Bear's bangers: what's in the RX-7's thermostat?

[Bear]

First drive! Really - surely you're all used to me just trusting people and then finding out later 😂

First, a wash.

Wet look hides the lacquer peel...

It's a while since I've bothered with this stage...

Worth it...

Looking nice...

Ready for a run out.

Always were well-proportioned compared with other folding hardtops.

Dried off at friends' house!

Roof dried off.

Roof overrated...

Home! OMG. So good.

I really rather like this car.

Verdict: suspension a little tired, can fix - front coils and a steering damper first as they're eaaaasy. Handles nicely though, just a little short on travel. Love the manual - yes, Mercedes shift quality, but can really play with the 2.0 and it feels easy to drive. No untoward noises, no weird smells, maybe needs a coolant flush but I'll give it a proper service when I'm in the mood - right now I just want to drive it.

And I remember why the SLK is the one car I kept for years, not months. First drive = absolutely delighted and grinning like an idiot.

[EspenO]

Seems like a nice one! Could the roof be wet sanded and polished up, or is the laquer all gone? 

[Bear]

  On 26/09/2023 at 19:51, EspenO said:

Seems like a nice one! Could the roof be wet sanded and polished up, or is the laquer all gone? 

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It's pretty dead and there's rust on the edge, I'm inclined to watch eBay for a replacement panel - I also don't care much, the car is less "must cherish" with scruffy bits

[B4lljoints]

Might be good for a roof panel?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/652361871614597/permalink/2308184882698946/?sale_post_id=2308184882698946

[LightBulbFun]

  On 25/09/2023 at 14:43, RichardK said:

ould be a keeper?

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I need one of those for my Invacar, given how much of an Infinite improbability most people see it as LOL

that and I am a big HHGTTG fan  

 

[Bear]

  On 27/09/2023 at 22:30, LightBulbFun said:

I need one of those for my Invacar, given how much of an Infinite improbability most people see it as LOL

that and I am a big HHGTTG fan  

 

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eBay or  etsy, but not cheap! Shipped from USA 😕

twitter got excited about my blue SLK and AutoPap getting offered a free one. Usual "confidence of mediocre men" types claiming it'll rust, that a silver car in a pic has a million issues. Not could have, has.

In fact I think that's the new collective noun for a load of blokes who have never changed a spark plug chanting pub-bore-lore about a car. A Confidence Of Mediocre Men.

I digress. The weirdest one was someone complaining that their friend had had to dismantle half the car because a thing that broke "at the back of the engine" was more expensive to fix than a Fiat Panda.

This is the car I would recommend as a starter classic same as people once recommended MGBs - to learn spannering in particular.

Open wide

Engine bay

OMG such bad access to stuff!

Nice mostly dry engine too. Mostly.

ECU box fan check (it spins - will check if it runs)

Battery vent pipe AWOL will fix when I pull the tray out and rustproof area.

Lookin' alright!

Those springs look recent. Will check red code and correct pad combo in place. Damper looks tired, all easy to sort. Arm would stand some jenolite or vatcan or something.

Mostly dry. Cam magnet gonna cam magnet. My first replacement job and a nice thowback to the yellow one @garellikatia now takes great care of.

[Schaefft]

The cam magnets on my 500SEL were drenched in oil. I've resealed the mating surfaces with the recommended sealer. I haven't put a ton of miles on it since but maybe worth trying in case they are pricey. Pretty sure they were on the early m119.

Great to see this level of attention put into the SLK btw, it's looking great! The spoiler is tasteful addition.

[Bear]

  On 28/09/2023 at 19:10, Schaefft said:

The cam magnets on my 500SEL were drenched in oil. I've resealed the mating surfaces with the recommended sealer. I haven't put a ton of miles on it since but maybe worth trying in case they are pricey. Pretty sure they were on the early m119.

Great to see this level of attention put into the SLK btw, it's looking great! The spoiler is tasteful addition.

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Mine is leaking into the loom anyway, so needs doing. IIRC it was £60 or so but that was a decade ago and I generally only buy genuine parts; my 500SL and 500 SEC were both dry but I had my suspicions about the SL having problems. Didn't know as much when I had that as I did when I got the SLK, though.

The sealing was like science for me, I was more diligent than almost anything I do usually to make sure it was 100% sealed, cured and done right.

[Bear]

Still £60 for a new genuine one. The tube of sealant with a Mercedes badge on is very expensive though. Pretty sure it's just black RTV right? In a deja vu moment I've also got a new windscreen lower seal incoming. Basically repeating all the things I did with my yellow car.

[garellikatia]

  On 28/09/2023 at 18:45, RichardK said:

eBay or  etsy, but not cheap! Shipped from USA 😕

twitter got excited about my blue SLK and AutoPap getting offered a free one. Usual "confidence of mediocre men" types claiming it'll rust, that a silver car in a pic has a million issues. Not could have, has.

In fact I think that's the new collective noun for a load of blokes who have never changed a spark plug chanting pub-bore-lore about a car. A Confidence Of Mediocre Men.

I digress. The weirdest one was someone complaining that their friend had had to dismantle half the car because a thing that broke "at the back of the engine" was more expensive to fix than a Fiat Panda.

This is the car I would recommend as a starter classic same as people once recommended MGBs - to learn spannering in particular.

Open wide

Engine bay

OMG such bad access to stuff!

Nice mostly dry engine too. Mostly.

ECU box fan check (it spins - will check if it runs)

Battery vent pipe AWOL will fix when I pull the tray out and rustproof area.

Lookin' alright!

Those springs look recent. Will check red code and correct pad combo in place. Damper looks tired, all easy to sort. Arm would stand some jenolite or vatcan or something.

Mostly dry. Cam magnet gonna cam magnet. My first replacement job and a nice thowback to the yellow one @garellikatia now takes great care of.

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So glad you found another good SLK! Especially knowing how much you loved the yellow one!! 

[garellikatia]

One other thing I found to keep on top of is the sill covers. The long black plastic ones. The water seems to drip and collect there especially around the clip holes. I've just managed to catch it before it'd fully pitted. 

[Bear]

  On 29/09/2023 at 18:10, garellikatia said:

One other thing I found to keep on top of is the sill covers. The long black plastic ones. The water seems to drip and collect there especially around the clip holes. I've just managed to catch it before it'd fully pitted. 

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I am pretty sure when I got the car I removed them and cleaned/checked underneath - haven't done this one yet, but that's a very good reminder!

[Bear]

The SLK has been on many adventures...

York yesterday

Old bus today...

Car dealer pretending they have big house photo.

Scenery

Check out that spoiler (not visible: the tensioner noises the car makes when idling, not exactly a V8 burble).

Dog approves

Colin does not

But it looks good? Let's ask Victorian Katy Perry.

I think, approved.

Few vibrations at motorway speeds - I think the dampers are past their best anyway but it'll get full R&R eventually.

Great fun on the back roads. I like manual SLKs!

[Bear]

Open wide...

Cleaning up ready for wax attack.

Seal of approval applied.

That's past due replacement though.

Much as I like driving this car everywhere with the roof down, High Barnet is a Northern Line station got an appearance goal so I got the headrest flycatcher for it.

[garellikatia]

Looking great rich! What are your plans for the rear arches? I need to do mine properly at some stage!! 

[Bear]

  On 06/10/2023 at 10:06, garellikatia said:

Looking great rich! What are your plans for the rear arches? I need to do mine properly at some stage!! 

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Ignore them studiously...

Realistically, make sure they're clean and not too crusty, rust convert and protect inner edge. Painting is not really an option as it'll just make the car look worse unless it has a full respray.

Your arches were done in 2012, sanded back, small fill and skim and paint, by the guy I got it from. I didn't think they would hold up as well as they did while I had it, but of course there's been another five years since and it was always kept garaged/not used if the weather was bad (though it got driven in plenty of foul weather, it wasn't on the road when roads were salted as a rule).

[Bear]

What's the plan, Stan?

Clean Mating Surfacea

Clean intermediate loom

Now we're torquing (5nm + 90 degrees)

Hooked up

Covered up

Test drive time

With this in mind

First this - leave on radiator and shake thoroughly

Usual technique - spray everywhere and use hairdryer to melt and direct into seams

But I need to redo this. Leak suggests RTV not in the right place (much like original.

New cam magnet and contact cleaner in connectors definitely seems to result in smoother running. Next it's inlet manifold off and clean the PCV systems

[Bear]

Found my picnic basket, and rustproofed the inside of the bootlid while lubricating the lock/handle and checking part number for new boot struts...

Not sure I want to ignore this bit of rust too long but fixing it properly probably 2x car's value. I am actively looking for an R129 500 SL or an AMG SLK to live in the garage as I think I won't sell the Cruiser fast enough or for enough to get the Boxster.

[tom13]

The manual R170 I got from here was a great car. Blasted to the ring and back with ease.

Gearbox was great, MPG was over 40 on the motorway, was comfortable, pretty quick. My Mrs didn't want to get rid of it but we couldn't have a two seater as one of the main cars. My boys still calls them robot cars when he sees them as he thought that was what the roof was like.

Tbh the only thing that started playing up with mine was the roof and that did end up annoying me a bit in the end. I would have liked to have seen them with an option of a manual cloth roof. Would have kept the weight down a bit as well.

[Bear]

  On 09/10/2023 at 08:38, tom13 said:

The manual R170 I got from here was a great car. Blasted to the ring and back with ease.

Gearbox was great, MPG was over 40 on the motorway, was comfortable, pretty quick. My Mrs didn't want to get rid of it but we couldn't have a two seater as one of the main cars. My boys still calls them robot cars when he sees them as he thought that was what the roof was like.

Tbh the only thing that started playing up with mine was the roof and that did end up annoying me a bit in the end. I would have liked to have seen them with an option of a manual cloth roof. Would have kept the weight down a bit as well.

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Chrysler Crossfire, undo the hydraulics valve 😂

[Bear]

Bye bye service reminder...

Bonus: no leaks after a 40 mile test drive!

Did notice a weird bit of extra foam starting to fall off the parcel shelf to boot lid seam. Wonder what that was there for as it seems to be sealing just fine...

[Bear]

Deja vu:

 

[Bear]

Waxoyl edges of metal, under windscreen, pop the black trim screws in the parts washer, waxoyl in spire clips and under rebate on bulkhead and around brake master cylinder and stuff...

No more gap either side of the windscreen (and bonus the rubber finger things feel like rubber again not moss).

[Schaefft]

More great progress, love following this.

I got very lucky with my R129 SL500, if you can find one that's not a wreck for under 5k jump on it. Just make sure to buy one that doesn't need a steering angle sensor from 1997, otherwise expect weeks for one to arrive from America only to get lost in the post...

[Bear]

  On 11/10/2023 at 22:03, Schaefft said:

More great progress, love following this.

I got very lucky with my R129 SL500, if you can find one that's not a wreck for under 5k jump on it. Just make sure to buy one that doesn't need a steering angle sensor from 1997, otherwise expect weeks for one to arrive from America only to get lost in the post...

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I've done R129 before and I do like them a lot, as it happens my budget has gone a very different direction. I doubt anyone will guess what it is so I'll have to try and keep my mouth shut so it's a surprise...

[garellikatia]

  On 06/10/2023 at 10:57, RichardK said:

Ignore them studiously...

Realistically, make sure they're clean and not too crusty, rust convert and protect inner edge. Painting is not really an option as it'll just make the car look worse unless it has a full respray.

Your arches were done in 2012, sanded back, small fill and skim and paint, by the guy I got it from. I didn't think they would hold up as well as they did while I had it, but of course there's been another five years since and it was always kept garaged/not used if the weather was bad (though it got driven in plenty of foul weather, it wasn't on the road when roads were salted as a rule).

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Ah right, cool. To be honest I feel the rust is caused by the two skins of the inner and outer rear panels. The trapped moisture must cause it to rust from the inside causing it to creep up the arch. 

I did see rear panels for about £150 a side  but as you quite rightly say Lower down on this thread, by the time you factor in a paint job, it's going to be 2x the car value is sometimes unrealistic isn't it. 

The cars looking great, love following your progress! 

[Bear]

  On 16/10/2023 at 21:58, garellikatia said:

Ah right, cool. To be honest I feel the rust is caused by the two skins of the inner and outer rear panels. The trapped moisture must cause it to rust from the inside causing it to creep up the arch. 

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Yep, I am fairly sure that's how it gets bad, and I will be waxoyling the blue one but externally there's not a lot I can do to improve it without making it look worse.

[Bear]

£500 (ish) SLKs...

Norfolk and back... 380 mile round trip on Sunday... just to collect a guitar.

Elderly gent in a Mercedes saloon asked me what kind of option the Improbability Drive was 😂

Then on Monday - London to collect another EV!

It's racking up the miles and I still think it is awesome. A new air filter is in the footwell of the EV for when I go back to collect the SLK - hadn't arrived in time

[Bear]

Every time I get a British car I hate it.

So of course I bought another one.

It's a 1990 Range Rover Vogue SE. It's had A Life.

Here it is exploring Spain. You might have noticed the Dakar badge - if you know RRs then you know that means a 4.5 V8 from JE Engineering.

But that was a few years ago. Franc's had this car since 2001 and he's not afraid of adapting it.

Purposeful. Need to protect that oil filter though.

Bit shabby. I have spare panels.

Interior is a bit interesting.

But look at that face.

Comfy, too.

Chassis is alright...

Wait. What?

Okay, let's have a look under the bonnet then.

A new XKR engine was installed in 2009 when the car had 130K miles on - it now has 165K.

That's roughly 390bhp...

It has an Ashcroft rebuilt 4HP24 (IIRC) autobox with electronic control, an ATB torque biasing front diff, an ARB airlocker rear, remote damper kit, bespoke steering, custom ECU, LPG system, rebuilt chassis, rock slider sills, four pot calipers, and a decent length of MOT.

I am not sure if I have done something incredibly stupid here. But it drives rather nicely!

[horriblemercedes]

Oh, I like that. I think I'd probably join a queue if you found yourself wanting to sell it!

 

(I hope that's some reassurance)