Brad's 1992 K Grey 827 Coupe (Manual)

[Charles827si]

MOT work done - another 13 months test, and not so costly as predicted.

I did a few jobs at home today: -

Removed a loose and rattling screw on the sub frame cross member

Fitted the repainted engine top cover - what a makeover!
Fitted nearly new steering wheel off Brad
Fitted driver side rear window with a better rubber trim seal
Lastly new complete lockset all round with two keys. I can now unlock the boot with the key, which is just so convenient!

So all in all time and money well spent.

[rovercoup]

Great news Charles. well done

[SJG]

Good news Charles, pleasing to read you got all the bits sorted and of course the new ticket

[Charles827si]

Well, while doing the oil and filter change last night, I broke the bonnet release handle. Is it me that’s too heavy handed or is the car very brittle in places, because I seem to break a few things now and then with these cars..?

[Very Tall Brad]

It's just wear and fatigue caused by years of sun, cold weather and time.

Or maybe you are just a bit of an ape! It's all that Yorkshire Tea, Plusnet wire free stuff and living in the land of turf wars and Mollie Sugden. Aye, 'appen!

[Charles827si]

It's just wear and fatigue caused by years of sun, cold weather and time.

Or maybe you are just a bit of an ape! It's all that Yorkshire Tea, Plusnet wire free stuff and living in the land of turf wars and Mollie Sugden. Aye, 'appen!

Yes Brad, I admit I have been here for too long, in my short life - must get out (or around) more.

[Very Tall Brad]

Nothing wrong with that. Clean air, honest folk. Beats a lot of other places, for sure.

[Charles827si]

Received, and fitted bonnet handle today courtesy of Brad. The car is going to the garage on Wednesday to have a new clutch fitted, new manual gearbox oil, and lastly the air con which I think needs a re-gas.

Since I changed the engine oil and filter - with new bung, the oil leak isn’t quite what it was.

I tried to get the original Clarion stereo repaired (recoded), by the same chap who did the Mk1 Phillips cassette deck, but this was impossible to do, so I’m saving up for a new Kenwood stereo.

I plan to get those rear arches properly painted before winter time as well, and then that should be pretty much it for a while.

Oh and ordered original appropriate under bonnet warning labels for the coolant expansion tank and fuel advance black box.

[Nuts4my827]

I am pretty sure I have a clarion radio in my garage. Interested?

[Charles827si]

Yeah, I'm interested in either of those if they work with a code

[Nuts4my827]

Will have a test of it tomorrow. Knackered my ankle at moment. cant lift

[Charles827si]

Used what spare petty cash I had on the coupe. Had it Terra Cleaned yesterday. The process took about an hour, though I wasn’t there to witness. It would have been good to see how it was done. At the moment I don’t notice any difference in refinement, mpg, power but there may well be a chance with time these improve; - though I doubt it.

Had a new ECU Chip programmed last week, and this has been fitted this morning after a bit of fettling trying to get the fuel timing in sync. Again there is no obvious difference in power whatsoever, but I feel the throttle response slightly improved. Whether this is in combination with the Terra Clean, I really don’t know.

Was it all worth it? Perhaps not, but then I didn’t know until I tried this, and oddly I’m pleased I have now.

[Charles827si]

Had a snapped alternator belt tonight chaps, so it’s back to the trusty local garage tomorrow.

[Charles827si]

Had a snapped alternator belt tonight chaps, so it’s back to the trusty local garage tomorrow.

May I suggest you try some repairs/maintenance your self as i can get very expensive otherwise.

An alternator belt is a very easy thing to fit.

Do you have air conditioning or not ?

Edit... I can get very expensive

It can get very expensive.

That said, I suppose I would be expensive

One more thing to mention is that the water pump is also run on this belt so no driving until its done otherwise overheating is a definite but maybe you know this already.

Had two belts replaced for £55.00 today which isn't so bad value. I would have tried to attempt this myself if I had time. It was very inconvenient when it broke and needed the car back on the road for this evening, after work.

I had the alternator, and pas belt replaced. The pas belt was slightly frayed on the edges - perhaps resulted from the damage from the other belt snapping. I looked at the fan belt which is fine, this was done recently by me.

I have air con, but there is a leak in the condenser. I've seen one on eBay for £77.00, but I don't want to risk buying a 'new' old stock item. It could be problematic later on. When I can afford a new, 'new' condenser, I might try and replace this myself.

[Charles827si]

if you do try it yourself then thouroughly clean the area first and allow to completely dry.

The rest of the job should be done on a very dry day with minimal humidity etc. to prevent ANY moisture being trapped back in the system when you put it back together.

The system is vacuumed to remove any gs left and also to do a leak test but it cannot guarantee all the moisture (if any) will be taken out and this will freeze in the system and cause damage so be careful.

Just sticking my few more penneths in as I've done a few bits to the system over the years with these things in mind and have had no problems after.

That said, I did need to replace the compressor on my Mk1 Vitesse this summer but I suppose its been used in the past and on its last legs and the summer was bloody hot so its expected. It just started to seize. When I took it to get the system vacuumed, most of the gas was still in it which is a good sign for the integrity of it.

Thanks for the advice - much obliged Paul. Where did you get the compressor for your Mk1? There is a company in Bradford near me that do brand new compressors, radiators, and used to do fuel tanks for the 800 series.