Syncro - let’s off-road!

At a date in the near future!

A couple of small jobs to do include....

Work out why the handbrake does not work at all and prob need a new handbrake level as I may have ruined the old one with my superhuman strength to see if I can get any braking action!

Need to wire in a fog lamp - the rear light cluster has a mod and lamp with a wire going no where and the front end has the switch and a relay that clicks so hopefully just need to make the two meet in the middle.

Work out which of the box of seat belts will fit the rear.

 

Tell me about it - have you seen the beard.

 

Not feeling great today so not working so had a little tinker.

The rear brakes have a MK3 golf disc set up and the handbrake was not working at all well - there is a lever that is on the back of the caliper that actuates a square rod that turns the piston on a thread a tiny bit to tighten up onto the disc when you apply the handbrake. I gave a careful squirt of WD40 onto the lever and jiggled it up and down and it seems to have freed off enough to get some braking force going. It holds it on the hill we live on so and doesn't slip when trying to pull away so fingers crossed that may be enough for MOT man.

Run through the outstanding MOT issues I know about with @squirrel at Bristol Cherished Cars and he fixed the non lighting dashlights over the phone by getting me to jiggle to dimmer wheel about a bit and boosh another thing fixed. He's a very nice man.

On the test drive I noticed a bit of a vibration that I thought may be the propshaft, so that was taken off and the vibes are gone - @theBusmonkey I guess I shouldn't be able to feel/hear any play in the U/Js - they seem a bit floppy to me?

Getting closer....

 

At the mo the rear bumper is this



I’d like to put a normal bumper on - anyone have any idea if I took off the towel rail that is bolted to the towbar would a standard bumper go onto these mounting points on the towbar?

 

Yes standard steel bumper will bolt straight on

 

Dunno about the towbar, sorry, but that handbrake design has a weak spot, you may not be aware of. If you pull on the handbrake when the disks are warm, it may let go as the disks cool, a big vehicle like will roll down hill ever so well.

 

shouldn't do, its why the calipers are on a thread so they wind out and don't just push back in.

 

Yeah, but the disks contracts as it cools, and if the calipers are at all stiff, they don't take up the slack caused by the disks cooling and contracting. If the calipers are in good nick, maybe this isn't a problem, but inevitably they start to stick a bit more and more as they age and corrode.

PS, it's not the caliper that moves, it's the disk moving away from the caliper.

 

Thanks - got any nice ones in the stash? or Marmite ones even?

 

I did that with our old focus - parked on the hill outside our house - knock on the door at midnight to say our car had rolled across the road. In gear and wheels chocked into the kerb now...

 

Happened to me too

 

possibly, I’ll check give me a few days

 

Thanks no rush

 

brexit actually happening will be quicker than you getting a bumper from davidoft

 

Yeah the uj's should be nice and firm. They are an odd size and there is a bushed tube which runs inside the head of the prop which also wears. Best thing is to bite the bullet and do the Brickie exchange or if you're feeling on the mood for treats, get the telescopic one they do. It was outright purchase so you keep yours to sell on. Worn prop core is worth 100 quid upwards. I fitted the telescopic one and it's been fine. Benefits are that the uj's are a common standard so future serviceable and they have grease nipples thus extending their life.
Btw, whatever you do I think it's GKN in Leeke who do the work for Brickie

 

Oh - I was hoping to turn this into a MadMax style combat/doomsday survival vehicle for the post Brexit apocalypse.

 

Hmm - didn’t think they were right. The reconditioned one is a decent price I reckon - there’s a propshaft specialist about a mile from here who should be able to do the work but maybe a quick call to GKN is in order. Brickwerks is out of stock for the standard recon one but no rush as it can get up the muddy lane of doom easy with in 2wd and difflock on unlike my work van and the skip lorry that flattened the neighbours wall that time.

 

the uj's should be able to be done locally but it's the penis shaft and associated bush that is the specialist recon.
Deffo speak to GKN at Leeke if you decide not to use brickie coz they did all the development work with Aiden and Baxter years ago. TBH, it's probably easier to use Brickwerks when the time comes but.in saying that I took my first one there direct. However I'm not convinced they did the penis shaft bush. The prop still 'rang' on 1st to 2nd change up. So maybe that's a kind of special arrangement they have with Brickwerks. Who knows. Dark arts of syncro resto.

 

OK - so you are saying it’s essential to make sure my penis shaft has been refurbished to make sure it and the bush are aligned nicely. Man, this has got very personal quickly....

As you say it is prob easiest to just go the Brickwerks route when they get back in stock. Apart from the service side of the new siding type of prop- any other benefits do you think?
Thanks for your knowledge of shafts and bushes