Your fleet running reports

[integrale_evo]

It’s a proper spray gun, but just a £20 Clarke one from machine mart which I’ve had for years.

Was amazed at how clean it came out, someone nearby had had a bonfire on Friday night so had to clear the ash off in the morning, but there were still bits blowing by occasionally. No bugs either

There are a couple of areas which look a little dry, but I didn’t want to go too hard with the wet sanding while it’s still so fresh and soft.

I’ve painted plenty of other bits and pieces, but a roof is definitely the scariest to diy.

[Sundayjumper]

Wow. That’s awesome. Can you come down and do the tailgate on the van for me ???

[PaulJ]

Excellent work. I'd apply for Porsche approval then you can charge a bloody fortune!

[Mito Man]

That looks bloody excellent, and I’d take a few flecks of dust in my paint over having it a completely different shade which is what 90% of body shops seem to do.

[Sundayjumper]

I did the seal on injector #1 the other day and it improved matters but didn’t fix it so today I pulled it all apart again and found that #2 was leaking. I *thought* it was only #1 originally but evidently not. Nobody wants a leaky number 2

I took a bit more time on it today. This one was much harder to remove so I guess it was probably the main culprit all along. The old seal that came out was blacker than a mole. Definitely leaking. I improvised a tool for cleaning the injector seat - 15mm copper pipe glued to a washer glued to some sandpaper. It worked perfectly. I pulled injector #1 and re-did it the same way.

Result - no more exhaust fumes pouring out of the bonnet and it seems to run quieter & smoother too. WIN. For the sake of a couple of washers @ 96p each and a few hours of my time it’s a hugely satisfying job.

[jamcg]

Gotta love an improvised tool, adapt and overcome

[nuttinnew]

Are you going to do the other two as well or are they a pita/look squeaky clean?

[Sundayjumper]

...are they a pita/look squeaky clean?

Both ! #1 is at the front of the engine bay and easy to get to. #4 is at the back underneath the scuttle and a PITA. #3 & 4 both look clean and non-leaky so I think I'm going to leave them for now. Having just done ~3500 miles with #1 & 2 leaking quite badly I know that it's annoying but not terminal. I'll carry on with other stuff and come back to them if necessary.

I've got a cruise control kit and LED headlight bulbs on the way. Much more exciting.

[Sundayjumper]

I idly browsed remaps yesterday and these guys reckon 180bhp / 400Nm (=295 ft-lb) ! That's an immense increase, and might actually make it OK for towing the Compact. Is it realistic ? Will it grenade the entire transmission immediately ?


https://www.cscmotors.com/tuning-servic ... -95hp-4495

[jamcg]

Vans are even more notorious than cars for selling the same engine in various states of tune, hence the massive gains possible if you get one of the lower spec tunes. Have a look at what other versions you could get and see if they use the same transmission, that will give you an idea if the gearbox is chocolate or not

[Sundayjumper]

I’ve not checked properly, the only thing I’ve seen mentioned is that the 109 has a lower ratio final drive to slightly offset the lower power. That lower ratio might even be a good thing in my case.

[mik]

I decided to try the Karcher window clear vac machine thing (that we've been using on the inside of the house windows since around 2009) on the inside of the car windscreens yesterday.

A bit akward to use as space is tight, but if anyone can explain to me any other reason why it has taken me so feckin long to try it - I'm all ears. Works great - zero streaks.

[Delphi]

Had to run a few errands over the weekend and the wife needed the Volvo for a few bits so used the Porsche. It performed admirably picking up stuff from Screwfix as well as a Rug Doctor from B & Q. I took Max with me as he loves "daddy's white car" (although I suspect it's partly because he gets to sit in the front). Had a short 3 figure blat down the M621 and the car was utterly unfussed, rock solid and felt like it was barely breaking a sweat.

Decided to put back a few bits I'd taken off to fix the gear shift indicator lights and reversing lights (driver's parcel shelf and the bottom part of the control stalk cowl). Made an attempt to straighten the steering wheel, as last time I had it off I didn't put it back quite level. Ended up making it worse as well as not replacing the horn ring properly, so I've temporarily broken the horn and the self-cancelling indicators!

[Sundayjumper]

Good news - the injector seals are holding up

Bad news - I broke one of the fuel leak off connectors, bodged it back together but the bodge didn’t hold resulting in a “slight” spill becoming apparent when I drove off today. New hose has been ordered.

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[mik]

Oops - if that doesn’t flash off (or burn off with a blowtorch) - this is good stuff.

[Broccers]

Took the mini away last week as I can't afford the petrol in my car.

The correct bumper turned up and associated parts for the boxster. Apparently they scan cars paint to match it now. I'm hopeful it might actually be a similar silver but plastic and metal never really match 100 percent.

[tim]

I've been promised my Jag back on Friday of this week. I honestly can't remember a thing about how it drives it's been so long!!

[Broccers]

Took the mini away last week as I can't afford the petrol in my car.

The correct bumper turned up and associated parts for the boxster. Apparently they scan cars paint to match it now. I'm hopeful it might actually be a similar silver but plastic and metal never really match 100 percent.

In a complete turnaround my car is ready to collect. Impressive

[Sundayjumper]

I’m quite pleased with myself today. Amongst a multitude of jobs I’m trying to do on The Van this one is quite nifty.

There’s a cubby hole below the radio that’s the perfect size for a phone, but not quite big enough when there’s a charge cable plugged into it. I bought an in-car wireless charging pad and with some mild trimming it fits perfectly inside below the cubby. Totally stealth. No pics of the finished item because there’s nothing to see but here’s the underside.

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It needs USB power, I just hardwired an existing adapter behind the dash. The charge pad was £12.99.

[Carlos]

I've done about 800 miles in my daughters MiTo and although it's a great steer I think I'm to old for it

It still has that meaty steering I remember from my old Alfa's and It handles well and corners flat but the damping is almost non existent. Anything other than flat tarmac it crashes and bangs through.

Bizarrely the cupholders don't really hold a travel mug which is annoying

I'm also on the fence as regards the Twinair powerplant. Its nippy enough and picks up speed quicker than the 105bhp would suggest but it's like a diesel in nature with a narrow power band !

Its 6 years old, done 52k miles and although it's been serviced every year it looks like the coolant and plugs have never been changed so hopefully she'll get her hand dirty the weekend.