What did you do today?

[Hooli]

It was 3,000,000th Mini day a few* years ago today.

http://www.365daysofmotoring.com/showon ... ThcxWl_D_o

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

My 1989 BMW has the original brake pipes, dual mass flywheel and wheel bearings after 315'000 miles. The original clutch still had life in it (albeit not much) at 314'000. I did an E36 clutch 2 months ago, still biting at 190k.

[Drum]

After spending all Saturday morning dealing with house building stuff, I felt like doing some car stuff.

I couldn't be bothered looking at the land rover so instead had a look at the daughter's polo exhaust that I'd been putting off.

She called me at the weekend when leaving her work saying her car was making a terrible noise. It was coming from the back. I suggested she should maybe get out the car and have a look, whereupon she discovered it was trailing the rear silencer along the road. Falling upon my years of knowledge and experience, I deduced this was probably the source of the noise and told her to park it up.

I arrived at the scene to find her sitting with the engine running (she had music needing to be listened to) and the rear pipe wrapped around the near side rear wheel, which apparently is what happens when you reverse over a trailing exhaust.

Fortunately, the rear box and pipe had completely detached by this point and wasn't melting the tyre. I wrestled it free and she has been driving around with no rear exhaust all week while I procrastinated.

I should have sent her to kwik fit, but there was a chance I could fix it myself and save a fiver.

I went online to order a part but there seems to be more than one variation for a 1.2, 3 cylinder, 9N polo.

I had a look

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and took the remaining piece of pipe off, observing that it didn't seem too rotten.

I thought I might explore the opportunity to save more than a fiver.
Maybe I could cut the pipe of this old tractor exhaust and do away with the rear silencer?

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I had a look at the silencer that fell off and decided I could remove a couple of inches of pipe and weld it back together, so that's what I did.

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It wasn't going to reach the rubber hanger now so an extension was needed.

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Steal a piece of the drop link I removed last week

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Longer

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After fitting the repaired* exhaust, I noticed there was a farting noise coming from a flexi section in the front pipe.

A tidy patch was called for.

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Modern tin cans are made with wafer thin material.

Guess I'll have to order some exhaust bits after all.

[DodgeRover]

Visited parents.
Refitted drag link to grand Cherokee after one end snapped! Looks like metal fatigue under the taper.
Tracked up the new Maverick, 1/4" of toe out, that will be why it is scrubbing a tyre then!
Went to put a new barrel on the kids quad and it's been damaged in the post - arse have had it too long to claim really but have messaged the suppliers to see what they say.

[Nibblet]

Nice weather here in Gloucestershite; got the Datty out and replaced the door lock barrels with some I got from the States; nice lil job apart from half of the plastic studs that hold the door cards on, breaking. They are available new so I'll get some soon. Then took the Jap for a 20 mile drive which it achieved faultlessly.
Next automotive job is to get the front wings for the '96 sprayed and then I can finally get back to the plumbing and carb linkage.

[mercrocker]

Did a couple of hundred miles in the Fuckarse today, first time I have really been in it since buying it for Mrs Rocker. It is as irritatingly competent as I expected and doesn't drink much - still over half a tank left. CD still works too - which means I can store the bloody things in there instead of one of my cupboards at home.

In other news, the Mercedes is STILL cutting out despite a new FP relay and some arcane components of the injection system changed - all of which were fully described and shown to me but went straight over my SU-fed understanding. To be fair to the mechanic he did offer to re-fit my old FP relay and reimburse me but I couldn't really see the point of that, although I did get my original back off him as a standby spare. It does undoubtedly run, start from cold and idle loads better than it has for several months but we haven't cured the deceleration cutout which is extremely intermittent and re-starts instantly. I suspect fuel pressure-related but I'm not going to be grasping at straws until it actually breaks down properly and can be diagnosed.

In other, other, news the T25 is still at the bodyshop which in my experience only means a bigger fucking bill than I thought. And I have started spunking the money I took out of our savings to pay for it....£125 on vinyl over the weekend. Listen to records or drive a camper might soon be the stark choice.....

[fried onions]

If I have been paying attention the Benz is essentially surplus to requirements but you are WBoD'ing it for the time being? No bad thing, hopefully it'll see you through the worst mate. At least you know you can fall back on your good motors if it came to it, but I too have started garaging my best old cars during the worst months.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Today I went to U Pull It on the way somewhere else, and discovered a rust free 1998 323i Automatic E36 with leather and air con. It was in there because the water pump failed and the fan blades chopped up the fan shroud. Could have been fixed for 100 quid.
I fucking despair. When all this stuff is gone, it's gone. They are not making any more, just millions of unfixable shitboxes.

I did rape it of many parts I don't need for the sake of it. It's eased the depression of it all.

[fried onions]

Yeah, but, leather and air-con. I'd scrap that shit too.

[mercrocker]

If I have been paying attention the Benz is essentially surplus to requirements but you are WBoD'ing it for the time being? No bad thing, hopefully it'll see you through the worst mate. At least you know you can fall back on your good motors if it came to it, but I too have started garaging my best old cars during the worst months.

Yes, correct, it will be my winter car - if it confines its cutting out to a weekly affair as it currently is. I have seriously considered another Farina or Landcrab to take its place but if I did that I would have to sell again in the Spring - I am not getting involved with any more restorations. T25 will be barn-confined when it comes back. I can keep the Morrises exercised by a tenuous local route that only involves one gritted road, apart from which, I can probably cover 50 miles without fear of salt. The important thing is to ensure each car is only garaged for no more than 14 days before swapping with the one under the car port, ensuring adequate ventilation....