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Jul 21, 2021 10:12:11 GMT
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So, Summer sitrep on the rest of the fleet (minus the wonderful CROWN Vic) 911 - took for an evening blat and the aircon still isn't working properly. I shouldn't worry too much. Mine packed in 2 years ago and whilst I've replaced all the bits, I've not got around to charging it. Still can't get over the novelty of never having the windows up! |
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Paul
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,013
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I've been highly remiss in updating this thread...had some pretty devastating news of a family variety, and being back at work left precious little in the mojo bank. But here we are...and just like our 'Arry on transfer deadline day there have been some ins and outs...  OUT went the Taxi to pastures new in Birmingham (I believe), and I spy that the Volvo had a new V5 issued at the end of September, so it may well have been sold on. IN came...  My sister's old Polo - 2004, 1.2, 90k on the clock. Yes, I've already changed the wheels. No, I don't really know what I'm supposed to do with it - but it was cheap to buy, cheaper still to insure and run, and (crucially) had half a tank of petrol in it during the recent fuel 'shortage' silliness. So it actually spent a couple of weeks shuttling me up and down the motorway to work. All 1.2 litres of Bavarian fury made the drive 'interesting' - if by interesting you mean 'loud', 'rattly' and 'pulling violently to the left'. Overtaking maneuvers required more forethought than the Schlieffen Plan, and on the first 3 days the numberplate fell off in the work car park, the battery went flat and required jumping, and the PAS gave up. But came back to life again. Which was nice. More recently - and much more excitingly - saw the addition of this to the fleet  A 1996 Daihatsu Hijet, 1.0 CB42 engine with FuEl InJeCtIoN, only 55k on the clock - largely from shuffling Midlanders around golf courses apparently. And it's already broken. It broke on the way home from collecting, and remains even more broken now. I've got an ongoing technical thread overseeing its repair, and parts on order from China. So right now it's a paperweight. But first, the news  The Traficamper took us away for a wonderful (if chilly) long weekend in Happisburgh, Norfolk at the end of October.   Which, almost predictably, ended in disaster  Lost all gears 13 miles from home, and only 2 miles from my parents (who we were trying to visit). Yup, that cable's supposed to be connected  The recovery van was there within 45 minutes, and I was strangely pleased to be able to tell him what the problem was. My parents rescued the rest of the family, and he loaded me up and - thankfully - took the van straight home. If we'd broken down 100 miles away in Norfolk I doubt it would have been the same story. As breakdowns go it was about as lucky and straightforward as you could hope for. Replacement (£24.50 for the pair of cables on teh bay) was relatively straightforward, albeit every clip and lug in the engine bay was covered in 200,000 miles worth of grime - but with vice grips and pry bars I got there with only about 87 naughty words. And the gear shift does feel so much better for it. I guess because it had been sloppy for as long as we'd owned the van I just assumed that was how it was. It's nice to do a job and actually feel some immediate and material benefit. |
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Paul
Posted a lot
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I've had a couple of weeks off work so set about keeping myself busy - 'relaxing' just feels lazy and I always end up regretting what feels like 'wasted' time - and the first port of call was the Polo. My sister wanted rid because it was becoming increasingly unreliable...in her eyes. To me, it was just showing its age. I think, like a lot on non-enthusiasts, she just wants her cars to always work and - at 17 years old - sometimes there are issues. In the last few months it needed a coil pack, an alternator, a new coil spring (to replace one that exploded only a few seconds into her driving to work - I must have taught her something as she knew it was BAD and to gingerly turn back), and maybe a tyre. The exhaust heat shield was rattling where a couple of clips were missing. I think an inner CV joint needs changing as it's clicking on braking/acceleration. A driveshaft let go on one trip, causing a breakdown. I would suggest that to most of us there are minor inconveniences and easily fixed (yeah, guess who got to fix ALL of them?!?) but for those not so minded they were all signs of impending doom. So it came to me for not much more than scrap money because I am a sucker for a lost cause, I cut my teeth on VAG cars, could use a little car for shuttling around when the camper is parked up and wanted to prove that the tried-and-tested wheels and lows could work on this too. It's 5 door so more practical for the familam, and has such mod-cons as 'working aircon' and 'electric sunroof' that doesn't actually leak. Given TEH WOSH  Insurance-approved dent repair  Engine bay given a quick degrease and wipe over  New speakers fitted all round, along with a retro Alpine HU and matching amps/sub in the boot. All this stuff fell out of one of the back doors - any idea what it is/was? The door windows and handle work just fine...?  So here's her now:  £40's worth of secondhand 'ProSport' coilovers all round...the fronts are down almost as low as they'll go - so it's more 'practical daily' than 'sump scraper' - although the rears oddly could easily drop another 5cm+. 17" wheels with 215/45/17 tyres started life on a Subaru BRZ  I wasn't convinced that 17s wouldn't be too big, but the skinny tyres and relatively narrow profile don't look out of place to me. Most importantly, they were free and absolutely brand new - I bought them a couple of years ago for my long-since-deaded Audi TT and they've been sat in the pile ever since. Some gentle Dremel action widened the centre bore from 56.1 to 57.1, and the fronts have a 5mm spacer to clear the brakes as they have a relatively high offset of 48. It drives, well, like a small, underpowered car on coilies. Pretty bouncy but good fun to hoon around, foot to the floor - safe in the knowledge that 'foot to the floor' is unlikely to be above 30mph unless you're on a downhill with a good tailwind. It's...fine. And ever the wife would drive it without (much) hesitation. |
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Paul
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,013
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But that's not what you want to hear about...that's not RETRO. The nugget that is the Daihatsu Hijet...that's full of nearly-30-year old muck and stories. I've had a soft spot for Kei trucks since I had a Honda Acty pickup a few years ago - but pickups are now pretty much unaffordable, and this came up super locally and at a reasonable-ish price too. Firstly, the good... The previous owner clearly spent a fair bit of money on it. It's got a shiny new exhaust, 4 new 12" tyres all round, brand new LED headlights to blind oncoming traffic, a ridiculous foot long JDMYO gear knob, and a fistful of Autoglym air fresheners. It also has a NOS rear bumper, and apparently there are wind deflectors in the back somewhere for the front too...as if it will ever go fast enough to generate some wind. We've also cracked perpetual motion, as the clocks indicate this is always doing 6mph  I've had a look online, and they all seem to be stuck here when off - so no point looking to change it. It's the lies I can't stand. It's basically a rebadged Piaggio Porter van - so I can tick the box for BOTH JDM scene tax and Italian sports car fragility.  However, it doesn't actually work. It began missing and stuttering under what about 20 minutes after collecting, but I was able to nurse it home with gentle application of the gas. Foot to the floor, she would bog down and start backfiring. This only worsened once I got home, and the van is (sadly still) undriveable. First question, how do you even get to the engine in this thing?  Undo the clip...  Same on the other side...  And there's a 3rd access hatch behind the two front seats - mostly 10mm bolts...  Plugs inspected, they're black and fuelly:  Changed them - no difference. Did the HT leads too whilst I was there so I know for sure it's been done. Air filter too for good measure, although there doesn't seem to be much wrong with this old one:  Fuel filter was filthy and doesn't look as if it's ever been done...  Still made no difference. Next plan of attack is the throttle position sensor located on the throttle body. I inspected it to find the idle screw was wound almost all the way in - when it was restored to it's factory 4 1/2 turns out the idle began to race away although it did actually drive a little better. With the TPS unplugged it was possible to drive the thing without it stalling out, although the throttle wouldn't rev enough to go over about 25mph. It'll take 2 weeks for a new one to arrive - they're not expensive, but have to come from China - and I had noticed that the thermostat never went above 1/3 when driving...although crept up towards half when stationary in traffic. A thermostat was about £5, and it gave me a chance to flush some okay-but-a-little-rusty coolant, so under the 3rd access hatch I found it:  Wasn't entirely reassured to find it held in with sealant, although thankfully it was just the tiniest amount  Totally wrecked the gasket when removing, and the new 'stat didn't come with one, so out with the gasket paper and sharp scissors...  Rebuilt, no leaks, although I've not been able to keep the thing running long enough to get it fully up to temp! Changed out the oil (all 3l of it) and oil filter (not much bigger than a shot class) because why not? Fingers crossed I'll get her running right ASAP - she's remarkably clean and far less rusty than my last venture into Kei truck ownership, so I'm hopeful of being able to put her to some good use soon enough. |
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The bits that fell out of the back door of your VAG look like parts of a door lock module. Occasionally people don't have the correct tools to remove so smash fook out of them to get them out.....
Door lock modules are a common breakage on VAG stuff of this era, all made very East of Ipswich so life limited.
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Needs a bigger hammer mate.......
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Paul
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,013
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The bits that fell out of the back door of your VAG look like parts of a door lock module. Occasionally people don't have the correct tools to remove so smash fook out of them to get them out..... Door lock modules are a common breakage on VAG stuff of this era, all made very East of Ipswich so life limited. The door card popped off v. easily compared to the others so I assume someone has been in there before. Well, whatever it is/was I'm not missing it 😊 |
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Paul
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,013
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So the Hijet has been parked up like this pretty much since purchase 😂😂😂  I should have known it would be trouble:  Quick summary of work completed with no impact... HT leads Plugs Thermostat Oil & filter change Air filter Throttle position sensor Engine temp sensor O2 sensor Fuel filter In fact as of a couple of weeks ago it wasn't running yet also managing to overheat. So as usual I enlisted hairymel to support. First issue was the overheating. The system needed bled, but still wasn't building any pressure. £4 later and a new expansion cap, as well as some crustiness removed with a Dremel and that one was solved. So, on to the running issue. Some very shady test driving with the fuel return line plumbed into a Jerry can showed that intermittently the fuel supply was being cut off for some reason. Fuel pump or fuel lines being blocked 😬 Time to drop the tank... |
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Last Edit: Jan 1, 2022 13:43:54 GMT by Paul
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Paul
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,013
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Only one bolt snapped so that is a moral victory surely?  Ew.  The rusty foulness that was left at the bottom of the tank cannot be adequately expressed in words. So fuel drained and pressure washer pressure washing...  Collateral damage added another few hours of work 😬  Still, better to find and fix it now with the tank out of the way than with it in situ which would have been far less pleasant. New filter and pump installed, all fuel and vent lines replaced along with new clips, tank bolts all replaced and tank refitted. So...does it work? Well - I'm not sure as family duties on NYD are taking precedent. Going to fill up a Jerry can on the way home and test under cover of darkness 😉 |
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brachunky
Scotland
Posts: 1,339 
Club RR Member Number: 72
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Good luck & hope it's now sorted! Will follow with interest as just acquired a 99 pickup and could most likely learn a lot from your experience  |
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Paul
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,013
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She lives! Here we are on a mini 'van' convoy...note how mine is stuffed with junk headed for the recycling centre  Minor issue here that the stereo wasn't working. Removed the right speaker grille to find it was exactly that...just a speaker grille 😂😂  Actual speakers have been ordered ☺️ Starting working through the old rat's nest of wiring behind the OEM stereo and long-since-dead tape deck...here's what I pulled out  As much as I wanted to, I just couldn't ignore this headlining. It's grim  Cut out the worst of it to expose this lovely sticky foam 'sound deadening' (as if)  Sigh. That looks like fun. Over to my plastic scraper (like one of those little Stanley blade scrapers but the blades are plastic. Fantastic for sticky stuff residue from decals on bodywork in particular where you don't want to nick the paint...although tbh the whole headlining probably needs to go. No clock on the clocks? No problem 😊  All mod cons up in here. Watch this space...it looks like I already have a buyer lined up for the leetle Polo, so of course that means there may be a new addition to the fleet on the way... |
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brachunky
Scotland
Posts: 1,339
Club RR Member Number: 72
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Jan 15, 2022 17:34:32 GMT
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Love the clock  You could always clean up the roof as you are doing and stickerbomb it with cool JDM decals if a replacement is unavailable! |
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Paul
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,013
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Jan 15, 2022 21:45:32 GMT
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Love the clock You could always clean up the roof as you are doing and stickerbomb it with cool JDM decals if a replacement is unavailable! You read my mind...my son and I stickerbombed the roof on my old Jaaaaag during one of the many lockdowns and I know he'd love to do the same again. And I saw someone who'd done a camper conversion and, unironically, glued that clock to the dash. For £2.33 it'll do me too 🤣 |
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Paul
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,013
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Jan 15, 2022 22:04:55 GMT
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Well, as promised, here's the latest addition to the ever-changing carousel of chod  That's the only picture I have rn 🤣 The seller has already deleted the advert... nothing suspicious in that at all 😬 I'll start with the negatives...hard to believe but an 18 year old car has a couple: The exhaust is hanging off 🤣. One of the silencers has snapped so we're in proper boy racer fart cannon rice box mode rn. Panoramic sunroof doesn't work. Button does nuttin' Rear lights are awful clear lenses...and one's cracked already Aftermarket radio and shoddy UBERMEGAWATZ amp in the boot don't work Wheels need balanced Key is missing all the buttons so remote central locking is impossible...albeit not actually tested. So what was the appeal? It was cheap. Like, really cheap compared to other Mini Cooper Ss I've seen out there. I haggled him down hard. 96k Only two previous owners In the last two years it's had a supercharger service and belt, new pulley, new clutch, new timing chain, plugs, expansion tank, rocker cover gasket (the engine bay looks remarkably dry), track rod ends, inner and outer ball joints, control arm bushings, ARB links, radiator, crankshaft seal, water pump and sundry other filters. I've saved enough money on the purchase price to cover an exhaust (thinking one of those Milltek knockoffs from eBay) and have already found some NOS OEM lights for sale on FB locally... Initial impressions were very good. The droning made the drive a chore at 70mph on the motorway, but show it a curve, bend or a roundabout and you can really give it some stick. May have seen the TCS light once or twice on a roundabout (roads were already freezing on my way home) but it never felt out of control. This is going to be fun! |
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jpr1977
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 658
Club RR Member Number: 18
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Jan 15, 2022 23:47:03 GMT
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I keep trying to justify one of these (with the rear seats removed) as an ideal dog car/ single child delivery vehicle...
Not quite convinced the boss yet...
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Paul
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,013
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I keep trying to justify one of these (with the rear seats removed) as an ideal dog car/ single child delivery vehicle... Not quite convinced the boss yet... It would have to be without the rear seats...the boot is genuinely a joke. P/O has fitted an amplifier and there's practically no room for anything else 🤣 I do think the Cooper S's have bottomed out price wise as this just crept into 4 figures...can't see how they're going to get any cheaper. |
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Last Edit: Jan 16, 2022 0:09:35 GMT by Paul
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Just reread the last page or two.
Chuckle chuckle.
Nice Mini.
I hope.
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Paul
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,013
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Jan 16, 2022 17:10:58 GMT
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Just reread the last page or two. Chuckle chuckle. Nice Mini. I hope. Cheers...like all 20-odd year old bargain basement motors there's bound to be a few problems, but I'm hopeful this is isn't a total lemon. I've also come to realise that I like a project...I enjoy buying something less than mint, hunting parts, scouring the internet, snaring bargains...it gives me immense satisfaction 🙂 Speaking of which...  Picked these up locally this morning - long story short they are NOS and OEM Mini lights, having been removed when new from an owner who immediately upgraded his to clear ones. £30 the pair, and the bulbs were even there. Win.  Check the nick of these...were they ever trendy? One 10mm bolt behind each...looking better already. The N/S lamp was cracked anyway and needed changed urgently.  Bit more twiddling  Big improvement. Thought I'd try and harvest the original bulbs but they're soldered in...?  Less thrilling was the discovery that the 20amp fuse for the panoramic sunroof was actually a 15amp and had popped.  Of course switching the fuse out did nothing. Will require further investigation. And I hadn't noticed this on viewing last night but the headlining has sagged dramatically.  I don't think this is the factory fabric - I reckon it's been 'repaired' - badly - in the past by a previous owner who didn't actually remove the headliner properly. Good news is that it doesn't look too disastrous a job to remove, scrape down and recover. I'll add it to the list for a warmer, more dry day. So SWMBO is insisting that I catalogue my EXACT outlay for the Mini...she is under the entirely misguided apprehension that I could fix it and flip it for a profit. LUDICROUS. So: Car - £1300 Rear lights - £30 I've ordered a new gear knob as the leather on the OEM one has frayed and worn out - £8 Some black leather dye for the driver's seat bolster - £8 And I've ordered a new case for the remote key - the chip is there and intact so I'm hopeful that I can swap the guts of the key into a new unit - £7 Other expenditure I foresee atm revolves around the exhaust (I'm hoping to score a good used one for around £100...), panoramic sunroof (£ihavenoclueatthispoint), and I know she's needing rear pads and discs (£50ish for reasonable OEM quality ones). I'm also going to shell out £20-odd for a set of new wheel bolts. It's amazing the lift a car can get from shiny bolts compared to the old and rusted ones I've got currently. And I reckon about £40 should cover adhesive and fabric to do the roof lining. Attention turned to the JDMYO! minivan...yup there may be a slight issue with water ingress and condensation  Whoever thought installing two sunroofs was a good idea back in the 90s deserves to have their head wobbled...this was always going to happen people 🤣 Still, in the pursuit of the ultimate in audio fidelity I fitted some speakers from Amazon...  And a stereo...from Amazon.  Jeff Bezos saw me coming. The speakers are a bit bigger than standard but look reasonably factory, and 13cm speakers are bound to sound better than 10cm. |
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Last Edit: Jan 16, 2022 17:11:59 GMT by Paul
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jpr1977
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 658
Club RR Member Number: 18
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I keep trying to justify one of these (with the rear seats removed) as an ideal dog car/ single child delivery vehicle... Not quite convinced the boss yet... It would have to be without the rear seats...the boot is genuinely a joke. P/O has fitted an amplifier and there's practically no room for anything else 🤣 I do think the Cooper S's have bottomed out price wise as this just crept into 4 figures...can't see how they're going to get any cheaper. I think they (much like TT's) are at the bottom of the curve, I did see a early BRG CooperS with the factory white wheels locally that nearly landed at JP towers, until I remembered there is a small matter of a Tax bill to sort this month and have no garage space due to the recent house move... I know the boots are stuipdly small, put it this way the wifes smart appeared (and remains to this day nearly 4yrs later) as you could actually fit the pram/stuff in the boot unlike the mini... Definitely looks better with the original lamps and fingers crossed for the roof... |
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Paul
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,013
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Ticking jobs off the list...I hate locking wheels bolts. I especially hate not getting the key. 4lb mallet and some surprisingly sharp eBay locking wheel nut removers later...  Old gear knob faded and the stitching had gone   Replaced...much nicer in the hand  Touched up the stitching on the driver's seat with some leather paint from Amazon. From this  To this  She got the Bluetooth exhaust  Ooh shiny!  Like a big Lego set...Malian resonated cat back with a 20% off voucher from eBay (where else?). Gives a nice burble...  Designed for a post facelift car, the exhaust hangers needed some bending and banging into place. And the tail pipes are designed to be non-symmetrical btw 🤣 Next up? Want to replace the rear brakes, remove the checkered decals from the roof and replace the matching chequered wing mirrors. Also need to sort out the stereo situation - it hasn't got one. There are obviously some wiring gremlins too as there's an amp in the boot but the front speakers aren't running off it. Wondering if someone hasn't spliced them in right or something. Fixing someone else's foul ups just adds another element of excitement doesn't it 🤣🤣🤣🤣 |
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Paul
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,013
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Feb 16, 2022 20:47:13 GMT
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Been working hard getting the Mini into a state I'm happy with... Not a fan of the chequerboard mirrors...they've yellowed and dulled over time. Now you can replace just the covers, but my hamfistedness would almost definitely break the glass and the clips. Found some plain black mirrors complete on Facebook for £20.  These bolts don't look encouraging...  ...but with some WD40 and gentle persuasion they came out. Rear brakes didn't look too healthy either   Had to wait a couple of days because one of the piston boots was shredded - 48 hour postage from the good folk of Bigg Red  Much better  Had originally planned to pull and recover the headlining as it was not exactly a slick job in finest pleather. A few Phillips head screws and electrical connectors and the card pulls out from the boot at a jaunty angle  Unfortunately the headliner wasn't in great shape, held together with gaffa tape and old glue  Again, FB came up trumps with a replacement in deepest darkest Suffolk.  However, before final fitting I thought I'd take a stab at fixing the sunroof. The sunroof was popping fuses as soon as being replaced, so with motors going for £20 on eBay I took a punt. No diagnosis, no thorough fault finding - just a random stab.  Well hello daylight! Thoroughly greased the runners as well as it was a bit slow to begin with - but working a charm. The last treat was a smaller set of OEM wheels. She came on 17s with skinny 205/45/17 runflats that were the equivalent to driving the Flintstones car...so I sourced a set of 16s with much more comfortable 195/55/16s in non-runflat flavour.  Normally I'm a fan of lowz and big wheels for stance yo, but maybe I'm getting old...maybe my back's given, maybe I took a whack to the head but I much prefer smaller wheels on this. It was bought as a fun driving car, and big heavy, hard 17s just weren't doing it. Also plain black mirrors are definitely faster 🙂 |
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Last Edit: Feb 16, 2022 20:58:51 GMT by Paul
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You could always clean up the roof as you are doing and stickerbomb it with cool JDM decals if a replacement is unavailable!
