tedlit

Sterling 827 (S, Si, SL, SLi)

This is meant to be a list of parts that are commonly available in the US that match the original specs for the somewhat “rarer” British cars that are still on the road. Often, there are NAS parts specific that are made of finest unobtainium, when generic replacements are widely available. I’ll keep the posts updated, but mostly they’re for me. 🙂

The car with most in common to the Sterling 827 is the 1990 Acura Legend. There’s some commonality with other years…. but only *some*.

Auto trans: Only the autobox from a ’90 Legend will fit. The earlier and later Legends have a different end cap, and WILL NOT fit in the Sterling without serious monkeying around, changing of cam speed sensors, etc. It’s really not worth the effort. Trust me. 🙂

Exhaust: Rear pipes from an 86-90 Legend will fit, and the rear section from a Legend LS model even has the correct two exit pipes. Other models only had a single exit pipe… but they’ll all do.

Tailgate struts: 87-89 Range Rover ones are similar.

By tedlit, ago

Rover 3500 SD1

This is meant to be a list of parts that are commonly available in the US that match the original specs for the somewhat “rarer” British cars that are still on the road. Often, there are NAS parts specific that are made of finest unobtainium, when generic replacements are widely available. I’ll keep the posts updated, but mostly they’re for me. 🙂

  • Fuel Filter: Fram G15, Delco GF451, WIX 5011, Bosch 0450905002. Two needed for some reason.
  • Oxygen sensor: Bosch 258001026, Standard SG8, Delphi ES20022, Autolite 02822, NTK25040. Two required,
    one for each side.
  • Air Filter: England 348, BAP 11-04030, Crosland 9031
  • Inertia switch: 1xC41220
  • Oil Filter: NAPA 5151, Purolator PER-5, FCO-18, VIA 329
  • Spark plug: Bosch W8DC
  • Ballast resistor: Lucas 9BR, 47255A
  • Coil: Lucas 23C12
  • A/C Thermal Cutout Switch – Standard STS1 – same as 72-77 Corvette and most XJ6’s, oddly enough.
  • A/C control panel microswitches – likely Honeywell clone of original Burgess switches, no number yet. As long as only one has “blown”, they can safely be bypassed though.
  • Tailgate struts: mid-80s Trans Am. Yes, really. They’re about $8 each.
By tedlit, ago

Hens teeth

The Triumph 2000 was a common car all over Europe in the 1970’s – Triumph sold over 300,000 of them between 1963 and 1977, and they were fairly perennial in most Shut It You’re Nicked TV shows during that period. However, that doesn’t translate to the US – Triumph attempted to sell them into the US market during some undefined period in the 1960s. I haven’t been able to find out precisely when, but all three of mine were registered in 1967.

Three, you say? Yes, that’s right. I don’t know how many were sold, but there’s never more than one or two at the various shows and I know a handful of people in the sunny Pacific Northwest that keep ’em running. For such an uncommon car, it’s not all that difficult – the engine is all GT6 (or TR6 at a 500cc-higher push), and brakes are similar enough to Stag that there’s some degree of commonality. The Stag is, of course, an evolution of the mk2 Triumph 2000… but that’s another story entirely.

This particularly sad and lonely vehicle is a 1967 in Leyland White with black interior and moss accessories. Given the terminal rust on the doors and the fact that around 50% of the engine is in the boot, it’s a total shock to find that a) the carpets are just fine, and b) the seats are almost perfect under all the dust. This one has sat since about 2001, when it suffered some kind of compression loss and the subsequent repair was abandoned. Unfortunately, sitting for ten years with the head off means the engine is a now a large piece of seized scrap iron, which is a shame.

This car was the “get one free” on a “buy this car, you have to take that one as well” deal. More on the other one to come.

By tedlit, ago

The World of Blue

So blue. It's the bluest thing EVER.

I haven’t been entirely shirking responsibility over the winter. Gearboxes have been changed, cars have come and gone, and one car in particular is in the middle of a transformation from “beige and bondo” to “bluest thing ever”.

It’s one of those finishes that’s supposed to be “pearl” – ie, it’s got more than one colour in it – but frankly, I’m not seeing the green myself. It’s ever so slightly metallic, and it’s absolutely gorgeous.. but it’s hard work. I had no idea how easy it was to remove windows from ancient Detroit iron, but apparently all that’s needed is a big screwdriver and a moderate amount of swearing.

By tedlit, ago

Hair today, gone tomorrow

This is another one of those cars I just accidentally bought one day. It happens annoyingly frequently to me, and most people just won’t believe it’s possible to purchase a car by accident. I can assure you it is, as the state of my driveway currently will testify.

I’d heard about this particular car third-hand, but was put-off specifically by all the issues I’d had with another Jaguar in the recent past.. that and the guy selling it was something of a character, but you take that as normal now.

Anyway, it’s a 1998 Jaguar XJ-S v12:

Reddest thing ever?

It’s got 70-something k on it and about two years ago it had a full pro respray in OEM Grenadier Red. The seller claimed it had taken a full week of wet sanding and re-cutting to get it looking this good.. and boy, does it look good. The paint is absolutely flawless, and it’s a red that’s just different enough to be interesting.

Unfortunately, spending several grand on a paint job means you can’t afford to fix any of the car’s actual problems. The seats are a bit worn, the dash wood has seen better days, one of the rockers has a minor oil leak, and it’s got no headliner. Yes, really.. the headliner is gone, leaving you looking up at the shiny fibreglass backing pad that’s supposed to have foam and over-ostentatious cloth trim affixed to it.

Mechanically, it’s a mixed bag too. The car was actually taken off the road because of a severe brake fluid leak (which is as good a reason as any), which turned out to be a bodged back brake union. Jaguars with inboard brakes are notoriously difficult to work on, and hacks such as this are all too common.. especially when Jaguar want $90 for a four-inch piece of brake pipe. Also, I suppose the complete absence of any rubber in the transmission mount did go some way to explain the annoying clonking every time you drive over anything resembling a bump.

On the other hand, all of these little niggles have now been fixed, and it ventured gingerly out onto the road for the first time yesterday. I love XJ-S’s, especially the late 80s ones – partly because they’re downright sexy and a blast to drive, but mostly because they’re one of the few cars that actually look fast when they’re sitting still.

Oh, what to do.. what to do.

By tedlit, ago

Proof that I don’t always drive superior British cars? It’s real

In response to some utterly unfounded and frankly libellous statements suggesting that I refuse to drive any car that isn’t a) British, and b) at least partially broken, I present the following evidence:

The wheels are real.

This is a 2009 Mustang GT, pictured at Muir Beach, CA on November 5th 2009. There’s a fine British pub here, where they have a giant bonfire every November 5th. I just happened to be in San Francisco for more fun training that week, and just happened to have a free evening to watch people set fire to things on the beach. Enormous fun for all and I have the best Mobile mechanic Miami has.

Anyway, back to the car. I had (through work, obviously) reserved a hip-and-trendy Toyota Corolla, doubtless in grey on grey and fitted with the optional economy light and go-slower stripes. I would not have been surprised had it come with pipe and slippers. However, after making friends with the extremely bored girl at the Hertz desk in downtown SF, I found myself in possession of the above electric blue Mustang and an entire day to kill. So, after spending two hours waiting at the Sprint repair centre for my phone to be fixed (number six now), I sped off over the Golden Gate in search of a proper driving road.

(If your mental image at this point is one of wide open spaces, glorious sunshine, and stoned people selling taffy – you’re sadly wrong. This was early November, so all the tourists had gone home and it was raining)

I know virtually nil about the geography of the Bay Area, except how to get places by train – so this was new to me. I know the 101 is the popular road, but this is nothing more than a four-lane mess clogged with RVs, trailers, caravans, minivans, and Subaru drivers. Highway 1 seemed like a much better bet, particularly as it looked like spaghetti on the map. So, after marvelling at the scenery once clear of Sausalito, I attempted to figure out what the manual gearbox was for and set off towards the beach.

This particular part of California looks a lot like North Devon. Twisty, narrow roads full of potholes.. 20mph speed limits through the villages but virtually none in between.. light but constant drizzle.. and a sheer dropoff one side of the road all the way to the coast. Obviously, this was a recipe for over-enthusiastic driving and I found myself at the beach rather too quickly. The car growls, it whines, it groans, it screeches – and occasionally it clunks and coughs as its suspension came straight out of 1955. I’m not sure if Ford were trying to recreate the feeling that you were in some way driving the school bully, but that’s very much what it feels like.

I put 250 miles on that car that day, just driving round the bay and attempting to get over the Bay Bridge before any more of it fell down. Enormous fun, but don’t tell anyone.

By tedlit, ago

Cars I miss, but shouldn’t – #1

Things I miss, but shouldn’t – #1. The 1993 Rover Vitesse.

I bought this little wonder in 2004 as a stop-gap measure whilst commuting weekly to Oxford and waiting for the Primera to get fixed. It cost me a hundred and eighty quid, and came with a years’ MoT. Of course, I’d find out later that there’s no way it should’ve ever passed, but it had the enormous benefit of being big, comfy, able to hold a week’s worth of my crap, and – most importantly – working air conditioning. It also had an oh-so-manly boot spoiler, but we won’t talk about that.

This particular one was a 2-litre turbo that hadn’t really been mucked about with, but was shovelling out around 230bhp. Not a lot by most modern performance car standards, but if you could tolerate the gearbox whine it’d do 140mph without complaining. Supposedly.

It was one of the last things we sold before moving to the US in 2006, and I actually made twenty quid back on it in the process. I put 20k on it in that time, and it is sorely missed, at least partly because it left many any M3 owner open-mouthed at having been overtaken by something as common and rubbish as a Rover.

I’d love to have one again – but sadly the Sterling is about as close as I’m going to get, seeing as US sales stopped in 1991 – right as the mk2 was introduced. On the other hand, free imports start at 21 years old.. so only another two years to go. Will there be any left that haven’t rusted away by then?

Seems unlikely.

By tedlit, ago