gjm

We popped in to Coombes Johnson in Hamilton for a chat with 'Parts' and had a browse while waiting. (Actually, I wanted to dribble on the Z4M out front.) We also saw the 3-pot Mini. It's not a bad car, but if we were to have a 'new' Mini, it'd be the Clubman, with the side opening rear doors.

Isn't that a Ford Focus?

Sorted the clock display issue. I was perhaps being too gentle with the rubber knob in the dash binnacle... Or perhaps it was a bit sticky and needed a bit more 'persuasion'. Anyway... I can now see what the time is while driving. Something else crossed off the list.

Have you tried swapping the cam position sensor?

The first - Greenlane Auto Panel Repairs. 251 Gt South Road.

I've used Raj Kumar at Greenlane Panel Beaters in (strangely enough!) Greenlane. Really nice bloke, listens to what you want doing, turns out great work. If you do speak to him, please mention my name.

My interview went well, but much experience tells me that means little or nothing. On my side, the hiring manager did say that there was nothing that gave him any cause for concern, and had he thought I wasn't in the running, I would have been out much sooner. (I was there for 2 hours.) So... Now we wait. Some more. In the meantime, here's a pic of a nice-looking E46 coupe in New Plynouth.

Hit a hiccup on the road to everything sorted: Can't get the clock on the dash/radio to display time. It resolutely sits there showing --:-- with the : part flashing. No OBC so no controls on the end of a stalk to play with means the only way I know of to sort this is to turn the ignition key to position 1 or 2, and gently twist the right hand knob/stalk in the instrument binnacle. However, I suspect this only works when the clock is actually displaying a time (which ours isn't). A little frustrating.

Found a replacement for the sedan left-side front kidney grille someone had fitted to the coupe with a bit of twist tie. Unfortunately I've also learnt that the kidney grilles comprise two pieces per side (and I replaced the front part): (1) the front, often chrome but sometimes black piece, which clips to (2) the plastic rear moulding, which clips to the bonnet. Sadly, most of the rear mouldings seem to have their clips broken. Both sides on our coupe do - one side is held in with mastic (or similar), so I'll be into finding a replacement pair of plastic rear parts. From the parts catalogue, it look as though the two parts, while they can be separated, are sold under a single part number: Anyway, also found a black plastic insert for the passenger door armrest. Not necessary, but looks better now. Another hole sorted. We're getting there.

Seems all it takes. That's what the book of words suggested, and 4L (maybe a teensy drop more) took it from drained to max on the dipstick. Close... Banged 12V at 12A across it a couple of times. Charged at 6A to start with, reducing until showing charged. Left it for 12 hours, put it on a 0.5-1A charge until showed charged again. It's working so far, and appears to be holding charge (which frankly I'm surprised at.) That said, INPA suggests it's holding 11.7V, which is about 1V down on where it should ideally be. One or two in-car systems aren't keen and suggest 'low voltage' issues. It'll do for now, until I can sort something better.

Found a replacement for the sedan left-side grille someone had fitted to the coupe with a bit of twist tie. Unfortunately I've also learnt that the kidney grilles comprise two pieces per side (and I replaced the front part): (1) the front, often chrome but sometimes black piece, which clips to (2) the plastic rear moulding, which clips to the bonnet. Sadly, most of the rear mouldings seem to have their clips broken. Both sides on the coupe do - one side is held in with mastic (or similar), so I'll be into finding a replacement pair of plastic rear parts.

Go Cory !

Booked in to the Quest. Got 10% off an already discounted price... Quite important that bit! Somewhere clean and convenient is far more important than fancy trim, decor and so on. No SH43 shenanigans this time around! This is a mission with purpose - fun'n'games on 43 can be had another time.

Put it all back together. You'd never know I'd been in there! Handle still doesn't work, but as it has a WoF, I'm not immediately concerned about that. Booked n to get airbags sorted next week. Changed oil and filter. Used some flushing agent, and filled with 4L of Mr Penrite's best 5W40. Sweet as a nut. Beautiful. Did some funky battery recovery stuff too, on the flat battery I had in the garage. It's taken a few days, but it seems to have worked - battery is holding charge and repeatedly starts the car without issue. Car is actually starting 1st turn of the engine now, too, which is lovely. Still needs a thorough, everything, groom/detail/valet.

Yes! Who cares what I use it for? Because - toys. That's what concerns me. At the moment, everything works. Line up is great, seal is great, even the coupe 'window drop' function works and by the correct amount.

Sooooo close. I can get the cable in place, the nipple in place, and even into the hole, but... It always goes in 90 degrees from the way it should. The nipple sits in the hole, but with the curved (and not flat) faces facing up and down. The sleeve is a wire wound item, making it as much a spring as a sleeve. I'm confident that it can be done without stripping the glass and regulator, but also have to wonder if taking everything apart would be quicker. It'd certainly make fitting the cable so much easier, but would I run into more problems with getting everything back together and lined up again?

Thanks to everyone for their support. I really appreciate it! If I am offered the role I suspect I'll accept it, and we have plans for where we'll live if that is the eventuality. In which case, there'll be a party come summer...

Apologies. Typo on my part. I meant M/S54.

Damn. Something on the face of it so simple, so easy to rectify... Requiring so much hassle and likely grief to resolve. Maybe I'll get lucky and be able to sort it without having to pull everything else apart, but I'll not hold my breath. ?

My suspicions... And I was so hoping that there might have been some 'knack' or technique to sort this. I suspect the inability to open the door from the outside may become a 'security feature' - I really don't feel like pulling the door apart any more than I already have.

Chris Alexander (who runs Suspension Tech) is a good bloke. He's been in business for more than a few years, and is well-known throughout the racing community. He has a good reputation to lose, not build, so I can't see him offering anything that doesn't work or won't keep working. The Powered kit comes with a 2-year manufacturers warranty. Give him a call and have a chat. He'll fit too, if that is a consideration - he's based in Karaka, so not so far from you.

I'm going to see just how far down the window goes when fully down. I've removed the inner and outer weather strips to gain a tiny bit more space. I really don't want to get into removing the window or regulator if it is at all possible to avoid doing so.

This is not a M3! (Pic from Speedhunters - Paddy McGrath.)

Seriously? I mean, it's possible, but does sound like someone, somewhere at Amazon, may have made a mistake...