Xbolx tat blog, Jan 2016 'FLEET UPDATE'

[Paul Y]

Dec 11, 2014 23:03:42 GMT TS said:

Dec 11, 2014 6:44:35 GMT Paul Y said:

What an inspirational thread!

Regarding the smell can I suggest the following before you spend any money? Get yourself to Starbucks and ask for the coffee grinds. Spread this liberally across the carpet, seats, glovebox, in fact just cover the soft surfaces with the stuff. Leave it for a few days and then hoover it up. Tadaa! The smell will have disappeared! And if not then at least it cost you nothing.

I was sceptical but used this method when one of my children left a milkshake in the back of my wifes new car. Took a few applications but it really got rid of the smell.

Keep up the good work!

P.

You did this with used coffee grounds? Did you dry them first? I heard of it but only with dry coffee (as in new out of the packet stuff). Old coffee just goes mouldy doesn't it?

Yup, they are moist rather than wet. Got a big bag of the stuff from Starbucks and spread it all over the carpet ( the milkshake was in the boot of her Galaxy) left it for a few days and then hoovered it out. Smell gone.

P.

[forkliftfred]

Love this thread. Keep on buying tat. Inspirational stuff.

[MJK 24]

The magic continues!

[keithyboy]

Brilliant stuff as always. A Primera GT is always a useful thing to have kicking around.

As regards the the smell, my car often has a whiff of wet dog (from the wet dog). I find hosing down the carpet with sure 48hr deodorant works quite well. Many moons ago I killed the smell from a milk spill that no amount of scrubbing would shift with Lynx aftershave.

[Dez]

Dec 13, 2014 21:42:46 GMT keithyboy said:

Brilliant stuff as always. A Primera GT is always a useful thing to have kicking around.

As regards the the smell, my car often has a whiff of wet dog (from the wet dog). I find hosing down the carpet with sure 48hr deodorant works quite well. Many moons ago I killed the smell from a milk spill that no amount of scrubbing would shift with Lynx aftershave.

yeah, but trying to expain to anyone (especially your better half) why the car smells strongly of teenage boy could be difficult....

[baconlord]

Hate to moan but I hope to see some Maserati action!

[xbo11ox]

The Maserati is a source of great shame for me, a chap in my office was all excited about it when I told him and asked if we could use it for his wedding. He's been married nearly 2 years now

[baconlord]

No more tat till shes finished, and painted and towing some tat behind her across Germany!

[Amazosan]

*stocks up on tea and biccies, starts reading 6 months of xbo11ox tat blog*

[tonybmw]

Yes bring back the Masa

[outrage]

Dec 14, 2014 22:58:49 GMT xbo11ox said:

The Maserati is a source of great shame for me, a chap in my office was all excited about it when I told him and asked if we could use it for his wedding. He's been married nearly 2 years now

maybe for his next wedding?

[xbo11ox]

^^^^ Ha ha good idea! I'll suggest it.

anywy, YO! Been up the garage again the other day, plodding on with the underpowered grandad car. Main task was putting the interior back together.

I cleaned the seats with a steam cleaner borrowed offf my landlady. They were not actually too hideously filthy, but the steam cleaner did brightem em up a bit. Cleaned one on the left obv!!!





Yeah fair enough that was worth doing. No smell coming off these either thankfully.

Back up the workshop, before I put the console in and that I though I'd better adjust up the handbrake properly:




Neat design the brakes on these, just a little handbrake-only drum brake inside the disc. As the handbrake shoes only hold the car rather than contribute to stopping it, seemingly they never wear out!!! Thats pretty good innit. IN view of that theres no crummy self-sadjusters on them. You can adjust them manually though which is what I did, plus give everything a good clean out:



With the main cable tightened up a bit the handbrake was now $HIT HOT!!!! Excellent

started to put the console etc back in:



Oh yeah. took a while to wrestle it in but I got there in the end. But then:



Wheres the flippin wires for the heater controls? Howay man give us a break. They were nowhere to be seen so i took the thing out again so I could find em. Eventually got it all in properly and all connected up. Looks much better after a clean.

Seats back in:



Looks alright doesnt it. Dashboard and that still needs a good clean. I gave the steering wheel a bit of gyp with the steam cleaner and some disgusting coffee-like 'juice' came out of it which was nice. Could do with taking the wheel off and cleaning it properly but I don't know how to.


^^^^ How in gods name are you supposed to see owt behind? 2/10 for visibility.

Fitted some new pads in the front as the old ones were very thin. Annoyingly the pad wear warnign light is still on though? Think I need a new sensor. I'll probably just bridge that to put the light off.



While i was farting about under the bonnet with something I noticed some random lumps of foam on top of the radiator.



Looks like some flippin rodents have been eating the foam that closes off the gap above the radiator!!! WHAT!!! If its not one thing its another innit. I am gonna park it away from the hedge, hopefully the mouse or whatever it is won't want to travel all the way across the yard just to eat a bit of foam??/?1!!/?

Next I had a look at the windscreen. Its got loads fo fine scratches thanks to a knackered wiper blade.





Quite difficult to photograph. This seemed like an MOT fail to me so i bought some shiz off the bay called 'cerium oxide' which seemingly can polish fine scratches out of glass. I bought a 3" felt pad for the polishing mop and had a crack at polishing them out.



Slow old job this. I marked on the inside of the screen where I needed to polish and applied as much pressure as I dared (quite a lot) while giving it a regular blast of water to keep everythign cool. After about half an hour I rinsed off all the muck to see if it had made any difference:




To my amazement it actually worked pretty well, you can still see some traces of the scratches but I would say they're 90% deleted. Still got to do the other patch a bit lower on the screen but those scratches are not as deep so i think they'll come out ok. What a relief!!!! I didnt want to shell out for a new screen as they cost actual money.

I'm just about there with this car now. Need to finish polishing the screen, fit my new bonnet cable, turn a tyre round thats currently got the direction arrow pointing the wrong way and give the outside a good clean, then I think it will be MOTable and ready to hit the road again. Yes!!!!

IN other news the 25 has gone out on long-term loan to a lad off the brown forum who needed some transport. I was a bit nervous about it being driven up to whitley Bay by a stranger 'just like that' as I had barely driven it 3/4 of a mile myself since having the head off and on. But, I'm pleased to report it made it OK and is now in daily use by a lad i have never met!!!!!!! He seems to really like it so i think its in good hands, better than it sitting about in my yard anyway.



Thast about where I'm up to at the moment.... L8RZ gang

[bstardchild]

Dec 15, 2014 6:25:30 GMT tonybmw said:

Yes bring back the Masa

Yeah if xbo11ox does that will you bring back the M535i?

[georgeb]

Dec 18, 2014 22:36:16 GMT xbo11ox said:

While i was farting about under the bonnet with something I noticed some random lumps of foam on top of the radiator.

THIS...



You have been warned!

Doing a damn fine job on that interior. Looks a far more pleasant place to be now. Mind, I can't smell owt from here, but if looks like the hard graft, as always, is paying off.

[ToolsnTrack]

All joking aside, thats some golden info for the windscreen save.

As you were.

[Thrasher]

This is all turning out rather nicely isn't it. Good.

This however -



Is so superb I've printed it off and stuck it on the wall, so I can snigger at it.

I've found it so amusing I've had the giggles all morning , boss not amused. Many thanks. :-D

[welshpug]

handbrake mech and brake pad warning sound very bmw

[xbo11ox]

Yeah I think they are BMW rear brakes and hubs etc on these.

[bumberding]

You are absolutely batshit crazy. I say that with the upmost compliment implied!

Fair play to you and your uncontrollable habit of buying dodgy old cars!

I look forward to updates on the bi turbo.

[grifterkid]

Super-dooper-do...!!! Nice one sir...