Podcast 145 - It's your letters
Added 2023-02-05 18:00:59 +0000 UTCIn this week’s show Jonny and Richard guiltily attempt to get through their massive backlog of listeners’ messages. Topics covered include a retro Hyundai promotional CD, a strangely specced Daihatsu Charade, a weirdly named car website, the strange story of the Alfa Brera S, the fallout from BMW no longer supplying the police, a Range Rover track day car, a very odd hearse conversion, what happened when Richard won an enormous painting of Ayrton Senna, the deep disappointment of James Bond in a BMW Z3, and two-wheel-drive bicycles.
Comments
Same for me, sitting in traffic...hearing it then looking for a clear space then realising it was on the podcast! I reckon Sniff and Smith were secretly testing engine for the police forces ..
James Ockenden
2023-02-16 18:23:29 +0000 UTCWhere did you record this with all the rozzers etc ... in the background? Driving home listening to it i lost track home many times i looked round for the blue lights.. 🤣
iain leake
2023-02-14 21:28:16 +0000 UTCNot sure if it's deliberate or just a me problem but this never made it onto the YouTube channel last week, thought you were having a week off to do the Live at Lotus cast until i checked in here!!!
Tim Lewis
2023-02-13 17:48:12 +0000 UTCHaha, nice!
Dee Sherman
2023-02-12 18:03:58 +0000 UTCMy granddad used to have some DAFs back in the day (mainly 750s, although he briefly drove the 55 Marathon Coupe of my great-grandmother with a 1.3 Renault engine), as you did in late 60s Netherlands. According to my dad he didn’t only have a plethora of spare belts to fit though. Instead he had a full gearbox module laying around in the garage (unsure if this was a subframe with belts and all to allow for quick swapping, I like to imagine it was though). Needless to say he spent a lot of time in his inspection pit under the DAF….
Bjorn van de Ven
2023-02-12 08:45:28 +0000 UTCThanks for the reminder of a car that I regret selling, namely a 2ZZ/6-speed swapped Mk1 MR2 that was incredibly sprightly and chuckable. Also, with a cold air intake located right behind the (LHD) driver's seat, the cam change at 6,000 RPM sounded absolutely diabolical. I later bought a Mk3 MR2 with the same 2ZZ but with a slightly taller-geared 6-speed box that blunted the performance at legal speeds, which rather defeated the purpose of having that car in the first place. For the first time in ages, I am now MR2-less, but perhaps it is time to focus on my newer interest in Saabs and Jaags. Incidentally, although I don't know of any straight-six MR2 swaps, some maniac out there has put a Volkswagen VR6 drivetrain in one. Also, Paul Woods up near Durham (woodsport.org) seems to have a byline in mad MR2 conversions, often taking advantage of the modularity of Toyota powertrains (eg shared engine mountings and gearbox bellhousings) to fit V6s or other powertrains that were not available from the factory.
Charles Tao
2023-02-12 00:50:04 +0000 UTCOn that siding of things, even
Charles Tao
2023-02-12 00:41:55 +0000 UTCTwo wheel drive push bike you say - https://www.bikeradar.com/news/this-is-a-two-wheel-drive-bike-done-right-sort-of/
Ross Hetherington
2023-02-10 08:37:27 +0000 UTCBack in Jan 2018 ish, I had recently returned back from working abroad in Austria with a larger midlands based Automotive OEM. Now at this point in time, I didnt really have a use for a "normal" car as was spending most of my time abroad, however after returning to work in the UK during the winter months, it became quickly aparent that my 1990 Classic Mini was not up for the job for the colder weather. Now in my youth, I had attempted to modify said mini (chucked in a ropey 1275 metro lump), so the timing and the mixture werent in a great state, coupled with a prehistoric interia starter motor, meant starting said mini in -4 conditions was very tricky. The 20w50 oil in this weather was like set glue, so, after spending many minutes every morning trying to jump start the car with a friends "modern" motor, I decided I needed to step in to help the old girl to get going in the morning. My solution, was, every morning, straight out of bed, i would pop down to the drive way, and light a selection of tealights under the "leaky" sump. I would then go and have a shower and get ready for work, by which time, the oil had warmed to a more bitumen state rather than set glue, and I was able to get to work in a fashionable time. It worked for a good few weeks and I only got a few odd looks from the local neighbours as they drove past in their cars that started first time.
Alex Hayden
2023-02-09 08:03:28 +0000 UTCYes it is, I was imprecise. Our packaging just says bougie, but “bougie d’allumage” is apparently the proper translation according to the Googly.
Ed Nicholson
2023-02-08 15:51:39 +0000 UTCFor my first car (‘84 Metro), on advice of my Dad I took to covering the engine with an old bedspread (I remember it being brown, beige, flowery and very nylon - proper 80s spec) during the coldest nights of the winter. I remembered to remove it in the morning almost every time. Luckily my drive to school wasn’t that long so the engine never really got hot. Surprised it didn’t cause any issues with the fan belt and I guess the air going into the engine had some extra filtering as well.
Stephen Archer
2023-02-08 14:10:49 +0000 UTCBougie is French for candle, no?
Ed Storer
2023-02-08 11:58:27 +0000 UTCSpeaking of alternative ways of pre-heating your car's engine: My mate used to own a 1991 Chevrolet Van (the fancy Starcraft edition with velour, captain's chairs and all that) with the 6.2 diesel V8. As you'd expect from that era of american cars, the electronics were a bit shit. Eventually the thermostat that activates the glow plugs stopped working properly, which was a pain in the arse after medium-to-long cigarette breaks on scenic locations. See, when my mate stopped the engine for just a couple of minutes and then restarted it, it was hot enough to ignite the fuel without the help of the glow plugs. However, if the engine got too cold for that to happen, but not cold enough for the glow plugs to kick in, we were stranded. It happened many times, but I have fond memories of the night we spent by a particularly pretty lighthouse. Just a couple of mates in a dead car, considering to scavenge the beaches for firewood to light a bonfire beneath the oil pan, at 4 in the morning. Luckily, the Chevy started on its own before we caused a massive fire.
Jan Henrik Engø
2023-02-07 21:56:44 +0000 UTCAll I really took from this was ‘Lord of the ring, in to my ass’. Nobody even said it. #lotritma
Andy N
2023-02-07 09:25:51 +0000 UTCA friend of mine is finishing up a V6 swap in a mk1 using a 3.5l out of the Sienna minivan using Scion TC trans.
david marden
2023-02-07 01:02:23 +0000 UTCAnd if it got a bit lairy, it's be On That Slide Of Rings..
Nick Davies
2023-02-06 22:24:31 +0000 UTCheeeeey so we're not on YouTube chaps!
Helen Morris
2023-02-06 19:55:20 +0000 UTCI have a crap engine swap MR2 turned good story. Local guy here bought a base model used 2nd-gen MR2: no options, no T-top roofs, and also the lightest model. Then he swapped in the V6 out of a RAV4, which bolted right up to a used Turbo transmission. Made more power than a standard Turbo, but also ran on 87 octane fuel. He has since rebuilt the car around a V6 out of a Venza, but this time retuned and fitted with the supercharger from an Evora, and the thing is an absolute rocket. Re: Smith and Sniff purchasing ex-cop BMW as N-ring record setter. The video on such an attempt would of course be called On That Side Of Rings.
Brendan McAleer
2023-02-06 19:11:13 +0000 UTCFor quality strange engines in cars you need to go to www.24hoursoflemons.com there's all sorts there, OTSOT....
david marden
2023-02-06 16:04:27 +0000 UTCI'll send you a couple of stickers for the shortest named Volvo shop..... The V shop in Portland Oregon.
david marden
2023-02-06 14:38:14 +0000 UTCI had a base model mk2 MR2 complete with tiny 14" wheels, 125hp engine and no power steering. At some point somebody had fitted the spoiler from the GT model but it was a great car that I picked up for £150 as it had a dead radiator and the paint was more pink than red. The only real problem with it (after being fixed up) was the steering ratio was so slow to make up for the lack of power steering that tight corners involved a lot of arm flailing. I still miss that thing
Rob King
2023-02-06 10:58:32 +0000 UTCOn the steam rally side of things, Castle Combe circuit has a good one on 20/21st May or Gloucestershire Vintage show at Cirencester on first weekend of August. Plenty of stationary engines doing their thing all day long.
John Hammond
2023-02-06 10:06:00 +0000 UTCNot car related, but "Bougie" is also a word for a fast curing cement that used to be pumped down into mine shafts to create a mineshaft floors
JakeSnedden
2023-02-06 09:03:24 +0000 UTCThe class 142s were originally fitted with Leyland TL11 engines and Leylands SCG 'self changing gears' gearboxes. They were subsequently repowered to extend their service life and fitted with new engines and Voith gearboxes through a torque converter. The slipping is a peculiar quirk of these Voith units. The class 165 units which work the Bristol-Bath-Westbury/Weymouth line are exactly the same. They are fitted with 3 or 4 CAT diesel engines and they rev like fuck as the torque converter picks up drive. This goes back to the bus gearbox chat of a much earlier podcast. Voith bus gearboxes behave in exactly the same way - reversing a bus with a Voith involves the engine running at max chat but bugger all in the way of progress.
John Hammond
2023-02-06 08:47:32 +0000 UTCI was offered that M3 powered Discovery 2 rally car a few years ago by Ollie the lovely chap who built it. I'd just finished putting a pokey M52 into my Land Rover series 3 rally car and we'd ended up chatting about conversions. His was a work of art and very well developed.
Phil Griffiths
2023-02-06 08:11:58 +0000 UTCI think the GTV coupe looks better
Jim Galbraith
2023-02-05 23:38:23 +0000 UTCHow much weight could you strip out of a Brera though, didn’t they just overcompensate on the strength of build (with 159 as well). I think the Brera looks too short, like a grand tourer that’s been converted into an alpine bus.
Jim Galbraith
2023-02-05 23:36:19 +0000 UTCHaving put an MX5 engine in our Herald, the thought did cross my mind to put the knocking 1500 Triumph lump into the then engineless Mazda.
Seth Kennedy
2023-02-05 22:10:39 +0000 UTCHow about a trend towards "retro-mods" on euro cars. C63 AMG, chrome bumpers, W124 200D interior, body colour hubcaps on steelies covering solid discs up front and drums on the rear. Obviously resprayed in 70s BL colours.
Alistair Neish
2023-02-05 21:31:12 +0000 UTCChaps, the trains (DMU Class 142) you are talking about are known as Nodding Donkeys. They sound like that because they are basically Leyland Nationals from 1985. Horrid horrid shit boxes, on that side of rail things...
Dee Sherman
2023-02-05 21:08:38 +0000 UTCTalking about shit engine swaps, it reminded me of the time I was driving a bus through the centre of Bristol. A red Scimitar GTE pulled up alongside me at some lights. The familiar burble of a Ford V6 was missing though - instead I heard a diesel knocking like Michael Hutchence in a wardrobe. Low and behold some lunatic had "engineered" a Transit 2.5 direct injection diesel into the poor thing. Evidence exists of this madness https://youtu.be/Vz4jYPtLer0
John Hammond
2023-02-05 20:37:34 +0000 UTCThere's a few 2wd bikes you can buy, use various systems of cables, belts and so on.
Bruce Driffill
2023-02-05 19:59:16 +0000 UTC“Bougie” is definitely French for spark plug. We see that here in Canada because we have to have bilingual packaging.
Ed Nicholson
2023-02-05 19:36:26 +0000 UTCBe careful with dissing Dafs in the run up to spring. I should probably be listening more closely. For a moment I thought what was wrong with Richard.
Maurice Barnes
2023-02-05 19:24:21 +0000 UTCI was a firefighter in the US fire apparatus usually have pedals for the siren on both sides. The passanger (officer) will also have a pedal for the air horn the driver will have the air horn switch in the usual place on the steering wheel.
Bill
2023-02-05 19:09:05 +0000 UTCAwsome, I’v been waiting for this. Normally I’m a monday listener but this evening I’m decorating, so gonna listen now to help ease the tedium of painting
Adam
2023-02-05 18:51:26 +0000 UTC
