gearoil

Anyone else following this build project on You Tube? Ive found it both fun and very interesting so far.
 
Toyota Celica 2.0GT Turbo 4x4 grafted into a Mini....
 

 

Well, there is that "its not a mini" any more, but Im just enjoying the engineering and fabrication going into this.

After reading the thread this morning I had a look through the garage rafters for the box containing the 305 clocks with over 800k miles on them, fook knows where I've stashed them but I kept then as its the highest mileage vehicle I've ever owned.

Once again there appears to be a pictoral gap in the story...
 
It was on the return journey from delivering the cement mixer to my father in laws house, about half a mile away that the trailer again disgraced itself, I had to stop twice when heading home to collect parts that had fallen off...
It was beyond the time that I did something about the great soggy mess.
 
I remembered some time ago, when bidding on my custom "shit within 20 miles and under £150" search that I'd bought a lot of wood, well two lots actually, with a total outlay of about £11. Amongst this was nearly enough 6x2 to rebody the trailer with something a little more purposeful than the previous effort.
 
Yes I'd said nearly enough hadn't I? Well a chance conversation with the neighbour to the garage I work out provided a source of more timber, with the only downside being a crossed line in communication, I'd wanted the 6x2 cut to 62" long with a 45deg cut across the end... You can see from the following picture where exactly that went wrong!
 

 
I had an attempt at joining some of the now too short beams to make up for the missing length, but sadly the lenght warped across the joint, and didn't end up having as much strength as I'd have hoped:
 

 
Putting that drama to one side for a moment, I thought I would start work on a new tailgate, you will see here a reoccuring theme here, as it too is made out of old shit I found in my garage.
The frame for the tailgate shown here was made from a broken "Smartboard" that I bought by mistake as a lot of two in an auction, having looked at a grainy picture the size of a postage stamp, I'd assumed they were just plain white boards...oops! Not only were they not, I couldn't get them both in Trev the C15, so I had to tie one to the roof instead!
I ended up dismantling both boards, and keeping the whiteboard element of one, along with a lot of metal brackets, beams and caps, the whiteboard still lives on the wall of the garage to this day.
Anyway I digress again, I had a pair of steel beams with enough lenght to make a tailgate frame if I cut carefully.
 
Here is the result of chopping about a broken whiteboard until it fits on a trailer found down the side of a house:

 
With the cuts made, my father in law took the frame to work and buzzed it together with the welder, he made an outstanding job of it I must say, so work moved on to finding some hinges, which in this case I salvaged off of our old garden gate, the tailgate can be removed by opening it, and sliding it off of the hinges to one side.
 

 
Skipping ahead again, I wanted a fairly sturdy, but light skin to the tailgate, and luckily at work we have a pile of aluminium offcuts, one of which had just enough in it to be used as the panel for the tailgate. I measured the size of the frame, took of 1/4" around each edge and marked out the panel, I cut the aluminium with a plasma cutter which gives a reasonable cut on old ali, along with a lot of noise!
 

 
The only new parts I've had to buy so far are the anti-luce catches to hold the tailgate shut, these were bought from ebay for about 8 quid and came complete with the brackets to fit over them, an afternoon of pillar drill action saw them and the panel trial fitted to the frame, the coach bolts I found in a tub in my garage, I think they came on some shelves I bought from an auction!
 

 
As far as the fabrication goes, that's about up to date, the trailer is still at my father in laws, waiting for me to bring it back and finish the timber properly (I've 3 new lengths to replace the incorrectly cut ones) and the tailgate is in pieces again:
 

 
I hope you guys aren't too bored reading all this!

FTP!!!
 
Picks its moments this one. Picture the scene - it's friday at 5.00 and the end of a slog of a week and a very cold rainy day. I locked up and got into the car, card in, press button and...
 
crankcrankcrankcrankcrank <stops>
 
Try again. Same. Swear at car.
 
Remove card, reinsert and try again. Same.
 
Beep horn. No different.
 
Waggle gearstick so violently the top comes off. Swear some more.
 
I reluctantly opened the garage up again, and fetched a tin of easystart, the OBD reader and a couple of likely looking sockets and a ratchet. Back out onto the lane where it's blowing a bloody gale, but I'm not moving 4 vehicles and pushing the car in on my own.
 
First - eliminate fuel as a problem (the light is on, but it only came on this morning - should be fine...) Card in, press button. While car is cranking run around to the front and spray easystart into the inlet. No change. Not a fuel problem then.
 
Next - OBD reader. Ideal time to try out SIC's Ohnorenault tool again - It connects now, and I used it to help condemn a 1.5DCi clio earlier in the week but it won't talk to the Lag. Something about it not being implemented yet then it disconnects the reader and won't reconnect. Used Torque instead... this showed me that there is no RPM signal when the engine is cranked. Other sensors all reporting fine, just no revs.
 
Finally - under the bonnet, gale blowing freezing rain up my back. Remove crank sensor, test with meter, verify reading with autodata. While it was out I also wiped the tip even though it looked ok and then put it back. Car starts first turn.... New crank sensor needed.
 
It started fine at asda, and again at home when I got back. If it won't go in the morning I'll use the focus instead.

I think I may have got the message:...
 
 

 
 
.... To be continued

Pictures please of cars you look at - especially the ones that are'nt as described ie fooked.
 
We can hold up imaginary placards with numbers on them a la eurovision.
 
Rover? Nul point.

Part of running shite, and i mean long term ownership (not bangernomics of buying cheap running till it breaks and scrapping), is maintaining it and driving it with mechanical sympathy for as long a life as possible.
 
Part of our shiter philosophy is we do not want what car makers now make for a variety of reasons, that goes hand in hand with a good ignoring of what passes as modern servicing, which means as little as possible for as short a life as possible after warranty expires so more new cars can be bought to replace them.

Full service, usually every 6 months, oil and filter, air filter, cabin filters, (fuel every other service), and sparks.
 
If I have the car a while then brake fluid and coolant too, look after them and they'll look after you.

Even with old shonkers, I get paralysed with guilt if I go past the service schedule without doing a service. I say service, I mean oil and filters. I try to keep an eye on other stuff (ie brakes) and deal with problems as they arise. Apart from the XM handbrake, which took me forever to sort out. That one was spurred on by the need for an MOT pass...
 
I haven't serviced the Prelude (sorry ROFFLERS!) and I feel terrible about it. Nippa and XM are due about now. In fact, I may have strayed over the XM's schedule by 1000 miles. Shit. 

I change the oil and filter every 6k and the other filters every 3rd service. I also give them a check over at service time. I am chancing the cambelt on the 406 though but will get round to it soon. Will be my first one and I'm scared.
 
I don't like it when people say 'I'm going to run it into the ground'. I think older cars need servicing and keeping an eye on more than newer ones. Will probably last many years longer too. It's false economy to skimp especially when service parts are so cheap and I personally enjoy working on my cars, most of the time!

This is the pit head baths of the Alice pit, (1894 to 1966) 

Once ive checked clutch out, the paul walker stickers will be coming off and will be killed with fire !!!

UPI at Inverkeithing had 2 or 3 75's in when I was there couple of weeks ago.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
But the big, some would say crucial question is - has the Paul Walker sticker been removed and burnt with actual fire yet ?

UPI at Inverkeithing had 2 or 3 75's in when I was there couple of weeks ago.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
But the big, some would say crucial question is - has the Paul Walker sticker been removed and burnt with actual fire yet ?

For further updates on the rover...watch this space, once I manage to get it home tomorrow. Any sort of history on it is good, as Alan was a bit stressed earlier on.

I love it, i would definately keep it a similar colour, what about giving it a twist eg bmw bronze, or the Honda civic bronze that they did the spaceship shape in?

Thought I'd start a thread about my old Capri since it's now reached it's turn in the que to receive a bit of attention.
 
I've actually had this since 2001, it's an early mk2, on an M reg 1974. Being an early car it's still got mk1 rear axle and single acting type rear brake set up aswell as a few other minor differences from later cars just to use up remaining mk1 parts.
It started life here in the Portsmouth area and doesn't seem to have ventured far since.
Originally a stardust silver 1.6 L poverty model, which means virtually sod all regarding luxuries. Basic 2 pod dash with black 'crackle' finish facia, no radio, no sun roof or vinyl roof, not even a centre console!
When I got to it unfortunately it had suffered severely from serious rust and latterly a vandal attack, having it's door and rear quarter panel booted in.
 
Over the next couple of years I got it sorted and a cheap re paint into roman bronze, which was a favourite colour of mine at the time. For the first year or two it seemed fine but since then things have deteriorated.
The respray wasn't good! It's thin in places and started to micro blister in various places, worst of which is all over the bonnet. The same bodyshop also did a bit of the bodywork I hadn't finished which was also pretty poor in some places.
It's always been a great driver and never struggles at mot time so I just kept on using it and doing nothing more than collecting parts now and again with a view to sort it one day.
It's also gained a few non original extras over the years like a higher spec wood effect 2 pod dash facia (which I like more than the original), a short console, brown interior instead of the utterly fucked black original, 'laser' 4 spoke alloys and a few other things.
 
Anyway, fast forward to last weekend, when I dusted it off after winter and noticed various areas of new rust coming through or older rust that's gotten worse. So the decision was made to go for a professional resto job now before I end up finding something else to distract me (like big american cars with knackered engines!).
 
1974 Ford Capri BBK244M by Dan Clark, on Flickr
Here it is as it currently stands. Looks ok from a distance but the reality is very rough around the edges and the paint is so bad in places it's becoming embarrassing!
IMG_0509 by Dan Clark, on Flickr
And the interior which I'll be re trimming into black leather at some point after the body works done.
 
It's been taken to the same place that did my Mercury's engine rebuild, since they did such a good job and they seem a good professional bunch.
I dropped it off Monday afternoon for a thorough check over to build up a list of work and get a rough quote.
Today I heard back from them.
Good news so far, I suppose. It is as solid where it counts as I thought it was. Chassis is fine, original strut tops fine, most of the back end is solid and just needs a few repairs here and there.
The worst is the bottom of the windscreen surround due to the wrong seal being used and then fitted badly causing leaks. Inner sill to A post bottom corner very scabby, front wings pretty crap, and various paint defects etc.
The engine is fine, compression all in tolerances. Suspension needs work, and some brake pipes are getting quite rusty. So far so good and no surprises!
There's still more checking to do over the next few days but it sounds alright so far.
This work should be made a bit easier by having a lot of panels and parts to fix things already. The big find being a new unused pair of front wings. Very hard to find mk2 items now, though I did have to pay for them!
 
 
The plan here is to make the car solid, reliable and good looking. I'm not making a show car or going too mad as that stuffs not my thing and if it was I'd start with a better more original car.
Some of the later add ons will be ditched like the mk3 boot spoiler that I hate! And return it to more standard looking mk2 as it should be. No go faster mods or anything like that.
The main priority is to get the body sorted and painted properly (engine out job and everything) then maybe a bit of mechanical work as needed.
The original idea was to re paint back into original stardust silver, but having thought about it I'm leaning more towards another favourite Ford colour of the era, Miami blue metallic, which is a lovely colour! Any opinions?
 
This will be another expensive project but not one I think I could do at home on the drive and do justice to, so I'd prefer to farm it out and get it right this time. It also means I can carry on working on my Transit and Granada at home without another distraction!
For anyone whose interested I'll try to update this now and then as things progress. I'll also try to get the old pics of the car from when I got it so you can see how rusty it was! Bear in mind though that I paid £100 for this car in 2001 with MOT and tax! Try doing that now.
I'm sure this is going to be worth the expense, not that I'm even considering selling it of course but I've had it so long I kind of feel obligated to do right by the car in a weird way!

Today, a ramp became available:
 

 
All hail hovercar.
 

 
Purpose of this was to check for the knocking noise when steering and check the brakes. Offside looked fine...
 

 
The nearside....oh dear oh dear.
 

 
That'll need replacing then.
 
There's definitely been something scrubbing on the shock though
 

 
And the ARB link was ballbagged. Also found the lower balljoint is shagged too, but I think I can only change the wishbone.
 

 
Bit of chafing on the wiring, added to the to-do list.
 

 
As are replacing the wheel arch trims and sourcing an undertray.
 

 
With the shopping list growing, I tackled the dent in the OSF wing. Surprised the wing hadn't rotted out with this dirt/moisture trap behind the liner.
 

 
Sound deadening consisting of a sponge in a plastic bag. As the bag had ripped at the bottom where all the moisture collects, I reinstalled it upside down so no moisture can get in.
 

 
The dirt pile, excluding the handfuls I lobbed outside. 
 

 
Cleaned out!
 

 
Wing off, showing a dirty cavity (oo-er!)
 

 

 
Before:
 

 
After:
 

 
A clean crevice is a happy crevice!
 
I did take a picture of the dent, but it hasn't shown up well, it's shown elsewhere in the topic.
 

 
Trim edge removed, taken outside and cleaned:
 

 

 
After a bit of twatting about, this was the best I could get, gone from a big dent to a little supermarket dink
 

 
Wing back on and lined up properly to stop the edge meeting the bonnet.
 

 
And parked up for the night, the silver 220D is MrsHarris'
 
Sorry it's a small update, but work has been manic!

SOC is working away on my Daimler.He has had it since Saturday.It is in for a health check,service and any work for the mot.Then a mot.
 
I have had daily updates on the progress either e-mail,phone or both.
 
SOC is a great guy.The garage and yard is full of stuff all interesting stuff.
 
EDIT:-The yard and garage is like a shiters wet dream.
 
SO ANY and ALL NORTHEAST shiters and family get your cars over to ANDY.
 
Even if you go for the crack(not that kind) a look around.
 
Scrap yard over the road,Range Rover/Jag guy over the road and a motorbike breaker's at the end of the road.All great stuff.
 
So go see ANDY.SOC..

My mother in law has chosen to leave hospital - she knows she is dying and wants to be with her family.
 
Palliative care are sorting out a plan so she will be coming back to us.
 
I would never refuse anybody their final wish.

I like these, I thought they were crap to begin with then did a lot of miles in my mother's lhd 2 litre sport, they don't handle at all but there's plenty of grip, there's a dead spot in the steering on the straight ahead, they are brilliant on the motorway and go like the clappers.
 
Where is the car located?

Brilliant cars. Roomy, pull well, reliable, nice place to sit in and surprisingly good on juice. Whilst the fan boys and badge snobs listened to Clarkson, a lot of people found out they aren't as crap as some would say.

Might be best to check the radiator hoses.....