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colino

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  1. Like
    colino reacted to warren t claim in Oldest Working Taxi   
    Billy, as you've probably already guessed is one of life's eccentrics. A self confessed alcoholic, he often used to spend the night asleep on a makeshift bed in his office. This is despite him owning a house in the poshest part of Wirral worth well into seven figures even though his neighbours complain about his home looking like it's owned by "tinkers and diddycoys".  Billy has managed to amass enough money that he can afford not to give a fuck about anything. As he loves dogs, he spent a fortune building kennels to house stray dogs at his yard. 
    Here's where you'll have to follow closely as I'm going to get a bit legal here. Wirral used to limit the number of hack plates issued to 124 which meant that a plate was worth about £11,000 plus the value of whatever cab it was screwed on to. Billy at the time had something like 20 Wirral plates kept "on the shelf". Although a plate owner can't keep a hack plate unused, it has to be assigned to a cab, Billy got around this by once a year sending 20 of his Liverpool plated cabs to be tested and licenced on Wirral to keep those plates alive. There's no way he'd use those Wirral and Liverpool plated cabs to work on Wirral because a Liverpool hackney plate was worth about £35,000 at the time and therefore the cost to rent a hack in Liverpool was something like £250 a week for either a day or night shift.  Liverpool still has a limited number of hackney plates, currently 1,426, which isn't many for such a large city. Billy, along with other Liverpool hackney fleet owners like Atkinsons an George Gawith, made his millions when Liverpool City Council decided to increase it's hackney fleet from something like 600 cabs back in the early 80s. LCC offered every one of its licenced hackney drivers a free hack plate if they were willing to buy a new or newish cab. Fleet owners like Billy offered to supply a cab on the cheap to those drivers who had no interest in buying their own cab as long as he could hold the rights to the plate.
    Meanwhile on Wirral back in 1989, Billy decided to challenge WBC demanding "significant unmet demand" meaning that he should be entitled to a free Wirral hackney plate. Back in 2007 he showed me the legal paperwork regarding his ongoing court battle and the paperwork must have weighed at least a hundredweight. By 2003 WBC were fucking sick of spending a fortune in legal fees fighting against Billy so used something that was the new in thing with licencing authorities at the time, The James Button guidelines to taxi licencing law. This basically involved send all of us drivers a questionnaire and then ignoring whatever answers we replied with and delimiting the number of Wirral hack plates. 
    An hack owner driver should have seen this coming when WBC refused to plate something called the Eurocab for hackney use after only three were plated. The Eurocab was based on the 2002 Peugeot Expert and was priced at about half the cost of a new TX1. Wirral Council knew that they were going to start issuing new hack plates  to anyone prepared to buy a hack under three years old and fearing a backlash from those current Wirral hack owners decided to remove approval for the Eurocab so the barrier to entry would be significantly higher. The one exception to the rule regarding issuing a new hack plate to anyone willing to buy a hack less than three years old was Billy. As he started his legal battle with WBC back in 1989 he won the rights to plate any approved hackney that would have been less than three years old at the time he started his fight against WBC. This is how he managed to get a brand new issue plate and put it on a C reg Metrocab. He did continue his legal wrangle with WBC to try and get his three early 70s FX4s issue plates as well but he lost that argument because as they were already registered they didn't qualify as new cabs. The council tried to also argue on the wheelchair access requirements that the FX4 lacks but lost that battle because at the time there was still a 1972 L plate FX4 automatic still working on Wirral. 
    Billy being Billy, he didn't give a flying fuck about supply and demand and put this C reg Metrocab up for rent at £350 a week including insurance despite that being well overpriced at the time. Before I decided to take the plunge and buy a hack myself back in 2005 I rented the Joni Mitchell Big Yellow Taxi (a manual Bronze spec TX1) for £230 a week including insurance which was dear even then! X918UMB where are you now? Probably recycled into a fridge door. 
    Anyway, back to the story. In 2006 my Metrocab was off the road with starting/charging problems for the umpteenth time and I needed to find a rental hack fast to keep earning. Lack of choice meant that I'd have to cross the River Mersey and introduce myself to Billy. As Billy is making enough money with his Liverpool plated cabs he could afford to keep his C reg Wirral plated Metrocab insured and sitting dormant until someone (me) is desperate enough to pay his somewhat elevated asking price. After a friendly handshake I asked Billy how much to rent a Wirral plated cab. He told me that it was £50 a day so I enquired how much to rent it for the week. £350 was his response. I could tell by then that there was fuck all chance of any further negotiation. I handed over £150 to keep me earning over the weekend (this was a Friday) and drive away without Billy even asking to see my hack badge! 
    So how did the 1986 Metrocab compare to my 1999 example I hear (about two) of you ask? Well, this was a five seater as opposed to my six seater and from the start I could tell that they were chalk and cheese. A quirk of the early Metrocabs is the interior layout. A Fairway, and indeed my current 2013 E7 hack, have partitions that zig zag inside the cab to both allow more interior room for the driver and a wheelchair user. The early Metrocab takes this to the nth degree, the driver of an early Metrocab is expected to look through no less that three layers of perspex and glass when looking through his left window. As you can imagine this is a nightmare when driving in the dark. Another problem with this cab was the manual gearbox. Now, I've owned a Lancia Beta Coupe and reguarly used to drive a 1982 Alfa Guilietta owned by a friend but this gearbox was something else! Fucked didn't even begin to describe how bad it was! Night shifts were made worse by nearly every instrument and dash light failing to illuminate meaning that driving along a speed camera infested road a very squeaky arse experience. Being a 1986 cab it predated the requirement to be fitted with an intercom. This coupled with being a rattly GRP shed equipped with a very vocal Ford 2.5Di engine meant that there was fuck all chance of any driver to passenger conversation whilst on the move. To it's credit it was a hell of a lot faster and more economical than my 1999 version. 
  2. Like
    colino got a reaction from St.Jude in 2006 Toyota Land Cruiser - Still Here, Somehow.   
    Sellers in Europe strongly maintain their prices to preserve the brand and they know they will still achieve a decent volume of sales.  Other economies won't tolerate such price maintenance so parts prices have to reflect the market.  Shorthand - they screw us because they can. 
  3. Thanks
    colino got a reaction from Talbot in Autoshite forum funding   
    Took me ages to type that email address and pp then showed you as a contact!
  4. Like
    colino reacted to cort16 in eBay tat volume 3.   
    £750 with MOT until December

    https://www.gumtree.com/p/citroen/citroen-c2-furio-for-sale-/1455002294
  5. Like
    colino reacted to 95 quid Peugeot in Rover P4 110 - Gone   
    When I had the last gilbern,  the bumpers were similar condition,  I rubbed them down, etch primed and chrome sprayed, more than acceptable I felt
     

  6. Like
    colino reacted to egg in eBay tat volume 3.   
    https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/537129418326846/


  7. Like
    colino reacted to MJK 24 in Truck Shite   
    First day out for the newly refurbished trailer!

  8. Like
    colino reacted to GregZX in BMW 850i - MOT attempt tomorrow   
    After a weekend of tinkering with my neighbours 850i it goes for its MOT tomorrow for the first time in 3 years.  Electrical gremlins have plagued this car since a rodent infestation but we managed to get all the critical ones sorted except the wiper motor which is in the post. 
     
    Anyway, here’s a pez shot of the  beast in all its glory on a (illegal, sorry not sorry) shakedown run tonight to cure a misfire. 



  9. Like
    colino reacted to SiC in 2000 Porsche Boxster - SOLD and GONE! 😥   
    I was thinking today that around now must be another year's ownership of this soon.

    Checked the dates and I've owned it for 4 years today! That makes it a few months more than when it was under @Peter C tenure.

    I did ponder getting it out this weekend but the weather is looking generally shite. But I did pop past storage on the way back from the Post Office at lunch to check on it.


    Absolutely filthy where there is no cover on it and detritus falls down from above. But that's better than the elements beating down it over winter.




    Every so often I go through the mental motions of considering to sell it. Then I sit in it today, realising how special it feels to sit there and think that is a stupid idea.


    After being serviced last year by Panhard65, it's pretty much ready to go for this spring/summer. Wheel alignment needs doing, so I'll have to find time to take that to my local alignment place. MOT is being done week after next. I don't envisage any major issues but I do need to give it a run to get some heat and movement back through the car.

    Air con was making an awful racket last year so I had it regassed. However it doesn't work at all now. Either it was too cold at the time (sub 3c) or the compressor has kacked it. You can hear and feel the compressor engaging but there is no fluid circulation sounds nor any change in air temperature from the vents. Now the weather is warming up, it'll be a good time to check again. I'd rather not have to spend out on a compressor but I also want it working again.

    While there is no immediate intention to sell it, I may reconsider at the end of this season. I'm still pandering to the idea of reducing the fleet and consolidating to one really nice, special (classic) car. I need to finish off a few big bodywork projects before I am at the point though.
     
  10. Like
    colino reacted to cort16 in eBay tat volume 3.   
    https://www.gumtree.com/p/volvo/volvo-amazon/1454540727
  11. Like
    colino reacted to St.Jude in Peugeot 107 - "Rocky": The greatest car of all time   
    I realised today that when I joined Autoshite, I never posted about my Peugeot 107 because it wasn't old enough for this section. It's now 13 years old in September, so quite overdue a thread. Especially given the shenanigans with the Land Cruiser and Rover. I'll also tell you now this is going to be a long old post.
    So here it is, Rocky. My Peugeot 107. It's a 5 door "Millesim". A limited edition from 2010 when Peugeot were celebrating 200 years of being a thing.

    I can't remember how much I paid for it, as I bought it brand new on the "Just Add Fuel" scheme. I paid £250 a month for 3 years, and then paid (I think) £4,000 balloon payment after 3 years. But I'm getting ahead of myself. You need a back story.
    At the time I bought this, I had been driving for about a year. I had a Peugeot 306 XLdt which after 6 months my Dad told me I needed to get rid as the engine was shagged. I ended up getting a red Honda Civic 1.4 S which was an automatic. Up until the work I did on the Corolla, it was the best handling car I ever had. But after 6 months it needed a lot of work which I couldn't afford. I was working in Nuneaton in my first proper job, which was about 50 mile round trip a day. I needed something more economical that worked, and I thought the Peugeot 107 was the cheapest form of motoring I could afford. So I signed my life away, ended up with the car, and in the first week it took me and 3 friends camping for a weekend. None of us were lightweights, and we trundled over the mud paths of the peak district in it and I named him Rocky.
    Part of the "Just Add Fuel" scheme meant it paid for the road tax, insurance, and servicing. Great! Servicing is for the life of the agreement - even better! Except me being a young idiot I didn't see that they put down my mileage for 3 years as 20,000. I had that done in the first year, so had the 3 services all done in that time. Again, couldn't afford the servicing, and again being stupid I decided to buy myself a toolkit, a jack and axle stands, and do the servicing myself. Never touched a car mechanically until this point, and the first two jobs I did on it were the oil change etc and the front brake pads and discs. All with the Halfrauds toolkit I paid £100 for and the jack set for £40. I've still got the toolkit!
    The car has been ever present in my adult life really, through the highs and the lows. The then-girlfriend-now-wife and I went across europe in it in 2012. We drove all the way to Budapest from Stourbridge and back again, and it's been as far west as Oban in Scotland. It took my sorry arse back and forth to London on the weekends in a period of time that was really dark for me. I took a job in Covent Garden and had digs in High Barnet, and a fortnight in to it my girlfriend/wife was struggling with depression. So I would come back up on a weekend to see her. One weekend I'm alone with my dad and he breaks the news he had lung cancer. It got that bad during this time, personally, that it got towards my girlfriend's birthday and I had my last £50. The contract I took on wasn't great, it was expensive to live in London, pay monthly payments for this thing, and I didn't want to make my mom or dad worry about me being skint but the tyres on the Peugeot were bald. They weren't far off slicks. I bought a pair of Sailun tyres for the Peugeot, and with my last £10 I bought my girlfriend a bear from Build-A-Bear. She wasn't happy with that, with everything going on for her, but now she still has the bear and sees it for what it was. A cute present for when we were young. I don't think I've ever told her everything I had going on when I bought it. The older I get, the further I get away from the bad times, it's only now do I comprehend how difficult that time was. I didn't at the time, I was quite self destructive, I know all of this now. But the car was still there, reliable transport on a shoestring.
    Things started to improve a bit, I got a really good paying job. I think with my first pay cheque I bought proper Toyo tyres for it as I'd nearly crashed too many times in the wet with the deathtrap Sailuns. We got a place together, I moved out, I was adulting. Then my Dad dies, the lung cancer was always terminal (cheers asbestos) but a stroke got him in the end. In the 6 days before he died I spent the day at his bedside, taking it in turns with my mom and sister. During these 6 days my sister's car broke down, so my Peugeot became the car that took us back and forth to the hospital. But didn't the clutch start slipping and it sounded awful, and I remember sitting in the car just saying to it that if it lasted for as long as I needed it while all this was going on, I'd never let it go. Dad died, my sister got her car fixed, and I continued to nurse the car until the clutch slip was too much. I parked it up and used my Dad's Honda CR-V instead. It stood on my mom's driveway for 2 years.
    At this point my girlfriend wanted her own transport, and I said Rocky would be ideal for her. It'd be good for her to use, give her confidence, and the car gets used. She drove Rocky mostly to work, short journeys, took questionable care of it. I was still servicing it on the button, and I would occasionally use it when I needed to.
    In the last few years Rocky has become a background car, but always serviced and always looked after. When the RAV4 needed welding it was Rocky that became my daily, picking up the welding gas and steel for the job. When my Land Cruiser spent most of it's time in my ownership off the road, it became my daily. Now the Rover isn't a go-er, it's still my daily. My boy loves it, even if he's just 15 months old. We walk out on the driveway going somewhere, he always toddles over to the Peugeot and never to any other car. It'll always be the second car, just there being brutally reliable. I took it to Dusseldorf last year, first time it had been in Europe for 10 years, and I'll be honest while I am not the 20-something I was when we went to Budapest, I'd do the trip again in the Peugeot.
    I've done some videos on it, especially a buyers guide. Especially as I've 13 years of experience with it!
     
    I do have photos of it from the 13 years, I just need to dig them out.
  12. Like
    colino reacted to SiC in Rover P4 110 - Gone   
    I've been on my eye out for one of these for a while. Not in a rush, just waiting for the right one at the right price. I was close to buying @Minimad5/ @Inspector Morose Rover 60. While it was a readily do-able project, I simply couldn't have a third big bodywork project in addition to the two I have already. Would have loved to save it but I'd just snow myself under even more.
    This came up on the P4 Drivers Guild Facebook page at a good price and looked in good (patina) condition. So despite saying I'd never buy a car sight unseen after the midget debacle, I did just that!
    As a turn of fate, it was Inspector Morose who delivered it just recently today.

     
    The previous owner lives in the Windsor area and drove it on the M4 through Central London. Always a good sign a car is a good runner if it can do that.
    First impressions of it are very good! No visible filler nor metal patch work.Yes there is patina (rust) but it's a very honest car from what I can tell.
    There are a few bits and pieces to do however I intend to keep bodywork jobs to an absolute minimum. Maybe patch that hole by the filler cap. The front wing is not attached along the door length and stops the door opening properly. That I think is fixable with a couple of tack welds to hold it back in place. If I go poking I will find stuff, so that will be kept to an absolute minimum...
    Interior leather seems to be in very good condition. Patch missing on the rear that I'm hoping I can get a patch repair sown in. At least to prevent further damage. The leather needs a good clean and feed. Carpets are wafer thin and grubby. Not sure they'll last any form of cleaning.
    Tyres are ancient and on the high priority list of things to be sorted. Avon safety speed tyres that are cracked and rock solid.
    Other bits and pieces are old car stuff. Headlights seem to be MIA after the journey over here. Coolant hoses are heavily cracked (but holding). Starter seems to stick occasionally - I don't know where the crank handle is. Clutch feels high but I'll leave that till it's a problem. Brakes are soft but it's a servo car, so maybe okay - I'll try with the engine off. The old valve radio doesn't work. Gear linkage feels more vague than I expect and perhaps has bushes that need some love.
    Anyway here are a few photos of it now cluttering my driveway.





     
    Quick startup video and walk around. I've done a longer one but I need to do some more work work right now.
     
    More later!
  13. Haha
    colino got a reaction from Chuck Buckles in eBay tat volume 3.   
    Other than a mk3 cavalier, when would the cost of the part influence you to waste your time on a second hand clutch? 
  14. Like
    colino got a reaction from RoverFolkUs in eBay tat volume 3.   
    Other than a mk3 cavalier, when would the cost of the part influence you to waste your time on a second hand clutch? 
  15. Like
    colino reacted to cms206 in Bus Shite   
    I was backshift today; light to Helensburgh for 1600 to do a short 310 to the airport, light to Springboig, route 36 in, 36 out, light back to the airport, 310 back to Helensburgh and light to the garage. Today's chariot was this somewhat severe looking 2013 Mercedes Vario O816D, which I try to pull for my backshifts where possible because it's warm and it goes like fuck.
    POP QUIZ - What are the headlights from?

    It was light at 6pm when I started my 36s which was nice.
    It was dark and fucking pissing down when I got back in at midnight.
    Bus swept, mopped, fuelled and run through the wash then parked up; it's back out at 7am, I am thankfully not.
  16. Haha
    colino got a reaction from captain_70s in eBay tat volume 3.   
    That 2cv reminds me, did Hubnut sell his softtop to Bigclive who's now wearing it as a hat?
  17. Haha
    colino got a reaction from SteersWithThrottle in eBay tat volume 3.   
    That 2cv reminds me, did Hubnut sell his softtop to Bigclive who's now wearing it as a hat?
  18. Like
    colino reacted to Dick Longbridge in Do people still have their car serviced?   
    "Isn't it part of the mot test?"
  19. Like
    colino reacted to Supernaut in eBay tat volume 3.   
    https://www.gumtree.com/p/kia/kia-soul-1.6-2011-long-mot/1454069607

    Some utterly depraved part of my brain finds this strangely appealing.
    I mean, just look at the interior.


     
    I hired a Kia Soul in 2017 over in Alberta and drove it around the Rockies for a week. It coped admirably well and was a silly shade of bright green. I think that's why I have a soft spot for them.
  20. Like
    colino reacted to Rust Collector in I'll get round to it at some point - Everything is Broken: the sequel   
    Time for another update I think. Not a huge amount done, but family stuff seems to be consuming my time a lot lately.
    First up I did a bit of car washing after getting the E Class home:


    Still need to sort out the derpy front bumper though, not sure why the PO chopped the sides off:

    That's a bit better!


    That's a bit, errr, something.
    Next order of business was a reluctant hand over. Here's a grainy pic of my partner driving the Merc for the first time:

    A look of complete concentration there 😅 I'm pleased to report though that she has decided she loves the car, so that's a result. She's been running it for a couple of weeks now, and I'm told that it it has made life much easier in terms of transporting the dogs and the baby compared to the Clio.
    When we got the Merc it had some of the fan/temp controls which had no back lighting. No before pic, but I did pull the thing apart and sort it out. You just have to pull the knobs off (snigger) and then change the tiny bastard bulbs tucked below using tweezers...


    What a pain in the arse job if you have moron hands like me. It did improve the feel of the cabin though.
    Next up I figured out the bluetooth phone connection - the last owner said it was broken, but it just needed the tiny switches in the back of it adjusting to the correct position:


    Good stuff.
    Some random dog adventures in the car:


    The roll out dog/cargo net is brilliant when you have a golden retriever obsessed with being beside the baby.
    With no diagnostic tools cheaply available for this car, I half heartedly investigated the BAS/ABS/ESP warnings by checking fuses. This big bastard has blown at some point, from memory it was a completely unrelated circuit but I should probably replace it. No points for guessing how many times I've passed Halfords and forgotten to stop in for the fuse.

    My regular reminder not to reverse a RWD car on to my front lawn:

    Luckily the towing eye was present in the spare wheel well, and I towed it out with the 4x4. I really need to put a hard surface in place of that lawn...
    No time for that though as we were going away for a bit

    Where we got to run around in this, courtesy of father-in-law:



    It was really quite lovely, inside was like it was out the box and it drove beautifully. Small economy cars used to be mega.
    OMG kids in the car, etc.:

    It did make me a little nervous taking my son out in the Corsa, mainly because of the local standard of driving.
    Some of the other vehicles owned by the in-laws:


    They had an old Hyundai 4x4 thing which I didn't photograph, but we did use in anger through the woods which was good fun.
    Some other random vehicles that I spotted in an Austrian border town:


    The one thing I'll say about the Corsa and the C3 Picasso we had use of, is that they were really lacking in luggage space. Once home in England, it was a relief to get out of the airport and be greeted by this old bus:


    First weekend back from the motherland and it was time to do something proper*. The Merc had an intermittent warning light for the glow plugs. Best get her undressed then:


    My regular reminder of what I will be fixing soon:


    I've ordered some washers, a stretch bolt and a clamp. I've got the rest of the tools for fucking around removing and reseating the injectors so wish me luck. That's for another day though.
    Back to glow plugs - after fucking around and breaking the plastic housing of one connector, I realised that the easiest way to check the resistance on these is to measure from here:

    To a suitable place on the block:

    Lovely stuff:

     
    Obviously the two fucked ones were the front and rear ones, which are the hardest to reach. Now call me a cynic, but the 4 easier ones looked brand new compared to the two broken ones...
    Oh well:

    I forgot to get any penetrating fluid, so I used a mix of ATF and diesel as that's what I had laying around. I put it around the plugs, then got the engine warm. Surprisingly they came out fine:

    Before they came out I would've bet all my money that they would have snapped.
    Either way, the new ones went in without a fuss and the car is moderately happier now. It's easier to start from cold, but I do think there's an air leak in the fuel lines somewhere, and obviously at least one injector seal is in a bad way.
    Next up, I really must MOT the BX Leader and sell it!
     
  21. Like
    colino reacted to puddlethumper in I bought a big and joined the circus.   
    Update time. New season starts in Richmond or Twickenham, can't remember, the first week of April. The other dates have yet to be announced or rather I haven't been told yet. I don't know if I'll do a write up as I did last season because a lot will be a bit repetitive.
    Off grid electric shite. As I mentioned, I think, I spent a fair chunk of my circus dosh on a lithium set up. Battery, 46ah, £1700, Invertor/charger, 3000w, £600ish, DC/DC charger, £200, cables, isolators, fuses, etc, probably a couple of hundred so in total about the 3 grand mark. It's a fair chunk to lay out but this should see me good for ten years at least. Battery warranty 10 years. I'll be 80 then, and will I still be able to live like this, then? Who knows. It took me a few weeks to get my head around how it all went together although there were set backs. I had to get the battery back to the supplier to have a new Battery Management System put in. Chinese innit. That set me back a couple of weeks and in the worst weather when I could really have done with it, If only to be able to lie in bed and hit the heater remote and go back to sleep for an hour which I can now do and is a luxury in my world. I could run an electric blanket but I feel that that is a bit too decadent. A full battery will last me 5/6 days with no sunshine. At the moment a full days sunshine, with 2 x260w solar panels, get's me 20% battery fill which is good for 2/3 days no sun. Panels give me about 30 amps an hour but can go up to 40. The other problem was that it seems the invertor/charger is rather hertz sensitive and a generators hertz level has to be buggered about with to get it right which can take a few attempts. Still, all good now.
    A couple of pics. I know it looks a bit messy but it's under the dinette seat and therefore out of sight and it all works which is fine with me. The battery is in the cupboard next door.


  22. Thanks
    colino got a reaction from Steve79 in Steve79 fleet - RX300   
    I think these are the same as the e39 and have the flow and return doing a quick 90 degree bend from the floor and go up the front face of the tank. Then. If they've sat in mud for a few years, the pipes rot out.  A bit of DIY with 8mm hose, pipe and jubilees and your good. 
  23. Like
    colino reacted to Cavcraft in eBay tat volume 3.   
    AEC mercury 1955 | eBay
  24. Like
    colino reacted to D.E in eBay tat volume 3.   
    £2500 for an MOT'd Rolls in wedding day white:
    https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/314460708883?hash=item493751a013:g:bpUAAOSw~n1kDcNc

    However...

  25. Like
    colino reacted to D.E in eBay tat volume 3.   
    https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/354643043750?hash=item52925f65a6:g:OvkAAOSwNBBkDYQv

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