Jump to content

My first project - GAZ the Favorit


JonnyHS

Recommended Posts

Are you sure the NSF door didn't buckle as you exceeded the 35mph??  :giggle:

 

I'd be fixering up the RWW if it were me - you know's it makes sense.

 

Nice project opener post  :thumbup:

 

Gaz

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks.

 

I will be fixing the RWW for sure, but if it's not done by the MOT I'll just take it off. The last tester (and they are fierce here) said, "if it's on the car it's got to work". I'll take him at his word.

 

Jon

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is very exciting.

I'm not talking exciting as in splicing a Felicia pickup with a Scooby, but it's exciting for me...

My first spare part arrived! A replacement N/S seatbelt buckle sourced via ebay. I've managed to order the right bit and it works.

Now to fit it. I'm hoping the seat doesn't have to come off on the Favorit like I think it does with a Felicia.

Sorry for the dull post, but you have to start somewhere!

Both feet are now on the slippery slope and I have opened the door to the money pit.

:-)

Jon

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Well done Jon. Paint colour is Carribean Green 5280 if that helps, should look better with a T cut and polish. The wheels are off a Silverline they are wider than normal. Just take the wiper off they are prone to packing up, stick a gromet in the hole though.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Ken, good info! 

 

Got to get a daily runabout before properly getting stuck in. Poor old GAZ is not loving the commute much and would prefer to be in the garage most of the time. Having fixed the brake light switch, now the fan is being temperamental and it's all running a little warm!

 

Going to look at this tomorrow...

http://www.gumtree.com/p/skoda/skoda-felicia-forsale/1104621201

 

I can try to have at least one of them working at all times...

 

Jon

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I didn't get a chance to go and look, what with kids playing up and the baby not very well (nothing serious). I could have gone, but only in the dark, which isn't ideal. The ad's still up so will try again shortly! My only reservation is that it's not that much more of a daily runaround than my Favorit! I'll end up putting them both in the shed and looking for a third...

 

I think I'm addicted!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Hello Jonny. Love the post. 

 

Not sure if it applies to Favorit speedo's, but the estelle speedo's tended to pack up if you reset the trip while the car was moving.

I was warned about this when we got our first Skoda, so I don't risk resetting on the move now.

We are on our 13th Skoda now and still have 5 of them, so be warned, they are addictive.  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Kyme,

 

It's just the odometer, not the speedo, but that is EXACTLY what happened! I fiddled and broke something, which is pretty normal for me. Not sure how to fix it, or if I even will. Maybe I'll just wind it on a bit every so often for the MOT...

 

By the way, "Kyme" in Lincs.... My granny used to live on a Kyme Road in Lincs. Am I close?

 

Jon

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A little update on my painfully slow progress and general ineptitude:

 

I tried to get the bolt holding the seatbelt buckle off, but it had been damaged before, being pretty much rounded off, and I made it worse. Out came the oil to try to loosen it, and then the hacksaw. It's still b***dy well stuck. Drill next...

 

Then, on yesterday's commute, the O/S caliper stuck. Much whining and shuddering from the wheel, and a bit of veering to the left. Both wheels were a little warm (not red hot) after the journey and the telltale smell was there, but only very slightly. The pedal feels a little odd now, and while that is quite likely to be paranoia, I'm not risking it. I suspect I'll try to change the whole brake assembly on both front wheels. Not the easiest of jobs first up, but the MOT looms in two weeks and I'm game. I'll try to get started thursday/friday, but it's hard with the kids so young.

 

I'm still half looking for a second car, but sailing close to the wind with money in the eternal balancing act.

 

My main achievements these last few days has been to start a blog and facebook page charting my progress. My car struggles over the years have been a constant source of amusement to my "mates" and so I thought I'd write it up for them. Less technical stuff than here, and more focused on the hapless motoring calamities that seem to follow me around. We'll probably discover quite fast that I am a much better writer than I am a mechanic.

 

Wish me luck with the brakes...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

O/S caliper replaced at last. It seems impossible for me to get any amount of time to work on the car, so it came down to a last minute panic with no option but to fix it. The job's a good one, and I'm stupidly chuffed to have done it. The next door neighbour was more than a little helpful - he's rather intrigued and has time on his hands to help out!

 

Now I have to replace the other side too. It's worth listening to the chap at Euro Car Parts when he asks if you want both calipers... There's probably a good reason for asking! I am pretty confident that I can get it done quickly now I know what to expect. When the wife and baby are away over the weekend I aim to get it done. It's out of MOT tomorrow, so I'll try to get it through if I can get a cancellation on Saturday. I still have to fix the seatbelt buckle though. The (headless) bolt is stuck fast in the bracket and I've no idea how to get it out without doing more damage.

 

On a cosmetic note, I treated the bonnet to some soapy water, some G3 and some Sonax polish, with the baby asleep in a sling on my chest the whole time. I know it's daft to think that I could restore the paintwork by hand, but I wanted to see if it was worth trying or if it was a spray job from the off. The result was encouraging, even though it still looks awful! I think it will come up a treat with a machine polisher, so when the pay goes in...

 

I am having fun, and the other half is only slightly bored.  :thumbup:

 

First%20Caliper_zpsdniurpom.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does the headless bolt have any edges that you could use, with a hammer and chisel/punch to screw it one way or the other?  I've done this before where once the mullered head was gone, the thread was not tight and could be turned with a punch, tapping it around until I had enough to get hold of with mole grips.  Is there access to the other end of the bolt? - just in case you can rotate it from that side.

 

Good progress, and if the the other half's getting disinterested, that's surely a good thing  :yes:

 

Gaz

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks - interesting idea with chisel! There is a lip on the side of the hacksawed head, so I could try. I also have access to the nut, but not much room to get a spanner around it. I am a little worried about stressing the bracket if I use too much force, seeing as it's holding my seatbelt to the car! It's already a little twisted looking. I think whoever it was who original rounded the bolt had tried to "loosen" it the wrong way as it's jammed pretty tight, even though it only passes through the bracket a few millimetres.

 

Tell you what, I'll take the f@%#ing thing off the car later and post a picture! Easier than describing it!

 

In other news, I took off the n/s rear interior door panel to try to hook the lock-pull back into the mechanism. God that's fiddly in there. Another half job done...

 

The missus is very very good at smiling politely while her eyes glaze over. Perfect.

 

jon

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks faradaycage, glad to have along for the ride!

As promised, here are some pics of the offending bolt. They're on my facebook page for the project, which is a little more flippant and less technical than on here. It's a public post so anyone should be able to see it.

https://m.facebook.com/askodasaga/albums/764079117044323/?ref=bookmark

It also stops me from boring all my non-car-interested facebook chums!

Any further advice welcome. I will be trying V6TDI's hammer/chisel thing at the next opportunity.

Jon

Link to comment
Share on other sites

HI  JohnnyHS, have you checked its not a left hand thread? If it is ,all your effort will be tightening the bolt, If you have an electric drill, and HHS drill bits, drill a small hole centrally down the bolt, then enlarge it with each bigger size, until close to the thead & use studd extracters, which turn anti clockwise, only works on right hand threads though, Pete, covskoda

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi johnnyHS, Left hand threads are used to tighten against the turning effect of motion , where righthand threads would loosen ie, bike peddles, 1s lefthand1s righthand, but if lefthand threaded, replacement bolt must be L/H, also Pete,covskoda

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tell you what, I'll take the f@%#ing thing off....

 

Spoken like a trooper  :giggle:

 

You'll be able to work out from the thread you can see whether it's a left or right hand thread.  Given you've got the bracket off, I'd certainly try to get hold of the exposed thread to see if it'll move, then go down the drilling route, although a new bracket probably might be less than the cost of drills you might break if you're anything like me!  :dull:  (I'd drill it if only for self satisfaction).

 

Gaz

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's off.

 

I hacksawed more of the exposed bolt off (where there had been a washer between the buckle stalk and the bolt head), so it was flush with the hole. It's not actually threaded where it passes through the bracket, so I put it in a vice, lined up an old screwdriver and thumped it (carefully). Popped right out. It's a normal right hand thread as it turns out. I reckon that the culprit had tried to loosen it from the drivers seat and turned his spanner the wrong way. I say this as I caught myself about to do the exact same thing with a caliper guide bolt before remembering to think first.

 

I couldn't source an exact replacement, so have made do with a random bolt from the local parts shop. It's not really secure enough, but it'll be in place for when I get an MOT appointment. I wouldn't put it through a crash test for sure, but I don't have any need to carry a passenger - the kids go in the back, and if all five of us need to travel together we use the 7-seater.

 

Bad news is that I took the driver's buckle off so I could get a good match for the bolt/nut/washer assembly and the plastic washer came apart. Now there is no resistance in the buckle stalk. It just flops down. Pretty sure that's not ideal either! I will try to source proper parts as soon as I can. In fact, I may just see if the local breakers have a Favorit at the bottom of a pile somewhere and ask them to put a "reserved" notice on it....  :D

 

So I have now got two front seat belts in place, and two spanking new calipers fitted. After taking two weeks to fit the first one, I was delighted that it took under an hour for the second. Going to try for an MOT as soon as I can. 

 

Meanwhile, I replaced the thermostat on the missus' Zafira and either found or made a hole in a hose. I didn't have the confidence to bodge it, although I thought I had the right idea, so I called the AA in desperation when it started dropping water straight on to the exhaust in a dramatic cloud of anti-freeze flavoured steam. The mechanic couldn't give two hoots about the Zafira, (he bodged it back together in the exact same way I had thought about trying). He was MUCH more interested in the rather jaded Skoda sitting on axle stands in the drive!  :clap:He was full of advice and stories, and very reluctantly took himself off to his next job after about half an hour of chatting. Turns out he used to work for Skoda.

 

I then discovered that I'd flattened the battery on the Favorit by using the lights to help me see while I was damaging the Zafira.  :blush: Wouldn't jump start, but we live at the top of a very big hill...

 

Does everyone else ever feel like they are constantly chasing their own tail?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's off.

 

Does everyone else ever feel like they are constantly chasing their own tail?

 

:thumbup:  :clap:

 

And yes;  Some of my tail-chasing I share on here, but not all of it as I don't want to let on the full extent of my idiocy  :notme:  :no:

 

Gaz

Link to comment
Share on other sites

:rofl:

 

I'm happy to be the newbie clown of the restoration world! I am literally working things out from scratch with assistance from on here and youtube. If I get a working car and you lot have a laugh in the process, I'd say mission accomplished.

 

More soon...

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Community Partner

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to BRISKODA. Please note the following important links Terms of Use. We have a comprehensive Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.