Smart Roadster wrangling writing

[Sigmund Fraud]

Splendid work !

Oh, and I think most of us have stories of fitting "removed from a running car, M8" parts without checking them. In my case, this includes small* parts that are easy* to replace again, like engines and gearboxes...

[Jimblob]

Sorry the replacement starter was duff. I bought it on ebay a few weeks ago, I'll try and get a refund for it and if I do I'll send you the money towards the new one

[Mac69400]

2 minutes ago, Jimblob said:

Sorry the replacement starter was duff. I bought it on ebay a few weeks ago, I'll try and get a refund for it and if I do I'll send you the money towards the new one

Not at all, Jim. It seems fairly clear from the interest you had that I've had an absolute bargain regardless. If you get any money back, put it towards the 504, and tell us all about it. 

[Agila]

It's better with a new starter anyway on a job like this, hopefully it sees the car out so it doesn't have to get done again.

Great thread. My balls were too small and skills/time too limited but what an epic little thing this will be when done.

[Mac69400]

No playing with the Smart today. Gives my hands a chance to heal up, though. 

[Mac69400]

The starter turned up this morning. I have stuff to do every morning, and I had to take a friend to an oncology appointment this afternoon. I reckoned I could squeeze a quick hour in on the car, and fitted the starter - after I'd checked it worked,  this time. Happy days. I started putting things back into the tiny engine hole, and realised I was running out of time. 

A quick tidy up of tools and I reconnected the battery briefly to lock the car, turned my back on the bastard thing and the bonnet blew shut. The battery is under the bonnet, or frunk, or whatever it's called. I already knew the keyhole in the passenger door was seized, so I now had a locked car with no way of getting in. Awesome. 

Off to the hospital to find out my friend has to stop her chemotherapy for a while. I think she's secretly relieved. While I was there, I saw my consultant by chance. Much to @R Lutz's delight no doubt, it turns out I'm entitled to PIP under SR1, because I'm expected to die within 12 months. Not only that, it's going to be backdated to the beginning of May. It's not a huge surprise, I've been dicking about with lung cancer for almost five years now. 

Anyway, while I was at the hospital I found out from evilution.co.uk  it was a piece of piss to break into a Smart Roadster. It's a very useful site that's well worth the few quid a year a subscription costs. 

So I did just that. It's a bit of a concern for the future, it took me 10 minutes to find what I needed and about 30 seconds to get into it. I need to research security measures.

The upshot is, it started on the key first try. While running it up to temperature, I found  a USB phone charger in the passenger footwell and a Bluetooth thing in the ashtray. I was able to connect my phone and listen to Eat Static on the drive. My poor neighbours. The only tiny problem is a bad earth on the NSR lights. It's a common problem and easily sorted. 

I ran out of time to get the bodywork back on and drive the thing, but I'm over the moon that it starts on the key. I drove it 120 miles back after we bumped it when I collected it so I know it drove well before I fucked about with it. Fingers crossed it still does. If it wasn't dark I'd still be up there fitting the bumper. What a day I've had! 

 

[dean36014]

Really sorry to hear about the cancer diagnosis.

[R Lutz]

8 hours ago, Mac69400 said:

Much to @R Lutz's delight no doubt, it turns out I'm entitled to PIP under SR1, because I'm expected to die within 12 months. Not only that, it's going to be backdated to the beginning of May. It's not a huge surprise, I've been dicking about with lung cancer for almost five years now. 

As much as I chased Fraud & Error for DWP, and some of my cases have appeared in the press, I fought for PIP to be payable to cancer sufferers as I nursed my mam to her death with cancer. Technically, she wasn't able to claim PIP.  Neither could women with breast cancer (my mam had ovarian cancer). I am sorry to hear of your diagnosis. 

[Jimblob]

It's a bit late to tell you (!) but I think the passenger door lock DOES work. There is a rubber ring  around the keyhole that I put there for cosmetic purposes but I recall it stops the key going in far enough to turn the lock...  

REALLY glad its working now and I hope you get to enjoy it prove the medics wrong for a lot longer than 12 months

[Mac69400]

Fantastic! Without a doubt I'll lock myself out of it again, so that's very good to know. 

It's Hymer MOT day today. Always a worry. The ex @ruffgeezer's dad's van passed last week, and I see the Smart could go in any time now. While I prefer summertime MOTs, I think three in a month might be a stretch. 

[ruffgeezer]

Congrats on the horrible van getting another MOT.

Well done on persevering with the starter. Im sure we've all had jobs like that in the past, I can think of a couple, I know.

We always used to put a few drops of oil into the bushings of new starter motors, I had an old oil can with whatever engine pil was about in it, but I'm sure a bit of 3 in 1 or similar would do the trick.

[Mac69400]

It's getting better at starting in this warm weather, too. Just needs some cheap tyres and a numberplate bulb and it'll be perfect. 

The starter is buried so deep now that it's not getting any oil. I hope never to see the bloody thing again! 

[Mac69400]

We're away for the weekend, celebrating the Hymer passing the MOT. First night was here:

Free, with a pub just to the left. 

Second night here:

Also free, with nothing around for a couple of miles. 

I've been reading the roadster owner's manual on line, like you do when it's beautiful outside. According to Smart, "You can adjust to the weather by changing your clothes to suit." Well, thanks for that. 

Back this morning, with the girlfriend at work I was able to play with the car. 

Some of the clips for the bodywork were a pain in the arse to get back in, and the rear windows need a fair amount of work to get them secure. I can see a lot of pissing around with them in the future. They're plastic, and it looks as though they'll benefit from a headlight revival kit, as well as new fixings bonded into the holes. 

Anyway, I got it all back together and went for a drive. No pictures, I'm afraid. It's absolutely great! 

It's lovely around town, the gear changes are almost imperceptible. Once you get out, you can nail the throttle and with only  80bhp it's brisk without being intimidating. It makes a lovely chirrup behind your head from the turbo when it changes up, and keeps heading for the redline at every gear change. 

My baseline for car handling has been various Scudos, Berlingos and a 4.6 ton Hymer, so this is a revelation to me.  At the moment, I'm absolutely smitten.

I'll get it MOTd before I fall in love with it, but at the moment I'm over the moon. It's fantastic. 

[Mac69400]

I had an issue with the NSR lights. Suspecting a dodgy earth which seems to be a common issue with these, I whipped the light out to find Scotchlock things, and took a terrible photo to remind me where the bulb holders go. 

I had to cut out and replace about 8" of the negative on the brake/rear light. 

All sorted now, I reckon it's ready for an MOT. 

Any excuse for a run out, my brother's boat is in the dry dock at Stourport, and his 16 amp cable is a bit short. Another 50 miles racked up. 

I also filled the tank. Apparently it's a big fan of 99ron, but at £40 to take it from 1/4 to full, I don't mind paying the extra. 

[jon.k]

Sounds like you have everything under control, but in case you didn’t know, there’s a good smart specialist down the road from Evesham. 4 smart on the Toddington industrial estate). I think he may keep some spares and he particularly likes electrical problems!

[Mac69400]

1 hour ago, jon.k said:

Sounds like you have everything under control, but in case you didn’t know, there’s a good smart specialist down the road from Evesham. 4 smart on the Toddington industrial estate). I think he may keep some spares and he particularly likes electrical problems!

Funnily enough, that was the first place I went on it's maiden voyage with the new starter. It's booked in for an MOT on 1st July, then I'm going to get him to have a look over it and tell me what's wrong with it. He certainly keeps some spares, and a lot of cars. I used to have a big workshop that was full with four motorhomes in it. He's got one half the size with about a dozen smarts of various types. I was doing it all wrong! 

[jon.k]

9 hours ago, Mac69400 said:

Funnily enough, that was the first place I went on it's maiden voyage with the new starter. It's booked in for an MOT on 1st July, then I'm going to get him to have a look over it and tell me what's wrong with it. He certainly keeps some spares, and a lot of cars. I used to have a big workshop that was full with four motorhomes in it. He's got one half the size with about a dozen smarts of various types. I was doing it all wrong! 

That makes sense! I was speaking to him yesterday and trying to work out whether you'd been - he said someone had come in who had just fitted a new starter motor and we were trying to work out if you were the same person. 

[Mac69400]

That was me, on Monday afternoon. I think he'll be a useful man to know. 

 

[Mac69400]

I took the roadster on a regular Thursday evening run to Bristol and back. It's the first vehicle I've owned that can go into the LEZ, which was a mixed blessing. It was fucking busy. I was very conscious that it was hot and I'd drained and refilled the coolant recently. It was fine, I needn't have worried. 

After a couple of pints with very old friends, I had an unremarkable journey home. I'm sure it's noisy on the motorway, but everything I gave to compare it with is too. You can't roll a fag and steer with your knees, though. It's a bit twitchy. 

Since I knew it was going to be a lovely day today, I brought it to where I actually live to piss about with it. I think I've done about 300 miles in it so far. 

Have a terrible picture of it being very small in a parking space at Bristol Temple Meads. It took me a while to find it later. 

[Mac69400]

As I said, I brought it home. I've been so busy fixing it, then driving it, that I haven't had time to give it a good look over. 

I was intending to clean the seats, since the dog has no respect for the nice things I buy for our mutual amusement. Covers are on the list, depending on the MOT outcome. 

Anyway, I didn't do that, and instead took lots of pictures of it so that one day I can remember how good it was before I broke it. This post will be very picture heavy, I'm afraid. 

As it comes, with the weather proof* roof closed. 

At the press of a button inside or a double press of the open button on the fob, the canvas roof handily chops your shopping in half just behind your head. 

I think a double press on the locking button on the remote should shut it. It doesn't, but that might not be a problem. 

Next up, a few around the car. Fortunately it's quite dirty but there will be some reflections of me, the dog, the dog's lead etc. Apologies. 

[Mac69400]

I reckon there are elements of Lotus Elise and Clownshoe BMW in the way it looks. 

At the front, there's a bonnet. Immediately beneath the bonnet is a liner, I guess. There's a bit of space in there for stuff, but there's no way to open it without getting into the car and opening the glovebox. It makes shopping a pain in the arse. 

The whole thing lifts out to reveal a battery and a power steering rack. 

It's not uncommon for the power steering electrics to be disconnected and a component removed for reasons I'm unclear of. It's been done on this car, Jim gave me the part that has to be removed. There appear to be conflicting opinions on whether it's a good idea or a bad idea. I find the steering manageable at all speeds, without any surprises or tight spots. We'll see what the specialist advises in a couple of weeks.

Edited 19 hours ago by Mac69400
Moar pics

[Mac69400]

Right, round the back and then a look inside. This is as much for me as you lot, so ignore it if you like. 

At the back, there's a small greenhouse area. 

The lid is glass, and has a high level brake light, a spoiler, and is heated. I'm fucking careful with it, I can't imagine how much that would cost. The plastic flap thing you can see is the forward extent of the useable space. The folding roof uses the space in front of it. 

Below the carpet the 5l container is sitting on, is the engine. 

That's not a great picture. Even I know that. On the left is the air filter. More or less in the middle is the intercooler and intercooler fan. Next you have the intake manifold - three cylinders, six spark plugs. 700cc and 80bhp. Lovely. Everything else, including three of the spark plugs, is tucked away and inaccessible. 

Next up, inside. 

Through the roof, because I could. It's got two seats, and that's it. There's room for very little else in there. 

Your arse is at most a couple of inches off the floor and your legs are horizontal towards the pedals. Getting in and out is still an experiment for me. 

Here's the driver's view. The windscreen looks expensive and rare. 

The dials in the middle of the dash are boost and temperature. 

I think the heater direction control isn't working. In a panic yesterday I turned it to high and tried to point it out of the roof. My feet got really hot, and there isn't much resistance from the lever. 

More interior pictures.

[Mac69400]

For the  ultimate top down experience, these bars come off. It's a bit of a pain in the arse, though. 

They have handy storage places in the frunk thing. 

And make the car look like this. 

 I'm not sure it's worth the effort. If it impresses the ladies, maybe I'll give it a shot more often. 

[Sheefag]

I love this car.
How much did you give for this much fun, again??

[Matty]

18 minutes ago, Sheefag said:

I love this car.
How much did you give for this much fun, again??

Definatly appears to have found the right owner.

[Jimblob]

1 hour ago, Mac69400 said:

I reckon there are elements of Lotus Elise and Clownshoe BMW in the way it looks. 

At the front, there's a bonnet. Immediately beneath the bonnet is a liner, I guess. There's a bit of space in there for stuff, but there's no way to open it without getting into the car and opening the glovebox. It makes shopping a pain in the arse. 

The whole thing lifts out to reveal a battery and a power steering rack. 

It's not uncommon for the power steering electrics to be disconnected and a component removed for reasons I'm unclear of. It's been done on this car, Jim gave me the part that has to be removed. There appear to be conflicting opinions on whether it's a good idea or a bad idea. I find the steering manageable at all speeds, without any surprises or tight spots. We'll see what the specialist advises in a couple of weeks.

The steering with the power steering working is vague, and the steering wheel becomes a bit 'sticky' not returning to the centre properly. It's awful. Takes a minute or two to put the worm drive back in and reconnect the electrics,  but honestly, don't bother!

[Mac69400]

1 hour ago, Sheefag said:

I love this car.
How much did you give for this much fun, again??

I'm embarrassed to say, if I'm honest. I'm very conscious that I got an absolute bargain. Asking prices are all over the place for these, ranging from what I paid at the very bottom to over £10k. I've done very well, and I'm very grateful for that. 

Anyway, things that caught my interest. The sun visors are tiny. 

It's got a dull patch on the nsf wing. I know nothing about paint or plastic. I don't know if this is painted or just black by nature. Whatever, I can live with it. 

The rear side windows are plastic and susceptible to UV damage like headlights. There's cutting compound all over the back of the car, so I think this'll have to be something I live with, too. Some of the fixings are broken and I want to sort that. Maybe when I have the windows out I'll see if I can make them clearer. 

Other than that, Jim or a previous owner changed the ignition key, which is awesome. The blade comes out of the fob:

And goes into this aluminium knob:

Which sits here:

I'm sure I could leave it there all the time, since the car is immobilised by the remote. However, I'm very fond of the car and incredibly risk averse, so I take it with me every time. Spoils the effect a bit, but it is what it is. 

It also, backtracking a long way, prevents you from opening the car using the keyhole in the passenger door. Ultimately, it's a useless pain in the arse, but it looks great. 

That's all for the day. Fuck the Bissell. I'm having a beer. 

 

 

[Mac69400]

20 minutes ago, Jimblob said:

The steering with the power steering working is vague, and the steering wheel becomes a bit 'sticky' not returning to the centre properly. It's awful. Takes a minute or two to put the worm drive back in and reconnect the electrics,  but honestly, don't bother!

I'll leave it, then! It feels great as it is, and that'll do for me.