Felly Fav and Trum. *Wanna see a fupped engine?**

[wesacosa]

52 minutes ago, EightMegs said:

My 1991 Toyota Carina has it on the right, as did the '94 Starlet in my PFP and that dreadful '06 Hyundai Getz I had a few months ago, but my mk1 Yaris has it on the left. I think the Japanese and Korean marques clung on to the right-hand indicator stalks longer than European ones did.

definitely, the k10 Micra and my 96 Mazda Xedos both have them on the right. 

[dozeydustman]

3 hours ago, EightMegs said:

My 1991 Toyota Carina has it on the right, as did the '94 Starlet in my PFP and that dreadful '06 Hyundai Getz I had a few months ago, but my mk1 Yaris has it on the left. I think the Japanese and Korean marques clung on to the right-hand indicator stalks longer than European ones did.

Nissan started the switch from right to left with the T12 Bluebird, facelift version so late 1980s, all subsequent Euro/UK spec Nissan models gradually shifting to the left, I think the K10 was the last in 1992-3 when the blob K11 came about.

Toyota was mid-1990s with E110 Corolla, P90 Corolla. Probably same for Toyota-owned brands such as Subaru and Daihatsu.

Not sure about Mazda but probably similar era.

Kia/Hyundai hung around to around 2008 when Kia facelifted the mk1 Picanto, Rio, etc and Hyundai dropped the named models for the i numbered cars.

My word this makes me sound like a proper sad case, knowing when cars switched the sides of their indicator stalks. Or is it useful* knowledge?

[666jjp]

my wife's 1995 rav4 is on one side, but our 1998/9 facelift rav4's are on the other.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

19 hours ago, Yoss said:

It looks like both your cars have the same indicator stalk. The Invacar one is straight out of the Leyland parts bin. 

Bringing it back to Landcrabs again, the autos had their selector on the dash on the right hand side. Combined with umbrella handle handbrake on the earlier cars left the floor completely clear. I had a Wolseley 18/85 auto with optional power steering. You could drive it with just your right hand and foot, leaving your left side free to lean on the armrest or eat pies or pretty much anything. 

Do it. 

My late-ish Morris Minor had the indicator stalk on the right - the dash setup was identical to this:

Most Jap stuff was also on the right until the mid to late 90s. I remember imported JDM classic Imprezas were on the right, whilst the UK variant of the same year was on the left. 

[Yoss]

So if I can take you back to this picture from a couple of months ago. 

The duct tape was doing such a good job I left it alone but finally decided to bite the bullet and buy a new pair from CZ. 

They were only £25 each but are made of Chineseum so it's a bit of a gamble, let's see what happens. 

First thing I noticed is that on the original Škoda mirror the three cables are wrapped in a plastic sheath whereas these are bare. 

More noticeable underneath. 

And the thread here was rather messy meaning the locating ring that screws on to it would only go so far. I tried cleaning it up but to no avail. Fortunately this was only on the one mirror. 

And then when I fitted them I noticed the adjusting toggle is slightly longer so the rubber grommet won't locate properly, so I need to shorten those. 

Then, best of all, when I tried adjusting the mirrors, well the toggle does adjust them but not in the direction you move it. It appears to be completely random. I just had to laugh at that point. So, so far, exactly what you'd expect from cheap Chinese shit. 

BUT! And it is a big but that warrants both capitals and an exclamation mark, the mirrors fold in like they are supposed to. 

None of the original Škoda mirrors do this anymore as they have seized solid. The two parts of the pivot are made of different metals that react with each other and fuse together. This is the whole reason I needed a new mirror in the first place. As I said before I just clipped wing mirrors gently with another car quite slowly and it just snapped off. I doubt any original Favorit mirror has been able to this for about 25 years. 

But mine does. 

 

Look, powerfold mirrors. With my hands providing the power. 

Of course, I've no idea how long they'll stay like this, they might seize up just as quickly as the originals so I need to remember to fold them in on a regular basis to keep them supple. 

 

Also got a few other bits in the same order. I always do this as its about £8 minimum postage from CZ so you might as well chuck in a few extra bits as they're so cheap anyway. The biggest and shiniest of which were a pair of front fog lights. They are made by the same people as the mirrors so we'll see how long they last. But the originals have lost a lot of their reflectiveness. So they might be shit but they will look better to start with and they were only a tenner each. But I'm going to wait until I don't have to lie on a wet drive to fit tgem. 

 

[grogee]

Masterful work there Yoss. So jealous of your Fav. It's almost like I should buy one of my own... Oh. 

[Yoss]

4 minutes ago, grogee said:

Masterful work there Yoss. So jealous of your Fav. It's almost like I should buy one of my own... Oh. 

As fun as the Favorit VRS was, I definitely think I kept the right one. 

[IronStar]

On 02/02/2026 at 21:50, Yoss said:

So if I can take you back to this picture from a couple of months ago. 

The duct tape was doing such a good job I left it alone but finally decided to bite the bullet and buy a new pair from CZ. 

They were only £25 each but are made of Chineseum so it's a bit of a gamble, let's see what happens. 

First thing I noticed is that on the original Škoda mirror the three cables are wrapped in a plastic sheath whereas these are bare. 

More noticeable underneath. 

And the thread here was rather messy meaning the locating ring that screws on to it would only go so far. I tried cleaning it up but to no avail. Fortunately this was only on the one mirror. 

And then when I fitted them I noticed the adjusting toggle is slightly longer so the rubber grommet won't locate properly, so I need to shorten those. 

Then, best of all, when I tried adjusting the mirrors, well the toggle does adjust them but not in the direction you move it. It appears to be completely random. I just had to laugh at that point. So, so far, exactly what you'd expect from cheap Chinese shit. 

BUT! And it is a big but that warrants both capitals and an exclamation mark, the mirrors fold in like they are supposed to. 

None of the original Škoda mirrors do this anymore as they have seized solid. The two parts of the pivot are made of different metals that react with each other and fuse together. This is the whole reason I needed a new mirror in the first place. As I said before I just clipped wing mirrors gently with another car quite slowly and it just snapped off. I doubt any original Favorit mirror has been able to this for about 25 years. 

But mine does. 

 

Look, powerfold mirrors. With my hands providing the power. 

Of course, I've no idea how long they'll stay like this, they might seize up just as quickly as the originals so I need to remember to fold them in on a regular basis to keep them supple. 

 

Also got a few other bits in the same order. I always do this as its about £8 minimum postage from CZ so you might as well chuck in a few extra bits as they're so cheap anyway. The biggest and shiniest of which were a pair of front fog lights. They are made by the same people as the mirrors so we'll see how long they last. But the originals have lost a lot of their reflectiveness. So they might be shit but they will look better to start with and they were only a tenner each. But I'm going to wait until I don't have to lie on a wet drive to fit tgem. 

 

Ah the bourgeoise delights of folding mirrors! *cries in 155 mirrors*

Nice improvements!

[Matty]

On 31/01/2026 at 22:26, Yoss said:

Oh okay, that throws my theory out the window then. What Austin is it? I used to collect Landcrabs which are from that era and they were on the right. 

Sorry late back. A40 Farina Mk2.

[Yoss]

To follow on from the Chinese mirror saga I adjusted the length of the toggle switches with an angle grinder this morning. 

So that I can reattach the rubber covers. 

I could have just chopped them off completely for all the use they are. 

 

Had another minor problem on the way to work last week when the main beam came on and stayed on. Fortunately I wasn't far from work (it only takes seven minutes all the way) and anyway my main beam is probably dimmer than a lot of modern dipped beams. 

Trouble is when I got there they wouldn't turn off at all so I had to disconnect the battery. On reconnecting after work all seemed back to normal so I guessed maybe there was some moisture somewhere seeing as it hasn't stopped raining for six weeks. So once home, out of curiosity I tried the main beam again and once again they stayed on, so once again I disconnected the battery and went indoors to ignore it. 

As we can see here even on dipped beam the main beam was still on. 

If you disconnect the battery for a while it would go out and it was fine until you touched the main/dip stalk. By a while I mean whilst at work or overnight, if you only left it for ten minutes they would still come back on upon reconnecting. 

Seemed like a problem in the switch. I knew I had one though it took nearly as long to find as it did to replace it. Quite a simple job. You have to remove the steering wheel to get the cowl off but that's just a nut, no horn or airbag or any other buttons on this wheel. 

Then it's just one screw holding the stalk itself in place. 

So you can imagine my annoyance when it was exactly the same. So perhaps it's a dodgy earth somewhere. I decided to to remove the main beam fuses and go indoors to contemplate my actions. 

The fuse board is under the glove box pointing downwards so you have to lie in the footwell looking up at it. I decided to take this picture to help me compare it with the diagram in the Haynes BoL. 

As a side note I find it a bit strange that the fuse board says Slovakia on it in a car that was built two years before Slovakia existed. 

But once indoors whilst looking at this picture I suddenly shouted the word relays silently in my head. It seemed so obvious. If a relay is opening but not shutting again it would surely produce the same results. 

It was getting dark by then but first thing this morning I went out and put the fuses back in and removed the relay first to make sure it was the right one. Then removed the heated rear window relay and put it in place of the main beam one and sure enough it worked fine. Just to double check I put the dodgy relay in the HRW hole and sure enough it stayed on once I'd switched it off again. 

Strangely it stayed on with the ignition turned off too. I'm not sure how this happens because the headlights are permanent live but the HRW is wired through the ignition so surely it shouldn't work even with a duff relay.  Anyway it doesn't really matter, I threw that relay away and went and found another one in the garage and all is now well. 

 

 

[Zelandeth]

It stays on without the ignition because the relay *COIL* is ignition switched, but I'll bet the switched side is permanently live.  Not normally an issue as once the coil goes off, the load goes off...unless the relay physically sticks.

Saab 900 headlight relays do the same.

Good job getting it sorted though.

I still love the design of the lights on that instrument panel.

[Yoss]

Today is one year since the first trip out after the engine rebuild so I think I can safely assume it worked! 

It still looks like this under the bonnet. 

Pretty much free from leaks and stains and I haven't had to top up the oil since the rebuild (I have changed it twice as one should with a new engine but no top ups in between).

Went to The Range earlier in the week and saw this, which makes an interesting colour combination with mine. This was as close as I could get. If I could have parked any closer I would have done. 

Wierd to think the Mini is five years newer than mine. 

[Yoss]

This is the first time I've done anything to the Up! as nothing has happened to it. Just a minor service as we've had it 14 months. I try and change the oil on my cars annually but as January and February were just constant rain I couldn't be bothered. And besides we've only done 5k since we've had it. 

I went a bit mad and bought genuine VW parts! Partly because looking on the Up! forums to see what oil it takes just revealed arguments and no real answers. And as there is a VW dealer over the road from my delivery it just seemed easier to pop in. 

Mind you I've never bought oil in a box before! I had to go on YouTube to figure out how to open it. I'm not impressed. Firstly you push these bits out to form a handle. 

Which reveals the thin bag that the oil is in. Then push the the holes in the top in and pull the top out. 

I think they should have made this hole nearer the corner as oil kept running down the cardboard. 

I get that they are trying to save plastic but it's a little ironic when the thing is full of oil. Also there's no way of knowing how much you've poured out. It says the Up! takes 3.5 litres so normally I could stop with 1.5 litres left but here I have no way of knowing and have to keep stopping and checking. 

 

The air filter housing looks quite simple, you just have to remove the all the screws around the edge. Unfortunately three of those screws are inaccessible at the back.

But fortunately the whole housing is very easy to remove. Just pull off one breather hose and wriggle it off a couple of locating lugs and a tight push fit on to the throttle body. 

The old air filter was also a genuine VW one but worryingly was dated from 2014 so it appears it had never been changed before. It certainly needed doing. 

 

In other news, the Škoda passed its MOT today, but that's not really newsworthy as it always does. 

 

[High Jetter]

Not a wine box user then 😀

[EyesWeldedShut]

1 minute ago, High Jetter said:

Not a wine box user then 😀

A friend* told me that the best way to ensure that you get the last drop out of those is to pull the bag out, invert it, blow it up like a balloon. Turn it right way up and open the tap.

At today's prices that's a fiver's worth of oil saved -I just don't fancy going down on that thing ......

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

A friend* told me that the best way to ensure that you get the last drop out of those is to pull the bag out, invert it, blow it up like a balloon. Turn it right way up and open the tap.

At today's prices that's a fiver's worth of oil saved -I just don't fancy going down on that thing ......

Ah, gwan. I'll stick to  bottles tho

[Yoss]

8 hours ago, High Jetter said:

Not a wine box user then 😀

Evidently not.