VIN-5222 the dream has arrived

[Guinney1971]

ooh, exciting stuff. When you are finished you can come and give us a hand with Flopsy lol

[theningiachicken]

(18 Apr 2022, 22:43)Guinney1971 Wrote: ooh, exciting stuff.  When you are finished you can come and give us a hand with Flopsy lol

Id be more than happy to lend a hand if needed  

[theningiachicken]

here's a mini progress update:

I'm finally getting my rear end finished up just got engine cover to fix and refit, louvres, fascia and taillights. i've fitted the rear reinforcement panel and installed a reverse camera and a reverse sensor to the harness, bulkhead has an extra connector for the video cable to pass through for easy disconnect if needed.

last of the paint has finally gone   well all that i can remove without risk of damaging seals and other bits.

i also managed to "break" my oil sender unit (gauge bit) as i noticed that area was covered in oil but the connector was pretty busted so i've got a replacement going on this weekend, so hopefully it should be leak free again... and a accurate gauge.

fuel gauge sorted and my low fuel light works too   .


still waiting for my interior   but hopefully wednesday i should know what's happening with it and have it back in the car soon.

Roll on start of June when i should be going for MOT but we'll see 

[theningiachicken]

And here I thought my last post would be final restoration update   ,

So here we go, since last time ive been busy getting the last of my electrics sorted either repairs or new additions. got Dgo's fog light kit installed (which i hated so much), all 4 headlights changed to Hella H'4s and rewired all speakers with new cables (although im still getting a warning for miss-wiring on my radio on odd occasions?). all lights have been tested minus dome lights for now.

i had a slight issue with my new tailboards where 1 brake light out of the 4 wouldn't activate which was due to slightly loose pins and the bulb not making full contact with the socket base. but all work perfectly now but will update from Dgo's LED's to some higher end ones eventually.

reverse sensor and backup camera work as expected although need lining up with each other.

engine cover has had its crack repaired with resin and aluminium L-strips down its length, had new grill with dmc cut-out powder coated black, louvres are back on too with the type-2 reinforcement strips with added engine cover hooks.

coolant flushed and replaced plus new stainless tank fitted, engine oil changed with filter, hex-head plug and oil gauge sender replaced so now i have oil reading again. (removing old sender was a PITA especially when it stared raining on me   .)

also my interior returned at last and it looks awesome although i did forget the passenger kneepad needed doing and my seat covers but that's being sorted later on most bits are back in the car except main headliners, centre console, rear side panels, and parcel shelf bits.


so i now realise Ryuko is throwing minor issues at me to slow me down a bit (maybe so she wont make the isle of man next month). I now have the rear and front ends ready to have fascia's back on (although garage space says nope), heater box needs clips removing from original cage to reduce noise with new motor and the recirculation flap gets stuck on closing (think its hitting a screw head) but overall it works, still need to fix the front screen that sits under windscreen, fit last of interior and the seals.

Engine wise she's almost perfect, Chris P noticed there's a flat spot/ hesitation when heavy throttling from cold but goes away as she warms up after his visit the other day so that's something else to sort out on-top of the slow cold start (usually starts on 2nd-3rd key turn).

overall I think i'll be ready very soon (sometime next month now) fingers crossed  

[Guinney1971]

mate, I know I've said this on Facebook, but you have done a heroic amount of work on that car
in a very short space of time.

Take your time (no pun intended), and check and double check everything, to save any extra
headaches and problems when you start using the car.

FWIW, 'Sorbet' is virtually ready to be back on the road and some short local runs to see how she
drives again after 5yrs off the road. Phill was shocked the other day when he turned her around to
nose her in the garage, he'd forgotten how heavy the steering is - I guess that's PAS conversions
on Flopsy and Sorbet coming up after doing the job last week on my Cavalier!

[theningiachicken]

(28 Jun 2022, 17:12)Guinney1971 Wrote: mate, I know I've said this on Facebook, but you have done a heroic amount of work on that car
in a very short space of time.

Take your time (no pun intended), and check and double check everything, to save any extra
headaches and problems when you start using the car.

FWIW, 'Sorbet' is virtually ready to be back on the road and some short local runs to see how she
drives again after 5yrs off the road.  Phill was shocked the other day when he turned her around to
nose her in the garage, he'd forgotten how heavy the steering is - I guess that's PAS conversions
on Flopsy and Sorbet coming up after doing the job last week on my Cavalier!

Thanks Claire, im slowing down a little since im not taking her to the Isle of man now so im checking everything a 3rd time (mostly my wiring) as i go.

I still have a broken front cowl thing (below windscreen) wich is going to be a PITA to fix but doable.

That PAS you plan on doing to flopsy and sorbet id love to help out with since i got my hands on the same vauxhall corsa unit that Phill showed me last time i was up

[Guinney1971]

Sure thing, will let you know. We've been gifted a PAS rack from a LHD Mk1 Twingo for our
own Twingo, and its is a very compact unit. We're also picking up another PAS rack from a MK3
Cavalier tomorrow night to have a play around with. With Flopsy's body off the chassis now, it'll be
easier to have a play around with different set ups and see what fits. The Corsa unit we've got is
quite big, and I'm not sure how it will fit. We've put an electric hydraulic system on my Cavalier using
a Mk3 Cavalier rack and a hydraulic pump from a 2004 Astra Mk4.
Anyway, you are always welcome to pop over and have a nosey, hopefully we'll be pulling the chassis
of my car out of the garage on Friday to pressure wash it and see what welding and other work is
needed.

[theningiachicken]

(29 Jun 2022, 12:07)Guinney1971 Wrote: Sure thing, will let you know.  We've been gifted a PAS rack from a LHD Mk1 Twingo for our
own Twingo, and its is a very compact unit.  We're also picking up another PAS rack from a MK3
Cavalier tomorrow night to have a play around with.  With Flopsy's body off the chassis now, it'll be
easier to have a play around with different set ups and see what fits.  The Corsa unit we've got is
quite big, and I'm not sure how it will fit.  We've put an electric hydraulic system on my Cavalier using
a Mk3 Cavalier rack and a hydraulic pump from a 2004 Astra Mk4.
Anyway, you are always welcome to pop over and have a nosey, hopefully we'll be pulling the chassis
of my car out of the garage on Friday to pressure wash it and see what welding and other work is
needed.

im sure something will fit in some combination, wonder if a cross reference is know for the kit from either DMCH or Dgo? to make like a DIY version.

you might not need to pressure wash the frame Friday as its forecast rain   but i may nip across anyway

[Guinney1971]

if its raining, the chassis will stay put lol

We'll be about after 3.30pm on Friday once I've done school runs and stuff, or
we're in on Saturday. Got family coming over on Sunday though.

Picked up another Cavalier PAS rack today cheap to have a play with :-)

[theningiachicken]

Time again for another update,

So since the last post I've:

1. Refitted 95% of the interior
headliners, centre console, side carpets and rear panels all back in, just got to put the shifter plate back in, tray and push the switches in.
I'm on the hunt for the deckboard carpet (DMCH Part number 110480A) due to Ed not having them, Arran's set wont match and DMCH want £250. as mine was chopped as a binnacle support?!? (prior to Steve Saunders)

2. Passenger door inner seal fitted.


Took some time to get it sat down but a rubber mallet worked perfectly, passenger door is slightly hard to close but it'll ease with time.

3. Fascia's fitted at last!!!

The Rear fascia was relatively easy as all the studs are east to access, need to pull the top corners in at some point (a PO added a bolt to both corners), the front was a bit more challenging as we had to remove the hood (i know its possible without but it was easier with it off).

now the main important event:
I got to drive properly for the 1st time!!! although short lived  . so i didn't go far only to the Tesco in town to fill up but here's what i know.

The engine flat spot is very much next to be dealt with as the first 2 turns i was barely moving from a stop (was gone on the return run though), need to adjust my binnacle angle to make it all visible (or close as possible), suspension is a bit harder than expected but I'll be upgrading to better shocks soon and of course everyone was looking   .

the return run would have been better as the car was moving pretty well (got to 30/35mph very quick due to being warm) until a coolant line came loose and dumped all the coolant near pcs   luckily i managed to get back before the car got above 220 on the dial otherwise id have shut it off, so i now have to drain the tank and put everything back into place and redo the coolant system then go for another test run.

Ryuko will most likely be a rolling resto after this point but fully driveable at last! 

here's a booty pic of 5222 non red fascia
   

[Rich Hanlon]

Excellent progress, a real testament to your hard work. Congratulations!

[theningiachicken]

(25 Aug 2022, 10:44)Rich Hanlon Wrote: Excellent progress, a real testament to your hard work.  Congratulations!

Thanks Rich, she wont be 100% perfect (as deloreans never are) but done the best i can after never working on a car to this level  

[theningiachicken]

Ryuko lives once again!!!

so after the first test drive 5222 hasn't been running well/ at all    the horrible stalling problem returned with a vengeance causing engine to stall instantly after starting, with a crazy idle hunt going between 1000rpm up to 3500 rpm then dying (Main culprit - original idle motor) then she gave up starting completely and having a slow crank like it would with a low battery even after charging overnight.

after looking through various posts with somewhat similar problems i came up empty handed, i knew the idle motor was only going to last so long after Rich Hutchinson freed it up so I guessed it be best to replace it, the slow crank was a very puzzling thing, at first i though maybe the ignition coil was on its way out but its doing well so it left me quite perplexed.
 
fast forward to today: replaced the hoses and clamps on the coolant pipes, replaced the idle motor and replaced the connector for the CSV as a pin wasn't staying in and re-filled with coolant and it took about 4-5 turns but she came back to life with no issues   idle hunt has fully gone and no leaks....for now.

fuel accumulator is still in need of changing to fix my multiple key turns and my idle is now at 2000rpm   on the old idle motor it was spot on 1000rpm which settled down just below after a bit so my guess is i need to retard the timing to bring the RPM's back down. thankfully 5222 is having the engine set up at Rebel classics in a few weeks so those issues will be dealt with.


mini project: my oem clock used to flicker like crazy so i wanted to replace it, i found on Facebook that someone had replaced the internals with a smaller digital unit, so i ordered myself one and began to dismantle both. the new clock has a single button and has built in memory power so im currently looking into how i should assemble it where the internals stay in place mostly thinking super glue the display to the screen and make a raised bit for the new button to utilise the original button piece.

[Mich1958]

(24 Sep 2022, 18:56)theningiachicken Wrote: Ryuko lives once again!!!

so after the first test drive 5222 hasn't been running well/ at all    the horrible stalling problem returned with a vengeance causing engine to stall instantly after starting, with a crazy idle hunt going between 1000rpm up to 3500 rpm then dying (Main culprit - original idle motor) then she gave up starting completely and having a slow crank like it would with a low battery even after charging overnight.

after looking through various posts with somewhat similar problems i came up empty handed, i knew the idle motor was only going to last so long after Rich Hutchinson freed it up so I guessed it be best to replace it, the slow crank was a very puzzling thing, at first i though maybe the ignition coil was on its way out but its doing well so it left me quite perplexed.
 
fast forward to today: replaced the hoses and clamps on the coolant pipes, replaced the idle motor and replaced the connector for the CSV as a pin wasn't staying in and re-filled with coolant and it took about 4-5 turns but she came back to life with no issues   idle hunt has fully gone and no leaks....for now.

fuel accumulator is still in need of changing to fix my multiple key turns and my idle is now at 2000rpm   on the old idle motor it was spot on 1000rpm which settled down just below after a bit so my guess is i need to retard the timing to bring the RPM's back down. thankfully 5222 is having the engine set up at Rebel classics in a few weeks so those issues will be dealt with.


mini project: my oem clock used to flicker like crazy so i wanted to replace it, i found on Facebook that someone had replaced the internals with a smaller digital unit, so i ordered myself one and began to dismantle both. the new clock has a single button and has built in memory power so im currently looking into how i should assemble it where the internals stay in place mostly thinking super glue the display to the screen and make a raised bit for the new button to utilise the original button piece.

Cracking job Dude your really starting to make progress looks so different from when I last saw it amazing amount of work in such a small time well done   .


Mich

[Guinney1971]

cracking job there William, I'm sure you'll be busy fettling over the winter, then enjoying her properly next year.