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Jul 10, 2019 19:40:32 GMT
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I've just read your thread from start to finish and what a great read. You must be near me judging from your days out. I'm near to Chelmsford.
I really need to make a start on my garage as it is so full I cannot even get in there. It makes a great workshop as its 21 foot long. I'll get there one day...
You definitely got the best day at Goodwood. I was there on sunday and it was more than a little damp!
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Jul 11, 2019 14:17:50 GMT
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I'm not far from you in Benfleet.
21ft is a good sized workshop. How much stuff can you possibly have in it? Get started on it and start a thread about it at the same time.
I'm so glad we had the good weather on Saturday although it was blisteringly hot and there is very little shade if you don't pay for grandstand seats. I was expecting a lot more accidents because of the rain. I guess you take things a little easier when you're piloting someone else's priceless classic racer up a hill in the wet!
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Jul 19, 2019 19:53:48 GMT
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My mate Adam and I have booked to go on the Honister Slate mine Via Ferata route up in the lake district in September this year. It's an old iron route the miners used to use on Fleetwith Pike.We did something similar in Wales a few years ago and loved it. There are two routes, the classic and the extreme. Guess which one we are booked on? And to add insult to injury, we have decided to attempt to climb Scaffel Pike whilst we are there (that's the tallest mountain in England)! The Honister Slate mine website advises that you need to have a reasonable level of fitness. So it seems I have around 3 months to improve my fitness. I've made a start with my diet and cut right down on alcohol. We figured we should get some rock climbing practice in too so we signed up for a course at the local climbing wall and have been going for the last three weeks.   And we've been cycling more regularly so I bought a 2nd hand tow bar mount bike rack. The problem with it was the spare wheel protrudes alot farther out than the tow bar, around 110mm.  So I needed a spacer. You can buy these quite readily but they're normally only around 50mm long. So I made one up at work with bits from the scrap bin in my lunch break.  Fitted up. I've left the tow ball off as I've no plans to tow anything plus I wouldn't with the extension fitted. It's not a big job to remove it again if the need arises.   Added some extra padding to protect the frame and some yellow tape on the tips to stop people walking into it.  Makes a very nice working stand too for tune ups and cleaning.  Travel position with wheel turned in so it doesn't stick out beyond the sides of the car.  Exercise and good diet has shown to improve mental health too so all in I should benefit from all this. I'm hoping we will keep up the climbing after our trip. I've driven the Caddy into work a few times now and on the last trip the temperature crept way too high. I managed to nurse it home and diagnosed a faulty thermostat. So I ordered and fitted one which opens earlier at 75 degrees. Several people told me to drill a small hole in the flange so I followed their advice and did that too. Fitted up and system bled and the gauge still reads a little way past normal. Fan is kicking in and out all OK. The heaters are working too. I'll run it up again and check it with an infra red thermometer.  I'm beginning to suspect the gauge may be at fault. The dash instruments run on 10 volts which have a reputation to be erratic. Additionally the time clock has stopped working even though i've measured voltage across it. While the dash was out I took the opportunity to swap the bulbs out for LED's.   I had to cut into the back of the heater controls to get the old blown bulb out and solder in the LED to the headlamp switch It looks the same as the dash in the Discovery of dailyness now. Very happy. |
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MiataMark
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,971
Club RR Member Number: 29
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Jul 19, 2019 21:05:36 GMT
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I've got a similar bike rack and Discovery, you can get a 'swan neck' adapter for the bike rack and leave the lower bracket mounted behind the tow ball.
But your solution looks just as good, if you're not towing.
I hope you've also got a light board as you've got trailer electrics.
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1990 Mazda MX-52012 BMW 118i (170bhp) - white appliance 2011 Land Rover Freelander 2 TD4 2003 Land Rover Discovery II TD52007 Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon JTDm
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jpr1977
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 659
Club RR Member Number: 18
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Jul 19, 2019 21:36:09 GMT
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All of Golfs (MK1 & Mk2 as well as the 'rocco) never sat in the middle of the Gauge, they all seemed to sit just left of centre as per your picture, (well apart from one mk1 that hated siting in traffic and danced from mid gauge to hot in response to the traffic speed...
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All of Golfs (MK1 & Mk2 as well as the 'rocco) never sat in the middle of the Gauge, they all seemed to sit just left of centre as per your picture, (well apart from one mk1 that hated siting in traffic and danced from mid gauge to hot in response to the traffic speed... Really? I've had 2 Mk2 Golfs but they usually sat just under mid way (probably because the thermostat was Fcu$ed). Maybe it's me. The trouble now is I don't take my eye off it when driving. |
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jpr1977
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 659
Club RR Member Number: 18
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Jul 22, 2019 11:40:06 GMT
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Tbh none of them ( I think I've been through something like 15 various MK1 and 2's over the years) have ever sat bang in the middle of the gauge they have all varied. But i know what you mean once you notice something like that your forever wondering. As long as its not running hot it'll be fine...
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Oct 17, 2019 20:11:08 GMT
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So myself and mate Mavis did something we haven't done since our twenties...we went cruising at Southend seafront. Have a pic of his '56 oval Beetle (currently for sale) and my Caddy outside a popular gaming establishment along the seafront.  Took this pic during a coffee stop. Unbelievably the Caddy got more looks than his Beetle! A mate at work happened to mention that a friend of his was having to move house and needed to sell his Mini quick. Some pictures were sent across whatsapp and I went and visited what turned out to be a limited edition Racing Green 1990 Mini. A deal was done and suddenly I needed to create a Mini sized space here.   So after a night moving everything from one side of the garage to the other, this happened...   It needs ALOT of welding. Inner/outer cills, rear valance, both footwells, the scuttle under the screen and probably more places I haven't yet found. Looks like I have a winter project then! |
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jamesd1972
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,922 
Club RR Member Number: 40
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Nice little project ! Minis really are small aren’t they, but easier to squeeze in the workshop....
At least parts are available and cheap. Racing greens are 998 A+ aren’t they ?
Keep the updates coming.
James
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Yes, this ones a 998. It came with a spare engine that was stripped around 11 years ago and then left in the gardeb under a sheet! I didn't realise how bad it was when the seller told me about it. It's only really any good as a boat anchor. It came with lot's of boxes of parts plus a wooden three clock dash! Really looking forward to working on it actually.
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Oct 18, 2019 14:06:46 GMT
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Nice - I do love a Mini (as if my avatar wasn't clue enough!  ) I've never dared sit and add up how much all the panels cost to repair most rotten Minis. Still got to be less than over £8000 for a new Heritage shell though! |
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Oct 18, 2019 14:44:27 GMT
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ive got a funny feeling that VWs of that era had voltage stabilisers behind the guages and used to go faulty for fun. or i may just be hallucinating after breathing in to many diseasl fumes
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Yes. I've heard they run a 10 volts system???
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Jan 28, 2020 21:32:26 GMT
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So it's been a while since i've updated this thread. I have been lurking around on the forum, commenting occasionally. Christams, holiday, some time in hospital (nothing serious, all better now) and general mojo have all got in the way and the months seem to have flown past.  I've been deliberating over selling the Mini. I haven't really bonded and fallen in love with it the way I imagined I would.I was expecting to have the passion for it like I had when I first learned to drive 25 years ago. I keep window shopping for 80's VW's of the water cooled variety. Mostly Golf's, Jetta's. Scirocco's and Corrado's. So the time has come to let the Mini move on to someone who will love it more than I. See my thread for it here. ClickyAfter having fitted my electric roller door, I discovered the fob never really worked reliably so I always had to open it using the button on the control unit and I was unable to open it from the outside meaning a trek round the terrace of houses, through the front door, out the back and into the garage via the garden. I tried new batteries and re-programming the fob, then a friend suggested fitting a seperate rf (radio frequency) remote relay unit. So a quick visit to evilbay and the small sum of £5 spent and a few days later this arrived.  It needs a 12v DC feed in, which comes in the form of a power supply from an old wifi router. It only has 1 amp peak output which is more than enough as it only needs to momentary make the manual switch in the control unit.  So for the surgery I repatriated the control unit to the warmth and comfort of the kitchen table. PCB unscrewed and flipped over and the normally open position contacts identified and wires soldered on and then connected to the other side of the remote relay circuit.   A little hot glue held the remote relay circuit in it's little box and the plug/socket for the DC power supply in place. First time using the hot glue gun and i'm very surprised at how strong it is.   Fitted back in the garage and motor connected and it works a treat. Fantastic range too. Very happy now I don't have to traipse all the way round the houses (literally) to get in the garage. Just need to remember to take the fob with me. Sticking with all things door related, the reason for fitting it was because it was wider than the old up and over door and would make it easier to swing the Caddy in and out as space out back is tight and the bramble bushses tend to grow exponentially during the summer. The original access ramp was still the width of the original door so needed extending.  I made up some shoring from scrap wood. I used some old paving blocks to keep it in place while it set. I'm amazed at how I always seem to use the correct amount of sand. I never seem to have to little or excess. An hour late and we have this.  |
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Feb 26, 2020 21:37:27 GMT
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Continuing the story from a month ago, the cement hadn't set. I guess i used too much sand and too little cement in the mixture. 2 days later and i could still easily break it up with a screwdriver.  So batch I scraped of the first attempt and tried again. This time was more successful and I think I made a nicer job of it.  I have two trolley jacks that i've owned forever. The larger of the two has not been lifting fully for a while (years) and I have ignored it and put up with it, and the lifting handle on the smaller one is constantly coming loose.They are both largely unloved and abused.   So I decided i'd had enough and treated them both to a bath and an oil change with some proper jack oil. The smaller one needed a washer under the gears to make them mesh properly and a little thread lock on the handle retaining bolt. All the pivot joints were lubricated. For the sake of an hours work and a little maintenance, the difference is fantastic. No longer does the handle fall out each time I move it. No longer does the larger jack refuse to lift a wheel of the ground. Why oh why haven't I done this years ago??  The MOT is fast approaching for the Disco of dailyness. I have been aware for a while that it required some welding and chose to ignore it. I started with the passenger inner wheel arch, poking a small rust hole which rapidly developed.   Oh poop. The drivers side was equally as bad and I haven't even dared to investigate the rear chassis yet. So supplies were duly procured.  And turned into a functioning inner wheel arch without burning anything except a bit of my left leg where I was welding cross legged and some spatter burned through my jeans and sock and now my work boots rub on the very spot where it landed!   You may remember earlier in the thread that I bought the car from a Coast Guard and found a spent bullet casing inside while cleaning, well I found three more inside the wheel arch liner!! How the hell did they get in there?  On the way home from a trip up to the Lake District last year I|could feel a knock on the steering. Much like the welding, I chose to ignore it. It has gotten any worse since and as the car was in the air for the arch welding I had a shake of the hubs. No movement whatsoever. The only play I found was the front anti roll bar. New bushes ordered, new bushes arrived, new bushes wrong.  New on left, old on right. More bushes ordered. Turns out if your Disco 2 has ACE (active cornering enhancement, which is basically a hydraulic cylinder pressing on your anti roll bar), they are thicker and need bigger bushes. So off the road road for now until new ones arrive. Mrs Forkliftfred has had an operation on her wrist and can't drive for 6 weeks so I get to use her car in the interim so no great panic to get The Disco of dailyness done..... except for the rapidly approaching MOT date. Lot's of late nights then.  |
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MiataMark
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,971
Club RR Member Number: 29
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That rust looks (looked) nasty but then if it came from the Coast Guard maybe not surprising? The rear chassis has been done on our Disco, wasn't really bad but got it done before it got too bad.
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1990 Mazda MX-52012 BMW 118i (170bhp) - white appliance 2011 Land Rover Freelander 2 TD4 2003 Land Rover Discovery II TD52007 Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon JTDm
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Sorry to hear about the Missus, but glad to see this thread gently trundling along. |
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That rust looks (looked) nasty but then if it came from the Coast Guard maybe not surprising? The rear chassis has been done on our Disco, wasn't really bad but got it done before it got too bad. Maybe it is due to that. Disco 2's are known for having woefully protected chassis's. You can even buy rear half chassis to fix the problem or laser cut kits to plate them over. |
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Sorry to hear about the Missus, but glad to see this thread gently trundling along. Thanks. She just rang me to say she had managed to use a pair of scissors. She seemed very happy for herself! |
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)
