The story of #89/480 continues...

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Re: The story of #89/480 continues...

Post by 89of480 » Wed May 02, 2018 11:19 pm

dragonflyjewels wrote:
Wed May 02, 2018 7:22 am
Will we see you on 12th May?
I would love to! I will do my best to make sure the car is MOT’d and ready in time! The only thing I find slightly discouraging is that I feel the state of the paintwork on the car really lets it down - it’s a lot better than it was now though, and I would certainly love to come along!
Have any other meets been confirmed later in the year too do you know? :D
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Re: The story of #89/480 continues...

Post by dragonflyjewels » Thu May 03, 2018 8:47 am

Don't worry about the paintwork, yours won't be the only 'work in progress' ! Some are not even on the road yet so their owners come in their other car.
There will be 2 more meets, Scotland 11th August (combine it with a holiday perhaps?) and Hampshire in October - probably the 6th but not confirmed date yet.
We'll look forward to meeting you on the 12th.
Sylvia

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Re: The story of #89/480 continues...

Post by 89of480 » Thu May 03, 2018 10:38 pm

dragonflyjewels wrote:
Thu May 03, 2018 8:47 am
Don't worry about the paintwork, yours won't be the only 'work in progress' ! Some are not even on the road yet so their owners come in their other car.
There will be 2 more meets, Scotland 11th August (combine it with a holiday perhaps?) and Hampshire in October - probably the 6th but not confirmed date yet.
We'll look forward to meeting you on the 12th.
Thank you, that certainly makes me feel better about it, I was worried about not being as high calibre as some of the other cars! The Scotland meet sounds perfect to combine with a holiday, I must admit I’ve never been properly so that would be a nice experience, and Southampton is pretty close to me so the October one could work well too!

I’ll do my best to make the 12th, it would be nice to come in my Volvo, i think literally the 12th will be the earliest opportunity I’ll get to MOT the car though, I’m hoping I’ll be able to make the meet, at that same time once the car is MOT’d it has to come out of its current storage (dad’s storage) and move 140 miles to Swindon, I’ll do my best to be there, but if not, at least I’ll be there in spirit getting my own back on the road the same day :wink:
Where exactly is the meet? If it’s close enough I could make it after the MOT :)
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Re: The story of #89/480 continues...

Post by 89of480 » Thu May 03, 2018 10:42 pm

dragonflyjewels wrote:
Thu May 03, 2018 8:47 am
Don't worry about the paintwork, yours won't be the only 'work in progress' ! Some are not even on the road yet so their owners come in their other car.
There will be 2 more meets, Scotland 11th August (combine it with a holiday perhaps?) and Hampshire in October - probably the 6th but not confirmed date yet.
We'll look forward to meeting you on the 12th.
Just replied to your PM, thanks! :D
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Re: The story of #89/480 continues...

Post by 89of480 » Tue May 15, 2018 1:11 am

Saturday was a good day! :hopping:

It looks like everyone had a fantastic time at the mini meet, it would of been nice to make it! Hopefully I will be able to make it to the ones later in the year though, although, I was certainly there in spirit Saturday beavering away in my own car!

I managed to get the interior fully dried out, cleaned it all out and finally put it all together;

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I’ve ordered some LED 21/4w DRL bulbs to stop the plastic becoming damaged from the heat, they’ve arrived, I just need to it them, I’ve also got some new slightly cooler coloured headlamp bulbs to match, I’ve also got some interestingly styled 7” projector lamps coming so I am very curious to see how these will turn out!

But the biggest revelation of the day was.... drumroll ... THE SPEEDO IS NOW WORKING!!!!

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After flapping about soldering PCBs and trying different clocks, and after being Speedo-less near enough 2 years, thanks very much to Brinkie, we were abler to find the culprit; the speed sensor connector being dodgy, along with some broken screen :kill: Soldering the wires has now made the speedo perfect again and I couldn’t be happier! Also the odometer still has fully functioning gears too, which is nice.

Now I am just awaiting my next chance to get to the car after I am back from work - Saturday. An MOT is booked late in the morning, so hopefully we can get through that! The front shocks will need replacing at some point (with originals) and the front bushes, but there’s nothing untoward, or rusty anymore luckily. I am also going to have a vacuum test performed on the AC system, the car had been stood for about 6 years before I got my hands on it, and it had no gas left at all when we did the engine swap a couple of years ago, one of the pipes looks slightly corroded, I’m hoping it will hold the pressure, or at least if it leaks, then if it leaks from an easy to access place I won’t be too upset, especially as there is a full o-ring kit on Scandix. I’m sure the car takes 134A gas, but anywho, part o me really hopes the air con will hold the pressure! I’ve pu a d a lot of money and love into this car, I am getting very excited again at the prospect of being able to use it properly at long last, and I can sleep tight at night knowing for sure I’ve saved this car from either being scrapped or broken for parts! I couldn’t ear the thought of selling it only for it to be broken up, she has too much to give!! Her journey is only just beginning, after being abandoned for so long it is time for her to have some fun again!
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Re: The story of #89/480 continues...

Post by WRDendy » Tue May 15, 2018 2:53 pm

89of480 wrote:
Tue May 15, 2018 1:11 am
I’ve ordered some LED 21/4w DRL bulbs to stop the plastic becoming damaged from the heat, they’ve arrived, I just need to fit them, I’ve also got some new slightly cooler coloured headlamp bulbs to match, I’ve also got some interestingly styled 7” projector lamps coming so I am very curious to see how these will turn out!
Looking forward to seeing how the LED DRLs turn out, I'd like to see what the bulb assemblies themselves look like too if you have a photo/link. I'm still working on getting a convincing incandescent effect with mine, sounds like you are going for a more modern look though which will be easier colour-wise.
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Re: The story of #89/480 continues...

Post by 89of480 » Tue May 15, 2018 4:43 pm

Jaster wrote:
Tue May 15, 2018 2:53 pm
Looking forward to seeing how the LED DRLs turn out, I'd like to see what the bulb assemblies themselves look like too if you have a photo/link. I'm still working on getting a convincing incandescent effect with mine, sounds like you are going for a more modern look though which will be easier colour-wise.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 1962573359 This is the link for the bulbs I’ve purchased, I got these ones because I’ve read about someone on here before that has the same bulbs, the last LED’s I tried stopped the pop ups from working but these ones are fine, I’m looking forward to trying them!

This is what the original LED bulbs I tried looked like;

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And these are the headlamps I’ve got coming, I’m dubious yet intrigued at the same time by these;

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I do like the oem incandescent bulbs and their colouring, but finding warm white bulbs with offset pins seems a little difficult. I do like LED bulbs though, the running lamps should match my LED plate lights and interior lights too, although I may upgrade those bulbs to Osram warm white ones, they’re a fantastic bulb! It’s just a shame they don’t do them in P21/4W :(
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Re: The story of #89/480 continues...

Post by 89of480 » Sun May 20, 2018 10:25 pm

Saturday was a good day! A couple of problems though but overall a good day!

So I got stuck on the way to the MOT garage thanks to some immobiliser problems, but once I got there we sailed straight through, a couple of sil y advisories, but nothing major, small things like surface rust on the subframe, but nothing too taxing, it gives me things to do! I know the guy at the garage, he is very helpful!

The aircon regas went really well! At least for a couple of hours, until the system stopped working again, so I guess the gas is gone again, although I touched on this in another thread.

I’ve finally fitted my new LED running bulbs, they look fantastic! Although the bulb holders are are a bit temperamental so I need to sort out some replacements.

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Other than the car has had a good wash and looks much better now, and it took the 150 mile trip to its new home in Swindon, and I couldn’t be happier with the way the car runs! It literally did not miss a beat!

The next couple of jobs for me are to sort out the tiny bubbles on the bodywork before theyturn nasty, clean up the subframe when I get a minute, clean the engine bay, swap out the mismatching fog lights, polish the rear lights because they’ve started to fade already sadly, source a front (carbon fibre) splitter, try and sort the aircon, and then get ready for painting *hopefully’! Here’s some photos from the weekend, I hope you enjoy them! :D

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Re: The story of #89/480 continues...

Post by jifflemon » Mon May 21, 2018 7:30 am

Front splitter sir? WR composites is where you need to go.

How did the LED's look on Dimmed? (headlamps on)

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Re: The story of #89/480 continues...

Post by 89of480 » Mon May 21, 2018 1:47 pm

jifflemon wrote:
Mon May 21, 2018 7:30 am
Front splitter sir? WR composites is where you need to go.

How did the LED's look on Dimmed? (headlamps on)
The LEDs looked pretty good dimmed, they were still reasonably bright and the pop up circuit wasn’t affected by them either;

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As for WR Composites, I’ve seen someone else on here use them, I believe they commissioned the parts, it’s the carbon one on their website I’m very interested in!

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Re: The story of #89/480 continues...

Post by zapcity » Mon May 21, 2018 1:56 pm

I've just received a WR Composities splitter as mine was damaged beyond repair.

It is much thicker and less flexible than the original, so will need some fettling to get it to fit nicely.

A set of ramps will probably help.

Wayne made mine in the correct colour which was a bonus.
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Re: The story of #89/480 continues...

Post by 89of480 » Thu May 31, 2018 11:43 pm

zapcity wrote:
Mon May 21, 2018 1:56 pm
I've just received a WR Composities splitter as mine was damaged beyond repair.

It is much thicker and less flexible than the original, so will need some fettling to get it to fit nicely.

A set of ramps will probably help.

Wayne made mine in the correct colour which was a bonus.
I am definitely going to get the carbon fibre one they are offering when I am closer to the point that I will be ready to fit it!
We have a ramp luckily enough too, so we should be able to manage (hopefully) :D

My headlights have turned up, they look pretty good! I look forward to installing them and seeing how they look on the car! :hopping:

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For now I want to sort out this pesky immobiliser problem I have touched on in another thread, it’s slightly putting me off using the car for the fear I may not be able to start it. I’m starting to think it might be a door solenoid perhaps? :badmood:
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Re: The story of #89/480 continues...

Post by 89of480 » Sun Jun 03, 2018 11:09 pm

Took the Volvo for a nice drive around Wanborough this evening just to keep the battery topped up, took the cover off of the door lock assembly, but that was about it. Every time I drive the car it puts a smile on my face!

Got some nice shots too!

Hopefully soon I’ll have a proper chance to look at this door lock fault (I posted some YouTube videos I took in the thread I created), and get that second hand compressor I’ve found and see if I can get my friendly neighbourhood garage to sort the ac properly! I’ll also try and hopefully get my headlamps fitted this week too!

I’ve also noticed one of my running LED’s doesn’t like one of my bulb holders, I’ve swapped bulbs and swapped holders and everything, I’ve tried cleaning it up, but does anyone have any spare ones at all?

Here’s the photos I took today :D

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Re: The story of #89/480 continues...

Post by 89of480 » Mon Jun 04, 2018 11:14 pm

I’ve just gone through my old posts and updated my old photos so they show again; unfortunatel they are quite small so I will re-upload some of them here; especially seeing how far the car has come along. And seeing as I missed out the photos of the rear quarter repair!

This is how the car looked before, along with the worst spray job on the driver’s door I’ve ever seen, and some choice filler and rust! :hopping:

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This was actually the texture of the driver’s door...

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Yum!

Here’s the process of the rear quarter that we cut off of the donor car and welded onto №89. The paint was colour matched by local garage to Flame Red Metallic 322; I had some rattle cans made up just for the purpose of this repair (and spraying th black door off of the donor car as the original door had horrendous paint and bad rust), I have proper metallic paint ready mixed up, still sealed, hopefully ready to go on the car in the next couple of months!! :hopping:

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Shame the rear lights have already faded already since then!! :(

There wasn’t much left of the donor car afterwards either, sadly!
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Think that brings us up to date! Apart from the boot lip that was welded on and a couple of other floor repairs done :)
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Re: The story of #89/480 continues...

Post by 89of480 » Mon Jun 04, 2018 11:24 pm

This evening after work was a success though!!

I removed the door card and unplugged each connector inside the door and sprayed each one in contact cleaner, and then attempted to spray contact cleaner and silicone spray a the locking parts, and so far, so good! I have working central locking again! I just hope this repair will last through! :eek: But at least it doesn’t point to a CEM issue at least!

I had another go at wire brushing and contact cleaning and “engineering” the pins on the dodgy DRL bulb holder...and came to the conclusion the LED bulb is at fault, after swapping holders and swapping bulbs, so I’m pleased about that because it means I only need a replacement LED, not a holder!

I tried to install my new headlights!
On the car, they looked fantastic!! :D :D :D

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However, the beam pattern had other ideas, as the reflection on the garage was very, very dim, far dimmer than the standard bulb, which itself was concerning! So instead I put the super white, brighter bulbs into the standard head lights and cleaned up all the contacts, so at least it wasn’t a completely pointless exercise! I’m guessing you’re supposed to put HID or super LED bulbs in these headlamps I got but I just cannot imagine them playing well with the 480’s electrics.

Perhaps I will get some crystal MR2 headlamps at some point, or maybe even something like this;

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I’m guessing as long as you matched the standard resistance you would probably be okay?

But anyway, I am very happy for now! As long as the immobiliser and door lock are still working, I will turn my focus back to the A/C and the bodywork for now, and try and drive and enjoy the car for now too while we still have dry weather, before she goes off to be painted and have the rear lights finally sealed :D
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Re: The story of #89/480 continues...

Post by 89of480 » Thu Jun 07, 2018 1:21 am

Had another exciting drive around Cirencester and Cricklade tonight in my little wedge! After years of owning it and working on it, it finally feels very good to finally be able use it properly! Now I am getting really impatient any time I can’t drive it!! I’m also getting horribly impatient about finally finishing the car!! The summer can’t come fast enough for me to get the car painted!!! By then I also want to have the immobiliser and hopefully the aircon sorted by this point too! I would also like to get the mismatching fog lamps sorted too!

I managed to get some good photos of the car too, including my new, whiter headlamp bulbs and my LED running lamps, both of which are functional now after ordering some replacements!

I am just so excited to finally get the car done and looking good! :D

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Re: The story of #89/480 continues...

Post by eye of ra » Thu Jun 07, 2018 8:57 am

I’m curious. In your pictures it appears that the 4w is on in one and the 21w in the other, both with the popups up. On mine as soon as you pop the lights only the 4w is used (from memory as it’s been awhile). How does yours work?
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Re: The story of #89/480 continues...

Post by 89of480 » Thu Jun 07, 2018 9:50 am

eye of ra wrote:
Thu Jun 07, 2018 8:57 am
I’m curious. In your pictures it appears that the 4w is on in one and the 21w in the other, both with the popups up. On mine as soon as you pop the lights only the 4w is used (from memory as it’s been awhile). How does yours work?
I think in fairness it’s just the brightness of the photos, both shots should be with the 4w lit (although the 4w is still fairly bright, but not too bright), one shot is dipped headlamps, and the other is sidelights with the dim/dip relay holding the headlamps on, when I get a chance I’ll take some more shots of the 21w and the 4w, the difference between them is more noticeable in real life though
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Re: The story of #89/480 continues...

Post by 89of480 » Mon Jun 11, 2018 10:09 pm

This evening wasn’t bad in 480 land :D

My front indicators were peeling and going clear, so I decided to get some chrome Osram bulbs instead; the chrome itself looks slightly different to some of the chrome ones I am used to seeing, but they’re nice and bright and they look good through the lens too!

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Other than that, I filled her up ready for a trip to Manchester tomorrow (from Swindon, so it will be a very long drive indeed, the way it should be!), and got complimented on the car by a guy in a custom American car; he said he really liked my Volvo and remarked how you don’t see them anymore, which was nice, and I even got a thumbs up from a passing cabbie! So this was all very good!! :D

However, I thought I would try and be clever and reset the trip counter ready for tomorrow, tho see how far it would be and how long a full tank would last me, and unfortunately that has cost me as the trip counter and odometer have stopped working since, so I guess I have broken the gear :cryhard: So that is something else to try and source (I’m sure Scandix has some) and take the dashboard apart again and try and fix :(
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Re: The story of #89/480 continues...

Post by WRDendy » Wed Jun 13, 2018 8:08 pm

My dash will be coming apart for some repairs in the near future, my odometer is working fine for now but I'm planning to replace the gear preemptively since I'll have access to it. Brinkie was able to point me in the direction of a replacement gear for the odometer, link here.
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