E30 Zone

Heres me lovely new rad,courtesy of Euro Car Parts.Think it was about 90 squid.
Here me horrible old rad crumbling to pieces!!! Very shocked when i saw this.Dont know how the car was coping.
Just a couple of pics to show what it looks like in the engine bay without a rad.
Amazing what the new dizzy cap looks like compared to the old one!
Fitted the rotor arm first(sorry forgot to take pic of that) followed by the dizzy cap which looks like this on
heres the lovely new rad fitted.
This pipe was quite difficult to put back on.Just in a awkward position.Well it was for me anyway.
And now its running lovely.This is the biggest job i did on my car(with the help of my bro) to date so quite happy with that. Enjoyed the learning process.

Good stuff, aircon too?

Yeah,the old girl got air con too!

Alot of people cant believe it when i say the year of the car and come out with "yeah its got air-con"!

Hiya Giggz, its a good feelin aint it when you do things yourself, last week i replaced the front section of my exhaust(downpipes) and changed my starter motor and i'm no mechanic i can tell you.
Well done mate.
BTW nice motor you got there !

Lee.

Nice 1 sir. Must say your motor looks lovely too!

Yeah in regards to the work.I aint no mechanic either so to have done this on my own(with a litle help) felt good and makes me want to learn more about my car. Was it hard doing the front end of your exhaust then?

Thinking of giving mine an examination and would be up for the challenge if need be.

well done gigz, as long as you double checked it all, its the best feeling knowing its been done propperly and u saw ALL of it done!

hate getting my car back and wondering on the drive home " dyou reckon he did it propperly though? "

good stuff son!

I wouldnt say it was hard, just fiddley and heavy. I took off the whole exhaust to replace the front section as i was told it would be easier that way. I soaked the nuts and bolts and the nuts on the manifold overnight in WD40 and this did help as they came off quite easily.
I had to borrow the tools for the job, you would need a good socket set with a couple of extensions , and an elbow thingy attachment to get into tight corners ooh and axle stands.
Too be honest the next day my body felt like i'd done a complete yoga workout under the car as my whole body was aching, youve really not got a lot off room under there.
I'd do it all again though, it was fun.
What nobody told me though was when i had fitted the new section and put it all togethor inc manifold/downpipe gasket and sealing rings when i started the car and the enginge became hot , thick white smoke started coming out from where the downpipes meet the manifold, My car was filling up with this smoke, really making my eyes sting, i opened the bonnet and thought my engine was gonna catch fire.
I rang my good buddy Jit (big-up !) and he told me it was normal and not to worry, after about 15 mins it died down and all is good. Apparently it was the new gasket sealing itself, sort of melting i gather.
Its all a learning curve and you never know i may be able to help someone out sometime with my new found knowledge.

That is also a good point Johnono, you know its been done right and all the nuts and bolts are secure and you've not been ripped off .

cheers naylor but i know there are how many stories of gettin the car back worse than when it went in, it aint worth the hassle and deffo not worth the money

still though, there are some jobs i wouldnt have a clue what to do with

Cor blimey Naylor.Talking about being under the car...I hate being under the car,even though i know its on axle stands n dat but i just get visions of the whole thing falling on me I remeber i had to change a fuel line pipe coz the old one ripped coz it was so old and it went right to the back of the engine bay at the bottom. It was fidley and i was only under there for about 5-10mins but i was well si*%ing it!!!!

It is a good feeling to do a job yourself.At least if it does fcuk up you know its your fault.

By the way Naylor. Well done for getting that pipe job done.Sounds like a good old work out.

Giggz wrote:Yeah,the old girl got air con too!

Alot of people cant believe it when i say the year of the car and come out with "yeah its got air-con"!

what year did it come out?

My car is a 1988 (F plate)

Did the new dizzy and rotor make much difference? Was thinking of changing mine.

I am thinking this is related...but before,the car used to idle very uncomfortably when driving and then coming to a halt.But now the idle is very stable and the throttle seems alot more responsive from about 2000 revs onwards. How long has it been since you changed yours?

Sounds good. Mine hasnt been changed in years by looking at it. Must go through the receipts and see if its ever been done.

Bare in mind i changed my sparkys aswell!

Let me know how it goes when you get around to doing it?

Good work mate! Car looks great too, is it one of the very last pre facelift cars?


Andy

it actually one of the first i think.Facelift is where its all colour coded and that isent it?

Looks good in the pic but unfortunently it is blighted with a fair bit of rust,stone chips and dents. All contributed by the previous owner.But my mission is to (hopefully god willing) bring it back to its former glory.

Sorry was looking at the fan, for some reason thought that earlier cars had bigger blades.

As for restoring it, good on ya! We're all here to help with any advice etc.


Andy

My radiator is only this long! Anyone know why the differance?

I noticed that too dave!

Early/late or aircon?


Andy

Air con I recon, bigger cos of the load / having a condenser in front of the rad more likley.