General Broom Yellow HLX

[bluejohn125]

So the story continues! What wheels is she riding on now? I always thought the originals were the nicest but seem to remember one got damaged?

Any chance of a thread for the Alfa in the "Members Motors - non-Fiat" section? It looks really nice but there's always the danger that if it gets a thread you'll start a succession of rebuilds and upgrades all over again...

 

[Liquid Knight]

Well.

Hmmmm...

Errrrmmmm...

Right. I took the Bravo darn sarf to deliver the Bangle Grinders. She's back on the OZ's for the time being. Popped in to visit the Cinquecento chap on the way through to Norwich way to look at an MX5 I almost bought in February.

I've sold the Alfa as I no longer need a comfy commuter car as my job has been extended another month I'm not being made redundant so the new job is on hold. The company the new job was for is now for sale so I can't imagine that would have lasted long anyway. Lucky escape potentially.
Anyway I've used the money from the Alfa to buy the MX5 and the Cinquecento chap fell in love with my Bravo and the swap is back on.

For now.

 

[puntofan01]

And what's the next Fiat then? I'm sure I remember you saying about another yellow Fiat being on its way?

 

[Liquid Knight]

A mildly scarred, low mileage low owner Cinquecento Sporting with no sunroof that also had sticky brakes so I came back home in my Bravo again.

 

[puntofan01]

I see, lol!

 

[Liquid Knight]

I've been a bit quiet this week. Silence is golden right?

The Bravo have been continuing daily driver duties above and beyond expectations.

Collecting Dad from hospital and taking a fridge freezer to my sisters because it wouldn't fit in her Land Rover.

The local kids had let my tyres down again and as I inflated them at the petrol station I did a good deed having noticed a biker had a slightly flat rear I gave the air line to him to sort it just before a torrent of rain.

In other news.

I have raised the suspension on my MX5 by 20mm and defused the sticker bomb. It almost looks like a car now.

Just waiting for the "Next Day" delivery wheels to arrive (from Tuesday) so I can get rid of the Stancy Pants stretched tyres ones.

 

[puntofan01]

I assume you didn't buy the Cinquecento in the end then?

 

[Liquid Knight]

I assume you didn't buy the Cinquecento in the end then?

Not yet. Lucky I didn't I can't imagine getting the fridge freezer in the MX5 would have been as fun.

 

[puntofan01]

Lol! It would be worth a try!

 

[Liquid Knight]

Should I put this thread...

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=&t=1685035

...up in the new 124 section for giggles? :devil:

 

[puntofan01]

Brave man!

 

[Liquid Knight]

Brave man!

It's like the old Morcome and Wise sketch. Playing all the right notes just not in the right order.

 

[Liquid Knight]

Two weeks and 1,200 miles later and the brake shoes are noisy. I was planning to fit the Punto GT rear disc brakes in my shed but if the Bravo is going or not I'll fit new (eBay) ones tonight. For the time being.

 

[Liquid Knight]

The noisy rear brakes wasn't due to the shoes being worn out.

Just one. This is because whoever fitted these shoes either didn't notice or didn't check to see the at the slave cylinder had seized solid on one side.

Of course the shoes aren't the right ones so I couldn't even replace the one that was gone.

I guess I'll have another look at my Punto GT rear beam at the weekend. :devil:

 

[Liquid Knight]

On a lighter note.



I took the best all round car I have ever owned on a different track the other day. :slayer:

 

[Liquid Knight]

Another two hundred and forty faultless miles dropping a set of wheels of in Banbury, a vice in Cambridge and bringing a Punto GT drive shaft home for my mate in Huddersfield.

Great car.

 

[Liquid Knight]

Well today has been eventful.

I have finally stripped the brakes from the Punto GT rear subframe in my shed.

Mess and faff to get those bloody things off.

Base plates are cleaned and painted...

...hangers are cleaned and sliders greased...

...ready for VHT paint when I refurbish the calipers.

Hang on a minute.

One caliper has a mousetrap spring to return the handbrake and the other has a coil spring.

Whenever this car was on the road it had an original GT3 caliper one side and a replacement Uno Turbo, GT1 or GT2 caliper the other. :bang:


That has ballsed up any ideas I had of either converting the Bravo to rear discs or using them on my next project.

 

[Liquid Knight]

New shoes, cylinders and copper lines. The car now has fully functioning brakes for the first time since I have owned the old girl.

What a difference. The rear brakes come on marginally sooner than the front so the when the calipers close the weight has transferred to the the front wheels.

Brilliant idea but odd feeling for the first fifty or so miles.

I can also brake a little later on the country lanes so I may take my Bravo to the track day in September.

 

[bluejohn125]

Glad you're still improving the car and it's responding by continuing to impress you!

I like it when a sympathetic refurb using decent standard parts gets the same results as an unecessary "upgrade".

 

[Liquid Knight]

The next track day is the 22nd September. MOT runs out in October so it could be the last time I drive to the track and back.

Now the rear brake bites before the front I'm thinking a dab of left foot braking on to the back straight to solve my inside front wheel lift issue from before. Either that or I will have to get "radical" with down force.