there was actually a full photo shoot going on that day with the new mini soft top





they just look wierd with that extended boot IMO

Will have to see one in the flesh to make my judgement, look very like the "baseball cap" model without the baseball cap

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well my pads and springs have arrived waiting till payday to fit them as skint at the moment to declare the mods

so stripped the rear end out a bit, deffinetly feels a bit more responsive, might try and weld a rear strut brace in too

Nice one

Best bet is to just buy a bolt in strut brace, easier and then can be removed if you want in the future

OMP make them

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too expensive, i welded one in a mk1 fiesta i had years ago deffinetly improved it

just welded 2 plates onto the strut towers to spread the force then a tube between them

sisnce i have a welder and the materials it wont cost me anything can soon grind it off if need be

Bolt on ones only cost like £10-30 though.

On a performance side, puting a tube in between the two struts isnt really making a difference - if you put it in the middle, you need to be putting it right up the top where a normal stut brace would do because thats where it needs to be to stop the flexing of the stuts due to all the force being there.

If you put it in the middle, depending on the condition of the chassis, it could fail and put a lovely hole in the turret - I have only ever seen that happen once, but it tought the guy a lesson!

Your car at the end of the day, just advising you of the best option

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tbh i wish it could be written off so i could have an excuse to put my volvo back on the road i miss boost its like an (invisible to police) sierra cosworth

anyway update on the front end top mounts poly brushed and EBC 'green stuff' pads .......

tried to lower it but cant get the bolts off from strut to hub off so gave up might sell the springs again ??

Have you tried soaking it in wd40, leaving it over night, then getting some good leaverage behind your socket with a breaker bar?

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soaked them in it so might have a go another day or whip the whole lot off in one and change the wheel bearings while i do it

Good plan

All looks abit rusted up atm

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Well never got round to it and sold them on

Took the car for its mot and failed on

Cracked rear ARB bracket
Rusty sill
Handbrake not working on one side
Bald tyre

Not too bad really should have it sorted in a few days not looking forward to the sill repairs though

all sorted and has 12 months mot

so ive been collecting some goodies


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spark plug cover and new leads alonth with a bit of paint

also got carried away and won an OMP brace on ebay and later read it doesnt fit zetec models?? ive offered it up and it looks like it should fit fine but do i have to drill the strut tops for the 4 bolt holes??

missed out on some morettes and pop out windows though doh

i really want to get morettes for my but they are very love them or hate them. unlucky on the pop outs

for the brace, yes you do need to drill, pop rivets would probably be better like.

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fifi

OMP brace wont fit, they are for CVH engines. You need a sparco one.

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thanks

bit of ebay fun


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been doing a few miles in it lately as doing a course up in derby and touch wood its been fine, engine mounts need doing as it wobbles a bit when you come off throttle

just looking out for some winter tyres for it

still plodding along and tbh got to be one of the best cars ive owned put over 10k on it now since march with out a hitch still good on fuel sat at 60 but still suprises the big boys when it wants too

as much as i love it though i think it will be going in the new year as im trying to get my bike licence done for cheaper commuting



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went to wales again mid october


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winter duties


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found a friend

also ive fitted orange indicators on the front think it sets the color off better works well on these anyway


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