GTA feels surpising modern to work on

Having done a few bits and bobs to the car this afternoon, I would suggest it is just like working on a modern car. Here are some examples

Bleed nipple on thermostat housing is impossible to access with more than 1 finger and there is no way of moving the spanner more than 1/16th of a turn

The bolts that hold the rear light in place have been especially designed to be single use only. How you are supposed to change bulbs easily is beyond me.

TDC sensor is totally hidden from sight (I still haven’t found it)

Interior side trim, you have to be psychic to work out that it has hidden clips

Replacing fuses requires a qualification in gynaecology

Anyway, in prep for tomorrow my new rear light is fitted Cooling system has been bled again. All seems well, upper hose soft when hot, when stationary it gets to 90 degrees (not when moving), no bubbles in the coolant.

I havent sorted the occasional issue of the engine just dying (so I may not get to Silverstone - please cross fingers for me)

Quick question - are the fuel pumps usually noisy? Mine whine like my 13 year old daughter when asked to do chores

[BIG_MVS]

Stop moaning! We have had all this pain for years

You could always open your wallet to do the discs and pads on the Trevor

wot a tart
The trick is to remove stuff that stops you getting to stuff that you think is "wee wee" easy until you've struggled for 20 mins of your 40 min threshold ...innnit

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...what's the threshold- between cup's of tea or giving up hope?

Bleed nipple on thermostat housing is impossible to access

I don`t know why members bother about that bleed nipple....... it does nothing! Next time you are at the back of the Alp, follow the hose from the top of the thermostat housing back to the bulkhead where it joins the steel one.
Now as you follow that hose, when you get alongside the reservoir, there is a small hose attached to the top of the large hose which goes up to the front top of the reservoir.
Now consider when you are filling the cooling system, the coolant will come up the steel pipe and fill the hose....... you have automatic bleeding via the small hose into the reservoir as it is higher than the bleed nipple......... no need to use the bleed nipple.

By that rational why bother with the rad bleed ? I think more that you fill via the highest point and open a path to atmosphere as it fills .More to do with pushing the trapped air to escape quickly rather than high point of the system .

wot a tart
The trick is to remove stuff that stops you getting to stuff that you think is pistol easy until you've struggled for 20 mins of your 40 min threshold ...innnit

Yup a tart

It just made me think of my Audi, where you have to remove the power steering reservoir to change a headlight bulb.

I admit to having little patience. But today I managed 2 hours How you lot work on any car is beyond me

It's part of the attraction.
A friend of mine keeps on about me selling the GTA and getting a Caterham. But it just wouldnt be the same.

If you love the car (which most of us do) then you just live with the fact that whatever you do is going to take longer than you expect.

By that rational why bother with the rad bleed ?

Come on Lee...... the rad has input and output pipes only half way up the rad, if it was not bleed, you would have half the rad filled up with air never to be got shot of without bleeding.

I think more that you fill via the highest point and open a path to atmosphere as it fills .More to do with pushing the trapped air to escape quickly rather than high point of the system .

If you look, you are not filling at the highest point.... the hose under the reservoir is the path that the coolant takes to fill the system.... and that goes to the lower large hose.... the coolant then travels forward to the off side rad entry, leaving the rad on the near side back to the top hose while venting via the small hose to the top of the reservoir.... it also goes through the heater and up to the engine.... BUT.... this is where the hole in the stat comes in, as without it air is trapped, and there is no way out for it, as the stat is closed..... jiggle valve (610) or small hole (GTA) cures that as it allows air trapped to vent up into the top hose and out, again, into the top of the reservoir.

Filling process pushes the air round the system and it will pop out at the end not 90 degrees to it's flow path .Filling ,not long term self bleed .
It is easier for it to come out the pump than back flow and bubble out the tank .

For filling the system, the manual says "unclip the reservoir and raise as high as possible.

I ran out of hands

Filling process pushes the air round the system and it will pop out at the end not 90 degrees to it's flow path

Sorry Lee, I don`t follow your logic on this....... but I am not going to argue with you on such a trivial point...... the main point of my comment re:- the bleed nipple...... it serves no purpose in this particular (GTA) installation as this area, including the thermostat upper housing is bled automatically by the small pipe coming off the top of the upper hose into the reservoir as the hose fills up with coolant.

For filling the system, the manual says "unclip the reservoir and raise as high as possible.

I remember when I had my Fuego the same thing was suggested, but on the Fuego, the reservoir bottle had only one pipe coming out of the bottom of the bottle, so it was possible to hang it up as was shown in the manual.
Due to the small pipe joining the upper hose to the reservoir on the GTA, as you say, its impossible, that's why I find it helpful to raise the rear of the Alp..... it also helps the air to be pushed back towards the engine as you fill with coolant.
However, I still believe that if your stat does not have a jiggle valve, a small hole is a must to aid bleeding.

Filling process pushes the air round the system and it will pop out at the end not 90 degrees to it's flow path

Sorry Lee, I don`t follow your logic on this....... but I am not going to argue with you on such a trivial point...... the main point of my comment re:- the bleed nipple...... it serves no purpose in this particular (GTA) installation as this area, including the thermostat upper housing is bled automatically by the small pipe coming off the top of the upper hose into the reservoir as the hose fills up with coolant.

Wot John said. Air will always want to rise and the coolant flow rate is not enough to overcome it.

The DeLorean stat housing sits the other way around and you are meant to use the bleed screw. Many people replace it with a barb and run a hose round to the top of the expansion tank a la GTA. Many of those people miss the point and run that "self bleed" hose down and back up again thus maintaining the air trap in the top of the water pump

DeLorean rad has a self bleed too but it then runs down into the coolant pipt rendering it more or less pointless so when filling from dry, you have to pop the hose off till the air escapes. Item 7 here (rad sits at about 30 degrees from vertical though it doesn't look like it in the diagram and the filler cap actually says "do not use" on it cos it's totally inaccessible).

Too late to the party ...was Friday night and nowt on the telly

Still say more bleeds the better if you want to do it from empty and not take 3 days about it