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Owners In South Wales


Conehead

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Looks like it would need some work, rusty block and head may mean skimming is required. I would quite like to buy something sorted and not have any problems with it. Question is whether I could use my ported big valve cylinder head on the 1.6 or would the compression ratio be too high...

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I've only just noticed this thread. I'm up for a drive some when. Keen to have a chat and learn a thing or two!

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Sorry to hear about the Westie Conehead.

Another one here up for a meet up in south Wales, Aberdare here. Plenty of good roads round here, the A4061 over the mountain up from Tower Colliery, the A4059 Penderyn run. Can't wait to get out on the road again, I'll be taxed and insured from April 1st and would be good to meet up and have a poke around other peoples' cars. Also wouldn't mind having a crack at a trck day or 2 in Llandow/ Pembrey if anything's coming up.

Moved into the area in August last year and haven't got round to finding a decent local garage yet. Any recommendations from you guys should anything (fingers crossed) happen to the car? Had a cracking little garage in Bridgend but don't of any further up the valleys.

Bring on April 1st!

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Conehead, I guess you won't be coming along to Llandow on the 26th MArch (not the friday anymore) with your problems?

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Saw Willfield recommended by other people and thought about giving them a try but you didn't have a good experience with the guy? Proper old school mechanic by all accounts.

Hope you can get yours sorted. It's the one thing I worry about with a track day, damaging the car and not being able to get home. You never know, this may be the last gremlin you chase out but there's only so much you can put up with before you flog it and buy something else.

Used to use Waterfall garage in Bridgend (after owning an Alfa riddled with electrical gremlins) and they were absolutely spot on every time, honest about the prices they'd charge, they could always find the time to squeeze in an emergency when the car wasn't working. Solved a turbo overboost problem in 5 minutes by driving the car rather than the Fiat main dealer spending 9 months plugging it into a computer and reading the error codes. They worked on the Alfa, serviced wife's Polo for years and did work on the old Robin Hood and the Westie, last time I saw them they had a Lotus 7 up on the jack. Well worth a go if you're struggling for garages in the area.

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Saw Willfield recommended by other people and thought about giving them a try but you didn't have a good experience with the guy? Proper old school mechanic by all accounts.

That is why I used him.....

But it came back after a 'tune, head gasket replacement, valve tolerance check etc' £450 service idling worse than it went in, all the trumpets were loose vibrating everywhere but he swore he couldnt get it idling right due to a 'twist in the catbs' that it didnt do before it went in.

He told me he had to loctite a few of the rocker adjusters but only told me he had seen damaged ones after I had called him to say a couple had disintergrated causing severe damage...... he wasnt very interested in helping me from this point, (I had been polite all the way through and still am) Obviously there is the chance that all the damage happened in the 15 miles of driving that i had done after he serviced it as that is all i did!!

Well to say the least the head gasket has now failed although i can only put that done to the valve failure. I do question whether i would be in this state now if i hadnt taken it to him. therefore I will not be recommending him to anyone I know. Im sure there are many with good experiences but you have to go from your own.

the A4061 over the mountain up from Tower Colliery, the A4059 Penderyn run
I love that run i'll come on the bike that wont sell but is spotless...

Conehead, I guess you won't be coming along to Llandow on the 26th MArch (not the friday anymore) with your problems?

If I can get the day off Ill pop over on the bike, its only 10 miles from the house
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Cheers for the honesty there, doesn't sound like a good experience with him.

Yeah, the mountain run is brilliant, nice long straight at the start, although those bumps in the road could do with an iron! Nice twisties at the top and that long hairpin off the back, only trouble is dropping down through Treorchy, mile after mile of crawling along the town roads.

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Cheers for the honesty there, doesn't sound like a good experience with him.
That is how i feel but so far I generally think the car was knackered now from the moment i picked it up. Although i do think there were things he should have checked, like the trumpets especially that he was tuning the carbs and couldnt get it idiling, and feel he should have told me or noticed the breaking up adjusters as they is heavy wear on all. considering he had it apart. But likewise im sure there are many people who have never had a problem with his work.
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Hi Conehead and others, i don`t get to catch up on the forum too often , but firstly i have a car trailer if you need it and as for meeting up , lets just meet up to start with, then maybe get a run out , give the old girls a run

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