The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

[GeorgeL]

As always Phil, a pleasure to drop in and read what you have been up to...

Attention to detail is brilliant as always!

That 1 series must have been on its ass though haha!

[Magic Beans]

Cheers, George

To be honest you could only really feel it under braking. They're pretty light engines, unless you're hauling it out of the back of a hatchback on your own

I'm still patiently waiting for news on your build

[craig]

Cheers, George

To be honest you could only really feel it under braking. They're pretty light engines, unless you're hauling it out of the back of a hatchback on your own

I'm still patiently waiting for news on your build

My missus' 1 series was on its ass today ferrying 5 bags of garden soil/turf to the tip.

Nice work as always Phil.

Measure twice, cut once on that bonnet!

[GeorgeL]

I can imagine it would have been slightly awkward to lift out to say the least.. I love that new filter though! It's like night and day!

Haha yeah that old chestnut.. Well I called about an hour to check on my turbo, manifold, waste gate etc and was told it's being shipped today/tonight (USA) .. Which is a relief as the car is waiting on it now the engine is finished.

My build thread I had removed though as I'm going stealth mode from now on (for the foreseeable future anyways)

[Magic Beans]

Cheers, George

To be honest you could only really feel it under braking. They're pretty light engines, unless you're hauling it out of the back of a hatchback on your own

I'm still patiently waiting for news on your build

My missus' 1 series was on its ass today ferrying 5 bags of garden soil/turf to the tip.

Nice work as always Phil.

Measure twice, cut once on that bonnet!

I once moved 14 bags of slate in my old 1er and it was dragging it's back end like a terrier with an itchy bum

Got the bulk of the cutting done on the bonnet today. A horrible job and took about 6 attempts to get it right. Now found another challenge to overcome, so that'll be a job for another day

[Magic Beans]

I can imagine it would have been slightly awkward to lift out to say the least.. I love that new filter though! It's like night and day!

Haha yeah that old chestnut.. Well I called about an hour to check on my turbo, manifold, waste gate etc and was told it's being shipped today/tonight (USA) .. Which is a relief as the car is waiting on it now the engine is finished.

My build thread I had removed though as I'm going stealth mode from now on (for the foreseeable future anyways)

Removed?! I assume there'll be another grand reveal in the coming weeks though?

[GeorgeL]

Yeah I just decided to keep it to myself to an extent and just see how it goes in the summer.. :p

I'd be too tempted to post in the thread if it was there haha!

[GeorgeL]

Cheers, George

To be honest you could only really feel it under braking. They're pretty light engines, unless you're hauling it out of the back of a hatchback on your own

I'm still patiently waiting for news on your build

My missus' 1 series was on its ass today ferrying 5 bags of garden soil/turf to the tip.

Nice work as always Phil.

Measure twice, cut once on that bonnet!

I once moved 14 bags of slate in my old 1er and it was dragging it's back end like a terrier with an itchy bum

Got the bulk of the cutting done on the bonnet today. A horrible job and took about 6 attempts to get it right. Now found another challenge to overcome, so that'll be a job for another day

What's the other challenge lol? To be honest I'd have had a squeaky bum cutting that section out myself... Looks like a make or break moment

[Magic Beans]

Yeah I just decided to keep it to myself to an extent and just see how it goes in the summer.. :p

I'd be too tempted to post in the thread if it was there haha!

Fair enough, I respect that. They can/do become a bit of a beast of burden, however I've always used it as a journal of the how you got to where you are. It's easy to fall into the trap of working on something so much as you forget just how much went into getting it there. I didn't do it when I did all the work on the house, which I regret.

What's the other challenge lol? To be honest I'd have had a squeaky bum cutting that section out myself... Looks like a make or break moment

The screws and baseplate mountings foul the bonnet, so I need to reduce the profile somehow. I think I've got a solution though...

[GeorgeL]

Yeah I just decided to keep it to myself to an extent and just see how it goes in the summer.. :p

I'd be too tempted to post in the thread if it was there haha!

Fair enough, I respect that. They can/do become a bit of a beast of burden, however I've always used it as a journal of the how you got to where you are. It's easy to fall into the trap of working on something so much as you forget just how much went into getting it there. I didn't do it when I did all the work on the house, which I regret.

What's the other challenge lol? To be honest I'd have had a squeaky bum cutting that section out myself... Looks like a make or break moment

The screws and baseplate mountings foul the bonnet, so I need to reduce the profile somehow. I think I've got a solution though...

That's a good point you have just made there Phil.. I'll continue it on the laptop haha and maybe put it all together when it's finished then as a portfolio.

Haha bloody typical on the new issue though... In changing something you always end up affecting other things. P.I.T.A
As long as you can sort it easy enough

[Magic Beans]

Took myself out to the garage, as these things haunt me until they're sorted. Just needed a bit of tweaking with the grips and now it sits perfectly. All that's left is to tidy up the edges and it's done

[Magic Beans]

Happy New Year too one and all

I found some time to attack the job I've been so looking forward to, that being cutting the bonnet to fit the new filter

I did an initial mark-up of what I was planning to trim off first, with a view to having to trim it further to get it right.



First (rough) cut



Test fit proved loads more needed removing





Second cut. Still needs more off.



A couple more later and it's close.





Time to tidy up the lines and smooth the edges etc. To ensure the lines were straight I took a strip of aly I had spare and clamped it onto the bonnet. That way I could in theory just run along it with the Dremel and get a good line, in theory at least.



It worked!



Other side



Like a glove



A slight bulge

[craig]

Nice work dude, you should sooo be taking this to Lemans.

[Magic Beans]

Nice work dude, you should sooo be taking this to Lemans.

Might have a slight issue when it rains, or going down a gravel track behind other cars

[Nickp]

Good work there Phil

You soooo don't want to take it to Le Mans though!! Would be great in those mountains IF you get the weather but terrible everywhere else, and besides where would you put your toothbrush and products

[craig]

Good work there Phil

You soooo don't want to take it to Le Mans though!! Would be great in those mountains IF you get the weather but terrible everywhere else, and besides where would you put your toothbrush and products

Very true, nowhere to store the rim wax.

[Magic Beans]

Good work there Phil

You soooo don't want to take it to Le Mans though!! Would be great in those mountains IF you get the weather but terrible everywhere else, and besides where would you put your toothbrush and products

I guess there's always the prison smuggling approach, however sitting on those seats with that inserted wouldn't be ideal and you'd probably want to floss afterwards

Very true, nowhere to store the rim wax. Image Replaced With URL For Quote http://www.jonrb.com/emoticons/hehe.gif

I've actually only washed it twice since I've bought it and the second of those was what will always be known as a "Monte Wash", when I left it's bum end hanging out of the garage in the rain

[Magic Beans]

A couple more jobs ticked off. One cosmetic, the other was a bit more critical.. First up, the cosmetic touch..

As part of the massive pile of engine parts I picked up the other week was a cam gear cover. This was a bit of a godsend as having the pulleys and belt uncovered as a bit of a recipe for disaster



Obviously before it went on it needed cleaning up and trimming in places, to avoid it catching on anything.



A few coats of enamel later.



Time to fit it. In with the spillage tub



Test fit.



Done



Next up was the more important job, that being replacing the battery. For some time now it's been getting progressively worse, to the point where I could leave it on fast charge for 24 hours and it would have just enough juice to turn the car over a few times. Obviously that meant it couldn't really take the car out anywhere and leave it for more than a few minutes, as it just wouldn't hold any real charge

The replacement.



The old battery, which doesn't actually look very old at all



After taking the old battery out it became apparent that there'd been a battery leak at some point, as there was signs of residue and corrosion on the clamps etc. I gave it all a good going over with a small wire brush and treated the areas.



In with the new. I replaced the clamps and added in a layer of rubber under each, along with the battery, to reduce vibration and potential damage to the battery casing.



Fires up first time now and cranks exactly as it should. Time to take the warm and brave pills and do the commute in it I reckon

Best go put some miles on it now

[KarlBristol]

It's looking really good, there's been some great progress on this. I love this thread

What's next for her - intend to attack the paintwork?

You'll have to post up and let me know how the commute goes. I'm currently commuting on a motorbike in this weather so Im sure you'll be fine in a safe warm car

[craig]

Good stuff Phil, getting better all the time.