dome

I'll have a random please!

Whatever happened to this old heap? I found myself looking at pictures of it and whimpering softly the other day. Isolation's a terrible thing...

I'm working from home today but will take a moment at 11am to think of Richard and you too Robin. I'll raise a glass to you both tonight.

They do but I'm not a fan of aftermarket/replica alloys. These aren't the original alloys for mine but are the same as the facelifted S4. They suit the car though so I'll keep them on it.

Well, as we're all going stir crazy at home what better time to update this thread? So, in February i went on holiday to Budapest. Remember when we could do things like that? We took the Audi to the airport and on the way I remember feeling a particularly nasty pothole. It seemed to drive fine so i never thought any more of it. However about a week after we got back i went to give it a wash and noticed this. Arses. I got some quotes to get it repaired and them all refurbed at the same time. Bugger me it's expensive? I also looked around at alloys for sale but couldn't find anything I liked. i eventually found a place in Glenrothes who gave a decent quote. The S4 got advisories on it's 2 rear tires at its MOT and obviously the front needed replaced after the impact so a full set of Rainsport 5s were ordered up. I've fitted these to the Kangoo too and first impressions are good. Side note- since I've bought Rainsports for both my fleet the rainfall in Scotland has dropped. You're welcome. Of course after i dropped the wheels and tires off at the place we're now in lockdown so i can't collect them as they are shut. It's not an issue just now as I can't drive it anywhere anyway, i also decided to start doing some more work at the same time. It's getting: 2 new wings- i got a set from a local bodyshop painted for a good price. Rocker cover gaskets replaced Oil check valves replaced-these stop oil from draining back out of the heads when you switch it off. Oil change at the same time Some of my underseal from 18 months ago needs redone. New aux belt It currently looks like this, an absence of a T45 Torx bit to complete the removal of the front end has slowed things down. Once it's in service position (the front end can be moved forward a few inches to allow access to the front of the engine, or removed completely by draining the coolant and AC lines) I can get access to carry on stripping it down. Kangoo I finally got round to fitting the rest of the exhaust yesterday. As the Kangoo system exits on the opposite side to the Clio 172 system i bought some modification was necessary-i had to chop the pipe going into the back box and modify this to get the over axle angle right. I've got it mounted up now and ready, I haven't driven it yet to see if it's going to need modified but it seems a lot better noise wise and looks well hung, Fnarr. I also, courtesy of Mr Tickman, acquired an EPAS steering column from a base model Clio which will be used for the conversion. A separate controller has also been ordered to fool the EPAS ECU into working, this also gives me a wee knob I can use to vary the level of assistance. I'll get the timing belt kit ordered up and that can be another lockdown task-I'll be removing the aircon pump and p/s pump when I do this.

I had this little honey for a brief spell last year. Lovely as it was it was no use to me so I passed it on to a mate who uses it as his daily. It was a 1.3 Auto too. Definitely more at home around town but it drove very well. I'm a big convert to Toyota for the way they build stuff generally.

If you're ever near Fife I'd like to change your mind about MR2s. Mine is a MK3 with 190 bhp, it also weighs under 1000kgs...

This thread needs to be more small van big engine inclusive. My sensible* daily, a Kangoo van with a 2.0 16v engine from a Clio 182.

No. Just No.

I was shocked when I found this out. He was a genuinely lovely chap and it was always a pleasure to spend some time in his company. My abiding memory-when I announced I was going to fit an 8 track to the scimitar he turned up at the next Scotoshite with a couple of 8 track tapes for me. Sadly I never got the 8 track but those tapes are going nowhere.

Excellent work. Enjoy Mull and keep us posted!

Some more progress on this (sorry @Tickman!!) However, this is to be my daily so i need it in order. Also I hit a pothole with the S4 and am struggling to get anyone to repair the wheel and resore all 4 for under £300. I'm therefore not too keen on driving it too much just now. The tyre looks OK but I don't trust it. Last week i went to my mates unit where we (OK, mostly his mate) fitted 4 new Rainsport 5s in place of the 10 year old Nexens. I have grip again! The trip computer seems to work, here's what it reported on a steady 10 mile commute Exactly what I want to see! (I know, it needs a clean inside...) On Saturday morning I fitted the new inner tie rod. A chopped down 32mm water pump spanner made this easy to do and it drives a lot better now the steering gear has no free play... Here's what I have beneath the arches New standard Renault dampers Random lowering springs-I'd like to find some slightly longer ones but it'll be a bit of a lottery and raising the rear torsion beam to match will be a pain in the ass. New discs and pads New H&R spacers(required for the 15" wheels to clear the rear and it does look pretty good on them and doesn't seem to rub. And generally decent condition for 16 years old and 155k miles on the shell. A new set of plugs arrived so they got fitted, here's the state of the old ones... On Sunday I went to B&Q and bought some MDF, several hours later i had a bulkhead fitted. Plan is to carpet the cabin side-can anyone advise on a suitable (cheap) covering? It's made it a good bit quieter, it's still fooking loud though so i think completing the exhaust is the next mission. Then i can look at the EPAS conversion and timing belt change. They'll need to be done at the same time ideally as the whole aux belt setup changes when you convert to EPAS.

Heading to Chester are we? Perhaps swapping for something German?

Nah, she's still earning her keep. It got a shock replaced under warranty by KYB as it shat all its oil out, other than that it'll be getting a fettle for some more track days this season. Duncan has it as his daily so it gets some use. He's on holiday this week so I might take it a spin at some point though😁

Just to clarify in case anyone has any doubts, this is insured as what it is through a specialist broker and the DVLA WILL be informed of the engine change. There's none of this "still 1.5 on the logbook M9 so cheap tax" as tax is bloody expensive anyway (£230).