new owner - some questions!
Discussion
Hi all!
Had my chim 450 for just over 2 weeks now and still got 'the grin'.. Just have a couple of questions,
Firstly, the carpets in my chim are annoying me, they're dark blue but I have a sneaky suspicion that a previous owner has used some dodgy carpet cleaner on them. There are some patchy places on almost every panel where the the dye has been bleached or something as they are a sort of faint yellow colour in places. Im not in a huge hurry to sort it out, but i'd just like to know whether it is possible to restore the colour as the carpets themselves are in fine condition, or whether a full retrim is necessary?
Next question, i'm looking to get a leven dash soon as the veneer is cracked - whilst the dash is off, I thought I would change some bulbs behind the dials as the speedo has gone pretty dark in relation to the others at night. Does anyone know what kind of bulbs are used and where to get them? I was also thinking of maybe getting some blue tinted bulbs to go with the paint, is this possible?
Last question, is the front splitter really necessary? I managed to knock the bugger off yesterday on a particuarly nasty speed bump and can't really see how it would make any difference to performance. I have a 97 model with the cerbera front so I assume cooling isn't really affected by it to any noticable amount and a friend said her 98 model never had one anyway... So shall I leave it off??
Thanks,
Nick
Had my chim 450 for just over 2 weeks now and still got 'the grin'.. Just have a couple of questions,
Firstly, the carpets in my chim are annoying me, they're dark blue but I have a sneaky suspicion that a previous owner has used some dodgy carpet cleaner on them. There are some patchy places on almost every panel where the the dye has been bleached or something as they are a sort of faint yellow colour in places. Im not in a huge hurry to sort it out, but i'd just like to know whether it is possible to restore the colour as the carpets themselves are in fine condition, or whether a full retrim is necessary?
Next question, i'm looking to get a leven dash soon as the veneer is cracked - whilst the dash is off, I thought I would change some bulbs behind the dials as the speedo has gone pretty dark in relation to the others at night. Does anyone know what kind of bulbs are used and where to get them? I was also thinking of maybe getting some blue tinted bulbs to go with the paint, is this possible?
Last question, is the front splitter really necessary? I managed to knock the bugger off yesterday on a particuarly nasty speed bump and can't really see how it would make any difference to performance. I have a 97 model with the cerbera front so I assume cooling isn't really affected by it to any noticable amount and a friend said her 98 model never had one anyway... So shall I leave it off??
Thanks,
Nick
Glad you are still enjoying it 
I can't answer all your q's but having just changed my dash, can help on that one
First of all, the speedo is supposed to be darker - it only has one bulb compared to 2 for the rev counter. There is a space & (on mine at least) the wiring available to put in a second.
The bulbs are standard interior bulbs available from most motor factors. I took one of my old ones to my local factors & they had a couple of brands which were the same size. Halfords have own brand bulbs which are the right size too.
From reading other threads, the splitter seems to be an early casualty. I don't have one on my '98 & have no problems with cooling at all.
I can't answer all your q's but having just changed my dash, can help on that one
First of all, the speedo is supposed to be darker - it only has one bulb compared to 2 for the rev counter. There is a space & (on mine at least) the wiring available to put in a second.
The bulbs are standard interior bulbs available from most motor factors. I took one of my old ones to my local factors & they had a couple of brands which were the same size. Halfords have own brand bulbs which are the right size too.
From reading other threads, the splitter seems to be an early casualty. I don't have one on my '98 & have no problems with cooling at all.
Hi,
not much idea about the carpets, but the speedo is actually meant to be darker than the other dials (I think the reasoning is that the rev dial is more important than the speedo so you should be looking at the revs not the speed). If you take the dash off, the speedo only has one bulb but the rev dial has 2. I think you can put a higher power bulb in to try and even them out, or just live with it.
I'm not sure exacly what bulbs they are but when one of mine went I took one out, down to halfords and replaced it, they are standard car bulbs & easy to get hold of. Small, clear with a screw thread, not sure what wattage, I think it says in the car handbook.
I looked into using coloured bulbs, I dont think they are bright enough and will not give an even colour and you have to replace the dials to get good looking coloured dials.
I don't have a front splitter and I dont think many do, as they just get knocked off again! If you search there is lots of talk about whether they are worth it / what they do, possibly provide some cooling benefit / downforce at high speed but I can't see the point in finding one for mine.
Good luck & keep enjoying it!
not much idea about the carpets, but the speedo is actually meant to be darker than the other dials (I think the reasoning is that the rev dial is more important than the speedo so you should be looking at the revs not the speed). If you take the dash off, the speedo only has one bulb but the rev dial has 2. I think you can put a higher power bulb in to try and even them out, or just live with it.
I'm not sure exacly what bulbs they are but when one of mine went I took one out, down to halfords and replaced it, they are standard car bulbs & easy to get hold of. Small, clear with a screw thread, not sure what wattage, I think it says in the car handbook.
I looked into using coloured bulbs, I dont think they are bright enough and will not give an even colour and you have to replace the dials to get good looking coloured dials.
I don't have a front splitter and I dont think many do, as they just get knocked off again! If you search there is lots of talk about whether they are worth it / what they do, possibly provide some cooling benefit / downforce at high speed but I can't see the point in finding one for mine.
Good luck & keep enjoying it!
Hello Nick and well done on your purchase!
Like yourself, I have only had mine for a couple of weeks, but I think I can answer your questions.
The carpets can fade, mine has a little. If the yellowing is around the edges, this may be glue reisdue from fitting. Have a search in this forum (and the griffith one) and you'll find threads about retrimming (not cheap), dyeing and all replacement suppliers and all other sorts.
With regards to your lesser lit speedo, they all do that Sir! Why I'm not sure, but it is supposed to be that way. Details below
www.chimaerapages.com/resources_fa
As for the splitter, rumour has it, you're bloody lucky if it's still there! Apparently, it is very common for them to get trashed and not replaced.
I'm sorry I can't give you exact answers, but have a good root around the forums. This website is excellent. I found loads of useful info on here when I was searching for mine. (Took me 3 months to find the right one)
Cheers
Nick (also!)
Like yourself, I have only had mine for a couple of weeks, but I think I can answer your questions.
The carpets can fade, mine has a little. If the yellowing is around the edges, this may be glue reisdue from fitting. Have a search in this forum (and the griffith one) and you'll find threads about retrimming (not cheap), dyeing and all replacement suppliers and all other sorts.
With regards to your lesser lit speedo, they all do that Sir! Why I'm not sure, but it is supposed to be that way. Details below
www.chimaerapages.com/resources_fa
As for the splitter, rumour has it, you're bloody lucky if it's still there! Apparently, it is very common for them to get trashed and not replaced.
I'm sorry I can't give you exact answers, but have a good root around the forums. This website is excellent. I found loads of useful info on here when I was searching for mine. (Took me 3 months to find the right one)
Cheers
Nick (also!)
And you cant get the splitter anyway - Walldenway have been waiting for an order for the last 6 months......I think they probably do help at high speed and probably do keep things cooler, although at this time of year I rarely see more than 75 - 80 on the guage even in heavy traffic. Actually, that was until I managed to damage the radiator with a stone at the weekend 
but that's a different story!
but that's a different story! CaptiV8ed said:
The carpets can fade, mine has a little. If the yellowing is around the edges, this may be glue reisdue from fitting. Have a search in this forum (and the griffith one) and you'll find threads about retrimming
..indeed, the Yellowing is due to a combination of moisture, sunlight and age.. have a look at what came out of my Chim
: 
more info here: www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?t=114950&f=8&h=0
blujay10 said:
And you cant get the splitter anyway - Walldenway have been waiting for an order for the last 6 months......I think they probably do help at high speed and probably do keep things cooler, although at this time of year I rarely see more than 75 - 80 on the guage even in heavy traffic. Actually, that was until I managed to damage the radiator with a stone at the weekend but that's a different story!
but that's a different story! Sportmotive do spoilers to their own design: www.sportmotive.com
As for the carpet, some people have recoloured with shoe care cream, but if your carpets are anything like M@H's I'd have thought a retrim is the best option.
Edited by Griffter on Tuesday 14th November 07:18
Coverdale Carpets receive good reports. I've no personal experience of them.
Hi,
Regarding the splitter, I'm going to take an opposing view. I managed to rip mine off going over a speed bump and asked Dave Batty whether it was worth replacing. He said it prevents pressure building up under bonnet and therefore should be fitted. I certainly noticed that the bonnet seemed to look as though it was going to fly up at any moment when travelling at high speed without the splitter, but when it was fitted, the bonnet hardly moves.
They only cost about £30 and has 4 bolts holding it on so hardly a difficult task.
I guess there was a reason why it was fitted originally?
Russ
Regarding the splitter, I'm going to take an opposing view. I managed to rip mine off going over a speed bump and asked Dave Batty whether it was worth replacing. He said it prevents pressure building up under bonnet and therefore should be fitted. I certainly noticed that the bonnet seemed to look as though it was going to fly up at any moment when travelling at high speed without the splitter, but when it was fitted, the bonnet hardly moves.
They only cost about £30 and has 4 bolts holding it on so hardly a difficult task.
I guess there was a reason why it was fitted originally?
Russ
Thanks for all the replies guys! Here is the beasty:
[pic] http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r6 [/pic]
Regarding the bulbs, i'll probably add another bulb to the speedo then as it just looks a bit odd with one dark dial! Carpets, I will probably end up replacing them before the summer but I might try and touch up the bad areas for the meantime as its not too bad... I still have the front splitter in the boot so I might just get some new screws for it (it was held in with 4 small rusty screws), but I have had the car for 2 weeks and drove 800 miles with it and now 200 miles without it and I cant say I notice any difference aside from a very slight raise in temp on the motorway! (from 55 up to 60 degrees now)
On to the important stuff now though, i'm going to order the ACT smooth bore induction kit then new trumpets + trumpet base soon and then some stage 4 heads... Im thinking v8 developments is the place to go for the heads, are they the best place to go to? also what ballpark figure are we talking?
[pic] http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r6 [/pic]
Regarding the bulbs, i'll probably add another bulb to the speedo then as it just looks a bit odd with one dark dial! Carpets, I will probably end up replacing them before the summer but I might try and touch up the bad areas for the meantime as its not too bad... I still have the front splitter in the boot so I might just get some new screws for it (it was held in with 4 small rusty screws), but I have had the car for 2 weeks and drove 800 miles with it and now 200 miles without it and I cant say I notice any difference aside from a very slight raise in temp on the motorway! (from 55 up to 60 degrees now)
On to the important stuff now though, i'm going to order the ACT smooth bore induction kit then new trumpets + trumpet base soon and then some stage 4 heads... Im thinking v8 developments is the place to go for the heads, are they the best place to go to? also what ballpark figure are we talking?
hmmm that is a nice looking chim! I love the colour!!
I'm going to look into coverdale carpets for mine as i'm currently re-doing the entire of my chim at the moment so i'll let you know how i get on. I wont post piccys of my progress yet coz some of u may cry but it's basically having full re-spray, front and rear light conversion, new carpets, full leather re-trim and looks, well, a state right now!!
I'm going to look into coverdale carpets for mine as i'm currently re-doing the entire of my chim at the moment so i'll let you know how i get on. I wont post piccys of my progress yet coz some of u may cry but it's basically having full re-spray, front and rear light conversion, new carpets, full leather re-trim and looks, well, a state right now!!
bloody hell, how much is that setting you back?? Also which lights are you going for? I do quite like the light conversions, might be a plan for the future...
Yeah coverdale looks really good actually, let me know how much they charge for a full carpet retrim... Yeah I havent really seen any other chims in my colour (toyota purple blue), I love it though!
Yeah coverdale looks really good actually, let me know how much they charge for a full carpet retrim... Yeah I havent really seen any other chims in my colour (toyota purple blue), I love it though!
I bought a set of wool overmats for mine, from Coverdale. The colour match on both the carpet and the edging was spot on (sent me samples of both in quick time). The finished articles are excellent and the service was faultless. When I first called them and asked for a price - the lady thought I wanted a full wool carpet set and quoted about £385.00 (nearly fell off my chair thinking that was for the overmats - but seems reasonable for the full monty!).
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