HMC- Mr Chowdhury’s Mercedes

[wuvvum]

5 hours ago, HMC said:

18 years ago I was speccing my new Land Rover defender. Today I’m deciding about repairing a rotten 26 year old French estate car. C’est La Vie

'Tis better to have loved and lost, &c.  18 years ago I was driving around in knackered old shit and today I'm in exactly the same position.

[HMC]

@Junkman this 405 at least, can rust.

[Eyersey1234]

2 hours ago, wuvvum said:

'Tis better to have loved and lost, &c.  18 years ago I was driving around in knackered old shit and today I'm in exactly the same position.

18 years ago I wasn't driving anything as I wasn't quite old enough

 

Edit apart from possibly my folks mad lol 

[carlo]

Strange, I've had very little rust on any of my 405s, perhaps the saloons are better?  Although I did need to get the rear welded for it's last MOT.  The good ones are fetching decent money now, long gone are the days when I was buying these for £300 and no one even wanted them at that price.

[SmokinWaffle]

On 8/6/2021 at 9:24 AM, HMC said:

Undecided at the mo. Shite friendly garage man (who will be the one doing the welding) says he “can do it but is it worth it”  (Disclaimer- emotional statement coming up) feels a bit like a rescue dog I’m being asked if I want to have it put down.

This was my quandary - it's got a fair bit of welding left in it and if you look at it from a purely financial perspective - it's not worth it.

But it's a car that's been used all it's life and mechanically quite sound - a workhorse by all definitions - it feels like such an unfair ending. It just wants to keep helping.

If you can afford it - and like the car - I'd just get it done. Many car based decisions don't make black and white sense - if I had to pay £800 to weld the BX tomorrow - I would - as I have so much love for it.

[HMC]

The Volvo has been a loyal servant (ie it hasn’t broken down / disgraced itself) and done all asked of itself.

A Volvo doing all asked of itself, earlier.

All except not have a leaky heater matrix. This was a particularly obvious one as as soon as you cranked the heat up, steam would come out of the vents along with that sticky sweet smell of doom (glycol)

Anyway, something had to be done. Unusually the heater matrix didn’t have the rest of the car built around it, as the phrase goes. Because of the unique way Volvo decided to do things, it was a relatively simple job to take the lower dash panels off, whip out the heater box, and change the matrix. I needed a couple of torx sockets (t15 and 25) and that was it.

Its been leaking for a while!

Fairly swiftly I had the new part, with o rings and foamy strip thing out and ready

And everything back together with the foam deadening layer dried out under the floor.

Verdict- if you’ve got a dodgy heater matrix, if it’s in a Volvo 850/s70/etc it’s easy (even for me) to sort it.

 

[MJK 24]

I had to do a Mercedes heater matrix last summer.  Great fun was had by all...

[HMC]

Fleet news. 
 

The v70 sold to a long term forum member who is collecting in a couple of days. 
 

The Peugeot 405 is currently waiting its turn/ being done in between jobs to be welded at my local shite friendly garage.

And that’s it. Hence for the first time since February 2002 (when I bought my first car) I will not have a functioning vehicle of my own to use from Thursday. All is not lost as I can use the Elgrand of ms_HMC and my bicycle but it’s certainly an unusual place to find myself!

[SmokinWaffle]

9 minutes ago, HMC said:

The Peugeot 405 is currently waiting its turn/ being done in between jobs to be welded at my local shite friendly garage.

Happy to hear that - and big respect to you. Glad it's got another chance to keep going!

[Marm Toastsmith]

On 8/10/2021 at 1:20 PM, HMC said:

for the first time since February 2002 (when I bought my first car) I will not have a functioning vehicle of my own to use from Thursday.

Have you bought anything yet?

I've got a surplus if you need a loaner...

[HMC]

9 hours ago, marm said:

Have you bought anything yet?

I've got a surplus if you need a loaner...

Thanks! I’ve got hold of something estate shaped, but worse. It’s road legal although broken in a few places and waiting for collection tomorrow in the Cotswolds. 

[HMC]

The train has been cancelled so it’s not happening today at least, plans afoot for doing it tomorrow. 

[Marm Toastsmith]

1 minute ago, HMC said:

The train has been cancelled so it’s not happening today at least, plans afoot for doing it tomorrow. 

Bummer.

Where is it?

[HMC]

11 hours ago, marm said:

Bummer.

Where is it?

It’s between Bristol and Gloucester, lovely  Cotswold countryside but not that accessible by train alas. The bicycle will be joining the dots, at least it looks to be a dry day (fingers crossed)

[HMC]

First leg. Seat repair just about holding up. Crossing former RAF Harrowbeer on the edge of Dartmoor.

I think there’s a 1940s event going on this weekend but it must be on the other side of it, it’s all very sleepy at the mo 

http://www.rafharrowbeer1940s.com/

 

[HMC]

On the train after a breakfast detour

 

Alas, after getting to Plymouth station it turns out engineering works that cancelled my train yesterday have disrupted the route today with a connecting bus at some points. I recon my bike won’t be welcome on that.

Sorting a plan b from Bristol- a lot more cycling but I’m in no rush and at least it’s not raining. 

[Marm Toastsmith]

Good luck, have fun.

[Cookiesouwest]

Bike should be able to go in coach boot. They usually use coaches for rail replacement up our way.

Good luck

[andyberg]

4 hours ago, HMC said:

On the train after a breakfast detour

 

Alas, after getting to Plymouth station it turns out engineering works that cancelled my train yesterday have disrupted the route today with a connecting bus at some points. I recon my bike won’t be welcome on that.

Sorting a plan b from Bristol- a lot more cycling but I’m in no rush and at least it’s not raining. 

It depends on whether you have a nice coach driver, strictly rail replacement coaches are not allowed to carry bikes. I used to because for some people it is part of there usual commute to work/home. good luck.

[HMC]

Well, that was confusing and muddled. On the train they announced Change at Taunton for Bristol parkway, as this trim is no longer stopping there, where you will get a coach. Then there was an announcement that the coach was late so stay on, and get to Bristol temple meads. Then a coach to the connection. Then there was a fault with another train to they went to Weston-super-mare, and with that my connection went up in smoke.

TL;DR- train problems.

Then I just decided to cycle it after getting to Bristol. After a lot of slow steady progress (not as fit as I was!) I finally got to the new car.

Its a posh connoisseur se rover 75. I’m a bit excited about this as I’ve never had a posh one before. It’s blue (does anyone know what blue?) the clutch is ok (the seller wasn’t telling porkies) that’s not true as the listing said there was an airbag light on, and it does come on as it should, and then Goes out. 

The journey itself was draining , and the price (£400) made me feel a bit Suspicious about it but it seems ok in most rover 75 trouble spots. It’s not full of water where they like to fill with water. The sills look ok. There rear suspension arms haven’t dissolved/ had the coil spring punch through them. It does seem to ride a bit high at the back though to my eyes . And it’s been breathed on by x-power so this cdt is basically a Cdti. No ball of fire, granted, but ok rather than plain slow. 
 

Verdict so far- better than it has any right to be for the money. I’d forgotten how well they ride as well. By modern standards a revelation over typical British roads.

 

[Cookiesouwest]

5 tickets please

[Cookiesouwest]

Royal Blue?

Paint code should be on sticker, I think passenger side door.

[wuvvum]

Nice!  Welcome to the Connoisseur SE CDT Tourer Owners Club.  Apart from the lack of sat nav and peasant gear change that's the same spec as mine.  It looks rather lovely, and a proper bargain at £400.   Mine sits high at the back too so it might be a TADTS thing.

1 hour ago, HMC said:

 

 

For a moment there I thought that was @hairnet on the next pump...

[andyberg]

well bought that man! I must admit when I looked after @Cookiesouwest 75 for a week I couldn't believe how comfy the ride is, proper floaty over the bumps.

[Split_Pin]

Welcome to the club. A cheap 75 that works is a very good way to get about.

If it doesn't sit higher at the back then the springs are probably broken at the ends and it will also ride like hell. So your seems grand!

[HMC]

2 hours ago, wuvvum said:

Nice!  Welcome to the Connoisseur SE CDT Tourer Owners Club.  Apart from the lack of sat nav and peasant gear change that's the same spec as mine.  It looks rather lovely, and a proper bargain at £400.   Mine sits high at the back too so it might be a TADTS thing.

For a moment there I thought that was @hairnet on the next pump...

Yes, I always remember @gadgetgricey explaining about auto better than manual and I’d rather it had been an auto. Partly waftiness but also I’m not a big fan of the feel of the clutch and gearchange on these  manuals. Plus there’s the Borkage potential of the hydraulics.

[HMC]

It’s sort of of part way though project drive so some pleasant details have been eroded but overall is still got most nice touches. Biggest sad face is it’s just lost out on having a wooden dash rather than plastic/fake.

[gadgetgricey]

Do still miss mine.. Does yours have the FBH as needed in cold weather as does take a long time to warm up, even with a working thermostat, (R4 in line for the win)

 

[HMC]

49 minutes ago, gadgetgricey said:

Do still miss mine.. Does yours have the FBH as needed in cold weather as does take a long time to warm up, even with a working thermostat, (R4 in line for the win)

 

Yea it’s still here. Unsure if it’s working. The thermostat is definitely not.

[wuvvum]

1 hour ago, HMC said:

Yes, I always remember @gadgetgricey explaining about auto better than manual and I’d rather it had been an auto. Partly waftiness but also I’m not a big fan of the feel of the clutch and gearchange on these  manuals. Plus there’s the Borkage potential of the hydraulics.

Although on the plus side, the manuals are more economical (not that any 75 is going to worry a Polo Bluemotion in the MPG stakes).

Mine doesn't have the Webasto heater, but the normal heater warms up pretty quickly for an old diesel, and in the meantime the heated seats take the worst of the chill off...