warch

The future Mrs w didn't own a car when I first met her, although she was living in East Dulwich at the time, which is pretty well served with public transport. She had just got shot of a FIAT Punto, which, much to my chagrin (I quite like FIATs) was a steaming pile of unreliable shit. 

10 minutes ago, ETCHY said:

Selling a house.
Our last house move was 23 years ago. It took just over a month.
Now 23 years later we have also sorts of tech advances etc etc but we've been told it's 3 months minimum..

I mean wtf, why does it now take bloody longer than it did ??!!!

My wife says house sales in Aus take weeks rather than months to sort out. She thinks the relevant section of the British legal and financial professions have a vested interest in drawing out matters over several months. 

1 hour ago, Stinkwheel said:

Its actually not reduced at all, love the sound stories LP's - I inherited my grandads 60's ones - the ones with murray walker doing the commentary are ace, he even knew when to shut up and let the sound of the bike just be. If youve never listened and youre a petrol head, then you really should, it actually is the music of our people

 

 

Fair point. But a lot of the charm of this sort of thing is probably that it is very much of its time. I like a lot of old tv shows not because they are particularly compelling, well plotted or acted but because they offer a slice of life from that time period. 

Not a car but worth posting as possibly the least interesting album ever (for the record I love watching the TT)

I imagine the drama and excitement of the TT is reduced somewhat by following it via audio recordings of someone fenging a bike flat out with commentary over the top.

23 hours ago, egg said:

BTW, look at the 'giffer tat' bungalow where it lives!

My brother, who is in his mid forties and therefore technically not a giffer has loads of tin signs stuck to the front of his house. I always make a point of asking him for parts for my BSA every time I visit.

Bryan Adams- Greatest Hits

Tricky Maxinquaye

See if you can spot a theme developing...

1 hour ago, kevins said:

don't assume there is any guarantee it will be tax free in 2026, I bought my elan when it was 24 years old and 9 months before it was due for free tax, mr Blair got voted in and 15 years/ around 3 grand later it finaly became tax free when the Tories got back in. Based on Labour's anti car approach (particuarly around London) I would not be at all suprised if with a phrase like 'Rich people with a toy cars don't deserve a tax break' it all gets scrapped.

Tbh it’ll be worth it if we don’t have a Tory Gubberment.

Land Rover (Free) Haven't paid for road tax since 1996

Motorbike (£122.85) But currently SORNed, need to sort a few little jobs out like starting issue, new chain, sprockets, tyres, suspension, plus I'm in no rush to 'enjoy' Britain's shellholed, waterlogged road network any time soon.

Cashcow (£267.75) but Mrs warch is still paying this for some reason

'New' Astra (220 quid) but becomes tax exempt in April 2026.

(Expects grudging admiration, especially from those north of the border).

Where were they getting the quick bit from? I don't remember them being any noisier or more polluting than any other coal powered motor from back in the day, but I can remember driving somewhere with my mate's boring dad in an Escort van and fervently wishing I was somewhere else.  

14 hours ago, Supernaut said:

I speak from experience. I spent a summer using a SIII as a daily driver, and am currently assisting with the restoration of a SI.

Fun curiosities but complete bollocks after about 10 miles.

I concur, having used mine for many long journeys, on the upside you really appreciate how good a modern car is in comparison. 

The only time they come into their own is off road, a well driven one is pretty much peerless in muddy conditions.

My first unpopular motoring opinion is the Mk 3 Golf GTI 8v wasn't a materially worse car in terms of performance or handling than the corresponding Mk 2 model. Yeah I know, same power, more weight but there was minimal difference in real terms. 

 My second is that mass market Vauxhalls were better than Fords in the 1980s and probably the 1990s in terms of engines, comparative models and build quality. 

Made a bit of progress. 

Slight issue with the calipers. One was fine and went straight on, the offside one was actually for the other side, despite what it said on the box. I had a think about this, then realised that actually the calipers are completely symmetrical and fit either way around (the only difference between sides being the location of the bleed nipple. I had my draw through compressor tool so I could bleed it with attaching it (so air didn't get trapped in it). Not sure what the MoT man will say about that, but I can always keep an eye out for another part. 

I also removed the rear wheels and bled the rear system as well, not being sure whether air had got in there as well. This was worth doing as the fluid looked quite dirty. 

Both rear tyres were fucked, and there was also a missing wheel lug, happily just missing not snapped off or anything. The only other issue on the shitlist is that the steering lock is inoperative, which apparently an MoT fail point*. Yes it is near to not needing a yearly inspection by law, but morally (and legally) it should be roadworthy.

This came in during 2013 revisions to the test, although apparently I could fit an immobilizer to get it past the MoT man. Preferably something simply like an ignition cutout. 

That’s a corking little car, the design has aged really well. As a long time visitor to the Balearics I love seeing an ancient sun bleached Ibiza, coated in half an inch of dust and covered in parking dents and scrapes. 

All sorted thanks

9 minutes ago, 24vdiamond said:

How many do you want? 😃

 

Just the one I think? 

Got both my calipers, unfortunately one of them (which came in a taped up box) was lacking the roll pins and retaining clips. Bollocks! Can’t find these anywhere.

1 hour ago, NorfolkNWeigh said:

I seem to remember Buick having to rename the Lacrosse in Canada because it meat wank in a local dialect.

I found out (via a pub quiz) that Lacrosse and ice hockey are Canada's two national sports. Presumably the former isn't televised before the watershed.

15 minutes ago, D.E said:

Back when I didn't rent a secure garage yet, I had a steering wheel lock for visual discouragement and removed a few bits to render it unuseable. Good luck driving a car with no spark plug wires...

When I used to live in Oxford I disabled my Landrover by either disconnecting the coil lead or removing the rotor arm. Inevitably I often forgot that I'd done this, resulting in lots of fruitless cranking/ftp before the penny dropped. 

1 hour ago, Joey spud said:

My SRi got nicked off my driveway in the early hours I even heard it being driven away. Unfortunately the next door neighbour had an Astra GTE and i thought it was their car driving off.

The plod found it later that morning with its engine still running parked behind a nearby village hall.

My old line manager when I worked at Somerfield had his SRi pinched as well (c. 1995). I'm hoping my rural location, the lack of keyless ignition/obd port and the extreme shiteness of my new purchase will deter any potential interest from subhuman scum. 

Update

Brakes; got one of the new calipers in the post, test fitted it so that should be ok, ordered some new banjo bolts for the hose connectors. Total spend 21 quid on fitting kit, 6 quid on banjo bolts and 90 quid on calipers. 

Also got a much heavier box in the post which turned out to be the new starter motor (the car came without starter or battery). Having improvised a 'ghetto' battery solution (nicked the battery out of my Landrover) and plumbed in the new starter it fired up almost instantaneously and settled down to a smooth idle. Result! 

All I'm waiting for now is the other caliper then it'll be mobile and ready to take for a little remedial welding.   

Hurrah, managed to acquire the correct caliper bolts, came as part of a kit. 
 

As a bonus (using my special skill, which is identifying bolts or socket sizes by eye I managed to obtain the correct thread flange head M8 bolts for the starter motor from my local factor.
 

Ordered some new unions and washers for the brake hoses as well. Parts availability is superb for such an old car.

Just now, 24vdiamond said:

I might have some new caliper bolts, let me check and let you know, if you need front flexi hoses there were different versions depending on chassis number and also be carefull as Vauxhall were hopeless with brakes around this era with them mixing and matching parts from different engined models! 

I’ve ordered some bits, I’ll message if I have any issues.
 

This has been a bit of an issue, the car came without brake calipers so I’ve had to guess what sort it should have had.

7 hours ago, Burnside said:

Great purchase I've always had a soft spot for the MK2 Astra as a kid, although I've only owned it's main rival a MK4 Escort!

Funny enough I'd been watching this myself, as I remember it being for sale a few years ago locally on Car and Classic. If memory severs me right, the rear comedy arch / sill repairs weren't finished and the passenger wing was still in primer.

Bonus points to whoever painted that wing since, without bothering to drill a hole for the side indicator first.😂

Overall though looks a great little project, look forward to seeing the updates on it. 

Weirdly the indicators do work fine, with one side repeater missing (the missing fixture was in the centre console). Apparently they're not mandatory until April 1986 so not actually an MoT failure on this but I think I will try and refit it if the wirings still there. 

2 hours ago, JMotor said:

May I suggest getting the brakes from a Corsa B. Anything other a Sport or GSi will provide what you need.

As they will be 236mm as your car. The ATE calipers are much better than the Delco ones. Bolt on swap. As they never changed the hub mount spacing for a very long time.

These can be had in ventilated flavour too. But I reckon solid discs will do fine.

Edit - Saw your last post. My bad.

If your stuck for caliper mount bolts. I might have a set of four in my stash if you need some?

Cheers. My initial plan is just to get it working, then I might look at upgrading it, the standard brakes on this were bloody awful to be honest (based on hazy recollections of driving in the mid-90s). 

Do you know what size the starter mounting bolts would be. I might need to visit my friendly neighbourhood scrappy to find something, but I suspect they'll be similar on much newer cars. 

9 minutes ago, adw1977 said:

Nice purchase!

Those wheel trims and that radio make it a base, I believe?

I think so. My mum and dads didn't even have a radio. Incidentally the radio still works, so I'll need to find an aerial and press it back into service.

I do have a Haynes manual (the same one my Dad bought for the one we had in 80s) so I won't be working according to guesswork. Apparently mine doesn't have brackets and bolts directly to the strut.