In article <"051413B176136001*/c=us/admd= /prmd=Cat/o=NOTES/s=Gosling/g
=Richard/i=B/"@MHS>, Richard B Gosling <Gosling_Richard_B@perkins.com>
writes
>Mike,
>
>Well, we did think you had picked up a bit of a bargain - this is starting to
> sound like payback time...
Yes, I guess so. :-(
>
>If it makes you feel any better, after I bought Daffy 2 1/2 years ago I was
> fixing major things almost continually. New engine when the big end went 3
> months after I bought her, O/D that was very slow to engage and then would
> jump in and out so I kangarooed along, window mechanism that collapsed so the
> window just flopped around, headlamp dip switch that flopped around, and
> mostly fell into the 'flash' position so draining the battery when parked,
> failed alternator, failed battery.... I think this may be what hits you if
> you get a car at the cheaper end of the market and then use her every day -
> all the weak points start to show up.
That seems fair enough. Actually, I'd rather all the weak points show
up in the beginning, and then know that she's likely to go for a while
without problems.
> Don't worry, after 4 or 5 months you
> should have eliminated all the weak points and she will get much better, I
> promise.....
February, March, April, May, June - damn, I've got at least another
fortnight, and possibly six weeks of this!
>
>As for the exhaust, get stainless.
Too late. I grabbed the only tailpipe in Bedford last night
(#75+VAT!!) just to get me back on the road.
> Given that it is only about 25% more
> expensive than mild steel, I am constantly amazed that any Spits still have
> mild steel exhausts fitted. You might as well replace the whole thing at
> once, as the old bits will all go eventually, and it is cheaper to buy a
> complete system at once than get them bit-by-bit.
Tell me about it! I'm tempted to buy a stainless system in
anticipation of the old one going again, but there is a limit to the
number of spares I am prepared to pack into the boot.
>
>The S/S system I got from TRGB (100 quid +VAT) did have a weakness - the pipe
> leading into the silencer fatigued off where the pipe welds to the silencer.
> I took it back to TRGB, had no silencer for 4 days (NOISY!), and it was
> returned all welded up nicely with an extra support welded in. I don't know
> if this is a common failure, just thought I'd warn you.
If I can get a complete St. St. system from TRGB for that sort of money,
I might change my mind about what I'm prepared to keep in stock...
BTW, I've tracked down the mysterious "Spitfire specialist" in southern
Bedfordshire. They're called "G.B. Sports Cars" and are in Billington
(a tiny village near Leighton Buzzard). I shall go and inspect them
tomorrow, once Carly has had her new windscreen fitted, and will report
back...
ATB
--
Mike
Michael Hargreave Mawson, author of "Eyewitness in the Crimea"
http://www.greenhillbooks.com/booksheets/eyewitness_in_the_crimea.html
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