Shirley Knott

As alluded to in the news 24 thread.... 
It passed! No advisories
This car never fails to impress me

Success! 
Also went against my better judgement and lobbed an engine flush in for the sake of it, got it up to temperature and drained it out - 

Glad I did!
That's pretty manky having only done about 1500 miles. It's now clear on the dipstick (it immediately discoloured before) so hopefully it's back to normal service. As suspected this engine probably hasn't been very well looked after in the donor vehicle. It's a bit of a burner, it used roughly a litre or so in that distance. It sounds a bit rattly up top. Think I might switch to 10w-40 on the next change and see if it helps
The engine has not thrown a rod so safe to say the engine flush hasn't harmed it 😂
So, what work has been done in the last week? 
New OSF bottom arm
New NSF, OSF, NSR anti roll bar links
New OS track rod end 
Weld repairs to sill
Lots of rust treatment (including the Sierraman patented TrapezoidOfDoom™ 😂😂)
New tailgate struts to replace the weak originals and release switch (because the rubber cover had gone manky)
Oil + filter change, including engine flush. 
*I think* that's everything apart from the rear upper trailing arm bushes, which are mostly fucked, but hopefully my friendly tester will turn a blind eye and leave them alone until at least next year... 

Oops, I'm sure you were all waiting* patiently for the following-day update. 

The time as of here is about 6pm on Sunday. A bit of playing around with the filler and putty, waiting for it to go off, I realized I still had a lot of work ahead if I wanted a perfect finish. 
7pm arrives, and the "fuckit" stage arrived... Who am I kidding trying to do a nice paint job? 
So I got it as smooth as poss: 

As you can see, that definitely wanted more work with the putty/stopper. But I simply ran out of time. It needed to be off the ramp in just over 12 hours... And I need to get a night's sleep in that same space of time.. 

Gave it a lick of paint - that picture actually makes it look far worse than it was. 
Obviously I'm not leaving it like that, because it realistically looks absolutely shite. Having said that, I've seen far, far, far worse before! 

Gave it a textured finish with this stuff: 

Which I undeniably swear by. It's fantastic.
Apply it wet, it'll cure in 24-48 hours. It's not rubberised so doesn't trap rust, it's oily so applies well, sticks well and eventually cures. I don't really know the science behind it but somehow it goes rock solid if coated thinly enough. 
I can say that I've been using it for years and never once have I had recurrent rot around simple MOT-standard patches. It stays applied for ages, and cures to a tough finish. I find giving it a textured finish, simply by dabbing/slapping it on with a paintbrush seems to add an extra layer of resilience. 
Unfortunately it would appear I don't have a picture of the final result. I could swear I took one, but it's as above minus the masking tape. I'm really happy with the end result. Yes, it's got wob in it but I can promise you it is structurally perfect. The new metal is seam welded in and it's been plug welded along the pinch at the bottom. 
Whilst I had time to kill, I wanted to do some other improvements:

This area of damage to the bumper was caused in a supermarket car park, I imagine by a trolley or pram or something. 

Filled it with some stopper. In hindsight, I was rushing this and didn't sand it back anywhere near enough because you can just about make out the blob. But this was just a test area, and I'll redo it if I can ever be bothered, which is unlikely

And lacquered. I'm bloody impressed by the paint colour match and lacquer finish achieved simply by rattle cans! 

In between all the painting/filling, the new brake drums I fitted a few months ago had an unsightly layer of surface rust. 
I wire brushed it all off, gave it a lick of wheel silver paint, and a dusting of lacquer, and check that out! Only 15-20 minutes spent doing both and it looks as good as that! Well chuffed
Last job for now was to address the corrosion at the rear. There's absolutely nothing structural, it's just surface corrosion which looked about ten times worse than it was. 
Wire brushed it back, and was left with this: 

That's not aesthetically pleasing enough, so I gave it an underbody treatment. 



Much, much, much better! 
Again, this is oil based. It's actually just diluted waxoyl. 
My method of application is diluting it roughly 50/50 with brake cleaner and applying it with a pressurised schutz gun. The brake cleaner evaporates off and leaves a nice long lasting oily coating over everything which actually dries/cures surprisingly well to a dull finish. 
I also fitted a new pair of tailgate struts which set me back less than a tenner off eBay. Another massive improvement.
That's a few jobs ticked off the list. 
Next up is the suspension bits for the MOT. Ordered 2x front droplinks, apparently there was only 1 of the bargain £5 ones left in stock in the company so I went with that since it's only 1 that I really need. The rear one was no problem, but the lower ball joint!! What a faff!! The £7 TRW one arrived. Unfortunately it was completely missing the rubber dust boot!? WTF?
Got it replaced with a Delphi one, costing £18, and that didn't come with the bolts!? 
Hopefully 3rd time lucky will see one that isn't defective arrive in the morning 🙄
Aside from the mini FTP as alluded to in the news 24 threads which means a new air filter housing has been added to the shopping list, it can go for its MOT which I'm planning to book tomorrow and have done next week
The only real issues I know of are the rear suspension bushes which, realistically, are fucked. The inners of the upper trailing arm bushes have debonded - now coated in waxoyl so might be a little bit harder for the tester to spot 😉 - and I noticed both the rear lower control/spring arm outer hub bushes have pretty much fallen apart. Luckily they're only small so it's not possible for them to create any excessive movement 
I suppose a rear suspension refresh is not a bad thing to have on the cards, but it'll be a pig of a job so let's see how it goes. Nothing is unsafe, otherwise I'd fix it, obviously. 
That's all for now!

Not much going on here over the last 3 months. The Clio had some new front pads, and the V70 got an oil and filter change in October. It then spent the festive period hauling Christmad trees around and generally being used as the family van.

I've been looking after my brothers cars as usual (Both Mk1 diesel Octavias, the blue one us a VE ALH 90 TDI, and the silver one an SDI in AQM flavour)

Basically, aside from an indicator that lost its lense, and an upgrade to Osram Nightbreakers on one of them, they've needed nothing.


This one's now approaching 220k miles, illustrating the terrible VAG build quality and reliability that it used to be trendy on here to talk about!
Meanwhile,  today I set about the annual adjustments to the Volvo's handbrake system in preparation for MOT next week.


These are a major week point for the P2 platform across the board, and despite the annual battle to set it up as best as I can, I never escape without and advisory for it.
 
 

And guess what? It only bloody works!
 

Pleasant bit of time in the garage today. Bought this for myself for Xmas
Finally got round to putting it in the car.
Bit of a loom pulled through
Loom taped
Safety first! Fused link made up with a 10amp blade in it
Engine end. Fully insulated connectors and plenty of heat shrink. Still cant solder worth a wank 😄

In the meantime I've pulled the passenger seat out. Whilst the cars off road for winter I'm going to make up some subframes so as I can get @SiCs seats fitted. When I'm back in work next week I'll start pulling the seats in bits and make a good pair.
I've also started putting the tachometer in. Was going to make my own mount but a pod was only £16 from minispares so it seemed a lot of work for nowt. I've managed to get it in the car without drilling the dash shelf so happy with that. I never want to do owt to the car that can't be put back. I think it looks bloody ace. Just like I pictured it.
Not wired in yet. I've started pulling a loom through but I'm short of a few bits and I want to borrow bosses gas soldering torch.

 

Finally.

Timed dot to dot with new chain and gears 

Big morning.

Start with the 1098 one to get the car running and then after a rolling road session see what is recommended by the tuner.
The Aldon yellow has a maximum advance of 24 degrees, 

The minispares distributor has more advance throughout the rev range

 
 

At least the block is prepped and painted now so once the rest of my bits turn up, reassembly can take place.
New core plugs fitted
masked (god that took a while)
painted

Evening/morning all.
You join me part way through a 14hr night shift warming this big bearing up ready to fit at 7am.
So this leaves me alone with not much else to do, no one else here and an unfinished engine that's been kicking me in the cods recently.
As some will be aware, the original conrod bolts failed whilst torquing up. Which wouldn't have been an expensive problem if I had standard conrods. But I have AEG521 conrods. Which are magic, highly sought after conrods. Which also don't take standard rod bolts. And no one sells the ones I need.
Enter MED Engineering who kindly relieved me of £150 (still hurts) for these beautiful magical things. Which are made of gold 😆. Sexy though
Assume the position
Hello darkness my old friend
All done. Sexy ARP goodness for 8000 RPM and big power!
Also removing household funds was the crank pulley which also acts as a harmonic balancer. Mine was cracked through the boss and had chunks missing from the flange so i couldnt in good faith reuse it.
Just time to splash a bit of cam lube about
And button the sump up finally
Right. Better do some actual work seeing as I'm getting paid. Hope you all have a restful nights sleep you lucky bastards 😭

A little while back, I sorted a vacuum leak on the Jeep and announced the high idle issue was solved. Well, it started idling high again. Despite two sessions of generously spraying carb cleaner around with the engine running, I couldn't find any new vacuum leaks. 
My next suspect was the Idle Air Control (IAC) Valve. 
I took it out and cleaned it up, but it wasn't that dirty tbh.

Cleaned up the throttle body, but again, didn't really need it. 

The chamber the IAC valve sits in was pretty grim though. Used cotton buds and got the worst of it out. 

So, did that cure it? No. Then yes. Then no again. Overall, that's a no. 
I've run it with a without the IAC valve connected and it doesn't seem to make a difference, so I think it's dead? 

Got a new pump bottle so I could top off the Mustang's diff. The pick-up tube is metal on this one, so can't collapse. Even put some cardboard down - I'm learning!

Adjusted some play out of the steering box on the Jeep and greased up the joints. 
I'm rarely able to unlock the passenger door from outside, so took off the interior panel to investigate. 

The threaded rods can be adjusted by moving them in/out. This helped make the lock/unlock action feel more positive, like it was actually using the full extent of its travel, but still didn't make it completely reliable. The issue seemed to be play in the fixed rod between the key tumbler and lock mechanism. I used a bit of electrical tape around the end of rod to make it a snug fit in the plastic bushing. Problem solved! I can now unlock the door passenger door first attempt. 

Got the prop shaft out of the Mustang on Sunday to replace the universal joints. It had developed what feels like a driveline vibration during acceleration, mostly between 30-45 MPH. Quite speculative as I didn't actually confirm the fault before ordering parts, but they weren't expensive so I just added them to the order for the front shocks. 

Unfortunately, everything put up a fight, so this took me most of the afternoon. I'll continue to sing the praises of my new lift though. It made removing the prop and getting it back in a relatively comfortable experience. 

Got the new joints in and put the shaft back in the Mustang. 

I tried to top off the rear diff which didn't go well. My pump wouldn't pick up the oil properly - the vacuum kept collapsing the hose and pinching itself off. I know it's thick oil (80w90), but I didn't expect that. Then I knocked the oil over and made a mess. Decided to call it a day as my patience had run out. 
In other news, I was given a key replicator a few months back.

I made a spare key for the Mustang easy enough but my first attempt at a DeLorean key didn't turn out great. It worked, but only if you jiggled it.
My second attempt is much better and works perfect. It's worry off my mind to have a second key. 

 
 

Finally got the intake/exhaust gasket installed and put everything back together. Also got a new serpentine belt on. Oddly, none of the belts that are supposed to be for a Wrangler fit. I ended up buying something longer. I suspect the alternator bracket has been replaced with something non-standard.
Thankfully, idle has returned to normal 800 rpm and nothing seems to be leaking! 
Purchased a universal battery clamp. Turns out it's not entirely universal and required modification, but it fits now. 

Next, I wired up the front fog lights.
Having doors that lift out the way proved quite handy when routing wires at awkward angles under the dash.

So, the following afternoon, I cracked on with making the fuel capsule bracket.



It didn't come out too badly, and it turned out to be all for nothing. One of the tangs on the fuel capsule had snapped, and a replacement item was £24.
Weighing up the options of whether I even wanted/needed to re-introduce a moisture and dirt trap against the inner arch, I elected to remove the capsule entirely and connect the line into the fuel filler neck directly. There's no one way valve fitted now, but the pros outweigh the cons in this regard.
Instead, I opened the LHM depressurisation screw, jacked up the OSR arm and worked on the OSR unit replacement.

Aaand immediately shitcanned it as the supply pipeline union was heavily rounded off. Without a replacement supply pipe, there is no way in hell that I'm chopping into pipework. 
Oddly, I'm not sure where the leak is - it's not flowing out of the boot and there's a pool of LHM at the bottom of the 'cup' the unit sits in. Could possibly be an LHM sphere seal that's gone bad. 
With that work on hiatus, I went with an LHM pump change - the old one was functional, but the pulley had some distortion and the wobble was hilarious.
Alternator was removed for access.


With no further welding repairs required at the rear end, it was time to start seam sealing.
Initially, I went with Tetrosyl rubberised seam sealer in a mastic gun, then Tetrosyl brushable seam sealer.
This was a total disaster as despite giving them at least 24 hours between applications, it cracked in several places when I checked on it a couple of days later. Reading a few forums etc kept pointing to using a PU adhesive as a seam sealer and recommended Pureaflex40, which was less than £8 a tube from Toolstation.
Fuck it, let's find out.

Buuuuut on the way out, I remembered it IS an adhesive, and one of the rubber trim bits has been flapping for many years.
In for a penny.


Now that's clamped and secured (it did stay out when I removed the clamp!), it was time to give the affected areas a couple of coats of red oxide primer.


Stone chip hopefully going on tonight.

As we had a day of good weather, the cover came off the Beat, the MX5 was opened up and both cars run up to temperature and dried out. Despite a few teething problems fitting the cover initially, the Beat has stayed clean and dry which is a relief, given the torrential rain that has tormented us at times!

The sill end repair panel had been expertly lipped by my friend, who had shown me the various metalwork tools used to achieve a correct result. With that done, I measured the opening, completed the vertical lip fold and started shaping and trimming the panel for fitment. The sequence of photos shows the process of fitting it in, working out the shit bits to re-bend, and what needed chopping out.
 
 
The intention is for the panel to sit behind the existing panel. Whilst cleaning up the existing metalwork for welding, a cheeky glint of light caught my eye.

Bugger. Using lessons learned from watching my mate work the other patch, I measured and made a panel that would replace the grotty bits within the area in one hit.
 
Measured twice and cut once, before clamping it into place:
 
(The grot to the front of the patch is just staining - the inside and outside of the area is fine.) The welder was then fired up and for the first time in ages, I actually had room to wave the torch AND see at the same time - pure luxury!

Finally, the panel was clamped in place, just to check the final fitment.

Hoping to get into the garage tomorrow and clean the surrounding metalwork and get it welded in - doing so would give me just one more bracket to make and weld in within the area, which means I could finally look to flatting all the welds down and seam seal/prime/paint/rustproof the rear end and finally move forward of the axle!
In terms of the cars actually on the road - the Rover has been an excellent winter daily driver, apart from needing a throat clearing in minus temperatures, and the washer jets being awful again. Herman was called into use after a medical episode meant MrsH's Laguna is at work for a couple of days. Typically, the first time I used the washers on Herman, the pipe popped off and the bonnet gets a little river instead - another job to be sorted out dreckly!
Oh, and the Rover is in desperate need of a wash.

Cheers for reading!

Well, there's been a lot of moving parts to the last fortnight, so I'll try and do it in order.
First things first, we got invited to a neighbours house for a Twelfth Night celebration. Whilst in the stone circle for the beginning ceremony, I spotted something next to the river bed:

This will get cleaned up and hung in my boy's bedroom - he's called Austin. I also got made King for the evening, which was hilarious, particularly when I didn't make MrsH Queen

Anyway, fun stuff aside, the patch got welded in. Lack of access was once again proving to be a hindrance, thanks to the wheel hub receding into the wheelwell, and the rear arch 'spat' reducing access even further. However, it survived being smacked about with a hammer, and seam sealer will have it looking pretty.
 
Feeling a bit deflated with how bloody awful the last few repairs had gone, it was time to move lower down, onto the sill end. The 50mm metal bung was split with corrosion so that will need replacement. The metalwork was then cut back to solid metal.
 
The area was cleaned up with an air file, and I quickly remembered the old adage 'buy cheap, pay twice'. This time with the sanding belts. The 'cheap' eBay ones were quickly refunded and another set of Cubitron belts were ordered - these are excellent belts and highly recommended.
 
In the meantime, I made a rough template of the repair patch, added 20mm around the edge for the lip and dropped it with a mate who offered to show me the correct way to bend a 90 degree lip into a curve.

This process involved getting some wooden 'formers' made up, which would take a bit of time in between jobs, so it was onto the next job.
Remember this bracket?

Good news! It was listed very cheaply on Chevronics!

Bad news - they were out of stock. Guess I'd better have a go at making my own then.

Using the image from the website, the other bracket and a bit of guesswork, and I had a rough outline. With the donor structure flattened, you can see there wasn't much left to go on!
 
Eventually, once I'd worked out the correct sequence of folds to ensure they could all be achieved, and using an impact socket as a former to give some strength to the corners, a bracket was made!
 
With the pigeon fed extra helpings and squeezed hard enough, the bracket was eventually welded into the correct position.
 
Part 2 to follow.

Bit more work done today. Welded the smal patch panel on the inside of the inner arch. Chopped out another grotty bit of the inner arch, and re-thought the repair.  Also chopped off the bent portion of the previous repair section as it was now surplus to requirements.

Once on the bench, it was clearly thin in several parts, so the right call to cut the whole section out.


So, onto making a new panel.

Never tried before, but a bit of twatting about with hammers allowed me to match the profile of the 'hump' at the bottom.

Eventually, the edges were joggled and everything looks to match up nicely.

Sadly, a persistent headache curtailed any further work today, so tomorrow will hopefully be spent prepping the arch for welding it in properly.

Today was kind of a slow day, mainly because MrsH was back at work and it was just me and the boy - he was keen to come into the garage and watch/hand tools to me, and who was I to say no to free labour?
First things first, I removed the wheel arch stiffener bracket - this had rotted away at one end and was barely attached at the other. Chevronics sell them for £24, but typically, have been out of stock for ages. Luckily, there's a couple of pictures online to help me fully recreate this item.

The boy was roped into helping gain access to the inner arch from inside the car - this annoyingly resulted in the interior c pillar trim snapping a large section, which I will have to either repair or replace.

There's a spot welded bracket that fell off a while back, it mounts the fuel tank capsule. I'm chopping a sizeable section of the arch out, so drew several straight lines to allow me to 'zone in' when the new metal is in and re-weld it in roughly the right place next time.

With the lad hiding the light underneath to keep an eye on things:

I started making the cuts. 

Not many photos occurred after this one as I was winging it as usual, but here's a photo of the repair patch.

The patch is partially welded in now as MrsH had come home and it was time to get the kids ready for bed, but it follows the rest of the standards of my welding this far - ugly as sin, but solid.

Busy evening yesterday.
Up on stands.

Gathered all the necessary equipment

And welded in the rail/bracket I made way back in June. Not pretty, but it's very solid.

I also welded the rail in on the underside - the new rail slotted into the old one nicely.
Buoyed by this surprise burst of productivity, I got back into the garage after the kids went to bed to start work on the next panel, to bring an end to the welding needed at the very rear of the car.

Took a little bit of adjustment to get a good fit.

Including a double depth 'joggle' to ensure a flush fit.

Then it was time to measure and drill out the plug weld holes, and clamp the panel in for welding.

Then a quick spray of weld through primer on the contact areas before getting ready to weld it in again.

Again, not pretty, but I'm not working with the thickest or cleanest metal.

Aaaaand, typically, as I brushed against a scab on the OSR inner arch:


Good job I'm now moving into that part of the car - already got three jobs to do in that area so I had better crack on. The list of jobs is growing the longer it sits!