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[Diamond Black Geezer]

Saturday, on her retest, P151HOH, or 'Pissy Ho' as she's always been known, passed her MoT!!!

After laying up the drive, abandoned, and left to rot for nearly 8 years, buying her off the old man, hundreds of manhours, pestering you good people on here on a weekly basis, from the major issues to the most minor niggles, she now has a clean bill of health for 12 months!!

The first MoT was a fail, on the following

Screen Washer weak
Bulbs out
Emissions over by 5 times the legal limit 
Howling/ineffective handbrake
Rear shocks


Screen Washer weak
jug of water - will give the filter a proper clean soon as I can

Bulbs out and weak
Traced to a father former owner forcing a normal bulb in a bulb holder designed for bulbs with offset pins  Had full set of spare lamp units and holders, so replaced.

Emissions over by 5 times the legal limit
Down to a misfire. Traced to a wire that had fallen out of a chocolate box connector bodge done by a previous owner who shall remain nameless!

Howling/ineffective handbrake
had serviced them the night before the MoT! Ah well. Shoe retaining pin/spring had fallen out, as bodge by former owner who shall remain nameless failed.

Rear shocks
Knew they weren't great, but had a set of Bilstein rear shocks on standby, if they passed the mot as is I was going to do them anyway.

Misfire was the easiest thing to diagnose, once I saw that wire poking out of an chocolate box with dry, brittle insulating tape spiralling off it!  Ah well. I changed the DIS pack, and grafted an Omega plug back into the loom, thus replacing the Vectra once which was previously fitted.

The handbrake, when I managed to get the disc off, after three hours, and several breaks, panting on the floor, the sight was a sorry one! One of the pins had torn a 2 inch hole in the backplate. I got an old dust shield, and made a semi-circular 'professional bodge' I then drilled a hole in this, fitted the springs, then the shoes etc. Same on the other side, pin pulled out. The failure had bent and pretty much ruined a brand new Vauxhall spring which had been on the car for about 18 hours!

Bulbs were a surprise, they looked fine in the drive, but on closer inspection the bizarre mix of the wrong bulbs in the wrong holders was throwing up strange issues one side being dimmer than the other. As above, swapped the bulb holders and away I went.

So, 2nd time round passed Saturday with only an advisory on the rear disc. Emissions now about about 75% under the limit.  Whoever recommended the Bilstein B4s I'm ruddy in love with them! She rides like a dream, feels taut, planted, doesn't pitch or roll, and above all feel safe.


I have to say a final word of thanks to all of you who've helped with every aspect of this exhausting but massively rewarding trek. OOF is teriffic! 

[pauls]

Nice to get a result after all that hard work.

[Diamond Black Geezer]

Cheers. Even a result of 'failed' was at least a result! haha.

Now the fun begins!..

On the lookout for very good refurbable or new brake backplates, dust shield, air con condensor, NS sill cover, Z20R panels (all doors, front OS wing) ideally PFL, but appreciated most likely be FL. Alloy headlamp adjusters if anyone has a spare set, spare set of headlamps to play with, take apart, repaint, fit the adjusters etc. Chrome strip for the back bumper (probably impossible to post safely, unless perhaps in a poster tube, maybe?) nice set of Elite 16" PFL 5 spoke alloys.

The list goes on! 

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Well done, Mr DBG.

[Diamond Black Geezer]

Thanks Mr Opti, I'd like to say it was a piece of cake... but it wasn't!!! 

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Thanks Mr Opti, I'd like to say it was a piece of cake... but it wasn't!!! 

Worth the effort though.

With twelve months ticket your Omega could be worth £300.....or even more.

[Diamond Black Geezer]

I was hoping nearer £301.... but one mustn't boast, must one? 

[05omegav6]

You might need to valet it for the extra quid, but always a good result

And as ever, you have a modest list of bits to keep you busy...

[Diamond Black Geezer]

A modest list that's growing and growing, and that's just off the top of my head! Phew! 

All the parts that I needed to get her through the retest I had 'in stock' too. Which really does show it pays to be prepared. I've spent a few quid and a fair amount of time getting these parts which most friends and family members have questioned - but all of a sudden my forward planning has meant the retest went through with the minimum of hassle 

[Sir Tigger KC]

Well done DGB, your hard work has paid off! 

[EMD]

Well done dbg  Take it that cataclean stuff and a ragging paid off 

[Diamond Black Geezer]

Filled up with Shell Optimax, ragged her to the test centre, parked up, tester walk over, goes 'smoking, isn't she?'

My jaw drops. There's heat rippling from under the bonnet. I open it and a cloud of smoke appears. I held my breath, and let him do his thing for the retest.

The cause - nothing serious. A drizzle of oil that must've been on the manifold. Burned off, and hasn't smoked since.

I was making housebricks in my pants when he said that, happy to admit!

She's now chucking out about a quarter of the maximum carbons allowed. Also, after sorting the misfire, she's running so smooth I can balance a 20p piece on her breather bridge, at idle, without it falling over. 

[EMD]

I can balance a 20p piece on her breather bridge, at idle, without it falling over

I think most of us have done that test 

Now you can rest an take it easy before you start all over again 

[Diamond Black Geezer]

haha. Ahh, I'm not alone, then 

I remembered watching a Fred Dibnah programme where he did the same, and managed to balance a penny on a moving piston/shaft of a steam engine, so thought I'd give it a try.


Me being the devil may care money's-no-object kind of guy that I am, I opted for a 20p, not a penny. 

[Varche]

Result. Well done.

I have six Elite wheels in my garage BUT it is a long way to come for them!