Supernaut's Cars - E36 323i / mk3 Megane / S1 Land Rover

[Supernaut]

6 minutes ago, juular said:

Keen to know how well the acoustic mat works.  

How heavy is it?

Err, not very.

It's 5mm thick self adhesive foil backed foam from eBay. I don't hold a lot of hope in it, but you never know.

I got two sheets in 50cm x 1m for £15. Should be enough to do the bits I need.

[Supernaut]

The spare wheel well is still drying, so I've done this in the meantime. I've barely used a fraction of one sheet...

 

Edit: this is what one sheet can do. I still have another.

[Supernaut]

I reckon I'll stop here. Still got half of the second sheet left.

[Supernaut]

Hmm.

Yes. It has toned down the booming resonance at certain revs, while the exhaust still has a definite bass tone to it. That'll do.

 

The test drive was to the local factors to get more paint mixed up for the Land Rover. I saw this hanging near the desk...

Hmmmmmm...

No.

[320touring]

Shitebag if ye dinnae🤣

[Supernaut]

2 hours ago, 320touring said:

Shitebag if ye dinnae🤣

I actually said to the guy running the place I wasn't sure if I really wanted an SS1.

His response "naebody does, it's been for sale for a year!"

[Supernaut]

Doors and ting.

The top half is just plonked on there, it needs new rubber seals between the two pieces of door, and window channels, and mirrors, and and and...

[RichardK]

On 21/08/2024 at 16:30, Supernaut said:

I actually said to the guy running the place I wasn't sure if I really wanted an SS1.

His response "naebody does, it's been for sale for a year!"

I do. But not right now (I have had one already).

Single wiper = galvanised I think, from dusty forgotten memories.

[ProgRocker]

On 29/06/2024 at 16:48, Supernaut said:

 

Yes, the driver sits on top of several gallons of petrol. You also fill it by folding up the seat and unscrewing the lid.

Ah, always wondered why Land Rover drivers tend to drive slower than others.

[Supernaut]

2 hours ago, ProgRocker said:

Ah, always wondered why Land Rover drivers tend to drive slower than others.

That, plus the horrible driving position and the gears in a Series are so short it's screaming its head off at 50mph!

[Supernaut]

[Supernaut]

I made some friends today.

Despite the comments about how much bodyroll my standard suspension has... I was still keeping up with them up round the Lecht and round to Dufftown.

[Supernaut]

You know, I'm considering moving the BMW on.

I have no idea how much it would be worth, though.

Why? I find myself preferring the way the SLK drives. Somewhere in the region of 200hp delivered with low down grunt going through a lazy 5 speed auto is just pleasant. It can also get a shift on if I tell it to kick down.

The BMW also attracts the unwanted attention of every dickhead within 50 miles due to being a black m-sport kitted example.

 

Ideally I want the SLK driving experience in a mid size saloon, then no SLK or 323i left afterwards.

[Tayne]

1 hour ago, Supernaut said:

 

Ideally I want the SLK driving experience in a mid size saloon, then no SLK or 323i left afterwards.

You’ll get that from the Reliant.

 

 

Or a Horsey Horseless.

[Supernaut]

2 minutes ago, Tayne said:

You’ll get that from the Reliant.

 

 

Or a Horsey Horseless.

Can I assume you're not a fan of SLKs then?

[Tayne]

That wasn’t what I meant, but how bad can the reliant be for £150? 

[Supernaut]

12 hours ago, Tayne said:

That wasn’t what I meant, but how bad can the reliant be for £150? 

If it was £150 I would have bought it already. It's actually £1,500 though.

[Split_Pin]

If you ever do seriously consider selling the E36 please let me know. This and an E46 would be my dream garage!

[Tayne]

38 minutes ago, Supernaut said:

If it was £150 I would have bought it already. It's actually £1,500 though.

I’ve just checked the listing and it’s actually £15, a heart and a ghost.

 

[Supernaut]

Having seen how much E36 323i M-sport manuals are worth...

I've decided not to punt it on yet, and instead have done what I should have done months ago. I ordered a stock rear section of exhaust (plus brackets). Because, quite frankly, the shiny new exhaust section has done fuck all and it's just as noisy as it was, if not worse.

[Supernaut]

In other news, the bonnet is the current part of the Land Rover I'm working on.

A shame I have to paint over all that, eventually. It looks ace in the metal.

It has odd outward dents from the non-standard air filter smacking into the underside of the bonnet as the engine rocked. This thing has led a hard life.

 

 

A thought has occurred to me. A silly one, perhaps.

I already did a gentle restoration of one 1990s German car last winter, and the SLK doesn't seem to be selling, and I do quite like how it drives, so... What am I doing this coming winter?

[Supernaut]

Bonk.

[Tayne]

I don’t really understand but I believe the appropriate response is - why though?

[captain_70s]

Oooooooooh.

[Supernaut]

Well that was hilariously primative.

How did Mercedes limit the height of the windows in a first gen SLK? L shaped metal brackets screwed to the door skin that simply catch the window regulator on the way up.

The leading edge of my driver's window kept going too high, and the bracket was doing nothing.

The solution I found online? Remove the speaker, reach up through the hole and remove the bracket. Then reshape it with a hammer and a vice.

It only fuckin' worked. 😂

[Supernaut]

I guess I know what I'm doing tomorrow.

I would make a start on it today but I have a job interview this afternoon so eeeeh, probably not a clever idea.

It'll look hilarious / pathetic poking out of the huge gap in the bumper but hopefully it'll make the BMW shut the fuck up.

[Tickman]

Good luck with the interview and yes it is probably not wise to start changing the exhaust just now.

 

[Supernaut]

It sounds far, far better though. Like a BMW should.

I'm torn between removing the rest of the fake splitter in the bumper, or acquiring a tailpipe trim. Probably a tailpipe trim.

 

I'll be able to sell the other one, too.

It's a Powerflow.

[320touring]

I thought the 323 and 325/8 were all twin exit? Is that a 320 back box?

[Supernaut]

59 minutes ago, 320touring said:

I thought the 323 and 325/8 were all twin exit? Is that a 320 back box?

I dunno!

The 323i is still a single pipe under the car, it's just the 328 that has twins.

I've found a selection of tailpipe trims on eBay which will fill the gap much more effectively, though.