Popular Post Ghost Posted August 14, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted August 14, 2016 Finally purchased a car I have been after for a long time now, the Heron MJ1. Designed and built in NZ, the car features a fully Fibreglass Chassis with a 2L Fiat Twin Cam engine and 5 speed Skoda transaxle gearbox. About 25 were built with 13 of these being the "production" factory built version. After years of watching Trademe one finally came up in Nelson that was in my price range: Bought it and got it shipped back to Auckland (took a month after various delays..): Overall it is pretty tidy, just needs a few minor repairs. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted August 14, 2016 Author Share Posted August 14, 2016 Arrival! 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted August 14, 2016 Author Share Posted August 14, 2016 Arrival! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted August 14, 2016 Author Share Posted August 14, 2016 First job is to get rid of those horrible stickers, a hair dryer and a little de-solv-it sorted them out: Now to find a new stero with a reversing camera input, rear visibility is rather poor: 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted August 15, 2016 Author Share Posted August 15, 2016 Can't figure out what this dash is out of? I have been told they use Holden Camira units but can't find any photos of one and can't remember the last time I saw one.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted August 20, 2016 Author Share Posted August 20, 2016 Another minor fault is the Indicator/headlight/horn stalk, indicating right does not stay on and the whole "stalk" rotates around (front to back) for some reason. Took me a while to figure out what vehicle this unit came out of however I have come to the conclusion that it is from a late 70's to mid 80's Mini! The right indicator would not stay on because the custom made fibreglass housing was in the way, on further investigation I found that the whole indicator unit was rotating on the steering column, the plastic clamp had split... Should not be too hard to get hold of a brand new unit, i'm sure the car deserves one after 30 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted August 20, 2016 Author Share Posted August 20, 2016 Bonus photos! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted September 2, 2016 Author Share Posted September 2, 2016 Finally got someone with a real camera to take a some real photos: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted September 2, 2016 Author Share Posted September 2, 2016 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted September 2, 2016 Author Share Posted September 2, 2016 First new parts arrived, brand new mini indicator stalk: I stupidly took it apart to get at the wires and it sprung apart, tomorrows job is figuring out where all the bits went.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted September 25, 2016 Author Share Posted September 25, 2016 Had the car over the pit last week, found it has developed a fuel leak (not good in a car made of nice burnable material..) and a few minor oil leaks. Also found that the rubber mounts for the transmission and suspension had perished (making a nice vibration over 3000 RPM) Got it jacked up ready for next week: 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted October 8, 2016 Author Share Posted October 8, 2016 Made a little more progress this week, removed the carb and found it was the source of the fuel leak (rubber diaphragm split). Also removed some of the perished rubber mounts for the transaxle and suspension. Hopefully I should start getting the replacement parts over the next couple of weeks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted November 5, 2016 Author Share Posted November 5, 2016 Rebuilt Carb finally arrived: 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted December 23, 2016 Author Share Posted December 23, 2016 Finally got a chance to get the new carb back on yesterday afternoon, engine is now running again (still need to figure out how to get the adjustments on the carb right as it is still running a bit rich) New rubber mounts were also installed and appear to have resolved the vibration! Still a few more suspension issues to sort out but at least the car is finally on the ground again. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted December 25, 2016 Author Share Posted December 25, 2016 Finally got some underbody shots for everyone that asked: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted December 25, 2016 Author Share Posted December 25, 2016 Still having a little trouble tuning the carb, I am sure this was blocked off before it was sent away however doing so now makes it run rough? Carb in question is a Weber 34 ADF: I have never had any experience tuning carbs before, all my other cars are fuel injected (and just work)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Ghost Posted January 29, 2017 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 29, 2017 My car was invited to the Ellerslie Intermarque Concours & Classic Car Show, on Sunday 12 February 2017, running out of time to finish what I need.. Stereo going in (I don't know why anyone would ever want to be an auto electrician), all wires about 5cm too short: Gave it the first real clean it has had since I bought it, lots of black oxidation in the 30 year old paint: Also put on 2 new rear tyres, they were so old they too were made in NZ.... Still lots left to do before I can try and get a WOF, hopefully I can make a bit of a dent today and tomorrow. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted February 3, 2017 Author Share Posted February 3, 2017 Finishing off the wiring, uncovered horrors.. This must have got a little hot at some point? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted February 3, 2017 Author Share Posted February 3, 2017 The front suspension was a little stiff, seems no one had been greasing it over the last decade.. New shocks Late night suspension work.. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Ghost Posted February 11, 2017 Author Popular Post Share Posted February 11, 2017 All the parts are finally back on the car! Still some modifications needed in the future but it will do for a day. 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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