Avengers for sale around the world...

[Paddy75]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vauxhall-Viva-estate-/230865473160?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item35c0a78e88

See whats beside the Viva!

[oldschool]

Your favourite car Paddy....an Avenger with a sunroof!!

[Paddy75]

Ahh the curse of the sunroof on an Avenger, unless you stiffned the roof or so I believe.

The MK2 has roof stiffners I am told, talking of a MK2...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1979-Chrysler-Avenger-rot-free-rally-replica-unfinished-project-/300797969933?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item4608f4c60d

A Chrysler in the blue and white Chrysler colours, rot free hmm, and in Dumfries which is the south west of Scotland. ''..has a pentastar sprayed on the roof..'' is the guy a freemason or something?

BTW I've been quoted ?220 for a stainless exhaust, seems too good to be true! Oh recession!

[avengertiger]

sounds like a good price paddy were was that exhaust price from?

[Paddy75]

Souhan.ie in Co.Meath they need the car to get the pattern, I'd say ?220 would rise to 300 and I'm told also that a stainless exhaust can make them a bit greedy on the fuel, mind you the granny-mush 1300cc won't blast out too much petrol anyway.
Do not get stuck behind an Escort BTW! Twice now I've been poison'd by flooding Fords!

Anyhow the cost of a new old stock Avenger exhaust would be about ?130 and it'll only rot away within a year in damp Ireland so I should just suffer the cost of a stainless exhaust and be done with it.
The price was for two boxes not including the downpipe which I got from ebay for ?5 + p&p.

I see the MK2 and Sunbeam had a diffrent pattern at the front, the downpipe extends further to about the handbrake lever so I'm wondering is that therefore a better job. But I don't know so when you don't know then you'll make the wrong call - like when I went fror a Stromberg to replace the worn out SU and now unless I tune the carbie rich the Avenger is very 'jerky' when pulling at low revs. Gonna see if the SU repair kit (?10 - ebay) can get the suzie back to good operation.

Anyhow! Meander meander, yep I'm a Paddy!

http://www.souhan.ie/

I guess recession is biting his business, hey if he makes a good one I'll put him in touch with ASOC.

Oh another excuse to take the Avenger to Dublin! Yee-ha 65mph on the M1 and a lot of stares! Hafta say 'rosie' (I didn't christen her that BTW - also known as the Rolls-Royce according to a certan barmaid) is a popular lady - wish I bought one 20 years ago!

 

[Paddy75]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/79-CHRYSLER-AVENGER-LS-ESTATE-29400-MILES-GENUINE-12-MONTH-MOT-ROT-FREE-EXAMPLE-/261120672212?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item3ccc0141d4

Wow, thats a clean one! From sunny Doncaster where a former work buddie who was from there, told me it never snows or gets much of a frost.

Can't you tell this one has been kept in a garage all its life by the non-locking fuel cap!

[Paddy75]

O-ho, thats the way to do it!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hillman-Avenger-/221151123723?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item337da2590b

GLS trim as well.

[oldschool]

Now for something a bit more standard...a tidy one owner 1500 GT going cheap on eBay. Seems to have lost its twin carbs over the years??

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hillman-Avenger-1500-GT-/271101656231?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item3f1eeafca7

[Paddy75]

Looks a good buy that 1500GT, about September 1972 the 4-door GT was dropped for the GLS. I have a long-term article on a 1971 GT and the author gave it a good write up but complained about the 'roman shield' hubcaps and the over plastic steeringwheel.
He suggested rostyle wheels and a leather trimmed wheel - Chrysler must have been listening! The GLS got the bling.

Anyhow the SC MK1 was rod actuated throttle, the TC was cable operated so someone had fun fiddling about with the pedal box I guess.
Anyhow I went electronic (with a new coil, brass terminal dizzy cap super-duper HT leads) on my Avenger on Saturday morning, wow! that made some diffrence! You'd think another carburetor was bolted on!
It bates up hills like a well fed greyhound and I can sorta feel the peak torque.
Of course the lack of a timing light meant a bit of test driving untill no more pinking and if I put the right grade of oil (20wt not 20w/50) in the SU it'd probabbly go a bit better too.

From a little research I've made about tuning old cars its apparently a good idea to replace the carbie needle with a needle graded for an engine 200cc greater than you have.
Modern petrol is so diffrent from the old 4* and its not just the lack of lead and lower octane. The 5-10% bio mix means the rate of combustion and the thickness of the fuel is diffrent.

It seems that many people running an old car with a dashpot carbie are finding that to set the mixture the jet is being set quite low on its travel. I see the same, it looks very low compared to the 1970's tuning descriptions you'd find in a manual of a magazine.
Anyhow all I mean to say is that with the electronic ignition it now seems that a little bit of travel on the throttle pedal makes for a lot of go. So is the carburettor throwing in too much fuel because the jet is so low, any expansion of the dashpot is going straight to full load setting.

I got a SU HS4 needle for a 1500 Triumph, see what happens, if the mixture can be set with the jet higher on its travel then it looks like the 'go 200cc up on your needle' theory is correct.

For goodness sake, I thought looking after an old car would all be about rust hunting and trying to figure out what bearing is making the transmission noise. Turns out that applied thermodynamics is needed also!

[avenga]

Yup, Electronic ignition makes a huge difference.

for an even better bang try a multi spark ignition like an MSD, I run them in both my Avenger and Charger. They make a world of difference.

I don't have any experiance with the SU type carbs (I always run Dellortos) but I know with my Dellortos you have to run different jets etc when you run leaded race gas so it makes sence that if the new fuel is lighter or heavier then you would need to change jets/needles

[Paddy75]

So its true that Ave/beam engines really appreciate the stronger spark, this lack of squish thing I guess.

As for a MSD, lets walk before I can run!
BTW I was talking to a mechanic here in Dublin over a game of pool about the diffrence the electronic ignition makes. He said that back in the day when every other car on the roads here was a Hillman Hunter that the later Hunters with the 1725 engine got electronic ignition. This made the 1725cc as good on fuel as the 1500cc, which kept the points ignition.

So for a while every crashed and scrapped Hunter had the electronic ignition bits removed and fitted to older Hunters  before even the thumped Hunter got to the scrap-yard.

A bar in Ireland circa 1982:
Ach hey ye have an auld Hunter?
Aye, a-do so, 'tis a great yoke for pullin' d'trailer.
Give us ?30 and I'll fit her electronic, leaves her far easier on petrol so is does.

The guys that drove the recovery trucks were taking the electronic ignitions out of every crashed Hunter or Avenger and replacing the parts with the old points systems before taking the cars to the scrappers!

You could bet that every Hunter or Avenger used as a Taxi was upgraded.

[Paddy75]

A top of the range Hunter, with an overdrive.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1975-humber-scepter-35000-miles-1-owner-/251181290197?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item3a7b9252d5

[avengertiger]

super rare cheetah i bid on the "other one" some years ago it was white it went for over 10k,would love one of these just for its rarity sake.
looks a nice car with a bit of tlc needed in places.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121021057044?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

you wont pass another on the road!!!!
buy it paddy and i will take her for a spin when im back in the auld sod on holidays sometime.....

[Paddy75]

Oh wowowowow that lady looks like a LOT of fun. Feck yer RS2000, watch this !!!

The famous Brasillian, some say (and I'd agree) a better job than the LotsOfTroubleUsuallySerious engine - hey hey don't kill me for saying that, Lotus Sunbeam is very brilliant, just... well, needs a lot of work, and if you rally them, often.

I'd say ASOC will be on to that Cheetah! ?10k the other one sold at? Considering clean Lotus's go for ? 15, 20?

Oh hey that Brazillian engine is the way to go. I suppose NZ has them in spades?

Yeh, 2-door MK1 Avenger wih a Braz' under the lid. Oh-ho.

[oldschool]

Yeah...we've saved one especially for you Paddy...!!!

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=524575640