my grey 80

[Jon Wildsmith]

Thought I'd start a garage thread ready to update as I go along fixing up this new 80

How it was this morning
[attachment=04qkzg1x]IMAG0840.jpg[/attachment4qkzg1x]
The priority will be to get to know it better to avoid surprises and get the air-con working cos i'm hoping it will be hot in the summer

Already sorted one oil leak. A small plastic filter on one of the EGR pipes is split and was dripping a bit of oil onto the rocker cover. I've bypassed it for now but Westlands Toyota in Stourbridge should have a replacement in for me in the morning The oil was running to the back of the rocker cover and then down the back of the engine. This may be the source of the oil on the bottom of the bell housing that I thought might be rear main seal. Fingers crossed

 

[SpinDrift]

Looks great Jon. Hopefully there are no other issues. Looks like you'll be coming to Lincomb in a cruiser afer all.

 

[joinerman]

Looks good john, bit of luck with the reg plate, bet you havn't got a middle name begining with I

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Looks good john, bit of luck with the reg plate, bet you havn't got a middle name begining with I

No middle name, but that's close enough to be bit of a bonus

 

[chadr]

That looks very nice - where did you find that one

What is it - a 96/97' 24V or a Petrol ?

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

It's a 1997 diesel 24 valve with a manual box. Pulls much better since I bypassed that cracked filter on the EGR earlier on. Has a reedy whistle noise under load high up the rev range which we're pretty confident is a faulty gasket on the EGR valves so I'll sort that out soon.

 

[Ben]

so what mods do you have planned John.

 

[chadr]

Doh! it was in your sig line all along.

Very nice - was it a NI car or is it a private plate? In anycase, look forward to how this progresses.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

so what mods do you have planned John.

The main one will be an intercooler, seeing as my mud plugging days are over no need to worry about that getting clogged up. I need to put a load barrier in so the dog can go in the boot and some sort of storage / drawer, haven't decided exactly what to do yet. Probably knock up some slider steps at some point but no rush for that. I'll make another Arduino gadget to monitor stuff. Probably get the windows tinted same as on the 100 so one down from limo on the rear and just 20% on the front. Still working out the details now I've got my hands on one Main thing is going to be lots of PM to get it how I want it and then just use it, less is more this time

was it a NI car or is it a private plate?

Cheap Irish plate that's been put on it by the previous owner.

 

[Red Oktober]

Looks great Jon

 

[Justin_Elliott]

Very nice...

Probably knock up some slider steps at some point but no rush for that.

When you do, would you be willing to run off an extra set?

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

I'll have a chat with Greg about that and see what he's doing with the jigs and whatever that I sold him otherwise it wouldn't be right for me to be making 80 series sliders for someone else. Don't think of them as a cheap option though, it doesn't work out that way I'm afraid because of the time that goes into them.

 

[Justin_Elliott]

Ah - No worries, didn't appreciate that you'd passed the jigs on. If you (or he) can make me some I'd be interested.

 

[ajnabi]

Congratulations, what's it like underneath?
Looking forward to a build thread.

IQ

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Seems tidy underneath as well, something I was keen to check when I went to look at it because they can be nice on top and a lump of rust underneath. Towed the caravan back into storage this evening with it and it's going really well now since sorting out that cracked filter on the pipe to the boost compensator on the injection pump

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Got the windows tinted today

[attachment=1:gtil4u9t]IMAG0849.jpg[/attachment:gtil4u9t]
Wouldn't start by the time I got there to collect it, so I had to borrow my mate Dave's little battery charger New batteries on order.

[attachment=0:gtil4u9t]IMAG0846.jpg[/attachment:gtil4u9t]

 

[Olazz]

Interesting Jon,
Does indeed look so much better.

I thought that all UK " professional tinters" would refuse to tint the drivers and passengers windows as it wasn't legal in the UK.
How did you get around that one?

 

[chadr]

I thought that all UK " professional tinters" would refuse to tint the drivers and passengers windows as it wasn't legal in the UK.
How did you get around that one?

I thought similar as when I bought my cruiser it had tints all round (exept Windscreen) - never bothered me in the 4 years I had it for and never had any issues. I sold the car to a friend/colleague and within a week he was pulled over by the Police and asked to remove it from the front windows there and then!

When I bought the car back 11 months later, I must admit that the clear side windows were a nice change and I prefer them that way.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

The 'tint' on the front windows is an almost clear film, just looks dark because of the back windows and being a dull day. If in the picture you look through the passenger side of the windscreen and passenger front door window you'll see there's not really any tint there The film helps hold the window together if it gets smashed and makes it harder to do smash and grab.

 

[Chris]

Aren't you allowed 5% or something on the fronts? I seem to recall that they don't have to be completely clear. I have to say that when I do mine, I'd like to balance the look with the fronts being as tinted as allowed.

What makes me mad is the dozens of cars I have seen in the last few weeks alone with virtually black front windows. The police really need to have a clamp down on this. At night, visibility is vastly reduced.

Looks good Jon. Going to have my front screen out tomorrow morning and put back in properly. Water is pouring in.

Chris