coachie

Quite old, high mileage, lots of previous owners, drinks too much, blows loudly from the back and the neighbours and your friends keep saying to get a newer better one. 
ATCNBE

On the Turner Prize shortlist this year....

Had a really good day today.  Got Universal Credit approved so that's my safety net for 12 months (bit of a surprise, since I've never claimed I get the slightly less arduous 'new business' version as a self employed person) as well as info on business and art courses that are available to me as a mature student along with grants I had no idea I could apply for to help with costs.  This was tempered somewhat by coming back to find I had a parking ticket, the job centre hasn't got a car park and I was told I'd be good for an hour on a neighbouring street that's single-yellowed.. I got ticketed at some point during the 45 minutes I was in for my appointment.  It's a reflection on my state of mind that the prospect of a surprise £35 bill didn't make me that angry, just a bit disappointed.
Then went over to the art centre and got some excellent help and advice there on artist networking opportunities, gallery opportunities and an insight into just how active the local art scene is.  Also got to see what sort of thing the art centre promotes and quickly realised it's a very broad church with their featured artist doing abstract sculptures in materials you might consider to be rubbish (I loved them, if I had space there was one I would have taken home), another artist doing miniature portraits, and a shop full of samples of local artists work from wargaming miniatures to ceramics to jewellery to glass items.  My stuff is very different to what was there but then what was there was very different to everything that was there too so that's pretty neat.  There's local studio space I can hire that's not exhorbitantly expensive, a poetry night that is apparently both good and good for networking, and generally just a shitload of stuff that's made me feel rejuvenated about my job.
Having access to an actual meatspace art community really helps and something I've not had for above a decade.  Scunthorpe continues to treat me well in ways I was never expecting and that light at the end of the tunnel is looking a bit more like the exit than an oncoming train today.

When we met back in 2008, MrsDC was driving a three-year-old Yaris that she'd owned from new.

Sixteen years on... still driving the same Yaris.

Looking a bit frilly underneath these days, and with plenty of battle scars, but still plodding on.
She's announced her intention to drive it until it's only fit for scrap, so we'll see if it makes it to its twentieth birthday next year.
I would scoff, but this thing has outlived fourteen of my cars over the same timeframe - so I'll just appreciate its cockroach-like tenacity...

Gained a customer recently, she booked a 21 plate Aygo in for a clutch (!?!) because my quote was less than half the main dealers price - they'd just done the first mot, charged her £400 for front pads and a handbrake adjustment and told her it needs a clutch.
Found myself looking at a 7000 mile car with a very high pedal. Drove it and found the bite right at the top so... Looks like I found the only 2021 car where some shit can wind the manual cable adjustment up to con someone into getting a clutch job.
Set the adjustment to spec, checked pedal, charged her £40 and sent the clutch back.

Family fleet attendance at another enjoyable East Coast Japanese meet:

Star car of the day, for me at least, was this lovely Camry:

Recently purchased at an ACA sale.
Closely followed by this Piazza:

The Laurel was second-oldest, with a friend's Celica Liftback taking the honours of being the most aged:

Walking past a near neighbours house yesterday and they were having a clear out with a hippo bag full or random crap on their drive. In front of the bag was this jack and a couple of bits of copper pipe.
Obviously I couldn't let what looked like a perfectly good 2 tonne jack go for scrap so asked if I could take it away. They said yeah no worries but beware as it creeps down after a few minutes.
So I carried it home (a bit of a faff with two fuck wit Beagles in tow) and gave it a once over/top up and last night lifted Boris the Morris up with it no problem.
In my old RAC days when you were taken off road for your vans annual safety inspection the H+S guy would test your service jack by lifting your van with it then having a fag break. If your van was still in the air after his break then it was deamed to be ok. So if you let your jack down while he wasn't looking it failed and you were told to scrap it and get a new one from Brown Brothers/Taskmaster (most patrols always had at least a couple of 'spare' jacks at home).
This morning the Minor is still in the air so it looks like I've acquired a nice dinky little jack that takes up hardly any boot space.

 

I've never had my three parked side by side before. They have to park line astern on the drive and even then one of them has to be in the garage. 
Well I was doing a bit of shunting this morning and there is a space at the top of our Close for two cars that was empty, which is a rarity in itself. Plus the sun was shining and the leaves have just started coming out on the trees so I thought why not.

Like I say, parking for two cars, but when they are all quite small and all yours you can squeeze three in. Obviously you have to start from the left. If I'd put the Triumph in last I couldn't have got out of the car.

Also, how to make a Favorit look like a big car. Park them either side of a Triumph 1300.

My three toys (aka money pits), first time together.






 

For anyone following this farce: my laptop went down (in a meeting) in Friday afternoon.  Saturday I was able to get it into my local repairer.  In the afternoon I got a phone call, come and get it... when I got there, I found they'd called the wrong customer.  Oh great.  So we went away as planned on Monday, having a couple of nights in Manchester for my birthday.  This morning I had an experience day booked, with a flight simulator.  But ten days ago I got an email: gone into liquidation, all bookings cancelled.
And now we're home, and I've picked up my messages etc.

Mrs ODM phoned today with a screw in her tyre on the way home.
Compressor managed to get it home and is booked for a new one and mot tomorrow.
Espace needs a service and wheel bearing and it also gave me this today after too many short tip runs.

if anybody needs me I’ll be out having a regenerative fap.
 

I’m at the grand opening of World of Volvo in Gothenburg…

Spotted this today. Probably one for the didnt know they existed thread...avon tuning triumph acclaim...it looked absolutely hanging, no doubt it doesnt need an MOT now....

These days there are enough specialists out there that you can buy replacements for most perishable parts and just put it back into service yourself.  They are worth a few quid though.  If you're not too picky about what you're looking for you can probably pick up a working table for around a grand, but if you want something better known you can double or triple that.  Having said that, there's a company who specialise in this sort of thing who have a Getaway table currently up for an asking price of £3995 - though if you want one of the really well known ones like Twilight Zone etc that figure can easily jump into five figures.  Which is why I honestly can't see us ever ending up with Medieval Madness (which is probably my all time favourite table to play) as I sure as heck ain't paying ten grand plus for one!  It's something I'd enjoy having in the house, but it absolutely isn't worth that to me!
I've been window shopping here quite a lot since yesterday!

in better REV news, I have been informed the kingpin and bushes have been refitted and everything buttoned back up! I am very pleased to hear this, as this has been one of REV's longer-standing issues that was first noticed all the way back in 2021! so I am glad to see the end of it so to speak
 
and with that Duncan discovered the fun that is the Model 70 fasteners! 
have to admit that gave me a good chuckle
however in the course of putting things back together, this was noticed!

 which I find most interesting from a “I am a sad bastard who studies every nut and bolt of these machines” perspective  
because one of the things written in the parts manual is

"STY403 Steering top plate (C/W 2x 5/16" BSF bolt x 3/4" long packed in sets) NOTE: For use with Left hand Steering lock when LP 1161 wheels (Store STY 474) are fitted"

(Dunlop LP 1161 wheels are the standard 10 inch Mini 21A2744 wheels that later Model 70's like REV have)

The thing, I have never been able to figure out what "Left hand steering lock" actually is! It’s not listed anywhere else in the parts manual apart from that note, but I have to wonder if the steering lock, is what Duncan has just made himself?

I think this might be something @Zelandeth you might want to check on TPA, especially as TPA is on 10 inch wheels when she started out life on 12 inch wheels
 
and then some other items where sorted out also  

 

Lovely AS buying experience!
The to sort out list isn’t major and consists of:
Fit missing door check mechanisms, one is kindly supplied 😊
Replace the gear lever gaiter as worn
Replace the O/S door mirror
Replace the Ripspeed special window winder on the passenger side
Maybe do a clutch change at some point as it is a bit high and heavy, we shall see.
The EML is on and I knew this, could be EGR or, in conjunction with an intermittent EPC warning, could be a TPS issue.
Engine Power Control unit….
Anyway, it didn’t go into limp mode but trundled along quite nippily, so happy face.
Its a cute little buzzbox 😊😊😊

Some disappointing news on the house side. It was all pretty much set in stone, we were only waiting for a bank statement that would proof we had the deposit in place for the estate agent to agree on the sale. Well, for whatever inexplicable reason my better half and her dad thought it would be a wise idea to have this sent via Post when they sorted it (I thought its easier to just have it all in a single account, hers), before a bank holiday weekend. Naturally the expected happened, Royal mail fucked up and didn't deliver, viewings happened on the long weekend, the previously motivated seller got a significantly better offer and we are out. I intervened and told gf/father in law to call the bank asap when the letter still wasn't here on Tuesday, we promptly got an email copy instead but even that would have cost us tens of thousands (!) of pounds in the end. Just another lesson to be learned, if something is important sort it yourself and never ever rely on anybody else. In 99 out of 100 cases people simply don't think or will fuck it up. Unfortunately a lesson I learn over and over and over again.
I don't think we'll get the opportunity we had there again but maybe the next one will at least offer a little more garage space. I also have more time to revive the other cars that will need to move eventually, so there's that...
Anyway, after picking up the parts for the Celsior last week I managed to make a little progress. I tried to clean the new bonnet but the dirt is so deeply ingrained that I'll have to get the polisher out next. I've also transferred the dual washer pipes exclusive to the Celsior over to the new bonnet, I still don't know why Toyota decided to go with two different setups for something as simple as washer pipes. Many different clips that were previously missing are back on the car and I finally managed to have a look at the lazy blower motor (yes it's somewhere behind all that wiring):

Fortunately there's just enough space to undo 3 bolts and drop it out from the bottom. At first I thought the transistor controlling the motor (there's also a separate more common resistor) at high speeds would be at fault so I rigged up its replacement. It became increasingly clear that it cannot be the source of the somewhat erratic motor speed though, especially when the motor works differently well depending on its position.

In the end I think the carbon brushes are just worn out, another indicator that the car will have significantly more miles than indicated. I tried to clean it all with brake cleaner and made an attempt at greasing the bearings. It's not seized up (like the W140 blower motor was) or fouling against anything so it can only really be the contact points of the carbon brushes being close to gone. I can press up on the motor shaft when it's installed and it suddenly goes twice as fast. It just doesn't get the voltage it needs anymore.
Anyhow, another drive into the countryside yesterday. Despite the remaining jobs it really is a great driver now. Here it is assuming it's Street Fighter position:


Almost. Hopefully a replacement blower motor will sort the airflow, I'll have to reach out to the local old school auto electrician to diagnose the radio and I might have a go at raising the coilovers in the back. Maybe even the A/C system could hold some pressure?

In the right lighting you could almost forget about it's cosmetic flaws, with some paint this could be a great looking car from any distance!

While I'm there, I might as well listed the rest ! 
Malaga models.
1.2 cc variants: L, LE, Touring, Special, XL, GLX. 
1.5 cc variants: GL,  Nov 86 Primero edition based on 1.5 GL, GLX. 
Also 1.7 Diesel, no spec given for 1990 only?
Ibiza models up to 1990.
900 cc variants: Disco 3dr, Comfort 5dr. Special, Designer.
1.2 cc: Junior 3dr, Crono, Designer, Special, LE 3dr, L, XL, XLS, XLS, GL 3dr, GLX. 
1.5 cc: Special, Crono 3dr, GL, GLX, GLX Injection 1990 5dr, SXI 3dr.
Special edition June 88: 1.2 Del Sol based on 1.2 GL 3dr. 
 

I know Mannol is a perfectly fine oil, but because the chains are at the back of this engine and replacement is not really a viable option on a car of this value, I wanted to be super careful with my choice of oil.

VW spec 507 is low ash so only really important over a longer term if the car had a DPF, which this one does not. So I picked a (slightly cheaper) fully synthetic 5w30 quality oil from Fuchs which I know is a 'known' brand althought not 507 spec. So out came the Mannol and in went 8 litres of Fuchs plus a new filter. I guess the engine has had a flush with clean cheap oil for a few hundred miles. Anyway it's given me peace of mind.
After my holiday I am still running a lot of errands for my mum in connection with stuff to do with my dad and tonight I tried the dynamic setting on the suspension which only comes with Sport models. Not expecting much, the difference is incredible. It really stiffens the car up and transforms the driving experience, giving confidence in the corners (it feels like it's going to fall over in comfort mode on twisty roads). I then used lift mode to go over the 327 speed humps on the road up to my mum's house.
I made a short video of the car and its suspension moving up and down. In the clip it's not that noticeable but in person the car goes from an almost Allroad ride height into something quite sporty!
https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxKV6q-Ta341qbH_OxNtW_rHpCPs2mL4G2?si=MiQLcC9fxbm7I7Bl

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/186394541918?itmmeta=01HVMBSQ19HE79K2XPYBF6NYQ0&hash=item2b65faff5e:g:JWUAAOSw-YBmHXXV

my bet is on the Escort.

Which cost more to buy the Shadow or the Escort ?