650S: Project Kermit

[Zorbathegreek]

Thats all the mechanical and oily stuff finished on the 650S. Project Kermit, as I call it, is coming along nicely.

- Serviced in accordance with McLaren schedule.
- Replaced OE air filters with BMC filters (reusable).
- Replaced rear right brake LED - common condensation issue causing LED strip to intermittently fail.
- Repair front right misting damper. Removed and replaced front lift cylinder.
- Removed, painted and refitted exhaust shrouds. Both were slightly pitted from twelve years of use - Prepped and repainted in high temperature paint (Cerakote).
- Replaced front plastic undertray beneath frunk compartment. It was cracked and had a hole in it. Replaced with OE. Price is rediculous for what it actually is. There must be a market for alloy replacement?
- Replaced engine and gearbox under-tray bolts with stainless steel. All lubricated.
- All hinges and locks lubricated.
- Replaced 4 x TPMS sensors.
- Refinish ten spoke super-lightweight wheels in OE silver (were previously some sort of matt anthracite).
- Replaced dry sump return hose. There was a slight oil weep.
- Replaced front carbon bonnet badge with OE. Original looked tired.
- Replaced four carbon wheel centres with OE.
- Flushed through coolant system and refilled with G48 (the blue stuff).
- Replaced Low Temperature Radiator Return Pipe. This was not a small task. The pipe is made from some sort of lightweight alloy material and had somehow suffered from a small pin-hole, causing a very slight weep of coolant. You can see in the picture that it is close to a bend and has some tooling marks (resembles small tyre tread marks). The section of pipe where the pin-hole appeared is well protected behind under-trays and the front subframe. Working hypothesis is that the pipe could have possibly been damaged during manufacture / assembly and the subsequent flushing and refilling of system with G48 coolant - using a vacuum filling attachment - had finally caused the pipe (pin-hole) to collapse and totally fail. Fortunately, this was noticed during the coolant filling procedure (coolant dripping from one of the front under-trays). It is unlikely we will ever know the underlying reason for the failure. Once removed and inspected, the internal condition of the original pipe was excellent and corrosion free. The rest of the original pipe was in as new condition. It s a mystery what caused the pin-hole. Could it be a one-off, or something that is an age related issue which hasn t become common yet?

Next part of project Kermit is for car to be transported to Project Customs in Leeds to have both front wheel arches repaired and painted (paint bubbling), followed by removal of stripes and old PPF. Project Customs is a McLaren approved repairer so will use OE Mantis Green paint made by Sikkens / Akzo Nobel. Once the paint has fully cured, I need to find a recommended detailer in the Louth / Grimsby area to deep detail the car and apply new PPF.

In all fairness, the car is in fantastic condition for 31K miles and twelve years old. JWM has gone the extra mile, going over everything with a fine tooth comb. It s nice to see they ve committed further to the McLaren brand, recently acquiring a Napier Green 675LT to sit alongside their 570S Track Edition.

Pinhole in coolant pipe


Kermit way back in 2015 when it was a McLaren press car. Sold through McGlasgow.



Waiting sale at McGlasgow in 2015


JWM s recently acquired Napier Green 675LT.

Edited by Zorbathegreek on Sunday 23 August 11:59

[200Plus Club]

Paul at Riverside detailing on the Sandtoft industrial estate is the man for detailing, have a look at some of the supercars he's recently done on his FB page. He did my R8 v10 and ceramic coating , absolutely flawless job.

[Zorbathegreek]

200Plus Club said:

Paul at Riverside detailing on the Sandtoft industrial estate is the man for detailing, have a look at some of the supercars he's recently done on his FB page. He did my R8 v10 and ceramic coating , absolutely flawless job.

Thanks for the recommendation. I’ll make contact. I also have a motorhome I’m looking to have polished and coated. Looks like he has high roller doors.

[HJG]

We had a 750S development vehicle I called Kermit
: )
It was also referred to as "the Frog"

[200Plus Club]

Zorbathegreek said:

200Plus Club said:

Paul at Riverside detailing on the Sandtoft industrial estate is the man for detailing, have a look at some of the supercars he's recently done on his FB page. He did my R8 v10 and ceramic coating , absolutely flawless job.

Thanks for the recommendation. I ll make contact. I also have a motorhome I m looking to have polished and coated. Looks like he has high roller doors.

Yes he does motorhomes and also occasionally small boats I believe!!

[Grey_Area]

Reep did my PPF, local to the Leeds area, they did a great job, I believe it was Lumar? Self healing they used, still looking exceptional 5 years later, all treated each year with Gtechniq Halo.

[cutting42]

My 650s in Mantis Green is also called Kermit.

[Zorbathegreek]

cutting42 said:

My 650s in Mantis Green is also called Kermit.

I call it Kermit because a previous owner had a little vinyl picture of Kermit on it.

In this video by Petrol Ped

[Zorbathegreek]

200Plus Club said:

Yes he does motorhomes and also occasionally small boats I believe!!

Looks like he did a small Cessna type plane a few months ago. He’s not too far from JWM and Project Customs so relatively easy to keep it with local businesses.

Edited by Zorbathegreek on Monday 24th August 11:44

[TTB]

You need to get this chap to sell you his number plate;

[Zorbathegreek]

Ideal

[Smooth Smith]

Zorbathegreek said:

cutting42 said:

My 650s in Mantis Green is also called Kermit.

I call it Kermit because a previous owner had a little vinyl picture of Kermit on it.

In this video by Petrol Ped

I’ll have to look for this video. He’s one of the YouTubers I watch but I haven’t seen this one.

[Zorbathegreek]

Smooth Smith said:

Zorbathegreek said:

cutting42 said:

My 650s in Mantis Green is also called Kermit.

I call it Kermit because a previous owner had a little vinyl picture of Kermit on it.

In this video by Petrol Ped

I ll have to look for this video. He s one of the YouTubers I watch but I haven t seen this one.

the video is from 2016. One of the previous owners of Kermit invited Petrol Ped to join him at a car event held at Wilton House. It was at a Wilton House event where I first saw the car and thought to myself “I’m gonna have one of them”. Took many years but here I am with that exact car. Once all work is complete on the car, I may ask Petrol Ped if he’d like to do a ten years on “where is Kermit now?” catch-up video.

What ive posted is an embedded YouTube video you can watch. No need to search for it.

[12pack]

TTB said:

You need to get this chap to sell you his number plate;

Of course, the 650 S won’t actually match that generation 911’s frog-like silhouette…;]