[sundanceuk]

Took out the snorkel and resealed the base as I still have some wet coming through the front bulkhead somewhere, also made good use of the nice warm September weather and peeled back my carpets and got the underlay soundproofer to dry out.
While under the bonnet, replaced a couple of bolts for stainless, most are done now and finally, took of the battery earth connection and wire brushed up all nice and shiny and rebolted on with stainless steel fastenings, and applied a bit of traditional caramel grease to the terminals. Sometimes its just the little jobs that can make all the difference!


Sundance

 

[sundanceuk]

It wasn't exactly today but I put my Leon front splitter on a couple of weeks ago, really easy to fit and since I used a right angle chuck attachment and a stubby driver, I managed to fit it without taking off the bumper or even using axle stands!
I never got around from taking a picture of it, but now I have one from last weekends Topless around the Peak District run.


Sundance

 

[sundanceuk]

Well, not so much as what I did Today but what I did on Sunday - little drive down to Stoke (in glorious sunshine with the top down all day) to pick up a lovely set of Mike Satur Mk1 Chrome roll hoops along with a set of mud flaps! - hoops look amazing once cleaned up - look like new. Still in two minds about the flaps and wether to utilise them or not....still, they got a good clean up as well.

Contacted Mr Satur yesterday and he kindly agreed to furnish me - for a reasonable price - with a cutting template and speaker mounting brackets as the car they came from was speakerless in the T-bar.....as soon as they arrive and as soon as I get some spare time and nice weather, they'll be getting installed with pics to follow. All the other fixings are stashed in the garage, ready to be abused.....




Not bad for £125 :grin:

Nice buy, Stevie, if you are looking to get rid of the mudflaps, I am interested, been looking for a full set at the right price. Give us a shout if you are looking to part ways with 'em!


Sundance (Dave)

 

[sundanceuk]

Thanks Dave. Duly noted on the mud flaps.....I'm 60-40 in favour of fitting them at the mo, but if I have a change of heart you'll be the first to know :wink:

Cheers mate, just noticed yours is a F, I have a TF so not sure that they still fit.
Anyone advise?


Sundance

 

[sundanceuk]

F flaps do not fit the TF, The profile of the sill is different.

Maybe they will look better on your car then Stevie!
Put the piccies up when you have the roll hoops and/or flaps on!


Sundance

 

[sundanceuk]

New stainless steel downpipe and TT mk.7 exhaust fitted today!
Lots of peeps said they are really loud, but Daz at Bitz said come over and test drive a car with one fitted, and it aint that bad at all....so a deal was done and now have a more sporty tone to my TF!


Sundance

 

[sundanceuk]

I have exactly the same setup - well, I do have a Toyo stainless steel manifold as well - and I agree with you totally in as far as loudness is concerned. I can drive mine around without it roaring like a boy racer, but when I bury my foot, she opens up beautifully and if I really put the foot to the floor, when she hits around 4,000 in 2nd....OMG, the rasp and noise is just wonderful when accelerating hard!

Glad you like yours - money well spent :wink:

Yeah, I just thought wow at 4000 revs, totally awesome rasp and you get a bit of burble when dropping off the revs too. They also look good.
One thing I noted is that the downpipe is slightly shorter and the cat is nearly touching the bracket where the two rear track arms are connected in the centre of the rear subframe.
But my cat will probably need replacing too soon, shame I didn't notice the worn flange or I would have bought one at the same time.
Also I kept the standard manifold on as its perfectly good.
Anyone recommend a suitable cat that is slightly thinner than the OEM one?


Sundance

 

[sundanceuk]

If you have a kmaps remap you can get them to add burble (which is unburnt fuel burning off in the exhaust).

A remap is on the cards for the summer, was thinking about the air filter, but from what I can dig up from posts on the forums, there is nothing much better than the OEM one, but do correct me if I am wrong!
I also asked Darren at Bitz about fitting a 52mm throttle body, but he says that the 135 and 160 engines come with one fitted anyway! Is this correct?


Sundance

 

[sundanceuk]

Big clean-up and valet ready for FRL tomorrow night, wheels off and cleaned inside and out and oil and water all checked.
Mats washed and a free lunch found behind the seat belt pre-tensioners (£15.02 - beat that!)
All that I have to do now is keep a check on the coolant, as I swear it has dropped a couple of mm since last time I looked - last thing I want is a HGF half way round the M25 at midnight with another 100+ cars witnessing it!


See you all tomorrow, those of you who are going...that's if I make it there!


Sundance

 

[sundanceuk]

Put a second horn in, courtesy of our sponsor, to undo some of the cutbacks that MG-Rover did with project drive. Seems rude to have a spare hole with nothing to shove in it!
Also pulled my carpets back and found the wet had returned, so fan heater employed to force dry the cockpit and carpets.
Also lubricated my bonnet catch, as it felt as though it may be stiffening up a bit.
My mate, Andy, a new owner of a TF popped up and we also took his hardtop off and removed his softop completely, as he had no idea what condition it was in. Needs a new window but it will scrub up.....can you get Renovo in blue?


Finally I purchased a full set of spare brake calipers front and back to do up, so made a start on the back ones, all wire brushed off and back to shiny metal again and a coat of Jenolite rust treatment before repainting them on Monday.
Once done, I will swap them over every couple of years and clean and repaint them once removed so I will always have a nice clean and shiny set of red calipers on or if a set seize I have a set ready to put on.


Sundance

 

[sundanceuk]

Tightened up the alternator belt. I have aircon and the adjuster is a real pig to tension, as you cannot get in with a long spanner so had to use a chubby ringer and got it as tight as I could. Its got about 10mm deflection now so hopefully it will be ok until I replace later this year.


Also tested my engine bay fan, works ok. Not sure if it ever comes on as I have never noticed it whirring away. Will check it a bit more often when I have been on a long run or stood idling for a while, it does create a noticeable draught through the offside vent when its running.


Sundance

 

[sundanceuk]

Removed the rear crash can bumper bolts from my tf. Solid in rust. Took a while. Actually quite a bit more than a while. They come off a lot more easily if you hold the thin bracket with grips, wire brush the threads (whilst in situ), spray with shock and unlock and untighten then tighten, untighten then tighten a little at a time.

Been there done that, and know what a pain this jog can be. Mine totally disintegrated so replaced both crash cans and the two bumper brackets that fix into the boot!



Sundance

 

[sundanceuk]

Well I was going to mention that your back end looks a lot less pitted than mine, but you might take it the wrong way. :wink:

Guess I was lucky with my brackets. I have a slight crack in one. Its still serviceable though. I thought if I took all Sunday to loosen just two bolts, it is still quicker than waiting for replacement crash cans.
I also managed to thread a stainless nut onto one before it came off. A sort of thread cleaning attempt. Plus filed with a rounded needle file some of the threads.

If I hadn't read all the problems people have had removing these bolts maybe I would not have been forewarned and not as careful.
Next task is to change the rectifier in the alt. Feel sure I have a whining diode/diodes. Or remove the alt.

Rectifiers are solid state and work until they blow, so if its still charging I am pretty sure that they are ok, maybe rotten connections or corrosion would hamper the alternators ability. Maybe the bearings are on the way out.


When I had my rear bumper off, I made use of the access to address the bits of rust that was developing on the rear, hence the off colour XP Grey paint, which is ok as the bumper hides the work. The new crash cans also received an extra coat of Hammerite before I fitted them.
Good luck with the alternator


Sundance

 

[sundanceuk]

Fitted puddle lights to my TF today. While the door cards were off I grabbed the chance to re-grease the window mechanisms, replace a couple of busted door card clips and remove any blockages and dirt that accumulated in the drain channels.


Sundance

 

[sundanceuk]

I did similar yesterday, greasing up the window mechanism. However, being stupid, I decided to pull the bottom of the cards off rather than walk ten yards for the correct tool. All went well until the last two clips. The card came off, but left the clips and a bit of the card on the door. Not the end of the world, but what is the best way of replacing them?

I picked about ten up (originals) from our sponsor when I was there a while back just to keep in for use when needed. Cheap as chips and they just slot into the door card.


Sundance

 

[sundanceuk]

I did not know that about rectifiers. I thought maybe one diode could pop.
I am getting a very very high pitched whine. My battery is charging but not as much as it should. My alt is 14 years old.
Its going to be sunny, so investigation to track down the noise is on.

Diodes can pop, then of course they will not work. Maybe your battery has seen better days or has developed a fault.
Some electronics can produce a high pitched whistle, mainly thyristors when they are firing, and more so when they are regenerating (dissipating load or stored energy from a braking motor). Not sure if the alternator has thyristors or SCR's for rectification as they can rectify but I would doubt it diodes make more sense.


Sundance

 

[sundanceuk]

Replaced my rather aged and green looking side indicators for new shiny smoky black ones which match my rear lights better.
Small mod but an effective one!


Sundance

 

[sundanceuk]

I fitted my tank level sensor and bonnet lights today (see separate threads).
Also replaced my busted binnacle and a broken door speaker grille and fully cleaned and valeted my car ready for a run out with the Potteries and South Cheshire MG club to Foxfield railway tomorrow. 8 hours enjoyable work on my car in great sunshine.
Tomorrow I get the fun of driving it!


Sundance

 

[sundanceuk]

Tried out my new ramps, so I could wire brush up my rear subframe and treat with jenolite before giving a nice new coat of black underseal spray.
Took the opportunity to replace an intermittent reversing switch and tidy up around the jacking points.
Also fitted a new temp sensor for the rad fans and replaced my boot and bonnet lights to LED.


Loving my new ramps!
Sundance

 

[sundanceuk]

Finally got around to prepping up my nice red powder coated cam cover ready for fitting.
The mating edges all needed a proper scrape to get rid of excess paint, old gasket media and to generally square it all up again, its surprising just how uneven the face of the cover was, but a good hour with a machine bed scraper sorted it out.
Also while I was at it, decided to re-tap the threaded holes on the top where the coil packs bolt, and decided to helicoil them, as I have never liked steel pins in alloy threads anyway.
All ready to fit and hopefully will cure a very tiny oil seep between the cover and the head.
Sundance