Ravinder's BRM No 61

[Ravinder_Tomcat220T]

Hey guys. Thought I'd put up a wee cheeky progress thread of my BRM.

I bought BRM 61 at the start of March. I must admit, I was never initially keen on BRM's but they have grown on me the last year or so and when one came up for sale locally for a great price, I couldn't say no.

I bought this BRM with 87k on the clock for £520. It had just been taxed until end of July and MOTd until Dec 2012.
It has a history of timing belt being done only in November and head gasket has been replaced at some point before.
This BRM also has the optional extra 6 cd changer in the boot and air con as well, although this needs regassing.
When I sat in it for the first time it just felt right and after a wee test drive I took it there and then and drove the 2.5hr journey back home.
The main issue I had was the front brakes were knackered. Discs and pads - both shot.

Here is the pics of the car when I bought it from the original for sale thread:






Now the bodywork on the car is the main let down. There is rust on all 4 arches and on the sills as well so I need two front wings and the car will need to go to a bodyshop. But this will be a job for next year. I want this BRM immaculate as it is for keepers! I drive the car every week but I avoid driving it in bad weather if I can as I have a another car for a daily drive. So bodywork will have to wait until 2013 as I plan to go away later this year. I have all these nice stickers that I bought from here but they will not go on the car now until next year after bodywork is done.
Also, one of my BRM badges appeared to have been nicked at some point so I only have the one on the passenger side but I have recently bought another two which I will fit next year after the repairs.

The car drives nicely and is very smooth. The engine is nice and quiet. No crunches from the gearbox or anything like that. I suspect I might have a slight blow from the exhaust but it isn't really that noticeable but will get this sorted at some point.
I can't believe just how well it handles. Better then any other car I have ever driven. My coupe doesn't even come close to it and that's on Koni suspension. I love it!
I have one slightly buckled drivers side front wheel. I suspect this may be causing the slight vibration I get when I am driving, mainly at higher speeds. But it is only ever so slight. I did get the alloys balanced recently and that improved it.

Now, I managed to get a few things done to the BRM since I have had it. This is what has been done:

- New front standard discs and pads
- New fuel filter
- Coolant topped up
- New OE Rover oil filter and oil changed
- PAS fluid topped up
- New wiper blades all round
- New Bosch spark plugs
- New OE air filter
- All 4 wheels balanced and sealed (2 were leaking air)
- Replacement passenger wing mirror (Some scrote hit mine)
- Drivers door seal fixed
- Fitted Shaggy's custom heater sliders
- Union jack sticker fitted
- New Osram headlight bulbs fitted
- New OE Rover wing deflectors fitted
- Original Roversport strut brace fitted (Very rare)
- OE strut covers fitted
- Orange snout fitted and silver one removed
- Rear numberplate bulbs replaced with LED ones
- Interior courtesy light bulb replaced with LED bulb (What a difference!)
- Traffic master clock replaced ( Still missing segments but better)

So quite a few things done as you can see. The orange snout was only done today with a help of a mate. Had some trouble getting the bumper off but got there in the end and then the snout was stuck down with some super strong adhesive which was a challenge to remove! But looks a lot better now. I love Orange!

I was in two minds about whether to keep the car standard or not but I have decided I will keep it standard but make only very subtle mods like wind deflectors, etc.
I will not modify the engine for extra power and I will not be touching the suspension as I am very happy with how it handles, and with the strut brace helping it further. I will not be changing the wheels either but will look at refurbing them at some point. Again, probably not until next year when I get the bodywork sorted.

I only have one or two quick pics I took today. Not that great to be honest. I will take proper pics in the next month or so when I get the car how I want it for this year and after a good clean!

Also, here is a list of things I would like to do before I go travelling later this year in no particular order:

- 4 wheel geometry
- Fit my BRM Owners Club sticker on window
- Replace the buckled BRM alloy
- Replace boot light with LED bulb
- Replace glove light with LED bulb
- Replace sidelight bulbs with some yellow ones
- Sort out the dash lights as they have gone dim
- Fit Shaggy's custom plaque
- Fit mudflaps
- Fit MG TF rear view mirror with some LED bulbs
- Fix the rear washer leak
- Get some screws and screw in the dash clock
- Replace one of the clips on the drivers door seal
- Change ignition leads before I go
- Full paint correction with my DA polisher

Plans for after I get back before next year:

- Repair the leather on steering wheel
- Fit rear discs and pads
- Repair handbrake
- Repair steering rack
- Winter service
- MAYBE fit front 282 brakes
- Phone holder for my phone
- Buy and fit Seat front splitter

And I think that is it for the time being. Enjoy.

[john180]

Nice to see another BRM being looked after

[stamford]

Still seems a bargin considering how many are left.

[Maxxed_Ross]

the silver snout was a dealer mod to try and help shift them, the orange is much better!

[peterzs]

Got one near us, great little cars.

Love the progress on your one, orange is the way to go!!!

[Taphouse]

I loved my BRM, they are great cars and brilliant value at the moment. I would have another if I needed a daliy.

[Ravinder_Tomcat220T]

Thanks guys. I love it as well. The interior is lush.

[Ravinder_Tomcat220T]

Here is some pics of the rare Roversport strut brace fitted. The guy I bought it from had added the stickers from previous. Also, the stickers show his business name. This particular strut brace was only available on the Tomcat racers. Very rare. Can't be many around and I have two of them!
The brace has made a significant difference after a blast the other day on some B roads. Had a lot of fun!

Also, got some covers to fit over the struts. Need a clean mind you.

[Maxxed_Ross]

that looks nice and chunky!

I noticed a huge difference when I fitted front and rear braces to my old ZR, it totally chaged the handling in fast bends

[Ravinder_Tomcat220T]

So today my mate gave me a hand with a couple of things as I'm useless with most things but electrics I don't touch! Today, my rear view mirror was replaced with one from an MG TF which has the courtesy lights on them. I got a couple of LED bulbs to fit in them as well so brighter then the standard ones.

Standard


TF one fitted


Also decided to fit my new head unit. I wanted to keep the original one in but the main source button fell off and I cannot find it anywhere and I had bought a brand new Pioneer DEH 7300BT with bluetooth for a bargain price in the clearance sale about 10 months ago so thought I'd fit this so I can plug in my ipod into it. Really good head unit!




We then got started on repairing the rear washer as when you turn it on from the stalk, the water comes pissing down inside the car in the corner of the back window! Obviously a split in the hose somewhere so water is not getting to the back window jet. So started to take the trim apart to find a split in the hose. So went to Halfords and bought some more tube and a one way valve but it's still not working properly. When plugging in the valve, the water isn't getting to the rest of the tube so isn't feeding water to the jet. It was getting dark and cold so gave up so will finish this off later in the week.



So the next job is to finish repairing the rear washer (pain of a job) and fix the dash lights as they are dimmer then normal. Hopefully it's case of just changing a bulb or two behind the centre console.

Also, ordered a BRM key ring that I spotted on Ebay. I just had to get it!



Took a few pics of her before she was tucked up in her home.

Here is the rust on all 4 arches.






Rust on the door















OE Rover wind deflectors


Goodnight BRM