Sunbeam

So, as well as not having been driven in nearly 10 years, it also hasn't been serviced. I drained a couple of litres of creosote out of the sump and treated her to fresh 20w50 and a filter. After this, I replaced the air filter which was so soggy you could almost knead the rubber like play doh. There is quite a lot of blowby being pushed into the filter housing and I think this has led to the deterioration of the rubber. This morning I changed the gearbox and diff oil. The gearbox oil was dark but at least it doesn't smell of gear oil. The EP additives in most gear oils are liquid death for these boxes and your average joe mechanic has no idea. The Castrol is what I used in the gearbox. The suction gun is great for jobs like this but it's very hard work sucking up 25w50 through a straw. Also, I sometimes think I am the only person in NZ who owns a 12mm hex driver. The sump, gearbox, and diff plugs have all been massacred with vice grips. My old 125 was the same and the few modern(ish) Fiats I have done work on were also the same!!

First job was to fix the brakes. I have also lost the photos of this job... I'm shocked it managed to go and stop at all, let alone pull up in a straight line. I had to crowbar the calipers off the discs. Now, I like fixing stuff because my time is cheap (and I'm cheap). Sadly, I lack facilities in our current home. All my stuff is in a 20 foot container and the modern (clean) attached double (ha! how do you actually get 2 cars in a double?) garage is not a very good workshop. I took the calipers in to CBC in Christchurch and the lovely folk there rebuilt them and made them look brand new. Which is a good thing because the bill came to $736. Gulp. I'm a little bit insulated from workshop prices because I usually do my own work, so I tried to hide my shock when presented with the invoice. They did a lovely job though. While it was apart, I did the rear axle seals which were were weeping slightly. Also, I thought since my calipers look so nice, why not spend even more money and get new discs as well along with new pads of course. . Man I love getting new parts.... All four corners look like this now. Honest. Now I'm just a little bit worried about the mess I've made on the nice floor of the garage... I really miss my 12x9 metre man shed.

So, the car arrived safely (eventually) and got parked in the garage of our rental. So far I have not driven it far (about 3 miles in fact) Which revealed the brakes were a bit seized. This is hardly surprising as it hasn't had a reg or wof or been driven much at all in nearly 10 years. This inactivity is also why it's in such good nick. Unfortunately I have lost all the photos I took when I first got it. Here is a gratuitous bum shot. The other thing I like is that this car was probably registered in the same month as my first 125 because the number plate is only a few digits different. The interior is also identical. This baby has only done half the miles however, a gen-u-wine 72000 miles. All the more remarkable that this is 23 years after I owned the other one!

All the cars on the transporter were fine. The serious crash unit impounded the whole rig though while they investigated the crash. I got my car 10 days later. I've seen that white 125 on Trademe. I even spotted it driving through Sanson on my way south last year. Looks pretty good, but not $10k good.

Discuss here. Cheers. Project Thread

Good evening Old Schoolers, I think it about time I posted this old thing on here. Firstly, some history. Last year I bid on this car on Trade Me. It was being disposed of by Turners along with a whole bunch of other stuff from a private car museum in Blenheim, some of you probably remember it. I have been pining for another Fiat 125 for many years now as my first car was a Teal green 1973 125 with high back seats. I copped a lot of flack from my high school peers at the time for driving a "Lada" Philistines... Anyhow, I did not win the auction, a Fiat collector from Hawkes Bay kept outgunning me and the Finance Minister was not happy for me to gun back. Wallowing in self pity for months after, I got a random phone call from said collector wondering if I was still keen on the car, as he already had several minter 125s and had just bought an Alfa he has been chasing for 20 years. A deal was done and he also offered to store it for me until I could arrange to get it back to to South Island because we were in the middle of moving South from Taranaki. I am very grateful to him for giving me first refusal and for being very helpful. Whilst being transported to my new home, about 25km short of the destination, this happened. The truck was involved in a fatal accident in Amberley. A local and well known businesswoman driving her Old School Civic crossed the centreline into the path of the truck and was unfortunately killed. I could scarcely believe it when the dispatcher told me. Discussion

Your pulley problem is not ridiculously uncommon. Finding a good spare might be a challenge...

I have a lead on an MGBGT I can get essentially for free. Was imported from the US about 20 years ago and converted to RHD but NEVER been complied or seen by any authority here. The only bit of paperwork we can dig up is the registration certificate from North Carolina. Is it a lost cause? I haven't been able to find an answer on the Land Transport website. Maybe someone on here has been through something similar?

Gorn, to a nice chap in Napier. Feeble thread, sorry chaps and chapettes. Very busy moving islands and changing jobs, but more necks shear with some Fiaty goodness.

So, I just gave the old girl a tune up and a new water pump and shouted her a much more realistic battery. I also replaced the rocker shaft and she sounds mint now. Sadly, I need to sell her as I have just spent a lot of cash on a Fiat 125 and the minister of finance is having kittens.

Sick. I love these cars.

So, when I bought this car, I thought it was a bit tappety. Behold, the mighty "power"plant So I checked the clearances and found that they were actually all a bit tight, ranging from 0 to 6 thou. They are meant to be 12 inlet 14 exhaust. I'm lazy so I just set them all to 13. Of course this has done nothing to quieten it down. I wonder if maybe the rocker shaft is worn out? Other than noise, the motor runs very well. No smoke, hardly any leaks, starts if you so much as glance at the key. Plugs all nice even light brown. Oh check out the LOL spec mega battery. It was the PO's practice to retire his camper van battery in the Singer... I'm sure the suspension has sagged on this side of the car because of it. Might change it out for a normal one and slash a second or two off the 1/4 mile time....

I took the whole family for a drive yesterday. The kids just LOVE that it has no seatbelts in the back. It doesn't excite me much though. When I was a kid I used to roll around in the back of the Avenger with no belts and we thought nothing of it. It's a bit different when you have your own kids and the roads are filled with morons though. I don't think this one has factory mounting points either, so I had a yarn with best WOF man number 1 and it seems there is only one seatbelt certifier in New Plymouth. He thinks I won't get any change out of $1k for the cert plus the cost of the belts. Anyone out there been through this?

So, my fancy multimeter does dwell and rpm etc for 4,6,and 8 cylinders. Used it for years to tune the Triumph, but trying it on the Singer, the rpm is WAY off (and yes, I did remember to set it to 4 cyl) It seems to underread by a factor of at least 2. Does this mean there is something wrong with the dizzy? Timing seems to wander until it hits about 2000rpm on the earometer.

Looked through the owners manual and got the ownership papers today. 1st owner from 1970-2001. I'm number 4.

Yeah, and my other one (Sceptre) is an even fancier pants Hunter.

Not sure. It matches the door cards. To my knowledge the only things done to this car in the last 20 years is a quick respray about 15 years ago and re-lacquered dash panel, and new carpet which looks non original but quite good.

Cheers for that Bryan. I have been keeping an eye out on Trademe for wheels. Hotwires, Turbos, and Modgies are common in 4x108 but not floating my boat.

I'm after some inspiration for wheels and steering wheel upgrade. Interested in period look 13 or 14 inch wheels, and 3 spoke steering wheel- alloy spokes, leather rim, etc. It seems after an hour of internetting, it's hard to find a boss kit for the mighty Hunter family. Any peeps in the know, I would value your input.

Driving it home I put more miles on it than it's travelled in the last 2 years! She's only done 89,000 since new. To do list as follows: Shocks rooted. Handles like a wet eel. Do tappets, she's a bit rattly. Slightly noisy diff to investigate. Appreciate the mintness.. Might need a radiator service. Drive it (barely 1000 miles in the last 5 years!) Wait for stuff to crap out. Repair Continue driving.

I will be trying these when my Trumpy goes back on the road. http://www.vibra-technics.co.uk/mg_rover_triumph/triumph_2000_25_25pi_25tc_1964_1975 Alternatively Chris Witor seems to have an aversion to selling shite if you're looking for original styles

Comes with an unbelievable hoard of parts too. This is just the first load...

Project thread //oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/52737-sunbeams-1970-singer-vogue-of-accidentality/ Comments, discussions, ridicule, gushing, foaming.... occurs here.

Hi All. I've been hanging around here for a while and I have a couple of poorly projects, but now I have one that works and is all legal I thought I might share. As per title I accidentally bought a Singer Vogue on the weekend. It was advertised on the down low and the old bloke who owned it let it go for a decent price. It seemed stupid to not buy it so here I am...I do in fact have another Rootes Arrow in my shed by way of a Sunbeam Sceptre, so it's not too weird I guess. Discuss //oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/52739-sunbeams-1970-singer-vogue-discussion/

don't know. but I hate modern Nissans, aint what she used to be...