WITW - Mark's poorly Dolphin

[Deckard]

Why do you call it Botangs hole and does it eventually let rain water in from the road?

[MikkiJayne]

Because a forum user called Botang found it Yes, eventually (and already on most D2s) the tape dries up and peels away from the hole and lets rainwater in (running off the screen) which drips through the indicator relay in to the main relay box.

[MikkiJayne]

Finished off preparing the engine bay today. prior to putting the engine back in. I started by converting the stud by the starter junction to a rivnut. This always snaps because it has a steel nut on an M6 aluminium stud but I'm used to dealing with it now.

Pilot drill the stump



Drill to 9mm



Rivnut inserted



I also put rivnuts in the usual places in the bay



This stud is always snapped when the gearbox has been removed. I'm not sure why, but I managed to get a snap washer on the stump so it doesn't rattle



Engine ready to go back in:



and back in





I got most of the gubbins underneath hooked up this evening, and I can work on the wiring and plumbing tomorrow

[S81]

As a matter of interest would it be fair to say that after this level of refurbishment the car should be good for another 15 to 20 years ( assuming it gets suitable on going servicing)?

[Markiii]

im impressed with how well the paint in the engine bay seems to have held up to the years

[MikkiJayne]

Originally Posted by S81

As a matter of interest would it be fair to say that after this level of refurbishment the car should be good for another 15 to 20 years ( assuming it gets suitable on going servicing)?

Stuff like the engine should be yes. Control arms tend to last 5-10 years. Gearboxes can obviously expire at random, but this one is relatively young so should have plenty more years in it. The rear subframe / suspension will need doing at some point (they all do). So, the parts which have been worked on should last at least until the dino squeezings run out, but others will still need R&R in due course.

Originally Posted by Markiii

im impressed with how well the paint in the engine bay seems to have held up to the years

Surprisingly well since its unlacquered in FL2s, although the darker colours tend to clean up a bit better as they don't stain so easily.

[MikkiJayne]

I finished off under the car so started on wiring and plumbing









I put the upper arms and struts back in so I didn't have to move the coolant pipes out of the way later





Worth noting that the Meyle arms come with the incorrect hardware in some locations, notably the bolt for the upper rear arm is too short and won't engage with the locking portion of the nut



and the lower front arm for steel uprights comes with a balljoint nut for aluminium uprights. I need to see if the proper nut is still available.

[Ronin]

I have meyle on steel uprights. Is this just OCD or a proper safety issue?

[MikkiJayne]

Its actually not a big problem if the larger nut actually goes on the front lower arm as there is room for it underneath. I've been led astray by this one having the nuts in the wrong place!

You can see the shiny mark here where the wrong nut which came off had been interfering. It might just bend the washer when its torqued, but thats not right either



The steel uprights are supposed to have two of the small ones, but there is room for the larger one on the lower front so its not a problem if the surface is clean and flat and the nuts go on the arms with which they were supplied.



The proper ones are still available for £5 each so I will fit those anyway.

[strummagnet]

I had the same issue when tightening my nuts up

Was tempted to use the old ones, but then machined down the nut "flange". Think I may have to go back and re-visit this.