Father, son and a V8
Discussion
Annnnnnnnd the Town Car is now road legal!
The MOT passed with flying colours (well to be strictly accurate it had two advisories on the the rear hubs have a small amount of play but nothing serious), though that is not to say the car is perfect as the brake light is now on.
As ever with project cars, its one step forward two back.
Its a shame that I'm taking it back to the car storage place later, but least I can drive it again.
The MOT passed with flying colours (well to be strictly accurate it had two advisories on the the rear hubs have a small amount of play but nothing serious), though that is not to say the car is perfect as the brake light is now on.
As ever with project cars, its one step forward two back.
Its a shame that I'm taking it back to the car storage place later, but least I can drive it again.
Big shout out to Chris at Back to Life cars for all the hard work on the conversion, he truly went beyond the call of duty on this project. If you're looking for a mechanic in Essex that you can trust and has no fear of unusual car related request - Chris is your guy.
http://www.backtolifecars.com/
If you haven't (or didnt fancy trawling through the entire thread) you can see all of the stages of the work on his website:
http://www.backtolifecars.com/index.php?page=1989%...
http://www.backtolifecars.com/
If you haven't (or didnt fancy trawling through the entire thread) you can see all of the stages of the work on his website:
http://www.backtolifecars.com/index.php?page=1989%...
Edited by LincolnLovin on Thursday 24th April 21:41
The brake warning light has been on since the mot and whilst the brakes work after a fashion the pedal is spongey.
I asked Chris to check out the brake system and see what could be causing the issue.
First things first it seems that two of the wheel cylinders are leaking slightly:
The drivers and passsenger side brake nipple has seen better days
He also noticed that one of the studs has snapped off:
Both the fuel lines and the brake lines are corroded and will need replacement in the future but in the meantime once these repairs are done the car should come to a stop with a little more haste!
More info as I get it.
I asked Chris to check out the brake system and see what could be causing the issue.
First things first it seems that two of the wheel cylinders are leaking slightly:
The drivers and passsenger side brake nipple has seen better days
He also noticed that one of the studs has snapped off:
Both the fuel lines and the brake lines are corroded and will need replacement in the future but in the meantime once these repairs are done the car should come to a stop with a little more haste!
More info as I get it.
Great read, I've been looking for my dad's old Audi 200 5T for a while but suspect it's either a cube or helping a few other cars stay on the road. He had it in the early 80s and was the car that took my mum to hospital when I was born. He also got done for speeding that day 
Looked kinda like this
Since he died in 98, I've been looking for as many of the Audis that he had but with most of them being written off or left to rust by subsequent owners, I've had to look for similar cars. I've got an 86 80cl with 60k miles on the clock and just got a hold of an 85 90cd in silver with a 2.0 5 pot.
Looked kinda like this
Since he died in 98, I've been looking for as many of the Audis that he had but with most of them being written off or left to rust by subsequent owners, I've had to look for similar cars. I've got an 86 80cl with 60k miles on the clock and just got a hold of an 85 90cd in silver with a 2.0 5 pot.
Car ownership.
For people with a passion for cars, its often a complex relationship that contains only brief moments of joy when everything just works, interspersed with long periods of pain and financial misery. Highs and lows, peaks and troughs (swings and roundabouts?).
It is in these dark moments, when looking at the latest pile of receipts you wonder just why you are investing so much when the result is often startlingly similar to repeatedly smacking your head against a brick wall.
It's for moments like these, I've just got back from my first proper drive in the Town Car.
It's been a long time since I have driven it without fear of existing faults flaring up or the car developing some new dynamic way to extract cash from my wallet. Where the car just goes where I want it without warning lights or sparks, smoke and flames.
I just went for a drive!
A drive of no purpose, rhyme or reason, one that was not either going to the mechanics or heading to its storage place. For the last three years that the car has once again been in my ownership I have been scared to take it out on the road, for fear or what would be next to go wrong.
Today I switched the radio on, pointed the car out of Southend and just rode the rutted strip of tarmac that is the A127. Granted its not the most dramatic of road trips and it was only thirty minutes or and sure there are still bits to replace or upgrade but I cannot tell you what it means to have confidence in the car once again.
Oh, whilst the full power of the upgrades cant be felt from pulling away, you can certainly tell the difference on kick down
.
Its going to be a good summer, hopefully I'll get the car out to a few shows and gatherings.
For people with a passion for cars, its often a complex relationship that contains only brief moments of joy when everything just works, interspersed with long periods of pain and financial misery. Highs and lows, peaks and troughs (swings and roundabouts?).
It is in these dark moments, when looking at the latest pile of receipts you wonder just why you are investing so much when the result is often startlingly similar to repeatedly smacking your head against a brick wall.
It's for moments like these, I've just got back from my first proper drive in the Town Car.
It's been a long time since I have driven it without fear of existing faults flaring up or the car developing some new dynamic way to extract cash from my wallet. Where the car just goes where I want it without warning lights or sparks, smoke and flames.
I just went for a drive!
A drive of no purpose, rhyme or reason, one that was not either going to the mechanics or heading to its storage place. For the last three years that the car has once again been in my ownership I have been scared to take it out on the road, for fear or what would be next to go wrong.
Today I switched the radio on, pointed the car out of Southend and just rode the rutted strip of tarmac that is the A127. Granted its not the most dramatic of road trips and it was only thirty minutes or and sure there are still bits to replace or upgrade but I cannot tell you what it means to have confidence in the car once again.
Oh, whilst the full power of the upgrades cant be felt from pulling away, you can certainly tell the difference on kick down
.Its going to be a good summer, hopefully I'll get the car out to a few shows and gatherings.
Edited by LincolnLovin on Thursday 5th June 21:22
I've not driven it as much as I hoped this year but it's sitting on my driveway of my new house (one of the reasons it's not been driven).
I've just replaced the front indicators with clear units and I've begun the list of items for 2016:
New exhaust headers (already purchased)
New exhaust
Complete suspension overhaul
New gear set (3.73 ratio?)
New 3 point seat belts front and rear
Brightwork/bodywork inspection and respray
I've just replaced the front indicators with clear units and I've begun the list of items for 2016:
New exhaust headers (already purchased)
New exhaust
Complete suspension overhaul
New gear set (3.73 ratio?)
New 3 point seat belts front and rear
Brightwork/bodywork inspection and respray
Next up is to sort out the headlight wiring, there's a long known issue where the headlights work intermittently when the engine is running.
The cause of this is due to the headlight switch overheating, the solution is to add in a relief wiring harness - I ordered one from the USA and am now in the process of modifying it to fit.
The cause of this is due to the headlight switch overheating, the solution is to add in a relief wiring harness - I ordered one from the USA and am now in the process of modifying it to fit.
So with some spare time over Xmas (a whole two hours), I wanted to fix the headlight issue that has stopped me being able to use the car in Winter. Essentially the headlights work great, as long as you don't have the engine on. Soon after you start the car the sidelights/dipped will begin to flash/alternate:
https://youtu.be/r4Bq9HY1nk8
This is a fairly common problem with the Town Car and is a combination of poor grounds and ancient wiring, the solution came from the USA in the form of a relay harness. It came with new replacement relays and looks a hell of a lot better than the random assortment of wires that somehow make the lights work (more on that later):
I set about getting the relay harness sorted as it didn't come with the right connectors for the TC, its not going to be the nicest looking job until I get everything working:
Now after a few hours trimming and stripping various wires in the car, I finally had everything hooked up and the lights work.....
....to an extent.
Whilst they do indeed come on and stay on, so did the indicator (as show in the above picture), even if the indicator was off. The only thing I had changed with them was to plug in a disconnected ground wire. I removed it and hey presto the indicator worked. This gives you an indication of the state of the wiring in this car.
So how about the rest of the lights? Do they work?
Kind of? Only the dipped works when the car is on, but all the rest of the headlights (hazards, dipped and sidelights), work whilst the car is off.
The adventure continues!
https://youtu.be/r4Bq9HY1nk8
This is a fairly common problem with the Town Car and is a combination of poor grounds and ancient wiring, the solution came from the USA in the form of a relay harness. It came with new replacement relays and looks a hell of a lot better than the random assortment of wires that somehow make the lights work (more on that later):
I set about getting the relay harness sorted as it didn't come with the right connectors for the TC, its not going to be the nicest looking job until I get everything working:
Now after a few hours trimming and stripping various wires in the car, I finally had everything hooked up and the lights work.....
....to an extent.
Whilst they do indeed come on and stay on, so did the indicator (as show in the above picture), even if the indicator was off. The only thing I had changed with them was to plug in a disconnected ground wire. I removed it and hey presto the indicator worked. This gives you an indication of the state of the wiring in this car.
So how about the rest of the lights? Do they work?
Kind of? Only the dipped works when the car is on, but all the rest of the headlights (hazards, dipped and sidelights), work whilst the car is off.
The adventure continues!
Just read this from start to finish - very entertaining and well written, thank you. I also see that's it's fast becoming the dead dads car hub for other forum members! I'd love to find my old man's Citreon Maserati SM, but I don't know anything about it other than it was white with red leather interior!
Keep up the amazing work ll - your positivity and tenacity is most inspiring!
Keep up the amazing work ll - your positivity and tenacity is most inspiring!
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