The new news 24 thread

18,483 · July 1, 2022

43 minutes ago, Nyphur said:

I do most of my ~~fucking up a perfectly good car~~ maintenance at my parents house as until a few years ago theirs was the only place I had to keep my tools, trolley jack, stands etc. We bought a fantastic 1/2" bahco set many years ago now which ha served us proud.

Really good tools for the price.

I have a little 1/4" set I got for christmas a few years ago, it's so much nicer to use than the halfords stuff, and wasn't much more expensive.

I find it easier to keep track of sockets if only one drive size goes in each case, so hopefully I won't lose any of the sockets from any of the Bahco sets like I have done with the big halfords set.

14,822 · July 1, 2022

Love my galaxy.. I kept thinking shall I replace it with a van...something sporty u know mid life crisis...lol... well if I got a van were would the kids sit.. and with osteoarthritis only thing low would be an invacar... ha ha.. but back to the daddy wagon moved some super long timber from deceased uncle to missus house.

Sorry not a very exciting post.

Had a day off for once on my week off.

17,718 · July 1, 2022

1 hour ago, Yoss said:

Has this happened yet then?

MOT was booked for 15:15, but seeing as the test station is just around the corner from my office I ~~used the car for my morning commute~~ drove to my pre-booked appointment early. In the end, they didn't look at it until last knockings which meant the last hour or so of my day at work was spent pressing refresh on the DVLA website instead of doing anything productive. It failed, but seeing as it was last car of the day the tester put it back up on the ramp to show me what I needed to weld so that he'd be happy. It's not too tragic, but the fail sheet looks awful as there's pretty much a 2p sized rusty hole conveniently located on each of the 4 corners of the car 😅 I need to sort out the front brakes as well as they're knackered from being stood so long. So not really too much to do to be back on the road.

There's a much longer story to it as last night whilst prepping it for today we had some unrelated bad news that caused something of a cascade of shit events from then until now, but I'm still decompressing from that with a few beers and not really feeling upset about the car at all as there's much worse things in life than a car not passing its ticket.

27,939 · July 1, 2022

Back home now after 283.1 miles in 2 days in the 172.

Mpg apparently 47.4 (likely low 40s actual). Absolutely brilliant at whatever is asked of it.

Gawd bless the lil Renaultsports: frustrating to own but brilliant to drive..

66,208 · July 1, 2022

The Jag went in to the local garage today to get plugged in to their diagnostic machine in an attempt to find out what is wrong with it as my DS150e wasn't finding anything.

It seems injector #1 is probably the problem - the flow rates on that injector are considerably higher than the others. Injector #1 is on the offside bank - the ticking noise from the nearside bank is apparently a noisy tappet as I thought when I first bought the car, rather than a ticking injector.

I'm going to give it an oil and filter change (I have the filter and I'm pretty sure I have enough of the correct grade of oil in the shed) and tip in a tin of valve lifter treatment to see if that quietens down the ticking. I think the oil currently has a bit of diesel in it too, presumably from when the previous giffer owner used to start it and just leave it running on the drive for ages to keep the battery charged, which I imagine caused a failed regen or two.

The garage's machine actually picked up nearly three pages of fault codes, but none were actually related to the running issue - they were almost all stored codes from when the battery had gone flat before I bought it. I did 40 miles in it this evening and it ran fine, it's odd that most of the time it behaves itself but occasionally it'll be a pain in the arse.

13,321 · July 1, 2022

My wifes CRX was previously owned by an old giffer who had hand painted the cam cover a nice shade of orange.

So I had a go at improving it with some wrinkle paint.

After spending an eternity getting every trace of the orange off it was scuffed up with a scotch pad and degreased.

The instructions on the rattle can advise three thick coats applied five mins apart then leaving it for a day to wrinkle up or even baking it in an oven to speed up the curing process.

But looking at some vids on YouTube things can also be hurried along by using a heat gun so after an hour with no sign of any wrinkles I gave it a once over.

Five mins with the heat gun got the crinkles starting to form so I left it alone for a good 36 hours to harden before attempting to fit it back onto the engine.

I am quite chuffed with how it turned out the paint was £14.50 a can and I haven't used half of it.

30,692 · July 2, 2022

1 hour ago, Joey spud said:

My wifes CRX was previously owned by an old giffer who had hand painted the cam cover a nice shade of orange.

So I had a go at improving it with some wrinkle paint.

After spending an eternity getting every trace of the orange off it was scuffed up with a scotch pad and degreased.

The instructions on the rattle can advise three thick coats applied five mins apart then leaving it for a day to wrinkle up or even baking it in an oven to speed up the curing process.

But looking at some vids on YouTube things can also be hurried along by using a heat gun so after an hour with no sign of any wrinkles I gave it a once over.

Five mins with the heat gun got the crinkles starting to form so I left it alone for a good 36 hours to harden before attempting to fit it back onto the engine.

I am quite chuffed with how it turned out the paint was £14.50 a can and I haven't used half of it.

That looks really smart I think. Well done.

22,353 · July 2, 2022

2 hours ago, Joey spud said:

I am quite chuffed with how it turned out the paint was £14.50 a can and I haven't used half of it.

You've done a fuffing good job of that - looks factory. How did you get the paint off the lettering?
Some VTEC D series did come with red rocker covers iirc, so it might have been someone's cack handed touch up.

18,753 · July 2, 2022

11 hours ago, EightMegs said:

I wonder how Inverary's council would react if you painted your house in a colour that isn't white...

Tell you to fuck off to Tobermory.

13,321 · July 2, 2022

6 hours ago, Ghosty said:

How did you get the paint off the lettering?

While the coating was still soft I scrapped it off the raised letters with a blade then once it was dry went over them again with a tired bit of 240 grit paper wrapped around a little block of wood.

4,293 · July 2, 2022

Radiator has gave up the ghost on the Toledo:

On the brightside at least it will make it easier to get the starter out....

25,876 · July 2, 2022

Ellis journey veteran car run tomorrow. Micheldever to datchet.

https://www.ellisjourney.co.uk/spectatros?fbclid=IwAR0n-u7WrhmQaOqEUQ8LArxEQUdjSFP4AHu3dFoQ27OodN-jJpN1IMR4WOg

7,537 · July 2, 2022

On 30/06/2022 at 20:33, Cord Fourteener said:

I've been lending my 740 to a friend while his V70 undergoes a lot of mot work, and he only went and got married in it!

the barstad!!! 🙄😲😁🤣

7,537 · July 2, 2022

19 hours ago, stuboy said:

you are bigclivedotcom AICMFP 🤣

22,353 · July 2, 2022

14,822 · July 2, 2022

Gave the spot washer it maiden voyage on the seats I'm the galaxy

22,638 · July 2, 2022

Here's one for the Cat Piss Tarp Challenge.

And I've no idea what the answer is.

14,822 · July 2, 2022

13 hours ago, Yoss said:

Here's one for the Cat Piss Tarp Challenge.

And I've no idea what the answer is.

road roller?

22,353 · July 2, 2022

1 hour ago, Yoss said:

Here's one for the Cat Piss Tarp Challenge.

And I've no idea what the answer is.

could be an UMM Alter...

22,353 · July 2, 2022

and I'm back, 382 miles on the MX-5 trip counter from a single tank of Sainsbury's 97 E5. (I think that's the BP stuff?)
I'm interested to see how much goes back in as the last time I filled it it did 350 miles to 38l, which is about 41mpg.

And yes, if it's not obvious by now, I've bought a CR-X. It's a Japanese spec SiR - the original top spec, and the precursor to the Type R, with the first generation B16A - 160hp, and the lowest VTEC crossover of any B, at 5500rpm. :grin:
The seller offered to arrange some bodywork that it needed doing as well as delivery which I've taken him up on. It should be here later in the month.

15,330 · July 3, 2022

1990s Toyota completes long distance journey shock! The Dash to Dubrovnik duo of Miss SL and BF have successfully made it there in the ex @BorniteIdentity Avensis SR.

They reached Dubrovnik on Friday PM, the final run with the car's gauge showing 36deg. With no working AC apparently the steering wheel was getting a bit sticky....

I didn't appreciate this, but to get there you either drive through a short stretch of Bosnia or get the ferry across to a peninsula which keeps you within Croatia. I believe the latter avoids lack of insurance in Bosnia and that's what they did. Streetview from 2011 shows there to be a quite a lot of older cars in that area, including a garage with a Ford Corsair, so I've put them on alert.

Apparently just a Mondeo FTPed in their group, and a C-Max was on its last legs but did complete the trip. Otherwise I assume the H-reg Panda and other Toyotas all made it OK, they didn't say otherwise.

Scenery looks like it is stunning and accommodation not too expensive and it would be great for me and Mrs SL to do the same thing (on a more leisurely schedule) within the next few years.

In the meantime the pair of them are going to make their way home via Italy and a meandering journey across France. Fingers crossed the Avensis continues to do its thing and they'll be confident driving around Europe on their own rather than with a group.

15,362 · July 3, 2022

On 30/06/2022 at 18:53, artdjones said:

I cleaned the windows at a car dealer's house today. Some of his stock is usually nice classics, which are kept undercover in some large sheds. However, this was parked in among the normal cars

Looks like it came from Portugal via Holland

Oooof!

41,700 · July 3, 2022

12 hours ago, Yoss said:

Here's one for the Cat Piss Tarp Challenge.

And I've no idea what the answer is.

Polaris Ranger? Popular with farms as a bigger, more practical version of a quad bike. Petrol versions are quick little buggers.

https://www.fwi.co.uk/machinery/atvs/on-test-polaris-ranger-diesel

9,280 · July 3, 2022

It's a nice day today so got up early for a trip to the coast.Made a pack-up, filled a flask got the windbreak out, everything for a day out piled in the car. Get in the Nissan and....click went the starter motor. Never happened before.Luckily I have a few tools at home so first off I cleaned the terminals. Still one single click. The car is an auto so can't stick it in gear and rock the car have to take the starter off. It's a genuine Nissan item so if original it's not done bad. I flicked the cog with a screwdriver and it moved. Resting the starter on the gearbox for an earth turn the key and it worked. I put 3 in 1 oil on the shaft and re-assembled it. The car starts fine now but I don't trust it enough for a trip out.

13,924 · July 3, 2022

12 hours ago, Yoss said:

Here's one for the Cat Piss Tarp Challenge.

And I've no idea what the answer is.

Wardrobe and two bed side tables?

39,093 · July 3, 2022

1 hour ago, Spottedlaurel said:

1990s Toyota completes long distance journey shock! The Dash to Dubrovnik duo of Miss SL and BF have successfully made it there in the ex @BorniteIdentity Avensis SR.

They reached Dubrovnik on Friday PM, the final run with the car's gauge showing 36deg. With no working AC apparently the steering wheel was getting a bit sticky....

I didn't appreciate this, but to get there you either drive through a short stretch of Bosnia or get the ferry across to a peninsula which keeps you within Croatia. I believe the latter avoids lack of insurance in Bosnia and that's what they did. Streetview from 2011 shows there to be a quite a lot of older cars in that area, including a garage with a Ford Corsair, so I've put them on alert.

Apparently just a Mondeo FTPed in their group, and a C-Max was on its last legs but did complete the trip. Otherwise I assume the H-reg Panda and other Toyotas all made it OK, they didn't say otherwise.

Scenery looks like it is stunning and accommodation not too expensive and it would be great for me and Mrs SL to do the same thing (on a more leisurely schedule) within the next few years.

In the meantime the pair of them are going to make their way home via Italy and a meandering journey across France. Fingers crossed the Avensis continues to do its thing and they'll be confident driving around Europe on their own rather than with a group.

Did you treat it to a regas m8? It normally works for about 8-12 months once topped up! Maybe it's finally let go though...

15,330 · July 3, 2022

40 minutes ago, BorniteIdentity said:

Did you treat it to a regas m8? It normally works for about 8-12 months once topped up! Maybe it's finally let go though...

I think they did but not sure if it lasted too long. Anyway, they're doing the trip in an older car, can't be having too many fancy things - character building isn't it?.....