Yep, we are all driving computers now. I was relieved when electronic ignition took over from contact breakers. My 1984 Nissan Micra blew the capacitor in the distributor leaving me stranded on a busy roundabout because I had previously changed the Japanese sourced capacitor to a Lucas brand the day before. And the BL Mini which regularly fused the contact points together so I ground to a halt.

The 1.5 tons of SD1 (2.6l) that "just stopped" on a roundabout and took 4 of us to push clear of the traffic lanes...

1 hour ago, KenONeill said:

The 1.5 tons of SD1 (2.6l) that "just stopped" on a roundabout and took 4 of us to push clear of the traffic lanes...

 

The 2.6 was quite economical ie 26 mpg, compared to the 3.5 litre SD1 I had before that at only 19 mpg and an earlier LED version of a fuel computer would showing it using more than a pint of fuel a mile going up hills, gulp.

 

Lucky HMRC (HMCE as was) paying 63 pence per mile allowance back around 1990 to cover the running costs ! 

On 01/01/2019 at 15:35, lol-lol said:

 

The 2.6 was quite economical ie 26 mpg, compared to the 3.5 litre SD1 I had before that at only 19 mpg and an earlier LED version of a fuel computer would showing it using more than a pint of fuel a mile going up hills, gulp.

 

Lucky HMRC (HMCE as was) paying 63 pence per mile allowance back around 1990 to cover the running costs ! 

Something wrong with your 3.5 then; I had several mates who normally saw 30mpg (verified by log books and/or buying fuel on account)

7 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

Something wrong with your 3.5 then; I had several mates who normally saw 30mpg (verified by log books and/or buying fuel on account)

 

It would show about 20 mpg normally with the mix of commuting, hilly driving in then the blasts down from Forest of Dean to Plymouth.

 

Might be able to get 30 mpg out of the 5 speed manual but be surprised if one could get that from the 3 speed Auto like I had.  

6 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

Something wrong with your 3.5 then; I had several mates who normally saw 30mpg (verified by log books and/or buying fuel on account)

 

Were they EFi's, the carburetted ones were a bit thirsty, the V8 carb models across the range enjoyed a drink, I regularly got 6mpg out of a Land Rover V8 110. My P6b V8 auto could get 24mpg at a steady 60 on the motorway, it also could get 8mpg when driven hard and manually shifted on roads in the Lake District. 

On 01/01/2019 at 15:51, lol-lol said:

the 3 speed Auto like I had

So you were the person that bought the slushbox then!

On 01/01/2019 at 15:53, P6bJOHN said:

Were they EFi's,

Nope, 5-speed carbies. (Oh and EFi's what?  )

35 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

Nope, 5-speed carbies. (Oh and EFi's what?  )

 

It's an abbreviation of what Yorkshire mechanics said back in the the day when they opened the bonnet, It stands for "Eee ****ing injection!"

1 hour ago, KenONeill said:

So you were the person that bought the slushbox then!

 

i would have thought about half of SD1s  were autos as with most luxury cars.

as i have a duff left knee i tend to go for autos.  

fortunately new autos are economical than their manual sibling and much more reliable and especially the dry clutch variants.

4 hours ago, KenONeill said:

The 1.5 tons of SD1 (2.6l) that "just stopped" on a roundabout and took 4 of us to push clear of the traffic lanes...

 

Thats 100kg less than the new Mini Countryman

 

Kind of puts things into perspective doesnt it!

 

And the SDi was a luxury car with lots of extras that would not be essential or required on an average family vehicle, it was built like a tank, heavy guage steel, heavy suspension components etc.

 

Nearly all the parts on a modern car are much lighter than they would have been on their predecessors but there are so many more of them, very few if any of the additional parts are necessary for the primary purpose of the vehicle or its reliability.

On 01/01/2019 at 17:55, J.R. said:

Thats 100kg less than the new Mini Countryman

And yet people don't understand why it gets referred to as a "BAXI Countryman".

& a Mini Countryman 2.0l Petrol Automatic and a Cupra Ateca 2.0 petrol with 300ps and a DSG have lower emissions than the much lighter Suzuki Jimny 1.5 Automatic with ridiculously high C02 g/km figure. 

Or maybe it is just a more honest figure for it's emissions under testing.

40 minutes ago, J.R. said:

Thats 100kg less than the new Mini Countryman

 

36 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

And yet people don't understand why it gets referred to as a "BAXI Countryman".

 

The so-called "Mini" Countryman is actually 3" longer, and 1" wider, than a Yeti 

Why they are MINI Countryman.

 

Great offers on them with Motability last quarter and again today with the new list.

I was looking at a 2.0l Petrol Automatic Countryman Cooper S Exclusive in Sharn Brown with Chestnut Brown Leather (Baby skitters brown.)

Very comfy, but large inside they are not.

Edited 1 January, 20197 yr by Skoffski

Any of the new Minis are an insult to the memory of Sir Alex Issigonis and IMO should never have been allowed to use the name, they devalue it and his genius of packaging, the real Mini was a very small car but very large inside.

 

The original Countryman was no bigger, just a slightly longer estate version.

I am pleased to have experienced ownership of Original Mini's, car and van.  But am not inclined to buy another.

I would really like a Hillman Imp which i also had or Sunbeam Stilletto,  but that needs to be one with a motor bike engine, so sometime in the future maybe.

 

 

 

 

Edited 1 January, 20197 yr by Skoffski

^^^ I had three of them.  A Chamois, an Imp, and briefly a Husky van-with-windows.  All three of them sheared cylinder head bolts whilst attempting to replace blown head gaskets.  The cylinder head was retained by steel bolts threaded into an aluminium block, which invariably seized.  I believe studs with captive nuts were not used in order to allow the cylinder head to be removed without taking the engine out of the car.  But in the event of a sheared bolt, the engine had to be taken out of the car anyway in order to Helicoil the block!

 

George - I like the idea of an Imp with a bike engine.  At the same time, why not turn the transaxle through 180 degrees and make the car mid-engined?  

http://zcars.org.uk

 

 

 

Edited 2 January, 20197 yr by Skoffski

35 minutes ago, Robjon said:

^^^ I had three of them.  A Chamois, an Imp, and briefly a Husky van-with-windows.  All three of them sheared cylinder head bolts whilst attempting to replace blown head gaskets.  The cylinder head was retained by steel bolts threaded into an aluminium block, which invariably seized.  I believe studs with captive nuts were not used in order to allow the cylinder head to be removed without taking the engine out of the car.  But in the event of a sheared bolt, the engine had to be taken out of the car anyway in order to Helicoil the block!

 

George - I like the idea of an Imp with a bike engine.  At the same time, why not turn the transaxle through 180 degrees and make the car mid-engined?  ssue

 

Issues with engine overheating due to configuration?

So many British engines had this problem ie Triumphs too!

 

Got a Twingo on loan today. The modern day imp.  Great turning circle like a Herald  or Splatfire!

^^^ Try the sister car maybe, but go for the EV version so the Smart ForFour EQ.   

Great fun with the RWD but sadly getting 90 miles from a charge is a dream and a wish.

On 02/01/2019 at 15:14, Skoffski said:

getting 90 miles from a charge is a dream

Which means it can't do Oban to Dumbarton (90 minutes to 2 hours at legal speeds) without a boost charge.

"Is a dream and a wish",  was what i posted,

as in maybe 75 miles at legal speeds, then find a charger working or lots of hours needed plugged into a 3 pin household socket.

Agreed; my point was that it's just another tax avoidance toy for townies.

Or maybe even people that live in the countryside or towns or cities and might never do even 50 miles a week back and for to the shops.

They are on the Motability List and people are leasing them. 

Tax avoidance is unlikely to come into it for private users paying the same what ever they lease, exempt from VED what ever they lease, able to park free mostly anyway and even drive in bus lanes or in 'restricted vehicle areas',  but saving in not buying petrol or diesel.

Edited 2 January, 20197 yr by Skoffski