meltdown
South West
Isn't letting old age get the better of him, still making the same bad decisions with vehicles.
Posts: 687
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Mar 25, 2014 11:00:19 GMT
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This thread is full of win, having just been given a Lexus/Toyota soarer they are pretty good at being luxurious, will return 21mpg for the V8 :- This is what I plan to do with mine.... ![http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc239/GenerisLabo/1991%20Toyota%20Soarer%20JZZ30/IMGP5399.jpg](http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc239/GenerisLabo/1991%20Toyota%20Soarer%20JZZ30/IMGP5399.jpg) Otherwise you can't surely go wrong with a 500 sec - I'd have had one if the Mrs liked it...one of my all time fav's!
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Last Edit: Mar 25, 2014 11:01:16 GMT by meltdown: Fat fingers!
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meltdown
South West
Isn't letting old age get the better of him, still making the same bad decisions with vehicles.
Posts: 687
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Mar 21, 2014 14:13:12 GMT
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Hi All Well as I didn't get anything for my birthday back in Feb, the wife treated me to a V8 for Valentines day. ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png) Slightly excited about this, as the PS4 option was looking a bit naff as there are no games that I'm remotely interested in. Well done Wifey. So with all sorts of ideas running through my head as what to do with it ranging from:- Engine swap for the Magnum VIP it Manualise it and have some plain good old fun. bodykits n the like. I've decided just to lower it on it's air suspension and then get some wheels when resources allow. This is of course after I decided to cut the pre back boxes out to let her be heard proper like. Then I decided I hate the look of the later spec lights she came with so I swapped them out last night for original '92 spec. original on the left later spec '95+ on the right... ![](http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee123/Nick_Holly_photos/Soarer/80DE20B1-ADD5-464D-9FD6-264879F3CCBA_zpspyxfwjr3.jpg) I've found some nice replacements out in the states from clear corners but at £1k that's almost what I paid for the car! So having stripped the carpet out the boot this is what I came across, ok the only difference from the photo being that the orange amp was actually glued to the inside rear quarter panel. ![](http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee123/Nick_Holly_photos/Soarer/E2BE9EEF-865C-450D-AA51-FFA9F0294093_zpsnip1fbp3.jpg) Yes that second amp really is just sat on top of the fuel tank, squashed in place by a folded over rubber hose, a piece of ply and the silver heat sink thing sat on top of it all.....god knows what the heat sink is for or why it's bolted to the parcel shelf but there you go.. The wiring was as you see it though, a total mess. That chunky power cable runs the entire length of the car and isn't fused at all. With that and the petrol tank breather pointing in to the boot, I'm kinda glad I didn't know I was piloting a potential fire bomb! Any overspill neatly captured in the boot therefore saving the wastage of hitting the ground and trickling away.. So removed both amps, some japanese DVD player come satnav black box for the TV that was removed by the previous owner. Tidied all the loose wiring and then fitted the remaining cluster, finished about midnight last night and then realised i'd stopped my alarm from working, probably due to disconnecting the battery. So I'll do that reset later. So hopefully next week she'll be getting lowered, a couple of turns on the ride height adjuster should close the gap to something a bit more respectable. Then maybe i'll get around to replacing the stereo or not can't decide as the V8 sounds lovely. ![8D](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/insane.png) I'll add a side view later so you can see how she sits. Ciao for now Nick
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Last Edit: Aug 26, 2014 10:25:24 GMT by meltdown
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meltdown
South West
Isn't letting old age get the better of him, still making the same bad decisions with vehicles.
Posts: 687
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Mar 10, 2014 16:13:52 GMT
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So a week and a half ago I replaced the rear shoes, thought that might get me some hand brake notches back. Well it didn't so took it off to my mechanic friend to fix. Essentially the clevis pins were knackered (looked ok to me) and the holes they fill needed welding (kinda knew that) and drilling out to size. Job done I thought as I happily drove it around again after a good few weeks of not using the old girl. mostly down to the new toy) So Thursday I filled the old girl up with Asda's finest petroleum in readiness for cruising in the nice weather and joining in the fun at Bristol Queen's Square meet on Sunday. So as I exit my front door and cross the pathway to take myself off to work on Friday morning, I'm hit be a severely strong whiff of petrol. Yep you guessed it, the old girl was dripping fuel at a fairly reasonable rate and had been doing so since parking her up given the size of the spillage. So rather than waste the fuel by leaving her where she was I thought (wrongly) that i'd take her to work as surely that would stop the leak as it's just cos I filled her so full. No turned out the pipe was so knackered that any swishing around of fuel would have come out anyway. So not able to source any pipe locally, I called Kingswood Cavaliers and by chance he knew he had something that might get me out of this situation. Ok it was a turbo inlet pipe for an Astra and had a 90 degree bend, but with some judicial hacking on Saturday I managed to get it to a reasonable fit. With an inside diameter of 45mm & with a bend, it made for an extremely snug fit, so using a blow torch I kinda softened it. *** Safety tip 1:- Don't attempt this anywhere near fuel fumes *** This took me a few hours of messing about and a few more hours of cyphoning & decantering the remains of 35 litres of fuel to get to this point, by which time I was not feeling too well, I couldn't smell any petrol by this point, but apparently I reeked of it. All done and dusted, the car still on the curse word on blocks I gave up and went to bed at 9pm feeling very ill indeed. *** Safety tip 2: - Do not work on a petrol issues unless you have good ventilation *** I should have had the rear garage door open as well as the main door!! Anyway on checking in the morning and having gotten over my petrol poisoning, turns out it was leak free so managed to get off to Queens Square only 2hrs later than originally intended. Still a cracking meet, I missed a 67 vette, but was delighted to see and hear a 69 Dodge Charger, a Shelby Daytona rep and some stunning retro ride quality from I believe the Area 52 guys. Anyway after that we went home so I could fix the heater control valve thing that had stuck on full heat over winter, a simple fix but I broke the heater plastic knob thingy by accident. Don't suppose I'll find another any time soon so am really gutted about that. So if memory serves me right, I only have one job left to complete, I'll need someone with a knowledge of alloy welding for that one. So if you know of anyone in Bristol who can weld alloy please PM me or post here, I'd be very grateful ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png) Ciao for now Nick
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meltdown
South West
Isn't letting old age get the better of him, still making the same bad decisions with vehicles.
Posts: 687
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Mar 10, 2014 14:55:11 GMT
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Sweet jesus, that looks lovely...i'm getting so excited and it's not my car! ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png)
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meltdown
South West
Isn't letting old age get the better of him, still making the same bad decisions with vehicles.
Posts: 687
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You can thank the eurocrats for all this hooha, getting rear seats into our T4 was fine (2000 model), however for the T5 complete pain in the rear (pardon the pun). Canon's forge was doing R&R beds for about £600 when i was looking for the T4, nice chap to talk to and his beds came with belts.
Legislation was passed that specifically stops you putting non pull tested seats in to vehicles registered after 2008 i think. If you aren't planning on having passengers in the van you can get away with it but the dvla will not add those seats on to the v5, if you are planning on carrying rear passengers then you have to have the seats certified for insurance and dvla will up the total number of seats on your V5. (m1 pull tested suppliers will provide the certificate when you buy their product)
last thing you want is to get done carrying more passengers than your vehicle was designed for!
Cheapest pull tested bench seat for a van i've seen is £1800 (smartbed), as for an Escort van, it's going to depend on model year, and i expect you'll be hard pushed to find anything, I doubt you can simply put in a bench seat from an estate!
Pre 2001 doesn't need to have seat belts in the rear fitted, however if the vehicle came out of the factory with belts in the rear then they have to stay.
** it's been a while since i converted my vans, so i'm not sure if this situation has changed any... **
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Last Edit: Mar 4, 2014 14:46:59 GMT by meltdown
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meltdown
South West
Isn't letting old age get the better of him, still making the same bad decisions with vehicles.
Posts: 687
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haza1024He has a few parts on his website but it's a bit out of date, it's mostly consumables, best to send him a mail to be honest. Other than that the viva owners forum might be able to put you in touch with someone.
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meltdown
South West
Isn't letting old age get the better of him, still making the same bad decisions with vehicles.
Posts: 687
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No its not rust but its like a sandy sort of stuff , which I managed to get out after making a tool to put in the tank and cleaning it out. good work, words fail me as to why that was in there, no one could have possibly thought it was a good idea to put it in there on purpose! The sender unit is not a common one and apparently like hens teeth , bruce at area 52 has managed to get the other one working and has soaked it in diesel to get the rest of the curse word out of it , Again big thanks to bruce and the guys. balls, top job though guys More updates to come and ive booked a week of in april to go get it mot'd hopfully if all goes to plan she will be on the road this summer. Fingers crossed. And I keep meaning to pop round to yours meltdown to have a nose at yours ... Great news and laugh my socks off at coming to see mine, she's been a bit of a mare this month, blasted handbrake setup, such a stupid design! and a knackered alloy water housing means i'm leaking coolant again. It really needs someone who's good at doing an alloy repair but that's not me!
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Last Edit: Mar 4, 2014 1:25:31 GMT by meltdown
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meltdown
South West
Isn't letting old age get the better of him, still making the same bad decisions with vehicles.
Posts: 687
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Wow what the hell is that, it's not rust is it? Did you get anywhere with that Sender unit i found on ebay? Edit:- Vauxhall green parts is the guy if anyone else needs parts ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png)
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Last Edit: Mar 3, 2014 11:39:50 GMT by meltdown
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meltdown
South West
Isn't letting old age get the better of him, still making the same bad decisions with vehicles.
Posts: 687
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Feb 25, 2014 16:18:10 GMT
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I use a comparison site to get an idea of where the cheapest quotes are and then go direct.
Admiral wanted over £400** through their multicar option for my Magnum, I only pay £80 fully comp as it is now! So I'm currently using Swift, Admiral and 2 lots of A flux.***
** My new toy is only £280 and that's an imported 4litre V8 - who decides these ridiculous figures? (this is with Admiral too)
*** at least i think i am as i'm getting confused swapping around for the cheapest quotes each year.***
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Last Edit: Feb 25, 2014 16:20:47 GMT by meltdown
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meltdown
South West
Isn't letting old age get the better of him, still making the same bad decisions with vehicles.
Posts: 687
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sweet, bookmarked this little tease ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png)
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meltdown
South West
Isn't letting old age get the better of him, still making the same bad decisions with vehicles.
Posts: 687
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Urm I seem to have acquired a V8 Soarer!!! ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png)
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meltdown
South West
Isn't letting old age get the better of him, still making the same bad decisions with vehicles.
Posts: 687
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Feb 11, 2014 19:13:29 GMT
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NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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meltdown
South West
Isn't letting old age get the better of him, still making the same bad decisions with vehicles.
Posts: 687
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Bookmarked ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png)
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meltdown
South West
Isn't letting old age get the better of him, still making the same bad decisions with vehicles.
Posts: 687
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Jan 30, 2014 21:09:36 GMT
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When's the next one? ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png)
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meltdown
South West
Isn't letting old age get the better of him, still making the same bad decisions with vehicles.
Posts: 687
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Jan 21, 2014 13:17:23 GMT
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Cutting up NOS wings...How very dare you! ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png)
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meltdown
South West
Isn't letting old age get the better of him, still making the same bad decisions with vehicles.
Posts: 687
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Jan 10, 2014 12:53:04 GMT
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Nice, I do like these. your experiences with the electrics sounds very familiar lol
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meltdown
South West
Isn't letting old age get the better of him, still making the same bad decisions with vehicles.
Posts: 687
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Jan 10, 2014 12:23:46 GMT
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Just found out this now lives in Scotland, I sold it shortly after the retro rides gathering in 2012 to a guy who was a big skyline enthusiast, he subsequently sold it on.. anyone on here heard anything of it...miss it quite a bit.
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Last Edit: Jan 10, 2014 12:44:27 GMT by meltdown
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meltdown
South West
Isn't letting old age get the better of him, still making the same bad decisions with vehicles.
Posts: 687
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You're more than welcome to pop round anytime pallet30
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meltdown
South West
Isn't letting old age get the better of him, still making the same bad decisions with vehicles.
Posts: 687
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love it...
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meltdown
South West
Isn't letting old age get the better of him, still making the same bad decisions with vehicles.
Posts: 687
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Hi All Not been on here for a while, the car took two full weekends to sort out, a faulty electronic ignition unit and timing gun and some poor instructions were the reason behind the lengthy ignition install. Seems that when installing the unit you don't use the original points position, something not mentioned at all until I called the supplier. So once that was done, trying to find the sweet part was as bad as trying to keep my mrs happy! Timing marks nowhere near what the book says but by ear and feel out on the road it's a different beast. So as it stands the car runs a treat now, power spark ignition is going well with the Thundervolt coil. My fibreglass bulkhead cover looks so much better than the crusty, sound deadening covered original. My water leak is fixed and all the perishable rubber pipes under the engine have been replaced. She even rides better on the new springs I bought her, so no more smacking the exhaust on speed bumps. Rear seat belts fitted for the little'un was the last of the must do jobs. So only the rear brakes to do now as the supplied items from evil bay though marked as suitable, are for a 1300! Oh and the weird wheel wobble....turns out my tyre had gone out of true!! clearly visible on the wheel balancing machine..never heard of that happening before. ![:-X](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/lipssealed.png) Been using her pretty much all but the worst of weather that we've had, she gets blown about a bit compared to a normal car. So ready for all the shows in 2014 now. Cheers Nick
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Last Edit: Jan 9, 2014 14:54:02 GMT by meltdown
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