welshmike

Ive got a little problem, or rather a friend of mine has. He has a 1600 Laser Capri, which currently has the keys locked inside it Now ive heard from loads of people how easy these cars are to get into but I aint no car thief so i havnt a clue! I reolise posting up a step by step guide on how to get into a car without the keys on a public forum would be a bit foolish so could anyone with advice please PM me? Obviously we'd like to avoid any damage as its quite a nice, original car.

is the springalex style wheel you are thinking of from Rally Design? if so, be aware that they dont fit a normal 6 bolt boss like most wheels use, not without some modification anyway. Secondly, i would not recomend these steering wheels. I had one on my Capri, always loved the deep dish look of them and it was a must have when i was building it, but they flex, a lot. I got used to this and was concious not to stress it too much, but after 4 months it broke; luckily i was only pulling out of a junction and not hamering the local B roads but having the rim seperate off the spokes still gave a bit of a brown trouser moment! Ive had lots of other bits from Rally Design before and after that happened which i have been very pleased with but those wheels are dangerous imo, especially on our old cars with no powersteering. Moral of the story, dont skrimp and buy quality.

A proper LSD should be top of the list, possibly a taller diff ratio to make it a bit faster through the gears seeing as you've got that 5th gear for cruising. Make sure you have good dampers and bushes and the wheel alignment is right, then go be a hooligan with your new diff

Unless you're after a wild custom spec, and as long as you have a bit of mechanical sense, maybe you could rebuild one yourself? Maybe buy a fruity engine with some nice bits second-hand then strip it to check and freshen up for peace of mind? You could use your 1300 pistons in the 1600 block to raise the compression a bit, send the head off for some work, nice cam and carbs. Take it to get properly set up and you'd have a good grunty little lump. Do a bit of research, and price up what you want. I have nothing against any of the companys, i'm sure they all do superb work and their knowledge and experience could be invaluable but the potential money saving, the opportunity to learn and the final job satisfaction would see me doing it at home. The x-flow is a lovely little engine to work on. Where abouts in Lancashire are you?

everyone might of already seen it but WOW!

Think i agree with Wilko, i have worked with and know personally quite a few people who have emigrated here. i take people as i find them, regardless of their background. There's an Indian family who live on our street, we get on great. They come to me when they have any car troubles and i do my best to help them out, i was on their roof replacing a few tiles after the storms a couple of weeks ago too. I wont accept any money from them but in return i get the odd free curry from their restaurant. They are a very respectful and polite family and i enjoy helping them out, a real asset to the community. As a comparison, right over the road from me is a single mother of 7 in her thirties. She also comes to me with her mechanical troubles, except she expects everything for free. I sourced, bought and fitted a second hand exhaust to her shitty vectra a while back so it would pass its MOT. not once did she offer me anything for doing it, i didnt even get a cup of tea. I was left out of pocket, having spent all of my Sunday on my back getting Vauxhall rust in my eyes. She has never done a days work in her life and stands in the front garden swearing at her young kids at the top of her voice. If the kids were animals i would describe them as feral, ive cought them a few times in our garden, playing on our trampoline completely uninvited and one of the girls threw stones at my Capri last summer Rant over, but my point is, it doesnt matter where you or your parents have come from theres good n bad from everywhere. At some point though we will have to declare our little rock 'full' and concentrate on helping the people on it, including the people who have recently moved here. Topics like this are fine to be discussed anywhere i think, as long as everyone appreciates others may have a different opinion. just dont get me started on religion

if i ever had to leave mine anywhere dodgey, i used to pull the rotor arm off the dizzy. Also think about blocking it in with other cars if you can.

Right, just got home from work, time to start again. Forgot to say last night, if i run the pump it starts fine so it is something in the fuel pump circuit. A guy at work suggested it could be something to do with the imobiliser? but im doubtful ill go out now and triple check the earth first as a few people have suggested that. thanks for the replys any more thoughts would be hugely appreciated.

OK guys, i need your help/advice. I know its not Old Skool, if it was id likely have it sorted by now! but.. My sister has a Mk3 Mondeo 1.8 Duratec, one day last week it wouldnt start, cranking over fine but no sign of life whatsoever. Later the same day it started and ran fine, without touching anything at all. Then the other day the problem came back, i had a look at it and worked out it wasnt getting any fuel to the engine. Lifted the back seat to access the fuel pump and couldnt hear it pumping at all, unplugged the electrical connector to test for power with a multimeter and it showed over 12v. Fuel pump must be buggered i thought, ordered a new one, just fitted it but it still doesnt pump. I put power straight to the pump from a seperate battery to check it wasnt a dud pump and it pumps fine, still getting over 12v at the cars wiring to the pump but when i connect it, nothing. Thought it must be a problem within the plug itself so carefully took each pin out of the plug and connected them to the pump to eliminate any loose connections, but still no life in the pump. The engine still turns over fine but doesnt even sound like catching. With the electrical plug dismantled i could test the voltage while it was connected to the pump, and it showed nothing at all. So, what ive figured out is, with the ignition on, unplugged there is 12v, as soon as you plug it in that drops to zero?! what could cause this? some sort of ECU / Fuel Module problem? My electrical knowledge is fairly limited so it could be something dead simple. next step i think is go through the fuses for ecu / control modules but i cant be arsed now, im freezing cold and soaking wet and had enough of this plastic piece of poo. So does anyone have any suggestions? is there a common fault with these? I know theres some clever people on here, thanks in advance.

Never heard it put so perfectly, feel like i need that little speech framed on my garage wall!

that flatfont x-pack Mk2 looks ace

Welcome mate your Escort looks ace! love the wheels in the first few pics too.

Love a bit of old school american muscle! Love the 11s on the drive too haha

thats a cool old barge mate

All of my OSFs (Mk2 Escort van, estate, 4door and Mk1 Capri) have been daily drivers, got a Land Rover now but only 'cos my Capri is off the road getting an engine swap