Project HaeThere! (Coupé restoration)

[Welly]

It was 19.5 deg C in our bedroom last night, slept like a baby

That air intake was mashed against the bumper? how's that then? and yes it would make a huge difference once removed.

[mjb]

That air intake was mashed against the bumper? how's that then?

Probably the same reason the mini-undertray underneath it has a huge hole in it, the bumper has a huge scrape around the area and the foglamp lens is smashed...

It is interesting however to note that the smashed mini-undertray was TIED to the car! Just like the driver's door has been replaced at some point... This car's seen more action and repair jobs than it's seemingly comprehensive main dealer service history would lead you to believe

[mjb]

Changed clutch, gearbox mount, gearbox seals, cleaned stuff...

Removed the cruise control bag while the subframe was off. Haven't tested it yet, but I expect the pump to be shot. Can't refit it until next time the subframe's off though.

Just spent £193 on a new pair of Firestone TZ-300s for the rear as the camber issue I sorted out earlier made the relatively new tyres MOT failures. Sounds a lot better now, but I still need new backplates. Hopefully the poor handbrake will scrape an MOT pass!


Before the MOT I need to sort the o/s CV boot. Think I'll leave the bottom engine mount change this time as it needs the subframe dropping, which means further disturbing the broken PAS pipe... Think I'll make a weekend of changing the mount, replacing the cruise control and changing the PAS pipe. But not now.

I need new front brake pads too. £87 from the dealers Apparently Brembo pads are essential to stop the squealing though. Urgh. I may just try it through the MOT first to see if the current pads pass as I'm out of money


Phoned up the dealers to enquire about the parts I ordered (and paid for) 2 months ago, including the air intake pipe. Turns out the dealer's been bought out and all the orders were cancelled Urgh.

Mangled my stereo connector too trying to sort it out according to a guide on the coupe club forum. Apparently I should have 4 signal lines and one ground. I however have 4 signal +ve and 4 signal -ve

[Welly]

You sorted out the rear camber? did I miss that? what'ya do to it?

You're slowly getting there fella, and I suspect gaining loads of experience too

[mjb]

You sorted out the rear camber? did I miss that? what'ya do to it?

Oops, must have forgotten to put it here... Took it to Kwik-sh*t for a session on their laser alignment rig. Every time I go for a long drive now I'm feeling the tyre temperatures as soon as I get out Feel in the middle and edges, and you can get an idea of excessive camber and over/under inflation

You're slowly getting there fella, and I suspect gaining loads of experience too

Aye, the pile of crap is almost drivable now, although I need to figure out how to get the stereo wired in. Got some RCA plugs, an ISO connector, some stripboard and a pile of wire t'other day... Going to figure it out, or blow the whole lot up as a result!

I've been putting serious thought into replacing the amp as the JBL thing sounds horrible and may even be knackered, but the cost of 4 crossovers and the effort of finding some way to mount them in the amp's cubby-hole... urgh...

[mjb]

Interestingly it's gotten a lot quieter in there since putting the TZ-300s on the back. Still noisy when cornering hard or with weight in the back, but those new tyres seem to mitigate the problem quite nicely

In the next week I'm getting a new set of front brake pads (bloody £87!!! wtf?), getting a new CV boot fitted (may pay someone to do this), tightening up the handbrake (a little drag's only an advisory ain't it?) and getting it MOT'd. Eep.

[steve_earwig]

Buy cheap pads and a bigger amp for your stereo?

[mjb]

it's been mentioned quite a lot over at the coupe club that non-brembo pads make the squealing worse

[jasper5]

My local Brembo dealer tells me that allegedly, Brembo don't actually make brake pads and that the pads supplied by the dealers are allegedly, made by other well known manufacturers such as Bendix, Lockheed, and Delphi.

I asked him for a price for Brembo brake pads for the Coupe V6 and this is what he told me.

Delphi pads are £30 from him.

[mjb]

Added the following...

37. Clutch changed AGAIN
38. Bottom engine mount changed with one from an ES9J4S
39. Cruise control fixed by replacing the vacuum valve
40. Tidied up the aerial
41. Front tyres replaced, so it's now running on 215/55/16W Firestone TZ300a's all around
42. Headlamp washers de-scaled
43. Door speakers and rear tweeters now working (wiring fault in the driver's door)
44. Folding wing mirrors now working (same door wiring fault)
45. Ashtray insert replaced and light re-fitted so I get the nice orange glow down there
46. Wiper arms replaced
47. High pressure PAS pipe replaced
48. New front brake discs (genuine Brembo)
49. New front brake pads (genuine Brembo)
50. Detailed
51. Both front drop-links replaced
52. CD changer removed to give some extra storage space
53. OEM Amplifier replaced
54. Cruise control stalk cleaned up
55. Aircon re-gassed
56. Washer fluid bottle cap replaced
57. Driveshaft intermediate bearing heat shield replaced

[Welly]

Mmm, not bad, what did you get up to in the afternoon then?

[mjb]

Mmm, not bad, what did you get up to in the afternoon then?

Kick 10 shades of s**t out of my Golf

[Captain Jack]

Added the following...

37. Clutch changed AGAIN

What's with that clutch again?

[mjb]

Added the following...

37. Clutch changed AGAIN

What's with that clutch again?

A couple of weeks after the first time I did the job, the release bearing decided to refuse to stay engaged with the pressure plate and needed replacing, so I had to get myself a tow home from the AA

If it had gone a few days sooner, I'd have had to figure out how to get the car recovered from Germany without bankrupting myself

[Captain Jack]

Ahh, I remember that story. Thought it was the 3rd time you had to replace the clutch!