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!

Thanks Kevin K! I just had to replace a headlight for the MOT and your post saved much head scratching, as I cannot find a workshop manual for the Starlet. I'm used to 1960's cars- modern stuff is a mystery- so your diagram was excellent help. Cheers a bunch! John

Having just taken the drums off my starlet to inspect prior to MOT, I can say this is not correct. On my car (1997, P reg, Sportif EP91 chassis) the rear brake drums are integral with the hub, so you have to remove the hub to get at the shoes. Jack up the rear of the car, I chocked the front wheels, jacked my car up with a workshop jack via a flat piece of wood just infront of the rear swing arm suspension mounting, where there is a hard bit of floor that can take jacking. Then supported via axle stand under the crossbeam between the wheels, Supported the car with both jack and axle stand. Then, remove rear wheel and lever off the small centre hub cap with screwdriver/ small pry-bar, you will see a split pin and hub nut cage, remove the split pin with pliers and take off the cage, the hub nut will now undo. With the hub nut removed the drum will pull off. You will now see the rear drum shoes, wheel cylinder etc. Remove all springs that attach to the shoes- especially the springs that hold the shoes to the back plate, loosen the brake adjuster and the shoes should just pull off. By the way the last sentence was guess work as I simply blew the dust off the drums and shoes, and put it all back together with more grease in the wheel bearings. Remember how it all went together! Good luck!

My jacks have the dished plate designed to fit around hardened dome shaped jacking points. Its just that not all of these points under a car are designed to be strong enough to be jacked to lift the car. Often the points are for stands. I don't want to use the emergency jack (meant just for tyre changing by the side of the road) to lift the car high enough to get the axle stands under and to get under the car for a look.

Yes, Merry Xmas everybody. by the way, anyone know the correct points for workshop jack and axle stands on the Starlet? cheers John

I am in East kent. You asked for an update- one week on and all is well with the Starlet. Driving it reminds me most of when I've borrowed my Dad's Micra in the past- except the Starlet is IMHO a much better car- more willing engine, snoother ride and it seems better built and the paint quality is higher. I am surprised that there are so many old Micra's on the road in the UK and very few Starlets. I changed the oil and filter last weekend, adjusted the timing (was pinking on hills- fine now) and adjusted the loose b pillar door catch so the door closes better now. I have an air filter on order as the one on the car was filthy and choked- surprised the car was running fine with such a choked filter, then checked all the fluids and levels- all good under the bonnet. I also gave the car a good wash ( got rid of loads on mud under the rear arches) and a thorough clean inside- smells a lot better now . Only problem detected so far is a slight rattle over bumps/ or turning left slowly from the front left of the car- sounds suspension related rather than CV or bearing- ARB bush?? I have to say the search function works well on this site and I've found some very useful info (eg how to set the timing)- great site! Thanks cheers John Another question- where are the recommended jacking points for a workshop jack and for axle stands?? I want to have a look under the car next.

Apart from an oil change nothing needs doing mechanically- although I haven't jacked the car up and had a good look at the suspension and brakes and underside yet. I'll have a look this weekend. Will be back in touch! cheers for all the comments and greetings! John

Thanks for the tips on parts dealers folks. Yes you are right about tinkering. I am going to change the oil and filter this weekend as the last owners let it run down to the min- oil looks OK, but I like to keep the oil good in my cars. The MOT expires in the spring (it was a cheap car) so the next bit of work would be to get it through the next MOT. I might also have a look at the air filter and make sure its reasonably clean. Thanks for taking an interest in my other vehicles. I have a 1990 Porsche 944 S2 which is in need of quite a bit of work for the MOT- My other vehicles are Morris Minors. My Morris Traveller is roadworthy MOT'd and running but somebody crashed into the wing last week and one headlight is out of alignment- I can't drive it safely at night and it will soon be off for insurance repairs. Hence the Starlet- I need a car that goes at the moment. I always said if I had to buy a modern car at any point it would be Japanese due to reliability. Thanks for the welcome messages! What oil do you use in your starlets?? I just bought some 10W40. Just drove the car home and it drives well! cheers John

Thanks for the quick reply! Bullet proof reliabillity- thats what I'm hoping for while I fix my other cars. I just wanted a basic reliable cheap transport to keep me going. It's done 89,000 miles, but there are a lot of service history stamps in the book- the car was serviced earlier this year and the cam belt changed two years ago. Engine sounds sweet and the car drove nicely. cheers John

Hello all, I am a newbie here and bought a very cheap Starlet as a runaround while I fix my classic cars. (One needs a lot of work for the MOT and t'other was hit a week ago and is awaiting insurance repair). I am going to pick the car up this lunch time it is a 1996 Starlet 2-door sportif. I am a competent DIY enthusiast on classic cars and would appreciate any maintainance tips- things to check for and do to ensure my runabout remains reliable. What manual to buy (is the Haynes any good for this model) and where to get parts should I need any? many thanks for reading this cheers John