I've been thinking lately (very dangerous)

There is always people working on their own cars on the weekends and some people that just have no idea about cars other than where the petrol goes in.

What do people think of starting a thread (possibly a sticky) where people can ask for a "how to" to be written up. It can sit in the thread and if someone is kind enough (who is going to do the work themselves when their car needs it) could spend the time taking photos and writing a bit about what they did and how they did it, the finished / completed thread could be added to the How To forum for future reference. The list could just get copied and pasted from the previous post so there is always a complete list of what people would like done.

Good idea or not? I'm happy to pitch in and do things (when my own car calls for maintenance / replacement of those same items etc).

I had a search and it doesn't appear like there has been a list generated before. I would imagine it would incorporate tasks from simple to reasonably complicated.

What do all of you think out there in the internetz land?

P.s. sorry it turned out to be an essay

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"In two years time your car will be like a lady's clothes, out of date, my car will still be in fashion when I am dead" - Sir Alec speaking to Pininfarina

so a sort of How To for How Tos

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Lucy - 64 cooper s replica
Lulu - 66 deluxe

Not really. The way I imagine it would work would kind of be as follows:





(I picked that example because I know convertiblemini has already done a how to on it).

Eventually a thread would be started, their photos & descriptions uploaded etc and then that thread would be put into the 'How To' forum so it may be referred to in future. It won't be a How To on how to write How To's.

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"In two years time your car will be like a lady's clothes, out of date, my car will still be in fashion when I am dead" - Sir Alec speaking to Pininfarina

Sounds like a great idea - in more academic circles they might even suggest we could peer review each other's methods. Nothing like improving your own approach to save much swearing and accidental bloodletting in future And hey, if there is more than one way to do something, even better (removing door innards on diff models springs to mind, and considering the sometimes inconsistent production quality).

As long as the "master request list" remains clear and concise, this could be the best thing since, well, since Sir Leonard Lord recruited Issigonis back to BMC.

Good one!

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i have been speaking to a publisher, and would like to put something in print. I have asked a few people with no replies. But if this kind of thing were to kick off i would be glad to manage and edit some sort of book.

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Aussie Leyland, Aussie Factory, Aussie Mini S.

Drexxle, the only problems I could foresee with that is if someone get hurt from following the instructions in your book (well you are going to be taking the how to's from 'back yard mechanics', not pro's) you could end up getting sued. Plus, you would have to discuss the book with the people whose how to's you are going to use. I would imagine not many people are going to let you use their write up and photos for free for you to reap the benefits of book sales.

Lets wait and see if this gets off the ground first though. Baby steps.

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"In two years time your car will be like a lady's clothes, out of date, my car will still be in fashion when I am dead" - Sir Alec speaking to Pininfarina

Why not a monthly meeting workshop, invite some Mechanics, painters. After market parts people etc etc t crap on about set topics.. or am I totally on a different planet?

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MY MINI
Morris Mini Deluxe 1967 Restore - 100% BMW FREE
http://www.berdenweb.com/mymini

If this place had some decent moderation it would be nice if how-to's weren't locked. Sometimes they're a little vague and would be nice to be able to ask questions/have a discussion about the how-to. Any off topic chit chat should be deleted, and that rule adhered to strictly.

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tim
68 Deluxe 1293, HIF44, megajolt/EDIS4, daihatsu alternator..

'a mini is for life, not just for christmas!'

I can ask for you if you wish and see but I always thought people started a thread in MC to ask their questions.

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"In two years time your car will be like a lady's clothes, out of date, my car will still be in fashion when I am dead" - Sir Alec speaking to Pininfarina

This would be a great Idea. Some of us less mechanical types would do well from it.

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ANY SEA ANY TIME

I also would like to see more "How tos" in that section

Theres heaps of great responses and discussions on the forum but they're a bugger to find sometimes.

Why don't we nominate (existing) helpful posts for inclusion in the "How to" section.

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68 Morris Cooper S Mk1 (*ex 78 1275 LS 4th last built, 70 Morris 1500 OHC & 70 MiniMatic)

I've done two and I'm no expert which is where the problem lies. People like me who are prepared to have a go can cop a fair bit of flak for putting up a 'how to' without being fully qualified to do so. I dare say this may have put a few people off from doing the same. I would still rather see them even if they aren't so good so I know where to start and what not to do as much as what to do.

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Flute - 68 MK I Cooper S
Member: VMCI #2474
Member: International Mini Model Collectors Club

I Prefer this Idea..both the more How To & Nomination of a Discussion on a How to Thread

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Stop Licking the Dog...I Don't Care Who Started It

leave the locked ones locked, and create a work in progress thread, and when the works in progress get to a standard where they can be published move the how to into a locked thread.

this way the how tos arent clogged with repsonses and crap, they are just a straight document.

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Aussie Leyland, Aussie Factory, Aussie Mini S.

It has been discussed and it looks like we are going to leave the how to's locked. One thread that was used as an example is the pulsar dizzy thread in A series mods. There is alot of good things in there but you have to go through a lot of responses to find it. The best thing to do would be to start a thread in MC with your particular problem if you can't work something out.

At this stage it looks like a sticky will be started so people can start asking what they'd like done. I'll think up some wording in the next couple of days and post it (hopefully tonight so people have a chance to see it before the weekend).

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"In two years time your car will be like a lady's clothes, out of date, my car will still be in fashion when I am dead" - Sir Alec speaking to Pininfarina