herbiemercman

I think you exhaust is a bargain but i have had a close look at my set up today and the OEM stock silencer is in very good condition and the rest of the pipes are stainless steel, so i have decided to keep it as it is and just replace the silencer when it corrodes, the stock chrome pipe on the silencer looks quite neat and good sound. Changing the subject, your car looks very good, quite close to the sort of stock look which i have, is the bonnet vent an add on, or a different bonnet? I would love to buy this kind of vent and open an air way to the engine, are the vents available as an add on? Herbie.

Thanks Style. I was not aware of the standing idle test, i will have to make sure my local MOT garage guy is familiar with the rules for these cars. All the cars i have seen on the test are reved to 3k RPM.

When i had my NA/T done, with a full decat, i asked for the OEM silencer to be retained, it has the two pipes entering the silencer from the large pipe which is connected to the down pipe from the turbo. I retained the set up as it is all stainless steel apart from the OEM silencer and it has a good solid burble sound. My question is, will i need a re-map if i replace the system with say a three inch "Japspeed" ? like the one advertised in parts for sale. I ask this as the NA/T man said the car had to be specially mapped to my OEM system and it was not the usual big bore types he was used to. I don't want the fueling to go off, and i can just replace the OEM silencer when it fails, it is 8 years old. I am also anxious about my imminent MOT test for emmisions, all be it i am aware that imports get the low readings default values.What experience is there in the club for the decat MOT ? Herbie.

If the OEM mirrors are electrically folding and they are working, then i need the N/side one, but will take the pair if you don't want to split them? Herbie.

Thankyou zaheer, In Africa you could just leave them in the sun for an hour, good info. thanks. Herbie.

Hi Chris as you well know, the best girls do not wear them. ! ! ! lol.

Hi +1, Best info yet, especially the five years bit. Is the fit so good that you avoid windy chaffing?, I know about the pre- washing and dust free bit. A pici would be great. A protected car port would be great for me, but buildings not suitable, rain is not a problem with my cover though, it is as i have explained keeping car dry and crap free, my cover provides this, but only 6 weeks clocked up to date. I have now fastened up the rear of the cover and got a good fit like the front with the knicker elastic working well. Herbie.

Hi j...jza80, I agree, as i said on my previous post, for an every day use of car situation, these things are a no no. The attraction for me is how clean my car is when i decide to use it, the performance is superb, but if it's full of all the useual, dust, bird crap, etc, etc, i would sooner spend 7 minutes taking the cover off, that cleaning the car. I accept the point about keeping the car protected with wax etc, but if the car has been soaking wet for 2 weeks, this cannot be good. I just hope the cover maintains it's performance of the past 5 weeks.

Thank you guys, had a real chuckle at Budz86, i would have been gutted.

Many thanks Kendo & Sideways, good info. Herbie.

It fits well at the front , at the rear it does need me to place an extra strap. It's not Halfords, it was a company who specialise in the covers,(if that is possible) lol, and was circa £65 delivered. What damage to your cars did you experience? and how was the cover fastened? Up to now there are more reasons for me keeping the cover like i explained in my last posting, and as i said, if it lets me down i will bin it. So far there are no possitive comments, wish i had asked the Club prior to purchasing.

Hi Guys i am sure there must be a previous thread on this question but more recently new experience may have come in. I read some time back that people put the headlight assembly in the oven set on low and when the gentle heat has soaked into the adhesive which attaches the lens to the housing, then after removing the clips the lens can be gently prized off. Is this correct? and if some one has carried this operation out, can they give any advice? any info will be appreciated. Herbie.

Yeh he is helpful and has given me good info, it's just the lacquer bit that i cannot understand. There are lots of google reports and different experiences with covers, if i do get any slight deterioration i am not arsed and will get shut of the cover.

Thanks Stonkin, I take on board most of what you have outlined, i will say now that if i had to use the car most days, then a cover would be a no, no. The bit about moisture i cannot understand it degrading acrylic lacquer it is impervious to water and many cars are soaking wet and covered in snow and ice for weeks in Lancashire. Cleaning all the dust off is not a problem, and only chucking the cover back on when it is dry is also not a problem, takes me 7 minutes to roll it on from front to back, the elasticated hem gets under the front fender and holds the front well secure and rolling the cover back is non chaffing and dead easy. In the spring and summer time my car sits in the shade for most of the day and the cover will not be used until the winter or during a period where i am away for a longer period. The reason i am soldiering on is having seen the crap which has been kept off the car and the seems, nicks and crannies all soaking wet, bird crap, next doors cat, leaves, sycamore seeds, my neighbours building dust, grass cuttings. So my cover will only come off when i see the slightest sign of any even slight paint/lacquer deterioration viewed as you suggest in the correct light conditions.Thanks for your comments. Herbie. new grille..jpg (204.4 KB) cover#4.jpg (197.9 KB) cover#2.jpg (193.4 KB) cover#3.jpg (191.4 KB)

Hi Noz, Rub the lens down with 800's with warm water and a squirt of washing up liquid. Then same again with 1200. Then buff up with standard t-cut on a lambs wool buffing machine. Then hand polish with a lint free cloth for 5 minutes. Then two light coats of acrillic laquer. Done this on several cars. Then they look like new. Herbie.

My experience on waxoyl is based on treating my supra and my merc, every 5 years, from both cars being new 20 years ago, i have no rust, easy time tested proof how well it works. Both cars have always lived out in the open and have been through tons of road salt in all the winters. It is easy to apply, a couple of hours on a warm day with a good supply of compressed air and a £25, 5 lit tin of the original waxoyl. It is not just oil suspended in a drying wax, there is a chemical effect on steel which lasts for a long time, which stops the oxygen working with the iron in steel, the fe02 is blocked. Oil rigs, farmers, etc have been using this for 50 years or more. Some other manufacturers try to mimik the original waxoyl, but they cannot buy, time, to prove their worth. I am not a waxoyl salesman, i just want other members to have the benefit of my experience as i have benefitted from many other member's experience on my NA/T project and other technical problems etc. Herbie.

I have just looked at my car following 5 weeks of windy wet weather etc, it is perfect and clean. As i said in my thread the movement on my cover is minimal and moisture cannot harm aged paint that is coated with laquer. See the link below, old paint does not need to breathe, it's a metaphore for the solvents on freshly painted cars. I am going to keep a close eye on the situation, and i value the comments, BUT at this stage i do not understand why some owners have experienced damaged paintwork, moisture will not affect proper paint work, chaffing can be minimised to an acceptable level, mine ok to date, and paint does not need to breathe. I fully agree with Chris on the garage no no and i put this in my starter thread. I am still interested in any other experiences members have had. Finally i also know how the ultraviolet waves and the heat of the sun is the most degrading element for dashboards and paint work degredation, the cover eliminates this. Herbie. http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?3704-Paint-Needs-to-Breathe#HthTZKamO7ioOksM.97

Hi Sheefa, Rear lights just arrived, package looks well secure, i will open it tonight, had to rush out this morning. Many thanks. Herbie.

I think "Look before you leap" comes to mind here on my part ? may be i have made a mistake? not sure in that on windy days the sheet is pulled very tight and i have placed additional straps on the car, it is also elasticated front and rear and it grips tight, little or no movement on really windy days. However i am not 100% sure that there is not some slight movement, which might be enough to rub off some paint? I will keep a keen eye on this. Any further experience on this will be welcome Thanks for info. Herbie.

It was hard work and very fiddly but these are the best 2 mm thick high quality leather seats money can buy, IMHO, they also give your car that "new car" smell. 20151123_144302.jpg (176.3 KB) 20160114_140835.jpg (196.5 KB)

Hi Dudes, After 19 years of ownership i just treated the beast to a top quality car cover. I takes 7 minutes to put it on the car, four corner ties which tie around the spokes on the wheels and i center two inch wide strap, it holds fine in strong winds and has a soft felt lining to avoid rubbing marks on the paint work. The reason i bought this cover is that unless your garage is heated and well ventilated, then letting the car dry outside and then applying the cover is the best option, IMHO, the other thing for me is i only use the car occasionally and if it was my daily transport i could not tolerate the hassle twice a day. I just buffed the car with the new revolutionary compound, £28 for a litre, but it is an all in one treatment, not the three different abrasion type bottles. Where i live, much traffic,smoky chimneys, building dust, factories etc, and i used to look at the car just after 2 days and it was full of crap and bird droppings, and getting wet, now the environment can do what it wants, as when i remove the cover, it is as clean as when i left it. So for £60 my pride and joy has a winter coat, it had to wait 19 years for it, and be after it had it's NA/T conversion and new red and black superb quality leather seats, my wife is jelouse of the care my car gets. lol. Herbie.

my car has been waxoyled every 3 years from new, it has to be done with high pressure on hot day if possible,you have to heat the can in very hot water and also add 20% white spirit to give maximum dispersance. The tailgate seams, the sills, the bonnet seams, the inside of the doors and inside the wings above the liners, on top of the fuel tank etc,are the key areas, the high pressure creates an oily mist which gets everywhere in the enclosed sections, you fit plugs at various points to inject and other holes to watch the oily mist expel. The car will smell for 2 or 3 weeks, BUT it will never rust,even if you have all the body kits fitted, also when dry waxoyl will not spoil your clothing if you touch it, it will not attack rubber or plastic items. On the exposed high wash areas on the flat underbody etc i use waxoyl underseal which dries hard and will not wash off. You can change all parts on your car but not the body if it gets "cancer" rust, which occurs on the inside and when you see it break through onto the outside it's too late. Apologies for dramatysing this but i hate rust and have a waxoyl toddy before i go to bed. Herbie.

Hi Mike, They arrived today, very well packed and exactly as described in your posting. Many thanks. Herbie.

Hi Nic, Good info on the fog light conversion, cheers mate. Herbie.

The garage is in Lancashire and they don't do mail order, it was also 3 years back.