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Old 13th November 2019, 15:58   #406
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Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sutripta View Post
Not really. These pumps were selfheating! BMC normally located the pump in the boot.Near the fuel tank, away from the engine.
!
There are some cars where they are, for some reason, close to the engine. Let me see what I can find.

One of the modifications Pel makes to the SU pumps is also adding a varistor circuit as a thermal protection. He will measure the current drawn under normal operation and make the appropriate dimensioning. He also showed some examples of burned out coils. Apparently, he is the only one that has this standard fitted on all the pumps he overhauls. There are companies overhauling SU pumps, but according to Pel, nobody else adds this particular modification.

I asked him how much influence coil temperature would have on its resistance. He had no data as he measures under normal (room) ambient temperatures only.

The coil only gets activated to draw fuel from the tank. It is the spring that pushes the membrane back in (pressure stroke) and pushes the fuel toward the carburetor.

Not sure if poor adjustment of the contacts could result in the coil permanently being activated? (Would stop pumping obviously, but it would certainly heat up the coil).

I need to get my hand on Bernds old British car to take one apart and get some insights.

Jeroen
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Old 13th November 2019, 19:55   #407
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Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp

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Originally Posted by Jeroen View Post
There are some cars where they are, for some reason, close to the engine. Let me see what I can find.
Look no further than the Morris Minor.
But locating the pump in the boot might have lessened problems (no control data) but certainly did not stop them.
You would think the British after spending so much time in India would have learnt a thing or two about tropicalising. But no.

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Sutripta
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Old 14th November 2019, 11:50   #408
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Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sutripta View Post
Look no further than the Morris Minor.
But locating the pump in the boot might have lessened problems (no control data) but certainly did not stop them.
You would think the British after spending so much time in India would have learnt a thing or two about tropicalising. But no.
At the meeting one guy bought a new pump and installed it right away in his Jaguar. He had two pumps sitting in the bottom of his boot. Cant remember his Jaguar type. He did mention that the exhaust which runs very close underneath did heat the boot and thus pumps!

No offense to anyone, but I think the British tended to ignore the heat by and large and pretend they were still back home. Look at the clothes they wore! Actually, probably true for most of these colonizing nations in that era. E.g. the Dutch were probably only marginally more pragmatic when it came to adapt local customs.

Jeroen
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Old 14th November 2019, 15:11   #409
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Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp

Ah... My forebears! Obsessed with dressing properly, just as they still struggle in their suits going to the office in London heatwaves!

And military uniform must have been sacrosanct. What I've seen in the Fort At George museum here in Chennai is not only wool, but thick wool. More suited to frozen Northern Europe than a place where it never gets colder than an English summer day!
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Old 14th November 2019, 20:05   #410
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Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp

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Originally Posted by Jeroen View Post
He did mention that the exhaust which runs very close underneath did heat the boot and thus pumps!
No such excuse/ escape clause for the problematic SU pumps we here in India were familiar with.

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Sutripta
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Old 14th November 2019, 21:03   #411
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Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp

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Originally Posted by Sutripta View Post
No such excuse/ escape clause for the problematic SU pumps we here in India were familiar with.
Fear not. SU have moved way beyond the crappy pumps.

http://suclothingcompany.com/

Now you can look quite the dapper gent with a proper SU cap, whilst your car won’t budge due to vapor lock in the pump and or carb.

Jeroen

Last edited by Jeroen : 14th November 2019 at 21:10.
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Old 14th November 2019, 21:14   #412
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Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp

^^^
Not leather. Tradition ain't what it used to be!

There used to be a (much better, not perfect) substitute of the SU pump here in India made by UCAL. Business opportunity for UCAL - exporting for the British classic car market.

PS - carol - vapor. Can one have dyslexia of hands/ fingers?

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Old 15th November 2019, 00:12   #413
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Originally Posted by Sutripta View Post
PS - carol - vapor. Can one have dyslexia of hands/ fingers?

Well yes, apparently! Much better excuse than my grammar and self correcting Ability is way below par!
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Old 18th November 2019, 13:39   #414
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Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp

My wife and I just spend a very nice weekend in Madrid, Spain. Very nice town, we really enjoyed it. Lots to see and do and we love the food.

Picked up this neat little thread measuring tool at a flea market for a few euro.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-4469b7e4bfef4178ac2f8d3466338f29.jpeg
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Old 22nd November 2019, 14:22   #415
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Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp

Last night I managed to put in a few more hours work on the Spider rear lights.

First thing I did was to glue the broken bits back on. Out of the five studs holding the light unit in place, three had broken off. But I managed to find all three broken bits, so glued them back on:

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-pb210001.jpg

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-pb210002.jpg

Pretty straight forward. Key is to make sure you have the correct glue! For these sort of jobs I usually go for these two component type of super glues. They tend to make very strong bonds and also have a filling action, in case of a less than perfect fit. Most superglues require a perfect fit.

You mix them and have to apply it within 3-4 minutes of mixing. So everything must be ready to go, once you start mixing. Which means making sure you know which bit goes where, what orientation etc

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-pb210003.jpg

I also took the battery tray out. On my W123 I did that earlier and I ended up sand blasting and painting it.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-pb210004.jpg

Turned out on the Spider the battery tray is something made of some kind of plastic! So a good scrubbing with water and detergent was all that was required.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-pb210005.jpg

With all the bulbs and wiring loose and partly disconnected I thought I had better check and clean everything before assembly

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-pb210007.jpg

Took all the bulbs out of their fittings, cleaned them with electrical cleaner as well as the contacts in the fitting. Checked all wiring and connectors too.

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Popped the battery back in, hooked it up and powered up the electrical system and made sure each bulb works correctly.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-pb210008.jpg

When fiddling with these bulbs I noticed quite a bit of rust.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-pb210009.jpg

So took some scrapers, steel brush and some sanding paper to it. Was not too bad, mostly surface rust.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-pb210010.jpg

Once the rear light unit is back in place, this will be completely invisible. But it still needed some proper anti rust treatment.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-pb210011.jpg

Although on this particular occasion it really does not matter that much, spray painting should not be done in too cold an environment. I have a thermometer and as you can see it was still a relatively decent temperature 7-8oC.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-pb210013.jpg

Check your spray cans, mine can be used down to 5oC. It is good practice to warm them up, so I had put it in our (heated) kitchen an hour or so before use. I love these spray on paints from Hammerite. No primer or anything else needed. Just make sure the surface is clean and spray straight onto it. It will rust proof just like that and give you whatever finish you require. This was an old can with matt black. Again, it will not be visible so that is fine.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-pb210012.jpg

With most of these spray cans they advise you to spray multiple thin layers, 15 minutes apart. Due to the low temperature I waited 20 minutes between layers.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-pb220014.jpg

Always take away all masking tape etc. straight after the last layer. Once it has hardened you might crack the edges when pulling masking tape.

Finally, I checked the seal I had received last week. Looks good!

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-pb210006.jpg

I took the rear light unit with the three newly glued on studs back into the kitchen. Glue is a bit like paint. Works less well when it gets too cold. So I thought I would let it cure/harden out over night in our kitchen. My wife has explicitly forbidden me to bring anything from my garage into her kitchen. But she is out for a short trip to the UK. Besides this part is very clean. When I started working on it, it was very dirty and greasy. In fact, it took me longer to clean and degrease it, than all of the other jobs put together.

This morning I checked the three studs, seems they are firmly locked in place. I am going to fit them tonight. So we will see.

Jeroen
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Old 23rd November 2019, 11:01   #416
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Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp

A pretty productive night fiddling last night!

First I put the rear light back into the Spider. Took all but 20 minutes!. Very happy with it! Took it for a little spin, filled it with fuel. When I got back I parked it back in its usual place. I noticed the left rear light is not working. I checked it, again, after I had installed the rear light unit earlier and it was fine then. So I need to check it. Probably a blown bulb.

I also noticed that the steel girder on which the battery tray rest has one weld that is split. Not a huge thing, but I need to fix that. Need to borrow my neighbour Robert’s welder kit once more. Maybe I will buy myself a simple electric kit.

Also, and this is very annoying. I have a huge tear in the rear window in the soft top. Remember, there had been a small tear earlier that I fixed. Somehow it has now become a 15 cm long tear. So that will need taking care off. Not sure how yet. I have heard of just replacing the little plastic window, or otherwise get a complete new soft top. Mine is well over twenty years old and it shows quite a bit of wear. Not a problem really. I always, rain, snow, sleek, drive top down. But when we are out on tours, I might have to park it somewhere overnight and then you really do need the soft top to be properly water tight. Anyway, a job for next year.

Next i decided to have another go at the fuel lines on the W123. So up on the axle stands it went:

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-pb220001.jpg

Last time I tried I could not get the hose clamps undone. Despite the fact of having them doused in penetration oil. So this time different measures were called for.

I got my Dremel out, with a diamond cutting blade. Went through the hose clamps like a warm knife through butter. You have to be careful doing this because of potential sparks and fuel! Not a good combination. I would have preferred for that reason alone, to use a pneumatic grinder. But there was simply not enough room for it. I could barely get the Dremel in place.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-pb220005.jpg

Once I had cut all four hose clamps on both fuel lines, I put a fuel line clamp on one. To stop it leaking.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-pb220004.jpg

Next pulled one of the old fuel lines of and quickly put the largest new fuel hose I had bought onto it and let it drain in the two canisters I had prepared earlier.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-pb220003.jpg

Next trick how to get the correct size new hose onto the steel fuel lines and tank stubs? I had bought three sizes, 6, 8 and 10 mm. I had used the 10 mm version to drain the tank. For no other reason I could very easily shove it onto the steel stub coming from the tank. But the correct size needs to fit tightly. Bit of measuring and fiddling, but the 8 mm had to go on.

I could not get it on just like that. So I reverted to an old trick. Boiled some water and put the hose into it for a few minutes. Put some grease on the steel stubs. After some 3-4 minutes I took the hose out of the jar with hot water. It was quite pliable now!

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-pb220007.jpg

Gave it a shot of clean air through it to dry it out and dove underneath the W123 to install it. Went perfectly well this time! Repeat once and Bob’s your uncle once again!

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-pb220008.jpg

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-pb220010.jpg

Poured the old fuel from the canisters back into the tank. Started the engine, checked for leaks. Completely dry! Took it to a nearby petrol station where they have ethanol free fuel and ran it through the car wash. Lucky to have this one nearby, the carwash stays open till 22.00 hours 7 days a week!

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_1948.jpg

The slight jutter the W123 had before is still there. I think the last job working on the spark plug cables did improve it a bit. When I am doing 120-130 km/h it is absolutely fine. At lower speeds I can still feel it. More work to be done!

Both the Spider and the W123 need to be off the (public) road from 1st of December till end of February due to some silly legislation. So I have only a few more days to drive them. I really would like to take the Spider on a long drive. Maybe this weekend as the weather forecast looks good for Sunday. Fingers crossed!


Jeroen

Last edited by Jeroen : 23rd November 2019 at 11:04.
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Old 24th November 2019, 22:19   #417
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Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp

Yesterday I took the Spider out for a proper shake down. After such a major repair job I wanted to make sure everything works well, no rattles, no pecular noises etc. All appears in good working order. The gear does slip out of third gear now and then. Probably the new rubber boots, over time that should get better.

It was a gorgeous autumn drive:

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_1977.jpg

Back home I gave it a good scrub and a bit of a polish.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_1979.jpg

Daisy our cat comes out to inspect my cars and keep me company

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_1978.jpg

I also had a quick look at the rear left light.

To get at the rear light bulbs you have to remove the trim in the boot. Which means for the left section undoing this electrical part. These are three connectors that provide power to the third brake light on the bootlid, once the boot is properly close.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_1981.jpg

Sure enough the bulb had blown. I search through all my parts, boxes, cupboard, but I could not find this particular bulb. Luckily, my local car parts shop is only a few kilometers from us and he stays open till 20.00 everyday, except Sunday. Very convenient I must admit.

Philips bulbs, no less:

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_1982.jpg

New bulb fitted and the trim properly back in place, all looks good!!

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_1984.jpg

Today, Sunday, I went to see a classic car show in Eelde. All the way up north It is quite the drive, almost 225 km from us, but all motorway so less than two hours.

This is the 4th of 5th edition, but I had never been. Very nice atmosphere, very simple, very basic. Cheap entrance. No fancy decors. Just lots of classic cars, trucks, busses, tractors, motor bikes and lots of parts, tools and models! Great afternoon out

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_1985.jpg

I was supposed to pick up a mate of mine about half way. But whilst I was on my way he called me. Something had happened and he could not make it. No problem. I prefer going with a friend. But I am just as happy going by myself. I usually bump into some people I know. Sure enough I ran into a guy from the Alfa Spider Register. Had not seen him for years. He was there with a little market stall selling Alfa Romeo Parts.

This is quite a rare car. It is a VW411 Estate. The 411 was never a huge succes to start with, so the car is rare, the estate version is even more rare.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_1986.jpg

I am not a huge fan of American cars, Classic or new. But I have very fond memories of our Jeep Cherokee we had in Kansas City. Great car!. This is one of the early versions. I do not think red suits this car.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_1987.jpg

More old rusty and greasy parts than you go shake a stick at!

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_1988.jpg

The Fiat 850 Couple club was out in force. Nice little car. My sister Renate had one, it was her first car ever. Very few left. This Italian little cars rusted very badly!

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_1991.jpg

They had some 15 classic busses on display. In all honesty, I know next to nothing about busses. Be it modern or vintage. But I did recognise this one and the company, Maarse & Kroon. When I grew up in Amstelveen, a suburb of Amsterdam, Maarse & Kroon was the only bus company in our region. Amsterdam had its own, but outside Amsterdam it was these busses only.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_1992.jpg

Lots of classic clubs were present. for instance the Morgan club

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_1993.jpg

I spend some time talking to this company. They specialise in transmission overhaul and repair. They brought some stuff that was beyond overhauling though!

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_1994.jpg

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_1995.jpg

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_1996.jpg

Another club with a good display of some really nice cars, DKW, Autounion

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_1999.jpg
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Old 24th November 2019, 22:30   #418
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Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp

A very diverse range of vehicles on display. Look at this:

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_2004.jpg

Although I owned and drove my Royal Enfield 1974 Bullet all over India, I am not a biker. I know very little about them. Modern ones I do like at all.

But I love looking at the proper vintage bikes. Look at these!

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_2005.jpg

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_2006.jpg

I just love the detail on this Indian. Engineering perfection. At least visually!

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_2007.jpg

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_2008.jpg

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_2009.jpg

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_2010.jpg

This was not a huge event, but there was a very good turn out of folks selling the usual bits and bobs, tools, bolts, connectors, wax, oil etc etc.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_2011.jpg

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_2012.jpg

Not something you see very often at vintage car events: Caravans. But the Dutch are huge caravan fanatics. Apparently we have 4 million of them. On a population of 17 million that is a lot of caravans. I hate them with a vengeance! They are slow on the roads, you get stuck behind one of these, you are doomed!

But the vintage ones, were nice to look at

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_2013.jpg

There were some 30-40 vintage trucks too. Pretty cool, love these impressive machines

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_2014.jpg

I had a good look at this 1977 Mercedes W123. It was in pretty good nick, it had an LPG tank, no rust as far as I could see. Asking Euro 3500, which is not a bad price.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_2015.jpg

I spend about 3-4 hours there and then drove back. Only bought two new cool signs:

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_2016.jpg

Spider and the W123 are all clean and waxed, ready for their obligatory winter stop

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_2017.jpg

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_2018.jpg

Put a bit of extra air in the tyres, about 3 bars.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_2021.jpg

Put their pyamas on, to keep the dust away.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_2024.jpg

Next job will be to get the Jaguar fixed. One week from now! Can’t wait.

Jeroen
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Old 24th November 2019, 23:34   #419
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Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp

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Not something you see very often at vintage car events: Caravans. But the Dutch are huge caravan fanatics. Apparently we have 4 million of them. On a population of 17 million that is a lot of caravans. I hate them with a vengeance! They are slow on the roads, you get stuck behind one of these, you are doomed!
Haha... My parents gave up hotels when I was about 5 (1957-ish) and bought a caravan. After a short time it was replaced by a smaller, easier to handle/tow one which, its touring days over, became a sort of summer house in their garden.

Generally they avoided sites, and would chat up farmers for a corner in a field for a couple of shillings a night. We had wonderful adventures!
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Old 25th November 2019, 13:19   #420
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Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp

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Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom View Post
Haha... My parents gave up hotels when I was about 5 (1957-ish) and bought a caravan. After a short time it was replaced by a smaller, easier to handle/tow one which, its touring days over, became a sort of summer house in their garden.

Generally they avoided sites, and would chat up farmers for a corner in a field for a couple of shillings a night. We had wonderful adventures!
Actually, I believe the UK is pretty unique in that respect. If you have permission from the landowner you can camp out on his/her land. In many European countries that is simply forbidden. So if you go caravanning or camping you end up on “official camp sites”.

Jeroen
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