okay, technically it’s four words but anyway… you know how it is. You plan to do a job on the car that, somehow becomes a lot bigger.

For example, the car was about due a timing belt. It makes sense to replace the water pump at the same time so, “while I’m on”, I might as well do that. This means draining the cooling system. There was a discussion on the forum a while ago about the benefits of using Prestone antifreeze so I thought I’d give it a try and, “while I’m on”, replace the old OAT stuff.

The car’s 31 years old and, although it didn’t actually seem to be leaking, the radiator’s looking a bit crusty in places. If it did let go it’s bound to be at the worst time so, “while I’m on” (and the system’s drained) I might as well replace it.

I’d touched up the front corners of the wheel arches a few years back but the rust had broken through again, so it seemed a good time to take the wings off and tidy them up. Lights out, bumper off etc - a bit of extra work but it did improve access to the mechanical stuff. What started as a fairly straightforward belt change ended up taking several days – waiting for paint to dry etc.

As it happens, when I came to remove the cooling fan, the bottom was flapping about. It was still fastened to the bottom bar of the rad, but the bar itself had come adrift at the ends, so a new radiator turned out to be a good move.

It was good to get so many things done at once (and take advantage of the decent weather), but there’s a lot to be said for doing one job at a time!

I know the feeling and I would imagine virtually everyone else is nodding in agreement!

I'm struggling to get my R3 back on the road, so I can swap it with my 45 and get that ready for selling.

And I don't cope with the heat anymore!

We've been quite lucky here in the North East, not had the extreme temperatures you've had further South. Having said that, we had a few very humid days in the high twenties and I struggled to get much done. Might have something to do with growing old

Good luck with the R3.

SteveB wrote: ↑Mon Aug 03, 2026 5:50 pm Good luck with the R3.

Thanks. It's currently 22°C in the People's Republic of Pershore with stifling humidity.