The new news 24 thread

[dollywobbler]

Maybe they offered different options for Kiwis? Or it could have been upgraded perhaps. The engine was definitely V8-shaped.

Oddly, this is the Packard and Pioneer Museum, and while they do certainly have a lot of Packards, they also have two ancient Albion lorries, the stuff in the photo, TWO Singer Hunters (as in the slab-sided 1950s thing), a Rover 114 (ie still a Metro to us), an Austin Kimberley and an Austin Princess Wedge! And guns. And motorbikes. And typewriters. 

[MorrisItalSLX]

The P76 was assembled in NZ from CKD kits from Aus, so there could be NZ specific things done at the assembly plant.

NZ really is lucky when it comes to BMC/BL products as they got the Australian and British models. Wedges and Allegros alongside P76s and Kimberleys, the lucky sods, they even got Montegos!

[Timewaster]

2 hours ago, MorrisItalSLX said:

I didn’t know you could have a V8 with the poverty “Deluxe” trim level, I thought it was reserved for the posh “Super” and extra posh “Executive”.

Every day is a school day.

Were the New Zealayland factories as slap dash as ours? 

Any spec is possible. 

[wuvvum]

8 hours ago, RobT said:

^^^Something called Adaptive Transmission Control on the steptronic 'box after a Google.  Sounds complicated and rather annoying to me.  I'd just prefer a standard mills-o-matic given the choice.

Does that mean the previous owner has been DLAC then if it's stuck in sport mode?

[MorrisItalSLX]

7 minutes ago, Timewaster said:

Were the New Zealayland factories as slap dash as ours? 

Any spec is possible. 

It has been said that the Australian factory was much better than the British factories at building cars properly, despite all the beer.

I imagine the Kiwis did it properly, they’re good eggs.

[andy18s]

9 hours ago, RobT said:

Today has been interesting.  First I sold the S60 to a young lad who needed a car in a hurry.  He was apologetic about offering me £550 as opposed to the £600 advertised, but you expect a bit of sensible chipping.  5 minutes and he was off, so I got lucky there.

Despite having a cracking headache cum migraine I had to collect the 535 tonight rather than tomorrow, so things have been a bit of a blur.  Overall I think it's a good one.  Just slightly concerned about the gearbox as it seems to prefer staying in sports mode, which is a bit annoying when pootling around town.  There's also a few other foibles, but by bollocks does it shift.  Feels a bit weird being in a BMW as I'm not familiar with them at all, but that could also be due to my raging head.  70 is 2100rpm so it's the perfect cruiser, which is what I wanted really.  S60 was at close to 3000.

I hope this wasn't me.  The trip probably needs re-setting.

I might start a thread when I'm feeling less fucked.

My old man went to buy 1 of these when they were new

The dealer had a demonstrator sat in the showroom with pretty much everything he wanted fitted to it

He wanted a better stereo putting in,and a different set of wheels fitting.

Offered to pay cash if the dealer could do those 2 things,plus a little cash off...nothing much,I think he just rounded it down to the nearest 1k

Dealer said nope,it would need ordering in....

Old man pointed to another 535 parked outside with the wheels he wanted on it,suggested swapping over would only take half an hour on the ramps and said as the stereo was a simple pull in and out he eould come back to have it fitted...

Still a big no from the salesman 

So he walked out,went to the nearby Mercedes dealer and bought a new 190 they had stock with All the toys, 2.6 engine....extra headlights behind the front grille ect...

Took it to the BMW salesman just to show them what he had spent..

[Kiltox]

Has anyone ever actually “taken it to the xyz salesman” ? It’s the oldest trope on the Internet. 

[Timewaster]

12 minutes ago, andy18s said:

Old man pointed to another 535 parked outside with the wheels he wanted on it,suggested swapping over would only take half an hour on the ramps and said as the stereo was a simple pull in and out he eould come back to have it fitted...

But then the salesman is left to explain why he has a new car in stock with the wrong wheels and stereo. 

[Timewaster]

I read an interview with a car salesman once. 

After a failed deal it wasn't uncommon for people to slow down outside the vauxhall showroom in their new Escort and beep and wave. 

The salesman said that didn't bother them, what galled was if it was a vauxhall from a different dealer. 

[RobT]

1 hour ago, wuvvum said:

Does that mean the previous owner has been DLAC then if it's stuck in sport mode?

Looks like it.  Would explain the mpg!  It did switch off for a period when I was sat at 50 in the M20 roadworks, but it came back on again when I launched it forth past the NSL sign.

I don't DLAC normally, so hopefully it'll do what it says and adapt pretty quickly.

No history with it at all for added excitement.  I forgot to check but it seems OK.

[Kiltox]

Did he take the BMW to the Merc dealer to show it to them??

Jesus fucking Christ. 

[Six-cylinder]

7 minutes ago, RobT said:

Looks like it.  Would explain the mpg!  It did switch off for a period when I was sat at 50 in the M20 roadworks, but it came back on again when I launched it forth past the NSL sign.

I don't DLAC normally, so hopefully it'll do what is says and adapt pretty quickly.

No history with it at all for added excitement.  I forgot to check but it seems OK.

Good choice, E39 535 is a great car and I have always fancied one.

Mrs6C's 2000 E46 330Ci has the 5 speed learning auto gearbox and it is very annoying, you floor it to overtake and then you settle back to cruise with a clear road in front of you and it takes ages to go back to top gear. Also it has manual override and I set it to 5th gear and tried to test how well it pulled from 1000 rpm. It went Dunkoff, if you want to go fast here is 2nd! 

 

[dollywobbler]

13 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

Good choice, E39 535 is a great car and I have always fancied one.

Mrs6C's 2000 E46 330Ci has the 5 speed learning auto gearbox and it is very annoying, you floor it to overtake and then you settle back to cruise with a clear road in front of you and it takes ages to go back to top gear. Also it has manual override and I set it to 5th gear and tried to test how well it pulled from 1000 rpm. It went Dunkoff, if you want to go fast here is 2nd! 

 

My experiences with an E39 with that gearbox were similarly frustrating. Would kick down at the drop of a hat, possibly because it was a pool car and was used to such behaviour. The Z3 I drove the other day behaved much more how I'd like. Even when given the beans, it'd still settle down to waft mode very nicely, and would often use the torque rather than kick down. Lovely.

[beko1987]

I find myself looking at Mk7 Honda Civic 1.7 diesels... their very reasonably priced too

[Wingz123]

3 minutes ago, beko1987 said:

I find myself looking at Mk7 Honda Civic 1.7 diesels... their very reasonably priced too

I'd like to try a petrol variant 

[beko1987]

46 minutes ago, Wingz123 said:

I'd like to try a petrol variant 

I'm fancying diesel again at the moment, and these seem like they could be fairly reliable and boring and cheap to run and maintain.

I'm sure come March there will be none for sale anywhere though

[RobT]

1 hour ago, Six-cylinder said:

Mrs6C's 2000 E46 330Ci has the 5 speed learning auto gearbox and it is very annoying, you floor it to overtake and then you settle back to cruise with a clear road in front of you and it takes ages to go back to top gear.

I think the gearbox will dictate how long I keep it.  I won't use it much, but I can see it becoming annoying on a run.  Relieved to hear it's what they're meant to do though, rather than being a fault!

[Split_Pin]

Working from home today so I went out in my 'break' and wire brushed the Mini subframe and lashed on some Hammerite.

I also got the 172 up on ramps to inspect the subframe. It has some areas of surface corrosion but it really doesnt look that bad. Same goes for the bottom arms. I did notice that someone has cut a square hole in the chassis above each mounting bolt presumably when dropping the subframe to change the clutch. The back 2 have been welded back up but the front two will need tidied. All fairly rust free though which is good.

Fixed* the split in the front arch liner. Not paying £50 for a bit of non-essential plastic.

 

I also need a new one of these seals for the Audi as there is a slight leak when driving from water running back off the screen.

 

[andy18s]

Good amount of Triumph spares up for auction,as well as other garage stuff

Quite a few coaches too

https://www.bidspotter.co.uk/en-gb/auction-catalogues/peter-davies-and-sons-ltd/catalogue-id-peter-1-10041?utm_source=bs-bespoke-auc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=peter-davies-and-sons-ltd&utm_content=peter-1-10041&utm_term=2019/11/06#lot-32be1487-c2f9-4bc9-be44-aafb010d8097

[Kiltox]

Always intrigued when big lots of parts etc become available like that, interesting stuff 

[xtriple]

That roof needs the 'Gummi Pflege' treatment. Seriously this stuff all round the rubber seals is brilliant cured a slight leak on mine.

Gearboxes: odd behaviour seems to be endemic in these things nowadays, the good old days where 3 gears was more than enough and a nice slushy torque convertor... now, 7,8,9,10 speeds and the fuckers are up and down like a whores draws. Mine has just 7 gears and after a reset is quite pleasant now. It seems they do 'learn' the way the driver drives so a change needs a reset. I'm sure there will be a simple procedure for yours as well, mine is just turn the key but don't start it, then hold the throttle flat to the floor for 30 seconds, release then remove the key. I was sceptical to say the least but it's made a hell of a difference, now much sportier even in comfort mode and actually changes up and down smoothly. Worth a try.

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

BREAKING NEWS***

Discovery passed MOT. Not without its advisories tho. Lower front ball joints dust covers deteriorated. Good job that is one Mofo of a job to do! Can't* wait to tackle that!

The usual brake shit to continue to'monitor' for another year...

All good in the hood though!

[SiC]

9 hours ago, beko1987 said:

I find myself looking at Mk7 Honda Civic 1.7 diesels... their very reasonably priced too

Rusty now. Also that engine is an Isuzu lump that was never designed to fit in the car. It was shoehorned in to fit in later in life as Honda realised they needed to fit one if they were to take any of the company car market. Hence they're an absolute pig to work on. Even getting the air filter out requires removing a loom and several pipes. 

I had a 3 door one from 2 years old till 7 years old and put 100k on it. Only real fault was a leaky pipe at 4 years old. They were still in production, but it took 4 weeks to get a replacement pipe in that was custom made in Poland. 

Mk8 has gone a lot cheaper now and a much better car really. 2.2ctdi Diesels are tough if serviced on time and oil hasn't been let to get too low. 

[Kiltox]

Isuzu? Is it the same engine Vauxhall used for a bit?

[beko1987]

24 minutes ago, Kiltox said:

Isuzu? Is it the same engine Vauxhall used for a bit?

Yes. With added stuff... 

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201910313889574

Something like that would be ideal for my commuting needs. Economical, doubt it'll horrifically shit itself, basic derv so no acronyms that break and ok economy. 

I have massive fat hands though, so now I'm doubtful

[SiC]

Basic? They're one of the first common rail units that came out. Turbo were oversized for the job and so also like to carbon up. 

For that money, you're in mk8 price territory. I've had both Civics and the mk8 was much better imo. 

[SiC]

Advert a bit sparse on detail, but like this:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201911054052146

A few mk8 have been floating around for sale on here time to time. 

 

[High Jetter]

The Vx combo I just bought has the Isuzu 1.7d....

 

[beko1987]

Wow, I do have no ideas of value! Hopefully prices will drop a bit by q2 next year! 

Although it's a bit modern that spaceship one... 

[tapir]

36 minutes ago, beko1987 said:

Yes. With added stuff... 

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201910313889574

Something like that would be ideal for my commuting needs. Economical, doubt it'll horrifically shit itself, basic derv so no acronyms that break and ok economy. 

I have massive fat hands though, so now I'm doubtful

Are the floor mats rusty?!

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201910313889574?modal=photos