MellowYellow1303 - Bernadette

Pleased to report that she passed her MOT with no advisories! I
changed the front tyres moving up from 185/55R15 to 185/60R15 which
gives a bit more ground clearance at the front and improved the ride
somewhat, and got the tracking done which improved the feel of the
steering even more. A new starter motor to replace the tired one that
refused to work when hot has also been fitted, and I've wired it with
a relay to take some load off the key switch. Oh and the oil warning
switch stopped working, so I wired the built-in one on the VDO
pressure sender in place instead, although that seems rather sensitive
as the oil light comes on at idle when hot which kills the petrol pump
and hence long term is not a great solution.

She then excelled as rescue vehicle to Ellie's MX5 which suffered a
siezed caliper on the way to the Coventry Run, and carrying me, Helen,
Ellie and Jake the dog around the route to a great response!

Although running fairly well I think I may junk the 009 dissy and get
a vacuum advance one in the hope that it will remove the last of the
flat spots and hot start problems.

Finally a visit to vanfest showed that there is a bit of an oil leak
from the t-piece for the oil pressure sender/switch but nothing a bit
of PTFE won't sort out.

Having had a play on Bug Selecta http://www.volkswarenhaus.de/bugselecta.htm I made this cool cartoon of Bernadette!

I've been spending lots of money (comparitively speaking) on the bug
in the run up to the Coventry Run. I fitted a new carburettor, which
originally made it run extremely badly until I swapped the jets back
from the old one (who knows what were fitted in the new one, not the
correct jets for a 1600!) but now after adjustment of the accelerator
pump to max to get rid of the '009 flat spot' she runs much better.
Dismantling the starter motor, cleaning it up and refitting it did not
cure the dicky hot-start problem, so I replaced that with a recon one.
And I finally got the VDO oil temp and pressure gauges and senders
I've been promising myself for 10 years!

Since the MOT just ran out I have to wait until Friday to get it
renewed (only done 1000 miles this year so hoping to sail through) and
give her a good test drive!

Having made up the ARB clip reinforcement, I got the bug back on the
road. Steering is improved but still vibration over 60mph ish.
Generally feels tighter though so definitely worth replacing the
bushes.

I'm now working on the theory that the vibration is being caused by
the tyres going out of shape during the time off the road. This is
backed up by the vibration curiously being worse when cold (like first
thing in the morning) and improving by pumping up the tyres - perhaps
the extra pressure makes them more round? I'm hoping to try some other
wheels and tyres to test the theory, and maybe replace the tyres
altogether.

Having gotten a bit fed up with the hassle of cold starting without
any chokes, and given that I never got it running 100% and wishing to
make it more usable for Helen, I decided to take the twin carbs off
and go back to a stock single carb. Having refitted the original I am
not having the problems I had when first getting it back on the road,
but there is definitely a problem just off idle that can't be adjusted
out on the mixture screw. I can tell that there is wear in the
throttle spindle bushes though, so considering buying a new carb and
hoping that will fix that.

Another job I want to get round to though is fitting VDO temp and oil
pressure gauges, as the cheapo ones aren't much use. Also I'm
investigating a wind break to go behind the headrests and reduce the
buffeting from the wind, which Helen does not appreciate!

Finally, the starter motor gremlins seem to have returned when hot.
It's not the wiring from the key switch (having run a cable from the
battery) so am thinking the starter might need a recon or replacement.
Hopefully I shall be able to get a bit more use out of her leading up
to the Coventry run though and decide if that is necessary.

Well I received and fitted the mounting clip, but found that the captive nuts inside the frame head had completely rotted and disintegrated. I have instead fitted long bolts up through the top of the frame, but they won't tighten properly without crushing the frame. So I have some 6mm steel to make a reinforcing plate to go over the top for the time being until I can get a proper repair done.

The anti-roll bar clip has finally arrived so hoping to fit it this
weekend and find out if the steering is fixed!

Haven't posted anything for ages, but have just recently replaced the front suspension bushes to try to elimate the steering vibration. Am waiting for a new anti-roll bar mount bracket to arrive so I can complete the job, and report back on whether the problem is fixed!

Here's a couple of pics of the Kamei spoiler I bought on ebay which I fitted. Pics are a bit rubbish, but I think it still looks cool!