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The rear bumper that was
donated had no mounting bracket, just 2 coach bolts, so I needed to
fabricate new brackets
Had some plate left over, so cut 2 pieces and welded them together
Welded 2 captive nuts onto each bracket
knowing it would upset too many of you if I didnt, I sprayed the new
brackets
Fixed the bracket to the bumper
Then fixed the brackets to the car. I think even Karl would admit this one
needs some `back to black`
Louise spent the best part of the day removing wheels, adjusting the coil
overs, refitting the wheels, then removing them again when I said it was
at the wrong height
!
I found why the brake pedal was `spongy`, it wasn't air, but a brake union
that wasn't quite tight enough and was weeping.. Another 1/2 turn and it
was secure and the brakes were firm again
.
Sprayed the rest of the cage and fitted that
Tacked the door bars into position and then my welder overheated. Kind of
summed up my day really...
Another hectic day, but it went well I think.
Fitted the front grille
Still need the strip that goes at the bottom... Next job was the
Horn. Found this broken wire once I stripped back some of the outer black
covering
Fixed that but it still didn't work. Spent about 30 minutes trying to find
the break, eventually, I just ran a new fused feed from a supply under the
engine bay
Tidied up all the wiring and now have working horn
Next job was the bloody exhaust. I`ve decided, I hate working on
exhausts....
The first silencer and flexible joint was hanging too low. I`m not sure if
the down pipe was bent in the crash, but it seems to be pointing downwards
instead of towards the back of the car
Removed the exhaust. (sounds so easy when I type it. took about 45 minutes
of cursing...)
I know the flexible joint can be moved, but I wanted to angle the pipe
slightly too. By using a blunt chisel, I was able to put a crease in half
of the pipe which caused a slight bend
.
Crease and a slight bend in the previously straight flexible coupling
There was no exhaust mount near this section, so cut a piece of sheet
steel, Bent it and drilled a couple of holes
Then secured it to the underside of the gear lever, used a jubilee clip
and exhaust rubber to support the section of exhaust
The refitted system, still not brilliant, but better than it was.. It doesn't
look it from the photos, but its now about 7mm higher than before...
Sprayed the door bars and
roll cage. Didn't have time to fit the top of the X, I`ll do it IF I get
time before Friday, but its not looking likely... Cage and bars look good
I think
The window winder was hitting the roll cage, I couldn't lower the window
without opening to door..
Removed the handle and drilled out the spinning part
Shortened the `arm
Re drilled and fitted a new handle with locknuts I can now operate the
window with the door closed
( I did cut off that long bit of thread too...)
I refitted the seats and harnesses.
Louise gave the inside of
the car a good wipe down to remove all the dust I'd made when grinding /
welding.
Matthew refitted the sunvisors
Started the car and with the bonnet closed, the bonnet was vibrating
slightly, opening it and found this wear mark
It is from the throttle cable mount, I can cut out part of the box section
on the bonnet, I had to do it on my old golf too. Also had a slight
rubbing of the air intake pipe into. Lou & Mat have shown the
offending points here
.
May 21st.
4x New Paradas fitted, lets
see how they go next week. If the forecast rain appears, they will not be
doing many laps, thats for certain...
I've read many people say you need a bit of string, 2 people and some
washing up liquid to change a window / windscreen, but couldn't find a
how-to (watch loads of people post links now
), anyway, in true DIY style, I made my own.
I'd never done it before, but it was surprisingly easy. I did the guide
for a rear quarter window, its exactly the same principal for the rear
screen and windscreen, but as they need 2 hands, I couldn't hold the
camera as well
.
To remove the old window, simply press firmly on one corner and maintain
the pressure,
you will SLOWLY see the rubber start to `unfurl` and loosen its hold on
the glass
Maintaining pressure move your hand along the glass and allow the rubber
to unfold at its own speen, DO NOT FORCE IT, it will take time.
When the top edge is complete, the screen will `fall out`, have the second
person take the weight, allow the rubber to unfurl down the edges and lift
out the glass
Lift the glass clear and place to one side
REFITTING
Using a length of STRONG twine, press it into the rubber, where the metal
will eventually sit, I used a flat bladed screwdriver to push the string
to the bottom and to aid fitting, dragging the screwdriver along pressed
the string in much faster
Leave 12" lengths overlapping at one corner
Using diluted washing up liquid / water mix, thoroughly lubricate the slot
with the string and the inside rubber edge
I'm not sure if this next bit is the correct way, but it seemed to work
well for us. I put the bottom corner in place and made sure the rubber sat
properly, inside and out
Next, whilst the person outside puts LIGHT pressure on the glass, the
person inside pulls the string horizontally away from the glass. This is
the bit where the string deforms the rubber and causes it to fit over the
metal
.
Slowly work your way along the top edge of the glass
Continue along the top
Now, have a look from the outside and check the rubber lines up with the
marks on the paint from before, I needed to push the whole pane of glass
slightly towards one side to make it `sit` properly in the groove, its
obvious if not, the string becomes much harder to pull. Continue pulling
the string. If you find it difficult, try pulling the other end and
working from the opposite direction, by doing that I found it went in
easily
And that's it, we did the first window in under 10 minutes
Both rear quarters, rear screen AND windscreen in 30 minutes ! That was
with us taking our time as it was our first attempt. It was far easier
than expected
Windscreen before (it had a small crack in the drivers line of vision)
`new` one fitted (was the 5 week old one from my old car...)
Fabricated some mounts for
the radiator and fan.
Tried to open the bonnet and it wouldnt open, had a look and saw the cable
had popped out of the slot
Some gaffer tape and a securing cable tie did the trick
I`d noticed the oil temp on the MFA had stopped working. a 15 second
diagnosis was all that was required. :-)
refitted the connection and all was well again.
The oil breather pipe from the engine goes into the airbox
'A popular mod that people seem to do is fit an oil catch tank, so any
oil that is blown down the pipe is collected, rather than going back to be
reburned in the engine.'
Simply find a suitable plastic bottle, remove the pipe from the airbox and
fit to the top of the bottle. Make some holes in the bottle to allow it to
breathe and secure the pipe into the bottle neck. Ensure you block the
inlet to the airbox where the pipe used to go...
To ensure no oil sprayed out of the vent holes, I placed some oil
absorbent matting over the top as a filter
Then place the bottle in a suitable place that is secure and I then cable
tied it into place
May 24th
The front nearside brake was
still catching, so I removed the carrier and filed down the contact points
slightly in case the pad was not sliding freely
'It made no difference, I was still getting the front left sticking and
getting hot, that meant that when I braked hard, that pad was already at
full temp and was braking better than the drivers front, causing me to not
brake in a straight line
.
That combined with the rears still locking under extreme braking meant for
zero confidence in my brakes.
'
Thought I had better take a look, removed the front caliper, blocked the
fluid inlet with a bit of old brake pipe with the end bashed flat. Used a foot pump
via the bleed nipple to push the piston out of the cylinder, the hammer
handle is to stop the piston shooting out.
piston removed from caliper
its in pretty good condition, but had a couple of `nicks`. I`ve had them
much worse, so was a little suprised how clean this looked !
polished it with some fine wire wool
fitted the new bore seal
after fitting the dust seal carefully push the cylinder squarely into the
bore
Used the opportunity to fit the new blue stuff pads
did the rears at the same time, used the caliper rewind tool to push the
cylinder back
New rear pads fitted
Bled the brakes and went for a short run to bed them in.
You may remember the bumper
was not exactly `black`...Louise applied some superb cheap back to black
substitute
The finished result
'And the front for comparison. I have only washed it, not had time to give
it a coat of polish. I think it looks pretty good now. I'll be fitting the
`missing` strip at the bottom of the grille in Germany.'
Conclusion.
The car was completed with
hours to spare before the Ferry to back to the Nurburgring, a truly epic
build that Nigel, his Wife, Son and Daughter should all be proud off.
Since then, the car has put in some excellent laps at the Ring, and has
not missed a beat. Congratulations Nigel, Fastclassics Salutes you!
Please visit
Northloop.co.uk for the best English speaking Nurburgring community on the
web!
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