mini-el restoration - ** success at DVLA **

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booboo
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mini-el restoration - ** success at DVLA **

Postby booboo » Mon Jul 02, 2007 10:11 am

After receiving a large box of nice new shiny bits from Denmark it seemed wrong to just bolt them on to the rusty battery tray.

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So I decided that the battery tray really needed to come out ;

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Removing the leaf springs,shocks etc was quite straight forward. 13mm socket and spanner were the main tools required. The vehicle was placed on a plank of wood resting on axle stands;

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Once the motor was out, the battery tray was easy to unbolt. Biggest hassle was the brake pipes, they weave in and out of the tray at a couple of points, so they had to be disconnected .

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Last edited by booboo on Fri Sep 14, 2007 7:55 pm, edited 4 times in total.
London to Brighton on a Sinclair C5 - 6/5/07 - what a trip !
Ford Explorer 4.0 v6 petrol for everyday abuse - thank God for LPG
Sinclair C5's (Plus "c5alive.co.uk" ) as a hobby

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booboo
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Postby booboo » Mon Jul 02, 2007 10:15 am

Now all I need to do is rub down and paint the battery tray.

I also took advantage of the empty "engine bay" to give it a good clean

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London to Brighton on a Sinclair C5 - 6/5/07 - what a trip !
Ford Explorer 4.0 v6 petrol for everyday abuse - thank God for LPG
Sinclair C5's (Plus "c5alive.co.uk" ) as a hobby

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MB
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Postby MB » Mon Jul 02, 2007 2:18 pm

Good to see an 'El given a bit of TLC.

My G-Wiz had it's annual service today. Talking to the engineer, I almost can't wait for it to get to the end of its warranty period so I can start tinkering with it... :D

Guess I should start saving up for the Lithium Cobolt batteries now, and I think some nice adjustable SPAX shock absorbers, a brake servo and an empty air-field may be a good idea in order to get the brakes and handling the way I want them.

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aminorjourney
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Postby aminorjourney » Mon Jul 02, 2007 8:16 pm

What a difference!

It's good to know that it's a good vehicle underneath. You should maybe also think about securing the huge loom of cables which pass by on the right hand side of the car - it could make battery installation easier! :)
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield

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booboo
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Postby booboo » Tue Jul 03, 2007 7:29 am

aminorjourney wrote:What a difference!

..you should maybe also think about securing the huge loom of cables which pass by on the right hand side of the car..


All those wires were tie-wrapped to the battery tray, so I had to carefully cut the tie-wraps in order to remove the tray. You are right,they will need to be re-secured during the rebuild.

The shocks and leaf springs that I removed from the vehicle seemed to be in good shape, but I will still be replacing them with my nice new shiny ones.

Now all I've got to do is remember how it all goes back together... :roll:
London to Brighton on a Sinclair C5 - 6/5/07 - what a trip !
Ford Explorer 4.0 v6 petrol for everyday abuse - thank God for LPG
Sinclair C5's (Plus "c5alive.co.uk" ) as a hobby

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aminorjourney
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Postby aminorjourney » Tue Jul 03, 2007 5:09 pm

Have you spoken to Andreas at Twike UK about doing a modification to the springs? He's suggesting (from a friend in Germany) that you actually put two springs on each side. I'll get some better description on how later :)

I'm really pleased at how good this is looking. Do you have a repair kit for the hood now or do you want bits from mine?

N
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield

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Host, www.transportevolved.com

http://about.me/aminorjourney/bio

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Postby floydster » Tue Jul 03, 2007 8:33 pm

MikeBoxwell wrote:My G-Wiz had it's annual service today. Talking to the engineer, I almost can't wait for it to get to the end of its warranty period so I can start tinkering with it... :D


Just being a bit cheeky but how much is it to service since you don't need to change oil, plugs, filters etc.?

Floydster
I know I'm in my own world - it's OK, they know me here.

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booboo
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Postby booboo » Tue Jul 03, 2007 9:12 pm

aminorjourney wrote:Have you spoken to Andreas at Twike UK about doing a modification to the springs? He's suggesting (from a friend in Germany) that you actually put two springs on each side. I'll get some better description on how later :)

I'm really pleased at how good this is looking. Do you have a repair kit for the hood now or do you want bits from mine?

N


The two springs idea is interesting, I guess I could just bolt the new and old lot together since the existing set look to be in good condition.

Something to consider.

I had forgotten all about the hood ! A couple of the press studs are past their best, plus I have a slight tear around one of the top press studs.
Also, any idea what glue to use to stick the velcro back on to the body tub ? I was going to use araldite, but am open to suggestions.
London to Brighton on a Sinclair C5 - 6/5/07 - what a trip !
Ford Explorer 4.0 v6 petrol for everyday abuse - thank God for LPG
Sinclair C5's (Plus "c5alive.co.uk" ) as a hobby

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booboo
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Postby booboo » Sun Jul 08, 2007 8:54 pm

Some more pictures of the recent progress...just need to bleed the brakes and then tackle the wiring to see if the beastie actually runs !

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London to Brighton on a Sinclair C5 - 6/5/07 - what a trip !
Ford Explorer 4.0 v6 petrol for everyday abuse - thank God for LPG
Sinclair C5's (Plus "c5alive.co.uk" ) as a hobby

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booboo
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Postby booboo » Sun Jul 08, 2007 8:57 pm

I even cleaned out some more nooks and crannies ....

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London to Brighton on a Sinclair C5 - 6/5/07 - what a trip !
Ford Explorer 4.0 v6 petrol for everyday abuse - thank God for LPG
Sinclair C5's (Plus "c5alive.co.uk" ) as a hobby


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