gm

when I bought the green mx5, I phoned my insurers to swap the cover over from the black mx5 - for reasons unknown, they couldn't do this but quoted me a new (classic) policy at over £600 out of curiosity, I ran a meerkat this afternoon that's a bit more like it - maybe I'll run this one as a daily for a few months when the weather improves

i’d drained the radiator while fixing the power steering so thought i’d give the engine a flush. this involved moving the car outside for the first time in a while thermostat has seen better days - i’ll order a new one flushed with the hose for a good while and refilled, i needed a quick test drive up and down the street only problem, the seats are still in the house - this handy toolbox will have to do i’d given it an oil change while it was jacked up and it’s running very nicely now, even just up and down the street, the car is lovely to drive - i’ll look forward to getting this one out on the road soon

a trip down to see the mazdadudes in darlington and £50 later, a replacement steering rack has been sourced and installed at which point i discovered another leak in the fluid cooling pipe work fortunately i had a spare from the exo donor but fitting it was a massive pain. all done now and the power steering works perfectly

sent and received

let’s have a look at that steering rack yep, that’ll be humped then

porno ?

proof, if ever it was needed, that we’re all on the same (obscure) wavelength - i thought exactly the same thing and checked sadly, it wasn’t still, well done to the kids that made them

i went for a walk while my tyres were being fitted yesterday, happened across this happy family of snowmen

that SLK puts on a good performance, surprised the lada struggled - were they not built for this sort of weather ?

mine too, I loved that little car I didn't know about the restrictor, although looking at the bodykit mine had fitted, I'd guess a previous owner would have removed it already

err, that was taken by my passenger, yes, definitely my passenger you’re quite correct, that isn’t a motorway, it’s a section of dual carriageway when i was nearly home but shows the same conditions that the motorway was in : bloody slippy ! i got the winter tyres fitted today and it’s so much better, ready to take on the winter now

an interesting drive home tonight on an ungritted motorway made all the more interesting by my being tailgated at 40mpm by a fucking snowplough ! seriously, he was about a car length off my bumper - absolute arsehole ! glad i bought those winter tyres the other day, shame they’re still sitting in the garage and i’m driving on death rings. i did have a little bit of handbrake fun on an empty roundabout when i was nearly home

nah, i’ll keep it for now, thanks. heater worked a treat on the way into town, nice and toasty new thermostat and housing should arrive tomorrow and i’ll get it fixed properly. i’ve just picked up a set of winter tyres too so i’m all set for the bad weather

what a perfect time for the binis thermostat to pack up - can’t get any heat in the car at all we’ll just have to go old school until the parts arrive

premium rate for this little hottie !

the Scottish Spirting Car Club invited their members to design a new layout for an autotest - with predictable results

time for a quick tinker under the bonnet - new plugs and an air filter both very overdue i fitted a replacement power steering pump and jacked up the front end to turn lock to lock to bleed new fluid bit something wasn’t quite as it should be - a sort of sloshing noise was coming from the rack i pulled back the steering gaiter and got soaked in oily coffee that’ll be where the steering fluid has all been hiding - add a replacement rack to the shopping list. at least i hadn’t just dumped a brand new bottle of fluid into it. not ideal, but it was great being able to crack on with the spannering in a warm dry garage.

first job on green was to swap the manky dashboard binnacle (seems to have been painted and gone sticky in the sun) for one i picked up at the scrappies last week time to sort out the doorcards - there really is too much beige, i used the top sections and handles to tone it down a bit much better

with the end of the month approaching and a rare dry day, i moved the Exo to the garage at my mams house to hibernate for the winter she insisted on coming along for the drive and the green machine took up residence in my own garage takes up a lot more space than the exo

been to the local breakers and picked up some parts to tone down that tan interior plan is to use the top section of the door cards and the handles - should look much smarter

seriously ? i trust you told them where to stick it

it’s included in the lease - would be interesting to find out what they would charge an owner for the same

@Mi30n was telling me his audi e-tron was in for a service today, i idly wondered what exactly would be getting done ? no oil or filter to change, no air filter, no plugs, no fuel filter, coolant ? probably not, what exactly would he be getting for the omg£££ audi would be charging? turns out they change the pollen filter and brake fluid ! that’s it ! still, at least they washed it for him

the exhaust on shitey was a bit noisey so i rolled it up on ramps and investigated hmm, not the best but what’s that hanging from the rafters ? close enough (there’s a rumour that manual and auto exhausts are different, i guess that’s bollocks then) this car is so clean underneath sounds great - not look at me mental like mighty but has a nice tone and rasp, just as you would expect i chopped the centre section and tail pipe off for future use and had a look at just how shagged the back box is what a mess - i’ll drop that at the tip tomorrow a quick drive up and down the street and it’s going well - the autobox changes smoothly and the little green car picks up well.