mowlamb - "built not bought"

[mowlamb]

Today me and a mate attempted to sort out a boost leak coming from between the SMIC and the pancake pipe. There is a bit of pipe inbetween the two and a green seal had broke and it had been forced apart slightly. We took it all off, cleaned it up and replaced the seal which seemed to fix the problem. Went for a quick drive and could still hear the leak. Upon further investigation we discovered it is leak from the connection at the top of the SMIC as well. Curse of the crappy VW clip system once again!! So the plan now is to replace the crappy VW pipes and clips from EGR to the top of the SMIC with silicon hose and a new alloy pipe. That should shouls sort out that little problem.

Here is a pic of the 1st offending pipe:



After that my mate said he had an improved short shift which I could put on the car and see how I get on. This one reduces the throw between gears even more and made the gear box feel solid and tight.

The two shifts can be seen in the pic below. You can notice the difference in the pin location on them:



My mate has a garage full of bits and decided he didn't like my beige rear view mirror so hunted around for a spare black one he had and swapped them over for me. Looks much better!!



And finally here are a couple of pics of our 2 MK4's:

[mowlamb]

Who needs genuine aero wipers........



.... not me thanks to my new retro fit wiper blades 

Before:





After:







Had a quick go with them and they clear the window much smoother than the old one's did. Still not as tidy a look as genuine aero arms but still improved on standard blades I think.

Here is where I got them from http://www.wiperblades.co.uk/valeo-silencio-xtrm-um664-retrofit-flat-and-valeo-silencio-xtrm-um622-retrofit-flat-twin-pack-wiper-blades/

[mowlamb]

Finally managed to do a little bit more today. I started by cutting a length of bumper the width of the rubstrip recess. I then had to shape this to make it a nice tight fit.





Due to the curve in the plastic strip and the curve of the bumper I had to cut the strip in two and fiddle about slightly with the shape of the two pieces to allow them fill as much of the recess as possible.

[mowlamb]

Here is the state of play after using a proper heat gun/plastic welder.









It all feels a lot stronger now. Just need to do the other side then get some plastic filler.

[mowlamb]

I'm gunna leave the splitter as is I think. If I ever change my mind then I can smooth it in at a later date. I just finished welding and sanding the other side as well. Here are the pics:

I managed to get a much cleaner weld this time round.





And here it is all sanded ready for some filler.

[mowlamb]

Just a little update. I have the filler for the bumper but need a good few hours to have a go at it so I can take my time and hopefully do it right. Should be attempting it in a few days. I also managed to get a net optic ashtray to complete my trim set for £6.50 form the local scrappies

[mowlamb]

First lot of filler has been applied now. I used this stuff in the end, http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110646545166&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_964wt_905. It was the first time I have used filler on this large a scale but it went ok. Hopefully once I sand this lot down I won't need to apply much more to build lower areas up.

Not exciting pics but here are a couple anyway.

[mowlamb]

Quick update before I go to work:





That's the 2nd layer of filler all sanded smooth. I want to put one more thin layer on again tonight and the leave that to go hard over night then that will hopefully give me the finish I'm after

[mowlamb]

Always liked the look of these but never had the courage to have a go my self. Since I've been smoothing my rear bumper I've gained a bit of confidence and decided I was gunna give it a go. This is what I'm talking about.



I managed to get hold of a standard grill for nothing and set up on it with my tools 





Once the slats where cut off and sanded I had to find a way to fill the gaps left. I tried to do a bit of plastic welding but it is a bit intricate for the heat gun I have so was near impossible. What I did in the end was cut the shape of the gap form one of the slats to give me a piece that would fill the gap best as possible. The plan was to then cover is front and back with some plastic filler. This seems to have worked ok and it all feels quite solid.





Next step is to fill all the little gaps in the filler some more and then get it all nice and smooth. Then I will use an OEM R32 centre mesh grill and attach that to the backing of the standard grill. Not to sure how I'm going to do that yet as I'm kind of working it all out as I go along 

More updates soon....

[mowlamb]

All smooth and round 



I'm going to get the primer, paint and lacquer in a bit so should have this painted this weekend.