an issue really. I mean, it’s not hard to find another pair of wheels is it?

Turns out, it’s really bloody hard! The trailer’s origins lie in some long defunct company called Cardesk Ltd, which seems a bit improbable, but there you go. Wherever it was conceived, it was built in China. For some reason, it was built with the American market in mind. So, the tow hitch is the wrong size (it used to rattle around a fair bit) and the wheels are IMPOSSIBLE to find in the UK. They just do not exist.

I know, because I spent bloody hours searching for the sodding things. Confirming the size took long enough, thanks to the fact that 4×4″ PCD is very similar to 4x100mm PCD. The design of the trailer meant the wheels had to be 4J width, with zero offset. That’s very annoying, as skinny 12″ wheels are not in short supply. They’re fitted to Minis, and Peroduas. Oh, and the centre hole required is a funny size too. FFS.

Eventually, I gave in to the fact that Ebay was trying to steer me to America to buy American sized wheels. I ordered a pair. The order entered some sort of “Really? You want us to ship to the UK? Er, we’d better try and work out how to do it then” state, which mainly seemed to result in no action at all. Other people warned me that customs would chuck a load of duty on the top of the already-quite-scary postage. Sod it. Order cancelled, back to square one.

XM makes a great tow vehicle.

Then, after yet more searching, I found a company in Cornwall that claimed to have wheels that would fit! I carefully double-checked the width, the offset, the centre hole, the PCD. Yes, this looked good. They were ordered, and they arrived the next day with no custom charges. Ace!

Until I trial-fitted one on the trailer. Well, I didn’t really. The one measurement I’d overlooked was the stud hole size. It was too small by about 2mm. AAAAAAARGH!

At this point, I took my lovely, shiny new wheels to a garage and asked them to drill the stud holes out. This doesn’t go down as ideal, but I was fast running out of options. They then fitted the old tyres. This was a stupid thing to do, as one of them is quite perished – probably because it kept going flat. Do I have a spare? No, I do not. Guess I’ll have to find some new tyres – at least they’re a sensible size!

Anyway, I feel better for a good rant. The next plan is to get the 2CV’s body off the chassis (it’s ready to lift off), strap it onto the trailer, and then head off for The North, hopefully on Monday. It won’t be the first time that the 2CV has been spread over different counties! Stay tuned for more as it happens. Or not very long after. Probably. Twitter is probably the best way to follow what I’m up to in something approaching realtime – hunt for @dollywobbler and #Project2CV.

By the way, after a major invoice got paid, I’ve been able to shove a chunk of cash into the project kitty, while donations have still been coming in too! We’re now over the £1700 mark, though I suspect this project will be munching more than that yet. An expensive business! Thanks for your help.

Project Dyane: Back on the road video

I’ve already talked a bit about having the Dyane back on the road, in this post. But here’s a proper video update, that also includes footage of my day out with the Herefordshire Wye Knots 2CV group.

Videos: More on the way!

I’ve got plenty of videos in production at the moment, but getting them from raw “as shot” state to uploaded to YouTube takes plenty of time. In the queue at the moment are a Vlog from the M5 in the XM, NSX vs Skyline vs Supra to link to Retro Japanese magazine, and me behind the wheel of several Japanese classics for the same title – includes a Subaru Impreza in a tunnel. The noise is just fabulous.

Videos like this one take a long time to upload.

One of the problems is that my ancient laptop simply takes a goodly while to process videos. The poor thing’s fan screams like a 2CV when I’m video editing. It really isn’t quite up to it. Problem is, I can forget trying to do anything else when it’s in edit mode, so I can only do video editing when I don’t need the laptop for other things – like actual paid work. This week, things are further complicated by me being out of the office all day yesterday (a very interesting visit to Jaguar Land Rover) and a good chunk of today (community bus duty, taking elderly passengers for a lunch at a seaside hotel). I’m on a different bus tomorrow for the weekly bus service from the village to town. This allows me to make the point that the Volkswagen Crafter really was a monumental leap over the LT. One feels like a big car, the other feels like a small truck. From the 1960s.

I digress. Once the video has actually been created, it then has to upload to YouTube. My upload speed is 252kbps, on a good day. Superfast Broadband has yet to reach this corner of mid-Wales. Annoyingly, it has reached two villages either side! No, I’m not going to go for a drive just to upload a video more quickly.

I’m going to set one video uploading right now. Stay tuned to my channel to see what it is when it finally reaches the internet in several hours’ time! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfxlBQnvNXX6o-2KbCMszWQ

Project 2CV: Stripped!

Tinkering time has been of a premium of late. After a successful Tuesday, I only managed a couple of hours of tinkering on Friday. However, I managed to crack on quite significantly today. Real progress!

Friday saw me strip out the seatbelts, seats and seat runners. Quite a horrifying experience, as the seat runners pretty much pulled out of the floor…

Eek! The seat runner bolts down here.

It’s hard to comprehend how bad things have got, though I was reminded that the 2CV had an advisory of ‘body corroded all over’ back in 2011…

A lot of areas were no surprise at all. Well, I say that. I knew they were bad, but even the bad areas held a few shocks. After removing the rubber strip above the windscreen that seals the hood, I found this.

Yikes! Paint pretty much just flaked off under finger pressure.

Ok. This was getting a bit scary. Fortunately, Alan Rogers, who will be welding it up, seems pretty much undaunted so far.

On to today, and the main thing to do was continue stripping the bodyshell while it’s at a convenient height. So, off with the dashboard, out with the wiring loom and then to small matters such as the rear wings, exhaust and brake lines. Soon enough, I had a very stripped 2CV.

Stripped! And ready for lift off.

I then set about undoing the bolts that hold the body to the chassis. Apart from one outrigger, where it just fell off and left the body unattached anyway…

I did a test lift at each corner, and it was soon free. It really is just sitting on the chassis now, ready to go. My next problem is finding time to transport the body up to Alan Rogers so he can employ his restoration expertise. I’ve very nearly got the wheels sorted for the trailer, and even greased up the bearings and fitted a new tow hitch. One bearing seems a little grumbly. I hope it’ll be ok…

The restoration fund currently stands at £1206, so thanks to all who’ve donated so far. I’ve had one seatbox repair panel as a donation too. It’s quite remarkable how much you folk seem to care – I even met complete strangers at the Practical Classics Restoration and Classic Car Show at the NEC yesterday who were following with interest! Remarkable. It sounds like a lot of money, but I know how swiftly restoration can eat into a budget like this. Times will be tough! Progress has been very exciting though – I’m truly grateful.

Here’s another shot from happier times!

Oooh la laaa! Elly was in fine fettle back in 2007.

Vlog: Snowy Perodua

Thought it was about time I formed another Vlog, and a bit of snow was the perfect excuse. Join me aboard my tiny Nippa as I tackle the snowy roads of mid-Wales. Not really enough snow, but hey, SNOW!

HubNut – celebrating the average!