The new news 24 thread

[meggersdog]

Mot time for the Peugeot 206cc yesterday. I snapped the handbrake cable on the brake rollers..........bugger

Soaked everything in WD40 last night and just spent 20 minutes replacing the cable. Using the ramp at work during lunch break made it almost a pleasant job.

[Ghosty]

Argh, the Yaris wheels are too narrow - I briefly had some 15x7 et35 on there and it was spot on.

These MR2 wheels are 15x6/6.5 stagger et45, and you can just tell the track feels narrower and the car isn't as planted, and wants to lift-off in the corners. The rears sit way too far in (they do that standard), they need to go down to et35 to fill the arches, so I'll have to space them out 10mm.

This is all on the same 195/50/15s too. I'm on the lookout for something slightly lower offset that will counter the issue all round.

[SiC]

5 hours ago, wuvvum said:

Well that was a more than averagely productive lunch break. 

Zed for?

[hairnet]

9 hours ago, wuvvum said:

Well that was a more than averagely productive lunch break. 

 

lunch break a la francaise?

[High Jetter]

1 minute ago, hairnet said:

lunch break a la francaise?

Judging by your own standards? 🤣 

He strutted!

[wuvvum]

7 hours ago, SiC said:

Zed for?

Indeed.

[Boycie]

If your looking for work then a number of car hire companies will be looking for seasonal staff especially at the airports , if your licence is fairly clean then they'll be driving work , airports mostly moving dirty/clean and workshop , if a a del and coll site then del and coll cars from customers , I've been in the industry 25 years next month ...

try 

[andyberg]

8 minutes ago, Boycie said:

If your looking for work then a number of car hire companies will be looking for seasonal staff especially at the airports , if your licence is fairly clean then they'll be driving work , airports mostly moving dirty/clean and workshop , if a a del and coll site then del and coll cars from customers , I've been in the industry 25 years next month ...

try 

I will be starting exactly this on Monday. The airport has become too stressful with the new, American, management.

Glad to hear you have been doing it 25years, it must be ok then 😁

[JJ0063]

Our local Saturday market auction just posted their lots on their FB page and I saw they have these 3 in today, gonna see if I can go and pick up a bargain.. have no use for them but the Erde would be a quick flip on FB marketplace I’m sure 

[Boycie]

7 hours ago, andyberg said:

I will be starting exactly this on Monday. The airport has become too stressful with the new, American, management.

Glad to hear you have been doing it 25years, it must be ok then 😁

Like everything it has pluses and negatives , my job is 50% desk 50% physical so it keeps me interested , which company are you are starting with 

[andyberg]

1 hour ago, Boycie said:

Like everything it has pluses and negatives , my job is 50% desk 50% physical so it keeps me interested , which company are you are starting with 

Europcar. I'll be a driver picking up or dropping off cars. They have promised that I will never use public transport, there will always be a 'runner' to collect me. There will be some car cleaning, which I don't mind. I do like a clean car! I'm just after as minimal amount of stress as possible. I thought the airport was going to be it but then an American company took over the company I was working for and ruined everything.

[egg]

Autoglym are giving a 'free' tin of wheel protector with purchases on eBay at the mo. No idea if it's a good deal.

[artdjones]

41 minutes ago, andyberg said:

Europcar. I'll be a driver picking up or dropping off cars. They have promised that I will never use public transport, there will always be a 'runner' to collect me. There will be some car cleaning, which I don't mind. I do like a clean car! I'm just after as minimal amount of stress as possible. I thought the airport was going to be it but then an American company took over the company I was working for and ruined everything.

Ideal employee from the US point of view :-

"I don't have a social life, that would be like stealing from the company."

[eddyramrod]

On 18/04/2024 at 22:55, vulgalour said:

Found a vacancy at a local bakery ... it's for the front of shop work and I can't remember going into a single bakery where that role was done by anything other than a woman of a certain age, which I am not.

After decades of driving vans and lorries, and doing whatever I could get in between, followed by nearly four years in Cyprus, I got in at a local bakery here - mixing up the fillings for the sandwich counters in the two shops.  Six weeks later one of the drivers "had to leave" and my CV was still top of the pile, so I stepped into his van.  Over the following five and a half years I also did bakery cleaning, decorating (one of the shops has a rental flat above) and counter work in both shops, among the Women Of A Certain Age who are not to be underestimated!  Treat them with politeness and courtesy and you will never have better workmates.

On 19/04/2024 at 08:57, High Jetter said:

You never know what it might lead to. 

As illustrated above!

On 19/04/2024 at 09:16, beko1987 said:

I had a bakery job once. Friendly customers, place always smelt nice, could make your own massive sandwiches at lunchtime for free. 

Couldn't agree more.

On 19/04/2024 at 10:19, vulgalour said:

I'm literally looking for the sort of job that doesn't expect me to work towards climbing the corporate ladder, or Being Part Of A Team, or whatever.  Just a job that pays a wage and expects nothing more than my regular attendance and sunny disposition.

That's all I ever wanted when I was able to work.  Don't expect that wage to be of the "Living" variety but you can usually find compensations, however small.  If you don't find them, then you're in the wrong job, leave immediately.

[vulgalour]

I've been looking at what I can cut out of my current work responsibilities, stuff that I don't get paid for but do in the hope that one day I will, and there's enough hours I can get back to put into a part time position easily enough.  Part time work would be great for things like paying the rent, artwork could then pay for the rest and still make me better off so that's the current plan.  I suspect I'll drop the artwork completely if things don't improve drastically within the next two years and I'm definitely re-assessing it at the end of this year.  So having a low demand position where I can focus on getting on with my colleagues and generally being the best [insert basic job role here] I can be is going to be ideal.

I'm having to make some very uncomfortable decisions.  I'm running out of time.  If I don't pay some attention to money I'm going to be properly screwed when I'm actually old.  Worst of it is I've been given an opportunity to improve my lot in Wiltshire which I've so far declined because it's so damned expensive down there and if it goes wrong I definitely wouldn't be able to escape.  I've been homeless once, and close to homeless several times, so there's certain risks I just won't take no matter how good they look on the surface.

I just want to live a quiet little life and not worry about things like rent and bills and whether or not I can afford food from one week to the next.  I'm tired, I just want a nap.

[egg]

49 minutes ago, vulgalour said:

I just want to live a quiet little life and not worry about things like rent and bills and whether or not I can afford food from one week to the next.  I'm tired, I just want a nap.

Might be something you already know, but have you been through moneysavingexpert's income boosting tips?

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/boost-your-income/

[vulgalour]

It assumes a level of financial solvency I've never experienced.  I am doing several of the things on their list already and the vast majority of it is stuff I simply can't do.  I'm not saying this to be awkward or dismissive, it's just how it is.  Until someone can suggest a way I can stop paying rent, my finances will continue to be a struggle until I get a better job.

[Boycie]

4 hours ago, andyberg said:

Europcar. I'll be a driver picking up or dropping off cars. They have promised that I will never use public transport, there will always be a 'runner' to collect me. There will be some car cleaning, which I don't mind. I do like a clean car! I'm just after as minimal amount of stress as possible. I thought the airport was going to be it but then an American company took over the company I was working for and ruined everything.

Ditto , which branch are you starting at

[andyberg]

Bath. But could also go to Bristol airport or Bristol branches if they are short staffed. I am actually looking forward to it, if only for the 8am start 😁

[Pat Earrings]

Several hours today were spent spannering.

Did the rear discs and pads on dads i20, but I found the shoes far too tricky to do behind the hub so I’m farming that job out. As expected both rear calipers were near enough seized as were the sliders. The second hand units were in fantastic condition, fitted them up and bled easily.

the difference in braking is night and day. Before it used to really need a firm press and took a while, now, it’s like a new car. The shoes when fitted will sort the slightly lazy handbrake as the shoes on the car at the moment aren’t down to metal but are worn quite a bit.

i then got to doing the Vectras rear drop links and bushes and my god, what a hateful job it turned out to be. Two sheared bolts (replaced now) and those bastard drop links…they are nigh on impossible to just push on. I ended up boiling them in water and it helped thankfully. All the knocking has gone and you could see how much the bushes had worn.

to get to the drop link bolt, I just ended up taking the rear spring out by removing the spring cup base bolt. Made things a whole lot easier. Everything greased up back together now.

Tomorrow the sensors will be fitted to the i20 too.

[mk2_craig]

Frig. 
 

 

Thats my favourite 17/19mm socket busted, used at the time for its intended purpose of tightening wheel bolts but after over 20 years service it finally cried enough. Sent me on my arse too, hope none of the neighbours (or my family) were watching 

[GeordieInExile]

Stupid lump of French luxury misery still doesn't have a working handbrake. The new module was fitted to the car, and the car didn't want to talk to it. Even more strangely, it turns out the old module wasn't knackered inside, either. 

At least the suspension and dodgy ABS sensor have been sorted, but still. I want my handbrake back.

[Noel Tidybeard]

as an example

you could look into ambulance driving- my hours are 10.30 - 21.00 4 on/4off +1 extra workday approx every 8 weeks

that would surely give you enough time for "other stuff"

[Noel Tidybeard]

On 14/04/2024 at 23:58, wuvvum said:

Now that it's properly spring I thought it was time to dig the Renault 6 out of the garage.  It always needs a jump start after it's been sat for a while, and I cleverly* hadn't left any room to get to the bonnet when I put it away - I remember thinking at the time "that's going to be a problem - oh well, fuck it, I'll worry about it in the spring".  Well the good news is that my brake repair last year seems to have held as the brakes were still free, and thanks to the new tyre on the nearside front all the tyres were fully inflated.  So all I needed to do was climb in through the tailgate, knock it out of gear, climb back out again, grab hold of the back bumper and pull, and out it came.  

The Rover 75 and a pair of jump leads soon got it running, and I took it for a quick run round the block and was reminded of the issues that had cropped up shortly before it went into hibernation and that I hadn't had a chance to look at properly.  So that was the first task for today once I finally got my arse in gear.

The first issue is that the bonnet latch isn't locking the bonnet.  I couldn't immediately find what was causing this, but removing the latch soon revealed the problem - the mechanism is made of plastic (yes, really) and after 51 years one of the bits had decided it had had enough and snapped off.  So that's irreparable then.  Of course bonnet latches for Renault 6s are completely unobtainium, but a Google session suggested that the Renault 12 latch is similar - or at least the plastic bits are - and those are available (albeit at some expense), so I'm going to order one - worst case I can butcher it for its plastic bits and make one good one out of the two.  For now I've put a Bungee strap on to stop the bonnet flipping up - it's a forward opening bonnet so in theory shouldn't be an issue but aerodynamics can do strange things.

The other two were easier fixes.  The nearside rear indicator was behaving funny when the lights were turned on - this turned out to be a cock up on my part, when I refitted the light unit after the car was hit last year I put the earth wire behind the clamp instead of between the clamp and the nut, so it was flapping around and barely making contact.  The other problem was that the choke wasn't returning properly when the knob was pushed in - this was a slightly stranger one as it transpired that the clamp that holds the end of the cable had come off the carb - I certainly don't remember doing this (and I would have remembered as it was a fiddly bastard) so can only assume that the bolt had vibrated loose and fallen out.  One of the three screws holding the end plate on the carb had also vanished, but I found suitable replacements for both in my stash so that's all sorted.

I then chucked a bucket of water over it to get the garage grime off - next job is to make a template up for the repair section I'm going to need to make for the nearside front floor, but I didn't get time for that this weekend.

Most of the rest of the weekend was spent playing with pushbikes.  I did get the Mobylette fired up - it took a few more kicks than last year but still not bad for an elderly two-stroke engine that's been sat for six months - but I didn't get a chance to take it for a spin as I'd been hoping to do, and the forecast looks shite for this coming week so that might have to wait a little while.

renner 12 you say?

there must be loads of spares for a dacia 1300/1310 etc

[High Jetter]

47 minutes ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

as an example

you could look into ambulance driving- my hours are 10.30 - 21.00 4 on/4off +1 extra workday approx every 8 weeks

that would surely give you enough time for "other stuff"

I would have loved to do that, but thought drivers were medical staff who drove, rather than just drivers? I did look at driving for on-call doctors once.

[RoverFolkUs]

2 hours ago, GeordieInExile said:

Stupid lump of French luxury misery still doesn't have a working handbrake. The new module was fitted to the car, and the car didn't want to talk to it. Even more strangely, it turns out the old module wasn't knackered inside, either. 

At least the suspension and dodgy ABS sensor have been sorted, but still. I want my handbrake back.

I'd wager a broken wire, is the module underneath the car? I've never had the pleasure* of working on a C6

[ruffgeezer]

17 hours ago, vulgalour said:

I've been looking at what I can cut out of my current work responsibilities, stuff that I don't get paid for but do in the hope that one day I will, and there's enough hours I can get back to put into a part time position easily enough.  Part time work would be great for things like paying the rent, artwork could then pay for the rest and still make me better off so that's the current plan.  I suspect I'll drop the artwork completely if things don't improve drastically within the next two years and I'm definitely re-assessing it at the end of this year.  So having a low demand position where I can focus on getting on with my colleagues and generally being the best [insert basic job role here] I can be is going to be ideal.

I'm having to make some very uncomfortable decisions.  I'm running out of time.  If I don't pay some attention to money I'm going to be properly screwed when I'm actually old.  Worst of it is I've been given an opportunity to improve my lot in Wiltshire which I've so far declined because it's so damned expensive down there and if it goes wrong I definitely wouldn't be able to escape.  I've been homeless once, and close to homeless several times, so there's certain risks I just won't take no matter how good they look on the surface.

I just want to live a quiet little life and not worry about things like rent and bills and whether or not I can afford food from one week to the next.  I'm tired, I just want a nap.

Have a look and see if there are any signaller roles advertised,  not many colleagues to worry about, 3 months paid training then a well compensated job with a decent bit of downtime during working hours.  IIRC there is a box in Brigg that sees only 2 trains a day - plenty of time to do tour artwork around the job!

[vulgalour]

I'd never even considered that, I shall add it to the job hunt possibles.

[Noel Tidybeard]

13 hours ago, High Jetter said:

I would have loved to do that, but thought drivers were medical staff who drove, rather than just drivers? I did look at driving for on-call doctors once.

no- there's 2 types of ambulance

1. yeller ones with moar blue lights & nee naws than you can shake a stick at who appear on TV
2. white ones the go under the radar doing the less important* job of actually taking peeps home* and getting them to appointments & hospital transfers

*if we don't take them home the yellows cant drop off

[ruffgeezer]

1 hour ago, vulgalour said:

I'd never even considered that, I shall add it to the job hunt possibles.

I won't lie to you, it is bloody hard graft learning the rules to pass out the training, but definitely worth putting the effort in. Drop me a PM if you want to ask any questions.