VIN 16583

[dclsteve]

You've twisted my arm!
I need to take the centre console out again so will take your advice.

[dclsteve]

Christmas time, misletoe and...bu**er that, I've been in the man-barn and putting in some serious hours putting Delores back together. So now she is gleaming and all in one piece (almost) ready for MOT and UK registration. Took her out (on a private road of course) for a test drive and the handbrake sort of works, its more of an eventual glide to a stop than having doughnut potential. I'll test it out on a rolling road before booking it in. The test drive also reminded me that the steering bush has a tad too much play so will replace that one, doesnt look *that* much of a problematic little task. Famous last words.
But I have with a minor niggle....the bonnet does not fit flush, its not bad, but it bugs me. I've removed the catch which had no effect so its either got a perfectly formed curve in it, or its something obvious I'm missing? Anyone got any ideas? I read on the US forum a rather dramatic method of bending the hood (its a bonnet chaps) with a pillow and a ratchet strap - but I dont really fancy trying that!
Although my restoration was fairly minor and as original as possible, I did decide to replace the instrument lights with LEDS (other than the battery one). Unless you have hands of a hobbit the lights are impossible to remove without taking out the binnacle so I went for longevity! The wobbly printed circuit also had a couple of broken tracks that needed repair so now all the lights work. I think the end result with the LED's looks OK? The dimmer switch is now more than an off/on as LEDs dont dim but as I do not envisage driving at night I'm happy!

[dclsteve]

View from the rear - resprayed louvres...

[Chris Williams]

Looks good, not sure about the bonnet thing, though I can add the weight if you need someone to lay on it :wink: I (along with loads of others) have also replaced the dash illumination with LED's and yes I think it's a great thing to do. Interesting that your car has metric instruments mind wonder if it was sent to Canada? (but so did mine for no clear reason?)
Chris

[SteveyP]

I did have a similar protruding and vibrating bonnet issue. Basically you need to lower the bonnet latch mechanism - and to do this you need to remove the lock mechanism totally (not very difficult at all - if I can do it any monkey can .) Once removed grab yourself a small metal file and file down the fixing holes on it. Basically you are elongating the fixing holes lower, thus creating a tighter fit for the bonnet.

If on the move you have some vibration issues too? Then raise the 2 rubber bump stops at either side (this requires some trial and error to make sure it is all level and operating correctly.) Raisng these stops a little has the effect of pulling the bonnet down in the middle, and also a desirable side effect of pinging open the bonnet when you pull the release handle.

As a side note, then also fitting a second latch cable could be a good thing to do whilst you have the mechanism off (just a precautionary measure really.)

Hope this helps

Steve

[dclsteve]

Chris - mine apparently went to Saudi from new, then to Sweden, but I've no documentation to support this (other than a lot of dust!). One of my tasks is to trace all the previous owners and try and piece the history together.
Steve - did ponder about moving the mechanism down a bit. But...after taking the latch off the bonnet does appear to be resting on the seals all the way round, and still sticks up at the edges, its almost as if the sides have warped! Good point about a back up cable - looks like a very dodgy situation if the cable breaks!

[SteveyP]

Steve - hmm, maybe have a chat with Chris Nicholson then. I'm sure he has experiences of this sort of thing before. He should be able to advise a way forward here.

Steve

[dclsteve]

Roll of drums, fanfare..etc. Passed MOT, no advisories. Only delayed because I needed to replace the steering bush, the dog managed to eat the first one as soon as it arrived so had to order another. Not sure what happened to the postman. Now see how long it takes for the DVLA to issue the V5.

[88mph]

Well done,
Got my MOT on Friday 10.30. I'm hoping it will pass but I haven't really checked things like bearings and ball-joints, so I'm using it as a fault finding mission & shall see what the man says.

[dclsteve]

Good luck! I did the same shake down MOT test on a old XJS thinking the list would be huge....and all it needs is a handbrake adjustment. Happy days!

[dclsteve]

Today ....The V5C arrived. #16581 is now HBA 641Y. Might even take it out for a drive now its legal!

[88mph]

Lucky bugger! Still waiting on mine.
Where you getting plates from?

[dclsteve]

In my girlish excitement in getting out into the open road, I have a bog standard set from Halfords. Its Sunday morning and I'm counting down the minutes to ring the insurance company with the new registration. Goggles and silk scarf are ready......

[dclsteve]

Well..... During the summer had great fun at a few car shows (runner up as best 80s car in one) and now back in the barn for the winter jobbies. . Need to re trim the seats and fix the auto transmission fluid leak. Oh and get the speedo working again. A regular task I believe!

[Guinney1971]

glad you've had fun with it, she's a nice looking car.

The Club doesn't do angle drive's any more, Speedograph weren't interested
in manufacturing a small batch, plus they were more expensive then ordering
from DMCH or John Hervey in the US.

We did however, modify a Mk1 Cavalier speedo cable that we got at an autojumble
for #2292, so my car finally has a working speedo for the first time since January 2008 :oops: :oops: :oops: