Matts CDX - Work In Progress.

[ilovedmymantas]

All that can wait till I get back from our holiday break though.
-It's a rare opportunity to fill the tank so that I can compare average fuel consumption to the computer.

I'm not sure if the satnav was set to shortest or fastest but It took me along miles of a single-carriageway A road.
I was getting a bit panicked when the gauge showed quarter of a tank without a petrol station in sight then I finally found one.
Iwas going to fill the tank but all that was available was regular and I haven't used that for years ( I like to spoil my car!) Premium unleaded cured me of my redex addiction- 6 years without a relapse
Upshot is, I didn't fill the tank to compare mainly because it was 9p a litre! more than when I originally filled-up.
Why are A road services like an overpriced second-class service?

In an attemt to distract myself from the impending bodywork rust/paint issues I've been doing a bit of retail therapy.
New gm oil filter


New fuel filter-I haven't changed the one in this car yet.


I decided that since I'd invested so much on suspension I might as well start on the brakes.
Pretty and functional


Here's the quick version about grooved/drilled/dimpled discs.
I did a lot of searching on many forums. ( not necessarily in the right order!)

Avoid drilled discs, apparently they're prone to cracking.
I'd never heard of piranha but forums likened them to mtec black, the difference being piranha are cheaper and dimpled, mtec are drilled.

In the end I was sent out discs minus the mintex pads. This was quickly sorted and pads were sent out by royal mail24, so no problems there.

What did surprise me was the sender - mtec!

[Robsey]

Can't beat getting a few nice shiny new parts.

As for fuel prices.. I cannot see any rhyme or reason for price differences.

My local fuel stations are moderately cheap,
(My local is 1.20 for unleaded and 1.23 for diesel.)
but if I drive 12 miles to the west, prices are typically 6 to 10 pence per litre higher.
The weirdest prices are at Ellesmere Port, home of the Stanlow Shell refinery.
Despite being within spitting distance of the refinery, fuel station in the 'Port' are typically 8 to 10 pence per litre dearer than my local supplier which is approx 43 miles from the nearest refinery.

[cavalier1990]

Can't beat getting a few nice shiny new parts.

As for fuel prices.. I cannot see any rhyme or reason for price differences.

My local fuel stations are moderately cheap, but if I drive 12 miles to the west, prices are typically 6 to 10 pence per litre higher.
The weirdest prices are at Ellesmere Port, home of the Stanlow Shell refinery.
Despite being within spitting distance of the refinery, fuel station in the 'Port' are typically 8 to 10 pence per litre dearer than my local supplier which is approx 43 miles from the nearest refinery.

While in Wishaw today in Lanarkshire all the fuel stations were at around 1.27, I then had reason to visit a Tesco superstore, which is kind of out of the way of the town funnily enough, and it was 1.22, so topped up! Haven't seen it this price anywhere else, even in towards Glasgow or Renfrewshire area.

[Envoy CDX]

excellent stuff, shame about the rust. But it's only metal, it can be replaced

[ilovedmymantas]

I can't figure it out either.
I'm halfway between the Grangemouth refinery and the outskirts of Edinburgh yet petrol is cheaper further away

On the upside, work on the rust's about to start, a bit at a time so I can still use it
Hopefully this the kickstart I need.
I can help or fit the other bits I've bought while he's welding.
I'm lucky to have found an old school( cut the rust out ) cavalier lover as a mechanic, need to have the how much? talk real soon, I've still got paint to consider!

[Robsey]

Price will depend on how much rust you have and how deep you dig to look for hidden rust.

Minor patch work could be as little as a few hundred quid.
Major rebuilding - chassis rails etc, arches, sills and so on will all add to the bill.
Mine was very bad, but the lad who did my welding did it at quite a low price.

Mine came to about £2650 for welding and rebuilding.
My paint job came to another £1000.
And various parts and chemicals came to another £3000.

For an ultra-top notch, nothing left untouched job, I have seen price tags up to £40,000.

But typical restoration work comes in between £5000 and £10,000 for a pretty thorough job.

[ilovedmymantas]

Good news is the inner sills are solid
I use the car every other day so It's being done in stages, starting with the sills.
It's looking like a section is needed each rear side, roughly 2ft by 8" , to get to good metal.

Tomorrow evening I'm seeing him so he can measure up and first-cut the new steel, I'm dropping it off Friday evening so he'll have the weekend to work on it.
Price-wise It's going to be slower progress

[ilovedmymantas]

Update...
Progress has been slower than expected, for reasons including wet weather, more about that later.

I thought by this time the car would have the new rear arch panels fitted. The reality is the sills have been repaired and are waiting to be finished over-all.
My request was to do the repairs and make the car look ok, at least from the distance. That involved priming then painting with the supplied rattle-cans.
Unfortunately this has resulted in me having separation anxiety a few times because the paint was under plastic drying
Looks like I'm forced to play the long game

In other news....
Exactly a year ago I visited skipsea on a caravan holiday. Around the same time I had saved an ebay listing for a n/s/f door, no handle, with glass.
Since my break-in on that door It's looked ok to the uninitiated but Iknow [i It's not sitting quite right.
It was still listed when I visited in may. Again I thought about buying It.
This time I had a partner and a new dog, two cases, a hold-all and god knows how many unspecified carrier bags. You'd think there weren't any shops in the places we visit
Third time lucky
Just back from skipsea….
The door was still listed and this time a friend with a recently purchased older vw sharan (99) joined us.

A plan formed
Pack one case instead of two, plus holdall.
Arrange for partner and case to return with friend- I'll take the dog clipped to the front seat in the hope I can slide It along the rear seats - the door, not the dog

Phoned the seller on Wednesday and arranged pick-up on Friday. Great to deal with, went out of his way to help.
He halved my detour time by dropping it off at his mums, half an hour away, so I added a fiver for his trouble.
The door was only twenty quid and well worth It, in good condition and has everything including window motor.
(he has a couple of gsi doors with clips, no panels can't remember which side ,If anyone's looking).

It doesn't fit across back seats (hatch). It's about 2" too high to get in
Fits in the back, easier if you don't have holiday crap.

I must admit I toiled a bit with the door. I didn't expect it to be almost complete.

It's really heavy .

Apologies for all the italics, I don't know If It's me or the computer's that's had a brainfart

[iangsi]

I did a similar thing one year carted some 10" mini alloy wheels all the way to the Isle of Wight one year to do a swap for one mini cooper steel wheel ended up bringing them home again as the other guy just had a standard wheel & my alloys weren't what he had / wanted. Only good thing was my alloys did not have tyres on, only just got them in the car though amongst all the kids holiday stuff.

[ilovedmymantas]

I did a similar thing one year carted some 10" mini alloy wheels all the way to the Isle of Wight one year to do a swap for one mini cooper steel wheel ended up bringing them home again as the other guy just had a standard wheel & my alloys weren't what he had / wanted. Only good thing was my alloys did not have tyres on, only just got them in the car though amongst all the kids holiday stuff.

I know I'd have been p'd off

Still no progress with the bodywork but on a similar sentiment I do have wip setback, someone's hit me with the shit-stick again on this car

I parked in my usual spot (a disabled space) right outside the window at 6pm on Sunday.
9.30 Monday I notice a flat front and low n/s/r tyre. Looked around the car, both offside were down too

My first thoughts (and hopes) were ha-ha , you've let my tyres down, I was young once!



Then I noticed the dust caps were still untouched and dirty - alarm bells started ringing, albeit in the distance
I put the compressor on the o/s/f. It wouldn't inflate after 20 mins. so I tried the part inflated n/s/r. It did get up to pressure, only to start hissing
I found a gash in the tyre, approx. 1" wide , then on much closer inspection a cut in all of them . stanley knife I reckon.




All in the sidewall so they're f*cked.
I know I wanted to replace the two rear Uniroyal rain experts(very good) with Goodyear efficient-grip(even better) like I have on the front. I just hadn't planned on it being this soon, or even this year. The uniroyals had loads of life,the goodyears were only fitted last summer

After calling the police, who gave me an appointment between 10.30-12pm on thursday, I called the mechanic after work. It was too late to order by then so we'll see if tomorrow gets a better price than £75 a corner.

Plan A was for me to jack up the front & put on axle stands, he would bring axle-stands for the rear.
That didn't work, I couldn't get the trolley jack under
So onto plan B.
He's bringing a lower profile jack tomorrow, see where it goes from there....

I really can't understand why this has happened to me. We live in a trouble free area and keep myself to myself. I've got so many questions now.
Why was my car the only one, car next to me has it's disabled bay too so It can't be that.
The nearside is at the kerb, two on the way past seems a bit more understandable than making the effort to do all four?
When the door was done I bought a cctv kit but then I thought later 'overkill'
Looks like I'll have to down that route after-all

[iangsi]

Little fockers, I'd be so pissed off

[Mk3alan]

Bar stewards, does anyone cover the parking area with CCTV? Moron's
Years ago while visiting the in-laws after we left I would get a puncture? Turns out this guy didn't like people parking in the space near his house (public car park and he didn't drive)
After we found out he was putting buttons with nail's in under anyone who parked there's tyres, police didn't want to know unless he could be caught doing it.
Went back one night after dark and 'applied' one gallon of old engine oil through the letterbox - didn't happen any more!
Must have made such a mess and I felt so much better.
Talk of the neighbourhood for days.

Alan

[cavalier1990]

Bar stewards, does anyone cover the parking area with CCTV? Moron's
Years ago while visiting the in-laws after we left I would get a puncture? Turns out this guy didn't like people parking in the space near his house (public car park and he didn't drive)
After we found out he was putting buttons with nail's in under anyone who parked there's tyres, police didn't want to know unless he could be caught doing it.
Went back one night after dark and 'applied' one gallon of old engine oil through the letterbox - didn't happen any more!
Must have made such a mess and I felt so much better.
Talk of the neighbourhood for days.

Alan

Nice, I like a good retribution story!

[ilovedmymantas]

ahh. the good old days

[Robsey]

The mind boggles why someone would slash your tyres.

Especially if you keep yourself to yourself.
Although evil is pervasive. These days people do not need to know you to wish you ill will.

It's not as if tyres are cheap, or we are made of money.
I would be gutted and boiling mad if this was my car.

Hopefully the jerk slashed his wrists after doing your tyres. That would be justice.

[ilovedmymantas]

I would be gutted and boiling mad if this was my car.

I think denial was first, followed by anger then the realisation that there was nothing I could do about it, so why worry?
…a bit of background
Warning! Possible graphic content and too much unnecessary information
I've had psoriasis for over 50 years, man and boy. It's stress related and anything can trigger a flare up - my first time in hospital for 6 weeks was due to strep throat!
Last visit was the worst, I lost my dog of 15 years on new year's eve, that triggered a super flare-up.
Lost hair, shed four toenails and lost all thicknesses of my finger skin at once (got a pinkie in a box somewhere ). Over a week with no fingerprints, not much use to a criminal though- touch is so hypersensitive. No wonder newly delivered babies cry, they're skin is so raw

Anyway, back a little more on subject. I think I'm trying to say there's no point getting stressed, It's bad for the health.
The downside is I've become too laid-back now, things aren't moving fast enough for me but I'm not ready to test my limits yet.

Thank you all for sharing in my impromptu therapy session

Hopefully the jerk slashed his wrists after doing your tyres. That would be justice.

Wish he'd thought of doing that first, sadly no reports in the local news
Progress is already slower than It should be, the thought that It might happen to me again is a real worry. I need to get a camera up

[Robsey]

Youch - all sounds very painful.

I used to be VERY laid back, but sadly working in the NHS has long since beaten that into submission.
But that isn't to say that I am quick-tempered...
I just get exhasperated more quickly.

But I still find pointless acts of vandalism very frustrating.

I would indeed speed up the installation of that camera, or more than one to allow for angles and lighting.

[ilovedmymantas]

Change of plan as usual
I'll try and keep it brief...

....couldn't get jack under the car so opted for mobile fitting (I've found 3 tyres or more are free call-out for the bigger companies-same online price ).
As mentioned previously my tyre of choice is Goodyear efficient-grip performance.
National had great reviews but couldn't supply....
Kwik -fit had the worst reviews ever but they beat black circles, who I usually use(no mobile fitting) by over £2 per tyre
Ordered wed for fitting on Friday, call from fitter, they've not been delivered, is sat ok.- called back can it be monday?
Re-stated disability car. Another fitter called to say it would be sunday & to check correct tyres.
car by reg shows correct car & size but buying doesn't offer cavalier from drop-down list so i chose vectra. Fitter knew this didn't sound right so called to confirm

My conclusion is overall the on-line ordering service is terrible.
The fitters are fantastic and are blameless in my eyes but are badly let-down by poor organisation and lack of communication from higher up. They get the brunt of it and that seems misplaced to me!
All went well , tyres replaced, friendly fitter

Here's the old tyres. What a waste of rubber

[cavalier1990]

Change of plan as usual
I'll try and keep it brief...

....couldn't get jack under the car so opted for mobile fitting (I've found 3 tyres or more are free call-out for the bigger companies-same online price ).
As mentioned previously my tyre of choice is Goodyear efficient-grip performance.
National had great reviews but couldn't supply....
Kwik -fit had the worst reviews ever but they beat black circles, who I usually use(no mobile fitting) by over £2 per tyre
Ordered wed for fitting on Friday, call from fitter, they've not been delivered, is sat ok.- called back can it be monday?
Re-stated disability car. Another fitter called to say it would be sunday & to check correct tyres.
car by reg shows correct car & size but buying doesn't offer cavalier from drop-down list so i chose vectra. Fitter knew this didn't sound right so called to confirm

My conclusion is overall the on-line ordering service is terrible.
The fitters are fantastic and are blameless in my eyes but are badly let-down by poor organisation and lack of communication from higher up. They get the brunt of it and that seems misplaced to me!
All went well , tyres replaced, friendly fitter

Here's the old tyres. What a waste of rubber

[ Image ]

If you could find who slashed them you could put them at their front door, stacked up, and fill with cement

[Robsey]

Doesn't surprise me for Kwik Fit.

They are charlatans in my area, trying to con customers to pay for work that is not needed.
Standard "rip off" target figure is a minimum of £500 per car.

At least the tyres are done now.
But is the high definition video camera in place yet?.

[ilovedmymantas]

If you could find who slashed them you could put them at their front door, stacked up, and fill with cement

far too much effort for me but since you led me to front doors, how about a cordless drill and a self-cutting screw - the type with a mini drill-bit at the end, fitted in the keyway
It would roughly take as long as slashing 4 tyres
Reality is I'll never know who did it, just like the door damage months after I bought it.

Doesn't surprise me for Kwik Fit.
They are charlatans in my area, trying to con customers to pay for work that is not needed.
Standard "rip off" target figure is a minimum of £500 per car.

They seem to have stuck around that figure for years. A long time ago I was quoted £550 for brake-work.
I did it myself and the parts came to around £60

But is the high definition video camera in place yet?

Not yet . There were times when I thought "I'm in a good area that nothing happens in ". Then I remembered that most vandalism is done by people passing through - so hard to police.

the missus has buddleia at the front, to attract bees and butterflies, unfortunately this blocks the window view.( car is 10ft from living-room window)!
They should have been cut down 2 weeks ago, they will be in the next couple of days!
Until funds are available for a decent subscription-free ptz cam (just spent £256 on tyres after all), the plan is to use my old dash cam( stuck to the window & powered by phone charger for continuous recording) with the exposure valuation turned up. Better than nothing to start with.

As a bit of an aside....
I don't know how it works south of the border but I'm sure I was once issued with an incident report card (something like that ).

Now it's a " Care Card "



I must be getting old, I'm not comfortable being labelled a "victim"

[3cav3]

I can totally sympathasis with you. Ive been the victim of vandalism and even caught the littlr toe rags on camera, but still no action was taken. And I to suffer with psirios. Can concour that stress does indeed flare it up. No matter how hard you try and avoid it sometimes things do get the better of you. I find a week in the sun and sea water does mine wonders.

[ilovedmymantas]

Well....
I did buy a wiress ptz dome camera to fit ( they're huge btw )!

I'm still not comfy fitting it though, there are all sorts of legal problems because it would face the public pavement/parking space. - How do shops get away with it?
- That and the fact people might think we've actually got something worth stealing! - We don't!

Many moons ago I did a lot of photography and as far as I remember images taken from a public place were ok.

....Just after christmas my missus read a warning facebook post from someone on her list.
Turns out a very nearby neighbour of 8 years was a "tenant from hell". I won't go into details but it's bad
Who knew? They always spoke to us, no wild parties. Kept themselves to themselves.

Suddenly my slashed tyres made sense.
Here's what I think

Someone on fb ( without the landlord's knowledge, they're good people ) decided to go vigilante on their behalf.

They didn't know the car colour ( you're not going to mistake silver for black ) but knew it was a marked disabled car space, ( there are two, next to each other, end & 2nd end ).
Thanks again fb
I think they thought "end house - end space" - Dummies

I'm holding off fitting the camera just now because I'm pretty sure I was mistakenly targetted ( and It's a rented housing association house with new cladding/insulation )!
I don't imagine they'll take kindly to drilling through the window frame for a power supply lead,( might as well hard-wire it to the pc if I've got to drill a hole anyway! ) no matter how belts 'n' braces I do It

Jury's out on this one just now....

[ilovedmymantas]

Eleven days before christmas my handbrake suddenly gave up, the big cable had broken .
Suddenly I'd been forced to become one of my pet hates - people who don't use handbrakes at lights and junctions.
Usually I'm sitting behind someone and being dazzled by their brake lights, let's face it, with modern cars they're nearly all eye-level in a cav
or they're on an up-slope, and while I'm sitting with the hb on and looking around they crawl forward and my mind tells me I'm rolling back

Getting back to the car...
I ordered handbrake cables,shoes, fitting kit (more info in my brake fitting kit post)
there was no way I could get the work done before christmas so I opted to go the whole hog and replace rear discs&pads.
I'd already bought front piranha discs with mintex pads but when I looked for the rear set it was no longer listed
I contacted the company and they quoted 3 possibilities.

I replied with the correct one, even including oem part nos., and received...... the right pads but wrong (5-stud) discs
Got the right discs now after return but didn't arrive till the new year.


Pads and pad fitting kit


Part nos.


Because all the pads are mintex I've been looking at their site
https://www.brakebook.com/bb/mintex/en_ ... E4?reset=1

*I'd like to recommend this for Useful Links please Admin* - It gives a lot of good info, searchable by reg.


Thank you for pointing me to Victoria's Practical Tips Robsey. I downloaded the one for replacing an oil pan.

I was so impressed with her I bought the recommended stuff for a change when I sourced a replacement oil-level sensor attached to a sump

I wish I knew how to clean and test it. I think I would only risk disassembling the old one though



Should only take half-an-hour

Mot's the end of the month so that's a back burner for now.

I'm focussing on doing all the brakes first, a new back caliper's needed too, so brake-wise at least I should be good on the mot.

[ilovedmymantas]

Progress has been disappointingly slow
Handbrake cables were done a couple of weeks ago so ready for adjustment now.

Car passed the mot on Tuesday - with unexpected advisories. All the brake pipes!

I know it makes sense but I've never had a car that had all the pipes affected at the same time.
At least when it's done I can tick it off the 'never need to do again' list

The mot tester told me the emissions were good.
I don't know anything about them though. Seeing values over half- way towards the limits wouldn't have made me think that