You know how it`s often said that `manufacturer knows best` - despite turning out cars with known issues where it turns out the owner is doing the final stage of deevelopment.
What have you found? and more to the point. What have you done to the motor - as a modification to improve on the manufacturers development?
I fitted a finer mesh on the front grill (Praised by the dealer - yes, the marque main dealer) to avoid objects the size of golf balls being able to go straight through into the radiator.
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I've a habit of 'parking' up to solid objects until I feel them, probably due to having cars with real bumpers.
My current colour coded plastic apologies were in serious danger of looking decidedly second hand within a short time.
LIDL's had some self-adhesive chrome trim which I stuck to the outside edge of the bumpers in a continuous length. It's only a few millimetres wide, so looks quite discreet and I took care in applying it so it's got no kinks and follows the line of the bumper. which is more than can be said for the dealers badge on the tailgate.
I think it enhances the look of the car, particularly at the rear, as it breaks up what would otherwise be a great slab of plastic. It seems very durable too!
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Installing Mondeo front wishbone securing bolts upside down to avoid having to disconnect the engine mounts and raise the engine and gearbox next time you want to get them out. OK there's an increased risk of the bolt falling out if the nut comes undone, but how often do correctly torqued suspension fixings come undone?
If I'd had access to some basic metalworking facilities, I could have also fixed the inherent design fault in Renault' front window regulators for pennies and about 15 minutes work. It's not rocket science - don't use cheap plastic where it simply isn't up to the job.
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made a relayed wiring harness for the headlamps on my golf...so they now get full battery voltage
upgraded the earths and starter cable to some thick stuff , noticbly better starting
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Added an ex Senator electric cooling fan to my 3.0 Carlton to stop it overheating.
Replaced thermostatic switch for electric cooling fan on SWMBO's Estelle with one on the dash.
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bashed some holes in the floor of my austin 1300 to stop water freezing under the pedals
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Re-routed fuel supply and return pipes to avoid damage by speed humps when carrying a load.Welded a thick steel plate from the leading edge of the front exhaust box to the pipe in front for the same reason.
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I blanked-off the heat exchangers on an air-cooled Beetle with aluminium foil. I'd rather have frozen than gassed myself.
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I blanked-off the heat exchangers on an air-cooled Beetle with aluminium foil. I'd rather have frozen than gassed myself.
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Ha ha, Chris! I did this in my 1303 with the cap off an air freshner aerosol can - fitted perfectly!
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Blanking the EGR on SWMBO's Astra. Vindicated when Vauxhall later updated the engine management software to disable EGR on this model.
My main coup while in the workshop was in a noise transmission problem during the introduction of the facelifted Novas. I identified that a mass placed midway along the gear selector rod prevented noise transmission to the gear lever at low engine speeds, (for a quick road test, I used some plasticene!) but, couldn't start bolting masses to customers cars willy nilly. I was happy to see a bulletin a few months later with exactly that solution to the problem with a part number for the mass, and a bolt torque to fit it.
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Bought properly designed cars. Done nowt.
Edited by madf on 18/05/2009 at 14:02
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No point posting then. Unless it`s a Yaris/Toyota gloat ;-)
(well meaning humour..)
Edited by oilrag on 18/05/2009 at 14:18
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Nothing wrong with a good gloat:-)
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I had a diesel Uno and solved a light vibrating noise by putting weak springs to side load all the underbonnet gear connector rods. I used to put a hand down the back and smother it all with grease every 10,000 miles or so.
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Not re-engineered anything as such, but I always spend a while correcting slap-dash assembly line work (especially around the engine bay) on the last 3 new cars I've had.
With my previous Volvo & Passat and now the new Mondeo all being turbocharged, sorting out the boost control and intercooler pipework routing and connections has paid dividends in predictable throttle response and performance.
Most recently on the new Mondeo, I finally managed to get at the intercooler outlet spigot that's buried deep inside the front bumper (by removing the driver's side headlamp, skinning my forearm and contorting my wrist) to check if the pipe was snugly mounted and the retaining clip tight. I was suspicious because the other two I/C pipe connectors weren't right. Sure enough, the joint was weeping oily goop.
Pipe now properly mounted & secure, joint bone dry after 500 miles of fairly hard driving.
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VW Passat - replaced the broken steering column wiper stalk with one from a scrapper which had an additional setting for intermittent wipe which my car didn't have. I built a small electronic circuit using a couple of relays and a 555 timer on a piece of vero board to generate the intermittent function. Unbelievably, it worked.
TVR Griffith - rewired all the accessory earths using high quality earthing braid to cure some of the electrical gremlins.
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I went around the engine bay on the Punto and painted the black tape at loom joints with waterproof varnish. This soaked in and it`s not going to start unraveling anytime soon.
Edited by oilrag on 18/05/2009 at 14:30
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Removed all 8, 2 per wheel, of the pins that retain the discs and locate the wheels on my new Panda 4x4. Then replaced them with a fine coating of copper grease, in the hope that they don't shear off when eventually I have to remove them to replace the discs. OK, they're not essential but it annoys me when they break after a few thousand miles.
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> upgraded the earths and starter cable to some thick stuff , noticbly better starting
Done that on various cars, including the following 84 Maestro.
I temporarily used a twisted elastic band to secure the gear linkage rods on a Maestro, it worked so well i just kept a few in the car and changed them periodically as they perished.
Same Maestro, I removed the SU auto choke carb and replaced it with a manual choke version from a similar engined Metro - it ran so smooth and always started better afterwards, and I had to bodge the accelarator cable run as it now operated on the far side of the carb (cue my old cable connected via electrical chocolate block connectors to a new length of bike caliper brake cable and routed in a wide curving arc around to approach the carb from the front of the engine bay).
As bodges go, these all outlasted my ownership of the car and went with it to the new owner.
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Only thing I have done is replace a breather pipe going into my dads oil cap. The Ford one is a bit loose and they tend to split. I bought some same thickness pipe from my local factors then used jubilee clips to secure it. It looks a little bit of a mess but the pipe is very secure and it is cured the infamous Endura over reving problem a bit. When the original pipe comes loose far too much air goes into the rocker cover which means the engine idles at nearly 2000rpm!.
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I have fitted a bit of wire with a fuse socket on the end from a fuse socket inconveniently placed at the back of the relay tray on the wrong side of my Escort's fuse board. This is to save time when the immobiliser acts up as it sometimes does. When the led light stays on after I have unlocked the car and opened the door, I simply unplug the fuse from the end of the bit of wire, and the sound of a ticking time bomb stops. The led stays on but the starter will work and the car drives normally.
Have to put the fuse back in when I get out though, because the central locking won't work without it. And the chances are that the sticky immobiliser will reset itself. An east European AA man was the source of the essential information about the fuse. Excellent chap.
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Fitted electronic ignition to the 2CV. Fitted air horns to numerous cars, most recently a Smart Coupe which had a diabolic horn.
Fitted a 'turbo' sticker to the boot of my Morris Minor - didn't make it go any faster, though ;-(
Dad was a great one for tinkering with his cars and was always improving them. I remember him fitting over-riders from a Morris Minor to the front bumper of his Citroen GS - the bumper profile was a perfect match!
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I fitted a full set of seats from a Mini Mayfair circa '85 to my Reliant Rialto - the seats are literally bolted through the glassfibre floor by way of a plate either side of the floor to brace it.
The guy who bought it off me thought it was fantastic as seat comfort with the original seats is rather limited - Mini seats were luxury by comparison!
It did involve also cutting the moulded doorbins from the plastic doorcards and making new ones which were much narrower and allow for the greater width of the Mini seats.
Id do it again if I had another Rialto - oh and my home modification DID pass an MOT
:-)
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