Let the replacing begin.

So Alan left for Europe so I spent the day fixing parts on the car.
Put in a new battery tray and clamp since the battery tray was previously held in by cable ties.



Went to replace the intake pipe but after spending time cutting all the silicon piping to fit, after attaching the air filter I had a bit of a problem:



Managed to JUST fit it into the engine bay [will post up pics after] and spent time replacing the radiator:



The rear bumper is now held on by cable ties since I discovered the fight side had somehow popped out and was rsting on the rear wheel.

The "To-Do" list is slowly shrinking...

Quick Update.

Well since I haven't had much time due to uni exams, the car still remains as being full of problems. We did take the car to TyrePower at Hornsby to get new front tyres [RE001s] as well as get new wheel studs. Since the wheel was off as well we decided to get Sujith to do the bearing which saves me from trying to get the calliper bolts off myself. Sadly on our way to TyrePower, we snapped the clutch cable which meant the car had to be towed to Sujiths. :(

Wasn't that surprising since it was having problems engaging gears the previous night causing us to hold up traffic while trying to push it into a parking spot.

New air filter just as a replacement while the other one is being cleaned.

Also, picked up the NUB63T plates from the RTA




Pile of stuff to go into the car:

- water pump
- radiator
- boot struts
- intake
- door trims
- Interior plastics
- spare tyre
- battery tray/clamp
- extractors
- Timing belt

Fixing the Headlight.

So for the last couple of days, the left headlight has looked like this;

We stuck tape around the right headlight as well just for consistency. Basically this is what happened to the left hadlight: So I finally bothered to take out the super-glue and fix it today. This glue is $2 for a 10 pack at the reject shop and it's probably the best glue I've ever used. Works extremely quickly and is extremely strong. Will probably take off the air filter in the next few days for a clean also:

Pain in the Back

So, NUB63T is a little weepy right now. The car's been shedding green tears.

We knew about the coolant leak when we bought it, but it doesn't appear to be leaking from the pump. It seems to be coming out from the bottom of the block.

It'd been leaking a crapload more fluid than we expected. It's not particularly drivable until we get this resolved. At least its stupidly cold in Sydney right now, so hopefully its not a major issue.

We're trying to see if it can be fixed simply with some silicone sealant. We've been plugging up the holes with it for the last 2 days, and running it around between the block and the sump as a second gasket.



So Carmen and I have had the car up on stands for the last few days, poking around under the bonnet. Our backs are killing us, lying down or bending over trying to reach every nook and cranny.

We've had a work light shining on the bottom, to try and dry the stuff out quicker. It looks kind of cool, actually.



We've done it a few times now, and we're hoping it'll hold. Otherwise the car might actually need to go to someone to fix. :(


UPDATE: So I went out and checked the car.



Ut oh.



I gave The Engine Whisperer a call, and hopefuly he has some ideas. Ones that don't involve a shitload of money.

First Impressions

I've always liked the Swift GTI. I'm not sure why, but even before I drove one I thought they were a pretty cool pocket rocket.

Then again, back then I had close to no idea about cars so my opinion didn't mean a great deal.

A friend of mine let me drive his just after he had full Whiteline suspension installed. I adored the steering feel and response.

I was driving a stock Pulsar SSS at the time. The car didn't feel any stronger once you got a few revs on board, despite the 50% larger engine, and in terms of handling this little shopping cart was miles ahead.



Fast forward to now. I've got a greater understanding of cars, and a general dislike of front wheel drive. My current car isn't all that shabby either.

Still, when I first drove The NUB63T, I adored it. My current car isn't light (it weighs practically twice as much as The NUB63T) and I've missed the kind of chassis response that can only come from a lack of inertia. The steering, not being power assisted, has loads of communication. The lack of torque negates my usual issues with FWD, being the torque steering the car and corrupting the steering feel.

The car has clearly had a hard life, and its still going strong regardless. The engine is a willing little thing, despite its 12 years of age and ownership by people who I am sure were not allergic to the upper third of its rev range. The chassis, dulled with age and neglect, still shows a playfulness that makes me wish I'd gotten one earlier.

I also haven't been much of a hands-on kind of guy when it comes to running the car. I've always let mechanics or mates do work on my cars, and stuck with a theoretical knowledge of how cars work. I was always more interested in driving the thing, and letting other people fix my fuck-ups.




Still, doing what little work I have done so far on the car has been surprisingly fun. The shithouse condition of the car means I've got little fear of breaking it (only breaking it more), and unlike my previous cars I didn't sink a year's income into the buying it.

This car could be, to quote Leno on the R35 GT-R, a car to build a relationship with. Which wasn't quite in the original brief, but a great thing nonetheless.

Day 5.

[09/06/09]

Had to go to SuperCheap Auto today to buy a few things so I treated myself to a new toolbox and tools;



Bought a new oil filter as well as new bulbs since the bulb for the left indicator was burnt out.
Flushed out all the old horrible black oil and changed the filter.



Jacked up the car to change the wheel bearing but the caliper mount bolts were being stubborn so I decided to leave it to another day since it was getting dark and cold.

The Birth of The Nubget.

[06/06/09]
Finally bought a run-around to drive since I am doing stupid amounts of mileage on the NC and the Z is having wear and tear issues. Plus I've been wanting a car I can work on myself for AGES. Bought this 1995 Swift GTi the other day mostly on impulse since the engine sounded awesome. Nice grunt from the exhaust and the engine was kept in good condition, however everything else needs some tidying up:
- no speakers/sound system,
- bonnet doesn’t sit properly,
- boot dampers don’t work,
- wrong size tyres and therefore cause scrubbing,
- missing wheel nuts,
- windows not winding up properly,
- chassis a little bent from a previous crash,
- random parts of the dash that fall off,
- battery held in by cable ties,
- random wiring hanging out,
- random screws missing here and there,
- rear wheel bearing needs replacing,
- radiator/overflow storage full of brown sludge,
- rear windscreen wipers don’t work
- the front windscreen wipers go off at random intervals

yet I have fallen completely in love with this car.











Spent the day cleaning up the easy stuff:

Random bits that I pulled out of the car [glove-box, under the seats, pockets behind seats];



Pulled the dash apart to spray the white bits and the “fully sick M3 mirrors”. Alan helped spray the parts black. Sadly, we both suck at spray-painting so it turned out very bubbly. I will find time to sand it back and re-spray it.



Flushed out the radiator and also had to clean out all the gunk in the overflow storage. For some reason, there wasn’t a way to actually take out the unit without breaking it since it seemed like it was welded/super-glued in so I spent most of the night flushing it out with this awesome contraption.



Finally got the tank white again after lots of water and stupid amounts of pumping.
Put in new coolant, topped up the oil and put all the parts I sprayed back onto the car.

Will find tie between exams to change the oil/oil filter and bearings in the next few days.