Jamiep

wow, never actualy looked to see how much pipebenders are. The springs are a couple of pounds or you can get these screwfix link

Don't forget, not everywhere has the time/ equipment to do as a guvy. Where I used to work if it was a small job like that the boss would ask one of the guys if they wanted to deal with it in their time and then they could have the cash because to put it through the company meant a minimum of £40 to £50 an hour to cover overheads extra. We certainly never had the gear to bend small bore light gauge tubing but a couple of the guys would have probably had their own gear at home. You've just got to ask around. like you say though every bit of work helps and many jobs can start as a guvy then next time they come it may be for major work!

thanks for that, mines ok then, as its same as shown.

Hello again, when looking down onto the distributor cap. Which is lead No.1 if: clockwise, 'A' is closest to timing pulley 'B' is closest to the engine 'C' is furthest away from timing pulley 'D' is furthest away from engine The reason I ask is currently my engine only runs if I have No.1 at position 'C' with firing order 1,3,4,2. When I fire the strobe gun at the bottom pulley I don't see any timing marks until I turn the dial to 60°. There is a line scribed on the top lip of the distributor which appears to be in line with my current No.1 lead also. Have I got something the wrong way round? I've never touched the distributor since having the car and it has run quite well during the summer. I read and reread the Haynes manual but all it seems to say is 'note how it is at present then replace in the same order' great! Help! Thanks Jamie

thanks for the replies, first off the plugs, cap, arm and leads (magnecor) are all new within the last couple of weeks, also flushed and changed the oil although now its mentioned I used a different grade (5w30) to that I've just looked up (10w30 to 20w50 or 10w40) as I was told it was fine for winter use I think he said maybe should have checked that story first. could this be the cause of the oily plugs assuming it must be too thin As for timing I don't have a strobe so not sure if could really check easily although I've seen one in halfords for £40 Halfords link are they any good? The car doesn't smoke when stood still but cant really see a lot when running as I've been driving with wet gear on might try a (very) cold run tomorrow, probably on the way to get some more oil If it is unsuitable oil will it have caused any damage, I've done maybe 30 miles over a couple of outings if that? edit: just looked back through old MOT's and the cars done less the 2k miles from 2002 until I got it in May 09, I've done 1k at most.

Hi all, latest problem After giving the car a service I gave it a run out yesterday and it felt poorly! It fired up the best it ever has and idled really well without stalling for a change, but when driving was making a noise similar to rattling a spray can and would splutter if I tried to accelerate out of a constant speed, ie doing 30mph and try to accelerate to 40, it didn't do it from a standing start though. is this 'pinking'? Now this may not be connected to my problem but thought I'd mention it just in case. When I changed the HT leads the other week I noticed No.4 plug was loose. Retightened best I could as it is right in line with the brake servo, then checked the other which where all tight. Just been to investigate the poor running I had yesterday and discovered plug 2 was loose? so took them all out to look at them and discovered they are oily. Bit of history and spec of the car: 2ltr pinto SOHC with 205 block and running on carb (not sure which type) I bought the car this summer after it had sat in a friends garage for about 3 years untouched, sailed through its MOT without a hitch. Before that it was rarely driven due to the owners’ illness. I have found a receipt from 19/8/02 for full recon engine plus gaskets from a local engine company but doesn't mention if its ever had the head converted to unleaded! The car was run on unleaded by the previous owner and I've been running on BP ultimate until the last couple of tanks due to it being unavailable. It’s probably something really simple.....or its going to cost me shed loads! Help please. Regards, Jamie

Cheers Daz I'll check that out.

My biggest gripe is bus lanes leading up to a junction with a right only lane, people see the sign for right only ahead and start pulling into the bus lane which has a domino effect as everyone behind does the same. I stay on the outside untill the bus lane ends and nobody lets me back in AAAAAAaaaargh! even the busses have started going up the outside then forcing their way in for the stop at the end of the lane, its rediculous..........breath.

Evening all, Does anybody have any suggestions as to removing fine rust staining from the GBSC vinyl roof. I was a bit of a plank and used a grinder to smooth of a Iron casting in the garage, totally forgetting to move the car first as it was very wet outside. Came back to the car 4 days later and the whole thing was orange Cleaned the car easy enough as its stainless but the roof is a problem. I've been using a autoglym leather cleaner and a tooth brush but its not getting it all off, any ideas? Regards, Jamie.

Not mine and not connection to me but thought it might intrest someone. mondeo v6 st24 engine, listed as very good engine. £120 link to stuff4sale Hull very tempted myself but don't think I would ever have time to fit it.

Never really had a problem, don't like to leave it too long though. Could really do with a snap off steering wheel. Once found a cat curled up asleep in the passenger seat, but it was mine so can't complain.

part 2 After fixing most of the hood down I looked at the door position and found I had to cut the windscreen pillars away in order for them to fit. After trimming the pillar down I put the door in position and marked with tape where needed adjusting then took off again and 'Beat with a big hammer'...I mean gently adjusted. Once I was happy with the doors I finished the roof fixings using turn buckles nearest the door for i bit more strength. have been using it in rain and snow and it seems to work. p.s. excuse the mess in the garage I'm in the middle of trying to find some leaks Nearly forgot, the smaller bar at the back goes into the Velcro strap on the hood and I tension the front bar back to the roll bar with light luggage straps.

Here are some photos of mine, its not truly finished as I want to make a stronger mounting bracket out of stainless and I still need to tweak the bars as they sit right on the back when down but they are not parallel with the roll bar when up. I found the bending of the supplied bars to be a bit off so laid them on the back of the car and marked where the bend lines should be and tweaked with my knee, I then drilled through the two bars to create the pivot. I drilled the pivot for the 'L' bracket last to get the position where it lands on the back of the car and clamped for testing.

Got a new cap from Halfords, part number HDC500. The local one isn't too bad aslong as your look through the books yourself and pick all the veriants off the shelf and check for yourself. fits aswell was cheaper then the previous one I got from the local motor factors too @ £5.99.

Thanks, had the same idea so jumped in the wifes car to nip to halfords and pop! the electrics have blown......now need to get some fuses aswell lol. looks like i'll have to put the roof back on the hood tomorrow.

Evening all, I need to replace my HT leads after a slight 'lead meats pulley' incident Anyway, tried Halfords a couple of weeks back but they where too short and wrong ends. Decided to splash out and get Magecor as they have never let me down before, but the ones that have come also have the wrong ends As far as I know the donor car was a C reg (85) sierra 2ltr, as stated on MOT found in folder of stuff with the car. But I also know the engine has been recon'd due to receipt that just say recon engine. Its a 205 block SOHC so how am I going wrong? photos below show the differences: coil lead. No 4 lead. cap top and coil. the lead set I have is 4022 for Ford Sierra OHC 1.3/1.6/1.8/2.0 82 on I am starting to wonder if I have the wrong dizzy cap and leads as when I replaced the cap and rotor arm there were two types with different connectors, I just got the one that the leads fitted onto. Can anyone shed some light on this please. Regards, Jamie

yes! small world and all that.

I picked my mini amp up from post depot today and its actually quite good! just hooked it up in the house to a couple of surround sound speakers and my ipod and it can go louder then I can stand and isn't getting hot either. pic. build quality not brill but I'm going to stick it out of sight anyway. It has volume, bass, trebble, sub volume and phono jack on the front. on the back it has 12v dc in on/off switch, usb output (5v) speaker left & right out and sub out and RCA in. that amp you have seen looks similar but with the input of usb and sd cards etc, you should be able to use a pen drive with the mp3s on and just stick it in. for less then £30 I'd get it just to see if it works how you intend to use it, if it doesn't give it to someone as a prezzy

Wow quite a skill set the club has, I myself am a draughtsman. Served my time at a company who designed and manufactured food machinery such as depositors and injectors etc for ready meal sectors. Moved on to work for a small firm providing mechanical handling solutions to food and pharmaceutical industry, conveyors etc. (hence my love of stainless steel.) Currently working for an independent company who provide engineering services to anyone who wants it, mainly gas industry, power stations etc. (basically I'm an etch-a-sketch artist ) I feel quite young now as I've only been working 12 years!

Mat-Moo's image are good for any type of player but if you want to use an ipod your best using something like these which bypass the ipod amp and give beter signal to external amp. HTH jamie

I've just got one of those mini amps off ebay, paid less then £9 so not bothered if it doesn't work out but it also has 5v output (usb) which I plan to run the gps aswell. Just found the card in the post box to say they tried to deliver so will pick up tomorrow and test. If it works well enough for round town (no chance above 50mph) it will do, was stuck for 3hrs with only the voices in my head the other week so anything is a bonus.

I would like to camp but unless its a 5star tent with room service I don't the the good lady wife will accept it.....

Obviousy work in progress, but looking good. A pillars are marked to be cut out by the look of it. Wonder if they are planning gull wing doors with that opening?

As tittle says, I left work at 4pm and it was bedlum! I have never seen the main dual carriageway (A63) be frozen right across both lanes before, tried all the local routes until I got stuck just sat in traffic in the middle of town, got lucky with one of the ratruns but *%@£ me it was scary! Spinning the wheels with the rev counter not even moving and the foot off the gas! had a lorry jack-knife next to me as we crept up a slight hill onto the bridge over the river. Anyway I need some new seats, these bench type thing give you a numb bum over 3 hours. but atleast it never overheated

I know alot of people don't like adrian flux but I have never had a problem with them. They where one of only three companies who would insure my highly modified MGZR to an agreed value and where considerably cheaper too. I've used them on standard higher powered cars too as many other companies said I was too young (at the time) I also use them for the hood although I paid very little for the car so have a low agreed value I also get full breakdown which I've used and was very good. I don't work for them or receive any benefit from saying this, just thought I would put another side to the argument. Jay.