Hi everyone your probably wondering why ive bought a ka, well i about 3 months ago i split with my fiancee after a long relationship so to help me get through it i decided to buy this ka luxury to keep me busy just over a month ago from a mates gf for a project to buy and sell but i kinda like it its a 2003 plate only covered 61k and being the luxury model it has some bits on it with black leather aircon, heated front screen and remote locking

I only paid £150 for it but it does need a fair bit of work, it came with 3 months tax but no mot

the headgasket is gone and done internal damage
wishbones are split and have play
top mounts have play
aircon pipe damaged
discs and pads pasts there best
has a small amount of rust above the petrol filler flap
new glovebox
fit new genuine front arch clips
heater control valve
and a few bits of missing trim
and replaced missing alloy wheel cap
and adjust the handbrake

i dont think its been well looked after it was in a sorry state when i got it
















Then i gave it a wheels off clean under the rear arches was very muddy indeed, but the car scrubbed up very well no parking dents its just the scab of rust above the petrol flap that lets it down







Also added a new exhaust trim and replacement ka badge as it was missing










Brand new centre cap bought off ebay for £9.20


A few bits from the scrap yard to replace the broken and missing items on mine


Time to get the engine out as its dead



Bought myself a crane as well which really helped










Dirty bay



Cleaned the gearbox up so its nice and clean for when i source a good replacement engine


I couldnt resist but give the engine bay a big clean





also treated and hammerited some of the surface rust on the sills although there was very little


Then bought a new oil filter, oil, fuel filter, pollen filter, sump washer, wiper blades and antifreeze


Now i just gotta make the space in the garage for another engine as atm the projects on hold till ive sold the rest of my fiesta spares basically

im also looking at a dark grey 2003 ford mustang gt 4.6 v8 5 speed manual with just 6,000 miles on the clock in a couple of weeks time as now im free to do what i want its time to live my dream and get one

thats it for now

_________________





Rip Ben Elvin (jam)

Nice little project you've got there!!
Certainly looks like it'll keep you busy and be very rewarding when done.
Are you putting a standard engine back in or does anything bigger slot in place?

As for the 'stang..... Nice!

Sorry to here this news mate

Hope things work out for the best.

'stang sounds good
Surely you won't be keeping this as a runaround?

_________________

Some people are like slinkies. Not really good for anything, but bring a smile to your face when pushed down the stairs!

From the moment I picked up your book until I laid it down, I was convulsed with laughter. Some day I intend reading it.

_________________





Rip Ben Elvin (jam)

Update here :

Been down the garage tonight and after a bit of research into the weird clip things for the airconditioning pipes i bought a set of spring locking tools for around £5 on ebay and they done the job perfectly so i could replace the damaged aircon pipe easily in total cost of replacing the pipe including the tool only came to like £15 or there abouts so a real result as fords want around £90 for the pipe and aircon specialists would want around £40 to changed the pipes over



d
Damaged pipe




Replacement aircon pipe fitted

also when i was investigating how to remove the aircon matrix i had to remove the heater control valve pipes to gain access and i took one off no problem but the other snapped inside the hose meaning the heater control valve needed to be replaced

another ebay job £9.30




tomorrow i plan on getting the heater control valve fitted and assemble the wiper motor ajd washer bottle etc back on so its all back together then its time to underseal the car and give it a mop and then find a replacement engine

_________________





Rip Ben Elvin (jam)

Nice work fella, after my LEGOLAND trip car is a bit of a mess, may need your valeting skills again :-P lol

Sad news about your relationship phil , I'm sure a stang will cheer you up

Good work on the ka though

_________________





Rip Ben Elvin (jam)

_________________





Rip Ben Elvin (jam)

as said via text phil sorry about the relationship

stang sounds mental

Ka runaround will be cheap for you!

No update on the ka recently sort of forgotten about it but i kinda need it sorted as using the mustang everyday is draining my wallet

ive got this thursday off work so going to underseal the floor pan and go down the scrappy and try and get a rear spolier for it in silver and a new glovebox or if i can find a low mileage engine might try and get the later spec dash with the proper glovebox in a deal with the engine

ive also bought a new grill for the ka as i noticed it had the wrong one as its the luxurry model and is meant to have a silver grill rather than the black

_________________





Rip Ben Elvin (jam)

Well i done some work to the ka on thursday, and it now has the proper luxury ka grill




Painted under both rear arches silver


Got a spoiler in silver so fitted that





And replaced the glovebox lid and catch which now opens slowly and closes nicely was a bit fiddly but i done it


Ive decided im going to grit my teeth and fork out £500 for a brand spanking new engine for it and fit a new clutch to it, seems mad to spend that kinda money on a car that only cost me techincally £95 after the tax refund but its a real solid ka except the bubble above the petrol flap and the duratec 1.3s are known for water leaks and headgasket issues so a buying a secondhand engine for say £200 will probably go wrong and as im keeping the ka for a couple of years a fresh engine shouldnt give me any major issues

_________________





Rip Ben Elvin (jam)

Sounds like a good plan with the engine mate. And £595 for a solid car with a solid engine is a no brainer really when you weigh it all up!

Better get that bubble sorted before the winter so it doesn't get worse under the paint and then turn in to a major job

Paul

_________________





Rip Ben Elvin (jam)

nice one mate!

you can clean my car

nice work Phil.
Shit news but this will keep you busy!

_________________

fifi

Big update here

Painted the gearbox and put the new engine in the car










Pic of the stang




Also bought a brand new inlet as i noticed a piece of black plastic in cylinder inlet port 1 of the old engine so thought i best put a new one on it


spent all day yesterday on it, finishing it off, but a bit stuck atm as the engine turns over and is getting a spark and fuel but not starting, should be a easy fix im hoping

_________________





Rip Ben Elvin (jam)

nice work phil!