Moving Units... I sure miss the insulation

Thats what it was used for, HGV and commercial stuff. Ex owner retired and just wanted something to do car tyres with. I concur on the pressure switch settings, never going to use more than 100-120psi just large CFM. Might have to take lessons on how 

Despite it's size its quiet compared to a direct drive unit going 10 times as fast. The large piston must be 500cc or even bigger. 

Ha, thank you DS.
So every full rotation of the crank will move 1.5L of air? Holy sheet. Massive overkill even running multiple 'DIY' tools
Going to clear a new space for it on Sunday and hopefully sort the electrics. The socket (or remains thereof) is close to the wet zone outside so will have to be careful or better still have it relocated whilst it is being repaired.

In other news, some scroat broke into the unit next door last night, the one I had all my stuff in upto about 8 weeks ago. I found the door half open when I got round there so called the occupier and stood guard until he arrived then helped him secure it.
It gets more complex as they didn't take anything. They then broke through into the next but one unit and ransacked parts of it.

Again they appear to have left empty handed so were obviously after something particular and couldn't find it.

Indeed, prior knowledge was the whisper last night. definitely someone who had cause to be in the unit at some point before the two current tennants moved in we think.

Big>small>tank could be the answer, this is the best photo I currently have of the top of the heads etc, will get closer tomorrow with a different angle.

First test fit, still rough but before going any further decided to see if they fit ok.
Not keen on black centres, not sure what alternatives would match / contrast with the red though.

 

I curse anyone who overtightens wheel nuts with an air gun. That took way too much time and energy jumping up and down on a breaker bar   My air wrench wouldn't shift them.

We did have some E-Tech alloy wheel paint in the shop, thats whats been used on the wheel centres on project X. Sadly the supplier we got it from isn't replacing his stock so I'm going to have to get them from E-tech direct. I think the dark grey one I used was called Bavarian Anthracite   



On the Wolfrace Cyclones (the black centred ones) I quite fancy a dark gold but that failed to meet with approval. I can see them being left and just run as they are while I do something nice with the Fox wheels, then swapping back.
I'm sure I can find a car they'll fit if the Mrs opts to keep hers as is.

Sunday 13th October.

First off my apologies for failing to finish the previous post by adding the pictures. It will happen but just going to be out of sequence.

Last weekend I had to clear the cars out of the other unit and it all got a bit squeezed in unit 6. The yard is once again fully populated, I think I have one space left to shuffle stuff round in.
Not the best photo but you'll get the idea.



Here's a bit of background on a couple of them.

Back left - Black Legerra. After my white one was nearly totalled by a stray firework I spent ages trying to find a new body shell. This one came up in about 2002/2003. The weekend of Donington kit car show I drove my massive blue van down from Bolton and blagged access onto the show field. Put up a small one man tent behind the club stand, dumped all surplus gear inside then set of for the wilds of Norfolk.
Finally arriving at about 11pm. Luckily the chap I was buying this from had waited up and an hour later (and £250 lighter) I set off back to Donington. I arrived back at stupid o'clock in the morning and just crashed out across the front seats of the van. A bit later I was woken from my beauty sleep by some of my fellow club members who then helped my unload the poor thing and yes, we parked it on the club stand. It was in a right state, daylight didn't do it any favours. Later in the day they all helped push me around the stand and re-loaded it back into the van along with all the stuff from the tent and off I set, back to Bolton. I was a bit suspicious of the 'unregistered' remains I had purchased but the dutton production number was still on the bulkhead so I contacted the DVLA who informed me that they couldn't find any trace of a car being registered using that VIN. It got parked in a lockup eventually and finally moved over to the house in 2007.



Think it looks rather sad with it's eyes popped out  The body looks nearly shiny in this shot however its as rough as sandpaper and must have been sitting outside for quite some time before I got hold of it.

I never did use it to repair the burnt out one as a better one came up in the mean time. Still suspicious as there were stains on the windscreen from a tax disc holder along with holes and abrasions where the number plates used to go. I'm 99% sure this was once registered but possibly using the original donor's VIN. There's no running gear at all apart from the minimum needed to keep it off the floor and mobile.

Front left - Blue Legerra. I originally spotted this as an unfinished project on ebay years ago. It looked complete however it had no ID so was going cheap. I'd stopped chasing bits by then so it got sold and vanished. This photo was saved from the original Ebay advert (yes, I am that sad)



Years later, 2016 I think, I was tipped off there was a Legerra in a scrapyard in Derbyshire. The owner of the yard was himself a Dutton owner and club member who knew what it was so kept it to one side. Again I set off on a mission, again I returned £250 lighter but this one had an engine and all the running gear still in place. Sadly someone had the misconceived idea he could cut the top off the doors and make it into something else that hadn't worked out so well, had been abandoned and hence it ended up in a scrapyard. Not sure why a whole roll (possibly two) of parcel tape was needed to hold the boot down, its been there a while and the glue has eaten into the gelcoat. Both front and rear bumpers are missing, A pillar has been cut including the metal tube which gives it rigidity, passenger door has the top 1/3rd removed, dash cut out and all just chucked inside. 



Some major bits of the body had been damaged, left open to the elements it too was in a bad way.



The body has now been removed for dissection. The doors have seized shut and the hinge pins will need to be cut to remove them (more on that later) Again the DVLA could find no trace of that production number being used as a VIN. So I now have two unregistered genuine dutton spare chassis. This is important as the only way you can replace a chassis is with a genuine spare from the manufacturer who stopped making them in 1990.

Front centre - Blue Sierra estate. That has it's own story, or will have when I write it.

Centre back - Q385FDF. Affectionately known as 'the handbag' due to its apparently 'girly' colour. Again this one has it's own tale to tell ... eventually.

The two Phaetons on the right will come to light later on this thread.

Back to today. 
I finally got around to fitting those wheels on the MX5. The 6mm tread T1-R Toyo's fitted to the car when the Mrs purchased it have gone a little weird, like out of round weird. Wheels are fine but there are 'flat spots' causing a slight vibration so I've taken them off to get them checked. Easier to drop off four wheels for checking than leave the car at the garage. I'll get the tyres taken off, check the rims and inside of the tyres, give the rims a quick refurb and then we'll see if it needs new tyres or if the old ones can go back on. I will also check dates while they are off the car. As these are 195/50/15 they are possibly one of the cheapest sizes of T1-R to replace so it may end up just getting a new set fitted. Anywhichway, unless the mrs absolutely loves those Wolfrace wheels then they are just on loan while I sort hers out.

Whilst I was playing with the wheel polisher I thought I'd start on one of the sets of Allycats I have lurking in the stores.
I picked the worst pair as a demonstration of what can be done. I'd really like access to a lathe big enough to mount these on properly. Sadly those are beyond my budget, one I enquired about four years ago was over £40K  
My converted wheel balancer just spins the rim fast enough to keep the power tools from making the rim uneven. On these Allycats I'm aiming for functional and clean not show polish.

First shot is the rim before I'd touched it, brushed off the loose flaky stuff and bolted it up.



First pass with a polycarbide wheel mounted on the air drill followed by a coarse 2 inch disc from an Abracs set of Roloc type thingies. I find these really useful as they are a really quick thing to swap discs on. I've done both front and rear beads at this point, back down to bare metal so I can paint them and get a good air seal.



I've primered the inner part of the rim (the bit inside the tyre) and left it to dry over night before I top coat it with black gloss. I'm actually changing this pair to gold centres to match a pair of good condition 6" rims. The spokes should be painted but this set has already been on a lathe once (a long time ago) and i'm not sure about the sharp edges taking the paint properly even with etch primer.

I'll be finishing that part of the rim first so it can dry while I do rim number two. That'll give me some way of picking it up without touching the polished part when its done.

I spent the second half of the afternoon on a purchase collection mission. Some Sierra alloy engine mounts won on ebay for £5.70, cost me £10 in fuel to collect but was worth it. I've had issues in the past with the angled ford mounts common on the Escort and Cortina, even the RS alloy ones have issues in a Legerra due to the shape of the Dutton engine mounts. Switching to the alloy Sierra ones and polybushes seemed the easiest improvement.

More to follow, hopefully tomorrow night.

Whilst digging out bits for a fellow member of this fine community one of the lads who works on the pallets up the end of the yard asked if I could lend him the airline to check his tyres. Opened the big shutter and happily ran the airline out. Does his tyres, puts the airline away and thanks me. So I go to shut the big roller shutter. Bit noisier than usual so I turned round to look at the other end only to realise I'm looking higher than I should be. Letting go of the button I step back and oops...



It would appear that one of the slats got snagged on the cladding, bent the cladding into the path of the other slats
Spent the next hour up the step ladder with a crowbar and a lump hammer straightening it all out. Managed to get it shut eventually but won't be using it again until i've staightened all the bent bits and modified it so it can't happen again. Good job my nearest neighbour is a distance away. 

Well, the roof went down, the sun shone and the darkside has another member in it's ranks... for the moment.
R563ENF
MAZDA MX5
Colour - Black
Fuel type - Petrol
Date registered 31 December 1998
MOT valid until - 28 October 2020
Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):
Nearside Front Service brake binding but not excessively (1.2.1 (f))
Nearside Front Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge On limit (5.2.3 (e))
Oil leak, but not excessive (8.4.1 (a) (i))
Its not perfect by any means, needs paintwork, one small rust repair, drivers side window is temperamental and it lets in a little water but that could just be because it's been standing out in some very heavy rain recently.

Apparently then, there is life in this one yet. I got down in the pit and had a good poke around, chassis / body looks solid underneath, fully undersealed but some time ago. Suspension arms look scabby but not rotten. Might even tax it and put a few more miles on it. It'll be good for winter as the heater is amazing. (just having a heater at all is a bonus.)

On the subject of it being a bit chilly

I could keep the old double height unit warm with one small space heater. half hour on full gas then it could be turned down to tickover or even switched over to a fan heater just to keep the warm air circulating.

The unit I'm in now I've got no chance, too much uninsulated metal, too many high level gaps.

Reckon i'll need a case of cavity wall foam to make it half way 'sealed'.