by "BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
Published 04/11/2017 at 17:38
by "BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
Published 04/11/2017 at 17:38
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STARS: 1
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It’s the automotive equivalent of a happy little Jack Russel that’s been genetically engineered to be the the size of a grizzly bear. It’s beautiful.
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
04/11/2017 at 17:57, STARS: 0
Talking of genetic engineering and what things sound like, tell me what you think of this (these two, rather):
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vs. this:
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Trying to figure out what muffler to use with me Galaxie when I switch it to dual pipes.
"BeaterGT" (beatergt)
04/11/2017 at 19:04, STARS: 1
V8s are beautiful, that is all.
"Die-Trying" (die-trying)
04/11/2017 at 19:47, STARS: 0
i like the top one at the end of the video when they went to the other mufflers, but the bottom one sounds pretty good too with the larger pipe. the “downside” to the larger pipe, is that it has a tendency to pop, and crackle more on hard deceleration.........
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
04/11/2017 at 20:02, STARS: 1
Here are a set of Porters (bottom) on a ‘63 Galaxie - one with a 352, but similar pipe dynamics, obviously:
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"Die-Trying" (die-trying)
04/11/2017 at 20:17, STARS: 0
say, that one sounds good when he puts his foot into it, and doesnt have that popping crackle that the larger pipes do.
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
04/11/2017 at 20:36, STARS: 1
They’re a little pricier than some, but $100 per is by no means crazy, and it’s something other than the normal Flowmaster gargle, and not horrible at high speed.
"Die-Trying" (die-trying)
04/11/2017 at 20:48, STARS: 0
most of the exhaust that i run is dual 3 inch, and about half of my drive is highway, at 3800 rpm. one truck has the short cherry bombs, and the other has some no name glasspacks. you cant hear yourself yell inside the truck. for my next stunt, i have lined THESE up.
they are a pair of *cough “custom” *cough flowmasters. that would be a 120 series, and a 180 series (60+60+60). they have 3 inch inlets, and 2 2 1/4 outlets. they might, or might not help to quiet down the 400 sbc i have set to go in one of the project trucks...... should have a “unique” sound none the less......
BUT thats NICE pricing on those porters......
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
04/11/2017 at 21:06, STARS: 0
I want angry shouting on demand, but I also want to be able to hear myself think, and high-mid range moan is right out. At this point, that combination has me leaning toward the Porters. Plus, they’re a vintage thing - been selling ‘em since the ‘50s.
2" pipe, two Porters, dual with no crossover. Should work.
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
04/11/2017 at 21:08, STARS: 1
Period ad:
"Die-Trying" (die-trying)
04/11/2017 at 21:15, STARS: 0
that should make for a nice sound, especially if you keep the mufflers in around the stock location, so they have lots of turns and bends over the rear axle to soften the sound.
pre glass, glasspacks. do they make them in different lengths now? i know a bunch of the older mufflers, were just 18, or 24 inch standard stuff........ nice looking muffler.
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
04/11/2017 at 21:39, STARS: 1
The standard Porter is a 20", but they also offer a 14" shorty and an offset shorty.
https://portermufflers.com/product/porters-original-muffler/
Stainless is available, but when it’s made out of seamless 16GA steel, why in the world would you need it?
Funny you mention the stock location - the stock location is actually *after* the axle...
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
04/11/2017 at 21:53, STARS: 1
I neglected to mention, the originals are ceramic coated, aluminized 16ga cold-rolled, and the stainless ones are *300 series*. Not the shitty 400 series pretty-boy stuff, the real McCoy acid-resistant ALSO IN 16GA. For when you need your muffler to survive for a thousand years in a nuclear wasteland.
"Die-Trying" (die-trying)
04/11/2017 at 22:03, STARS: 0
yeah, i havent gotten to climb under too many galaxies, and was figuring it would of been fairly close to around where the transmission was at.
that is a “lifetime” muffler. at $159, its a spend the money once kind of deal......
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
04/11/2017 at 22:07, STARS: 1
The muffler location is a real SOB for me weighing the options of what muffler I can get away with. If the muffler’s shitty, the stock location will make it known, quickly. That’s one reason of several for the Porters - they literally cannot be crap - mediocre as worst case. I don’t want to try to find a place for the muffler if there’s one in existence already, so...
Even the non-stainless Porter is a lifetime muffler, and since I wasn’t planning to repipe in stainless, I can afford to be a (comparative) tightwad at $99.95.
"Die-Trying" (die-trying)
04/11/2017 at 22:14, STARS: 0
yeah, i have gotten good life out of my cheap glasspacks, but i get enough highway time in, that they get up to temp real often. have had the ones under the trucks for around 10 years already. 16 gauge porters ought to stay forEVER.......
"pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69)
04/12/2017 at 06:43, STARS: 1
HQ Holden Monaro GTS = NICE!
"davedave1111" (davedave1111)
04/12/2017 at 17:03, STARS: 0
Hey, do you still have your MGF? Any strong reasons I shouldn’t buy the cheap (possibly) good one I found? I was looking at MX-5s, but MGFs are so cheap in comparison that I got sucked in. Can’t be a TF, they cost double to insure. Anything to run away from?
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
04/12/2017 at 19:10, STARS: 1
Absolutely! Been daily driving it since europpomeet :) actually, the exhaust came off at the downpipe today but that was my own fault for not fitting it with spring washers ;)
So long as the headgasket’s been replaced with the Land Rover multi-layer one (most will have been by now) they’re solid little cars. Mine’s on 150k+ and still tons of fun :)
Oh, I don’t think you can get replacement suspension spheres anymore so don’t pick one up with shot suspension as it’ll probably mean converting to TF coils, but the hydragas stuff is pretty damn durable (considering mine’s on 150k with no problems at all).
Any other parts are dirt cheap :)
"davedave1111" (davedave1111)
04/13/2017 at 04:42, STARS: 0
Do you have a VVC? The figures I found online say it’s enough quicker than the regular 1.8 to be worthwhile - but 1.6s are incredibly cheap, found an OK-looking one for <£500 on ebay.
This is a cheaper-end VVC that looks good:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201704054071711
Bloody miles from London, though my in-laws live down that way.
Check out the MOT history: https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/
Either it’s been to a dodgy garage for years, or nothing ever goes wrong on this one (or maybe it just got fixed before the MOTs).
Thanks for the heads-up about the suspension spheres. I see the spheres are available on Ebay, just not cheap. Is converting to TF suspension hard? It’s supposed to be a better setup anyway, isn’t it?
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
04/13/2017 at 05:09, STARS: 0
Yeah mine’s the VVC, and I’d definitely go for that one if you can :) it’s a sweet spot power-to-weight wise. Fast enough to be really fun, but not too fast to really get yourself into trouble while you’re doing it ;)
That is suspiciously absent of issues, although at only 75k miles I’d be willing to bet it’s been babied. Certainly looks clean enough from the pictures, but it’d definitely be worth checking out in person.
I think converting to TF suspension is as simple as swapping the subframes and brake systems (so not dead simple, but easy enough). However, the hydragas is definitely better. It’s cross-linked corner to corner to reduce roll which compared to my mate’s MX-5 on the ‘ring works really nicely. TFs had to rely on beefier ARBs with a corresponding loss in ride quality.
"davedave1111" (davedave1111)
04/23/2017 at 04:41, STARS: 0
So, pulled the trigger on this one, now just working on picking it up and getting it sorted. Did yours need the suspension pumping up?
This one’s too low and absolutely rock hard, so I suspect it’ll need the nitrogen spheres recharging as well as a pump-up, but I’m not sure. Do you know much about that side of things?
Other than that, the brakes are a bit soft, but the internet says that MGFs are a bit light on brakes. Have you found that with yours?
"davedave1111" (davedave1111)
04/24/2017 at 07:59, STARS: 0
What tyres do you have on yours?
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
04/24/2017 at 09:37, STARS: 1
Very nice! Yeah my suspension was flat as a pancake when I got it. Rock-solid ride and a lot of dartiness when trying to go straight as a result of the camber gain. Pumped up the suspension and the dartiness is completely gone, along with a better ride. I did still suspect that it might be a bit rougher than it should be but I’ve yet to investigate the spheres...
Brakes on mine are probably a little soft too, although I expect they’ve never had their fluid changed. They’ll stop it absolutely fine, but they’re not exactly tearing your face off. I’ve got a set of 4-pots from a Trophy (plus some wheel spacers) on the christmas list for it which should help with that :)
As for tyres, I’ve got a set of the later 6-spoke 16" wheels on it, with 195/45s up front and 215/40s on the rear :)
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
04/24/2017 at 09:38, STARS: 0
Very nice! Yeah my suspension was flat as a pancake when I got it. Rock-solid ride and a lot of dartiness when trying to go straight as a result of the camber gain. Pumped up the suspension and the dartiness is completely gone, along with a better ride. I did still suspect that it might be a bit rougher than it should be but I’ve yet to investigate the spheres...
Brakes on mine are probably a little soft too, although I expect they’ve never had their fluid changed. They’ll stop it absolutely fine, but they’re not exactly tearing your face off. I’ve got a set of 4-pots from a Trophy (plus some wheel spacers) on the christmas list for it which should help with that :)
As for tyres, I’ve got a set of the later 6-spoke 16" wheels on it, with 195/45s up front and 215/40s on the rear :)
"davedave1111" (davedave1111)
04/24/2017 at 10:03, STARS: 0
“Pumped up the suspension and the dartiness is completely gone, along with a better ride”
Oh, fantastic, that means there’s a chance it’s not the spheres :)
Came to a deal with the seller that he’d put new tyres on it and I’d pay the difference between ditchfinders and something a bit better. I was thinking maybe £20 a corner to upgrade to mid-range branded tyres like Toyo Proxes. All he can get are ditchfinders or Continentals, so I forked over the extra for the good stuff. £150 total difference between the cheapies and those, it’s a no-brainer.
We’ll have to get together and compare once mine’s all sorted.
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
04/24/2017 at 11:29, STARS: 0
Yeah fix the cheapest bit first! Good mantra :)
I’ve got Proxes T1Rs on mine and they’re great little tyres :) can’t tell if wet grip is a little low or I was just being a prat, but dry grip is great and they’ve got a really progressive feel when they start to let go :)
Oh, one little thing that really improved it in my opinion is whipping out the fuse for the power steering :) its’ an electric system so you just get a plain unassisted rack, rather than one that has to run a hydraulic system in reverse. Tad heavier for parking, but on the move the difference in feel is night and day. Feels dead strange coming back to assisted steering now...
Oh, and if the bushes are shot I can actually recommend the dirt-cheap polybushes I bought :) I think they were £60 all-in which is suspiciously cheap, but fitted with lots of copperslip I haven’t had them squeak once :) seem to be holding up to the miles well as well. There’s a bush each side at the front that needs a bit of material cutting off the inside join to fit as it squashes out when you fit the sleeve, but that’s hardly worth the £140 premium something like Powerflex will cost you :)
Absolutely! A pint and a backroad blast sounds like good fun :)
"davedave1111" (davedave1111)
04/24/2017 at 13:23, STARS: 0
Proxes do seem the preferred tyre choice, but then I’ve effectively got £300 tyres on a £600 car, so I can see why people don’t generally do that.
Interesting about the power steering, I’ll definitely give it a try, thanks.
Once the car’s pumped up high enough to have a proper look underneath, I might need a link for that bushing kit. Was it a lot of work to fit? I don’t have any service history beyond a belt-change sticker so I’m thinking there’ll be plenty to get on with.
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
04/26/2017 at 08:11, STARS: 0
Check eBay for Proxes as I managed to pick up a set for £200 all-in brand new :)
The bushes were a reasonable amount of work, but nothing excessive at all. It’s only actually the lower wishbones that have rubber bushes as the upper ones are solid metal bearings (similar to the design of crank bearings really).
A press really helped, but a vice would do the job fine (plus maybe a blowtorch to burn the bigger bushes out if they don’t fit in the jaws). The split poly ones push in by hand fine :)
I’ll dig out the link and let you know.
Oh, and the other thing we did was replace the steering rack with a TF one in an effort to fix the wandery steering (which turned out to be the suspension being flat). Slightly shorter rack though so not entirely in vain :)
"davedave1111" (davedave1111)
04/26/2017 at 10:00, STARS: 0
I didn’t have much choice with the tyres because they’re needed - really, really needed - for the MOT, and it’s all being sorted out by the seller. It was either ditchfinders or Contis, I went for the Contis.
Hopefully it won’t turn out to be a mistake. I don’t suppose there’s much market for lightly used tyres.
I looked at bush kits and there seemed to be an awful lot of parts to replace. But then, your idea of ‘reasonable amount of work’ is presumably measured against the Spit :)
Have you had a look at fitting a switch and relay for the EPAS?
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
04/26/2017 at 11:24, STARS: 0
Ah gotcha. Good choice on the Contis then ;)
True, my ‘reasonable amount of work’ is probably a little skewed. It took about a weekend all-in, but that was with a press which sped things up, and a garage to work in (luxury I’m not used to!). The process itself isn’t difficult though. Unbolt suspension links, press out old bushes, fit new bushes, bolt back together, repeat. Only slight snag is the mis-sized front suspension bushes that need a bit cutting off to fit.
I’ve definitely thought fitting a switch and relay would be a great idea. Nice feel for driving, but light for parking. Haven’t actually looked at how yet, but it can’t be too tricky :)
"davedave1111" (davedave1111)
04/26/2017 at 17:08, STARS: 0
Well, once I can see underneath I’ll have a look at how bad the bushes are. You never know, maybe I’ll be lucky :)
There’s a nice little how-to for the EPAS switch:
http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/group2/DIY/epas/epas_bypass.htm
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
04/27/2017 at 06:30, STARS: 0
Sweet thanks :) I’ll give that a try at some point.
Yeah you might be lucky. How many miles has it done?
Oh, one of the good things is that all the sensors are (comparatively) dirt cheap. We had to do the O2 sensor (because like a moron I clamped the wire inbetween the exhaust manifold and the head when I changed them) and the water temp sensor. The former was £30 and the latter was £5.
Makes a nice difference from the £60 sunroof mechanism on the E46...
"davedave1111" (davedave1111)
04/27/2017 at 18:00, STARS: 0
70k and some. Which is nothing by Toyota standards, not sure about Rover.
Fixing the Camry for this year’s MOT was when I discovered that for some (completely unfathomable) reason most parts for an ‘89 Camry are reduced-to-clear. Brake cylinders for three quid. Shocks for £30. It was almost a shame it didn’t need more doing.
I paid £30 for a power steering pipe on the E30. Which was more than 10% of what the car cost me, let alone what it was worth. (I still can’t believe I turned a profit on that car, guess there’s always some bigger fool.)
Apparently one of London’s leading MG specialists is literally down the road from me. I was thinking of calling them and asking how much to look the F over, but I’m half expecting they’ll just laugh and tell me that it’s not a proper MG. As long as I can hold off on regassing the spheres until I can work out a decent DIY method I’ll be happy.
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
04/27/2017 at 18:17, STARS: 0
Oh they’ve got no right to laugh at an F. It’s the most ambitious little car MG has ever made :) mid-engined RWD sports car with an all-alloy vvt engine and hydropneumatic suspension. I’m fairly certain it’s the most ambitious small sports car since the lotus elite with its fibreglass monocoque!
Add onto that, it’s not even rubbish! :)
70k’s nothing provided the headgasket’s been done. Mine’s on double that and still going strong :)
"davedave1111" (davedave1111)
04/27/2017 at 18:28, STARS: 0
Is it ambition, or is it hubris? I’ve never seen a car where the problems and solutions are so well documented by owners clubs. Or maybe I have, and it’s just that the F has a far longer list of problems...
On paper, it’s hard to beat a RWD mid-engined convertible that’s a fair bit quicker than an MX-5 or similar. But then you look under the engine cover and wonder about doing so much as an oil change with that access. It’s no surprise lots seem to have something of a maintenance deficit.
Going to pick it up tomorrow morning, to be honest I’m nervous AF about it all going horribly wrong. I shall stroke it and say nice words to soothe its ego before I drive off.
"davedave1111" (davedave1111)
04/28/2017 at 17:50, STARS: 1
Picked it up today. Absolutely terrifying on the 40-odd mile drive to have the suspension pumped up. Darty isn’t the word. (Actually what’s terrifying is that someone apparently drove it 5k miles last year in that state.)
It still feels a bit funny to me. I’ll get more used to it on the drive home tomorrow, if it still feels odd I might try and bring it down your way, you can tell me how it compares.
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
04/28/2017 at 19:07, STARS: 0
Yeah of course :)
They will be a little different to most saloons and such, but not scarily different. The suspension being flat will definitely be making the steering vague on centre and really quick to veer off, although it’s worth checking that there’s no play in the steering tie rods. Wouldn’t really expect there to be at only 70k though...
"davedave1111" (davedave1111)
05/01/2017 at 15:23, STARS: 0
After driving it another 200 miles, I’m happy most of the oddness was just me worrying. Brakes are shit, apparently that’s normal for Fs. Tyre pressure gauge is in the post, once I have the pressures right I’ll be able to tell how the handling really is.
I tightened the gear shift today, easy job that made a big difference. Had a look at brake booster brackets on the internet, thought I might try and make my own. Then it started bloody hailing, so I gave up and got some beer.
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
05/03/2017 at 20:05, STARS: 0
Yeah I’ve heard the brakes aren’t great. Mine aren’t particularly confidence-inspiring, although they held up to the Nurburgring ok. Could do with some of the 4-pots that came on the Trophy cars though...
Tyre pressure’s an interesting one. Certainly on my 16s they’re really rather low, and when tyre places get their hands on them they tend to inflate them all to 32psi which makes it feel like it’s driving on ice.
Interesting on the brake booster reinforcement. Is there flex in that area that contributes to the iffy brakes? If so then I’ll definitely have a go at making one. Can’t be that hard ;)
"davedave1111" (davedave1111)
05/04/2017 at 05:56, STARS: 0
Brakes on the F are worse than they were on the Camry when it was pissing fluid out of a slave cylinder. And apparently that’s pretty normal. People are telling me to upgrade to braided brake hoses, and fit a bracket.
Problem is, most of the flex is actually the shitty bulkhead it’s attached to.
I’m currently waiting for a vacuum bleeder to arrive so I can finish changing the clutch fluid. Top tip, don’t drop a spanner down the gap between the chassis crossmember and the steering rack when bleeding the master cylinder - took a good couple of hours to retrieve, and that was with a bit of brute force involved.
Oooh, ooh, post arrived... Dammit, it’s only the tyre pressure gauge.
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
05/04/2017 at 11:01, STARS: 0
Very interesting. Shall have a look to see if there’s anything good to brace it against and how to fabricate something. Shall let you know if I come up with anything :) if not then I suppose just spreading the load a bit wider would help.
Let me know if the tyre pressures sort things out :)
"davedave1111" (davedave1111)
05/04/2017 at 12:36, STARS: 0
There are a couple of brackets on Ebay, one is only good if you also change the cabin air intake. Neither really seem quite right to me.
Best solution would be to strengthen the bulkhead it’s attached to. Next best is presumably to brace it from the front, but then you have to worry about frontal impacts spearing your passenger.
I was thinking I might try and tie it off to some other points with a few bits of pre-drilled steel strap from toolstation or some such.
Checked the tyre pressures, someone tried to do them to 32 all round but wasn’t paying attention: three were at 32, left rear at 22. (Well, I really hope I haven’t picked up a slow puncture already, but it would be a bit of a coincidence if it was exactly 10 psi too low.) If only I hadn’t fucked-up bleeding the clutch I could see how it feels with them right.
Really pissed-off, the vacuum bleeder I bought was supposed to be here today or tomorrow, but they lied about postage times and I apparently won’t see it til Monday.
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
05/11/2017 at 04:36, STARS: 0
Thought I’d replied to this!
Fingers crossed you haven’t got a slow puncture, but 32psi all round is way too high. Garage did mine to that and it felt like I was driving on ice. Not good at all. Mine are 16s and are supposed to be low (26 front, 28 rear), but even the 15s aren’t supposed to be that high.
Just had a similar experience with postage on a metal chop-saw I ordered. Ordered Weds 24h delivery so it would be here last weekend. Chap only sent it on Friday so it got here Monday. Not happy.
One thing I’ve discovered preparing it for MoT is that there are little nylon covered clevis pins that fit the connector rod thing to the pedal and the master cylinder. Over time these wear and gave me a really slack feeling to the brake pedal (which eventually led to my pedal not lifting off the brake light switch). Just changed those and the brakes are much improved :)
The pedal side one is a doddle. The other side you have to unbolt the top two bolts from the master cylinder, loosen the lower two and it’ll pivot forwards allowing you to get to it :) they’re annoyingly pricey for something so small, but check if yours are worn at all and if they are it’s made a lot of difference changing them.
https://www.ukmgparts.com/product/mgf-midcat-1-submgf11-brakes/clevis-pin-assembly-mgf-tf-nam8540
"davedave1111" (davedave1111)
05/14/2017 at 08:00, STARS: 0
Oh, thanks for that, I’ll have to take a look. If it ccan improve the pedal feel it’s a lot easier than running new brake lines etc.
Re-checked the tyres yesterday and I’ve got a slow leak. Hopefulyl some monkey buggered the valve or some such. I did notice that it must have been a shaved monkey who balanced the wheels, one has about half a kilo of weights on it, opposite each other to cancel out.
Have you looked at regassing the spheres? I don’t know how hard it would be to weld in the valves. Is the metal too thin for you to do it? Rattling around on shitty London roads, it would be quite nice to have a more compliant ride, but it’s way too expensive to pay someone else to do the job.
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
05/14/2017 at 16:05, STARS: 0
That does sound kike a shoddy job. Fingers crossed it’s that.
I’ve had mine regassed, but only by a bloke with the machine for pumping them up. I think they leak down slowly over the years and just need to be pumped up. Not a lot of places have the machine for it anymore, but my local place does luckily :)
"davedave1111" (davedave1111)
05/14/2017 at 17:30, STARS: 0
Are you sure you didn’t just have the hydraulic side pumped up to compensate for lost pressure? Regassing the nitrogen spheres involves welding in a valve and repressurising with nitrogen.
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
05/15/2017 at 04:32, STARS: 0
Hmmm, that’s probably exactly what they did. Shall have a look at welding in a valve and re-gassing...
"davedave1111" (davedave1111)
05/15/2017 at 08:27, STARS: 0
Yeah, probably. The difference is between a £60 job and a £1000ish job including removal and refitting.
I thought there was a howto guide on google, but I can’t find it now. The real question is whether you can work out a way to do it without removing the hydragas units from the car. If you can, there’s probably a nice business in it.
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
05/15/2017 at 08:50, STARS: 0
Hmmm, I’ll have a look at the spheres on the car and where the valves need to go.
I suppose you also need a way of testing whether the spheres actually hold pressure as well. Air con leakdown test? I wonder how they’re sealed...
"davedave1111" (davedave1111)
05/15/2017 at 09:19, STARS: 0
Hmm, maybe removal’s not quite as hard as I thought:
And you need to depressurise the hydraulic side of the system anyway, which is the really annoying part from a DIY perspective, because you’ll need some way to pump it up again, and even if you put blocks in the suspension when you depressurise, you can’t do much more than move it on and off a trailer.
Looking at pumps again, I’ve been wondering if you can’t use a plumber’s pressure test pump for the job.
That’s actually cheaper than the connector you really ought to have:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Hydragas-Hydrolastic-Suspension-LOW-LOSS-CONNECTOR-/172654646754
But the two together, plus the cost of some Hydragas fluid, comes to about what I paid to have the suspension pumped up.
"davedave1111" (davedave1111)
05/15/2017 at 09:44, STARS: 0
http://www.skygeek.com/schrader-2755-high-pressure-inflating-connection.html
Cheaper, bit of hassle to get it sent to someone in the US and shipped on.
"davedave1111" (davedave1111)
05/19/2017 at 09:41, STARS: 0
So, I contacted the people who do regassing as a service. If you send them all four units, they’ll weld-in valves and refill them for £350. But they only charge another £130 or a full service including removal, refitting, and pumping the suspension back up, which is an absolute bargain. Downside is you’ll be stuck in Telford for two days!
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
05/19/2017 at 10:58, STARS: 0
That really is a bargain! I’ll consider it myself, even if it does mean getting stuck in Telford. Considering that it’s roughly £50 to pump the suspension up if you do it yourself, the removal and refitting only costs £80 ;)
"davedave1111" (davedave1111)
05/20/2017 at 07:09, STARS: 1
Well, yeah. But £50 for a pump-up now looks a tad expensive compared to the cheap pumps I posted before.
I was thinking that £30 a corner to remove and refit is a total bargain, though, that’s not worth the skinned knuckles.
"davedave1111" (davedave1111)
05/24/2017 at 15:35, STARS: 0
http://jalopnik.com/how-do-you-feel-about-spare-tires-jammed-in-the-engine-1795514790
We’re fine, there’s loads of room since our engines aren’t in there...
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
05/25/2017 at 09:19, STARS: 0
Absolutely ;)
You might even have just enough space to sneak a space-saver in the actual engine bay if there was something wrong with you ;)
"davedave1111" (davedave1111)
05/25/2017 at 16:01, STARS: 0
I was thinking to go the other way. I got breakdown cover free with the insurance, so get a can of tyre goo and a pump, and turn the under-bonnet space into another boot.
Then again I’m on a long weekend away in it right now and there was enough space in the boot for all our stuff.
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
05/26/2017 at 04:32, STARS: 0
Yeah I found there was plenty of space for the Europpo trip in the MG (you should come next time!).
I thought of taking the spare wheel out, but it’s at the wrong end of the car for weight distribution. I do plan on doing it eventually though as there’s a mod to duct hot air up through the bonnet to reduce front end lift.
"davedave1111" (davedave1111)
05/27/2017 at 06:18, STARS: 0
“you should come next time!”
Too expensive. Not the trip itself, but keeping SWMBO happy despite a weekend looking at car stuff :)
I wondered about weight distribution, but judging by the changes after getting the tyre pressures right - much less understeer - I suspect you could just drop the front pressures slightly more to compensate.
I can’t say I’ve noticed any front-end lift at any speeds.
To be honest, I’m tending towards the idea of selling the F now. Otherwise I have to hold onto it for another year (to sell it at the start of summer), and I’m not sure I want to. Brought it away on hols to give it a run on some of my favourite roads, and it’s just too quick and too grippy - it made them boring at any sane/sensible speed. Hell, it made them boring at something rather further beyond sensible than I’d like to admit to.
I’m loving having a convertible, but the F is just going to get me in trouble. Such a shame Fiat never made the Panda with the roof from the 500C.