Soundwave's selection of scabby stuffs - MOT time

[grogee]

I papped that scimitar at our show... I'll have to stalk him introduce myself next time. 

Brown go-faster stripe. 

[Soundwave]

You should tell him that Princess Anne had one, I expect he's never* been informed of that before.

[Soundwave]

Today, I had another package land on the doormat. As you can see, it contained important things:



The package was from @filthyjohn, one of the Saab's previous owners. I'd tracked down the car's history file to him, and asked if he could send it, and he very generously obliged, so thank you!

And here it is, the Saab's history pack... I love stuff like this, even if it doesn't actually make any physical difference to the car itself!



Manuals, service records, old MOTs and V5s, receipts going back decades, it's all here!

I've added in some of the more recent receipts received from @grogee when I bought the car, to make a pretty comprehensive history.

There's also an address book and a map of some dealers which don't exist any more:

And here's an interesting little nugget... way back in '89, someone part ex'd a Montego for a brand new Saab. Must have been like stepping into an entirely different world....

 

It's weird, none of this changes the work that lies ahead on the car, but I feel like finding the car's history pack makes it feel more complete somehow.

[Soundwave]

I'm supposed to be working, but I can't help but delve into little bits of this history for a bit of a nose. Apparently, it was a company director's car when it was bought new! How the mighty have fallen... from being a company director's personal transport to being passed around a beige internet forum for relative pennies.  It was first registered using the company's address, so I'm guessing Mr Director probably used company funds to buy it. Makes you wonder why he went for the base model if he was using someone else's money...

"Delivered on 05/06/1989 to a Mr Ian Gilmour, production director at Glencast Ltd, a foundry and steelworks based in Leven. The company would later go on to be known as ABC-Naco Europe Ltd from 1999 onwards, before its dissolution in 2011."

If I ever decide to sell it and go full White Background Wanker™, that's going to be my opening advert line.  

[Soundwave]

With the Saab currently "resting" while I gather parts, the MX5 about to enter winter hibernation, and the Beetle still being out of sight and out of mind, I turned my attention to the Rover. Despite all its problems and my decision to scrap it when the MOT is up... I've actually decided to see if I can squeeze one more winter out of it. So that means it'll need an MOT come the 20th, and that in turn means I'll have to sort the advisory from last year - the NS trailing arm bush.

Mention the words "trailing arm bush" to most 90s Rover or Honda owners and they'll break out in a cold sweat - it's one of those jobs that's either a piece of piss, or hell on earth. Most of the time it's the latter, and that was the case here...

Didn't take any "before" pics, but basically I got the suspension partly dismantled, being careful not to touch the adjuster on the compensator arm. That in itself was a mission - the bolt that attaches the trailing arm to the compensator arm was seized beyond even my impact gun's capabilities. Ended up turning it a fraction at a time with a ratchet and a scaffold bar. Managed to get the trailing arm down far enough to access the bushing, and spent a ridiculous amount of time beating the absolute shit out of it with a hammer. Tried it both from the inside and the outside... bugger all. Wasn't moving. I really needed to get the hammer on it vertically, where I could hit it harder - which would mean removing the arm entirely. I really didn't want to go through the hassle of taking the hub off, disconnecting the brake lines etc, so I managed to get the arm loose and then position it on its side, with a block of wood supporting it to avoid stress on the brake lines. More walloping with a lump hammer later... success.

Old and new side by side... definitely seen better days!

Then using slightly gentler hammer taps, got the new bushing into the arm, being careful to make sure it was the right way round and vaguely at the same angle as the old one...



Reinstalled the trailing arm, which actually turned out to be nearly as much of a fucking arseache as getting it off in the first place. Everything is under tension and wants to separate, and trying to hold everything in position while I bolted it all back together was a nightmare. But... eventually it was in place and back together.



Took it for a test drive, no suspension noises or suspect handling, so I'm reasonably confident the transplant was a success. Feeling quite pleased with myself, I genuinely think that one little bushing was more sodding hassle than the Saab's exhaust replacement.

Just hope the MOT man doesn't give me an advisory on the other side this time...

[grogee]

Excellent work Mr Wave. I'm not sure my ocd could cope with non matching trailing arm bushes but then again, it isn't an easy job and also I guess we are maybe approaching EOL for the Rover. One of my outstanding jobs for the Maestro is to remove the rear beam, de-rust and paint but it's a big job and I don't want to do it while I have car enjoyment time (while it's taxed and stuff). 

While I have the beam off I would take the opportunity to throw in new bushes but a) a lot easier with it off the car and b) they are the cotton-reel style ones that are easier to get onto. 

[Soundwave]

30 minutes ago, grogee said:

Excellent work Mr Wave. I'm not sure my ocd could cope with non matching trailing arm bushes but then again, it isn't an easy job and also I guess we are maybe approaching EOL for the Rover. One of my outstanding jobs for the Maestro is to remove the rear beam, de-rust and paint but it's a big job and I don't want to do it while I have car enjoyment time (while it's taxed and stuff). 

While I have the beam off I would take the opportunity to throw in new bushes but a) a lot easier with it off the car and b) they are the cotton-reel style ones that are easier to get onto. 

I did consider doing the bushes as a pair, as the parts aren't expensive... but for the moment I'm glad I didn't! I'll probably take a look at it when the trauma from this one has worn off a bit. It was one of those jobs where everything that could seize did, and despite the HBOL's assertions, refitting was not necessarily the reversal of removal.

[Soundwave]

This morning, the Rover did this:



I'll be honest, I'd had every intention of scrapping it this year, due to all its issues. Couldn't bring myself to do it just yet, decided to punt it through a test anyway and it goes and gets a clean pass. Not even any advisories. What does it take to kill this thing?!


 

The one thing my MOT bloke did say is that the emissions were near the boundary. I'm guessing it's the oil combustion from its failing HG that's causing this. He also said it's structurally far more solid than it has any right to be!