Been a long, long time since I updated this properly. Been a long time, for a number of reasons, since I've had the enthusiasm to really think about it. But, I'm back.

Today's plans were to pull her out and sort her out....then saw a Facebook post on a group from someone offering free appliance collection....got a dead Freezer and tumble drier in the garage so it turned into an impromptu garage tidying session. Buggy had a flat battery anyhow so stuck it on charge and cracked on with the garage. You know when you wish you'd never started something? Still, I got all the 306 parts that had been living in the buggy put away properly.

Anyhow, by about 4pm, I'm just about done and the heavens opened. Arse in hands I went inside. Came back out later tonight and the battery was charged. Turned over and over, wouldn't start. Had popped the fuse on the coil circuit and realised I'd drained the tank down when I put it away last time. D'oh. Fuse and fuel, off she went. Lifters went quiet pretty quickly and idled OK. Good.

Checked all the electrics. I know I've some work to do for the drivers side rear light and number plate light so no surprise they didn't work. Indicators and hazards all fine. Front sides and dipped OK. No driver's side main or spots. Bugger. Swapped bulbs side to side, problem remained. A wiring issue then. Pulled all the fuses for the lights to check. One wasn't great. Bit of emery paper on all the contacts and back in, hey presto. All the front lights work. Put her away feeling pleased with myself...

So, to do.....

Fixing the rear light wiring
Fit new stud and sort new nut for the front passenger side wheel
Fit the Porsche arms
Sort the steering wheel and horn out (need a new grant boss kit I think)
Get MOT'd, taxed and insured
Order some new carb jets, oil filter and spare fan belt from the states
Find some unions and a jucntion block and replace the soft fuel lines with hard lines I've bent up
Get the fuelling sorted on the rolling road in Northampton
New rear tyres 275/60/15
Get the AS code gearbox built and fitted.
Sort the wind wing glass out and sort out a little idea I have for them
Think about weather gear
Drive the bloody thing!

I'm sure there will be more to do but I'm definitely planning on getting out and about plenty in it this year. Have asked Chad if he has any space to do a proper wiring job on it at the end of this year. Never been properly happy with some of the wiring and then the change to alternator when the Vair engine went in added some more which needs sorting properly.

Good to hear you're back in to it pal

The world needs more flat 6! Glad you're starting to crack on. Look forward to seeing the progress

Quote from: apmaman on May 22, 2016, 09:33:28 PM
The world needs more flat 6!

Isn't that the truth, although I do kinda like the relative exclusivity!!!

HI Mate.

Been busy all day and only just saw your text and this post, sorry.

Happy to have a look at a wiring job but will have to be after September as a few things going on before then and Ruth still has more treatment planned around that time too.

Chad

Chad,

Absolutely fine with that timeline bud. I did wonder if you might have some stuff going on. I'll catch up with you at the next miss meet if thasts OK?

Yes mate no problem and glad you are back with us.

Chad

Good news 

Front end all lit up after reseating a fuse.....



Now in the garage, not full of bits of 306 Rallye....



Like the wife, she's got a fine arse!

Still in the garage, still hasn't moved, still have the inclination, still don't have the time.

So it's deffo coming out this year (like Andre....) and it's deffo gonna get some miles on the clock. No point having it sat in the garage all summer, again...

Time is pushed at the mo. Working out near Worcester now and have been working weekends for the last 3 weeks and the next one at least as I've two abroad stag dos in two consectutive weekends in May to pay for.....

It definitely needs the engine servicing and setting up before I do anything. Needs the oil and filter and dropping and then the fuelling sorting. 12mpg isn't fun. Ever. So I need to sort a rolling road session with someone old enough to remember carbs.....

New tyres this year hopefully too.

Nice to see your getting her ready for summer, be good to see you both out and about.

Quote from: Shaggy on March 01, 2017, 09:08:03 PM
Nice to see your getting her ready for summer, be good to see you both out and about.

WHS^

It would be great to see you and the buggy again. 

Hope I get to meet you and the buggy again this year ...... its nice to meet normal sized people and discuss the challenges of fitting in a buggy    I am determined to finally do a seat change this year as I really do find it uncomfortable on long journeys and I have to make it easier ..... can you believe I have even contemplated loosing weight !!!!

So, after a long, long slumber, the buggy came out of the garage and into the daylight for the first time in a very long time.

It was filthy. Dusty, dirty, and 18 months of accumulated grime. So the first job was to get the battery out and on charge and get the damn thing clean.













Yeah, not good. So, it got cleaned from top to bottom. Washed, rinsed, dried, glass cleaned, chrome/stainless polished then got busy stripping down the carbs. Last time it ran it was rough as a badgers arse on idle one one bank. This will be why.....Float bowl contents. .



Not a clue what it is as i run two filters between tank and carbs but got a good clean out and found a blocked idle jet on the driver's side bank. Cleaned out, took the opportunity to polish the fan shroud whilst the cards were off...

Whilst it was off, i could see the extra work done to the carbs by the guy who built them, even down to knife edging the bits that sit in the airflow...





The carb bodies have been what looks to be smoothed and flowed to aid air flow too....

Tomorrow.all about fresh fuel, fully charged battery and ignition!

It's been 2 years since this saw the road. Variety of reasons, some of which a couple of you know about so I hope you'll understand. Life is much improved these days. Still not without challenge and not so good days but no meds and generally better feel about life and the future.

Which brings me nicely to my buggy. Other than my daughter, I think this will be the one thing in life I'll always be proud of, and no matter what, it will always be there. Two years she's waited patiently until I've been ready to enjoy it again. It's been a while, with a few false starts, but I'm ready.

So, on lighter note......I spent two very enjoyable hours twirling spanners Friday night, whilst the wife was out and the daughter was playing out with her friends where I could see her, putting the suspension, subframe and wheels back onto the Rallye and lifting it off the axle stands and getting it back onto 4 wheels. I even figured out how to reconnect the steering rack which turned out to be so simple I felt rather stupid for not figuring it out before. Far easier to steer a car with the steering wheel than trying to steer the wheels by hand as you are pushing it.

Sunday morning the sun was shining.....tidied the garden ready for friends round for a BBQ late afternoon and then wheeled the Rallye up the drive. Gave it a quick wash and parked it on the lawn. Wife wasn't best pleased. Oh well. Quick brew and then rolled the buggy out of the garage. Battery had been flat before but 24 hours on charge should have sorted that. Rolled the buggy back into the sun and reconnected the battery.

Today was all about recommissioning and benchmarking the state of it for MOT. With the battery connected, two turns of the ignition switch and the oil/battery light came on. Fuel pump whirred into life. Signs were good. A number of pumps of the throttle linkage to fill the float bowls and then a further turn of the key. Within less than a second, she sparked into life, chugging a couple of times until she grumbled away at idle as she always did. Brilliant.

Let it run for a bit and warm up. She's never entirely happy from cold as the choke linkages have been taken off (not really needed on a buggy) and without the vac tube connected from the dizzy, (long story involving me stripping carbs to clean them, then forgetting to reconnect the vac tube and burning it on the exhaust so it's now too short...) timing gets a bit off as you increase the revs as the vac advance isn't doing its thing...no biggy though. Lifters seem to have retained some pressure from when I started it in March as it didn't tap it fits off for 5 minutes after start up.

Turned it off and then moved onto checking all the lights and stuff. Connection on a spotlight needed cleaning was all the lights required. Needed some help to check the brake lights so asked the wife to jump in and press the brake pedal. 10s and nothing. 'Press the pedal' i said. 'I am' said the wife. 'Are you sure, I've got no brake lights' I queried. 'Yes' was the reply, followed by 'im pressing the pedal on the left'......... 'That being the clutch' I replied, drily.......'oh, I thought it was different in the buggy' came the response.......Lord, give me strength.

Once the correct pedal was pressed, the brake lights worked. Oh good. Indicators didn't want to play at first, was the plug to the stalk unit needed seating properly.

Only things that I know need doing are the horn wiring (had a new steering wheel last year), rear number plate light (a broken wire, 5 mins with the soldering iron will fix that) and the vac advance tube. Two or three hours at most.

Then I got busy cleaning. Had a wash not long ago so didn't wash again. Got the flex out, with a black pad and the S40. Polished and buffed off, then got a coat of OCD Nebula wax













A very quick road test to check the brake (end of the close and back) and all was good (bar the stuttering due to the vac tube). I'm off this week so hopefully MOTd, taxed and driving on the road by Saturday.

Going tonight a few shiny bits from Limebug/Flatlands to satisfy the chromosexual in me. Also need to get a service kit from the states and a pair of new carb jets from the guy who built my carbs. As much as I love that 6 pot lump, I just cannot life with 12mpg..... especially if I want to put some miles on it. Long story on that one but if you read my engine build thread, you'll see that we had an issue that had all the hallmarks of running lean, so drilled the jets out, only to later discover a it was a points plate issue throwing the timing out. Decided to leave the jets in whilst running it in as overfuelling and cooler running at that stage isn't a bad idea. She's run in now so when I get the new jets, it will then need taking somewhere for a rolling road set up as I think there is plenty more to come from this lump.