GeorgeB

1990 I got a job right next to a NatWest. Ideal I thought as we were paid  by cheque at the time. 
Opened the account, deposited my cheque. Went round to the cash point and it would only give me £50.
Sorry, that's the max on that account, if you want it raised you have to write to the manager. 
So I wrote to the manager, who said No! 
So I went in, withdrew all but 50p and left it at that. 
Until I moved they were still sending me statements and thanks to the interest I now had 54p.
I wonder how much it has cost the twats to send out 30 years worth of statements?

Ben George 4 mod

I finally got bored picking holes in the driver's side and decided I couldn't put off the welding any longer.
To my immense surprise, my first attempt went quite well:

Frankly I was amazed. At this stage I should admit to having scrapped a 2cv after biting of more than I could chew with a previous restoration attempt, but this time the gods of welding looked benignly at my feeble efforts and chose not to smite me down.
Buoyed by this success*, I pressed forward with gluing more and bigger bits in place. I was so excited I forgot to take enough pics as I went along so you'll have to trust me that its not just been stuck down with a big snotter of tigerseal.


At this stage the driver's side was solid again so in pursuit of that 'factory' look I even splashed out on a can of 'peasant bleu'.

 

That's progress. I remember the Saab 900 was a bit like a Mk2 Cavalier where you pulled the clutch out of a cover in the bell housing. The clutch was on the front of the engine. Like the Vauxhall you needed someone to press the clutch pedal , the Vauxhall had three clamps to hold the pressure plate (came in the clutch kit) but the Saab didn't.You could get a special tool to hold the fingers in place but I used a bent wire coat hanger.

What was?
Use the quote button!

https://ecas2cvparts.co.uk/collections/acadiane-panels/products/special-offer-pair-of-floor-pan-for-acadiane-only-zinc-electroplated-steel

Around 3 years ago I found a bloke selling a rare LT part, so I agreed to collect it next time I was in the area (it's around 5 hours drive away). Sadly he changed his mind and decided not to sell, or so he said.
I was fairly surprised to get a message from him to say that he's leaving the country on the 30th, and did I want it for nothing as it was going to be binned. Hence why I'm currently heading south on a long trip! All well so far, but annoyed by the number of people who you pull over to let them join the motorway, then they match your speed exactly. At 65mph there's only one direction my speed can go!
Not a bad place to be:

Thing is, an Invacar isn't a car. Never has been, never will be. It's a motorized tricycle. If one was hit by a car, any car, the results obviously wouldn't be good. But then people take to the roads on bicycles, motorbikes, quadbikes, those French microcars, the new Citroën Ami etc. and take their chances. So long as they're aware of the risks, I don't see an issue. At least a Model 70 would seem to have enough performance to keep pace with city traffic at least. 

i think its perfectly easy to buy reliable family transport for under £2k.  i reckon i could have bought two or three for £2k that would offer perfectly good service for a year.  but the temptation of something a bit different blinds us all.
i did a quick search and i would just give it to a jap specialist to do properly. rob burke, japex, poleposition.  it'll be under £1k and for three grand you've got the car you always wanted with the right engine in perfect condition.  look after it from there on, and it'll last forever.

I've never known anyone with car knowledge have such a poor run with car buying.
Are you just buying with the heart and not head? Buying an old car where the seller turns the heater to full for no apparent reason on a test drive and it has signs of leaking coolant...
Well, let's just say I'd have walked away if it was up for half as much.
 
Anyway - if I was in the position you find yourself, I suspect I'd just pay someone to put it right. Dealer is obviously dodgy as a dodgy thing, playing dodgeball dishonestly.

A Toyota is a reliable car, when looked after. Even if it's not been looked after, a gentle hand to remedy it's failings can often see it right.
If the head gasket is gone, just fix it properly. Don't bother with this bullshine of chemicals to fix a fundamental material failure. I mean the NHS doesn't prescribe a potion to clear the arteries when a stent is the only way to go.
But life is too short, and it's shorter when you own half of the cars found in Wales. If its a dealer, throw it back to them. If a credit card was used, even better.
If not, well you either lawyer up, sell it, or fix it. But for the love of God just don't bother with that steel seal stuff.

why would you not just fix it nicely rather than bodge it? or maybe sell it to someone who will fix it rather than just bodge and scarper. 

I'm not sure, but I think it's Sid James batting.

I'm not sure, but I think it's Sid James batting.

We don't really have evil ones anymore, this lot are just shite.

I'm not sure, but I think it's Sid James batting.

Thanks, I’m really pleased with how they came out. Just a couple of cereal box templates and a piece of steel bent in the vice, nothing too difficult although it is time consuming. It probably took an hour to make just one body mounting. Very satisfying though. It goes without saying there are no off the shelf repair panels available at all.
The whole side of the car feels so much better and more rigid now. That was three days work, and it will take probably another two possibly three to finish off the floor on this side.
I still haven’t flushed the radiator out, but I was eager to see how it would start after sitting in the garage for the last fortnight. So a quick prime of the fuel pump using the little lever, about 3/4 choke and it fired straight up first press of the button, and ran nicely on a fast idle. It’s definitely spinning over much better than it was, we think the rings have freed off after the long layup.
No smoke either, so the modern valve stem oil seals I got from AH spares are working well. The original o ring seals had all disintegrated. All the soot seems to have emptied out of the exhaust now too.
I fitted the dynamo back on but it’s still not charging, despite cleaning the contacts on the control box. The club have a few nos control boxes which are not too much £££ so I’ll pop a new one on there and see if it works. The one currently on there isn’t the original anyway as it’s dated 1951.
 

I'm not sure, but I think it's Sid James batting.

We get lots (and I mean lots) of requests to join daily, and believe it or not, we all have full time jobs that pay the bills.
We do respond to the ‘Contact us’ function but I appreciate it’s not always as quickly as some people would like. 
Trust me, we do the best we can 🙂👍

This is one of my favorite stories. The first major car race in Norway after the war was in September 1947 and with several participants from Scandinavia and many special cars and August Haugen taxi owner from Lillehammer Norway who participated with his worn out taxi that had been driven the whole war on wood gas. He drove from home in the morning and without a single training lap on the track participated and came in 4th place first place was taken by a Bugatti. Is unfortunately bad with pictures to is just this bad one.

'I've got a Rolls Royce in the garage'
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Whilst the driver of the Fiesta does look like a little twat, that was entirely the fault of the driver of the white Mondeo who turned across his path; how did he not see him? 

I used to think of NewPOD before crossing the road but my girlfriend kept complaining about me throwing myself into oncoming traffic. 

I say keep hold of it until the better weather returns and see if the love returns.
With me i always feel guilty and beat myself up when another year is coming to a close and i still haven't got something finished.
I've owned my Brat for ten years but it has been off the road for over three years now when a few days of welding the inner arch would see it usable again but life,work and a lack of mojo has got in the way yet again.


So i have moved it to the corner of the drive,bought a cover and hid it up till the Spring.
Now i am no longer walking past my disappointment my mood has lightened somewhat and i am telling myself 2022 will be the year it will hit the road again.