The new news 24 thread

[Cord Fourteener]

3 hours ago, kirton said:

This morning just outside Exeter on the A30 a Volvo  lorry took out 250m of the central barrierand took out 3 cars and a Transit van on the other carriage way.  One might think that the fact that the lorry  was towing a caravan and two!  trailers (WTF!) might have something to do with the crash.  At least the lorry driver didn't run away after as the he/she had a serious leg injury.  

My mind boggled at the thought of that towing assembly - how could it be legal?

 

 

Aussie style road train!

[Cord Fourteener]

News here is: Just when I thought my nice and tatty Porke 924 was running problem free, the alternator bolt fell off (no wonder I've had alt belts either falling off or not being tight enough to turn the alternator, and little in between) and after fitting a new fuel pump I now have fuel pissing out of somewhere above the rear nearside wheel arch when the fuel system is pressurised. I think the pump must have been on the blink for some time.

Small steps.

[beko1987]

39 minutes ago, HMC said:

How long can you drive a car with the clutch release bearing whining? It sort of whines and clicks in time as something near it in the drivetrain revolves when you depress the clutch . Hmmm

Until it exploded. Hth

[Lord Sterling]

6 hours ago, Bobthebeard said:

Not sure if I have done the right thing, but have done it anyway! Two months ago I started working as a self employed taxi driver just 'renting' a car for five days a week between 0700 and 1730. Was ok but meant I had to travel to the office, to pick up the car and back each day, fuel up and clean the car ready for the night driver which ate into my time. The opportunity came up to take over a four month old car as an owner driver, meaning a decrease in weekly 'rent' payments but an additional car payment. The net increase being £100 per week. The car will be fully maintained, insured, taxed and taxi tested by the company until it is paid for in 17 months. The car then becomes my property. No contract or liability during that period and I can hand it back to the taxi company at any point. I have total flexibility as to what days/hours I work and the car is 'mine' with personal use no problem. So far so good, but means that I now have to earn between £600/£700 per week to clear the £250/£350 per week which is sufficient for our needs at the moment. Have done that but the need to be out driving is relentless, five days a week (50 hours) if I am lucky. No night working through choice. The car is a 19 reg Dacia Logan MCV with the Renault 1.5 diesel engine and is incredibly good on fuel (adblue also needed)  so time will tell I suppose! I get five weeks holiday per year (no rent or car payment, but don't earn anything of course) 

My news. Bit of a quantum leap from doing almost bugger all. 

I'll be really interested to see how this goes. I've done the self-employed thing and doubt I'll be rushing back into it anytime soon, a couple of my friends are taxi drivers too. But I like the security of a guaranteed wage.  Still getting shit at work though so I'm on the look out for something different.

[clayts450]

I also fancy a driving job, but it seems to be a self-employed nightmare, from dodgy 'if your face fits' type multi-drop outfits, to ridiculously early start 'last mile' deliveries. Trade plating semi-appeals but (a) no garage/drive and (b) Mo's tales of woe on here have pretty much sealed the deal on that.

The one which is piquing my interest a little is (don't laugh) Hermes, who seem to be a bit better these days, but again I suspect it's gonna be a 'face fitting' type thing.

I'm also on the Amazon  Flex waiting list (supposed to be a depot opening near Nottingham soon, poss Castle Donington nr the airport) so I could always try that at weekends, although that seems to be a bit of a shit show by all accounts.

Then there's home delivery for supermarkets, but a lot of mixed reviews about never having guaranteed hours and shit pay.

One thing's for certain,  I need to be out and about driving, and not working in an office, something I've done all my life.

[dave j]

1 hour ago, HMC said:

How long can you drive a car with the clutch release bearing whining? It sort of whines and clicks in time as something near it in the drivetrain revolves when you depress the clutch . Hmmm

Noisy release bearings could go on for ages, depending on how bad it is you probably wont own it long enough for it to be an issue! 

[Stanky]

Yeah, had this on my sadly departed Almera, chatter/whine from the release bearing for at least 18 months before I finally bit the bullet and replaced the clutch and gearbox. I think it was probably 30,000 miles or so between noticing the noise and bailing and sorting it. And that included motorway sliproad 5000rpm gearchanges. I'd not lose too much sleep over it TBH

[mitsisigma01]

1 hour ago, HMC said:

How long can you drive a car with the clutch release bearing whining? It sort of whines and clicks in time as something near it in the drivetrain revolves when you depress the clutch . Hmmm

Just turn the stereo up and pretend it's not happening 

[xtriple]

Last night I bought a 'private plate' from the DVLA. It is for my son (it's his birthday soon) and is his initials and I thought, quite good (Y10 KLT). However, tonight having a chat with said offspring it appears that he hates private plates and calls them by a really derisory (and devisive) name. I didn't mention what I'd done... So it would seem at some point I will be driving a car with my sons initials on it!

Also just bought a pair of air filters and a pollen filter for the Merc, for not much just on the off chance that 'Full Mercedes service history' is as crap as I suspect! To be honest, the car does seem to have been very well looked after and is in sparkling condition but the air con being low of refrigerant (out: 159 gms, in: 760 gms) seems to me that the last long term owners had tired of spending on it and were looking to replace it for a while before they actually did. I might be wrong and go to the effort of getting the filters out and find they are all 'as new', but I doubt it!

[vulgalour]

Release bearing on the Princess was noisy for at least 5 years before I replaced it and that only happened because the clutch failed, I imagine it would have soldiered on for ages.

[Mally]

2 hours ago, clayts450 said:

I also fancy a driving job, but it seems to be a self-employed nightmare, from dodgy 'if your face fits' type multi-drop outfits, to ridiculously early start 'last mile' deliveries. 

One thing's for certain,  I need to be out and about driving, and not working in an office, something I've done all my life.

There's a lot to be said for working in an office all your life.

The grass is always greener, but the pay and conditions in the next field are often much worse.

I meet and talk to a succession of Hermes drivers. They are nice people, but not always happy people.

[reb]

1 hour ago, xtriple said:

Last night I bought a 'private plate' from the DVLA. It is for my son (it's his birthday soon) and is his initials and I thought, quite good (Y10 KLT). However, tonight having a chat with said offspring it appears that he hates private plates and calls them by a really derisory (and devisive) name. I didn't mention what I'd done... So it would seem at some point I will be driving a car with my sons initials on it!

I call them wanker plates, yet own two of them (N321 REB & M321 REB). Maybe I'm just a wanker though.

Shame it's a bit too new to go on one of these

[Fat_Pirate]

Spotted in a museum today, an ex-NASA computer console which I'm reliably informed is now the Autoshite server!  The box on the right uses the latest 1960s valve technology to ensure Cavcraft's photos are comically squashed, no matter what device you view them on.

[mk2_craig]

8 hours ago, xtriple said:

Last night I bought a 'private plate' from the DVLA. It is for my son (it's his birthday soon) and is his initials and I thought, quite good (Y10 KLT). However, tonight having a chat with said offspring it appears that he hates private plates and calls them by a really derisory (and devisive) name. I didn't mention what I'd done... So it would seem at some point I will be driving a car with my sons initials on it!

Also just bought a pair of air filters and a pollen filter for the Merc, for not much just on the off chance that 'Full Mercedes service history' is as crap as I suspect! To be honest, the car does seem to have been very well looked after and is in sparkling condition but the air con being low of refrigerant (out: 159 gms, in: 760 gms) seems to me that the last long term owners had tired of spending on it and were looking to replace it for a while before they actually did. I might be wrong and go to the effort of getting the filters out and find they are all 'as new', but I doubt it!

The other issue with retaining a registration mark ad infinitum is that they’re a liability, either retention certificate fees which I think carry an annual charge? or transfer fees each time you swap it from one vehicle to another. Fine if it’s a combination that increases in value over time, but a lot of these Select marks never do and you often see them still attached to worthless cars when they get to end of life status. Sorry if that doesn’t make you feel better about it! Maybe see if there are any companies with those initials who might be interested...

[Split_Pin]

12 hours ago, HMC said:

How long can you drive a car with the clutch release bearing whining? It sort of whines and clicks in time as something near it in the drivetrain revolves when you depress the clutch . Hmmm

Piece of string question I'm afraid. The RB on my first 75 was pretty whiney but I just turned the radio up. 

Just drive it till it doesn't drive any more and then see to it.

[egg]

Mazda has just disappeared to have it's new radiator fitted today.

[C1am]

15 hours ago, HMC said:

How long can you drive a car with the clutch release bearing whining?

About 500 miles in my experience. It failed at the end of a 250 mile trip. Good car. 

[JohnK]

Supposed to be going to MITCAR in Coventry on Sunday, but @richbraith's Tipo isn't going to be ready. Anybody got anything Italian we can borrow for the trip? Unfortunately I don't think our other option will successfully get us through the gate  

 

[Six-cylinder]

1 hour ago, JohnK said:

Supposed to be going to MITCAR in Coventry on Sunday, but @richbraith's Tipo isn't going to be ready. Anybody got anything Italian we can borrow for the trip? Unfortunately I don't think our other option will successfully get us through the gate  

 

3 Alfas and they are all broken or you would be welcome to borrow one.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

16 hours ago, xtriple said:

Last night I bought a 'private plate' from the DVLA. It is for my son (it's his birthday soon) and is his initials and I thought, quite good (Y10 KLT).....

A plate that sounds like that awful "healthy bacteria" ( but is actually just liquidised sugar) drink Yakult.

So you won't be needing that Puch, then?

[xtriple]

25 minutes ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

A plate that sounds like that awful "healthy bacteria" ( but is actually just liquidised sugar) drink Yakult.

So you won't be needing that Puch, then?

Not needing, no. But if it's cheap(ish) I'd still quite like it  

[richardmorris]

Bugatti something or other on middle eastern (could be Dubai or Kuwait I can't read it) plates.

[davehedgehog31]

12 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

Bugatti something or other on middle eastern (could be Dubai or Kuwait I can't read it) plates.

That looks like a big mouth eating the back end of a car. 

Fucking hideous, you can't buy taste.

[richardmorris]

1 minute ago, davehedgehog31 said:

That looks like a big mouth eating the back end of a car. 

Fucking hideous, you can't buy taste.

Sounds good though - like thunder. 

https://www.hrowen.co.uk/bugatti/chiron/

 

£2.5 million apparently.

[SierraMikeHotel]

Shiny new discs and pads.



Now those rusty calipers look really shit.

[JeeExEll]

BBC news. 'Man fined after driving a car with another car on it's roof'.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-wales-49508070/man-fined-after-driving-car-with-a-car-on-its-roof-in-aberystwyth

Check out the short vid. What's the problem, looks fine to me.

[Datsuncog]

Stop everything, kids...

https://www.smartcitiesworld.net/news/news/rust-could-be-a-new-source-of-renewable-energy-scientists-say-4528?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily Newsletter

Looks like my last Cortina could have been a perpetual motion machine, with a little bit of tinkering.

That's science, that is.

[JohnK]

2 minutes ago, JeeExEll said:

'Man fined after driving a car with another car on it's roof'.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-wales-49508070/man-fined-after-driving-car-with-a-car-on-its-roof-in-aberystwyth

Check out the short vid.

After my Shitefest 2016 success with A-Framing my Cortina with a Lada Samara, I feel the bar has been set to a new height looking at this article. I need to have a plan for Shitefest 2020....

[egg]

Mazda back home, no chance to inspect it - but new rad/coolant, oil and filter and apparently the PAS leak dealt* with.

I'll update the thread in the morning, but sounds good.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

2 hours ago, richardmorris said:

Sounds good though - like thunder. 

https://www.hrowen.co.uk/bugatti/chiron/

 

£2.5 million apparently.

A mere bagatelle to a young Gulf Arab. No doubt it's been brought here for "The Season", i.e. driving in a cavalier manner around Kensington & Chelsea to the delight* of local residents and the local Council......

I remember one year that a Lamborghini (think it was either red or orange) was seized, either by the Met, or by RBK&C, for some offence. It was never reclaimed, and was auctioned off. The owner merely went and ordered a replacement....