The new news 24 thread

[Zelandeth]

2 hours ago, SiC said:

Given its stuff full of 80s electronics, its better to be too low than too high!

However I'm guessing the alternator is a bitch to replace? (iirc haven't you done it once already on this car??)

Changed the belt...that took pretty much a whole day.  The belt diagram tells the tale...

I have a sneaking feeling access from underneath is fouled up because the subframe the engine sits on is right in the way...I suspect "remove offside inlet manifold" is the recommended method of access.

At least I have the manual now I guess!

Edit: Overvoltage is at least easily spotted here as there's a warning light for that...the one that you'd think is the no charge light!

Far left is over-voltage.  Far right is the normal ignition/no charge light.

[SiC]

45 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

Changed the belt...that took pretty much a whole day.  The belt diagram tells the tale...

I have a sneaking feeling access from underneath is fouled up because the subframe the engine sits on is right in the way...I suspect "remove offside inlet manifold" is the recommended method of access.

At least I have the manual now I guess!

You might be lucky and just need the regulator on the back changing. That might be possible to do in-situ. 

[wuvvum]

50 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

Changed the belt...that took pretty much a whole day.  The belt diagram tells the tale...

 

You cut off the bottom bit of that diagram, the bit that says "W. Heath Robinson".

[stuboy]

More clearing out looking of missus deceased uncles house this fella had some stuff..I liked the short baynet... and I thought light licker would like to see the green bulb..

[HillmanImp]

On 12/9/2020 at 8:26 PM, loserone said:

Tyres already?! Bloody hell.  Glad you're still enjoying it.

Front suspension was a bit broken until a few months back wasn't it, so they wore unevenly. Will lob some new ones on, no biggie. 

[Andrew353w]

23 hours ago, brownnova said:

I’d be careful Prestatyn is pretty dodgy these days... 

Why does "Prestatyn" always me think of sexual innuendo..... it's probably why I've never been there.....

[Sunny Jim]

15 minutes ago, Andrew353w said:

Why does "Prestatyn" always me think of sexual innuendo..... it's probably why I've never been there.....

Because as you work your way along the coast you get to Prestatyn and then proceed to Bangor...

[LightBulbFun]

5 hours ago, stuboy said:

ohh! please do save it for me if you decide at any point you dont want it anymore!

[N19]

Right, that's 66% of the fleet tinselled up... 

[richardmorris]

Put the Christmas tree up earlier. At least a week before I usually do, but what the hell. The gardener’s children have just been round with mistletoe collecting for st Sebastian’s children’s charity as well.  Looks decorative and chance of kissing under it = 0.

[Eyersey1234]

Just spent the last couple of hours wallpapering, SD chose the bugger, why she chose one that's a bastard to line up is beyond me 🤣

Don't think I have done too badly considering it's the first time I have wallpapered

[beko1987]

19 minutes ago, Eyersey1234 said:

Just spent the last couple of hours wallpapering, SD chose the bugger, why she chose one that's a bastard to line up is beyond me 🤣

Don't think I have done too badly considering it's the first time I have wallpapered

There's a bit of a gap either side... 

[richardmorris]

14 minutes ago, beko1987 said:

There's a bit of a gap either side... 

Ah, I see you’ve volunteered to finish the job

[tooSavvy]

1 hour ago, beko1987 said:

There's a bit of a gap either side... 

Drop coke tins & sandwich paper wrapping *down the gap...

Do it like a Pro

[Eyersey1234]

2 hours ago, beko1987 said:

There's a bit of a gap either side... 

It's not finished yet lol

[wuvvum]

Yesterday morning I drove into Norwich in the Granvia to meet up with my work colleagues - some of whom I haven't seen since March - for a pre-Christmas walk, which was nice.  Then I drove into the centre of Norwich to get a few bits from the pound shop - it wasn't as manic as I'd been expecting.  Then I drove another 130 miles to deliver the old crate to its new owner.  The gearbox was stuck in third all the way in to Norwich in the morning, but would you Adam & Eve it, as soon as I left Norwich for the run down to Bucks it behaved impeccably - the gears were all there all the time, and even the torque converter lockup started working, which it's never done since I've owned it...

I've booked the C2 in for an early MOT tomorrow, so this morning I backed it up onto the ramps for a quick check underneath.  Although most of it is pretty clean, when I pressed on the back of the sill (the bit not covered by the bodykit) with my thumb it went "crunch".  Pushing harder made a dent.  My thumb didn't actually go through but I imagine the tester's poking tool almost certainly will. 

I'm in two minds what to do now - my welding mate isn't going to want to get involved at this time of year and I certainly don't fancy attempting it myself in the cold and wet.  If it is only a small area and the car doesn't need anything else I might be able to justify getting the garage to weld it up, but if the car needs other things doing or the welding turns out to be more extensive than it looks, it will quickly get too expensive to justify.  I might use the MOT slot to run the Rover 75 in instead, and leave the C2 until the spring when things will be a bit more straightforward.  I won't be using it much over the winter anyway - the back roads of Norfolk are too damp and muddy for hooning at the moment.

[Eyersey1234]

14 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

Yesterday morning I drove into Norwich in the Granvia to meet up with my work colleagues - some of whom I haven't seen since March - for a pre-Christmas walk, which was nice.  Then I drove into the centre of Norwich to get a few bits from the pound shop - it wasn't as manic as I'd been expecting.  Then I drove another 130 miles to deliver the old crate to its new owner.  The gearbox was stuck in third all the way in to Norwich in the morning, but would you Adam & Eve it, as soon as I left Norwich for the run down to Bucks it behaved impeccably - the gears were all there all the time, and even the torque converter lockup started working, which it's never done since I've owned it...

I've booked the C2 in for an early MOT tomorrow, so this morning I backed it up onto the ramps for a quick check underneath.  Although most of it is pretty clean, when I pressed on the back of the sill (the bit not covered by the bodykit) with my thumb it went "crunch".  Pushing harder made a dent.  My thumb didn't actually go through but I imagine the tester's poking tool almost certainly will. 

I'm in two minds what to do now - my welding mate isn't going to want to get involved at this time of year and I certainly don't fancy attempting it myself in the cold and wet.  If it is only a small area and the car doesn't need anything else I might be able to justify getting the garage to weld it up, but if the car needs other things doing or the welding turns out to be more extensive than it looks, it will quickly get too expensive to justify.  I might use the MOT slot to run the Rover 75 in instead, and leave the C2 until the spring when things will be a bit more straightforward.  I won't be using it much over the winter anyway - the back roads of Norfolk are too damp and muddy for hooning at the moment.

My Mrs once asked how much something is in a pound shop then wondered why SD burst out laughing 🤣

[N19]

Took the Bluebird out to run some errands just now. Raining, so I had the wipers on intermittent wipe. My heart skipped several beats when they packed up, mid-wipe, just as the rain took a turn for the worse... Luckily, seems to just be a dodgy connection on the first setting as all the others were fine. Phew!

[clayts450]

I always get da fear when I use superspeed wiping, especially on the motorway, usually when passing trucks in torrential rain. I always envisage both wiper blades parting company with their arms simultaneously, leaving me with a tiny amount of RainX residue to provide crystal-clear* forward vision. Hasn't happened yet, of course, but now I've said that.....

[clayts450]

My Xiaomi Mi A1 has shat itself (touch screen no longer works, despite factory reset via recovery). I need another back up phone in the van, which also serves as a Wifi hotspot for my tablet which acts as my satnav.  The old backup phone (Cubot X19) has been promoted to main phone duties.

Rummaged through my box of old phones and remembered I had a Microsoft (Nokia) 640 Windows phone. I'd actually always liked the phone (in spite of the obsolete OS) and thought I should recommission it. But then I remembered it was locked to EE, and it costs stupid money to unlock. Quick visit to ebay. Aye, that'll do. Old skool (and unlocked) 640 back up phone and hotspot for £20. Thankyou please.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Microsoft-Lumia-640-LTE-8GB-Black-Unlocked-Smartphone/224195175094

 

[stuboy]

20 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

ohh! please do save it for me if you decide at any point you dont want it anymore!

ill try to save it

[N19]

I hate cooling systems. The Mondeo decided that it was fed up of not having a leak in at least a few weeks. Around the corner from work, I could smell coolant... Uh oh. Got into the carpark by which point it was an impressive escape, seemingly from one of the hoses. Hopefully it's a perished hose that can be fixed easily in a work car park with basic tools................ Hopefully 

[Split_Pin]

9 hours ago, clayts450 said:

My Xiaomi Mi A1 has shat itself (touch screen no longer works, despite factory reset via recovery). I need another back up phone in the van, which also serves as a Wifi hotspot for my tablet which acts as my satnav.  The old backup phone (Cubot X19) has been promoted to main phone duties.

Rummaged through my box of old phones and remembered I had a Microsoft (Nokia) 640 Windows phone. I'd actually always liked the phone (in spite of the obsolete OS) and thought I should recommission it. But then I remembered it was locked to EE, and it costs stupid money to unlock. Quick visit to ebay. Aye, that'll do. Old skool (and unlocked) 640 back up phone and hotspot for £20. Thankyou please.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Microsoft-Lumia-640-LTE-8GB-Black-Unlocked-Smartphone/224195175094

 

I'm glad it's not just me who is having trouble with Xaomi, my Redmi 8XT, new in May, is ready for the bucket.

It came highly recommended and was great until it updated itself a month ago, now it rarely does what I ask of it.

[loserone]

I'd best keep schtumm, don't want to invite any issues here!

 

(Still not sure I'd risk a redmi though, much happier with stock Android)

-sent from my Mi A3, which replaced a Mi A2 lite, which replaced a Mi A1.

[Arthur Foxhake]

12 hours ago, wuvvum said:

Yesterday morning I drove into Norwich in the Granvia to meet up with my work colleagues - some of whom I haven't seen since March - for a pre-Christmas walk, which was nice.  Then I drove into the centre of Norwich to get a few bits from the pound shop - it wasn't as manic as I'd been expecting.  Then I drove another 130 miles to deliver the old crate to its new owner.  The gearbox was stuck in third all the way in to Norwich in the morning, but would you Adam & Eve it, as soon as I left Norwich for the run down to Bucks it behaved impeccably - the gears were all there all the time, and even the torque converter lockup started working, which it's never done since I've owned it...

I've booked the C2 in for an early MOT tomorrow, so this morning I backed it up onto the ramps for a quick check underneath.  Although most of it is pretty clean, when I pressed on the back of the sill (the bit not covered by the bodykit) with my thumb it went "crunch".  Pushing harder made a dent.  My thumb didn't actually go through but I imagine the tester's poking tool almost certainly will. 

I'm in two minds what to do now - my welding mate isn't going to want to get involved at this time of year and I certainly don't fancy attempting it myself in the cold and wet.  If it is only a small area and the car doesn't need anything else I might be able to justify getting the garage to weld it up, but if the car needs other things doing or the welding turns out to be more extensive than it looks, it will quickly get too expensive to justify.  I might use the MOT slot to run the Rover 75 in instead, and leave the C2 until the spring when things will be a bit more straightforward.  I won't be using it much over the winter anyway - the back roads of Norfolk are too damp and muddy for hooning at the moment.

It seemed to shift fine from cold yesterday as well. 

Gives me a dilemma, I would have happily stripped it if it was broken and needs welding, now, I'm not so sure I should.

I'll inspect the rot and make my decision then. 

 

A warning to all shiters.

Never buy a car to strip, you'll end up keeping it! I must have done this 3 times now!

[Floatylight]

10 hours ago, clayts450 said:

My Xiaomi Mi A1 has shat itself (touch screen no longer works, despite factory reset via recovery). I need another back up phone in the van, which also serves as a Wifi hotspot for my tablet which acts as my satnav.  The old backup phone (Cubot X19) has been promoted to main phone duties.

Rummaged through my box of old phones and remembered I had a Microsoft (Nokia) 640 Windows phone. I'd actually always liked the phone (in spite of the obsolete OS) and thought I should recommission it. But then I remembered it was locked to EE, and it costs stupid money to unlock. Quick visit to ebay. Aye, that'll do. Old skool (and unlocked) 640 back up phone and hotspot for £20. Thankyou please.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Microsoft-Lumia-640-LTE-8GB-Black-Unlocked-Smartphone/224195175094

 

I've just bought one of these https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1514435642277822/ to give me 4g internet, seems brilliant for the price, runs off 12v mains adaptor so could easily be wired to run off 12v supply..

[Arthur Foxhake]

2 hours ago, Arthur Foxhake said:

It seemed to shift fine from cold yesterday as well. 

Gives me a dilemma, I would have happily stripped it if it was broken and needs welding, now, I'm not so sure I should.

I'll inspect the rot and make my decision then. 

 

A warning to all shiters.

Never buy a car to strip, you'll end up keeping it! I must have done this 3 times now!

Jumped the gun.

Back to broken gearbox today, stuck in 3rd, flashing O/D light.

It's fate is sealed...

[Supernaut]

12 hours ago, clayts450 said:

I always get da fear when I use superspeed wiping, especially on the motorway, usually when passing trucks in torrential rain. I always envisage both wiper blades parting company with their arms simultaneously, leaving me with a tiny amount of RainX residue to provide crystal-clear* forward vision. Hasn't happened yet, of course, but now I've said that.....

I've only ever had that happen once. When I bought my first car in 2010 (a Peugeot 306) I was driving it back down to Aberdeen from Elgin after having just bought it. Somewhere on a remote bit of the A96 in the pissing rain, the driver's side wiper parted company with the arm.

I pulled in sharpish and shoved it back on, and it was perfectly fine. My mate following me in his 405 was a bit puzzled as to why I just rammed it into a gravel trap at the side of the road still doing about 20mph odd though.

[Pete-M]

I've moved to Germany. First day out of isolation I spotted this. 

I'll be flogging old and interesting cars, and occasionally sourcing parts if anyone needs them*

 

*UK import taxes and transport costs to be paid by buyer, naturally. 

[N19]

After about half an hour trying, given up any hope of a roadside repair. Bus home and will return later with a tow rope.