Fiat 500

[JayCeeDee]

The joy of Malta was always its people. We loved them and they ( for real ) loved us Brits. It made for a welcome change when the hand that was proffered was to help you on or off the bus/boat/whatever wasn’t expecting a tip in return as per many of the Canaries and Greek Isles etc…..

One of the waiters at our resort offered to take our son horse riding on the beach with his children. We were initially wondering what ulterior motive he may have had – after all you don’t just hand your child over to a ‘stranger’ – but he put our mind to rest when he said if we were concerned, we could drop him off at their house. He went on to say that there was very little trouble from ‘dodgy folk’ as if anything looked likely to occur the men from the village gathered to have a word with the offender and that was the end of that.

The good old days!!

[Bob Williams]

Richard, more about corrosion and rust proofing.

Until my last Mk.1 GTXLR, I had owned several Ford Capri’s. The 1600 GTXLR I bought as a wreck, was a classic and a good one fetches serious money today, but I rebuilt to a very high standard then sold it because I could not refuse the money offered. This is the model I am talking about: unfortunately I have no pics of the one I owned, but this is in the same colour. Note the price – and this one is way off concourse!

http://tinyurl.com/y38ao3yo

That GTXLR was my penultimate Capri. My last one was a 1.6 GT in the same colour, bought on an impulse I came to regret. I always used to check the undersides and bodywork of cars I bought: the GTXLR I had spent time on, replacing and rebuilding with new metal, lots of welding. I used proper Ford panels and listed everything. I stripped the floorpan of all paint, mastic and rust proofing, down to bare metal, then the body shop lads bare-metalled the body and repainted in the correct yellow, the name of which is lost to me. The vinyl roof responded well to boot “Dubbing” which was used on the old leather football boots. It soaked in and came up a treat, better than shoe polish, which gives it a fake, shiny appearance.

Unfortunately I did not carry out the same work and attention to the GT, as I was by then beginning to rebuild my next project: a low mileage Sierra Ghia 2.3 Estate, which was in 3 pieces at the back of our compound and I needed a Ford bodyshell to build that. The GT had been treated with something called “Cadullac” which was supposed to be a very good anti-corrosion coating, On the ramp, it was black and quite thick, so after an inspection I had one of the lads MOT it and just used it. During the funeral of a much-loved Aunt, in heavy rain, my cousin in the back seat complained about wet feet. After getting it home, I discovered the floor was cracked straight across the factory “bungs” which were holes with rubber grommets inserted. Further inspection revealed that the cadullac was like concrete, inflexible and set: as it could not flex with the body and floor, it cracked and let in water, which clung to the floorpan and chassis. And rotted it. I was going to scrap it, until I received a bit of news from a previous owner. I knew of course that the 5-speed box was from an American ‘Plymouth Cricket’ version of our Capri, as I knew that the velour interior was from a Ghia of some sort. What I had not known, was that the engine and box had been blueprinted as Specials during the time he had spent a lot of money on it. So I broke it myself and advertised it as parts. To my delight, I made more out of the parts than I paid for the whole car! It finally went as a shell: no glass, doors, trim, interior, to a scrapyard mate.

I loved those old Capris, because I thoroughly understood the engines, boxes, steering, brakes and suspension. I knew how to apply the best ‘tweaks to make them go, handle and stop. Fastest one I ever had was a RS 3.1 in Germany.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

Correction: the colour was Maize Yellow.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Tippon]

Bob Williams wrote:

The one job I would never carry out, was an engine flush.

Is that a complete no go Bob? My bike was stood for about six years in a garden before I got it, and I still get problems from time to time. I’ve been told that Sea Foam would probably help, but I trust your advice more 🙂

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sea-Foam-Motor-Tune-Engines/dp/B0002JN2EU

[Bob Williams]

I have never used Seafoam Nolan, but I do know from a bike mech mate of many years, that it was good for two stroke engines only. And then only for heavily carboned engines that had been stood for a long time. It should, according to my mate, be used in the first instance when the bike is initially being stored, then drained, without running, when it is going to be run again, filling with fresh oil, run engine for a few miles, change oil (and filter if applicable, or clean if not). See what this guy says about it:

This is what Amazon’s product description says:

” Product description
Sea Foam Motor Tune – Up. Works and performs instantly! 100% pure petroleum product for use in all gasoline and diesel engines, 2 and 4-cycle: Cleans dirty engine parts internally by removing harmful gums, varnish and carbon build-up; Removes moisture from oil crankcases and fuel tanks; Oxygen sensor safe; Stabilizes and conditions fuels to prevent becoming stale; Excellent for engine storage ”

In a 4-stroke engine, removing that varnish is what I was talking about. When it goes from the working surfaces, there is metal to metal wear, before oil can circulate around moving parts through the oilways. It isn’t noticeable for a while, but it does significantly reduce engine life. If it is an engine which is not expected to have much life left anyway, I would say use a Flush oil, but use one that is made for a 4-stroke engine. You have to remember also that removing carbon build up in an engine, then refilling with fresh oil and filter, can expose all those worn old seals that the krap was holding together. Then you get oil leaks.

All in all, you have to decide: is it a 4-stroke or a 2-stroke? Do you expect the bike to last you for at least a few more years, or just a year or two? If it’s a 2-stroke, go ahead. 4 stroke, no I wouldn’t unless it is not expected to last long anyway: get what miles you can from it.

Hope that helps!

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Tippon]

That’s brilliant, thanks Bob 🙂

[Richard]

Bob Williams wrote:

Fastest one I ever had was a RS 3.1 in Germany.

I am going to guess that was not the 3 litre one I hired from Hertz Rent-a-wreck when I was about to go to the airport years back. It was clearly due for a service (or the knackers yard). I knew something was wrong when the traffic lights changed and the old guy on a push-bike who must have been older than I am now, out dragged me to the next set of lights. Shame really as its image ‘sort of’ appealed  before that. I could struggle to get into the anything like that now. The physio I was promised to ease my hip problem has not materialised neither has a review appointment I was also promised ‘in three months time‘.

[Bob Williams]

You’re welcome Nolan. Hope it helped, it’s a contentious subject, not helped by some fake information on various websites.

Richard, the 3Litre Capri you mentioned was probably the British made one. Engine was a cast lump, almost twice as heavy as the German 3.1, which was derived from the 2.8Litre Cologne engine. Mated with a 5 speed box, that motor could be tuned to some really high BHP figures. Thanks to its much better power to weight ratio and much better suspension/steering, allied to bigger discs, it was an incredible performer. I took mine around the Nurburgring, thanks to an influential German best mate, and had an amazing drive. What an incredible motor that was, but you had to know how to handle a powerful RWD motor, as it is a totally different drive to a FWD performance car. Of all the cars I have ever owned, that is the one I would like to have back. Please!

Same Dagenham 3Litre lump was fitted to early Granadas: later ones had the 2.8 German engine, which made a big difference to Police cars. I had an ex-police 2.8 Granny for a while, went like ordure sliding from a garden implement but frightened my SWMBO when we first got together and was just too big. Sold it, bought a Marina….. Yes, I know, that did not last long!

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Richard]

Bob, I am pretty sure you are right, whatever engine that heap had most of the horses were stuck in a waterlogged pasture or so it felt to me.

[Bob Williams]

Richard wrote:

Bob, I am pretty sure you are right, whatever engine that heap had most of the horses were stuck in a waterlogged pasture or so it felt to me.

Of course there would be more to it than just the different engine Richard. Having reread your post about the experience, there must have been some severe mechanical/electrical issue: even the Dagenham 3 Litre engine was not that slow. I suspect poor (or no) maintenance. IIRC, that engine suffered from inattention to spark delivery -, coils, distributor rotor arms and HT leads being prime culprits. I recall repairing one in a Granada that had a cracked distributor cap. The 6 segments inside the cap were battered, as was the rotor arm. I have no idea how the car made it to our place, but it was there in our customer park when I opened up, note inside the windscreen from a regular customer – “HELP ME!” followed by “Start me up, find the problem, fix please.”

IMO the 2 Litre OHC Mk.1 Granadas were a much better car than the 3Litre engined ones. This thread is reviving some memories!?⚙?

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Richard]

Your comments sound right, it must have been about 1975 if I fit the calendar the right way round in my memory. It was one sick machine, it needed two shafts at the front with Dobbin or any good shire horse to do the work.

[JayCeeDee]

Bob Williams wrote:

IMO the 2 Litre OHC Mk.1 Granadas were a much better car than the 3Litre engined ones. This thread is reviving some memories!

You’re not wrong – that engine powered quite a few cars. I’m not sure whether it was basically the same engine in all models and variants, ( I’ve just checked HERE and it says the following ) :-

You’re likely to find a Pinto ( 2 Litre OHC ) in Mk3 / Mk4 / Mk5 Cortinas, Capris, Mk1 / Mk2 Escorts, Granadas and Transits. All engines have a rear-bowl sump with the RS2000s being alloy.

My mate used one of the RS2000’s in a speed boat for water ski-ing, taking the power out to the prop via a z-drive. It was insane!!

I did have an early ( pre-facelift ) L reg Capri GT but it only had the V4 engine.☹?

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