First Jobs - Seats, Overheating and Fuel Leak

I’ve spent the last few days avoiding the GTM – I felt I’d fallen out of love with it a little thanks to the horrendous journey getting back. Today I get the GTM out of the garage and start to fix a few fundamental issues which are preventing the car driving properly. The first is…

Some serious seat adjustment

Not that the seats are bad or unsupportive, the problem, for me at least, is that the previous owner had both the passenger and driver’s seat jacked up on what look like big bits of wood. I'm a little taller than Keith, so my head is literally pressed against the roof whilst I'm driving. I remove the seats, take out the wood and what look like rubber shock absorbers, and replace the seats with new bolts and washers. Much better.

Holly Helping!

That's one way of absorbing the bumps - far more comfortable without for me.

Sorting the overheating issue

The thermostat is opening okay, and there are no airlocks in the cooling system, so I've replaced the expansion tank cap, messed about with the fan switch and replace two very perished vacuum pipes that control the manifold pressure. It seems much happier, although the system now has no coolant from the amount of topping up I did a few days back, so I'm planning to flush it and refill it soon before winter.

Fuel Leak

I've noticed a very strong smell of petrol since I picked up the GTM K3, so it’s off to my friendly garage, Aaron’s Autos, for some investigation. After taking off the roof and trim, we found that one of the pipes was slightly corroded, so we sawed it off and reconnected it. More worryingly however was the rubber filler pipe, which is too large for the neck of the fuel tank. It gathers slightly where the jubilee clip holds it in place, and a slight loosen of the clip results in petrol pouring out – it’s clearly not sealing properly. I've contacted TEC Industrial in Ireland, an old client from my graphic design practice, who specialises in hosing. They confirm they can supply me with something a little more suitable.

Pipe removed ready to be sawn. Offending filler neck rubber join can be seen.

Looks a bit like a bathtub here.