Tartan58

Genuinely didn't make the connection to another less innocent word - now that's all I'll see. You've poisoned my mind!

On my lunchtime walk I pass a Ferarri (modern thing, I struggle to identify anything after the 360) with the plate 50 CK, correctly spaced. Took me several weeks of seeing it every day to think hmm that could say SOCK. Also in the drive is a Range Rover with 300 CK so I'm guessing his initials are CK and the fact it could maybe spell Sock is coincidence.

Another 3 months and at last a significant moment - the crusty old subframe is at last released from the car. Was straightforward enough in the end, the most fiddly but being feeding the PAS reservoir down through the engine bay which was much easier after removing the manifold heat shield. Considering a new career as a contosionist after struggling with this in a narrow single garage. The original plan was to get as much off and loosened as possible in the garage then move it out onto the drive for the final removal but didn't fancy the cold so decided to tackle it in the garage. Next step is to remove the sterring rack from the subframe, I'm in two minds whether to replace it as a precaution as I don't fancy doing this job again and the pumps are a well known weak point. Then its giving all the usually inaccessible bits a good clean up before fitting the new shiny subframe. A bit anxious about the refit, getting everything lined up properly! Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

Day off today and monsoon conditions so spent some more time with the Bini. 'New' subframe cleaned up and the surface rust sanded back with wire wheel, treated and painted - good stuff this, goes on really well. A bit more shiny than I was expecting (supposed to be satin) but overall I'm pretty happy. (notice retro Apple monitor box) Also got the suspension struts off for cleaning up, these were good 2nd hand items I fitted last year but didnt bother to clean them up as was really only interested in getting a mot pass. Crusty old subframe can be seen. Now thinking while I'm in there I should do the wheel bearings and that driveshaft is looking a bit crispy and signs of a leak at the gearbox end which has got me thinking about a 6 speed upgrade (while I'm in there) but I think that may be a step too far this year, I'm forever guilty of biting off more than I can chew)

Generally prices do seem to be up recently however I think that's probably more down to the general increase in 2nd hand values across the board but there certainly don't seem to be many out there for under a grand these days. Those "in the know" will go weak at the knee for an early Y-reg, especially the pre-production OBLs but we are still a bit away from them being a widley recognised classic.

13 months later.... Not much has happened of note, an MOT pass achieved back in June with a slightly shorter list of advisories, front and rear discs and pads done as well as a temporary rebuild to the rear callipers. I say temporary as it was good enough to free off the slight stickiness but they'll probably need replaced soon. In (slightly) more interesting news now that the winter is here again it is back on SORN and some more serious spannering has been going on... Over the last couple of weeks I've embarked on the job I've been dreading, replacing the control arm rear bushes. These were an advisory on the MOT but the front end was beginning to feel awfully wobbly and the old tyre kick test didn't yield pleasant results. The reason for my dread is that this is a subframe off job and given that I'm still not quite over the trauma of replacing the strut top mounts 2 years ago (horrifically seized bolts everywhere) I wasn't looking forward to this one. So first job was to enable front end service mode and much struggling with rusty screws and nuts that would rather disintegrate than turn we have this... Next it's out with the big breaker bar to see if any of the subframe bolts are going to play ball and surprisingly and with relative ease all but one have yielded so they've been removed one at a time, cleaned up and refitted with copper grease so when I come to finally drop the subframe there should be no problems. The one that is resisting will come out once I get a new removal socket as I managed to snap the 16mm socket while trying to get it off and a standard socket is starting to slip so I don't want to mangle the thing. Learning from experience here, more haste less speed, I've got 6 months to do this job! Now having lived on the east coast of Scotland for 21 years the subframe is looking pretty crusty so I took a punt on a second hand subframe from ebay, the plan being to get it refurbed and built up with new bushes etc before doing the swap. So a couple of days ago this arrived (don't know why the photo insists on being upside-down): Really chuffed with it, it is remarkably clean with only a few small bits of surface rust which can be easily dealt with. It also came complete with the ARB and control arms and all the bushes which all look in pretty good nick. However I'll probably replace all the bushes with new ones anyway as I don't really want to be doing this job again anytime soon. The breaker bar came out to start stripping the components off the 'new' subframe which again amazingly all came apart with very little swearing required. Next job will be to thoroughly degrease and clean everything, treat the rust and apply some chassis paint before fitting the new bushes. However as I've run out of degreaser and can't be bothered going down to Halfords today I've quit while I'm ahead for the moment. Watch this space for more exciting updates.

What can I say - just wow. Missed this thread first time round but this is fantastic, I would be happy just to have that as a garden ornament. These are one of the cars that shaped my love of cars, one of my earliest memories is sitting on the floor of my grandparents living room looking at the pictures in an SM brochure that my grandad had. One of my biggest regrets is passing up on the chance to knock about in a bronze example for the weekend - the background to that is that for my 30th birthday we hired an E-type for a weekend trip, however the the previous hiree returned it with a borked gearbox so I was offered either a mk2 Jag or the SM, fearing that the SM would likely leave us stranded somewhere I went for the Mk2, I wish I'd just been a bit braver as that opportunity will probably never come about again.

"Are you going to have to change car because of fuel prices?" Nope, just going to maximise my use of my company car - EV with free (for now) charging at work #smugf***er Seriously though I realise I am in an extremely fortunate position and would be extremely worried if I was still running my own car for work. However I do fully expect to be shafted by the leccy prices at some point in the not too distant future. The Bini still has a third of a tank (last filled up in August so I'm probably good until the summer) and my in wife's Hyundai i30 a full tank usually lasts 4-6 weeks despite being surprisingly uneconomical for a 1.0T.

Not always the case - I bought a brand new car (one and only time) and had my private plate put on before delivery, however the dealer seemingly assigned it a normal plate first before transferring on my private one. When I came to sell it on I though I'd save a bit of time and got new plates made up with the originally assigned plate before I got the paperwork back so I'd be ready to fit them right away. But when the paperwork came back the DVLA had assigned it a completely different number so the plates I had ready were a complete waste of money!

Yes, I'm a visionary - never mind that that article is from 2017!

Never seen that before, still looks fresh for a 20yr old design. I reckon that would sell well as an EV.

There was a factory JDM coupe, and a rather good looking thing it is too, a bit like a mini DB9 if you squint a bit. Didn't get the hatch or any more space inside though.

Phwoooorrrr - beige, sherk plates, giffer stickers - i think I've just had a little accident. Last taxed 22 years ago, looks like it's been carefully stored over that time as it looks like it will just drive away.

Shit - now look what you've made me do... https://www.theparking-cars.co.uk/used-cars-detail/renault-11/renault-11-1-4l-68cv/ZC8988F4.html Rubbish photo and no information but I could easily live with that price and Normandie to Edinburgh isn't too far is it?

Well bought. I'd love an 11, pre facelift though. My folks had a Broadway edition in metallic beige with beige interior, that would be the holy grail for me - it's the first family car I really have many memories of (had and R14 and BMW 2002tii prior to that but I was too young to remember much). I still have the Haynes manual and original dealer front number plate. 1 on the road and 9 on SORN according to howmanyleft so there's a small chance I might find one one day.