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Your experiences or worthwhile and not so worthwhile modification you've carried out on your cars. Here's mine- Good - For ease new wheels and tyres are always fairly straight forward, unless you going for weird offsets/funny bolt patterns etc, and I always like doing shocks and lower springs then your car takes on a whole new look, and you drive off looking for the nearest roundabout ;D (although speed bumps/poorly maintained roads have taken the gloss off this modification lately ) Bad - So called 'performance' exhausts which only make the car unbearable on long journeys as you get out half deaf, and they also kill your dashboard due to severe vibrations definitely not worth it for 1-2bhp. Also 'performance' brake pads which do nothing but scare the life out of you every time you first apply the brakes, there's only one way to improve your braking and that's bigger components all round! I've never done any serious engine or gearbox stuff as it's so expensive so I can't really comment on this, and we all know neon lights, stickers etc don't count as modifications (not that I’ve ever been guilty of that!).
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I always go over the brakes on a new purchase, even if its just to replace with standard parts, once had a worn brake pad fall out of a car at 60mph, paranoid about brakes since.
My brother put a DIY straight thru exhaust on his Fiat 127 GT once, but he used to go to work at 5.00am and the residents association in his estate were not impressed ;D
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Nov 20, 2004 10:30:33 GMT
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i had a pad come out on me, VERY SCARY had to drive 30 miles using the piston as the pad!
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Assumption is the mother of all f**k ups
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Nov 20, 2004 13:08:56 GMT
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In my experience, wide weels with good tyres - good. Replacing brake discs and pads before they're knackered is a great way to ensure good brakes, regardless of whether you're buying the most expensive gear there is or just the standard spec ones. The same applies to brake linings for drums, and braided brake lines are worth it if you're replacing your brake lines anyway.
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"He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy!"
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Good and Bad Mods....BenzBoy
@benzboy
Club Retro Rides Member 7
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Nov 20, 2004 13:13:09 GMT
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A K&N air filter surprised me. I simplified the air intake and adapted an MG Maestro Turbo K&N on the Merc (you can't get standard ones for the W115!) - has a really noticable effect. Also, ditching the viscous fan in favour of electric makes for a faster responding throttle (and improves MPG a bit too) - this mod surprised me too as I didn't really expect any noticable difference. I made a performance exhaust for the Merc too, and it was only on the rolling road that I noticed how loud it is! From inside the car there isn't much of a difference. All these mods (which hardly cost me anything) gave me 30 bhp up on standard according to the rolling road, which considering it only has 95 to begin with is quite a lot!!
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Good and Bad Mods....rustingdeathtrap
@GUEST
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Nov 20, 2004 13:18:26 GMT
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I fitted a twin choke weber on the cortina last week, simply because the original single coke had started leaking fuel and i couldnt be arsed to track down bits for it. The diference in the car now is unbelievable, i was pulling out of a turning the other day and spun the wheels in second gear. 70 quid well spent
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Nov 20, 2004 13:33:24 GMT
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I had a set of wide wheels on my old Ford Escort (Mk4 ), which made it handle much better, in the dry at least. In the wet it wasn't so good but that's probably because of own tight-fistedness: Budget tyres weren't a good move. Also on the down side, everyone assumed I was some kind of council Ned and threw rocks at me.
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Last Edit: Nov 20, 2004 13:33:40 GMT by nickb
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Kris
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,631
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Nov 20, 2004 13:56:03 GMT
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GOOD: The first mods I have done to any car that I've owned are to fit the best tyres that I can afford, when the tyres are the only thing you have in contact with the road, its not worth messing about with budget rubber. A set of good quality standard replacement brakes is always good (although I have put drilled and grooved discs on the Mini). I put GTI 8v vented discs and Pagid pads on the Golf as they bolt straight on. I faded the standard solid discs out all the time and haven`t managed to fade the new ones. Solid front subframe mountings on the Min made the car so much more positive to drive, although I fitted new standard ones to the floor. Oh, and the replacing the 998cc with a 1275 made a bit of difference to ;D BAD: Why did I bother fitting poly bushes to the lower arms on the Min? They broke up after about 1000 miles, am using standard ones now and have no problems with them.
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Nov 20, 2004 17:15:03 GMT
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I used to work for Race X the boy racer suppliers and anything they make is a bad mod.
Good mod on most old cars lower suspension with Minilites.
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BS Nymph Singer Chamois Coupe Series 3 Landy
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Kris
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,631
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Nov 20, 2004 17:43:02 GMT
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Would just like to point out that I refitted the caliper after I took the photo, I haven`t been driving round like that!
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Nov 20, 2004 18:06:30 GMT
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Lets see, bodywork mods.... Deseaming - can be good, works well on Minis especially. Big wheelarches - as long as there are wide wheels and tyres to match, and they're not too excessive, good and also practical, as they keep the law off your back, "are you aware that your wheels are protruding out of the wheelarches sir? That is an offence etc etc etc" ;D ;D ;D Vents - bonnet, wing, roof, whatever, don't go overboard and they're great, too many vents or too big vents on the bonnet especially and you will look like a bloody ned! ;D ;D ;D Bumpers - Remove for the rally look, as long as there are no ugly big seams or mounting points underneath that the bumper should be hiding, or if your bumpers are chromed, keep them on and make sure the chrome is good, and keep all the other body brightwork, especially if your car's a dark colour, and it gives your car a nice KGB look, especially if your car is a 4 door saloon. Neons - In my opinion leave well alone you have extreme restraint and good taste, a 60s car with all the Fast and The Furious rubbish all over it impresses no-one, likewise even an 80s car with too much of the modern treatment will just make you look like an out of date chav who forgot to move with the times, rather than a retro car type! These are just my opinions by the way, feel free to disagree, hope nobodys offended by my views! ;D ;D ;D
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"He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy!"
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Nov 20, 2004 18:08:04 GMT
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As far as minis go....
Good Yokohama A008 Tyres-sticky and low on road noise Quick shift gearlever RC40 Exhaust - more power, not too noisey Grille Buttons Seat adjuster brackets Nodding Dogs
Bad Bullet mirrors - Look cool But totally useless Spax Shocks - Far too stiff for road use wheel spacers Furry Dice
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Nov 20, 2004 18:11:02 GMT
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Some advice for bullet mirrors, don't mount them on the doors, you can't see a damn thing, mount them on the front wings (or bonnet on an Imp since the bonnet curves down a little at the sides and the wings begin underneath,) I ended up going for that on the Imp, and you see far more with them than you do with them on the door, a mate of mine, Bennet Smith, has bullets on the doors of his Imp saloon and they're useless!
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"He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy!"
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Nov 20, 2004 18:14:55 GMT
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I think Mini spares centre do bullet mirrors on an L-shaped chrome bracket that positions the mirror in a more useful place
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Nov 20, 2004 18:24:59 GMT
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I might have seen ones like that, but never for an Imp, the ones I have I've just bolted onto the bonnet, with a little rubber seal between the mirrors and bonnet, so that it fits on tightly and doesn't wobble around, since the mirrors have a flat base, but they're bolted onto a slight curve. You can see them in these pics, the little seals are visible as a little black bit around the mirror in the first pic.
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"He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy!"
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Nov 20, 2004 18:50:19 GMT
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Nov 20, 2004 18:54:07 GMT
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Good: Furry Dice
Bad: Every other item available from Halfrauds
;D
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Last Edit: Nov 20, 2004 18:54:20 GMT by nickb
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Nov 20, 2004 19:10:59 GMT
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Thanks!
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"He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy!"
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Good and Bad Mods....BenzBoy
@benzboy
Club Retro Rides Member 7
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Nov 20, 2004 21:16:55 GMT
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I'm a bit concerned about bonnet scoops since they've been adopted by the chavs! To proper performance cars they're necessary, but with so many morons gluing plastic "scoops" to their 1.0 litre Corsas it could be misinterpreted (until you floor it!) I'll probably have to include one, but I'm concerned that it'll look as if I'm trying too hard! (then I'll floor it! ;D)
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Kris
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,631
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Nov 20, 2004 22:29:46 GMT
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Defo agree on the RC40, side exit and stainless of course! <although have had to TIG it a couple of times as the tailpipe started to crack at the silencer join>
The quick shift makes my Mini so much fun to drive, it feels positive and clunks like a Ferrari when you shift, and with the harness you couldn`t put it into first with the original lever.
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