Today I did something to my car (volume 2)

GvidoR

Replaced a bulb. :P

Ferris

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

Got another quote from Fitzwilliam Garage in Dublin (who I remember seeing recommended here for something, hence why I saved the link) who - given the same picture - says he'll do it for €200 incl VAT

Seems a fairer price to me..

Is that for a respray of 2 panels or is if a local repair. Only interested as I have to get mine done.

Dord

Drove it. :pac: Not just, I've got the scangauge II in as mentioned a few pages back. I adjusted my driving slightly based on the information received and managed to return this today. Plus it was including a full boot (which I've now emptied).



That's 6.6L/100Km for driving today which was just suburban. In old money that's around 42MPG. Best I was seeing previously was between 8 and 9L/100Km (30-35MPG). This thing really makes you re-evaluate your driving with the instant fuel consumption reading. :eek:

rizzee

advertsfox wrote: »

Seen a set on the classifieds of the FF but they need a refurb and they're over £200 - worth it if you have a good delivery method from the UK

PS: Out of my budget, otherwise I'd hop on it.

http://www.fiatforum.com/classifieds/showproduct.php?product=29812&cat=17

Nice!! Think I may save and get some 16 or 17' BBS' be nice and tidy on it. Seen yours a few times over the last week, very nice

evolutionqy7

Got my tires changed all round. After enjoying the dry weather and good grip back to rain season has left me going sideways in a FW drive car even with a decent amount of thread left.

A nice set of BF Goodrich tires all round.
Next up probably find out what's causing the rough starting on my i30, get the front stabiliser arms replaced and book it in for NCT.

Oh and service in a couple of weeks. Can't believe I drove 8k km in two months

iano.p

Got new tires on the impreza and changed a bulb. Next up is a service if its dry at the weekend

toastedpickles

Absolute monster post incoming (part one)

So, yesterday seeing as it was nice I got starting work on the astra, picked up a new bumper from the scrapyard complete with fogs

So after getting a few materials, sandpaper and the like I got to work on it, the original bumper is literally hanging off at this stage it just will not sit on the car, one bolt is holding it on, please note the stylish addition of screws which were added by the previous owner :pac:



And the other side



Next onto the bumper, this is what I'm working with, although it's been stripped for sanding, removed the lights, lower lip and the lower grill





It's been in storage of god knows how long so it was a bit scuffed and damaged when I got it, not to worry though







There was and still is chunk of the bumper took out of the middle of it but that's getting filled



Next it was cleaned, while i left it dry I took the gearbox and handbrake surround off as I have new ones waiting to be fitted



The old gear gaiter has seen better days



The handbrake cover was stapled on, nothing a bit of superglue can't fix



Now onto bidness

So far I've removed about 50% of the lacquer and paint, I'm doing it by hand so it's a tedious job, I'm stripping it back to the primer so I can just over lay it with a new primer and start again

So here's the work so far, using 40 grit sandpaper

Firstly I removed all the scuffs and marks

toastedpickles

Part two of the above

The bumper had been damaged/repaired as a lot of filler came out, so I might stick some fiberglass on the back of it to give it a bit of strength





Damaged bits taken care of



Next onto the bumper itself





One side almost done







That all I managed to get done, so the next good day I'll get stuck into it again, work in progress

rizzee

Just put on some door seal protectors ( I know it needs a wash ) and check out the new phone cover

Hal1

I put clear indicator lenses in my headlights. Started yesterday and fitted them back in the car today. The guide I used: http://www.focusclearlens.com/how_to.htm

I didn't get a pic so I've borrowed one from above site.

dgt

Big hats off to 166man for bringing part of the interior of my 166 back practically to showroom condition it's being done bit by bit but a before and after in one pic:


Back to the 406 pipework is a huge headache for me as putting on the Merc turbo has left room tight (gear linkage is another mess!!!)

A familiar sight


Simple to whip off the rhs mount for access to the pipework

So, we take this Volvo S40 pipe


A piece of a 2.5 idTD inlet pipe


Shout at the sky for 30 mins, then when cleared pikey on a piece of a 2.8 idTD inlet pipe


Reassemble and wahey! I have something to work with :cool:


I also bought 2 brand new tyres. You heard me, 2 brand new Kormorans :eek:


I must be going soft in the head.... Or maybe the diesel fumes from that leaky injector are getting to me

CianRyan

Wahey, maybe the car will take a bend now.

dgt

CianRyan wrote: »

Wahey, maybe the car will take a bend now.

Nope, still floppy and cheese eating! :pac:

Pricing 16's...... And some parts from the local engineers.... And 2 more wheels..... And 20 bolts......

toastedpickles

So more fun and frolics from myself, the rain is being a right pain, and having no garage doesn't help

Anyways I fitted the gearstick and handbrake leather, it kept jamming up the gearstick so with a bit of effort pikeying I got that issue sorted

So here's before all that happened




I had to fold it into the white plastic bit so I think that's what the problem was







I took it out and rejigged it, although there was a cable tie to tie around the gear shaft but it was too short so!

Rubber bands anyone?? :pac:



And the result!





Today the real fun began

The filler on the bumper had gave way and there was a fairly sizeable crack and a metal plate from a previous repair on the inside along with a few other little broken bits

So here's what happened

This needed to be dealt with so I used this to experiment with as it wouldn't be visible on the front so I could figure out what to do



Made a bit of fiberglass and went to work





Then a bit of filler and that was that taken care of



Now onto the more serious issue that was the crack running through the bumper, it had a metal plate holding the piece together, so that was a help in itself



More in the next post

toastedpickles

next post!

So with that sorted, I lashed on the fiberglass to hold it in place, stuff is great it hardens within 5 minutes or so of making it so there's no waiting around



Done the front too with a thin layer





And then 2 good layers of filler





Then I got onto the hole in the middle of the bumper and stuck some filler in there too



Tomorrow or the next fine day this shall be sanded down and then the bumper further sanded to ready it for priming

dgt

Merc finally got the leathers installed :cool:


4 bolts per seat and what a pig of a job it was....!

I think I got the leak sorted, a test drive confirmed that the scent of diesel was far less than before!

Also, on return, a vid for you all: turbo on engine stop. Always let it slow down before shutting the engine off

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdjIn8HWMuM

When you see it...

dh0011

dgt are Kormorans any good?

dgt

dh0011 wrote: »

dgt are Kormorans any good?

I've used 2 different types before, the last set were Kormoran Gamma and I found them quite good for what they are. I'll be interested to see how these perform in the long term but so far they're quiet, clear standing water well and handle the wet well at a good price so so far so good

dh0011

Thanks dgt

dgt

Got round to mildly refurbing the S40 tail lights

Using sandpaper to iron out any scratches and a good shot of the rotary have them looking much better than before, thanks for the tip Curran




And both done

_Kaiser_

Nothing too exciting today.. hoovered out the A6 and cleaned up the interior a bit.

Any recommendations for cleaning leather seats? Preferable something that doesn't cost €30 a bottle

Curran

dgt wrote: »

Got round to mildly refurbing the S40 tail lights

Using sandpaper to iron out any scratches and a good shot of the rotary have them looking much better than before, thanks for the tip Curran

No problem - good work - they came up well!

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

Any recommendations for cleaning leather seats? Preferable something that doesn't cost €30 a bottle

Your average APC is your friend here - dilute it down to a week mixutre. Spray on, agitate with a soft nail brush and buff with a microfiber cloth.
Conditioner afterwards might be considered!

_Kaiser_

Curran wrote: »

Your average APC is your friend here - dilute it down to a week mixutre. Spray on, agitate with a soft nail brush and buff with a microfiber cloth.
Conditioner afterwards might be considered!

APC? (waits for the really obvious answer) :P

joujoujou

All-Purpose-Cleaner.

toastedpickles

Not a whole lot to report today, Carried on with sanding and got set to priming

Sanded the filler down







Got to priming it too, got one side done, then ran out of primer

So here's it so far





Then I ran out of primer, so no more fun until tuesday!

TeePee out

MuppetCheck

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

Nothing too exciting today.. hoovered out the A6 and cleaned up the interior a bit.

Any recommendations for cleaning leather seats? Preferable something that doesn't cost €30 a bottle

There's a few, Gliptone conditioner is excellent in my experience for finishing it off. From memory it's around a tenner a bottle.

EDIT - This is the stuff you need.
http://www.cleancar.ie/gliptone-gt11-liquid-leather-conditioner.html

Black_Knight

MuppetCheck wrote: »

There's a few, Gliptone conditioner is excellent in my experience for finishing it off. From memory it's around a tenner a bottle.

EDIT - This is the stuff you need.
http://www.cleancar.ie/gliptone-gt11-liquid-leather-conditioner.html

If you mentioned this 2 days ago I could of picked it up yesterday.
Thank God I ordered and paid online before collecting it. Too tempting to buy everything in that shop.

FYI, the detailing forum would be a good place to ask.

Scortho

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

APC? (waits for the really obvious answer) :P

Ask your missus.

MuppetCheck

Black_Knight wrote: »

If you mentioned this 2 days ago I could of picked it up yesterday.
Thank God I ordered and paid online before collecting it. Too tempting to buy everything in that shop.

FYI, the detailing forum would be a good place to ask.

Everywhere you look down there there's something. Particularly the chemical guys stuff because it's all different colours...

Voodoomelon

Third NCT in two weeks, who says you can't get an appointment! Pass, oo yeh.