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Miserable day today so I've took the opportunity to restore the headlights, I'd machine polished them when I got the car but it never lasts, the only way to keep them nice is to clear them..
Scruffy yellow lights
Cleaned and flatted off, masked up with a soft edge around the lens, set up in...
This was the resistor I used
https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/chassis-mount-resistors/0159916
this has the correct female plug and pins for the male plug on the loom
https://ebay.us/m/Pd6BPt
Got a little bit done today in-between rain showers
Brake shims turned up so I've got the front pads in, and new stainless bleed nipples in the calipers
These are apparently the replacement for mintex 1144 compound pads, so should be good for fast-ish road use.
Got the coolant hoses and...
Decent progress made today, I've
Torque checked fasteners for the subframe, all front suspension & engine mounts
Fitted powerflex black top mount donuts
Fitted the new driveshafts, uprights, discs, caliper carriers, calipers (just finger tight because I need new pad slider shims before I can...
Got the engine in by myself this afternoon, it went in first time. it's on all of its mounts which just needs a torque check, got the exhaust manifold on and I've just called it a day because it's getting dark.
Feels good to have it out of the garage, which needs a good tidy tomorrow. I'm...
The issue was the 'cup' for the seal in the OEM cat/dp is much deeper than the flare on the milltek. I even tried compressing the springs in the vice and wire locking them compressed to get an extra few mm. I've ordered a graphite seal without the wire mesh, and a random Klarius fitting kit that...
Got the starter fitted and loom on the engine yesterday, plan was to drop it in this morning.
Ended up sleeping in so didn't get in the garage until 1030, I wanted to hang the exhaust and get the manifold bolted to the downpipe with the engine out. I pissed about for ages with this, the sealing...
I do this with videos and podcasts, either 1.25 or 1.5 depending on their natural pace of speech, I can't maintain attention with long form slower paced stuff otherwise. I'll often find myself watching two things at once too, something on the TV and something on my phone too.. probably not...
I hardly watch any UK car youtubers, anything that falls under the Auto Alex umbrella is turbo cringe, I can't wait for him to get outed as being mates with Andy Windsor and Diddy or something
If you wanted to refresh the front end in one go then you'd be best to drop the subframe off and do ARB bushes, rack bushes, bottom arm bushes and ball joints, tie rods and track rod ends in one go.
If you're just looking for quick and easy stuff to do while you're fitting springs and dampers...
Got the engine off the stand onto the crane this morning, rear main seal in, flywheel and clutch on then got the gearbox bolted up.
Need to torque the engine-box fasteners, fit the starter and give everything a final check over before dropping it in.. I could probably have it in tomorrow but...
Got the subframe in today, @Yarp dropped by to help manoeuvre it into place and get the bolts in which was massively appreciated. Feels like I've hit a big milestone starting to put the big bits back together.
I'd love to have the engine in before I go back to work on Sunday, weather forecast...
Started building the subframe up this afternoon. Rack fitted with powerflex black bushes, new genuine Renault tie rods and Meyle track rod ends. ARB mounted with powerflex black bushes.
My uprights and bottom arms are with Frogjam to get the bearings, hubs and bushes pressed in so I should have...
This is a good one I've been watching recently, no voice over (I think they're mainland china based on the number plates) but decent long form videos of some resto work on JDM cars
I like Smith and sniff, and the radiator arms.
I've really gone off the chris Harris podcast though. You could turn it into a drinking game listening to a load of boring old Tories blathering on about senna, Luca Di montezemelo and unattainable supercars none of us can relate to.
Just got my bits home from the coaters, really happy with them, went for satin black so they look OEM.
They've done the subframe, subframe stiffening brackets, both hubs, bottom arms, gearbox end cover, ARB, ARB outer brackets, ECU mount brackets and a couple of other little bits... I was...
I'd ditch the pattern exhaust and get a fab shop to make something to fit, you can still have something quiet with a couple of decent boxes in it if that's your thing.
I've heard nothing but bad things about the Ktec cats too, they're cheap china rubbish that probably won't get you through a...
Had the call today that my parts are ready to collect from powder coating, so I'll go for them tomorrow.
In the meantime time I've been doing more bits of plating - ARB brackets, steering rack brackets etc.
Decided to give the rack a freshen up too, plated the pipes, stripped the paint off...
I'd be replacing all the bearings and seals while I was in there, same for oil pump, chain etc..
I've got a dial bore gauge and a set of micrometers if you want to measure your crank and bores
I'll jump in on this, anyone using a tag to track their kids? My 10yr old has just started walking home from school alone, we've got life360 on her phone, but I'd like something else like a tag we can stick in her school bag or coat incase her phone dies etc..
Dropped all of the parts I need powder coating off this morning, they reckon they should be able to turn them around in a week which is ideal.
Picked up some bits I'd had vapour blasted for plating on the way home, I'd had the guy blast the exhaust manifold too, as it looked a bit scruffy.
I...
That looks absolutely s**t, you'd be better off with a car battery and some jump leads (please don't do this either)
You want a Mig welder for welding a nut onto a rounded bolt.. where is it on the car? What else have you tried so far?
The shell is really solid, when I removed the rear 1/4 panel trims to look down into the back of the sills there's a little bit of corrosion so I'll do the rear sills before it's painted. Jacking points/axle mounts etc are all good, thankfully
https://www.youtube.com/@Joshwaa___ this lad seems to do fairly decent welding/rust repairs..
10k to do all of the welding and a full paint isn't unreasonable, assuming it's done to a high standard. If you're looking to spend a lot less then finding someone a bit more pragmatic who will make...
Thanks 👍, I'm surprised you've had a bad experience with powder coating, I've used the same place for mine for almost 20yrs and I've never had a part fail. I do agree you lose the fine detail in some parts with thick powder but going into winter it's too cold for me to spray 2k in the garage now.