Grogee's spannering (Maestro , Corsa & Avensis). FONDLE MY PARTNER

[grogee]

Found this on the Toob. It's probably old news to some but it's just great - the AR PR machine sparing no expense to get Noel and his helicopter to Gaydon on a nice sunny day, with Tony Pond and Steve Soper giving it some beans around the track. 

Gaydon looks very different these days. 

I wonder what the purpose of the video was? Too long for an advert. Mailed out on VHS to journos maybe? 

 

[grogee]

Update: one rear wheel spoiler thingy is ATTACHED. 

This involved me taking (another) brave pill, because fitting it required drilling holes in my BRAND NEW sills and arches. I've done my best to mitigate rust with paint and wax but I think I'll just have to be aware it could be a trouble spot. Luckily removal isn't too hard so I can clean behind them when needed. 

I practiced fitting a rivnut to a scrap bit of metal to get the 'feel' for it. Of course it was easy with the metal in the vise but for whatever reason it didn't work so well on the car; there's now one rivnut floating around inside the sill. Luckily my second try was successful. 

So now there's two m3 bolts holding it onto the arch lip, and two m5 rivnuts and bolts holding the lower front bit to the sill. I still need to do the other side. 

Rewarded myself by fitting the alloy wheels which unsurprisingly look much better than the rusty black steels that were there before. 

[grogee]

Breaking: my back. 

Other side's wheel spoiler thing is on and attached, mission accomplished. 

Note missing trim on resprayed door. Somehow this got lost in the bodywork session and the car was returned with the wrong rubbing strip. Well nearly right but the red bit was maroon rather than proper red. Anyway this just Wouldn't Do so I found and googled the part number. 

As luck would have it, a fellow in Portugal was selling a NOS one. £70ish by the time it was posted. I had visions of a Brexity customs bollocks hold up but fortunately it arrived Wednesday. I haven't had time to fit it yet but it came complete with sticky stuff so it shouldn't be too hard to fit. 

Also, for my birthday present Mrs Grogee has agreed to buy some 2nd hand wheel centres which were on the bay, so the rear wheels will be getting their rightful covers in the next couple of weeks. 

[grogee]

Got the original radio back in. I did have a cunning plan to make use of a DAB radio that uses antenna input as its way of injecting DAB into the existing radio. I may still do it, but I forgot the original radio is so old it simply displays the frequency and no RDS. 

The DAB thing uses the RDS as its way of communicating the DAB station and menu settings, so I need to set it up with a newer radio. But once the presets are set it should work with the old one. 

I put a set of Kicker 4" speakers on the rear parcel shelf rest thing, where the originals were. Pretty straightforward apart from the yoga contortions required to see what you're doing. 

Boy, is it hot! I'm melting after that little job, so centre console refit will have to wait until it cools down a bit. 

Going to book an mot on Monday then it'll be legal once I've paid some tax for July, well assuming mot goes alright. 

[Noel Tidybeard]

have you joined this group?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/9952196743

seems a good place for stuff being offered up

[grogee]

8 hours ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

have you joined this group?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/9952196743

seems a good place for stuff being offered up

Thanks. I'm not on Facepalm because reasons but I'll get Mrs Grogee to check the link. 

[grogee]

Well today there was further progress but it was also one step forwards and two steps back, at least in terms of the fleet. 

I gave @Cluffy a lift after he'd dropped his Corrado for mot. But in my haste to get back to Maestro duties I reversed my Puma into his fence. So now it's got a nice crease/dent in it. Bugger. I'm on the lookout for a replacement in the right colour.

Anyway I did manage to reattach the Maestro centre console, I'd been putting it off for some reason but it was only four screws and a bit of heaving. I do really like the ribbed rubber gear lever gaiter and handbrake gaiter; very 80s futuristic. 

Then attached the new number plate to the front. I wish it was screws but it's stick-on which is fine I suppose. 

Went for a drive as I've booked MoT tomorrow, so needed to check it wasn't going to shit itself. Unfortunately my rough running problem is back. Seems OK until it's warm, but then it won't rev beyond about 2500 rpm. 

I actually think it'll be OK for mot as they will only do a CO idle test which shouldn't be hard to pass, but to actually drive the damn thing I need to fix it. 

Reading up on the forum it seems an ECU swap can fix it, so I've slapped my spare on just in case. I did find a vacuum leak to the ECU but fixing that didn't fix the rough running. 

Meanwhile I'm hatching a plan to get a head ported for a few extra horses, watch this space. 

[Noel Tidybeard]

i noticed a familiar looking car on a certain farcebook group yesterday!🤣

[grogee]

1 hour ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

i noticed a familiar looking car on a certain farcebook group yesterday!🤣

Yes I persuaded Mrs Grogee to join on my behalf. 

Good news on the MoT front, she's passed. Looking at the last test it was five years ago so it's kind of not surprising I had all the fun and games with dodgy electrics. 

It's still not running right (runs out of puff at 2500rpm and won't rev further) but I've got some new avenues to check inc MAF and throttle position sensor. Luckily I have spares of both but they're a bit crusty so I'm giving them a full cavity search and clean. 

Being Lucas, it'll be one or the other. Crank sensor and temp sensor on their way, but only because they cost buttons (£13 the pair) and I might as well eliminate them as a cause. 

[Noel Tidybeard]

when i had mine (D43YRN) the lucas stuff said made in japan which was reasuring!🤣

[Stinkwheel]

Plince of darkness?

[Sunny Jim]

Congratulations on the MOT pass! I'm sure a man of your talents/persistence/sheer bloody mindedness will get the running issues sorted soon.

[Soundwave]

I love it when a plan Maestro comes together.

[grogee]

Getting a bit fed up trying to trace this poor running problem. I've decided to plough on to see if I can fix it myself, but also booked a slot at our local garage for them to have a look because they're often booked up. Shaun the spanner there has a nice Mini so I think is sympathetic to shite. 

One tip I got from site lurker @Geoff Smith was that the fuel tank may be silted up with rust and not allowing the desired fuel flow through. To test this I looked in the HBOL which does show a test for individual injectors. Hot wiring them and running them flat out should give 185cc/m. So by my reckoning if the fuel pump can output 740cc/m (185x4) then it should be giving sufficient flow. 

I bypassed the fuel pump relay and connected a piece of hose to the output of fuel filter and it managed to spit out a litre in 30 sec so that should be more than enough to satisfy the thirst. Naturally then I knocked over the jug full of petrol all over the ground - standard operating procedure. 

Anyway I'm now a bit stuck having tried all sorts so I decided to strip the manifolds off to cure the blow. I thought I had cured it but obviously I haven't, see pics of sooty stains. 

In doing so I discovered that I'd managed to drill into the waterway last time I fiddled with the head. 

This feels like a total disaster but there are a few saving graces:

1) I reckon the hole could be filled with JB weld, then maybe some PTFE tape around the stud for good measure. 

2) Mrs Grogee's birthday present to me this year is a NOS head. Unfortunately it's 'naked' so I'll need to transfer the whirly bits over. 

3) There's an oil leak from the rear cam oil seal, I noticed the dizzy was a bit oily. So a good opportunity to change that. 

It's thrown a slight spanner in the works for my porting plan, but I need to have it ready for Maestro 40th birthday bash at Gaydon on 9th July. 

Maybe I can get the old head fixed up and skimmed, fix the leak then send that one for porting. Anyway no rush. 

The head is off now so I'm cleaning up faces and disassembling. 

[grogee]

22 hours ago, Soundwave said:

I love it when a plan Maestro comes together.

It's coming apart at the moment! I pity this fool. 

[bezzabsa]

Nice to see a MG Maestro , used to be a guy in Oldbury with 3 BRG Maestro Turbos, 1 was a minter and i think he was cannibalising the other 2 for parts

[grogee]

While waiting for bits to arrive I decided to change the rear shocks to the Spax units I sourced last year. 

Found them still in their postage box, and was pleasantly surprised to find they came complete with springs. 

However, as you can see these are max power lowering springs so I've decided to throw the original springs back on. 

Meanwhile I've stripped the head having sourced a decent (Sykes Pickavant) spring compressor yesterday for £40. 

To set the valve clearances on the new head involves either finding a special tool (unobtainium) and even then I need to source special shims which are also unobtainium. I am inclined to check the clearances but I may have to live with whatever they are. 

I did buy a set of nearly new buckets, springs and shims but I'd need a micrometer to know what thickness the shims are. 

[grogee]

Having looked at the valve clearance procedure in the HBoL, I've decided to forget that shit. Needs a special tool OR the home made one specified by Haynes which needs angle iron, plywood and a whole lot of patience. Fuck that to the moon and back. I'll take my chances by refitting the existing shims in their original positions and hope for the best! 

Even if I went to the trouble of checking the clearances, the odds of me finding the correct shims for all eight valves are miniscule. 

Fuethermore the HBoL specifies quite a tight range for clearances, but then says only change if it's less than 0.20, suggesting there's quite a wide range of practical tolerance. 

[grogee]

Took the other rear damper off, well tried to anyway. It's done that trick where the inner bush sleeve is seized onto the bolt so you can't get it out. 

In the end it was a slitting disc carefully* wielded to cut through the bolt, and as luck would have it I had an almost identical replacement in Stores. I did make a bit of a mess of the beam axle where the damper mounts, but hopefully nothing too structural. 

The other Spax unit is now ready to go on, but proceedings were halted for a slap-up birthday lunch at Hickory's (if you know, you know). 

[grogee]

A belated thanx attack to @Noel Tidybeard for travelling over from Solihull to see a Maestro on axle stands and bring me some Lucas relay goodness. We shared a natter about the good old days, when Maestros and Montegos were standard issue to everybody within 50 miles of Cowley.

I showed him the comedy staccato rear wiper which I'm rapidly concluding adds 'character' in the same way that terminal coolant loss adds character to French cars. 

Given the BLARG dalliance with Honda, Nobert's modern white Civic seemed entirely appropriate. And it looked like aliens had landed in our cul-de-sac. 

[Eyersey1234]

On 6/8/2023 at 8:52 PM, grogee said:

Cleaned the living daylights out of the Puma today. Things sort of snowballed after washing it - the headlamps had gone all milky so I gave them some Meiguars or whatever it is then @Cluffy gave me some of his sealer stuff.

Having done that I couldn't leave the paintwork so I gave it some wax too. 

Then @Cluffy and I went to the local car show at the cricket club. Really nice evening, chatted to a fellow shite owner (Allegro, R8) and had a burger and a pint. 

I didn't take ANY pictures but there was an Alfa Montreal, SD1 Vitesse and a giant land yacht (Coupe De Ville?) that I got to sit in. Think I might be getting the Yank Tank bug in the near future. 

Headlamps before and after elbow grease. 

Phoooaarrr that Puma is chodtastic 

[grogee]

32 minutes ago, Eyersey1234 said:

Phoooaarrr that Puma is chodtastic 

That's kind. It is, arguably, even more chodtastic now as it has a crease in the rear bumper from when I dumbly reversed into a fence. 

Suitably pissed off about this so I did what any sensible* person would do - rushed out and bought a 2nd hand replacement in the wrong colour. 

It does have a scuff of its own that will need filling but I'm planning to treat and spray this slowly as there's no rush to get it on the car. 

When I do that job I've also got a rear tailgate latch motor to replace - mine is a bit dim witted and takes a few goes to open (TADTS). Managed to score a NOS Ford one which might even work for a little while until it gets tired. 

[grogee]

Valve grinding day. I've come in for a cuppa and to listen to the end of the test match, four valves done and four to go. I'm glad it's not a 16v.

New head is lovely NOSness and arrived in that waxy paper and a BL box. The cam cover is different so I'm not sure whether to use the (original) ribbed cover or change to this nice shiny new one, which is strictly speaking the wrong sort, cosmetically. 

I've decided I've got to do the valve clearances after all. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if it was tappety or didn't run right because I couldn't be bothered to set it up right. To that end I've ordered some angle iron to make the HBoL DIY special tool to clamp the camshaft down so clearances can be checked. What a pain in the arris. 

The other very BL aspect of this head is the way the valve seat inserts sit in the head. There is a recess around them that is perfect for valve grinding paste to collect in. And helpfully, the HBoL states: "... If particles of carbon or grinding paste should work their way into the engine, they would cause havoc with bearings or cylinder walls." 

Thanks Haynes, I'll make sure I clean it with my tongue then. 

On the subject of the valve seats - they are steel (magnetic) which lends credence to the Wikipedia claim that all 2.0 O-series can be run on unleaded. The handbook says otherwise of course but I suspect AR was just covering its arse. 

[somewhatfoolish]

Never done the clearances on one of these although all shim systems are generally a complete fuckabout, but I'd caution against sweating to get it dead on, as with new shims, seats and valves it will probably all bed in and change over the first thousand miles or so. A decent micrometer doesn't cost much.

[grogee]

1 hour ago, somewhatfoolish said:

Never done the clearances on one of these although all shim systems are generally a complete fuckabout, but I'd caution against sweating to get it dead on, as with new shims, seats and valves it will probably all bed in and change over the first thousand miles or so. A decent micrometer doesn't cost much.

I shan't be sweating to get it dead on, besides which I have a limited pool of shims to choose from. What I want to make sure is that there's some clearance rather than none, and 0.3mm is the target but I'd take 0.05 either way of that. Anyway I need to get hold of my angle iron, cut and drill then glue some plywood on as per the HBoL instructions. 

I've lapped in 7 of the 8 valves now, dinner creation stopped play, but big thanks to @Cluffy for the loan of his valve sucker spinner and tin of crunchy paste. There's enough in that tin to last us both the rest of our lives, I think.

COARSE THIS SIDE

FINE THIS SIDE

[MrBiscuits]

I've got a tin of that 'chemico' grinding paste somewhere, pretty sure I'm the third generation to have custody of it. Did you use that stick with the rubber suckers on to lap them in or cheat with a cordless drill?

[grogee]

5 minutes ago, MrBiscuits said:

cheat with a cordless drill

I think you already know the answer to that, Kev. 

Let the Ni-MH take the strain... 

[Eyersey1234]

6 hours ago, grogee said:

That's kind. It is, arguably, even more chodtastic now as it has a crease in the rear bumper from when I dumbly reversed into a fence. 

Suitably pissed off about this so I did what any sensible* person would do - rushed out and bought a 2nd hand replacement in the wrong colour. 

It does have a scuff of its own that will need filling but I'm planning to treat and spray this slowly as there's no rush to get it on the car. 

When I do that job I've also got a rear tailgate latch motor to replace - mine is a bit dim witted and takes a few goes to open (TADTS). Managed to score a NOS Ford one which might even work for a little while until it gets tired. 

Aah no no you didn't reverse into the fence, the Puma was parked there and the fence took off and crashed into it 🤣🤣🤣

[Noel Tidybeard]

i can't help but wonder if attacking the rear wiper motor with a considerable quantity of contact cleaner would (dis)solve any thing 🤣

[grogee]

Got the valves in place and got round to checking some of the clearances, it seems I'm in the right ballpark but need to twizzle a few shims around I think. 

My home-made cam clamp is OK but it's a bit of a kerfuffle just because I need some bolts that I don't have so I'm making do with something shite (coach bolts) which makes it a pain to clamp down. 

Still, it should be in a position to go back on the block tomorrow. I need to give the head bolts a clean and do some final checks but hopefully it'll go together without a fight.