Another one? The Journey of Chad.

[datsundrew]

so, about time for an update on Chad…..
2 weeks ago we went on a big Northern trip up North, The final destination being Perth in Scotland for the hillman imp National weekend .
I decided last year when it was announced that there was no way I’d be driving the Stiletto that far, and at the time Chad hadn’t come into my ownership (bought for spares). When he did, and the tow bar was discovered ( look up ‘journey of Chad for the full story) I decided I would go, and also have time in Teeside where I lived in my early 20s.
whilst North, I booked in with Timmus to get Cruise control and updated DIS fitted. I spent a few hours with Tom who did a fantastic job of fixing things, a really nice chap and incredibly knowledgeable and enthusiastic, wow! We are so lucky to have him on the case to keep our A2s going!
so Trowbridge to Manchester, with the Claude the caravan, then Lancaster (without) , Manchester, Yarm, drop Claude, Stock on Tees, Morpeth,
Middlesbrough, Whitby, Yarm, (collect Claude) Middlesbrough, then up to Perth for 4 days for imp National, Then a 1 hit 9 1/2 drive home stopping 3 times for a break. Total miles 1620, averaging 56MPG.
Not bad for a £380 parts car with 230,000 miles on it. my total spend is now near £2000, but money well spent as it’s looking and running so well and tows Claude a treat. I absolutely love this car!!

 

[datsundrew]

Some more pics….

 

[datsundrew]

One point to add is all my friends camping gear was with me so the imp wasn’t carrying any load

 

[Erlingtheyounger]

Ah, the transporter bridge. I got in serious trouble as a student in 2000 when a couple of pals and I decided it would be a good idea to climb it at night

 

[datsundrew]

Ah, the transporter bridge. I got in serious trouble as a student in 2000 when a couple of pals and I decided it would be a good idea to climb it at night

I was unfortunate enough to buy a brand new house in 92, in lime trees close…..port Clarence!!
I used to use the bridge to go to Middlesbrough as it was just down the road. Such a shame that it’s now disused and the cables cut. Can’t see it’ll go again

 

[datsundrew]

Today I braved the cold weather and checked Chad over ready for the mot in a weeks time. There’s not much left I haven’t replaced in the year I’ve had it……gearbox, clutch, OSS, rear axle replaced ,brakes, pipes, and off side front strut, drop links, strut top, but didn’t do the near side. both struts were a bit oily but this one is really bad now, so got on with it.
as with the other side I replaced the dust shield and used stainless bolts etc, and gave the hub and metal bits a quick paint. mr mot man should be happy. It flew through last year with all its iffy bits, so this year Im hoping to get a gold star
I also gave it a good clean inside after a tip run

on other news, as previously experienced, the webasto still doesn’t want to do its thing unless I coax it into action using channel 22 on VCDS, I had hoped that after changing the G263 sensor behind the dash that it may work as otherwise there are no fault codes??
also this morning it was slow to start and the radio lost its channels, and then wouldn’t find any channels after that. After a drive it sorted itself out and I was able to tune it in and save them. The battery is a year old, but I’m guessing lack of use and the cold weather didn’t help, I’ve now put it on charge for the night.

 

[datsundrew]

So, it looks like the webasto saga is over, and I now have a working webasto after swapping over to my original ECU.
It turns out that the 00005 code in the ecu will block the coms with the webasto, but changing it to 00002 will enable it to run. I am sooo damn happy that this now works, and only wish I had it working last winter when I was doing my commute in wales in the freezing cold 5am starts.

 

[datsundrew]

A bit of an update….last week he flew through the mot, just an advisory on the front tyres that are getting replaced tomorrow. The garage I use weirdly have a massive A2 poster behind the reception area!! It’s been there since they were in production.

 

[datsundrew]

to celebrate the fact it passed the mot, Christmas is looming and I needed to treat myself, I made a purchase. A road trip and I now have an interior like this…..

 

[Alan_uk]

A bit of an update….last week he flew through the mot, just an advisory on the front tyres that are getting replaced tomorrow. The garage I use weirdly have a massive A2 poster behind the reception area!! It’s been there since they were in production.

That A2 poster is from an Audi advert in 2001 that can be seen on YouTube

The company who handled the logistics for the ad was Hothouse IWG and they wrote an interesting article on how it was done. They had 3 1/2 hrs to get the car in the pod ready for the film crew. The challenge was that there was no easy access at ground level. The pods are above ground level and in the way were the ticket queuing barriers, so they had to build a ramp using 7 tons of steel. Hothouse went into liquidation in 2016 so I think it's OK to post the original article:

 

[Alan_uk]

so, about time for an update on Chad…..
2 weeks ago we went on a big Northern trip up North, The final destination being Perth in Scotland for the hillman imp National weekend .
I decided last year when it was announced that there was no way I’d be driving the Stiletto that far, and at the time Chad hadn’t come into my ownership (bought for spares). When he did, and the tow bar was discovered ( look up ‘journey of Chad for the full story) I decided I would go, and also have time in Teeside where I lived in my early 20s.
whilst North, I booked in with Timmus to get Cruise control and updated DIS fitted. I spent a few hours with Tom who did a fantastic job of fixing things, a really nice chap and incredibly knowledgeable and enthusiastic, wow! We are so lucky to have him on the case to keep our A2s going!
so Trowbridge to Manchester, with the Claude the caravan, then Lancaster (without) , Manchester, Yarm, drop Claude, Stock on Tees, Morpeth,
Middlesbrough, Whitby, Yarm, (collect Claude) Middlesbrough, then up to Perth for 4 days for imp National, Then a 1 hit 9 1/2 drive home stopping 3 times for a break. Total miles 1620, averaging 56MPG.
Not bad for a £380 parts car with 230,000 miles on it. my total spend is now near £2000, but money well spent as it’s looking and running so well and tows Claude a treat. I absolutely love this car!!

I did take my A2 on the Middleborough [Tees] Transporter Bridge in 2011. A few weeks ago I made a U3A presentation on Transporter Bridges and my research found that the council failed to inspect and maintain the bridge and one day a lump of iron fell down and narrowly missed a worker and the bridge was closed.

A number of surveys and reports estimated the huge cost to renovate that the council kept asking for another survey hoping it would be more favourable but each one is more expensive. The latest is £20m. Meanwhile the Newport Transporter Bridge is closed and should open next year after the council has spent over £17m, making £30m in total in the last 20 years. The UK's 3rd TB is privately owned by a chemical works situated either side of the Mersey at Warrington. It's been derelict and rusting since 1964. All these TBs are listed.

 

[datsundrew]

Thanks Alan, that’s some great information there!!

 

[datsundrew]

It was very sad to see the bridge closed and the cables cut.
I used to live in Teeside, and my general observation is they don’t appreciate anything old or historical.
its a poor area, yet you never see old cars, lovely old buildings get torn down etc.
so much hist destroyed, and this will go to im sure.

 

[datsundrew]

Forgot to mention that last weekend Chris Warren visited me and showed me how to change the timing belt, an enjoyable day catching up, and we had a look at his non working webasto. VCDS indicated the fan was shorting to ground, we managed to prise the plastic cap on the webasto to reveal the fan was completely seized. I have him another webasto to steal bits from, and gave a demo of what’s inside and what yo look out for….temp sensor on the board, glow plug and fan. Hope he will be in the working webasto club soon!
As a point of interest. The old timing belt was 5000 miles and a year overdue (whichever comes first)
i was aware of this and have been checking it monthl and it appeared ok. Once removed there’s no sign of cracking between the teeth, and the writing is still visible on the outside. Water pump looked new.
so when folk have had belts snap, I’m guessing that they are way, way past their due replacement time.

 

[datsundrew]

The last bit Of money spent today on 2 new front tyres. They were ok but getting low and my local tyre place is generally quiet before Christmas. I showed the guys where to jack it up as they weren’t sure!

 

[Alan_uk]

The last bit Of money spent today on 2 new front tyres. They were ok but getting low and my local tyre place is generally quiet before Christmas. I showed the guys where to jack it up as they weren’t sure!

What tyres did you go for Drew and what was the company?

I need to get some next year. I've had 2 sets of Toyo Proxes T1-R 185/50/16V tyres but was thinking of these all year / all weather tyres that seem to get a lot of mention on this forum recently.