weed
Kinda New
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Hello there, I have been reading your comments on this forum since yesterday and I found them very interesting. My name is Francois and I'm from Mauritius. It's an island in the Indian Ocean, a tiny one. Well let's get to the point. I have bought a Viva recently and it needs a complete restoration. Its not as bad as it may seems but as I will celebrate my 40th birthday next year in February, I got the chance to pay myself this little gift willing that it's gonna be ready for next year. I have already taken off the engine and it's still running nice. the car body has been sent to the paint and body workshop for a complete restoration. the problem is that I would like to also restore the suspension. there we come to the main point where I really need your help cause finding spare parts for viva here..... Pufffff I would like to get an idea about: 1. What alternative for bushes. Size and is there any other car brand bushes that are similar to them. Other solution would be to find a website that sells the kit but all the time I have try to buy spare parts on the net I get the shipping problems. so if you have any idea about alternatives please let me know. 2. Springs: Also planning to lower the car. I've read, if I'm correct, to use 60/60 springs. Any website? Please send me the link if you do have one. On the other side do you recon that I cut off the spring? I'm really not fun about that practice. 3. The last but not least is that I've purchased 17 inches 4 x 100 wheels. I have try them and they fit perfectly. Oh yeah brake pad do you have any other pad that can be mounted on Please help me the best you can. Want my viva "WEED" to get back on track again in the proper way. I want to keep the original aspect only lowering down and adding 17 inches wheels on and that's it. You can email me on backstagesl@gmail.com thank you so much in advance francois Read more: retrorides.proboards.com/conversation/731297#ixzz2ZArLufg5
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Did you ever finish the weldathon?
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Did you ever finish the weldathon? Sadly I don't think I can say I ever really started the weldathon. Since the last post I moved out of my rented house with the driveway and dodgy carport, the house we were going to buy fell through so we had to move back in with my mum and the Viva ended up uncovered on her driveway for about a year, I then bought a house in Ashford and I rent a garage to keep the Viva out of sight and mind. I need to get around to building a double garage/workshop and covered double driveway in my back garden and start working on my projects. Unfortunately the Viva probably falls behind my partner's mini and my saab 9000 now, but it will be done one day... Probably.
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Project Diary1975 Viva / 1988 T25 Camper / 1989 Mini / 1991 MX5 / 1992 Mini / 1994 Saab 9000 / 1997 Saab 9000 / 2008 Saab 9-5
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djefk
Part of things
Posts: 844
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oli8925, this thread was right at the bottom of my bookmarks and awaits an update - don't let us (the car) down - it's got this far.....
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djefk
Part of things
Posts: 844
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oli8925, this thread was right at the bottom of my bookmarks and awaits an update - don't let us (the car) down - it's got this far.....
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Sadly I don't think I can say I ever really started the weldathon. Since the last post I moved out of my rented house with the driveway and dodgy carport, the house we were going to buy fell through so we had to move back in with my mum and the Viva ended up uncovered on her driveway for about a year, I then bought a house in Ashford and I rent a garage to keep the Viva out of sight and mind. I need to get around to building a double garage/workshop and covered double driveway in my back garden and start working on my projects. Unfortunately the Viva probably falls behind my partner's mini and my saab 9000 now, but it will be done one day... Probably. I know that feeling - keeping the daily's running often feels like enough to deal with! Hopefully circumstances will change and you will get the opportunity to work on it again. I've been guilty of keeping my Capri in the lockup without looking at it for months before going back to it. Seems like you've got plenty of people on here with this thread bookmarked for when you do get a chance to start on it again
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Mar 19, 2017 23:00:01 GMT
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Those aren't even the daily's, they're the other projects. On the subject of the daily's, I've just spent the thick end of £1k on parts and 4 weeks to try to get my disgusting dirty diesel going again (one of those 'modern' cars everyone says you should buy so you stop wasting money on old things...) and the other half's daily, another 9000, has not long come back from a new headgasket and radiator. Every car is getting in on the act! Aaaanyway, enough moaning. For a while now I've been unsure about my MX5. On the occasional journey it all makes sense and I can see why people love them, most journeys it just doesn't do anything for me and I don't really enjoy driving it. I have no idea why, all the ingredients are there but the dish isn't working for me. So I'd been thinking about tidying it up and selling it at the right time for a convertible, not sure I want to though and I'm finding it useful having a third car on the road. Then I thought about swapping it for something with similar characteristics but a bit more practicality - 80s hot hatch. Had a look about but not a great deal catching my fancy, the things I would like are now worth absolutely silly money. Then I had a real craving for something a bit different again, something properly old skool and I drew inspiration from the cafe racer thread. I wanted something 70s. Again had a look around and again a few things kind of took my fancy, but nothing I felt I really desperately wanted to have, and so my mind wondered back to the plans I had for my Viva. And I thought, why the hell not, I already own it. So, this isn't the restart of a big rebuild... Yet. It's still stuck in a council garage and I still don't have a properly useable garage, and what I do have has a disassembled 9000 in front of it I can't bear to get rid of, but I thought going to visit it might rekindle some feelings. It certainly did, and I remembered there really isn't a great deal of bodywork that needs sorting, the sooner I can pull my finger out and get on with it, the better. So with progress on the car absolutely inaccessible at this time, what do I do? Get back on with rebuilding the engine I've had sitting in the corner of the living room for two years I guess. I had been fretting about the unavailability of parts but having gone through a few of my boxes I realised I have almost everything. +30 thou block. Exterior painted, innards need a clean. Bores honed and ready. NOS head with some light porting work NOS valves, springs and collets already installed (would like to redo this with larger valves if I can find any) Excellent condition +30 thou pistons with NOS rings and rods NOS 285 cam (somewhere) NOS crank NOS mains, big end and camshaft bearings NOS oil pump and strainer NOS bosch electronic dizzy NOS crankcase breather New brass coolant take off NOS timing chain kit and a load of freshly painted parts such as the sump, oil filter housing, pulleys etc Added to all of this the flywheel, crank and rods have been lightened and balanced. I have a set of NOS pushrods coming and I need to clean up and make good the old rocker assembly and all the bolts. I wasn't too organised taking it all apart some 7 years ago so God knows which bolt goes where but I'll work it out. The one thing I need which will be like poor quality wobbly children's play pony poo is the Blydenstein inlet manifold to relocate the 40DCOE to the passenger side. Will need to get on the hunt for that.
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Project Diary1975 Viva / 1988 T25 Camper / 1989 Mini / 1991 MX5 / 1992 Mini / 1994 Saab 9000 / 1997 Saab 9000 / 2008 Saab 9-5
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djefk
Part of things
Posts: 844
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Mar 19, 2017 23:19:29 GMT
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I just KNEW it was worth keeping this in my bookmarks!
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Yay for updates. I've been pleasantly surprised at how capable the little 1159cc engine is in my wagon. I'm glad you're gonna do some work on this.
Welcome back ! :-)
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I just KNEW it was worth keeping this in my bookmarks! Don't speak too soon! I've had a a closer look at the block and decided to sacrifice the nice paint and get it acid dipped. The water jacket is pretty rusty and it's pretty oily and yucky otherwise. I guess the best thing is to acid dip, have the deck faced and new core plugs and cam bearings installed. Do it right do it once. Will do some research of local engine builders but have Bill Richards and Swiftness of mini fame down the road...
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Project Diary1975 Viva / 1988 T25 Camper / 1989 Mini / 1991 MX5 / 1992 Mini / 1994 Saab 9000 / 1997 Saab 9000 / 2008 Saab 9-5
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Yay for updates. I've been pleasantly surprised at how capable the little 1159cc engine is in my wagon. I'm glad you're gonna do some work on this. Welcome back ! :-) Thank you my friend. I'm not sure how I'll feel about the 1256 as last time it was on the road I was determined it would be replaced by something considerably more powerful, but at that time I was entering my 20s and just about affording insurance on cars with 'proper' engines. Now I'm fast approaching my 30s driving cars with over 6x the power of the humble OHV and I know power doesn't necessary equal fun, or lack of power doesn't necessarily mean boring. I'm still into my Minis and love driving them with 35bhp of roaring 998cc power. As long as it feels old, alive and a little bit special, I'm sure I'll be happy. A Duratec on Webers still might happen down the line but it's stupid pursuing that right now.
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Project Diary1975 Viva / 1988 T25 Camper / 1989 Mini / 1991 MX5 / 1992 Mini / 1994 Saab 9000 / 1997 Saab 9000 / 2008 Saab 9-5
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Mar 20, 2017 10:06:22 GMT
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Yeah now I'm used to just 50bhp in the wagon (if that..) I can see how even 70 or 80 would make a world of difference.
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