Fatbloke and Poppy - Part 14

by Mike Peake

It was still the summer of 2014 we were having plenty of “Bring your classics to work” days. (30 mile round trip) and a longer trip to the Bristol Classic car show but other than that, she very quickly fell back into the role of family fun vehicle and we loved every minute.

Bring your classics to work day

As mentioned earlier, the blown headlamp gave me the excuse to fit a halogen conversion which turned out to be just a simple and straight forward direct replacement.

​Poppy then leapt into action to jump start my girls Daewoo which had been standing around since my Mum died. She left it to the girls but it’s waiting to be got back on the road when we can afford the insurance.
 
After all the usage she was getting, I noticed, she was running a bit lumpy until fully warmed up and then problem cleared. One morning though, she threw a tantrum and refused point blank to take me to work! I had to use the company Civic so eldest daughter wasn’t amused when she woke up and discovered she had no car to use that day. (I really should have got her Daewoo on the road.)

At least Poppy had the good grace to break down on the drive rather than the roadside so I forgave her and can still say that that she has never let me down on the road...well...apart from when the points closed up on me...oh... and when the security cut out switch melted...but apart from those 2 occasions, she has never let me down on the road. (And I got her going again both times without resorting to recovery men so they don't count do they?).

A very quick check revealed that fuel was getting to Stromberg’s finest achievement so I suspected the ignition side. I planned to work through the ignition system replacing plugs points and leads at the weekend. If that didn’t work, I would replace the coil which was still the one that came with the car when I bought her.
 
Although I was a bit miffed at not driving to work in an open car on this gloriously sunny day, and as much as I love driving Poppy, it was nice to slip into the air-conditioned comfort of the Honda and enjoy the absolute confidence of being able to complete my drive... oh dear. Did I say that out loud? I've let the side down haven't I? Does this mean I will be banned from the Classic Car Community? I will bring cake if that would help?
 
Anyway, the following weekend found me back at work on my dear old girl trying to find the source of my ignition woes. I'd changed the condenser, points, rotor arm, dizzy cap, leads and plugs and still she wouldn't ****** start!!

The only thing I hadn't changed was the coil...which was on order from Canley. There was definitely fuel getting to the carb and I was fairly certain it was getting to the chambers as I could smell it when checking for a spark at the plugs.

When the new coil arrived, I changed that too, but still no joy. So I decided to replace all the low tension wiring but still to no avail. So I did the only thing left to me, I fiddled about with stuff! I did get her going in the end but it’s too embarrassing to tell you what was wrong…oh ok then…

​The timing was 90deg out....well ok...somehow the HT leads had been fitted the wrong way round which wasn’t embarrassing at all was it? I think the original problem may have been the condenser or maybe a worn heel on the points so would have been a cheap and easy fix if I... er ...I mean someone...was competent enough to fit the HT leads correctly.
 
Further, with the amount of driving I'd been doing, the front seats had finally given up and really were dreadfully uncomfortable. So much so that I was forced to actually do something about it. So, I stole some of Mrs FB's scatter cushions from the lounge. I don’t think she noticed.

Here’s Poppy fulfilling her primary role as family fun vehicle. Mrs FB is in the back peering over my eldest’s shoulder

 
On the plus side, Poppy was running sweeter than ever now that the HT leads were in the right place and all other HT and LT parts have been replaced!! Funny that.

to be continued

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