Amelia's Automotive Adventures - Kompressed

[hairnet]

9 minutes ago, Rustybullethole said:

Me too.

The nasty surprise of finding a massive gapping crusty hole is a better found with an exploratory finger rather than...

the mot man

[Rustybullethole]

32 minutes ago, hairnet said:

the mot man

Indeed though there's worse ways to find the structural rigidity has worn off a bit. 

A case in point. 

 

 

[Amelia]

It's finished. 

FTP happened on the way into work - it's absolutely fucked, but entirely my fault as I pressed on with my journey in spite of knowing it was broken!

Here's what happened.

Auxiliary belt started squealing last Friday AM, I revved the engine and it shut up. I think perhaps it snapped because a little way into the journey the battery light came on,  as well as the brake warning light. 

My first thought was 'Oh, that's not good - I'd best turn off any electrics I don't need.' And I carried on. 

A short while later... I realised the heater wasn't hot anymore.  At that point it dawned on me that the water pump was on the same belt and that meant the water wasn't pumping.  At this point the lights were dimming and electricity was definitely running out. So I took it easy and kept an eye on the temperature, because work was only 5 or so miles away.,,,,in East London.... 

Needless to say, I got to within 1.5 miles of work and the temp shot up, the car started smoking out the exhaust badly and spluttering. It died just before the North Circular junction, and I coasted to the side of the road and bumped up onto the pavement. Car completely dead - luckily I have breakdown cover. It took an hour to get collected and dropped off at work, where the car has remained since.

Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

 

PS. I managed to fix the heater on the Mini, so at least I have reliable warm transport!

[Amelia]

Rio has been collected now, a sad close to a rather pathetic chapter in my car ownership saga.

 

Just for shits and giggles, I got the jump leads out and attempted to start it.

The noise was most horrible, it sounded really weird, a whirwhirwhir type noise with no catching at all - like only half of the engine was turning over - cambelt snapped maybe? 

Whatever the case, I wasn't exactly heartbroken to see it being dragged onto the back of the truck. 

[Amelia]

[Rustybullethole]

Some burn bright though not for long. Or something. 
Looking forward to further adventures. Can't wait to see what you pick up next.

[Amelia]

Apologies for not doing a collection thread, but here is my latest addition, hurriedly purchased after my mini decided all it's coolant ought to be deposited on the road!

It's the ex @garethj Suzuki Swift which has been pushed into daily service, and I've done nearly 600 miles in already. 

Observations: Noisy AC pump pulley is now noisier than ever, but I think I can just take the belt off completely for now. Water pump and alternator are on a separate belt. 

Driving position is horrid for a tall girl like me, I'm used to the mini which is a lot lower.

It zips along nicely and is good on fuel, averaging over 40mpg on my commute.  

Gearbox linkages need attention as sometimes 1st and 2nd are tough to find,  you have to wiggle the stick in neutral and then you can select them. I've stalled it so many times attempting to pull away in 3rd gear. 

Verdict? I'm going to  try to fix Bella.

[Amelia]

Other life updates:

I'm off to Turkey again in about a month, and I'll be returning with a VAG 🤣 (no not a car). I just hope I don't get a check engine light... 😬

Job is going well, didn't know I had it in me to be a sales girl! 😳

 

[Amelia]

Of course it was never going to stay stock...

Mini steels with 20mm spacers

Kinda had to make a custom exhaust after the back box fell off!

 

[Amelia]

Realised I hadn't updated this post in a while.

Kenari is still going strong.

Repaired the exhaust on the Swift and it's gone on long term loan to my friend 

[tom13]

Dibs that kenari when you sell. Love those. 

[High Jetter]

8 hours ago, Amelia said:

Realised I hadn't updated this post in a while.

Kenari is still going strong.

Repaired the exhaust on the Swift and it's gone on long term loan to my friend 

Not gonna ask about the knee bruises 🤣

[hairnet]

18 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Not gonna ask about the knee bruises 🤣

owns a mini - not a surprise

 

[Amelia]

52 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Not gonna ask about the knee bruises 🤣

Crawling under a car in daisy dukes will do that...

34 minutes ago, hairnet said:

owns a mini - not a surprise

 

Keep up, that was 2 cars ago, Mini is long scrapped 

[High Jetter]

36 minutes ago, Amelia said:

Crawling under a car in daisy dukes will do that.

Ooh, tell us more!😄

[Noel Tidybeard]

1 hour ago, Amelia said:

Crawling under a car in daisy dukes

yep that'll be Amelia! 🤦‍♂️🤣🤣

[Amelia]

22 hours ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

yep that'll be Amelia! 🤦‍♂️🤣🤣

Pic of me fixing brakes in a Travelodge car park, less than a month after my surgery...

 

[Noel Tidybeard]

cunning use of trolley jack handle to stop you from rolling away!🤣

[Rustybullethole]

 

Gelling with the swift a bit more then? Always fancied giving one a go.

2 hours ago, Amelia said:

Pic of me fixing brakes in a Travelodge car park, less than a month after my surgery...

Protective parcel shelf doing bits there. 

[Amelia]

Latest addition!

Lovely to meet you @wesacosa x

[wesacosa]

24 minutes ago, Amelia said:

Latest addition!

Lovely to meet you @wesacosa x

you too. Hope it does you ok 

sorry about the discs, I really hadn't noticed them judder. I realised last night that it was more than 500 miles , I did them before the MOT in April but still shouldn't be warped. As I said, maybe check those caliper sliders. I also read somewhere that front control arm bushes can also lead to judder 

Oh and don't forget to keep a tyre pump to hand for that drivers side rear!

 

[Amelia]

1 hour ago, wesacosa said:

you too. Hope it does you ok 

sorry about the discs, I really hadn't noticed them judder. I realised last night that it was more than 500 miles , I did them before the MOT in April but still shouldn't be warped. As I said, maybe check those caliper sliders. I also read somewhere that front control arm bushes can also lead to judder 

Oh and don't forget to keep a tyre pump to hand for that drivers side rear!

 

Like I kept telling you when you were fussing over all the little faults - It's a 300 quid car, I'm just happy it goes and stops and has air con!

I've definitely put it through it's paces - for a 1.8 it doesn't half accelerate well!

MPG average is 36.8 on my morning run to work, which is decent for the size of the car. 

[wesacosa]

43 minutes ago, Amelia said:

Like I kept telling you when you were fussing over all the little faults - It's a 300 quid car, I'm just happy it goes and stops and has air con!

I've definitely put it through it's paces - for a 1.8 it doesn't half accelerate well!

MPG average is 36.8 on my morning run to work, which is decent for the size of the car. 

Ta, 

Yeah MPG isn't too bad to be fair. I average 40 on my cruise commute if there's no traffic and yeah the aircon is lovely and cold.   I think these Kompressor models seem to be slightly better on fuel compared to the NA ones 

[barefoot]

Considering the title, there's nowhere near enough Kenari content in this thread. I cant even remember what the word means anymore. Nuts?Can you post many pictures,  stories &  opinions and possibly even add me to the list for when you move it on.

[Amelia]

On 20/08/2025 at 17:10, barefoot said:

Considering the title, there's nowhere near enough Kenari content in this thread. I cant even remember what the word means anymore. Nuts?Can you post many pictures,  stories &  opinions and possibly even add me to the list for when you move it on.

You do NOT want to see what the Kenari looks like now! It's my project car with my littlun - banded steels, mild lowering. 

There's more mods in the pipeline - for maybe a slight performance upgrade.

 

 

Mercedes has been treated to a wash (2 buckets only!) and has rewarded me with metal on metal on the rear brakes and groaning like a special needs Sylvester Stallone when doing under 30mph!

 

[wesacosa]

Liked for the shiny car , not the noises

Both noises from rear brakes do you think?

Maybe rusty back plate?  I put the replacement plate in with the box of stuff but I may have forgotten to put the handbrake shoe pin and spring kit in.  If I find it in the garage I'll let you know 

hope its nothing more serious

[Noel Tidybeard]

if Daisy Duke did car wash...🤓

[Amelia]

13 minutes ago, wesacosa said:

Liked for the shiny car , not the noises

Both noises from rear brakes do you think?

Maybe rusty back plate?  I put the replacement plate in with the box of stuff but I may have forgotten to put the handbrake shoe pin and spring kit in.  If I find it in the garage I'll let you know 

hope its nothing more serious

Yeah, and that's where the wobble came from too I think. 

Pads and discs purchased, doing them tonight x

[Volksy]

The squeaky rear end may be from the track control (trailing) arm. I replaced one side a few year back as it actually snapped. 

I didn't have the correct torque settings for the new one, so just installed it reasonably tight. Think is you need the weird 10 sided torx bit to change them. Halfords stock them for not a huge amount of £££

It always did sound like a Victorian pram when I had it. 

 

Arches aside, it still looks good for a wash!