The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

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Magic Beans
Posts: 4789
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2011 1:01 pm

Re: The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

Post by Magic Beans »

Right then. I have a bit of time so let's catch up a bit, before it snowballs away again. I'll go car by car, in a bid to keep it shorter and not a wall of text and photos that takes hours to compile.

Mule XIII

Not masses to report on this really, as it's mostly tucked away at the farm, waiting for better weather to come and for us to have completed the build/move. However, before I drove it up there I did tick off a few little snagging jobs.

The rear brakes were a little crusty and looked pretty bad compared to the black Celica calipers on the front. I decided to give them a freshen up, protect them and then a few coats of Hammerite.

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Next up was adding an overflow reservoir for the chargecooler, in place of the crappy silicon hose bleeding coolant onto the ground it currently had. I spent more time than I should have trying to find a suitable bottle which was the right size and shape to fit in the spot I'd selected for it. I ended up with one used on ATVs, then modified it slightly to work in the way I wanted.

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It's mounted using an existing threaded holes on the chassis, which was convenient. As to whether or not it will ever be needed I'm not sure, but it's peace of mind at least.

Finally, I'd mentioned I'd fixed (or at least found a workaround for) the speedo drive issue, as in it didn't register anything. After some trial and error I found that the inner cable core was moving in the outer sleeve, allowing it to become unseated in the back of the cluster. The outer and connector remained attached, the core itself just seemed to be able to move. I suspect it's a result of me pulling the core to clean and lube it, due to the original issue of speed readings being inconsistent.

To rememdy it, at least in the short-term, I reduced a washer until it was a perfect diameter to be pressed into the speedo drive end, stopping the core itself from dropping down and disengaging from the cluster end. It works really well and was one of those good moments, when you finally solve something that's been plaguing you for a while and causing other knock-on issues (engine codes above 50mph, resulting in the car going into limp mode). As I said before, I will replace the whole cable at some point, it's just a dog of a job due to the routing from the ST205 conversion.

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That's all for Mule XIII. A few more bits (replacing the battery, wiper blades etc) planned for it, before it goes back on the road next month. I'm looking forward to getting some proper seat time in it, along with Mule XIV too.

No updates on Mule XII yet. When we'e moved I'll focus on it and sort the welding etc. For now it sleeps and waits.

Mule X you'll not see anything on for a while. I've fallen out with it and have little interest in the usual game of fix a thing and find another thing that needs fixing...

Next update will be Mule XIV. This car I love already and there's plenty to talk about.
Magic Beans
Posts: 4789
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2011 1:01 pm

Re: The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

Post by Magic Beans »

On to Mule XIV then...

I've not actually driven it since collecting the car just before Christmas. The weather turned that weekend and the local council appear to have shares in Gritting Inc, with the roads looking like they have sand drifts of salt! However, that changes next week and it's finally coming out to play, if it stops raining... It has given me time to do a load of service, preventative maintenance and general "make it super clean" items. A lot of which are the usual mundane bits and I won't bore you with photos, like new wiper, fluids etc (you're welcome :mrgreen:). I also didn't get photos of a lot things due to being focused on the doing part. Here's what i have though.

Tidying the engine bay

The engine is mostly stock, save for an Apexi intake and Apexi exhaust (Cat still in place). It's going to remain that way too, but I did/do want to tidy up some of the 25 year old metalwork. The first of those being the strut top braces.

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The X brace wasn't too bad, from a distance at least

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Much sanding later

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In the "Paint booth"

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Finished

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Next were the intake pipes

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Sanded and prepped for paint

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A few coats of Hammerite later

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Cured and ready to be reinstalled. Along with new hardware, which I've been replacing as I work through the bay and car overall.

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As it stands now, after a few more bits had been through the same process

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Another job and very much in-line with what I've always done with these cars, is swapping the dome lights for clean white LEDs. I've kept the old ones if I ever decide to go purist, but the 6000K light is so much better than the stock mushy yellow (IMO).

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Then the ignition key light, which is a nod from right the way back to Mule I

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In keeping with the wider theme of cleaning and refreshing the OEM look, I decided I need to do something about the gortty ashtray. It's never used but knowing it's there and looked the way it did just wasn't sitting with me.

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Cleaned and prepped for paint

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A few coats of Hammerite later

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I know it looks a bit picky and you're right. However, I'll keeping this car for life, it warrants the time investment. Plus, while we wait for the house move I have nothing to be busying with and need the creative outlet.

The next job was swapping the Apexi GT out for the Mongoose from Mule X. I think these cars look best with a twin exit exhaust, it's a symmetry thing. I have been looking for an HKS twin or a Berk but they never come up for sale. Long-term I will replace the Mongoose but it will do for now.

Before I fitted it I wanted to clean it up, to polish out some of the grit and grim. It's futile work; it will only get dirty again, but I can't knowingly fit dirty parts :mrgreen: I did start off with the Autosol and hand polishing, which was a miserable experience. I then realised I'd bought a machine polisher (greatest realisation ever!) and had at it. So much so that I'd done half of it before taking any photos, so here's a clean vs not photo :lol:

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Done. It's not perfect, it doesn't need to be. It is better though.

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The gaskets that came off Mule X were looking somewhat past their best, as you can see.

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Pete made them back when we did the clutch and they'd work really well. As such I decided to use the same approach to make new gaskets for both exhausts, starting off with making templates.

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I'm pretty sure that's the first time I've used a compass for any practical application, beyond buggering about when I was at school in the 90's! :lol: It worked well though and I ended up with these.

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Now to transfer those to the 3mm steel reinforced grahpite sheet and make the gaskets.

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The hangers has been replaced, along with fresh hardware for fitting them. Everything was ready to go back on.

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Done

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That's all for now. Next update will actually have photos of cars being on the road and not just many MANY garage photos!

Toodle pip :mrgreen:
ayresyboy
Posts: 433
Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2009 7:41 am
Location: Folkestone, Kent

Re: The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

Post by ayresyboy »

nice work
Magic Beans
Posts: 4789
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2011 1:01 pm

Re: The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

Post by Magic Beans »

ayresyboy wrote: Tue Mar 28, 2023 12:29 pmnice work


:)
jimi
Posts: 2139
Joined: Tue Dec 14, 2004 10:27 am
Location: Kingdom of Fife
Contact:

Re: The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

Post by jimi »

ayresyboy wrote: Tue Mar 28, 2023 12:29 pmnice work


+1 8)
Magic Beans
Posts: 4789
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2011 1:01 pm

Re: The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

Post by Magic Beans »

A quick post, just to show these cars do occassionally see the light of day :lol:

Mule XIV went out for its first run of the year. Moreover, it's first drive out since I collected it in December! As expected the car drove flawlessly and reminds me how good these engines are when you leave them stock. When you look at the speedo they're definitely not the fastest things in the world. However, due to that good old 90's turbo lag etc, they feel quick and that's arguably better on the roads these days.

I did park in the usual spot and try to recreate a photo of one of my favourite cars I've owned: Mule VIII. I used a phone camera and editing rather than my previous DSLR and Lightroom combo, so there's a big difference in terms of quality. Still, good to see them next to each other.

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VIII
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VIII
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I'll be doing a couple of service and refresh jobs on Mule XIII this weekend, ahead of it also being back on the road. More on that later.

Speaking of which...I'm thinking of picking this thread up on Pistonheads moving forwards. As much as I enjoy the process of journaling this journey, it would be good to have more egangement. I'd love to think that this place will pick up at some point, but until then I'll probably focus the updates there and occassionally add something here. Seems a shame to move away, especially given the investment here. Sometimes it's just time to move on :(
Rob66
Posts: 625
Joined: Sun Dec 26, 2004 10:12 pm
Location: Sussex

Re: The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

Post by Rob66 »

Great work looks fantastic as does XIII.

Mine is also white with a Mongoose but just an NA, still fairly nippy though.

I need to get round to doing something about the glovebox lid as it's spoiling an otherwise immaculate interior. Think I may copy you with the led dome light swop. :D
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