A Californian drying out in South Africa

[African Imp]

From John Ross via the clubs forum pages.

Roy

You have had an alternator in that car for a long time now

Assuming you have kept same colour (thin brown/yellow stripe) from the dynamo all you need do is remove both thin wires of same colour from RB340 and short them together and thats your ignition lamp from alternator to lamp done.

Cant believe you have been without an ignition light for so long

My problem is that the Lucas regulator was removed, so what do I do now?

[John A Ross]

The August issue of Impressions came to me as an On Line digital copy will the hard copy arrive by post?

I have now signed up to receive the digital copy and with it a lower club membership fee, very welcome too!

This was copied from my PC screen and is now posted on the Killarney 50 years site.

Roy

Interesting

You already signed up for a digital copy at a reduced rate ? when did you do that ?

Anyone "overseas" signing up for a digital copy of the magazine at a reduced rate will not receive a paper copy as far as I am aware.

Impromptu newsletter (not magazine) was received very well electronically

.

[John A Ross]

From John Ross via the clubs forum pages.

Roy

You have had an alternator in that car for a long time now

Assuming you have kept same colour (thin brown/yellow stripe) from the dynamo all you need do is remove both thin wires of same colour from RB340 and short them together and thats your ignition lamp from alternator to lamp done.

Cant believe you have been without an ignition light for so long

My problem is that the Lucas regulator was removed, so what do I do now?

Roy

Which thread do you wish to continue the discussion on, the one here or the one in the Electrics section as I wont engage on both as it makes my head hurt and makes things harder for people to search on overall.

[African Imp]

From John Ross via the clubs forum pages.

Roy

You have had an alternator in that car for a long time now

Assuming you have kept same colour (thin brown/yellow stripe) from the dynamo all you need do is remove both thin wires of same colour from RB340 and short them together and thats your ignition lamp from alternator to lamp done.

Cant believe you have been without an ignition light for so long

My problem is that the Lucas regulator was removed, so what do I do now?

Roy

Which thread do you wish to continue the discussion on, the one here or the one in the Electrics section as I wont engage on both as it makes my head hurt and makes things harder for people to search on overall.

John,

It will be best to continue on the electrics section of the forum?

[African Imp]

The August issue of Impressions came to me as an On Line digital copy will the hard copy arrive by post?

I have now signed up to receive the digital copy and with it a lower club membership fee, very welcome too!

This was copied from my PC screen and is now posted on the Killarney 50 years site.

Roy

Interesting

You already signed up for a digital copy at a reduced rate ? when did you do that ?

Anyone "overseas" signing up for a digital copy of the magazine at a reduced rate will not receive a paper copy as far as I am aware.

Impromptu newsletter (not magazine) was received very well electronically

.

John,

I was one of the members asked to trial the digital copy, so I have seen them for two months or so now.

[John A Ross]

Roy

Yes we have had PDF copies of the magazine available for a good few months now.

So I need to be clear

You still get your paper copy at the moment and still pay the standard fee. The PDF copy is a bonus for members and of course you will see that long before your paper copy..

OR

Have you actually renewed your membership at the lower rate before now and no longer receive any paper copies ?

Asking for a friend or 2, o3 3...

.

[African Imp]

Roy

Yes we have had PDF copies of the magazine available for a good few months now.

So I need to be clear

You still get your paper copy at the moment and still pay the standard fee. The PDF copy is a bonus for members and of course you will see that long before your paper copy..

OR

Have you actually renewed your membership at the lower rate before now and no longer receive any paper copies ?

Asking for a friend or 2, o3 3...

In my case the 2023/24 subscription was due a few months ago, I discussed the lower rate and was told that should the AGM later this month approve a lower rate for overseas members and taking the digital magazine option, I would then be refunded the difference? as a credit I expect?

So I paid the subs due, it was Pounds 31.00 and have since seen the lower rate expected for members such as myself, assuming the members at the AGM pass the motion? For myself its anyones guess when and if a paper copy is to arrive, such is the service from SAPO being so poor. I now move all my Imp Parts sales via Fedex which is faster, reliable and even costs less than the SAPO!

[John A Ross]

In my case the 2023/24 subscription was due a few months ago, I discussed the lower rate and was told that should the AGM later this month approve a lower rate for overseas members and taking the digital magazine option, I would then be refunded the difference? as a credit I expect?

So I paid the subs due, it was Pounds 31.00 and have since seen the lower rate expected for members such as myself, assuming the members at the AGM pass the motion? For myself its anyones guess when and if a paper copy is to arrive, such is the service from SAPO being so poor. I now move all my Imp Parts sales via Fedex which is faster, reliable and even costs less than the SAPO!

Roy

OK, fair enough.

Just trying to understand as yes, you guessed it, lack of information once again had folks getting their undies in a bunch and actually for good reason as perception was that you had been given this new membership level prior to anything being approved.

So easy to avoid such unrest yet we seem to continually breed it.

My own opinion is that the discount for E-delivery of the magazine to overseas members does not proportionally represent the saving to the club but until I can get better detail on how it was arrived at I cannot comment on more than my own perception.

I find it very encouraging that many overseas members are prepared to support the move to E-Delivery but those that prefer paper (and there are many) will still receive it.

Its ideal for you Roy as the SAPO is the worst I have ever heard of.

From information tabled to allow the members to vote on such a motion I have no knowledge of any such pro-rata scheme for anyone renewing within the past few months, or 6 months or a year. It seems completely fair to me to do so but IMHO should have been included in the motion itself so folks can vote from an informed position.

Thanks for clearing that up for me Roy

.

[African Imp]

In my case the 2023/24 subscription was due a few months ago, I discussed the lower rate and was told that should the AGM later this month approve a lower rate for overseas members and taking the digital magazine option, I would then be refunded the difference? as a credit I expect?

So I paid the subs due, it was Pounds 31.00 and have since seen the lower rate expected for members such as myself, assuming the members at the AGM pass the motion? For myself its anyones guess when and if a paper copy is to arrive, such is the service from SAPO being so poor. I now move all my Imp Parts sales via Fedex which is faster, reliable and even costs less than the SAPO!

Roy

OK, fair enough.

Just trying to understand as yes, you guessed it, lack of information once again had folks getting their undies in a bunch and actually for good reason as perception was that you had been given this new membership level prior to anything being approved.

So easy to avoid such unrest yet we seem to continually breed it.

My own opinion is that the discount for E-delivery of the magazine to overseas members does not proportionally represent the saving to the club but until I can get better detail on how it was arrived at I cannot comment on more than my own perception.

I find it very encouraging that many overseas members are prepared to support the move to E-Delivery but those that prefer paper (and there are many) will still receive it.

Its ideal for you Roy as the SAPO is the worst I have ever heard of.

From information tabled to allow the members to vote on such a motion I have no knowledge of any such pro-rata scheme for anyone renewing within the past few months, or 6 months or a year. It seems completely fair to me to do so but IMHO should have been included in the motion itself so folks can vote from an informed position.

Thanks for clearing that up for me Roy

.
I believe others were part of the test to see if the idea on a digital version was workable?

In my case its great for the obvious reason that I can now expect to see the next issue of Impressions when everyone else does, I might add that the section on members parts for sale is sent at the same time but as a separate page.

[Uncle Henry]

Roy. You're making these posts difficult to follow/read. When you are highlighting a quote, your own response needs to be outside/after them. Not within. I have to read through it all again to find out where the quote ends and your response starts. I dont want to miss anything important.

[ ]

You need your reply after the last square bracket. Just saying...

AG

[African Imp]

Roy. You're making these posts difficult to follow/read. When you are highlighting a quote, your own response needs to be outside/after them. Not within. I have to read through it all again to find out where the quote ends and your response starts. I dont want to miss anything important.

[ ]

You need your reply after the last square bracket. Just saying...

AG

Ok, that is news to me, I was deleting the ( /quote ) on the last few replies too!

Guess what, today the SAPO continued to confuse and surprise me, Impressions magazine arrived, all three months at once!

[Uncle Henry]

Now you've got it, Roy !

Good job you have the digital versions on time.

AG

[African Imp]

This took a bit of sorting out, in the end the fix was lets say, an accident?

The red ignition light on the dash was not showing, I had fitted a Bosch 35 amp alternator back in 2016, the control box was removed in total, I connected just two wires to get the alternator to work.

One was the smaller terminal and to the brown and yellow feed wire to the indicator bulb, which then became the exciter lamp.

The other was the larger brown wire, that went via a amperemeter gauge on the dash and then to the key switch.

It was only after I removed the alternator that I was able to inspect the rear terminals and while doing so, I cleaned them with a small flat file.

Seems that was the problem, overspray on the feed terminal was stopping the power to the light on the dash, some feed must have been getting there for the power to get through though?

My thanks to John Ross on related advice and The Nun for the supply of a suitable wiring diagram, that is now printed and dated and filed in the cars lever arch file for future reference.

[African Imp]

After what we call winter, Spring starts on September the 1st, this is our weather and today.

Its on the Chapmans Peak Drive, far enough away from home to ensure that all fluids are up to temperature and to test out the engine cooling, there were no issues!

[African Imp]

The Confessional??

When I returned back home from the drive yesterday, I pulled a couple of Champion N9YC spark plugs to test the mixture?

With black soot on the termianls It was not looking good, was it the reason being that some weeks back I asked Jean to get ten litres of petrol to used in our Honda EU2i, I always put the containers in a box to stop them falling around in the boot of the car.

On that occasion I used a spare 5ltr oil container with say 30mm of clean oil in it, ok for the job at hand, being to pack three five litre plastic containers in tightly.

When Jean returned she had fifteen litres of petrol!

So given the high price of the stuff I have been using it in the Imp, a portion of the petrol and engine oil added to each lot of fuel I put in the tank.

The result is not looking good but the cars 916cc engine goes well enough!

A drive today and to Bakoven on much faster roads has given the same results.

[The Nun]

Don't keep looking Roy, if its going OK leave it, for the miles you do it will hardly matter too much?

[John A Ross]

Roy

Save yourself the hassle of pulling plugs

Fit a VAC guage

https://www.pakwheels.com/forums/t/vacu ... ool/178537

Or just add in an wideband sensor to your exhaust and a AFR display

You can see whats happenning in real time rather than "what was" if its a real concern

.

[African Imp]

Don't keep looking Roy, if its going OK leave it, for the miles you do it will hardly matter too much?

Yes and no, the plugs have not been inspected for many months, as the engine runs so well but given the issue recently with a sticking choke cable and then my using petrol with engine oil in it I needed to see what the effect of that oil would be?

What I see looks like a stuck choke but its not, it's the oi, once the half tank of fuel oil mix is depleted I will fill with fresh fuel, then do the run to Bakoven and back again to see the results on the spark plug condition then?

I see the baby is now being held, it was carrying a bucket of water originally!

[African Imp]

Roy

Save yourself the hassle of pulling plugs

Fit a VAC guage

https://www.pakwheels.com/forums/t/vacu ... ool/178537

Or just add in an wideband sensor to your exhaust and a AFR display

You can see whats happenning in real time rather than "what was" if its a real concern

.

Thanks but given I have what is a new engine fitted , its done only 3000 kms or so? I know that things were good mixture wise BEFORE I put petrol with engine oil in it!

Not a lot really, I was interested to see what effect it would have, now I know!

[African Imp]

Roy

Save yourself the hassle of pulling plugs

Fit a VAC guage

https://www.pakwheels.com/forums/t/vacu ... ool/178537

Or just add in an wideband sensor to your exhaust and a AFR display

You can see whats happening in real time rather than "what was" if its a real concern

.

I have this gauge, will it work in vacuum testing?

[The Nun]

They were a bit of a gimmick and you can't watch that all the time trying to keep it in the green when you supposed to be looking where you're going.

[Uncle Henry]

No. Just like you cannot watch whats going on around you when you're constantly going to have to look at your speedo to keep to 20 ridiculous miles per hour ! There could well be more accidents !

AG

[Dave ' Linwood ' Lane]

They were a bit of a gimmick and you can't watch that all the time trying to keep it in the green when you supposed to be looking where you're going.

Vac gauges are a boon when tuning and diagnosing engine issues and probably the most useful aftermarket gauge there is

[John A Ross]

No. Just like you cannot watch whats going on around you when you're constantly going to have to look at your speedo to keep to 20 ridiculous miles per hour ! There could well be more accidents !

Must admit Andy, I find it a big problem to sit at 20, the ACC on Helens ID3 handles it just fine but 20 is not a happy speed for anything I have with a manual box, not even the imp. All rev far too high in 3rd or are loaded too much in 4.

Its bonkers.

I really feel the pain of Wales now. They will grind the country to a halt and just gave our delivery and transport infrastructure a big kick in the nuts.

It will be trains next, put in high speed lines and limit them to 50....

[Uncle Henry]

And there's been no mention of the added pollution that's going to follow, with cars needing to drive in a lower gear. Such pollution, as caused, will then be used to add to the call for electric vehicles ! And all because parents can't parent these days, and keep their kids educated about road sense. Our toddlers were on reins back in the day - now seen as an assault rather than a safety measure ! Pathetic. Most young mums walk about with their heads stuck in their phones round our way, with no regard to what the sprogs are up to. And so then someone else can be blamed for their own shortcomings.

AG

[The Nun]

If all those delivery companies said sorry we aren't delivering inside the limited zones you'll have to come to our warehouse on the outskirts and pick up your goods yourself then things would soon start going back to how they were, no beer deliveries to the House of Commons bar

[John A Ross]

Peter

Our supply infrastructure is almost a living thing. Even 20 years ago a tin of beans scanned at the checkout was being loaded onto a cage 300 miles away to navigate the hubs and then to store. Nowdays the information that AI can extract and predict trends makes some of the SciFi movies look like an antique documentery.

But yes time to store is calculated from loading slots in the bay, what is to be loaded, hub to hub, any delay on accident, traffic in town and now the horror of 20 will see some horrific interuptions to service and ultimately used to bump UP prices.

Courier companies ALREADY started to hit us with levies.

Not sure it will promote anything electric Andy, our grid is bother.

Anything for big haulage future as regards green lies with companies like JCB on hydrogen. One of the things that caught my eye is they developed a refueling plant as well as the engine to replace the old site diesel bowser

Given the background in electric ground lifts electric would be easier but they have at least seen the folly.

Next 10-20 years will be interesting. Would be great to be around that ong to see it unfold.

Electric is no good. I charge at home for buttons, likely costs me 1p a mile to run, great for me but looking at the plan to come to the AGM, I am cheaper by a long way bringing the diesel and skipping the extra DAY almost it takes for me to stop and charge.

Day running Helen only typically uses 5% but I used it yesterday evening for "dads taxi" for my son, left with 180 miles on range, went 32 miles ( 2 trips 16 miles round) and was left with less than 75 when I parked up, that was running lights and heater.

On Electric I reckon I am actually better off on expenses at end of the month by a fair bit even paying for the electric car, but the tech and capabilities are not there to replace anything practical yet. Its one of the longer range one and it comes in at nearly 2 TONS ! and yes, I can see it killing roads faster. Smaller cars, Fiats/BMW Minis all sub 100 mile range, I would have struggled last night in either of those.

Needs beer to put the world to rights on that one.

.

[John A Ross]

Aplogies Roy !

But back to imps.

Yes there are motors that will drop right in an imp. The adapted milk float one I think is still out there but modern conversions have been done to replace imp lumps.

Same issues.

What would be nice Roy is given your sunshine availability, and its something we though of when we bought our first merc with panoramic roof, is embedding PV cells to the roof for extra charge as you go.

Would not work here, PV cells rarely reach full potential here.

You are indeed in the land of plenty for that Roy.

EV conversion ?

.

[The Nun]

Might be easier to just buy an Electric Fiat 500 and stick IMP badges on it, saw one today they're quite nice and very quiet, so quiet i didnt quite hear it coming, but this one didn't have IMP badges but no reason why not
There was a guy doing all these what a modern imp should look like drawings, and some didn't look too bad, and with the cars being available through Peugeot dealerships within a fortnight folk were getting excited, but then reality kicked in and it all died a dearh to be heard of no more.
But anyway until there's a charger virtually for every electric car almost everywhere small EVs are just for going to the town and back, but that would be ideal for you Roy?

[African Imp]

Aplogies Roy !

But back to imps.

Yes there are motors that will drop right in an imp. The adapted milk float one I think is still out there but modern conversions have been done to replace imp lumps.

Same issues.

What would be nice Roy is given your sunshine availability, and its something we though of when we bought our first merc with panoramic roof, is embedding PV cells to the roof for extra charge as you go.

Would not work here, PV cells rarely reach full potential here.

You are indeed in the land of plenty for that Roy.

EV conversion ?

.

Given the failure of South Africas Eskom power utility we have just had a 5.1 Kw invertor installed, works as it should too!

[John A Ross]

Roy

I have 9kw here of storage, topped up on an off peak tariff cheap as chips 12.30 to 4.30 am every day.

The EV costs us peanuts to use, so we use it as much as we can. Especially short trips.

The energy store at 9kw lasts no time here with 4 adults in the house

.

[African Imp]

No. Just like you cannot watch whats going on around you when you're constantly going to have to look at your speedo to keep to 20 ridiculous miles per hour ! There could well be more accidents !

Must admit Andy, I find it a big problem to sit at 20, the ACC on Helens ID3 handles it just fine but 20 is not a happy speed for anything I have with a manual box, not even the imp. All rev far too high in 3rd or are loaded too much in 4.

Its bonkers.

I really feel the pain of Wales now. They will grind the country to a halt and just gave our delivery and transport infrastructure a big kick in the nuts.

It will be trains next, put in high speed lines and limit them to 50....

Is it all of Wales or just the one town?

Makes little sense?

[African Imp]

Roy

I have 9kw here of storage, topped up on an off peak tariff cheap as chips 12.30 to 4.30 am every day.

The EV costs us peanuts to use, so we use it as much as we can. Especially short trips.

The energy store at 9kw lasts no time here with 4 adults in the house

.

We are just the two, with our better and warmer weather we are fine with the 5.1 storage her, we can of course add a second battery pack if we feel the need? Then solar panels too but the added expense doubles the cost to this stage.

[African Imp]

And there's been no mention of the added pollution that's going to follow, with cars needing to drive in a lower gear. Such pollution, as caused, will then be used to add to the call for electric vehicles ! And all because parents can't parent these days, and keep their kids educated about road sense. Our toddlers were on reins back in the day - now seen as an assault rather than a safety measure ! Pathetic. Most young mums walk about with their heads stuck in their phones round our way, with no regard to what the sprogs are up to. And so then someone else can be blamed for their own shortcomings.

AG

Well noted!

[African Imp]

They were a bit of a gimmick and you can't watch that all the time trying to keep it in the green when you supposed to be looking where you're going.

Vac gauges are a boon when tuning and diagnosing engine issues and probably the most useful aftermarket gauge there is

An easy connection is to the take off point on the Rootes twin Stromberg manifolds, however routing the suction hose all the way to the dash in the front of the car is less easy!

[African Imp]

Roy

I have 9kw here of storage, topped up on an off peak tariff cheap as chips 12.30 to 4.30 am every day.

The EV costs us peanuts to use, so we use it as much as we can. Especially short trips.

The energy store at 9kw lasts no time here with 4 adults in the house

.

We do not get Off Peak tariffs here , instead we just get a power outage from Eskom the national supplier!

[African Imp]

Another drive, I am now wanting to use up the petrol with oil in it, I think The Nun may be right, leave it alone as to be honest the engine starts instantly ( now with choke ) runs just fine and you would never know about the fuel / oil mix, mind you there may be a little smoke from the exhaust?

As my dad used to say " A good soldier never looks behind himself "

[The Nun]

As my dad used to say " A good soldier never looks behind himself "

Just use your mirrors before maneuvering

[African Imp]

The local Caltex service station now stock the Halvoline Xtended Life Coolant, some years back, it was not always available, so I phoned head office and they had it in stock in a matter of days.

The price has risen four fold since I fitted the rebuilt Singer Sport ( 916 cc ) engine, its now R110 for a single pack of 1 litre, given the job it does I suppose its cheap enough? Say 4.70 pounds?

The sale was done for me by Jeremiha who was kind enough to pose with my car

Its a pre mix and with a ration of 33/67, is that Antifreeze to Water?

[The Nun]

Good old fashioned personal service like the days when knights were bold, you wouldn't get Halfords bringing it out to your car here these days

[African Imp]

Good old fashioned personal service like the days when knights were bold, you wouldn't get Halfords bringing it out to your car here these days

Yes, we are sort of in a different World here, some bad and some good , such as by law we may not have a Self Service Petrol Station, this has been discussed many times over the last three decades, the decision to keep Petrol Attendants is based on the number of them who would then be unemployed ?

They work in twelve hour shifts too!

[The Nun]

Probably to do with theft too as the price of fuel rises folk chance driving off without paying where they cant if its not self service.

I believe here they are looking at pay before you fill here now to prevent non payers.

[African Imp]

Probably to do with theft too as the price of fuel rises folk chance driving off without paying where they cant if its not self service.

I believe here they are looking at pay before you fill here now to prevent non payers.

You may well have a point there!

Then there is the other side of sales, it may have been last year when a lady drove into a filling station and asked for petrol, when presented with the cash sale slip she found that she was short on the required amount, the petrol attendant paid the short amount from his own pocket and told the lady to return the amount next time she was passing?

A crowdfunding campaign for petrol attendant Nkosikho Mbele whose act of kindness warmed hearts across South Africa has raised more than R282,000 to help his family in Cape Town. Mbele paid R100 out of his own pocket to top up the tank of a motorist who stopped for fuel but had forgotten her bank card...

This went onto a Face Book page and someone started a Crowd Funding for the petrol attendant, last I heard the amount was past a half million Rands and the guy was set to buy himself a small house!

It was God's doing, all of this. I feel like I'm dreaming. I'm shocked. I'm positive about us. As ordinary people, we can bring a change to life. You see, I was no one, but out of this small thing, the way that people who don't even know me can see me..." Mbele told TimesLIVE.

Apart from returning to the petrol station to repay the R100 and thank Mbele, Van Deventer started a crowdfunding initiative, hoping to raise R100,000 by the end of June.

Monet van Deventer.
Monet van Deventer.
Image: Facebook/Monet van Deventer
“Thank you Nkosikho for giving me hope for South Africa. May Jesus bless you. Since Nkosikho saved my life I would love to do something in return for him,” she said on BackaBuddy.

“His two children, mom and brother live with him in Khayelitsha and he will really benefit from any donations.”

Nkosikho said he would also like to help children on the streets.

[African Imp]

This past few days the Western Cape has been lashed with serious gales, like mega stuff, beaches have been stripped of sand, many roads are impassible, our local Chapmans Peak Drive was a river with mud slides, it may take a month to clear that mess.

My own daughter and family went away for the long weekend,, they were trapped in overnight and today will need to make a very long detour to reach their home.

Here we had some trees break and one house lost part of its roof.

[The Nun]

That was close Roy that could have fallen on your Imp and dented the roof

[African Imp]

That was close Roy that could have fallen on your Imp and dented the roof

The car was close but well safe and in its garage!

[African Imp]

We have much warmer weather now, in fact this past few days I have not switched the heater panel in this office on, today I am wearing a tee shirt top and not a jersey and jacket, summer has arrived!

Three days back and after two weeks of moving the rubble that washed down the mountain from an awful storm we had, like twelve inches of rain in two days, the Chapmans Peak Drive was reopend, what a mess that was in.

[African Imp]

So today we see an air temp of 28c, yes its summer now!

The sea water will only be 13c though!

[The Nun]

Keep it off the beach Roy it will go rusty

[African Imp]

Keep it off the beach Roy it will go rusty

That beach like all our local roads around the back can be covered with beach sand, that of course holds a certain amount of sea salt. However given that I would not take the car down there when the roads are wet, its safe enough to do so.

We live on the other side of that bay and to the right, the beach is just a short walk away.

That yacht sailed away some years back!