K&N Air Filter Recharge Kit

It has been a while since anything has been posted up on the blog, but that doesn't mean work hasn't been going on.

The first of many items on the to do list was to fully clean out the K and N panel air filter. I bought a K and N recharger kit to do the job properly.

Bonnet up, filter out, first inspections show quite a lot of crap had got itself lodged in the filter. Plenty of bugs for that matter.

In the picture below you can still see some of the crap that was in it, but unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of it to show the full extent, nevertheless still dirty.

Using a soft bristled brush I gently removed majority of the looser large dirt particles.

Next up was to put liberally spray on the air filter cleaner, and leave to soak for 10 minutes. After that I rinsed it with fresh water and then repeated the process just to make sure.

You are supposed to leave the filter to dry naturally, but these things really hold water. I left it over night and it was still soaking, so I moved it indoors near to the fire and left for another whole day. It was still a tiny bit damp in places, the next day, but it'll do.

Finally you just have to spray on the air filter oil. This is how it looked all cleaned up and re-oiled.

Whilst I was performing this process I replaced the K and N with an old paper filter. The difference is most definitely noticeable upon refitting of the K and N, justifying my recommendation to buy one if you haven't already.

Janspeed Intermediate (Mid) Pipe upgrade

After quite some time of wanting one, I've finally took the plunge and bought a Janspeed Intermediate (Mid) Pipe. For those not in the know, the exhaust system is made of 4 sections in the following order; Manifold, Catalytic Converter (cat), Intermediate Pipe, Backbox.

Got it for £70 posted, was in fair condition, apparently having covered around 8k miles. It's also the stainless steel version so should last quite a while. Bit of a good deal considering they are £130ish new.

Unwrapped it and immediately set about it with the cleaning equipment, got it shining up fairly well, although not as well as I did with my Longlife backbox. You can see in the images below the before (left) and after (right) shots of the clean-up.

After a good scrub it was time to fit the thing. First was the job of getting the car high enough to actually get at the fixings. This took three planks of wood and a helpful gradient. Not even on Rover springs was the car ever this high up. Took the opportunity to have a butchers at the underneath of the car too, doesn't look too bad for a 9 year old.

With a little penetrating oil the bolts came off and with them the existing mid pipe. Took another opportunity, this time to compare old with new. Pretty much identical length and pipe shaping, but a considerably smaller box and a noticeable weight difference (the new Janspeed being lighter).

Next job was to make up some gaskets. Pretty much just traced the outline and cut a 2" hole in the middle.

Offered up the midpipe and tried to fit it, but realised the holes in the flange on the backbox were about 6mm out from the new pipe. So back to the lab to file the holes in a bit so they were slots.

After the slight modification it fitted a treat. Upon first firing up the car it wasn't really that clear that it had made any difference at all really. But after driving it a few times you can hear it bedding in, there are a few more pops and a slightly different exhaust note. Sounds a bit more race like too, which was exactly what I was after.

After it's bedded in for a good while I will take a video for you all to compare. As for performance, the car seems to rev much more freely, and possibly pick up better. This could be a combination of the K and N panel filter, and the Longlife backbox coming into effect.