agent_zed

if you haven't scrapped the rear wings, i'd be interested in buying them off you

thanks all. just found the online transfer page so will use that as well as a dated timed reciept. it's sorned and no insurance so that's not a problem. sold as seen so no test drives. i've also made it clear in any correspndence that it has failed mot think i'll mention insurance too. up to them then. hoping to get it off my drive asap which will win me major points with the other half

Hi, i'm selling my old mot failed bmw and a couple of people emailed they are interested and the way they were asking certain things i am assuming they were planning on driving the car away. I made it clear it has no MOT. If i sell the car and let someone drive it off my property onto the road, am i in any way liable if they have an accident/picked up by the police? I'm not really happy letting someone do that so will probably say it needs to be trailered away. i just wondered what the rules are

one of those days when things seem to be going right! sorted the clutch and found my timing light the other day so just went and set the timing. yes it was well off the mark! which explains the difficult starting. even found my tipex pen which is really useful for marking the crank pulley markings. all timed up correctly and running nicely (on the drive will see how it goes on the way to Mot tomorrow) thanks all

just a quick update... getting car ready for mot tommorrow so had to look at making the clutch better. Took out the squishy rubber part and had a look in the garage to find something to replace it. To my surprise i stumbled across the perfect replacement which ironically was orginally on my car. It is one of the top hat suspension bushes that i had replaced a couple of years ago as was worn. It needed a tiny bit of trimming on the wide part to fit into the plastic cover from the cable but once that was done i gave it a test. instantly i could feel the padal had a more positive feel and on testing i could get into all gears including reverse, which it wasn't doing before. The bite point is also much better and isn't at the very end of the pedal travel. so long story short swap out the squishy rubber for a something solid and you'll get more pull and a more positive feel. I've still got the 45mm quadrant but as i mentioned above i put something down the groove so probably more like 55mm. hope that's useful

I'd second Bob and say find a local small garage with a friendly MOT tester that has the time and interest. Annoyingly the one i use charge more than most but i always go as they are happy for me to help in the mot. I take the bonnet off and we have to lift the car slightly to get the sliding jack under when it's up on the lift. I have done the brake test for them too and he is a bit shorter than me and the seat is fixed. They've lent me a spanner before now to move the headlight as it was slightly out. I would never want them to pass anything that they shouldn't, especially safety wise, but it's useful when your emmissions are right on the limit and wavering a bit that they see more green than red

this reckons the pinto is about 15kgs heavier than the xe (is the redtop an ex?) http://westfield-world.com/enginespecs_car.html so with the 15kg decrease on the bellhousing you've saved ~30kg over standard pinto setup

that is such a non story. It would be near impossible to prove that someone 'should' be wearing sunglasses in any specific situation. I drive through woodland which may be bright and dark. Do i have to keep swapping them on and off? Often even if i am wearing sunglasses it can still be too bright for a second or two. I could see how having sunglasses that are too dark would be possible to get a fine as that is testable in the same way as window tints that are too dark. But even that is unlikely for most sunglasses would be category 4. also only buy decent sunglasses and don't use scratched ones or you may damage your eyesight

oh also should i just set it to 12degrees btdc? i thought i'd read that it can take a bit more like 14. It's a 1.6 (eco-max) but has a 2ltr cam.

it's only a pinto on the standard electronic bosch setup. I need to find my strobe, which would probably be a good start. I guess i could just turn the dizzy a bit and see if it makes it better. Will double check cam timing but it seems ok when it's running/driving. Not too worried about the fuel taking a while to get through it's been like it for 10 years so iam quite used to it Perhaps a renew of the cables might be a good maintainance job eitherway. I did clean the ends and copper grease the other day which seemed to improve things slightly. thanks all

yeah it mentions it on the packaging. Not quite sure why it happens but currently my paintwork is so bad it isn't a problem. I figured i'd put a blanket underneith when i re-do it. I don't have any fibreglass showing so that won't be a problem for me. will try and get a pic tonight, car is over my parents at the mo so i didn't get chance to take one.

can take a pic tomorrow if you want to see it fitted?

haven't driven the 2b much and had to do a bit of engine work (bent valve) and since then ive found that it doesn't seem to want to start very well. had to set timing roughly as not sure where my timing light is at the moment, but it seemed ok when running. It normally takes a bit of time for the petrol to get through if i haven't started it in a while (normal) and during this time the engine turns easily. I noticed though that once there is petrol (i am assuming this is why) it then starts to struggle and it goes fast then slow then fast then slow etc eventually it fires but can take a while and i have to be careful as the starter cable gets hot if i keep it going for ages.. Is it likely that the advance is too high and is causing it to ignite too early?

weird as i was just thinking about putting a post online about how good my cover is. Mother-in-law-to-be bought me a halfords one for my birthday a few months back. It was this one http://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-accessories/car-covers-tarpaulins/halfords-all-seasons-car-cover-extra-small. She originally bought me the medium one but after looking at the sizes on the packet realised it would have been huge on the 2b so instead got the Extra-small one which fits like it was made for it! I am really amazed at how well it fits. It's been outside in a few good heavy rain storms and has kept it perfectly dry. It's got a couple of vents which thankfully are in the correct position to keep it dry although it only works one way around. It's got good strong elastic cuffs which tuck in nice and secure (i live on a hill which is quite windy) and has 3 straps that go under the car. no idea how long it will last but i'm happy with it so far. hth

£18!!! for a manual pump! sounds expensive to me. I just used the old sierra pump with the second outlet blocked off. Used an old 1 litre screenwash container for the reserviour and the usual pipe and nozzle. Cost a couple of quid as i splashed out on a new nozzle (no pun intended). mine wired into the original wiring but otherwise just a 12v wire through a simple switch would do the job (oh and a fuse so you don't set fire to your car),

I think they are ok. They are run by GBS sportscars which took over Robin Hood Engineering some years back. They are the most likely to have the specific bits for RH cars such as the bushes. For anything stock ford or rover etc i'd just go to a local motor factor or Eurocarparts etc. Although sierra parts are becoming a little more specialised these days. This site http://nw.rhocar.org/parts.htmis very useful for parts numbers as a lot of bits are common to other cars. Ebay is always useful, i know the chap who ran RH was selling off a load of old stock a while back so i bought some bushes off there much cheaper than kitspares but you might have to do a bit of searching.

just a note - as far as i know you need a windscreen washer for mot (assuming you have a windscreen). I know mine gets checked (About the only time it is ever used). Doesn't have to be stalk activated though could just be a switch somewhere.

bit confused by the second one Nearside Rear Front suspension has slight play in a pin or bush of an upper wishbone inner bearing (2.5.B.1a) Are they saying the top wishbone on the front of the car has play in the rear bush? If so that is a relatively easy job. New bushes around £10 http://www.kitspares.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=630. Just knock out the old ones and press in the new. Wheel bearing on the back is just standard sierra stuff so again nothing too difficult, for a garage to do. If you do it yourself --- from memory the torque setting on the wheel nut is pretty high so you will need a very long bar. Certainly needs to be undone with the car on the ground or you will pull the car off the stands.

A-plan for me too.~£140 for 3000 limited miles, parked on driveway overnight. SDP and commuting to one place of work, and put my dad on it too. Mines a 2b with a 1.6.

something i did when i built my engine hoist was add a failsafe. It was basically a ratchet system so that as i raised the engine a bar would drop into a notch (one of many). Pulled in by a simple spring. If the screwthread part failed for whatever reason it would be held by the bar and prevent a potentially horrible accident. I'd apply a similar setup to whatever system you use incase any of the jacks or pulleys suddenly failed for some reason. Either spring loaded or gravity driven bar that drops and locks as you lift. hth

if we are doing good bad reviews... just renewed 2b insurance with A-plan. They quoted £160 on the renewal but i rang a few others and lowest came in at £145 so went back to them and asked if they could match but instead they did £139 so happy with that. They seem to be friendly and on the ball so happy to renew with A-plan and recommend them.

as long as your cardboard box and broom handle has rounded corners

So pretty much every petrol station has signs to say not to use your mobile but i've just seen an advert saying there is an app for your mobile so you can pay for your fuel without leaving the car. So they are actively getting you to pick up your mobile at a petrol station. People don't listen so even if they say don't do it out of the car i reckon a fair few are likely to ignore that. hopefully the convienience will out wieght the odd petrol station fire

yeah as bob says they are likely to have been DIY items. Although RH did supply a 'boot cover' kit but that was more of a harder lid for the boot and had a luggage rack from memory. If you want a soft cover it will most likely be a case of getting on the sewing machine. I did mine and i am quite pleased with the results and i am certainly no seamstress. For the arm rests RH supplied a length of waste pipe to cut in half and cover in vinyl. It's just a bit of 2inch standard waste pipe, which i think works quite well. The bit up over the arch is the hardest part. Some people used convoluted tube but you see the ridges under the vinyl. In the end i made mine out of ally which i shaped/beat around a curved tube, and then covered in vinyl. It's isn't perfect but did the job for me. If i had time i would probably make some glass fibre versions that follow the shape of the tube better. hth

and then to add to the confusion they did a subK which i think had min macpherson struts and used the sierra tie arms. There is also a 2b/4 which i can't remember what is different about that one.