Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

Timing was out, because chain had stretched, probably caused by oil starvation, maybe down to an oil nozzle which they’ve changed since they go this far. Head had to come off to enable disassembly of timing chain guides. Going off for a light skim.

Good news is that bores, pistons and valves on the exposed bank are in v good nick. Edit: also they are sorting out the oil leaks and infamous ‘prone-to-bursting buried coolant pipe’ while they’re there.

Bad news is the bill is gonna be massive 😂

As long as you can pay it, doesn't matter.

My opinion:
Why do all that work for a 1.4 twin cam, the 1.8 vvc is the same amount of work modding the subframe.

The wider track and arches don't suit the van, unless the rear inners have been removed to have a wider load area and even then, the front track doesn't have to be increase to fit the engine.

As long as you can pay it, doesn't matter.

After having a bit of a cry, I’ve come round to this way of thinking. I love the car. The guys at A1 German Cars did not believe it existed.

Oh, bugger. Thought the guys mechanic said there wasn't a timing chain issue.

Is it Ok to skim just one head on a multiple head engine?

ah painful dude. get what @Dammit is saying re if you can pay it then okay. but I recall you taking a little chance on this so hope that the fiscals still in your favour when the EML goes out

Did ‘the guy’s mechanic’ even exist? Will never know.

It’s okay to skim one head if you use a calibrated gasket to compensate for whatever thickness was skimmed off.

Is that the 5 series you just picked up? Or have I got my wires all crossed. Cool to get it sorted tho - committed ownership!

Yep, only had it three weeks...

Fuck.
I guess the silver lining is that loads of stuff will get checked and sorted in the process, which removes a lot of the prospective worry.

Well I’ll be in it for way more than the ‘discount’ that the guy gave me. But still less than my max budget when I set out on this exercise.And less than any other manual 550i touring for sale 😉

then all is good dude. nice one.

and it's great to hear you love it already. look forward to seeing it in brighter times

That's the spirit! Good to know it's still within budget/cheaper than other alternatives.

I was being a bit tongue in cheek, there aren’t any. I think only 3 were made.

Even more reason to fix it! I'm jelly (even if it's currently being a bit tricky).

Hopefully that'll get you through another 20k miles at least. Then it's not really bad value, you're just pulling money forward.

Might as well just slap twin-turbos in there while you’re at it.

I took some more pics and wrote some more words if anyone wants to read. It's pretty niche about an MX5 event but you might enjoy it:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CNsp2YshyEa/?igshid=1prkszex2gbwl

https://www.thunderwoodracing.com/misadventures/small-but-mighty-llandow

I need to replace the end part of the exhaust on my 2010 Volvo V70, it's rusted through completely just before the muffler. For someone who's not particularly mechanically minded, is this a job I'm likely to be able to do myself? Is it as simple as unbolting the old part and bolting the new part on?

Seconded. 5 litres isn't enough without at least 2 turbos.

^^Kind of. Ten years of salted roads may have made the bolts and nuts quite difficult to remove - or they might disintegrate when you give them a significant look.

If I were a betting man I'd say that half will disintegrate whilst the other half will merely slough off any flat surfaces that you might get a spanner on, and the remainder of each fixing will appear to be made from vibranium.

You could always see if you can get the old exhaust section out, and if you can't drive it round to the local garage with the new pipe in the boot and ask them to sort it out.

Have you got a car lift? If not, worth getting someone else to do it. Replacing old corroded exhausts under axle stands is something best avoided. I still bear the scars. And burns.

Really enjoyed that article too. Made me a bit sad I don't own an mx5 anymore as would have loved to join. The mx5 crew, especially Mighty5s seem like a nice crowd.

Ah, I had wondered about this! My plan is similar to what you described, order the part, have a punt at doing it myself and see how I get on.

@Brommers, I don't have a car lift or axle stands, I was planning to scuttle about on my back with the car parked half on a kerb, very high tech.
I've not had a chance to have a proper look under there yet so I think that's probably the next step.

Just FYI, if you’re planning on using this as family waggon, the boot on these is crazy small in estate terms. They are basically an ever so slightly longer four door hatch back more than an estate. I’d be surprised if you could fit a Ved sized bike in the back without taking both wheels off and probably removing seatpost too..

Cool wagons tho. My old man had one. It broke down a lot and then floated off in a flood.

London’s famous Polo mallet swinging Frenchman Yorgo has one of the super rare 4x4 ones in Paris I think. Or maybe a more recent model.