Six Cylinders Motoring Notes - Progress with the Mini Mayfair, if a little slow.

[Liggle]

On 11/7/2021 at 9:19 AM, Six-cylinder said:

 To me it seems a very special car and nothing to do with the current crop of new cars.

I know burn the heretic!

Yes they are the most appealing new 'regular' (ish) car at the moment in my opinion

On 11/7/2021 at 10:54 AM, Zelandeth said:

Can't imagine using one as a daily as I imagine the ride in particular is bloody uncomfortable, they sound like epic fun as a weekend toy though.

They are perfectly daily-able, it rides better than my R53 JCW Mini does but is about on the limit for firmness, I have the Circuit Pack though. @Wackhas a standard one which rides better.  The only drawback with daily driving is the road noise on the motorway but it has a stereo and decent induction noise so thats easily overcome

[Wack]

On 11/7/2021 at 10:54 AM, Zelandeth said:

Can't imagine using one as a daily as I imagine the ride in particular is bloody uncomfortable, they sound like epic fun as a weekend toy though.

Mine is surprisingly comfortable , I'd have no problems with using it as a daily even if I worked 25 miles away , mine is a standard car though , no track suspension, don't know if the dunlops are quieter that the michelins on the circuit pack but I can't say road noise bothers me , you don't have to raise your voice on the motorway though I did read a post on the GR forum about a guy adding some sound deadening in the boot  which made it much quieter for only a few KG

[Six-cylinder]

2 hours ago, Wack said:

Mine is surprisingly comfortable , I'd have no problems with using it as a daily even if I worked 25 miles away , mine is a standard car though , no track suspension, don't know if the dunlops are quieter that the michelins on the circuit pack but I can't say road noise bothers me , you don't have to raise your voice on the motorway though I did read a post on the GR forum about a guy adding some sound deadening in the boot  which made it much quieter for only a few KG

My friend Don who has GR was disappointed with the gearchange and has fitted a short shifter kit which he likes very much.

[Wack]

3 hours ago, Six-cylinder said:

My friend Don who has GR was disappointed with the gearchange and has fitted a short shifter kit which he likes very much.

I think I'll be leaving mine standard , done 1100 miles in it now , not found anything I'm unhappy with , though I think I'll stick some deadening mats in the boot after reading this 

. I stuck 4 Dodo type sound deadening mats in the boot - two on the steel floor and two on the bit of the wheelarches I could get to. I also put a piece of sound deadening foam/vinyl/foam about 20mm thick under the boot carpet. What a difference and added only a couple of kg in weight.

 

[richardmorris]

Any love for a diesel visa?

[Six-cylinder]

40 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

Any love for a diesel visa?

I think it is this car, when I last saw it 5 years ago it looked like it needed a lot of work. I can't remember the details unfortunately.

I think it is worth having even if it ends up as a spares car, but we have too many cars on site.

[Mrs6C]

Calling @hairnet! How about another Visa for you?

[hairnet]

if id caught that in 14 then what was wrong is no problem

cant weld if it needs that

[Six-cylinder]

Today Clio met Zoe and they had a nice chat, I don’t know what they said as it was in French!

The real car story for today is Keith, @beko1987 wicked step dad came over to help me with the Toledo parts required list.

I have bought lots of parts as I saw them but needed to inspect them to check there condition and found that one of the indicator units has a stuck screw and one of the headlight pods is missing its retaining ring. I still need to find some of the parts I have bought, I have got a list and also the parts needed list to see if any more progress can be made getting all the parts I need. The forecast said dry but unfortunately it rained and it was all a bit hurried in the end.

I am then thinking of a cold and miserable winter Mini FoD to see what parts can be fitting as I am sure we won’t know the whole list until we have started reassembling it.

[chaseracer]

57 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

I am then thinking of a cold and miserable winter Mini FoD

I'm in 😀

[hairnet]

9 minutes ago, chaseracer said:

I'm in 😀

he said fod not fud

[beko1987]

Don't work him too hard, he's retired now 😂 Having sat in the front of both cars (well, a few Clio's, although not this one) the Clip will feel the roomiest! 

Keith's good at soldering and electronics if it helps... 

Grim fod day sounds good, if I can make it I will 👍

[Six-cylinder]

25 minutes ago, beko1987 said:

Keith's good at soldering and electronics if it helps... 

I have found the entire front wiring loom is missing for the lights and horns.

[beko1987]

Best add it to the list... 

Although if it plugs in either end with simple spades a new loom shouldn't be too hard? 

It'll be doing it at the fod, in the rain and wind that'll make it a tricky job 👍☔

[chaseracer]

I made the front loom for the 2CV racer and that still worked at the end of the 24-hour, so we could certainly have a go!

[Six-cylinder]

To my surprise I got a letter from BMW yesterday about a recall on my 23 year old E36 323i. Supernaut has it now and I have PMed him. I had phoned BMW customer service and they say he should just contact his local dealer.

Strange thing is there is no recall for my 1996 E36 328i.

[Yoss]

On 11/11/2021 at 8:17 PM, Six-cylinder said:

I have found the entire front wiring loom is missing for the lights and horns.

Do you have the headlights and do they have any wires attached? Because what is missing is probably not very much. And they probably attach to the clump of wires in the bottom left corner. 

My 1300 is the other way round. The main loom runs down the drivers side. Then a mini loom runs off the offside headlight/indicator along the front of the car to nearside lights, but there's not much to it. 

[Six-cylinder]

The headlights and all the wiring and fittings are missing, I bought some pods and just yesterday some new headlights, but they are bare.

[Yoss]

Ah, OK. Should still be fairly simple. I know on mine the headlamp wiring is purple or purple/white so easy to find and simply use those rubber bullet connectors. Yours may not be purple but it'll be listed in the wiring diagram if you have one. 

[Six-cylinder]

My thread, so more Clio this evening just because I like it!

[hairnet]

least you didnt yplac this time

 

[AnthonyG]

On 11/13/2021 at 9:50 PM, Six-cylinder said:

The headlights and all the wiring and fittings are missing, I bought some pods and just yesterday some new headlights, but they are bare.

That’s proper NOS, probably been in a warehouse for 40 years! 

I’m surprised Cibie bothered to make parts for Triumphs but their factories were probably a lot less strike prone than Lucas’s…Maybe they were a premium upgrade for your Toledo/Allegro/Avenger when the PoD ones died after two years! 

[High Jetter]

8 minutes ago, AnthonyG said:

I’m surprised Cibie bothered to make parts for Triumphs

They were the No 1 rally (or rallye) spots in the 70s & 80s. Tarts, for any manufacturer.

[Six-cylinder]

10 hours ago, AnthonyG said:

That’s proper NOS, probably been in a warehouse for 40 years! 

I’m surprised Cibie bothered to make parts for Triumphs but their factories were probably a lot less strike prone than Lucas’s…Maybe they were a premium upgrade for your Toledo/Allegro/Avenger when the PoD ones died after two years! 

I believe they were generic just like the round ones. I also think Capri MK1, Hunter, Chevette, Viva, Metro and  Victor FE had them.

I remember in the early 1980s having them on the shelve in the motor parts store I ran. We did not sell anywhere near as many as round ones and I can't remember what brand they were.

Add Maybe Acclaim?

[Six-cylinder]

Another day and a different flavour today!

We went to an MG Car club lunch today, my MGs are in storage so the E320 Coupe got an outing. I was first there and set the line for our cars and ended up having to give my place to a late coming MG while the Morris 1000 kept its place!

When I got home the light was just fading and made Richard Morris's W124 look stunning.

[wuvvum]

Ooh, is that one in the middle an M-Type?  They really are tiddly aren't they - even the TD looks mahoosive next to it.

[richardmorris]

Glad you like it. 

[Six-cylinder]

Another day a different car!

Today I collected the Chrysler Sebring now with a fresh MOT and It drives very nicely. The only problem is sometimes the immobiliser won't let the car start. We thought we had a replacement ECU and chip but it turns out that was for a latter car. My first choice now would be to eliminate the immobiliser and in the USA there are companies that do that but I can't find one close in the UK.

[wuvvum]

Just convert it to a four-barrel Holley and junk the ECU altogether.

[Six-cylinder]

16 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

Just convert it to a four-barrel Holley and junk the ECU altogether.

And we need two more cylinders!