The new news 24 thread

[JJ0063]

Passed cat c with 4 minors, thank fuck

[Bren]

A box arrived today. A big one. In fact it was so heavy I could barely lift the bastard-

Rear pads and discs for the 545. Even the rear discs are a whopping 345mm in diameter - I believe they are the same as the M5. The pads also fit certain bentleys.

[Lankytim]

14 minutes ago, JJ0063 said:

Passed cat c with 4 minors, thank fuck

Congrats! got any work lined up?

[vulgalour]

Old radiator fan switch is dead.  No worries, new radiator comes with a fan switch... which is dead. No worries, I'll order a new fan switch... which is dead.  I wonder how many switches I have to buy to find a good one and I wonder how long it will then last?  Fixed* the problem with a length of suitable wire with connectors on each end  so the fan is constantly running.

[egg]

The fourth time it's been hit in the road by neighbours. I'm almost in tears to be honest, new old stock bumper professionally repainted hit in broad daylight. At least the fucker has owned up.

[wuvvum]

That's a shame, but it doesn't look to have cracked the plastic - which is really quite remarkable given that it's a Mk1 Mondeo bumper.

[somewhatfoolish]

Narrow road or are they just fucking nuggets?

[JJ0063]

2 hours ago, Lankytim said:

Congrats! got any work lined up?

Nothing yet, that’s the weekends job to get applying!

[Agila]

3 hours ago, JJ0063 said:

Passed cat c with 4 minors, thank fuck

Well done that man.

I'd have about 5 agencies lined up, build your reputation, get some money earned.

Then it's class 1 time.

Invest in a proper low bridge and weight limit map.

Spend time route planning before setting off.

If unsure get out and have a look.

Don't get involved in road rage etc.

Best of luck.

[brownnova]

Completed my speed awareness course this morning. There was a whole section called “stay in control” 

The first part of this was to talk about all the modern safety features on modern cars… adaptive cruise control, speed limiters and the like. He prefaced the section by joking that cars had come a long way since 25 years ago and that when he was young your car needed welding every MoT… “I’ll bet no-ones had any welding done for a while” he jokes… he notices me nodding… “I’ve got a car in for welding as we speak… a Citroen 2CV… all my cars are over 20 years old and have none of your fancy technology”

From that point on he kept talking about “your cars will have… well except for Alex’s…”

In fairness the guy delivering did so with good humour, and it didn’t feel like a total waste of time, although it was slightly alarming that most participants didn’t know some basic Highway Code stuff… 

 

[brownnova]

Oh and whilst talking 2CV welding… passenger side is done , but apparently he’s discovered that the rot is more extensive on drivers side. The bit where the door shuts and joins the inner wing is gone.  It’ll require some tricky fabrication unless I can find a part. So I’m off to have a look tomorrow and see if I can work out which bit i need to find. So it’ll be up there at least another week probably 2 at this rate… be ready just in time for its MoT again probably! He’s good though and not phased at all by any of it, I’d rather it was done well than quickly. 

[Noel Tidybeard]

On 12/09/2021 at 19:30, richardmorris said:

Glad you had a good day, I’m afraid that fords do nothing for me

+1

[Cord Fourteener]

1 hour ago, brownnova said:

Completed my speed awareness course this morning. There was a whole section called “stay in control” 

The first part of this was to talk about all the modern safety features on modern cars… adaptive cruise control, speed limiters and the like. He prefaced the section by joking that cars had come a long way since 25 years ago and that when he was young your car needed welding every MoT… “I’ll bet no-ones had any welding done for a while” he jokes… he notices me nodding… “I’ve got a car in for welding as we speak… a Citroen 2CV… all my cars are over 20 years old and have none of your fancy technology”

From that point on he kept talking about “your cars will have… well except for Alex’s…”

In fairness the guy delivering did so with good humour, and it didn’t feel like a total waste of time, although it was slightly alarming that most participants didn’t know some basic Highway Code stuff… 

 

Haha yes I remember doing one and it being a right laugh!

[MJK 24]

That Friday feeling with added random Moggie 

[egg]

3 hours ago, somewhatfoolish said:

Narrow road or are they just fucking nuggets?

Fairly narrow. The problem is we have a school, scout hut, theatre society and care facility on our road and it's free parking, so encourages day trippers etc - and that means literally endless comings and goings pick ups and drop offs - and eventually by the law of averages people make a mistake. However, that's 5 times in the 7 years we've lived here, which is chronically unlucky.

So fed up with it. Mondeo might be sold once this is fixed.

I don't think I've touched another vehicle in 20 years of driving, and my spatial awareness is only average.

[somewhatfoolish]

The problem is that it's sneakily ceased to be 'An Car' and become 'An Appreciating Klassik M9', thus you feel pain when it gets dinged rather than 'meh'.

[egg]

3 minutes ago, somewhatfoolish said:

The problem is that it's sneakily ceased to be 'An Car' and become 'An Appreciating Klassik M9', thus you feel pain when it gets dinged rather than 'meh'.

Exactly. i think the Mondeo bumper overhang is a problem - modern cars don't have the big oversized lips.

[captain_70s]

I think the Acclaim lasted a fortnight between being painted and getting it's bumper scuffed. It's gained a scuff on a rear quarter and various car park dings since, just par for the course.

My personal favourites were the bloke who opened his car door into the side of the Dolomite so hard it rocked the car, while I was sat in it! He was also so far away that with my door opened all the way it wouldn't even touch his car! Or the old lady who let the handbrake off and let her car roll 5ft backwards down a hill into the front of my Civic before driving off. Amazing stuff.

 

[chaseracer]

3 hours ago, brownnova said:

...the rot is more extensive on drivers side. The bit where the door shuts and joins the inner wing is gone.  It’ll require some tricky fabrication unless I can find a part... 

Pretty sure SPOG does a panel - or maybe ECAS.

[somewhatfoolish]

29 minutes ago, captain_70s said:

My personal favourites were the bloke who opened his car door into the side of the Dolomite so hard it rocked the car, while I was sat in it! He was also so far away that with my door opened all the way it wouldn't even touch his car! 

To be fair in a 4 door doloshite that's not very far; he was obviously a secret Dougal.  

 

[Split_Pin]

Cavalier was dry and leak free for a few days, even on a longish run.

GUESS FUKIN WOT.

It's shat it's coolant AGAIN.

A few days ago a small water pipe from the thermostat housing was leaking so I replaced the spring clip with a stronger jubilee and tightened it right up. Except it wasn't that at all and the water pump feed pipe above was not tightened enough. Now that small pipe has split right at the jubilee clip and it picked the moment I had put the car in my garage to have a prod at it to completely shear off. 

Cue frantic running around to catch around 3 litres of coolant from flooding the garage and house.

Thankfully the pipe is a bit longer than necessary so I'll just trim off the torn end and refit. Oh and also then refit for about the 6th time, the 312 boost pipes that are in the way.

If ever there's anyone needing a cooling system completely stripped and rebuilt on an Isuzu 1.7 TD in 19 minutes, hit me up.

 

[PhilA]

Power's back on at the house.

That's good, at least. 

[dozeydustman]

On 14/09/2021 at 12:08, wuvvum said:

I would have expected a 12-tonner to have 8-stud wheels, or is it not that straightforward?

 

On 14/09/2021 at 16:50, Agila said:

Honestly no idea i passed my class 2 in an 18t thing and drove 26t for a year before going class1.

It just looked small, I did drive a 14t gas truck for boc gases that was the size of a 7.5t for a short while. (Too much hard work doing 120kg cylinders)

I just think there is a lot to be said for train hard, fight easy. It will pay off when you just get given some keys on the first day. There will be zero help or allowances from a transport office, they just want an arse on a seat.

 

MoT check states it’s rated at 12t. First time I’ve seen 6-stud wheels on anything over 7.5t. General rule of thumb (for two axles) used to be:

6-stud 17.5” wheels 5.6-7.5t
8-stud on 17.5” wheels 8-12t, occasionally up to 14t
10- stud 16-18t.
 

[HMC]

12 hours ago, captain_70s said:

I think the Acclaim lasted a fortnight between being painted and getting it's bumper scuffed. It's gained a scuff on a rear quarter and various car park dings since, just par for the course.

My personal favourites were the bloke who opened his car door into the side of the Dolomite so hard it rocked the car, while I was sat in it! He was also so far away that with my door opened all the way it wouldn't even touch his car! Or the old lady who let the handbrake off and let her car roll 5ft backwards down a hill into the front of my Civic before driving off. Amazing stuff.

 

Gotta love* the general public’s care and attention. And moral scruples.

[artdjones]

43 minutes ago, HMC said:

Gotta love* the general public’s care and attention. And moral scruples.

I'm not condoning the behaviour in any way. But back in the 80s the trend was for cars to have grey plastic numbers and large grey plastic mouldings on the doors. So minor bumps and scrapes hardly mattered. Then the marketing men and stylists decided to paint bumpers and rubbing strips. So now tiny scrapes can cost several hundred to put right. Cars should be able to be able to stand up to minor scrapes, they are meant to be used, not saved.

[Noel Tidybeard]

On 15/09/2021 at 21:07, puddlethumper said:

I had a slight accident earlier this evening. Urban dual carriageway, Dudley by pass, where they are doing some resurfacing. Right lane coned off coming up to a round about. I was in the left lane behind a line of cars waiting to get to the round about and numpty comes up the right lane and decides there is enough room between the cones and me to barge in. Unfortunately there wasn't enough room and my offside corner met his rear arch. Big shaven headed guy jumps out and starts shouting and generally being aggressive. I thought, look out road rage. He tried to open the passenger door, mines lhd, which was locked, coz I don't have any friends and therefore don't carry passengers. Starts to come round the other side so I locked the door. I thought he was going to attack me. After a bit he calmed down enough that I got out, keeping my distance just in case. He had a minor scrape on his rear arch area and I had no damage. Can't beat a 305 steel bumper. I took photos and exchanged details. I have never made a claim or had one against me in 50 years of driving so I was well pissed off. 

I'll give everyone one guess what make of car he was driving.

report it to old bill just so its on record in case Ronnie Pickering tries any funny claims

[brownnova]

14 hours ago, chaseracer said:

Pretty sure SPOG does a panel - or maybe ECAS.

I thought so, I just need to pop up and see exactly which bit it is! 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

11 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

Cavalier was dry and leak free for a few days, even on a longish run.

GUESS FUKIN WOT.

It's shat it's coolant AGAIN.

A few days ago a small water pipe from the thermostat housing was leaking so I replaced the spring clip with a stronger jubilee and tightened it right up. Except it wasn't that at all and the water pump feed pipe above was not tightened enough. Now that small pipe has split right at the jubilee clip and it picked the moment I had put the car in my garage to have a prod at it to completely shear off. 

Cue frantic running around to catch around 3 litres of coolant from flooding the garage and house.

Thankfully the pipe is a bit longer than necessary so I'll just trim off the torn end and refit. Oh and also then refit for about the 6th time, the 312 boost pipes that are in the way.

If ever there's anyone needing a cooling system completely stripped and rebuilt on an Isuzu 1.7 TD in 19 minutes, hit me up.

 

I thought 1990s dervs were reliable*? 

At least when the ungrateful old bugger eventually sorts itself out, it should be pretty much bombproof ok for a while. It'll be worth it in the end!

[chaseracer]

2 hours ago, Dick Longbridge said:

At least when the ungrateful old bugger eventually sorts itself out, it should be pretty much bombproof ok for a while ready for a quick sale...

FTFY 😉

[Lankytim]

Today I finally managed to buy a 2002 V70 that I’d agree to buy a few months ago, a couple of collection attempts had been thwarted by being pinged and then catching Covid but today was the day when all the ducks were in a row, the planets aligned and I was finally able to scoop it up. 
 

My tool for collecting the V70 was the Amplus towing dolly which up until now I’d only used for moving old crocks around locally but this motor was in Bromborough on the Wirral, an hour or so from my home in Stoke on Trent and it was going to be by far the furthest I’d towed with it.  I met the sellers son at her house, had a chat and loaded up.

The Volvo was pretty sweet, D5 auto with 200k on the clock but one owner from new and full main dealer service history.  Unfortunately the elderly owner had knocked a motorcyclist off last December and it had been parked in a garage since then.  Fortunately the rider only had minor injuries although his bike was badly damaged and the Volvo took some damage too. 
 

The towing dolly worked really well with no issues at all other than the small aero tyres it uses getting slightly hot. I don’t know if it’s a feature of the design or not, those little wheels must be spinning at a tremendous speed even when I’m only doing 50mph or so. 
 

The V70 looks repairable but I’ll probably break it for spares instead, the auto box is probably on borrowed time as it’s on over 200k and are a weak point on these models, there’s lots of nice parts however. The Thor alloys sport newish Michelins and the spoiler would pretty snazzy on my own V70, I also fancy retrofitting the reverse sensors.