Club 80-90 Forums

Guys,

My van (Gloria) finally runs and drives!

I need a general opinion on how it "should drive".

I know that it’s the slowest thing since the snale but what do you think of this:-

Engine starts well and runs smooth, on the flat will make it to about 55 MPH but yesterday when I was going up a fairly steep hill (the on near Lanchester to Stanley in Durham for those local) I had to drop all the way down to 1st gear and the max I could get was 15 maybe 20 mph.

is that normal on a steep hill?

So I’m left thinking that the pump timing may be out a bit since it starts and runs ok with no smoke. My initial idea was that it could need to be advanced a bit so I tried this and I could hear a bit of nock (more like marbles) this would increase the more advanced I made it so I called it a night.

What do you all think, give it a little more advance and have a tiny amount of that sound? Or maybe retard it a little more?

Any advice on what I would see/hear when too advanced and to retarded would be super as having it done by a garage is not on the cards at the moment.

Thanks agian Chaps!

Can't help you with the tech stuff but I can tell you that on the flat it should be capabable of reaching 70mph for a short squirt. It's not its cruising speed, but it should get there eventually if you really nail the pedal down and have patience and a long, straight, flat road.

It does run out of puff on hills very rapidly though. Now I dunno how steep that hill of yours is, but first gear ascends are not entirely unheard of in a CS (especially on really steep hills). I distinctly remember one or two hills on the M4 (going from Wales to Dover ..or is that the M5? ...anyhow...) where second gear was called for.

Wait till weldore comes on later, he will tell ya what it should drive like. Needless to say he has now got a 1.9D fitted

mine was embarrasing...ask meggles

although i did bolsover hill in it a few times and it pulled up there like a train in 3rd ...if i changed to 4th it wouldnt be long till i was back in 3rd again though.meggles has it now and says he has adjusted the pump and its a lot better

Thanks for the info chaps! I'm going to have a bit of a play with it tomorrow. The hill is quite a hill but from the sound of it second should of done it, I'll report back on how the pump adjust goes.

I'll try a bit of advance first

sounds much like mine - happily plod along at 55, 65 for a short spurt, almost 70+ once but ran out of road!! - but never had to hit 1st on a hill. 2nd at a push. On long motorway/A road inclines 3rd is a regular choice and 30-40mph normal.

Look out for old folks driving Fiestas and you can still pass them...one overtake a week is enough to make you grin and "whoop" like a big child!

wee bugger wrote:one overtake a week is enough to make you grin and "whoop" like a big child!

and i thought it was just me such a satisfying time though

Don't think that I'll be trying to many over takes but i think i have it driving ok.

I mean on a flat I could see its cruise speed and up a steep hill I could manage 20 mph which isn't bad considering how fat the van is and how steep the hill is.

One thing that may help is that the accelerator pedal could be adjusted a bit more but i seem to have run out of adjustment of the cable in the engine bay - is there any way to tighten it up under the front?

Anyway regardless of how slow it may be it really gives me the biggest ever! I love my van and i'm planning my first camping trip next week (i'm sure there will be a post in the camping forum).

thanks

One thing that may help is that the accelerator pedal could be adjusted a bit more but i seem to have run out of adjustment of the cable in the engine bay - is there any way to tighten it up under the front?

Yes, first get someone to sit in cab and put their foot down on the accelerator pedal,
whilst you look at throttle lever to see if it opens all the way. You can adjust underneath at the front via clamping bolt on relay lever.

AH good news! So will i have to drop the spare wheel to see this, mine is lhd?

thanks

Yes, drop the wheel and put it out of the way. You can then creep right into the spare wheel well and you'll see a little sheet metal box bolted to the cab floor with the accelerator cable coming out. The lever mechanics are behind that cover.

weldore wrote:mine was embarrasing...ask meggles

although i did bolsover hill in it a few times and it pulled up there like a train in 3rd ...if i changed to 4th it wouldnt be long till i was back in 3rd again though.meggles has it now and says he has adjusted the pump and its a lot better

CORRECTION: My son adjusted the pump timing, and then swapped it for the van's original one. Timing is critical. As for embarassing? No!!! Just put a "running in, please pass" sticker in back window. (Aaah, memories). I can get nearly 70mph on a long straight. It's fine at about 55mph though, and temp stays OK.

i only do 55 in my 1y...just seems more relaxed to drive at that speed and it will do it uphill too

we wnt to the nurmburg ring the other wek lots of steep hills on single carriage ways, but i did not drop below 3rd gear although it chugged a little it did pull and doing 85KPH i can put my foot down and feel a little pull up to around 105KPH.

Thats all i have ever got out my van but i am happy sitting at 90kph and even on long motorway hills i rarely lose speed

I can get nearly 70mph on a long straight. It's fine at about 55mph though, and temp stays OK. [/quote]

How long a straight keith?!!!!!!!!!(A1/M18)
Mike