arch

Cant imagine how you must be feeling, not a big issue with a standard car but a car that has so much work done on it is a sickner, as said before at least no-ne was hurt but gutted for you all the same not sure I could take the same approach so soon

Dont think the bonnet John has is made any more

agree quite a bit of weight to be had there but there are a few good reasons for leaving it in at the minute

Stephen I reckon I only have 5 weeks left if I am going to make Kames but that is looking optimistic at the minute. I actually dont mind the cold to be honest, I am used to working outside so probably just used to it, most of the time I work with the garage door open anyway, Cal your correct your gear knob is still there at the minute . Well spent 2 1/2 hours removing the front bushes from my alloy arms they were well corroded in but they gave in eventually I think they sensed a full blown temper tantrun coming on Spent the rest of the day removing some wiring that is no longer required, removing the alarm and generally checking the wiring for any signs of chaffing or loose pins. I did find one broken wire which I reckon is the reason I was getting no RH indicator indication on the instruments so result there. Some of the wiring was secured to the underside of the dash, that is no use, so I have also spent a good bit of time securing the wiring to the chassis under the dash, it was hard enough getting the dash out the first time so dont want that issue again as it will no doubt be out again in the near future I have also removed most of the remainging sound proofing but without removing the heater pack its impossible to get it all out but whats left is minimal.

Well more of the same really At this point its hard to keep motivated as things are going backwards and it seems there is so much still to do. Yesterday I painted the front wheel well areas which really tidys that area up and protects it as I wont be refitting the inner wheel well plastic guards. I also removed the intercooler in preperation for its change of mounting and removed a bit of the panels that wont be required and may get in the way when it is refitted later. Then I attacked the dash, it was a bit of a nightmare to get out but after it was persuaded it seen sense and came out I have removed the dash to move some wiring and remove some wiring that will no longer be required. I also want to change the dash as it has faded badly and looks terrible. It will alos give me a chance to change the routing of some of the wiring so that the dash can be removed quickly in future. There is also still some sound proofing in there that I couldnt reach before so it obviously has to go

Well the rear end is pretty much completed just the diff to fit when it comes back from being set up. I am having some clearance issues with the rear coilovers but will hopefully sort that out pretty quickly. Next its time to pull the front suspension off and give it the once over and a few upgrades I have removed the coilovers, hubs, brakes and alloy arms so that I clean up and paint the wheel well and surrounding area and fit new front bushes to the alloy arms and the new front brakes and coilovers. Once cleaned up the inner wing area is actually in pretty good condition which is a theme with this shell there is virtually no rust on the car. After a rub down with a green pad and a clean over it is ready to paint. One thing I did find when I removed the front hubs is that both front wheel bearings are totally gone I am amazed that i didnt feel this at the last event but just shows how important a winter strip down is as the amount of movement in the bearings is scary

If you go for Khumo's try south shore in blackpool I always get mine from there http://www.tyressouthshoreltd.co.uk/

Kenny who ever YOU chose stand your ground and make sure it goes where you wont otherwise you may have more than a bit of inconvenience to deal with

If any one is looking to do their timing belt and is looking for a timing belt kit including belt and idlers or just a belt I have found a cracking deal. Needed a kit for my 55 plate WRX and have been given a cracking price at AS Performance I had looked at the price of the TSL group buy on Scoobynet and thought it was expensive, how true that has tuned out to be. If anyone is interested drop Alyn an email at info@asperformance.com and mention this post and he will sort you out

Kenny Dont send your car to an approved repairer until you know who they are and if they are any good. I have just had the same issue with my wifes car which I had a little bump in on Fri - made the mistake of saying when a got it home " its ok at least it wasnt my Impreza" The insurer RAC wanted it into their own repairer I said no and told them where I wanted it. In the end they said they couldnt give us a courtesy car and I would need to wait until the engineer had been out to my chosen garage to ok the work. But the garage has already given us a courtesy car and after a lot of argueing have had the courtesy car added to my wifes insurance free of charge. My advice is decide where your car will be fixed to YOUR satisfaction and demand it goes there better to wait a week to have it done right than have weeks of hassle trying to get things put right later that are not correct. The wifes brother put his year old Vectra into an approved repairer last year, cant remember the company but it was near springburn. I went back with him with a list of faults that ran to 2 A4 pages. The standard of work was a joke. It took nearly 3 weeks and an independant assessment to get things done correctly

I am liking that wagon, that has new tow car written all over it

I have also had some mods done by meercat and the quality of the work speaks for itself. I have a prodrive sports cat downpipe fitted to my 55 plate WRX it is a simple fit and are not to expensive to buy. That is the only cat I have on the car now, up-pipe cat and centre section cat removed and passed MOT no bother

Brian Leeson in Kilsyth always does excellent work. Had quite few things done there in the past and Brian ahs done som work on my RA recently. I have known Brian for years so you wont go wrong with him. Worth going over Station Rd, Kilsyth, Glasgow, Lanarkshire G65 0AB Tel: 01236 824608

remember you have just bolted on a set of coil overs with someone elses camber adjustments and your car has not been set up to suit them. Until you get the car aligned it will handle like ****. Progrip is the only place I would take my cars for an alignment

Craig I have never fitted the exec but I would imagine that the LH one is for the LH side of the car with the out sticker facing outboard toward the wing if John is prowling around he may be able to help

The Kames days are the plan Stephen they are 14th and 15th so will need to up the effort a bit Glue mmm so you are floating about at the minute

You know you want to strip it out its a natural progression, this comfort thing is well over rated. I had heard that John was melting down his silver ware and using it to make a light weight flat floor. Him and craig have hired a roller from Jewson to roll it

It is progressing but not as fast as it should have. I must admit I did lose a bit of motivation over Christmas and was away a lot before that so I am not where i had hoped to be at this point. I was at the East Ayrshire Car Club annual awards dinner and picked up the remaining awards from The Lowlands Competition which added to the Class win I achieved in the overall sprint championship, that was really due to John winning the road car shield and as such being inelligible for the class win. This has given me the motivation that will probably be needed to finish the rest of the work required to get the car ready for the middle of march and perhaps the SIDC track day at Knockhill

Well the rear end is staring to come together again, thought I better get cracking as the clock is ticking towards March and there is still so much left to do. The rear is now pretty much complete just got to do some initial adjustment to the adjustable top mounts and the camber bolts to get the car sitting correctly. The exhaust back box is now on and the new drive shafts slaved in pending the diff returning from being set up. Once thats done its onto the front which wont take long and then it will be time for the engine and gearbox to come out

None at all I used a set of WRX alloys from my 55 plate WRX on my RA for a very short time and they fitted fine no issues at all. They had 215X45X17 tyres

Still looks crap

Ryan check out my project thread there are some pics later on of my RA with a facelift bumper and P1 style splitter. There also some pics of it after i ripped it off http://forums.sidc.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=122196

Dont agree for alignment it has to be John at Progrip every time

The last thing I would be doing is pointing and laughing I was only offering my opinion, which I will refrain from in future.

naughty naughty