groovylee

not really done much distance in it yet. did drive from bedford to finchley and back for a rugby match, some motorway, some london housing area driving. averaged 41 mpg, so seems ok

Had some time to try the new wheels, as I was also doing the brakes all around. I knew the pads were low and the discs were lipped, but I really didn't expect them to be as bad as they were! Also splashed out on a bit of colour for the brake calipers so they didn't just look like rusty blocks behind the wheels. Pretty happy with how it turned out

As for the cambelt, the belt kit. Is winging its way to me, and I've got the cam locking tools ordered, so just need a clear day off to get it done 👍 the quotes from independent places near me were rediculous, so DIY it is. It won't be the hardest belt change I've ever done, I'd just rather not spend a day off doing it.

After the mammoth shine up effort, the wheels really do let the side down. I found a guy selling some wheels in Bicester, just down the road from where I'm currently working, so I went and had a look. They turned out to be 19" wheels from an XE, but he assured me they will fit, as they came off an XF. I've been offered a refund if they don't fit to my liking, no no drama. I'll find out tonight when I get home.... The tyres are Dunlop sportmaxx, and there's about 6mm of tread on them, so worth the £300 I paid. There's the odd kerb mark, but otherwise they're much better than the current wheels. I think I'll put them on, and have the original wheels refurbed, then when it comes around to tyre replacement time, I can stuck new boots on the original wheels and go back to the 18s.

Well, I had a bit of spare time, so I went all two bucket wrong'un and set about the paintwork. Clay barred the whole thing, and the paint came up well, nice and smooth. Then autoglym polish and extra gloss protection. It looks so much better now, but I did find a few stone chips, so will go on the hunt for a paint code and get some touch up ordered. The only thing I find with grey / silver cars is that they don't have the same depth as darker colours. Ho hum.

cheers dude. it was only for the first real push of the loud pedal, i dont think it had been run much for a while, and it is perfectly clear now. when you say check for oil dilution, do you have any details of how to do it? cambelt hasnt been done (cheap because of that) but it is getting booked in. oil change will be done at the same time. currently browsing ebay for wheels already lol Lee

ive also ordered front and rear discs and pads, so that is the next thing to do. then while its in the air, im going to get some new boots and have the wheels refurbed there are a couple of trim clips missing in the engine bay too, so some of them are winging their way here shortly. hopefully it will be all good before xmas

Been busy on this today. There's no spare wheel or tool kit, so ordered one from evilbay. Someone had triggered the misfuelling flap thing, so I dug out YouTube info and reset that, and then gave everything a damn good clean and lube. Sooo much nicer in there now, it really was grim.

As discussed in another thread, I was in need of a new car, so obviously the best thing to do was go and look at one when I only had a couple of hours before a rugby match..... The carriage in question? A 2009 Jaguar XF 3.0 D with 115k on the clock, some well kerbed wheels, paint in need of a damn good clean, and an interior that smelled of cigars. Obviously. Because Jaaaaaaag. 🤣 So far so good, took it for a 100 mile blast to finchley and back, and apart from being a bit smoky to start with (Italian tune up soon fixed that) there were no dramas. Happy days! Mrs Groovy is also happy 😁

i like this. i might just have to suggest it to mini groovys scout leader and volunteer my assistance (and shite car).

i'd def be interested in bringing the Ranger to a meet. whats the usual situation? camping? Lee

i always heard Ford Focus - Ford Clitoris (same reason|) lol

I struggle to remember my old mans cars, but i'll give it a go: Ford escort mk1 estate in white (caught fire during welding works) Austin maxi in shite brown, quickly brush painted two tone silver and gunmetal hammer effect hammerite gold cortina estate light blue sierra estate Rover 214 SLi 1992 Vauxhall Agila vauxhall Meriva Vauxhall Corsa (current) it started so well, then sort of descended into 'all vauxhalls are shite' territory.....

i think i have a spare towball, might even have the bolts. i'll have a look at the weekend when i get home, you can pick it up with the oil when we finally end up being in the same place at the same time lol Lee

not sure if they still do it, but wilmonds in hitchin used to fit towbars. GT towing in hatfield / welwyn definitely still do.

i once spotted a perfect looking carbon (from what i could see) road bike wheel. if we'd have been travelling slower id have been tempted to jump out and grab it!

chodspeed

my 2 penneth... my first bike was a 1980something honda revere 600 shafty - deathly slow, but great as a new rider. within 6 months that was gone for a GPZ500s - felt fast, for 6 months. next bike was a 1999 R6 - do not buy one of these! it was a rocket ship, but they have some fairly terminal issues... an Aprilia RSV1000R followed. epic bike, very fast, bags of torque being a v twin. then finally a BMW R1200GS. 1200cc of Vtwin. torquey, lazy, but great fun. unless you are going to plan to budget to replace the bike after a year because it suddenly isn't fast enough / powerful enough to satisfy your needs, i wouldn't discount a litre bike if you can afford the insurance. I'll chuck the Yamaha FZ1 in as a possible contender - naked, upright, comfy and pretty quick when it needs to be. either way, good luck, and welcome to the fold

Yep, with a wickedly heavy chassis, and disturbingly expensive mk1/2 escort running gear.....

Well I found the problem...... Oops. All fixed now ready for tomorrow's trial. Much happier now

It would appear that this thread has inspired me...... So I bought this for the wife's 998 mini neon. Wish me/her luck 🤣

i think i know the guy. fully rebuilt it and it was indeed a zetec. it looked awesome

so the new plan of attack is to work away this week, then on saturday, drop the prop and gearbox off again, pull the flywheel, and take a look at sorting out the sump gasket, hopefully in time for a 1 day trial on sunday.... nothing like a challenging time frame!

Bad news from the weekend I'm afraid we set off from home at 20:45 on Friday night for the Edinburgh trial, we managed to get about 100 miles towards the start, but I noticed the charging light was on intermittently... Stopped at a Macdonald's and had a look. Ah, no dramas, just a loose alternator plug. Quick squirt with WD-40 and a quick pinch of the spades and it was charging fine again. Happy days! wait a minute, what's all that oil on the floor?! ah. Looks like we have a major oil leak into the bell housing. I bet it's that bloody sump gasket not sealed properly.... so we fashioned a nappy from a spill kit pad, and limped back home, having lost a litre of oil over 100 miles. off to bed at 01:20.....

up until recently, i had a rule - never spend more than £2k on a car. for a long time that served me well, and saw me ususally end up with a sub £500 a year motoring cost all told (except fuel). then mrs Groovy wanted a mini, and it all went out the window..... i think im nearly £9k into that one, and it is a good £4k more than the 14 plate focus family car we bought 2 years ago. Bikes went on the same rule, until the current one at £9k, but ive been buying cheap bikes since day 1 and i fancied treating myself.