Your fleet running reports

[NotoriousREV]

The handle on my old Mountfield mower has broken. It’s a part of the family so I didn’t want to chuck it away, at least for such a minor injury. I appealed on our local Facebook group for someone with a welder, and a guy just down the road has agreed to help if I bring it round tomorrow. Turns out he’s got a Cobra replica. I think he’s going to be my new best friend.

[Rich B]

[Sundayjumper]

Today The Compact is getting Eibach springs, plus new ARB bushes and drop links.

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[John]

The mx5 had a service today, engine oil and rear break pads.

[Sundayjumper]

I spotted a set of 3.0 M3 front hubs, discs & pads on eBay for £100, that makes a nice change from some of the ludicrous prices recently so I snapped them up.

Standard brakes are 286mm and fine for gravel (and fit under 15” rims), these are 315mm and will be better on tarmac, with 17” rims. With a bit of practice it’s not a huge job to swap back & forth.

[integrale_evo]

I believe the 16in double 5 spoke wheels usually seen on 328i will squeeze over the m3 brakes too.

But yes, not too bad swapping the knuckles over if they've not been left sitting for years and siezed in place

[NotoriousREV]

The handle on my old Mountfield mower has broken. It’s a part of the family so I didn’t want to chuck it away, at least for such a minor injury. I appealed on our local Facebook group for someone with a welder, and a guy just down the road has agreed to help if I bring it round tomorrow. Turns out he’s got a Cobra replica. I think he’s going to be my new best friend.

We couldn’t weld my mower as the steel is just too thin so we just blew holes in it, even with the welder in it’s lowest setting. Plan B involves making a bracket.

His Cobra is awesome. 300hp 5.7L small block Chevy which sounds epic on the side pipes. Needs more cam for my liking, but it’s plenty of power for such a small car.

[Mito Man]

I replaced the carb on the petrol dumper yesterday, when I finished I pulled the handle a few times and it started right up and ran perfectly. I went to the bench to pack my tools away and saw the 2 new gaskets which I forgot to fit
Can’t be fecked to open it up again, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it

[Explosive Newt]

Bit of a suprise yesterday when I started the Boxster up and was engulfed in a huge white cloud of smoke. Cleared in seconds, no smell left behind, Running fine, never done it before, cold started it again in the evening and it didn't do it again. It had torrentially rained the previous day and I wondered if that had washed something through an air intake or somesuch.

Browsing the forums, apparently it 'just happens' without any long-lasting harm and is blamed on a lousy air-oil separator. Stories of it happening at random roughly once a year to people. A bit unnerving nontheless, need to go back to Northway over a couple of minor things so shall mention it to them.

[Rich B]

Bit of a suprise yesterday when I started the Boxster up and was engulfed in a huge white cloud of smoke. Cleared in seconds, no smell left behind, Running fine, never done it before, cold started it again in the evening and it didn't do it again. It had torrentially rained the previous day and I wondered if that had washed something through an air intake or somesuch.

Browsing the forums, apparently it 'just happens' without any long-lasting harm and is blamed on a lousy air-oil separator. Stories of it happening at random roughly once a year to people. A bit unnerving nontheless, need to go back to Northway over a couple of minor things so shall mention it to them.

My lawnmower does that sometimes!

[mik]

We couldn’t weld my mower as the steel is just too thin so we just blew holes in it, even with the welder in it’s lowest setting. Plan B involves making a bracket.

Std arc welder?

[GG.]

Bit of a suprise yesterday when I started the Boxster up and was engulfed in a huge white cloud of smoke. Cleared in seconds, no smell left behind, Running fine, never done it before, cold started it again in the evening and it didn't do it again. It had torrentially rained the previous day and I wondered if that had washed something through an air intake or somesuch.

Browsing the forums, apparently it 'just happens' without any long-lasting harm and is blamed on a lousy air-oil separator. Stories of it happening at random roughly once a year to people. A bit unnerving nontheless, need to go back to Northway over a couple of minor things so shall mention it to them.

If the AOS has completely failed usually the white smoke will continue after start up. The smoke you're seeing is a small amount of oil that settles in the cylinders when the car is stood and burns off on start up (usually first start in a morning or after being parked for several days). The flat 6s are renowned for doing it (mine does too).

If it happens regularly you can try switching to slightly thicker oil (5W rather than 0W) to see if that helps. AOS do go regularly though - it has been replaced on mine and had deteriorated to the point that the intake was covered in a film of oil

[integrale_evo]

I have decided to focus my efforts into getting the golf back on the road. Initially this was with the intention of selling it to free up some space and bring in some cash.

However after a visit from bri in his mk2 16v on Saturday and seeing a couple of nice ones at a local vw show at the weekend the mrs has started thinking about maybe using it for a bit until one of the other 'fun' cars is finished

Part of the recommissioning involved sorting a few scabby areas. First up, the rear valance.

It had had some bubbles and some filler in the past, but that's rarely a 'proper' fix. I had intended using a new panel to cut up and patch the old one. The further I dug the more convinced I was that it would be easier to bung the whole thing on.





I ordered a short panel which puts the join behind the bumper. No one does a full panel which goes all the way to the boot opening for the early cars, and I'm not a fan of disturbing any more of the original joints and welds than is necessary.



Turns out there's very little structural strength to the lower section, the row of spot welds along the upper recess tie the boot floor to the rear panel and sides, but below that there's a handful of spot welds down the side of the valance and a couple under the bumper mount holes. The vast majority of it is free to flap around in the breeze.

So my plan is to leave the original boot floor welds and sit the new panel into the recess, drilling through and welding to the original spot weld points. So I got choppy choppy.



And new bit trimmed to fit. It's going to be a neat solution which saves me having to butt weld the panel and run a bead of weld the entire length of the panel. A tiny smear of seam sealer which will be painted over, hidden behind the bumper will be the only visible signs.


As usual, one nasty uncovers more. Both corners behind the valance were crusty. As usual I forgot a before photo, but the left side was like this but worse with none of the return lipfor the lower few inches.


It would have been easy to cover in seam sealer as it sits behind the valance, but that's not a proper fix, so lots of cutting, bending, welding and grinding and the corner is rebuilt.


I'd spotted a crusty but once the old panel was removed which I would never have been able to get to with it in place, underseal scraped off, scab thoroughly wire brushed to bare metal with a spinning death wheel, before a brush with rust converter, and coat of etch primer. That one scab has snowballed somewhat an I'm now dropping the tank, removing and cleaning up the rear beam, and pretty much doing an entire underside restoration. If you're going to do it, do it right, do it once. Hopefully when I'm done it will be good for another 30+ years.




New brake hoses, compensator valve, backplates, tank straps etc etc all on the way, with probably much more to follow...

[Nathan]

The handle on my old Mountfield mower has broken. It’s a part of the family so I didn’t want to chuck it away, at least for such a minor injury. I appealed on our local Facebook group for someone with a welder, and a guy just down the road has agreed to help if I bring it round tomorrow. Turns out he’s got a Cobra replica. I think he’s going to be my new best friend.

We couldn’t weld my mower as the steel is just too thin so we just blew holes in it, even with the welder in it’s lowest setting. Plan B involves making a bracket.

this ?

[NotoriousREV]

The handle on my old Mountfield mower has broken. It’s a part of the family so I didn’t want to chuck it away, at least for such a minor injury. I appealed on our local Facebook group for someone with a welder, and a guy just down the road has agreed to help if I bring it round tomorrow. Turns out he’s got a Cobra replica. I think he’s going to be my new best friend.

We couldn’t weld my mower as the steel is just too thin so we just blew holes in it, even with the welder in it’s lowest setting. Plan B involves making a bracket.

this ?

That does appear to be a lawnmower handle, yes.

[Coaster1]

The mx5 had a service today, engine oil and rear break pads.

Nice rear-engined MX5

[Coaster1]

Bit of a suprise yesterday when I started the Boxster up and was engulfed in a huge white cloud of smoke. Cleared in seconds, no smell left behind, Running fine, never done it before, cold started it again in the evening and it didn't do it again. It had torrentially rained the previous day and I wondered if that had washed something through an air intake or somesuch.

Browsing the forums, apparently it 'just happens' without any long-lasting harm and is blamed on a lousy air-oil separator. Stories of it happening at random roughly once a year to people. A bit unnerving nontheless, need to go back to Northway over a couple of minor things so shall mention it to them.

If the AOS has completely failed usually the white smoke will continue after start up. The smoke you're seeing is a small amount of oil that settles in the cylinders when the car is stood and burns off on start up (usually first start in a morning or after being parked for several days). The flat 6s are renowned for doing it (mine does too).

This.

TADTS

[Mito Man]

stuff

Good work

[ste]

The mx5 had a service today, engine oil and rear break pads.

Nice to see it.

[V8Granite]

I fitted my old JL audio W0 sub and Kenwood amp to the Defender. I set the volume to 17year old boy racer.

I listened to this during a big rainstorm while driving down some country roads....

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PMuePyV1nr8

Absolutely flat out, all I needed was a white scarf billowing out of the window and an aviators jacket and I’d officially be the coolest man on the planet B)

If anyone wants me, just follow the trail of open mouths!!

Dave!!