overheat

Ugliest headlights ever.. entry #22

This is a(nother) 1980 Rover SD1 3500. For some reason, I keep ending up with them.. this is my third.

Don't my headlights look fantastic?

 

This one lived in Salem before I got my grubby mitts on it, and spent a while sitting in a field. Unlike the other SD1 I had a couple of years ago, this one is a NAS model and is totally stock.. hence the slightly cross-eyed front end and the correct wheels. It’s also been oddly resprayed in its original colour of Platinum (oh really, British Leyland?), but fortunately still has the original awesome two-tone brown velour interior.

It had the usual electrical gremlins, which required a bunch of relays, a Jaguar XJ6 fuel pump, and lots of swearing. It now drives and stops when it’s supposed to, and doesn’t seem over-inclined to catching fire.  So far, it’s only moved around the driveway and back, but as it’s got a bizarre custom exhaust system it sounds a bit.. well.. frisky.

It also doesn’t seem to overheat. For now.

Look at that velour porn.

 

By admin, ago

Once bitten…

I’ve had six Triumph Stags now. I currently have three, and none of them are driveable. I haven’t driven one (legally) on the road since 2004. They are a nightmare from every single conceivable angle, and any sane person would run a mile from them.

However, last week I did this.

 

I don't really like wire wheels either.

This is a ’71 Stag. It’s supposed to be Carmine Red, but some genius has had it resprayed in a hideous pink/red metallic flip, and then sanded a bunch of it down where the paint guy took a tea break. It’s got its original drivetrain, the interior is fairly good, and the soft top hasn’t seen an erection since 1981.

Unfortunately, seeing as it’s got its original drivetrain, it doesn’t run right. It would barely cough and wheeze its way onto a trailer last month, and the previous “owner” had a bunch of head work done in order to fix a problem that’s nothing to do with the head. Fortunately, I no longer have to worry about burnt exhaust valves – instead, I have to deal with a blown water pump graphite seal, different height head gaskets, a badly-skimmed inlet manifold, and a front choke secured with zip ties.. and that’s before I get to any of the obstacles British Leyland or Lucas put in the way of being the world’s best car.

Clarkson has a point. The Triumph v8 is a total dog of an engine. Sure, in running order, it’s fantastic.. and to some extent, the problems are well understood and fixes are available.. but for most people, ripping the damn thing out and stuffing a small block Chevy in there is the obvious option. Ignoring the enormous weight difference, it is far simpler to work on.

The more obvious global fix is the Rover v8 – which probably should’ve been in there in the first place – and sheer pigheadedness is what prevented it from being in there in the first place. Go British Leyland, eh.

By admin, ago

The Land Rover Freelander… done right.

This is a 1998 Freelander. It’s red, and was ours for about three years. It’s a 2.0 diesel, and is still on the road twelve years later. It had criminally poor A/C, but got 40mpg consistently and never broke down. It would pull just about anything, and was superb both on and off road.

This is also a Freelander. It’s a 2002 2.5 v6, and we’ve owned it since 2006. It’s currently got 87k on it.

Despite these cars look pretty much identical, the difference between them is like night and day. The 1998 was a joy to own, and the 2002 has been an absolute nightmare from start to finish. Just search on any Craigslist or eBay for v6 Freelanders, and you will find hundreds described as “mechanics special” or “for repair”.. largely because the problems these things have are so chronic the cheapest thing to do normally is to sell it to some poor unsuspecting Internet buyer who sees the Land Rover badge and thinks the worst they’re in for is some finest British electrical problems.

Oh no. Not even close. Head gasket failure, timing belt failure, thermostat housings that crack leading to either of the above, slipped cylinder liners, rattly manifolds, broken VIS motors, wobbly differential mounts, seized viscous couplings, dodgy ABS.. and all of that before you even hear the magic words “Lucas Electronics”.

A truly rewarding vehicle if you maintain it meticulously (by which I mean throw the factory schedule out of the window and at *least* double the amount of servicing work you do). If you ignore it for a *second*, it will spew all of its coolant all over Highway 30 and leave you stranded in a foul-smelling cloud of coolant and oil fumes.

Shame on you, Land Rover.

By tedlit, ago