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theshadow

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  1. Haha
    theshadow reacted to tooSavvy in Toyotally Fixerating Bitz 'n Bobs.. A Diary   
    I made the mistake of standing behind car, looking at boot, when brake light/lights/winker test was being done.....
    That HighLevel LED (in the boot spoiler) damn near fuckkin blinded me!
    Deffo a mighty improvement on 'factory'
     
  2. Haha
    theshadow reacted to DaveDorson in Dave's fleet consolidation continues by adding another car...   
    Going well this.
     
    So to update.
     
    Range Rover Vogue 3.6 TDv8, now with removed chrome and 22" wheels.  Freelance pharmaceutical distribution vehicle according to many.
    Serviced, need to do the mechatronics wiring seal and gearbox oil and filter change but otherwise it's fine, hence the lack of updates.

    Merc SLK 230, sorted the mechanical issues, polished the paint and then while it was behaving perfectly (the new owners words, not mine) sold it, much to the dismay of Mrs Dorson who quite liked the little red two seater.

    The black "new" beetle.. done the brakes, need to do the sills, this means taking it to my workshop, where there's little room at the moment, hence it can wait.  Not that it matters, as it won't get used anyway.. but still I need to sort it out.

    The 72 beetle of many hours.. don't ask.. it's under a pile of stuff at the unit, so no pictures sorry 
    The t4..  currently buried at the back of the workshop behind the other Dave's escort van which is on my trailer.
    See above
    The 1974 1303.. waiting for me to go and collect with the range rover and aforementioned trailer.
    Forgotten what it looks like, no pictures, big project.
    The Mondeo MK3 .. being used as a workshop shuttle but will probably get the oil, filters, top mounts and stuff done this weekend and then when I've fixed all its issues, I'll sell it because I'm an idiot and it's a good car.
    There's a picture of that somewhere.. I dunno... I doubt anyone on here would be interested as it's modified a fair bit and has Chinese tyres fitted.
     
    But wait...
    What's this..

     
    my neighbours son unceremoniously left this on her driveway when he bought his Pirelli edition and it's sat there pretty much since.
     
    He offered me it for £2600 when I got the range rover, and that dropped to £1800 when he realised he's not getting that much.
    Suffice to say I've told him he's a dreamer and he'll be lucky to get what he's asking with that induction filter fitted, the laquer peel and the rust, there's some history with the car but no sign of a cam belt I can see in the last 4 years, we discussed that WBAC are offering £1300 or so and they will bid him down as soon as he presents it because it's got some issues.
    It probably wants a set of rear bushes doing, they don't have play in but they're looking a bit minging.  there's a small oil weep I need to find according to the MOT and it's been lowered on springs only.
    I did convince him to take the stupid exhaust he had fitted off and drop a stock one back on, so the noisy exhaust advisory is sorted, it's got matching Pilot Sport 4s with nice tread on.
    Obviously because I'm definitely not* buying any more cars at the moment as I've got loads to be getting on with, I now own it.
    Shit.
    Anyone want a Mondeo?
     
     
  3. Like
    theshadow reacted to leakingstrut in Toledo 2000TC: Minimal progress due to modern Swedish shite purchase   
    Got a few days free, so it’s time to swap the gearbox.

    With the engine swap being relatively recent the bolts came undone pretty well. I had more problems doing the droplinks and brakes on my wife’s 10 year old modern. Had my FIL helping, and him being an experienced car fettler and ex RAF aircraft engineer helped a lot. We came up even on trapping each others fingers taking the box out.


    With the box out we replaced the clutch, which was actually in really good nick. But while it’s open we might as well. The new clutch cover wouldn’t fit on the dowels, I suspect the tr7 dowels are bigger and the previous one had been drilled out to fit. The original one looked good so we reused it. 
    At this point light was dying and beer was calling… FIL is as good on the pans as he is on the tools so we had lamb, pork and chicken curries. Let’s see how hangovers are tomorrow for putting it back together. 
  4. Like
    theshadow reacted to leakingstrut in Toledo 2000TC: Minimal progress due to modern Swedish shite purchase   
    I’ve already managed to slightly improve the gearbox… by removing the carpet and floor mat. 2nd is still rough but better, all other gears have improved too.
    I’ve also temporarily relocated the rev counter to the top of the steering wheel with the aid of some zip ties. If I like it there I might keep it, but I might fit a Dolomite one if I can find it and figure out a nice way to mount it. It’s a bit of an angle because the mount was in the way, but let’s pretend I’ve fitted it with the redline vertical like a race car. 
     

  5. Like
    theshadow reacted to leakingstrut in Toledo 2000TC: Minimal progress due to modern Swedish shite purchase   
    Thanks everyone, I'll try to keep the thread updated with how I get on with it!
    Oh, and here are a couple pics of my old poor old 1300. 
     
      

     
  6. Like
    theshadow reacted to Joey spud in Boris the '59 Minor.   
    Every now and then the littlest dog comes in the house with stinky oil on her back much to the other halfs annoyance. I know exactly where she is going but keep stumm but after the latest occurrence I thought it's about time I changed that weaping diff seal before I get rumbled.
    How hard can it be to undo a nut torqued up to 140ft/lb ? Well my battery nut gun and old air powered gun wouldn't shift it so I needed to be able to hold the flange still while I cracked the nut off with a breaker bar (with or without added jack handle).
    I consulted my  BMC Minor manual and there was talk of special tool no.18G 34 A.

     I made something far simpler out of a length of angle that was long enough to wedge against the floor.

    I dot punched the pinion shaft,pinion nut and drive flange position before loosening the nut.


    The old seal instead of being pliable had turned solid and plastic in nature and swapped over with its replacement easily enough.

    When I torqued the nut up to the required 140ft/lb it was nice to see my punch marks were still aligned. Fresh oil was added and so far no leaks or soiled Beagle.

    While I was under there I thought it prudent to renew this brake hose. I did it twice though as i'm a muppet and neglected to fit the copper washer on the end that connects to the T piece first time round.
    The propshaft was devoid of paint so gave it a nice coat of some of Screwfix's finest jet black rattle can.

    I need to get under the car and clean any road crud and lost fluids from the underside before I can stone chip it but my mo-jo for this task is currently non existent so instead I seam sealed where required and coated the boot area instead.




    Not to everyone's taste but it had sixty years of various paint and under seals splattered around in there already so the black Gravitex is fine for how I want the car.
    My old Wolf compressor is normally able to keep up with a Shultz gun but today it was struggling badly until it wasn't getting much above 30 psi and not sounding it's normal angry self. Looking closer it was leaking loads of air from around the switch/pressure valve thingy.

    Replacement thingy now ordered from eBay for £8.50.
  7. Haha
    theshadow reacted to sutty2006 in F**ked Black Rover 827 SLi - The Mistake Machine   
    It appears me and @St.Jude share something in common!!
     
     
     
    I was once printing off an application form for a job when the printer stopped mid flow. Brand new printer, from pc world.
    I tried everything. It refused to print another page. It got my right foot through the top of it before hitting the side of my garage wall as I launched it through the kitchen door. 
     
    I am subsequently banned from using printers at home. 
     
    good. Hateful things. 
     
    but as per the rover, I really hope you get it running. Shame im not local to you so I can assist with the digitals. 
  8. Haha
    theshadow reacted to St.Jude in F**ked Black Rover 827 SLi - The Mistake Machine   
    I’ve no luck selling cars on here but this might change today! For sale is this thing.

    A more realistic less arty photo:

    Yep, you may remember it. The sale thread is on here but I’m not going to link it.
    Let me go through the good bits:
    MOT until 3rd April 2023 - so about a week left
    Stainless steel exhaust
    Its a Honda V6
    Has a climate control facility
    Head lining seems ok.
    Has a steering wheel.
    Supposed to have a range of spares in the boot, can’t confirm that though for reason below.
    Has the Rover workshop folders and the Haynes BOL - which will be most handy for reasons below.
    Has a good box of history that I won’t be sorry to see go.
    Has original expansion tank with no sign of cracking - which is rare.
    Rolls really well off trailers.
     
    Now, the bad bits:
    It won’t run.
    It will need welding for an MOT.
    It won’t run.
    It will need at least one tyre as the front passenger side is perished.
    Passenger side head light not working.
    It won’t run.
    Boot lock is seized, probably from the water making its way in to the car. Was meant to be rear head light gasket, who knows as I can’t get it open.
    The boot is probably full of water, it smells very wet. And there is mould to prove to you that it’s a bit moist inside.
    Front of the engine rocker is damp with oil.
    Battery isn’t ties down and seems to be missing a strap to hold it. And I’m fairly sure the battery tray itself is rotten, so the whole battery is flopping around like a horses dick on parade.
    Rear drivers side wheel has 3 nuts on it, should have 4.
    Bit of rust around the sunroof but that’s the least of your problems really.
     
    In terms of “it’s not running” it really isn’t. I’ve seen it run once in person, and since then the exhaust chap noted that it would only crank but not start. Now it just gives a little “click” and nothing more. Even had a powerful jump pack attached to it and it was still dead. I’ve found out since that there’s a history of running issues with the car. Could be grounds, looks like someone has already been messing around trying to diagnose it, but it wasn’t me.
    Rust, as I see it, is on the sill on the rear passenger side. I didn’t much poke or prod it, but I put my foot under it and saw it flex and felt it being crunchy. I don’t have a photo of it yet as I’m not with the car. But I’m not fucking around welding the cunt.
     
    Price for now is £750. More than what the scrap man will give but it doesn’t take a genius either to work out what I paid for it and transport costs. That’s the cost of my own stupidity, I can accept that. But it’s going to the scrapper if no one wants it. 
    As for transport, I can highly recommend Ceri for it as he’s already had it on his trailer 3 times! So he’s the expert with it 😂
  9. Like
    theshadow reacted to HMC in HMC- AUTOSHITE 2.0   
    Its also got actual rather than faked patina; wonder if someone spilt some brake fluid?

  10. Like
    theshadow reacted to HMC in HMC- AUTOSHITE 2.0   
    DOY news
    First decent length trip in DOY as i had to go to a hotel in plymouth this afternoon. 
    Quite nasty traffic with lot of idling. Pleased to report it didnt overheat. The temp did climb to 100 several times but not over, and each time the cooling fan came on and did its thing. 100 sounds alarming but MB say this is normal, it used to bother me when i had a w124 230e, untill i got used to it.
    Anyway back in tavistock, rear electric roller blind up, looking like an Albanian Mafia sentinel…..

  11. Like
    theshadow reacted to 95 quid Peugeot in HMC- AUTOSHITE 2.0   
    Is this still our car Matthew ? I've been in the shop for 10 mins 
  12. Like
    theshadow reacted to HMC in HMC- AUTOSHITE 2.0   
  13. Like
    theshadow reacted to HMC in HMC- AUTOSHITE 2.0   
  14. Like
    theshadow reacted to NorthernMonkey in HMC- AUTOSHITE 2.0   
    If it wasn’t for the lack of an Aldi in the background, I’d have sworn that was Todmorden bus station from the town hall roof!!
  15. Like
    theshadow reacted to HMC in HMC- AUTOSHITE 2.0   
    Dropped the most original minor ive ever owned off at my mate steves, hes always wanted a decent one.

     
    That mk10 he bought in 2005 for £1500. I would have said its worth xxxx now, but its looking a bit ropey now, and theres some nasty rot under that vinyl roof. He’s looking to sell that gt6, at around £8k its a bit too much for me, i bought a really nice mk1 gt6 off him about 8 years ago for 4.5k and im struggling to see the values they currently achieve; although was tempted to strike a deal with the morris and cash his way.
    He has so many small chassis triumph bits over years of breaking them, his garden and sheds are an aladdins cave. He also owns the s type that i bought off him, and sold back to him, a decade or so ago. It looks a little sad these days, and the clutch is seized, and the wood is peeling and mouldy. Its a 3.4 but had a 3.8 transplant - actually originally out of an e type but with a twin carb head, and a taller rear diff. Its a 64 so has the moss box, which was quite pleasant to use despite its reputation. I went up to visit my parents in it once (a 700 mile round trip)  it would happily sit at 85-95 all day with the engine at something like 2700 rpm. With no pas and that moss box it was a physical but fun car to drive.

     
  16. Like
    theshadow reacted to HMC in HMC- AUTOSHITE 2.0   
    It went to tiverton to keep another company. I had a very decent offer from a member of the devon austin 7 club. He must have been about 65-70 - he turned up, jumped in and powered off, in a manner of speaking.
  17. Haha
    theshadow reacted to Dave_Q in Dave's shonkers - one in   
    Cambelt done now and car more or less back together. 
    If you disregard the minor preparatory steps of removing the whole front of the car, the access to the cambelt is one of the best I've done.

    Gates kit gone on with a metal impeller water pump. The one that came out was a metal impeller, but it was also leaking from the look of these pink crystals. 


    The engine was pretty filthy, I have tried to clean up around the cambelt area and down the exhaust side. I think from the point that the oil starts that all this came from the rocker cover gasket.
    The timing marks are a bit vague as the crank one is on the damper pulley thing that has a little play in it. I marked up the new belt and make sure it went on with 68 teeth between the cam mark and a locating nubbin thing on the bottom pulley.
    This engine has a 2 part tensioner with an eccentric bit and a hydraulic bit. The instructions I found were to reset the hydraulic pulley in a vice and tension the eccentric bit so there is 8-12mm between the 2 bits of tensioner. 

    Turned over a couple of times and all seemed OK so put the front back on. 

    Left the lights off for now as I want to give them a sand/polish to remove the cataracts. 
    Hilariously I couldn't put any oil in or fire it up as the turbo drain to sump gasket I ordered 7 DAYS AGO still hasn't turned up. On checking it's not even shown as dispatched so thanks for nothing ebay seller lllparts you twat. 
    Fitted up the oil pressure gauge so I can check that everything is good when I am able to put oil in,

  18. Like
    theshadow reacted to Dave_Q in Dave's shonkers - one in   
    Sump is back on, managed this in a brief window of not rain Tuesday morning.
    Not many pictures as was too busy swearing.
    I didn't think the sump was too bad at first look but the more I cleaned it, the more little lumps of carbon and flakes of sealant came out. This was the finished job before it went back on.

    Out of curiosity I dug out the old pickup before it went in the bin. Lots of crusty carbon and a few slivers of sealant. Also a semi circle piece of hard plastic I briefly considered being concerned about then filed under "ignore"

    I think it's probably going to be wise to drop the sump and replace the pickup every 3-4 years, should I happen to own it that long.
  19. Like
    theshadow reacted to Dave_Q in Dave's shonkers - one in   
    Step 3: apply quality lifting gear and raise the engine a bit

    Basically the longitudinal installation is a twat for getting the sump off, there is a subframe underneath it which stops you accessing about half the bolts and certainly stops you getting the sump out.

    Not gonna lie, this was a pain in the arse. Most of the 10mm bolts holding the sump on were fine but there were some 16s between the sump and gearbox that had been done up by Thor. Really thought I was gonna have to drop the subframe anyway to get access at more than one point but with a random selection of extensions and a jack handle, I got them out.
    Also shout out to these 10mms hidden in the bellhousing, weren't too hard to crack off but having to rotate the engine to undo them one at a time was a nice touch.

    Anyway, some time later - HAVE THAT YOU OILY BASTARD


    Fairly pleased to see the pickup is blocked up with shite so I can be pretty confident I don't also need a pump.

    Leaving it there for today, off to my mum's for a couple of days tomorrow but will hopefully be able to blag a few more hours to put it back together and do the cambelt before another month passes.
  20. Like
    theshadow reacted to Dave_Q in Dave's shonkers - one in   
    With most of our usual Saturday commitments cancelled for Easter, I make a start on the A4.
    Step 1: gather every torx tool you own and assume the @Kiltox position™ 


    Step 2: drain/disconnect some more shit and remove the front panel

    More later...
  21. Like
    theshadow reacted to SiC in Rover P4 110 - Gone   
    After getting back from the gym, I partake in a bit of evening tinkering. The primary job was to fix the sender.

    This was always on minimum. As the needle moved to Empty with the ignition on, I knew the circuit, gauge and sender actually worked.


    Easy enough to get to. I opted to remove the wheel for more access.



    I found a spare sender gasket from my spares stash that fitted perfectly - I think I bought it for when I had a Morris Minor.


    The sender was completely seized up and missing its float. The float was probably in the tank but I couldn't find it. I was impressed with the tank design to have a separate baffle for the sender presumably to dampen the level.



    I cleaned out the sender and worked the arm back and forth while putting spray lube in till it moved again.


    Then recalibrated the max end point as it was going too far and off the rheostat. So a full tank would show empty until enough was gone to start showing full!



    I put a replacement float on. I think it was from a completely rusted out Dolomite tank. Sometimes being a hoarder has its advantages!


    I now have a working (but not necessarily accurate) gauge!


    The next port of call was the handbrake switch. This was completely solid. Again the same trick with lubing and moving until it moved again. Took a fair bit but it's now spring back to its end stop.




    I refitted but it appears the light on the dash still doesn't work. The bulb is fine but no power is getting to the switch. Likewise no power to the brake reservoir switch either. Looking at the wiring diagram it goes straight to a Lucas butt connector and then to the ignition switch. Not entirely sure where the butt connector is but presumably behind the dash. I did have a look but it's not the easiest to get in there and I couldn't see anything disconnected.

    Once I get that power sorted, it should work again but the switch off point will probably need resetting for the handbrake switch.
  22. Like
    theshadow reacted to AnnoyingPentium in AnnoyingPentium's Adventures - Once, twice, three times an MOT   
    Aye its been fine.
    I went back out and had a look at the paintwork, it's not bad, and the paint I got back on the sponge is from the front wing. Will touch it in later.



    It's genuinely surprising it's taken this long for it to appear like this, being a Scottish registered car in the first place (SM originally, reg'd in Broxburn).
  23. Like
    theshadow reacted to Mr Laurence in Laurence's ongoing adventures in the world of shite - A year (and a half) in review   
    wow: I didn't realise it had been so long. I've been back for a few months now, albeit just lurking,  so it's probably time I update this thread with what's been going on.
    Firstly, the MX5;
    I've had it 3 years now, and it's still yet to let me down. Last summer noticed it was starting to get pretty close to overheating when I was stuck in traffic, so I've replaced the radiator with a new one. I forgot to take a picture of the old one, but it was well past it's best and had a crack forming along the top, so I was lucky to catch it when I did. This was a nice easy job that I don't think took me more than an hour to do, and now the temp is much cooler. Almost too cool, to the point where getting it properly warmed up seems to take ages. I think that the thermostat may need looking at too.
    It's also had a set of new tyres, along with other little bits and bobs here and there, but on the whole, its wanted almost nothing but petrol. it's due an MOT in a few months time, and last year it got some advisories for rust (somehow the first ones its ever had I think), I've been keeping it clean and doing what I can to slow the rot down, so hopefully I  won't have to worry about it just yet...
    and the Mini:
    Not long after my last post, I put down a deposit to finally sort out the bodywork and get it solid again. The garage had a bit of a waiting list, so I wouldn't be able to drop it off until June, which gave me a bit of time to sort a few little things out, and sporadically use it in the meantime, or so I thought.
    I had the old pepperpot wheels professionally refurbished and some new tyres put on, which honestly worked wonders. No idea why I hadn't  just done that in the first place. 
    I also decided that it was finally time to do the London to Brighton run, something that nearly all Mini owners seem to do at some point, but despite owning mine since 2016, I've never bothered with. I think the distance between me and London has always put me off. Unfortunately, I never made it. About halfway down the M1 it just cut out and wouldn't start back up again. 


    The AA towed me to the services and neither they nor me could work out what had caused it. Their best guess was an ECU issue, which they wouldn't be able to solve there, and as it was fairly late into Saturday afternoon by this point, nowhere that could fix it was open, so all they could do was tow me back home. I then arranged to have it taken to a Mini specialist with a MEMS tool to work out what was wrong with it. turns out that missing engine mount bolt from the last post was one of two that were missing, so the engine was just being slammed against the bulkhead, basically destroying all of the ancillaries on the back of the engine. As far as I can tell, in doing this, it had sliced through part of the wiring loom, and just shut it down completely. All in, it's cost me about £1,700 to put right, and left an awful taste in my mouth. It runs much better now, but I've lost most of my faith in it, especially for longer journeys.
    right after it was sorted, it was dropped off for the restoration work in about Juneish. The guys doing the work have made a few Youtube videos with it in, which are just below if anyone's interested.
    It's had some more work done since them videos, including new door skins and a few other repair panels put in, but I don't think that they're finished with it just yet. There's been a fair few delays since I dropped it off, so for now I'm just sitting tight and waiting to get it back.






     
    So the plan going forward? I the short/medium term, I'd like to get the Mini back, keep it for a few months and then sell it on before the summers over. I've had it for 7 years now and while it's been away I just haven't missed driving it all, so I think the time is right to say goodbye. once it's gone, the MX5 will probably take its place as the 'fun' project car, and I'll find some ULEZ compliant porridge with a bit more space inside to take over daily duties.
    In the longer term, I'd quite like another classic. I was lucky enough to have a test drive of a 2CV recently, and absolutely loved it. But with the Mini still being away, I wasn't able to get the money together for it in time before it sold. I've still got my eyes out for another though, so hopefully this can happen eventually.
  24. Like
    theshadow reacted to Mr Laurence in Laurence's ongoing adventures in the world of shite - A year (and a half) in review   
    Right, it’s been over a year since I last updated this, but after a bit of a break from posting on here I think it’s time to come back. Here’s a brief update of the last year and a bit:
    Mini

    Still looking pretty much the same as it did last year, with the addition of some extra rust. A bit more digging into the idle issue found that the plastic housing had been broken by the engine rocking into the bulkhead; the engine mounts were replaced not too long ago, and the garage that did the work forgot to put one back in, so there was a LOT of play. Sorted now and the car seems noticeably better than before. The high idle on startup still persists, but it settles within 5 minutes or so. A bit more investigation is needed I think.
    ~£300 in welding saw it through another MOT in December, but really it’s reaching a point now where it either needs selling on or a proper restoration. I feel like I’ve had my fun with it now and I’d rather move onto something else, so I’m leaning pretty heavily towards selling.
    MX5


     
    Now at nearly 170,000 miles and still going strong! Since last posting I’ve fitted a front lip, spoiler and a set of Tein coilovers. It sits a little bit lower and feels better round corners now, but thankfully not at the expense of comfort. Otherwise just little maintenance jobs here and there.
  25. Like
    theshadow reacted to NorthernMonkey in HMC- AUTOSHITE 2.0   
    After some scrotes relieved my W140 of it's cats recently and, combined with a niggly lighting issue which has constantly resisted all attempts to resolve, I may be breaking one of these soon should you need anything...
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