Another workshop move has pushed the Denovo car project on & mostly complete assemblage has been achieved under the bonnet & over the past couple of days she has been persuaded into running again. A few teething problems with the nearside carburettor being somewhat reluctant to perform were finally banished by a new set of ignition leads.
I have to vacate the premises by Sunday & things are more advanced than the bottom photo shows so that's the last job to be done in this (probably soon to be demolished) workshop.
There's other jobs to do starting with the sticking servo which will probably go to Past Parts in Suffolk to be relined & rebuilt:
Being on the same old farm my brother is also moving his workshop & his new one is big enough for me to share with a couple of my cars, namely my P5B & Oxford Traveller:
In other news we have just bought this from my brother to replace our trusty Fiesta due to my wife's little antique business needing a bit more carrying capacity than the little Ford can supply:
A Generation 5 Chrysler Grand Voyager. A top of the range, fully loaded & fairly cavernous motor with the Stow 'n' Go seating system which puts the five rear seats under the floor, the back three electronically. The rear hatch & sidedoors are also electric. It's the 2.8 diesel engine with a six-speed auto box & while it won't set the tarmac on fire it's very quiet, smooth & extremely comfortable. It's not the most economical diesel out there at nearly two tons but we did London to Malvern a couple of weeks ago on a quarter tank which quite impressed me. Truth be told, l love it. l always wanted a Yank (actually all built in Canada) though never thought it would be a diesel MPV. But it's got bags more class than a van & having read up a bit on them it's definitely the best-looking out of the seven generations of the model IMO.
The one downside is it's not ULEZ compliant & we live in the zone, but we reckon it'll pay for itself in hauling more old stuff than the Fiesta could dream of & l'm going to keep a log of costs to keep a check on things. The purchase price, new discs & pads on the front, the duff handbrake sorted, oil change & new filters plus a dodgy fuel pump module diagnosed (a future fix) hasn't yet taken us to the £2k mark. And as it won't be a daily car, allowances can be made on the extra running expenses. It had a timing belt replacement eighteen months ago when my brother bought it even cheaper than we did & luckily, the ex-MG Rover guy who maintains my 75 owned three of them so knows his way around them very well.
The Fiesta is staying in the family too with my stepson & his wife.