Sold Dollywobbler's Honda S-MX - Provisionally sold

[drum]

It's a four seater people carrier camper van. Noice.

[dollywobbler]

It seems I may now be having two nights in this fine steed, and putting a lot of miles on it as I head to Kent and back. Crikey.

[320touring]

Glad that the thermostat sorted the gearshift..

 

Almost has a BLesque ring to it..

[Felly Magic]

It seems you are bonding with this square shaped rice burner. Saw a 60 plate Datsun Cube earlier, looked a bit pants in 'resale silver'

[Sloth in a bowl]

So...

 

 

+

 

 

= 

 

 

?

[Timewaster]

Ever since I saw the interior I have had the soundtrack to the Mcvities advert that refers to "A smashing jaffa orangey bit" going around in my head.

[egg]

It seems I may now be having two nights in this fine steed, and putting a lot of miles on it as I head to Kent and back. Crikey.

 

Welcome for a cuppa in Herne Bay if you come this way at all...

[dollywobbler]

Not quite that far into Kent, but thanks for the offer! Offers of tea are always welcome.

[egg]

perhaps particularly when sleeping in a van!! (was my thinking...)

 

Have a good trip anyway.

[cobblers]

I'd seen these about but filed them away as "interesting but of no practical use" but they seem absolutely ideal to replace my T25 - I needed something to take my mountain bike away camping for a couple of nights. Doesn't need to be mega comfy because after 35 miles on a bike and a pub dinner plus half a dozen pints I'll sleep anywhere . I was looking at a blingo but they don't seem long enough to kip in according to the internet.

[dollywobbler]

The total seat area is longer than my self inflating mat, though slightly narrower. It's pretty generous, just not particularly flat.

 

I may use the train for the Kent bit. Not sure yet. It is a bloody long way, even in a car you like.

[dollywobbler]

Just enjoying my second wake-up experience in this car. Much better with the addition of a self inflating mat and a huge duvet. The only issue was rain of such ferocity that I thought it might start punching its way through the roof. Thankfully, it did not.

Off to Kent after the show at Gaydon today, booked in for another car kip tonight. Hopefully a fine way to mark the one week anniversary.

 

Incidentally, the torque converter is now locking up a treat. At a real 70mph, it's doing 3000rpm. Not vastly lower, but does feel more relaxing. It's just 2600rpm at 60, which is super-waft comfy. Will be interesting to see if economy improves.

[twosmoke300]

Good news about the stat / lock up . Love a nice simple fix . Drain tap with hole in the cross member below it is a nice touch isn't it ?

[chaseracer]

I was looking at a blingo but they don't seem long enough to kip in according to the internet.

 

http://www.spacecampervans.com

 

http://campfiremag.co.uk/mini-campervan/

[Noel Tidybeard]

you need to foto it with the rav fower for another "scale" perspective

[dollywobbler]

I got a shot with a Honda Beat yesterday. That may not help. On the road all day again today, but a post trip report will be forthcoming.

[dollywobbler]

First week report, complete with 600-mile mega mission.

 

Saturday seems rather a long time ago now, but the first stage of the trip was to drive to Cannock to meet Shiters for Fun Times.

 

That trip revealed the lovely, functioning torque converter lock-up. There was much relaxed cruisage. Lovely. There was also mild hoonage, when the A458 between Welshpool and Shrewsbury turned out to be closed due to a farmyard fire. Quite a big one. The hoonage demonstrated nicely that the gearbox still flares when kicking down. There were many overtakes. This thing is very good at overtakes, despite that issue.

 

I then went to see a friend near Solihull, before heading to my first campsite. There was a horse with freaky eyes.

 

The early nights are a bit of an issue, especially when the interior lights don't work. I was forced to simply lie back and enjoy a dose of Trevor Nelson.

 

After a better night of kip in the S-MX, I awoke to a rather middling sort of a day.

 

Shortly afterwards, the British Motor Museum was achieved. I always get a buzz driving down this driveway.

 

I was here to look at kei cars.

 

They kindly invited me to park in their wonderfully varied 'Non Designated' section. I was later joined by a pair of Fiat Coupes and a Quantum! 

 

This LC10 test mule (Maestro) was a particular highlight of the museum itself. Love how there's almost always something I'd never seen before.

 

My Honda met a much smaller Honda.

 

Turns out that taking photos from a windscreen-mounted holder is not a recipe for success, but as I headed south on the M25, I saw a Piper GT - probably one of the four that had been at the museum.

 

I visited my sister-in-law's family, then headed to my next campsite. It was rather dark when I got there.

 

I had to concede, the bed of dreams was not quite living up to hype. It just isn't flat enough! Also, my self-inflating mat spent the night scooting forward, so I woke up almost in the driver's footwell. Still, this pitch cost me £7.50. In your face B&B prices!

 

I mean, it's not terrible, but it's not like being at home. It's bearable rather than delightful. I'll have to see what I can do about that, as I really do rather like it, despite the discomfort.

 

Later, I got to indulge in the great mis-match of my life. Jumping from my Retro Japanese steed into something a bit more Classic Jaguar. This E-Type had a fuel injection conversion, and exhaust mods. It sounded truly amazing.

 

I then visited my publisher before finally starting the journey home at 1445hrs. I was not looking forward to this journey at all. It's 260 miles assuming all is well. At first, I thought it was. The S-MX does barrel along nicely at motorway speeds and is pretty comfortable. The huge mirrors are a massive boon on the motorway too. Remarkably, the M25 was completed at 70mph all the way from Kent to the M4, and the M4 was flowing very nicely. Then it all went a bit wrong. BBC Radio 2 alerted me to a problem on the A419 between Swindon and Cirencester. That's my usual stretch to avoid the bridge toll. I needed a new plan.

 

I opted to swing up to Oxford and to hook up with the A44. I think I should have just paid the bloody bridge toll, especially as I got a bit lost (ended up in bloody Wantage again). Eventually, I ended up on the A44, almost crashed coming down Fish Hill because the view was FANTASTIC, and managed to circumnavigate Worcester without too much pain - RARE. Especially at 6pm.

 

I'd been driving for almost four hours now, but made the mistake of going to a pub that had Brown Sign tax. I decided to push on to Bromyard, which is a rather fantastic little town. Apart from this rather ordinary car park.

 

Then it was another couple of hours until home. I was quite knackered when I landed, just after 10pm. Long day!

 

So, as I already seem to have covered 1000 miles in it, how is the S-MX stacking up? Well, I am finally convinced that a four-cylinder engine and autobox is not the work of the devil. I really like it, and just wish it didn't flare so much on downchanges. It's especially annoying on roundabouts. The ride is not exactly cossetting, but it eats miles up very nicely indeed. It's not terrible to sleep in - you can sit up in bed with plenty of headroom - though the lack of a driver's rear door is actually quite annoying. Especially when you need to grab something that's just behind the driver's seat. 

 

I do hope that fresh tyres and an alignment check will cure the odd droning from the rear, and the woeful handling. It still feels horribly skittish going into bends in the wet. There were many wet bends last night. The over-assisted steering gives no confidence at all. I'm pretty sure it was understering, but it's hard to know so vague is the feedback. The wipers are good though, even if the lack of a programmed wash/wipe seems a bit odd. Come winter, when the washer bottle has frozen solid, perhaps I'll be glad of that omission. 

 

TL;DR - Went camping in new car. Still really like it.

[Dave_Q]

Nice write up.

 

Is there space under the rear seats to store some boards for camping adventures?

 

A couple of say (half car width) x 6ish ft boards in decently thick MDF, pop them on top of your flattened bed-seats, flat bed.

[chaseracer]

Next time you're over this way, get Andy Frost at Penn Autos in Wolverhampton to take a look at the slushbox.  Recommended by Yours Truly and Doctor Dave Richards.

[dollywobbler]

Not sure. There's not very much space beneath the seat bases. I'm sure I'll sort something out, though car camping may get less attractive as winter closes in, and campsites close for the season.

[dollywobbler]

That's a bit disappointing. Economy actually dropped to 28mpg on the second tank of fuel. Was hoping it'd go up with the engine now toasty warm. Mind you, I did get a bit of a hoon on when I had to divert on the way to Cannock. Most of that tank was at motorway speeds (real sat nav speed rather than indicated).

[They_all_do_that_sir]

To my shame I have never slept in a car. Are campsite owners generally OK with you rocking up sans tent or caravan?

 

Also what is the Yellow MGB parked beside the LC10 test mule?

[r.welfare]

Honda autos of this age are not economical. Doubly so with the frontal area of a bungalow.

[dollywobbler]

To my shame I have never slept in a car. Are campsite owners generally OK with you rocking up sans tent or caravan?

 

Also what is the Yellow MGB parked beside the LC10 test mule?

 

Yes, they seem ok about it. Loads of motorhomes of course. Mine just isn't awful like most of them. 

 

Yellow MGB is one of the Safety Research Vehicles. They had the Austin 1100 one there too. I'd not seen that before either.

 

 

Honda autos of this age are not economical. Doubly so with the frontal area of a bungalow.

 

I do not concur. The Prelude could do an entirely reasonable 34mpg on a run, or 32 if I enjoyed myself. About the same as my 2-litre Renault 21.

 

Anyway, the headlights look a lot better now! Scary sanding followed by this magic potion.

[LessThanEqual]

I've seen that Mazda Carol at Japfest last year!

[dollywobbler]

I've seen that Mazda Carol at Japfest last year!

 

Not surprising. It's owned by the girl who runs the Kei Cars in The Park group. I really, REALLY like it. Has a Cappuccino engine.

[dollywobbler]

My masking tape really is quite shit.

 

Headlamps look spiffing though! Dead chuffed. I was quite concerned when I'd already burned through one sanding disc and the headlamp still looked just as crap as it did before I started. One layer had already been scraped off in places, so it was seriously uneven. Not a toothpaste job.

[oldcars]

I've seen that Mazda Carol at Japfest last year!

Are these Dunlop wheels? These look great on Reliants.

[tapir]

My masking tape really is quite shit.

 

Headlamps look spiffing though! Dead chuffed. I was quite concerned when I'd already burned through one sanding disc and the headlamp still looked just as crap as it did before I started. One layer had already been scraped off in places, so it was seriously uneven. Not a toothpaste job.

really like the car, nice work,

 

can i ask what grit you used for headlight restro, i need to attack the astras that are starting to yellow,

[dollywobbler]

really like the car, nice work,

 

can i ask what grit you used for headlight restro, i need to attack the astras that are starting to yellow,

 

It was Autoglym's full Headlamp Restoration Kit. Starts off with 800 grade discs, inserted in a drill. I used six of those in total (told you they were bad!). Then four 1500 grade, then a 2000 grade pad that's used wet, then 3000, then finally the pictured cutting polish to finish things off. I'll be interested to see how long it lasts. Part of me wants to try and prevent them going all crappy again, but the other part of me wants to do nothing, because SCIENCE (allied to lazy).