IanF

RS Components (www.rswww.com) have all the parts. Is this what you're after? http://rswww.com/cgi-bin/bv/rswww/subRange...48&cacheID=ukie Ian

You can buy a can of air con cleaner foam from RS components for about 5 pounds - it's an aerosol can with a long tube attached to the nozzle - you feed the nozzle into the air con system, and fill the chiller with disifecting foam. Worked a treat on my last car http://rswww.com/cgi-bin/bv/rswww/subRange...75&cacheID=ukie

Assuming the 350 is structurally the same as a standard UK registered 250, it should be possible to import and register one without a model report - but it would be expensive - probably around 8K for all the ESVA tests required. There is no Ireland loophole (believe me - if there was, I'd have found it by now). You can move cars freely within the EU - but only if they have EU type approval. Ireland has more relaxed import laws - so you could register it in Ireland, but you would still need to get it through ESVA before it can be transferred to the UK. The only way around this is if the car is a "personal import" - but you have to have lived in the previous country for 12 months, and owned the car for 6 months. You can then bring it with you if you move without needing to ESVA it. Ian

You need to have a model report available before you can submit the car for ESVA. The model report is specific for a type of car, and says that the car will meet UK emmissons and noise regulations. Speak to Kevin at Model Reports.com - he will advise on what reports are available. However, I think the only report available for the manual RS200 is for 2002 onwards. If a report is not available, you have to get the tests done for your specific car. The MOT emmissons test doesn't count - the ESVA emmissons test is more stringent and has to be done at one of a few government approved test houses (and costs about £2000 ). To make it even worse, nobody has yet managed to get a standard pre 02 RS200 through the test. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Who imported it for you - you might be able to get some help from them. Ian

Check the list on Model Reports.com - if your car is on their list (tiptronic or post 2002 manual), then is should be pretty straight forward. If it's not on their list, you may be in for some heart ache (and I should know!) Drop me a PM is you have any problems or questions Ian

Born this afternoon :D :D :D :D Mother and Baby Holly are both fantastic!

Seamless! You can hardly see the joins!

Do a search for getting DVD or carputer on the sat nav screen - it'll be the same sort of gadget you need to connect the camp system. IIRC, Scarface posted something about this recently Ian

The 12v switched supply is pretty low power - I tried to run a speed camera detector off it and it wouldn't provide the amps. If you run into similar problems, the cigarette lighter is nearby and provides lots of power. Ian

See here: Click

The mute pin on the back of the stereo is different depending on whether you have a pre or post 2000 CD player. If it's pre-2000, look at my previous post & there are details there, otherwise there is plenty of other info on here about which wire/pin is the mute. Because you have an external amp, the easiest way to get sound out of the speaker is to use the prolex aux in device. A cheaper alternative if you are handy with a soldering iron is to put a relay in the speaker line after the amp to divert the connection. The amp is in the passenger footwell, and you will need a multimeter to identify which connections go to the front right speaker. If you do a search, there's plenty of info on here. Ian

Cheers for you help everbody. I've now got it setup like this: I can now watch video, recorded digital or the baby monitor on any TV in the house. The quality is pretty good too - not digital quality obviously, but good enough not to be noticable. The next step is to add IR links back to the lounge so I can control the PVR from upstairs. Ian

I'm trying to distribute the TV signal from a digibox to 2 other TVs in the house. The main signal comes directly into the back of the digibox from a wideband aerial and masthead amp, with a 12v power supply fitted into the coax cable to send power up to the amp. The RF signal is then daisychained out of the digibox, into a VCR, and then split into 2 - one for the back of the TV and one is sent up to the loft. In the loft, the signal is split into 2 again for 2 bedrooms. Because the bedroom signal has been split twice, the quality isn't very good by the time it get to the TVs. I'd like to put a second amp in the loft for the 2 bedroom signals - but when the aerial and masthead amp were installed, the rigger mention something about not putting any further amplification in the system, becuase the 12v power on the coax would blow it. I've put a multimeter onto the coax line in the loft, and I can't detect a 12v signal - so was his warning related only to the stretch of coax between the aerial and digibox? - or is there something more subtle I'm missing out on? Cheers guys Ian

This is a plea to anybody who has just upgraded either their discs (front), pads (front & rear) or both - or is planning to in the next few weeks. I need a set of standard IS200 brake components to get my import through a type comparison test. They don't need to be on the car for very long, so anything that still has enough life to be safe for a few hundred miles would be brilliant. I'll pay postage, plus a small contribution towards your new stuff. Thanks in advance Ian

I did look into this - but it's never as easy as it should be. If you have lived in the country you are importing from, and have owned the car for 6+ months, it is counted as a "personal import" and therefore doesn't need to go through the normal system. To register the car in Ireland I would need to pay the VRT tax (about £3000, on top of the UK import tax I have already paid). Under UK law I woud only be allowed to drive it in the UK for 6 months before having to re-apply for a UK registration. It's only possible to freely move cars in europe if they have EU type approval - because the Altezza doesn't, I'd be back in the same situation. Javadude - you have PM Ian

As some of you may be aware, about 18 months ago an ex-trader on the LOC imported an Altezza for me (the story of woe stretches back a long time on the Altezza board ). The whole experience has been a nightmare - firstly I have had to wait 15 months for the model report to be available, and now it turns out that the car that he bought for me has been modified, which means the Japanese authorities do not provide a "type designation number" on the de-registration document (because it is no longer factory-built). The UK authorities will not accept the car without this number - they have a long list of "acceptable numbers" that are pre-approved, and if I cannot provide a document to show my car is on the list, they will not allow it to be registered. The only way around this is to have an independent engineers assessment to compare my car to a UK IS200 and provide a report to say the safety features are the same (seatbelt anchorages, brakes and steering system). The test can be performed at Millbrook Proving Ground near Milton Keynes (it's been on Top Gear a few times I think). The engineer will take my car and do a side by side comparison to a standard UK spec IS200, and then provide the DVLA with a report saying my car is the same, and therefore complies with UK safety law. This is where I am throwing myself on the generosity of the LOC. I don't have an IS200, or know anybody that does - and I certainty can't afford to buy one just for the test. Is there a kind soul out there who could provide a car for the comparison test? The problem is that the test will take 2 weeks to perform, and will require a some superficial dismantling (removal of the brake callipers to inspect the pads, removal of the seats to inspect the seat belt mounting points and removal of the trim around the steering wheel to inspect the steering column). Obviously everything would be put back exactly as before. I know this is a massive ask - if anybody would help me out I would obviously see them right - I would cover any expenses occurred, the cost of a hire car, a meal out for two at a fancy restaurant (not with me - nobody wants that! ) and a £100 donation to a charity of your choice. I understand that leaving your pride and joy with a complete stranger is not going to happen - so I would propose to meet at Millbrook, so the car is passed directly to the test centre, and not to me. There is no fixed time for all this - my wife is about to drop our firstborn in the next couple of weeks, so I was sort of planning on letting things settle down and then see if I could arrange something in the spring - but I'd also like to test the water now to see if anybody could help (maybe you are going away soon, and would be prepared to leave your car at Millbrook during this time?). Another option is to do the comparison against an accident damaged car (as long as the relevant parts are all intact). So if anybody has an accident damaged car they are waiting to get repaired - if I could borrow if for a few weeks, I can make a contribution to the repair costs. Thanks in advance everybody Ian

Merlin - you have PM. Sorry for the delay - been chucking myself down a snowy mountain strapped to a tea tray :D IanF

That's the one I had - not too difficult to install - one wire connected to a speed pulse and one to a tacho pulse.

I had the old version on my last car. It's not the most elegant install, but you get used to it. The reflector is just a small square of window tint film - I think you can get by without it, but it makes it easier to see in bright sunlight, and prevents double images from the lamiante in the glass. No problems with MOT. I found it to be really good once I got used to it - my version only had speed & revs, but it definately helps to keep your eyes on the road. Ian

On the standard iPod, holding OK and MENU at the same time for 10 seconds make it reboot - I've had similar crashes in the past asnd this has got it going again. Ian

Or trace the noise back to the buzzer, and cut the power line. That way, you'll still have brake lights. You could even put a switch on it so you can re-instate it later. should you so desire.... Ian

When I bough my current run-about, I came accross the same problem, but it turned out I'd caused the problem myself by typing estimated milage info into the HPI website - anything that gets entered into HPI is automatically added to the national milage register. When I went back and updated the details with the real milage, it flagged a problem. It took a couple of phone calls to the milage register folks to sort it out, but it was no hassle and they were able to see all the data I'd added, and removed the incorrect estimate. Hope this helps Ian

I've seen the E marking on the outside temp gauge on my Altezza before, but none of the other symptoms you describe. The battery was very low at the time, so I just assumed this was the cause. I've seen it a couple of times, and it has always been OK the next day. Not much help I know, but your not totally alone... Ian

Yeah - looked into that. The obvious place is Ireland, and Owen (Galla 4) has helped by asking around potential buyers. However nobody seems to be interested in an unregistered car that is not even in the country. It's not impossible to get it registered myself and then sell on, but I would have to pay the Irish import tax (another £3-4K), most of which I will not be able to recoupe. At best, I will still end up a few thousand out of pocket.

I was afraid that would be the answer! :P Ultimately I guess it has to be cheaper than any other car available ito temp somebody - so less than the poorest example of the oldest car in the country. Maybe £4K?