Hi all,
hope I'm putting this in the right place this time ?.
just wanted to say hi and start a thread about my daily which was saved from the scrap yard in the sky and now under "project" status.
Roll the clocks back to October and my other half came home from work with tales of been given a car from someone at work... my eyes rolled and when she first sent me the photos i thought "it gonna be a pile"
1.5DCi Dynamique with 150k on it with a pretty bad oil leak so she was given it FOC.
I picked it up and it was filthy inside and out, been smoked in heavily and had a list of faults such as;
Stereo - knackered
Bad oil leak
both doors clicked when opened
boot didn't lock
blower fan - knackered
brakes - warped
about 10 bulbs blown.
headlights all faded
BUT other than the leak the engine ran well.
I got it home and went and bought a service kit as I love tinkering. the oil leak was coming from the oil filter housing bracket. it wasn't pissing out but it was a little dribble. I dismantled it and the seals were crumbling away. I called renault who wanted £32 plus vat for 2 o rings (I know, shocking) now the same o rings can be found on the plumbing isle in B&Q for less than £3 ??. other than the sump plug which felt as though it has been tightened with an F1 tyre gun, the service was a doddle.
oil leak fixed and engine service done ✔
the blower fan was easy, all it was was a broken wire in the end (I now have a spare motor if anyone needs one) with the wire repaired it was blowing like a good en.
Blower fan fixed ✔
the doors were easy enough too all they needed was the little arm thingy tightened up, the doors hadn't dropped or anything either. The boot was a simple locking mech which cost me a fiver and I had a stereo in my man cupboard which went straight in.
Doors and boot fixed ✔
Stereo working ✔
we gave her a good clean and when I say good I mean we gutted it... every interior panel which could be removed was scrubbed in the bath and the roof lining had a good scrub... the car came up MINT!!!
the headlights were shocking so they needed taking out and sorting too (photos below) I just used some fine grade sandpaper, a buffer and some compound... they also came up a treat.
after all this I started to think that this little car could easily go all the way. after all it's £20 a month to insure and £2.50 a month to tax and considering I've got a 70mile a day round trip the 70+ MPG can't be argued with, no it's never gonna win any races but it will serve a purpose.
I hadn't done the brakes at this point but I took it out on a little drive and though I'm used to a 320d estate m sport and how smooth that is I can honestly say I absolutely loved it! the engine and gear box was sweet in a car that had been to the moon and back!!!
Next job was the brakes, I'll include some photos on this below but the lower slider bolts were a nightmare which I'm guessing is a common trait, it took half an hour each side to free them off but discs and pads were changed for a grand total of £33 from Euro car parts. I even gave them a paint too (sorry but I could resist and had spare time lol)
Then I decided to do a bit of carbon wrapping with the interior panels and badge (I'm gonna redo the interior ones silver carbon) at the same time I switched out all the interior bulbs for LED's and replaced all the blown bulbs and this is where I decided I'm going all the way. I got a sport front grille and sprayed it gloss black and decided the whole sport kit is going on. I pick it up tomorrow
Now without noticing I don't use my Bimmer anymore, I've fallen head over heels with a little diesel which was soooo close to going to scrap but it seems it just wasn't ready to leave this world yet. it's developed it's own personality and the thought that it could have been in a crusher makes me sad and wonder how many other perfectly good little cars have died rather than give them a chance with a bit of elbow grease and effort.
for less than £100 so far this car has been transformed already with a long way to go to been a full sport replica.
watch this space thanks for reading
hope I'm putting this in the right place this time ?.
just wanted to say hi and start a thread about my daily which was saved from the scrap yard in the sky and now under "project" status.
Roll the clocks back to October and my other half came home from work with tales of been given a car from someone at work... my eyes rolled and when she first sent me the photos i thought "it gonna be a pile"
1.5DCi Dynamique with 150k on it with a pretty bad oil leak so she was given it FOC.
I picked it up and it was filthy inside and out, been smoked in heavily and had a list of faults such as;
Stereo - knackered
Bad oil leak
both doors clicked when opened
boot didn't lock
blower fan - knackered
brakes - warped
about 10 bulbs blown.
headlights all faded
BUT other than the leak the engine ran well.
I got it home and went and bought a service kit as I love tinkering. the oil leak was coming from the oil filter housing bracket. it wasn't pissing out but it was a little dribble. I dismantled it and the seals were crumbling away. I called renault who wanted £32 plus vat for 2 o rings (I know, shocking) now the same o rings can be found on the plumbing isle in B&Q for less than £3 ??. other than the sump plug which felt as though it has been tightened with an F1 tyre gun, the service was a doddle.
oil leak fixed and engine service done ✔
the blower fan was easy, all it was was a broken wire in the end (I now have a spare motor if anyone needs one) with the wire repaired it was blowing like a good en.
Blower fan fixed ✔
the doors were easy enough too all they needed was the little arm thingy tightened up, the doors hadn't dropped or anything either. The boot was a simple locking mech which cost me a fiver and I had a stereo in my man cupboard which went straight in.
Doors and boot fixed ✔
Stereo working ✔
we gave her a good clean and when I say good I mean we gutted it... every interior panel which could be removed was scrubbed in the bath and the roof lining had a good scrub... the car came up MINT!!!
the headlights were shocking so they needed taking out and sorting too (photos below) I just used some fine grade sandpaper, a buffer and some compound... they also came up a treat.
after all this I started to think that this little car could easily go all the way. after all it's £20 a month to insure and £2.50 a month to tax and considering I've got a 70mile a day round trip the 70+ MPG can't be argued with, no it's never gonna win any races but it will serve a purpose.
I hadn't done the brakes at this point but I took it out on a little drive and though I'm used to a 320d estate m sport and how smooth that is I can honestly say I absolutely loved it! the engine and gear box was sweet in a car that had been to the moon and back!!!
Next job was the brakes, I'll include some photos on this below but the lower slider bolts were a nightmare which I'm guessing is a common trait, it took half an hour each side to free them off but discs and pads were changed for a grand total of £33 from Euro car parts. I even gave them a paint too (sorry but I could resist and had spare time lol)
Then I decided to do a bit of carbon wrapping with the interior panels and badge (I'm gonna redo the interior ones silver carbon) at the same time I switched out all the interior bulbs for LED's and replaced all the blown bulbs and this is where I decided I'm going all the way. I got a sport front grille and sprayed it gloss black and decided the whole sport kit is going on. I pick it up tomorrow
Now without noticing I don't use my Bimmer anymore, I've fallen head over heels with a little diesel which was soooo close to going to scrap but it seems it just wasn't ready to leave this world yet. it's developed it's own personality and the thought that it could have been in a crusher makes me sad and wonder how many other perfectly good little cars have died rather than give them a chance with a bit of elbow grease and effort.
for less than £100 so far this car has been transformed already with a long way to go to been a full sport replica.
watch this space thanks for reading
