sepulchrave

I'm guessing you haven't checked the right fuse yet, keep looking.

You have the wrong tyres, 205/45-16 is the correct size, not 205/55.

Try bleeding the clutch, there is a dwell mechanism built into the clutch pedal which reduces the pressure from the foot needed hold the pedal flat to the floor, it's possible your muvver holds the clutch down much longer than you do rather than putting the car in neutral at traffic lights etc.

The power steering would leak when under pressure, not when parked, also the fluid would not evaporate leaving no trace.

Get the cam cover off and take a look, it might have killed the cam again if the previous cause of failure was not properly addressed. It doesn't sound electrical as that would throw codes.

I wouldn't touch it, not only has it not been looked after, it's been actively neglected. Forget the mileage, look for one that's been properly looked after, I'd rather have a car with a high mileage but a full history, it would cost less to buy and run as well.

My guess is that your radiator cooling fans are not working properly and on a very hot day the condenser core was too hot and the ECU prevented the aircon from switching on. Surprised your mechanic did not check them.

I would imagine lots of people have done it since the Mark 2 uses most of the same chassis components as the Mark 1 and kits are readily available. The question is, do you want to go faster or just look faster?

If it were not a good seal then you would see coolant loss for sure.

Don't shoot me but it really isn't that important on a NA petrol engine, far better to change it regularly, semi-syn is 10W40, when these cars were made that was totally acceptable, normal even.

VRS uses a concentric slave hidden inside the bellhousing, much easier and cheaper to replace the master and bleed the entire system.

You can relax, the job is done right.

The car is probably immobilised, try the spare key, failing that reflow the solder joints for the key reader on the instrument cluster.

The best designed and most comfortable seats were found in Saabs, there are loads at the breakers, take some measurements and see if they might fit.

You're seeing undamped harmonic vibration, three cylinder engines are notorious for it.

I think they're a total waste of money, they don't provide sufficient filtration to protect the engine and they don't increase airflow enough to improve performance. Kind of the worst of both worlds if you like. People fit them mainly for the stupid slurping sound they make.

Almost certainly.

No, you need to specify what you want because it varies depending on mileage.

You'd hear the most ghastly rumbling sound if the main bearings were kaput enough for you to see the crank vibrating.

How would a dent leak oil all over the place?

Yes. The system cannot hold pressure with a hole in it, I'm surprised you even needed to ask.

Errrr, since it's a completely standard shock fitment, a new pair of standard shocks will be fine, if you want to spend more then get Bilsteins or similar.

Ok, I get it, it's a Mimi thread...

There's nothing wrong with that but you'll end up throwing most of it away because it's gone stale in storage.

Obviously you have 'special needs', my advice was intended for 'normal' road users.