ROTARY PROVES A SPEED MACHINE
It’s now nearly a year since I last reported on the NSU, which is odd because I use it more than any of my other cars – mainly because it’s the most reliable, which is either a reflection on the poor standard of my other cars, or confirmation that the Ro80 is vaguely dependable.
To keep on top of the body, I had the rust on the nearside rear wheelarch sorted by a shop in Swindon. They did a nice job, but had terrible issues matching the paint, and were then flummoxed by the Ro80’s starting procedure. So when I finally came to collect the car, I was glumly informed that: “It won’t start mate.” I then astonished the painter when I had the thing fired up almost before the last syllable had tumbled from his lips.
I’ve done two or three trips to London, where the NSU copes fine, although early in the year it gave me a surprise when its throttle cable snapped (luckily not far from mate Nick Kisch’s house, where I was staying), which meant a call to the good old AA in the morning. They got me mobile within an hour and the car is still running the temporary cable they fitted, although Phil Blake sent me the correct one in the post the next day.
Phil also picked up a new rear parcel shelf for me in Germany at the 50th-anniversary Treffen in May; this reproduction item is not cheap, but it looks great. I just need to stick some sound deadening on it, because you can now hear stuff rolling about in the boot.
Phil also loaned me a set of alloys to get refurbished so that I didn’t have to take the Ro80 off the road. Merc W123 specialist Mark Cosovich got them done for me by his man in Wales and they came back looking great, although I have not yet got round to fitting them and I will need to to sort myself out a good set of wheel bolts and centre caps to to do them justice.
After a long sit in west London traffic the other week, I noticed an unwillingness from the rotary to pull over 5000rpm, but this was quickly resolved by removing the plugs and carefully dousing them in carb cleaner. I also became aware of a water leak from the engine, which turned out to be coming from a pinhole in the expansion tank. Rusty water is dropping onto the voltage regulator for the alternator and, if left to its own devices for long enough, spits out sufficient coolant to make the engine run a bit hot, which obviously isn’t good.
The other issue has been the brakes, which are starting to feel a bit soft at the pedal and are pulling to the left a touch. Mike Conner at Purley Road Garage freed off one of the front calipers, which helped, but I suspect that I am going to need a pair of refurbished items if the anchors are going to get back to what they should be. There is still oil coming from (I think) the torque converter, although it is not clear if this is getting into the brakes. Having said all of that, it went through its MOT test with nothing more than an advisory on a driveshaft boot, and I even managed to get myself a speeding ticket on the way home, my first for 15 years.
FAR 666K had its moment of fame in June when Petrolicious came to see me to do a little film about the car, which you can see online. Then, at the beginning of August, it was time to go and see Ro80 guru Phil and his wife Ally for the car’s 50th-anniversary event in Tannington, deepest Suffolk. I didn’t mention it in October’s Backfire, but I was quietly chuffed when my car was voted third favourite by the assembled NSU cognoscenti.
I used the opportunity to leave the car with Phil for its next round of sorting: the snag list is headed by the brake and water-leak problems, and I’m hoping that he will also sort a windscreen leak and dodgy front passenger window regulator, plus come up with a definitive answer to the excessively soft suspension and the suspicious clonk on lock from (I think) the nearside front strut. I hope that he doesn’t need to hang on to the NSU for too long, though: I’m missing it already.
THANKS TO
Δ Mike Conner at Purley Road Garage: 01285 221304 Δ Phil Blake
Δ The AA: www.theaa.com Δ Mark Cosovich: w123book.com
‘I even managed to get myself a speeding ticket on the way home from the MOT test – my first for 15 years’