Datsuncog's Heaps: Sept 2023 - Another Year's T-Met Exemption Certificate...

[Faker]

Didn’t see that one coming!! Elke Brookes!! Blast from the past there!!! 

Outback looks like a cracker.

Health to enjoy brother 

2 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

 

Rainbow of hopefulness puts in an appearance.

https://youtu.be/I3wJjBNoVIE

 

10 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

 

...so we have CD choons, people.

First up, the album I hadn't finished listening to when the Forester carked it.

The open road beckons...

 

[Split_Pin]

Looks grand man, enjoy!

[500tops]

Break out the Bilt Hamber, quick!

[Split_Pin]

Not just a collection mission either!

This was waiting on the window sill for me when I got home:

Many thanks Tim, sorry I wasn't in, hopefully our quick conversation over the crackly ring doorbell wasn't too alarming!

[SRi05]

2 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

 

Yup, it's the Subaru Outback of quite a few shiters (so far) - I believe I'm the fifth custodian of this fine vehicle from these hallowed beige pages?

 

*raises hand*

[Datsuncog]

Success!

Rocked up at Cairnryan ferry terminal not long before 6, which wasn't bad going despite a plethora of (often ill-signed) roadworks along the A77 causing holdups.

As mentioned above, a minor detour was made to Chez @Split_Pinto drop off a late-60s Matchbox Opel Diplomat, which seemed like a pointlessly small thing to post over - so since I was passing so very close, it felt only right to combine a collection with a delivery. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, it was possible for him to be in a park some miles away while simultaneously talking to me through his doorbell. Witchcraft!

Minor heart palpitations were had while working my way back toward the M80 along the B816 though, when a Police Scotland BMW came past me in one direction - and then not long after, appeared behind me with the lights flashing, and giving it a few blips of siren.

Oh, lumme.

Pulling over, I entirely expected what came next - the Subaru's registration had triggered the ANPR in the Beemer, flagging it as an uninsured car. The officers were very polite and efficient, and once I'd explained the situation and logged into my car insurance account on my phone to prove that it was indeed covered - but only within the past hour - they were happy to let me go on my merry way.

Still, felt a smidge shakey after.

Weather was very changeable all the way through, with blinding sun following torrential rain, and the Outback managed pretty well. A special shout-out goes to the massive fud in the Skoda Octavia in Lane 1 of the M8, who slowed and came to a halt ahead of me in a free-flowing uphill 60 section, without braking, in order to wave out someone out from a slip lane, necessitating a full-on emergency stop.

At least I now know the brakes work alright.

The drop links will definitely need some attention soon, particularly the driver's side which made all manner of thunks and knocks on uneven surfaces - perhaps an unwelcome element, given what happened to the Forester!

It also decided to develop a squeaky belt idler just today, to JimH's surprise, but we've all been there with cars that love to shame us with a brand-new fault just when a buyer comes to pick it up.

But overall, I'm very pleased, and will be making plans for rust remediation and getting these few wee jobs done.

On arrival, I received a token of my SPESHULNESS from Stena:

This gets me priority boarding, plus free snacks in the exclusive toffs' lounge - for a mere £12!

The goal here is to ensure I put away more than £12 worth of cheese footballs, Iceland prawn rings and Pringles, or whatever high-baller delights are served in such swanky maritime establishments.

HIGH LIFE YO

Oh, and a bonus spot while waiting in the ferry queue...

Noiiice.

By the time the ferry disgorges me around 10pm, I'll only be around 20 minutes away from home, so - nearly there now. Nearly.

[JimH]

I can breathe a sigh of relief now.

[Split_Pin]

Glad you made it there safely Tim. Scoob looks nice, you've got me looking at them too now. There's one not far from me with a years ticket for £1100....

That police BMW was still waiting on the M80 by the time I passed back from Dumbarton. They were sitting on a verge between a slip road and the hard shoulder. It was a 50 mph limit and at that very point a Corsa passed me by very quickly indeed but the police didn't flinch. Frustrating.

Anyway, cheers again for dropping off the little Opel, I didn't realise it had the early type wheels on it too so that's even better. It's beside the Zodiac you sent over last year some time, both with their bonnets intact!

Looking forward to more posts on the Outback.

[Datsuncog]

And we're on board... So this may be the last post 'til Norn Iron.

The Mk1 Cavalier's a few places behind the Outback, and looks bloody good, actually. Clean, but patinated - a survivor, rather than a recent renovation.

There's only about twelve cars and vans loaded tonight, so that priority boarding was definitely* worth it.

On the positive side, the exclusive Stena Plus lounge is... very shiny.

There's free coffee and free Tunnock's Caramel Wafers, so I might as well see what sort of a dent I can put in them before we dock.

And there's tapas.

Well, sort of.

It might make anyone from Catalonia cry, but it'll do me rightly.

Oh, and as we strike out into the inky depths of Loch Ryan on this wild and windy night - from three decks below, I can just about hear, sounding over and over...

WEEEEEEEoooooooowWEEEEEEEoooooooowWEEEEEEEoooooooowWEEEEEEEoooooooow

Lord help me, I never learn.

[mk2_craig]

So far so good! Its amazing how our transport system works really isn't it, when you think of all the different connections you've had to make today where something could've gone wrong.

Long day though like. I'm getting to the age where I'd have factored a hotel stay into the schedule somewhere. 

P.S. Cav looks like a honey.  Love those original looking plates on it.

[Split_Pin]

That's a decent spread and they have proper biscuits I see!

[JMotor]

Oooh NICE! 

Do like the look of that gen Legacy. But think that's from watching MCM and skid factory messing about with them.

Well that should be a more than sufficient replacement for the unfortunately poorly Forester. 

[Tadhg Tiogar]

10 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

.....Cavalier looks bloody good, actually. Clean, but patinated - a survivor, rather than a recent renovation.

...

What's the betting that'll be on donedeal.ie within the week?

[SiC]

Ha, I did think you'd get that Subaru as ticked all the boxes that the old one did. But also ticked the box that said working and not completely branflaked. 

[beko1987]

Nice dinner! 

Droplinks won't be so bad. I bought my Xsara needing them and an hour later (after a few weeks of forgetting) they were changed and all was quiet! 

 

[GrumpiusMaximus]

That is an absolutely smashing purchase.

[Blake's Den]

I've said it before on here - my old Outback was the best car that I have ever owned. Not the best looking, not the fastest and not the most fun, but it did absolutely everything that I threw at it. I'd love to have another but Outback BP's (this model) do like to rust. Ask me how I know!

Cracking purchase, enjoy the Subaru life 😃

[TrabbieRonnie]

Hopefully she serves you well, as she did us for a few years.  Would love another one day, didn't have time to fix her up, but miss the old thing still.

One owner before us, a moneyed individual in Edinburgh...  hopefully all the history is still with her, I added it up to nine g's!

There wasn't too much of this, promise!

All the best with it, great car.

[Datsuncog]

Off the boat, back along the M2 and M5, and finally the last lap: picking up my bike!

Unfortunately, I'd failed to account for the fact that there was now a spare set of alloys occupying the boot.

Oh well. Where there's a will...

Quick-release wheels for the win. I've actually had this bike for nearly 25 years now, it frightens me to realise.
 

Nearly home now. 

[Datsuncog]

Home again home again, jiggedy jig - as the old rhyme has it.

Safe on the driveway of its new home, this symbol of Hiberno-Caledonian shiter relations will go down in history... or something of that sort.

MrsDC said she could hear it approaching from the far end of the street. It is quite fruity, the exhaust note.

So all that was left to do was remove my assorted debris, and lock up for the night.

And put the bike away, of course.

Whereupon a load of gardening tools fell on me. Again.

VITAL STATISTICS:

Time spent travelling: 16hrs

Miles driven: 140 approx

Miles travelled: 324 (ono)

Methods of travel used: 8 (bike; train; bus; aeroplane; walk; car (passenger); car (driver); ferry).

Poo count: 2

Breakfast count: 3

Square sausage consumption: nil (need to sort that out for next time).

 

Thank you all for your unwavering support in this foolhardy endeavour, chaps and chapesses - I've no doubt it does make a difference in ensuring a happy outcome for these krazy kapers!

I'm off to eat a massive jar of olives, then sleep til Monday.

Adiós!

DC out.

[SRi05]

Top shiting 

[Split_Pin]

Excellent collection thread!

[hairnet]

#somuchtart

 

[Daviemck2006]

I'm sure I saw that cavalier for sale on a facebook group a few weeks ago. It was in the Glasgow area if I remember correctly. I was tempted to go have a look as I love them, but I need to get the 205gti out of my wake before any other chod comes here.

Sent from my SM-T585 using Tapatalk

[Dabooka]

This is the content we come to read.

A+++++

[Minimad5]

Glad to see this lives on within the fold 🥳

I've expressed my frustration elsewhere on here about it, but seriously poor the drop link has failed already, pretty sure I paid for both sides to be replaced (along with solid brake lines, flexis and a bit of welding etc) after being flagged up on the Pre-MOT , of which I paid to have done and received a Pass 😎

You should see a GATES sticker on the air filter box. I fitted a complete Gates cambelt kit (all idlers, water pump etc) and a Genuine Subaru thermostat, with new Aux belts to boot ... So again I hope the new bits aren't already showing signs of woe. 

^As per picture below:

Blooming comfortable car, with seat heating to rival a Volvo.

Do hope she provides you with many more years of reliable service 

[Spottedlaurel]

I was pretty much completely out of touch with anything yesterday, so this is a great thing to wake up and read this morning. Well done DC!

I think these are one of the best-looking estates out there and I'd happily have one, although the moment has probably passed me by now.

[Dave_Q]

Glad to see this lives on within the fold
I've expressed my frustration elsewhere on here about it, but seriously poor the drop link has failed already, pretty sure I paid for both sides to be replaced (along with solid brake lines, flexis and a bit of welding etc) after being flagged up on the Pre-MOT , of which I paid to have done and received a Pass
You should see a GATES sticker on the air filter box. I fitted a complete Gates cambelt kit (all idlers, water pump etc) and a Genuine Subaru thermostat, with new Aux belts to boot ... So again I hope the new bits aren't already showing signs of woe. 
^As per picture below:

Blooming comfortable car, with seat heating to rival a Volvo.
Do hope she provides you with many more years of reliable service 

That's not to say your garage didn't do it, my experience is that you cannot buy a drop link that will last any more for love nor money, having replaced them on my van at 3 MOTs in a row, one set allegedly being Heavy Duty ones.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

3 hours ago, Dave_Q said:

.... one set allegedly being Heavy Duty ones.

That sounds like they were exactly the same as standard* ones, but in a Heavy* Duty box.

[Datsuncog]

Well, a good long lie-in occurred yesterday, while I allowed my somewhat broken self to recuperate from what was rather more of an adventure than anticipated...

I mean, it's not like I've not previously just leapt in the car and powered off to Galway apropos of very little, or trekked up and down between Edinburgh and Brighton, or flown to Scotland to collect a sight-unseen car... but this was when I was a lot younger, and probably rather more gung-ho about such things. I wasn't anticipating quite such a sensation of bone-tired weariness to seep right through me (though not sleepiness - despite the early start, I think there was too much adrenaline going on from the multiple travel links, the unfamiliar settings, and the doomful wet roads in a yet-to-be-proven car to make me feel tired in that way).

It's been a weird couple of years, and I've pretty much gone nowhere and seen no-one since late 2019 in an effort to 'do my bit' and avoid spreading viral shiz around the place, so I think travelling and decision-making and being far, far out of the constrained little orbit I've been moving through for the past 20 months kinda took rather more out of me than I'd expected.

But, overall, it was maybe a good thing to do. If I'd simply needed basic transport, I probably could have found something locally, but on some level I reckon I needed to prove to myself that I still retained the wherewithal to devise, activate and pull off a convoluted sequence of events. Captain of my own ship. Master of my  own destiny. All that old bollocks. So, I guess that's what happened.

Big thanks to @JimH for prepping the Outback for its journey into the west and dealing patiently with my queries (both about the car and about his Sentinel steam wagons, which totally blew me away and made the journey worthwhile just to see those alone) and to @SiC for tagging me in the original ad for the Outback - and to all of you who followed Saturday's live thread with encouragement and advice, plus a sprinkling of good-humoured piss-taking. It all really helped.

First impressions are favourable.

Removing the snow wheels from the boot has helped it sound a lot better in terms of stuff moving around, and although the front suspension continues to make the odd graunch and knock, I'll get some drop links on it very soon.

Given that these are components that don't seem to last any length of time no matter what the price, is there any compelling reason not to fit cheap ones and basically consider them to be annual service items? Or should I steer clear from ECP's finest and get something elsewhere?

At least they appear simple items that even my meagre talents should be able to fit unaided.

The occasional chirp and squawk from beneath the bonnet seems to be an unhappy pulley on the aircon belt, which will also need replacing. At least there's a lot more room under the Outback's nose; I'm quite sure a similar job on the Forester would have required the radiator removed to even see the pulley.

Bit of blebbage above the front screen, which will require some cack-handed amateur repairs at some stage...

Bit of a scuff to one plastic wheelarch cover, too.

May be repairable, may be replaceable. May just be something I learn to live with.

The boot's a good size though - quite a bit more cavernous than the Forester, though sadly at some point the tonneau cover's stepped out for a walk and never returned.

The cover from the Forester is too wide to fit this one, otherwise I'd have slotted it in.

MrsDC seems enthused, and drove it back from the retail park last night. Despite being a normally aspirated car, the Outback still pulled pretty well compared to the Forester's turbo motor, and she commented that the clutch and gearchange both felt positive. The taller gears will take a small amount of getting used to - it seems happier to stay in third until approaching 40, and really fifth gear is only needed for speeds well above 50. But the road manners are good, and the brakes broadly comparable to its predecessor. The styling is elegant without being fussy, and anonymous while still being a little bit unusual. It fits the brief well.

Seems to fit aesthetically with the rest of the fleet* too, both being 2005 Japanese cars.

I still haven't gone through the weighty history file, or the owner's manual pack, but I'll look forward to doing that later and finding out more about this one's previous life in Scotland.

More to come, doubtless...