General Poor mans Stratos...

[purf]

Fingers Crossed! Most MOT inspectors should be impressed by one of these cars as there as so few about now.

I have fixed the alternator charging issue my car has had since it was parked up in December. The charge light connection in line to the alternator in the engine bay has gone bad, corroded. I need to get a water proof AMP style connector as this is the second of the original connectors which has gone like this.

so now I just have to fix the bonnet catch, re-fit the plastic battery cover and check out this corrosion under the front end...

 

[JJBradders]

It failed miserably :-(
Not at all surprised and 7/11 failures are extremely trivial. They really were picky though, but I suppose it's all for a good cause...

Is there any way to adjust the rear calliper balance? I've done the handbrake adjustment under the cover but efficiency only came to 17% which scraped through but is awful. They said the rear brakes were unbalanced? On the MX5 there was an adjuster in each calliper so you could wind the piston in to remove slack. Is there something similar on the Fiat?

Sounds like a fun list Purf, though corrosion isn't to be unexpected is it? :-D

 

[purf]

Youre to hear all trivial things. The brakes are probably a bit sticky and surface rust? Did you overhaul them at all? I don't think You can adjust the brake balance but I could be wrong?

Are the hoses new?

 

[JJBradders]

I replaced hoses and solid lines in the rear so that won't be it? Might do discs and pads on the rear just in case.

There was a lot of slack at the calliper on the driver side (handbrake mechanism) but not the passenger side. I'm starting to suspect that calliper might be iffy...

 

[purf]

Any luck with the brakes?

 

[JJBradders]

Not as of yet, haven't really thought what it could be... I'll go and have a look now actually.

I get the suspicion I took it to the wrong MOT garage. Not sure they're used to classics... Fortunately there is a classic one I know nearby who will do the X, so it's hopeful!

 

[purf]

Maybe they just need a bit of use to clean the discs up? Bit sketchy but you could put the rear up on axel stands and run it in gear with brakes gently applied to clean any rust of the discs? Or just take it on a few little drives whilst riding the brakes ?

 

[purf]

I hate mots. I rarely trust them!

 

[JJBradders]

Ah that's a good plan... There's nothing dodgy about running the half shafts at full droop?

 

[purf]

Iv done it with fwd Cinq to refurb rims and test clutch etc that didn't cause a problem. The x19 shafts and cvs are pretty beefy in comparison?

I imagine the suspension and driveshafts are designed to work within their limits but probably safer to just drive around the block a few times though?

 

[JJBradders]

Jacked it up and ran it for about an hour on and off the brakes. Defo a lot better.

More issues though! Steam has started coming up through the central tunnel. I'm assuming it's a heater pipe as it's coming up around the heater, gear lever and in the spare wheel well. Any idea as to what it could be?

 

[JJBradders]

Couple of snaps from last week

 

[purf]

Hope the brakes work out. The steam... the steel heater pipe iirc goes through the centre tunnel. It might have a hole or leaking jubilee clip if you are lucky.

The main radiator pipes go under the car in another box section under the car. They are a lot of work to replace fully but there are apparently some workarounds. The heater pipe could possibly be replaced with a long rubber hose?

The car looks great! How does it feel to drive? Make sure your tyre pressures are so important, it feels wierd if they are not spot on. 26psi front, 29 rear

 

[JJBradders]

Rad pipes are fine, it's only happened since I plumbed the heater in. I seem to remember the heater had been previously blanked off. I've already bypassed one steel pipe for the heater so I might have to do that again.

Haven't had a proper chance to drive it annoyingly! Bit tricky without an MOT. The short outings I've done though are superb, really direct steering and the pick up is so quick when you exercise your right foot...

Ah didn't know that about the tyres, I've had them at 30...

Started to Polish it! The surface isn't perfectly smooth but the surface finish is stunning!

 

[purf]

Yeah at 30 psi all round the steering feels really sketchy at higher speeds. exactly what I did when I first got my X.

Maybe the heater matrix is leaking?

Maybe

 

[JJBradders]

Well I haven't got beyond 30 yet ?

Ooh that's very possible, I'll check it. Fortunately I've got a spare courtesy of Guy.

Well there's no evidence of water in the tunnel that I can see, but it seems bizzare how there's steam coming out of every end of the tunnel.

 

[purf]

Maybe it's just a tiny pin hole which leaks when it's hot and pressurised?

 

[JJBradders]

Yeah I suspect you're right. Not ideal though to turn the cabin into a sauna ? Certainly different though

 

[purf]

Sounds familiar! My cars heater valve is stuck so in the summer it was very warm!

 

[JJBradders]

Right - I've replaced both heater lines with rubber hoses running outside of the transmission tunnel for the time being. Still loads of steam!

It is defo steam by the way...

I'm at a loss now really - It wasn't doing this last week, or the many weeks since October ish time since its been running.

It only does it when up to temp (duh) so my suspicion would be the coolant pipes? But there's no leak anywhere