The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

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Good to see you getting back into these cars Phil. I know the feeling of having too many cars and not enough time so sensible of you to sell the Rev 5

As for the red one a lot of people would have looked at the offside sill and abandoned it. Encouraging to see one of these cars being saved rather than broken.

I know a perfect maiden voyage, you should pop over and have a play in North Wales with the rest of us. A 200bhp mk3, 3vz mk2, your turbo and me trying to keep up! EVO triangle Sir?

[Magic Beans]

They do, I'm in the states till Wednesday but I'll be going to Sutton Thursday I can drop them to your work or leave them at your house

Thanks, Chris I've decided to sell these ones and pick up some smoked ones later. In keeping with the ultimate theme I'm going for with the car (longer term).

I know a perfect maiden voyage, you should pop over and have a play in North Wales with the rest of us. A 200bhp mk3, 3vz mk2, your turbo and me trying to keep up! EVO triangle Sir?

Absolutely! Tell me when/where etc (as long as it's after I've collected the car ) and I'll be there

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tend to be mid week runs Phil but maybe do a Saturday depends on how you're fixed?

[Magic Beans]

Saturday is better if possible, due to work etc. I'm just outside of Nottingham, so not really possible to get over during the week

Hoping to have the car ready and home by the end of April, so any weekend after that

[craig]

You going for the auto art smoked front lenses mate?

[Magic Beans]

Those or similar. So long as they fit will, are legal and smoked, I'm not too fussy

[Magic Beans]

Work is making my brain want to up and leave, so time for a spot of procrastination in the form of an update.

No work done on the Rev 2 since the last time I rambled and uploaded photos. Pete's on holiday and I'm about 200 miles away. However, this weekend I finally get to meet the new red shouter in my life There's a jobs list already drafted and one of the jobs is to make an even bigger jobs list, of course I've got a few bits assembled to go down with me, so it's almost game time!

The Rev 5 is close to finding a new home, which is great news. Nothing is finalised yet, but it should be living the dream somewhere else by the end of the month.

Other things have happened, mind gone blank, time to go home, bye

[Ben]

I best pack my big hammer then

[Magic Beans]

Hammer is fine, no getting your wrench out though!

Pete's going to teach us how to weld...

[pistol pete]

I can't weld... I can stick bits of metal together... if my welder wasn't broken..

[Magic Beans]

Ok, so Pete's going to teach us how to stick bits of metal together. We'll need your hammer to get the welder working, Ben

[Ben]

[pistol pete]

It's a bit different now...

[Magic Beans]

It's a bit different now...

Doesn't it!

Once I've had chance to get through the photos I'll throw them up, along with some wordsies.

[pistol pete]

Full on Phil Brain fart will soon happen

[Magic Beans]

To be honest, other than needing a good service and a few good runs, it's in amazing shape. For a car that's barely moved in 5 years it's incredible! And no steering wheel shake at speed! Which is huge, given that Mule I, II and V all had it!

[Magic Beans]

Ok, photo and thinking dump time..

Last Friday was the day I got to head down to Chez Mason and meet the latest acquisition for the first time. The White Cliffs run was taking place on the Sunday, so it was the perfect opportunity for three usual suspects to get together and play with cars for a few days A sunny Friday afternoon on the eve of the Easter break was always going to mean the 222 mile drive down was going to be painful, and true to form it was.. However, upon my arrival not only was I greeted by the usual Mason clan, I also saw this pink mess for the first time.





Obviously the polite thing to do when meeting a car for the first time is to give it presents. So, Mule VII, here's a passenger door in almost red and with no rust, for you to wear



After maybe 5 minutes max we were already out in it, seeing what it was I'd actually bought. Sufficed to say I was impressed! There was some hesitation and you could tell it hadn't moved for a while, but despite that it was hugely impressive!. It pulls hard, drives true, massive grip and the brakes are savage. After that it was tucked away for the night, until the following day, the big day of jobs!

Time to assess what we're working with, which was primarily a lot of pick, a lot, of dirt and a lot of stickers!















Ummm



And on to the engine bay.







The interior is in good shape. Needs a good polish, vacuum and stickers/tat removing but generally all good.









Yeah, they were never going to stay in there! The Busa put me off harnesses for life! They've going up for sale tomorrow, if anyone needs one *shameless plug*



Now to see if we can see what's causing the hesitation, along with a couple of other small issues..



4 was dry, 1 was dry, 2 and 3 however...



No massive drama, it's either due to standing and not being barely run for 5 years or the small cam cover gasket has failed. It was got cleaned out, ready to be tested later. Fired out up afterwards and the idling issues were gone.

Sparks.



Now to check the other couple of minor rusts spots. First up was the NS windscreen surround.



Looks like water had got trapped behind the seal, during the many weeks sat outside.



The metal undermeath was solid, so it was dried off and treated with Kurust. I'll sand it back and fix the paint later, when I have more time to focus on it.

The only other spot was this. Which was also treated and will be dealt with later.



The nether regions.





Bath time!



And sticker removal time! Well, some of them at least. The rest require a bit more TLC to get them off, as they've baked on good and proper!



Some time, washing, clay bar usage, machine polishing, hand polishing, hand waxing later, we were starting to see some progress



Team effort!



Wheels came up well. Who'd have known the calipers were white?!



Et voila! The old girl's scrubbed up well, considering the last few years of neglect. Still a hell of a lot more to come from the paint, but it's a good start







Huge thanks to Pete and Ben for their efforts. It was a looong day and the end of day pie taste all the better. Pete made us drink again, as always

Next day was the White Cliffs run. Woke up, checked the car, picked up some more stickers and then headed out. Great run,perfect weather and the car felt really good. Changes made the day before had given a marked improvement, which was positive.



So that was that really. This weekend allowed us identify a few things which need sorting, primarily surrounding the need to give the car a good service. The bits for which have since been ordered and well by done in due course. Overall I'm hugely impressed with this car. It could so easily have been written off as a rotter and broken parts. When in reality all it really needed was a bit of welding, along with some time and effort. I look forward to the day it comes home with me, probably at the end of the month.

So, that's Mule VII. I think it and I are going to have a lot of fun over the next few years. I have a HUGE list of ideas and things I'm planning on doing to it, but that can wait for another

[gavsdavs]

Looked a lot better on Sunday than how you found it - looks like a bargain

[craig]

Great write up mate, what a turn around for this car!! Looks fantastic. Can't wait for the next instalment!

[pistol pete]

Cheers guys,
Its a cracking car, like phil says it drives really really well..
Pulls well, i have a few jobs to do. These will be happening next week. I will get photos (not as many as phil) and get them on here