My mean green hornet

Thanks for all the luck and support.
Plenty of love for the hornet at the MOT station today from other customers
However a minor set back on the test.
Parking brake efficiency 14%, needs to be at least 16%.
The car has been not been used for over a year so hopefully with a lot of use today and a little adjustment it should be fine.
(The rear brakes were all done just prior to the car being laid up, calipers rebuilt, new discs and pads etc)
The only other failure is Top suspension ball joint "dust cover" excessively damaged. I guess they mean the gaiter/boot.
Apparently a new failure item as of January this year.

I would like to say let's replace all the bushes while i'm sorting this, but i really just need the car on the road now.
What's the best way to go about changing the one gaitor?

Jim

ps The numberplate led bolt lamps passed, but had an advisory of "number plate lights have a blue tinge" :LOL:
Oh, and do they have to slam all the doors so damn hard??
 
Not too bad a result I guess. Hopefully all easily sorted for you Jim.

corazon said:
...The only other failure is Top suspension ball joint "dust cover" excessively damaged. I guess they mean the gaiter/boot.
Apparently a new failure item as of January this year.
Click to expand...

Someone will no doubt correct me, but I was under the impression there was a 3-month grace period on the new MOT items - which would only merit an advisory rather than a fail until March 31st?

Can't remember where I read this...and of course it may have been duff info in the first place.
 
corazon said:
What's the best way to go about changing the one gaitor?
Click to expand...

Jack up and support front of car, remove roadwheel, undo top balljoint nut, split top joint taper, remove damaged boot, RITRORP.

The only thing that's likely to give you problems is splitting the taper.
 
I recently purchased some gaitors/boots for the 820 for it's MOT (I knew the new rules were coming in), a lot easier than doing the whole joint :D

Whilst I remember, I haven't forgotten your boot release mechanism, in fact I picked up a solenoid for it the other day. Just need to replicate the metal bits now.
 
webmaster said:
I recently purchased some gaitors/boots for the 820 for it's MOT (I knew the new rules were coming in), a lot easier than doing the whole joint :D

Whilst I remember, I haven't forgotten your boot release mechanism, in fact I picked up a solenoid for it the other day. Just need to replicate the metal bits now.
Click to expand...

I used a cable on my old car simply because I thought the solenoid idea would be a bad idea if the battery went flat.

11tdog.jpg


I cut a hole in the boot and 'frenched ' the plate in, as was the trend back in the 80's.

I do wish I had finished that - perhaps one day I'll remake it hmm.... 'Thunderdog 2' :D
 
I like that Richard.

I used to have a couple of terminals under the rear end of the car to apply power direct to the boot solenoid. When the car was laid up I always took the battery out, so needed them to get the boot open to fit the battery.

Also it's incredibly easy to open the boot from inside the car, just need one of the rear wing stainless trims :LOL:
 
To be honest i hadn't even thought of that possibility.
I was planning on getting a solar trickle charger since my recent battery trouble anyway, so i guess that's even more reason too.
I could have charger cables hooked up to the battery, routed through to the cabin for peace of mind.
Don't want to be locked out of my own boot by a flat battery i can't get to :LOL:

Richard, Thunderdog 2 has a good ring to it.
Jim
 
Don't forget, if you can get into the cabin you can get to the battery terminal under the carpet, or go under the bonnet and apply a booster there.

Problem comes when you've got solenoids on all doors (like I did), so that's why I added the extra terminals.
 
I too am planning on fitting central locking all round, but as far as i'm aware it's possible to use the door key in the normal manner still too? Flat battery or not
Jim
 
Ah yes i see :LOL:
My door locks will be staying.
v8guy said:
where are the reflectors not sure if an M.O.T requirement :?: :?:
Click to expand...
Guy, i removed them almost as soon as i got the car- they just seem like an afterthought to the design and not up to the standard of the rest of the car in my opinion.
It's been through 3 MOT's without a single mention.
Jim
 
I ran mine without reflectors for 12 years. In theory it is a requirement in contruction and use regulations, but I don't think it's part of the MOT (Like it's not part of the MOT to make sure your lights are the correct distance appart and stuff like that). If you ever got stopped at a VOSA checkpoint they might pick it up, but there's probably a lot of other things they'd find too.

In terms of night time parking, yes you do want to be carefull, don't park it half off the pavement on a dark country road !, also a good set of rear lights will have reflecting qualities, and of course a modern yellow number plate is highly reflective. (But we all want black and white ones :D )

If you're really concerned, you could fit some reflectors on hinges behind the bumper, and pop them down when parking in an unlit area. How about solar powered LED's in the lamp clusters (like those solar powered cats eyes), or the good old fashioned parking light.
 
I got some reflectors off a series one boot lid and blended them in to the boot.

It looked like they were actually part of the boot moulding.

I also got rid of those awful number plate lights and blended some flat ones into the roof of the box from an SD1 tail gate.

I wish I had some pics of the back end when it was finished :(

Richard
 
I was thinking the same, that they just presume it's integral to the rear lamps..
My chrome is nice and reflective :LOL:
 
I just did a quick photo retouch.
This is close to the overall look i want, side strips/badges removed, darker green metallic paint.
If i can find a cheap/not too uncompromising solution to lowering her an inch or so, i would go for it.
Nothing drastic though, still muscle car territory..
My photo program isn't up to lowering the car!

premotrear-1.jpg


As i've mentioned elsewhere, i'd love to make the four door pillarless at some stage.
How feasible does anyone think that would be?

Jim
 
I think that's spot on. Perfect blend of cleaning up the lines but retaining the original character of the car, and nothing that couldn't be returned to standard with a little work. I really do love the clean boot lid.

Like you say a little bit lower would add to the effect, as long as you can maintain a very slightly nose-down attitude.
 
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