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

[BorniteIdentity]

OMG Modern. 

We’re clearing the decks atm. Granvia off to a guy who’s going to try and fix it. If it’s simple I might take it back, if there’s any doubt then it’s his problem! Fiat 500c likely to make way for an MPV. Avensis tentatively booked for repair but I’m still not completely sure. 

Have just picked this up. 
 

 

2007 Mercedes CL203. Owned by the mother ship who has decided to give up driving at the responsible and respectable age of 70. Long term I may buy it, but on the basis it was sat there doing nothing I’m now using it. 

It’s a great blend of old and modern tech. Great on the open road and with the blower 150bhp isn’t to be sniffed at! 

Pretty chuffed all told. 

[sierraman]

Going completely off subject, I quite like Greatest Hits Radio, always have it on in the car in a morning, Rossie plays some decent music. It’s just a pleasure not to have chart shit playing or tedious presenters that constantly bang on about how they can’t wait for it to be the weekend as if Monday to Friday holds absolutely no enjoyment for them. It gets my vote as they played Barry White ‘The Trouble with Me’ the other day and I haven’t heard that record for years. 

[BorniteIdentity]

Today's task was to start the Sierra for the first time in months.  I don't reckon it's turned a wheel since July?  Whenever I last used the trailer which it blocks in.  Jump Packs are shit aren't they?  I mean they really are.  £60 Clark thing and unless it's fully charged and starting something very smoll, you're lucky.  Fortunately I have a spare 12v battery lying around and some beefy jump leads, so we got started within 10 seconds of proper cranking.  Impressive.

All is not well elsewhere.  Since the rear screen was replaced, the bootlid itself fills with water.  Every time you open the boot it comes pissing out of the boot catch.  Fucksake.  I will ask my fitter mate WTF and see what he says.  Also, the inner rubber seal doesn't want to stay around the frame of the boot, so that needs some sort of appropriate adhesive.  Any ideas?

It's lovely seeing it with proper lights and a proper bumper eh?  But fucking hell it really does need to be undercover for the winter months.  I'm going to ask as many questions as I can of all the people I know, but if you have space for an old heap until the Spring both the car and I would be extremely grateful.  

[Mr Laurence]

I never would have thought it would’ve hade such a difference, But that new rear bumper has transformed the Sierra! It looks even better now than it did before. Could the boot lid leak and dodgy rubber seal be linked, or am I just being thick?

 

i wish I could offer you somewhere to keep it, but unfortunately I don’t have the room at the minute. Hopefully you can find somewhere

[sierraman]

Talcum powder then someone hosing it while you lay in the boot. 

[Jenson Velcro]

captain tolley's creeping crack cure.

 

im not sure if it’s any use in this situation, but I get a childish pleasure out of seeing it’s name.

 

[BorniteIdentity]

Yesterday was an absolutely gut wrenching day.  After 6 and 1/2 years, we waved the Granvia off to the sound of "THANKS SON'S CRYING" as @wuvvum picked it up on a Bornite Finance Scheme.  

Even an hour before, I was very much in two minds about letting it go.  No car has ever taken us on so many adventures.  When I bought it in 2014 we immediately (like the next day) went to Torbay in it for a brilliant week where I'm sure I was the envy of all Eurovan Drivers.  That Christmas I wired up 400 fairy lights in the boot with an inverter which cost me more than the lights!  It's been on countless beach days (the sand will forever remain ingrained in the chair runners) and every year it moved Christmas presents from the storage depot (North Pole AKA MiL's) to ours on Christmas Eve.  My son and I even camped in it when I was too pissed to even find it back in 2018!!

Thanks to @RichardKWuv got home without an FTP.  Richard suggested the coolant sensor could spook the management system, so I investigated.  A distinct lack of coolant.  Ah.  I'd not put any in it in 6 years, and it never once overheated.  The coolant bottle is hidden right down by your knees, and you can't see the level anyway such is the colour of the plastic.  I filled it up and Wuv got back.  

The gearbox problem still persists.  I've been guilty with the Granvia of only doing what's been necessary, and these old things hide neglect quite well.  I'm really hopeful that a couple of oil and filter changes will have a happy gearbox for him once again.

We've decided not to buy another 7 seater until Spring.  All the things we would normally be doing are off as of Thursday, and it's likely to stay that way until Christmas.  We are a family of 6 so if we DO go anywhere, we can't meet with anyone anyway!  I'll take the saving.  If we need to all go somewhere I can either call in a favour, hire a Galaxy or we just go convoy.  I often forget that my parents did this ALL THE TIME (I'm one of five children myself!).  Sierra at the front, Volvo 360 behind.  

Anyway, farewell old chum.  You were tremendous in every conceivable way.

Let's end with a couple of very happy memories.

 

Haulin' the Mini to @alf892

 

Son (now eight) first meeting it!

 

[wuvvum]

I drove it to Tesco a little while ago.  On the way there it was absolutely fine - all gears working as Toyota intended.  On the way back it was stuck in third again, and this time the O/D light was flashing - although the overdrive was working fine.

I'm going to order a gallon of Dexron 3 off eBay and see if that helps.  If not, a quick read of the Toyota forums suggests that the chips that are used to convert the speedo to mph can also play up and confuse the gearbox.  Unfortunately my laptop won't talk to a vehicle of this age, so some experimentation is going to be in order...

It really is quite rapid when all gears are working though!

[BorniteIdentity]

7 hours ago, wuvvum said:

I drove it to Tesco a little while ago.  On the way there it was absolutely fine - all gears working as Toyota intended.  On the way back it was stuck in third again, and this time the O/D light was flashing - although the overdrive was working fine.

I'm going to order a gallon of Dexron 3 off eBay and see if that helps.  If not, a quick read of the Toyota forums suggests that the chips that are used to convert the speedo to mph can also play up and confuse the gearbox.  Unfortunately my laptop won't talk to a vehicle of this age, so some experimentation is going to be in order...

It really is quite rapid when all gears are working though!

The chip is behind the speedo binnacle - it’s quite obvious. I read that too!

[LightBulbFun]

On 02/11/2020 at 10:47, BorniteIdentity said:

That Christmas I wired up 400 fairy lights in the boot with an inverter which cost me more than the lights! 

Thanks for that, made me unearth this mess LOL

which has just resulted in me dropping 52 fucking quid (most of which was postage *grumble* ) on 100 replacement bulbs from the US for it, but its about time I finally get it put back up for a December/Christmas 

(its 2 sets of 25 C7 light strings, a friend in the US sent to me a few years ago along with 25 spare bulbs, turns out in about a month or 2 you go through about 24 spare bulbs, so I never put it back up after that Christmas as I had no spares for it)

 

[Out Run]

4 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

Thanks for that, made me unearth this mess LOL

which has just resulted in me dropping 52 fucking quid (most of which was postage *grumble* ) on 100 replacement bulbs from the US for it, but its about time I finally get it put back up for a December/Christmas 

(its 2 sets of 25 C7 light strings, a friend in the US sent to me a few years ago along with 25 spare bulbs, turns out in about a month or 2 you go through about 24 spare bulbs, so I never put it back up after that Christmas as I had no spares for it)

 

https://gfycat.com/dimfreegosling LBF, next month. 😄

[BorniteIdentity]

Was trying to find a particular photo of the Avensis for a thread on PH - and found that I got papped earlier this year!

I'm currently driving a Mercedes CL203 around; it's brilliant.  Brisk, clean, good sound system, presentable - I dare say it's even respectable.  But then I sit in the old Avensis this morning and it's like a comfortable old slipper.  

Looking forward to getting it back on the road over Christmas.

[BorniteIdentity]

My father retired a couple of months ago, a few weeks shy of his 62nd birthday.  On the one hand it was time; in our home town he was the most prolific, respected and accomplished guy in his trade - he had nothing left to achieve.  On the other hand, I reckon he had a good few years left in him.  But to what end?

He's kept himself busy enough over the last 8 weeks doing a bit here and there on the house but with a few weeks to go until Christmas, it would seem that he's not that keen to start anything else.  In a pleasant twist of fate, I also left my charming little Clio at their house whilst I borrowed mother's Mercedes (She's all but said that she doesn't like driving - and they have two other cars at theirs anyway).

I'm now getting regular updates from the old boy on his titivation on the Clio.  At first he didn't really understand why I bought it, having sold a far superior in every measurable way Corolla.  But I think it's got under his skin a bit, and he's not a shit car person.  He's had a go at the front wing and literally polished out the missing paint.  Here's how it looked before (from the collection breakdown)

And here it is at his house!

He's had a go at pushing that dent out but it won't go.  Still - a lot better.   

He's now wet vacuuming the interior.  Even with a domestic VAX which probably isn't that great - on an interior that I thought was quite clean - it's dragging up some pretty disgusting stuff.  This was just the driver's seat.

He hasn't lost his banter yet either.

 

I'm promised photos of the finished article later today - at which point he'll be instructed to work some magic on the Bumpers.  All of a sudden that £25 Autoglym range I bought him last Christmas has paid for itself!

[beko1987]

It's amazing how much shit even a crappy wet vac pulls out, it'll be transformed! 

Should drop the Sierra off next... 

[BorniteIdentity]

I think he wants to make this a thing.  Probably gonna book an MOT over near his to get the Sierra there and let him work his magic on it.  He actually enjoys doing it the fool!!

Delicious.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

6 hours ago, beko1987 said:

It's amazing how much shit even a crappy wet vac pulls out, it'll be transformed! ...... 

Ho ho ho, I ought to borrow one for use inside the diesel Borat. Years of horse-related stains, hay, straw and horse hair have made their mark...

[beko1987]

I'd enjoy doing it, I can see where he's coming from lol

Wish I had time to do even my own car

[BorniteIdentity]

I bought a car. Rather unexpectedly to be honest. 

With life being on semi permanent pause lately, I sold the van to Wuv and parked the Clio at my parents house. The Avensis, Sierra and Mini are all out of test so I’ve just been running around in my Mum’s Mercedes when I’ve actually had need to go out. 

Then a decent enough opportunity presented itself, and I thought why the fuck not. There’s a reasonable amount of jeopardy here as it has 30 days MOT and is a 15 year old FIAT - but it’s from a decent chap on here who DID offer to MOT it and even gave it a little tickle to help it’s chances. I just can’t resist a (potential) bargain so took it as is. 

First impressions? Err - well. It drives brilliantly. We picked it up in a MK2 Focus and I preferred this to drive. Nice and high up, good visibility and excellent torque. Rumour is this has been chipped and I’d say it’s running about 130bhp. It’s swift. 

These poor things live a hard life, and get well and truly gigged. At 15 years old it’s cream crackered in places. Sticky, soft touch plastics are the bane of the bangernomicist. This has more gunge than Dick and Dom’s creamy muck muck factory. I will give them a bit of a working over, but I’m not getting involved with meths etc. The idea is it’s a temporary stop gap. 

Here’s the weird thing. My wife really, really likes it. She’s never taken any interest in any of my old heaps. She openly admitted to liking it “far more than she thought and far more than she ought.” I guess this year has taught us all to make the best of what you have. Even if that is a high owner, dog eared, sticky old Fiat. 

[HMC]

That’s a brilliant solution to the family transport conundrum. Many seats, left field design and the rarer facelift to boot. 
 

[beko1987]

Hey, if SWMBO loves them you could buy a few more... 

Golden ticket right there

[Ian_Fearn]

I don’t know why people slag off these mid noughties Fiats. In my experience they’re brilliant, tough and absolutely worthless! I reckon it’s because they attracted disinterested or uninformed early owners that didn’t keep up with servicing, treated them like dirt and expected the world from them.

The number of posts I’ve read saying Fiat X, Y or Z is the worst car they’ve ever had because it needed an exhaust, brakes and a ball joint. 

Anyway, great purchase!

[hairnet]

On 11/17/2020 at 7:06 AM, BorniteIdentity said:

My father retired a couple of months ago, a few weeks shy of his 62nd birthday.  On the one hand it was time; in our home town he was the most prolific, respected and accomplished guy in his trade - he had nothing left to achieve.  On the other hand, I reckon he had a good few years left in him.  But to what end?

He's kept himself busy enough over the last 8 weeks doing a bit here and there on the house but with a few weeks to go until Christmas, it would seem that he's not that keen to start anything else.  In a pleasant twist of fate, I also left my charming little Clio at their house whilst I borrowed mother's Mercedes (She's all but said that she doesn't like driving - and they have two other cars at theirs anyway).

I'm now getting regular updates from the old boy on his titivation on the Clio.  At first he didn't really understand why I bought it, having sold a far superior in every measurable way Corolla.  But I think it's got under his skin a bit, and he's not a shit car person.  He's had a go at the front wing and literally polished out the missing paint.  Here's how it looked before (from the collection breakdown)

And here it is at his house!

He's had a go at pushing that dent out but it won't go.  Still - a lot better.   

He's now wet vacuuming the interior.  Even with a domestic VAX which probably isn't that great - on an interior that I thought was quite clean - it's dragging up some pretty disgusting stuff.  This was just the driver's seat.

He hasn't lost his banter yet either.

 

 

get him on here lmaooooo

are they placca wings on those? heat gun maybe?

[hairnet]

fiats

if the old git stops driving the expensive peugeot will go and cheaper panda will happen - ragged cos slow but fun and they dont break (ours didnt anyway)

smol fiats are ace

 

[BorniteIdentity]

December 1st today. Opened the door to my Advent calendar (a picture of a candle ffs) and also opened the door to the Multipla seeing as its now taxed. 

As you’ll see from page 1 of this thread, I like Japanese cars - I like German cars and I like saloon cars. I really respect engineering integrity and most of all value longevity. This is the absolute antithesis of my usual fodder. And yet, I love it. I fucking love it. And the more you try to hate it, the more it impresses. The wife - who cares not one whit for cars - is smitten. It is completely beguiling, despite its faults. 

Because if it’s faults, actually. 

It has mismatched tyre sizes. It’s constantly steaming up like a Chinese takeaway. The drivers seat seems to have permanently engaged lumbar support and it spent the day trying to convince me it was -13 degrees. The radio is fucked and only plays a distorted, monophonic Radio 1. But it’s just so willing. It drives like a car, pulls like a train and looks like an emoji 🚙. 

I’ve already found myself looking for a really good one, but it might turn out that I’ve already got one. Fingers crossed.

 

[sierraman]

Diesel?

[wuvvum]

1.9 JTD 8-valve.  Best engine to have in one of these.

[wuvvum]

On 11/29/2020 at 8:40 AM, BorniteIdentity said:

 

Is that photo taken at a bad moment or is your lad genuinely pissing himself laughing?

[Split_Pin]

Glad you are enjoying it, it's weird how you can unexpectedly gel with a random car. 

I was always a Vauxhall man until one broke and I needed a cheap runner and got a MK1 Megane which I loved.

[BorniteIdentity]

9 hours ago, wuvvum said:

Is that photo taken at a bad moment or is your lad genuinely pissing himself laughing?

He's pissing himself laughing.  That one's the little petrol head - he thinks it's hilarious.  

[BorniteIdentity]

12 hours ago, wuvvum said:

1.9 JTD 8-valve.  Best engine to have in one of these.

It's a really, really strong unit.  @BeEPreports that the previous owner claimed it had been chipped - and I'd agree.  It's really strong.  I'm looking forward to a tip run this weekend; firstly to see how it copes with a trailer full of shit and secondly because I'm an old fart in the middle of a pandemic - a trip to the recycling centre is about as showbiz as it gets these days.