Dougs Albi blue 197

[Pav]

 

[sevenfourate]

Always tinkering. Always bloody tinkering....Good man for that too !

What was up with your bonnet Dougman ?

****Let me know your thoughts on the PBS pads. Likely going for these too next. I'll wait for you to be guinea pig though

And THANKS again for the seat bar. Very generous of you and really appreciated as you know. MIGHT just get me out of a hole. I was intending to get everything done / ready / MOT'd on mine for May 1st. But i'm away to Dubai shortly; so gonna hold off until June 1st now. I'll let you know how the seat frame went then.

What's next on your agenda with the car ??

 

[Doogle]

Always tinkering. Always bloody tinkering....Good man for that too !

What was up with your bonnet Dougman ?

****Let me know your thoughts on the PBS pads. Likely going for these too next. I'll wait for you to be guinea pig though

And THANKS again for the seat bar. Very generous of you and really appreciated as you know. MIGHT just get me out of a hole. I was intending to get everything done / ready / MOT'd on mine for May 1st. But i'm away to Dubai shortly; so gonna hold off until June 1st now. I'll let you know how the seat frame went then.

What's next on your agenda with the car ??

I am always tinkering! Its just my idea of bettering the car, whether or not I am is another matter

It was quite stonechipped and had a very shallow dent on one side (cant even see it in a photos) but I picked up a bargain one for £25 in much better condition!

The PBS pads are getting really good reviews. A mate has been using them in his 197 for over a year and is happy with them, more bit initially and less fade than normal pads. Hopefully have them both fitted soon!

Not a problem at all, as I said, it would unfortunately just go for scrap otherwise. Hope fitting all goes well! Enjoy your holibobs

Where do I start! As well as porting the fanimold, cleaning the block whilst its removed and mapping theres just a lot more tidying and maintenance to do.

-Rear caliper carriers need de-rusting and painting silver to match the rear calipers.
-I have one of your Stainless alarm brackets I want to paint black to match in under the bonnet.
-The bonnet latch mechanism needs aligning but thats a bumper off job.
-I need a new aircon rad as mines damaged and holds no pressure.
-The plastic rad support/crashbar is damaged. For some reason part of the clip that holds the air intake in has broken and the bolt holes that secure the top of the bumper on place have threaded so its time to get a new one. But to fit it means bumper, headlights and metal crash bar has to come out and the rad be supported so its a decent days work for me. I think they are all universal to all mk3's though and seem cheap enough.
-The headlights have been polished and cleaned up but are not perfect so I need to do that.
-Theres some damage to rear offside quarter from the previous owner I need to get sorted.
-The front bumper is heavily stonechipped so will need a good bit of work filling and smoothing.
-The alloys are kerbed and have paint flaking anyway so I want to get them refurbed.
-Still debating on spacers and/or studs!

Its a project, never will be a showcar but its on 124k now so its just keeping it tidy!

 

[Doogle]

Fitted the new discs and pads today. Got them fitted eventually! Day didnt start well when I realised the hex bolts are 12mm and not 10mm... frantic calling around friends meant I found a friend with one!

The pins came out easy enough, I suspected they would as they were new a few months ago. Gave the calipers a bit of a clean but they definitely need a refurb.

For some reason the offside disc needed ten tons of bashing to come off, you can see the damage on the old disc in the photo below.

Copper slipped the back of the pads, the pins, the caliper bolts and the back of the disc to the hub so if I have to remove it all again I can.



All fitted and looking good. So far, braking is a bit rubbish. I did 10 x 80-20mph stops but it'll take a little bit of time before the pads and discs bed in.

 

[Big Ben]

Good effort. I’ve just purchased the necessary tools so I can do my own from now on.
Having seen it done a few times it’s not difficult unless somethings seized!!

 

[Doogle]

Good effort. I’ve just purchased the necessary tools so I can do my own from now on.
Having seen it done a few times it’s not difficult unless somethings seized!!

It was pretty easy. 12mm hex bit, can of WD40 or Plusgas, something solid for the pins and a hammer, T40 torx bolt for the discs and copper slip. I do want to get back under there and give it all a really good clean up but I ran out of time.

The pins I would say are worth doing every 6 months if not more!