My cheap(ish) 172 Cup

[ex-Chinese Dave]

You can see the road rash. Still need to protect the rear jacking points.

 

[Brigsy]

Looks much better with the turinis in silver.

 

[mumpy]

New tyres fitted. I was going to do this last autumn but there was a lot of tread left on them. However, with tyres being THE most important thing on a car it was long overdue. They look much better, too.View attachment 1748506View attachment 1748507

Nice! I had the Uniroyals on my 172 for about a year and a half and recently switched to PS5s. I noticed a bit of a "floating" sensation on b roads at speed with the Uniroyals, perhaps due to softer sidewalls. It definitely went away after switching to PS5s. Mine were 205/45/R16 load index 83 though. Good value for money for sure.

 

[ex-Chinese Dave]

They definitely feel nicer than the old ones. The ride is much smoother than before.

 

[ex-Chinese Dave]

Another Saturday free so a chance to do a bit more....

I have the choice of sanding and polishing the headlights again to a better finish, removing the front bumper to align the n/s headlight correctly with the bonnet or try and replace my dog bone which I think is shagged. The dog bone should be the first job but I'm not sure how easy it will be even if the car is jacked at the front onto axle stands. I'm not sure I can get it high enough to work under it and I don't have a long bar to crack the nuts, only a standard socket set. It was off a few months ago if if torqued up I may not be able to shift it.

Decisions, decisions....

 

[Matt Cup]

You want to borrow a breaker bar for your dogbone? Got a 1/2” one you can use?

 

[Louis]

Where abouts are you Dave

 

[ex-Chinese Dave]

Where abouts are you Dave

North Manchester

 

[ex-Chinese Dave]

You want to borrow a breaker bar for your dogbone? Got a 1/2” one you can use?

I'll let you know. Cheers Matt.

 

[Mr Trailer Man]

Dogbone is really easy to do.

 

[ex-Chinese Dave]

Dogbone is really easy to do.

It looks like it, just two bolts. It's access that's the problem but it's doable.

 

[Louis]

North Manchester

North Manchester, where? I'm in Milnrow. Can borrow my impact if you need it but dogbone is an easy job

 

[ex-Chinese Dave]

Thanks guys. I’ll see how I feel in the morning as to what jobs I do. The car is at Birchdown in about 3 weeks so if I don’t do the DB they can.

 

[ex-Chinese Dave]

In the middle of the dog bone project…..

 

[ex-Chinese Dave]

All done. Gear change is a lot better at slow speeds and the clunking noise when coming to a stop and leaving dipping the clutch to the last second has gone. I can still hear a slight clunk when going on and off throttle is 4th and 5th at around 30mph but the car still needs the upper gearbox mount and top engine mount replacing. A huge improvement though.

I cleaned the threads up on the two bolts and used a makeshift breaker bar. I had the gearbox/engine weight supported with the trolley jack and had the leverage the dog bone towards the rear a little to allow the larger bolt to screw in with ease. I’ll ask Birchdown to torque up the bolts but I have them as tight as I could get them.

 

[ex-Chinese Dave]

I’ve just given the headlights another rub down with 2000 grit sandpaper and then a polish with a medium cut polish and then a super finish swirl remover polish. They certainly pass the 2m test, but these are not new headlights and I think they would have to be totally refurbished to be perfect. There seems to be dust and debris inside and I think the inside of the lenses will also need to be cleaned. Apart from separating the lense from the body, I’ve no idea how that would be done. They are way better than they were originally when I got the car and also after I had my first attempt to polish them. I think these will do for the moment as the rest of the car paint work is what it is, 22 years old.

 

[NorthloopCup]

If you’ve got access to a compressor, you could always try blowing some of the crap out of them using an airline blower.

It won’t get it all out, but it should get some of it out.

 

[ex-Chinese Dave]

If you’ve got access to a compressor, you could always try blowing some of the crap out of them using an airline blower.

It won’t get it all out, but it should get some of it out.

It’s a good idea. I had thought about making a tiny flexible attachment to go onto the vacuum cleaner and putting through the holes where the bulbs go.

 

[NorthloopCup]

It’s a good idea. I had thought about making a tiny flexible attachment to go onto the vacuum cleaner and putting through the holes where the bulbs go.

If you could combine the hoover with the airline blower in there, you’d get more of the debris out.

 

[Brigsy]

Leaf blower is also another option to give the lamps a bit of a blow job.