| Author | Message | ||
     Randy Roberson Grand Master Username: wascator Post Number: 326 Registered: 5-2009 |
Hi, for a 1970 home-market Car, is the correct idle speed 600 RPM or 680? Also: what size are the speed adjustment bolt and the lock nut? I haven't found these to fit: SAE 3/8inch (too big); 5/16 inch (too small) ; 8mm, 9mm; 2BA in fact no -BA. So far She runs great; I have one seep-leak at the adaptor fitting on the front pump; the front pump also taps periodically. The warning lamp for the rear system flickers and goes out sometime but either the harness or the switch is at least partially shorted. The struggle continues! | ||
| Bob Reynolds Prolific User Username: bobreynolds Post Number: 197 Registered: 8-2012 |
It's 2BA (or 11/32). I think the idling speed is supposed to be 600 RPM. I set mine to 650 as it's a bit smoother. | ||
| Jan Forrest Grand Master Username: got_one Post Number: 708 Registered: 1-2008 |
SRH24516 nearly failed the MOT a couple of years ago when the tester's computer came up with an idle speed of 850 rpm. When I told him the correct book figure is 600-650 rpm he passed her as roadworthy. It's amazing what they will fail a car for. | ||
| Bob UK Unregistered guest Posted From: 94.197.122.85 |
The mot tester was wrong about the idle speed. The idle speed is only testable because excessive idle or low idle makes emissions checking awkward. As long as the engine is between 500 and a 1000 rpm then the emissions test relevant for that YEAR of car will work. My car 1974 is exempt from the emission test apart from visible smoke. Which must not be excessive. The idle speed is not fixed in stone and anywhere between 600 and 800 will be fine. The two criteria to go on is if the autobox bumps too much then it's too fast and if when the cars in gear lights on and steering using power that it doesn't stall. So if the idle is smooth and it doesn't bump then it's fine. The actual rpm figure is irrelevant. 700 rpm is about right. (Message approved by david_gore) | ||
| Bob UK Unregistered guest Posted From: 94.197.122.83 |
A very old memory has comeback. I worked as an apprentice for a company that had its own testing station, the law allows this providing we offered mots to the general public. The boss, to try and make sure we didn't actually do very many charged maximum for mots and no free re test for failures. One day a Ford zodiac turned up which had the throttle disconnected so we could not rev the engine and a push rod had been removed so it ran on 5 cylinders. It had a idle of 1100 rpm. It passed the mot. Then the owner got his tools out refitted the push rod and throttle, it started to smoke. He drove off in a fog with a new mot. I have been a party to getting round certain mot regs, such as road tyres at the test and racing tyres refitted when I get home. This I suspect still goes on. The test now starts with a car id check using vin numbers. Which brings in a little save money trick. I took my jeep for a test and before the test started the tester said it's going fail because he can't get a exhaust test because the jeep had a large hole in the back box. Which will mean a failure and a retest fee. So he entered in the computer wrong car presented. Which stops the test and I fix the hole and represent. He passed the jeep later on and I paid once. £52 saved. This is not illegal. It's a way of canceling the computer entry. Which is why I always use this very helpful mot station. The car has to meet the minimum standard regardless. I suspect before vin checks cars were presented for testing with wrong number plates. Originally the test didn't include car colour or even model. So a good Austin Mini could have the reg of a rusty Austin Cambridge. Most testers are mechanics working for a normal garage and tend to confuse mot regs with manufacturer's standards which are entirely different. Hence the cock ups such as suggesting a car with minimal emission test requirements should fail because the idle speed is wrong. That emissions test doesn't even require the engine to have a tick over. The tester can refuse the test only if it makes the car dangerous to test, an auto without an idle could be dangerous when in the workshop. (Message approved by david_gore) | ||
| Randy Roberson Grand Master Username: wascator Post Number: 330 Registered: 5-2009 |
Human ingenuity is amazing, and is responsible for remarkable success of organizations if unleashed and properly utilized and managed, of course. Which is one reason collectivism is amazingly unrpoductive and inefficient: centralized design and control shuts out almost all the innovations and iterations which would have been tried otherwise. Far as I can tell the entire war against Freon was more political than anything: the sky is falling etc., and the companies knew (1) they could not oppose it without looking like Dr. Evil; (2) they could make money off it; so off we go. | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 1491 Registered: 4-2003 |
Unfortunately for those of us who live in the Southern Hemisphere, we have to suffer the consequences of the hole in the ozone layer present in the atmosphere above our part of the world. This hole has been scientifically proved beyond doubt to be caused by the release of chlorinated fluoridated hydrocarbons such as refrigerant gases into the atmosphere. Our high incidence of skin cancer is directly linked to high levels of UV radiation which reach ground level as a consequence of not being absorbed by the ozone layer which normally provides protection from UV radiation. This is one instance where US-style political philosophical posturing on a known and proven problem affecting the lives of a large number of innocent people is not appropriate and certainly not wanted. It may not affect people who live in the USA being "out of sight, out of mind" but is a major concern for Australia where our incidence of skin cancer/melanoma and consequent deaths is very high. | ||
| Brian Vogel Grand Master Username: guyslp Post Number: 1131 Registered: 6-2009 |
I wish there were a lot less political posturing and a lot more public policy action about things that have been shown to be scientifically proven beyond any reasonable doubt over the course of decades. Science is, by it's very nature, self-correcting and while there are frequently incorrect hypotheses these do not survive to morph into bodies of knowledge that become established theories. The foot-dragging that's been going on in the United States for about the past 35-40 years is shameful (not to mention shortsighted, stupid, and making solutions harder to achieve with each and every year of inaction). There was a time where there was a respect for, and acknowledgment of, expertise. Now, sadly, the prevalent attitude in the USA is that "Joe the Plumber" knows as much about [insert highly arcane subjects here] as the world-renowned experts on said subjects. Cue the Talking Heads' We're on the Road to Nowhere. Brian | ||
| Bob UK Unregistered guest Posted From: 94.197.122.80 |
Freon when released eventual finds its way to the upper atmosphere. The chlorine in Freon then knocks off a oxygen atom from ozone which instead of being 03 is now O2 which then combines with the carbon bit in Freon to form C02. One chlorine atom knocks off 100,000 oxygen atoms before it is finished. When DuPont invented Freon the didn't know. Since then 134a is used, also for general propellants for spray cans. The USA EPA have a SNAP thingy which is significant new alternative products. So there is still light at the end of the tunnel. But certain vested interests try to manipulate the EPA. I came across a piece of literature written by DuPont and then more or less the same in EPA literature. Both DuPont and the EPA like words like "100% potential to explode" Any petrol leak on a car has a 100% potential to catch fire. Fortunately most leaks don't catch fire. But the politicians will misuse the word potential as will. In Europe the environment and safety guys actually talk to each other and want facts not a politician with a schoolboys knowledge of science. Which is fortunate for us. China just does what it likes and is paying the price of bad air in major cities. Australia is more with it in terms of getting the science right. My local council guy for instance visit a local engineering works and criticised that lights on machinery was left on while the machine was idle. We don't worry about 50watts on a machine that uses 15kw. I used to warm up my sandwiches on top of machine lights. So not entirely wasted. I have always been impressed by Merecedes RD because they only go by the facts. Climate change is a a good example of misuse of facts or rather I should say guesses. Especially when it's found out that temperature readings were estimated when equipment malfunctioned or a bloke in the middle of Tibet forgot to wind the ink recorder thing up. Because the scientists are only talking about 1 degree then it doesn't take many guesses to make the whole lot a guess. The doom and gloom mob then guess the worst. The climate is warming whether we did it and/or its a nnatural cycle who knows. One thing I have noticed is that plants are growing faster and bigger. Maybe nature lags behind a bit allows the CO2 to build and then sucks it back out of the atmosphere. (Message approved by david_gore) | ||
| Jan Forrest Grand Master Username: got_one Post Number: 709 Registered: 1-2008 |
On the climate change front, the UK National Meteorological Institute has recently predicted that by 2050 or sooner we will be experiencing severe heat wave Summers, on average, in alternate years compared to the 1 in 8-10 for the past century. Apart from Scotland and the Scottish Isles, when was the last white Christmas you can recall? On a personal note: I recently decided that it was time my rhubarb was relocated to a better fed area. So I prepared a new bed with plenty of subsoil compost and planted the 'dead' roots in it. Within days the damn things were producing new leaves! | ||
| Bob UK Unregistered guest Posted From: 94.197.122.90 |
Rhubarb in the UK is grown in the north west of Midlands in the rhubarb triangle. They grow it in darkened sheds. My Rhubarb is quite good. Also I have grape vines and blackcurrent brambles which have got a bit out of control. I also grow baby tomatoes in pots. My neighbour grows carrots so we do an exchange. He tried rhubarb but it wouldn't take in his garden. I don't think I will be around in 2050. Snow around Christmass time in Dorset has always been a rarity. It usually snows for a day in January, and melts the day after. Today in Dorset the temperature was 10c, which is almost tee shirt weather. I didn't feel cold and it saves on heating bills. However once out of the area to the north the temps can drop to -5c. Where I live to the east is isle Wright and the Solent, to the west is the purbeck hills and to the north is the downs. I am surrounded by hills with Bournemouth bay to the south. Which gives the area shelter and an extra 2 degrees of temp c. (Message approved by david_gore) | ||
| Randy Roberson Grand Master Username: wascator Post Number: 335 Registered: 5-2009 |
I got my idle speed about right; now I want a piece of rhubarb pie... | ||
| Jan Forrest Grand Master Username: got_one Post Number: 710 Registered: 1-2008 |
I live a few miles South of the rhubarb triangle, which is centered on Leeds rather than the West Midlands. Having 2 rumbunctious dogs I have to grow it inside a fenced area or they'll just run over it and destroy all the leaves. To grow it properly it has to be nurtured in the open air for several years until it has grown strong, with many leaf buds and tended to prevent 'bolting' (flower production) as it saps all the strength from the root. When it reaches full maturity it is taken into a warm, humid, lightless room - usually, but not always, underground - where it grows so fast that the growth can be heard! Once ripe it has to be picked by candle light or the crop can be destroyed. After that it is returned to the field for 2-3 years to regain its strength. Due to the difficulty in raising it from seed, all commercial crops are propagated from splitting the roots in the Atumn when it should be sleeping for the Winter. In the 19th century the Emperor of China sent a letter to Queen Victoria protesting about the tactics of the East India Company and the British Navy in forcibly selling narcotics in China. He threatened to cut off all exports of Chinese rhubarb to The British Empire which could result in countless deaths from unremitting constipation. There is no evidence that she actually read the letter, but the sales of British narcotics slowly dwindled anyway. | ||
| Brian Vogel Grand Master Username: guyslp Post Number: 1132 Registered: 6-2009 |
Jan, How interesting to learn of this very specific, and arcane, growing technique. I have never had any fondness for rhubarb (or at least stewed rhubarb, due to its texture) but my mother absolutely loves the stuff. We grew it as did many neighbors when I lived in Pennsylvania and I have a start going here in Virginia since I moved Mom here. We have, however, never grown the stuff in the dark. It's a perennial that comes up every year in its corner of the garden and we simply harvest stalks as they just mature, but don't allow them to keep "bulking up" afterward. Is the stuff grown by the method you have described somewhat like "white asparagus" in that it lacks any chlorophyll due to growing in the dark? I also can't imagine rhubarb growing at the rate you describe (I'm not doubting you, I just cannot imagine it). Brian | ||
| Bob UK Unregistered guest Posted From: 94.197.122.92 |
Banana trees move around. Or was it pineapples. My rhubarb grows in a shaded place. I get crumble mix and make rhubarb crumble and birds custard. My baby tomatoes go well with cheese on toast. Strangely my dog likes raw carrots. Also not far away is a cider press, they do a nice Perry, which has a steady tick over. Perry is pear cider. I live next door to a nature reserve which has wild ponies cows and feral pigs. One has to be careful, Dorset isn't as safe as some think. Recently a stupid woman and her dog got charged by a wild pony, the horse turned at the last second. The horse was just giving a warning and having a bit of fun. The women crept up on the horse so she could stroke it before it ran away. There are loads of BlackBerrys in the reserve which I pick. I get a gallon easy in 30 mins. (Message approved by david_gore) | ||
| Jan Forrest Grand Master Username: got_one Post Number: 711 Registered: 1-2008 |
I regularly give both my dogs treats which can include grapes, carrots, bananas, apples, strawberries, potatoes, etc, etc. When I peel a spud for chips I just let the peel drop on the kitchen floor where they almost fight over them! The lightless method of growing is hard to get your head around. It encourages extremely rapid stem growth while discouraging leaf production with no chlorophyll to contend with. In rhubarb it also reduces the amount of the toxic oxalic acid to acceptable levels - as indicated by the stem turning red. As implied it weakens the roots so much that a second attempt would kill them, which is why they are returned to the field for a couple of years. Fairly recently I was growing a couple of varieties of seedless grapes on a South facing wall. Unfortunately extensive building work had to be done there and the vines died after being moved. I've also grown toms there, but I end up with about 10 times as many as I require so it's easier to just buy the few I do need. My garden used to contain 2 black cherry trees which kept me in cherry pies, puds, jam and wine, but the roots spread so far and wide that they affected the house foundations occasioning the work mentioned above. They had to go, so I took them down with a chainsaw. Although there are several similar trees in the area, most of them are growing on an old slag heap and suffer from heavy metal contamination making them slightly toxic and very bitter. I still have several gooseberry bushes, but the dogs pick them before they're fully ripe and I get none. | ||
| Bob Reynolds Prolific User Username: bobreynolds Post Number: 200 Registered: 8-2012 |
I've got a Rhubarb plant, a Crumble bush and a Custard tree. Unfortunately they don't all ripen at the same time, so I have to buy my Rhubarb Crumble.  | ||
| Bob UK Unregistered guest Posted From: 94.197.122.82 |
Bob. You should be arrested and taken in to custardy for a joke like that. (Message approved by david_gore) | ||
| Jan Forrest Grand Master Username: got_one Post Number: 715 Registered: 1-2008 |
Then his face will crumble ... I'll get my coat. |
