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least your getting there mate 
cant wait to see it on the road again
cant wait to see it on the road againWant to remove ads? Become a MK3OC Club Member today!
AL's Mk3 Merit XE
- Thread starter AL
- Start date
al, this is one of the best threads ive ever read mate!
and what a cracking car too!! was considering stripping mine out but im still not a 100% on it yet tho :S
and what a cracking car too!! was considering stripping mine out but im still not a 100% on it yet tho :S
Looking Good Mate. I Wish I Could Crack On With Building Mine,
IT'S RUNNING (AGAIN)
My Dad assisted me in removing those pesky bolts, a bit of ****ing around later and belt etc was on. Spun it over with no plugs and it seemed ok...
Fired it up and **** me it sounded rattly - knocked it off straight away. Had a strop then ate my tea
Second start with Dad standing by for his opinion and I realised I was being a ****...it was just the tappets before they filled up
msl:
So a quick run up the road...
Looking good for TOTB now! List of 'to do' before the weekend:
Re-do exhaust joint (AGAIN!)
Bleed coolant system and add antifreeze.
Fit belt cover and **** like that...
Replace the other two tyres...
Jobs a goodun
My Dad assisted me in removing those pesky bolts, a bit of ****ing around later and belt etc was on. Spun it over with no plugs and it seemed ok...
Fired it up and **** me it sounded rattly - knocked it off straight away. Had a strop then ate my tea
Second start with Dad standing by for his opinion and I realised I was being a ****...it was just the tappets before they filled up
msl: So a quick run up the road...
Looking good for TOTB now! List of 'to do' before the weekend:
Re-do exhaust joint (AGAIN!)
Bleed coolant system and add antifreeze.
Fit belt cover and **** like that...
Replace the other two tyres...
Jobs a goodun
First proper update since the rebuild... covered approx 450 miles so far (in less than a week msl thanks to my trip up to TOTB etc - other than the crack in my manifold its been running stronger than ever! Absolutely ****ing flying to be honest - i'm really feeling comfortable in the car at present which is nice
The crack... repaired it with an 'exhaust bandage' which lasted me all weekend and was abused in all fairness. It gave up again on Tuesday morning though so has now bee ncaked up with putty and had a nice strip of metal jubilee'd in to place. Going to get a new manifold ASAP now
Realised that i'd not mentioned my stunning new Momo wheel...boguht and fitted it whilst up in Yorkshire - got a nice little deal from Specky's sponsors D-TECH PERFORMANCE (01924 278 519 - based in Yorkshire) as I did a job on a Pulsar for them whilst up there. Wanted a suede wheel for ages and this thing is facking perfect!
Bit smaller than my old Momo Millenium (Olly H's old wheel out of Ragga! Now steering Specky's Tigra
) and is sooooo nice to drive with. Going to get some decent race gloves soon for ultimate grip
Anyway fast forward to this week - decided that I wanted to start going for the silly lightweight route so the holesaw came out. Going to take the bumper and chop the rear out then mount it on pins (like Olly H's...) so that I can take it off easily.
Plus it looks ace too I reckon!
Carried on tonight and added an extra couple of holes to each side. Then got my awesome new 'back to black' from Tesco...
Yep, that really is peanut butter!
And **** me did it work well! £1.21 jar of peanut butter or £20 for the last bottle of 'long lasting amazing trim shine' - you do the math! Hope it lasts well
Looks great up close!
Me being me...once i'd done the bumpers I noticed that the rest of the car looked really ****ty - debris from the flood's in Brum on Monday night and a load of greasy handprints from the weekend etc... much better now! Literally took 15 minutes including drying
Then I decided that due to the extra stickers now applied to the rear screen - I needed to take some others off - the boot panel seemed the easiest place but as it was looking so tatty I whipped it off...
...sanded it down...
...primed it...
...and started with the satin black. Sprayed wet on wet pretty much - has picked up quite a few blemishes so will give it a rub down tomorrow evening and finish it off properly
Front suspension is getting a rebuild at the weekend - have new topmounts, track rod ends and my Pi shocks to fit. Will track it by eye then stick my new tyres on and track it properly the following Saturday with any luck.
msl thanks to my trip up to TOTB etc - other than the crack in my manifold its been running stronger than ever! Absolutely ****ing flying to be honest - i'm really feeling comfortable in the car at present which is nice The crack... repaired it with an 'exhaust bandage' which lasted me all weekend and was abused in all fairness. It gave up again on Tuesday morning though so has now bee ncaked up with putty and had a nice strip of metal jubilee'd in to place. Going to get a new manifold ASAP now
Realised that i'd not mentioned my stunning new Momo wheel...boguht and fitted it whilst up in Yorkshire - got a nice little deal from Specky's sponsors D-TECH PERFORMANCE (01924 278 519 - based in Yorkshire) as I did a job on a Pulsar for them whilst up there. Wanted a suede wheel for ages and this thing is facking perfect!
Bit smaller than my old Momo Millenium (Olly H's old wheel out of Ragga! Now steering Specky's Tigra
) and is sooooo nice to drive with. Going to get some decent race gloves soon for ultimate grip
Anyway fast forward to this week - decided that I wanted to start going for the silly lightweight route so the holesaw came out. Going to take the bumper and chop the rear out then mount it on pins (like Olly H's...) so that I can take it off easily
.Plus it looks ace too I reckon!
Carried on tonight and added an extra couple of holes to each side. Then got my awesome new 'back to black' from Tesco...
Yep, that really is peanut butter!
And **** me did it work well! £1.21 jar of peanut butter or £20 for the last bottle of 'long lasting amazing trim shine' - you do the math! Hope it lasts well
Looks great up close!
Me being me...once i'd done the bumpers I noticed that the rest of the car looked really ****ty - debris from the flood's in Brum on Monday night and a load of greasy handprints from the weekend etc... much better now! Literally took 15 minutes including drying
Then I decided that due to the extra stickers now applied to the rear screen - I needed to take some others off - the boot panel seemed the easiest place but as it was looking so tatty I whipped it off...
...sanded it down...
...primed it...
...and started with the satin black. Sprayed wet on wet pretty much - has picked up quite a few blemishes so will give it a rub down tomorrow evening and finish it off properly
Front suspension is getting a rebuild at the weekend - have new topmounts, track rod ends and my Pi shocks to fit. Will track it by eye then stick my new tyres on and track it properly the following Saturday with any luck.
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top work Al you still owe me a blast in it
with the peanut butter how long do you leave it on?
with the peanut butter how long do you leave it on?
Not long! Rub it on and you can see it go black...its just quite messy to work with
is that the first time you have nutted over a car? 
Wonder how long it will last before you need to re-apply the peanut butter. Tesco Value for the win!
Wonder how long it will last before you need to re-apply the peanut butter. Tesco Value for the win!
I don't think he had access to a welder at the time. Plus not all cracks you can weld, and some people just prefer to buy new
looks good al
i would give that penut butter thing a try but i hate the smell of it and cant stand the stuff
lol
i would give that penut butter thing a try but i hate the smell of it and cant stand the stuff
lol
I got better stuff my neighbour gave me whos a mechanic. Its a pinky red colour and smells like WD40 but its a Thick wax based stuff and you rub it on and it stays shiny and brings it all black. I put it on my bumpers and 2 months later threw snow and rain it was still there :O. Oh and it is a f****r to wash off lol
Little bit big update...
Gave some rough spots on my boot panel a quick run down before work this morning and put another coat of paint on. Was all good by the time I got home so stuck it back on. Its not mint (pretty ****ty tbh...) but looks better than before!
Then I just throught '**** it, i'm gonna do my top mounts tonight' - 40 mins to get the front legs off, including getting my tools out and taking a phone call etc ...not bad I thought
Old top mount...
...new sexy GM top mount.
Also replaced track rod ends and tracked it all up by eye whilst I was there - driving a LOT better now and goes in a straight line no bothermsl: Wanted t ostick my Pi front shocks on too but couldn't get the old ones out...oh well!
Don't know what to do next!
Gave some rough spots on my boot panel a quick run down before work this morning and put another coat of paint on. Was all good by the time I got home so stuck it back on. Its not mint (pretty ****ty tbh...) but looks better than before!
Then I just throught '**** it, i'm gonna do my top mounts tonight' - 40 mins to get the front legs off, including getting my tools out and taking a phone call etc
...not bad I thought
Old top mount...
...new sexy GM top mount.
Also replaced track rod ends and tracked it all up by eye whilst I was there - driving a LOT better now and goes in a straight line no bother
msl: Wanted t ostick my Pi front shocks on too but couldn't get the old ones out...oh well! Don't know what to do next!
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remove the stickers on the rear window Al spoils it IMO 
remove the stickers on the rear window Al spoils it IMO
i agree
just rear it from start to finish, you've had one hell of a journey with this car.
I'm so tempted to do the same with my interior, even if its just to get rid of anything that rattles
good to hear its running again
I'm so tempted to do the same with my interior, even if its just to get rid of anything that rattles
good to hear its running again
Stickers are staying folks... VS one went on last weekend for TOTB and Iwanted to fill the space underneath. Plus Motorshock sponsor me for the VP Racing stuff so need that sticker on - the Fastcar Shocker just filled a gap nicely 
Went out for a play last night...top mounts + rough tracking = win! Much more fun now
just rear it from start to finish, you've had one hell of a journey with this car.
I'm so tempted to do the same with my interior, even if its just to get rid of anything that rattles
good to hear its running again
Thanks Jen
The 'journey' in this thread is only since March/April really - there's the previous three years worth of crap knocking around somewhere! Only do what i've done to your interior if you know you could deffo put up with it - theres times when i'd kill for heaters and carpet but this is my 'fun' car so its staying as is.
Deffo gets rid of the rattles but you feel a lot of other movements