I finally tightened the last nut on Isabella tonight! No dash... No speedo.. but I got water temp / oil pressure hooked up so all good.

First off good gawd! the smoke pouring out of the engine bay? Not the engine it just seems to be comeing from the fire wall / extractors. I painted the engine bay after taking the rust off and put a small squirt of paint on the extractors down in one spot where the inner cv joint had try to make its way through. So am I right in thinking the fire wall is cooking? and the paint on the extractor.. well duh not high temp paint wtf was I thinking.

Also my right rear has dropped and I have nfi why. I have high low's both set at the same ride hight and the rubber donuts seems to both be in decent nick. There would have to be a good inch the difference *Hopefully daylight will reveal the obvious*

The noise.. OMFG I almost reported myself as a car hoon I like a grunty sound.. but not an ears bleeding grunty sound. It has a muffler on it but nfi what its there for other than some back pressure?

meh.. 6.5 weeks and Im almost too nervous to drive the damn thing. Oh and theres this whineing coming from the front wtf? oh wait thats the sc

Cellulite, old age maybe

great stuff always good to hear another 1 running even better if it makes a perticuler whining sound , have fun ajusting ur hilos remember what you do to the front left affects the rear right and so on youl need a level surface and even tyre pressure and patiance 4 those .

flat tyre ??

oooh you reminded me.. I bottomed out both front highlows today, as they had been set for 13 inch wheels and I have gone back to 12. Thats when the change happened and for that matter. all 4 of the high lows are running on the lowest setting *bottomed out* still odd that one side shows it more.

they often do "settle-in" ,,,, Just make another adjustment & carry on with the rest of it,,, & you may find that they will continue to "Settle-in" a bit more as you drive it more,,, just keep chasing the ride-heights , keeping them as even as you can untill it stops "settling-in"

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.