coachie

Acquired one of these lately.

Looks a bit “unhappy” to my eyes. 

Pininfarina design and build apparently. Presumably this one wont feature in future glossy portfolios of their work.

Familiar focus vibes from the view out front. 2.0 duratec/ manual. Its a bit flat in a car this weighty (think its about 1500kg) but its quite a comfy cruiser to potter about in.

Today has been spent working on a friend's white Rover.  Another friend was here helping and arrived in his red Rover.  The Princess was just there to provide moral support and tools.

I have an interview in an hour, one which will allow me to buy my DVDs 25% cheaper. (Volunteering at BHF)

It is sunny in NI.
 
That is all. 

Test drive time; to Loughborough in the slowest of crawling market day traffic and then to Manchester & back, twice in two days - Sorted.

I accidentally fixed a car at the weekend.  Took the Visa for a spin on Sunday, and on a deserted bit of road I decided to try an emergency stop to find out just how shite the brakes are.  It pulled up from 40mph reasonably quickly - certainly not the worst brakes I've ever experienced, but I'd rather they were better.  I decided to give it another try with handbrake assistance, and bugger me if that didn't bring the brake pedal up to where it should be.  And it's stayed there since.  So I assume the excessive travel was due to the rear shoes not having adjusted themselves and yanking the handbrake on while hard on the footbrake woke them up.
So that's one major job ticked off the list - now I just need to find someone who knows what they're doing to give the engine a service and tune-up and it'll be ready for regular use.
I also took the Volvo for a quick drive, just far enough to get it up to temperature.  I popped the bonnet when I got back to see whether the new gaskets I bought from Skandix at great expense have managed to stop the radiator cap leaking.  They do appear to have done the trick (touch wood), but the coolant level was still very low - fortunately it was obvious where it was going, the Jubilee clip holding the radiator top hose onto the thermostat housing had rusted away and snapped.  I had a new clip the right size in my stash so that was another easy fix.  Unfortunately the Volvo needs rather more TLC than the Visa before it's properly sorted - it's mechanically OK now but needs several bits of welding and the brakes sorting (I'm probably going to renew the remaining steel brake pipes this year as well).
Then I went round the block in the Innocenti.  That drove perfectly, as it always does (couldn't go far in it though as it's not MOT'd).  Actually I tell a lie, the brake warning light flashed up a couple of times going round corners, but that's a result of me fitting a standard Mini master cylinder which is not designed to sit at the jaunty angle it does in the Innocenti.  I need to take the car to the garage at some point and get a quote for the welding it needs, which is quite fiddly and would be much better done up on a ramp.

‘My wife said no’, an excuse from car buyers as old as time itself.

Well, I guess I'm here 🤣

in REV news , she has assumed the position as they say!

front axle has been taken apart 

and the old kingpin has been extracted  

not sure if everything has been put back together with the new kingpin or if additional work is required, but hopefully it is plain sailing from here on out!

The current use of AI feels like the time when GUI word processors became readily available and every piece of text got formatted in Comic Sans.
Just because you can etc.

The current use of AI feels like the time when GUI word processors became readily available and every piece of text got formatted in Comic Sans.
Just because you can etc.

Bought this last week as something to do.  It came with half a tank of pez so have a viaduct shot instead.

1.2 HLX with working City mode.  Paint is thoroughly knackered but it drives fine, and will do as a stop gap whilst I sort the Xedos out come MoT time next month.  I initially thought the tow bar was for trailer tip runs, but the seller used it to occasionally shift his MG Midget about.

Pah, you're obviously wrong! He would only have needed to work 40 hours a day if he worked 7 days a week, or he could have only worked 24 hours a day if he'd worked 12 days per week.
Honestly, this is basic stuff man. This exact question was Q1 of my GCSE maths exam. 
Q. "Paul works in a MG Rover specialist in <somewhere northern>, he moonlights as a chauffeur in a 200k mile Mercedes S-class, how many days a week does he have to work to put 960,000 miles on the S-Class in 12 months assuming he never stopped for fuel or food, pissed in the footwell on the move and did 70mph everywhere, all the time? Show your working"
A. 12 days per week (crude drawing of a stick man pissing in a Mercedes footwell)
93 marks

Rover 75 - OMGHGF update.
I can reveal that the MG Rover specialist in Derby are a bunch of out & out tossers  
 http://www.mg-rovermobilemechanics.com 
'Yes Mate, HGF innit, you can leave it with us, but I doubt we'll get round to it before xmas' . I was advised that with 'the dreaded vat it'd be £168'. Surprisingly the VAT was not itemised and there was no VAT number - Hmmm
Fuck right off then, I'll have it recovered to a bloke down the road who has no fear of anything. He has had it for about 3 weeks & has had it in a million pieces for much of that time. The new radiator, uprated fan & relay all turned out to be pants, he's replaced the lot again along with a temp sensor and all manner of other crap that I really don't even pretend to understand. It wasn't HGF, but whatever it was, has been well & truly sorted.
https://www.amosmotors.co.uk
Would recommend.

Collection complete. Arrived at Exeter 12 mins late, not bad for the UK🙄
Compulsory wollard below.
Looking forward to the drive home.
An absolute pleasure to meet petrolblog, a thoroughly nice man .

The idle speed problem was a really simple fix! The throttle return spring, for some reason, was pushing on the wrong part of the quadrant so minimal tension when shut.

This is just an internet photo, but it was around 90° too slack, pushing on the circled moulding rather than where it should be.
To celebrate @Puglet took it out for a drive this evening, once the tourist traffic had died down.

Looking rather nice! (ATCNBE...)

Another job off the list!

Back in 2000, I bought @Puglet a Pioneer radio as a birthday present, which she fitted to her 205 XS, This was bought partly for the sound quality, but also because the display showed swimming dolphins  It was transferred to the next car, a Renault Megane Coupe, and the MINI after that.

Unfortunately, an iPod adapter interface was bought which came with a reversed polarity lead, and this fed +12 V through the ground connection on the expansion socket, taking out the button illumination
This has sat for the last 10 years, so with the need for a radio again I downloaded the wiring diagram and did some probing. There was no illumination supply to the front panel so not just a case of a new front. The transistor which switched the supply was open circuit, so that was the first replacement but no joy.
Time to delve further in the circuit, and I found a couple of zener diodes which didn’t measure right.

(Circled, with the new transistor already in place)
These were a low noise type of quite a tight tolerance, which I couldn’t find exact replacements for. Eventually I managed to find some low noise types with a slightly different voltage, but with wider tolerance bands (5.2 to 6 V and 9.4 to 10.6 V). I needed 5.5 to 5.8 V and 9.5 to 9.9 V, so I just bought 10 of each and measured them until I found ones which were close to the middle of the original spec.
I soldered them in, and then re-applied lacquer to the PCB as was originally done.


Then a bit of fiddly reassembly.


And the end result?

Yay, the dolphins are back! (I confess I had tested it before reassembly and fitting though!)

One of those jobs, albeit minor, was to tidy up the wiring.

I don't know who did this, or why (but I will look for you, I *will* find you, and I will kill you )
Although in reality I'll just use a particular set of skills to do a neater job. First soldered the wires together,  then insulated them with glue-lined heat shink.

Then another piece of heat shrink over the whole lot, and job done.

I took mine out last night for a last run out of the year. The garage is being turned into a bungalow in the new year so I'm culling the fleet.  The GTi is a definite keeper and probably the Cavalier Sri

We dropped off a vehicle at my local garage recently, and my wife happened to spot this awaiting work in their yard...

I enquired about it, and turns out it's in for a few jobs before sale. Started out life in Cyprus, and has had long periods of dry storage over here so the shell is very good - better than the ones she had when they were 10 years old.
It's also had a documented engine rebuild from a specialist, who she's been in touch with to confirm. The garage put it up on their ramp so we could check it over today, and although not perfect, it only seems to be minor stuff.
One trackrod end and lower ball joint
CV joint 
Fuel hoses
Temperature gauge inoperative and high idle when warm (I think seperate sensors so possibly not linked)
Sticking handbrake cables 
Low alternator output 
Coolant level sensor telling lies
Missing jack
Missing door pocket but otherwise great condition interior.



I know most will just say get it bought, but any sober voices of reason out there to say why not? £7.5k which although is a lot, now seems towards the cheaper end of the range. And I'd rather be changing suspension and brakes than welding a rotten shell!

Bring this home.

Get kicked out by spouse.

Who's laughing now.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/166669583439?itmmeta=01HT73G26J6PBH4E7HJYD0FGG1&hash=item26ce48044f:g:j1MAAOSwpEtmAYPK&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4P5RkiWt5ObdXm9ickkw1siBgMtvDOKdVdrttAdObT%2B3%2ByRIPjsIJGVanzCKiMNwX9KN2Rc7WjAcJRNaRuJim9mWaABL5MRE0TIPg9xeLbyElfWIHQNwKE2m5vMam6ztjGRS%2F42TqaaC%2BEWa6NBkj6ViAY5U4C3xgzHqkFfzl%2FszJX3mBXqc79OhCDAVkRbTUwEelMLr3JnURt7cLAB5rGWkYnRvJ%2FDoYpVbU%2FIZb%2BBQQgqDItqhHvxzVA3qc5CAYtoUYWMIatnO2Zj3SqgeVT%2Fk%2Fvy7sgjg%2FRh6qmoG8Fz2|tkp%3ABk9SR7KjwOPRYw

I don’t even know where to start. 😂
What the fuck is that steering wheel off?!
https://www.facebook.com/share/YxeaAxKzSEXajrLw/?mibextid=79PoIi
”2 bigger alloys on the front for more grip”

https://www.carandclassic.com/l/C1706826

While I was in this wheel arch, I attended to a few VAG and TFSI specific items under the wheel arch.
First was cleaning this out. Wasn't actually too grubby. It needs a good clean, dry and paint though. No point treating it in the weather, so it'll have to be a summer job in the future.

Next was ripping this foam out both sides. Apparently VW put this infernal thing in even the 2013+ Mk7 Golfs too.


For those that don't know, this rubs on the inside of the wheel arch and causes the rusty arches you often see on a Golf Mk5. I'm sure there is a good reason it's there but not good enough to make a car last.
(This is the worst side. The other is actually pretty much alright)

Next was inspecting the Diverter Valve. Basically this thing helps control boost. They're a known weak point and often end up failing. When they do, you loose all boost. They've been through several different designs through the years.
It's attached to the side of the turbo on the 200bhp TFSI engine with the K03 turbo. Not the easiest to get to tbh. I seem to remember it was easier on the TT MK2 I had. Might go look at old photos to see access.
Anyway you have to look above the tie rod boot.

3 hex headed bolts. Two you can see here and another hidden.

Was a bit of a fight as they were pretty tight and I kept loosing my 5mm hex bit out of the ratchet. But it came out eventually. 

This looks to me I think is the latest design as there is no rubber diaphragm in this. Definitely been replaced before as none of the original factory items are likely to ever last these amount of miles without failure. Nice to see it's a Pierberg (OE manufacture of these) rather than some garbage unbranded Chinese junk.


Also found a aluminium covered electronic unit in the wheel arch. Riveted at the bottom and then a plastic clip at the top. It was loose at the top so no doubt a source of a rattle. 
My assumption was that this is the alarm siren. Ripping it out said that assumption was correct! I usually remove alarm sirens on older cars where I can. No one reacts to the damn things apart from anger when they go wrong at 4am in the morning. There is no error code on this one so it probably still works but I don't trust it. I always say on my insurance that a car has an immobiliser but no alarm, so there should be no issue there. 
Finally had this mess to clear up.

Then drop onto four wheels again. Hopefully I'll get time tomorrow to turn it around and get the rear arms done.
My suspicion they might be a right ball ache, even if I cut them out. Not sure if a 115mm cutting disc is even big enough to just chop the bolt right at the bush sleeve or not. Hopefully it is then it should be quite quick. The bolt on the wheel side should hopefully either come out or just snap with an impact.
Even there is only two bolts on each side to deal with, I think there is a good chance it might be hours of fighting. Also I don't know how likely it'll be for me to easily mark up the position of the old arms. So the toe might be completely out. I'll do it by eye to see what looks right, so I can at least get it good enough to safely drive to the place that does the alignment.