Tim+ wrote:

Chris J Dixon wrote:

That takes me back to an Austin 1800 which really didn't like to
engage 1st when cold. I fiddled with the cable gear selectors for
a while, to no avail.

I happened to change to one of the (then) new multigrade oils
(engine and gearbox shared the same oil) and suddenly the problem
disappeared.

Surely the 1800 came after the introduction of yer basic 20/50?

You are quite right, but it was certainly something different
that I tried. I don't think it was simply a winter grade. The
intervening 36 years have blurred all details of the cure, whilst
memory of the difficulties of negotiating the evening traffic
without a full complement of gears remains vivid.

That aspect was OK when I traded it in, though a good few other
problems remained. The battery connections were a bit loose, and
it didn't want to start when it came to let the salesman have a
test drive. I popped the bonnet and prodded the solenoid,
whereupon it burst into life. He was more than a little
surprised. Turned out he had been a golf pro and knew less about
cars than I did about golf.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK


Plant amazing Acers.