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Memoirs from the Hard Shoulder: bASeman's Spot of the Year award.


BorniteIdentity

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9 hours ago, BorniteIdentity said:

Camping. Once cheap fun and an opportunity, if you were either Sid James or Bernard Bresslaw, to try and have your wicked way with a convent girl called ‘Babs’. 

These days, especially in the autumn of Covid, it’s actually quite an elite sport. Rather than modest tents of canvas and fibreglass construction, it’s all Air Tents and Motorhomes these days. Some pitches are commanding £60 per night, par with a Premier Inn if you can find one. 

Me being me (wanting to keep it real and keep the money in my pocket) we shopped hard and came up trumps. The first camp site we visited was hippy AF. Lots of women with either pink or blue hair, and not a bra between them. Majestic. It was proper off grid with hooks for solar showers and a marvellous wild flower meadow. We loved it so, so much.

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Each pitch was 10m x 10m with the pitches cut into the grass and 10m between pitches. Behind, your own clearing among the trees. The van accommodated four with the other two of us in the little tent. 

After this, we moved onto another place at Mundesley. This was very different; much more touristy and no chance of me catching a glimpse of my wife washing her magnificent bosom among the trees like a Timotei advert. That said, a shower was welcome and the wife was pleased not to have to lather in full view of Darren from Hull. It was 5 mins from the beach and lovely, albeit for different reasons. 
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My son got his GCSE results whilst we were on site (superb) and we’ll never forget it. 

Are we fully paid up campers now? Well, nearly. Wife struggled with her back a bit. A larger tent would have helped but I’m keen not to become someone who has to have all the latest gear and gadgets. Other than struggling to keep things dry it was great, and I’m ready to go again. 

Have you considered a caravan? Those LWB T4s are great towing machines as long they're not on wet grass. Had one ourselves for a few years back in the day. Towed 1500kg,no problem. 

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1 hour ago, Dobloseven said:

Have you considered a caravan? Those LWB T4s are great towing machines as long they're not on wet grass. Had one ourselves for a few years back in the day. Towed 1500kg,no problem. 

Yes we have. The problem is twofold - one; they’re very expensive atm. Anything we’d want would be a good few grand, and they come with the inherent damp and maintenance burden. Whereas the van gets maintained regardless (it’s our only vehicle capable of moving us all at once) and is an appreciable asset. Tents are, certainly at £50, disposable if required. 

We do have space for a Caravan and it’s been considered, but ultimately I’d rather buy something like a vintage bus and be a bit different! 
 

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1 hour ago, BorniteIdentity said:

Yes we have. The problem is twofold - one; they’re very expensive atm. Anything we’d want would be a good few grand, and they come with the inherent damp and maintenance burden. Whereas the van gets maintained regardless (it’s our only vehicle capable of moving us all at once) and is an appreciable asset. Tents are, certainly at £50, disposable if required. 

We do have space for a Caravan and it’s been considered, but ultimately I’d rather buy something like a vintage bus and be a bit different! 
 

Get a yank motorhome. I know I did. Would recommend, although a big space is needed.

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On 8/13/2021 at 9:32 PM, BorniteIdentity said:

Each pitch was 10m x 10m with the pitches cut into the grass and 10m between pitches. Behind, your own clearing among the trees.

That sounds almost perfect to me. If I am ever able to run a campsite, this is the sort of thing I'd like to do - none of the frills, and all of the things which 'make' camping. Such as feeling like there's no-one else around and able to have a fire under the stars :-)

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I've had this old thing 8 years now.  That's the longest I've ever owned...err...anything, I think!  Longest we've been in a house is 6 years, mobile phones last about 3, and I could never claim to own my wife as she'd kick my arse into next week.

 

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In younger days on the original plates.

Regular readers will remember this car was subject to a great deal of expenditure earlier this year - to the tune of about four figures (Please don't keep count - it makes me feel self conscious!).  However, it's developed an insatiable appetite for screen washer pumps.  The original died this time last year - since then it's been replaced and replaced again, and yet still I'm met with deafening silence.  It can't be a fuse as the wipers themselves are on the same fuse, and they work fine.  Hopefully it's just rotten luck, as I use proper screen wash religiously (Having an abject fear or legionella).  Fortunately, this will be a warranty job but still frustrating.

Other fleet news?  Well - as detailed above - we did 300 miles last week in the Caravelle around Norfolk and it was, as always, pretty perfect.  The clutch will need replacing soon enough (it did judder a bit with us 6 up and now the DMF is starting to very quietly tick) so I'll need to start saving.

Sierra?  Still here.  As soon as it's off to a new home then I can really crack on with...

The Mini which is immobile at the moment as the clutch has seized.  We did have to free it with a hammer and drift when it first arrived, so I'm not really surprised.  As soon as it's mobile again, I'll be asking my friendly welder to price up with sills (inner and outer) and a rear subframe.

 

I sporadically have thoughts about buying something very old.  I do like an Austin 7 Ruby or a Vauxhall 10.  Really, I need to wait until the Mini's properly fixed and then see if I still fancy something older still.  Also, in the back of my mind is my neighbour's 1947 Bristol Bus which he's said will require a new home at some stage.  Whilst I was kee non @danthecapriman's Transit, if we're talking £10k plus for that I'd rather have an entire single decker bus and be done with it!  

 

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I had a Vauxhall 10.  Not a fast car but definitely more capable of not being a rolling road block than an Austin 7.  Also rather more pleasant to drive than most '30s cars I've experienced, with independent front suspension, hydraulic brakes and an OHV engine that looks and sounds a bit like an A-series.

That bus is lovely, but in the real world buses of that age are a proper twat to drive, especially on modern roads, and although you're technically allowed to drive them on a car licence getting insurance can be expensive if you're not a qualified bus driver.  If you do decide to go down the bus route I'd suggest something 1960s at the earliest - they usually have such refinements as power steering, synchromesh (or semi-auto) gearboxes and enough power that you won't have a queue of pissed off Massey Ferguson drivers behind you every time you go out.

Just my 2 cents - I'm sure that (as always) others on here will have differing views.

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50 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

That bus is lovely, but in the real world buses of that age are a proper twat to drive, especially on modern roads, and although you're technically allowed to drive them on a car licence getting insurance can be expensive if you're not a qualified bus driver.  If

Problem is, this will be a decent price as he'll be looking to find a decent home for something he's owned for 40 years.  So hopefully we could find agreement on price between what we're both happy with and the market value.  A bus also doubles up as great home office/den/storage space too.  I would actually go out and get some driver training too because the biggest (non artic) thing I've driven is a Luton Van!

10 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

@BorniteIdentity

MOT day for the Transit on Monday 23rd… 

Once that’s dealt with it’ll most likely be going onto eBay. It’s not going to get £10k though! It’s nice but not that nice!

"TWENTY FIVE LARGE M9 ALL DAY LONG"

Says the crowd who spends more on a week's big shop than a car.

I love that Transit, genuinely.  And I do think you'll get more than the money I could justify for it.  But some people make me guffaw with laughter! GLWS

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  • BorniteIdentity changed the title to Bornite's Retirement home for Purple Toyotas.

The silence at Sandy Railway station was absolute.  Mainly because it was a Bank Holiday Monday at 0630 with a weekend of rail improvements on the menu and all sane inhabitants of Northern Bedfordshire having their motoring requirements already met.

As mentioned elsewhere, my eldest son turns 17 this week.  With the delays in processing driving licenses, a backlog in tests and - up until now - an ambivalence about learning, a car hadn't been a pressing requirement.  The original plan was for him to learn in my wife's Fiat 500c but, when that decided to do a Fiat, purchasing became a little project that I was nominated to spearhead.

The first car we considered was a Toyota Starlet.  Like me, he's embraced old Toyota life and all his mates consider the Avensis to be as part of me as my legs and bald head.  Sadly, the Starlet we really liked had no ABS - something, at first, I was quite set on.  Various algorithms dished up Lupos and Pandas, a Corsa in my village caught the wife's eye but it was a 1.4 and about £1500.  Then @wuvvumposted in my Wanted thread about a 'parts section' Yaris and that was that.  I said to my wife as I looked at it for the first 5 seconds "That's it... this is the one". 

Sometimes you just know.

Back to Sandy railway station then.

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Built in 1850, I wonder what the folk of yesteryear would have made of 12 carriage electric multiple units used today?  I thought rather highly of them, as they're brisk, spacious and provide charging for devices at every seat.  Beyond the white houses is the A1 at Beeston, a wonderfully charismatic part of the road which thunders right past the front windows of terraced housing.

We were off to Bath Spa.  Not a huge challenge by Robinson Crusoe's yardstick, but a bit of a faff with three changes and three and a half hours on myriad trains.  It's actually the first time I've travelled into St Pancras on the ECML - historically they always arrived the other side at Kings Cross.  It's was like disembarking at a high-end shopping destination rather than a railway station; Fortnum and Mason, Calvin Klein and Chanel all with outlets between me and the distinctly low key Eurostar entrance.  

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Until now, I confess, I'd been largely maskless.  There was nobody on that first train, and about 10 people at St Pancras mainline station at 0730 when I shuffled in.  Things changed (and would change markedly later) when I got to the tube.  A quick hop to Paddington on the Hammersmith and City line and another train.  Connections were great, with never more than 10 minutes of dead time.

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This was shaping up to the be perfect day.  One of my favourite books, cake, device charging, caffeine, who needs a fortnight in Ibiza?! Just get on a train and go some place.

The plan was going brilliantly.  There were just two young girls in my carriage, we mutually agreed to share each other's air so I could eat without stuffing shreds of croissant through the edge of my mask and they could hear each other talk.  

Then we go to Reading.

Fuck.

Now, I'm not overly nervous about COVID.  But what I saw before me at Reading station filled me with dread.  There were at least 300 stoned, hungover, unwashed teenagers who could barely manage a tent and a grunt - never mind a mask.  It was Reading Festival weekend.  The train went from being empty to standing room only in the space of the 5 minutes it took to get them all on.  Nervous, I took the longest piss I've ever had in the toilet and tried to hatch a plan.  The plan was there was no plan.  Honestly, if two of the 300 who got on were wearing a mask then I'd be surprised.  I wasn't judgemental, but this is why infection rates are still tootling up.  I tried to hide between carriages for the rest of the journey, taking my final change at Swindon.

The little train to Bath Spa from Swindon was absolutely crammed again.  This time I resigned myself to the fact that I might catch it, but there was now fuck all I could do about it.  Why die worrying?  

The sights as you trundle into Bath are a world away from the flatlands of Cambridgeshire.

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And before long, we were in the wonderful city of Bath.  

The owner, for reasons of his own keeping, wasn't up for collecting me from the railway station.  So a £25 taxi fare later (!) and I was in the car park of the gorgeous Northey Arms at Box.

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The vendor was lovely - a really nice west country dude with all the hair, personality and voice of Justin Lee Collins.  He explained he bought it eight years earlier for his daughter to learn in and then drive, and that he'd recently bought another.  The car's had two owners, has 75k on the clock, 4 months MOT, 1/3 tank of petrol and cost me the grand total of £185.10.  We hastily did the formalities, I rounded the amount up, and I hit the road 10 minutes later.

It's bloody good!  For some strange reason, when my sister had one as her first car 18 years ago I hated them.  But now, in the fullness of time, they've matured into quite a cool and chic little things.  We've got four decent tyres, matching trims, a cared for interior and most of the original paint.  The back is the worst, and I'm looking to get this smartened up pronto.

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140 miles home, taking in the beautiful scenery of the A4, and I think it's brilliant.  For a car with precisely half the horsepower of the Avensis, it doesn't feel like half the car and never once felt underpowered.  The gearbox is every boxy (I think they're on rods?) and the clutch has about an inch of travel from top to bottom, but it buzzes along very nicely.  The sunroof doesn't leak (I drove right through a burst watermain that was shooting water 30ft into the air!) and everything seems to be fine.  There's a tiny bit of graunch turning hard left under throttle, so perhaps a CV or driveshaft?

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And, Eight hours after I left home, here we are! Parked up, ready for his birthday on Friday.  Dealer plates are the icing on the cake.

 

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  • BorniteIdentity changed the title to NEW PURCHASE: Bornite's Retirement home for Purple Toyotas.
2 hours ago, Soundwave said:

And here I thought the days of the eBay bargain were long since over. Well bought, looks like a hell of a lot of car for the money. Must be less than scrap value, surely?

Certainly.  The guy listed it in the parts section.  People traditionally do that to save money, but it has - without doubt - cost him a couple of hundred quid.  I would say it's a £500 car as presented, and more after a bit of titivating.  Unsure what the catalytic values are on these little cars but, if OEM, I'd have thought somewhere around the same again.

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That looks great, well done! At that price you still have a bit in the kitty to deal with any immediate issues?

I drove a couple around when they were new-ish cars, I recall them just offering reliable transport, albeit with a smooth, free-revving engine. Now I've spent more time with the one we bought I've come to appreciate it more (something I've found with other Toyotas, the solid, well thought-out engineering takes a while to show itself).

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3 hours ago, Soundwave said:

And here I thought the days of the eBay bargain were long since over. Well bought, looks like a hell of a lot of car for the money. Must be less than scrap value, surely?

£160 for the cat I heard. They stole 2 of mine anyway.

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41 minutes ago, Mally said:

Does it have power steering?

I believe there are non power, hydraulic power, and electric column systems.

Mine are both electric, but it seems non power is the way for racing. I may try taking the fuse  out.

 

 

Great question.  I had to really think about that!

I remember seeing a power steering reservoir under the bonnet, so assume it's classic hydraulic?  I didn't think to pay attention as I just assumed they'd all have it.  

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5 hours ago, BorniteIdentity said:

I remember seeing a power steering reservoir under the bonnet, so assume it's classic hydraulic?  I didn't think to pay attention as I just assumed they'd all have it.  

They all had power steering except the base 'S' model (which also made do with 13" wheels, manual windows etc).  Yours looks like a GS - black bumpers but body coloured door handles.  I was quite set on buying one a couple of years back, so invested in a brochure!

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10 hours ago, BorniteIdentity said:

The back is the worst, and I'm looking to get this smartened up pronto.

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A whizz over with some stone chip and a rattle can of Toyota Plum will see that tidy.

Leave out the 1970’s Escrot approach of that dry grainy Tetrisyl underseal with front valance and doors to match, like a high tide mark 

cheap car that

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16 minutes ago, BeEP said:

They all had power steering except the base 'S' model (which also made do with 13" wheels, manual windows etc).  Yours looks like a GS - black bumpers but body coloured door handles.  I was quite set on buying one a couple of years back, so invested in a brochure!

Yes, GS. I wasn’t sure what the equipment levels were but it feels like near base specification. I’d have been cross at myself if I’d got all that way for a car without PAS, and would have been amused at him having to make do! 

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