So, after an abortive attempt to sell I have reluctantly decided to keep the old girl . . . for now.
Why reluctantly? Well, I had an injury a few years back blah blah blah witter witter etc etc etc , you all know the story, sort of, basically it boils down to this, too much hard use of my left arm muscles causes all sorts of aches and pains that build up over time and it feels like a stabbing pain through my chest with a continuous dull ache in my bicep. Ouch.
Anyway too much changing of gears and now also the heavy steering of the Magnum causes that exact sort of thing to happen and it is very uncomfortable and jut not fun to drive. Part of me wishes I'd kept the HB as that was fun to drive, even with the gear changes. And especially as now the guy who has got it has immediately started pulling her apart and has rubbed down my nice white stripe and flogged the GT bonnet grrrr , I liked the rough look of my HB, the Magnum is a bit 'antiseptic' now...and I cant 'personalise' her because she is a Magnum and needs to be kept pretty much stock.
So I did decide to sell... and buy something else. . . something automatic. So Ebay shenanigans ensued , emails from obvious dealers, odd requests for private evaluations ( one guy wanted someone to value it with the intent that I would honour the valuation and sell it to him for that price, whatever that was ), RAC inspections ( that I assume would be by some guy without a clue regarding older vehicles), Low low offers...all that sort of rubbish, and a very nice chap that offered to build up an auto magnum estate for me so we could swap ( i'm still thinking about that one).... Also there were a few vivas on there of various degrees of build and model, that were getting astronomical prices and bids immediately, whereas mine stagnated at the start price ( yes I was getting a little bit jealous of the attention they were getting ), couple that with the fact that I was starting to get a little bit worried over what price it did finish at as If i'd've made a massive profit I would have been ashamed and would have given the previous owner a share to clear my conscience
Add to that the fact that when I popped over to see fellow member Carl in the old girl, it became apparent that she is STILL stripping fan belts and would not keep one on for long I couldn't possibly let someone attempt to drive home in the old girl after they had bought it. So I pulled her from ebay.
Yes, I am, to all intents and purposes, my own worse enemy. I don't know why I bother...I can't sell for *Bleep*
So, for now, she stays … This thread can be a testament to the thing, and an ongoing advert, all I want is a fun to drive classic of the GM variety …. I am such a whinging mind changer at times
Anyway . . .
Fan belt …. what the hell?
She stripped one on the way the MH, I fitted one there to get home, she stripped it again a day later. I fitted another one, took my time had it all adjusted up properly, I took off all the pulleys and cleaned them up, and refitted it and got the correct tension etc. She held fine for a while, no issue, maybe if i'm absolutely honest it did look a little slacker after a bit of driving but nothing too bad, Then I took her for a run up to Grantham, 12 miles on country lanes with a great spot you can really let go on, took the old girl up to 70, she drove great, not an issue I get to where I was going and popped the bonnet and the belt looked like it was 10 years old, saggy and frayed, and low down in the pulleys. The underside of the belt had lost all the teeth of the vee, and there was rubber residue over the alternator pully.
The belt looks in line, maybe a slight deflection, the alternator looks slightly far forward, but there is no 'rearwards' adjustment left on it, it is right up against the bracket. But it looks like it is deflecting, the belt is saggy and bowed and in pretty bad shape. The alternator has a little bit of play in it, could it be that as the alternator spins up, the shaft wobbles all over the place and wears the belt to destruction? Or could the alternator bearing be on its way out and as it heats up it gains resistance and the resulting friction wears the belt sides, which cooks the belt and causes it to disintegrate? The edges of the belt do look to be 'sanded off' a touch. I'm all for replacing the alternator. What do you guys think?
Also, with replacing the alternator, I'm thinking of going for a 'ribbed' belt, just for ease of replacement and for removing the viscous fan and fitting and electric one, as it is so close to the rad there is barely any room for movement ( you cant get a fan belt between the fan and rad without forcing it, last time I changed the belt I took the rad out! ), I know I've seen this sort of mod done before, what pulleys are you guys using for the crank and water pump?
Well there we go, a lot of writing I know . . .. but I tend to waffle