The Return of the Wonderbra Bumper

British car fans from the 1970's will remember, with much pain, the creation of the rubber bumper "Wonderbras" that afflicted our beloved sports cars of that era. 

First came the MGB of 1975; in order for it to meet US safety regulations, it had to be jacked up in height and affixed with front and rear "rubber bumpers" in lieu of the stylish chrome items of earlier models.

That same year the MG Midget received its own version of the same bumpers; because of the car's 1962 design, it needed a less ugly version of those bumpers.

 A year later the Triumph TR-7 came standard with those same bumpers, this time integrated into the overall wedge shape.

The Triumph TR-6 avoided this only because Leyland ended production so as not to compete with the TR-7. The Triumph Spitfire's design, also from 1962, allowed it to get away with rubber bumper stops over chrome bumpers until the 1979 models [it would remain in production only through 1980].

While those sports cars hung on for dear life, most enthusiasts will rue the loss of minimal bumpers and considerable horsepower - due both to excess weight and strangled engines from emission controls.

I thought the worst of these excesses was over until I saw the latest Euro-Wrangler from Jeep in today's Autoweek. Take a look at these "pedestrian friendly" rubber bumpers; somebody at Fiat must have dipped into the Fiat 124 Spider archives to find these bumper designs for this European-only Jeep.

 

It Passed - Sort Of

Inspection on Monday came on the heels of a matinee performance of "Annie Get Your Gun" [I was a singing/dancing cowboy], striking of the production, two EMS call outs and one ferry ride with a patient that night.

So yawning a lot I slowly drove the the local garage where Todd, the mechanic/owner, waited for the Land Rover. He showed genuine surprise when both directional lights worked, and then wandered around the back to look at the rear lamps. Being a British car, the license plate lamp did not illuminate; fortunately it needed only new peanut bulbs to restore proper lighting. 

Underneath the car the steering and suspension systems looked great until he stared at the front springs. Once again he found the u-bolts that hold the axle in place loose. We've both tightened these a few times over the years, which puzzles the mechanic, me, and Rovers North, who've not heard of these u-bolts loosening up. Fortunately I had purchased a set of 4 u-bolts from Rovers North as backups when the same problem arose in the past. A friend gave me a ride to my storage and even better, I actually found them!

Once he installed the u-bolts he stared at the rust covering the exhaust system and pronounced it "fine for now," but likely to fail shortly [i.e., within the 1 year inspection period]. He also found hypoid oil dripping from behind the brake backing plates in the rear, and found one locating pin loose in the backing plate. So I ordered new hub seals and a backing plate [that must come from the UK], and of course, a new exhaust system. The header pipe on Land Rovers bolt to studs that screw into the exhaust manifold, so I ordered new studs and brass nuts [so they hopefully won't corrode in the future], too.

Satisfied with my orders, the mechanic gave the QE I its 2012 inspection sticker. He'll help me install the new parts later this month.


Now comes the real fun at the Maine Winter Romp this weekend. Off roading!!

The Dreaded Inspection

Few events raise terror to the classic driver as effectively as the annual inspection. Somehow I manipulated my inspection so it occurs during the winter, the worst possible time of the year. Actually, mine is next week.

Maine's required inspection doesn't differ greatly from those of other states: tire tread depth and condition, working lights, directionals, horns, wipers/washers, seat belts, brakes, suspension and structural rust.

So today I finally decided to check out the simple stuff - taillights and directionals. All went great until I noticed the left front directional lamp. Nope, no illumination there - so off came the amber lens only to see rust, and lots of it. Sure enough, the entire socket had rusted away. I couldn't even remove the bulb.

Only by breaking the glass could I remove the bulb and that's when I realized the socket had dissolved in a year's worth of water and salt. I got on the phone quickly and Rovers North had one in stock; it should arrive tomorrow.

The rusted and rounded exhaust header nuts will be a bigger problem. I was able to spray a great deal of rust-buster all over the nuts but still they won't budge. If I try and force them with a breaker bar, they will, well, break. I do have a used exhaust manifold so possibly I can just sway it out in a pinch.

Inspection comes on Monday, and I have another two weeks to work on the car before the sticker runs out. On the island, an expired sticker does not present a major problem; with only one garage on the island, the deputy has to be generous with time for repairs. This might limit trips to the mainland, though.

 

Preparations for the Maine Winter Romp

The Maine Winter Romp started in the mid-90's to fill a need; what do you do with your Land Rover in the winter?

Off road events had been held throughout the country in the spring, summer and fall, but there were few opportunities to tackle the trails in the winter months.

Bruce Fowler, Unity ME, a serial Series Land Rover owner and driver, owned lots of acreage of fields and streams himself, and had lots of neighbors with their own land. Suddenly enthusiasts had hundreds of acres of logging roads and snowmobiling trails on which to test their skills.

From a handful of Series Land Rovers in the early years to nearly 100 vehicles and hundreds more enthusiasts today, the event has become a winter holiday on the northeastern enthusiast. This year, the Winter Romp runs from February 17 - 20 and promises to be as much fun as ever.

The hardiest enthusiasts will "winter camp" on Bruce's property. Coddled enthusiasts will take rooms at the "official hotel," the regally named Waterville Grand Hotel, in nearby Waterville, ME.

Enthusiasts have driven Land Rover Defenders from Washington, DC and Virginia. One former New Englander boarded a plane in Nashville and hitched a ride to the Romp. There's a Canadian contingent from Ottawa and the Maritimes who attend every year. 

My Rover was last tuned up in early December but I'll try and mooch use of the electric company's line crew garage to check out the car. I'd like to tighten up the exhaust header, check out the clutch [not very effective] and the points/timing to get the most torque for off roading.

Carlos Melo, Bronx, NY, watches over me as I dump air from my tires for the off road portion: 12- 15 psi is really an effective range. 

There's rumor that Rovers North will attend in the new "company" Range Rover Evoque; it will be interesting the see the enthusiast response to this newest Range Rover.You can read about the Evoque in the upcoming issue of Rovers Magazine.

Disappearing Brake Fluid

While the Monza remained a delight to drive, it did exhibit an odd behavior. Any time the car sat for a while at the ferry terminal on the mainland, it seemed to lose brake fluid in the master cylinder reservoir. 

Normally, on a single circuit drum brake system, you lose brake fluid through leaks in the wheel cylinders or at a line. If it's at the wheel cylinder then the fluid leaks onto the drum, the shoe slides and the brake seems to grab or lock up. If it's a line the fluid level goes down only when you push on the pedal.

This time, the fluid level decreased just from sitting. Since the master cylinder is the only part of the system with constant pressure, it had to be a master cylinder leak.

Again normally, the master cylinder shows a leak by slowly having the pedal go to the floor under braking. If it's an internal leak [the more common] you don't lose fluid as the fluid simply pushes through the internal seals. 

This time is clearly different but all the experts agree the leak is in the pushrod seal of the master cylinder. Only two nuts, accessible through the front trunk, hold the master cylinder in place, so the job should be easy [!]. Bench bleed the cylinder, install a new line from the cylinder to the block connector, tighten up the nuts, and that should be it. Hopefully I can get to the mainland next week to complete the job.

Sublime Experience

A classic car, specifically my '66 Corvair Monza, need not be a trailer queen in appearance or a full mechanical rebuild in condition to provide a sublime driving experience. You don't even need to go very far. For me the first step required a 1 hr 20 minute ferry ride to the mainland terminal in Rockland, ME, to get my Corvair. 

For the past several months it has sat outdoors in the ferry parking lot as a "mainland car." This role had been served by my '80 Triumph TR-7, but after a water pump failure and a head gasket leak repair, it needs more attention before it can regain that responsibility.

If the TR-7 demonstrated that a skilled engineer like Spen King could take conventional components, like front engine/rear wheel drive, solid rear axle and coil springs, and produce a good handling sports car, the Corvair demonstrated that a team of suspension engineers could produce an unconventional, rear engine/rear wheel drive, fully independent rear suspension, sporting car. The fact that the TR-7, particularly in its 5-speed iteration, proved to be a comfortable car for highway travel was a bonus. The Corvair had to provide highway comfort and sports car handling to satisfy its wider buyer market - which is why I appreciate the Corvair so much.

Stepping off the ferry I admit to some concern as to whether the Corvair would actually start, given that the last time I visited this car one month ago I found the battery quite dead. In fact, after jump starting the car with a battery pack, I had to park it on a slight incline with plenty of "push" room in case it would require a push start later [it didn't]. So I purchased and installed a new battery and then let it sit for another month. 

Happily, the car fired right up in the warmish 40 degree temperature and then proceeded to entertain me for the afternoon. It took me to get a haircut, purchase coffee beans [unavailable at the island market] and then stop for coffee and a late afternoon lunch at an empty if nifty Rockland restaurant. There the Corvair parked outside delighted the young waitresses. 

The actual time behind the wheel was less than one hour, but the experience filled the day. The thin windshield pillars and frameless windows brightened the interior. Rolling down the window let the relative warmth flood the car. The thin steering wheel felt delicate but the bite around corners felt anything but delicate. With its Clark's-rebuilt twin carbs, set up and balanced by ear by Jim Westervelt, the Monza idled smoothly and accelerated smartly. 

I thought back to Robert Cumberford's "RIP Corvair" essay in Car & Driver [August, 1969], lambasting GM for killing off the car:


"Have you driven one of these cars?...Do you appreciate how seductive the '65-'69 machine really was? Have you ever driver an American car with pleasant manual steering? With powerful non-servo brakes? With soft suspension and side bite?" 


Yup - just yesterday, and he's right!
 

Manufacturing Auto Parts in the US

I found this link courtesy of an interesting column by David Brooks in today's New York Times. The original piece, a long report in The Atlantic by Adam Davidson, will capture you with its clarity and detail.

Davidson looks at Standard Products, one of the better known aftermarket manufacturers and distributors. He notes that as the chain auto parts retailers like NAPA, Autozone and Carquest dominate their distribution markets, the pressure on manufacturers like Standard mount greatly. 

Also, the precision nature of auto parts continues to grow as engines, transmissions, braking and suspension designs become more interconnected with tighter tolerances. In a defining moment in the article, Davidson interviews a tenacious single mother whose a "level 1" factory worker who doesn't even know what "tolerance" means within an engineering context. Until she can learn that concept, as well as metallurgy, the programming language that controls the robotic machines, and the calculus-level math skills necessary to make the required adjustments, she'll never move up the employment ladder - and likely, neither will her children [post-secondary education is closely linked to the educational achievement level of the family].

Great article and a thoughtful insight into the challenges of producing, maintaining and repairing today's automobiles. 

A Fiat Convinces a Skeptic

Greg Migliore of Autoweek captured a reality of the American market when he wrote "small [cars] for the sake of small is not what Americans want." Certainly the poor sales of the original Austin Mini-Minor or Fiat 500 demonstrated that reality. Of all the tiny imported cars, only the VW Beetle defied that sales reality - and in Europe or Asia it wasn't considered that small.


The newest Fiat finally convinced an Autoweek skeptic that small cars can be hugely entertaining, especially in the snow. Here's the article itself. Enjoy!

First Snow

Unlike last winter it's been a quiet one, snow-wise, this year. This week the snow finally arrived in synch with the colder temperatures - so the snow stuck and has covered the roads.

Cold snowy weather brings out the best and worst in the Land Rover. The  best rises out of its four wheel drive; bang down on the yellow lever next to the gearshift and you're in high range four wheel drive. When you start off you can feel the front wheels scrabbling a bit, with a wider turning radius, but the car moves forward with a genuine assurance.

The good ground clearance, high torque at low rpm engine, and nicely-matched gearing lets the car hit the road with a encouraging sure-footed power. 

However, even a Land Rover cannot changes the laws of physics. Winter is nature's way of letting you know who's in charge, especially when slowing or stopping. When you hit the brakes you stop the tires from moving, so they slide along the snow or ice. When they slide or skid, the car follows and "Houston, we have a problem."So it's much wiser to let the car decelerate and keep your feet off the brakes as long as possible.

A 1966 Land Rover also adheres to 1966 standards concerning heat and defrosting; actually, since the heater used by Rover actually came into existence in the 1950's, we're talking about a time when drivers in the UK routinely drove with a chamois cloth to wipe off the windshield and matching blankets to warm the passengers. With its newer Mt Mansfield heater unit from Rovers North, my Rover will warm up but it takes a l-o-n-g time for the radiator to warm the coolant. You need to have a long drive, or multiple trips, to get the temperature to a pleasant level in the car. 

The Corvair, being air cooled, oddly heats up its engine relatively quickly but takes its time about warming up the cabin. The rear wheel drive does make for terrific traction in snow and ice. Even more weird, the British Triumph TR-7 has a terrific heater that can keep you warm and clear the windshield quickly - but without snow tires, it's a poor snow car.

Driving in the snow highlights why you should live in New England; you'll have a few months of this chill and occasional terror, and then it will turn into spring.

Hey, Dude, Where's The Car? Fiat and the JLo Problem

I will admit I'm an avid fan of beautiful women and beautiful cars, so I wasn't that disappointed when Fiat chose Jennifer Lopez to be the spokesperson for the 2011 importation of the Fiat 500. She certainly looked dazzling tootling through her Bronx neighborhood - except that she actually didn't make the drive.

The original Fiat 500 ranked with the VW Beetle, Renault Dauphine, and Austin Mini as an iconic car whose style and engineering enabled its manufacture with modest changes over the decades. Inexpensive to buy, with reasonable interior room, excellent fuel mileage and a high winding rear engine and rear wheel drive, it helped put Italy on wheels during the second half of the 20th century.

I've owned only one Fiat, but that's not from a lack of trying. I fell for the Fiat 850 coupe and convertible in the 1960's-70's, but could not find one that survived New England winters. My one Fiat came in 1979 when an Oldsmobile ran a red light in Burlington, VT, and took out the front end of my MGB. So I found a '72 Fiat Spider which, despite its lovely lines, had seen hard times but ran quite well over my two years of ownership. Mine never looked this good but I quite enjoyed the 5-speed on long trips - but the high revving engine meant low torque at low rpm, and thus a lot of traction problems in the snow.

So I joined a lot of enthusiasts in welcoming Fiat back into the US market - and a lot of economists in thanking Fiat for taking over and reviving Chrysler.

Fiats always rewarded enthusiastic driving and featured elements of Italian style unique to their culture. So when Fiat announced its new dealerships would be called "Design Centers" I wasn't surprised, but I was puzzled when the first marketing campaign re-introducing the brand into the US focused on its "cute" factor.

 This remained puzzling because Fiat's niche has always been their driving entertainment factor. Yes, the interior comes filled with clever design features and its appearance has the right "adorable" factor, but remember that Abarth, Zagato and Pinninfarina all designed special models for Fiat. The Abarth and Zagato versions always provided extra performance, too.

The word from Fiat-Chrysler's current CEO, Olivier Francois, is that Fiat has accelerated their push to remind potential buyers that Fiats have real performance, not just style cred. A Fiat would never replace my Land Rover but I would not toss a Fiat convertible out the door, either.