The new news 24 thread

[wesacosa]

Not car related but maybe of some interest

I visited Bolton for first time in many years at weekend. I studied there in late 90s/early 2000s

the old student accommodation was close to Fred Dibnah's house and you used to be able to see his workshop and yard through the fence. Fred would often invite curious students he caught peeping through the fence in for a look around his workshop but sadly I was never so lucky

It seems the house became some kind of heritage museum for a while but that failed years ago and all the steam stuff was sold off

Was interested to see what state it was in now. Was very surprised to see a sign for a burger/coffee van in his yard.  I couldn't really work out what the deal is now but the workshop now seems to be some kind of back street garage, with all the garden/patio now full of dodgy looking old tat.  However the house was open and nobody seemed to mind me wandered around. So I did

The mineshaft was still there but now covered over.  Was sad to see it in this state but nice to have a look in.  

 

[Ghosty]

20 minutes ago, Talbot said:

Don't poke the sills, subframes or anything else structural too hard then.

It did have a cursory coating of cornflakes, and we have found a small hole in one sill, but it's all surprisingly solid!

[clayts450]

420 disgraced itself at today's MOT. Running perfectly, ragged the arse off it to heat the cat up, dropped it off. Phone call 10 mins later - battery completely dead. OK, price me up a replacement. Rings back - suppliers wanted to check the battery type, tester opens bonnet, tries car, starts first time. MOT slot missed, now rebooked for Tuesday. PITA, as had taken day off today.

Old cars - love 'em

[Yoss]

2 hours ago, wesacosa said:

Not car related but maybe of some interest

I visited Bolton for first time in many years at weekend. I studied there in late 90s/early 2000s

the old student accommodation was close to Fred Dibnah's house and you used to be able to see his workshop and yard through the fence. Fred would often invite curious students he caught peeping through the fence in for a look around his workshop but sadly I was never so lucky

It seems the house became some kind of heritage museum for a while but that failed years ago and all the steam stuff was sold off

Was interested to see what state it was in now. Was very surprised to see a sign for a burger/coffee van in his yard.  I couldn't really work out what the deal is now but the workshop now seems to be some kind of back street garage, with all the garden/patio now full of dodgy looking old tat.  However the house was open and nobody seemed to mind me wandered around. So I did

The mineshaft was still there but now covered over.  Was sad to see it in this state but nice to have a look in.  

 

They are currently repeating some of his programmes on BBC 4, there was one on last night. This one was filmed after his death, talking to people he knew, including an ex wife, and showing clips of many of his adventures. He may* have been a bit* of a nightmare to live with as his steam and engineering interests took precedence over everything else but a fascinating bloke and no doubt a lot of our heritage is still here because of him. And all his programmes are so watchable. 

[wesacosa]

2 minutes ago, Yoss said:

They are currently repeating some of his programmes on BBC 4, there was one on last night. This one was filmed after his death, talking to people he knew, including an ex wife, and showing clips of many of his adventures. He may* have been a bit* of a nightmare to live with as his steam and engineering interests took precedence over everything else but a fascinating bloke and no doubt a lot of our heritage is still here because of him. And all his programmes are so watchable. 

I wouldn't mind rewatching the original fly on the wall stuff about him from the 80s but those rarely seem to be shown now

[GingerNuttz]

https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/motors/8581310/tesco-customer-fills-petrol-tank-cooking-oil/

Legend 😂

[grogee]

6 hours ago, wesacosa said:

Not car related but maybe of some interest

I visited Bolton for first time in many years at weekend. I studied there in late 90s/early 2000s

the old student accommodation was close to Fred Dibnah's house and you used to be able to see his workshop and yard through the fence. Fred would often invite curious students he caught peeping through the fence in for a look around his workshop but sadly I was never so lucky

It seems the house became some kind of heritage museum for a while but that failed years ago and all the steam stuff was sold off

Was interested to see what state it was in now. Was very surprised to see a sign for a burger/coffee van in his yard.  I couldn't really work out what the deal is now but the workshop now seems to be some kind of back street garage, with all the garden/patio now full of dodgy looking old tat.  However the house was open and nobody seemed to mind me wandered around. So I did

The mineshaft was still there but now covered over.  Was sad to see it in this state but nice to have a look in.  

 

As @Yoss said, he's sorely missed. What I liked most was the fact he was so 'anti-TV' - not a looker, not polished in the art of presenting, thick Lancs accent etc. But his enthusiasm shone through and got you engaged with whatever he was talking about. 

The only other possible comparison I can think of is Hairy Bikers, again not photogenic but I like their style. 

Can you imagine living next door to Dibnah though - late-night steam engines and mining, lovely!

[wesacosa]

1 minute ago, grogee said:

As @Yoss said, he's sorely missed. What I liked most was the fact he was so 'anti-TV' - not a looker, not polished in the art of presenting, thick Lancs accent etc. But his enthusiasm shone through and got you engaged with whatever he was talking about. 

The only other possible comparison I can think of is Hairy Bikers, again not photogenic but I like their style. 

Can you imagine living next door to Dibnah though - late-night steam engines and mining, lovely!

luckily for his neighbours his house is a very odd design. the second floor is at road level but the ground floor, garden, yard, mine and workshop are set down a level from the road and surrounded by only grass and river. 

[RoverFolkUs]

Does a Rover 45 with the reg X975 XFG ring a bell to anyone? The reg seems really familiar for some reason, and I spotted it's twin sibling today X976 XFG which made me wonder why they seen familiar. Was it a press car or did someone on here own it perhaps?

[stuboy]

8 hours ago, wesacosa said:

Not car related but maybe of some interest

I visited Bolton for first time in many years at weekend. I studied there in late 90s/early 2000s

the old student accommodation was close to Fred Dibnah's house and you used to be able to see his workshop and yard through the fence. Fred would often invite curious students he caught peeping through the fence in for a look around his workshop but sadly I was never so lucky

It seems the house became some kind of heritage museum for a while but that failed years ago and all the steam stuff was sold off

Was interested to see what state it was in now. Was very surprised to see a sign for a burger/coffee van in his yard.  I couldn't really work out what the deal is now but the workshop now seems to be some kind of back street garage, with all the garden/patio now full of dodgy looking old tat.  However the house was open and nobody seemed to mind me wandered around. So I did

The mineshaft was still there but now covered over.  Was sad to see it in this state but nice to have a look in.  

 

who owns it all nowadays?

[stuboy]

nothing exciting today.. i washed all that bloody sand off from the sahara desert.. .. but im in kent.

[richardmorris]

9 minutes ago, stuboy said:

nothing exciting today.. i washed all that bloody sand off from the sahara desert.. .. but im in kent.

Luckily it rained very heavily here yesterday afternoon and washed the red mud off the car. Incredible really - the sky was dusky orange all morning.

[stuboy]

14 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

Luckily it rained very heavily here yesterday afternoon and washed the red mud off the car. Incredible really - the sky was dusky orange all morning.

it was like that when i drove up too sunny erith........

[Ghosty]

36 minutes ago, stuboy said:

nothing exciting today.. i washed all that bloody sand off from the sahara desert.. .. but im in kent.

That's a problem up here too.

[wesacosa]

55 minutes ago, stuboy said:

who owns it all nowadays?

that's all pretty unclear. It sold in early 2021 . There was a desk inside with some car paraphilia so I think the people who turned the workshop into a car repair place must own it . The previous owner (who ran it as a heritage center) tried unsuccessfully to sell it as a going concern for years so ended up selling all the good stuff at auction and then the house off separately.  The lady in the cafe hut in Garden said there was some kind of festival in the grounds this coming weekend for over 1000 people so god only knows whats going on with it

[andy18s]

Fancy owning the Austin Rover Ltd company name,registration number and email address?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/667585506757371/?ref=share

 

[Crackers]

Looks like my car's been snorting something funny. I thought it was going like a stabbed rat today.

 

No, it's just a bit of Africa stuck to my front bumper.

[Split_Pin]

After all the goings-on in the fleet yesterday, the 75 felt left out and left me a little puddle this morning.

 

Hopefully a screenwash bottle for cars with headlamp wash won't be too hard to find.

On the plus side, my front bumper looks a decent.

[catsinthewelder]

18 hours ago, wesacosa said:

I wouldn't mind rewatching the original fly on the wall stuff about him from the 80s but those rarely seem to be shown now

Try YouTube, I've watched a bit of it on there recently.

[barefoot]

In other totally unrelated news, a bloke from the other end of the street came out to talk to me when I was photographing the bay yesterday and told me a story. Whether it is true & fascinating or the ravings of a mad man, I shall let you decide.

As you'd expect we were discussing cars & prices. He told me that the 'best' car he'd ever owned was a Renault 11TXE. Apparently it was incredibly rapid & had sufficient torque to set off rapidly from rest in second enabling him to outrun the local boy racers as he didn't need to change gear until he was well on his way to 60mph. He only had it two years because he put it into the back of a lorry and destroyed the front of it. He knew it was knackered, but it drove home and he called Direct Line to report the incident. DL sent out an engineer who offered £900 for a car that had cost £2750 a couple of years previously.  He then called the local Renner dealer to pop out & have a look, see if they thought he should ask for more. Chap asked how he'd got it home, and was told that it'd been driven from the scene of the accident. 'Hold on' says dealer bloke. A coupe of days later, three engineers arrive from Renault astonished at the damage and the fact that the car is still driveable. They apparently did all the negotiation with DL so that Mike got the £900 pay out, and Renner bought the salvage direct from him for £5,000! They recovered it & took it away to investigate how it all still managed to continue working.

[Split_Pin]

French cars are quite good at ignoring the devastation around them and continuing to drive.

[HillmanImp]

21 minutes ago, barefoot said:

In other totally unrelated news, a bloke from the other end of the street came out to talk to me when I was photographing the bay yesterday and told me a story. Whether it is true & fascinating or the ravings of a mad man, I shall let you decide.

As you'd expect we were discussing cars & prices. He told me that the 'best' car he'd ever owned was a Renault 11TXE. Apparently it was incredibly rapid & had sufficient torque to set off rapidly from rest in second enabling him to outrun the local boy racers as he didn't need to change gear until he was well on his way to 60mph. He only had it two years because he put it into the back of a lorry and destroyed the front of it. He knew it was knackered, but it drove home and he called Direct Line to report the incident. DL sent out an engineer who offered £900 for a car that had cost £2750 a couple of years previously.  He then called the local Renner dealer to pop out & have a look, see if they thought he should ask for more. Chap asked how he'd got it home, and was told that it'd been driven from the scene of the accident. 'Hold on' says dealer bloke. A coupe of days later, three engineers arrive from Renault astonished at the damage and the fact that the car is still driveable. They apparently did all the negotiation with DL so that Mike got the £900 pay out, and Renner bought the salvage direct from him for £5,000! They recovered it & took it away to investigate how it all still managed to continue working.

Thats ace.

He sounds like the type of person who wears shorts in winter and then asks strangers if they've noticed he's wearing shorts and then proceeds to explain that he always wear shorts, even in winter, before launching into an elaborate story that nobody wanted to hear. 

Was the chap you were talking to wearing shorts? 

[Supernaut]

Folk like that are amusing in small doses, but I work with somebody exactly like that.

Does my head in.

[cort1977]

1 hour ago, barefoot said:

In other totally unrelated news, a bloke from the other end of the street came out to talk to me when I was photographing the bay yesterday and told me a story. Whether it is true & fascinating or the ravings of a mad man, I shall let you decide.

As you'd expect we were discussing cars & prices. He told me that the 'best' car he'd ever owned was a Renault 11TXE.

He wasn't Roger Moore was he?

[grogee]

3 hours ago, barefoot said:

In other totally unrelated news, a bloke from the other end of the street came out to talk to me when I was photographing the bay yesterday and told me a story. Whether it is true & fascinating or the ravings of a mad man, I shall let you decide.

As you'd expect we were discussing cars & prices. He told me that the 'best' car he'd ever owned was a Renault 11TXE. Apparently it was incredibly rapid & had sufficient torque to set off rapidly from rest in second enabling him to outrun the local boy racers as he didn't need to change gear until he was well on his way to 60mph. He only had it two years because he put it into the back of a lorry and destroyed the front of it. He knew it was knackered, but it drove home and he called Direct Line to report the incident. DL sent out an engineer who offered £900 for a car that had cost £2750 a couple of years previously.  He then called the local Renner dealer to pop out & have a look, see if they thought he should ask for more. Chap asked how he'd got it home, and was told that it'd been driven from the scene of the accident. 'Hold on' says dealer bloke. A coupe of days later, three engineers arrive from Renault astonished at the damage and the fact that the car is still driveable. They apparently did all the negotiation with DL so that Mike got the £900 pay out, and Renner bought the salvage direct from him for £5,000! They recovered it & took it away to investigate how it all still managed to continue working.

What a bellend. Reminds me of Steve Thomas from school who claimed he'd abseiled down Smeaton's Tower (lighthouse in Plymouth) with no ropes.

Why do these people think we'll believe their physics-defying lies?

[High Jetter]

When I was a cab driver back in the 80s, one of the other driver was nicknamed Enid, due to his fanciful stories.

[Jamie]

New high end coilovers fitted today 👀 @yes oui si

 

 

[Split_Pin]

Polished the Audi with Autoglym SRP then used this Fuso 99Soft that was recommended to me. It's meant to last for 12 months. 

[artdjones]

4 hours ago, HillmanImp said:

Thats ace.

He sounds like the type of person who wears shorts in winter and then asks strangers if they've noticed he's wearing shorts and then proceeds to explain that he always wear shorts, even in winter, before launching into an elaborate story that nobody wanted to hear. 

Was the chap you were talking to wearing shorts? 

Don't forget the socks and sandals.

[wuvvum]

1 hour ago, grogee said:

What a bellend. Reminds me of Steve Thomas from school who claimed he'd abseiled down Smeaton's Tower (lighthouse in Plymouth) with no ropes.

Why do these people think we'll believe their physics-defying lies?

I had a lad in my year who was a bit like that.  He span this long-running tale about how his dad was having a custom-built Mercedes S Class made for him - eventually the car ended up having a 750bhp V10 engine (bearing in mind this was 1996).  The lad was such a fantasist that he actually thought everyone believed him.