BorniteIdentity

25 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

you make it sound so easy! 

 

but as me and @Mrs6C can attest too, it turns out 10 inch mini wheels are kinda scarce these days, took a fair bit of wrangling to procure a set with tyres-that-hold-air, for our Model 70's

 

that being said, there should be 1 or 2 spare 10 inch rims floating about in the barn from said Model 70 adventures, not sure about tyres themselves however

 

I am still waiting for @BorniteIdentity to get back to me about the old tyres from his mini

I wouldn’t let you anywhere near them. The wheels I have must have twenty year old rubber on, and I have a conscience. If you must drive a plastic death trap, at least have some nice tyres 😉

31 minutes ago, Ghosty said:

Yaris T-Sport would work for you. 

Isn’t literally everything falling off it?! 

I’m not buying atm, just getting some inspiration. 

10 minutes ago, Me9 said:

This ulez crap is simply a bloody con and rip off like 99% of stuff in this country. 

If a car passes mot it's good to go bloody simple! and no need for sad dick Koont etc to try and tell us otherwise. He's killing London as are other towns and cities up and down the country. 

I think history will show he was on the right side of the argument. Granted, it would have sorted itself out organically - but nonetheless we are where we are. 

Alright gang? 

Whilst I can always cruise into London in the Sierra, realistically it’s not a great proposition in winter months. 

What interesting cars (by our standards) meet regs? I know it’s generally post 2006 petrol, but there are, I’m sure, some other curious propositions that comply. 

Trains are great unless it’s a Sunday, there’s a strike or they’re doing engineering works - so it’s something I’m scoping out. 

It’s been a busy week in motoring pursuits. On Monday I started a new job which necessitates commuting to London. I decided that a scooter to the train station (plus as a back up for train strikes) would be a good idea - and did my CBT accordingly. It was a complete fucking farce start to finish, but enabled me to get the necessary paperwork at the end. Then, @Turbowomble advertised his wonderful Supercub and I bought it, had it shipped, and it arrived Monday. 

Since then, I’ve not ridden it 80 miles owing to a bizarre idiosyncrasy. Bikes in Northern Ireland have their first MOT at 4 years (who knew?!). England does not - so now the DVLA says no MOT records available and I can’t tax it. Shame, as it weirdly works anyway. 

I’m absolutely delighted with it - they’re very willing little things and good for 60 even with 19 stone of man onboard. 

MOT this week then, and I’ve got another car rocking up too. 

Sierra went to a little run out last week and behaved relatively well, albeit the battery is kippered. It then disgraced itself by boiling over when I was parking it up in the shed. Bit of a pisser! A few shots below of my faves. 

That's brilliant.  Tatty and honest - just the ticket.

I remember in 1999 I was 16 and me and my mate knew another guy who was a year older than us and he'd just passed his test.  Lovely guy - Christian family - and his NAN insisted that her car went to him.  Robert therefore had a brown Mk2 Escort on a V plate and everyone (other than me) felt sorry for him.  His contemporaries had Clios, Fiestas, the odd 205 and Novas - and he had to park his Mk2 Escort around the corner to avoid getting RINSED by his mates.  

Nowadays, he'd be everyone's hero.

Same with Cortinas.  Our caretaker had a brace of MK5 Cortinas and by 1999 I remember marvelling at them in the school playground thinking 'Fucking hell they look shit nowadays'.  They were both 17 years old, my daily is now 25.  

Crazy how things change so quickly.

Anyway, enough bumbling of the insane - well bought @HMC

On 14/04/2024 at 12:59, vulgalour said:

 being in my early forties,

This was exactly WHY I made a change (just a few weeks ago).  

It is a million times easier to A) Get hired now and 2) Adapt yourself.  I wouldn't want to be 'starting again' at 50, of that I'm sure.

Good luck.  Sometimes you have to say YES to things you'd previously have said NO to - but that's life.  Always focus on the positives, and I don't think you'll go far wrong.  Good luck!

Fuck yeah 

Bloody hell. Progress! 

He says I’ll have it back in a couple of weeks. Fingers crossed. 

Welcome along. Jude has done some great work at saving old nails from the bailer. Looks like you’re doing your bit too!

On 23/01/2024 at 21:18, BorniteIdentity said:

Inevitable is unfolding on Twitter/X

Chris Pollitt has another episode of depression. Crowdfunder tries to raise a few bob for him. Accidentally raises nearly £20,000. Car is quickly restored and immediately on the market at a chunky price. Folk feel a bit aggrieved. 

Anyone who raises an eyebrow will be quickly shut down.

I try to see everything positively, but it all feels a bit charlatan. 

Is he ok? Obviously he blocked me on X but it looks like he had a full blown episode last night and disappeared. Everyone frantically panicking. 

Weirdly, it looks like all that free money hasn’t helped with the root cause. 

If anyone here knows him, I hope he’s ok and is now getting proper help. Proper help, not cash. 

Eight years ago today this turd landed at mine. Tomorrow I will apply for historic tax and, judging by the complete lack of progress on the Mini, proceed to use it over the next few months. 

Both the other cars in this photo since sold and scrapped, the house SSTC and and my lovely friend Emma has moved onto a better place. Then again she lived in Hemel, so a move to Strangeways would have been a positive move. 

Happy bASe day, fellow motorist. 

3 hours ago, EssDeeWon said:

After 3 years sat in the garage and only covering about 5 miles to the MOT station and back last year, my 75 has set sail, quite literally and has gone to some fanatical 75 collector in Belgium.     I now live in Gibraltar so getting the car over here was going to be costly and a bit of a faff to say the least.   It served me well for 8 years but deserved better in the end so some chap from Belgium contacted me and offered a healthy sum to acquire it.  

Weird - I was thinking about this car just the other day, and in fact searched up the thread again.  If i'd known I'd have absolutely bought it, Primrose 75s are the best of the best.  

Pretty sure John F is a fallen soldier of Modgate, when it was decided nobody could be trusted to think for themselves any longer. There was also a heady cocktail of covid mixed in too. A real shame. 

I know I'm a nostalgic old gimp, but that shot of the dash really does highlight how quickly interior design moved from square, angular and functional to fluid and contemporary.  

Great purchase.  I'd have definitely bought it (and made a poo at the same time looking at his Facebook feedback and the seller's location!)

This was going around on Facebook last night and is a nice snap - so here it is.

Not a family car, but a family garage.  Branton's of Felixstowe, run by my Great Great Uncle Frank.

There's still very much a garage on that site, and Branton's are bloody everywhere in Felixstowe! 

Quite an evocative shot here.

And I’m guessing its predecessor! 

I think it depends whether you’ve got lots of holes, or big holes. Remember - when it comes to weldering - it doesn’t really matter how big the hole is. Whether they’re splicing in 6cm or 6” or 6 acres* doesn’t make too much difference. It’s when there’s a lot of independent stuff to do that things get pricey. 

The other thing to bear in mind is storing it outside whilst you save up is only going to make it worse. If you’ve got inside space then fair enough, but if it’s going to be sat on a grass verge I’d probably cash in now. 

Wishing you good luck. Really, it comes down to whether you want it on your plate right now or not. 

Bollocks.  

If you decide to abort the mission, please let me know and I'll come and fetch it.

And, from experience of a very good bloke and mate, it’s Dave who knows the K Series engines inside out.

BFO red flags. Glad you’re sorted tho, David. 

You sold the P38? I’ve been poised waiting for it to go live!

Your man for plates is called Retro Plates on Facebook/IG. They are about £50 a set which seems expensive at first, but they are first class. I had a set made for my RAV last year from a photo on Flickr of a different car and they are perfect. 

Top bombing btw. This is proper ‘work from home childminder’ spec. I imagine there’s even a wax crayon crushed into the carpet somewhere. 

7 hours ago, wesacosa said:

along with the good news on the Panda (see other post) the Favorit has also been woken from its post ULEZ slumber and moved onto the driveway for a pre MOT once over. Once the Estelle had donated its battery it fired up instantly. Poor thing is starting to look a bit worse for wear though

 

On the off chance you need a bit of encouragement, don’t worry about it ageing gracefully. I have this argument with myself with the Sierra almost endlessly, but it’s still alive - still a car and still doing its thing.

As a kid, we lived next door to a vicar who was evidently homosexual but the most gentle and warm man you’d ever meet. He had the exact same car as this. Fond memories (no, he didn’t) !

28 MPG vs the fun seems pretty good value. 

You could always run about in a 25 year old RAV 4 automatic which generates more heat than light when it comes to acceleration, and averages 28mpg.  

Well bought on the Saab.  I remember we had a brand new one on demo at the first radio station I worked at.  At 21 I felt like the king of the world driving that around. 

Spring has sprung, so it was time to awaken the Sierra from its slumber.  The usual challenges were awaiting; Petrol runs back into the tank after a few days and - on the basis it's been parked for a couple of months - many crankings were to be required.  This necessitated hooking up my mains powered charger, enabling BOOST function and giving 10 minutes before a bit of serious crankin' (no g). It started with relative ease once fuel reached the carb, settled quickly and within 5 minutes we were out and off.

Things have deteriorated with all four doors.  The two offsides will be replaced, but I'm hoping the nearsides can be wobbed and painted.  Initially, my plan was to just red oxide the doors and just let the whole car age gracefully.  However, these two offside doors are half the wrong colour and will need to be sprayed to avoid looking cunty, so it might as well have four doors in the right colour.

It will go to 'the man' just as soon as the Mini is back. I cornered him earlier and, quelle surprise, he's not started it yet.  Monday he says.  I will doorstep him again next week "just to see how you're getting on" and keep up the pressure.  I understand he's busy, but would just prefer people to say "Mate - I can't take this on" than "yeah yeah no worries".  I think he already regrets saying yes tbh, but hopefully he'll see it through.