The new news 24 thread

[stonedagain]

Just drive it on motorways!

[HH-R]

Yeah that is a downside to not having the radio on, I spend most of the journey hitting the dash to stop various rattles and squeaks.

[SRi05]

Suppose it'll erode the plastic liner enough to stop it after a while lol

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Took a drive through the rain, only to find the pub was now a building site:

 

 

Took some gratuitous photos instead:

 

 

 

[HMC]

^ Excuse me whilst I go and have a crisis

[Tadhg Tiogar]

^ Excuse me whilst I go and have a crisis

Any particular crisis in mind?

[Squirrel2]

The last car I drove for any length of time without music on was a shagged out 1975 Series 3 Land Rover. It didn't have a radio, and the gearbox whine was louder than the engine.

My first Land Rover was a Series 3 Lightweight and never bothered to even fit a radio since it was so noisy. In fact I think it was considered a joke in LtWt circles if one was ever fitted since it would have been impossible to listen when on the move.

I once borrowed a professional noise meter and took it for a drive and measured nearly 85dBa at 50mph so, in theory, I should have been wearing ear defenders! Funnily it was even noisier with the overdrive engaged probably because of the extra whining gears.

 

Squirrel2

[They_all_do_that_sir]

Took a drive through the rain, only to find the pub was now a building site:

 

IMG_20180210_140300.jpg

 

Took some gratuitous photos instead:

 

IMG_20180210_140247.jpg

 

IMG_20180210_140313.jpg

 

IMG_20180210_140325.jpg

That is stunning

 

Sent from my F3211 using Tapatalk

[Tadhg Tiogar]

That is stunning

Thanks.

 

Every time I've driven it, it's feckin' rained. Heavily.

 

I think Himself up there is trying to tell me something.

[Stanky]

I think this is as good a thread as any, my local Aldi were knocking out Michelin branded wiper blades in 18" 20" 21" and 22" forcertain and potentially other lengths for £4.99 a pop today.

 

I got a pair for the Saab as it was still wearing the Bosch Aero ones that were fitted when Vantman sold it to me 2 and a half years ago up til today.

 

The old ones were a bit iffy, with various chunks missing and associated streaky bits on the swept area of the screen.

 

These are quite an improvement. Would recommend. They weren't in the 'specials' aisle, they were in a container by the tills. Worth a look if you need new wipers I'd say. I struggle to find any wipers for under a tenner a pop these days, with the exception of the ones B&M sell which after through research, on sundry vehicles* in lab* conditions have left me at the conclusion you'd be better off just winding the window down and sticking your head out at any speed, as visibility is 186% better compared with the B&M ones, even with hailstones directly impacting your eyeballs at 70mph.

[Guest Hooli]

Or do what I do Shep and drive in silence. Am I the only person on here who does that? Being in a car on my own is bliss, especially on a long journey. Can't remember the last time I put the radio on, it's all just noise to me.

 

I almost always have classic fm on, it covers up the odd noises along with the bonus of it stopping me getting so stressed that I murder 90% of the people who claim to be in charge of cars.

[Noel Tidybeard]

Any particular crisis in mind?

 

prolly one that involves a rather large box of tissues!

[chodweaver]

I used to listen to R4 a lot, but I find I get more angry and/or depressed listening to the news on that, than if I drive in silence, musing on the hopelessness that is life...

 

Sent from my BV6000 using Tapatalk

[Tadhg Tiogar]

I used to listen to R4 a lot, but I find I get more angry and/or depressed listening to the news on that, than if I drive in silence, musing on the hopelessness that is life...

I've started listening to East German rock 'n roll....

[fordperv]

I think this is as good a thread as any, my local Aldi were knocking out Michelin branded wiper blades in 18" 20" 21" and 22" forcertain and potentially other lengths for £4.99 a pop today.

 

I got a pair for the Saab as it was still wearing the Bosch Aero ones that were fitted when Vantman sold it to me 2 and a half years ago up til today.

 

The old ones were a bit iffy, with various chunks missing and associated streaky bits on the swept area of the screen.

 

These are quite an improvement. Would recommend. They weren't in the 'specials' aisle, they were in a container by the tills. Worth a look if you need new wipers I'd say. I struggle to find any wipers for under a tenner a pop these days, with the exception of the ones B&M sell which after through research, on sundry vehicles* in lab* conditions have left me at the conclusion you'd be better off just winding the window down and sticking your head out at any speed, as visibility is 186% better compared with the B&M ones, even with hailstones directly impacting your eyeballs at 70mph.

Did you look at the fitment guide they listed dacia denem, Daewoo espero and many other solid gold shite mobiles, I had a thumb through when I picked up a pair yesterday to replace the crap Bosch ones on the saph

 

Proof

 

Only took the one picture as mrs fp wouldve got irate as we were in a hurry

[Guest Hooli]

I used to listen to R4 a lot, but I find I get more angry and/or depressed listening to the news on that, than if I drive in silence, musing on the hopelessness that is life...

 

Sent from my BV6000 using Tapatalk

 

I can't do any stations people talk on, DJs exist to play records not talk.

[chodweaver]

I can't do any stations people talk on, DJs exist to play records not talk.

Such a pity that so many of them seem to think otherwise.

 

Sent from my BV6000 using Tapatalk

[Stanky]

Did you look at the fitment guide they listed dacia denem, Daewoo espero and many other solid gold shite mobiles, I had a thumb through when I picked up a pair yesterday to replace the crap Bosch ones on the saph

 

Proof

20180209_183159.jpg

 

Only took the one picture as mrs fp wouldve got irate as we were in a hurry

 

Ha, no I missed that! well spotted though!

[dollywobbler]

Or do what I do Shep and drive in silence. Am I the only person on here who does that? Being in a car on my own is bliss, especially on a long journey. Can't remember the last time I put the radio on, it's all just noise to me.

 

2CV doesn't have a radio. Nippa's radio has never been turned on. I only tend to listen to music when on a long trip, well away from entertaining Welsh roads. Lexus has a fantastic stereo. I listened to a mixture of DAB, Cassette and CD on the way home last night. Turned it off once I was off the motorway though, when it just became a distraction from driving.

[MarvinsMom]

further mini fondelling this weekend

 

changed the earth strap off the battery. the old one was all but broken but oddly changing a piece of wire was done with a heavy heart, given that this one was i think the original one fitted

 

we got the mounting bolts for the horn drilled out, and a replacement horn fitted. it dosen't work though, we managed to blow the fuse somehow. andtthe new screws still need to be trimmed back cos at the moment they are way, way too long!

 

i hate electrikery, it works on voodoo and i seemingly are unable (or incompitent) to get these things working properly. next job will be to clean up the connections into the fuse block, and we also have a new, replacement indicator stalk to try on the car. 

 

we have got the bottom arms and stabilizer bars off, and the accumulated layer of crud dug out of the ssubframe. after cleaning the area up, i've smothered the area in rust converter and then a coat of paint. it won't be pretty, but it will, i hope protect the subframe in the future. i've got all the new bushes sorted and trail fitted, so they are ready to go back onto the car

 

i've got the front hubs, back plates, ball joints and bearings all dropped off at a garage in town, so that the bearings and ball joints can all be fitted. once that is done hopefully next week, then we can get on with putting the front axel back together.

 

interior wisse, i've had a crack at the chinese puzzel that is the dashboard and the result, while not been perfect, is pretty much as i remember cars like this in the olden days. while the carpet set doesn't fit, i have fixed the seats down so that we now have something comfortable to sit on when buggering about with dashboards and wiriing. cos we are getting older, sitting on the floor does nothing for my old bones (and bum....)

 

as thought, the closest colour that newton commercial do to this is gernerdine red, kerry sent them a series of pictures of the seats through to them, after speaking to them, even they reccon that it is an "unusual" colour to trim the car out in, as balck wasn't a colour than Austin-Morris had listed in 1974, i do wonder if the car was a special order, and if so, for who?

 

not pictured we have got some mounting bolts for the other bumper that came with the car. i took it up to a local machine and fixings spot in Middlesbrough, the sort of place where you can taste the machine oil off the milling machines (i think its ingrained into the fabric of the building) and where the guy running the wearhouse can tell a bolt or nut by looking at them. well these i needed where  not metric or UF type threads (i think the bumper is mostly made of the finest chinesium) but he did sort me out with both plain and locking 1/4 " nuts, all for a quid.... so i've fitted that too!

 

also not pictured we've got the standard manifold back from been blasted. it looks mint! so now it needs a coat of black VHT paint. the lad who did it is well into his mini's, in fact his misses used to own (15 odd years ago) our orange mpi! small world eh? his current project is a 1963 Mini Cooper. that has cost him a whopping £800! at some point its had a unipart sunroof added, so he is going to replace the roof pane with a carbon fiber one? he is also thinking along the lines of big 13" wheels and the like, which isn't i guess my thing, but it is his car afterall, and he knows mini's inside and out!

 

even better, it feels like we have actually made some progress on getting the car back onto the road, which is nice. and we've been to view some local lock-ups, so we maight even have somewhere to keep it

[SiC]

Just driven my grandads Astra H back from Northampton as he given up driving. I have no idea what the Vauxhall seat designer must have got his knowledge from but I suspect they must have been previously been tortured. Did 4 hrs of driving to Northampton in the Aldi (went to Birmingham first) and then I did another 2 hours back from Northampton in the Astra. My back and neck very much knows that I've just done a 2 hrs journey.

 

Also the radio was broken. It displayed the station it's tuned into but put no sound out. Just to make the journey more awkward.

 

It's a 1.4 petrol jobbie and it's been a very long while since I've done a long motorway journey in a car with such a low power to weight ratio. Reminded me that most decent engined modern cars have completely adequate power, as you can accelerate briskly at UK speed limits without any troubles. With the 1.4 Astra, when up a moderate incline at 70mph, you'd have to knock it back to 4th if you want to make any progress. Steep hills, 4th is required to keep it at 70mph. I'd hate to have to attempt any A-road overtake in it.

 

So glad that I don't have a Astra H over my Civic. The Civic seats aren't perfect but way, way better than the Astra's. It also accelerates in top gear at 70mph up a hill without any trouble. Also gives far more confidence in the corners.

[Noel Tidybeard]

 

seeing as the tags are screwed on you havent screwed through the wires that run accross the slam panel have you? i lost the side lights on my 1000 when i had to use bigger self tappers and "found " the wires and blew the secret in line fuse taht lives there

[Noel Tidybeard]

 

seeing as the tags are screwed on you havent screwed through the wires that run accross the slam panel have you? i lost the side lights on my 1000 when i had to use bigger self tappers for the grille and "found " the wires and blew the secret in line fuse taht lives there

[richardmorris]

Spring is here. We have lambs gambolling!

[Skizzer]

Now that my horrible cough has calmed down a bit The Lotus almost starts but not quite. First there was no sign of life from the fuel pump; after going away and coming back later that fixed itself, but still no starting. There’s a spark and fuel, and sometimes a bit of a cough like it’s nearly catching, but it never quite does. It’s cranking pretty slowly so I’m going to treat it to a new battery and see what that does. Could also be a dodgy earth, and the +ve terminal clamp will benefit from a clean.

Grr. Put a new battery on the Elite and now it cranks over much faster and is very much closer to starting...but still not quite. Pumping the throttle madly speeds things up and gives the illusion of running, but it dies as soon as I release the ignition key.

 

There’s fuel and spark and a spinning crank, there just must somehow not be enough of one or more of them.

 

I have to go and do other things now so it’ll have to wait another week for further attempts/investigation. It’s going back to LotusBits soon for a new rear diff, so I can imagine me trailering it up there for them to sort out. Which is a terrible admission of failure, but the battery earth connection is an obvious next place to look and that’s deeply buried underneath somewhere and I don’t have a lift or pit.

 

Grumpy.

[richardmorris]

Grr. Put a new battery on the Elite and now it cranks over much faster and is very much closer to starting...but still not quite. Pumping the throttle madly speeds things up and gives the illusion of running, but it dies as soon as I release the ignition key.

There’s fuel and spark and a spinning crank, there just must somehow not be enough of one or more of them.

I have to go and do other things now so it’ll have to wait another week for further attempts/investigation. It’s going back to LotusBits soon for a new rear diff, so I can imagine me trailering it up there for them to sort out. Which is a terrible admission of failure, but the battery earth connection is an obvious next place to look and that’s deeply buried underneath somewhere and I don’t have a lift or pit.

Grumpy.

The perennial problem of glassfibre cars. Hope you can sort it easily.

[Mally]

Not well up on Elites, but has it got a ballast coil?

Two feeds, one 12v when cranking, one through ballast when running.

Or the other way round. My head hurts thinking about it.

Would feed coil direct from battery and try again. You may want to put a fuse in the wire because fire.

Take the wire off afterwards, if it starts it won't stop until you do.

[sierraman]

Just driven my grandads Astra H back from Northampton as he given up driving. I have no idea what the Vauxhall seat designer must have got his knowledge from but I suspect they must have been previously been tortured. Did 4 hrs of driving to Northampton in the Aldi (went to Birmingham first) and then I did another 2 hours back from Northampton in the Astra. My back and neck very much knows that I've just done a 2 hrs journey.

 

Also the radio was broken. It displayed the station it's tuned into but put no sound out. Just to make the journey more awkward.

 

It's a 1.4 petrol jobbie and it's been a very long while since I've done a long motorway journey in a car with such a low power to weight ratio. Reminded me that most decent engined modern cars have completely adequate power, as you can accelerate briskly at UK speed limits without any troubles. With the 1.4 Astra, when up a moderate incline at 70mph, you'd have to knock it back to 4th if you want to make any progress. Steep hills, 4th is required to keep it at 70mph. I'd hate to have to attempt any A-road overtake in it.

 

So glad that I don't have a Astra H over my Civic. The Civic seats aren't perfect but way, way better than the Astra's. It also accelerates in top gear at 70mph up a hill without any trouble. Also gives far more confidence in the corners.

They are fairly awful, I can say this having driven the 1.4, 1.8 and the diesel. Horrible inside, lifeless engines, going any distance in one you have my sympathies.

[Tickman]

..... but the battery earth connection is an obvious next place to look and that’s deeply buried underneath somewhere and I don’t have a lift or pit.

 

Grumpy.

 

Have you tried the jump lead from battery earth to the engine for diagnosis yet?

 

The winter commuting you did in this was commitment!

[320touring]

Got the opporchancity to use the wee Clio 172 for what it's good at today, been out for a blast with Dome of this here parish.

 

Some good pub grub, good roads and some snaw too.

 

Funtimes!

 

And still early to collect the burd Fae work:)