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Ian T's 'never say never' car

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  • #16
    Hi Clive, thanks for the nice comments, it hasn't been out this year until now and still has some dust from storage, though when I've finished the mechanical jobs I will give it a clean.

    Unpleasant work today - replacing the steering rack gaiters, I can vouch for the fact that last time I removed a Mk2 rack it was on the V6 and much easier, as I was sat in the engine bay before the engine was fitted.

    Hopefully the rest of the steering will be back together in the morning, then I have a caliper to swap, CTS to change and a few other little jobs to do.

    Hopefully I will end up driving it around next week to and from work to confirm all is well with it.

    I have a show next weekend too - Motors By The Moat at Leeds Castle. I'm not taking a Vauxhall product this time, as I will go with the Lotus club instead. Are you going to that one?
    See my project car HERE.

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    • #17
      Hi Ian yes as it happens I am booked into the show at Leeds Castle "Motors by the Moat". It's a 2 day weekend event but i'm only booked to go in on the Sunday. My display pass says i'm in Zone "C" so If you are there that day be great to catch up for a natter and a coffee. I went last year but if I remember it was a bitterly cold day for May. I'm hoping with the recent weather we've been having it will be a little warmer this year !!

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      • #18
        So as it happens, I went out to the Lotus meet last Wednesday night and all seemed OK, until I got home and there was quite a smell of oil around the back of the car. I always leave it to cool down for a few minutes after getting home before putting it away in the garage (safety really) but it had dropped oil all over the exhaust (and by this point, driveway as well). Looks like the (noisy) differential has had enough and spewed some of its oil out, so I'm not going to top up and then do 40 miles down the motorway in it. So I won't see you there sadly, Clive.

        Anyway, back to the Champion, I am getting through the jobs pretty well now:
        1. Rack gaiters replaced and rack refitted, getting it back with the wheel correctly centred was a git, but I managed it without cheating (that is to say without removing the wheel and choosing a different spline).
        2. NSF caliper replaced and brakes bled.
        3. CTS that runs the gauge replaced, it tells the truth now.
        4. Fuel tank gasket (pickup pipe mounting flange) replaced, which I'm not totally convinced was leaking, but there was some runny looking waxoyl next to it so I was suspicious.
        5. Duff starting behaviour solved - the injection CTS either had a dodgy connection or wasn't plugged in properly - Tech1 reported -37 degrees C so it was, shall we say, hunting a little,
        6. Scuttle end mounts adapted to suit the Irmscher wings - not sure if anyone else has bothered, but I swapped the plastic captive nut in the inner wing for a bolt and nyloc nut through the scuttle and wing and then filed off the standoff under the screw holes in the scuttle so that it sits down much more evenly at the ends. Always bugged me that the ends sat up too high and looked wrong.
        7. Fibreglass rear parcel shelf replaced with a correct OE item I bought years ago, so the interior looks almost completely standard now.
        And then I drove it to and from work for a week. Not many miles, but the brakes are improving now (not really rusty, but still a little noisy) and it drives pretty well. Main complaints from me are rattles, headlining and carpets, which are aftermarket and don't go under the rear seats (remember it once had a cage and the replacement carpets didn't go beyond the rear footwell). Clutch bite point is very high, which I've not investigated, but it's not the end of the world to put a new clutch pack in and I would expect that will solve it. It's quite driveable though, just takes some getting used to.

        I think the rattles are dominated by the rear seat bases rattling against the floor over bumps and I'll probably just put some old carpet or foam under them until I can find a complete dark carpet to replace the aftermarket one. One of the hinge pins that secures the rear seat bases is missing, which probably doesn't help much.

        All in all, it is getting there. I'll stick a couple of photos up later that I took while doing some of the work, though don't get excited, I didn't take many as I was head down, doing it. :-)

        It will be at Bromley Pageant and is booked in with VxDC, who regularly attend this show. And it's on my doorstep, so I don't think I can miss it, however much I moan that the show has in recent years gone downhill.

        Ian.
        Last edited by Ian T; 12-05-2018, 12:35 PM.
        See my project car HERE.

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        • #19
          Ah, meant to say... it gets some looks on the road too. A bit of a Marmite car to many, but at a junction a chap in a really clean Mk1 Escort Van gave a huge smile and thumbs up, wish I'd had time to stop and say hello. That night I saw a number of classics heading in the opposite direction, so I wonder what I missed...
          See my project car HERE.

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          • #20
            i actually think the irmscher kit is quite subtle in the grand scheme of 1980s body kits, plus it was actually designed to go on a mk2 astra, rather than just designed to fit a mk2 astra, if you get my drift.

            keep at it! i was thinking about trundling along to motors at the moat (my friend is one of the gardeners at leeds) but the weather looks bad from the time this reply went to print.

            original treatment from 1985

            irmy.jpg
            Last edited by DarrenH; 12-05-2018, 03:37 PM.

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            • #21
              Originally posted by Clive View Post
              Hi Ian yes as it happens I am booked into the show at Leeds Castle "Motors by the Moat". It's a 2 day weekend event but i'm only booked to go in on the Sunday. My display pass says i'm in Zone "C" so If you are there that day be great to catch up for a natter and a coffee. I went last year but if I remember it was a bitterly cold day for May. I'm hoping with the recent weather we've been having it will be a little warmer this year !!
              Hi Clive, are you going again this year? I won't be in the Champion as I'm going to have another go at getting the Lotus there on the Sunday. ;-)

              Ian.
              See my project car HERE.

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              • #22
                Hi Ian sadly I will not be there this year as I recently moved house and relocated up to the Derbyshire area now. I was there last year and the year before and fortunate to have good weather on both occasions. Its a great venue and setting with the castle in the background. Its generally well attended over the two days with circa 300 - 400 cars I'd say. Hope you have a great day.

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