Forum Replies Created
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Tim, YHM. Need to remember the copper/hide hammer too
Francis, you might also wish to know that LR120 is now for sale in the UK, one owner sice 1964, power steering and 4 speed auto box. Price not declared but it’s a good car from what I recall of it having seen it at Silverstone 3-4 years ago. How was your trip to UK? Regards, David
Guy, let’s discuss when we meet
Regards, David
Ah of course, yours is a manual gearbox car so the aluminium piece is atop the (top hinged) clutch pedal. Perhaps another owner of a manual car might provide insights? I think the pipes should be led to the bulkhead with proper radii to their destination, rather than bend through the “air”
Christian, the cheapest spare part I’ve ever fitted to my car was a ?1 plastic brake fluid reservoir cap, 25+ years ago! Bought in a scrap yard and worked perfectly ever since. What is the “corroded aluminium” (or whatever) component inboard of the master cylinders in your photo, which I don’t recognise??
PS you only have to look at the brake pipe runs to see that “bodger” has had a go at your car in the past
And you’ll need some packing pieces to insulate the shelf from the frame, to stop it drumming; it is only plywood! More speakers sounds like a good idea
Dear Michael, thanks very much for posting the images of your car, very fine indeed (and I have seen your car at Gaydon some time ago), and for letting us know what modifications you have done to make your car more useable and enjoyable; I have a long list for mine in readiness for European summer touring in due course, mostly about heat management. I suspect many of us have adapted our cars to suit modern conditions (see especially the images of 115 in Germany on the web, and you can see images of mine if you Google search “Lagonda Rapide”, look for NMVx the works demonstrator), in my case fitting the 4-speed auto gearbox and tougher front springs with Koni dampers to stop the car nose-diving under braking. I am intrigued by body modifications to accommodate radial tyres as I’ve not found that necessary with Avon 205/15; maybe I’m not sprited enough but it seems to surprise modern car owners with its handling dynamics. One boon in mine is the huge Webasto roof which with the wind deflector up ensures draft-free travel in the back seats.
We are looking at ideas for a Rapide reunion in 2012 – might you be interested? By the way, what was Jay’s Christmas present?
Michael, you’re very welcome and if I can count right you are the 7th owner to join in, the 5th in UK
108, 112, 117/140, 129, 137, 142, 155
Best wishes
DavidI wonder if the D Type and original wheels have marginally different offsets?
The vendor’s text draws on the Bonhams catalogue entry for 9 May 09 if I recall
Christian, I think you’re being a little harsh – the 5-speed manual was fitted by the factory in Feb 1967 and the car made a respectable showing at the AMOC Mapledurham concours in 2009 soon after the current owners bought it and before it had additional cosmetic work and deep cleaning. I have seen the car on several occasions in current and prior ownership and when just rebuilt by Graham Durber and also have much of its service history pre-2009 from new. When new it also had some albeit tenuous celebrity connections. Please PM me for more detail.
Guy, records show that several Rapides have or had either a 2-SU or 3-SU set up, of the HD8 type as for a DB4 standard or vantage or DB5 standard engine, for example triples are in 118 (the Wills racer) and 128 in France or twins were in 152 before it fell apart. Interesting also that 146 which is owned by Works Service had 3 SU when they bought it but now has Solex. In the Aston set up the carbs had UN or UJ jets, but you might have to experiment with the Rapide because it has different (softer) cam profiles. And if you were to fit 3, you’d need to know that the float heights are different and not as per the workshop manual. I’ve had plenty of issues with the Solex on my car over the last 10 years, but mostly petrol leaks (usually from the front carb), not the symptoms you describe despite much touring in the Cambrian Hills etc. There are I fear not many people who really know how to diagnose faults with the Solex and to set them up correctly. When my car was fresh out of rebuild 10 years ago, it would not idle smoothly and lacked power, so Andy Chapman (who used to look after my cars when new at AML) set the carbs up properly, and it took him 6 hours including road testing etc, and even then he did not set up the choke mechanism, which I have actually found no need to use even in winter. And they have hardly needed adjustment since despite 10000 miles. So my view would be that there is a set-up problem or fault with your rear carb, rather than a design issue. I’m sorry but I don’t have the knowledge to specify a vacuum problem; Christian who has personally rebuilt his car’s carbs may be able to recall the theory of operation and offer diagnoses; we will I am sure be interested to learn from his experience of setting up the carbs on the engine once running. It also occurs to me to ask if there might be an unintended “issue” arising from your car’s installation of the 4-speed gearbox and revised kick-down mechanism from GW Autos?
Interesting Guy about the alternators that look like dynamos, I could not find one with capacity large enough for the Rapide, however the key point appears to be their unreliability. If I change my car to negative earth I’ll therefore opt for a standard alternator; strict originality is not my goal anyway
I’d second Guy’s remark about the solenoid in the right hand tank, very difficult to get a good gasket seal. I had the last 2 “new” tanks from ASD back in about 2000-2001 so refabrication is now the only option
I’ve never really felt the need as I try to avoid for example parking in a confined area which needs slow speed manoeuvre. I’m also slightly reluctant to fit more kit around the right hand side of the engine when I might need that space to enable fitting of a full-flow oil cooler take-off and pipes etc and which is tighter than in a DB4 say because of the Rapide’s different steering column geometry