DeeJay

Fines. Parking, speeding, reckless driving etc all if them should be a percentage of income. 

Fines. Parking, speeding, reckless driving etc all if them should be a percentage of income. 

Fines. Parking, speeding, reckless driving etc all if them should be a percentage of income. 

Fines. Parking, speeding, reckless driving etc all if them should be a percentage of income. 

Fines. Parking, speeding, reckless driving etc all if them should be a percentage of income. 

Fines. Parking, speeding, reckless driving etc all if them should be a percentage of income. 

Fines. Parking, speeding, reckless driving etc all if them should be a percentage of income. 

Like this superb photoshop…

Today is a perfect autumn day, so I took this for a good drive. And I don't know if I'm imagining this, but the brakes feel much better now with new brake fluid.
And the car ran perfectly.

It is back!

I was lucky and got my favorite mechanic on this one and he did a great job from what I can see. He changed the wheel cylinders on both sides at the back and also had to replace the brake pipes on both sides. The brake shoes were in good condition so he did not change them. Fortunately, he also managed to loosen the stuck bleed nipples.
It pays to let the pros do some jobs, he spent under 3 hours I would probably have spent at least 3 days and had a miserable time while doing it. And this was not expensive either.
He cared so much that he not only put the old wheel cylinders in the car but also wrapped them in the wrapping paper the new ones came in and put them in the box the new ones came in.

So now this has also received new brake fluid and the only fluid in the car that has not been changed is the coolant and that is planned to be changed also.
They also got all defects from the MOT approved and removed the driving ban and I have only left to show it to the authorities for the seat situation and it is an MOT pass if it goes well. I have an appointment with them in 2 weeks.  So let's hope it goes well.
And it was fantastic to drive it again, this and everything positive that has happened today has done wonders for my mood and mind.
I also got the new brake connections covered in wax after I got it home, which should prevent them from rusting together.

 
So a good day this. And a big thank you to everyone here for help and encouragement I really appreciate it.

The Merc has a mot pass.

Park the car in the house and say "two can play at that game".

Get back round there and piss in the cupboard. 

Stack light.

Phil

Newest turd to polish.
 
Thanks @Rocket88

Sally will be taking me to the station in a bit for the 3.5 hr trains ordeal.
Let’s hope no cancellations.
Last night she came over for dinner and predictably in her usual dry way just said: “YOU WILL BE NEEDING THIS”

Presenting the VAX Wet/Dry vacuum cleaner. 
Included a new bottle of shampoo, which it will be needing.

[URL=https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/mm90/niknakpix/02A75DCB-E580-4D7A-9D1A-4A3C9568BD93.jpeg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds][IMG]https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/mm90/niknakpix/02A75DCB-E580-4D7A-9D1A-4A3C9568BD93.jpeg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds[/IMG][/URL]

From the very very limited information at hand, I know one of the first stops will be a serious deep clean.
Then the usual new car investigation to make a list of broken, worn, missing bits. 
And then the fun starts.
Again.

The mot on the Merc went worse than thought and have a ballache now getting it to pass.

Had a look up in the arch. Not as bad as I had feared.

Cut out the thin metal and made a plan how to continue.

Took more metal out and fully welded the new patch in.

Welds seem to have taken okay. Better than what was holding it all together before...

Shitfire tinkerage take 2. 
I had a tweak of the timing and dizzy again, swapped the condensor for one that was in the boot.  It appeared a bit better bit still spluttery.
I popped the tops of the carbs again and dediced to have a more indepth look. This time i popped the tops off the float chambers and this revealed alot of crud at the bottom and far less fuel in one than the other, a blow throw to check and sure enough its clogged.  
I cleared the blockage, cleaned out the bowls and set the carbs to a default setting and balanced them.  
A test drive and all seems well so far. 
With the car nice and hot the pump was deployed and then some fresh 20w50 oil lobbed in. 

 
The sun out and the photogenic tree looking awesome it was time for a photo.

 
 

Shitfire tinkerage. 
Previously i had a quick fidget with the carbs and got the balance where it sounded okay and a test drive seemed it was running better.  But once i revisted the car and it was cooled off a bit it was running still a bit shit.  Yesterday i took the carbs appart and reset everything to start from scratch. The front carb was set much richer that the other. Ive tweaked it again and balanced them and it seems to be running sweetly. Ill fired it up for a spin later and see what its like from cold. 
While in the workshop i set to address the makeshift overflow tank.

Thankfully the water in the system seems nice and clean however while functional the tank is a bit shit looking. 

Thankfully after a bit of googling and checking who had them in stock, the correct spitfire tank has been obtained from a local supplier. It didnt fit the OEM bracket so i had to modify it a bit and put in some rubber to grip it better, but thats cheap aftermarket parts for you (£2!) .

So, I reconvened this afternoon and got those very rusty nuts off. There's no substitute for oxyacetylene and a well fitting socket! 

 
With the exhaust out the way, next job was to get the gearbox out... Even the driveshafts came out of the hubs ok which is rare for these Focii! I noticed a split lower ball joint cover on the offside front.. which is annoying as I need to check if it's replaceable or moulded. If it's moulded then it can wait until MOT time because the ball joint itself is fine.

 
Gearbox out, not much left holding the engine in! 

 
Rigged up a very Autoshite-style engine support because the engine crane was blocked in by another car and numerous obstacles which I couldn't be arsed to shift out the way. Worked a treat though! 

 
Lowered the engine onto the tyres, undid the engine mount and then lowered the engine support, and it's on its way out! Like an elephant giving birth

 
Raise the car, and she's out! 

 
Is there a prize for winning cambelt roulette? 🤣

 
And that's all for now folks! Now to get everything ordered. The clutch is still in excellent condition so I'll be reusing that, but I'll probably replace the concentric slave cylinder while the box is out. New cambelt kit for the new engine if it needs it, and most importantly, finding the best donor engine!
I'll pilferage as many salvageable parts off the old engine to reuse/keep/sell, and then lob the carcass in the scrap! 
Had a gander at the rear brakes, all I can tell is that the friction material seems very brittle and crumbly so that may be the cause of the persistent noise I was experiencing, I wonder if the shoes have been previously contaminated 

Treated myself to smaller impact gun to help with painfull hands at times... bloody advert didn't say it was usa plug... had to take money out my hair transplant fund's to buy a voltage converter...

That's absolutely fucking horrible.  And I love it.

Barbara Cartland Dave Lee Travis dog is 13 today (photograph copywrite of DATE STAMP GARAGES the day we actually got him)

He's led a (mostly) charmed life
  

I know, but I needed to pad my list out for comedic effect 😅