Project Memoirs from the Hard Shoulder: GoaT Returns.

[alf892]

10 hours ago, Homersimpson said:

A guy I used to work for specialised in minis and used to fit this trim by it in a bucket of hot water, really hot and then when it was supple he fitted it against the arch curve so the curve of the trim went into the tight corners if you see what I mean.

He got really good results doing this but everyone tries the other way because its easier to follow the arch curve but then when you get to the tight curve its nigh on impossible without kinking it.

Good thinking…….i reckon a combo of that method after a day in the airing cupboard would maybe work. It is very nasty stuff though…….ive done a few over the years and not encountered stuff like it

[barefoot]

On 12/03/2025 at 11:40, BorniteIdentity said:

The exhaust that Minispares sent was absolute dogshit.  Not only will I be extracting a refund but, in an unusual and uncharacteristic twist, will be wanting an apology

I got an apology for a 944 back box many years ago. It was shit, I was fucking livid and I think I frightened him.

[High Jetter]

3 hours ago, alf892 said:

Good thinking…….i reckon a combo of that method after a day in the airing cupboard would maybe work. It is very nasty stuff though…….ive done a few over the years and not encountered stuff like it

I used to sell rolls of this in 'chrome' BITD, never had a problem. Maybe the material has changed?

[Dj_efk]

As others have suggested - Bucket of hot water was always the MO when I’ve done these…

[BorniteIdentity]

I'm never sure whether you should go back to something from the past.  Included in that I place girlfriends (no matter how impressive the bosom) jobs (regardless of pay and conditions) and motor cars.  I have moonlighted with the odd ex (I was underwhelmed afterwards) freelanced in an old job (ambivalent) but - afaik - never returned to an old car.  Granted, I bought back a Yaris which I sold on here - but that was for my son, not me.

But, when I was tipped off about this 'blast from the past' - it had to happen.  The timing was not ideal; I've already bought two cars in two months and am desperately trying to pay off the last of my debt ahead of divorce.  But, when an old car presents itself back to you, you really only get the one stab at buying it.  A sale to someone else would likely see it disappear from the RADAR and probably meet a quiet, depressing end.

So, the plan was there should be no plan at all.  Buy first, work it all out later.

Breakfast, sadly, wasn't two small pieces of toast smeared in Colgate.

Coffee, as I'm trying to lose weight. 

Sadly, this wasn't the collection vehicle

This was.  Fitting, all told.

A short 70 mile jolly into my favourite part of the world awaited. Going from a 1.4 Corolla to a 1.0 Yaris reminded me that I really need to get the inlet fannymould on the Corolla sorted so it doesn't resonate and encourage me to drive like an old Doris.  My son appears to be in no rush to reinstate the wheel trim which was removed four months ago - kids eh?!

Everyone kept asking me if I was excited about the purchase and - for the first time on a collection journey - I can honestly say I wasn't.  Not because it's not a great car, it just felt - right.  And slipping into the driver's seat of the new* acquisition to be greeted by this?  Everything was right in the world again.

Yes, friends - it's back.

For new readers to this thread, this is the car that I owned throughout the entirety of my 30s. I bought it August 2013 when the couple who owned it decided it was an old car (14) and ready to become a liability (They just tickled it over 100,000 miles).  I gave (from memory) £850 for it and hoped to get a year or two out of it.  What actually happened is it gave the most incredible, loyal service of any car in the history of motoring.  I did 100 miles a day in it for 6 years before that became 160 miles a day for another 8 months.  When I changed job and had a brand new Nissan Leaf on lease, I would STILL jump in this and go anywhere and everywhere in it.  

Sadly, when my marriage collapsed in a heap - this was the penultimate thing to leave the family household.  (The final item was yours truly).  I simply had no need or space for it at my new house, so it went off to @Spottedlaurel whose daughter and son-in-law drove it all the way to Croatia on a banger rally and then..err... all the way back again.  In their hands, over the last 3 years, they've taken it from 272k to 288k and have lavished a lot of time, money and love on it.  For that I will be forever grateful.  It's had a full belt kit, clutch, tyres, some weldering, a new radio and countless other shits and bits.  

So - what does a 288,000 mile, 26 year old car drive like?  Well I had a good A/B comparison (jumping straight out of a 105k Yaris) and it is ASTONISHINGLY good.  The clutch is the best it's ever been, the gear change is tight and precise, it pulls strongly and does everything with zero drama.  The only thing that needs attention soonish is the steering rack; there's a bit of play right in the middle where you can twitch the wheel and the car just blanks you.  Otherwise, it's brilliant.

Plan (so far as there is a plan) is to get the stickers off and try to find a new paint-man.  The colour, when in good condition, is sublime - but plenty of lacquer has now disappeared and the paint at the front end is, unsurprisingly, a bit thin. 

Other than that I'm just going to drive it and drive it and drive it.  Clearing the 300,000 mark by Christmas will be a tall order but it's doable.  

Thanks again to the Spottedlaurel family for - well - everything really! 

Here's to more memoirs, hopefully not from the hard shoulder.

 

 

[Spottedlaurel]

Great for it to have found its way home after an adventurous life over the last three years!

When I picked it up after dropping off the LS400 for an MoT the other week I was impressed with how well it went, definitely quicker than the Carina E.

[Dj_efk]

Congrats! It’s lovely to hear someone has managed to regain an old friend that they regret selling.

[SiC]

14 hours ago, BorniteIdentity said:

Clearing the 300,000 mark by Christmas will be a tall order but it's doable.  

Is this of the age Toyota where they (mildly infuriatingly) stop counting when they hit 299999?

[BorniteIdentity]

41 minutes ago, SiC said:

Is this of the age Toyota where they (mildly infuriatingly) stop counting when they hit 299999?

Just the Prius. These will keep on soldiering 

[Popsicle]

3 hours ago, SiC said:

Is this of the age Toyota where they (mildly infuriatingly) stop counting when they hit 299999?

Someone mentioned this to me a few years ago, chap was a bit of an oddball, so I thought BS. Is this really a thing? Why would a manufacturer program that in?

[SiC]

8 minutes ago, Popsicle said:

Someone mentioned this to me a few years ago, chap was a bit of an oddball, so I thought BS. Is this really a thing? Why would a manufacturer program that in?

When I googled earlier, it seemed to be one particular OE supplier that happened to have the limit. It's very arbitrary amount that makes no technical sense.