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How much shite is too much shite? Ready for the NEC and I have to decide on the Xantia


Saabnut

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  • Saabnut changed the title to How much shite is too much shite? Le Range Roveur update

Well, it is official, NOT all Vauxhalls are shite. Not great, but not shite either. Over the last two weeks the Disastra has covered 2500 miles at an average of 37mpg. It uses a little water but fairly sure that a new expansion bottle cap will sort that. Not the most comfortable car but not the worst. I have now covered 4500 miles in it without problems so I think it can stay on the fleet for a while.

In other news, work commenced on the French Rangie, which has sat around for over 18 months. Last trip I collected it and got it running, this time the plan was to adjust the handbrake and fix the screen washers and get it in for a Controle Technique (MOT).  The LH handbrake adjuster appeared to be seized so it was stripped down. The discs and pads are nearing the end of their life, and the handbrake shoes are the originals and not great. The adjuster had been fitted the wrong war round so had been forced the wrong way locking it up, so it was freed up and fitted the correct way. After adjustment, the handbrake it was better but I am not convinced it will pass a test, but decided we would see.

The screen washers were fixed* properly* by swapping the pipe to the rear wash pump that still worked. That will do for now. So, ready for the CT I went online to book a test slot. An hour later I gave up and went down to the local station to do it in person. Despite my wonderful* French, all was going well until I was asked if I had the Carte Gris (log book) so I showed him the photocopy and the attestation from the Notaire. Sadly, this was not enough and the original CG is required and I had no idea where that was. Bugger. Back home and an email to the previous owner was sent.

As I could go no further with the CT I decided that to give it the best chance of passing, a mop and polish to tey and reduce some of the parking and battle scars was in order. Both sides had evidence of the concrete supports in the car park it was stored in.

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Many hours with the machine polisher and a fine compound followed by machine polish and it came up well

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When I got back to Scotland there was an email from the previous owner saying he had found the original CG and it should be with me today. I will order up some new brake components and next trip down should see them fitted and a CT done. At least then I should know if it needs anything else.

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  • Saabnut changed the title to How much shite is too much shite? What Have They Done To Modern Cars?

Of late, I had begun to wonder if my lifetime mantra of All Modernz Are Shite still held up. In the past I had new company cars (Allegro, Fiesta, Escorts, Sierra) and all at the time were fine but uninspiring. Around the millenium, I had a couple of new MR2s which whilst fun were disappointing and the saving grace was cheap. Lately I have had some newer (for me) vehicles, the 10 plate Disastra, the 06 plate Range Rover etc which have been and are quite pleasant. Perhaps new ones are better and I have been wrong.

This morning, my neighbour asked me to take his 69 plate Toyota Landcruiser in to the dealer for some warrenty work (new partial loom and exhaust sensor) as it was to be done whilst he waited but he was worried it would take longer than planned and he would not be back in time yo feed his animals.

Took the Landcruiser to Dundee where the dealers were very friendly and efficient and it was taken into the workshop whilst I drank their coffee and about 45 mins later they confessed to having a problem as the sensor had ripped the thread out of the exhaust and they need to get a new section in. No problem as they offered a courtesy car, a 72 plate  Aygo X. My god, how on earth do these things sell? It is huge outside and tiny inside. Pressing the accelerator makes more noise but very little else happens. The engine sounds rough, the ride is terrible, it has stop start and lane warning so unless you indicate beeps at you crossing the white line when overtaking on the dual carriageway. Horribly confusing dash, like being inside a box and driving like miss Daisy at a steady 65 for 40 miles showed 49.7 mpg. My AX diseasal is more comfortable, has lots more room inside, is much smaller outside, is quicker and does over 60mpg on a similar run.

It will be handed back hopefully tomorrow with no regrets. Give me old shite evertime!

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6 minutes ago, Saabnut said:

No problem as they offered a courtesy car, a 72 plate  Aygo X. My god, how on earth do these things sell?

Because it's a cheap new car! Someone wants a new car but wants to pay minimal as possible. 

However the people wanting to do that versus buying something older (especially with >3yr manufacturer warranties now) is decreasing. Plus there isn't a lot of profit in them for bottom end of the market. With that market shrinking and becoming harder/more expensive to make a car, becoming less viable business. Part of the reasons why cheap small cars are dieing out now. 

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On 2/13/2023 at 6:02 PM, Saabnut said:

Of late, I had begun to wonder if my lifetime mantra of All Modernz Are Shite still held up. In the past I had new company cars (Allegro, Fiesta, Escorts, Sierra) and all at the time were fine but uninspiring. Around the millenium, I had a couple of new MR2s which whilst fun were disappointing and the saving grace was cheap. Lately I have had some newer (for me) vehicles, the 10 plate Disastra, the 06 plate Range Rover etc which have been and are quite pleasant. Perhaps new ones are better and I have been wrong.

This morning, my neighbour asked me to take his 69 plate Toyota Landcruiser in to the dealer for some warrenty work (new partial loom and exhaust sensor) as it was to be done whilst he waited but he was worried it would take longer than planned and he would not be back in time yo feed his animals.

Took the Landcruiser to Dundee where the dealers were very friendly and efficient and it was taken into the workshop whilst I drank their coffee and about 45 mins later they confessed to having a problem as the sensor had ripped the thread out of the exhaust and they need to get a new section in. No problem as they offered a courtesy car, a 72 plate  Aygo X. My god, how on earth do these things sell? It is huge outside and tiny inside. Pressing the accelerator makes more noise but very little else happens. The engine sounds rough, the ride is terrible, it has stop start and lane warning so unless you indicate beeps at you crossing the white line when overtaking on the dual carriageway. Horribly confusing dash, like being inside a box and driving like miss Daisy at a steady 65 for 40 miles showed 49.7 mpg. My AX diseasal is more comfortable, has lots more room inside, is much smaller outside, is quicker and does over 60mpg on a similar run.

It will be handed back hopefully tomorrow with no regrets. Give me old shite evertime!

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That's a real shame that Toyota ruined a brilliant little car.

We hired a proper Aygo when we stayed about an hour from Nice in 2014. I'd never driven one before and assumed it would be terrible. Instead, I was really impressed - it was lively, the three pot sounded alright, MPG was excellent, cabin design was ingenious and genuinely felt spacious considering it was a small car. It was like a mountain goat on many of the narrow, winding hills where we stayed too. It was a hoot to drive and I loved the thing. It was one of these:

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In stark contrast, the Yaris we hired in Lanzarote a couple of years later was terrible. It sounded much more like your Aygo X - lardy, slow, not particularly good on fuel, dull as dishwater and generally unlikeable. It was the polar opposite of it's little sibling. 

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  • Saabnut changed the title to How much shite is too much shite? Another One Leaves The Fleet And One Returns

One day last week it took me over 10 minutes to find a 13mm spanner despite having loads of them, so decided that the time to tidy the shed had finally arrived. To make it easier I decided to move the Bentley (parked on the ramp) and the Saab parked behind it outside to give me more space. The Saab had been sat for 3 weeks and the Bentley about 6 weeks. The Saab started instantly and stopped just as quickly, with no sounds from the fuel pump and refused to restart, but the ignition switch started to stick as well. I towed the Saab out of the way, the Bentley started easily to be driven out and the Saab pushed onto the ramp for investigation

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The Bentley was returned as the tidy was postponed sadly*, this picture shows why the tidy is needed

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A check showed no power to the pump and putting power to the pump directly had it running. The Ignition Switch Module (ISM) on these Saabs are standard across the range so the one out of the diesel spares car was removed and fitted but made no difference. Googling showed nothing else but an enquiry on UKSaabs told me there is a relay in front of the A pillar on the drivers side, so that is the next job as I ran out of time as I needed to load the Smart 4-2 for delivery to Rotherham. It had not moved for 2 years so three of the brakes were stuck, but wheels off and a hammer had them turning.

The new owner lives in Norfolk, not sure he is on here but his work colleague is, and he had hoped to collect from my friends near Sheffield but this plan fell apart, so it was dropped off at his friends near Rotherham. If anyone has an early front panel for an almond headlight one of these, let me know!

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That is the 4th vehicle to leave the fleet this year, so things are going well. With an empty trailer it was time to collect my Disco 1 which had been away for a full respray. To say I am delighted with the result would be an understatement and the cost was extremely pleasing as it was less than 25% of what I had been quoted locally!

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Yesterday it returned to my friend in Perth who did the welding, and as soon as he completes recommisioning a Corvette for another friend, we will start putting it back together.

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3 hours ago, Saabnut said:

 

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3 hours ago, Saabnut said:

 

One day last week it took me over 10 minutes to find a 13mm spanner despite having loads of them, so decided that the time to tidy the shed had finally arrived

 

i have this trouble and my space is only 20x8m

its been 9 years - all the handy tools that get used regularly live on a chest of drawers inside the door :D

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  • Saabnut changed the title to How much shite is too much shite? Saab Breaking Bad(ly)

Got back to the Saab last week and removed most of the remaing 3.746 acres of plastic trim to eventually find the fuel pump relay, which was removed and replaced with a spare. Full of confidence, an attempt at starting made no difference. Just in case I had two dodgy relays, I tried a third with equal success. As electrics are a black art to me, I retreated to drink tea and call it names.  I need to get another of my cars started after a short* hibernation as there is a buyer in the wings, but the weather has refused to co-operate with either rain (it is undercover but away from my tools so I would end up soaked) or strong winds and sub zero temperatures so it has had to wait.

Saturday saw an invite to a Christmas Dinner party (I know! :-) ) and Sunday was a write off with a small* hangover. Yesterday I went to see my electronic expert friend who agreed to have a look at the Saab in a few days time. On the way back, I called at my factors and bought new rear discs and pads for the Saab as I had metal to metal on the rear offside, and I need to sort that before taking it to the NEC.

Today has been a bad day! Woke up to a snowstorm with 4 inches on the ground so once again resurecting cars was delayed. Rather than waste the day, I put the heating on and went to do the brakes on the Saab. The heater did not soung right, but started to put out heat. A few minutes later, there was a loud bang and the flexiblr 6" exhaust from the heater blew itself apart! Turned the heater off and decided to remain cold! Started on the nearside rear as it was nearest the tool kit and getting the calliper off fought me all the way with everything being stuck. Eventually it was off, but to remove the disc the calliper carrier has to come off which is a reverse torx socket. of course, I cannot find mine, so the back up of a 12 point socket was deployed. The torx bolts of course are very tight and very rusty, so the socket was no use. At this point I decided that whilst not great, the discs would last another set of pads so I would leave them alone for now as I am aware of the fast approaching deadline for the NEC.

Next was to wind the calliper back in, but everything was stiff and I ended up with an extension on the wind back tool! Eventually it was done and all reassembled with new pads, though I was still less than 100% happy with the caliper. On to the other side. Once again, the calliper was a sod to get off, and both pads were down to metal, although the disc itself was in better condition. Unfortunately the caliper itself was fully extended and seized. Time for a new one! On to the factors, two new callipers ordered, but sadly caliper carriers are NLA without sourcing abroad. My electronic expert friend phoned tonight to say he could take the car and i mentioned the hassles I was having. Being te superstar he is, he offered to do the brakes as well as he is confident he can weld nuts onto the torx bolts and get them out.

Tomorrow I have to put the Saab back to a rolling state and take it over to him. Why is nothing ever simple?

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  • Saabnut changed the title to How much shite is too much shite? Saab Saved From The Bridge

@hairnet The Disco is green :-) I cannot remember the exact colour, will have to check next time I am with it.

The Saab was duly loaded onto the trailer and taken over to my friends. Due to non running and non stopping, I had to reverse the trailer into his unit and up to the ramp which is very tight and was delighted when I got it there.  Next day I collected the new callipers and dropped them off with my friend, who had the car running! When I swapped the relay, I had checked power was getting to the relay (12V) but not to the connector before the pump (0.4V) so had concluded it must have been the wiring between the two so through in the towel. Simon, being wise did not trust my diagnostic ability and checked himself and got the same result (Hah!). The difference was he then checked it under load, at which point the voltage dropped to 0.4V meaning the fault was before the relay!

He eventually found the fault, but god knows how! I would not have found it in a million years and would have no doubt ended up scrapping it. Within the loom, under the battery tray and still sealed in the original wrapping, he found a section of corroded wire

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The black bit is just a loose section of sheath, the wire itself had no connections there. The wire a couple of inches either side of it is like new when stripped, clean and shiny. The only explanation we could come up with is when new, tht piece of wire had a nick in it and it has slowly been corroding ever since, but who knows. He let in a new section and all is now good again. Simon called me late Friday to say the brakes were also done so I can collect it tomorrow.

To celebrate, I may* have done a blind bid on ebay! A friend was selling something I have heard of but not seen and the price seemed ridiculously low, so to help boost the price for him (he is only selling due to a combination of loss of storage and ill health) I stuck a bid in for less than half of what I thought it would fetch. Of course, the auction ended with me being the winner at about 75% of my bid! I did not need or particularly want it, but at that price I am happy to take it on. Surprisingly the seller emailed me to say how delighted he was that it was going to an enthusiast! Collection trip is now organised to Englandshire to collect on Tuesday and I will try and do a live collection thread!

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  • Saabnut changed the title to How much shite is too much shite? Yet another leaves the fleet - sad and historic day

Having added this to the fleet

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Today I gained a bit of space in my shed as this left the fleet

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A sad and historic day as today is the first since I was 16 years old (46 years ago!) that I do not have at least one motorbike in my ownership as the ex @Cavcraft BMW R1100RS departed for foreign shores. The new owner is a colleague in Norway who decided it would be fun to ride it back to Stavanger despite it being off the road for over 3 years. His original plan was ride to Newcastle, ferry to Ijmuiden then another ferry Emmden to Kristiansand then a shortish ride up to Stavanger.

Sadly, just after arriving at Aberdeen airport, he received a message saying his second ferry had been cancelled and there would be no sailings until the end of the month. A few phone calls and computery bits later, he had a revised plan. Drive to Edinburgh today, Newcastle tomorrow for his first ferry to Holland then drive up to Hirtsal at the top of Denmark with an overnight stop in Germany on the way. Mad. Oh, and why Edinburgh today?  His missus is flying in to join him for the trip, so they will be 2-up as well. Certifiable! :-) 

I am typing this now as I don't want to be away from the phone as I told him to call if he has any problems! Still, he has been on the road for nearly two hours now so I am hopefull all is good.

Farewell to my motorcycling history

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Just had a call from my mate to say that the BMW is now a Norwegian resident having covered 1096 miles from my place to his and the import duty was a very reasonable £320. Win win

I have just covered 425 miles in the Saab 9-3 at an average of 33mpg which for a 2 litre floppytop pushing 210bhp is very reasonable in my book Going to have a few quiet beers tonight before heading to the NEC tomorrow

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  • Saabnut changed the title to How much shite is too much shite? Sent to Coventry, the NEC, Stavanger and now all at sea again

An update to this thread is well overdue again, so I will make a start. Hopefully I will be left in peace whilst I complete it, but we will see!

Firstly it was good to meet up with a few Shiters at the NEC over the weekend of the Classic Car Restoration Show. For a change this year we stayed in the Ibis in Coventry Central as it was a cheap 10 minute train ride to the NEC and a lot cheaper than our usual Travelodge at the airport which had increased in price a lot this year. It also had the advantage of being a few minutes walk from some really nice pubs.

As usual UKSaabs had a joint stand with the Saab Owners Club and this year I took my 2005 9-3 'vert as I needed to dash home on the Monday before flying back to Norway on Tuesday. This limited oportunities to work on the car, apart from putting the several acres of plastic back into place in the interior that I had removed whilst electrical fault finding, I also decided that the headlights really needed a polish as they looked like this

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I blew a whole ten quid on one of ebays finest polishing kits. Part way through

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On the Friday of the show we were approached by a lady wanting to sell a wind break for a 9-3 and she was asking a very fair price. I had been looking for one for over a year so agreed to purchase it, although my hopes were low when she said it was in Taunton! She promised to get a friend to bring it up, and they did so I now have one as seen fitted here

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Another couple of stand shots

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A dash back home on the Monday was completed without incident, and enjoying the 210 bhp released by Karl at Noobtune. The bonus was the 37.4mpg average on the way back!

Tuesday saw a flight to Stavanger, office until Friday when a helicopter managed to land on the boat despite 5m significant waves so now settling in here. More when I can

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  • Saabnut changed the title to How much shite is too much shite? May MOT Madness

A complete lack of time and a mostly missing internet connection meant that for the last 5 weeks I have been unable to update this thread but no matter, there are only so many pictures of the sea you want to see :-) 

Got back home on Saturday, and have been a bit* hectic with things and before I went away I did some checking and it turned out the MOTs had run out on most of the fleet that required them, with only the Saab 9-3 'vert and the Disastra still being legal*. Ha a chat with my friendly tester and he agreed to test a couple this week giving me time to get on with the others. Today, this went in resulting in a  stressful day

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I paid less than 3.5 kilopounds for this off this very site about 6 months ago, since when it has covered 7k miles, 90% with a trailer on the back. Apart from a lot, no that should be a LOT of fuel, nothing has been spent. Result? Pass with a couple of advisories. I will take that!

Another one goes in tomorrow.....

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  • Saabnut changed the title to How much shite is too much shite? May MOT Madness Two from Two in Two Days

Today it was the turn of another Autoshite refugee, this time the ex @The Moog AX Diseasal

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Another pass, a few advisories to have a look at but there is nothing serious so no rush.

That is enough MOTs for this week, tomorrow is a full time day concentrating on house sale so hopefully I can relax and do car bits I want to do this weekend.

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10 hours ago, Saabnut said:

Today it was the turn of another Autoshite refugee, this time the ex @The Moog AX Diseasal

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Another pass, a few advisories to have a look at but there is nothing serious so no rush.

That is enough MOTs for this week, tomorrow is a full time day concentrating on house sale so hopefully I can relax and do car bits I want to do this weekend.

Good going! I had two MOTs within 3 weeks of each other and my heart could barely take the strain…

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  • Saabnut changed the title to How much shite is too much shite? All at sea for an MOT

Well, that didn't go to plan! On the Friday the house sale went through without a hitch (my brother and I decided to sell my late mothers house as rental had become too much stress with less income than money in the bank) proving that there are some good estate agents. Yourmove in Montrose advertised it, did viewings, handled offers and saw the sale through keeping us fully informed for their 1%.

Monday was a day catching up with a few bits around the house, Tuesday was spent at the hospital in Aberdeen getting more tests. Wednesday morning, before heading to the shed, I checked the work email, and first thing Friday morning I was flying to Rotterdam to join a pipelay vessel the Lorelay, from where I am typing this. I have now had 12 days at home since the 28th March!

Whilst I have been away and @GingerNuttzhas been keeping me sane with pictures of progress on my Rover P5B, my other friend has been quietly putting this

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back together again after its recent weldfest and respray. I have not wanted to ask how he was getting on as the plan is for me to go and help, but being away is making that difficult. Today, out of the blue, I received this in an email

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That makes me very happy......

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