Charles' early 92 827 manual coupe

[Charles827si]

I'm really sorry to hear about the fate of your 827 and the pretty bad welding job done by some muppet!
It sounds like you were in a similar place to me - having lost all heart.
One thing after another kept going wrong with my coupé.
And no matter how much time, money and effort I kept using and spending to put niggles right, something else would go wrong, and the previous fixes would come back broken - to bite me in the ass lol.
I had the head gasket done if you remember.
Then the head gasket blew again. But that was my own fault - because I realized that the rad that came fitted in the coupé which I bought off Mr Lord Very Tall Brad, was shot to bits.
So I replaced the rad with a brand new one from Rimmers, in 2019, just as the head gasket blew a second time.
When the head gasket blew, it took the expansion tank out with it.
So I also replaced the tank with the stronger MK1 expansion tank - it also has the sensor for the coolant level.
I would like to retro fit the wiring and the trip from the E reg saloon car into the MK2. Coupé.
It was the plan since 2013 - but still haven't even attempted this yet!

As well as needing another new head, the coupé is also gonna need more welding.
Like you Dave, I have experience of welding and body repair from my traineeship I completed in 2009.
The offside rear wheel arch which I prepped/repaired/repainted myself in 2017, is starting to bubble up again.
The garage where the car is stored is very dry - but even with the car under a sheet cover, this still hasn't stopped corrosion.
I still turn over the MK1a Atlantic blue fastback, and give that car a run on private ground.
The coupé won't turn over long, before it splutters and conks out - due to the head.

As for my DVT - its a real mystery. The Drs are baffled and still trying to get to the cause.
I didn't have any 'convid' jabs, because I was already vulnerable with the Thalassemia blood disorder, which I've inherited from my fathers family mediterranean side.
A few days before it happened, I fell off my road bike into the road. However, I didn't fall on my left leg, (where I had the DVT) but fell on the right leg.
However, despite not having covid jabs whatsoever, I'm pretty sure I contracted the virus in 2021.
I was working in a call center, as a key worker in Newcastle city at the time.
All staff had to get tested twice a week in the offices.
All my covid tests came back negative. I did a PCR the same year also.
Despite all the negative tests, Im still pretty sure I had the C Virus.
The whole bloody office was coughing.
Some people had to get sent home.
I was one of the lucky ones who's tests were always negative, and I carried on working.
I worked through all lockdowns - first as a Yodel driver in Yorkshire, and then the call center in Newcastle, after I moved to the North East in October 2020.
I could not move into my new home in Oct 2020. I was renting pretty terrible digs in North Shields by the sea, because of the restrictions.
I finally did move to Killingworth God willing, where I had intended to be originally.

The Jag S-Type sounds an interesting beast Dave.

[scoobyh123]

Unfortunately secondhand radiators are best left well alone, even if bought from a usually reliable source. They seem to deteriorate inside, especially around the various joins that are in there and once put into use, spring leaks in as many places as they feel like or don't cool the engine as they should because crystals of whatever have built up and blocked the channels.

It's quite an involved job retrofitting the Mk1 trip/fuel computer into a car that hasn't previously had one, it's certainly doable but whether you'd be happy with the end result is another matter - you probably already know those early colour LCD screens have a reputation for bleeding so you might be better off fitting a touchscreen stereo with built-in sat-nag and BlueTooth if you really want a useful and usable update. I was able to do that to my CR-V with an off-the-shelf unit and to be honest, been so impressed with it, bought a "universal" one for the Jag. Being an early S Type, there isn't an off-the-shelf option for it so i bought a spares or repairs head unit, gutted it and have used the case and front fascia to fit the touchscreen into. Not quite complete/ready to fit yet but won't be too much longer hopefully.

If it's any help, i have the first Volvo expansion tank conversion i made available. I later changed to the later "square" tank, this is the earlier "bullet/torpedo" tank. No sensor on it but i think it has the place that can be knocked out for it, i'd have to check. Had it on my Sterling for many years without a problem and they're much more reliable than the Rover tanks.

I wonder if you knocked your left leg without realising, perhaps on a pedal or similar and it laid dormant then flared up to cause your DVT?

Like you, i'm pretty sure i had the dreaded Kung Flu and it was undetected, in fact it was generally unknown here at the time. On 31/12/19, i had to go to the Royal Papworth unit at Addenbrookes (it's like walking through the USS Enterprise there!) for a CT scan on my heart which not only confirmed congestive heart failure (early days yet, obviously or i wouldn't be typing this! ) but also revealed i have COPD in my left lung.
That aside, while i was waiting for the actual scan to happen and for the radioactive dye to circulate by bloodstream, a young student nurse came and chatted to me. She was (and presumably still is) Chinese and had just come back from a fortnight in China. By 2/1/20, i was suffering from the worst flu i've ever had. It only relented for 2 days, 14/2 and 15/2 and remained with my until the beginning of March. I remember the dates because on 15/2, it was the funeral/cremation of the mother of a very close friend, i had come to view her as my "second mum" and i learned through the service that she had viewed me as a sort of surrogate son as well.

Strangely i never had any symptoms through the whole scamdemic after that.

The Jag was a little bit of an impulse buy, it popped up on ebay, had LPG and was a good spec, mileage etc so went to look at it and drove it home.



Only the second car i've owned to put a smile on my face, the other was the Sterling!