Discussion
eltax91 said:
I'm in! Love the thread idea LK!
Thanks. Anyone can add what they're up to. 
Today was triumph and failure.
My Yellow Bravo is now a valet away from MOT. The steering rack boot was an easy job. The key to it is taking the track rod end nut off. I found the best way was to use a 12mm spanner to hold the rod still and a spark plug socket.
The faff is putting cable ties on the inside of the new boot. You can sit under the car and try to thread it or lean over the engine and try to reach through the gap and do it that way, or you can make the cable tie into a loop thread it down the boot James Herriot style.
Failure was the last parts from the blue HLX.
Washer bottle? Fitted in the factory before the wings, doors, bumpers and bonnet. To get it out you need to take the wing off. To take the wing off you have to take the bumper off to get to the front two wing bolts, take the bonnet off so you can take the hinge off to get to the top wing bolt and take the door off as I suspect the hinge bolts also secure the wing. Add to that the crazy glue and you have very little chance of getting the wing off without bending it. Pointless if you want to keep it, too much faff for a water bottle worth £10 on eBay.
Fuel pump? So fragile the top shattered as I tried to tap open the top ring.
Anyway that's it for the blue Bravo.
Great looking car but too rusty to put back on the road without a complete strip down, new pillar, new floor, new inner sills, new castle rails, new outer sills and an IVA.
227bhp said:
Liquid Knight said:
...my local shop had supplied me with the wrong faffing part!
I took it back this morning and even explained as a result of them not supplying the right part I've missed a charity track day. No word of apology at all and the new correct part won't be here before Monday so I'v had to cancel a trip to Derby tomorrow. Grrrrrrrrr!
It's also possible the shop have supplied the correct part as per their catalogue number, it is not unknown for the suppliers to the suppliers to list the incorrect parts and part numbers. Pictures and measurements are often the best way of identifying something.
The best option was to take the old one down and get the new (correct one) ordered. I was hoping someone else had got my one it was a logistical mix up but it was the computer having several options and the wrong on got clicked.
No photo's for this one as it's not my car and I didn't think to ask permission.
A little old lady who lives in my village has seen me working on cars in my garden and asked if I could have a look at her 2001 Hyundai AtoZ.
The car passed the MOT on November 17th but this morning she noticed the car wasn't steering left very well and would wobble at anything over 45mph.
I took the car for a drive. Sure enough it turned right just fine, but when you turned left the drivers side wheel didn't feel like it was turning as much as the passenger side one. New tyres for the MOT and I checked the pressures before I set off so I knew it wasn't that simple. I was thinking, track control arm, wheel bearing, wishbone bush or possibly subframe bush.
Got it on my ramps and it was none of these. The subframe was rusted and cracked on the drivers side. The passenger side of the car was held on with four bolts and a beam that went almost all the way across but the drivers side held on by two bolts and when you turned the steering left the crack opened.
Just goes to show, you can pass an MOT one week and have a catastrophic failure the next.
I looked like it could be welded but I have suggested she takes it to the garage and see of they can fit a new one. Welding could weaken the metal around it so all it does is move the crack somewhere else. I remember having a crabby Mini because the rear subframe was welded instead of replaced.
A little old lady who lives in my village has seen me working on cars in my garden and asked if I could have a look at her 2001 Hyundai AtoZ.
The car passed the MOT on November 17th but this morning she noticed the car wasn't steering left very well and would wobble at anything over 45mph.
I took the car for a drive. Sure enough it turned right just fine, but when you turned left the drivers side wheel didn't feel like it was turning as much as the passenger side one. New tyres for the MOT and I checked the pressures before I set off so I knew it wasn't that simple. I was thinking, track control arm, wheel bearing, wishbone bush or possibly subframe bush.
Got it on my ramps and it was none of these. The subframe was rusted and cracked on the drivers side. The passenger side of the car was held on with four bolts and a beam that went almost all the way across but the drivers side held on by two bolts and when you turned the steering left the crack opened.
Just goes to show, you can pass an MOT one week and have a catastrophic failure the next.
I looked like it could be welded but I have suggested she takes it to the garage and see of they can fit a new one. Welding could weaken the metal around it so all it does is move the crack somewhere else. I remember having a crabby Mini because the rear subframe was welded instead of replaced.
Driveway CSI today I have made a couple of discoveries.
1/ Shell V-Power is worth the extra. I did 376 miles on £50 of normal 95 Ron Shell petrol in my Bravo today but would normally get 410-ish from £50 of V-Power.
2/ When you are in a car for close to eight hours with the rear seats folded down your farts accumulate in the back. You discover this when you open the tailgate at journeys end.
1/ Shell V-Power is worth the extra. I did 376 miles on £50 of normal 95 Ron Shell petrol in my Bravo today but would normally get 410-ish from £50 of V-Power.
2/ When you are in a car for close to eight hours with the rear seats folded down your farts accumulate in the back. You discover this when you open the tailgate at journeys end.
Where it all began.
The first Driveway CSI from seven years ago today.
I drove my Subaru Justy through a puddle, she fired on two (out of three) for long enough for fuel vapor to build up in the back box and as the wet HT was drying it fired out of sequence sending a flame down the exhaust blowing the back box wide open.
Hilarious at the time and she sounded like a proper Subaru the rest of the way home.
As I was to find out later Subaru Justy parts are near impossible to find so I ended up using a back box from my MGB and two ninety degree bends.
The first Driveway CSI from seven years ago today.
I drove my Subaru Justy through a puddle, she fired on two (out of three) for long enough for fuel vapor to build up in the back box and as the wet HT was drying it fired out of sequence sending a flame down the exhaust blowing the back box wide open.
Hilarious at the time and she sounded like a proper Subaru the rest of the way home.
As I was to find out later Subaru Justy parts are near impossible to find so I ended up using a back box from my MGB and two ninety degree bends.
Driveway CSI today is a bit of a valet job...
...the classic...
This time it was a Fiat Seicento SX, 2001, three owners from new, 45,000 miles, no advisories for the last MOT and only £110 (haggled down from £150 before I saw it).
The MOT expired in October and I think the last one was a favor.
So with a total budget of £300 (so I could sell the car before Christmas for £400-495 and use the profit for more Jesus's birthday presents) I had a closer look.
All four tyres needed replacing, the fronts were bald and the rears were cracked.
The rear brakes didn't work and the hand brake was useless, new cable, shoes and/or cylinders.
The drivers side rear wheel bearing was shot and had about ten degrees of play.
The back box had a "slight leak"...
...about as slight as an MI6 laptop left on a tube train.
Interior vents were either missing or smashed due to cheap clip on air fresheners.
No spare wheel.
But the car cleaned up nicely.
Car £110
MOT £40
Tyres £110-£130
Exhaust £60
Wheel bearings £60 (no point only doing one side and the rear brakes need to come apart anyway).
Brakes £50-£110 depending on what needs replacing/doing.
Total £510 on the high side £210 more than my budget would accommodate.
Any other month and with fewer projects to consider I would have bought it and done something more fun (I have a 1242cc engine, rally cam' and DIY roll cage kit from the Cinquecento in my shed) but it's better to check these things over before jumping into it.
...the classic...
My mate Kev said:
Would you be interested in X for £Y? I'll drop it round for you to look at.
...knowing I will not look over a car before cleaning it first. This time it was a Fiat Seicento SX, 2001, three owners from new, 45,000 miles, no advisories for the last MOT and only £110 (haggled down from £150 before I saw it).
The MOT expired in October and I think the last one was a favor.
So with a total budget of £300 (so I could sell the car before Christmas for £400-495 and use the profit for more Jesus's birthday presents) I had a closer look.
All four tyres needed replacing, the fronts were bald and the rears were cracked.
The rear brakes didn't work and the hand brake was useless, new cable, shoes and/or cylinders.
The drivers side rear wheel bearing was shot and had about ten degrees of play.
The back box had a "slight leak"...
...about as slight as an MI6 laptop left on a tube train.
Interior vents were either missing or smashed due to cheap clip on air fresheners.
No spare wheel.
But the car cleaned up nicely.
Car £110
MOT £40
Tyres £110-£130
Exhaust £60
Wheel bearings £60 (no point only doing one side and the rear brakes need to come apart anyway).
Brakes £50-£110 depending on what needs replacing/doing.
Total £510 on the high side £210 more than my budget would accommodate.
Any other month and with fewer projects to consider I would have bought it and done something more fun (I have a 1242cc engine, rally cam' and DIY roll cage kit from the Cinquecento in my shed) but it's better to check these things over before jumping into it.
Update. I've been offered the Seicento for £60
Tempting.
My American friend has a Volvo M90 gearbox with a broken slave cylinder mount...
...it looks like the slave has been stuck, hit with a hammer and broken the slide mount when changed in the past. From the looks of it the damage was done ages ago and it has been working perfectly since.
So for this International Driveway CSI we have four options as I see it...
1/ Leave it. It's been fine so it should stay that way.
2/ Cut a bit of Aluminium pipe to fit the gap and weld it in place.
3/ Replace the slave with a cold bar and weld layers from both sides until the new metal meets in the middle.
4/ Cut the same bit out of a scrap gearbox and weld it in place.
I have some cast Aluminium welding rods I bought to repair a cracked Fiat Panda distributor and such a remote spot shouldn't cause heat damage to the rest of the bell housing or box so welding is a viable option.
Tempting.
My American friend has a Volvo M90 gearbox with a broken slave cylinder mount...
...it looks like the slave has been stuck, hit with a hammer and broken the slide mount when changed in the past. From the looks of it the damage was done ages ago and it has been working perfectly since.
So for this International Driveway CSI we have four options as I see it...
1/ Leave it. It's been fine so it should stay that way.
2/ Cut a bit of Aluminium pipe to fit the gap and weld it in place.
3/ Replace the slave with a cold bar and weld layers from both sides until the new metal meets in the middle.
4/ Cut the same bit out of a scrap gearbox and weld it in place.
I have some cast Aluminium welding rods I bought to repair a cracked Fiat Panda distributor and such a remote spot shouldn't cause heat damage to the rest of the bell housing or box so welding is a viable option.
julian64 said:
Liquid Knight said:
Driveway CSI today I have made a couple of discoveries.
1/ Shell V-Power is worth the extra. I did 376 miles on £50 of normal 95 Ron Shell petrol in my Bravo today but would normally get 410-ish from £50 of V-Power.
2/ When you are in a car for close to eight hours with the rear seats folded down your farts accumulate in the back. You discover this when you open the tailgate at journeys end.
Hmm your are buying 10% less fuel buying £50 of vpower rather than unleaded, and you are saying you got roughly 10% more miles with 10% less fuel.1/ Shell V-Power is worth the extra. I did 376 miles on £50 of normal 95 Ron Shell petrol in my Bravo today but would normally get 410-ish from £50 of V-Power.
2/ When you are in a car for close to eight hours with the rear seats folded down your farts accumulate in the back. You discover this when you open the tailgate at journeys end.
So you are asking us to believe vpower is giving you a twenty percent improvement on range.
I don't think so. Even the most optimistic figures on the net show a possible but unreproducible 5% difference.
I think you just like vpower.
Pretty slow week for me. I've advertised my Spider as a potential Christmas gift. Had a few calls but people are generally stupid this time of year.
Done another three hundred miles in my Bravo to collect an M90 gearbox for my mates race car. That was collected by FedEx and will be in America by Monday.
I'm thinking of taking my Spider to work Sunday and swapping the fuse box for the new one. Not much else to do.
Merry character in a book's birthday if you're into that sort of thing.
Done another three hundred miles in my Bravo to collect an M90 gearbox for my mates race car. That was collected by FedEx and will be in America by Monday.
I'm thinking of taking my Spider to work Sunday and swapping the fuse box for the new one. Not much else to do.
Merry character in a book's birthday if you're into that sort of thing.
Driveway CSI today and we now have a silent running Seicento.
It would have been quicker to fit a new Seicento box but I had a Punto one in my shed, grinder and welder.
So I had to cut the original box off, make a link pipe to the front of the Punto box, cut off and invert the tail pipe, fabricate a couple of brackets and weld the lot together.
New Seicento exhaust £50-70 plus 30-60 minutes fitting.
Cut and shut Punto box £0.00 plus an hour and ten minutes.
It would have been quicker to fit a new Seicento box but I had a Punto one in my shed, grinder and welder.
So I had to cut the original box off, make a link pipe to the front of the Punto box, cut off and invert the tail pipe, fabricate a couple of brackets and weld the lot together.
New Seicento exhaust £50-70 plus 30-60 minutes fitting.
Cut and shut Punto box £0.00 plus an hour and ten minutes.
Final Driveway CSI of 2016
A Fiat Panda that belongs to a friend of mine had a moment the other night when the throttle stuck open and appears to be fine now.
Driving in freezing fog, parking up and sticky throttle on the way home? The Panda version of carb' icing.
I hope you all have a great 2017
Well a less bodgy dodgy one at least.
A Fiat Panda that belongs to a friend of mine had a moment the other night when the throttle stuck open and appears to be fine now.
Driving in freezing fog, parking up and sticky throttle on the way home? The Panda version of carb' icing.
I hope you all have a great 2017
Well a less bodgy dodgy one at least.
One of my resolutions this year was to be less sadistic. That didn't last. A chap was going on about his turbo and how replacing the intercooler with a charge cooler hasn't made much difference.
I told him that charge coolers reduce the temperature of the electricity so the spark plugs work better.
This is what happens when you pay someone to work on your car instead of doing it yourself. He believed me until he Google'd with his phone.
I told him that charge coolers reduce the temperature of the electricity so the spark plugs work better.
This is what happens when you pay someone to work on your car instead of doing it yourself. He believed me until he Google'd with his phone.
Historical Driveway CSI from last year.
Driving on my way to work I encountered a Vauxhall Zafira broken down half way up a hill. Typically it was a snapped timing belt.
Nothing I could do to help apart from roll it down the hill and push it safely off the road and make sure the drivers husband was on his way.
Driving on my way to work I encountered a Vauxhall Zafira broken down half way up a hill. Typically it was a snapped timing belt.
Nothing I could do to help apart from roll it down the hill and push it safely off the road and make sure the drivers husband was on his way.
I've upset someone with Driveway CSI today.
"It's taken me all weekend to do the wishbones on my Alfa GTV".
Really? Why?
"It took forever to get the new one lined up to the back bolt".
Oh I see. Next time when you take the upright out place a bar across the hole and use a ratchet strap to hold the anti-roll bar out of the way; then use a spare bolt with the threads ground off as an alignment tool.
"Are you serious?"
Yep, it takes about half an hour each side.
"GIT!"
"It's taken me all weekend to do the wishbones on my Alfa GTV".
Really? Why?
"It took forever to get the new one lined up to the back bolt".
Oh I see. Next time when you take the upright out place a bar across the hole and use a ratchet strap to hold the anti-roll bar out of the way; then use a spare bolt with the threads ground off as an alignment tool.
"Are you serious?"
Yep, it takes about half an hour each side.
"GIT!"
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