Back home after an interesting week from a business trip to London. As mentioned in my last post, I used the opportunity to visit my son with Saabeth – his Saab 900 Turbo. Fitted with new Vredestein Quatrac all season tires the trip to Uxbridge could not have been better. With 327000km on the clock the engine runs smoothly even at speeds up to 150km/h – but does need some oil. One liter oil for the 1600km round trip is not great – but the fuel consumption on the motorway with just around 9.2l/100km is actually not terrible.
Although I have been to the UK so many times – I never stayed in central London for more than a night. The company office close to King’s Cross is ideally to take all directions via Underground and even though Locals sometimes politfully complain – public transport is absolutely amazing in London compared to many other places.
During my stay – my son logically took his Saab for a spin. On Thursday evening the engine stops with a loud bang. Of course I was worried that I might not get home as planned on Friday – including stops at Moss and Swiftune. For good reasons I have an ADAC Premium membership and they organised AA support while I had to attend an appointment. Two hours later Scott – the guy from AA “fixed” the issue Apparently, oil had leaked into the distributor – a not uncommon problem for the Saab 900. The small oil seal in the distributor might have failed.
Joined by a good friend and colleague, I picked up some parts from Moss and Swiftune (hardened spacers for the front wheel bearings) on the way back. Down at High Chimney Farm I also saw a well known blue Mini Cooper S – the toughest competitor we had on the LeJog23!! Kevin and his Copilot were always quicker on the tests and better in the regularities – the would have beaten us big time if their gearbox hadn’t failed. Now, he has a full Swiftune setup… I guess Martin and I need to practice a bit more for the next event!!!
The drive back home was easy and without major issues. I checked the distributor cap twice and no oil could be found. However, as soon as I rev up the engine into turbo pressure areas (3000rpm plus) it sounds a bit awkward. I suspect something else is broken but currently have no idea what it could be.
Downside of crowed tubes and a company event with many people is that it is all to easy to catch Covid19 again. Unfortunately, even though I had my 5th vaccination in November, I caught it and heavy symptoms started right after I got back home. Therefore, I was not able to unload the car or get into my garage (down the road). Today, I was able to at least take the dog for a walk and give you a sneak peak of one of the MGB tasks that I will be working on shortly.
Fixing C6622 
Tim as you very well know the public transport system in London is fantastic. The origins of the famous Tube date back to 1863 and we have more than 270 stations!! Of course it is expensive (like everything else in the city) but is totally reliable.
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Yes, London public transport is truly amazing – not only because it works, has an amazing history and is on average 24m under the surface (almost 60meter at the deepest station) – it is also remarkable due to the obvious but not really documented applied social rules and habits (not sure how to better describe this)
Overall the tubes are amazingly clean. Littering is not acceptable and it seems to work better than elsewhere.
There are unspoken rules where to move quicker and were to walk slower (well, stand on the right on escalators is documented) – that even work at rush hour. A queue is queue and the same for everyone.
It is also relatively quiet. Loud speaking people or not having headphones is an exception – and if it happens punished by a rather pityful sidelook by all others.
People of all ages, social classes, etchnics and beliefs seem to be able to just function together in the Underground. It sure changes once you get closer to the outskirts of London – but for the most part – it works in London.
Keep calm and carry on is phrase that went through my head every time I went into the Underground.
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Hahahahaha yes agreed!!! Shame that it is so expensive tho…..
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