gm

as a kid, i only remember seeing vauxhalls, fords and bl stuff, but there were a lot less foreign cars on the roads back in those days generally. Rover SD1 gets my vote

was there once a rule / guideline that the police should only buy cars that had been made in the uk ? obviously not the case anymore the earliest ‘foreign’ police cars i can think of would be the big traffic volvos

bloody hell, that’s rough not one for me, thanks

certainly is, took him no time to do it, obviously a skilled chap. when I went to the cash machine to sort out payment, I picked up a big box of donuts for him and the lads, seemed to be appreciated

but as it was pissing down, i chucked the broken bits in the boot of the mazda and headed for exhaust mania in bishop auckland looks like i’m in the right place do you do repairs, mate ? yes, very good ones, as it happens i’m taking it back next week for him to weld in a flexi joint - he wasn’t happy doing it off the car, wants to get it perfect. i nipped into lidls on the way home and picked up a can of high temp paint, might as well get the centre section looking right before it goes back on https://m.facebook.com/100057579252971/about/

i wanted to keep the exo mobile - desperate times call for desperate action ! this is the standard mx5 exhaust i kept just in case might need that hanger ‘adjusting’ sorted ! ridiculous and probably not legal but will allow me to drive to the exhaust place without sounding like a bell end

it wouldn’t just be the exhaust i’d need to worry about does look like fun though

these lads were great, presumably father and son, they must have spent a good five mins having a good look around then called mum over from across the road, she seemed less impressed and dragged them away

in the meantime, here’s some pretty pictures from this afternoon’s hoon (the gates were open and no one was about, how could i resist ?) got to be a calendar shot there, surely ? seaton delaval hall https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/seaton-delaval-hall

during yesterday’s hooning, i managed to bottom out the Exo a couple of times - so i thought i’d better check underneath for any damage hmm, bit of a scrape on the exhaust there i have a decat that i’m planning to fit so might as well take it off the car for a better look hmm, that’s pretty bad almost looks like a hole - better give it a prod bugger fetch the mig fetch the grinder add a sacrificial plate over the top and then notice the true extent of the damage yep, that’s fecked ! i’ll see if there’s any kind of warranty as it’s only been in use for a few months, only snag being i bought it off another exo builder, not direct from mev. if not, i’ve got a lead on a local custom exhaust place that may be able to help.

working all weekend

it is registered as a new car so the first mot is after three years - by which point it will barely resemble the car which passed the iva !

As the sun was shining yesterday, me and @DVee8 took the Exo out for a blast the route was something like this, I'm not exactly sure as I was following dvee8s excellent directions, but involved some of the finest driving roads the region has to offer we stopped for pics several times, much to the amusement of a couple in a campervan who we kept overtaking Cumbria County Durham looking down into the valley near Brough amazing clouds today ace photographer at work on the way back, we stopped in Barnard Castle for a coffee and an amazing meat pie - mince, gravy and minted mushy peas sounded a little odd but tasted great - the shop appropriately named "De-licious" we sat in a bench and had fun watching people's reaction to seeing the Exo parked up over the road, I think mum spotted us as dad and son were having a good nosey around the car coffees and pies finished, we headed back to the car and spotted this beauty coming round the corner - the driver gave me a big thumbs up when he saw me taking pics further hooning occurred on the return journey, the Exo notching up 180km in an afternoon and relishing every one of them. thanks to @DVee8 for a smashing day out, some excellent roads and for great company.

i didn’t like the exhaust at first but it has grown on me, it can stay for now. at some point i’ll probably upgrade to a custom job which might just coincide with a turbo installation quite a few have fitted bike exhausts, some look better than others - but now the test is passed, i can pretty much do whatever i want, doesn’t need an mot until june 2025 !

err, i could try unfortunately, me mam says i can’t have a bike as they’re too dangerous !