The Gs300 ...saved from the scrappy

[Monster-Mat]

Yesterday, i picked up the GS from Manchester....... :)

Pics to Follow......(oh dear..Just had a thought, will this turn out to be a project thread)....

[Bazza]

Yesterday, i picked up the GS from Manchester....... :)

Pics to Follow......(oh dear..Just had a thought, will this turn out to be a project thread)....

we hope so :D

[Steve]

i remember the words at JAE "you must be jelous not to have an IS200" LOL

[Tony9r]

Ah-ha, you've finally seen the light Mat...

[Monster-Mat]

well interestingly, i managed to get water into the plugs, so it ran like ****, so much so the cat overheated ( i mean proper overheated, like, the front and mid cat were glowing red hot......)and as a result set fire to some underbody plastic.

not bad for the first day of ownership, ......

so far the things that need doing......erm....

get it running on 6 cylinders

sort the blowing from the exhaust, i think its the front section

front bumper needs replacing

headlight washers dont work

the steering wheel doesnt come out to greet me, tilts up and down though

radio....hmm its saying SEC on the display, but i cant seem to get it to do anything...

thats it basically, it has pretty much a full service history,

more updates as and when i destroy something else

[Monster-Mat]

ok heres the pics

car had a puncture, so banged on the unused spare

Full service History...!!

i filled the engine yesterday with new coolant, the tap water in there wasnt the best...still cant seem to sort the radio in anti theft mode

[mudzs]

looks nice matt , i would do the rad on it for peice of mind as it looks a bit rusty on top so condition of core prob not good , i had same problem with plugs , you did'nt steam clean the engine by any chance did you as the water really sits on the plugs and causes the ignition leads to pop of when engine gets hot .

[derekyau]

Eh, nice one Matt! All aboard the GS club! hehe.

Be interesting see what you turn this sensible car into!

Personally, I dont like the brown dash mind you... That's gotta go...

I dont remember any of your other cars having air con! Let alone a working stereo...

Merry Christmas!

D.

[Monster-Mat]

looks nice matt , i would do the rad on it for peice of mind as it looks a bit rusty on top so condition of core prob not good , i had same problem with plugs , you did'nt steam clean the engine by any chance did you as the water really sits on the plugs and causes the ignition leads to pop of when engine gets hot .

yup steam cleaned it.....

the brown is from where i flushed out the rad and cooling system

i have the code for the radio, but the radio doesnt seem to respond to the button pushing as described in the manual.....

im going to try rebooting the security by disconnecting the power to it.....

where is the fuse for the radio?

Be interesting see what you turn this sensible car into!

Personally, I dont like the brown dash mind you... That's gotta go...

I dont remember any of your other cars having air con! Let alone a working stereo...

Merry Christmas!

D.

not so keen on the brown myself, but short of getting a complete interior...its gonna have to stay

regards changes.....dunno yet

[TigerFish]

not so keen on the brown myself, but short of getting a complete interior...its gonna have to stay

I didn't like brown either when I first got mine, it does grow on you though.

[Monster-Mat]

well its had its MOT

and its interesting, i have a little bit of work to do....

Exhaust emissions high, ..................well i expected that, the cat is knackered, ive found a new one for 200 quid

Exhaust front joint leak....................erm, obviously will be sorted with the cat

Rear tyres need replacing.................i will be replacing all 4 anyway

so those jobs i was expecting.....

these i was not

both front lower ball joints excessive wear...

offside front brake binding..........................

front wheel brake imbalance, .....................well thats pretty obvious if a caliper is binding

so whats the best solution to the lower front ball joints, do i need to get new lower arms complete of can the ball joints be got on there own

[TigerFish]

The ball joints are seperate from the bottom arm, they bolt onto the bottom of the hub. No idea on prices over here but did find a good US site. I did email them regarding shipping and they won't ship to the UK but if you have any contacts in the US that you can use as a middleman, they are pretty decent prices. clicky

[Monster-Mat]

you know what.....i think the ball joints are the same as the is200 ones, as are the bottom arms, and the upright,also the hub is identical.

i only know this as i have a complete is200 hub and suspension unit i compared, the only item different is the rear tension arm. the upright is identical

as i said apart from the GS one has 2 threaded holes drilled into it for a wire bracket.

the is200 calipers also fit as ive fitted one of those.

thanks for the link, ive actually had a look and i dont think it is the ball joints, i think the play is in the steering rack

i also got around the rear tyre issue, by fitting the spare wheels from the MOnster......just need to wait for the cat section to arrive

think ill look for some gs sport springs.....and get some nice 18s for the car, when its sorted

[TigerFish]

Would be interesting to know what suspension parts are interchangeable between the IS and GS.

ive actually had a look and i dont think it is the ball joints, i think the play is in the steering rack

WOW, I would recommend going to a new MOT station in future, that is pretty pants if they can't tell the difference between a balljoint and steering rack :shutit:

Looks pretty good with those wheels on, especially once it is dropped.

[Monster-Mat]

holy thread resurrection!.

after a long....long time i got round to sorting the car out, it has sat, unloved in a compound somewhere in wiltshire since june 08.

before returning to ze fatherland i fitted a new exhaust and main cat, front bumper...all thanks to Austin. and a new Battery.....rad cap and numberplate

then fitted 2 new tyres, and got the ball joints done, flew through the MOT, its insured just need tax and im hopefully driving away in my old and abused armchair tomorrow

then when i get it back over here a few weeks later....i'll start to clean it up....somehow.

[Monster-Mat]

it drove from Bath, all the way to Germany without missing a beat

Ive sorted the radio, but knackered the CD player, ...and tidied up a couple of bits...

Ive fitted new discs and pads on the front, sorted a Fuel leak on a corroded pipe.....id check yours guys if you have MK 1's

i wasn't going to do owt with this car other than drive it, but, i hate the wheels, the ride hight, ...

gonna put some of the 9 x 18 rims i have in the garage on.....

and was going to get some of the HSD coilovers from DW...but i found a set of Tein HR coilovers today for $72.

so ill bang them on when they arrive

should be a great family car!!

[TigerFish]

I'll swap you a working CD player for the coilovers

[Monster-Mat]

I'll swap you a working CD player for the coilovers

you can have the cd player in mine for spares if you want

[TigerFish]

I'll swap you a working CD player for the coilovers

you can have the cd player in mine for spares if you want

Mine is just a wheel chock anyway, as I removed all the factory stereo stuff.

[Monster-Mat]

well, the coilovers have arrived in Frankfurt...so should be with me before the end of the week....alas ill be in France so will have to sit at Customs for a few days

hopefully they will go of the Purchase price £83.41p ;)

and not the total including postage

Today i undersealed the car, and did some Rust prevention measures....im sure a previous owner must have lived by the sea

fitted a new viscous fan hub....luckily i had my "new" hub that i took of the monster, when i changed to electric fans

the radiator is gonna need changing, theres not much core left

still waiting for my other 2 wheels to be returned from the UK....

and hopefully before Friday my Borrowed Continental headlights will arrive so i can stick the car through its test over here............

[TigerFish]

fingers crossed with the customs duty, postage shouldn't come into it I wouldn't think.

[Monster-Mat]

i,ll not be paying any customs or duty charges..............( <_< )

[Monster-Mat]

well.....

decided to do some remedial work on the car...i had a constant drip which, i eventually traced to the waterpump-block seal.

so as the water pump had to come off, and i had no history on what was done and when.

i changed the:

Water pump

Cambelt

Cambelt tensioner

Aux belt tensioner

New Radiator

Bypass pipe and seals, and most of the coolant pipes, as many had hardened with rust deposits on the insides.

i now have the coilovers, and all 4 of my wheels which i had passed to the guy running the Monster in 2009, so soon, hopefully can get some tyres on the rims, and the rims and coilovers fitted to the GS

i want to change the Cam cover seals at some point, and need to replace the radio....oh, and i need to touch up some of the paintwork

i cant decide though, keep it Blue

or

Matt Black, or NATO green...... :winky: , or battleship grey...(i like the idea of battleship grey......)

at the end of the day, the car cost me nothing to get, and has cost me £754 so far!

TDI said they can sort me out with a custom exhaust, cos im not paying the silly prices on the net, and although i can get one from Japan for £50ish quid the postage is stupid

[Monster-Mat]

just ordered 4 new tyres from Camskill..... 225-40-18 for the front and 235-40-18 for the rear

need to run narrow as the wheels have a low offset and look a bit gangsta

i think im going to have to do some arch rolling..........the wheels "poke out" a little bit, ..............like nearly 2 inches on the front, but are level on the rear, so will need a spacer

wheels are 9 x 18 with a +15 offset

[Monster-Mat]

juast ordered ...the spacers, for the Rear (thanks to barrie and jane)

and new drop links for the ARB