What have you done to your car today?

Went for another drive in the A35 to see how it does in the heat, sat at 60mph on a dual carriageway for about 20 minutes solid and it did okay, had to slow it down to 50~ to cool it off a little bit, and then it was good as gold again.

When I got home the brakes stuck on though. Probably when I put the handbrake on. Not going to investigate now though, I am recovering from the heat.
 
Fiddled with the throttle cable to see why it's rough/sticky coming off idle.

Ultimately it seems there is some friction inherent in the cable (it's about 6 foot long, mid engine) at the pedal end. Throttle body end is dead smooth, and the pedal itself moves freely. The cable in its sleeve is just a bit rough and textured by the pedal.

I did however identify some insulation/noise absorption material that was pressing and rubbing on the cable and pedal end, so I've chopped that out for clear travel. It's mildly better now - I can maintain 1500rpm instead of 2000rpm previously. It's just really hard getting it to move from idle gently, so tends to surge.

Possibly you can see the worn strip running vertically from the cable resting on it:


And the amount of insulation I ripped out angrily cut out carefully with the good scissors;


And a nice clear space around the moving parts now:
 
Upgraded my electrical tape seals to silkaflex seals, well posh innit. :cool:

KYfVnJi.png
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I also installed lots more sound deadening in the firewall area to make it a bit more tolerable when sat at 55mph.

Also did an old school fiberglass repair to a rear arch.
 
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GSXRMovistar said:
Gave the wife's Evoque a good clean and took photos to hopefully get it sold.
Click to expand...
Private, or you going via Motorway or CarWow? I kinda regret not trying the new auction feature on AT. I was hesitant, as it's new and was thinking not a lot of dealers know about it.
 
Did some de-rusting, re-seam sealing, and painting/rust converting on the area above where the subframe sits on the E30.

AkBKtKa.jpeg


Those holes are supposed to be there, but they are meant to be a proper oval shape, not the shape they have ended up after descaling. Like so:

75SEyZe.png


Deciding if I should do something about it or just leave it like that. Slightly concerned that MOT testers might not know there are meant to be holes there, and fail it on seatbelt anchorage prescribed area.
 
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Akagi said:
Did some de-rusting, re-seam sealing, and painting/rust converting on the area above where the subframe sits on the E30.

AkBKtKa.jpeg


Those holes are supposed to be there, but they are meant to be a proper oval shape, not the shape they have ended up after descaling. Like so:

75SEyZe.png


Deciding if I should do something about it or just leave it like that. Slightly concerned that MOT testers might not know there are meant to be holes there, and fail it on seatbelt anchorage prescribed area.
Click to expand...
At a glance, unless the tester knew that model of vehicle very well, I'd say they'd likely fail that, as they look like two rust holes.

Easiest fix would be to find a couple suitable grommets. Ideally you'd want some blanking grommets, but I'd guess finding a couple oval ones a suitable size is likely to be a challenge, however a google search for "oval blanking grommet" does give quite a few results. Even if you need to cut and shut a couple for each hole, you can put a layer of seam sealer/underseal to make them blend in a bit.
 
m_c said:
At a glance, unless the tester knew that model of vehicle very well, I'd say they'd likely fail that, as they look like two rust holes.

Easiest fix would be to find a couple suitable grommets. Ideally you'd want some blanking grommets, but I'd guess finding a couple oval ones a suitable size is likely to be a challenge, however a google search for "oval blanking grommet" does give quite a few results. Even if you need to cut and shut a couple for each hole, you can put a layer of seam sealer/underseal to make them blend in a bit.
Click to expand...

I might just bond something over the top of it. A bit of aluminium perhaps...
 
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Akagi said:
Did some de-rusting, re-seam sealing, and painting/rust converting on the area above where the subframe sits on the E30.

AkBKtKa.jpeg


Those holes are supposed to be there, but they are meant to be a proper oval shape, not the shape they have ended up after descaling. Like so:

75SEyZe.png


Deciding if I should do something about it or just leave it like that. Slightly concerned that MOT testers might not know there are meant to be holes there, and fail it on seatbelt anchorage prescribed area.
Click to expand...
I'd like to think that if a tester saw 2 pretty much identical holes that aren't corroded and crusty, then they'd assume they are meant to be there and wouldn't be concerned.
I am however probably placing a little too much faith in common sense here.
Best weld a bean can over the area, just to be sure.
 
JonRGV250 said:
I'd like to think that if a tester saw 2 pretty much identical holes that aren't corroded and crusty, then they'd assume they are meant to be there and wouldn't be concerned.
I am however probably placing a little too much faith in common sense here.
Best weld a bean can over the area, just to be sure.
Click to expand...

I'd like to think that too but I'm not sure.

Bit of aluminium with those holes cut in it, splodged on top and seam sealed around the edge and painted black is probably what I'll do.

I'm annoyed that I'm going to that effort because I am assuming someone won't be able to do their job properly though. :p
 
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m_c said:
At a glance, unless the tester knew that model of vehicle very well, I'd say they'd likely fail that, as they look like two rust holes.

Easiest fix would be to find a couple suitable grommets. Ideally you'd want some blanking grommets, but I'd guess finding a couple oval ones a suitable size is likely to be a challenge, however a google search for "oval blanking grommet" does give quite a few results. Even if you need to cut and shut a couple for each hole, you can put a layer of seam sealer/underseal to make them blend in a bit.
Click to expand...

JonRGV250 said:
I'd like to think that if a tester saw 2 pretty much identical holes that aren't corroded and crusty, then they'd assume they are meant to be there and wouldn't be concerned.
I am however probably placing a little too much faith in common sense here.
Best weld a bean can over the area, just to be sure.
Click to expand...

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"Fixed" lol.

Also my dodgy fiberglass and filler wheelarch repair on the Austin.

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Well that looks ****ter than expected! :p

Thats just primer though.

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Might have to do a bit of high build and some more sanding lol. But in reality, its inkeeping so whatevs. :p
 
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Oh I also decided to buy some thicker oil for the Austin.

Its 20W50 as standard, and you tend to put thicker oil in more worn engines, but because the recommended oil is already thick by modern standards, I didn't really think about it.

Where do you go from 20W50 you might ask? Why, 25W70 of course! I've never heard the like... Turns out its a bit rough to get hold of these days too.
 
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