HMC architecte britannique

[yes oui si]

They sound great when allowed to breathe a bit better.

[HMC]

Gave the Jag a quick wash and clean of the interior today. The paint is a bit battered in places but still; it looks better for the wash.

The front wings have been previously wobbed up and are going again…

At least they are bolt on, so swapping for some replacements isnt hard, which is what i did on an earlier one I had (picture is about 11 years ago before i painted them……)

[Schaefft]

They always seem to go in the same area. The Turquoise XJ Sport I parted out had pretty crusty wings and someone still was happy to pay me some decent money for them. You could probably still sell these.

[Heidel_Kakao]

When the weather is better I am going to remove my wings and give them a good paint on the inside in an attempt to prevent them starting to rust and also clean out any accumulated dirt.

[Cooper1]

My os wing is going in the same place, odd really as the NS which gets all the shit is spotless. 

 

Do like an X300 .

[Six-cylinder]

10 years ago when I had X300s even then one of them a rust in the driver's side wing.

[Lord Sterling]

Yep, mine are fucked too. Both sides. I may aswell either plate them or change the wings entirely seeing as I'm looking to have the underside welded.

20 hours ago, HMC said:

Lady by the back door looks as if she's saying "Will you stop messing about taking pictures of your car and give us a hand!"

[Homersimpson]

Those aren't fucked Jag wings, this is a fucked Jag wing:

You guys are mere amateurs at rusty jags 🤣 Seriously though, I would repair those unless good ones are still cheap as it doesn't look a difficult repair.

[HMC]

On 14/10/2023 at 11:02, HMC said:

Fleet news-

I dont like silver cars, nor cars with blacked out wheels. And im allergic to facebook marketplace.  But i had to get down and dirty for a cheap z4

When they were launched i REALLY disliked the styling, but over the years its grown on me. I would have liked a 3.0 manual in gunmetal grey with red leather

 

 

 

Well I got most of the way there today-

3.0 manual in kind of gunmetal with black leather, whilst still going toward the lower end of the market.

Its a nicer steer than the silver one, although on todays slippery roads I limited my testing.  

 

 

[Schaefft]

Very nice, do you own both top specs of BMW's mid-2000s convertibles with this and the 650Ci then? Excluding their M-versions naturally.

This might also be the same color as my brothers Z4, as well as the Z4 an ex colleague had in about a decade ago. Suits it very well!

[HMC]

On 06/01/2026 at 18:59, Schaefft said:

Very nice, do you own both top specs of BMW's mid-2000s convertibles with this and the 650Ci then? Excluding their M-versions naturally.

This might also be the same color as my brothers Z4, as well as the Z4 an ex colleague had in about a decade ago. Suits it very well!

I did, but the cheap 650i was unfortunately soon unreliable- intermittant no crank just when you least expected it. Culprits were potentially an earth, a crank sensor, starter issues maybe? Anyway over the new year i Started having odd gearbox fault messages which ended with it throwing one , and (or at the same time) eml/ and as we were on a single track road on a hill, it wouldnt climb the hill. Lets try a CTRL ALT DELETE perhaps? perfect time for no crank. And if it wont crank then the little electric selector switch wont then allow neutral. Unless someone knows something i dont? on a single track road, blocking traffic, stuck in park. 

By this point I decided id had enough of the car as we were going away for the new year. Luckily i managed to get it to crank and then get it to neutral and roll down backward into a safe place not obstructing traffic. But for this BMW its time with me was over.

I part exxed it at a local dealer ive used before (with a full rundown of its turd qualities) for this merc (c350 cdi amg blue efficiency) which has 12M MOT and a warranty. I think this was a forst for me that this provided at last a part of the decision making process.   A sign of wanting a less exciting daily that is dependable. Yes. 

Goes well, and can be suprisingly decent on fuel (perhaps not at the same time 😂)

But right now I seem to have reached a stage where just want a reliable car.

[Schaefft]

Ah yes, the good old cheap late 2000s BMW ownership experience. Diagnostics would probably tell you, if I had a guess I'd say it didn't know that it was in neutral or park? No crank at all usually means its actively preventing you from doing it for a very few specific reasons unless the starter really doesn't want to. My Z3 seems to do the latter.

[N Dentressangle]

43 minutes ago, HMC said:

ut right now I seem to have reached a stage where just want a reliable car.

We all come to it in the end 

[Matty]

2 hours ago, N Dentressangle said:

We all come to it in the end 

Do we now? My answer to that question has turned out to be a Landrover. Lets see how well that goes 🤣

[HMC]

Hi all, all change. Boredom set in with the merc, and the z4 had an electrical meltdown. I had a sort of self loathing existential crisis in early january and had basically enough of cars in general.

But the lure of internal combustion engines (does anyone lust after electric cars?!) returned and was strong.

So what vehicles are interesting and have famously robust* electrics?

Ive long had a soft spot for both. Back many years ago, i almost bought the @breadvan72 alfa- now owned by @Six-cylinder. And as for fiat 500s - i think they are great.  For me the spiritual link to the fabric roofed OG 500 was too much to resist- pairing that with the twin air engine was my ideal.

But my previous experience with the twin air wasn’t positive- and the 1242 FIRE engine has its own heritage and is a hardy little lump.

I commuted in the 156 on tuesday and playing tunes on the busso v6 made me fall in love with cars all over again.

Maybe i need to change my username back to the 2012 version @italianjob ?

[wesacosa]

9 minutes ago, HMC said:

Hi all, all change. Boredom set in with the merc, and the z4 had an electrical meltdown…

So what vehicles are interesting and have famously robust electrics?

Ive long had a soft spot for both. Back many years ago, i almost bought the @breadvan72 alfa- now owned by @Six-cylinder. And as for fiat 500s - i think they are great.  

I commuted in the 156 on tuesday and playing tunes on the busso v6 made me fall in love with cars all over again.

Maybe i need to change my username back to the 2012 version @italianjob ?

lovely 

I had a 155 V6 but despite a few near misses never had a 156.  Sportwagen too. Very nice 

[Six-cylinder]

5 minutes ago, HMC said:

Hi all, all change. Boredom set in with the merc, and the z4 had an electrical meltdown…

So what vehicles are interesting and have famously robust electrics?

Ive long had a soft spot for both. Back many years ago, i almost bought the @breadvan72 alfa- now owned by @Six-cylinder. And as for fiat 500s - i think they are great. 

Maybe i need to change my username back to the 2012 version @italianjob

Perfect pair.

I still have the 156 V6 but have paired it with a Fiat Seicento.

[N Dentressangle]

Excellent.

A diesel Mercedes was never going to cut it.

[IronStar]

156 has been unfairly accused of having bad electrics from my experience. A very few things went wrong electrically in 6 years with me, and what little did had BOSCH stamped on it.

[lesapandre]

1 hour ago, HMC said:

Hi all, all change. Boredom set in with the merc, and the z4 had an electrical meltdown. I had a sport of existential crisis in early january and had had enough of cars in general. But the lure of internal combustion engines (does anyone lust after electric cars?!) returned and was strong.

So what vehicles are interesting and have famously robust electrics?

Ive long had a soft spot for both. Back many years ago, i almost bought the @breadvan72 alfa- now owned by @Six-cylinder. And as for fiat 500s - i think they are great.  

I commuted in the 156 on tuesday and playing tunes on the busso v6 made me fall in love with cars all over again.

Maybe i need to change my username back to the 2012 version @italianjob ?

A very sinister John Malkovitch drives a 156 in  the film 'Ripley's Game'.

I can't find the car but here is a great street scene clip in Italian - there is an English language version as well...but the Italian suits the vibe. 

Great car - not many left. It's what the Jaguar X-Type should have been - not the retro zombie it was.

[Barry Cade]

17 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

A very sinister John Malkovitch drives a 156 in  the film 'Ripley's Game'.

I can't find the car but here is a great street scene clip in Italian - there is an English language version as well...but the Italian suits the vibe. 

Great car - not many left. It's what the Jaguar X-Type should have been - not the retro zombie it was.

[Schaefft]

1 hour ago, HMC said:

Hi all, all change. Boredom set in with the merc, and the z4 had an electrical meltdown. I had a sort of self loathing existential crisis in early january and had basically enough of cars in general.

But the lure of internal combustion engines (does anyone lust after electric cars?!) returned and was strong.

So what vehicles are interesting and have famously robust* electrics?

Ive long had a soft spot for both. Back many years ago, i almost bought the @breadvan72 alfa- now owned by @Six-cylinder. And as for fiat 500s - i think they are great.  

I commuted in the 156 on tuesday and playing tunes on the busso v6 made me fall in love with cars all over again.

Maybe i need to change my username back to the 2012 version @italianjob ?

I loved the 156SW I bought from you, hoping it's receiving the love it deserves. Just need a Maserati 4200 and 166 to recreate this scene now!

[hairnet]

can all the linguine shaggers please do one

grazie

[Peter C]

19 hours ago, HMC said:

(does anyone lust after electric cars?!) 

Lust is a strong word but I absolutely love my VW ID7 Tourer and have no reason whatsoever to go back to a petrol powered car, let alone one that sips derv.

Love the Alfa.

[lesapandre]

On 04/02/2026 at 20:25, Barry Cade said:

Found the clip...look away if you prefer S Class Mercedes.

 Ripley's Game was directed  by Liliana Cavani (who also directed The Night Porter - she must have something for sinister men) and features as Ripley's house the Villa Emo of 1565 designed by Palladio in the Veneto outside Venice. A stylish film ( undoubtedly with a 156) but a relative flop at the box office.

[HMC]

New top drawer vauxhall shite…

lets have a look at the squashy velour…

 

[Peter C]

@Wibble

I suspect you might have something to say about the Carlton?

[Schaefft]

Lovely!

[Wibble]

9 minutes ago, Peter C said:

@Wibble

I suspect you might have something to say about the Carlton?

Oh that does look lovely!

My CDi was also manual, although I do think they’re better suited to an auto, for the waft.

[Peter C]

29 minutes ago, Wibble said:

Oh that does look lovely!

My CDi was also manual, although I do think they’re better suited to an auto, for the waft.

About 30 years ago I had a light metallic blue 1.8GL, I think it was on a G reg, with a 5 speed manual “box.

First time I had a car with ABS. It was sooo comfortable!