Project Fox Part 12: Will she drive?!
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- Опубліковано 7 лют 2025
- Exciting times, as I prepare Foxanne, my Reliant Fox, for her first drive! Though there's plenty of frustration along the way...
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You've got me talking to the computer screen - "the fan is catching the hose!" Amazing patience - very entertaining - great job!
So pleased to see it running. I think quite a few people (me included) thought the Fox was a project too far. Well done Ian! 👍
Trying to imagine who back in the day in need of a small van, would think a Reliant Fox was the answer? Few dashboards have seen so light a touch from the hand of a designer. Great to see the thing running, all the same.
You fit right in here in Wales, you're off your bonce, mush! Good thing tea isn't alcoholic, I think I counted four in this video,xD
‘I’ve lost pretty much everything ‘. Brilliant, love it! So entertaining, keep up the awesomeness Mr. Hubnut
"This is how blokes look for things, it's got to be logical." The logical thing to do would be to tidy up your bloody garage!!!!!
No real man has a tidy garage! It's got to be a chaotic mess you could lose a cathedral in, just like mine 😂
He'd never find anything, if he tidied up the garage. Everything is in its place.😉
@aircrash tupolov Thanks, it's my baby!
@@johnmackay7789 Yes, everything is in its place, and if it's like my garage then its place is on the floor :-D
@@gosportjamie it's the only system that works.
Yet another classic saved from the scrap heap. We thank you, Ian!
Not much point weighing a Reliant in, the price for a ton of grp was still pretty rubbish last time I looked.
The first start with the fan hitting the hose was a brilliant pantomime moment.
I joined all the other viewers, telling you "its the fan hitting the hose!" meanwhile you're moving the hose with the back of you hand checking to see what the fan is hitting. There has to be a christmas special of these moments!
And she drives!!! Much chuffedness is deserved.
Sorry to see that Mrs HN is now former Mrs HN
Yipee!!! Old gal has a new lease on life.Brings a tear to the eye😢 i know I am watching an old video cause I have seen fox Anne after her cosmetic surgery...but still.
And she sounds amazing, even when the engine was started on the floor, the engine sounded lovely
Thanks for sharing the joy of Fox, sounds quite rorty. You convinced us that there hadn't been a decent autochoke since the XK120 and yet here is evidence of a self unwinding device operating perfectly!
yay! foxanne lives! she runs really sweet. well done ian!
Nice of the former Mrs Hubnut to do a little videoing :) great work on Foxanne!
The Last Post...Thought she fled the rubbish and rubble ?
@@bextar6365 I think it's her house so she's unlikely to have gone far :)
Great little car , would not look out of place in a scene from Trumpton
"Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble, Grubb."
Really sweet sounding little engine. "Former Mrs Hubnut"? So sorry for you.
Thanks. All good. We are still friends - hence she was visiting.
The Fox may have got the chickens, but when are you going to remove the nest behind the battery?
I know I would have given the engine may a bit of a blow over with some satin black. Just waiting for it to end up in the carb or waterpump.
Ian can't see things like that.
@@robbiecox I know. I understand the pressure to make progress is more with Utube.
@@kevkfz5226 ok ed China with your satin black 🤣
I just thought that was 1980's sound deadening
Comedy Channel of the year!.. love it... I hope you saw Ageing Wheels wearing your tee shirt a couple of days ago Ian.. (Phil - Standish) .. :)
I did! I'm wearing one of his T-shirts right now...
Now that's what success looks like - great job!!
Congrats on getting the fox running and kudos for your patience
You are a clever boy well done .
How brilliant. What a cute little car! It seems like a car full of possibilities. It is the first time I have seen it properly in the light and been able to judge the proportions and the neat dashboard. Wonderful.
Always nice to see the first drive after major work like that, and the best part, the Fox has that "farty exhaust" sound I miss from older cars, I like that... :D
You continue to amaze me with your patience, Ian.
Lovely to see progress in the fox ! Saw your old Rover 45 v6 today at the pride of longbridge making lovely v6 noises !
Great to see it moving Ian, nice work, former Mrs Hubnut remark was a surprise I must have missed something along the way but life must go on my friend, onward and upward as they say.
Was a bit shocked, too
The Fox has made progress, it’ll be great once finished.
'There's nothing finer than that first drive, and I enjoyed that one very much."
Earlier, during the first pull away: "Wheee!"
I'd say, yes, you definitely did. Kudos Ian! Looking forward to FoxAnne's further repair and adventures along with more TWC and Ellie.
Congratulations! In these times of austerity and national stressyness, it's nice we have something positive going on, along with Springtime! A fair bit more to do, but a huge step forward to getting this little car into full working condition. Well done, that man!
Great to see your progress with Foxann and her moving under her own power. Good that the alternator is giving a good charge. Compared to my Supervan, room to work around the engine hasn't really improved. The Reliant Owners Club and the Reliant Kitten Owners Club are proving to be great support to fellow owners. If you can't get the radio/cassette to work, I've got one I'm happy to donate to the project.
Thanks. I have a few spare head units.
Very entertaining, Ian. Your patience in pursuit of automotive engineering perfection is inspiring. Have a good social tomorrow - I think you'll be impressed with Shuan's work on the Skoda.
Well done! When I was a child my dad had a Reliant Supervan 111 (PPH475L I recall) as the family car. He used to go to work early in the morning so the sound of a Reliant starting up and driving off up the street was a familiar sound in our household. Listening to the sound of your first drive takes me back years.
I think we all know which vehicle will be the next one to be sold! Hehe 😁 Great job on getting Foxanne up and running. Thought for sure Ian was gonna throw in the towel on that one but I was mistaken. Nice to see the Nippa again. I missed it.
Blinking marvelous, it gave me a proper little throat-wobble, that did. It certainly warranted Ian returning to his native vernacular, with a deliciously brummie "Dead Chuffed!". I bet you are. Great work, our kid!
so pleased you got to drive the fox👍
Brilliant Mr. Hubnut. I am happy for you.
Beautiful! I particularly appreciated the dance ... I sometimes do that dance if I clear the floor of the corner of my office that's usually covered in crap ... there is no finer feeling than achieving something so significant that it makes you want to do a little dance!
its nice when you find people (on interwebs) that live the same life ...and have the same work(shop) ethics as you do ...subbed
It's nice to know I'm not alone! The state of my workshop causes many negative vibes...
I'm quite impressed at the fact that you never seem to swear despite how frustrating things get!
This is a family friendly show.
you have a big heart taking on these cars and putting them back on the road,
Hi Ian,nice to see the Fox under its own power,sounds sweet as it went up the drive,chuffed to bits for yer,its looking good.
Absolutely bloody fantastic , Foxanne goes under her own steam , absolutely marvellous Ian what an achievement , well done sir.
A glorious thing indeed is watching what looks, to my non-mechanic's eye, a complete wreck taking its first jerky, tentative 'steps' along your path. Amazing work there, Ian.
Cor blimey, you have the patience of a saint. I had a job like that water pump palaver on my Imp and I just went in a huff and locked it in the garage for 3 years.
Fabulous engine note on those old Reliants
Hurrah! What excitement! Few things are as exciting as taking something broken and useless and making it work again. High praise for sticking with it (unlike the VW Beetle I’ve had stuffed in my garage for 5 or 6 years).Thank you Ian for starting my day on a high note. Hope for humanity restored!
Start a UA-cam channel! Then you feel the pressure of many expectant viewers. Forces you to crack on with it!
Foxanne lives! How wonderful. By the way, I replaced the water pump in my Midget the other day, and had a few moments similar to yours. Meaning, I learned that one must install the fan first, THEN the radiator, because vice versa simply doesn’t work. And the second time in with the rad, one of the mounting bolts decided to ruin a perfectly nice afternoon by refusing to play along. But once finished, a nice long drive made it all worth it. Keeping the old ones running is so satisfying.
And chuffed you should be Ian. Well done indeedie, the Fox is alive! At one point I was worried that the garage may have become tidy, what with the shelves and all. But nice to see its in a condition all we 'tinkerers' can appreciate. Thanks Hub Nut.
Having experienced the same frustration several million times over the years when searching for parts (that are usually ‘hiding’ in plain view) - I now get a small torch and shine it on the shelves (AKA - piles of junk) and focus just on the area that is lit by the torch. This stops the eyes from wandering around all over the place and hence 'looking but not seeing'. The torch technique has been a simple and effective method to allow me to zoom in on that part that was right in front of me all the time I was swearing at where the damn part had disappeared to and who had moved it (not me) - HA - and reduces my stress level significantly.
Brilliant, Ian! Foxann finally turned off her red light and it's all systems go! :)
I find it interesting how an engine install you as a "novice" call a total palaver looks no worse or even a little better than when some people who claim to be "master technichians" do it in a much better space with all the tools you could wish to have (including a lift).
I'm just going to make a nice cuppa tea and settle into this vid. . . .
Good runner right there,well done! 👌
Hi Ian, great video 😀 How about organising a social/gathering near where you live, and then you can get some help tidying/organising the garage? It really increased my productivity and mood when tinkering with my Spitfire 😁
Would be too hard to arrange, and would mean inviting rather too many people to my house!
Wow Fox-Ann sounds great !!.
Good to see Foxanne running and driving. This will be a big psychological boost. It can only get better from here on.
Foxanne definitely needs to be painted original blue. This video has made my day! 😍
I think I got as excited as you, Ian! Well done, Foxy lives!!!
Typical Lucas ACR alternators were secured with two bolts to pivot on and one bolt sliding in a slot in an adjustment arm to tension the belt. The adjustment arm was typically straight, so to tension the fan belt required loosening four bolts. It is very worthwhile to make an aluminum spacer to fit between the bottom lugs on the alternator so that one long bolt can be used in place of the two pivot bolts. If you can find a VW Golf curved adjustment arm then then tensioning the fan belt can be done just by undoing two bolts, usually accessible from the top.
What patience! Dustpan and brush time I reckon.
Another exciting milestone! Lovely to see both you and FoxAnn in high spirits! Fair lifts mine. She really does possess surprisingly dainty lines but you are right, olive drab is not her colour.
Bloody great to see it running, I quite like my tea whilst watching hubnut videos. Found myself delving back into the past videos recently and can't wait for some new road tests etc.
Well done on your patience and persistence. Go careful in that garage , it’s an accident waiting to happen !
Well done on the engine start now to correctly find all the wires for lights and coil run more than one earth on the engine to battery in case the only one you have put on fails well done for taken on a rebuild under the bonnet
Well done Ian! What a delightful little car. I look forward to future developments with this one..
Well done - a great day for HubNut !!
The Fox sounds very sweet. Well done Ian on bringing it back to life. I think this little car is going to be a gem when its finished 👍💎
It's alive It's alive, nice to see the smile on your face.
wahoo!! Fun to be had....cannot wait to see her fly to her MOT.
Great seeing the fox being driven.
I kept losing stuff in my garage, so I bought half a dozen cheap plastic crates (with lids) and put all my parts from each bike/car into its own crate which I mark with the bike or car model. Works for me!
All of those Lucas ACR alternators had those collars. They are designed to float so that the mounting lugs don't snap off when you tighten
Phew that had me sweating a bit but a great job even better when tidied up under bonnet I think we are all as pleased as you are, waiting for a vid of foxy steaming down the motorway with hubnut graphics 😁
So nice to see foxaan getting ever closer to getting on the road. She is going to make the perfect hub nut advertising and merchandise van. Think she will pull in as much love as little twc after a few adventures. As always looking forward to your next vid 👍
Well done Ian she looks quick lovely to see her running
Superb work sir! Very pleased indeed to see the Fox driving at last. Looking very much forward to see it return to full working order
Congrats ian a great sight to see.
Foxanne is now putting on the green light for go.(:-)
Love the note coming from the exhaust 😍
Cheers hubnut and mrs hubnut guess you were roped in for a bit of camera work
I just got my only car, a 1989 Daihatsu Charade 1.3 EFI, back on the road this week after a month of blown head gasket repairs; did all the work myself bar the head machining; much relief that "Mighty Mouse" started first pop and the long standing overheating problem is resolved:-) BTW Foxanne looks to be be "a cute little heart breaker"... Best to all:-)
Well done Ian. As you say, there is little in life more pleasing than the first drive of a project car.
Well done Ian.... Good work... Love the Röyksopp and The Police mentions.....
Good man Iano.Well done sir!
Something quite special about these start up moments.
Every UA-cam video I see has one of those old red metal battery chargers.. including one in my garage! Still going strong.
I haven't clicked on a video so fast in my life! Very very cool to see her up and running and the sound, especially from the exhaust, brings back so many memories!
A cheap socket can be a spacer too! Dang, that's practically a NOS seat there!
She lives! What's more, she drives! Ah, that's years off for my two Beetles, though I might get the one good enough to alley-test if the engine has enough guts left in it.
Fine job Mr Hub-Nut.
Great progress! To quote the title of a single from 1970s Glam Rockers The Sweet: this is a 'Fox on the run'. 🦊
Woohoo she's alive and kicking, and seems like she's also up for a bit of razing about, you know the fact she has a fibreglass body, probably adds to the peppy feel. I can't wait to see that head splitting grin your gonna have on her 1st proper run out.
So pleased for you and Foxanne. Got there in the end. Yippee! 😊 xx
I admire your perseverence. Again. Congrats, well done!
We have all been there .. 1 hr job turns into a 2 day job due to 1 pesky bolt / stud . I find that if you have 6 bolts ..5 come out dead easy ..but the 6th is always a bugger ..and it tends to be the easiest to get at .for some reason ..hmm
Super glad the Fox is up and running .. she looks rather cute.. TWKs ..big brother :)
Well done sir a pivotal moment without a doubt.. 👍
Well done Ian! Great to see the Fox running 👍👍
Fantastic work Ian,
A great moment when all your hard work and dreams paid off. Well done ! Terrific filming !
Rich & California cats scratching in LA California USA.
A wonderful Hubnut day, after a lot of puzzling the first ride on the driveway. Good job Ian.
Wonderful stuff. Great to see her running.
Brilliant..Great to see her running, keep up the good work. 👍🏻
Progress Sir! I've been keeping an eye out for Evesham's local Reliant Fox which I used to see parked outside the Post Office on a regular basis but it's been missing since you got Foxanne.
Keep your eyes out for the Royksopp Lost Tapes recordings going up on UA-cam recently too there's some nice stuff.
the trick with these sort of things is to keep at it and use the internet and car club resources.
obvious , i know but it needed to be said.
with my GTM Rossa kit car thingy its all about keeping at it. to solve the problems.
You mister Hubnut - are the master of keeping at it.
success in life is determination. good man . great channel
Excellent video. Nice to see her running.