tooSavvy

Well, as is always the way, stuff happened and I didn't spend as much time on this as I'd like. But with a local trial coming up in October, I decided to pull my finger out!
First up was the brakes. The rear flexis were now well shot, so they were replaced, and the brakes finally bled and operational. The washer pump had died, so a temp one has been lashed in for now. The indicators decided not to work, but a bit of contact cleaning sorted that. 
The big one was the exhaust. As a temp measure I have used an 1 1/4 standard mini exhaust, and a load of stainless polylock tube. It works, but it will be replaced once I can get around to building a proper system for it. 
This was the scene at the time of the work 😂

This is the manifold I've got in so far.

I'M ALIVE!
Ahem, sorry. This is newsworthy because i have been trying, on and off, for weeks, to compress a front spring on the Chrysler Voyager, after the top mount and the top of the strut parted company (how, I'm not yet sure, as the top is still covered up by scuttle, sound insulation, assorted wires and pipes).
Whatever, the strut, top mount and spring have to come out to find out what needs replacing, so the spring, a quite stout item, supporting as it does, over a quarter of the GVW of a (Grand) Voyager, needs to come out. 
Anyway, everyone who has been aware of this has shaken their head and expressed what widow makers non-hydraulic, non-floor mounted spring compressors are - even the man in the local parts shop who sold me a beefier pair for this job. "I really don't like selling these" he goes. "Everyone i know who has ever used them has been injured. Haven't they Bob?"
Bob, the other customer present, replies:
"Oh, aye. That young lad at the garage next door, he's been using them years. Still, had one slip on him and now he's got a plate in his head"
Etc etc..
So it is with some surprise and not a little jubilation that i have at least completed the first stage of this apparently potentially life threatening or at least life-changing-injury-rich pastime...
Wish me luck

Spot the slow update process.

dont know if it was just a my-end DNS wobble or such, but just now autoshite.com was failing to resolve for me, just thought I would mention it just incase!

Full disclosure, I used furniture connector bolts to keep the filters on which maybe wasn't the most technically sound idea, but it was the only ones I could get my hands on that were the right length.
Today I replaced them with proper M8 long bolts and nyloc nuts which should hopefully last at least a week.

Minor adjustment to the exhaust. The back box was smacking the old exhaust hanger bracket because the little strap that came with it was a miserable length.
Fixed that by adding an extra bit of galv plate to drop it.

Seems to do the job ok.

It might be worth topping up the carburettor dashpots with some 20/50, as they are what provide the mixture enrichment when the accelerator is given a poke.
The equivalent of the accelerator pump on a fixed jet carb.
Top up to within ½" of the top of the hollow piston rod 

Been trying to sell it since last year, these idiots think  they're gunna make a killing coz escorts sell for mega money even LHD ( but these are very hard to convert to rhd) lack of home work.

It got later and I annoyed everyone.
Feels like it's added 30bhp, breathes so much more freely.  Not noisy either.
Then it tried to chuck an air filter off on the motorway.
Better bolts enroute. You'd think for 50 odd quid they'd include fixings..

Cheers, but I've not got much choice - ideally it needs to be MOT'd and on the road in just over a month so I can iron out the last kinks before it goes continental!

I'm actually losing 10 days in the middle as we're going to the Netherlands to meet @chatsharris new baby and have our first family holiday. I've been in touch with the engine chap and he's said if I can drop it off before we depart on the 31st, he'll get the work done and ready for collection by the time we get back. Also getting him to face the head, it makes sense at this point to have one person doing all the big jobs for continuity. I won't be resting though, there's plenty to be getting on with whilst they're away!
Thank for those kind words, I'm hoping I can get MrsH to take it to shows with our daughter, the boys will be in the Beat! It'll never be a show-winner as the paintwork is really poor, but it'll be an appreciated retro classic that'll get used as it should be! 
In terms of hours, I get home from work around half 4, get the overalls on for a pair of hours, come in to help MrsH with giving the kids tea/bath/bedtime, then I'm back in the garage for around half 8 for another pair of hours. A lot of the time is spent just staring at something and trying to think of the most logical way to go about it, other people would call it dithering! I'm just pleased the garage is warm and dry, I've got a good stereo system in there, and there's always cold beer in the fridge. Even got a camp bed and sleeping bag in the rafters in case MrsH has really had enough of me being in there all the time 😂

Yes you can but when I have done it from another forum the text comes up highlighted in white. I tansfer it to another text editor then paste across.

Thanks, have placed an order.

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

AS I bring sad news. The AS communal bike that is the Rover 25 GTI is dead.
She let go on me on the motorway on Monday night. I lost a cylinder while driving closely followed by plumes of white smoke.
I also gained some serious blowby on the dipstick which is never a good sign

Five hours later I got recovered...

I had a delve into the cylinders. Did a compression test.
200. 200. 200. 0.
Oh dear. Bore scope time

RIP GTI. Long live the GTI.
While I can repair this kind of failure I don't have the time or inclination with this car. However all is not lost. @sharley17194 has decided to take ownership and attempt to fix it/add it to his pile of scrap cars.

Got to say i’m really glad @Weird Car bought it as having younger people prepared to get stuck in with old cars is fantastic. And this isnt, say, an allegro, its a rolls royce silver shad! Looking forward to fun road trip / general updates!
For me this is what enjoying older cars is all about, id happily put a flamethrower to all carcoon / dehumidified air chambers. Driving is living imo.

Begone, pea shooter.
 

 
Had to retap one of the threads on the head as idiot here used a wrong thread pitch manifold stud off another car.  
 

 
CHONK PIPE
 






 
It won't start now as I've fucked up the idle screws and choke position, and it got dark. So I'll have to wait till later to annoy everyone.

Love IMPs, me... 🥳😉
 
 


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Pistonheads is a superb site where everyone is made really welcome whether you have a Lada or a Lamborghini.

Yes, this is definitely the first place you’d come to when deciding what’s cool. 😄

It's not so bad you know.  E.g this year
S class
S124
Shad
P38
Galaxy
MGF
 
It's one car every two weeks.  Keep up at the back!

So the P38 and the shadow have gone?
Replaced with an MGF?
An anti climax on a par with going to see Star Wars the Phantom Menace.

Motorist Discount Centres,bloody hell, there's a blast from the past!Remember Emergency Spares as well.

First order arrived in 4 days which is quicker than stuff I've ordered on ebay for my daily!
I then started on the fuel tank & straps. Removed the control arms on the rear axle & any brackets for the brake lines, exhaust & fuel line clips. I intend on getting as many parts media blasted, so I can paint clean metal.
Bushes should arrive today so I can burn out the old ones before painting the arms.
 

Engine out or head off? Chose your poison

Love IMPs, me... 🥳😉
 
 


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