RichardKs wanderings: RX-7 gives a lesson in physics, atmospheric pressure, and observation skills.

[RichardK]

1 hour ago, Cento16v said:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1960234941018956/?ref=facebook_story_share

This popped up on Facebook, looks like it needs to be rescued!

No more convertibles needed

[RichardK]

Garage is looking a little tidier...

[auntiemaryscanary]

8 hours ago, RichardK said:

Garage is looking a little tidier...

Very nicely sized garage. I is envious.

[RichardK]

Time to do the PT Cruiser rear speakers. I replaced the front ages ago but the rears are horrid to get to. I'm ignoring forums and shit youtube videos and following the workshop manual.

Seats forward, undo the check strap brackets (13mm) and the obvious silver bolts on the headrest pad (13mm)

Seats down, remove the plastic covers for the latches - wedge clips at the back, be gentle no damage. This reveals the spring latches.

Lever the latch forward and insert a metal rod. I used a bookcase link hook from IKEA and released the other catch while lifting the seat out. They are light as anything.

These latches want your knees for dinner.

Undo the plastic pegs holding the roof cover guide.

Which reveals...

Four torx-headed screws.

Undo the seatbelt anchors (21mm) and flip the belts up.

Now discover it's too warm and there's a stage I forgot about undoing the belt guide, so have a cuppa.

I'm not obsessed with things being "right" honest.

[yes oui si]

On 8/31/2023 at 8:19 PM, brownnova said:

I was offered that one pre-tank decorations, sadly just wasn’t in a position to run 2 dustbusters! 

Was it the black and red one with 'choice' modifications? 

[brownnova]

9 minutes ago, yes oui si said:

Was it the black and red one with 'choice' modifications? 

No that was a TransSport, it was white and an Oldsmobile.  

[RichardK]

This Cruiser speaker replacement is breaking my brain. The rear bolster/headrest was held in by a thick steel reinforcement bar not mentioned in the manual, and now it looks like I have to detrim the sports bar to clear the upper edge of the quarter panel trim.

But the speakers are as far forward as you can imagine so flexing the panel for wriggly-arm access is not really feasible.

Good thing I am all about that bass and  blown 6x9s are REALLY annoying.

[RichardK]

What a tedious pain in the arse.

Yes, the roll hoop really is entirely decorative and bolted on.

I am not looking forward to reassembling this lot and ensuring it does not get any damage. But all the cavity rustproofing is happening.

[Zelandeth]

That looks a right faff!

Make sure to give those speaker brackets a good examination before you reassemble everything to make sure they're not able to move relative to the panel they're attached to.  Last thing you'd want to do would put it all back together and then discover the frame itself was buzzing against the body of the car because there was a tiny bit of clearance under one edge.

[Schaefft]

The roll over bar is just a bolt on part? That doesn't seem particularly helpful, neither does it add to the aesthetics of the convertible...

[RichardK]

2 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

That looks a right faff!

Make sure to give those speaker brackets a good examination before you reassemble everything to make sure they're not able to move relative to the panel they're attached to.  Last thing you'd want to do would put it all back together and then discover the frame itself was buzzing against the body of the car because there was a tiny bit of clearance under one edge.

They're solid as anything - I did debate, given the faff, fitting some 3-way 6x9s but the mission is get rid of a blown speaker, not upgrade - the head unit is not awesome and I just hated the fwoomffwroomf of a clearly duff speaker in the back. Fronts are already done and on those, the magnets had fallen off!

Do need to get some isolation foam though...

While it's all apart...

I mean, it really is like new throughout there but some rustproofing never hurt. Hairdryer into seams and any spotweld looking things. Will fit new bulbs and get the silvered ones to get rid of the fried eggs.

[RichardK]

2 hours ago, Schaefft said:

The roll over bar is just a bolt on part? That doesn't seem particularly helpful, neither does it add to the aesthetics of the convertible...

It's a spoiler  - it does the job of a windbreak and benefits rear passengers, actually a very clever design - I think the cars look weird without them but a few people have removed and added alternative seatbelt upper anchors. Some people claim there are a couple of spotwelds as well but mine looks purely bolted...

Stripping the trim off at least lets me clean and gummi pflege all the rubber parts.

[RichardK]

Offside rustproofing - this side gets mucky and needed cleaning - I assume from the fuel filler.

(the blue paper snag is from wiping excess that dripped on the wing)

[RichardK]

Well, the PT Cruiser has working speakers and sounds good, but it's damn hard getting the right sealing foam to recreate the original!

And it has weird bulbs so off go the ones I got on Amazon.

But with the aid of a flexy hose it's had more stuff dripping from random cavities than a dodgy hentai Laserdisc.

Could definitely do more rustproofing but I need a proper bucket and application kit. And I really just want to reassemble the interior now.

[RichardK]

Finished:

Can't embed the video from FB so some stills but the point is John Grant Pale Green Ghosts which absolutely hammered the broken speakers playing without (added) distortion and sounding alright even at full volume.

[RichardK]

Why are PX27/7W bulbs so awkward to get in the UK? Or more precisely, why is it so hard to find silvered/chromed amber once to de-fried-egg the lights? It looks like Land Rover used them so it's not just a weird not-domestic car thing but the options for bulbs look crappy as anything, no recognised brands at all.

So I'm stuck waiting for some of those before I pop Lilith out onto the drive and break out the snowfoam for a pre-detailing (dunno why I feel stupid saying that. I just called it 'cleaning' when I used to put three coats of Simoniz on my Manta and polish under the sills and inside the door shuts) wash. The roof is getting a deep clean in the roof well - I never paid much attention to how it works because to me, it's like a VW pram roof - except it isn't as obviously if it were the Cruiser would out-pram a Metro 114 Cabrio. The entire lower hoop of the roof drops down into the back when you open it, with a set of seals and guides keeping it all neat - I'm going to give those some attention. When you close it the whole assembly lifts and seals against the inside of that 'hoop' covered by the black metal trim ring.

Chrysler made a big deal about making the PT Cruiser into a convertible, and for a car that they made less than 80,000 examples of (though that is more PT Cruiser Cabriolets made than the entire production run of Volvo 480s...) and a car made by DCX during a period where the cost-cutting mentality would make 1990s PSA gasp, the roof system is probably one of the best in the business. We've seen how well neglected, shitty old PT Cruiser Cabriolet roofs hold up - the rest of the car might have fallen apart but the roof mech/seals/condition generally makes VW, BMW and other contemporary ragtops look like crap.

It is such an odd, thorough design. They made a full cabriolet - the windows are frameless with no centre hoop - then added a centre hoop not for rigidity, but as an aerodynamic aid to reduce wind noise. It works. I think, from the way it's designed, they'd considered offering two models of Cruiser Cabrio - but having detrimmed mine I did see the welds applied to secure the bolt-on hoop. It also needs the hoop as the upper support for the seatbelts, though the bolt-on design means an alternative treatment could easily have been implemented. The roof itself is really well insulated with a thick headliner, and very generous, flexible cant rail seals. Even the headliner treatment is unusual - there's a fat roll of thick fabric at the base of it, when the roof is lowered that roll cushions and seals the leading edge of the C-pillar.

Gut feeling is that somewhere there's a drawing board proposal for a two-seater PT Cruiser 'hot rod' that used a smaller roof package that folded fully into the well, a solid cover, and had no rear seats or roll hoop.

Either way, once I've got new bulbs (the old ones worked but they were flaking the amber off and I wanted to replace all the bulbs while I had the lights out to rustproof) I'll get this MOTd and try and enjoy a few drives with working tunes and so forth before the roads get salted.

[RichardK]

No, you're obsessive.

 

[RichardK]

Lights back in now the silver bulbs arrived, Lilith exits her lair...

Dusty - not good for polishing.

Good start but the Karcher bottle ran out.

Custard one I should have dialled back a bit...

So. Yellow.

Finally rinsed off.

Shiny.

More shiny.

I cleaned behind the panel in here. Then waxed.

Quite clean, but not scrubbed yet.

Many litres.

May have polished the lenses.

Tomorrow the rest of the car will match and I'll get some under arch/sill/floor pics. The door shuts and A-pillars are looking very nice, but the front mudflaps can't hide their years!

Shiny.

Shiny!

Stylish things?

Chrome wheels are NOT fun to clean.

[RichardK]

Sometimes life has a way of finding a balance. I've been recovering, in various ways, from stress over the past couple of years and it's weird how things pan out.

Being isolated and single and confused by life to finding a totally random and very nice person in real life and things just being chilled, for the most part.

Finding the ability to write and focus again thanks to a Chinese health therapist and that seemingly unlocking the 'learn Chinese skill' and also starting to cook for myself again by discovering how easy it is to make nice stir fry things, and listening to Chinese pop to help with parsing syllables and pronunciation - which manifested so much energy into the universe that it responded with a new long-term test car.

Unfortunately manifesting energy is a skill Gridserve has yet to learn. This is a return trip from Chesterfield to Doncaster which took me 2 1/2 hours because the Atto 3 dropped to 11 miles remaining and Woodall services chargers were out of action. The whole network was out of action due to payment issues. But nothing within range on Zap Map (also the BYD can lose that last percentage rapidly apparently).

Not the fault of the car at all. Yesterday I tried to charge but the 50kW chargers in Clay Cross were also out of action.

That experience - plus the car wanting a software update so I spent ages in Tesco trying to dredge a few kWh from the 7kW units there - pushed me back towards replacing the Pontiac after all.

Fate is interesting.

I lost money on the Pontiac, for sure, because it didn't suit what I wanted and I didn't get to enjoy it instantly. Such is life. But the way I see it is, the Pontiac cost me my Volvo 740 and the lost insurance.

The deposit for the Pontiac covers the lost insurance.

The balance of it in a brown paper envelope still on the desk covers a delivery from @Agila...

Which after chatting I figured I would have a look and if I didn't like it would just roffle as planned and not lose any money, also avoiding a trip to the bank. I checked insurance quotes first. They're fine.

Once I saw it and looked it over, I'd say it's better, really, than my yellow one was when I got it. I say that because when I got it, the owner sent me pictures of the rust on the rear arches, and them repairing the rust, so I knew what I was getting. This is pre-repair level but still good. Front wings are very good. Didn't dig super-deep but underneath is good, including the torque links. Interior is good and has electric seats. No AC, no problem. Roof works and is smooth, no clatter from the parcel shelf, no squeaks from the windows.

Gearbox/clutch feels good, steering is nice, nearly new Uniroyals on the front, decent history file, two keys.

Downside, the paint. Who cares. Paint doesn't stop it from working. But you'll see if I can make a difference to the overall ambiance of it anyway with a bit of attention...

That Carat Duchatelet rear spoiler is subtle and really rather nice.

But what made me really happy was this:

I owned my previous SLK from 2012 to 2018. This is a VERY familiar view for me and one that predates the psychopath that helped me ruin my life.

"Don't do what you normally do with cars, it's a cheap one, you could go nuts with it".

Yep. I could. But the way I see it, if I'd been offered this as a swap for the Volvo two months ago I'd have jumped on it, no hesitation. So yes, Adrian Flux made a few notes out of the shenanigans (and are losing a few more because hey, don't piss off motoring journalists who will never shut up about or forget the shitty attitude of companies) but I got to meet @brownnova, got to drive a Pontiac Trans Sport GT and look about inside one, learn a bit about a car I always wanted, then got to meet @Weird Car and @Agila AND I have an SLK back in my life.

And this is the best side of Autoshite, by far

[Christine]

Blimey ..  there's posh ..

[SiC]

What happened to the Sixfire Spitfire in the end?

[RichardK]

It begins. Partially derailed by pharmacy informing me my meds are unavailable - of course after waiting a week during which they could have told me at any time

What's it like?

Needs a scrub.

And paint...

But one, I can do.

Looking a tiny bit nicer, I think.

Could be a keeper?

Plot twist:

[Dick Cheeseburger]

That SLK looks to be ridiculously good value. What a honey for the money. 

[Noel Tidybeard]

prolly the best color on an slk

[Jim Bell]

15 minutes ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

prolly the best color on an slk

This is in fact , a lie. 

[horriblemercedes]

Spoiler alert! 

[B4lljoints]

This is my old car - a great little thing!

That Carat Duchatalet spoiler is as rare as rocking horse s#/t apparently. It had paintwork done by mercedes under warranty before my ownership. It also had horrible massive alloys on it without any stagger which made it handle like a scared antelope. I'll try to dig out a picture.

I installed the extra bit of wiring loom between the cam magnet and ECU. This is an official Merc part and prevents the ECU filling up with oil - which is nice 🙂

[B4lljoints]

[RichardK]

8 minutes ago, B4lljoints said:

This is my old car - a great little thing!

That Carat Duchatalet spoiler is as rare as rocking horse s#/t apparently. It had paintwork done by mercedes under warranty before my ownership. It also had horrible massive alloys on it without any stagger which made it handle like a scared antelope. I'll try to dig out a picture.

I installed the extra bit of wiring loom between the cam magnet and ECU. This is an official Merc part and prevents the ECU filling up with oil - which is nice 🙂

I looked for the interstitial loom mod - the cam magnet is leaky, it'll be getting a new one (hope they're still reasonably priced - it's a decade since I last swapped one though!)...

[RichardK]

Insured! That was straightforward. And cheap, until tried adding my dad as a driver...