My HPE....now a rolling recommission

[Nigel]

Hi LD2308,
I have diagrams printed in 1982 but they don't include the bits
unique to the VX or IE versions. They are separated into systems
and are on multiple sheets of A4. If there's a particular item you're
needing a diagram for i'm happy to send it to you.

However, a gent, George Stanistreet has large total diagrams
printed on, I think, A3 paper. I'm not sure if he's on here,
but he's on Facebook where he offered these in the past on a couple
of the Beta group pages.

Think about starting a thread in the Members Cars area. We would love to see
your car and help along the way!

Best regards, Nigel

[SanRemo78]

George S Is on here, can be emailed through his profile. Check the Beta HiFi thread I started.
Guy

[Nigel]

Thanks Guy,
I spotted him just after posting!
I've sent him a message.

Regards, Nigel

[George-S]

Hi All,

Still got some wiring diagrams if anyone needs them.
However, I don't have any VX-specific diagrams I only have the base models COUPE/HPE.


Cheers George

[SanRemo78]

I recommend the A3 laminated copies of the wiring diagrams!

[Nigel]

After some carburettor adjusting and tweaking, jets included,
she's now running quite well, and ready for the longest
drive to date, down to Marks emporium this coming weekend.
I'm leaving Friday morning, lots of time to enjoy the car.

One annoying feature that has cropped up, the speedo is fluctuating/vibrating
at all speeds. It was perfect until recently when I disconnected both ends to
poke around behind the dash! Since then I've had both ends off again,
and checked and reconnected, still the same. HoHum. I know it's a
common issue, and the cable is new, I'll take another look before Friday.

I've done another oil and filter change. I sent off an analysis sample and it
came back with mostly good results. No metal evident, but slight signs of
glycol and water. I'm not surprised by that, I've not done any head or cam work, and
a slightly weeping head gasket is a task for another day.

I've now got 10W60 oil and a K&N filter, which, so far, is showing a higher gauge pressure than
previous readings.

[peteracs]

Hi Nigel

On the speedo, check the routing of the cable. Where I had mine originally caused an issue and re routing to make a smoother run from the gearbox into the bulkhead improved things a lot. Just a thought…

Peter

[Nigel]

Thanks for that tip Peter. The routing is as when I first fitted the new cable, only now
is it flickering, but soundless, and I actually hardly notice it.

During my great drive down to BetaBoyz last weekend I suffered some cramp due,
I think, to a lack of support under my right knee, something that never happens
in the Mazda.
I considered various fixes. The seat is already raised at the front by around 50mm.

I'd had this foam for a while so decided to attempt a replacement, at the same time, enlarging the
front part slightly. This stuff is considerably more supple than the template.
It will need some smoothing before use, and I'm hoping I can squeeze the
cover over it without modification. We shall see!

[Clifford]

That's pretty impressive sculpting Nigel!

[squiglyzigly]

Hi Nigel,
I also suffer a bit with my right knee on long journeys. My view is the throttle pedal is a little high to start with. On my cars I modify the underside of the throttle pedal by reducing the height of the bracket on the underside. I then unscrew the plastic stop on the floor and shave that down as well. The result is that the pedal can then be bent down towards the floor a bit resulting in a lower resting position. This allows me to have a bit of a straighter leg.

My other personal preference is a spacer on the steering wheel hub (if you run an aftermarket wheel) which lets me push the chair back further. Little tweaks that help me get comfortable with my ageing body.

Cheers
Ian

[WestonE]

Great User insight Ian. I have built in the hub spacer for mine but have not had the chance to try the fully re-built pedal box with the VX Recaros yet. Food for thought.

Eric

[Nigel]

Ah, 'ageing body'......don't I know it!

Ian, two good ideas there. I hadn't thought about the pedal position,
but did look at steering wheel placement. I do have an aftermarket
wheel and it's certainly possible to move it back a bit. I'll take
another look at that. Stalks may end up at fingertips but that shouldn't
matter too much.( edit to say they are quite close, so 30-40mm would be fine)

Your Recaros Eric, they have a longer squab I think, adjustable as well perhaps?

Thanks guys.

[Nigel]

I wanted the new foam to fit within the existing seat cover as I
don't have enough 'alcantara' to make a new one right now.

So a lot more carving later, I stripped the seat and fitted the new foam.
As the new foam doesn't have the wires inside, I used cable ties through
to the seat base to hold the join-lines in place.

It was a huge struggle getting the cover on but the end result is a much
improved seat. Perhaps slightly more supple than factory original.

Smoothing and rounding the cuts is messy. Ideally, a glued-on scrim would take
away most of the lumps. I'll test it during the summer.
It looks ok-ish for now.

Nigel

[Nigel]

I've done some 200 miles since the seat repair and can report that
all's good. No more cramp so far.

Today I finally got around to fitting two front strut inserts I'd bought
from BetaBoyz back in June, along with the weld-on collars.

All went to plan, following Marks instructions. I drilled a 2.5mm hole at the bottom
as an exit for the oil, pumped it out with the shock rod, then cut +-18mm from the top
and removed the innards. Poured out the few remaining dregs of oil and test fitted the new
insert.
I wanted to use as much thread as feasible, and found I needed to remove another 6mm
from the shock body. I now have the insert in place with 1-2mm of thread showing.
The collar was then welded in place, also filled the drilled hole, then primed and painted.
Inserted the new shock, lubed the very fine thread with Copaslip and tightened the collar nut.
The top scalloped 'disk' was filed to a round hole, and then reassembled the strut.

The strut units on this car were very slightly different, having the same markings but in different places.
 "WAY-ASSAUTO, Made in Italy, 909 27 1435, ANT 828 BC OC 1000, LANCIA 82395527" for what it's worth.

Interestingly, I am now able to turn the steering bearings by hand,(off the car) before they were both
too stiff.

A test drive followed. No noticeable difference in handling but the steering is lighter and maybe a
little bit of self-centering has appeared. No idea why!

Full test to LMC next Sunday, if the weather gods permit....

[Nigel]

My drivers side window motor has been very slow recently, so
I purchased another complete unit from Chris (VXman)
I also got a new spiral cable from Mark last weekend.

So the strip and inspect revealed no surprises, brushes are almost new,
but the grease inside was a bit congealed. The armature runs in a pair
of bronze bushes, these will get a very light coating of grease. The plastic gear
will get a small bit of copaslip and the spiral cable, engine oil.

Edit to ask, are there any suggestions for the various lubes on this? Especially
the spiral cable, not sure about that, thanks.

[Nigel]

Just an observation on the new spiral drive cable I got from
Mark last weekend.

The mounting bracket is slightly too large, meaning that the cable sits
a little too proud of the plate. It's not easy to photograph but anyway.
I used the old bracket, it's easy to swop just by opening it up, then squeezing
it over the new cable.
It's quite a critical dimension as the drive plate needs to sit squarely on the
vertical guide rail, otherwise there's potential for the plate to lift off the rail
during operation, also causing excess friction.

[squiglyzigly]

Thanks for the heads up Nigel. I’ve got to do the pair of mine soon. Good to know the snags in advance.

Cheers
Ian

[WestonE]

Hi Nigel

Good you pointed this out I also had to swap to the original and had forgotten. Great that you shared this.

Eric

[Nigel]

Now awaiting a replacement window from Mark before I strip the door apart.

Meanwhile, I've had a troublesome trim piece for a while. The end clip
would not stay put, so I did what Ian did. Thanks for the tip!

Also did an oil and filter change today (note for me 80957m) and fitted
a new magnetic drain plug with a 17mm hex on it.

[squiglyzigly]

Glad you like the home made trim clip idea. One small warning, don’t tighten the nut too much. If you tighten the trim down tight, it can bite into the paint especially on a hot day when paint softens.

Ian