The Green Machine - to do list
Discussion
Hi all, great first drive back from Bristol down to Cornwall yesterday. A few bits I noticed on the drive which need attention that it would be great if anyone can help with :
- Interior light seems to not be working
(Looks like these are all sold out online. I saw mention of a corsa c interior light for this? If anyone knows where I could find one that’d be super helpful).
- Speedo Jumping
(I suspect this is the sender, but after 2 hours on the motorway it totally stopped working, back down to zero. Then came back on and started flicking all over the place. When it wasn’t flicking around it wasn’t reading the correct speed. If it is the sender, can I fix this, and where do I locate it?)
- Rear view mirror
(Had an aftermarket one put on. Which is just stuck on to the screen underneath the mounting point for the original. It wobbles so badly it deems it basically unusable. I’ve ordered a motoclan replacement)
- Tunnel heat
(I know they run hot, but I was struggling to change gear as the gear knob got so hot. Seemed to me that it was pouring up from the gap in the gaiter. Is there anything I can do about that or is that just to be deemed as the factory fitment left hand-warmer?)
- Decat
(To solve the above and reduce tunnel temps slightly I was looking at decats. Is that a total pig of a job, or fairly doable?)
- Screen Contrast
(I remember this happening on my Tam but the screen totally blanked out when hot. Adjusted the contrast right up and it resolved itself, but I remember that when I get in this morning it’ll likely be illegible again. Is there anything optimum number that people have found that you can still use the screen in most settings? It’s nice to keep an eye on temps etc).
- dipped beam upgrade
(The lights weren’t actually as bad as I was expecting but still wouldn’t mind upgrading the dipped. I’ve seen a lot of discussion about h7 LED bulb upgrades. Rather than getting some dodgey eBay especial’s has anyone got any suggestions on where to buy LED replacements from?)
-Passenger seatbelt sticking
(Don’t know if there’s anything I can do about this other than replacing the belt, but I’m going to have my 5 year old in the car a lot so I wouldn’t mind the passenger belt actually functioning properly. All being well I won’t be crashing, but safety first and all that)
I have to say, I’ve fancied getting back in one of these things for years and yesterday really did not disappoint!! So so good to be back in the fold.
- Interior light seems to not be working
(Looks like these are all sold out online. I saw mention of a corsa c interior light for this? If anyone knows where I could find one that’d be super helpful).
- Speedo Jumping
(I suspect this is the sender, but after 2 hours on the motorway it totally stopped working, back down to zero. Then came back on and started flicking all over the place. When it wasn’t flicking around it wasn’t reading the correct speed. If it is the sender, can I fix this, and where do I locate it?)
- Rear view mirror
(Had an aftermarket one put on. Which is just stuck on to the screen underneath the mounting point for the original. It wobbles so badly it deems it basically unusable. I’ve ordered a motoclan replacement)
- Tunnel heat
(I know they run hot, but I was struggling to change gear as the gear knob got so hot. Seemed to me that it was pouring up from the gap in the gaiter. Is there anything I can do about that or is that just to be deemed as the factory fitment left hand-warmer?)
- Decat
(To solve the above and reduce tunnel temps slightly I was looking at decats. Is that a total pig of a job, or fairly doable?)
- Screen Contrast
(I remember this happening on my Tam but the screen totally blanked out when hot. Adjusted the contrast right up and it resolved itself, but I remember that when I get in this morning it’ll likely be illegible again. Is there anything optimum number that people have found that you can still use the screen in most settings? It’s nice to keep an eye on temps etc).
- dipped beam upgrade
(The lights weren’t actually as bad as I was expecting but still wouldn’t mind upgrading the dipped. I’ve seen a lot of discussion about h7 LED bulb upgrades. Rather than getting some dodgey eBay especial’s has anyone got any suggestions on where to buy LED replacements from?)
-Passenger seatbelt sticking
(Don’t know if there’s anything I can do about this other than replacing the belt, but I’m going to have my 5 year old in the car a lot so I wouldn’t mind the passenger belt actually functioning properly. All being well I won’t be crashing, but safety first and all that)
I have to say, I’ve fancied getting back in one of these things for years and yesterday really did not disappoint!! So so good to be back in the fold.
A few random thoughts!
Gear stick heat - do a search on here. I've got a teflon(?) replacement for the stick, which is a good heat insulator. Believe some folks have opted for titanium.
LED dipped beams are available as aftermarket replacement. I've used an outlet in Southampton (hids4me...I think?) and they cover all the lighting options. Google them and they are helpful over the 'phone - probably need some photos. Having said that the lamps are standard 90mm Hella units.
De-catting will assist with heat transfer to gearstick and handbrake. Helps also with cabin temps. You'll need bypass pipes, but these are available from Motaclan and Racetech Direct.
Nick
Gear stick heat - do a search on here. I've got a teflon(?) replacement for the stick, which is a good heat insulator. Believe some folks have opted for titanium.
LED dipped beams are available as aftermarket replacement. I've used an outlet in Southampton (hids4me...I think?) and they cover all the lighting options. Google them and they are helpful over the 'phone - probably need some photos. Having said that the lamps are standard 90mm Hella units.
De-catting will assist with heat transfer to gearstick and handbrake. Helps also with cabin temps. You'll need bypass pipes, but these are available from Motaclan and Racetech Direct.
Nick
Thanks for the replies guys ! Interesting ref hills as that’s when a friend was struggling, but I was fine getting the little man out for his first blast this morning.
Will have a gander on the lights as well - thanks !
In other news, I’ve just ordered a new steering wheel. Can’t stand the OMP one that someone has put on. I’d read on one of the threads that the boss is a universal one that most things will fit, so I’m hoping that’s the case so I don’t need to mess around with a new boss. Keeping fingers crossed for when it arrives.
I’ve also applied little clear plastic stoppers to stop the rev light cluster rattling around, and new 6x9’s which I’m hoping might suffice until I build up the courage to rip the carpet off the back and cut holes in the fibreglass.
Now eyeing decats to try and resolve what feels like a hairdryer on full blast up through the gater on the gearstick. Cable-tied it up for now but it does get bloody hot. It’s also never bad to get more noise.
Just need to try and resolve the speedo sender issue as that’s quite a big problem to have no idea how fast you’re going. I’m aware there is a readout on the screen but a) it’s tiny and in a group of other readouts and b) is illegible when it gets hot in the sun and blanks out.
Will have a gander on the lights as well - thanks !
In other news, I’ve just ordered a new steering wheel. Can’t stand the OMP one that someone has put on. I’d read on one of the threads that the boss is a universal one that most things will fit, so I’m hoping that’s the case so I don’t need to mess around with a new boss. Keeping fingers crossed for when it arrives.
I’ve also applied little clear plastic stoppers to stop the rev light cluster rattling around, and new 6x9’s which I’m hoping might suffice until I build up the courage to rip the carpet off the back and cut holes in the fibreglass.
Now eyeing decats to try and resolve what feels like a hairdryer on full blast up through the gater on the gearstick. Cable-tied it up for now but it does get bloody hot. It’s also never bad to get more noise.
Just need to try and resolve the speedo sender issue as that’s quite a big problem to have no idea how fast you’re going. I’m aware there is a readout on the screen but a) it’s tiny and in a group of other readouts and b) is illegible when it gets hot in the sun and blanks out.
Speedo issue - had this on mine, random speeds well into 3 figures and back, and finally dead. As with a lot of electrical gremlins I've found, it turned out to be a poor connector.
The speed sensor is a magnetic sensor that reads off a driveshaft at the diff (left, IIRC). The connector / wiring sits along the top of the fuel tank (filler end) under the carpet. When I checked the plug, the wiring to one of the pins had corroded and was coming away. Replacement pins cost about a quid, so it was a quick and easy fix.
The speed sensor is a magnetic sensor that reads off a driveshaft at the diff (left, IIRC). The connector / wiring sits along the top of the fuel tank (filler end) under the carpet. When I checked the plug, the wiring to one of the pins had corroded and was coming away. Replacement pins cost about a quid, so it was a quick and easy fix.
While I haven't had a Tuscan these do apply to my Tam and Sag.
DeCATs - have you considered some sports CATs? Clive F does some loverly ones using 200-cell CATs - I have the smaller diameter ones on Tamy which I had cermic coated to pass the heat along a bit. Not got any for Suni yet but will do the same. Bit more noise and still emissions friendly.
Gear stick heat - couple of things. Sealing around the body openings for the gearleaver and handbrake lever were a bit hit and miss in the factory. The gear gaiter is obsolete although short runs are done at a cost. I need to do Tamy's and have ordered an MX-5 item - mk1 and mk2 are the same I understand - and some ali foil tape. Titanium or resin gear stick also helps insulate soak up to the knob. Powers did the Ti version along with a nice replacement knob (imho). I also need to do the handbrake lever but not looked in to it too deeply yet.
Seatbelt - a car salesman trick is to treat the seatbelt with furniture polish. Pull it all the way out. Clean off any dirt. Spray on some Mr Sheen to both sides all the way along. They are really saensitive to being unlevel though. Poor positioning / fixing position.
Lights. Every TVR I have owned has had terrible wiring - undersized - to the lights. Hella do LED versions of the units (and the rear units) but at a cost. Personally, I would use some Osram Nightbreakers in the dipped unit and some LEDs in the spots. I've had LEDs in the same spot units on Tamy for over a decade with no issues come MOT time. There are a number of well established Automotive LED bulb suppliers - https://www.classiccarleds.co.uk/ : https://www.classicbulbs.co.uk/ : https://vintageandclassicspares.co.uk/classic-auto... I've had LED bulbs in Tamy for over a decade. They were OK back then but now are really good. The indicator bulbs Tamy has alround now are really noticeable (I have changed them over the years).
DeCATs - have you considered some sports CATs? Clive F does some loverly ones using 200-cell CATs - I have the smaller diameter ones on Tamy which I had cermic coated to pass the heat along a bit. Not got any for Suni yet but will do the same. Bit more noise and still emissions friendly.
Gear stick heat - couple of things. Sealing around the body openings for the gearleaver and handbrake lever were a bit hit and miss in the factory. The gear gaiter is obsolete although short runs are done at a cost. I need to do Tamy's and have ordered an MX-5 item - mk1 and mk2 are the same I understand - and some ali foil tape. Titanium or resin gear stick also helps insulate soak up to the knob. Powers did the Ti version along with a nice replacement knob (imho). I also need to do the handbrake lever but not looked in to it too deeply yet.
Seatbelt - a car salesman trick is to treat the seatbelt with furniture polish. Pull it all the way out. Clean off any dirt. Spray on some Mr Sheen to both sides all the way along. They are really saensitive to being unlevel though. Poor positioning / fixing position.
Lights. Every TVR I have owned has had terrible wiring - undersized - to the lights. Hella do LED versions of the units (and the rear units) but at a cost. Personally, I would use some Osram Nightbreakers in the dipped unit and some LEDs in the spots. I've had LEDs in the same spot units on Tamy for over a decade with no issues come MOT time. There are a number of well established Automotive LED bulb suppliers - https://www.classiccarleds.co.uk/ : https://www.classicbulbs.co.uk/ : https://vintageandclassicspares.co.uk/classic-auto... I've had LED bulbs in Tamy for over a decade. They were OK back then but now are really good. The indicator bulbs Tamy has alround now are really noticeable (I have changed them over the years).
I've just ordered one of these for my Tuscan so I'll let you know how it fits when it turns up.
https://www.carbuilder.com/products/oval-rubber-ge...
https://www.carbuilder.com/products/oval-rubber-ge...
Oo, Basil, let me know how that fits. Presumably it's just a case of takin the knob off (if it will come off), removing the leather gater and sliding that underneath? You'll have to let me know how you get on.
Decats - I'm going to give the decats a try on Thursday
Throttle issues - Got her booked in to RPB in a couple of weeks time. I've ordered some of these to try and resolve my throttle issue:
https://motaclan.com/product/pot-throttle-upgrade-...
Seems a good upgrade even if that isn't the underlying problem. If they don't solve it we're going to move on to the coil pack and leads. Hoping one of those things sorts the throttle issue and it isn't anything more untoward.
Leaking - Got some new rubbers coming for the whole car in an attempt to stop my water ingress. To me it seems like water is running down the inside of the door card, under the leather on the arm rest, then hitting the rubber and running over the top of it to the carpet - finally filling up the footwell with water. Not really sure if the rubbers will solve it, but they're a bit nackered anyway so will be a good starting point. The weird thing is i'm still getting that ingress when I have the half cover on which covers the windows. When I open the door I get water flooding out of the drain holes at the bottom of the door. God knows how it's getting there, but i'll figure it out eventually.
Wheels - booked in to get the wheels back to silver in a couple of week's time. Going to get them to sling on a 3mm spacer at the front at the same time.
Stereo - Amp is here and i'm going to get RPB to run the power cables for me, then i'll wire the rest up. I've got some speaker holders coming for a 3 inch mid and tweeter, which i'm hoping will fit nicely on the front shelf. The plan is to mount the mids either side of the stereo and tweeters by the doors. Mids don't matter so much on positioning as your ear can't discern location of that frequency as much, but all being well i'll at least get the higher frequencies to the edges of the car. Assuming the holders fit then i'm going to order the Focal 3 ways. Tricky job is going to be to cut the rear bulkhead for the woofers from the set. For now i'm just going to wire up the 6x9's that are there, then when i'm feeling more confident i'll give the woofers a go.
Slowly ticking things off the list. This bloody throttle issue is a real pain at the moment though as I can't use full throttle without it cutting power. Fine under part load. Lets see what RPB say.
Decats - I'm going to give the decats a try on Thursday
Throttle issues - Got her booked in to RPB in a couple of weeks time. I've ordered some of these to try and resolve my throttle issue:
https://motaclan.com/product/pot-throttle-upgrade-...
Seems a good upgrade even if that isn't the underlying problem. If they don't solve it we're going to move on to the coil pack and leads. Hoping one of those things sorts the throttle issue and it isn't anything more untoward.
Leaking - Got some new rubbers coming for the whole car in an attempt to stop my water ingress. To me it seems like water is running down the inside of the door card, under the leather on the arm rest, then hitting the rubber and running over the top of it to the carpet - finally filling up the footwell with water. Not really sure if the rubbers will solve it, but they're a bit nackered anyway so will be a good starting point. The weird thing is i'm still getting that ingress when I have the half cover on which covers the windows. When I open the door I get water flooding out of the drain holes at the bottom of the door. God knows how it's getting there, but i'll figure it out eventually.
Wheels - booked in to get the wheels back to silver in a couple of week's time. Going to get them to sling on a 3mm spacer at the front at the same time.
Stereo - Amp is here and i'm going to get RPB to run the power cables for me, then i'll wire the rest up. I've got some speaker holders coming for a 3 inch mid and tweeter, which i'm hoping will fit nicely on the front shelf. The plan is to mount the mids either side of the stereo and tweeters by the doors. Mids don't matter so much on positioning as your ear can't discern location of that frequency as much, but all being well i'll at least get the higher frequencies to the edges of the car. Assuming the holders fit then i'm going to order the Focal 3 ways. Tricky job is going to be to cut the rear bulkhead for the woofers from the set. For now i'm just going to wire up the 6x9's that are there, then when i'm feeling more confident i'll give the woofers a go.
Slowly ticking things off the list. This bloody throttle issue is a real pain at the moment though as I can't use full throttle without it cutting power. Fine under part load. Lets see what RPB say.
Productive evening yesterday. Decats went on and dropped the rear ride height 10mm on the coilovers.
Quick question on the decats. There was no gasket on the standard cats, and when I got them back on they were all seated correctly, but seemed to be very slightly blowing from somewhere. Felt like it was the top one that was doing it as I could feel air pushing down the side of the lower one. Should I be using some sort of gasket?
Sounds fantastic and looks much better not so rear up.
It is, however running like a total pig on high revs, just can t get any power consistently from above c 3-4k.
I am definitely no DIY expert but do have the plugs, leads and coil pack and wondered if this is a job I could attempt myself? I can t see any posts about it on the forums with pictures. It s something I d like to be able to do myself really but just not sure where to start.
Any direction for a budding DIY er would be greatly appreciated.
Quick question on the decats. There was no gasket on the standard cats, and when I got them back on they were all seated correctly, but seemed to be very slightly blowing from somewhere. Felt like it was the top one that was doing it as I could feel air pushing down the side of the lower one. Should I be using some sort of gasket?
Sounds fantastic and looks much better not so rear up.
It is, however running like a total pig on high revs, just can t get any power consistently from above c 3-4k.
I am definitely no DIY expert but do have the plugs, leads and coil pack and wondered if this is a job I could attempt myself? I can t see any posts about it on the forums with pictures. It s something I d like to be able to do myself really but just not sure where to start.
Any direction for a budding DIY er would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Blue !! The cable tie round the leather gater is currently helping a lot but will keep an eye for one of these. Also interested to hear how the plastic gater works as above.
Just ordered my 3 ways from focal - went for the flax version.
The pods for the speakers came from AliExpress yesterday and I have to say I’m over the moon with them. Assuming the speakers fit I’m going to mount them to the door card so they’re tucked out of the way. The tweeters will then be pushed right to the back corner on the shelf each side. Barely going to be noticeable but going to be a huge improvement to sound.
With the amp doing the hard work on the sound front I’ve also got one of these coming as a single din unit:
RCA’s will take the sound to the amp so just a bit of soldering for power bits. I think this should all look really nice and clean and nice to have wireless CarPlay.
Been looking for a single DIN unit like this for years but can only ever find Chinese ones, this is a German unit so hopefully well made. Reviews are certainly good.
Just ordered my 3 ways from focal - went for the flax version.
The pods for the speakers came from AliExpress yesterday and I have to say I’m over the moon with them. Assuming the speakers fit I’m going to mount them to the door card so they’re tucked out of the way. The tweeters will then be pushed right to the back corner on the shelf each side. Barely going to be noticeable but going to be a huge improvement to sound.
With the amp doing the hard work on the sound front I’ve also got one of these coming as a single din unit:
RCA’s will take the sound to the amp so just a bit of soldering for power bits. I think this should all look really nice and clean and nice to have wireless CarPlay.
Been looking for a single DIN unit like this for years but can only ever find Chinese ones, this is a German unit so hopefully well made. Reviews are certainly good.
It’s this.
https://ebay.io/m/pM86Bd
Looks a really good bit of kit. Finally a decent single din screen only. I’ll post some pics of mine once it’s in and report back on quality.
What Fezza do you have ?
https://ebay.io/m/pM86Bd
Looks a really good bit of kit. Finally a decent single din screen only. I’ll post some pics of mine once it’s in and report back on quality.
What Fezza do you have ?
Really happy with these speaker pods with the focal’s in. I ordered black but the silver actually ties in really nice to the rest of the interior. Tweeters disappear into the shadows on the shelf.
With the new head unit they’re going to be a really great addition.
Anyone that’s added speakers to the rear bulkhead - where have you cut the hole from, interior side or boot side? There’s plenty of space for the woofers and I was thinking just pull the carpet on the shelf from the inside and cut the hole from inside. Means I’ll be able to get placement bang on. My only concern is whether there’s anything in behind that bulkhead. The tank is obviously below but it’s just if there’s anything else above that I could hit?
![](https://forums-images.pistonheads.com/306807/202606156555754?resize=720[/img]</a> <a href="https://forums-images.pistonheads.com/306807/202606156558105" Target="_blank" >[img]https://forums-images.pistonheads.com/306807/202606156558105?resize=720[/img]</a> <a href="https://forums-images.pistonheads.com/306807/20260615655998" Target="_blank" >[img]https://forums-images.pistonheads.com/306807/20260615655998?resize=720)
With the new head unit they’re going to be a really great addition.
Anyone that’s added speakers to the rear bulkhead - where have you cut the hole from, interior side or boot side? There’s plenty of space for the woofers and I was thinking just pull the carpet on the shelf from the inside and cut the hole from inside. Means I’ll be able to get placement bang on. My only concern is whether there’s anything in behind that bulkhead. The tank is obviously below but it’s just if there’s anything else above that I could hit?
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