MOT test

[timcar]

Just a little reminder that these cars are getting older and may spring surprises! Certainly for me as I just completed a 500 mile 3 day trip and then took the car in for MOT.
The guy testing was surprised when the seat belt fastener fell apart when he tugged it to check security.
Of all the critical areas, rear brakes amongst them I was not expecting this.

[timcar]

Just a footnote to this.
Robsport were great once again with the supply of a new (used) stalk, it's great that there are a few suppliers that can keep us on the road.

[busheytrader]

Frightening isn't it? I remember hearing this happen to a 10 year old DHC 27 years ago.

[UKPhilTR7]

Gosh you are lucky that it came to light whilst having the MOT and not when you needed it on the road. Sure does make you think though.

I totally agree about the suppliers helping to keep our cars on the road and I (like everyone here, I would imagine) are grateful that they are about. However, it does make me wonder how long we can go for when you look at places like the Rimmer website and more and more items are saying “No longer available”. This is when my thoughts went to things like 3D printers to produce bits that we cannot get.

[littlepippin]

Thanks for the post - will check mine next time I get the car out purely out of safety reasons.

Wouldn't think to check other wise.....

[FI Spyder]

Yah, that's scary. Makes every dollar I spent on a "desert" car worth every penny.

[busheytrader]

........I totally agree about the suppliers helping to keep our cars on the road and I (like everyone here, I would imagine) are grateful that they are about. However, it does make me wonder how long we can go for when you look at places like the Rimmer website and more and more items are saying “No longer available”.........

I guess it's totally down to the demand for parts and that's down to how many wedges are kept on the road or are being restored for the road. One website states that last summer there were under 1,000 wedges taxed and around 2,000 on SORN in the UK. Hardly big numbers......

5 speed rear brake shoes were impossible to get hold of a few years ago, then heater matrix rubber seals.

[Tamas Petrunin]

However, it does make me wonder how long we can go for when you look at places like the Rimmer website and more and more items are saying “No longer available”.

If there is a demand for something then somebody somewhere will sell it, afterall I have no problems getting parts for one of my vehicles that is nearly twice as old as my TR7.

[UKPhilTR7]

5 speed rear brake shoes were impossible to get hold of a few years ago, then heater matrix rubber seals.

I heard that the heater matrix rubber seals were still hard to get. If this is not the case please let me know.

[busheytrader]

They're made of unobtanium though I saw robsport selling a pair of NOS for close to £50 on ebay last summer. They would have been over 35 years old......

If the original steel heater pipes hadn't rusted on mine then maybe the rubber seals would have lasted a rew more years.

[UKPhilTR7]

There must be someone who is selling far newer ones now. With all the poly bushes, there has got to be an alternative out there.

[busheytrader]

You would think so Phil. There are polybush alternatives to TR7 bump stops front and rear and sun visor clips as well as all the suspension bushes. There's a YouTube video on polybush manufacture which is basically liquid being poured in to a mould, so someone has to take the plunge to make one. I don't think our heater matrix was exclusive to just our cars.

The UK specialists sell a replacement matrix with fixed tails viewtopic.php?f=2&t=23518&p=239732&hilit=Volvo+mount#p239732 and there's also a forum thread where a Mk1 Jetta heater matrix viewtopic.php?f=20&t=21010 (again with tails) is an almost direct fit for about a third of the price. Replacing the matrix in the heater box is a hell of a job, all those rivets having to be redrilled and replaced in a dodgy plastic box. Use the sharpest of drill bits or the plastic melts, I found out the hard way. Replacing only the rubbers and replacement ss heater pipes was a lot easier. I'm not aware of the matrix failing by itself, just the hardening rubber bushes being lifted off the steel pipes as they rust away.

[timcar]

I put off this job last year but finally at Christmas decided to strip out the dash and do it. Picking the coldest time of the year to be in the garage for hours maybe was not so smart but actually the job went quite well and I actually enjoyed taking it all apart, cleaning, painting and putting it back together again. I decided though that I would only (hopefully!!) do it the once so sourced a new heater matrix plus stainless steel pipework and silicone pipe. (The original steel pipe was also quite corroded). I found really good foam rubber gasket material from a company Mantek in Aldershot. Anyway it's all working fine now but it's not a cheap fix.

[busheytrader]

Looks very smart...... Which matrix is that?

[timcar]

The matrix is from Robsport.
To be honest the part that I considered the hardest was the stainless pipework. Beans shows a photo of simple aluminium pipes with right angle bends which must be a lot less expensive and probably just as effective. I did consider this but didn't find anything available at the time. Also introducing stainless steel is worse than aluminium in terms of galvanic corrosion.