A gathering of WA Cappos

[Chris da Silva]

Cappo owners in WA

I’ll be at Ginger’s Roadhouse on the Great Northern Hwy this Sunday @ 0930 for a jaunt through the countryside and ending in elevenses.

If anyone would like to come along, please contact me on this thread. Good to hear from you.

C

[Todd Spurling]

Too bad I'm in Sydney. Enjoy the day. Post some photos, or at least a photo of your car anyway.

[Chris da Silva]

Hi Todd.

Thnx for your reply. My intention is to start getting WA Cappo owners together for outings and car shows like the other clubs in Perth. I'm also a regular visitor to car shows and I've yet to see another [Cappo] on display as ownership of these cars is so few and far between!

If I can rekindle the enthusiasm and spirit of owners here in WA, maybe we can get something going; and all it takes is for a small group of owners to come together to start with...

C

[Todd Spurling]

Ah, I should point out that I'm always in Sydney. I'd like to do the same here, and drive to the Melbourne F1. Car clubs display their cars around the track. There should be a cappuccino display.

[Chris da Silva]

Hi Todd. Yep, I gathered that! BTW, did you get my PM?

So far I've got absolutely no replies to my thread [to meet me at Ginger's Roadhouse] and Sunday's coming up real fast...

And yes, there should be a Cappo display at an all-marques car shows. The shows I've been to have been broadly country-specific: German Car Day, Italian Car Day, British Car Day etc. (Love to look at the Porsches, Mercs, Ferraris, Lambos, Astons, Morgans, Jaguars etc. and talk to their owners ...) but there are only 2 [all-marques] Sundays I know of. I think there is a Japanese Car Day in Perth; but I know little about it!

The word on the street tells me that there are about 5 Cappos here in Perth (excluding mine); but I've not seen one of them! It's an uphill battle for me from this point onwards, I can tell you....

[Adrian Furniss]

Good luck with this gathering Chris. I so hope it happens.

Trouble is, our little friends are getting older and older and I think people are reluctant to drive them great distances despite the great pleasure of being in a Cappo convoy and meeting other owners.

[Chris da Silva]

HI Adrian

Alas, mine was the only one there, so I went (with my brother as passenger) on a spirited drive through the twisty country lanes! There, a few faults showed up...

Apart from the PAS I was talking about in another thread (more on that below...) I found that: (a) there was a small oil leak coming from under the car; (b) the air-con had suddenly decided to go on strike; (c) the engine was uncomfortably hot when the car was driven in a spirited way (not redlined!) and (d) intermittent low voltage warnings when the car was on the move! Today was the first time I took the Cappo out since buying it.

For the PAS problem, the electric motor on the steering column had seized up (and will need rebuilding rather than buying a new assembly) and will also investigate where that leak is coming from...worrying indeed! Anyway, the Cappo is booked in for Tuesday and fingers crossed these faults are not expensive to put right!

I plan to take the Cappo out once every couple of weeks to make sure everything is working as it should. Leaving a car languishing in a garage is like sounding its death-knell - and it's not something I want to do! Granted that many are reluctant to drive them great distances because of their age; but at the same time, there are older cars which are regularly driven: weekly (weekends) or monthly by their owners. I don't cane the Cappo (or any car for that matter) but I like to drive it over moderate distances. That keeps the motor happy and it lasts a bit longer too, if you see what I mean!

Rgds

C

[Ian Linden]

Hopefully, your new problems are minor. The alternator brushes may be worn or stuck. The aircon may need recharging, but have them put a fluorescent tracer in, so you will be able to see if anything is leaking (In my case, I had to have a new condenser). Overheating is often caused by a defective thermostat (Cheap replacement can be bad news - I would use a Suzuki original).

[Chris da Silva]

Hi Ian

Thnx for that! These problems are only niggly but they are sooooo annoying!! (Grrrr!)

I'll get new alternator brushes and a new thermostat tomorrow - they're inexpensive enough! Re aircon, I'll check the hoses for leaks etc first before having it recharged.

BTW, as the car is still stock, what are your thoughts on a high-capacity radiator in the Aussie climate? Or should I just leave the original radiator and replace the cooling system with Evans Waterless Coolant?

C

[Ian Linden]

Hi Ian

Thnx for that! These problems are only niggly but they are sooooo annoying!! (Grrrr!)

I'll get new alternator brushes and a new thermostat tomorrow - they're inexpensive enough! Re aircon, I'll check the hoses for leaks etc first before having it recharged.

BTW, as the car is still stock, what are your thoughts on a high-capacity radiator in the Aussie climate? Or should I just leave the original radiator and replace the cooling system with Evans Waterless Coolant?

C

Problem with aircon leaks is the stuff comes out as a gas, so unless it has the dye tracer in it, you probably will see nothing.

I think you should be ok with just flushing the radiator (well, the whole system, really) before changing to the waterless coolant.

[Chris da Silva]

Hi Ian

I'll get the garage to sort out the air con for me. Meanwhile, I'll keep the original radiator and refill the cooling system with Evans after a thorough flushing as you suggested. I'll "trial" it for a few weeks and get back to you with my findings/observation

Cheers

C

[Adrian Furniss]

Chris, sorry your meeting wasn't better attended. Sorry also about the problems though none sounds particularly major.

On the subject of cooling, it's said to be bad to turn the Cappo engine off when really hot. Whichever radiator you run, try to ddo one of the following :

• Some owners (notably SCORE ex-chairman Alex Clouter) let it run for a few minutes after stopping.
• My own approach is always to drive very gently for the last couple of miles of every journey. Where I live, the roads/conditions pretty well force me to drive this way anyway, which is probably a good thing for any car (even my every day Citroen Saxo).

[Chris da Silva]

Hi Adrian.

I must admit feeling a little disappointed at the lack of response; but two of the owners actually contacted me a few days later which I thought was good of them! These 2 - dare I say it - are members of the "other place": Club Cappo and not SCORE! One of them has a red Cappo but I'm not too sure what the other bloke has! But word on the street here tells me that there are 2 more Cappos in Perth: a silver one and an ice-blue one! That makes 5 in all including mine! I'm hoping to tease them out of the woodwork and perhaps get them to join SCORE. (Well, it's worth a try...!)

The problem I experienced was more major than at first thought. First, the air con stopped working! And shortly after, I heard a distinct klonk. Then not long after that, the engine ran abnormally hot! A quick autopsy showed me that both belts had come adrift which first caused the air con to malfunction. The klonk was the dislodgement of the radiator overflow bottle as the fan belts were thrown against it; and the engine running hot was inevitable! So somewhere along the side of a country lane lies an overflow bottle and 2 fan belts! What had caused both belt to be thrown were a seized idler pulley/tensioner and another pulley. A real catalogue of disaster! Anyway, replacement parts are on their way and the Cappo should be ready for collection soon.

As for turning the engine off right after stopping, I have fitted a turbo timer and pre-set it for 30 secs. This ensures that after pulling up in my driveway and switching the engine off, the timer will kick in for that extra time. All early turbos need a "winding-down" time to prevent damage [to the turbo]. (Modern ones thankfully don't have that problem..) After a spirited run in the country, I have to drive through a built-up area to get home, and this helps the turbo to start to wind down. So of course by the time I reach my place, the turbo would have partly wound down and the remaining 30 secs on the timer does the rest! This arrangement is perfect.

My turbo timer is a very small unit and fits unobtrusively under the driver's side dash. It's attached by Velcro so it can be removed easily. There are several makes available (HKS, Greddy, etc) ; mine is made by Blitz.

Cheers

C

[Adrian Furniss]

Chris,

Several members over here have Turbo Timers.

You have reminded me of English comedian Tim Vine's "world's shortest joke" :

Velcro - what a rip-off!

Well, you need something to cheer you up when your Cappo is sick.

[Chris da Silva]

You have reminded me of English comedian Tim Vine's "world's shortest joke" :

Velcro - what a rip-off!

Well, you need something to cheer you up when your Cappo is sick.

That sounds like a Tony Blackburn joke.... (oooooh!!)

Moving swiftly on....

The other problem I encountered was the PAS malfunctioning! Suzuki have discontinued the steering column (Part # 48200-80F40) so I have to scratch around to find a replacement. The PAS is electrically operated (motor driven) but the motor housing is welded to the steering column which in turn means it cannot be separated [from the steering column] and rebuilt/refurbished! Hence the complete sub-assembly is the only solution. (Know anyone with a crashed/written off EA21 I could buy the steering rack from?)

PAS is only found on the cars with automatic transmission. Those with manual boxes don't [have PAS].

C

[Adrian Furniss]

PAS is only found on the cars with automatic transmission. Those with manual boxes don't [have PAS].

Not quite the whole story Chris.

The Limited version 2 (CAXF-SB2 - Dark blue with blue/grey cloth seats) and Limited version 3 (CAXF-SC2 - Black with carbon-effect dash) both had Manual Transmission and Electic Power Steering.

My own Cappo is a Limited v2 and I can vouchsafe that it has power steering.

[Chris da Silva]

Hi Adrian

I had forgotten all about the "Special Edition" EA11s.

Yes, they had PAS. As for the EA21s only those with automatic transmission had PAS while those with manual boxes didn't...

C

[Ian Linden]

We believe we have the full story here

[Chris da Silva]

Ian, you couldn't have put it any better ....

[Chris da Silva]

Hi Guys

Well, 2014 is now here and it's time to gather the "Cappo clan" for the first run of the year: and it's next Sunday, Jan 12 if anyone's interested.

I'm thinking of a Lunch Run in the hills; and will have to check on a few restaurants to see whether they're open during this time! Or, if you already have a previous engagement (for lunch) we can always make it an elevenses. In any event, take a passenger with you as navigator (course notes will be given out at the meeting-place).

So if anyone want to come along on the first run of 2014, contact me on this thread for details.