Emperor Ming

Hi Guys Got the bits fitted last night The strut brace is not fitted back on yet as it is ... . . . . . . . in for powder coating The picture is not very good but shows the proper purple colour. (I can't get to grips with the camera's white balance and get the purple right as well as the back ground??) What do you think? I have not had time to clean properly round it yet but I am off Sunday Monday and if the weather is anything like then it is all coming back off to clean UNDERNEATH Hopefully I will also have the strut brace back and I can get the front cover started as well. Oh life is busy busy busy. Ming the industrious

Talking to a mate of mine the other day. He went to a drugs overdose. One of our regular, long term, heroin abusers. Not a nice guy with a habit but a true 'Smack Rat'. Nothing but a full blooded drain on society!! The report came in and it took several minutes for the bobby to get there. The guy is breathing, sort of, and the ambulance takes another five or so minutes to arrive. in this time the breathing has got lots worse but is still there - JUST. Ambulance man gets out bleedin great needle and sticks a shot of adrenalin into said 'smack rat' who promptly sits bolt up right, swears at the ambulance man for 'wasting his gear' and gets up and wanders off after his next fix!! Life aint fu**ing fair!! Ming the Annoyed

Just a quick update guys. We had a message from the ambulance staff to say that the machine they connected to his chest to show heart output etc showed that we managed to keep things going manually and properly until they arrived but he was already dead. At least I don't feel like I either missed something or could have done something else to help. H5 Hi mate My Mrs is a diamond and I would not change her for ANYTHING. She is my rock when I need it and brought me back from a dark place and helped me to be me again. Ming the lucky

I was working a football match today, you can imagine the scene. Watching the great unwashed in their lemming like droves moving too and fro like the tide of humanity they are. My gaffer asks me to take my band of happy troopers up to a local car park where the away fans park their cars to prevent the locals causing any grief. We wander up and make happy conversation with the wolves fans as Barnsley have just beaten them one nil and one guy in a nice 2.5 AWD Jag X series asks my mate for directions to the M1. All is fine in the world, directions are given and he pulls out into the traffic. He travels about twenty yards and is parked in front of me waiting to follow the other cars out of the junction when suddenly his car lurches violently forward and smashes into the back of the Audi estate in front. The engine is reving its nuts off and the clutch is stinking as it slips like mad. I am all for giving him a right royal bollocking for driving like a pillock when the passenger, his son as it turns out, shouts "My Dad is having a heart attack!!" Within a minute he has stopped breathing and we have him on the floor in the middle of the road and I am doing mouth to mouth whilst an off duty nurse is doing chest compressions. A Dr stops by and helps me with this guys head and for what feels like a ife time we try, and try we did. The ambulance turns up and they go at him with a passion. I am now doing chest massage in amongst the wires and paddles and all sorts of medical stuff whilst they pipe him, tube him and generally do what ambulance staff do! 3 0r 4 minutes later and he is dead!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sure, they kept trying all the way to the hospital but he died on the pavement in front of me whilst I had my hands on his chest. Now I don't know this guy but he put things into perspective today. LIVE EVERY MINUTE AS IF IT WAS YOU LAST. THIS IS NOT A DRESS REHERSAL AND YOU ONLY COME THIS WAY ONCE!! As a little aside. Just after the ambulance arrived a little pice of SH*TE came passed and started laughing. I was at this stage stood up as the paramedics were using the elctric paddles on his chest and I both heard and saw him. We had a nose to nose whilst I told him what I had just been doing and EXACTLY what I thought of him to which he laughed again and told me to "F**K OFF". A split second later and he was flat on his back 8 feet away wondering who had just slammed him in the chest with a sledge hammer. Some of the other bobbies nearby then walked him down the road and gave out a little more friendly advice, which to his credit he took, apologised and left!! There are times when life aint fair and I really really hate people!!!!!!! Ming the Stressed

H5 Hi mate. Another secret out of the bag!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have been using brasso to finish off my bright work for ages now. If you want the ultimate shine on polished metal though get one of those soft rags impregnated with stuff that is used for polishing gold and silver. Rub , polish off , step back in awe!!!!!!!!!!!! Ming the Stressed

Strip her naked and spend ten minutes covering her in Carnuba Wax THEN and ONLY THEN would she writh all over MY paintwork. I get a right royal face on if people even touch my car. Rough hands and dirt are a guaranteed way to ruin good paint IMHO. Ming the fastidious

What a chassis. WOW. The trim and finish is superb. Running gear is spot on and the sports seat looks very inviting. Air bags as well. . . . . . Car looks good as well!! Ming the impressed

Hi Mate Welcome to the mad house. Ride the insults and enjoy the banter. Enjoy the car and KEEP THE TRACTION CONTROL ON. Well at least in the rain. Ming the mad

Good question. Finance is £300 per month. (I used to pay £500 maintainance so its no big issue!! ) Fuel is £20 a week most weeks as I only live 5 miles from work. Minor servicing I do myself and big stuff goes to a trusted mechanic friend with a great reputation (Mine is an import so no warranties to keep up) so no more than £150 a year unless something breaks. As they say , "There are no pockets in coffins!" If I was sensible I would run a £1500 BMW 3 series and service it myself. It would have reasonable performance, run for ever .... OH .... and bore me to tears. I bought the Zed because it looks good, makes me feel good when I drive it and I am a flash git!! Ming the honest

Just got these The heat shield The connecting bracket and the intake tube Sorry about the lack of flash but it bleaches out the colour. It still isn't right but with flash everything goes BLUE??????? Can't wait tob get it all fitted and sorted. My spare front cover is due imminently so I can start on that next. Ming the impatient

Hi Jim If he wants to talk it over with me or needs any more information then I will happily PM you my phone number. The guys I use are VERY VERY good and always do me a great price. Dependant on what it is he is looking at coating it might still be cost effective to get it brought down coated and taken back up. All the small stuff we could do by post. If he knows a coater nearer to home go and look at their work. Get a before and after view and speak to some of the customers. I have used these guys literally hundreds of times and all their customers are by recommendation. Hell they help the Porsche owners club and they ARE a picky lot Hope this helps Ming the Polisher

Hi mate I also watch overhaulin and some of the other american custom car jobbies. I think they do a fantastic job - not always to my taste but fantastic none the less. A quick lesson on powder coating as I see it and as the 'coaters' explained it to me. Almost any metal can be coated, even very thin stuff. The item is first immersed in a chemical dip that degreases and cleans it. It is then high pressure washed with the same stuff to get into all the little nooks and crannies. It is then blasted with a sort of grit/glass/? stuff that really cleans the surface. Any major blemishes are sanded down and then it is dried. It is blown clean and then connected to an electrical charge. This makes it eitherp ositive or negative - not sure - and then the powdered paint is blown at it charge with the opposite. The charge causes the powder to 'stick' to the item. The strength of charge controls the depth of powder. This coat is usually the base coat and the item is placed in a great big oven and baked - just like mommies apple pie, at any temperature between 160 and 190 - I think - dependant on the type of powder. When cooled and dried the metal is now 'sealed' inside a thick, tough, airtight coat which stops any corrosion. The top coat that carries the colour is added and sometimes a lacquer as well. By now there is a right good thick coat on the item which is much tougher and more resiliant than normal paint and also is heat resistant up to just under the baking temperature. (I had loads of bits on my TT GTO and only the front turbo heat shiled had the slightest signs of discolouration and that thing used to GLOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Almost ANY colour can be applied but obviously should you want Skoda Green or Maseratti brown then they would have to special order the powder and that can be a bit expensive. The item once coated will only ever need washing with soap and water and polishing with something like pledge and unless attacked with sharp tools should last the life of the car. If you ever do a chassis up rebuild I can think of no better way to prepare and protect your body work. Crikey didn't i carry on?? Hope this helps Ming the Rabbitter

Stuffed the car = Stuffed Katja = Looking at the pics both are going to be expensive and yet highly satisfying. Serious note. Contact the insurance and bite the bullet quickly. It might already be too late but in my opinion the repairs are going to outweigh the savings and at least if after the repairs are done you are not happy you can KEEP TAKING IT BACK - FOR FREE You will also be bale to drive it as it was intended without thinking of the corners you were tempted to cut!! (If you weren't tempted you would have gone straight to the insurers after all ) Ming the sensible - and slightly envious

Polish !?? haven't bothered yet... it's only a week and a half old... i think i'm supposed to lay off the polish for a couple of weeks.. GET IT WAXED MATE. Its new and shiney so you don't need polish - infact I would actively advise against it at the moment as the paint work is pristine - but wax is another matter. It will protect AND enhance the shine AND make is easier to clean. Also you get to get YOUR HANDS on your car Ming the Worried

H5 I cna recommend europarts. My lad has used them for ages and they are honest AND good value. Where abouts on the A1 is the breakers? I am sure there is someone not too far away who could collect them for you?? Just a thought. Ming the Hopeful

Thanks guys Off she comes then I am going to wait until the filter case and intake tube are fitted before I decide on the final finish for the strutt brace. Black Chrome sounds good as does smoked chrome but we will have to see!!!!!! H5 Worried? Never mate Either I win or you win. Either way we both have great engine bays and its been a blast. Also I work well under pressure. Ming the Risk Taker

I would have smiled, winked and then said 'no mate. Your wrong I am a F......C... , with a great car' then blown him in the weeds Guess his BMW didn't make his manhood feel big enough next to your Zed!! Ming the Dangerous

Thanks guys It is strange that H5 and I are in many ways very similar - I won't drive a dirty car !! - and yet we are going to do the engine bay in totally different ways. I didn't need an excuse before but I have even more reason now to spend hours UNDER the bonnet!! Mrs Ming accepts that half of almost every Sunday is put aside to cleaning the car. ( I am looking at getting an awning so that I can work on the car IN THE RAIN) Ming the content H5 Hi mate Went down to the bling shop today - powder coaters of course LOL - and they looked under the bonnet and went That .... and that ... and that ..... oh and that as well. Ming the ready PS Has anyone driven one of these cars WITHOUT the front strutt brace? does it make a noticiable difference? I want to take mine off for a week? I am more than willing to drive like a little girl or for a week or so if necessary and I will only be doing short journeys anyway! Any ideas. Ming the Bling Crazy

Front mate!! The rear is nicely boxed in and short of coating the ally plate - now theres a good idea!! - theres not much to do to it!! ming the Prepared

PS The slightly erratic tick over - and I do mean ever so slightly - has smoothed out so something I did has made a difference. Exhaust seems to sound a little more urgent as well Ming the Happy

Slightly off topic but has any one seen the size of the oil filter. Looks like it belongs on a honda 50 moped I have had 1300 cc cars with bigger filters MUCH bigger filters. Mine gonna get changed OFTEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ming the now VERY cautious

Rob The strut is filled with a sort of polystyrene hard foam. They said it was for strength but htat is bollox. I think that there must have been a vibration problem so they damped it out. I gotta work out a way to get it out - easy - get it powder coated - easy - and then re fill it - not quite so easy. But I have ideas. I am sure before long its gonna be Purppplllleeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ming the Mind bender

lol - Don't start getting cocky....!! You ain't seen nothing yet! Thats what I like to hear. You do realise that the purple isl ikely to be the FIRST incarnation don't you. Mrs Ming is already pulling her hair out as I put it on looked at it and went Hmmmmmmm!!!! She doesn't overly like the purple and will fill my head with idea's. Ming the Practicer

Cheers Guys Allthough the pictures I took do not show it - I am crap with digital cameras - the ones I took out had 'signs of wear'. I agree that they were in good condition and would have lasted many more miles. They were the right colour indicating a healthy engine but they were not as good as the ones I put in. My point was that the car, being second hand, was of unknown providence and as such it was a precaution. The importer has changed the oil and filter BUT I am going to change them both as well so I KNOW they are right. Oil should last 8,000 miles but I will change mine in half that. The same with plugs. i can forget all about them now for my life with the car. I also have six spare iridium plugs SHOULD I need them! Ming the Cautious.

Since I drive like the old man that I am - well most of the time - then I am sure that they will serve me well. Just checked the service manual AGAIN and it gives PLFR5A-11 the P being for platinum?? Do you not think that they are up for the job? Ming the puzzled