The new news 24 thread

[paulplom]

Just been caught trying to steal 20 bottles of king goblin in tescos. The shop assistant came running in the car park and collard me. Is use that scan and shop thing and forgot to scan them. Very embarrassing being lead back into the shop by the trolley.

 

[paulplom]

I could feel my face glowing red. Not like me at all. I normally couldn't give two f's.

I had loads of other shopping and the beer was the last thing I bought. I counted twenty going into the trolley but forgot to scan one twenty times once finished. 

I'm sure the wife didn't believe me. She said 'it's rather alot to forget to scan' along with other stuff.

I'm in there every other day. It's making me wonder if I've done it before and got away with it!

[wuvvum]

2 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

The normall my lovely interior smell has been replaced with wet dog.

I pulled up the mats and the carpets are damp. The previous owner modified the sunroof drains to stop any leaks so I'm not sure what's causing this. 

It's all drying out just now but I need to investigate.

 

Blocked scuttle drains?  They're one of the usual culprits on 75s.

[Split_Pin]

All clear and a plenum guard is fitted. The previous owner also replaced the sunroof drains. I'm going to look at the screen surrounds next.

[N19]

The plastic trim has a sheared off clip on the nearside, which I'm trying to epoxy back into position without it pulling away. Appropriate* support mechanism now in place. 

[High Jetter]

3 hours ago, paulplom said:

Just been caught trying to steal 20 bottles of king goblin in tescos. The shop assistant came running in the car park and collard me. Is use that scan and shop thing and forgot to scan them. Very embarrassing being lead back into the shop by the trolley.

I guess, technically, you had stolen them, even though totally accidentally (m'lud). I'm sure they recognized it was a genuine error by your beetroot shade and good attitude but I bet this is happening an awful lot, with people seeing that they get away with it accidentally once then taking advantage. It's only going to push prices up in the long run. 

I never use scan and shop or self scan in the (probably vain) hope that I'm contributing to keeping checkout jobs going.

[vulgalour]

Finally booked the Kennedys to come out and regas the Princess.  A necessary procedure and one I've been putting off for at least 6 or 7 years now.  They're pretty busy so it's not happening until the end of October, I do hope it ends up being a smooth job for them and that the car doesn't throw any toys out the pram about it.

[N19]

39 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

I guess, technically, you had stolen them, even though totally accidentally (m'lud). I'm sure they recognized it was a genuine error by your beetroot shade and good attitude but I bet this is happening an awful lot, with people seeing that they get away with it accidentally once then taking advantage. It's only going to push prices up in the long run. 

I never use scan and shop or self scan in the (probably vain) hope that I'm contributing to keeping checkout jobs going.

They want 50% of shoppers to use self scan or says as a minimum. However, the number of hours available to supermarket managers depends on things including sales but also queue times, which is a factor of the number of people waiting for a proper checkout. 

[SiC]

With all this talk of 2CVs on here, I'm thinking that I ought to give one a go. I personally don't really like them but I'm slowly convincing myself to not...

Also didn't realise how plentiful and cheap parts are for them. New chassis for under 500 quid to complete shells for only 4k! I guess it helps that there isn't much to them. 

[richardmorris]

9 minutes ago, SiC said:

With all this talk of 2CVs on here, I'm thinking that I ought to give one a go. I personally don't really like them but I'm slowly convincing myself to not...

Also didn't realise how plentiful and cheap parts are for them. New chassis for under 500 quid to complete shells for only 4k! I guess it helps that there isn't much to them. 

When I first had mine new parts were harder to come by but seconds hand bits were plentiful. Now it’s probably the other way round. If you don’t think you like them then I think you need one to drive first before committing. 

[N19]

Bluebird trim seems to be curing, but left for a bit longer to set. Also treated the battery tray to a coat of bilt hamber. In the meantime I've managed to lose the J-clamp for the battery, dammit. A cable tie will suffice for a bit until I can find the old one, inevitably as soon as I order up a new one.

Been doing a few errands in the Mondeo this evening, and noticed the temperature gauge flopping around. Uh oh. I had just left the car idling for about 5 minutes, but it carried on on a decent run. Coolant level below minimum and a small trickle of coolant under the thermostat (the housing of which was recently replaced when it dramatically fell apart on the A1M). Topped it up and gave a run around for a bit longer and no more came out. I'll have a proper look tomorrow, but it's really less than ideal on a car which is going to Scotland in a week's time... Fingers crossed it's an expired hose or clip that's obvious when seen in daylight. 

[dollywobbler]

1 hour ago, SiC said:

With all this talk of 2CVs on here, I'm thinking that I ought to give one a go. I personally don't really like them but I'm slowly convincing myself to not...

Also didn't realise how plentiful and cheap parts are for them. New chassis for under 500 quid to complete shells for only 4k! I guess it helps that there isn't much to them. 

Certainly give one a go. They're not for everyone, but I can't imagine life without one, and I've owned them since 1996. If you can weld, that helps, because they do like to rot. Can make projects attractive as most are on decent chassis these days. Be warned that they can be quite different to drive depending on chassis, dampers and suspension heights. Six-cylinder's feels very different to drive to mine.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

1 hour ago, richardmorris said:

..... If you don’t think you like them then I think you need one to drive first before committing. 

They have a certain charm but, having tried 6Cyl's 2CV, I think more practice with the gear change is required. I kept thinking I was going to end up selecting reverse from 3rd gear.

[Mally]

The gear change is a challenge at first.

I do think are a little sedate for SiC though.

Long hair or a beard often helps for some strange reason.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Just now, Mally said:

The gear change is a challenge at first.

I do think are a little sedate for SiC though.

Long hair or a beard often helps for some strange reason.

Not jamming the handbrake on also helps.

[richardmorris]

3 minutes ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

They have a certain charm but, having tried 6Cyl's 2CV, I think more practice with the gear change is required. I kept thinking I was going to end up selecting reverse from 3rd gear.

The one in his is weird. And I’ve been driving them for three decades.

[richardmorris]

3 minutes ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

Not jamming the handbrake on also helps.

Press button and release  -is it too complicated?

[Tadhg Tiogar]

1 minute ago, richardmorris said:

Press button and release  -is it too complicated?

It was for someone on Saturday. The previous user had yanked the handle out too far, and the release was consequently fucked.

[richardmorris]

6 minutes ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

It was for someone on Saturday. The previous user had yanked the handle out too far, and the release was consequently fucked.

 Ah.  I’m not a habitual handbrake user after years of CXing.  The cx handbrake is basically the same as the 2cv but less useful. The x1/9 seems to be built with similar themes. I Leave the cars in gear leaving the handbrakes to work once a year for the mot.

[SiC]

1 hour ago, richardmorris said:

When I first had mine new parts were harder to come by but seconds hand bits were plentiful. Now it’s probably the other way round. If you don’t think you like them then I think you need one to drive first before committing. 

It was the general look of them and seeing them as a crappy cars when I first starting noticing cars when I was growing up in the 90s and my most impressional time, that ingrained this view into me.

But one thing I like doing is challenging my perceptions and I feel you can really only do that with a car after putting a few miles on one in different types of locations, road types and conditions.

 

17 minutes ago, dollywobbler said:

Certainly give one a go. They're not for everyone, but I can't imagine life without one, and I've owned them since 1996. If you can weld, that helps, because they do like to rot. Can make projects attractive as most are on decent chassis these days. Be warned that they can be quite different to drive depending on chassis, dampers and suspension heights. Six-cylinder's feels very different to drive to mine.

Interesting. Makes sense. I guess I saw 2CV and just assumed they're all pretty much the same, but I guess parts quality varies greatly as per standard classic car running experience - including the accuracies of the reproduction chassis. 

 

5 minutes ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

They have a certain charm but, having tried 6Cyl's 2CV, I think more practice with the gear change is required. I kept thinking I was going to end up selecting reverse from 3rd gear.

See the challenge of a different gear change to me is part of the appeal as its so different. I still maintain that @Six-cylinder DS that he kindly let me drive last year was by far the most difficult vehicle I've ever driven. The only vehicle out of hundreds I've driven since passing my test that made me feel like a complete beginner driver again. LHD, column shift, 4 pedals (handbrake pedal right next to clutch of all places!), self centering steering, fixed belts, binary brake pedal and a few other things. A few would be fine, but literally everything was different! If they weren't so expensive, I'd get a DS just because I like the challenge of properly mastering one.

 

3 minutes ago, Mally said:

The gear change is a challenge at first.

I do think are a little sedate for SiC though.

Long hair or a beard often helps for some strange reason.

I have a beard and I did have long hair once for a short while a good few years ago. However I accidentally burnt the long hair off... ??

[dollywobbler]

2CV gearchange usually only causes issues because people are over-thinking. Doesn't take long to get used to it. I agree Six-Cyl's is odd though! 

First. Twist the knob down to the left (anti-clockwise) and pull it out, towards the rear of the car. For second, push it in but with a loose enough grasp that the lever can ping back to the 2nd/3rd plane. Just keep pushing. Third, pull straight out. Fourth, push in but twisting to the right (clockwise). Back to third? Pull it out, let it ping. Second? Push straight in. It wants to go there naturally. First? You rarely need to if you're moving, but don't anyway as there's no synchromesh. Reverse is opposite first, so you must hold it on that plane if you want to select it.

So, in summary, you only need to actually twist the knob for first or fourth. The rest of the time, you're just letting it ping back to the central plane.

[richardmorris]

4 minutes ago, dollywobbler said:

2CV gearchange usually only causes issues because people are over-thinking. Doesn't take long to get used to it. I agree Six-Cyl's is odd though! 

First. Twist the knob down to the left (anti-clockwise) and pull it out, towards the rear of the car. For second, push it in but with a loose enough grasp that the lever can ping back to the 2nd/3rd plane. Just keep pushing. Third, pull straight out. Fourth, push in but twisting to the right (clockwise). Back to third? Pull it out, let it ping. Second? Push straight in. It wants to go there naturally. First? You rarely need to if you're moving, but don't anyway as there's no synchromesh. Reverse is opposite first, so you must hold it on that plane if you want to select it.

So, in summary, you only need to actually twist the knob for first or fourth. The rest of the time, you're just letting it ping back to the central plane.

Also, since there is no synchro on first, nudge it into second ( not all the way) before selecting first at a crawl or standstill. It will align the gears to allow a crunch less change.

very few vehicles have such an easy gear change.

[Mally]

6 minutes ago, SiC said:

 

I have a beard and I did have long hair once for a short while a good few years ago. However I accidentally burnt the long hair off... ??

You fit right in!

Get willswitch's bought. You'll not lose money on it.

[Six-cylinder]

40 minutes ago, dollywobbler said:

Be warned that they can be quite different to drive depending on chassis, dampers and suspension heights. Six-cylinder's feels very different to drive to mine.

I sold these new in 1987 but I guess it has been too long to remember how they felt compared to mine that I have had for 5 years, how is it different?

Is the gearchange because it is broken, modified or just different because it is a late car? 

[stuboy]

Treated the car too some nice 3D gel number plates, but they come as attached.. 

[Mr Laurence]

I’ve wanted a 2CV for about 20 years now, and even though I’ve gotten pretty close to buying one more than once, for some reason it’s not something I’ve ever got round to. I’ve not even driven one yet.

All this talk just makes me want one even more. 

[Six-cylinder]

1 hour ago, SiC said:

See the challenge of a different gear change to me is part of the appeal as its so different. I still maintain that @Six-cylinder DS that he kindly let me drive last year was by far the most difficult vehicle I've ever driven. The only vehicle out of hundreds I've driven since passing my test that made me feel like a complete beginner driver again. LHD, column shift, 4 pedals (handbrake pedal right next to clutch of all places!), self centering steering, fixed belts, binary brake pedal and a few other things. A few would be fine, but literally everything was different! If they weren't so expensive, I'd get a DS just because I like the challenge of properly mastering one.

Back in 2007 when I got my first blue DS I asked my friend to take me out in it before I was able and he seemed to struggle somewhat with the pat your head and rub your tummy routine. In fact I thought he had not driven it that well and then I drove it for the first time and realised that 4 pedals, LHD, odd brakes, non self cancelling indicators, 4 speed column change and strange feel to the steering took practice. Now I have driven it many miles including in Europe its just fine. Still the hand brake is a dumb design, on with your foot when it is holding the clutch in and release by hand with no progression.

Thinking about it my first one was 1969 and had a fully hand operated parking brake while the current 1972 one is 4 pedal, both LHD.

Forgot reversing a car that is wider at the front than at the rear gives a weird perspective to parallel parking!

[SiC]

9 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

. In fact I thought he had not driven it that well and then I drove it for the first time and realised that 4 pedals, LHD, odd brakes, non self cancelling indicators, 4 speed column change and strange feel to the steering took practice. Now I have driven it many miles including in Europe its just fine. Still the hand brake is a dumb design, on with your foot when it is holding the clutch in and release by hand with no progression.

My thoughts going through my head at the time when driving were:

Far left pedal = Lock wheels = Crash/Broken car

As so much more than breath on the brake pedal = Lock wheels = Crash/Broken car

Don't keep to the kerb = Cross centre line with oncoming cars = Crash

Loosen grip of the wheel when driving = Car will centre agressively and go the wrong direction = Crash

Wrong selected gear on column = Engine blows up = Broken car

[beko1987]

4 pedals is probably the main reason I'd not want a manual XM, especially around where I live! Being an auto negated the need to use it. Dad's 2018 hyundai ioniq uses the same setup too, but in reverse... (although with actual cables which is amazing for 2018...) 

I too only used it for a week before the mot as something fragile and plastic that turns one cable into 2 likes to explode deep behind the engine. 

[RayMK]

I had always liked the idea of owning a 2cv, and when my Reliant obligingly burnt to the ground at about the same time as Citroen tried the 2cv in the UK market again (1975) it was the obvious choice, though funding the brand new price of £1068 required man maths. There's no doubt that they are uniquely practical cars and I enjoyed mine for several years and 98000 miles - up to a point.  The gearchange was very slick, particularly around town where push pull gave 2nd and 3rd. Eventually, the constantly nodding suspension got on my nerves. In 1985 I tried again with a 2nd hand, high mileage Dyane and loved it. I also enjoyed my CX and drove dad's GSA frequently but all the time I really wanted a DS. Back then I could not afford one in reliable commuting condition. Now it's probably too late to chase the dream. I've never been in one either.  Although I've driven many LHD autos in the 'states (mainly US marques) and have driven thousands of miles on the continent in RHD manuals and automatics, I found driving a manual very well worn Corsa hire car in Fuerteventura was initially quite a challenge. Call me stupid, but I honestly thought a LHD manual car would have accelerator, brake and clutch left to right in that order.  That and trying to change gear with the window winder had me for a few kilometres. 

My news: My Tipo has had its clutch slave and master cylinders replaced, so that part of the car is now working fine. Unfortunately, my classic friendly garage said there's a fair bit of corrosion towards the rear of both sills/floorpan, more than he would want to repair and more than he thinks is worth having done. With the MOT being due in December, I'll try to get estimates for the welding before deciding the car's future. My budget is generous i.e. far more than the car is worth, but even I have some common sense lurking somewhere. We'll have to see.