BXProject

[Vanny]

Well i think i'm going to need some help lads!

I've got about 11 months untill the BX needs to be at the ICCCR, and not many more months than that until i need it for a wedding.

I plan to tax the thing in April for 6 months. So i need an MOT by then, which means a lot of work, through the cold months, to get it a good as i can manage.

Currently the biggest let down is the paint work, and i doubt i'll have the funds for a full spray job before then, so i'll have to do the best with what i've got.

But i'm gonna need your help! Are you up for it?

[jayw]

I may be a million miles away mate, but anything i can do/offer is yours!

[mat_the_cat]

I can stand around and look pretty!

Or at least one of the two...

[jayw]

/\ Yeah, he's useless at standing as we all know!

[Vanny]

/\ and i'm not son convinced about the pretty bit neither.

[mat_the_cat]

[docchevron132]

exactley what needs doing. Make a list, of EVERYTHING it needs, that could be the easiest way to sort this..

[Philhod]

Yep. Get thee a list. If there's owt I can assist with not a problem.

Did you use up all the colour restorer/ polymer I gave you?

I will make a list of all the stuff I have. I was going to give it away with K39 anyway.

[Father Ted]

I can weld and make tea.

Not at the same time.

[jayw]

I can weld and make tea.

Not at the same time.

Fucking lightweight!

I can but i might need your nursing skills for when a scald/burn/electrocute myself...

scald/burn/electrocute myself...

All at the same time

[Vanny]

Well if you pickup the Haynes BOL and read from pages 1 through 423, that gives you an idea of what is needed. I'll give you a proper idea later, the biggest issues are as follows;

Aircon
283mm Brakes
6 speed gearbox

Non of which are essential mind, but they where the whole reason for taking some time over the damn thing.

There are quite a few electrical niggles too, mostly old wiring and dodgy connectors. Tyco still make the connectors, and i can get them as free samples, but they wont fucking sell me them! ARGHHH

The rear, erm, slam panel thing has holes in it, nothing serious, and under the bumper, but it needs joggling in, and while laura has a lovely pair of jogglers, there not going to help much.

Rear off side ABS sensor is broke, i didn't seat it right and the car has cut through the cable where it passes over the pivot in the arm. I have a replacement cable.

The bonnet is a bit of a debate, i have the 'humped' bonnet but can't decide if i actually want to fit it or not.

One of the fiddliest bits that it still to do, i don't have a front towing eye, you know the one that goes behind the bumper pull out, the backing panel was rotten so it got cut out. My issue is getting it correctly aligned again.

I've down graded the size of my welding torch and fuck me is that welder nicer to work with now. I've also got rid of that fucking almighty bastard of a gas bottle too, i shall replace it with a dinky CO2 one in the near future.

One of the cars biggest issues over the last 4 years has been its canny ability to run out of electricity. I'm hoping a new alternator and possibly a new battery will sort that out once and for all.

It needs a bloody good servicing too.

Its got nearly all new silicone pipes on the coolant system, but there is one i can't fathom, seems no one else can get it on either. I've also replaced some of the small hydraulic low pressure link pipes with black silicone as they had failed (specifically the one on the safety valve). I suspect by now the strut leak off hoses have had it, i plan to barb the big rubber block and hook up with some silicone hose and see how well that lasts.

I've had the short drive shaft out and need to sort out some new seals for that side as the existing ones where leaking before taking the car apart. It needs new inlet manifold gaskets but i have them in silicone. I'm hoping to put the big alloys on, but they will need a full set of tyres, i'm hoping the trip to s***h africa will pay for them.

I'll make a more extensive list this week.

[mat_the_cat]

What's the issue with the air con, is it the electrical side? I've got lots of diagrams and scribbles from when I put mine in, might be able to help in some way?

Have you got the 6 speed box? If not I'd be inclined to put that on the back burner for now at least - for me if a project gets beyond a certain point it seems more unattainable which actually puts me off it. Making the goal more realistic spurs me on to actually do something!

[Vanny]

AC is not so much an issue, more the time to get it all in, fault find etc the pump needs flushing out and ND8 putting in. Electrically, well who fucking knows, i've got miles of wiring diagrams tbh and its a miss match of a Ph1 and Ph2 system. Don't even know if the fans work yet!

I do have the 6speed box, it is literally under the 5 speed box. Don't have the reverse cable though. Putting the 6speed on and big brakes instantly means i HAVE to put the 17" alloys on because it wont all fit under 14's.

[mat_the_cat]

I take it the box doesn't need custom driveshafts?

[docchevron132]

I believe the box uses the same shafts, although the cable is overcomable, I've seen it done. That said, you will need to find a better way of limiting RH lock than the other dude managed, that'll never pass an MoT over here.
Cant help with the AC because, well, I have no fucking idea, although I do have a full P1 kit here, I've had for 10 years or more, and still done fuck all with it, because, I dont know what the hell to wire it all into.
anyhow, the rest is piss easy, maybe aside form the gearbox, that requires a bit of thought, and TBH, for now, I would put that on the back burner, the 5 cog works ok yeah? If you're desperate to get thje 6 cog in, I'll give it some thought and fit the fucker for you. Although I might steal your 5 speed! The backlash in mine is getting chronic. and the diff is getting very loud indeed!
Personally I think that hump bonnet is gash, but it's 4 10MM nuts, so hardly a big deal. In essence though, I see no reason why a few days work wont get Jazz back on the road. Assuming someone that knows what they are doing fucks about with the AC, I could do the rest stood on my head.
Seriousley though, I think I'd need to actually see the gearbox, and what needs doing to make the reverse cable work, and engineer a proper way of making the rack stop before the tyre hits the box.. Modding the actual rack I think would be the best way..

[jayw]

Modding the actual rack I think would be the best way..

I gave this some thought when i considered the 6-spd.

After toying with all manner of "brilliantly difficult" ideas the answer is a simple and obvious one: Add a couple of blobs of weld between the teeth on the rack where the pinion meets at the NEW full lock you require, thus filling the dip between the teeth and stopping the pinion from turning further!

It works much better than my "insert roll-pin" idea that would have eaten the pinion...

[mat_the_cat]

Add a couple of blobs of weld between the teeth on the rack where the pinion meets at the NEW full lock you require, thus filling the dip between the teeth and stopping the pinion from turning further!

...and destroying the heat treatment of the rack in the local area!
Best case scenario is that it just makes the area soft - which won't be a problem since it won't see any wear (but would be a potential weak point). But worst case is that th cooling rate after welding would be enough to locally harden the steel around the weld, and without temperting it back would be rather brittle. I like the simplicity of the idea though, but personally would try and think of a different way of filling the tooth gap.

[jayw]

Best case scenario is that it just makes the area soft

Bah! That's just the sciencey bit no-one ever pays attention to

Few years ago i shortened the rack on an Audi 100 after fittng ENORMOUS wheels by cutting and welding the rack... Still going strong with my mates dad-in-law, although not with said wheels anymore (still complains it's a bastard in car parks)

Much like many other laws, the one's of Physics should be tossed from the window...

[mat_the_cat]

Furry muff, it's probably not going to be an issue then!

We used to heat treat track rods, and I'm sure nobody has ever heated one up with an oxy-acetylene torch to remove the TRE...

[docchevron132]

I thought the same as Jay To Be honest, No idea whats going on with the capitols there..
A very quick zap with the torch shouldn't cause too much brittleness I'd have thought..