jaypee

As alluded to above, @jaypee had a go at repairing the hose with self amalgamating tape. Cheers!
Before

Washed 

Scuffed 

Taped

 
Will fit it up when back from holiday - also going to see if I can hunt down a spare.

We played hint the leak on this today:
Got the bastard

It was nice and simple* to get off, and no* coolant lost!



 
Bit of a gangly fucker to look at - but is either likely repairable ( @jaypee is the man with the patience to try) or I have a reference picture so I can try to find a spare.

 

The only option was a 50/50mix of TFR and water, plus a floor scrubbing brush.
Progress was swift and vengeful. 
 
It was done a panel at a time.
Skoosh on,
Sit for 30 secs
Attack with scrubbing brush
Decimate the ecosystem
Rinse off with water to avoid the TFR stripping the paint.
 
 
The results were spectacular!






 
After a pass over with a wash mitt it is almost passable.
 
It'd benefit from a polish and a wax - just to seal the paint and stop any recolonization of the panels.
 
Lastly, on the way home it was topped off with finest derv.

Bearing in mind this is a 55L tank, I'd say it was needing some fuel.
 
Then it was off for a jaunt up to Kinross for a stoat with some shiters

Fast forward bro Saturday and I was over at the Clio doing some welding.
@jaypee was also in attendance and keen* to get stuck into this tub!
 
Many thanks to him for all his graft!
Much hoover and @sdkrc's wet vac were deployed to great success.


 
The rear seats are incredibly easy to remove for cleaning, and the fronts are a couple of nuts and a couple of grub screws each.

Before anyone asks, no the 323f is not mine nor is it for sale!





 
Over lunch we had a "Skoda Inception" by sitting in an Octavia, looking at an Octavia. Both had done time as private hire vehicles, and despite 7 years (and two iterations) between them, the mileage difference is only 50k.

Suffice to say @jaypee 's MK3 Octavia has had a much easier life doing airport transfer runs!
The interior is now so much nicer it is hard to believe it is the same car!
This was independently* verified by @sdkrc on a jaunt in it on Sunday.
 
 

That was a fun day. I'll stick up some photos later once I've recovered.
Amazon tried to jettison its gearbox on the M40 while attempting to chase @chaseracer

That Dyane is absolutely ace in every possible way.


Anyway, yes, one gearbox to bellhousing bolt is now stuck in someone's front grille. The other was held in by mere hope. As such the gearbox was shunting back and forward against the engine and it popped out of gear a few times. 

All fixed now thankfully! The solution was to fling away the original Volvo bolts that have Allen heads and are difficult to torque without rounding out, and replace them with normal hex head bolts.
Still proud of the old heap.

Made it!

Detailing, furiously detailing


 

2009! I'm guessing these were only sold for use as taxis by that point?

jetwash set on 500?
 

Thanks I hate it. 

RIP, it's gone to heaven with Diana and all the angles. Let it be her Maj's and Sir Captain Tom's passion wagon now.

This has been quite the nightmare for @Mk2 Craig.
I'd supplied a new waterpump - the impeller half that bolts onto the housing on the block.
Aluminium housing, steel bolt. A love story as old as time...
In the end, the decision was taken to pull the whole waterpump assembly off and then sort it.


Broken bolt removed and hole re- tapped and it was ready to go back on..
 
Or not..

Grim. This level of corrosion would have meant the pipes wouldn't seat properly and would be likely still to leak.
 
Luckily, your man can drive a wire brush!

It was assembled and refitted.
Next up was the thermostat.

Ah, we've been here before.. it was all cleaned and ready to be refitted.
A question for the assembled company - "Who would sell a thermostat without a gasket?"
Answer - Berkshire Jag Spares.
Handily @Mk2 Craig is into his arts n crafts too!

With everything refitted, the new drive belt was applied and supercharger belt refitted too.


All in all, a top job - I'm glad I didn't tackle it myself. There is about 9hrs of labour in this, and that was with access to a ramp.
 
Whilst it was up in the air, I'd asked for the steering to be looked at - it felt a bit vague..
Good news is it has had a rack!

Bad news was they had used this bolt to 'secure' the knuckle to the rack

 
Consequently, the knuckle/rake interface was as tight as putting your dick out the window and fucking the night...
A new bolt was fitted, and with actual contact betwixt rack and column, direction changes are reported to be much more controlled.
 
Many thanks to @Mk2 Craig for all the graft and exceptionally reasonable price - can't wait to get it back!

Winner!

Eek
Fire
Sorted

back on this today after procurement of new bits.
 
First up, a new caliper and pads (and caliper carrier bracket) for the front left.

All good!
 
Time for the new Car and Lambda sensor ..
@jaypee modelling what £170 buys you

 
And fitted
 

 
Brilliant, great stuff. That's the Cat and front brake sorted.  Clio Stu has done the steering angle sensor and the rear brakes. Only welding to go...
Think I'll fire it up and see how it sounds/check for any blows...

 

 
Ok, time to fire up the scanner.  And do some test driving.
On start the lights stayed off, but came on when braking.
Code reading pointed to a brake light switch issue.
Removed the switch and exercised it - got brake lights and the dash lights stayed off. Result.
New brake light switch has been ordered.
 
With the rear brakes having been rebuilt I was hoping some adjustment/checking the pivot that the cables go into would get me a functional handbrake...
 

As you can see, it went well*
The cable is siezed - so the inner cable doesn't return fully. This meant that :
1. The handbrake lever on the caliper was not actuating correctly - so the handbrake was shite.
2. The cable stopped the lever returning correctly. Hence the caliper would stay partially on.
 
time to get the cable out.

We really* enjoyed that! A new one will be ordered.
Last thing to look at was the welding needed on the driver's side rear.

After an initial prod with a screwdriver..
 

That's a distinct lack of inner and mid sill.
Handily* next to the axle mount and the plastic fuel tank.
 
We packed up and went home.

excellent work as always sir! 

Mate. 
I ordered mats online before I set off and they're STILL in the post. 
It's got my shit itching having a car with 0% mats in. 

After a bit of doom scrolling and ruling out anything parked on gravel, parked on grass, parked with a caravan or dog in the background, being sold by someone also selling 9 to 27 other cars, any seller with a flag as their profile pic and any car with a pic of the key in the ignition that clearly still has an auction tag still attached, I found something that raised my spirits. 
 

Not buy car fever is the biggest killer of shrimp and fat northern men after suicide, heart disease and murder. There are ten stages and I was feeling thirsty (stage 8).
I really must buy something before I go ded. 

cars no modern
driving staff even less so 🤭

Those spark plugs look fairly typical for a LPG car. They tend to look rather lean and a bit singed, so definitely cheap insurance changing them. This car is rather growing on me. Dibs please when the time comes. I covet thy headers!

his son was a Shiter
 

Hi Andy...... Handy