Li'l Darlin'

[Pombellett]

How about Betsy from the Beach Boys' Ballad of Ole Betsy? Change the date and substitute Fujisawa for Detriot City........

"She was born in '32, and was she ever pretty
She rode a freight train west, all the way from Detroit city
Betsy's seen more places than I'll ever hope to see
Betsy's been more loyal than any friend could be

With some she travelled fast, with others it was slow
Betsy's seen them all, she'd seen them come and go
She must have had some others before I finally met her
And now that she's all mine, they'd better just forget her
Betsy was a lady and that she will remain
Betsy took some beatings but she never once complained

She had a classic beauty that everyone could see
I was the last to meet her, but she gave her life to me
She may be rusted iron, but to me she's solid gold
And I just can't hold the tears back
'Cause Betsy's growing old"

[Stickman]

Does that really work, Stickman?. I thought it was urban legend.

It sure does but I do not recommend it as a permanent fix. Good to get you out of trouble short term (very short term)
But in saying that I have had it last upto 4yrs in an old paddock/shooting rig before it went to the crushers, motor was still going strong though.

[PR20 Auto]

You must be a very old man, Mark. I was 13 when that song came out. It does describe our cars pretty precisely, though. Doesn't it?
I must say how much I've enjoyed following the career of Rolie. They really are a unique little vehicle to drive. Mine is a much more mundane example of the Bellett family, I'm afraid. It was to have had a manual gearbox, twin SU's and extractors, and a '69 head but I liked her too much to change her. The SU's, by the way, I gave away to a bloke who wanted them for a Humber Vogue because (he said) the Isuzu versions of the SU were better than the English ones.
Incidentally, the third song reference in my Li'l Darlin' post doesn't need explaining here in Oz. Might need explaining there, though. If only to explain the random "she don't like that kind of behaviour" bit. "Reckless" is in the top ten list of "Greatest Australian songs" (it's a short list). Written by James Reyne from Australian Crawl.

[PR20 Auto]

Farmer, it's Rislone Permanent Head Gasket Fix. $72-50. Cheap if it works. I'll try it this weekend. Thanks again.

[BULLITT]

hi guys I have (had) a 2000 model 626 mazda 2.0 great car for 5 years never let me down and I do some mileage ..about 6 weeks ago coming back from Brisbane and for some reason I looked at the temp gauge and it was in the red (sh..) I pulled over as quick as I could it wasn't steaming as the top part of the radiator had steamed out the water got it towed home my mechanic said 2 things are rebuild or try risolene . repco had plastic container on sale for $50 I thought why not the car is not worth a lot I followed the insrtuctions and put in this metal based glook turned the radiator too full and ran the car for the specific time all good temp gauge is low .Now its test time 5ks down the road you bloody bweety coming home not so good up she went into the red (by the way I put in a new radiator ) so alas it didn't work for me it was too cooked I sold that mazda bought another one owner mazda..put in the new radiator and we are away again thought id share ..its a hit n miss good luck cheers davo

[PR20 Auto]

By the way,
The Li'l Darlin' used to look like this at one stage.

[Farmer]

Mate, what a transformation! I don't remember seeing her like that before.
I hope you get the problem sorted. You need to be cruising in her.
Cheers, Matt.

[GTtoo]

Holly Mishmanuten!! Just been away from Bellett.net and my friends for too long, Wooot?? Yes, Sticko, Farmer, Pom and everybody else. I have loved Rollies journey too. Our special cars have become part of our lives and are part of the family after so many years and experience, hence they assume character.

I see a reference to Broom Broom and proud of it!! Certainly up to playing the name game. That's why i still refer to my GT as little Blue Beastie, because it always behaves like a giant slayer in traffic and especially when you poke it up inclines, it is Little......Blue.....and Beastie, I suppose it's why our cat is not called "CAT", but was named by Liz when she picked her up from the orphanage....LILLY (Tiger Lilly) because of her pure tiger markings and massive feline temperament. It sticks and she responds to it.

Anyway, think, think....nick name for Brett ....maybe PR91? because he IS PR91?.....So how come the number plate isn't alpha numeric? Or should it be "Just another PR91".

BTW Sticko, what prompted the cop to call him Donkey, I'd like to know what was going on inside his head. Was Donkey kicking out the rears just like a "Donkey" when the cop saw him?

Normal doesn't get me by, maybe that's why I love my Bellett, totally Wierd Matt...I mean Farmer.

Oh, and good luck whith shoving Goo down the radiator. I've heard it works for some and not for others. Didn't work for our '86 Magna. Head was too fritzed. New head and radiator overhaul, ran like new. Sold off the footpath for $650 and 570,000 kms, still see it being flogged around the burbs 4 years later!!

B.

[Stickman]

BTW Sticko, what prompted the cop to call him Donkey, I'd like to know what was going on inside his head. Was Donkey kicking out the rears just like a "Donkey" when the cop saw him?
B.

Long story short....... I was pulled over for hooning Caught sideways, mid drift around a round-about with no exhaust on the car (there is another story for that ) Kind of hard not to draw attention like that. Anywho, he was cool, just wanted to know - quote "What the hell is it??" Chated for 10-15mins then told me - quote "If your going to race a horse, you ride a Stallion NOT a Donkey"

[PR20 Auto]

We could call Brett, "Bjorn", GT. As in the old Steppenwolf song "Bjorn to be Wild".
The Rislone treatment didn't work first time around. I'm going to leave it in there and run her again a few times to see if the heat will seal it up.
The whole thing is weird. The block and head are fine as far as clearances go. And this water is running out of the exhaust even when the motor is hot. Should be steam by then. Also, I'm not losing much coolant either. But by the coughing and spluttering and missing she definitely has fluid in her bores.
Ah well, at least next time I pull her apart the Rislone will give me a tracer to see where the coolant has gone.

[PR20 Auto]

By the way, Stickman, what sort of constabulary do you have there? Surely it's an offense for that walloper to compare a Bellett to a donkey (or a horse, even a stallion). Man has no sense of etiquette.

[Stickman]

By the way, Stickman, what sort of constabulary do you have there? Surely it's an offense for that walloper to compare a Bellett to a donkey (or a horse, even a stallion). Man has no sense of etiquette.

He was the type that drives a 270Kw Cosworth powered Escort, and he wasn't too shy about rubbing my nose in it either.

[Farmer]

A little thing to try, take the plugs out before starting one morning. See if any are wet, or cleaner than the rest. Then wind the starter over and see if you get sprayed with coolant. At least you will see which pot the problem is in. Gary's Crown I mentioned earlier was filling one bore overnight, and he had to pump the water out before starting it.

I too have a coolant problem with the old Sigma. It blows bubbles in the radiator and pushes coolant into the catch tank, but doesnt draw it back when cooling. In fact, the pressure stays in the radiator, even after a week! Bore stays dry and it starts ok and doesnt get hot, not for half an hour or so. The Rislone didn't work there, because it didn't get drawn into the fault. How does this work?
Mechanic mate Brad has a device that traces where the pressure is coming from somehow. I will take it to him soon.

Cheers, Matt.

[GTtoo]

Too right Farmer, also same problem with our past 86 magna. Throwing watery gunk at you when winding over engine without a spark plug present in the problem cylinder. Ultimately a head problem, and such a fine crack at that. Ditch old head and a replacement head easy to find. Coupled with new gasket and radiator overhaul? Problem solved.

B.

[Redzone]

You know water is a byproduct of complete combustion right? So when your engine is running efficiently you will always get a bit of condensation dripping out the tail pipe. If it was steaming when up to temp or smelling of glycol then yes I'd suspect a head gasket. My best advice is to take it for a good drive then turn it off and pull the plugs and post a pic of them here.

Your rough running could be anything.

[PR20 Auto]

Thanks Redzone. There was a great deal of water (more than likely from just combustion product) at the tailpipe though and water in two and three bores. However the Rislone seems to have kicked in (finally) and they are dry now. Also, the water at the tailpipe is back to normal levels at idle. As you suspected the plugs are all sooty black from too rich a mixture, which explains some of the misbehavior. That is another issue, though. The high float level I can fix, but the mixture screw is badly worn and I assume that, therefore, it's seat is too. Either way it's pretty much impossible to set the mixture properly. I can get another carby ('68 almost new)and put a rebuild kit through it to fix that problem.
Anyway, thanks Pombellett, Betsy would have been a very good name for her (the song is perfect) but, now that she's behaving again, it's back to the Li'l Darlin (till next time).

[GTtoo]

Just goes to to show how tolorent they are. Put in a new set of plugs. Don't forget to close the gap slightly to 0.8 mm by tapping them on a hard surface gently. Turn the mixture down a bit on both carbs. And find where the idle thread problem is. Get someone who knows to look at it.

B.