I've placed adds in Autotrader and Friday Ad, costing £17 for two weeks and had several calls in the first day! With 3 viewings booked for Sunday afternoon i was hopefull for a sale.
The first viewer liked the car and was happy, but offered a low £600; its advertised at £795. I said i was hoping for £700 but would take £675 cash. He then said he only had £630 on him. I proceeded to tell him i had two more viewings and that i would take a minimum of £650. Bearing in mind i had not taxed it, it would still be a good profit.
We shook on £650 and after some shinanigans with cash (the buyer saying he had given me £650, but i counted £610!)we signed the receipt and off he drove. I will have to send on the log book and new fog light, which havent arrived due to the postal strikes.
All in an excellent 1st Bangernomic profit of £260!
Sunday 25 October 2009
Tuesday 20 October 2009
Exhausting...
I thought id take the time to explain what im planing to do with the exhaust centre silencer.
A baffle in the silencer has come loose and is making a lot of noise! The whole rear section of the exhaust is one pipe with the back box, as you can see in this diagram.
The section is around £70-80, wich would bow my budget.
Its perfectly leagal to remove the centre silencer on this exhaust system. The exhausts simply needs to filter and direct the flow of emissions out the rear of the car, and reduce the noise to an acceptable level. For an MOT it needs to also be securly fastened to the vehicle.
I have purchased a 1m section of 1.75" pipe, 2 pipe clamps and a 100mm pipe joining section. I will simply cut off the centre box, just before its hanger and unclamp it from the catalytic converter. I will then cut the 1m pipe to length and clamp it to the swaged section on the Cat, using the existing clamp. The 100mm joining section will be slipped over between the new pipe and the old section and clamped. All joints will be sealed with Fire Gum (exhaust sealer putty) before being clamped.
The result should be very tidy and acceptable to MOT standards. It will have the added benefit of a slight performance increase through reduced exhaust resistance, and sound a little sportier.
A baffle in the silencer has come loose and is making a lot of noise! The whole rear section of the exhaust is one pipe with the back box, as you can see in this diagram.
The section is around £70-80, wich would bow my budget.
Its perfectly leagal to remove the centre silencer on this exhaust system. The exhausts simply needs to filter and direct the flow of emissions out the rear of the car, and reduce the noise to an acceptable level. For an MOT it needs to also be securly fastened to the vehicle.
I have purchased a 1m section of 1.75" pipe, 2 pipe clamps and a 100mm pipe joining section. I will simply cut off the centre box, just before its hanger and unclamp it from the catalytic converter. I will then cut the 1m pipe to length and clamp it to the swaged section on the Cat, using the existing clamp. The 100mm joining section will be slipped over between the new pipe and the old section and clamped. All joints will be sealed with Fire Gum (exhaust sealer putty) before being clamped.
The result should be very tidy and acceptable to MOT standards. It will have the added benefit of a slight performance increase through reduced exhaust resistance, and sound a little sportier.
Almost done...
Time spent this weekend and a new catalytic converter was on and the car was given a good clean, inside and out.
There was copius amounts of bird poo on the bonnet which has resulted in some corrosion to the paint. I hope a good session with a t-cut type cutting compound will clean it up and make the car almost faultess. Its cleaned up really well in most areas and with a good wax it shines well.
I took her out for a quick test drive and i was really pleased. It drives very well. There is still a banging from the exhaust which is eminating from the centre silencer. This isnt actually standard on the Mk1 Punto; its a Mk2 exhaust that has been put on as a replacement, so i can simply cut out the centre box and repalce it with a straight pipe. This will stop rattle and improve both performance and sound!
The cars performance is actually supprising for the 60bhp! It really shifts and is a lot of fun on a country road!
Exhaust parts have been ordered and once they are on ill complete the oil, filter and coolant change, then she'll be ready for sale!
Thursday 15 October 2009
Ive now torqued up the head bolts and the cam carrier bolts. Ive put all the gubbins back on and filled up the coolant system with just water at the moment. This will be changed for the correct coolant/water mix when I'm sure there are no leaks and its run for a few minutes.
I set the timing by aligning the notches on the cam and crank pulleys with those on the block and head then tensioned the timing belt.
Before firing it up for the first time, i took the HT leads off and turned it over on the starter a few times. This builds up the oil pressure before the first start. With the HT leads back on i hesitantly turned the key. To my relief it started right up.
Its hard to tell if the timing is perfect, but its running smoothly at present. Its a little hesitant on over run. There's a knocking from the exhaust as the Catalytic converter has deteriorated, but that's next on the list. The proof of timing will be on a test drive.
I set the timing by aligning the notches on the cam and crank pulleys with those on the block and head then tensioned the timing belt.
Before firing it up for the first time, i took the HT leads off and turned it over on the starter a few times. This builds up the oil pressure before the first start. With the HT leads back on i hesitantly turned the key. To my relief it started right up.
Its hard to tell if the timing is perfect, but its running smoothly at present. Its a little hesitant on over run. There's a knocking from the exhaust as the Catalytic converter has deteriorated, but that's next on the list. The proof of timing will be on a test drive.
Wednesday 14 October 2009
Torque about it...
The most common question ive seen on every car forum is "Whats the torque setting for...?"
Well without a Haynes manual, which has all the answers, you wouldnt know! So for all those who are to lazy to buy or read the manual, the torque settings to the Fiat Fire cylinder head bolts are:
22lb/ft or 30NM
They should be tightened in a specific order and method, numbered below. Each bolt should be tightened to 22lb/ft (30NM) in order, then all should be tightened a futher 90 degrees, in order, followeded by another 90 degrees, in order. They need to be done in order so the head doesnt twist or distort.
The cam carrier bolts should all be tightened to 20NM using a similar order to the head bolts.
Well without a Haynes manual, which has all the answers, you wouldnt know! So for all those who are to lazy to buy or read the manual, the torque settings to the Fiat Fire cylinder head bolts are:
22lb/ft or 30NM
They should be tightened in a specific order and method, numbered below. Each bolt should be tightened to 22lb/ft (30NM) in order, then all should be tightened a futher 90 degrees, in order, followeded by another 90 degrees, in order. They need to be done in order so the head doesnt twist or distort.
The cam carrier bolts should all be tightened to 20NM using a similar order to the head bolts.
Perfect timing...
Tonight im leaving work early to get the timing belt back on and try to fire up the engine. As im changing the timing belt, the timing marks i set are useless as i marked them in relation to the belt/cams.
Thankfully Fiat have made it easy! There is a mark on both the cam and crank pulley, and a corrisponding mark on the block and head.
These photos are courtesy of http://www.fiatfourm.com/punto:
Crank timing marks. Also pointed out is where the TDC sensor is positioned.
Cam timing marks. There is a notch in the cylinder head.
In theory, aligning these marks and putting a new timing belt on with new tensioner, at the correct tension, and it should fire right up. The timing belt tension should be such that on its longest length it can only be twisted by a 90 degrees. If its too tight it will squeel, to loose and it will slip and destroy the valves! No pressure.
Thankfully Fiat have made it easy! There is a mark on both the cam and crank pulley, and a corrisponding mark on the block and head.
These photos are courtesy of http://www.fiatfourm.com/punto:
Crank timing marks. Also pointed out is where the TDC sensor is positioned.
Cam timing marks. There is a notch in the cylinder head.
In theory, aligning these marks and putting a new timing belt on with new tensioner, at the correct tension, and it should fire right up. The timing belt tension should be such that on its longest length it can only be twisted by a 90 degrees. If its too tight it will squeel, to loose and it will slip and destroy the valves! No pressure.
Tuesday 13 October 2009
Making head way!
We'll a lot of work has been done over the last two days. The head has been removed from the block, stripped, resurfaced, rebuilt, refitted and all the ancillaries re-attached.
Firstly everything the connects to the cylinder head was removed. I started with the air box and filter, moving down to the single point injection unit. I drained the coolant and disconnected the coolant pipes form the head. Inlet and exhaust
manifolds were removed as was the timing belt; i attempted to mark the cams and timing belt, but as i am replacing the timing belt, my marks were lost. After a bit of research I've found the manufacturers timing marks and will set the timing to these. The cylinder head was removed. Once on the bench i removed the spark plugs and the cam. I took the head to Southern Rebore in Rowfant near Crawley. A resurface was £34.50 which is an exceptional price.
The head was then rebuilt, putting the cam and new plugs in. I attached the new thermostat and bolted on the new timing belt tensioner.
I placed the new gasket onto the block and lined up the head. Colin at Soutern Rebore informed me that there was a small crack between a water galleries and a bolt hole. This is not a major issue and he suggested putting a little instant gaskets
around the bolt head just in case. So i did. All bolts were done up finger tight and all the ancillaries were reattached using new jubilee clips.I need to check the torque settings and tighten everything up. Ill then try and start it before changing the oil and filter in case there are any debris.
Its important to note that with this type of cylinder head you must use new stretch bolts! Reusing the old bolts is a very bad idea! Buy a head gasket set with new bolts in it!
The total cost so far is:
Manual: £8.04
Head Skim: £34.50
Cam Belt: £25.45
Oil Filter: £8.49
Coolant: £9.99
Instant Gasket: £4.99
Filter wrench: £8.49
5l Oil: £21.99
Plugs: £11.95
Gasket Set: £23.50
Thermostat: £11.95
TOTAL: £169.39
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