First proper day out in my freshly finished MK1 CSI!

[o]

Hey all,

After an extensive electrical and mechanical make-over at MJF in Horsham (Alternator update, new starter motor, new wiring, cut-off switch, engine mounts, thermostat, rubber hoses, rocker cover gasket, valve clearances, electronic ignition.....) it was time to take her for a proper drive for the first time in the nearly-3 years I have owned her.

Car drove brilliantly! Nice smooth gears, great engine noise, tight chassis and the new brakes work even better than new I reckon. It was quite scary as she looks perfect and I didn't want anything to go wrong.

Anyway, this morning I went to Marlow to pick up my mate Darren who was also getting his new car today. I got some nice pictures whilst parked on the high street and it was great to see just how many people stopped to gawp at how pretty she is..

After 80 miles all was fine until I stopped at my local garage and she decided to spring the biggest fuel leak I have ever seen - old cars eh?

Turns out it was just a perished pipe that decided to give up in spectacular fashion but after a quick 15 min fix all is right in the world and I could get on to...

.....yes, the petrol station! She's averaged about 17mpg, not taking into account the fuel leak; I thought the electronic ignition kit, valve clearences and the right amount of air in the tyres would make it as least as economical as a Prius, no?!

Love this car, comments very welcome all,

o

 

[JFENG]

Getting one back on the road...

Great photos and story. One of the rarer and prettiest colors. Adds a nice slash of spice to dreary ok UK.

You'll likely continue to find little things which break over the next few years and thousands of miles. One of the most unreliable things to buy is a freshly restored car with no/low shake-down miles.


Congrats on bringing one back into service.

 

[pmansson]

Granatrot met. ??

Looks like it, but mine seems a tad lighter. Nicer in a slightly darker tone.
Good pictures!

 

[pamp]

Very nice

I bought my car in the S.F. Bay area. On the maiden voyage to drive back up to the island here in B.C., on the out skirts of Eureka, CA., I noted the heavy smell of petrol....an injecter nipple had failed. Pressurized fuel, hot exhaust manifolds....holy moley!!! It was a holiday in the US. Luckily I found an Autozone open via a cab ride. $80 for some chinese tools and odds and ends. A young hispanic guy volunteered to bring me back to the car and hung around to assist. About 2 hrs total down time and I was back on the road and completed the trip without further mechanical mishap. Like yourself, it was a pain at the border as I had to clear first US customs as an export and then clear Canadian as an import. That is another story....

 

[o]

Hey all,

Just had another great evening out in the CSI - She drove a treat and it was a good excuse to drop the idle speed down a bit as it was hovering around the 1,100 mark. I'm working on 900 revs warm now which seems fine to me.

It's so refined and tight, such a lovely machine Next up its a proper window cleaning session and then she's going to the body shop for a spot of paint where the car got scuffed whilst at the garage,

Comments welcome all,

o

 

[Honolulu]

I have to say, not much of a refurb if they didn't change old brittle fuel lines. Really.

I have a story here, since I was close to your position at one time: A pal got an old VW bus with two bad motors from his mom's boyfriend's business. We tore it down to the crank, did a mix-and-match, a few new bits here and there, and got a single complete motor, nice and clean and painted up the shrouding a cheerful bright yellow. It really brightened up the engine bay and made us feel quite special. A few months later my pal's little sister was using the van to move. She was tootling along on the freeway and smelled smoke... the whole engine went up because frugal WE had not the foresight nor experience to change the 8 inches of old braided fuel line between the fuel pump and carb. Vibration chewed it up; there was enough gas in the carb to ensure a good quantity all over the engine; one spark and "that's all, folks!"