N19

Good to see you Andrew! Hopefully soon the Capri will be back in place...

Took a trip out in the Bluebird, 20 odd miles, then gave it a wash and took photos (see thread). Also been enjoying the photo updates from the welder on the Capri. Hopefully it'll be returning in the next couple of weeks.

It's an interesting concept - I was actually thinking that I passed my test 10 years ago this year, and I did wonder if any local driving schools did a similar thing - a useful self-reflection on driving abilities.

Bluebird now up for sale. I've never sold a car before, but I hope I'm doing it right! Appropriate offers considered, I really want it to go to the right home, if it wasn't for the flippin' ULEZ it'd be staying.

I disappeared up to Scotland for a bit. Modern fords were driven whilst up there... as well as much use of the Mondeo for towing, lugging stuff around etc, for which it is perfect - as well as the long distance drive up there. Upon return, it's been oil change time. The Mondeo also had new brake fluid pushed through, new coolant, strip/clean/check brakes etc. as suggested by sierraman, 10W40 in the Focus, although I'll keep an eye on it.

I had to use a couple of petrol cans for diesel recently. If rinsed out a couple of times, I'm assuming that the contamination level will be low enough to not cause any issues, especially when diluted into a full tank?

Tape player acquired and installed. Filled up, 36mpg since last fill up (a bit of motorway, but also a lot of pottering around town) - better than the Mondeo!

Looks in pretty good nick really

Fords of that era have a number of interchangeable units, some with tapes, some with CDs, some with CD-changer connections. The Mondeo has the 4000 unit which has a tape player, and slots in in about 20 seconds with the 'removal tool' (some bent metal rods). I've ordered another second hand tested one. I might actually ask the local van hire company nicely if I can swap my CD unit for one of their vans tape ones - they have a large number of tape players in their smiley face Transits.

The Capri being away, I've been using the lockup to repaint and clean some of the parts. Today the Bluebird went in for storage, mainly to avoid any parking issues at home. (note the strip of concrete by the garage door - that's the difference between clean and dirty, as I went over that bit with the pressure washer! Endeavouring to give the garage floor generally a going over when the weather is hot, and hopefully when the garage is empty) I spent a bit of time moving stuff from the Bluebird (toolbox, jump leads, odds and sods) into the Focus, and then rooted out Bluebird-specific parts I've got - makes sense for them to go with the car when it does move on. I have a friend who has first refusal on it, who's going to let me know. Hopefully it'll depart before the Capri comes back! I've done about 250 miles in the Focus since buying it on Friday afternoon, mostly from the drive down, but I went for a trundle around Bwood and up to Brookmans' Park this evening. The oil level was low, a known issue with this car, so topped up a bit - I'll be changing the oil on it and the Mondeo in a couple of weeks. The shininess does mean I'll need to improve my attitude to washing of cars, I think... Almost everything is curved, part of the New Edge design. The CD player will be changed for a tape player very soon, luckily a straight swap between a 4000 and 6000 unit.

No problem - and thanks for the biscuits, which kept me sustained along the A50... Appropriate protection will take place!

Round the corner from me. Only does about 1,000 miles a year, and just within the ULEZ... same owner for at least 10 years.

200 miles in a car not driven for a month, and then previously laid up for the last 6, is an indication of it being decent and well looked after - which I intend on continuing!

Capri's here! Needed to drop off some bits with the welder.

Last Sunday I saw @mrbenn's for sale thread. A ULEZ compliant early 00s Ford at a good price. Added points for shiter provenance, and air con! Ben has owned this for 11 years and was sad to see it go, he's clearly spent a lot of time and effort on it, the condition of the car shows. Everything works how it should, and it handles beautifully. After a trip up I'm stopped in Leicester heading back to London. Why Leicester though?

Vehicle acquired, radio tuned. Serious buyin no g.

A lot of the architecture along the WCML is pretty depressing, a remnant of the 1960s modernisation?

I've just paid £10 for a sandwich and two bottles of water. Yes, that's right, we're all aboard British Rail.

The picture was taken at 6.05am and the train had just come from the depot! Barnet is the terminus, so at least I always get a seat. During the day, there is a team of cleaners who go through the train once it arrives at the end of the line and lift discarded newspapers and other litter, so in theory it leaves the terminus tidy enough. Currently at work for a few hours before commencing the next stage...

Time for a collection mission! Last purchase I made was at the tail end of covid lockdown part 1. First off, tube into Central to do a half day at work.

A purchase has been made in the quest to give me ULEZ-friendly but also AS-style transport. The collection caper will also involve stopping via the workshop where the Capri is, dropping off some parts there too. I've not done a collection thread before!

Local classic car show held in town today. Not entirely my cup of tea, but it's only 5 mins walk from home. The most Autoshite worthy attendee was this Allegro. The owner has at least three on his drive! Back home, work in progress doing the last of the brackets. The to-do list when the car comes back includes quite a bit of reconditioning as well as reassembly, new bolts and fixings in almost all places I work, new fuel lines, then a full service which really should include cambelt and water pump.

All quiet on the western front. Welder has finished work on one side of the wing, sill and a pillar, and is moving to the other side. Car should be back with me in a couple of weeks (although I'm away for a bit then!). In the meantime, I'm researching paint work, trying to work out exactly how much it'll need. There'll certainly be bits on the wings, under the bonnet, and the rear sills. Whether it then becomes easier/better to just do the whole panel I am unsure.

A couple in Borehamwood. The smiley transit has been there for years, the Fiesta only arrived recently. Transits advertising a local garage and each year only seems to do the journey there and back for a ticket. Fiesta hasn't been MoTd since computerisation.