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Okay, have had a chance to sit down for more than two consecutive minutes now, so let's get a proper post written up. Back in 2003 I had a Saturday job at a little independent used car dealer out in the middle of nowhere in Aberdeenshire. I quite often found myself pursuing their trade ins which they deemed to old to be worth cleaning up to sell themselves. Which I used to be welcome to basically for scrap value - which in 2003 meant about 30p. I got a few pretty good bargains I reckoned. This Renault 11TC was £125 I think. Sailed though the MOT and I got a decent year's motoring out of it. I only really sold it on because it turned out that this straddled the line between the pre and post facelift car and had been assembled from whatever they found laying around the factory floor. A lot of things didn't even vaguely match what either the phase 1 or 2 cars should have had. Plus by then it had done the main thing I wanted it to, which was keep the Metro out of the worst of the winter. This Saab was £60. This was the good side, the other one had a huge poor accident repair on which had been painted with what appeared to be red telephone box paint. It was also absolutely rotten around the driveshaft tunnels and boot floor. The gearbox had serious issues and the engine hadn't had an oil change in about ten years and made some truly interesting noises. This was bought as a "run it on nothing unnecessary till the MOT runs out" basis. It did then yeild a good number of useful spares. The front wheel looks odd in that photo because I was in the middle of replacing the wheel bearing so things are just sitting there - which I think was about the only thing beyond a service I really did to it. Think I maybe changed the thermostat. It basically expired about a week before the MOT ran out when a missing manhole cover in Aberdeen ripped out the lower nearside ball joint. There was a free Astra 1.3 Merit (in beige) which I don't think I have a photo of, and a £20 Proton 1.5GL which I basically did my last learning how to do driving test relevant things like reversing around a corner on a local private road (we literally had a mostly paved mile plus long farm road 100 yards from the house which I was allowed to use with permission from the land owner). However probably my favourite of all the random stuff that followed me home was this. Which cost me either £20 or £60, I can't remember. It had a couple of days MOT left, so shortly after I got it home my father took it down to the local car guy in the nearest village to see what it might need for a test. Sadly it was condemned as the rear suspension arms were rotten. Bearing in mind the car was worth...well...I'd just paid that for it it wasn't worth repairing. Now I'd have kept it around just as a lounge to listen to my music on the epic sound system in - but as my father was the one making the calls because I was at college, it turned out that I never saw the car again. I drove it about 3 miles in total I think. Which also means that the above is the only photo I have of it save for a horribly grainy underexposed one of the interior. We were always a family who tended to forgive and forget, but that was one thing which I really did hold a grudge about for many years, just saying to bin it without even consulting me. I always vowed that one day I'd properly own another one. Fast forward to ~2010 when I was more a master of my own fate and had some usable disposable income, they'd basically gone extinct. So I stopped looking. Until someone in a Telegram chat posted a link to the C&C classified as for this a couple of days ago. Is was clearly somewhat scruffy, the photos weren't great but the ad sounded like it was written by someone who was into cars. Plus it was actually written in real English which in 2022 feels like a real rarity. Initially I sat firmly on the "I absolutely do not need another project" idea. However having then looked up how many were left and realising it was pretty local I decided it had to be worth a look. If I didn't I'd forever question if I'd made the right call, and am not expecting to find another pop up. This is despite the fact that the car I'd already got on my driveway for the spring 2023 project was parked on what used to be my front lawn because I'm already out of space. So if I bought it something would absolutely need to move on - one in, one out and it isn't optional. So I sent a message to the seller. What followed was an entirely pleasant E-mail conversation back and forth completely out of character with any experience buying or selling a car to the general public that I've had in the last ten years. It was arranged that I'd pop over this weekend to have a look at it. I was going into this with the expectation of finding it to be quite rotten on account of a somewhat colourful MOT history, and knowing there were a bunch of little other things off the bat in need of sorting. So my expectation was to view it and probably walk away. I'm greatly appreciative of @Six-cylinder and @AnthonyG (I think - correct me if I've tagged the wrong person) for ferrying me over there today and to assist in sorting out some further logistics I'd fouled up. I got there and found the car...pretty much exactly as described. I didn't obviously have it up on a ramp and there's only so much you can do trying to lay on the ground on an active public road, but while there have been some patches here and there, it looks by and large pretty clean. I think the suspension arms (which wrote my original one off) have been replaced as they look far newer than the rest of the car. The only rust I immediately found which will want attention sooner than later is some on the inner wings where some seam sealant has blown out. The outer wings bolt on and I don't think it will be the end of the world to sort once they're off. Might actually be far enough away from the strut tops because of how far back they're set not to be an MOT issue - but it wants sorting either way. Interior was in decent shape, leather desperately want drowning in leather feed, but everything's there and looks in decent shape. Bit of obvious wear here and there not no splits I've noticed yet. Especially glad the Monaco specific door cappings are okay as they'd be an absolute nightmare to find replacements for I imagine. We had a quick trundle around the estate and the car seemed to drive fine enough. There's a drop-linky sort of rattle from the offside front and it's got the usual horribly baggy 80s Renault gear change that needs it's bushings replaced, but from the driver's seat that was about it. Temperature gauge sits higher than I'd like, but I'm positive I've seen that on these before, and the highly technical "how long can I hold onto the hoses for?" Test and "Can I smell coolant?" Tests say it's running at a perfectly sane temperature. Most importantly though the gauge got to that spot then stayed steadily there rather than jumping around all over the shop. I was prepared for the brakes to be in a bit of a sorry state given she's only done a few hundred miles in the last five years, but they actually seem absolutely fine. Despite having basically told myself it was going to be too much of a project before we got there, I had to admit it was actually a pretty good candidate for a rolling project to tinker with and fettle. To be absolutely honest with myself, much more in line with my abilities than some of the stuff on the Cavalier. Particularly that one bit of welding on the offside inner sill which I would almost definitely wind up needing to get someone in to do. Chassis leg I reckon I can manage, but the sill is a bit more complicated. So a deal was done and we headed for home. I'd originally expected to take Six-Cylinder along to drive it back as I'd generally found short term insurance (I'll get it transferred to mine on Monday) to be really steep lately. So when it came back at £19 I was surprised - and just set that up there and then and off we went. No petrol station shot as the seller had already filled it up for us! So have one in a random Waitrose car park instead. It's always a little unnerving driving a car back when you've bought it - especially a 34 year old French barge which even when it was new had something of a reputation for flaky electronics. Double that when it's barely turned a wheel in the last five years. However she wafted the 40 miles or so home without missing a beat and in utter comfort. Did I mention, comfort? I kind of expected that my 19 year old memory of the levels of comfort were very rose tinted. Nope, I was spot on. So...issues. Initially I thought someone had stuck a silly rear exhaust section on. I recall these being annoyingly expensive even back in the early 00s, so that wouldn't have surprised me. However a bit of quick investigation... Figured out it was just a trim...so that's now gone. Much better. She needs a clean. Like really, really needs a good deep clean. Exactly as per the advert, the paint does indeed need help in several areas. There's some pretty epic clear coat peel. The radiator grill is peeling particularly badly too. Plus a nasty scrape running a good portion of the way along the driver's side. The passenger's door catch clearly needs adjustment as it requires an unreasonably heavy slam to latch fully. The LCD display for the clock/stereo/outside temperature display clearly needs either a cleaned zebra strip or replacement ribbon cable. The warning light for the washer fluid level is lit... That may be as simple as it actually just needing to be filled, haven't even had a chance to look yet. Heater blower is a bit squeaky. Nearside front door speaker grill likes to eject itself from the door when you close it. Few lamps out in the dash/switches, but nowhere near as many as I expected. Does look good at night. I do remember thinking that the style of lights they used on the central cluster in the dash with the brightly lit symbol on a dimmer field looked really smart. Still do. Though speaking of the dash, it's hard not to mention this strangeness which wouldn't have been out of place in a Citroen to be honest. I haven't tried the windows yet, nor the sunroof - which I didn't really notice until we were underway - that will definitely not be getting touched until spring! Central locking does try to work, though it doesn't quite manage to actually get all the doors locked. Sure a clean and grease of things will sort that. I do only have one set of keys (and no remote sadly), which I'll need to resolve sooner than later - though it remains to be seen how much of a pain that weird door key is to get cut. Overall, seems a reasonably solid base to work from. Hopefully will get a bit more of a chance to look at it further in the daylight tomorrow. Did it make *sense* to buy? Probably not. However I have literally been after one for the last 19 years - so logic be damned.

So I have contacted what I thought was the son of the first owner of this Mercedes but it turns out that he is the grandson of the first owner. He seems friendly and thinks this was fun and to my surprise his grandmother the wife of the first owner is still alive! She must be around 100 years old now and she remembers this car and she is looking for pictures of it in the family albums. I have also been able to find the rest of the owners of this through registers and I am owner no 10. So this one started its life as I thought as a taxi and was a taxi until it was just over 9 years old. Then in April 1972 it was sold to the neighbor of the first owner who owned it until December 1983. The next owner had it from 1983 to October 1987 and he is still alive. The next owner is the one who has owned it the longest, he owned it from 1987 until his death in 2010 where his wife became the owner for a few years followed by his daughter who sold it in 2015. After this it had 3 more owners before it came to me. So this one had 9 years as a taxi and this was in rural Norway in the 1960s so the roads were all gravel. And after this it was in use by 2 owners until well into the 80s where I think it was retired and the area it was in has harsh winters where temperatures down to minus 30 and 40 are not unusual. So this explains why the car is so worn, it has had a very long and hard life. So it's impressive that it actually still exists and I'm impressed this is a real workhorse. And this has been a lot of fun exploring and finding out the history of this now I just hope they find some old photos. But since I don't have any pictures I am attaching a picture of a Ford like this Mercedes it was also a rural taxi in Norway throughout the 1960s and shows the conditions this car also had to go through.

Didn't have quite as productive a day today as I'd hoped. Apparently I didn't budget my energy yesterday quite as well as I thought I had, so got kicked in the behind this morning and it wasn't until the early afternoon that I was really mentally firing on all cylinders again. Which is particularly annoying as I'd really hoped to get along to the last MKCC breakfast meet of the year with the R25, moss and all. I always find it slightly surprising when people go and spend major amounts of money resurrecting a vehicle... Then don't change things like tyres. The newest tyre on this car dates from 2003. With two of them being from pre-2000, they're all budget brands too. So a full set of tyres is going to be number 1 on the list. A slightly worrying thing from the driver's seat is the fact that the temperature gauge sits roughly here under normal driving. Moving around pretty much exactly as you would expect on a car with a real gauge rather than the nonsense a lot of moderns are fitted with when traffic etc, but with no signs of distress that I'd tend to expect if we were near enough brushing the red. I got the IR thermometer out today and confirmed that it's sitting somewhere around 90C (the actual head even on the exhaust side is around 120C), which is about what I'd expect to see. Even when pulling off the road and immediately checking it, the hoses are uncomfortable to touch, but not burning so and there's no excess pressure in the system. We'll see if a new sender sorts that out. Though I'm sure I do vaguely remember this being a somewhat common issue. In an effort to extinguish the washer fluid level warning light I checked that - oh look, it's full. So that will be a problem with the level sensor then. Unfortunately it's not a simple matter of unplugging it as both the washer motor and level sensor use a combined connector - curse you Renault! I have a sneaking suspicion given how long this car sat around off the road (and that the tank appears to just be filled with water) that the reservoir will be somewhat full of slime and the float is probably just stuck to the bottom of the tank. I'll really need to get it out of the car to investigate though as it's pretty much impossible to even look down the neck of it in situ. I need to delve into the scuttle anyway to clean and lubricate the heater blower motor which is a little squeaky anyway so may as well hit both of these jobs at the same time. The engine bay is filthy. Though astonishingly free of bodges for a car of this age. The only obvious thing I've found is an aftermarket cooling fan having been fitted and the wiring for that being a little untidy (though perfectly serviceable) It always felt to me like that manifold should have a heat shield on it, though I've never actually seen one on any of these. Edit: Thought about the studs on the exhaust manifold - hot air riser for carb models? Though this does pretty much confirm my suspicion that while the car was serviced when it was put back on the road in 2017, it's not had one since. So that will be happening pretty much ASAP. The oil isn't horrible but it definitely isn't what I'd call clean. Speaking of clean, the coolant expansion tank is absolutely foul inside. The actual coolant I can see looks nice and clear, but the tank is grim. I think this was used on a whole bunch of models, so replacing it (so I can actually see the coolant level without having to remove the cap - you currently can't) might wind up being the easier option there. Under the bonnet contains the worst corrosion issues I've found so far. Plus a little hole down here. Which isn't anything which fills me with too much dread. The outer wings bolt on, and once they're off access to do a proper repair to these areas shouldn't be a problem. It's always nice on cars like this when you find a set of factory mats still present, as aftermarket ones never really fit as well. I don't think these are original to the car as I think they would have been a lighter colour - though I'm quite prepared to be proven wrong there. There are a few bits of glass floating around the interior as she's obviously had the passenger window smashed at some point. Given this is a Northampton registration number, I'm guessing these may actually still be the original dealer plates. This sticker in the rear window has fared slightly less well. One nice feature I was glad to see what still there was the original stereo - these were rather special by the standards of the time and were very much part of the look of the dash. Sadly I've not been able to get any audio out of this save for a soft thump when it's powered on - though that may well be tied in to the issues we have with the digital display as if there's a problem with the comms to that panel which might make it think a button is being permanently held down it could lock the system up. Failing that I'll need to do some further digging. This wasn't just a flashy looking bit of bling either, the stereo in these cars sounded really good, especially by the standards of the time. I remember being really impressed with it back when I had my previous one in 2003, and my home hi-fi wasn't exactly poor then either. There are quite a lot of nice touches on this car, one of which I'd forgotten about until noticing it this afternoon is the mini-sun visor in the middle. Which does away with the usual gap you get between the left and right ones around the mirror. There are (really rather large) door pockets hidden away under the arm rests, which you could be forgiven for missing entirely if you didn't know they were there. A nice way of reducing visual clutter, and keeping stuff out of the way of prying eyes. I am in the market for a couple of parts. Firstly, an offside tail light as this one has a crack in and has a small ecosystem merrily growing inside. I'll clean it out and seal the crack up, but it will want to be replaced long term. Additionally one of the prongs that holds the cap onto the driver's door driver's side electric window switch is broken so the cap falls off. There was a spare in the car but it turns out to be for the passenger window switch, and they have differently keyed connectors. I'm sure the switches are actually identical and it's purely to aid in assembly (as the switches are visually identical), so I could just hack away the extra bit of plastic if it came to it. Interestingly the boot was hiding a box full of a set of wheel trims...which while for a French car, not *this* French car. If anyone with a BX wants these, drop me a PM. Few scuffs around the edges of a couple but they could absolutely be cleaned up. I went to pick up to dispose of what I thought was an empty plastic bag sitting down by the handbrake only to discover there was actually something in it. Keys! Most importantly a spare door key as I was expecting getting hold of one of those to be a right war as they're such an odd type. Also present was a key blade for fitting to a remote fob...and two of said fobs...one in decent shape, one rather ratty (this key isn't for this car by the way which is why I've not bothered keeping the bitting of the actual key hidden at all). My theory was that the one that was falling apart was for this car, and the other one was from a scrapper intended to donate the case. The innards of both remotes worked with a fresh set of batteries, but sadly neither locks or unlocks the car. Shame, but it was being a bit optimistic. As I understand it these remotes are paired to the car at the factory and there's no way to sync a different one with the car after the fact. So unless I could get one coded to the car from Renault (which I really rather doubt at this point) I'm probably out of luck there. Does mean I've been able to assemble a remote style key for the car though, so I can use that instead of the "backup" style one shown to the left below. This is a good deal less fiddly to get into the ignition it has to be said. Ran out of daylight and energy by that point though, so that's where we draw to a close for today. Tomorrow I'll get the necessary items for a service in and a set of fresh tyres ordered up. If time permits I'll start cleaning it, but I suspect the three and a half minutes of usable daylight we have at this time of year will run out before I get that far.

A nice, if cool trip out in the 230TE today to a breakfast meeting with the Milton Keynes Classic car group.

1976 Rolls-Royce Silver Transit

It's been ages since I built a kit, and will probably be ages until I get the chance to build one again, but this came up for a good price the other week and I couldn't resist.

https://www.leboncoin.fr/voitures/2266147215.htm

The radio hadn't been playing very well, so I wrangled it out from behind the dash. It's been sat there since 2020; eight months sitting up seems to have not done it any favors. Turns out to have been the fader switch, which got a good clean. While I was at it, I decided to redo the alignment. For you radio buffs, minus the 1.000MHz frequency tuned in, that's an odd IF by today's standards (260kHz). Tweaked it up a touch better. Reception was good before, it's improved now, particularly during the day. Then, on to tiny clockwork. The clock had been losing time, so I pulled the escapement apart and cleaned it, and re-oiled it. It then got balanced on the oscilloscope so the clockwise and anticlockwise electric contacts are even. Hopefully that'll keep time. Phil

Chauffeur de taxi comment avez-vous réussi à faire payer autant pour 2 km jusqu'à la tour Eiffel !

The margins are so tight that they’ll all be doing it. If you look at most VAG stuff, a veneer of quality then underneath that it’s built to the bare standard. People forget they design a car to last 10 years, Ford and for that matter any other manufacturer couldn’t give a fuck about some bloke on a driveway 15 years down the line struggling with a seized bolt. The amount of times people have said ‘why don’t they fit copper brake pipes’ or whatever... they couldn’t give a fuck about 10-15 years down the line. If you were making a £30,000 car would you give any thought to someone who ends up, after several years and owners buying it for 10% of its original purchase price, given he’s unlikely to contribute anything towards your profits?

Don't know if I'm ever going to be ready for that! Christmas came early this year! After completing a couple of small jobs, I had a bit of a play with my new toys. Much easier to move cars around the shed now.

First Datsun comes off the boat at Tees dock, 1969

1972 Renault Twingo

Now on eBay!! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115626198216?hash=item1aebdbc4c8:g:cbAAAOSwvm1ji2YJ&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoIYPWE160qblFM83buOieUhVJHvisntqugXxAF62HrGvqZFse2eysjxMEjZUYXS2ZALf%2BOJxxEVT8w2PuWe3eRo6KhWqvKvNhGdGdh6Aty8kSUKu1d96RlCFOkVpL08QaFKWoLH2xqDI8N6GTf9cVBHP4di5zE6h0aKfod2%2BqOuTlJG2tjHiZ5TVuwXiYrZgIOHjQJpM5hpEYKg3suZ1%2F60%3D|tkp%

Possibly Norway's bravest taxi owner? Citroen ID as a taxi.

This looks a lot like the Leyland Leopards used in NZ as Car Transporters- I'll try to find pictures... 😎 And it indeed is a Leyland Leopard. The ones I'm talking about are here:

Ford Manta Chrysler PT Cruiser Coupe 1998 Ford Ka Minibus

As some may have noticed I have had a few Minis, so over the next few weeks I will start posting up my Mini history. My first Mini experience was my mothers 1970 Mini 1000 Auto. I had learned to drive in a VW Bug, so the Mini was a completely different thing, especially with the auto box. I ended up wrecking the box trying to do wheelspins by revving the engine and shoving it into gear. After the second attempt something broke, probably the auto clutches, as it would take about 1 minute to get to 30mph. It was OK in reverse. That was replaced with a Volvo 66 Estate. Sorry, no pics, I had yet to buy a camera and we didn't have phones that could leave the house back then My next Mini thing was a Wolseley Hornet purchased to help a girl friend pass their test. It cost £130 and did it's job. It was white with a dark blue roof and pale grey interior. As soon as said test was passed a 1200 VW Bug was purchased and the Wolseley went off for what was paid for it. Again no pics. In 1985 I purchased my one and only new car. On the 1st of August I went to Dutton Forshaw in Tonbridge to pick up my Mini Ritz. They gave me a better deal on my Alfa Romeo Giulietta than Caffyns, so Forshaws it was. For some reason I thought a Mini would be great, and I also thought the idea of a new car was good. I had all the new car smell, the kudos of the new reg letter on the 1st of August blah blah. With only a 998 engine it was a bit of a comedown after the Alfa, but I soon learnt that the brakes were only for emergencies and teh car could go around most bends with just a lift off the go pedal. I stuck a Rookie wood dash in it with some extra gauges, a stereo with some shelf mounted speaker, a passenger door mirror and have some winter fun in it. Luckily the car came with AA relay, as a few months into ownership one of the rear wheel bearings collapsed. That was fixed under warranty. Whilst waiting for it to be fixed a salesmen tried to sell me a Mini Chelsea, I said no thanks, the Ritz you sold me has already broken, why would I buy another. After 9 months and 14,000 mile I traded it for an MGB roadster, no idea why, as the MG was just about the worst car I have ever owned. And because around teh same time I had purchased my first camera (Olympus OM10), there are some pictures of the Ritz. Car complete with winter coat Under the moon Well that's it for now, next time we move ahead a few years.

Blower motor is now fitted in its house. I have had to die grind some plastic out of the mount, and some off the rear bearing mount to get it to fit. I tapped the holes out to m4 0.7 but none of them lined up, so drilled new ones. Issue there is the threads are very thin due to the thickness of the mount, so one needed locktite. We will see how it goes I guess. Just need a day off to rebuild it now.

Just lit the blue touch paper on the FB Citybugs group telling them the 108 crossover has been announced....

I've seen some tough jobs but chasing evasive plants with a spade has to be up there, especially if they have the diction to talk you out if it.

https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1468403

I did this to our slightly neglected cooker yesterday, I removed the door to clean inside the hinge area and removed the inner glass to clean too. I opted to put the glass in the big bag with the gel and the cooker shelves and after a few hours they were all sparking. My joy was short lived however as the glass inner door exploded as I tried to get it out of the bag somewhat negating the whole exercise. Tbh we don’t use it much anyway as the air fryer has taken over. In other news, I IZ AMATEUR SLABBER. This hole is where a low wall and flower bed used to be. I managed to score some original 1960s council style 3x2 slabs and a friend from work helped me to lay them. (Well, I helped him). The rest of the slabs are wonky AF so it was hard work to get them level with the existing slabs but they don’t look too bad at all.

https://www.leboncoin.fr/voitures/2265959803.htm

Just sitting in the street yesterday in Oxfordshire.

Here's the answer. 55 and still rocking in the free world. Out on errands yesterday and just on the button reliable. 🤣 Very tongue in cheek obvs, but if you are handy and can weld, old cars just make a lot of sense. It breaks, mend it and cart on

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1176101036593775

Dangerously close to three figures, when I will have one! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255858623015?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=6M5tKFuhSEK&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=bLN3t80CSea&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Well, having had half an hour or so to spare, I got Sharpie happy on one of the Matchbox Mercs. Nowhere near the standard of the Bunglebus Kustoms version, but blacking out the lower sections made a big difference. Being a 123, the bumper end caps should be blacked out, but I didn't really want to add any more black to it. So I just extended the rubber trim on the front bumper around the corners and added one to the rear bumper. Some silver on the door handles and mirrors break up the black. Some amber on the indicators and a bit of detailing on the grille. This is why most of my diecast cars stay unmodified but it was a bit of fun! 🤣

523. 1931 Talbot AM90 drop head coupe Seen in a supermarket car park in Burgh Heath, Surrey on 11th August. GN 3089 ✓ Taxed - Tax due: 1 May 2023 MOT Exempt Vehicle make TALBOT Date of first registration 1 January 1931 Year of manufacture 1931 Cylinder capacity 2276 cc Fuel type PETROL Export markerNo Vehicle status Taxed Vehicle colour BLACK Number of previous owners: 4* Current owner since July 2010 Mileage at last MOT: 54,931 * First recorded keeper change is 2004, but there were almost certainly others before DVLA records were computerised.

Stripey the Magic Mini with Candy Andy and friends.

2003 Red Vauxhall Astra Club 1.6l | eBay Would love to give that some RED-HOT BUFFING ACTION 0898 69 69 69 etc.

Still going strong!

We just owned a base model Mégane for 5 years. When I gave it a good look over after purchase there were some crude details about the trim and body construction that showed some cheapening and decontenting by Renault. But the biggest components by far to need replacing in the five years were the original shocks at 250 k Kms. Everything else lasted fine, even the ball joints and bushings. So I'd say it was the opposite of vag. Perceived quality, not tremendous, actual quality, pretty high.

J Selwyn competing in the MCC Edinburgh Trial, passing through West Stonesdale in upper Swaledale in his Singer, 1933.

SWB Landrover with fifth wheel conversion towing experimental gas turbine car (the ancestor of all those gas turbine cars that we drive today) and; one of those lovely FIAT car transporters from the Italian Job.

Found out what the raised chassis Sand Digger is There were two types, this one and a monster truck tyre version Wormhole alert - this is where I found the pic, loads of things I never new existed; https://vebuka.com/print/130921040910-5e916e761bff57b6a1e87252a2c96bed/Matchbox_1984

I'm starting to realize that Ford is a religion in the UK to say that the Mondeo and Focus are the best cars ever is ridiculous considering how many amazing cars there are. These 2 are mostly just boring means of transport and here they had and have among the shortest lifespans of any car. I would say that the Volvo 240, 740 and 940 and Mercedes in W123 variants and W124 variants are peak cars. I still see them in daily use, just in my immediate area there are about 5 W123 and S123 in daily use all year round, almost 40 years after they went out of production. What these Volvo and Mercedes have in common is that they do most things well, they are reliable, well-built and long-lasting and are not a boring box on wheels. There is a reason the owners keep them.

Well bought sir! I almost ended up with one of these by accident, as we viewed a house in 2003 which had clearly been owned by someone elderly, and hadn't been touched decor-wise since the 80s. In the garage was a 25 Monaco, and I recall asking the estate agent whether we'd get the house as-is, or whether there was still some clearing out to be done. The answer was basically as we saw it, but sadly when we moved in they'd taken the car (and left us some rather questionable furniture!) Given that this was in Gloucestershire, I just wonder if it's the same car. Surely there can't have been huge numbers left in 2003.

Visited the rather famous Birmingham Dolomite today.

That yard is full of old chod. Is that a Landcrab hearse parked on the right? Edit: Austin 3 liter Landcrab ambulance. The wonders of tinternet.

Me too. Plus I wanted the latest, most practical version for its driveability, so a cute little Mk3 was never on the cards. In that vein, some more fettling has been achieved. I persevered with sealed beam headlights on my LR Series 3 for as long as I could, but they're just not bright enough for modern traffic. Even connected via their own loom with direct feed and earth to the battery they're still too dim, especially when faced with an oncoming modern car festooned with the latest wanky LEDs. I ordered a pair of Wipac Quadoptics (standard Defender fitment) and when Royal Mail could eventually be arsed to bring them I got on with fitting them. BAD THINGS had happened to the alloy headlamp cowls. Neither was held on with the proper fasteners - one had bodged in metric bolts fitted, and the other had just been completely fucked with the wrong size bolts over the years and was clinging on by one bolt. I ended up tapping the holes on that one out to M8: but found the correct BSF nut and bolts for the other side. Some muppet had also fitted the rubber gasket between the bowl and headlamp retainer, rather than between the bowl and wing. Meant the cowl wouldn't sit correctly so I drilled out the nasty rivets holding the bowl in and bolted it properly to the wing with gasket in between. All now sits together nicely. I put Halfords 200% brighter H4 bulbs in the quadoptics. Spot the difference between sealed beam and new set up: Aroundabout this point I had a visitor to the garage. The front doors were open and I heard a commotion, looked up and saw this character: I'm no ornithologist - it's obviously a hawk, but what kind? Clearly evolutionary effort was expended on flying and talon development rather than intellect, because the daft sod couldn't be persuaded to fly out again. Eventually I hit on the idea of turning the lights off so the light outside was brighter, which did the trick and off he / she flew!

Oops. Well I've just A - Made a load of work for myself. B - Ensured my imminent demise. C - Made a load of work for myself.

I've posted these before but seeing as you mentioned it... Civic Centre Bus Station a few days after it closed. And a couple of weeks later. They didn't hang around with this one. Rumour has it Stagecoach got more for selling the bus station and Grosvenor Square garage than they paid for the whole of Hampshire Bus. I don't know if that was just a rumour but either way it is asset stripping at its finest*. They then sold Hampshire Bus's Southampton operations to Solent Blue Line (who were in fact Southern Vectis) but with nowhere to run them from. Only Stagecoach could manage that. Ever since then the buses come from Eastleigh every morning. It's only five miles away but imagine the combined mileage of ten miles a day for every bus for the last 35 years. As for Shirley Garage, that did hang around a while. I think it closed in 1981 but this was taken in 1987 just after it had been torn down. We once managed to get through a hole in the fence and in to the garage. I don't know why I didn't have my camera because I used to take it everywhere but the main thing I remember was a kind of signing on desk that had a hand written list of staff names under a sheet of glass. I really wish I'd taken pictures of that. The above picture was taken on a tour of Southampton but as you can see it wasn't a tour for normal people. I just include the next two pics from the same tour because I like them. A big boat. And King George V Dry Dock for a real sense of scale.

Just spotted this in Dereham, no idea what it is but I want it.

Another year another clean pass. Now entering into my 12th year of ownership. I love this old thing.

Hubba hubba