Bianca Ratlye

[C2K]

Yeehah! MOT passed.



Only advisory of note was the front brake discs are corroded on the inside, but I knew about this given that the good ones which were fitted were raped for the HDi (greater good and all!). The new brakes will be on soon anyway now that the test is completed. The tester even complimented my workmanship. His young apprentice turned worker spent most of the test talking to me whilst the old man thumbed over everything.

Fan wiring is all good too, kept the car temp in check even though it's a hot day here in borough. Gave it a light rinsing on the way home but it sorely needs tracking now. I wanted to take it there but the tax disc wouldn't go through at the post office which is gash, so going to try again tomorrow. Tyre place is only a mile from the post office anyway.

First MOT in my possession so it was always going to be a bit nervy, especially knowing the last MOT it had wasn't worth the paper it was written on as it was clearly dodgy.

[Poodle]

Congratulations dude, look forward to seeing some vids of this in action!

[C2K]

Yeah for sure. I have to get it taxed and tracked next.

Big brakes still to fit, found an awesome spec beam to get, got my bbm mounts to fit and then onto tidying it up a bit.

Paint is dire lol.

[C2K]

Grr still can't tax it as the mid hasn't updated to reflect that it was insured from Thursday night. Not impressed as I want to be able to leave it on the road outside.

More to the point I want to get it tracked so i can hoon it.

[Grant]

I'm just gonna go change my pants!

That is lush, that dash is nuts, the entire car is awesome. Please bring it to ace one month lol

[Alee83]

Always had a soft spot for TVR's... Just gorgeous!!

[C2K]

And she's taxed. :hyper

Took the old girl out for a bit of a drive tonight. I was too late to get it across to have it tracked, so just took it out anyway to give it a run and start looking for niggles.

Drove it slowly for the first few miles, realised the noise i could hear was the arch liner having popped out and started to erode at an alarming rate on the tyre. Fail. :doh

With an epic roadside cable tie lash-up affair sorted there I set off on the road again. Did a 30 mile loop with a stop check in the middle, and, well, couldn't find any issues lol. It's a hoot to drive, makes you feel like a hero with every input. The LSD works well, though it's going to take a bit of getting used to as it's very effective, much more so than the TorSen in my Rover was. Power is very progressive, and it takes off like a stabbed rat at 4K when it comes on cam. Quite happy with that really.

Took some nice pics whilst I was there.It doesn't look half bad in these photos, but it's dirty and sorely in need of some tlc.







The police made an appearance just as i was taking these photos. It's actually a bird sanctuary in market deeping, so i thought i was going to get some grief, plus only having been taxed today I was expecting the spanish inquisition but he just stopped, looked, and drove off. I should be less suspicious. :ninja

Yes I know the rear is high, got a lowered Xsara beam to fit at some point. The brakes are gay too so I need to fit my upgrade.

[C2K]

Now then. Over 100 miles on the clock since putting her through the test now and she seems to be lapping them up.

Had it tracked this morning after trying to get there all week after work and failing for various reasons, such as the traffic wombles closing the A14 for a fire the other way. It didn't look too bad on the computer to start with, but then having made the adjustments back to where the computer settings were (making sure my new xsara rack was central) suggested it is much better to drive. It doesn't feel like it's fighting you to go in a straight line any more.

I've developed a small oil leak from the front of the block behind the starter, where the Phase 1 have the oil pressure switch. I had fitted an adaptor in there to run my SPA oil gauge, but seemingly it's bypassing the adaptor and dribbling down the block ftl.

It must have decided to unleash an air bubble after sitting at stage 2 fans throughout the MOT as even though I bled it I found the water level had dropped in the expansion tank. Took about 750ml of water in there! Reminds me that I need to change the coolant actually as it's quite weak. Probably explains why it's sitting there quite merrily at 80 or just under when cruising. Does build up the heat quickly though when you're sitting in traffic. I can probably lose the bonnet insulation!

Given how many things I changed in one go I had this nagging feeling that something was going to go wrong when it returned to the road, but touch wood she seems to be behaving. It is rather rapid actually, and is very keen to hit the limiter when pressing on!

[C2K]

Had an encounter with a lancia delta integrale of all thing things earlier. Must have been standard as it was easy pickings. Looked the nuts though!

[C2K]

So having sorted the niggly oil leak out, she has rewarded me with a petrol leak from the filler assembly somewhere. Not sure where yet as I'm away, but having put some go go juice in for a hoon, I was rewarded with the sight of it dripping all over the forecourt. Still, at lest i noticed and stopped immediately rather than losing 60 odd litres. annoying, as I replaced the filler elbow previously, though I'm not certain if I've had that much petrol in since.

Got a list of jobs as long as my arm that i want to do but having to move house soon is likely to put pay to 2013 track days.

[Just Sean]

What LSD you using?

What power you making?

[C2K]

It's on the earlier pages, tran x plate diff.

It's around 250 bhp someplace.

[C2K]

Ok so its been ages since an update.

car was working well for about a month after the mot, until one sunday night I went for a hoon in september. I had been giving it death for most of my 20 mile loop and was coming upto the a16, an arrow straight single carraigeway which is pretty busy on sunday nights. Having joined, I went to overtake a car (and to go and play with a porsche) and the wheels spun up at 50. Thought it was a bit odd so pulled back into the traffic and looked down to see the temp solid at 90. Having been giving it death, and looking at the gauge reading 80 not 15 seconds earlier my suspicions were aroused. The penny then dropped, the gauge was reading air temp... checked the heaters and yup, stone cold. the wheelspin was coolant going all over my wheels. With nowhere safe to pull over I had to drive almost 2 miles at 50 to nurse it somewhere I wasnt going to become roadkill. Once I pulled over, what was left of the coolant was trickling onto the floor. I was 4 miles from home so I limped it home with a combination of building up speed and killing the engine to coast for half a mile at a time on quiet back roads.

I killed it once getting to my street and pushed it to the house. Got the lower rad hose reseated and filled it with hot water to even out the cooling down. 3 mins later the hose popped again. Fearing the worst I pushed it on the drive and then later onto the road, for what turned out to be a couple of months. Was trying to sell the house, sold the tvr, ordered a new car, spent 3 weeks away over xmas, motd the hdi and found time just kept passing. Whilst I was away some shitbag did this:



Recent events at work reminded me to enjoy your passions to the full. I contemplated breaking it but then I remembered how epic it is to drive, so tonight I found time and got around to filling it back up and starting it up. Imagine my relief when it started and ran up to fan temp gradually with no dramas. Need to re bleed it but step 1 is passed.

So thats the last few months! Need to move it to rugby then modify it more! That brings us up to an hour ago!

[RetroPug]

My old '6 was hit by someone and although it was all repaired I didn't notice a radiator leak.
It dumped all the coolant and overheated, so I replaced the radiator and it all seemed fine for several months but the damage was done and over those several months the symptoms of a blown HG started to creep up.

To this day it does still run, but it is an arse to start as coolant gets in the cylinders and it'll only get worse if run longer.

Just a warning to say you should be extra vigilant and check that the overheating hasn't warped the head slightly.

[C2K]

Precisely. I'm not singing its praises yet, but the fact it didn't shit itself all over the garage floor last night was a good start. I neglected to mention I had compression tested it extensively beforehand, and had enough faith from the comp figures that it was safe to run.

It will take quite some time to build my trust up in it again. It underwent quite a transformation from start to finish really.

[C2K]

It lives

After a few more bouts of incontinence it seems to be behaving!

[Dum-Dum]

Awesome news mate, you'll get over all the leaks soon.

[Alee83]

Great work...! It making it to Pugfest then?

[Ruan]

I have a proper soft spot for this car!

And yeah, those bottom radiator connections are wank, exact same happened to me in a fuel station - "What's this steamy pink water running past my feet.... Ah balls" - couldn't get the hose on, so had to get towed home!

Didn't know you were moving to Rugby, not all that far from me really, would love come and have a proper nosey round this!

[RetroPug]

I'll be just down the road from Rugby in a couple of months.
Glad to hear the car is behaving!

[C2K]

Ok so time had marched on since it first dropped its coolant at 60. I had moved house (had to get my old one ready to rent - mission) and am about to move back from rented housing to my own place so will need to move it again. Been on holiday, got the golf, sold the HDi, had the inlaws over from SA etc. Time soon passes you by!



Ghetto.. I had it moved to Rugby on a transporter as I didnt dare risk it for the 60 quid it cost. I then had no real time to do anything with it due to unpacking etc until after my holiday - as the mrs is still in South Africa I seized the chance. Took rad off, realised that the feet were incorrect so swapped the rubbers out to elevate it a touch, refitted the original rallye lower hose not the one from the xsara engine (as there seemed to be a sharper point to the 3 prongs against which the clip sits), then made 125 percent sure the c-clip seated and also added a little jubilee though i'm not sure how much help it offers. Ive taken it out these last few nights and all seems well so far, done maybe 50 miles with no coolant issues. Why Peugeot didnt just fit a spring clip ill never know. To have done all that work and be scuppered by something so simple, and yet so difficult to do different was very frustrating. In fact the car on the whole was frustrating as it was firstly a cambelt issue, then a water pump issue, then the coolant issue, all stemming from a precautionary cambelt change. Even now the genuine water pump is quite noisy, but sod changing that again.

Lots of things I can be doing now without making a major mechanical change. it still has super flat paint but I can now start to give it tlc. I wont do too much to it mechanically as our house purchase completes next month and she will need to relocate up the road. Aim is just to keep doing a few miles here and there and keep checking. It has 100 percent water in atm which obviously needs changing. Has a few random clunks at low speed but ill work those out later!


Oh and some petrol on a rag worked wonders on the battle scarred rear quarter. Polisher up next!! Bumper deffo needs some touching up though, nobbers!

[C2K]

Cheers for the kind words guys. It's been a long time coming to fruition, but with 21 months in South Africa in there I've not done too badly really. Had I known I was going for that long I would've sold it, not swapped engines!! The water pump is really annoying. I bought a genuine Peugeot one and i had an unbelievable dry bearing noise when warm. After swapping it for a warranty replacement it's better but not perfect. I'm not touching it atm!

It will be some time before it sees a show or a track - I have to build up trust in it, and in honest finish some parts of it off (i.e. secure the oil cooler lines further). I need to replace the passenger front wheel arch which popped out last year and subsequently shredded itself!

Tonights efforts consisted of a further coating of iron out (given the amount I found yesterday) left to dwell for 5 minutes whilst I went off to the shed to find my Smartwheels wheel cleaner to do the pass wheels and the hosepipe (epic wheel cleaner, leaves nothing behind when neat, 3:1 mostly good enough). Worryingly though there is a strong smell of fuel near the rear arch, so hopefully whatever was allowing fuel to leak previously is obvious(the irony is, he night i lost the coolant i was trying to deplete the fuel level to look for a leak that had appeared).

Much the same story as last night:






It took me the sum total of about 45 minutes to pull off the Rallye sticker on the bonnet (in little bits lol), but at least underneath is an example of virgin paint. The efforts on the front wing match it nicely, so I appear to have got it as good as can be with 2 layer paint.



I did find time to take it for a hoon though, another 15 miles on the clock and it's behaving itself nicely. It still seems to run very cool but I had noticed that previously. It's going to take a few nights to complete it in little steps, and the Mrs appears this weekend from SA so that's this weekend taken care of in advance!!

[7057sam]

Wow the car's came up great

Really need to give mine a clean,lucky astor is a more forgiving colour than biance

[Dum-Dum]

Shes coming up good mate, keep at it as i reckon its gonna be a labor of love.

[C2K]

It is something I desperately wanted to just work, and had begun to regret modifying it so heavily, but then reminded myself it wasn't a mod causing the problem - just shit French design!

The bodywork is a bit of a mess anyway with it being a previous Cat C - there is some filler cracking on the rear quarter (drivers door and rear quarter was the damage) which I might sort out later. Polishing the rest of the car will pay dividends anyway and I think of it as a detailing test mule.

It's pretty rapid, and I actually enjoy driving this more than I did the TVR.

[7057sam]

Good to see you still have the love for it

So when you geting back on track?

[Ruan]

Ruan, thanks for that. You're welcome to come and have a look, no problems, though it's a bit ratty on the whole which was half the point lol.
Ive worked in Rugby for 5.5 years so its about time i moved closer lol. Cant believe I allowed it to stand so long but its difficult when you lose patience with something.

I shall take you up on that! Let me know once you're all moved in etc!

I know the feeling, left my 306 for 7 months after I finally realised I just didn't have the time with moving jobs, but going back to it and finally having the time without worrying about it is nice.

[C2K]

duplicate

[C2K]

Ok so it lashed i down all night tonight, so instead i've bought the fans I need to swap.

Since I got the radiator and fans from my mate's charged Xsara, built by a reputable trader, I found it strange someone had attached two blower fans to the back of the rad - not much good for me if i intend on spanking it around a track mid-summer (My Rover Turbo was always marginal on cooling capability so i'm naturally wary). Just another example of chequebook modifying gone wrong I suspect. I like to run the fans flat out on the cool-down lap, and before if i'm really pressing on - at the end of the day they'll be drawing air over a radiator, two oil coolers and an intercooler.

Just ordered two Spal VA11-AP7/C57-As with free fitting kits to fit to the back of the rad. Hopefully can raise some of the cost of them flogging the blowers that are on the car.

[C.A.R.]

Sounds good, obviously a bummer about the bit and run episode though

How are you finding the Golf? Haven't had a chance to hire a MK7 yet as the hire co's seem to have amassed all the old MK6s (and I really want to hire a 308 at earliest opportunity too!)

Does any part of you miss the TVR? Does it feel like you have a void which needs filling now it's gone?