STEVE440

Sadly a lot of QH stuff is now generic reboxed parts from all the same manufacturers. I have got to the stage I carry a spare of parts that would stop me getting home that I can fit by the side of the road. So much of this stuff is made as cheap as possible. The problem is a lot of people ask for the cheapest part and not the one with the longest warranty. I recently fitted an alternator to a friends classic car, it didnt work and neither did the replacement supplied by the same supplier. We ended up getting one from a local motor factor and the price difference was only £12 more.

Yes https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/388645660622?var=655748191002 size P I have just peeled the adhesive pad off.

Not exactly the same profile but dimensionally it is the same as the original part.Just need to get some of those plastic pegs and punch the holes in the upper edge.

I am sure a piece of P Seal or Tadpole seal if we could find something close to the original size (20mm x 10mm ) would look almost original something like this https://www.sealsdirect.co.uk/shop/srs1914-21467?page=2&category=448 Those little pegs that hold it in place are easily sourced like these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334876748600

The problem is some take getting there car back to original as a passion, I have seen stuff over the years that I still find unbelievable. One of the worst was a guy with a classic car that had a vacuum controlled heating system., the original heater valve had not been available for a long time and everyone was using one from an American car that worked perfectly and was less than £50. He found one NOS original on Ebay and eventually paid just under £1500 for it. Another wanted his car repainted in the original cellulose paint, he eventually found a paint shop that would do it but would not guarantee the result would last. In less than 6 months the lacquer was peeling. When people go to this level I ask them if they go back to where the car was made to pump up the tyres to get the 100% correct air in them. The saying Fool and there money is soon parted comes to mind.

There was a NOS one on Ebay a week or so ago, it went for over £60.

Automec who make brake pipes ready to fit claim there's are copper. In truth they rarely fit that well and for the price you might as well buy the raw materials and the tools and make a set that fit perfectly. If you are bothered about the look of Kunifer cover it in black heat shink before you fit the ends. I also suggest some copper grease on the threads of all the joints so if you need to undo them everything will easily come apart. I also put PTFE on the threads on the bleed nipples, makes bleeding them a lot easier and will help next time you need to undo them. The braking system on your car is well worth spending the time and money getting it 100% correct, spend the time and it will be a better system.

A friend of mine who has a body shop reckons you need to look at between £300 and £500 a panel. The lower price is for minimal preparation so with minor dents and scuffs and the higher number for a car that needs work on every panel. The problem is the cost of the materials these days. The day of the £1500 respray has gone sadly, if anyone actually quotes you that little I suggest you ask to look at previous work.

Kunifer for hard lines and braided PTFE for flexible every time. Well worth spending some cash on some tools to get smooth bends and a proper flaring tool, if its £40 you will struggle to get good joints. It needs to be the type that is clamped in a vice so you can get a good amount of pressure as you flare. A properly flared brake pipe should only need nipping up to seal. Bending pipes with your fingers is fine as a one off but if you are replacing all or a lot of pipes neat pipes look so much better. Finally I suggest stainless brake pipe unions. More expensive but will last for ever.

I run one of these on another classic and have nothing but praise for them https://simonbbc.com/fuelflow-015-fuel-pump-12-volt-1-4psi/ No regulator needed in my car and almost silent once primed. The only quirk is the inlet and outlets are 7mm but I just replaced all the pipe with 7mm and it stretches over 8mm easily.

Generally 2 mm is considered the minimum on most engines, I have never rebuilt a X Flow but seeing the amount of damage that can be caused with to small clearances on other engines I would suggest you need to increase the clearances.

Not on my Capri, mine is flat to the cross member. I was told by a friend who overhauls steering racks Capri and Cortinas share the same power steering rack. The pumps are different and of course the pipes.

My sons website is now selling these controllers for the A4LD, the one in my car has now done over 2000 trouble free miles and makes the installation feel as if done by the factory. https://www.gearboxcontroller.co.uk/

A couple of years ago a mate asked me to replace the cam belt on his Pinto Capri, no great problem but when I lined up the pointers it was one tooth out, I double checked it to make sure I had not got something wrong. Anyway I put it back together 100% correct and no problems. I didnt tell him it was wrong as he would have worried. A few weeks later I asked my mate how it was going and he reckoned it was not as powerful as had been before . I told him what I had found and he asked if I could put it back to the same as before. I did and he reckoned it was back to normal. Yes I did check the ignition timing on each occasion. On modern engines with there fractions of a MM timing accuracy its needs to be 100% correct but on these older engines 30 thou is not even going to be noticeable. On some American engine you can buy offset pulleys to advance and delay the valve timing to increase torque or power.

For anyone interested in the Gearbox controller for the A4LD this is the link to my sons website https://www.gearboxcontroller.co.uk/ He is waiting for some components but if you message him he should be able to give you an idea of when they will be available.