my first car* 1.4 1990 340 Carburettor Help Please!

[valman]

right.. ok exhaust all sorted - good.

just to clarify if i take 2 inches off the front via angle grinder method - i will have 3mm of damper travel?

[magnumpi]

right.. ok exhaust all sorted - good.

just to clarify if i take 2 inches off the front via angle grinder method - i will have 3mm of damper travel?

I don't know about that, but i'd be worried what would happen if you hit a humpback bridge that hard again with next to no travel, something is going to break when it takes off/lands

[valman]

right.. ok exhaust all sorted - good.

just to clarify if i take 2 inches off the front via angle grinder method - i will have 3mm of damper travel?

I don't know about that, but i'd be worried what would happen if you hit a humpback bridge that hard again with next to no travel, something is going to break when it takes off/lands

haha i have been very slow over them now whats yours like now with 2 inches off the front? very harsh? or you can live with it? i hear the art of zip ties helps keep springs in place

[magnumpi]

right.. ok exhaust all sorted - good.

just to clarify if i take 2 inches off the front via angle grinder method - i will have 3mm of damper travel?

I don't know about that, but i'd be worried what would happen if you hit a humpback bridge that hard again with next to no travel, something is going to break when it takes off/lands

haha i have been very slow over them now whats yours like now with 2 inches off the front? very harsh? or you can live with it? i hear the art of zip ties helps keep springs in place

Compared to my Beetle which is lower, with less ground clearance than the 300 and 30yrs older it's pretty harsh. I've got Dai's springs up front, you just have to go slower than normal modern cars over speed bumps and watch out for pot holes as it really bangs through them rather than makes any effort with shock absobing

That said though pretty much all my rubbers/bushes need replacing at the front and the wheel bearings are getting a bit duboius, but i think thats down to my stupid offset wheels rather than the lowering, plus it's probably still on it's original ones.

I live with it, but it can get tedious on poorly sufaced roads, see most of them in the UK, but i think i'm just getting old and want my comforts
My sump has a few scars on it with a 2" drop.

Indeed you are correct, cable ties or small hose clamps will do the job, as long as it stays seated in the cup it will pass an MoT, however i used some steel plate and used nuts and bolts to hold it down as i felt cable ties may be a bit ghetto even though lots of people use that method.

[valman]

thanks for the reply man, im going to get the grinder out once im back from holiday so in a about 3 weeks time
not alot happened to this car recently.. just have been using it since i passed.. clocked up 2400 miles (almost) in like 40 days - is that bad?

used it for bugjam last weekend - did us proud this car!
managed to fit in plenty of beer and still have enough space for camping gear and food for 4 people!



it got a little bit of damage where i slid out on a dirt track and clipped a hedge


oh and it also decided to die yesterday!! the dizzy cap got wet and the thing just cut out

and the sump guard has been doing its job rather well its got a few tasty dents and scrapes in it now which means it was a good idea to add one !

[mat_91]

good old volvo and what are you hitting with your sump gaurd to dent it or are they tiny stone ones lol

[valman]

good old volvo and what are you hitting with your sump gaurd to dent it or are they tiny stone ones lol

not really sure to be honest i guess its small stones aswell as big ones because its managed to shape itself around the anti roll bar i do go down alot of gravel tracks too so thats probably where most of it is from

[valman]

just a quick question that i wanted to ask - what end should i cut the spring?? bottom? top? is there a difference? as i pressume it would be easier to cut from the bottom as that wouldn't need me to drop the strut out. thanks!

[volvodspec]

well allthough i'm not a fan of lowering by cutting the springs.

you do want to get the strut out...

after cutting the spring, you want to get the sharpness on the coil to be rounded off, only way to do that is to separate the spring from the strut.
don't round off the spring/give the bits an anti-corrosion treatment and you'll drop through the strut in a year or so.

[valman]

well allthough i'm not a fan of lowering by cutting the springs.

you do want to get the strut out...

after cutting the spring, you want to get the sharpness on the coil to be rounded off, only way to do that is to separate the spring from the strut.
don't round off the spring/give the bits an anti-corrosion treatment and you'll drop through the strut in a year or so.

thank you for the quick reply i know cutting isnt the best way to do it but i have alot of stuff i need to save up for this summer (festivals, beer, blah blah ) so need a cheap way to do it temporarily
I will take the whole strut off then - going to have the car up on stands anyway because the clutch is slipping so im hoping its just adjustment.
is it harder to drop the strut out than on other cars or similar process? as all of the cars ive previously taken struts out of had the damper come out of the hub assembly (golfs, fiestas, etc..)
thanks

[eph_tom]

thanks for the all the replies,
ian you mentioned insurance - luckaly footman james are cool with modifications and simply add £50 to my excess, which is mega cheap considering the average company just laughs down the phone and tells you to bugger off (main reason of why many modifications aren't mentioned to the insurance with young drivers and modern cars imo)

yeah it wasnt "proper" drifting jtbo, it was more of a thrashing, but it wasn't at stupid RPMs so should be ok-ish if done on a rare basis. how hard is it to fit anti-roll bar on the back? anyone done this?

its very easy to obey the speed limits in this car too!! it makes too much of a racket when trying to do anything "exciting" - i figured out the cause of this once it completely broke. the pipe joining the catalytic converter to the manifold was rusted and was blowing some what, yesterday the whole thing decided to fall off. i have never been more embarrased driving home through town doing 20mph in 4th just to keep the noise minimal and still getting the "you chavvy c*nt, put your exhaust back on" look will be going to metal sscrap yard in an hour or so to try find some pipe to sort the problem and while im at it get rid of the cat converter aswell.
some pics of exhaust repair will be provided at the end of the day

I remember trying to get Val to slide after owning her only for a day. My very first rwd too. And I chose a roundabout to perform this outstanding manoeuvre! If I could go back in time I would have liked to punch myself in the face!!
Baaaad idea....Got the back end out but the car absolutely bit back in counter steer. Basically, it was all happening too fast for me. Nearly hit the kerb.Nearly. Drove back home at 20 mph.

[magnumpi]

Nice one you were at Bug Jam, bit harsh though with the £20 plus ticket price for being in a non VW . I would have taken my one up the strip but didn't want to pay the extra being a skinflint so grabbed a lift in my brothers Buggy

If you've got any slight mechanical knowledge and don't mind getting your hands dirty, getting the struts out is an easy enough job. The hardest bit you'll encounter is stupidly tight rusted nuts and bolts.

[valman]

Nice one you were at Bug Jam, bit harsh though with the £20 plus ticket price for being in a non VW . I would have taken my one up the strip but didn't want to pay the extra being a skinflint so grabbed a lift in my brothers Buggy

If you've got any slight mechanical knowledge and don't mind getting your hands dirty, getting the struts out is an easy enough job. The hardest bit you'll encounter is stupidly tight rusted nuts and bolts.

my mate had 4 free tickets as his sister is some autoglym rep and didnt need them so that was the best value weekend had for a while but i was too skint to take her up the strip, plus felt bad being a non vw but saw plenty non-VAG stuff running down so maybe next time

[valman]

also i will be cutting up the standard exhaust to make it a side-exit! so watch this space hopefully the standard silencer will fit in the tunnel
oh and does anyone know if the catalytic converter is worht anything to a scrapyard? as i have one that i need rid of and need a bit of dosh

[valman]

shes going down! today is the day really excited - just hope the 120 x 10 bolts i bought will work on the back for mounting the axle as i forgot to check the diameter of the standard bolts before going on holiday