mk2

Insurance companies generally only cost you extra if you change stuff that affects performance or safety... Stuff like upholstery, paint, body kits, ICE and stickers, no problem. Wheels, exhaust, suspension, brakes and engine... yeah.

I'll second that... you could have spent another 1k and maybe bought a much faster bigger car. But the running costs would have been way too high, which is why you opted for a little Arosa? Lots of people want a Lupo or an Arosa to be a Lamborghini. If you spend perhaps 50k+ you could get close, but still not the real deal (obviously). A huge amount of expert engineering goes into designing a top car, which is why they're expensive. Modding a car will generally only devalue a car, although the bonus is that you'll learn lots. Believe it or not, people who work for big car companies are petrolheads just like us lot. Really. The design team for a new model is often only perhaps just five or six people. Often in their 60's. In their free time they still play with and drive fast cars....

I always do wonder why people buy cars then sell them again so soon... less than three years is usually finance. Less than five years is babies. Up to 15 years, the car has truly been loved, but usually is beginning to cause headaches. Over 15, true enthusiast.

Same reply like before... common problem. Caused by condensation corroding electrical contacts. You know when your windscreen fogs up, the moisture isn't just sticking to the glass, but everything inside the car that's cold. Moisture and contacts are not a good combo... you'll be surprised at how wet it can get between the roof liner and the inside of the metal roof. Especially when there's a hard frost.

That wouldn't stop it starting? Or would it...? Does the 1.4 have a cam ref sensor (to get the four stroking sequencing right)?

I like that colour. I used to have yank tank in nitro yellow green. Now you know what i used to drive.... (not neon!)

Having just been in the presence of greatness to rebuild my box, i can confidently say that the only thing that needs doing is the needle roller bearing needs to be changed (5th). Low oil is fine briefly, but if it whines, it means that the plastic needle roller bearing cage has melted. You can get to it via the metal side cover without stripping the entire box. About £4 oh, and while in there, swap the circlip shim for a new thicker one to take up any slack from wear.

Probably a fuelling problem. Vapour lock due to clogged fuel filter. Maybe? Could be a dodgy coil pack. Sniff the exhaust when cranking and hot... you shoukd smell raw fuel if ignition (coil pack) problem. If no fuel smell, then fuel problem. oh, don't forget to change both fluids in your auto box next service. Everyone fogets!

Means your engine is in excellent condition! And all sensors are bang on the money. good to hear.

With super rare mudflaps welcome to the mad forum which is club lupo!

If the O2 (or lambda) sensor is upstream of a cat and there's no downstream one, you can mod any car without a problem. Until mot time. The emissions test will pick up on excess hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide. But some engine ecus are so good that you'll pass without a cat. But not many..... a few mercs, the odd porsche or bentley. Definitely no ferraris or fiats. They're awful without cats!

I reckon 4 is ground.

Pulling the carbon canister or solenoid wouldn't stop the car starting (or running....).

Sounds like either a fuel shutoff valve or an air fuel separator...? Could be that when moving things about, a pipe cracked allowing air in. Who knows!

You do it cos you luv it.... Doing a few extra hours overtime at work, at a nice clean airconditioned desk could mean you earn a few extra quid to let a mechanic do it for you. That don't work for me either...! With me, it's a confidence thing. I've never found a mechanic that has faultless workmanship. If Rich were nearby, I'd let him work on my cars, but I can't say that about many other 'car people' I know. Maybe only a handful. Probably the techy people on this forum! That's sad I know.............

The 4b/2 is the +12v feed (via ign sw). You need that. 4b /1&3 are the signals to run the coil pack. Either pull down to fire or pull up (can't remember!), but not critical initially. Try just grounding with wire.

Ouch!

Jigsaw with metal blade is your friend for this job. Oh, and a big press... And what Rich said. Good info there. actually come to think of it, one of my SDIs has bushes that could do with replacing. I need to do something useful to the car... nothing else wrong at the mo. I'll order some standard bushes and do a 'how-to'.

OMG! I thought that i'd seen bad corrosion before, but that is way beyond. I mean way way beyond! Holy cow! yeah, what rich says... what are the rear arches like?

Someone's been spending some money...

Pics?

Your plenum tubes are really short, like 120mm from the pic. So my guess is that you're looking for power at really high revs (5000+)? You'll want to mess with cams (timing duration) for sure, or you'll not get much gain below 4000. But it'll be excellent fun when you cane it! You'll want to monitor the downstream mix temps too as you have no air ducting (to prevent icing up and carb overheating). nice shiny gearbox. Change the cam belts. & Copper exhaust nuts. i've never tuned one of those lumps. I'll be watching this thread closely

Are you going to use the standard ecu to run the ignition? You may run into knocking problems if the carbs lean out a bit... as the ignition systen is linked directly with the injector program. Get an ignition module that you can manually program... easy way out Ah, just had a thought, you may want to use the ecu to control the idle fuel shut off, so when you're on over-run, you don't get backfiring.

Sounds like an ignition problem... simple way to confirm it is check if you can smell raw fuel vapour from the exhaust while cranking. Check plugs and wires.

No struggling by the looks of things. I reckon @LR5V got a tad hungry and nibbled at what took his fancy... Makes me think how accurate they must make these... the three wishbone holes are normally pushed right back to end stop to get the wheel camber right. 1mm does make a difference, so the position of the three holes relative to the central spindle must be spot on every time so you don't need to check the camber.... same goes for wishbones i guess. pathetically small they are indeed!