Inspection Follow Up

As I had the drill out I used it to removed the aluminium tat from the two footwell mats. They were Ripspeed ones with an aluminium checkerplate to prevent heel wear as well as two small aluminium logo badges all rivited on. They came off and with a bit of effort with a scrubbing brush the pile underneath the plates was soon looking like the rest. I was looking at new mats, but I reckon these will be fine.

Had a better look in the engine bay. The ECU is loose because the presssed steel plate it mounts on had come loose on two of its three mounting bolts. The lowest sits quite near the screen wash filler neck and tends to get splashed with neat solution in my experience. As a result there’s quite a lot of rust in this area and the lower bolt had seized and worn a hole through the arch.

So it was time to jack the car up, and have a look at the corresponding underside. This was a job in itself because my trolley jack only just fitted under the sideskirt but needed the extension adding otherwise it was pressing in the skirts before the sill. There’s just room to get it under behind the front wheel and then slide it into position.

Anyway jacked it up, took the wheel off, arch liner out and there’s quite a lot of work to do. Washer bottle out, bumper off and a lot of rust to tackle I think. Had a look at the otherside again and it’s just as bad, so the whole front needs doing in one go I reckon.

Had a look at the battery mounting. It seems serviceable and had just come loose. The clamp was corroded, so I’ll try the rust treatment I’ve picked up on that before starting on the bodywork and then refit it with some stainless hardware.

Brakes look okay to me. I need to get a micrometer to measure the thicknesses and check the discs are still good.  The callipers need some love.