The new news 24 thread

[richardmorris]

Traction purchase delayed for now. The guy never answered his phone, just left it to go to voicemail. My mechanic eventually got through to him to find a buyer has flying from Ireland tomorrow - we can't physically get out to it tonight so that's that. I didn't want to be pressured into a bidding war either!

[xtriple]

Just had the call from Paul.... £1727 all in! That does include £600 for the tyres though but even so, £1100 for a service, rear axle oil change, two hoses, two rubber boots (1 hour labour) and the fog light switch rebuilding (1 hour labour!) seems a tad steep!

 

Or maybe not, your view may differ?

 

Had a good chat with him and we were talking about the 93 Brooklands I was going to buy (it is red and was only in Totnes - about 5 miles away) but the guy couldn't sell it so Paul bought it... it was up for £13000 but I bet Paul paid a LOT less than that. Anyway, it's so far needed: 2 new rear spring pans, a complete air con system (pump, condenser and all the pipe work) a DIP repair (drivers information panel, they always go!) a full service including plugs and caps etc the gearbox sorting.... so it's not just me! I could have bought that as it was cheap,, but not the car I wanted (but it was local!) and still been faced with huge bills. Oh yes, it's got to have some paintwork done as well then it'll be up for sale.

 

I don't think anyone makes a quick buck out of these things!

[New POD]

I have no right to be stressed but I am because :

 

a) Wife and daughter broke down yesterday in BINI but it fixed itself (see my other postings) by the time RAC man came. I will be expected to give it the all clear before it is used again.

BINI needs a new exhaust and I won't get home until 2pm, and the Mx5 is booked in for an MOT at 4pm, 10 mins walk away, and the BINI for 2:30, 20 mins away, so theoretically, I can walk in the door, drive the MX5 to mot place, run home, put dog in the BINI, drive to next town to get an exhaust, take the dog for a walk whilst they do it, pick up Bini, get home at 4 ish, go an pick the Mx5 up. If there is anything wrong with MX5 I'm not sure when I can fixer it.

c) Then I have to pack for taking daughter to Cardiff University to start 3rd year.

d) Then Saturday I have to drive 220 miles, with wife, daughter and dog, and stay over in a student house before returning Sunday.  The Astra hurts me after 2 hours in the driving seat.  I hate students generally.

e) The following Saturday my wife has decided that we will take darling son to Birmingham Airport, so he can go to Australia for 3 weeks. It's only 123 miles each way. I'm not sure why he can't get the train, or even what time his flight is. 

The Saturday after that, it's back to Cardiff to stay in a nice hotel, taking along wife, her sister and one of our nephews, in order to run the Cardiff Half Marathon on the Sunday, and come back on the Monday (assuming I survive)

f) I would quite like to go to JohnK's house and view a MV6 Omega, which I think would be perfect for the long tiresome painful journeys. Not quite sure that it fits with the current plan.

g) If I do buy it, wifey will be on at me to flog the astra fast.

 

All this has me stressed.

[New POD]

a DIP repair (drivers information panel, they always go!)

 

A bloke I worked with at Garratt, in Skem, had been at Delphi in Kirkby, Liverpool, when that was introduced as a manufacturing engineer.  The original signed off design, (By RR/Bentley stylists and engineers) had the Logo DIC (Delphi Instrument Cluster) in full view of the world, and at a prelaunch to senior management of the first production car to use it, a senior manager sat in the drivers seat, and went mad.  "Who agreed to put DIC in full view of the world?" Heads rolled in Crewe, and Delphi, were tasked with immediately replacing all stock, with the logo removed (or changed), and had to work 26 hours a day to replace all the stock at their cost, despite it being signed off by people in Crewe.  Given that they were made by Scousers working for an American company, I'm not surprised if there are reliability issues.

[fatharris]

Took Herman to Guildford and back today. 41.5mpg. Very happy with that.

[ruffgeezer]

Swap for gonna?

 

 

No thanks, seems the Jumbuck's oil leak has upgraded itself from "light misting" to "Exxon Valdez" so I will need to replace the headgasket before selling it.

[Kiltox]

Swap for gonna?

Best typo ever

[Kiltox]

No thanks, seems the Jumbuck's oil leak has upgraded itself from "light misting" to "Exxon Valdez" so I will need to replace the headgasket before selling it.

Fancy the autoshite Colt? As long as the oil leak isn't "won't drive anywhere without seizing"

[320touring]

you know what they say..

 

finish the day with a palindrome!

[ruffgeezer]

Fancy the autoshite Colt? As long as the oil leak isn't "won't drive anywhere without seizing"

It's drivable but I cleaned the engine yesterday and it was filthy with oil by the time I'd got to work. It isn't leaking loads just making a bloody big mess with what does get out.

 

I'm not sure it'd still be shite money as I've a lot invested in it. It was rather sheddy when I first got it.

[SiC]

I appear to have bought another car.

 

I haven't told the wife yet and I have a bit of a problem...

 

I still have the Astra on the drive and I'll get shot if I don't get rid of it asap. Currently no MOT, but would there be interest on here if I went for the bother of getting one?

 

Unfortunately it appears my original for sale thread disappeared in the great AutoShite server failure of 2016. So here is a brief description again:

 

2002 Astra 1.6 16v Club 5dr

 

65k (iirc +/- 2k), 2 previous owners (was my wife's Grandads car last - he had it for 10years. ABS, PAS, Remote central locking with 2 keys, (working) Aircon, Drivers & Passenger airbags. 4 tyres new withinn the last 2 years, few other bits and pieces done to clear most of the previous advisories and other issues - like rear shocks, 2 springs, new radiator, etc. Cambelt & water pump was done by a garage last year.

 

Even includes genuine Vauxhall Astra mats

 

I kept it as a reliable backup to the Laguna - but that's been utterly reliable!

 

As it's the 100bhp version, it's surprisingly lively accelerating for a 1.6.

 

Giffer scuff on the front bumper that was repaired by her Grandad with a spray can. Noticeable close up, but 6 foot away you wouldn't notice. Light ding on the passenger rear door. Sat for a couple of months, so battery probably weak now. No warning lights on at all on the dash.

 

My Parrot handsfree set has been removed from it - no marks were left from its removal.

 

Never had a smoker in and no pets.

 

£450 with fresh MOT? Or is that a bit much for a mk4 Astra nowadays?

[fatharris]

£450 seems like a good price.

[Cavcraft]

I've been meaning to photograph the rear seats of the work's Nissan Navaro pick-up, just to show how utterly hopeless they are. Anyhow, I forgot, so have an internet image instead...

 

 

 

 

 

Now, as 'room'y as that picture might look, the reality is a hopeless, hamster caged size area for atwo midgets who've had their legs removed. If you've managed to convince yourself you need a lifestyle, Yo! pick-up truck with  seating for the family, then punch yourself in the bollocks and buy a car and a trailer instead. If you don't believe me, just take three other 6 foot rough arsed blokes with you and try and shoehorn them in.

 

They do have one use though, and that's putting the new lad in the back and going off-roading at some speed, that usually shuts them up.

[plasticvandan]

thats an extra cab though,not the double cab with normal rear seats

[garbaldy]

That is not a double cab though it's an extra cab, it is only ment for carrying tools or a person occasionally, they can come with or without those foldy seats.

 

Beaten to it.

[andy18s]

They need to be that small for when the chassis snaps just below them,so anyone sitting there doesn't break their legs......

[garbaldy]

/\ Not true it snaps behind the cab under the tub.

[dugong]

I saw this happen at an MoT station near me. I thought it was some kind of work experience prank on the new lad changing the bog roll but it was FO REALZ and the Navarra in question was five years old. 

If I'd had been on a modern title my OMFG HEADLINE hackles would have been bristling like a priapic bog brush.

[Guest Hooli]

No thanks, seems the Jumbuck's oil leak has upgraded itself from "light misting" to "Exxon Valdez" so I will need to replace the headgasket before selling it.

 

I thought that might be the answer, worth a try though.

[doobietoo]

Picked up the A35 today, no collection fred as it came home on a lorry, I was going to drive it back but glad I didn't as the brakes were non-existent.....Its now at the garage having a non-mot, mot , to find out how bad it is... wish me luck!!

[M'coli]

For those who've read a biography of Alec Issigonis, you'll now doubt have read of his family's fleeing of the city of Smyrna - the BBC World Service recently had a program in their "Witness" series about the great fire of Smyrna, and the link is: http://bbc.in/2cBpG5D

[egg]

Ford, in their infinite generosity and wisdom only give Diesel Fusion's under bonnet sound insulation. I wanted to get some for my petrol one.

 

A trip to the breakers in Sittingbourne (in my lunch break), in my work togs, revealed a dizzle Fusion balanced on top of a toyota starlet in the yard. Being in shirt and tie, I wondered if I might get some help. Of course not, this is a world where men are men and basically don't give a shit.

 

Anyway, I stand on the bonnet of the Starlet (buckling it of course) balancing on one leg in slippery shoes ripping the insulation panel out from the bonnet. It was only a fiver, and I got some new clips of t'internet.

 

Here it is now added.....and after all that it makes sod all difference (ok, maybe just a bit). I feel like a winner though...

 

[panhard65]

To answer X triple about who makes money on old Roller's. It is all down to buying at the right price. I did very well on the shadow and nearly as well on my Spirit after 2 years even though I did chuck a load of money at it when I first bought it. Anyway in other news the profits had been sitting burning a hole in my pocket for a whole week before I bought a replacement. I had been looking for pre 1950 classics and had nearly done a deal on a 1940 Renault, but the seller wasn't inspiring me with confidence. So what did I do ? Just bought a 2002 Porsche Boxster S 3.2. Just got home from collecting and it really is a bit of fun the clutch is super heavy though, but they are all like that I am told. It was cheap though so not the end of the world if I have to do a load of work.

[anonymous user]

That's what I love about this place, nobody thinks it's odd that someone who has expressed a desire for a pretty 1950s car ends up with one fifty years newer

[Cavcraft]

thats an extra cab though,not the double cab with normal rear seats

 

Is it? Still a right pile of crap anyway, those seats are pointless.

[Ghosty]

They look worse than being on the rear facing folding seats in an LTI TXII.

[HMC]

Fleet news- The shonky jag is a bit less shonky as I rattle canned and lacquered the primered wing and door. For a first go at painting panels it went quite well, the lacquer on the front wing went a bit funny so it still has a bit of a dodgy look to it....

I cut the clearcoat back today and found the chrome window surrounds in the boot so refitted those too. The wing on the other side is still red, but a combination of laziness and liking the shonky look of it means it will stay like that.

 

Meanwhile the 740 keeps trundling on although the exhaust has a really bad blow and most of the interior seems to rattle ( the door cards are hanging off and have giffer sellotape repairs) Theres a wiggle through the front wheels on braking and a slight pull to one side so whipping off the front wheels and having a look will be my task this weekend.

[catsinthewelder]

After knocking a hole in the Sump of the 405 last night I had to cycle to work this morning.  I had a fairly manic day including getting the short straw of driving a van that was stuck in limp mode 15 miles back to base on busy NSL roads.  I found that the trick was to never slow down.  It wouldn't rev over 1500rpm but that was 50mph in 6th so the drive back varied from embarrasingly slow starts to tyre shredding cornering which is obviously something I would never do in a rental van normally

 

I picked up a sump gasket from the local factors so planned on dropping the sump pan off this evening to try and weld up.  Annoyingly when I got the car jacked up I found that a,  It is alloy and b, it has the air conditioning gubbins bolted to the bottom of it so will be a right pain to both source and replace.

 

On the plus side we did find time to fettle the racing mower though every job was an utter ballache it is finally running well just in time for the last race of the season.  I can't go though because I'm moving all my stuff up to the new house

[fordperv]

theres got to be someone local to you who does alloy welding? if all else fails try a motorbike shop they will know someone

[Negative Creep]

Been browinsg Pumas and there are a few near me. This one seems to fit the bill, but everything about that ad screams dodgy dealer to me

 

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201603141960771?search-target=usedcars&make=ford&model=puma&price-to=1000&radius=25&postcode=me22lg&searchcontext=default&sort=locasc&page=1&onesearchad=new%2Cnearlynew%2Cused&logcode=p&adPos=2