The Bandit

[Mr Funk]

So after a slight wobble things are going well again. Most of this is down to the people that help me with all the bobbins I come up with and while I've gone on about it in the past I'll say it again. There's no doubt that the car wouldn't be even close to what it is if it wasn't for fools like Ben coming along, putting up with my child like antics and helping me.
The plan for the past couple of days has been to work on the front end in readiness for the new engine that will hopefully be arriving soon. Oddly there was some confusion about the set ups in the cars and I think I know where it happened. I had assumed that I was running digi and that led to all manner of "hilarity" but the long and short of it is that it'll go straight in. It's been superbly maintained and once it's mated with the 4 branch and all the others goodies it'll give me the power I've been looking for.
I've also spent the last couple of weeks sorting the wiring as I've never really been happy with it. It's a jumble and looks like it was put together in a rush so it's all been stripped back. I may go full out and hide most of it put to be honest I only ever ever wanted the under bonnet to be neat rather than show stopping. It'll just get filthy and I can't be arsed with cleaning it all the time.
So yesterday we spent a few freezing hours replacing all the wishbones, bushes and fitting the new pwder coated ARB. As you can see the difference is pretty hefty:



The original plan was to swap over the track rod ends and the hubs but that may have to wait. And then there's the set up and MOT to look forward to. The whole thing is going t need alignment then it's off for the MOT.
Glee

[GTXTRA]

Glee. Not a word I'd associate with the Funk.

One of my favourite cars continues to evolve.

How was the tea?

[bens_cab]

the tea ended up being spilt due to the club feet jim has

hopefully there will be no engine in the bay soon when it stops snowing

[Mr Funk]

Some random bits about me that you probably never knew:

*Despite working in the licensed trade for over 15 years I've only ever been attacked twice (hard to believe if you've ever met me)
*I really enjoy writing when I get the time and, among other things, write articles for a couple of on line bits and pieces and am working on a novel/graphic novel.
*I really enjoy electrical wiring. Almost pathologically.
*I once had a catheter fitted and was so monged on the free stuff at the hospital that the only thing I could say to the Dr was that I was a little disappointed he hadn't bought me dinner before jamming a tube down my filthy bang stick and his fingers up my ring.

So, what have these points got to do with anything? For the most part nothing at all but it may give you a little insight into the odd world I live in.
As you may have read things have pretty much ground to a halt and it's really quite frustrating. A while ago I made the decision to sort all the wiring out as it's always bothered me, the alarm seems to have been fitted by Stevie Wonder's less talented brother and it doesn't really scare me all that much. I duly went through and started stripping back the wiring, I even went so far as to label mst of the stuff. Unfortunately I made the mistake of writing in pencil and felt pen on the tape leading to the hilarious situation of trying to read things like "front engine thing" and "Diaphragm thing" when I'm trying to relocate bits and pieces. The other massive problem has been that with no engine we can't lay the wiring so we can't sort the interior wiring, so we can't replace the dash and the door cards and so it goes on.
It started to get me a bit down and disillusioned.
But then yesterday both me and Ben (the guy with the patience of a fappin' saint who's been helping me) came up with the same idea. We could use the old, banjied engine as a mock up for the wiring.
WHOOOOOP!

And it's kinda worked. The weather has just come in and it's hammering it down but I think I've kinda cracked it and there's only half a dozen connectors that are now unknown. That crapulous sleeving is all off and the new stuff is on order and whether I hide it all or merely re-run everything is still a choice I have to make but hopefully I can get the wiring and then the dash/doorcards sorted then it's just a wait for the engine.

Oh yeah, and the supplier is currently having a ball of a time getting hold of the acoustic carpet. Which is nice

[Mr Funk]

So today I hit the engine bay with a bit of a vengance and think I've pretty much broken the back of the wiring.

In all honesty the scariest thing is cutting the first wire, especially if it's something important like the the ones that run from the little box in the scuttle to the dizzy. But it has to be done and at the end of the day they're only wires.
Chances are that I can't hide all the wires as it'd require a lot more cutting and soldering than I'm comfortable with but there's been an awful lot that's been rerouted. I can see the reasoning behind just laying the cabling in the easiest possible way but it's just a bit of a cop out as far as I'm concerned. So now everything will be a little more uniform and tucked away where possible.
Exactly what I'll be covering the wiring in is open for debate. There's no chance of purring more rubber coating on it for the same reasons I can't hide everything but there's a few other options. I had intended to cover it in the original electrical tape but that'd be too open to abuse from the elements and oil so I'll thinking it'll either be a convoluted plastic wrapping or something similar. It'll definately be functional rather than decorative but it'll mostly be out of the way and, lets face it, the engine bay is hardly a focal point.
So I left it about an hour ago as the snow had started bucketing it down. It really wasn't that cold but the snow kept blowing in and getting everything wet, other than that I could have stayed there for hours.
So here's how it looks, currently sponsered byt Sainbury:


The gaps are all taped off so I know where the cuts in the covering need to be.

[bens_cab]

Jim has shares in sainsbury carrier bags just incase anyone wanted to know

nice to see i dont need to come and bail you out just yet

[Mr Funk]

Just a quick update but in case you were wondering sorting the wiring when it's -2 is as stupid as it sounds.

[the edmundator]

-2? How balmy.

[Mr Funk]

It's gone up to almost 2 degrees. Spoilt, that's what we are

[bens_cab]

it was bloddy cold this morning lying on my back while you were pumping the pedal

[Mr Funk]

Popped home today in between appointment s and my neighbour met me with a package. Pics to follow but it's the engine lift I ordered two days ago!
Tim, Ben and I had been bitching abou the price of hiring one and it worked out cheaper to just order ourselves one so Tim and I had a quick chat and we're now the proud owners of a shiny blue engine lift!

It's a bit of a Godsend as the spare engine I've managed to get my hands on is all built up and ready to be dumped in. The plan is to then give the new engine the full works and put that in at a later date.

[Old Mac Rocco]

Before you start playing with your new toy can you cast your mind back to the buying of the ARB and wishbones in the pic at the top of the page.
What I'm after is the the supplier and approx cost of items (roughly)
Also what other parts did you have to get at the same time?
I fitted new discs and brakes last year so they are OK.
Did you fit the ARB / wishbone supports at the same time or were they OK?
Had a look on Eurocarparts but not much success.
Thanks in advance.
Adam.

[Mr Funk]

Message received fella and I'll get all the details to you, probably tomorrow though as I'm monged on my sofa. Pester me though as my memory is absolutely terri........

[Funky Diver]

I take it you decided against running hte wiring through one of the wings? (Spanner -> works -> chuck)

it was bloddy cold this morning lying on my back while you were pumping my pedal

That's just so wrong on so many levels

[Old Mac Rocco]

No rush Mr Funk.