Bren

Polished before it rains.

The mondeo got a wash and clay. We had only ever chucked a bucket of soapy water over it so it was time for some tlc. Might polish it tomorrow.

Postman brought this. A majorette I have not had before - I was envious of my junior school mates who had this.

I think it's only the second toy saab I have owned - I have a boxed matchbox sonnett but that's it saab wise.

Love it.

An old school friend had an immaculate blue one - his dad worked at a ford dealer - it was chopped in by an old couple in 1989. At 13 years old it was MINT and low mileage but back then they were worthless. I don't think NNC 161P survived long after he swapped  it for a nissan cherry.

Back then you paid £300 for one. If you stuffed it you bought another.

As for prices I paid £300 in 1991 for a rotten mk1 1300e. I was done up somewhat.

VW wanted £750 to replace two xenon headlight bulbs on my mates 2014 passat.

No, that's not a mistake. Seven hundred and fifty quid.

This arrived yesterday - 

corgi cheverolet caprice. Not one I owned when I was small - it came out in 1980 - I liked superfast and airfix kits back then plus I was starting to take an interest in Star Wars toys.

Never a big seller - in fact I don't ever recall seeing it in shops. It's a nice model - large and heavy. It also came as a  taxi and stock car - green and two tone blue and silver versions also exist. With the postage I got for under a tenner.

Best wishes

I managed to change the bulb in the mondeo that had defeated me a couple of weeks ago.

While I was there I remembered one of the screws was mullered on the airbox - it was imposdible to extract the air filter without removing it.

So I got my drill out - 

The rest came out with a pair of end snips -

22 hours ago, Pat Earrings said:

Thought I’d update on the Vectra.

since acquiring it, I’ve already wet/dry sanded and DA polished the headlamps, fixed the floppy indicator thanks to @Popsicle help, replaced the blown heater resistor, and given it an oil/filter, fuel and pollen filter. Fuel filter wasn’t original which was good to see, at least it was done once in the cars life 😂. Even cleaned out the rubber bung and surrounding area of the pollen filter so it doesn’t suffer the flooding in the footwell that it can cause. 

getting underneath there is clearly a small oil leak which, I suspect is from the weeping rocker cover given how it has slowly accumulated over time. Absolutely rinsed brake clean everywhere to clean it all off. I’ve ordered up a Febi rocker cover/gasket set which I hope arrives by the weekend. I’ll replace the plugs then too.

I’ve also changed the nasty plastic steering wheel with one from an SRi which is miles better. 
 

I’ve also had the timing belt/water pump and auxiliary belt done. It was on the original belt as well so glad this is sorted for peace of mind.
 

also put 2 new rear tyres on, as they were so old I couldn’t even see the dot code on one of them! It starts immediately with barely a crank and the engine is really torquey. I think it’s definitely had a clutch in its life as its immediate and a good biting point, again good to see.

I am clearly going beserk but as people know me I’m incredibly pedantic and have to get stuff done asap, else it really itches my brain. The interior is what lets the car down, it’s just tired seats which are typical cheap Vauxhall. I’ve found a guy breaking a VXR and I’m travelling there Saturday where it’ll have VXR recaro seats which will just lift the inside.

I’ve ordered the rear drop links and bushes as they are audibly knocking and for the sake of about £33 all in I may as well do it this month.

next month I’ll replace the thermostat as it’s lazy, and I’ll see about doing the front discs and pads as although pads have plenty on them, the discs are pretty poor in my opinion.

overall, enjoying this car. Will serve me well for a bit.

For the money they are hard to beat. As an insignia owner it makes the vectra look old - which it is. However if I needed a cheap car I would have one in a heartbeat.

At least you don't have the 16v diesel - injectors have to be pulled before you can get the valve cover off.

I am sorry for your loss.

Prices are dropping but £4k won't give you tons of choice. If you want something that will last petrol is probably your best bet.

I know you said no V8 however my BMW 545 was no worse on fuel than a six pot petrol.

Crank case fumes?

How old is the car? Mileage?

I use this. A tenner from ebay. It is very good.

14 minutes ago, egg said:

What's the collective noun for 3 Esperos?

Great work. 

Esperii?

I remember talking about cars after a circuit class years ago - a woman who did the class raved about how quick her car was.

She drove an espero.

Did the insignias' diesel filter.

A plastic cover hides the tank and the housing. I saw my arse when I realised I had no 36mm socket in my socket set - I messaged my mate to see if he had one - I found one I bought ages ago at the back of one of my roll cab's drawers.

Just glad I never bought another.

Very nice.

The forum crack pipe.

53 minutes ago, grogee said:

It's the bottom number that proves your point. How 'trigger's broom' is it? 

It's on it's second clutch. Timing belt done. Oil pick up seal done. So just regular maintainence. Book stamped to 175k - just shows the benefits of regular servicing.

Not all Vauxhalls are shit.

I paid £35 for my insignia. For a year.

Possibly it's only redeeming feature.

The price of post April 2006 guzzlers is dropping - jag XFR's now under £7k.

I have my eye on a another BMW 545 but the seller is a bit optimistic with the price. Even that will be £435 a year.

Ultimately I think the morons we keep electing simply want people out of personal transport.

A looker but I belive these make a Rover SD1 look like a submarine hatch in terms of keeping H20 out out of the car.

Woke up to see the  tragic news about the bridge in Baltimore.

Only last week I watched footage on tinternet from March 16th of a container ship causing $50 Million dollars worth of damage at a port in Turkey when it  took out some of the cranes. 

What has suddenly happened to seamanship?

Our mondeo has adaptive xenons. The n/s bulb that illuminates when you turn has gone.

Can I get the unit out of the car? No. I watched vids on youtube - all are older than ours and lower spec - light comes out easy.

I did the other side 12 months ago and it was a PITA but I got the light unit free. I am mindful I do not want to break anything so I do not want to lose my temper. I have put my tools away.

I really have no love for this car.

After having issues with the busa's brakes for a couple of years I sorned it last autumn and let the MOT run out.

Today I removed the calipers as they need an overhaul. I need to see who has a good reputation before I part with folding.