adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,957
Club RR Member Number: 58
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Apr 22, 2024 21:04:45 GMT
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Been a little while since an update on the Crossfire. Nothing much has changed on the rust front, with it raining so much and it being outside, there just hasn't really been an opportunity to make much progress on that, plus I've been focusing on getting the Kawasaki done. That's nearly out of the way now though so the Crossfire is next in the queue. I have however been doing some bodywork on the Front wings which I've been smoothing off where the fake side vents and strakes used to mount. This has been a bit of an experimentation with building up P38 filler, flatting it back, then trying to get it reasonably flat. This has been made a bit trickier by the fact that I'm working in an indent in the wing so sanding into the corners is tricky. I eventually got annoyed with chasing my tail so chucked some filler primer on it so it was all in one colour to show up the low spots I did end up going back over with more filler, then sanded back until I was pretty happy It's not finished yet as the coat of filler primer highlighted some smoothing required in the corners of the recess, so a bit more work to do, but I'm pretty happy with the look and have been working on getting the other wing up to a similar level Plus if that wasn't enough, while I had the filler out, I thought why not smooth off the side reflectors on the rear bumper. They're only there because they're side markers on US models but it would look cleaner without them The bumper had some previously very poorly done paintwork in some areas anyway so I didn't feel bad about messing with it Lastly, I have stripped the foglights and numberplate plinth off the front bumper as primarily it has some scuffs so would benefit from a freshen up, but I've also been considering if there is a cleaner way to mount the front plate than a screw on plinth.. So yeah, messing about with smoothing, some rust repair, then put it all back together. I needed to move it on the drive the other weekend, so hooked up the battery and a few loose earths and it fired up happily enough I am looking forward to driving it properly again
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adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,957
Club RR Member Number: 58
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Overdue a bit of an update here, I have been continuing to mess about with the wings and bumper as and when I get a chance. I threw some black paint on the rear bumper where I smoothed over the reflectors to get an idea of how smooth it was Wasn't too bad but I could still see a faint outline of where the reflectors were so they need a bit more work. I have since picked up some Dolphin Glaze so I think with a thin skim of that, I should be able to get it all smoothed out. I did get a bit distracted by trying to sand off the historic lazy paint repair on the nearside corner of the rear bumper, but it will all get smoothed out when I prep the whole bumper for paint. On the front wings, I've been going around the arches and sanding back any surface rust as best I can, particularly in the return where dirt likes to hide. I've then gone over any remaining rust with a rust converter Then as a rather overkill measure, I gave the back side of each wing a scuff up, degrease and brushed on some gloss black paint just as a bit of extra protection over that provided by the factory One wing just needs the front side flatting back before some paint, the other one still needs the filler smoothing out a bit but it's not too far off now. I'm not shooting for perfection at the moment, that can come in the future if it hangs around long enough! Fast forward to today and the car has been collected and dropped off in Coventry for the welding work to be sorted. I bit the bullet and outsourced it in the end as I wasn't going to get it all done any time soon. I drove it up onto the trailer and through the industrial estate a bit at the other end, feels very different to drive to the Almera, the controls feel very much more assisted, and I was reminded of my dislike for the fly by wire throttle... Anyway, I should get the car back later this week which will be great, then it'll be on me to get the remaining bodywork finished and fitted, then start thinking about MOT...
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adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,957
Club RR Member Number: 58
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Oh and how could I forget, I dug the "proper" wheels back out of the garage. In my infinite wisdom I painted these white then went to the nurburgring, waited a while to clean off the brake dust and found it was well embedded 🙃 I had then left them for a while as I couldn't be bothered with the hassle of stripping tyres off, splitting the wheels to repaint the centres. With the Crossfire nearing some form of completion, and with the original wheels and tyres in no fit state for an MOT, I revisited the Rays wheels with some more aggressive wheel cleaner, a clay bar and a light scotch pad, which actually managed to get a fair bit of the dust off and leave them looking pretty white (the above pic is after I cleaned them). They're far from perfect and will need a repaint at some point but they'll do for now. I also now have a pair of 17x10s which I want to try on the back and see how that looks 😏
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adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,957
Club RR Member Number: 58
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Jul 16, 2024 22:09:58 GMT
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Ought to do a quick update on this as when I dropped off the Crossfire on the Monday, it was back with me by the Friday, all finished All the rust cut out, patches in, painted up, jobs a good'un. Now my task is not only to finish off filling and painting the front wings, front bumper and rear bumper, but also to remember where all the various screws I've taken out go.. Headlights have gone in though, and I discovered that the bonnet has a full vertical service mode which I hadn't noticed before haha Just been getting over the flu and hopefully the rain will sod off so I can get the thing back together
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adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,957
Club RR Member Number: 58
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Well I soon paid for playing around with the bonnet strut last time, as when I went to next put the bonnet up, the strut had failed replacement wasn't hard to come by at least so that's now sorted. Took a while to shake off the flu/possible covid, still got the cough, but my past few weeks has been largely focused on filling, sanding, priming, sanding, painting. A lot of this The headline at the moment is that I've done the clear coat on the Drivers front wing and it's ready to go back on. It's far from perfect, but then the rear wing on the car has lost it's lacquer, so if I like the car enough to keep it long term, it'll need a repaint regardless Got the good wheels back on the car today, both passenger side wheels had lost pressure in storage, I've pumped them up for now in the hope that will magically fix them.. I've set myself a bit of a deadline to get the car done, the Collecting Cars coffee run is at Bicester on the 14th September, went earlier in the year with some mates so be good to go in the Crossfire rather than the Almera this time! Rear bumper is nearly done with filler, I've just gone over a little bit where I could feel a dip, so that will likely be the next part for paint. The passenger wing needs filler sanding and the front bumper should hopefully just be a sanding job with minimal filler now. Otherwise it's not too far off an MOT
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I've not seen one of these on the road for a while now, and I like what your doing with yours.
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adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,957
Club RR Member Number: 58
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Thanks It's been a good while since I last saw one on the road, they're not a particularly common sight Did a couple more bits since my last update, cleaned up a few bits of surface rust on the underside of the bonnet, hit them with some rust converter and gloss black Now very annoyingly, that row of small holes should have a sealing strip clipped into them and I had this all ready with what I thought were brand new versions of the original broken clips, only for them to be not quite big enough for the holes. So now I need to find some clips that actually fit the holes, it's not the end of the world but it will bug me haha I also chucked the drivers side wing on Despite being somewhat organised with all the fixings, it did take a bit of head scratching to get them all back in the right places It didn't take too much to get it fairly well aligned either (by my eye at least) While I was at it, I put some new clips on the drivers side skirt and got that fitted too Still got to do all the fixings underneath but it's pretty much on there now. I've been doing more of the usual sanding/painting stuff tonight but also in prep for the MOT I chucked the standard steering wheel back in Looks like the front left and rear right tyres are losing air so I'll need to get both of those off and work out where they're leaking from
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adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,957
Club RR Member Number: 58
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Sept 9, 2024 21:37:44 GMT
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Update on where I'm up to with the Crossfire, since the last update I went to the Gathering in the Almera, then cracked on with prep for the remaining wing and bumpers Far from perfect but they'll do. I managed to get the passenger wing and side skirt on, but this would also throw up a bit of an issue.. I found that once I had the wing and skirt on, I couldn't get the front arch liner fitted I was also having issues with the side skirt not seating 100% properly. The repro clips I bought are a bit more fragile and loose fitting than the originals. Around this time I went to Portugal for a few days holiday, so I ordered some more side skirt clips for when I got back. It might get a bit photo light here as I was re-tracing my steps and trying to work quickly! Went something like: Passenger side skirt off, jack up car on that side, get the rear half of the front arch liner in place and fitted, drop car, re-fit side skirt with new clips. I then went back to the Drivers side which I had previously done, but had missed not only the arch liner, but also this plastic infill panel that fits to the rear edge of the front wing. Had to all but remove the wing to fit that.. As well as side skirt clips, I bought some of these spire/chimney nuts to replace the crusty ones holding the rear bumper and undertray panels together. This made re-assembly far easier The most challenging part was trying to remember which fixings went where But it's all on and solid Tonight I've quickly thrown the front bumper on before I lost the light, I'll finish that up tomorrow. MOT is booked for Wednesday so will see how that goes...
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adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,957
Club RR Member Number: 58
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Sept 11, 2024 19:28:38 GMT
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Yesterday, got the front bumper all buttoned up, even got the front half of the wheel arch trims fitted too, but left off the engine undertray as I was running out of light Tentative first drive to work this morning was a little sketchy as I only eyeballed the tracking after changing all the suspension We did get a fail but amazingly only one item which I'm pretty happy with Turns out the front exhaust mount had rusted off at the welds where it attaches to the pipes. How I hadn't seen this while being in and out from underneath the car over the past year or so I don't know The simple fix for now is to remove the bracket, thus can't be tested. The exhaust is pretty solidly mounted anyway and I think this had been broken for some time so it's secure I did cable tie the O2 sensor wires up as a temporary/semi-permanent measure All set for a retest tomorrow. Then I just need to get a tyre place to hopefully sort the slow punctures in the front left and rear right tyres, I suspect it may be the valves leaking but longer term I want to refurb the wheels again as the white wasn't the best move. Plus I might see if I can fit my other wider wheels on the back...
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Rich
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,316
Club RR Member Number: 160
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Sept 11, 2024 21:05:42 GMT
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That annoys me. The test manual specifically states ‘One or more missing or defective exhaust mountings does not necessarily make the exhaust insecure.’ And knowing that that mount does very little for the exhaust system security, that failure was entirely unjustified. Grrr. But. If that’s all you have to deal with, that’s not actually too bad. 👍🏻
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Last Edit: Sept 11, 2024 21:06:02 GMT by Rich
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adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,957
Club RR Member Number: 58
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Sept 11, 2024 22:50:18 GMT
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Hmm interesting, I suppose the MOT manual is open to interpretation on so many items? My tester is usually pretty reasonable on stuff and it didn't take long to sort so I'm OK with it
I was more surprised I hadn't failed on headlight beam pattern as I'm sure I'd knocked the adjustment a bit when I put the headlights back in, that and the handbrake didn't feel the best haha
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Rich
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,316
Club RR Member Number: 160
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Sept 12, 2024 6:39:59 GMT
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Hmm interesting, I suppose the MOT manual is open to interpretation on so many items? My tester is usually pretty reasonable on stuff and it didn't take long to sort so I'm OK with it I was more surprised I hadn't failed on headlight beam pattern as I'm sure I'd knocked the adjustment a bit when I put the headlights back in, that and the handbrake didn't feel the best haha It’s fairly open to interpretation but the DVSA put that specific line in as people were complaining that testers were applying that RFR when exhaust systems were in fact not insecure from the failure of one exhaust mount (Ford focus, any Peugeot/Citroen from the past 15 years with the folded steel hangers, Volvos etc) so they added that to clarify ‘please stop failing these unless the exhaust is about to fall off’. The mot testing standard is actually very low around a lot of items.
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adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,957
Club RR Member Number: 58
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Sept 12, 2024 10:21:49 GMT
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That seems sensible, when I took the bracket off it did look as if it had been failed for some time so there's every chance it may have gone through an mot like that in the past at a different station...
Certainly the exhaust isn't flapping about like it was on my almera or gf's 207 when their exhaust mounts failed 😂
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adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,957
Club RR Member Number: 58
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Sept 12, 2024 17:00:01 GMT
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Ought to update the thread title I've not driven it particularly far yet but it's a very different driving experience going from single mass flywheel and cable throttle in the Almera to DMF and fly by wire throttle in the Crossfire, the revs hang soooo long on gearchanges it's going to take some getting used to again.
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Sept 13, 2024 21:09:55 GMT
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Good news on the MOT and car is looking the part too. You ideally need that exhaust mount to the gearbox, especially if you're ever removing the exhaust system. The mount/bracket is adjustable, it has slide adjustment on the gearbox. When refitting the downpipes and cats they should be aligned and bolted up without the rear section, this allows the heavy front sections to be aligned and move with the engine and gearbox and no stress on the exhaust manifolds. Thus, the cats and downpipes are secured by the engine and gearbox and move with their mounts. Even disregarding what I've said, M-B didn't fit it originally for no reason, it's very sturdy mount (when not rotten). All C, CLK, SLK & E-Classes of the era are fitted with the same type of mount. Keep up the work. Next stop must be more power, surely...
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Still learning...still spending...still breaking things!
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adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,957
Club RR Member Number: 58
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Sept 14, 2024 19:38:33 GMT
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Thanks Woofwoof yeah I understand where you're coming from and I think ideally longer term I'll reinstate the mount in some form but it might depend on some other factors... Took the car into a local tyre place to try and work out where they were leaking air from, unfortunately it was the worst case scenario.. I've built a few wheels now and they've generally been OK at sealing, but clearly these aren't! They need refurbishing anyway, plus I'd like to try and fit my 10"s on the rear so I'll have a play around with the wheels. I may get someone else to refurb them this time though as I don't think I can be bothered at the moment! So it was back on with the standard wheels which desperately need some new rubber but do at least hold air! Drove down to Bicester Heritage today for a Collecting Cars Coffee Run meet (my mates photo, he even managed to make the bodywork look semi-decent ) So thoughts on the car after a longer drive: The exhaust drones horribly at speed, so I'm going to get a resonator or better silencer put in the middle of the system and probably get the front exhaust mount sorted at the same time. The brakes are slowly cleaning up. Suspension seems to be decent, I've not gone crazy yet until I've got good tyres under it but the H&R anti roll bars seem to work well. Aside from that, future plans are tricky; the paintwork will need doing at some point and the nearside rear arch will want some attention before too long. I've worked out an OEM Mercedes brake upgrade using W203 brembo calipers which I'm keen to try out if the parts turn up on a good deal and I'm still curious about an M113 swap. For now I'll just get some miles on it
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adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,957
Club RR Member Number: 58
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Sept 14, 2024 19:58:51 GMT
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Oh and how could I forget, the BAS ESP light came on on the motorway, so I might have a wheel speed sensor or similar issue that needs looking at as well
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Sept 14, 2024 20:47:12 GMT
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Oh and how could I forget, the BAS ESP light came on on the motorway, so I might have a wheel speed sensor or similar issue that needs looking at as well First thing to try (with a fully charged battery) disconnect it for 30 mins and reconnect. If no joy, read the fault codes and go from there.
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Still learning...still spending...still breaking things!
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Sept 15, 2024 0:27:41 GMT
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That looks really good with the smoothed out wings.
When the Crossfire was the new thing, I saw them everywhere; there were four of them in my office parking lot, all in shades of silver and grey. Then one day I noticed they had all disappeared. Now a Crossfire is a rare sight.
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,280
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Sept 15, 2024 20:55:24 GMT
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Firstly, great news on practicising on the car, and getting stuck in with getting an MOT! That's a great result. I'm sure it's great to be back in it. Oh and how could I forget, the BAS ESP light came on on the motorway, so I might have a wheel speed sensor or similar issue that needs looking at as well I can assist here. I have an iCarSoft scanner which can do MBs, so it "should" do yours as well. It's been great on my SL, and great, but also semi-heartbreaking with my sister's S204 C250 CDI, for which I hope you don't have that issue regarding the brake issue. I got it off a mate, as my R230 had quite a few codes, as I am sure you can imagine. I may have to get a better one however, since although it can read the codes fine, I suspect I will need something to do more specific functions (i.e ABC suspension bleeding, which will depend on if I change the upper arms).
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