davebrads

That's great news. I share your nervousness though. Mind you they managed to source the right glass for my front windscreen when I needed it replacing a couple of years ago.

The day after picking up the car from Stu we had a trip up to the in-law's in St. Annes on Sea. It was a joy to have the car back, especially for a long motorway journey like that and it felt smoother and quieter than ever. The wife's Jazz is a good car, but it it's no motorway cruiser. There's still a bit of work to do on the plastic trim to tidy it up and I'll be attempting this myself over the winter and then having another go at spraying the bumper up with a rattle can when the weather warms up again.

Thanks for restoring my car to good health, it's better than ever now.

Do we know anything about this one? Very rare 2.0l manual (like mine). It looks tidy enough http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/132356049343

Good to see you again Stu. Great progress, thanks for all your efforts. Looking forward to driving him again. Also thanks to AhsyV6 for the springs.

Your efforts are much appreciated Stu. Let me know when you need a hand with that back end (muscle only, I'm learning to leave any technical stuff to Stu)

My vinyl plate came with a border

Have a read of this topic :

Good to see Stu again, though it could have been in better circumstances I was planning on going to Stu's at the end of the month but things have moved forward again. The truth is that I am torn between resurrecting my manual 2.0 or embracing the V6 and the auto box that comes with it. Yoda will guide me

The metal plates at the back just pulls off but there is no reason why they can't be left I'd you are using then to mount the number plate. The plastic is black The plate is vinyl (I think). I got it from Craig's Plates as they seemed the most respectable supplier though not the cheapest , and the plate is clearly good quality. It isn't fitted yet and sadly may never be fitted . More news to come when the car makes its way to Stu's but not under its own power.

I have removed the mounting bumps by shaving them off. I used the type of paint scraper that holds a Stanley knife blade. The thickness of the plastic was sufficient so that I didn't break through and all I am left with is the screw hole. I haven't got any further as the bumper needs a respray before the self adhesive number plate gets fitted, so all I've done is screw the original plate directly onto the bumper for now.

I would have thought that these would be ideal. Sometimes called Dowty washers because they invented them they provide a really effective seal even if the surfaces are not perfect.

No problem. The car's running well now.

The rear bar just sits on the roof behind the doors. You get a "short roof adapter" as part of the kit. This is a piece of bar with a clamp in the middle. The clamp goes towards the rear of the door and the bar sits in supports in both the front and rear roof bars. The system works pretty well, though it takes a bit more faffing around than a 4-door and it will take some time the first time you fit it. It probably takes me about 2 minutes to fit it now. The link below is for instructions for mounting Honda roof bars onto a 2 door Accord. I got quite excited when I found it but it is for the 7th gen. The instructions still apply though - although they've been Honda branded this is definitely the Thule system. www.handa-accessories.com%2Faccord%2Facc2drrack.pdf nb the instructions are for the more expensive "aero" bars, the principle is the same though if you decide to go for the older rectangular bars

We have a nice small tube pipe bender at work too, very handy ?

That's right. I had to sacrifice a compression nut for each swage, but I am lucky that I could "borrow" them from some obscure fittings that we had in stock at work. We'll probably get an order for them tomorrow and I'll have to hold my hand up.

Not finished yet, but I'm quite proud of this so I thought I'd show you. New and old PSF return pipe, should be back on the car tonight. One slight bend to do to finish off, but that can be an over the knee bend when I've got it by the car to make sure it all lines up OK.

I've taken the number plate off. It has a big piece of the white background missing and is generally looking tatty so a new one will make the front of the car look a lot better. I've been looking at how to remove the mounting points and get a flat surface to apply an adhesive number plate. Reading online it seems their legality is a bit suspect, but the general consensus is that if it reasonably flat and vertical you should get away with it. I've seen cars running about with them stuck on the bonnets so the police can't be too bothered.

I've looked at the drop links and can't see anything obvious. What should I be looking for?

Will do once it's back on four wheels again.

Thanks, I'll have a closer look at those drop links tomorrow morning.

Jacked the front end again to tackle some problems that I have been living with for a while. I have taken the front bumper off to get at the power steering cooling pipe which was leaking (as found by Stu about 3 months ago). I've got the old one off, and I'll be taking it to work as we are in the plumbing supply business and copper tube aren't a problem so that I can knock up a replacement. I took a look at the bumper which has plenty of cracks and scores and scuffs, not all mine I must add, and looking at Stu's picture above I am planning to get it looking pukka again. The foglight housings are in atrocious condition - pm going to Stu. I scraped off all the flaking paint from the cross members and painted the rust with Loctite Rust Remedy which I have had hanging around since my days of owning Montegos. I tried to get the headlamp washer motor running with a few taps from a hammer without success, so a more serious effort is going to have to be made on this. Finally I have tried once again to remove the hub nut without success. This is in order to replace the lower ball joint that I suspect is the source of some horrible creaking noises. I can't feel any play though - should I be able to?

I spotted one in Spain a couple of years ago

I think Laird_Scooby has solved the mystery of pre 1998 ES coupes in another thread - they are 5th gen 2.2 litre. So the 21 left may include some of those too.