Munters SC Restoration Thread *pic heavy*

[munter]

Bad news - some really crazy rain these past few days and the T-bar is still leaking both sides leading to some rather wet seats. I know it's not the T-bar seals and so I'm thinking it must be the glass seals. The joys! I did move round the ecliptical guides today so hopefully that will help.

Bizarre as have some bad rain before and not a drop. Guess we did have a months worth in a day though.

A couple of other things done this week. First of all I got some clear indicator covers and side repeaters from eBay. I think they make a huge difference to the look of the car. Much sleeker. I like A LOT!

Before with the standard orange ones.



After with the clear indicators and side repeaters



I also noticed some bad bubbling on one of the rear arches so earlier in the week did a quick rub down and respray hoping it would get through the winter ok and I can sort the rest of the rust spots next year. Unfortunatley the combination of cold and damp hasn't provided a good result and the bubbling is back in just a couple of days. To be fair it's not bad so might just leave it and keep an eye on it over the next few months.

Pretty shocking quick respray.



Cleaned up a bit with wet and dry and tcut. Better but not great!



I REALLY need to get my wheels refurbed now. They are a total state and are really letting things down. Have a place ready to do them locally but looks like I'm moving house so might need to save the cash for that first. Might be better doing them in the spring in any case

P

[munter]

Got the leaking t-bar fixed by using the sealant/cling film fix to the roof panels. It now seems like at last I finally have a water tight car!

The respray in the rear arch was very poor and rust is coming through already. Think it's unlikely I'll get a clear run of weather to sort this side of the winter. New house has long drive and double garage but it's months till I move so got to be patient

Going to leave the wheel refurb until spring as well. With Christmas close and the house move not far off every penny counts!!

P

[pistol pete]

Got the leaking t-bar fixed by using the sealant/cling film fix to the roof panels. It now seems like at last I finally have a water tight car!

The respray in the rear arch was very poor and rust is coming through already. Think it's unlikely I'll get a clear run of weather to sort this side of the winter. New house has long drive and double garage but it's months till I move so got to be patient

Going to leave the wheel refurb until spring as well. With Christmas close and the house move not far off every penny counts!!

P

best idea bud waiting till you have the time and money so you don't have to rush it

[munter]

Finally decided that the squeaking front right brake pad was a sign that I'd squeezed the last few mm of life out of the inherited brakes today!

Weathers been bad with high winds, cold and snow so bailed on fitting new discs/pads myself and paid the local garage instead Had front and back solid discs from EBC bought ages ago and the Ultimax pads bought as described by some loony on here as Redstuff last year as well.

Considered going for Greenstuff on the fronts, but thought it was at least worth trying the Ultimax to see what they're like first.

Early impressions are very positive. Braking much improved all round. Once the pads have bedded in a bit I'm sure they'll be even better. The squeaking has gone and the car feels more sprightly - I wonder if one or more pads was sticking a bit?

Anyway all good. MOT later this month. Can't believe I've almost had the car a year - time flies when you're having fun!!

P

[munter]

The combination of good weather and a very positive MOT result (straight through, minor note on a little bit of steering rack play) has made me to decide to go ahead with a full refurbishment of my alloys. I really like the current ones which are 15” Works Ewing RSB’s in silver, but having seen some online in black spokes/silver rim I prefer the black alloys with the white car so that’s what I’m going for. Here they are in their current state.



Thanks to Ben from the SC forum I got a full set of Pepperpots with Yoko tyres in an ok condition for postage cost only a while back. Today I popped them on the car where they will stay this week whilst the Works’ are away getting some TLC. I gave them a clean after this pic, but I really like the car back looking original. They are a lot firmer than the Works’ and the smaller size means the car is even closer to the road – more about that in the next post.



I’m using Diamond Wheels here in Dundee for the work. They have done a great job on my father in law’s diamond cut BMW alloys and have a very good reputation. I think they are the only place in Scotland that do diamond cut refurb and are confident they can do a great job on mine.

Diamond Wheel Tech – Dundee

I also made a bit of a mad and expensive purchase from Japan. I’m hoping these original Works RS wheel nuts in black will be the perfect finishing touch!



Finally I had a look for centre caps. Having trawled the world (literally) I found someone selling original Works RSB centre caps in black in a good condition. Trouble was they were based in the Philippines and I’m still waiting for them to answer my email.

I did find one used one on auction in Japan but the condition was terrible. As a fall back I might try and source some plain centre caps, although I failed to find fitting ones before, and use the vinyl overlays that are on eBay with the screaming chicken logo. It won’t be original, but should look pretty good. Failing that I’ll give the hub a spray of matt black paint!

[munter]

While the wheels were off I had a good look around the inner arch areas. I noticed that the springs look pretty tired. Is this level of corrosion and flaking rust on the springs normal/ok? The mechanic did note a bit of play in the steering rack so I’m thinking I might use the money I had set aside for the worst case MOT to give the suspension an over haul before getting everything under-sealed. Here are a couple of photos - first of the spring and second of the front axle assembly. Not sure much can be seen, but would appreciate thoughts as to what is worth renewing here? I do want to sort the steering rack, is that a whole new rack from Mr T? Certainly want to put poly bushes in as well.





Good news is that I had a good look at the arches and generally they look pretty good inside. All the crud seems to have provided for a bit of a protective layer. Here’s the rear arch that has the worse rust on the surface and as you can see the inside looks ok.



One thing that is bizarre is that both front arches have a bit in identical places where it looks like the paint has been chipped away and is starting to rust. I’m not sure, but it looks like maybe a fastener or something was screwed on here in the past (maybe the original splitter?) and it has chipped off the paint. Any ideas? I will need to sort this during the spring for sure.



That’s it for today. Will post the results once the alloys come back and I get them on the car! Should look like this if all goes well…

[MartG]

Unless you know the make/model of the aftermarket coilover you may have trouble getting new springs to match ( or pay to have them tested and new ones made to match ) - as long as they still perform OK maybe just get them cleaned up and repainted

[kaiowas]

Unless you know the make/model of the aftermarket coilover you may have trouble getting new springs to match ( or pay to have them tested and new ones made to match ) - as long as they still perform OK maybe just get them cleaned up and repainted

I was under the impression that one of the primary advantages of coilovers is that they use universal and widely available springs thus allowing you to select from a wide range of off the shelf spring rates and lengths.

Like this:
http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/motorspor ... ce-springs

[MartG]

I was under the impression that one of the primary advantages of coilovers is that they use universal and widely available springs thus allowing you to select from a wide range of off the shelf spring rates and lengths.

But if he doesn't know what he's got, he'd be buying in the dark

[elbon50]

Wonder if there is any paperwork with the car showing which coilover equipment was fitted ?

It's been on the car & never adjusted for a long long time

Struts need removing & threads soaking /cleaning

[Lauren]

There really ought to be somewhere on the strut or on the top where the manufacturer's name is present.

[pk_090]

Even if you do find the strut manufacturers details, you can't be 100% sure you are replacing with the same spring rate spring. A previous owner may well have changed these.

[munter]

There was a scrap of paper in the folder that came with the car that had all the mods listed. On there it said "KYB Shocks". Not sure if thats just the inserts or the whole coilover.

My guess is that the coilovers were done in Japan before import and haven't been touched since.

Not keen on spending on new ones as these are ok for now. Will get some professional opinion.

First up is the steering rack play. Are new racks available from Mr T or should I change the bushes out for poly ones first and give that a go?

cheers
P

[elbon50]

KYB make uprated shock inserts for stock struts

Dunno if they ever sold coilovers

If it was me I'd remove a strut, soak the casing in deisel for a week or so then take a wire brush to the threads

Did C-spanners come with the car to adjust the height ?

Doesn't look to be much wrong with the spring you pictured

You may find some manufacturers markings on hidden areas

Strut, spring etc need a good clean / rust treatment /paint

[donna]

The alloys look great in the photoshop

Get some pics up when they are done

[SuperRedMR2]

Looks like delamination of the finish. If you can pick bits of metal like pieces off then i'd worry.

[munter]

Got the wheels back from the refurbishment place and must say I am pretty happy with the results. To my eyes at least there isn't really any way you'd know this wasn't the factory finish!

Will get some more pictures up when I get them on the car (and give the car a wash!) at the weekend.

[MartG]

Mmmmm, nice !

[munter]

Thanks Mart!

Got the wheels on the car today and gave her a quick wash. Must say I am very, very pleased with the look. The black spokes really set off the rest of the car well.

Here's some pics...

[Ben]

Nice!