• Please only use these forums for blogs, they are not a discussion forum

PollyMobiles Rebuild

OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
Quiet little car meet at Herrington country park near Sunderland with afew friends from Kuruma UK club

IMG_20180618_145546.jpeg
IMG_20180618_145558.jpeg
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
The old throttle pedal has abit of play in the pivot point, so I took it out to assess

IMAG8998.jpeg

IMAG8999.jpeg


Found a ball bearing that fits over the existing shaft, welded it onto the bracket to hold the pedal steady

IMAG9001.jpeg


Replaced the flimsy plastic pedal with a steel plate welded onto the arm and the sparco cover riveted over

IMAG9002.jpeg

IMAG9000.jpeg

IMAG9003.jpeg


Now it moves much smoother and by leaving out that stiff pedal spring, the throttle response is soo much sharper & lighter

IMAG9005.jpeg

IMAG9008.jpeg
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
I was curious to try out these Mist type windscreen washers found on european cars like citroen saxos, ebay £6, to see if they're any better than the old water pistol jets


IMAG9043.jpg


hole is obviously different to the saxo but it kinda holds, need to figure a better mount, but looks much sleeker

IMAG9044.jpg


it sprays a wide flat line just above the wipers parking spot, would've preferred it slightly highly, but it spreads & wipes so much better :cool:

IMAG9045.jpg
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
the plastic printed catch can screw lids kept absorbing oil vapour over time & swelling, which seizes the thread against the glass jar when unscrewing and just spins the jar. so I keep ending up having to cut the screw lid off and print another :rolleyes:

IMAG9038.jpg


this time I print the lids 1% bigger so it fits looser to reduce jamming and wrapped some duck tape around the jars for the jubilee clips to grab tightly onto

IMAG9041.jpg
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
in order to machine long pieces on my mini-lathe, such as making a new catchcan container, I'll need to make a rigid steady rest to support the overhanging end.

taking inspiration from this image, I measured & calculated the required geometry for my lathe

SteadyRestR.jpg
jig.jpg


fired up my chop-saw and after a long, loud & hot few hours of precision cutting with sparks going everywhere, I managed to make these awesome precise pieces

IMAG9049.jpg
IMAG9051.jpg


tacked together to form a solid octogan

IMAG9050.jpg
IMAG9052.jpg


to fit the lathe like this, I luv precision :)

IMAG9053.jpg
IMAG9054.jpg
IMAG9055.jpg
 

SuperUno

Buy & Sell Member
I little bit of black silicon sealant will hold those washer jets in place just fine. I did that upgrade years ago to the Micra. Plus additional pipes which run along the wiper arms with an additional pump. This runs off a small (1ltr) bottle mounted in the middle of the car for better weight distribution, and less weight, OEM bottle takes about 5Ltrs (5kgs).
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
I little bit of black silicon sealant will hold those washer jets in place just fine. I did that upgrade years ago to the Micra. Plus additional pipes which run along the wiper arms with an additional pump. This runs off a small (1ltr) bottle mounted in the middle of the car for better weight distribution, and less weight, OEM bottle takes about 5Ltrs (5kgs).

awesome ;)
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
so 2 months ago in April, our 25yr old combi-boiler eventually failed (water flow pressure switch mechanism no longer works).

mom heard she was elegible for the governments free-boiler scheme on her pension so we applied, engineer assessed our 2 house joined property & DIY heating system, stating all the dodgy plumbing & radiators will require replacing and disconnected the boiler too cos there's a gas leak.

but now the prob is that moms pension for this application was registered to house #81 where the gas meter is, but the combi boiler was fitted in #79 next door heating both houses, although she owns them both and technically registered as one address.

so he couldn't start till he had proof she owns them both and they're classed as one address from the council. this mess took 2 months of no hot water or heating for the various offices to slowly clarify :rolleyes:

the quotes veered wildly from £650 to £free only to be told last minute that the senior manager looked at this unusually major operation and decided she needs to contribute £1000! of her pension cos it requires 4 engineers over few days to rip out the entire old system and fit a complete modern new boiler, plumbing, filters, radiators & controls.

2 months just to be ripped off? :mad:
if we were selling the place or can afford the non-essential luxury of having a fancy bells-whistle modern central heating properly fitted & guaranteed peace of mind, then £1000 for approx a £3-4k install may seem a good deal over long-term investment

BUT tbh the current system works just fine for us, just needs a good flush.
we were only after a new boiler without breaking the bank, ideally free.

so I decided instead to flush & fit a new boiler myself which is cheaper, faster, more convenient.
got a flushing & treatment kit from screwfix for £13 :)

IMAG9058.jpg


time to flush the 25yr old, non-filtered, non-inhibited heating system with mains water first and JESUS christ! the first few buckets were just black & clogged up with big flakes of burnt rusty scales, no wonder the boiler kept malfunctioning :eek::oops:

IMAG9059.jpg

IMAG9060.jpg


removed each radiator and flushed the black sludge out of them. this is such a labour intensive job running up/down the house few times, I'm dripping of sweat.
interesting to see our old childhood wallpaper hidden behind it :D

IMAG9061.jpg


added the cleaning treatment and running the boiler pump over the next few days till I buy the new boiler :cool:
 

John_D

Club Member
Radio Code Guru
I'd be a bit careful Paul with what you post on an open forum, not sure of the legality of fitting a gas appliance if you are not CORGI registered..........
 

SuperUno

Buy & Sell Member
I work with gas standards in my day job, please get the final gas installation bit done by a Gas Safe engineer. I have seen the consequences of when it goes wrong, it is not pretty...
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
I'll get it checked over once I've finished it all.
me & dad installed & maintained this boiler ourselves for the past 25yrs no problem, so fitting the new one should be a doddle :)
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
welded up the steady-rest frame

IMAG9067.jpg


drilled & cut the slots for mounting the support arms

IMAG9071.jpg


made the adjustable ball-bearing roller arms

IMAG9076.jpg


and this is the assembled jig :cool:

IMAG9078.jpg
IMAG9079.jpg


installed like this

IMAG9081.jpg
IMAG9082.jpg


tested with a long pipe and even though the small worn spare bearings needed replacing, the jig worked :) (will be using it to make a better steel catchcan)

IMAG9083.jpg
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
to make thread cutting on the mini-lathe easier, under control, safer & more precise, I made this removable hand crank

IMAG9085.jpg


the little pegs engage into notches I grinded on the end of the chuck shaft while the threaded end would squeeze an o-ring outwards when tightened, which locks the hand crank in place

IMAG9092.jpg


pegs engaging little notches on the spinning shaft

IMAG9091.jpg


it all works a treat, much easier to machine threads now :cool:

IMAG9090.jpg
IMAG9087.jpg
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
postman arrived and yay! the new magnetic filter has arrived :):D

IMAG9093.jpg
IMAG9097.jpg


instructions etc

IMAG9098.jpg


here's the unit, swirling the fluids around a magnetic core

IMAG9099.jpg


simple construction.
interesting to find that the plastic sleeve, which captures the rusty black magnetite for easy removal, is made to spin with the fluid around the magnet shaft via directional scoop vents at the base so that it gets an uniform coating of debris

IMAG9100.jpg
IMAG9101.jpg


plumb fittings ready to install tomorrow :cool:

IMAG9102.jpg


wednesday car meet with afew friends on another gorgeous day

IMAG9104.jpg
 
Those Magnaclean filters are pretty great. We had one installed in my mum's house and the amount of crap it grabs of the system is scary!

I rarely seem to post on here (just lurk a lot ahah) but needed to say the level of detail in this thread is amazing, as is your whole build.
I'll go back to lurking now

Sent from my XT1562 using Micra Sports Club mobile app
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
Thank you Gng4T9R for the compliment, I appreciate it :D indeed this filter is sooo effective :cool:

so after running the cleaning solution through the system for the past 3 days, I drain & flush it all out.
the first few buckets were this dark & murky water with very fine black particles.
took many more buckets till it slowly got clearer with less particles.

IMAG9106.jpg
IMAG9105.jpg


time to fit the filter. Soldered the new fittings onto the return pipe

IMAG9107.jpg
IMAG9108.jpg


installed & re-filled the system, looking shweet :cool:

IMAG9110.jpg


even after just 1min of running with water that appeared clear, it still caught all this hidden crap :eek:
dayum it's impressive :)

IMAG9111.jpg


with the new mini-lathe steady-rest I'm now able to cut this large thread for the steel catch can :D

IMAG9112.jpg
IMAG9115.jpg
IMAG9117.jpg


wirebrushed the old paint to reveal a shiny smooth container :cool::cool:
I really should've done this beforehand so the rollers didn't have to run through the rough paint coating

IMAG9119.jpg
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
checking the magnaclean this morning it still caught these fine debris

IMAG9120.jpg


Ohh yess :cool: I now have a fresh can of oyster sauce to replace my old rusted air filter shield :D

IMAG9124.jpg


to prevent the hand crank from annoyingly popping out, I rearranged the tacho sensor disc for more space and made this screw end cap which holds the peg inside the notch I cut

IMAG9121.jpg
IMAG9122.jpg


machined this short piece for the lid

IMAG9123.jpg


an issue with clamping such a short thin pipe and trying to cut threads is that the chuck squeezes it out of shape therefore the tool cannot cut smoothly each time it passes the clamps, ruining the quality

IMAG9126.jpg


since the chuck will deform a thin walled pipe in order to get enough traction, I used a long pipe where the chuck end just deals with spinning, the steady-rest rolling on the bare steel pipe deals with keeping the other end very steady & round, allowing the tool to cut smoothly & consistantly

IMAG9125.jpg
IMAG9129.jpg


the cut is much smoother

IMAG9130.jpg
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
lol managed to find another oyster sauce can to replace my old rusty filter shield :D

IMAG9131.jpg
IMAG9132.jpg
IMAG9136.jpg


after alot of machining, I managed to make a clean sharp threaded cup & lid but for some reason the two pipes had different diameters and couldn't match em :rolleyes:

IMAG9138.jpg


so I found another thick walled pipe in garage to remachine next week...
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
Cumbria Auto Show 2018

joined the CCS convoy group at washington services on an early 6am to begin driving towards cumbria :sleep:

IMAG9139.jpg
IMAG9140.jpg
IMAG9141.jpg


arriving at the venue under the blazing sun. briefly had to park on dusty gravel nearby the full tarmac stand

IMAG9143.jpg
IMAG9144.jpg
IMAG9145.jpg
IMAG9146.jpg


moments later there was more room to park up on the concrete. Alistairs pickup truck dwarfing mine :LOL:

IMAG9148.jpg


he had some spare LED bulbs which didn't fit his pickup, and since it fits in my rear cluster he said I could just have em for helping with his stickers earlier that morning :)

IMAG9150.jpg


so much brighter

IMAG9149.jpg


slightly cooler indoors with the show & shine and cafe, way from the heatwave outside

IMAG9153.jpg


familiar Pao I saw at JAE 2016

IMAG9154.jpg
IMAG9155.jpg
IMAG9156.jpg


lawrences supra :cool:

IMAG9151.jpg
IMAG9152.jpg


interesting 350z arch styling

IMAG9157.jpg
IMAG9158.jpg
IMAG9159.jpg


after a long scalding hot day with everyone leaving early, it was just mine left on stand. had to air out the hot sauna inside the car before leaving, good time for another few solo photos :D

IMAG9161.jpg
IMAG9163.jpg
IMAG9164.jpg


'the 4 shades of grey' :p
joining few more friends for food before heading home.

IMAG9165.jpg
IMAG9166.jpg
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
machined the screw lid from the same diameter pipe as the container. cutting threads & parting off with the hand crank is soo much easier & safer

IMAG9177.jpg


unfortunately trying to match the male/female threads was frustratingly difficult probably cos the pitch is too fine. it was too tight and kept easily cross threading :confused:

IMAG9178.jpg


so plan B is to use an existing male/female screw thread of similar diameter rather than reinvent the wheel.
found these old round restaurant table stands in storage with similar 75mm diameter

IMAG9179.jpg


chopped the cast iron legs off

IMAG9180.jpg
IMAG9181.jpg


mounted onto the lathe and machined it down to form a screw lid

IMAG9182.jpg
IMAG9183.jpg
IMAG9184.jpg
IMAG9185.jpg


welded some plates onto the ends

IMAG9186.jpg


grinded off the excess to end up with a completed screw can :cool:

IMAG9187.jpg
IMAG9188.jpg


fits in the existing mount nicely

IMAG9189.jpg
IMAG9190.jpg


after many more revisions, I redesigned the catch can with this simple layout which flowed the best, steel pipes remain welded onto the casing, easy to inspect/service with the screw top.

catch can 63.jpg
catch can 63 flow.jpg


machined & welded the pipe fittings onto the case

IMAG9191.jpg
IMAG9192.jpg
IMAG9193.jpg
IMAG9194.jpg
IMAG9195.jpg


1 completed & fits in the bay very nicely. 1 more to make & paint before testing :)

IMAG9196.jpg
IMAG9197.jpg
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
finished the 2nd catch can

IMAG9206.jpg
IMAG9207.jpg
IMAG9209.jpg


both installed.
on this warm sunny day, the steel cans felt stone cold after cruising down the motorway with cool air blowing from under the headlights, although not cold enough to condense vapour under such warm ambient temps.
but once stationary for afew minutes in town, they quickly heat soaked from the lack of airflow, hot engine bay and especially that radiator fan blowing hot air around.
so I'll need to make an enclosure shield for it

IMAG9212.jpg
IMAG9213.jpg


painted

IMAG9217.jpg
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
painted & laquered silver

IMAG9218.jpg
IMAG9219.jpg


needs a shield to keep the heat away so I trimmed the old enclosure to fit

IMAG9220.jpg


that's better, the cans are kept abit cooler and condensing a thin film of vapour after a little drive

IMAG9221.jpg


last minute E85 car meet with Kurtis & Kevin on this boiling humid day right after I finished the catch cans

IMAG9232.jpg
IMAG9231.jpg
IMAG9222.jpg
IMAG9223.jpg
IMAG9225.jpg


check out these mental drag cars

IMAG9227.jpg


omg these turbos are huge! bout the size of my head :eek::LOL:

IMAG9234.jpg
IMAG9233.jpg
IMAG9236.jpg
IMAG9235.jpg
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
a warm sunday evening meet at The Cafe

IMAG9242.jpg


later we followed frankie over to redcar. a little micra / civic sandwich here :D

IMAG9243.jpg
IMAG9244.jpg


tuesday night met up with Dave & Robyn at teesside park for some grub & smelling air fresheners lol.
whilst eating, the annoying swarm of seagulls kept flying around and even standing on all of our roofs, the cheeky buggars :cautious:

IMAG9249.jpg


the old 3d printed nozzle on my electronic solder sucker tool was getting abit tatty & blunt

IMAG9250.jpg


so I machined a nice precise aluminium tip on the lathe and is much better :cool:

IMAG9251.jpg
IMAG9252.jpg
IMAG9253.jpg
 

John_D

Club Member
Radio Code Guru
a warm sunday evening meet at The Cafe

View attachment 58067

later we followed frankie over to redcar. a little micra / civic sandwich here :D

View attachment 58068View attachment 58069

tuesday night met up with Dave & Robyn at teesside park for some grub & smelling air fresheners lol.
whilst eating, the annoying swarm of seagulls kept flying around and even standing on all of our roofs, the cheeky buggars :cautious:

View attachment 58070

the old 3d printed nozzle on my electronic solder sucker tool was getting abit tatty & blunt

View attachment 58071

so I machined a nice precise aluminium tip on the lathe and is much better :cool:

View attachment 58072View attachment 58073View attachment 58074
The problem with aluminium in this instance Paul is that you have to rest the tip on the joint being unsolderd and it acts as a very efficient heatsink and cools the solder before it can be cleanly removed. Works OK of you are using a 60/100W solder gun on something large like a connector block but makes life very difficult on fine electronic circuit boards, you tend to overheat the board in an attempt to keep the solder liquid...
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
The problem with aluminium in this instance Paul is that you have to rest the tip on the joint being unsolderd and it acts as a very efficient heatsink and cools the solder before it can be cleanly removed. Works OK of you are using a 60/100W solder gun on something large like a connector block but makes life very difficult on fine electronic circuit boards, you tend to overheat the board in an attempt to keep the solder liquid...

it'll be alright imo, I rarely do fine soldering and when I use the sucker, it's just a quick in/suck/out :p
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
removed the boot handle to proper fit the LED strips

IMAG9263.jpg


removed the wiper & key barrel to be smoothed in future since I'll never use em

IMAG9264.jpg


covered & painted the holes for the moment

IMAG9265.jpg
IMAG9267.jpg


cut out the old bulb mount cavity

IMAG9269.jpg
IMAG9270.jpg


plastic welded the gap

IMAG9271.jpg


stuck down the ebay LED strip and tigersealed a clear panel on to shield it against the elements

IMAG9275.jpg
IMAG9276.jpg


looks cool

IMAG9277.jpg
IMAG9280.jpg
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
2018-07-15 Volkspower 10 at Redcar

turned up at the redcar rugby club for the show & shine on sunday, initially thought my Nissan had gate crashed a Vdub show :oops::LOL: but any car can enter.
there were so many shiny classic motors but it was such a hot & humid day with these tiny little annoying insects crawling all over the skin & clothes :sick:

IMAG9350.jpg
IMAG9346.jpg
IMAG9347.jpg
IMAG9308.jpg
IMAG9327.jpg
IMAG9309.jpg
IMAG9307.jpg
IMAG9312.jpg
IMAG9311.jpg
IMAG9313.jpg
IMAG9318.jpg
IMAG9319.jpg
IMAG9325.jpg
IMAG9331.jpg
IMAG9330.jpg
IMAG9328.jpg
IMAG9332.jpg
IMAG9333.jpg
IMAG9338.jpg
IMAG9343.jpg
IMAG9323.jpg
IMAG9322.jpg
IMAG9324.jpg
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
since the boot will be smoothed over, I wanted to clear up this mess of redundant wiper & demister wiring in the boot lid

IMAG9351.jpg
IMAG9352.jpg


simplified & neater wiring

IMAG9353.jpg
IMAG9354.jpg


also fitted & wired up these LED strips under the parcel shelf to light up the whole boot much better than the crap original incadescent candle in the corner

IMAG9361.jpg
IMAG9359.jpg
IMAG9360.jpg
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
rerouted the windscreen washer pipe over to the hinge and hidden through the bonnet so that it won't foul the upper strut brace.

IMAG9362.jpg
IMAG9363.jpg


since the citreon saxo mist jets don't match the bonnet holes, I trimmed & threaded the body so I can mount it with a big washer & wing nuts

IMAG9371.jpg
IMAG9372.jpg
IMAG9375.jpg


replaced the loose plastic clips on the scuttle panel with allen head bolts

IMAG9366.jpg


trimmed the catch can enclosure to allow cooling air to flow around the larger steel cans

IMAG9367.jpg
IMAG9370.jpg
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
a little thursday car meet at the usual Cafe

IMAG9407.jpg


for the final LED strip lighting the engine bay, I slipped the bare ribbon inside a clear hose to protect it against rain etc and tied it under the bonnet

IMAG9423.jpg


lighting up the whole bay nicely. handy for evening tinkerings or dark car meets

IMAG9421.jpg
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
for toggling the bonnet light I decided to use the rear de-mister switch cos I've removed the circuit so it'll never be used, it'll be a stealthy feature plus the orange indicator bulb will display whenever those LEDs are powered.
I'll also tap into the hazards button nearby for a constant 12V supply.

IMAG9425.jpg
IMAG9426.jpg
IMAG9429.jpg


machined these plastic bungs to seal the boot lid holes better than the temporary duck tape

IMAG9433.jpg
IMAG9432.jpg
IMAG9430.jpg
IMAG9431.jpg


painted & bonded them onto the boot with sealant, looking much cleaner & hidden :cool:

IMAG9435.jpg
IMAG9437.jpg


so finally that's all the LEDs for the bonnet, interior, boot & reg plate sorted & pimped out :p

IMAG9438.jpg
IMAG9449.jpg
IMAG9441.jpg


I also removed the resistor from the reg LED light for full brighteness and honestly it's fine.
the camera phone struggles to capture the contrast range but in-person it's about as bright as the dimmed rear lights :cool:

IMAG9448.jpg
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
the thin rubber seals on the catchcan lids weren't staying flat, making them leak

IMAG9450.jpg


so I trimmed a whole new piece out of some old rubber wellies :D

IMAG9451.jpg


went to a classic car show in Runswick on sunday for a brief moment, took afew snaps.
it was too warm, too many annoying bugs, didn't know anyone there, kinda bored and needed the loo. so I headed all the way home

IMAG9454.jpg
IMAG9458.jpg
IMAG9461.jpg
IMAG9469.jpg
IMAG9472.jpg


looks nice & bright at night, camera overexposing the reg lights

IMAG9483.jpg


ok so the new catchcans ain't working too well in that warm corner behind the headlight with all the heatsoak.

I decided it's best to put em back at the grill where it's coldest and route the pipes on the warm side of the shield so that only the cans are chilled/condensing while the pipes are kept warm/unclogged in the engine bay

IMAG9486.jpg


the pipe angles are too steep where the silicone hoses can't be bent much without kinking and would end up being cooked by the exhaust

IMAG9487.jpg


so I'll have to angle them 45deg and now replumbing all the hoses

IMAG9488.jpg


making a neater hose coupler for where the dump valve and PCV breather all join at the turbo inlet

IMAG9490.jpg
IMAG9491.jpg
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
Corrected the angles of the hose coupler

IMG_20180725_171333_615.jpeg


Finished sorting all the hoses, access to the catchcans is much easier now.
I'll need to figure out a more solid way of mounting the cans onto the panel in future.

IMG_20180725_171333_616.jpeg

IMG_20180725_171333_603.jpeg


After a brief test drive on this hot humid day, the catchcans are staying a lot cooler to help condense the vapours.

I also noticed that the dump valve is noticeably quieter
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
after a week in Brussels helping a family friend setting up a venue for a big party in the unbareably intense 37C humid heat wave sweeping across europe, it was such a relief to return back home at normal british temperatures :cool:

car meet at the cafe next day :D

IMAG9561.jpg


with Dave & Robyn

IMAG9564.jpg
IMAG9563.jpg


later went to Redcar for food

IMAG9565.jpg
 
Top