Cookiesouwest

Lovely!

You wait ages for a P4 on AS, then two come along at once...

Very very very very very very very very very well bought

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!

I turned 42 on Sunday.
As such, I have matured sufficiently to give up my "Boy Racer" ways.
 
I've traded this

 
For this

 
and driven it straight in here...

 
only for 4 nights though🤣

Did a few bits on the TT this weekend.

Firstly fit a radio. I bought a Pioneer SPH-10BT unit. There isn't an easy place to mount a phone in the TT Mk1. The air vents break when you try putting one on them and the windshield is miles away when using a screen mount. This has an inbuilt mount that acts as a primary control screen over Bluetooth. Audio and handsfree are sent back too. Not as swizz as Android Auto/Apple CarPlay but a lot cheaper.


Annoyingly Audi on this vintage don't put an Ignition Switched Live to the ISO connector. There is a screw connection that can be made from a terminal off the fusebox. So I wired one in with an in-line fuse holder.

The bottom trim under the steering column is easy to remove but a right bugger to get back on. Doesn't help that someone previously has bent up the mounting brackets.


Interior light sense wire I tapped into the cigarette lighter bulb wire. Then put the antenna amplifier power feed injector onto the antenna motor connection on the ISO.

You can get a loom adapter to do this but I decided to repin the cars ISO connector. One less adapter to cram behind the stereo and those three extra pins don't conflict with the rest of the standard connections.

Finally there is the standard pioneer connection to iso and BOSE amplifier to RCA line-out. This also has another switched wire to signal the amp to switch on.



The handsfree Microphone I was debating where to put. Usually I pull the pillar trim and put up top. However this age TT has a phone microphone already behind the instrument cluster. It's the square above the dash that everyone wonders what it is for. Designed for the old phone mounts this integrates and connects somewhere. I removed this standard microphone and stuck on the Pioneer mic. Less hassle than trying to get the OEM mic working and probably better quality too.

Also noticed that the cluster is date coded 2007. This means it must have been changed at some point. Possibly by Audi on the recall they did on their dodgy screens. I believe Watchdog did a big thing of it around that time.
Funny thing is, this replacement cluster still has gone dodgy too!


With it all fitted I changed the colour of the unit to red and matched the rest of the cars backlighting. I do like how this unit isn't over the top and in your face.
Only slight hassle is the phone mount requires the face plate to come off to extend it in/out. Bit of a crap design there and I wished you could just push it in.
It opens up fully and clears the radio door - just. There is a slight downwards tilt that I'll have to live with.


Crucially though the door still shuts to keep the OEM look and hide it away.


The water ingress has been bugging me for a while. I thought I sorted it with sealing up the wiring loom box in the scuttle and clearing the drains. However water was still getting in and making the floor sodden wet.

I hate soggy interiors. They smell awful and increase the humidity. Both make it unpleasant being in the car. After spending a good wedge recently on the cambelt/water pump/four tyres and wanting this car as a keeper, I need to get it finally sorted.

Firstly I pulled the foot well apart to get good access underneath. Then gave it another good session with the wet vac, squishing the foam and running overnight with the dehumidifier to try getting as much water out as possible.


To try solving the root cause, I handed Mrs SiC the hose pipe and ran it all over the windscreen. Eventually I started to get a trickle and then a good flow of water into the footwell between the body pressings. Blue roll is where it's pooling.


The only place I could think it is coming from is this bung that the bonnet release comes through. I didn't seal this up when I did the cable loom box (thing to the right) as it looked okay and would be a pain to do. But as I'm getting a leak, it's going to have to be done. I'm just hoping this has sorted it. If it doesn't, then the only other place is the windscreen seal hasn't been done right. Its not an original screen and doesn't look the best job done tbh. But I rather not have the windscreen replaced though.

I smeared automotive silicone sealant all around this bung. So hopefully it'll be sorted. I put all the interior back together in the hope/confidence it's now good.
With summer fast approaching, hopefully the very wet weather will reduce and hot days will finally fully dry out the interior.

I owe you a beer - that £2.49 Sprinter just sold for £51

Took Mrs C out for a drink today, in the Doom.
All was going well, till we were leaving the last pub.
Non start, no ticking sounds from Starter, no warning lights. And it wouldn't release the key from ignition.
After repeated attempts to start, I released the handbrake (no idea why I thought it would do anything), cranked her and she almost went.
Put handbrake on and the ignition released its vice like grip òn the key.
Mrs C now in tears. She has been seriously ill the last 9 or ten weeks and today was one of the few times, she has been pain free and out of the house. 
We both got out of car, locked her and I tried again.
Same problem, repeated attempts resulted in no crank, till I released handbrake and she rolled back a foot. Held her on brake pedal and then she cranked and fired into life.
She behaved herself for the drive home.
Mrs C suffers from anxiety and will not tolerate a car that let's her down.
So its back to the garage Monday to pay the bill, then enquire what he thinks is wrong this time.
If I can get it to reliably start, it will get a new ticket, then despite the rather massive and painful financial loss ( easily 2k), it will be punted out on FB Marketplace.
 

I suspect in a way  they are listening to collectors.
Diecast auction prices have been on the rise since last year and anything Ford fetches top money. Dealers would not be paying those high prices, if they thought they wouldn't get there money back.
Fords fetch higher prices than any other mark, when retailing.
Corgi are just following the market. They are a business. They have too.

Welcome back to another instalment of my nonsensical drivel... in today's ramble we go out and in the vague direction of Stirling.
This all started at 0845 when I sprinted* (read as hobbled) to the car because I was running late to pick up the mates. Once they were picked up, we grabbed a fairly subpar breakfast from the McDonalds that took the place of Little Chef just outside of Kilmarnock (RIP LYTL SHEF U WIV DA ANGLES NOW).
Anyway, by 1000 hours we were oan eh road again, and I'd got about two miles before shit hit the fan. Big feckin bang, big feckin stone...
  
It basically runs for about a foot and half, if not slightly more. Some of that will buff out thankfully, but it's properly gouged the paint. A bit annoyed, but accidents happen. It was bloody loud though.
So anyway, we eventually made it to Stirling after dealing with all the eejits on the road. I was only a little* crabbit.

From Stirling we headed out to Callander, one of my favourite places, albeit a bit touristy for my liking. Bought some nice stuff in charity shops etc. Just a fun time out for sure.

Bonus Skoda photo, or something? It almost looks good here.

Also, we decided to pay a visit to California...
 
 
No, not that one, the other one.
 
 
Yeah, it's just as grim as you'd have imagined. Still, I can now say I've been to California.

Although, I found this nearby, which made up for things, I suppose.

So yeah, Ryan's Roadtrip Rating? 8/10, points lost for stone chip and underwhelming breakfast, but points gained for nice Audi. Covered about 240 miles or so today, quite pleased overall.

Tesco are definitely getting lots of 2023 Matchbox 

BuM have got the second wave of the anniversary Hot Wheels in with the Porsche 

Went to a VW show today, one seller with loads but almost all I either had, didn't want or were at scene tax prices. Did get a couple though

Other than messing about with keys, not much has been happening. It's still my daily and only car. I'd still hop in it and drive it anywhere (I really fancy trying to drive it to the Arctic circle on veg oil)
It's done almost a year on straight veg oil now without grumble or complaint. 
 
Here are some recent pics from various points between Newcastle and Central Scotland. 

 

 

 

 
 

 
With another 290 Rexton and SEXY ALFA

 

@320touring even put a code reader on it, and it only came back with one historical code which doesn't seem to relate to anything. 

 
Brakes work and all the lights work so God knows what that relates too. 
 
Mot looms soon. Can I make it to a full year in continuous ownership?!
Let's find out. 
 

Unfortunately* my favourite antique shop in Linlithgow has not closed down so I had to go in. He had a good selection of diecast on display. I was tempted by a 1.18 scale Polistil Porsche 959 but instead I just had my usual blether with the proprietor about Rovers.
This was in the Red Cross charity shop for £1.50 which is more like it. 

Damaged screen but otherwise serviceable, I have the Superfast one from my childhood and I did used to have one as a kid which I badly repainted in Strathclyde orange and black, together with a knockoff Playart example.
 

So first of all I had about 40 minutes in Jihlava at lunchtime and as I walked up to the town from the station I was delighted to see trolleybus wires. 
This is another Solaris like the ones I saw in Brno. 

And this one looks ultra modern so I'm not sure but it still had a powered by Škoda sticker on the back window. 

 
Then back to Brno and I headed for Kralovo Pole to have a go on the trolley route that I saw Sunday evening that goes right out to the edge of the city. The one I saw Sunday was a proper older Škoda but when I got there another Solaris turned up. 

Well they are every ten minutes so I thought I'd wait for the next one but that was a Solaris too so I gave up and got on. The route is great, through some woods, stops at the zoo (the zoo was actually a big transport interchange with normal buses and an express tram route that runs on dedicated track most of the way back in to the city) and then carries on for another ten minutes or so through a huge complex of communist era flats. But they were all really well kept, had balconies and were surrounded with lots of trees. I could never live in a flat with my hobbies but you could do far worse than these. 
A Google map of the route. 

Luckily when I got to the terminus there was a Škoda at the front of the queue of buses coming back so that worked out well. 


Can't help thinking the clean straight lines look so much better than all this modern stuff with swoopy bits all over the place. The interior was much more traditional too. 

 
I got off here to go and find a model shop. 

After which I saw another Solaris whilst walking down to the tram stop. 

 
I know I keep saying this but this is what we should all be riding on. They absolutely fly along. I know there are a few electric buses around now but they must be carting three tons of batteries around with them if they're going to last all day and if you hooned around in them like the trolleybus drivers seem to in Brno I think you'd halve the range. I know you'd have to spend a bit on infrastructure but it's not like having to lay tram lines is it. I realise no private bus company could ever invest in the wires it would have to be a local council thing. Which is why it will never happen. But it should. 

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve wanted a bmc 1100/1300. I even rang Derek Bayliss of the 1100 club when I was 15 to ask about buying one.  27 years later I’ve got one incoming- currently being loaded onto a polish registered  beavertail in central london….

All being well, I'll have another poor life decision being delivered next week. Really excited!
After saying never again, it's bought a classic car sight unseen. Just hoping this won't be another big project again. 🙈🙉
Does mean I'm back at the ridiculous figure of 7 cars though.

The o/s rear wheel and splash guard are going to have to come off for leak checks which I really haven't got time for at the moment since I went self employed.
It's getting dispatches to my mechanic mate who can tackle these jobs.

I've finally done what @SiC told me to do months ago and order a purge valve for the breather system on the Skoda.
We'll see the outcome in time.
As for the Focus, I've done nothing unless thinking about the problems counts towards something? Oh, and I've bought some odds and ends to accompany it all, including an "INTERACTIVE CD-ROM MULTIMEDIA EXPERIENCE" thing that seems kinda cool.

The MG is back!
Cooling fan issue sorted, I hope. In the end the garage needed to sort it because the @BerginJR ex @Sunny Jim 106 decided it didn't want it's exhaust anymore. Cost came in just under budget at £260 including the new battery.
Intermittent wipe is not done, but to be honest I will send the BCU off to a specialist to sort out. 
Was so lovely to get back in her after 3 weeks, but also a bit of a shock to the system after driving the @Cookiesouwest Mondeo today. Thank you mate for that. The Mondeo is so quiet and smooth and relaxing to drive (if you put the powershite gearbox out of your mind) then I get into the MG and it really feels like I'm driving it🤣
Progress report to follow.
 

Eek, a Land Rover doing what they do best. 
I'm not joking when I tell people to sell them when they've decided to start working for more than 5 minutes! 😂

Took Mrs C out for a drink today, in the Doom.
All was going well, till we were leaving the last pub.
Non start, no ticking sounds from Starter, no warning lights. And it wouldn't release the key from ignition.
After repeated attempts to start, I released the handbrake (no idea why I thought it would do anything), cranked her and she almost went.
Put handbrake on and the ignition released its vice like grip òn the key.
Mrs C now in tears. She has been seriously ill the last 9 or ten weeks and today was one of the few times, she has been pain free and out of the house. 
We both got out of car, locked her and I tried again.
Same problem, repeated attempts resulted in no crank, till I released handbrake and she rolled back a foot. Held her on brake pedal and then she cranked and fired into life.
She behaved herself for the drive home.
Mrs C suffers from anxiety and will not tolerate a car that let's her down.
So its back to the garage Monday to pay the bill, then enquire what he thinks is wrong this time.
If I can get it to reliably start, it will get a new ticket, then despite the rather massive and painful financial loss ( easily 2k), it will be punted out on FB Marketplace.
 

Sounds possibly like a starter interlock issue but things have gone skewiff. 
Real shitter it's playing up and costing a fortune. I put them in the same boat (but worse) as Saab/Volvo/etc where they do big miles and owners fall in love with them. So they throw money at them to make them work as they don't want to change the car. 
It's blotted it's copybook and if that happens early on, it's always hard to trust a car again. I've learnt that the hard way and why I now only put money into cars once I know it's a good runner. Otherwise sold/scrapped. 
Understand the anxiety thing as it really kicks me. Especially when you are doing important journys you must do without possibility of a FTP. Often if I'm driving somewhere, I don't want the hassle of a breakdown. Even if just a day out, it screws up that whole day.
I personally think something with a Honda petrol 1.8 N/A is a pretty safe. It's where I put my money and why I paid a lot of money (to me) for our Civic as it's a car we're going to have for 5 to 10 years. That said, we did have it misfire as we just got off the motorway after a 750 odd mile holiday and limped it back. At least it didn't FTP and turned out just needed a (£70) coil pack. Nicely designed engine bay so the coil is literally a 5 minute job to remove. But I have full faith in the car to not cause us trouble.

Took Mrs C out for a drink today, in the Doom.
All was going well, till we were leaving the last pub.
Non start, no ticking sounds from Starter, no warning lights. And it wouldn't release the key from ignition.
After repeated attempts to start, I released the handbrake (no idea why I thought it would do anything), cranked her and she almost went.
Put handbrake on and the ignition released its vice like grip òn the key.
Mrs C now in tears. She has been seriously ill the last 9 or ten weeks and today was one of the few times, she has been pain free and out of the house. 
We both got out of car, locked her and I tried again.
Same problem, repeated attempts resulted in no crank, till I released handbrake and she rolled back a foot. Held her on brake pedal and then she cranked and fired into life.
She behaved herself for the drive home.
Mrs C suffers from anxiety and will not tolerate a car that let's her down.
So its back to the garage Monday to pay the bill, then enquire what he thinks is wrong this time.
If I can get it to reliably start, it will get a new ticket, then despite the rather massive and painful financial loss ( easily 2k), it will be punted out on FB Marketplace.
 

Took Mrs C out for a drink today, in the Doom.
All was going well, till we were leaving the last pub.
Non start, no ticking sounds from Starter, no warning lights. And it wouldn't release the key from ignition.
After repeated attempts to start, I released the handbrake (no idea why I thought it would do anything), cranked her and she almost went.
Put handbrake on and the ignition released its vice like grip òn the key.
Mrs C now in tears. She has been seriously ill the last 9 or ten weeks and today was one of the few times, she has been pain free and out of the house. 
We both got out of car, locked her and I tried again.
Same problem, repeated attempts resulted in no crank, till I released handbrake and she rolled back a foot. Held her on brake pedal and then she cranked and fired into life.
She behaved herself for the drive home.
Mrs C suffers from anxiety and will not tolerate a car that let's her down.
So its back to the garage Monday to pay the bill, then enquire what he thinks is wrong this time.
If I can get it to reliably start, it will get a new ticket, then despite the rather massive and painful financial loss ( easily 2k), it will be punted out on FB Marketplace.
 

Honda is off the naughty step.
After, its diff oil change, the 4wd system has woken up. Still a bit lethargic, not kicking in as quickly as it should, but a def improvement.
Snow proved good for testing

Also the Disco of Doom, is actually in the garage now, for its new compressor and I've arranged to collect Friday.

Sorry to hear this has been a massive pain in the arse for you mate.