Minorand944man

If you've replaced the imperial size US bleed nipples with European metric nipples, the thread size will also be different. You're tried to fit metric thread size bleed nipples to UNF or UNC sized thread holes. Thus you will never be able to close the nipples fully, hence brake pedal goes to the floor. If you're lucky, the old imperial sized nipples will fit on. Unless you've now buggered the threads. In which case the threads will need to be re-tapped.

LOL! But still a very relevant thread for keeping your Starlet MOT'd and on the road. I will start a separate one for the welding repairs. Maybe the site could do with a FAQ and "How To" section. I just wanted to express my gratitude as there seems to be no workshop manual available for the EP91 Starlet this site has the answers! :P Love the old original Batman and Robin... by the way, I revived the thread in obeyance of this dictate:- "Dear Members It would be very much appreciated if you could please in future check through previous technical discussions and the UKSC Technical Archive. This is to ensure that the topic you are about to create in a particular section has not been covered before. Please also do your best to post in the proper specific sections provided. This saves UKSC Admin a lot of time and effort by keeping the forum tidy. There are a lot of areas of EP tuning that have been identified and labeled so that you can be as specific as possible when explaining your question or query. Sorry for ANY inconveniences and we hope that we can continue to build up the UKSC forum together. We are aiming to make our EP Technical section one of the most comprehensive on the net. Thanks for your co-operation and understanding."

"Starlet__SR Posted Sep 3 2009, 08:18 PM Remove the split pin and castellated cap, loosen the hub nut which is a 30mm, remove the two bolts that hold the hub carrier onto the shock absorber, swivel that out of the way, at the same time, gentley remove your c.v joint from the hub, remove clips from the boot, cut old one off if need be, wipe away any excess grease, get someone to hold the driveshaft as you knock the back of the c.v joint with a soft hammer (copper, nylon, hide), the c.v joint will eventually relieve itself of the spring clip, should just pull off after that, give it all a good clean, check the splines, fit new boot onto shaft, fit the nut onto end of the c.v joint, just so the top sits flush with the shaft, slide the c.v joint onto the driveshaft till it meets the spring clip, make sure it is square before you tap it back over, you'll feel it click into place, fit clip or tie wrap to smaller end of boot, fill with grease, and be careful not to get any on the c.v joint or the boot where it mates to the c.v. slide over, fit clip, reverse the disassembly of the car. Job done " Good description! Worked well. I did the drivers side CV boot this afternoon, could not get the near side (passenger side) hub nut undone, not even with heat, WD40, and a breaker bar, in fact with a 5 foot box section on the breaker bar all it did was break part of the square off the end of the breaker bar. However, did drivers side OK, and the drivers side handbrake cable replacement went well the other day. CV joint is relatively easy to change on the Starlet! The car seems to be designed to be worked on, unlike most modern cars. However, hub nut has defeated me so I will get a local mechanic to do that side. He almost certainly has a much stronger breaker bar or an air gun with which to loosen off the hub nut. Tomorrow, I do some welding! MOT next week.

For any non -chrome bits, you can take to it with a wire brush on grinder then spray Zinc weld thru spray. This is the only paint that will resist heat and offer some rust protection on your exhaust. However, I wouldn't bother, exhausts usually rot out from the inside due to water from combustion- nothing you can do about that!

cool, looks a bit like the Mirthmobile from Waynes World scaramoosh! etc...

hulahoops is right, get the proper seam sealer. The stuff I linked to is overpaintable so you can spray it the same colour as your car paintwork or the same colour as the roll cage if you prefer for a neat job. The wrong stuff, which is the cheap nasty black underseal is not overpaintable and does not seal very well at all.

You can get seam sealer 1litre brushable tin should be enough, from any automotive paint supplier or parts supplier. Look them up in the yellow pages. Or if you want to buy online, Frost do brushable seam sealer as well as seam sealer in a tube. brushable http://www.frost.co.uk/item_Detail.asp?pro...er%20(1%20kilo) POR15 http://www.frost.co.uk/item_Detail.asp?pro...Black%20(118ml) Squirtable seam sealer http://www.frost.co.uk/item_Detail.asp?pro...Black%20(310ml)

Just wanted to say great project! Nice to see how your welding improved as you made the various brackets and I love the polishing! Only suggestions I can add is to spray clearcoat/ metal lacquer on the polished parts to protect them and keep them shiny, and I LOVE this design for the front end of the buggy! I think you should just have that front end, an engine cover and the minimal rear wheel mudguards needed to pass the SVA. Leave the rest of the buggy bare tubing like on an Ariel Atom, no sides, no floor etc! Radical Atom Demon!

I think it is nice keeping it standard! Good work. :-) I am a classic car fan (probably about the same age as your Dad ) I bought my Starlet as a cheap runabout while one of my classics was being repaired, but I have come to realise from this site that that there is a lot of enthusiasm around these cars and they may become future classics in their own right as the Starlet is certainly a cut above other modern small cars. Great to see an 80's one being restored! Get some waxoyl in it once it is MOT'd to keep the rust at bay.

I'm not complaining! It's nice to be welcomed by the EP82 girl! I get the message, though, gave digging, belated welcomes, etc. I will make a fresh post next time I want to make an update or ask a question. This is a friendly forum but it seems one has to be aware of the appropriate ettiquette .

Good to hear that! I should do though, with Japanese build quality as long as you keep the oil topped up and change it once a year/ 10,000 miles or so the engine should go for ages!

I fitted a new standard one at the last service.

I get better than that- close to 40mpg average driving (mixed town/A road/motorway) and the record so far is 48mpg!- on a long run to Scotland. ------My Starlet Update------- By the way, my cheap runabout is still serving me well, 12,000 totally reliable miles later, I just got the Starlet through another MOT!, all i needed to do after checking the car was a new rear wiper blade and a numberplate bulb. Two advisories though, both outer CV boots are starting to crack and need replacing. I'm going to pick the boots up from the parts shop this afternoon. Only work I had to have done on the car was a new centre exhaust box (cracked pipe) last year. As a reward for being reliable and roadworthy, the car will be treated to a service and maybe even some paint and bodywork (small patch of rust where the wheelarch meets the sill) No problem as I can weld, make repair sections and paint. I blame the horrendous winter we just had and the tons of salt they pur on the road. Still I am still very happy with my Starlet, I can't think of anyone I know who has such a trouble free old car!

"Starlet__SR Posted Sep 3 2009, 08:18 PM Remove the split pin and castellated cap, loosen the hub nut which is a 30mm, remove the two bolts that hold the hub carrier onto the shock absorber, swivel that out of the way, at the same time, gentley remove your c.v joint from the hub, remove clips from the boot, cut old one off if need be, wipe away any excess grease, get someone to hold the driveshaft as you knock the back of the c.v joint with a soft hammer (copper, nylon, hide), the c.v joint will eventually relieve itself of the spring clip, should just pull off after that, give it all a good clean, check the splines, fit new boot onto shaft, fit the nut onto end of the c.v joint, just so the top sits flush with the shaft, slide the c.v joint onto the driveshaft till it meets the spring clip, make sure it is square before you tap it back over, you'll feel it click into place, fit clip or tie wrap to smaller end of boot, fill with grease, and be careful not to get any on the c.v joint or the boot where it mates to the c.v. slide over, fit clip, reverse the disassembly of the car. Job done " Thanks for the excellent how to guide Starlet SR- There has been good news and bad news today, good news is another MOT pass! Bad news is advisories on outer CV boots, I take it the above guide will also apply to my humble Starlet sportif??

Great news! My bargain Starlet just passed the MOT today- only advisory was the rear number plate is starting to delaminate. All I had to do to the car before the MOT (after a thorough inspection of all the mechanical bits) was to replace the N/S headlamp. Its a great feeling when your old motor passes the dreaded MOT again! especially after you have decided that its now good enough to pass!