Cars

My various adventures with shit old cars.

  • Everything that happened to the cheap Fiesta (2024-12-31) - A £600 car, four MOTs later.
  • Overkilling the Rover P5, part 2: the gearbox (2024-11-21) - Let's put a BMW gearbox on the Corvette engine in the Rover.
  • The one where Lewis totally, irreversibly loses the plot (2024-10-10) - Doubling down on some fairly questionable life choices.
  • A fully-dressed Chevy LS1 engine weighs 215 kilograms, or 474lbs (2024-07-08) - No need to even read this page. It's in the title.
  • Rationalising the 323 GTX, part 7: the rocker cover (2024-03-03) - In which I make a B6T rocker cover look nice.
  • Rationalising the 323 GTX, part 6: the turbo (2023-12-20) - What do we do with a worn-out IHI VJ9?
  • Rationalising the 323 GTX, part 5: the heat shield (2023-11-23) - In which I do my best to rescue a disintegrating 36-year-old turbo heat shield.
  • Rationalising the 323 GTX, part 4: making a hole in it (2023-11-04) - Putting bonnet vents into the Mazda 323 GTX.
  • Rationalising the 323 GTX, part 3: pipe (2023-07-20) - In which, among other things, I learn to cut reinforced silicone hoses neatly.
  • Rationalising the 323 GTX, part 2: the air filter (2023-07-11) - Making a short story long, I put a different filter on it.
  • Rationalising the 323 GTX, part 1: the intercooler (2023-06-24) - In which there is nothing rational about owning a 1980s rally car.
  • Onslow's Cortina, or, cars don't age like they used to (2023-02-21) - Onslow's Cortina was a 12 year old car, and implications thereof.
  • Assorted things that happened to Lewis (2022-01-07) -
  • Experiments within a project within a project (2021-09-26) - In which I experiment with electrolytic cleaning.
  • A visit to the body filler mines of Norfolk (2021-08-31) - In which I mine a lot of filler from an old Land Rover, and other fun.
  • The little things (2021-06-25) - An appreciation of the Rover P5 workshop manual.
  • In which I make an uncharacteristically sensible decision (2021-04-12) - Mazda Amy goes into temporary retirement, and I acquire The Shed.
  • Fitting a Chinese-made F10A engine to a Suzuki SJ 410: what you need to know (2021-04-04) - Minor modifications required. But, brand new engine!
  • In which I explore just how bad a decision this P5 was (2021-03-24) -
  • Introducing Project Penny (2021-03-18) - In which I acquire a Rover P5.
  • Self-archaeology and the Internet Movie Car Database (2021-02-17) - In which a car from my past is immortalised in a very tiny way.
  • One more job from the giant pile of necessary jobs (2021-02-16) - In which Autoglass source a windscreen for a BF-generation Mazda 323 GTX.
  • Gratuitous car post (2021-01-04) - Apropos of nothing, a gratuitous photo of my car.
  • The Suspension: the final episode (2020-12-12) - Cleaning up my old Gaz shock absorbers.
  • Backroads are fun (2020-11-29) -
  • Coming soon: Banging choons (2020-11-23) - In which I acquire a Blaupunkt SQR 45.
  • Sitting pretty (2020-11-22) -
  • Priorities (2020-11-03) -
  • In which I spend a weekend on my car and don't make it worse (2020-10-25) - I fix my understeer a bit.
  • Fitting the K-Sport coilovers, episode "the rear" (2020-10-17) -
  • Fitting the K-Sport coilovers, episode "the front" (2020-10-12) -
  • A parcel shelf! (2020-09-21) -
  • Amy goes to her first car meet! (2020-09-13) -
  • Not saying I don't totally trust this car, but... (2020-09-06) - ...I don't.
  • In lieu of being productive (2020-08-31) -
  • One last teething problem and then it'll never go wrong again (unless it does) (2020-08-30) - In which my car has a working clutch.
  • Biting the bullet (2020-08-28) -
  • She's alive, and teething problems (2020-08-15) -
  • If you drive really fast in reverse for a year... (2020-06-24) - The 323 GTX loses nearly 60,000 miles between MOTs.
  • BRB, MOT (2020-06-22) - The Mazda 323 GTX goes for MOT prep.
  • Towards an interior less terrible (2020-06-13) - In which I clean my car.
  • No more ditchfinders (2020-06-10) - In which my 323 GTX gets some new rubber.
  • Short shifter! (2020-06-08) - In which Jeff Sylvester makes me a short shifter and I can find all of my gears.
  • Gtechniq C4 is magic (2020-04-04) - GTechniq C4 really works and you need it in your life.
  • pumped up kicks (2020-03-23) - The one where my car starts.

You are reading Exhaust, by Lewis, software engineer by day, petrolhead & cat fan by night. Email is always warmly welcomed.

Copyright © Lewis Collard, 2020-2025. Anyone caught copying any of my photographs or text will be considered a mighty good friend of mine.