Silver Arrow

[KiwiDave]

Thames Valley MOT's http://www.tvmot.com/ in Reading Dave, the proprietor has a both a triple and 13B FD and is a staunch FDUKer. He's very... understanding to the more discreet customer

Thnx Lucky, will check them out in anticipation.

[KiwiDave]

So for you Sunday morning entertainment - Have a look at the photo below and tell me what is wrong.

Ah something is missing I hear you say. Well you are right, the rear bumper and rear silencer are not present. I was playing around with the rear of my car and also wanted to hear how loud I could make it. Yes in hindsight not the brightest idea.
Unfortunatley the local CHiPs did not think my mods were as cool as i did, and hit me up with Offence Code 123 – Vehicle in dangerous condition.
Defects listed as exhaust incomplete fumes entering vehicle (complete rear section missing) and rear exterior body panel protruding bumper securing brackets missing (likely to cause injury). He then then proceeded to go over the car with a fine tooth comb so he could add to this list, but could not.
He asked me when the vehicle last got an MOT test? When i told him that i got it a week and a half ago he told me i was a liar and that we should start the conversation again. Hmmm needless to say his attitude improved as time passed. So a Fixed Penalty Notice and three demerit points later I am still feeling positive. I also have to hand my driving licence into the local Police, and have my car MOT retested (that must be some kind of record for MOT period) before i am back on the road.
Having declared my car unroadworthy and illegal to drive, my current position on Upper Tooting Roads red route in SW London on a Saturday afternoon was not the best place to be, and i needed to be transported out of there ASAP. As i was not wanting to add to this already expensive lesson i decided to try and trick my Insurance company provided breakdown cover into transporting me home  This involved disconnecting the fuel pump under the back seat, and running her dry – hey presto fuel supply issue. Who would have thought my breakdown guy was smarter than any breakdown fella i had encountered previously. He had deduced the issue quickly and was in search of the fuel pump. I kept quiet and it was only when he lifted the left rear seat squab that i threw the “curve ball” about the guys in the club mentioning the fuel pump being located in the top of the tank that he tossed in the towel and called in the transporter.
Phew! Result!
So pump reconnected and ancillaries reattached.
Lesson learnt- if it is not broken do no touch it.
PS in NZ they call this being Pink Stickered 

This could have been the opening scene to the rotary version of 'Goodbye Pork Pie' mate. Ahhh Tooting. The land of regimented parking warden patrols and high profile policing. Nice move with the recovery though, kiwi ingenuity strikes again

[BO0557]

Hmmm that's some bad luck there..

I must be so lucky with my neighbours and the po po - even Ramon can vouch for the almost touch with the law when i cracked the front plate

[KiwiDave]

Well it is finally done! And what a difference it has made to the handling. The ride is a lot more firm, but bumps and pothole are less jarring. Visually i am a little disappointed with the rear sitting a bit higher than i was hoping for. I have measured from the arch, down vertically to the hub centre - front 33cm, rear 35cm. I did not measure before the work was carried out so have no reference (maybe you guys could).
There is no body roll, and when pushing down on each corner it returns to its original position promptly, whereas before it would wallow and bounce. People are welcome to test drive to feel the difference.

So here is the before and after shots, not as dramatic as i hoped but better.

Before


After

James

As you know, I am slowly gathering the necessaries (components and pounds) to replace various bushings and uppy downy things. Thought I would start by replacing that bent drop link bolt on the front (thnx for those old ones BTW). Thought the easiest bit would be removing the remains of the undertray to get at the sway bar..... long story short, will have to cut it off as little bolts are not moving for no one. So the sway bar has not moved yet.

I have done some 'before' measurements though and interestingly, I have 33cm at the front and 35cm at the back (actually 36cm on the drivers side which is interesting). Keen to see what the 'after' might be, this could take some time.....................

[MelloYello]

So as i was lying under the car re-attaching the exhaust silencer that got me in trouble with the law by it's absence, when i noticed some thing unusual.

When i overhauled my suspension at the start of the year the one part i did not replace the bushes on was the rear lower suspension arms. The main reason being i could not get the right hand side off.

Now take a look at these photos and see if you can spot the difference?

What the hell has caused that to happen!!!??

left hand side


right hand side

[ian65]

Dear me, that looks pretty horrible.... I'd guess that either that end has seized and somehow the movement of the axle has caused the radius arm to kink or more likely, the driver of the recovery truck put a ratchet strap over it and bent it.
I've got some spare ones if you get stuck for one.... I can drop one in the post for you.

[TOOL]

Dear me, that looks pretty horrible.... I'd guess that either that end has seized and somehow the movement of the axle has caused the radius arm to kink or more likely, the driver of the recovery truck put a ratchet strap over it and bent it.
I've got some spare ones if you get stuck for one.... I can drop one in the post for you.

Sounds about right. Damn dude, you're not having much luck.

I'm off to the garage tomorrow after fighting with the BMW today. Wish me luck! Pics update tomorrow night on Exile. You'll like it I hope.

You wanna borrow my breaker bar and scaffold pole? It gets flywheel nuts off. It'll get those bolts out.

[Lucky]

Whoa! That's harsh I'd be impressed if the tow-truck guy had managed that, but then the car self-harming just because the fixing's seized seems excessive too. Reckon Ian's diagnosis may be right though. S*** the bed

If Mr Tool's breaker bar doesn't shift it, try putting a decent trolley jack under the handle of the bar (square it up with a block of wood so it doesn't slip) and force the breaker bar up with the jack. That ought to shift it, you're essentially making a hydraulic press with equivalent force to the weight of the car

[MelloYello]

Regarding the suspension arm i think it has been like that since i got it, just never noticed. I will take up your offer Ian, PM sent.

Finally managed to get around to putting the interior back together in the rear of the car. I had removed it to get to the top of the struts and to put in new speaker. Have discover that the rear seat back in my car consists mainly of rust and air.

Also got the Prohibition Notice removed from my car by going down to the Cop Shop and using an old Jedi mind trick Which means i am back on the road

So today Kiwidave popped in as he was passing by which meant that there was a meeting of the TWRs, albeit a S2 and S3.

Anyways here is some un-necessary photos-





hands off those wheels Dave, they is taken








Until next week Dave.

[Steve-A]

Cars look good together Glad to hear you got the notice removed, was the mind trick to go in tail between legs and ask nicely?

When you say your rear seat was made of rust and air, do you mean it's rotten through the upper suspension arm mounts like they all do?