casasteve

I might try a slightly longer one, see what happens lol. I think I have a 15" blade right now, may try 16".

So today's task is finding some new front tyres. I have a slow puncture on the passenger side and it's annoying me. I was going to try and buy new wheels, but I think I just need to concentrate on other things (like cam belt change!). Looking for 185/60 R14 82H, these are my main options: I'm thinking the Yoko's, but not just because they're cheapest They seem to get good reviews. Any other recommendations? Also, I cleaned up my new centre console/arm rest last night. Looking forward to fitting that, but waiting for a replacement passenger side seatbelt clasp to arrive in the next day or two. Also booked into the Ramp and Wrench place tomorrow night to finally do the brake discs/pads/bleed, oil change, transmission fluid change and anything else that I can think of while I'm there.

My thoughts exactly I just ordered some mist washer jets and keeping an eye on matching MG ZS trim parts in a nice silver/grey colour. I'll be getting rid of the wood grain asap Then, I'd like to do something about the rear wiper... Are there any known mods to make the thing work better? I find it's a bit poor. Maybe a slightly longer wiper blade? I plan to replace it with a flat/aero blade. I wondered if there are any arm replacements from other cars that work with the MB? Wishful thinking maybe.

I'll try tonight. Already got my eye on matching MG heater trim/dash trim... Hmn...

Right, well ordered some GT bolts as above. I've gone with simple black. It's not a flashy car, and I intend to go with muted colours where ever I can (maybe the odd highlight). I figure there's no point putting bright red lipstick on a pig My new centre console arrived and I like it. The gear gator and surround has fag burns all over, but the rest is in great condition. I'm not too worried about the gator, I'll just re-use my own for now. I need to find two additional screws as this has two extra vs mine. Are these easy to get hold of? I guess a trip to B&Q or something!

Perfect! Thanks NIK

Sounds like a plan... I'm not sure I know anywhere that sells bolts individually. It's not like the US, where most places do that.

Can't seem to find much info about the bolt sets. I want to replace bolts on things like the headlight mounts, manifold heat shield and a few of those other rusty bolts around the front holding the radiators.

So I truly have the bug now. I might keep track of what I've spent, but that'd be scary. I'm sure it's quite small in the grand scheme of things, but considering this is a £300 first car I'm probably spending too much Still, I want to treat her right. I'd like to polish her up a bit and give her some TLC. Sooo. In the post: 7w Cree LED reverse light bulbs Interior LED bulds to replace interior dome and boot light bulbs Leather arm rest and centre console from an MG ZS (should arrive today) Can anyone tell me, the Skunk2 bolt sets I've seen around on the forum; are they a kit to replace all bolts in the engine bay?

I currently have 185/60 R14's

I'm a little concerned about affecting my speedo if I put on bigger wheels. I've figured out that if I were to go 16s then I'd need to go with a 40 to get a real close overall radius. Is that how I should be thinking or am I missing something?

Hah! Too true. I see a lot of these nice cars you guys have and it got me a little jealous I keep looking at wheels but can't find anything I like on my budget. I realised I have 14" wheels this evening. That penny dropped hard! Looking at 16". Ideally some rotas would be ace I may have to settle for MG hairpins. Also, decided to look out for ARBs and stuff

Swapped out the side lights for the LEDs, bought some heat resistant black enamel from halfords along with a few other things. I had a go at getting the heatshield off the manifold but the lower but defeated me. I stopped for fear of rounding out then head. That, and I took a chunk out of two fingers when a rust bolt suddenly freed up! :/ All of the bolts in my engine bay appear to be rusty as f*ck! I changed out the air filter too, although the old friend one looked pretty clean. I'll have another go at the heatshield this week. I plan to wire wool it to within an inch of its life! I may even take a look at the rocker cover too... This is becoming a little more than "minor mods and fixes" Lol.

So I did a few things on my list yesterday. I got the plugs swapped out and notice the car ran a little smoother. I pulled the interior light/IR receiver out and couldn't see any corrosion to explain my central locking issues. I even pulled the side pillar trim off and still no issues there so back to the drawing board on that one. I got my osrams on. One side was a b!tch because the metal spring clip fell off. Took me a while to figure it out. My headlights feel like they're pointing down too far, so I'll have a look at what's up today. I swapped the cabin filter. Whoever did it last put the old one in the wrong way around. My new one didn't have a direction printed on it! I also got the hand brake trim off and made a start on the centre console ready for swapping for the new pieces which I should have tomorrow. The two infamous screws came off without too much of a fight which was a relief! I might also be about to look at a new head unit... So a few jobs off the list, and a few added. I noticed one of my side lights has gone. I have some led builds already so I'll swap them today. Also I was reading through another mb2 thread and I got thinking about how ugly my engine bay is. Slippery slope Lol Any advice on heat resistant paint? Is the halfords enamel any cop? Also, these skun2 and other bolt kits, are they to replace every bolt under the bonnet?

Any links to pulling the bumper off/replacing the motor? I have the same issue. Makes all the right noises, occasionally is dribbles a bit of water. I'm hoping it's blocked though. Another thing for the ever growing list.

So I may have had a moment of weakness last night. Really I need to be sorting the mechanicals, but I couldn't resist this: They're out of an MG ZS but single window switch is what sold it, I haven't seen any other arm rests with just the one switch (which is what I need). Just need to see if I can get those two annoying screws out. I probably should have tried them before buying these lol Fingers crossed.

A few uninspiring photos:

I'm in Coventry. I'll run by a local place my dad has used for a number of years and see what they say. Would be better for me as I can leave it there and still get to work easily (I've just blown through all of my holiday allowance :/)

Thanks for the tips. I have a friend of a friend, etc... Getting a guestimate hopefully for someone to do it. I'll take a look at parts. I assume most local garages don't mind you supplying the parts, or am I going to p!ss someone off if I rock up with parts?

£210 seemed reasonable for a cam belt change, but I'm new to garages and quotes to be honest. This is my first car

Just popped into my local Honda franchise (Avonvale, Coventry) to buy transmission fluid, but their card reader was stuffed so I have to go back another day. Still, I got a quote for cam belt and water pump change. Surprisingly they didn't seem to want to combine the two costs, though I didn't press them for a combined quote. So, cam belt they want £210 for and water pump they want £357! Ringing around a few local places over the next few days.

I need to stop spending money! Just ordered more stuff for the above list, and some Osram Nightbreakers seeing as after discount they were £12... So I have discs, pads, oil filter, pollen filter, spark plugs, osram bulbs, several tools like the windback tool and sparkplug wrench, as well as other bits and bobs on their way. Now I need air filter (trying to decide whether to go paper or K&N panel), engine oil and transmission oil. I'm going to leave the dizzy cap for now, and see what happens after replacing the spark plugs. I guess there is wisdom in making changes gradually and seeing how the car reacts

Just figured out I can get them both for £21 after 30% euro carparts discount, so I might just go for it.

Anyone link me to the best place to get dizzy cap/rotor? Cheapest I can find is about £12 for the rotor and £20 for the cap. I have no idea if these are good prices!

Ordered a windback tool - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/191007635230