PiperCub Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 You can see where MG Rover got the idea for the MGF from can't you! Is the Beat the one where the seats are different sizes? The drivers being slightly larger or am I making this up? Nice to see a Beat again, used to be a really nice one local to where I live, disappeared about five years ago, not seen since. The size comparison between the Beat and a Jazz is bizarre (cue Father Ted - small/far away gag). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorrisItalSLX Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 Well you did ask for it! Also, that front hinging bonnet with added crustyness looks a bit sketchy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatharris Posted November 2, 2018 Author Share Posted November 2, 2018 Only a smol update. Even though I felt there was no point, I popped the battery on the trickle charger a few days ago. Turns out it isn't kippered in the slightest and fired up the engine first time easily So, a little victory! I put some water in the cooling system (it'll have to get drained for the cambelt change anyway) and ran it for a few minutes and hot air does come through the vents! The temperature gauge didn't move though, which may require further investigation later. It idles nicely, if a little high, which is probably as a result of sitting for a long time. Came with half a tank of fuel which sounds awesome until you realise the tank capacity is only 24 litres! For now, it's been jacked up and placed on stands front and rear. Annoyingly, I crumpled the sill jacking point before discovering that Honda actually provide central jacking points front and rear for quick raising. I'll begin rusting and dusting soon whilst I wait for funds to improve to allow a mass part buying exercise garethj, Vince70, egg and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johngarty Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Get the airbag(s) checked out. Could be the shrapnel killing variety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatharris Posted November 2, 2018 Author Share Posted November 2, 2018 Airbags? LOL. Doesn't have any Jim Bell 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatharris Posted November 14, 2018 Author Share Posted November 14, 2018 Another smol update. With the Beat up on stands, I could have a proper gander at the underside since we bought it. Surprisingly, it's not that bad underneath, a lot of surface rust and paint bubbles, but seemed to be pretty strong under there. The eagle eyed amongst you would have spotted the rusty section of the NS sill, and you'd be right to notice. Yep, a hole. Oh joy, two holes. Thankfully the sill behind it looks to be in decent nick and will respond well to a wire rush and paint. You can see right down to the inner sill by taking the intake grill panels off. The rear section of the inner sills is very crusty/flaky either side but still solid, Maybe a small part of welding required. So, after a quick initial scrub underneath, I gave it a sweep to collect my winnings. And started taking panels off for when I can afford to change the cambelt. For this, the roof and frame had to come off, which was a total arseache due to the rusted, rounded off screws all the way round. Ended up drilling 4 screws out. With the roof off, the engine cover panel and intake cover panel was removed. Allowing better access to the engine. Look at it, so smol. Luckily, despite there being evidence of mice living in the car, they stayed away from chewing through pipelines, only seeming to attack the foam sheathing. I then started scrubbing the OS sill and heard the dreaded crunch. Better take the carpet out and look deeper. Seat removed. Making some small profits! Carpet out. Quite a quick and pleasant Jon really. Oh dear. I think it should be easy* enough to weld that back up. So that's it. Not much to show for the past fortnight but I've been so busy with work and other jobs, plus finances are a bit tight at the moment. I'll continue to plod away doing little bits here and there though. Sadly, I made the mistake of prodding the bonnet again and some more rust tumbled off the bonnet and another hole was born! Thanks for reading! Rocket88, Sigmund Fraud, somewhatfoolish and 10 others 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hairnet Posted November 14, 2018 Share Posted November 14, 2018 Eek but it'll be reet Reet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
face Posted November 14, 2018 Share Posted November 14, 2018 I love these - KUTGW m8. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kringle Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 Super kawaii! I love it, the size, the colour, no bloat and space wastage. Fantastic. Do you weld? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorrisItalSLX Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 Rust! She'll be right, taxed worse etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Bell Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 At least any holes you find will be small because the car is small. Good work man. It's lovely to see this lemon getting it's zesty bits squeezed. oldcars and Rocket88 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zelandeth Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 Looks like pretty standard for for Jap cars of this era that were never really intended for the export markets, simply due to a complete and utter lack of any corrosion protection. Has done well to survive this car to be honest. The Cappuccino I had wound up with the floor pan on the driver's side being basically held in by the brake and fuel lines between one MOT and the next. I imagine this is quite similar to the Cappo as well in that while it's not massively fast on paper, the light weight of it means that it can change direction improbably rapidly and it's possible to pilot it cross country very rapidly indeed. Really need to try one of these one day to see how they compare to the Cappo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyCat Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 Nice to see a Beat on here. This was my daily between 1998 & 2002... Good luck with your project. Joey spud, Braddon81, Aston Martin and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timewaster Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 I like these, but I think that ship has sailed. And rotted through. And sunk. Good luck Supernaut, Aston Martin, Joey spud and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatharris Posted December 7, 2018 Author Share Posted December 7, 2018 So, I've been quiet for a few weeks, with work and other commitments, but small amounts of work have been happening. I discovered this cheeky box hidden next to the ECU. Good for another 3mph I imagine. I had a further inspection of the inner sill. Looked good from an initial inspect, despite being crusty, it appeared solid. Key word there was "appeared". I am not a professional welder. This shows. I'm an alright grinder though (fnar) I started cutting and shaping the outer skin section. Cut back another bit of grot on the outer sill and found a blob of chemical metal that had been shaped to fill the hole. Also found ANOTHER BASTARD. Again, not a professional welder. Survived a good twatting with a hammer though. Ground the excess welds down. Wire wheeled the inner sill thoroughly before applying weld through primer. Made and shaped a plate, before welding it into place, which went pretty all right. Come up nicely with a flappy disc. Annoyingly, buoyed by the success of the little plate, I tried to get the lower section welded in last night. Total fucking disaster, not sure what went wrong but nothing about it went well. I cut the panel off and I'll have to remake it. Learned some vital lessons though. Found both inner rear arches are toast in addition to the battery drain tube area. Winner. Cheers for reading. Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk Kringle, Honey Badger, dome and 14 others 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schaefft Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 Too bad these are so prone to rusting. I'd love to have a Beat or Cappuccino myself but the chances are slim that I find a decent one within my budget at this point. Great to see the effort being put into this one though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollywobbler Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 Too bad these are so prone to rusting. I'd love to have a Beat or Cappuccino myself but the chances are slim that I find a decent one within my budget at this point. Great to see the effort being put into this one though! Just get a Daewoo Matiz. They're pretty much the same thing. With sufficient drugs. HMC, loserone and Supernaut 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernaut Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 Just get a Daewoo Matiz. They're pretty much the same thing. With sufficient drugs. "The smell of cannabis wasn't me, officer. Honest!" Joey spud, dome, loserone and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Bell Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 Yellow brother, your toil is strong and your work is magnificent. Keep doing the do. Like Betty Boo in the old song from the olden days. pompei, privatewire, oldcars and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garethj Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 I think you need more current through your welder. Is the earth lead making good contact? Good to see the updates, I had a Cappuccino when it was about 3 years old so no rust worries but it was a great drive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatharris Posted December 8, 2018 Author Share Posted December 8, 2018 I think you need more current through your welder. Is the earth lead making good contact? Good to see the updates, I had a Cappuccino when it was about 3 years old so no rust worries but it was a great driveLiterally clamped it to the battery negative lead so I hope so. Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busmansholiday Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 Welder earth should be as close as possible to where you are welding, even if you have to grind a bit of an adjacent sill or such to get a good contact. SiC, Joey spud, fatharris and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince70 Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 It even had a song written about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollywobbler Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 Literally clamped it to the battery negative lead so I hope so. Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk That doesn't sound ideal. Should the battery not be disconnected? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timewaster Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 That doesn't sound ideal. Should the battery not be disconnected?I assumed the battery was off and the welder attached to the lead. Still not ideal though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busmansholiday Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 Some years ago we had some contract welders repairing a vessel. They connected their earths to the frame and got on with welding the vessel. When they had finished we found the vessel wouldn't revolve. Yes, they had successefully welded the bearings solid because of the earth path between where they were and the electrical earth. Oh and these weren't little bearings, they were about 10 feet diameter and tens of thousands of pounds each!. The fuckings handed out by the management afterwards was also impressive. Sparkly stick and earth as close as possible, always. fatharris, Joey spud and Aston Martin 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey spud Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 I often add a couple of tack welds to properly secure the earth clamp to whatever I am welding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatharris Posted December 8, 2018 Author Share Posted December 8, 2018 That doesn't sound ideal. Should the battery not be disconnected?Battery is on the bench Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatharris Posted December 8, 2018 Author Share Posted December 8, 2018 Good tips, thanks gents, I'll knock up another piece and have a go! Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk Jim Bell 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatharris Posted December 9, 2018 Author Share Posted December 9, 2018 It's on. Think my welder earth clamp could do with replacing, as well as the rest of the welder, it's had a hard life before I took ownership of it. Despite appearances (I /really/ think something is up with this welder), it's solid as a rock there now. A bit more grinding required though, then onto the final piece of this sill, then I can finally move on to the next bit. Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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