My 365 update

I've finally got a registration number back from the DVLA for my recently acquired 365 which came back to the UK from long-term Swedish ownership.

The car seems to have had a number of cherished numbers on it before it left for Sweden around 1985 so the DVLA have allocated the last UK number that was on the car back to it but this isn't the original VGP 5M registration. Hopefully I can apply to have this number returned to the car later on as they've confirmed it isn't allocated to a car. It just means more forms and paperwork (what a surprise !!).

The car is in the paint shop having the front end and drivers door painted due to a few very minor marks but it made sense to do it while I couldn't legally drive the car on the road. So far the front end is stripped of trim, light pods, lights, bonnet etc so I'll start pushing the paint shop to get the job finished.

They've stripped and painted the wheels which now look superb, I just need to sort the spinners out - will re-chrome them if they don't polish up.

There are 3 small fingertip dents right below the passenger door handle which look like someone slammed the door with their knuckles (very odd) - the paint isn't broken so hopefully these can be eased out by their dent guy using either suction or a dent removal tool from the inside.

Maybe it's Swedish legislation but the car has been fitted with an aftermarket headlamp washer system which includes jets cut into the lower lip of the painted headlamp bezel. I'm stripping all of this out on Monday as the extra plumbing is an unnecessary nightmare in an already hard to access engine bay. The washer jets will be removed and holes filled prior to repainting the bezel. I also have replacement Carello headlamps which dip the right way care of Howard (aka squidmark) - thanks H.

When the bonnet was fully opened the passenger side front edge slightly rubbed the radiator top (or frame - I can't recall) so this will also be looked into on Monday. Anyone know if the rad height has any adjustment ?

The only piece of trim which wasn't perfect was the bonnet grill so a friend of mine who restores juke boxes cleaned the whole thing, mirror polished the slat top edges and refurbished the satin effect on the slats and honestly it looks brand new - I couldn't believe it when I saw it. He also polishes and straightens trim so if anyone needs this done to their grill or trim feel free to PM me

I bought new hydraulic bonnet support struts very cheaply - they're the exact right length but are slightly thicker than standard, the mountings are a bit thinner so will need packing washers either side and the piston part is black instead of chrome but they're way better than the knackered old ones on the car so will get me out of trouble for the time being if not long term.

Hopefully the new replacement header tank (thanks again Howard), pressure caps and now sorted backwards wired cooling fan issue will resolve the overheating in traffic problem although I probably won't be sure until next summer. It makes sense to pull the rad and have it flushed through and pressure checked or re-cored while the bonnets off so will also do this on Monday.

One thing I will need soon is a replacement front screen as mine's cloudy in the corners - all other glass on the car's perfect including the rear screen. Anyone got a spare screen available ?

Right, that's bored the crap out of you all so I'll go away now and let you get back to your own lives.

 

Patience my friend, patience - I have to wait which is really bugging me but there's no choice.

I will as soon as it's out of the paint shop and in the garage - it's impossible to take any photos at the moment as it's tucked in a corner under a dust sheet.

 

It's been a real saga getting the car registered and has taken way longer than expected but at least there's light at the end of the tunnel now.

I've driven the car a couple of times on dealer plates but I'm really looking forward to getting it back and sorting the mechanicals stuff out - sticking front caliper, hoses, oil and filter change etc.

Probably be done when the weathers really crap so I won't be able to use it anyway.

Hey ho !

 

The UK is different to the US - the reg number usually stays with the car unless the current owner has bought a personalised reg which he puts on the car until it's sold and then transfers it onto a new car. The government then allocate an age related plate back to the car for the new owner - sometimes this is the original number. We can't choose any number that we like - we have to find and old one that's for sale and buy it.

In my case I'd like to have the cars original number if possible - it doesn't really matter but if I have to have a number which means nothing to me it may as well be the one the car was born with.

 

It's not always wasting money - these are quite often an investment.

When I was 21 I found "RMS 111" (my initials) advertised. I bought it for £300 and it's been on one of my cars ever since. This is an old number which is not year of manufacture specific so can be put on any car irrespective of age. Last time I checked it was valued at around £6000 but that was a good few years ago.

Later plates have a letter or pair of numbers which denote the cars year of manufacture so you can't transfer these to older cars as it would make the car appear younger. In the reg "VGP 5M" the "M" at the end denotes August 1973 to July 1974. When they reached the end of the alphabet they started again but with the year letter at the front. When they reached the end again they totally changed the year designation by making all new registrations 7 digit and using 2 letters, 2 numbers (which indicate the year) and 3 letters which is where we are now.

Depending on the sequence, words or names can be made up (usually by spacing the letters illegally) - I've seen loads of great one over the years like

505 EXY (spaced 50 5EXY)
TUR 80 (spaced TUR80)
RU55 ELL (I REALLY wanted this but I believe it sold for over £50k !!)
B011 OCK (not hard to work out)
PEN 15 (same again)

Our surname is Schacter and my son found S11 ACX a few years back - he puts a black number plate fixing screw between the "11" so it looks like an "H" as "SHACX" is his nickname. It's not legal to misrepresent the number but if he gets stopped by the police they just tell him to take the screw out and not do it again so he leaves it a while before putting the screw back.

Transferring a number from car to car can be a ball ache and costs £80, if you don't have a car to transfer the number to the DVLA will store it for you for £25 a year until you're ready to transfer it.

When my BMW was stolen Feb 28th this year RMS 111 was on the car. The DVLA won't let you transfer the number to another car for 12 months in case the police number plate recognition cameras pick it up as a stolen car.

Roll on March 1st !

 

Which just confirms that these are investments if you buy right.

But as you say.....

Bugger !

 

ok, now you're just proving you're an idiot !

 

The 365's still awaiting paint in the shop, mainly due to my decision to sort loads of hard to get at bits while the bonnet (h-o-o-d for our US brothers and sisters) is off. Due to the cooling problems encountered when I first drove the car home it made sense to fully overhaul the cooling system. Other than replacing the f****d expansion tank and both rad caps. so far the rads been removed and checked over and fully cleaned by a rad specialist - thankfully all ok and was refitted today so the paint can be done next week.

Thermostat was all gunked up and yeucch so is off the squidmark in the morning to be tested and hopefully cleaned and sorted - if no good a new one will be ordered from Eurospares @ £130.00 (so fingers crossed it's ok then !)

The T-piece is also rusted out so that and a new top hose will also be ordered, new straight hose pieces will be made up and fitted with new hose clips.

Both the oil cooler thermostat and upper radiator are attached by small "cotton reel" mounts (5 in total) which are quite expensive to buy if ordered from one of the usual suspects but I located the exact right part for very little money from a local speed shop. Sold in pairs, the part is a fuel pump mount set from Facet Enterprises Inc, Elmira, NY 14903 and is part number 479807. I'm happy to provide details of my supplier if anyone needs it.

I also had a minor problem with the front edge of the bonnet (see above for translation) just catching somewhere on the top of the rad or frame (can't recall where exactly) so sourced some slightly smaller bottom rad mounts (25mm instead of 30mm) which should solve the problem. The car hasn't been damaged or repaired so why it fouled was a mystery but this should fix it either way. Don't have the part number to hand but they came from the same supplier so will forward if required.

All of the oil cooler hoses were pressure tested and one swivel union was found to have failed so a new one was made up and all the existing pipes and oil cooler thermostat were lightly glass bead blasted and now look new - always wanted a media blast cabinet and now I've got one. They're a great way to make old crap look like new with minimal effort so well worth the investment.

Squidmark very kindly provided a used pair of 400 cooling fans as one of mine wasn't a genuine 365 (it was actually a 400 fan wired up the wrong way round with the 365 blade attached the wrong way !!) I stripped these both down, bead blasted all casings and bolts and am having them reconditioned by the guy who fixed the 365 alternator for me - good guy very highly recommended. BTW - if anyone has a genuine 365 fan motor with or without blade available please let me know as I'd prefer to fit a correct pair of 365 fans back on the car if possible.

Also, could any 365 owners out there let me know if their 3 bladed fans are metal or plastic - I refer to the blade only, not the motor as they're all metal. My original ones are plastic but I believe they're supposed to be metal.

Anyway, I'm sure you're all bored by now so feel free to not bother reading this.

Whoops - too late !!

You'll know better next time won't you !!!
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I am making progress now, would just like to get the car registration sorted out as it getting annoying.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

It does indeed - except I can see you have the correct Michelin tyres and cooling fans on yours !

Where was it that you kept the car again ?

And is it locked at night ?

 

29 Hanbury Street, eh ?

At least I won't have to jack the car up and rip her wheels off !