1975 2000 HF Coupe

[GerardJPC]

BODGE ALERT!

The throttle cable is intact.  I was misled on a quick shuftie by a frayed bit of cable end hanging off at the top.  Someone has fitted a second eyelet to space the cable end. The issue was an old bodge: some fuel pipe that had been used as a cable guide had jammed under the pedal linkage.

QUESTION:  Would you expect to see flex in the brake servo?    Mark is adding a brace for this as it moves a bit, with play at the bulkhead end, and this motion won't help the braking efficiency, and could eventually cause a stress fracture at the bulkhead.  Mark will also investigate whether there is already weakness at the bulkhead.  He notes that the bits of the bulkhead he has seen so far look OK, and notes also that the sills have been welded very well.

[GerardJPC]

2021 is dull.  I did some time travel to April 1975.

[GerardJPC]

Early morning driving in the West End.  The vertical alignment of second (up), and third (down) is useful for relaxed town driving.

I paused for photos outside the RAC, and also at Bar Italia in Soho.  "Guarda Toni!  Vera macchina Italiana!  Di Torino come la tua Mama."

[GerardJPC]

The HF now has new rear brake discs and pads.  The car is going well, and this weekend I will take it on its first long distance jaunt - about 400 miles on a round trip to visit my daughter in Norfolk.

[GerardJPC]

A nail did for one of the Firestones on the A4 close to Earl's Court this morning.  The spare was brand new, so on it went, and the car behaved itself on a drive to the North Norfolk coast.  Busy roads all the way.

[GerardJPC]

Some weak spark issues, and a slight cooling issue, both now fixed.  The car is going pretty well.   Wheel balancing has removed vibrations that were occurring at motorway speeds.

[GerardJPC]

A bit of 70s going on in South Oxfordshire.  This Volvo 1800 ES Automatic is in rough condition but it runs.  The boot is full of tools and parts and the car is evidently a labour of love in progress.  I have seen a near-concours red one of these in the local area recently.

[GerardJPC]

Somer is icumen in...

[GerardJPC]

In Town -

[DavidLaver]

Good to see it out and about.  Much left on the "to do" or "wish" list still?

[GerardJPC]

The main thing is the replacement of the offside rear wheel arch, and repairs to apparently less extensive rusty bits in the front wings, to be followed by a full or partial respray.

The car is using a bit of oil and puffs a bit of blue smoke every now and then, so it might be needing some top end work soon.

Yesterday the car drove to Southampton and back to view a new (old) car purchase - a 1977 Princess 2200 HL.    Lancia, Lotus, Land Rover, Leyland - those are my things! 

[frankxhv773t]

That's an "L" of a list. A Princess 2200 is very left field. You'll have to compare notes with Mr Buckley and his Austin 3 Litre passion.

[lancialulu]

My Dad had a 2200 which as a family we never really rated but it was a reliable work horse.

[GerardJPC]

My father was a Production Engineer in British Leyland, and thus BL cars are very much wired into my system.  I have had various Triumphs, Landies, and a couple of Rovers.  My dad's favourite car was his Princess.  He had it from 1979 to 1983, and in it he drove me to my university interviews in December 1980, collected me a couple of days later (on the journey home we heard the news of John Lennon's death), and - the interviews having gone well - he drove me to university in the Princess in October 1981.

When I got the newly purchased Princess home yesterday after a smooooooooooth journey from Southampton to South Oxfordshire, my 83 year old mum shed a tear when she saw me getting out of the car.  She said that she had seen a ghost.  I gave her a hug and we had a drink in memory of my dad.  Now I have to decide whether when I take my mum to Glyndebourne on Wednesday we go in the HF or in the Princess.



 

[Derek Creasy]

Been there done that ---transformed the steering