DIY guides to keeping end of life vehicles running on a shoestring budget. A window onto the world of home mechanic'ing of cars everyone else would have given up on a long time ago
2 Nov 2021 4 minute read 0 comments Lawnmower
Today has been a day of mixed fortunes. JASM called to say the alternator was fixed, he'd replaced the pulley, bearings, regulator and brushes and cleaned the shell up. I went and collected the alternator before a work call. Refitting the alternato...
19 Oct 2021 7 minute read 0 comments Lawnmower
So a small recap, I've recently purchased a Daihatsu Sirion Rally 2, a very rare, highly tuned version of the humble Sirion. There were only ever 120 of these cars made, having taken a standard Sirion 1.3 Sport and handed it over to Auto Image Bedfor...
13 Oct 2021 1 minute read 0 comments Lawnmower
Things are afoot at Lawnmower HQ. Floorspace cleared? A list of problems? What's this all about then? Hands up who chose 'He's bought a MOT expired Daihatsu Sirion Rally 2'? Yes, the 'Halo' model of the OAP car of the year 2006. Yep, thats...
4 Oct 2021 3 minute read 0 comments Lawnmower
Some more fixertaing for tonight, bangernomics fans* Since I've owned my C-Class, there is a bit of a vibration when you hit the brakes above 50mph, pottering about its fine but a bit of a chore on the motorway. Since I'm due to put about 400 miles o...
27 Sep 2021 4 minute read 2 comments Lawnmower
Some more work undertaken today, the Mercedes received a gearbox oil change, probably for the first time in its history. Getting the car up in the air was a piece of cake with my new lift from CJ Autos. This is a tilting lift with worm drive gearboxe...
20 Sep 2021 7 minute read 2 comments Lawnmower
Ok I'm going to just come out with it. I'm not a huge fan of alloy wheels, especially 20 year old ones which are a pig to keep clean and in good condition. Add in a couple of previous owners who weren't hugely keen on keeping all the original bits of...
13 Sep 2021 3 minute read 0 comments Lawnmower
In a fit of Corona-virus-self-isolation-crawling-up-the-walls-with-boredom I ordered in some bits from a local motor factors the other day, which duly arrived this morning I R XCITE An air filter each for both cars, and new spark plugs x8 of two di...
6 Sep 2021 6 minute read 0 comments Lawnmower
Having driven the Daewoo to the hospital recently, the front drivers side brake is binding a bit. The wheel is VERY warm to the touch after a 70mph run down the motorway (like too hot to touch for more than a second or two) but oddly it'll pull along...
31 Aug 2021 1 minute read 0 comments Lawnmower
Fresh from the MOT I decided that I had cash to burn and wanted to make some final cosmetic improvements. As with so many Mercedes' some joker has snapped the star off the bonnet, leaving the circular chrome plinth with a grotty hole in the middle. I...
23 Aug 2021 4 minute read 0 comments Lawnmower
The sun shone today and I set to with myriad jobs including the Daewoo brakes. The MOT man suggested that there was a slight binding in the front brakes, more than likely due to the brake sliders needing a re-greasing. I bought a tin of silicone grea...
