All Blog Posts (475)

It's never good when I think, but I have just watched the Best British Drives with Richard Wilson (No I didn't watch it with Richard Wilson, He presented it) He has been to The Trossachs driven from Callener to Loch Lomond. Stunning roads and scenery.

It's 234 miles from Bolton to Callender.

Or

What about the Isle of Man, country roads without speed limits, Kippers, Laxey wheel...

It's out there now for discusion.

The Spring run is being…

In an earlier blog I had mentioned that I planned a further strip down of my V6 engine. This evening I remove the nearside bank cylinder head. The observations are as follows -

Bores - look OK, much like the offside bank

Head - water ways look significantly bunged up

Pistons - some lateral rotational play in the pistons, as the was on the other bank. But with these there is a pronouced knock as you twist the piston crown.

Conclusion - given the knocking sound when…

Just had a update of the cost spreadsheet at lunchtime. Current quick update gives a total of £918 including the purchase cost of the car. So if I am not to exceed the £1,000 budget that gives me £72 for the remaining works. So it looks like the budget will be exceed as the following items still need to be purchased -

- Seats (or pads)

- Seat belts

- Radiator hoses

- Wipers

- Rear wheel cylinders

- A real roll bar

- Front dampers

- Full…

In early January 2010, my Dutton Phaeton final arrived. As I helped to unload the car, I closely looked at my new purchase, it was great in my eyes. However when my wife arrive room and found a car with siezed wheels stuck at the bottom of the drive. I think her words were "It's a hunk of junk". My young daughter said "my car". My wife then said Daddy might just have it finished by the time you eighteen" (at that time she was two years old). Well to date progress has been limited and briefly…

Moved the Phaeton today, never easy when she not run in 5 weeks, Jump leads, and the RAV4 to the rescue. Instantly started with help from them. So decided to move her closer to the wall on the drive a matter of 12" I needed to blast round the block, (Note to self "Must do this more often"). Still got the the knock on acceleration, decided to lay a few 11's in the cul de sac to findthe noise, it turns out when the axle tramps the handbrake cable knocks on the fuel tank.

While under the…

I got home from work today to find two of the wheels down the drive had been stolen.

I wouldn't mind so much if it wasnt the pair I took of the legerra last week leaving me with two odd alloys on the front and two odd alloys on the back. Any number of other alloy wheels down the drive they could have nicked but no, they had to nick two out of the only matched set of four 15" rims I had.

If I ever find out who did it I will make sure they never steal anything ever again.…

The next Meeting of The Northern Duttoneer's is this coming Thursday at the usual place, The Bludell Arms, Chorley Old Road, Bolton / Horwich. BL6 6PY.

We'll be there from 8pm, the quizz starts at 9. Come along everyone welcome.

Sierra is getting closer, we could do with a weeks worth of good weather, and we'll turn the corner. James ordered to Poly bushes for the front end yesterday on E-bay from Flo-Flex, and they where delivered by 10 am this morning, now that service!!

We picked up an exhaust box at Stafford last week 2" in Twin 2" out, so exhaust will exit from both sides just in front of the rear wheels. Now looking for X-flow exhaust manifold 4-2-1

Just started the second door for the Sierra. new bottom frame welded in place. I still need the Drivers door skin finishing, I think I have got to the point where there are lots of part jobs going on, but this is the problem at this stage of a build. Everything is coming together but nothing is getting to the finish line.

The Apprentice as taken himself off to the Isle of Man for a week, he say's I have taken over. which yes I have, only because it wasn't moving on.

If…

After checking the Phaeton over after the Coast to Coast's 490 miles she is given the all clear. Just a couple of job's to do this weekend, the knocking noise on starting turned out to be the alternator knocking against the chassis bracket for the top wishbone. The body knocking noise is the exhaust clamp come loose on the manifold down pipe.

Perhaps the big job is the steering knock, but that is the rack, I have a new one on the shelf, so I am happy she survived some real hard work.…

In 8 hours we'll be on our way to the start of the Coast to Coast.

St Bee's head sunday morning, but first a visit to the Lakeland Motor Museum. I'll try and update the blog as much as possible on route. Don't you just love Duttoneering?

Yes it's just 4 day's to the next Northern Duttoneer's adventure. Why not come and meet us on the way, we leave Bolton on Saturday morning, the plan is to visit the Lake Motor Museum at Newby Brige on the way to our first nights stop over. Then from St Bee's Head to Hartside Cafe for Bunch, on to Richmond for lunch and on to Robin Hood's Bay for teatime, Notice the pattern forming here, The Northern Duttoneer's never stop eating and drinking tea.

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