snapper

Glad to hear you're okay, Brent, as well as your passengers.

some awesome forces involved there, we certainly don't expect our towbars to snap like a chicken wishbone. I wonder if the trailer's repairable; your friends may end up with a new one on insurance.

if it's cheap enough, why not? you should be able to get all the consumables at reasonably cheap prices these days (USA http://www.fcpeuro.com or UK http://www.eurocarparts.com/ and http://www.gsfcarparts.com/), they're solid.

I committed to buying one back in '94 (in my case a mere '88 2.0L shushbox), but the title couldn't be released from NYC and shipped to TX in time. hey ho, it wasn't meant to be. Not entirely sporty.

the 5cyl are very cool. everyone should own a 5cyl at lease once! And a manual? oh yes!

the car weighs what, 800kgs, and has 3 tiny cylinders... it's like your new g/f is a petite size 8, but you take her out for drinks and dinner and she devours a chinese banquet, and is drinking a jug for every schooner you put down. and then has a vindaloo on the way home. you'll be wondering if she has worms... or a pair of nads.

I used to drive a G11 NA for work back in the late 80's, it was one of our pool cars and used to get a hammering. seemed happier in third at 100kph, nobody drove it with a light foot, and it still seemed to take going to the petrol pump as a slight on it's character - a wowser car at the bowser.

the gtti owners club provides the following specs wrt fuel economy (with my conversions added) for your model:

Urban: 37.2 mpg (7.6l/100km)

@ 55 MPH: 54.3 mpg (5.2l/100km)

@ 75 MPH: 37.3 mpg (7.6l/100km)

so yes, your figures seem very slurpy - 8.5km/l is 11.7l/100kms (or 25 miles per your imperial gallon). you'll be wanting to figure out where your girl is throwing that extra 5 litres for each 100kms. is she throwing it down her trousers, or into the plant on the bar?

I'd guess a wideband is going to give you lots of info - surely in this case it's going to be way-rich, or a fuel leak? Have you done the basics - air filter, vacuum leaks, fuel lines good, all sensors functioning as expected? Plugs leads and coil in tip-top spec?

The gtti oc has some essential downloads - including a troubleshooting manual for the CB-80. check out http://www.gttioc.com/index.php/article ... ifications

hope that helps

cheers!

edit: do download the manual (assuming its for your engine), I'd expect that working your way through that with each of the checks should see you suss the problem.

is that round town, highway, or a mixture of both?

I think most cars have a fuel tank large enough to provide a range of around 650kms on a trip with moderate-to-frugal driving.

who knows if the engineers at daihatsu provided a larger tank into the charade when they slapped a hairdryer in under the hood?

Sehr gut!

really looking forward to seeing this rolling around the eastern suburbs.

it would be great to know more about how you organised purchase/export/shipping, and costs...

I think someone now needs to bring in a Barkas B1000 to match it. would an east german 2 stroke van qualify for the vagoneers?

You might not have seen http://www.trabicustomiser.com ... hours of fun.

here's one I made earlier

trabi hosted on http://www.flickr.com

how's the paint coming along? we've been on the edge of our seats. is it together in time for the bathurst?

brazillian bays were very common here in the early 80's, sold new.

I reckon your spare engine is looking superb.

I really like where you're going with this project; I lusted after 125's back in the 80's, never got around to buying one though. just missed a 124 coupe around 1990, I figured they're just not to be, for me. Great to see where yours is going.

I would ditch the rack, it's not at all authentic. when I was a lad my neighbours had one of these, theirs was an ex dutch postal service bay (a lefty) that had been converted for camping duties in the UK, and they toured Europe in the mid-70's in it before bringing it into enzed. they're very cool wagons - but then you knew that.

why'd the previous owner sell - sounds like she went to a lot of trouble to get it here...

looking forward to seeing this on the road.

no welder in my workshop, maybe that could be my fathers day pressie next year

I'll get my ass into REPCO with their 25% off everthang this w/e.

parts arrive Monday. go www.fcpgroton.com

consider DeoxIT. http://jaycar.co.nz/productResults.asp? ... SUBMIT.y=0

not sure where you get them now, but years ago I acquired a diamond-tipped burnishing tool about 4 mm wide and 1mm high that I use along with CRC contact cleaner. you may have some luck at an electronics specialist.

Anyway, the DeoxIT kit should see you right. Or talk to an Avionic Engineer, I understand that in Avionics maintenance they have some excellent processes/products for ensuring planes stay in the air rather than being plagued by electrical faults #; ) and should be able to recommend a suitable product.

HTH

PS - summat like this may help, used with a contact cleaner:

http://store.caig.com/s.nl/it.A/id.2646/.f

thanks for the responses, guys.

yes, the pickle fork will be deployed any time the ball joint separator is not doing it's thang (I have a 5lb lump hammer to 'persuade' it) - eg as a weapon combo of last choice. there are two ball joints on the bottom control arms, plus a captive bush on the e46... and these are aside from the ball joints on the tie-rod ends.

and of course being german, it's got lots of alloy too.

buy yours at http://www.fcpgroton.com

best I have a chat with the repco gang next week, see how much rapeage of my wallet is expected.

groan.

anyone had any experience with the Repco RST157 http://tradecatalogues.repco.co.nz/Mega_Tools/3314/Ball_Joint_Seperator/300953?

hi team

I'm going to need a ball joint separator; am getting 'tooled up' to do my lower control arms on my not-at-all OS e46, in a few week's time.

I recall reading that one of the OS brethren had sourced one from Supercheap and had it replaced a couple of times, and then got a refund. So ISTM the Stanley (IIRC) is to be avoided.

I'm not going to be using it often, so it doesn't need to be Snap-On flash - but one that's not going to break, would be the go.

this is the harbor freight BJ separator (sounds a bit rude) - only USD16.99 and it's forged too. but of course they don't freight to niu zild.

Any suggestions? Preferably Wellington-based.

cheers

Snapper

PS - not sure if this should go in General Chat, instead? Mods, please move to most appropriate area. cheers.

Alex - Just remember that I'm good with cars, you know, doof doof.

That might not make any sense to you, as you were probably in England-land at the time .

Nup- me not know that one? Enlighten me...

found it!

lt3IjL8t414

oh, another thing.

my fuel pump relay and DME relay were giving me the shits. car ran better and more reliably after replacing these items.

car used to not start when hot (intermittently), which was solved by the fuel pump relay.

other random thing was like a sneeze - car would do like a cross between a sneeze and a hiccup - at around 2800-3800rpm - regardless of under acceleration or cruising... (very disconcerting for passengers at 80mph on the motorway), and worst of all it was intermittent and I was unable to repeat it reliably. I worked my way around the Bentley manual and localised this as a possible issue, and managed to track one down at a local motorfactors (I was in London), and it was a 5 min replacement, issue resolved.

quick (newer) rack and stroker build sounds like an excellent idea. Which rack will you use?

cheers

comment re the 'bullet-proof' nature of the M20. the key caveat must be that the cooling system will not withstand abuse. you need to flush and replace with *apropriate* coolant for the block. If I recall correctly, the service interval on the cooling system is 2 years.

parts are readily available for these, there are a ton of on-line parts vendors around the interweb. I've had really good service and pricing from http://www.fcpgroton.com (if you're not in good with a local parts specialist down here).

if you're going to keep this for a while, you should consider the Bentley workshop manual for it. they make the Haynes manuals look like comics, and save you a ton of time in working your way through opinion-pieces on the internet on how to fix your e30.

new bushes in the shifter linkages tighten up the gate, and bring you back to a really satisfying 'snick' from gear to gear. it's not necessary to go as far as a short-shift kit if these are just taken care of as a maintenance item, rather than a mod.

It's over ten years since I sold mine (e30 325i touring), so the memory's getting hazy now. I did do a few items such as Pagid slotted rotors with Pagid fast-road pads. Huge improvement in braking. the e30's are very sensitive to brake rotor quality - cheap shitty ones can provide front end vibrations akin to out-of-balance wheels. I also recall Synthetic gearbox oil making a useful improvement to shift quality, too.

hosted on flickr, copyright me

re being a motorsport - I don't think the Motorsport option was around in 1985, at least as a package. It's old enough that it doesn't matter - it's now down to what you do to it to improve it. consider *not* totally slamming it, it's a brilliant package and will work brilliantly with good shocks, slightly stiffer and lower sport springs, and attention to all the bushings/rod ends etc in the suspension.

+1 on deleting those e46 M3 chengschwan thingies too.

hope that helps, cheers

euro's don't *have* to be uber-expensive to run. I bring in my parts from fcpgroton.com and running costs on my 855-T5 are 40c per km incl maintenance and fuel, excl insurance and depreciation. I spanner most of it myself. I think that's pretty good costing for a car that is theft-proof, depreciation-proof, damned solid, with excellent brakes and armchair sleeper profile.

the talk of VW autos being dubious aligns with the recommendations of my local Euro independent mechanic that I use for anything I can't do myself. golfs and passats should be avoided unless they're cheap and you factor in a trans rebuild into the cost - exception is manual trans.

consider a maxima - juicy, but mine ran 20c/km incl fuel and maintenance over 6.5 years/45000kms. great as family cars, the interiors are bullet-proof and will withstand all manner of chocolate and food that your kids will smear into when she gives them food to quieten them down to concentrate on the road. cheap and simple to maintain, and great on a trip - a boot that will swallow all the baby and child paraphernalia that you'll carry around. you'll arrive at the far end of a long journey feeling relaxed. and it features a nissan drivetrain that never skips a beat. small hatch only good for one baby on a trip.

Euro's cost a little more due to the quality and engineering. if you want solid, and a better driving experience, the euros are generally better, and they will cost a little more to run. jappers (nissan, toyota) are bullet-proof, but compare a maxima and an equivalent BMW 5 series (any year the Maxima's been available) and you'll see you get what you pays for. the 5 series will cost more to own and run, but you'll recognise why every time you get into it.

hope that helps, YMMV.

hosted on flickr

best thing for a honda, really. IMHO, of course

Name (first is sweet):

Richard

Location:

Wellingtown

Cars you own:

while not exactly OS: '02 BMW e46 325i touring

and - a strong candidate for OS BTCC - '97 Volvo 855-T5 (yes it's a wagon)

Mods to them (can be brief or detailed):

stock as a rock. I get my kicks maintaining them myself. got the mods out of my system years ago. not beyond the possibility of a little mid-life modding crisis, though.

Link to pics (if you have some, and keep it a link to keep 56kers happy)

people still use 56k?

How you found out about oldschool:

my claim to fame is that I am the photographer responsible for quite possibly the most awesome image of Colonel KK's amazing 'Steve Austin'.

I followed the yellow brick interweb link some time ago and have been lurking ever since (around 4 or 5 years I guess).

hosted on flickr

Anything else you want to add:

previous cars incl '71 HA Viva, '75 Mazda 929, '81 B310 Wagon, '88 VW Golf GTi 16v, '82 Sigma wagon 2L, '89 Vauxhall Cavalier 2.0i hatch, '89 BMW e30 325i touring, '89 N13 Sentra, '96 Maxima.

I prefer the utility of wagons; it's a spiritual thing. and I like engines with hairdryers on the side.

if my volvo - which oddly enough combines the two things (wagon and forced induction) ever stops working it could be replaced by a starship aka stagea.

did I mention I like turbos?

I am also a keen photographer, hence the handle 'Snapper'.

hosted on flickr

cheers