Joey spud

Straight forward service parts are easy enough to get from most motor factors but anything more model specific can eventually found on Ebay.
 
A guy called Giles up near Halifax is a bit of a hero and has remanufactured stuff like wings and tailgate skins in fibreglass and recently imported a shipping container brimmed full of bits back from Oz.
 
I used to have a good little Subaru / Suzuki / TVR dealer in Ditton (sort of Maidstone area) that would always search for stuff and if it was still available order it for me but they closed down a while back and i don't know where the next nearest dealer is.
 
Rockauto in the U.S are the go to supplier and are really good,their website is excellent and prices are very cheap (complete new driveshaft just £28) but obviously the killer is the cost of shipping so it pays to do one big shop and try and order everything from one warehouse and not different ones scattered around the country that way you only pay for postage from one location.
 
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/subaru,1985,brat,1.8l+h4,1267747

Straight forward service parts are easy enough to get from most motor factors but anything more model specific can eventually found on Ebay.
 
A guy called Giles up near Halifax is a bit of a hero and has remanufactured stuff like wings and tailgate skins in fibreglass and recently imported a shipping container brimmed full of bits back from Oz.
 
I used to have a good little Subaru / Suzuki / TVR dealer in Ditton (sort of Maidstone area) that would always search for stuff and if it was still available order it for me but they closed down a while back and i don't know where the next nearest dealer is.
 
Rockauto in the U.S are the go to supplier and are really good,their website is excellent and prices are very cheap (complete new driveshaft just £28) but obviously the killer is the cost of shipping so it pays to do one big shop and try and order everything from one warehouse and not different ones scattered around the country that way you only pay for postage from one location.
 
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/subaru,1985,brat,1.8l+h4,1267747

With the gearboxes side by side i tired to to unscrew the speedo cable but i was just chewing up the hexagon bit.

I dont have a spare cable and getting one would be a bit of a hunt so i reluctantly ended up using a cutting disc and slicing into the gearbox where the threads are allowing me to hit it with lots of plusgas which eventually got it moving without totally wrecking it.

But doing this has make a bit of a mess of the old gearbox but if i ever need to use it again i reckon some chemical metal would bodge it up ok.

I had ordered a new release bearing from Rock auto in the U.S last year but it was the wrong one.



The bearing was correct but the carrier it was pressed onto wasn't but i was able to swap it over onto my old carrier.

I had also bought some gearbox mounts at the same time and these did fit.





So that'll do it can go back in again now.

Time to get the incontinent,noisey gearbox out today.

The driveshafts are secured with a roll pin and because the gearbox was loose i was able to yank it left and right to release and remove them without having to drop the bottom balljoints which was a result.

Everything came undone ok except the speedo cable which is plastic and screws into the alloy box but 29 years later it was not moving so i had to release the cable from the back of the dash and pull it through the bulkhead instead.





I was hoping i could drop the box downwards and drag it out from below but it's a heavy bugger and my backs not as good as it once was so i hooked the crane on it and pulled it up and out instead.


 
Blue rope and my best Granny knot,proper shitting right there..
 


That's err better ??

I took the dog out for a walk earlier and it started raining so the Hound (Boggy the Beagle) and i sheltered in the pub (as you do) and i decided to pull the valves out of a head when i got back home.



Well there's a fair bit of oil on the backs of the inlet valves but their guides and seals still seemed in good nick.
Unlike the exhaust guides that are really baggy.



So that have i learnt from all this ?

Well a couple of pints of "Proper job" Cornish ale at three in the afternoon didn't help with the diagnosing process one bit.

Straight forward service parts are easy enough to get from most motor factors but anything more model specific can eventually found on Ebay.
 
A guy called Giles up near Halifax is a bit of a hero and has remanufactured stuff like wings and tailgate skins in fibreglass and recently imported a shipping container brimmed full of bits back from Oz.
 
I used to have a good little Subaru / Suzuki / TVR dealer in Ditton (sort of Maidstone area) that would always search for stuff and if it was still available order it for me but they closed down a while back and i don't know where the next nearest dealer is.
 
Rockauto in the U.S are the go to supplier and are really good,their website is excellent and prices are very cheap (complete new driveshaft just £28) but obviously the killer is the cost of shipping so it pays to do one big shop and try and order everything from one warehouse and not different ones scattered around the country that way you only pay for postage from one location.
 
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/subaru,1985,brat,1.8l+h4,1267747

Time to get the incontinent,noisey gearbox out today.

The driveshafts are secured with a roll pin and because the gearbox was loose i was able to yank it left and right to release and remove them without having to drop the bottom balljoints which was a result.

Everything came undone ok except the speedo cable which is plastic and screws into the alloy box but 29 years later it was not moving so i had to release the cable from the back of the dash and pull it through the bulkhead instead.





I was hoping i could drop the box downwards and drag it out from below but it's a heavy bugger and my backs not as good as it once was so i hooked the crane on it and pulled it up and out instead.


 
Blue rope and my best Granny knot,proper shitting right there..
 


That's err better ??

After letting the paint settle for a few days I spotted a couple of dimples so I dripped some primer into them with a wire and let them harden then sanded back after another couple of days.
 
 

 

 
I’m taking everything very slowly, being sure to allow at least a couple of days between coats to let layers cure properly, and also because it’s really bloody hot in overalls, gloves and a charcoal vapour mask so I’m avoiding the hottest excesses of the scarily hot summer weather.
 

 

 

 

 

 
I’m aware that it’s much more important to get a good finish on the badge panel than on the vertical bits of paintwork because it will reflect the light more, and will also be the bit people look at more as it’s a focal point for the car. So I tried really hard to get the surface well prepared, I did my best spraying technique and managed to achieve a nice smooth coat on the badge panel, and then it rained.
 

 
And then it dried out and got hot again, so all the overspray on the masking tape and paper that I’d masked the lights with went soggy and then dried and went crispy and fluffy. I didn’t want any of this getting blown into my lovely wet paint job so I had to remove it all, hoover it all up and re-mask it all again. Thanks weather for making it as difficult as possible to get stuff done.
 

 

 

 
Badge panel ended up looking OK, so I removed the masking and the car started to look a just a bit more like a normal white car again. A bit. I was working on the badge panel, bumper, wing and valance in tandem across the summer, but to keep it simple I’ll pretend they were separate jobs…
 

 

 

 

 

I was digging through my spares bin and discovered I had a spare Porsche badge so I thought I’d try a bit harder to pop the existing one off the badge panel, knowing that if I broke it I could use the spare.
 

 

 

 
It popped off with ease, which was a lovely surprise. They’re both quite different to each other, but share a part number. Not sure which one to put back on as they both look a bit, er, characterful.
 

 
Will need to get a new rubber under gasket though as this one had shrunk and distorted over the years. So now with the badge removed I don’t need to mask it or avoid painting it, so I can just paint the whole badge panel, which makes that whole job much more simple.
 


 
 
 

It's March, therefore it's spring which means it's time for the bx to come out of hibernation. Great fun driving into work until the first of the water temperature warning lamps came on. A quick check at the side of the road and it didn't seem like it was a hot engine so onwards with the journey watching for the next warning light like a hawk. However the first warning light went back of and he drove perfect the rest of the way. On the way home the same thing again. I'm going to change the thermostat incase it's gone lazy while it's been parked up. The main radiator hoses didn't feel overly hot so I'm hoping it's just a thermostat issue.

 
Sent from my TA-1012 using Tapatalk

I’ve yet to fashion an advert for it but my 1972 Ford Cortina GXL is soon for sale.
 
It’ll be mot’d before it goes, £6500 will be it’s price elsewhere but shiters price will be £6000.

i don't befuckinglieve it !
 

 

my collection target is already well known on these pages but has been standing untouched for several days and has a dicky battery - just another exciting* variable in my already fun day

Mini Moke. Jeep Wrangler. Motorbike.
 
Any van with a sliding driver's door.
 
 
Doors are overrated

Straight forward service parts are easy enough to get from most motor factors but anything more model specific can eventually found on Ebay.
 
A guy called Giles up near Halifax is a bit of a hero and has remanufactured stuff like wings and tailgate skins in fibreglass and recently imported a shipping container brimmed full of bits back from Oz.
 
I used to have a good little Subaru / Suzuki / TVR dealer in Ditton (sort of Maidstone area) that would always search for stuff and if it was still available order it for me but they closed down a while back and i don't know where the next nearest dealer is.
 
Rockauto in the U.S are the go to supplier and are really good,their website is excellent and prices are very cheap (complete new driveshaft just £28) but obviously the killer is the cost of shipping so it pays to do one big shop and try and order everything from one warehouse and not different ones scattered around the country that way you only pay for postage from one location.
 
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/subaru,1985,brat,1.8l+h4,1267747

Has any attempt been made to rotate the engine yet ??
 
Asking for a friend,honest..

I think a petrol van is a winning idea.
 
Back in the early 90's a mate had a new 1.6 petrol Astra van and he was mocked for not buying a 1.7 diesel.
 
But back then the petrol version was far quieter,much quicker and an altogether better van for doing daily runs around the south east.
 
Even the fuel consumption was similar.
 
My first job was at a Vauxhall dealership and i can remember a customer ordered a pair of B reg poo brown 1.6 diesel Astra vans both fitted with GM 3 speed automatic transmissions.
 
As expected these poor things were absolutely awful.

At least the side skirts would hide the rotten sills . I was welding these up for their first MOT !
I’d have it on a ramp and give it a really really good check over before spending any money and time on it .
 
But if you go ahead please make sure it has a bad boy bonnet for the full 90’s look

Right. I'm now using the escort van from work, and strangely liking it. I've had a bit of a mad idea.. I have use of a spares van at work that has surprisingly rust free shell. Would it be possible to transfer everything off a well specced Escort car into the shell. I'm thinking petrol auto, a/c etc. Is there any reason why it wouldn't work?

1. Yes it would.
2. No there isn't, none at all.
Go for it, sounds good. All basic stuff to swap over.
A 'standard Ford spec' Escort Ghia van, I really like the idea. No silly aftermarket wheels or tat.
Could actually be worth a bit of coin in the future if you do it right. The parts are still available very cheaply at the moment but are disappearing fast.
 
The sort of project the late Hendry would have loved.
A 'special vehicle order' van ordered from the factory.

I'm sure I've read no4 running hot is a classic Impreza problem. I think it was a fuel rail issue so probably not related but a bit of heritage eh.

With the gearboxes side by side i tired to to unscrew the speedo cable but i was just chewing up the hexagon bit.

I dont have a spare cable and getting one would be a bit of a hunt so i reluctantly ended up using a cutting disc and slicing into the gearbox where the threads are allowing me to hit it with lots of plusgas which eventually got it moving without totally wrecking it.

But doing this has make a bit of a mess of the old gearbox but if i ever need to use it again i reckon some chemical metal would bodge it up ok.

I had ordered a new release bearing from Rock auto in the U.S last year but it was the wrong one.



The bearing was correct but the carrier it was pressed onto wasn't but i was able to swap it over onto my old carrier.

I had also bought some gearbox mounts at the same time and these did fit.





So that'll do it can go back in again now.

Time to get the incontinent,noisey gearbox out today.

The driveshafts are secured with a roll pin and because the gearbox was loose i was able to yank it left and right to release and remove them without having to drop the bottom balljoints which was a result.

Everything came undone ok except the speedo cable which is plastic and screws into the alloy box but 29 years later it was not moving so i had to release the cable from the back of the dash and pull it through the bulkhead instead.





I was hoping i could drop the box downwards and drag it out from below but it's a heavy bugger and my backs not as good as it once was so i hooked the crane on it and pulled it up and out instead.


 
Blue rope and my best Granny knot,proper shitting right there..
 


That's err better ??

With the gearboxes side by side i tired to to unscrew the speedo cable but i was just chewing up the hexagon bit.

I dont have a spare cable and getting one would be a bit of a hunt so i reluctantly ended up using a cutting disc and slicing into the gearbox where the threads are allowing me to hit it with lots of plusgas which eventually got it moving without totally wrecking it.

But doing this has make a bit of a mess of the old gearbox but if i ever need to use it again i reckon some chemical metal would bodge it up ok.

I had ordered a new release bearing from Rock auto in the U.S last year but it was the wrong one.



The bearing was correct but the carrier it was pressed onto wasn't but i was able to swap it over onto my old carrier.

I had also bought some gearbox mounts at the same time and these did fit.





So that'll do it can go back in again now.

I took the dog out for a walk earlier and it started raining so the Hound (Boggy the Beagle) and i sheltered in the pub (as you do) and i decided to pull the valves out of a head when i got back home.



Well there's a fair bit of oil on the backs of the inlet valves but their guides and seals still seemed in good nick.
Unlike the exhaust guides that are really baggy.



So that have i learnt from all this ?

Well a couple of pints of "Proper job" Cornish ale at three in the afternoon didn't help with the diagnosing process one bit.