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Acquired

Sailing from Portugal to Madeira? Completed it M9. Me and a mate have just sailed 500 miles from Faro to Porto Santo the longest passage either of us had done. It's 2.30 in the morning and we need beer and a fry up but for now it's rum o'clock.

Unfortunately, back in April of last year, my Granddad, the man who got me (and my brother Rich) into cars, and engines, and building, and welding, and all the other stuff that causes me so much trouble, passed away at the age of 84 (fairly ripe old age, given some of the stuff he got up to 😂 Over the years, he has been involved in all sorts of stuff that people on here might be interested in, not least of which is that from about the early/mid 60s, through to 1984, he, along with my Nan owned and ran a VW/Audi dealership, in Walsall in the West Midlands called 'Jem of Walsall' Nan passed away about 6 years ago, so now me and Rich have the interesting, hilarious, surprising, heartbreaking, confusing, annoying and all the other emotions you can think of task of clearing his house, garages and yard of a lifetime of car/boat/general tomfoolery. I am likely to have loads of stuff to post up here over the next few months as I uncover it (and actually find time to do so), and as long as people are finding it interesting, and want me to carry on, I will do so, as it doesnt seem right for none of this stuff to ever see the light of day again other than just within our family. Granddad took a load of cine film, so I will start with a few of those, as I think they might be of interest: First up is a general view around the garage, in 1969, in the snow: Next up, also in 1969, a little trip around one of the workshops, and the parts department: And lastly for this first instalment, slightly earlier I think, probably 66 or so, him tying some souvenirs bought on a cruise onto the roof of his Dads Rover, and then another shot of the front of the garage Makes me laugh, as his Dad checks the tying on in the exact same way as he has always checked any tying on we have done - I know where he got it from now 😁 Assuming anyone is interested at all, I will try and update this reasonably regularly (there are bloody loads of just cine films alone, let alone pictures, stuff we are finding in with his things etc etc) but obviously we are pretty busy actually sorting all this lot at the minute, as well as normal family life etc. Let me know what you think, whether people want me to keep posting things, and shout if any questions - I could chat about him till the cows come home - he was my hero, and I don't half miss him.... Jem Molyneux May 1937- April 2022

PC: 0 Am having a lie-in, don't have to be there until 2. Haven't had any breakfast yet but drinking cup of tea #1.

Pez shot

With enough cranking I think it would have started but @Supernautwas worried about flattening my battery. I think it's a decent enough vehicle that has been a bit neglected. It is interesting to see the differences between an E model and my high faluting SE but this thing has extras like a sunroof and side steps that mine doesn't. The E should have steel wheels like this brown lad which also has that side skirt/side step setup.

Not much at the car boot this morning,but I did manage to get about 3/4 of a Dinky Pontiac Parisienne Also picked up this box of Britain's bits,mainly for the two pig stys Now the pigs won't have to live in an old caravan 😂

That'll be why then! Probably past my prime playing-with-toy-cars days (and before my current ones). This is what I ended up with as a result yesterday's visit to rainy, windswept Essex: Good to fill some gaps in the boxed Superfast collection. All three of these finish off various sets: Sticking with Matchbox: The three at the front seemed like a natural group to rescue from a tat box, the RX7 in particular needs a bit of TLC. Supra possibly a different livery to what I already have? Prairie has evaded me until now and the CX is a replacement for the similar example I got in a Stunt Jump set when I was young, and which seems to have gone AWOL, last seen in one of Master SL's boxes. Randoms: Certainly a lot of carded HWs on offer. I liked the colouring on the 240Z, possible inspiration for a 1:24 kit. Horizon by Guisval, a quick search didn't immediately show that Castrol-liveried variant. "Rocky III" by Ertl, with no mention of it being a Maserati Quattroporte. I think it would be possible to buy a different Corgi Buick at every fair and never get a repeat, I remember Ratdat having assembled a large collection of them. Majorette assortment #1: Cut-down Renault is an oddity, but quite well done. Mercedes cab was a separate purchase to the Renault trailer, but it needed something to make it complete. Majorette assortment #2: There were two that I had in mind before going, the Volvo estate and VW K70, and happily I managed to acquire both of them (will have to see if the black paint on the latter can be removed). Simca 1100 needs a repaint, maybe bronze? Haven't previously seen that wheel style on the Simca/Chrysler Alpine. Sierra is a nice one, more attractive than the yellow with amber glass one I already have (different wheels too). TR7 is the version with narrower wheels (but still with overly chunky bodywork). A310 will make for a good comparison with the 1:43 kit I'm finishing off. BMW is more familiar to me from the pull-back motor version I got in France when I was young. Bigger things: Felt sorry for the Prelude, don't remember this white one - did it come in a gift pack with a trailer of some sort? Apparently no Japanese cars of that time were considered to be World Class. 1:36 caravan by Majorette goes nicely with the bigger Corgi range, and also this: I already have a later version, good to find this earlier, boxed example. Pleasingly the base can be removed, so I can do this even if it's not the most pleasant colour combination: Did Majorette offer much else in this 1:36 "3000" series? The stallholder had another 4x4 of some sort, something American as I recall. An enjoyable morning out and good to meet @bunglebus

Stopped at Tebay It's a vegetarian.

Seat Toledo

Well, it seems to be mechanically sound. Electrically? All I can say is WTF. When I tried to leave Tebay, it just clicked. No start. The seller did mention the battery was a bit lazy, but it started and stopped several times just fine around Leeds. After a couple of hours of sustained driving (surely enough to charge a weak battery) it died. Luckily, a member of staff at Tebay suggested rolling it backwards down the hill and bumping it. Worked first time as the engine was still warm. Also, the windows don't work, and the heater direction controls seemingly do nothing. No matter what setting I select it's on face vents and footwells. Useful* during blizzard conditions. I kept the sunroof cracked open slightly to force ventilation and that kept things demisted nicely. I stopped at Abingdon services to put a little bit more diesel in to soothe my range anxiety (I was below quarter of a tank at this point), so I subtly rolled into the forecourt and switched off the lights and wipers but left the engine idling. About 40 miles from home, all the indicators came on. Solid. I figured seeing as I was on a quiet motorway at about 11pm on a Saturday night, I'd press on home. Upon turning off the ignition and removing the key, it stayed like this: I disconnected the battery and went to bed. I haven't been back outside to look at the cunt yet. It seems the engine alone is worth 4 figures. Does anybody want an OM662 with a free car attached to it?

My son ran through and told me the toilet was smoking so I had a look: One of the oldest ones in the book but because my son did it and was giggling his head off, it was funny.

Just had @Lacquer Peel round to compare and contrast. Swapped the battery from his one over to mine, and mine cranked over perfectly. So it does need a new battery. We still couldn't get it to start, as it seems to need new glow plugs too. The light comes on and the relay clicks, but it just sits there puffing half-burnt diesel out the exhaust without firing. Progress has been made, anyway! I have a rough idea of what it requires.

Well, it says Wolverhampton on the signs……..

That brown lad is fit. I think I would, and I'm not usually inclined that way.

I think they deleted that particular surprise and delight feature for the MKIV, instead such messages appear on the blue LED info display next to speedo. I did check for fault codes before putting a deposit down, and apart from some spurious low voltage/voltage out of range codes it was surprisingly code-free. Having driven it home, I am reasonably confident it's a good'un. No incidents to report and it sailed back serenely declaring an average of 42mpg. At one point the radio cut out for half a second and the lights flickered; I'm calling loose connection or iffy alternator. Neither too much of a problem to fix. The nav and radio is controlled by a single DIN unit which is a bit fiddly but I wonder if there's a remote control missing (nothing apparent in the many storage bins). Something to investigate via the Rennow fora. As well as this I need to investigate an update for the navi, as it didn't recognise a few things on the way home. And see if there's an aux input we can pipe in some tunes to. To drive they really are quite effortless. Light clutch and steering, smooth ride and very quiet. Great visibility out of the big windscreen and you're high up like an SUV without being an environmental terrorist. Just feels like it would happily lope to Scotland without any bother. (Master Grogee took this pic).

Oh Balls. As mentioned on the grumpy thread, I managed to poke a hole in the sill of the Merc. It's MOT is now out, so I need to get going with the welder to get it sorted. This was what I did: Which doesn't look *that* bad. But, as anyone who has done repair work knows, the rust is going to be worse than that. I also knew that on the last time I jacked the car up on the jacking point, the sill crunched and compressed in quite a bit, so I was expecting rot. Removal of the wing liner and the sill liner was needed, as the liner wraps around under the sill. Theoretically that should give protection to the sill, but I have a feeling that actually it holds a fair bit of mud behind it: Arch liner off, wing trim piece off, door outer seal off too. This is not looking good. I can *feel* the crunchiness. Sill guard off now too.. and surprise surprise, there's a fairly large hole under it: And to be honest, that welded repair around the jacking point does not give me confidence. This car has had a repair on this side floorpan before now, and I'm not hopeful for how well it was done.. The welding quality is good, but the fabrication and general quality of the repair isn't so clever. There's going to be galloping rot in here... Yep, there it is. That is not good at all. It extends further up the sill too. Several hours later, 2 cutting discs later and half a Henry vacuum cleaner full of jacking corrosion later, I have this: I also found that I had a completely and utterly saturated foam sound deadening under the carpet, and had to remove the passenger seat to get access to everything. I did wonder why I've been getting damp on the inside of windows that takes forever to get rid of.. that might be the explanation why! The inner sill has been rotting away merrily for a few years now, and is in desperate need of actual repair. It's quite a mess. From the inside of the car... this is the passenger footwell/inner sill, and quite a hole: Fuckitty fuck fuck fuck. Still, I now have a new welding torch, a fresh reel of 0.6mm welding wire and a complete sill pressing, so it's getting repaired. See what tomorrow brings. For amusement value.. there is so much shite in my garage at the moment, I can't get the car in fully, so it looks like this: Single garages are crap. I dream of a decent workshop.

I hope it's all going well. Forts and Prayers lads. Forts and Prayers. Please deliver this man safely from his journey equipped with a new old car which is horrible, in jizzers name Arm Men. Please allow it to be a bargain with extra money off if the radio won't work in jizzers name Arm Men. Please hold him safely away from the big yellow taxi and the big orange taxi and fortify his balls so that they may be emptied of piss only twice on the voyage homeward in jizzers name Arm Men. By the dim dashboard glow of the farter, the bum and the holy boat. Arm men.

I didn’t need it as I’ve lots of old chod knocking about, but I saw this low mileage beauty on Facebook as I was looking for a cheap car for someone as their first car. I couldn’t remember the last time I saw a Mk1 Punto and it’s only done 49000. It’s clean as a whistle and apart from the short MOT and flat paint plus an oil leak from the camcover gasket it looks spot on. I picked it up for £450 which in this day and age seems good due to high scrap prices and just wondered if there’s anything to look for on an early Punto. I wouldn’t mind but I’ve since found out that my other half’s son found a car the other night and doesn’t need a motor now lol. I guess it will do as my station car now and I think 6 cars is enough lol. It drives well though and even came with a nice Bluetooth pioneer head unit that’s been professionally plumbed in.

Today's updatification: Didn't get a specific photo of it before doing other work, but I ended up cutting even more out of the floor of the car today. The repair that had been done previously had rubberised seam sealer slathered all over it, which of course did nothing to actually protect the steel from rotting, if anything it served to hold onto the wet and rot it out faster, so having peeled back more of that ghastly "sealant" there was more steel to remove! Getting bored of cutting bits out, and beginning to have some real risk of the floor moving so much I can't line it all back up again, it was time to start glueing bits together again, so the inner sill was cut back to a sensible shape: and a repair section welded in: I was still getting to grips with the 0.6mm wire and getting the welding settings right on this.. 0.6 mm wire is definitely a game changer on thin steel. I've always used 0.8 in the past as I had a massive free supply of it, but as I've now finished all that, I thought it time to get some 0.6mm wire, and treat myself to a new longer euro torch. This one has a rotatable head and is superb.. I now just need a longer earth clamp cable, as the lovely long torch is twice the length of the earth cable now! Here's the section I discovered and cut out, mentioned above: Got a bit cut ready to go in, but it was getting late, so I've opted to do that tomorrow. The other square patch is another area of rot that was found. Had to peel back the outer sill to get to it, and then let in a repair section. Did that one from inside the car as it was easier access: I'd not cleaned the steel up very well on that one, so the weld was a bit shit. Kept blowing through too as I failed to reduce my welding current for working "normally" as opposed to overhead as I had been with the last weld. Still, it's solid, and will be completely hidden with carpet on one side and zinc/bitumen paint on the other. Best kind of repair. Still need to re-manufacture the jacking point, as there's some larger sections of steel missing from there, do the other little bits and pieces and then weld on the outer sill. Then paint, and rustproof. Urgh!

Have we had this Renault 25 yet? Looks nicer with the facelift imo. I used to associate big executive cars like this with high insurance premiums. But then it dawns on me that I'm in my 40s now. I'm a little tempted by it as it's 30 miles away from my locale. R25 TXE

Misc: Ah yes, this little nugget of joy popped back in: My friend was away with work so I offered to get it MOTd for her. Failed on a driveshaft. So, old driveshaft out. Typically, all the fixings were rusty as arseholes and the job took twice as long as it should have. Annoyingly, after I placed the order, I got an email saying that the shaft was out of stock for a fortnight. Emailed back and asked for a refund, got no response for a couple of days, and suddenly, a knock on the door and a new shaft was here Once fitted, I went underneath and gave some of the exposed crustiness at the rear end a quick touch up to give it another couple of years. It passed its MOT and got handed back to my friend. The winter got really rather cold and so I hit up Facebook marketplace and got a bargain infrared heater: It was naturally cheap, so it was a bit ropey - it was covered in body shop detritus and overspray, and all four of the caster wheels were hanging off. So, time to give it a bit of a spruce up: The caster wheel mounting frames we re-shaped and braced inside with wood before replacement: The reflectors removed and polished: As were the bulbs, which were covered in overspray. The cable was also replaced for a much longer one. It's still rough, but it is better that it was! And all working: Unfortunately, whilst it was lovely heat, once it was off, the heat disappeared, as is its nature, so it was time to move in a different direction. I made some enquiries with a neighbour and got put in touch with a fella that was living off-grid. He worked as a builder/roofing guy and had recently refurbished a local pasty kitchen - he had all the removed foam roof insulation for sale at super cheap prices. For £110 delivered, a deal was done and the insulation arrived on my doorstep that evening. As expected for the price (it was looking to be about four or five times as much to buy it new!), It was in pretty poor shape - it had been in the rain, it was soaked in cooking grease and covered in dirt. A morning of pressure washing and scrubbing them with parts cleaner yielded items that were clearly second hand, but didn't smell. This was placed in the garage with a dehumidifier to allow it to dry fully. It was a tight squeeze! Eventually ( I was working on this when the kids had gone to bed) after a few days, I had cut all the boards down to their required sizes (you can see it in the background of the IR heater refurb photos) each roof joist void would get 6 bits of insulation to cover the entire area. I used a combination of nails and steel wire to hold the insulation in place. Took a few weeks of faffing about, but it shaped up nicely: Doing the joists above the plastboarded ceiling was a pure ballache - no space to move at all, and dirt constantly falling in my face [emoji23] The benefits of the insulation demonstrated itself during a light snowfall halfway through the insulating: And it's worked! Last night the outside temperature dropped to 2c, garage stayed at around 8c. The garage ended up being an absolute nightmare to manoeuvre around during all of this: The garage door was also insulated with some leftover foam from when I took the soundproofed partition wall down. Planning to add another layer. Finally, there was no way to close the door from the inside now the foam was in the door. Enter, the most useless tool ever - the box spanner. Makes a decent enough grab handle. The future plan will be to get a diesel heater during the summer months when the prices are lower, and to have some form of spray bar to distribute the hot air a lot more evenly around the garage. Sent from my VOG-L09 using Tapatalk

Just waiting for the train now. Mrs has dropped me off. Mission is underway. Heading north, who can guess the station?

M40. PC: still 0, I'm a bit backed up. Sorry. Mrs Grogee just ran a red light, but I didn't agree it should be red, so that's ok.

Came for footage of old VWs, didn't disappoint! Got me thinking that my Beetle came from somewhere in the midlands, but the number plates have Karman of Barnet written on them. So I went to check the handbook. Christ, it's a small world.

I found a few more Hot Wheels at Asda on my way home last night - and had to argue with them about the £1.90 price becoming £2.40 at the till! Awaiting my return were a few of the unknown make James Bond cars marketed by Tik Tok Other postal oddities include this Stratos Trying to work out the make on that one. It came with this badly proportioned Fiat by Summer What was the obsession with Aveling Barford road rollers in the world of 50's - 60's toys? Everyone seems to have had a go. This is Matchbox #1 Tatty, but odd enough that I couldn't resist - Polistil Alfa Giulia It's not Galantite! Finnish Plasto Honda It came with a bunch of smaller ones from the same maker that I'm not fussed about - anyone's bathroom need jazzing up? @155V6 Lastly, a Color (sic) Shifters Beetle that no longer shifts colours and a few of it's modern equivalent, really just because I like their party trick

Back to plastic today, finished this one off: Quite a bit of work and some parts swapping to make it look like an original UK version. It started off like this:

You don't need a clutch or a big engine to have fun, it transpires. After some further adventures later this year, it might end up with a slightly bigger Lifan semi-auto (this is a 12V C90 engine) but the brakes are absolutely bollocks as it is, so maybe not. It also requires some stronger back shocks, as it's quite 'bottom outy'. To try and help the lack of power, it jettisoned an exhaust mounting bolt today. Probably not been serviced since the year dot, either.

Someone put up some post office/national mail service vehicles earlier, so I thought I’d include this recent find: Vitesse Mercedes 170D, from an antique place in Weobley Herefordshire. For a antique place, quite affordable at £4! Made in Portugal so I am assuming 80s/early 90s. Interestingly (to me anyway!) the swastika in the Deutschmark Reichpost logo is actually an ‘X’ - looking on Wikipedia, reproduction of this symbol is illegal in several countries, not least Germany and Austria.

Well it's been a few weeks, the Triumph has been on a few runs, but never too far and mostly sticking to bus routes just in case. The gearbox appears to be working perfectly but I don't want to jinx things. I'm still a little tentative as I still can't quite believe I have successfully rebuilt a gearbox! But we've had a couple of other issues. Firstly the radiator. There is a tiny hose outlet at the top leading to the header tank. You know how it is when you try and remove a hose that hasn't moved in years, it tends to stick. And it's such a small outlet that I've bent it a couple of times getting the hose off but it's thin brass so I've always bent it back. So when I bent it again removing the radiator for the gearbox job I bent it once too often and it creased and a couple of tiny holes appeared. Obviously it really needs a new tube brazing on but I really wanted to get it running to test the gearbox so I wrapped it in self amalgamating tape. This worked for a couple of weeks but steam started wisping out from under the bonnet last week. So now we have bodge number two. A bit of Quicksteel epoxy putty. This should also be a temporary repair* but I've a feeling if it works I'm going to forget about it. But the starter motor started getting slower and finally siezed up. I had two spare ones in the back of the garage. I've had them about twenty years (I certainly remember moving house with them) and they have had all the protection of a disintegrating carrier bag in that time but to my amazement I rigged one up to my professional* test* rig*... ... and it fired first time. So I cleaned it up as best I could and lubricated the bits I could reach and bunged it on. It spins the engine twice as fast as the old one ever did and it starts better too. The old one was obviously drawing so much power that it was taking power from the ignition. So that's a win win. I bunged a bit of oil on the old motor and put that on my test rig and that was soon spinning again, without having the weight of the engine to spin, though not as quick as the replacement but I'm sure it can be made to work again. It's certainly too valuable to throw away. The motors on FWD Triumphs are mounted at the front of the engine on the offside and spin anticlockwise so are unique to these. But, (this is where one thing leads to another) to change the motor you have to pull the exhaust manifold, and by extention the inlet manifold, out of the way. It's not a bad job, eight nuts and a couple of hoses, but when I was refitting I managed to pull one of the studs out of the block whilst doing the nut up. I can see now that the stud wasn't in properly... (and yes, that's a dog licking a battery behind). When you undo these eight nuts sometimes the nut just comes off and sometimes the stud comes with it. This one the nut came off leaving the stud behind but the stud had obviously come undone a bit at a time too (I take these manifolds off quite regularly) and it is one of the middle two under the manifolds so you have to do it by feel as you can't see them. Thankfully it looks like only the last three threads were in so I'm fairly sure I'll be able to clean the thread in the block with a thread tap and it will be OK. I have old studs but they've been sitting in a bucket of nuts and bolts for thirty years and none looked too happy so I went mad and a bought a whole set of new ones. Yes I know it says Midget but the Midget 1500 used the Triumph engine and I have a 1500 manifold on mine but they all use the same studs anyway. For now, with seven of the eight studs/nuts in it's not blowing so I can use it but for how long I don't know. At some point whilst I send the radiator away for repair I can take the manifolds off, remove all eight studs and put the new ones in nice and tight. Then hopefully the next time I have to remove them the nuts will undo and leave the studs where they should be. But despite all this, the gearbox (touch wood) is lovely. Almost silent, all the synchros work, and the selector is precise and the whole thing is a joy to use. So I can live with the other jobs.

S'alright here. Hope the natives do fry-ups. Must get ashore and explore.

Went to Cancer Research shop. It's on a retail park and more like a super store, with furniture. Saw a bag. Why do they do this? What is the point in mixing toddler toys with die-cast collector items? I mentioned this to the staff (in a polite way, as it seemed daft business practice) but their nonchalance was joined by the words 'It's just a bag of stuff'. So was left having to decide to pay for it or leave it, as both staff ladies refused to even talk about it. I'm pretty sure one of them is a paid employee too. I was trying to help... The decision was made to go ahead with the purchase due to 1) a charidee and guilt complex kicked-in, 2) there were four things of interest. Half of it has already been put into the donations box - at a different charity shop, no less. - Corgi's 1972 JPS Lotus. Have childhood one back here already, but it seemed a good idea* to compare the state of each and move one on. - A motorised chassis with rubber tyres, to remove and adapt into another bodyshell of something more interesting to go around a slot track. For the hell of it. - An R/C car perhaps to also do the same. After pairing up with a controller to drive it about the lounge floor, annoying the cat. And the wife when watching Bake Off. - A Corgi Juniors Chevrolet British Gas van (unlikely in period!) example, which seems to be missing from the collection of the blighters back here. Not quite the best deal of the year so far, but at least the conscience is clear. Might avoid those narky ladies though, on next visit.

Right, let's try and get today's finds in some sort of order. As I said, prices were somewhat salty for the most part - one seller had a dozen Marx Bulldog cars, the simple ones with just a single piece casting, no glass and a card base/interior - of course none had the card part, and they were all playworn. Saw one I didn't have - ten quid! Found a few older carded Hot Wheels And a couple of the tiny ones I saw a near-perfect one of these today, but £85 was a little out of my comfort zone. This one with mild wear was much more reasonable A weirdo, not looked into it yet but the base says Tune Ups Marchon Inc 1987 This is what my borrowed pound paid for - an Alme BMW 633 Having already found a fairly tatty Volvo 245 from the same maker For some reason these never have the maker's name on the base, but it looks like there's a blank where it should be These three (Maisto I think but could be Yatming) were from one seller, two still in their blister but no card Tidy Sonic Flashers Impala I bought a really minty one of these years ago for my ex-wife, who liked '57 Chevies. Wish I'd taken it back when I left! Wonder of wonders, a 50p tub! Think this has had at least a partial repaint This one's original Lastly an overpainted Course Hair, will make a nice custom I reckon The seller of this always has a really varied selection of cars, and prices! A couple of quid for this early Siku seemed OK to me - also got the Tune Ups Mustang from him, and he had the big Seat I posted earlier This was the first thing I picked up, and it's a biggun - Mira Renault 4CV has working rear suspension and doesn't fit in the photo booth! Last, but not least, is this Look how happy the little scallywags are, smashing up their oval window Beetles! Sadly there aren't quite enough surviving parts to make a whole car, as there are no bumpers I should also mention the Dinky Rover 3500 kindly donated by @Spottedlaurelthat hopefully will fix my copy one That's all the toy fair stuff but there's more...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304771796654 ZS 180 in the best colour!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185739038573?hash=item2b3ee8cf6d:g:jyoAAOSw11NjxD8D

Have we had this? https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/3548587872036766/?

Incoming: A relative had this Mondeo, it’s been off the road six months and is a bit green. It also had two flat tyres. On the upside, it’s a 2.0 TDCi, six speed manual and in posh Titanium spec with the heated/cooled seats. Interior benefitted from the attention of a wet and dry cleaner to remove the mould: This is also an issue: Its electrically dead. I did have it running at my relative’s house the other day, but that was off a big booster pack. The battery itself registered less than 1v on the meter, so the charger/conditioner is on it to try and recover the battery. Priced a new one up just in case, £80 isn’t too bad for one. Plan is to put it on the road and daily it for a while, hopefully it just needs a couple of droplinks, a battery and a damn good clean on the outside before chucking it through a test. After that the Fabia will be surplus to requirements, so very definitely for sale.

I had that set,it was called Stock Car Smash Up over here There were also a couple of different sets that friends had

Well waddya know If there was any doubt about the SS-909 being related to the Dinky, I think this confirms it. The guy on Planet Diecast was also adamant it's a Summer, but I thought SS numbers were Superior or Sunnyside Only differences are mods to fit the pull-back motor, glass colour, dash/steering wheel and a crap plastic spring for the doors on the copy (not even sure it's a copy, more like a modified version from Dinky's moulds)

Oh I didn’t know they were remote control It seems I had the Kenner set that I think also had a ‘rip cord’ that spun a gyro wheel, like that Denys Fisher ‘Rev Rods’ set in the @MiniMinorMk3 post above. Not sure if it was rebranded for the UK, but is was definitely the Beetle vs US Pickup I don’t remember much about it, or having it long so it can’t have lasted. Do remember the stickers were in place though

https://www.subito.it/auto/panda-30-prima-serie-marciante-e-1000-lecce-472975200.htm 1.000 €

He said lower them, not flatten them!

I have the same set,never tried to see if it it works,or a least i don't think I have

1986 Reliant Rialto 0.8 RIALTO VAN 3 WHEELER Petrol Manual | eBay You know those liquorice torpedo sweets, like little different coloured bullets? Well, I'd rather buy 2 kilograms of them, put them in the microwave on full chat for 6 minutes, then funnel the molten remains right up my council gritter than been seen in that pile of bollocks.

I'd forgotten about this thread, but just caught up on the last 10 pages. I bought a Keeway Superlight off Billy over Xmas and have a CBT booked for Friday. Just got to make it oil tight and a couple more minor jobs before it can be MOTed. 3 other lads from work have bought 125s this weekend (1 Honda and 2 Sinnis') and the boss has hopefully bought the forfeit bike (pink Wangye scooter) ready to ride to Lands End, then John O Groat's then back to Ludlow. Plan is to raise a bit for Help the Heroes along the way.

Not this... ..but this... 1977 Dodge Walk Thru Barn Find Restoration Catering Glamping Camper Project | eBay Actually looks like it's been to Mr Whippy's bukkake party 'Would make a stunning catering van or camper glamping unit'

Used to work with a guy on the Bicester Heritage site. We were surrounded by countless priceless classics pretty much every day. He rarely tweets but did so on spotting a Sherpa. Kudos to him, I'm made the same way really. A lot of the classic stuff leaves me cold especially British chrome underpowered bollocks from the 50s. But seeing a ripe old Sherpa or Ital gets me going. My favourite exhibit in the Gaydon motor museum was a last-of-the-line B-reg Ital estate, which is in their 'back room' and not on display. I even enquired about it in case it was for sale. I think it's the fact that such things are unloved by many but saved by one - someone has gone to the effort of preserving something that was once everywhere, and is now basically extinct.