The new news 24 thread

[artdjones]

17 hours ago, grogee said:

If anyone can give me a good reason this shouldn't be nationalised tomorrow, I'm all ears. 

Have you looked at the NHS lately?

I don't think that it's anything to do with the ownership model. (Other than the fact that the company that runs the trains should own the track.) Competence is out of fashion in the UK, and the same mediocre to incompetent products of the UK education system will be running things whoever owns it.

Can you think of one company or institution in the UK that's more competently run than it was in 1960?

[Metal Guru]

1 hour ago, artdjones said:

Have you looked at the NHS lately?

I don't think that it's anything to do with the ownership model. (Other than the fact that the company that runs the trains should own the track.) Competence is out of fashion in the UK, and the same mediocre to incompetent products of the UK education system will be running things whoever owns it.

Can you think of one company or institution in the UK that's more competently run than it was in 1960?

Because people use to run businesses that they knew something / a lot about . Nowadays you get an MBA  and walk in to a senior management position, having virtually no hands on experience in that particular sector or industry. Stay 2-3 years , (often leaving time bombs behind) move onwards and upwards, still blissfully ignorant of anything other than a balance sheet , until you are CEO.

Fuck it all up and get a massive pay off and walk into another job in another industry you know nothing about.

Repeat several times and retire on a massive pension.

[Marshall2810]

Picanto brake sesh today

[richardmorris]

[Lankytim]

The fog lamp on the 2CV has been inoperable since I picked it up so I had a crack at getting it working. The original 80s fog lamp was pretty corroded inside and looked like it came from Halfords. I dug around in the garage and found a more robust example in a box. I vaguely remember it coming from a stash of Triumph 2000 spares about 20 years ago. Lucky I kept hold of it, I knew it would come in handy.

With it adapted to fit and wired up it still didnt work. There’s no feed to the switch but  a live run to the back of the switch results in the lamp and dashboard telltale working. Something needs further investigation, the lights will only work with the main beam turned on so something is obviously amiss. 

Some extra aftermarket wiring was tracked down and removed. I think everything is now standard with zero giffer mods. 
 

Something else to add to the shopping list is new side repeaters. The originals have corroded to death but were easily removed. Aftermarket equivalents are around £30 a pair and look like they’d suffer from water ingress. I’ve got a pair of Rover P4 indicators which would work… do I want to drill the wings to fit them though? 

[gm]

more omgtraffickaos in newcastle 

some puzzled firemen looking on waiting for the water board to arrive 

[HMC]

Out for a little drive in the escort, lovely evening.

[stuboy]

The highlight of my day was picking up 15x 3.6m decking planks in the pussy wagon... think the dudes at the shop where impressed...

[Split_Pin]

Had a wee moment of silence after finally getting everything together and fitting my late dad's private plate the the 75.

He had that plate on various cars since 2002. I think it's a fitting keepsake.

[richardmorris]

[SiC]

Went into Bristol centre to have a meal with colleagues. Departed the bus early because I spotted this rig on the way in. 

 

 

Edit: quick Google bought this up from 1966:

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/edward_beck/36974099832/

 

 

[hairnet]

3 hours ago, richardmorris said:

ALL ABOUT TEH FIAT

[louiepj]

Took our renault grand scenic for mot yesterday. Mot tester jumped in it, and the clutch pedal went to the floor and stayed there. Car left its mark all over the floor, and I drove it a mile home in first gear.
So today, I have been mostly stripping the box out, ready to fit the ridiculously priced (£500) and weighty DMF clutch kit.
Concentric slave cylinders, were they really necessary?

[High Jetter]

5 hours ago, louiepj said:

Concentric slave cylinders, were they really necessary?

Yes, to make more profit for manufacturers and main stealers.

[Barry Cade]

Sitting watching Ronin on TV.. saw it years ago and was amazed and enthralled by the car chases, but having driven in Paris a couple of years ago, I now realise it was just filmed on an ordinary Tuesday afternoon.

[Zelandeth]

Today on Real World MacGuyver:

Just fixed an air conditioner with three household tap washers and three used Rover P4 rear shock absorber bush locating cup washers.  I knew these looked waaaaay too potentially useful to bin when the shocks were changed.

So those got stuffed in the drawer of random nuts, bolts, washers, springs and vaguely adjacent things until they were needed.  Which was today.

Wish I did that five years ago...you now can barely tell when the compressor is running rather than it sounding like it's drilling its way to the centre of the earth the whole time.

I guess after 33 years I can forgive the vibration dampers for being a bit soggy.

[Split_Pin]

On 08/05/2024 at 16:56, Split_Pin said:

Had a wee moment of silence after finally getting everything together and fitting my late dad's private plate the the 75.

He had that plate on various cars since 2002. I think it's a fitting keepsake.

Aye so that didn't last long 😂

Drove into my estate tonight,  past my neighbour who was out walking his dog and gave him a wave as always. 

As I was getting out my car he was just arriving back home too and he said "You know you've nae back number plate?"

Ah cripes! They were quite dear too and there is only one supplier (Demon plates) that's worth their salt that makes them. A boy on the Rover FB pages knocks them up but both sets I've had off him have been shite. One had faded lettering like his printer ink was low and the other set were full of air bubbles. 

Anyway, about 10 minutes later there was a knock at the door and it's my neighbour with my plate in his hand. He'd gone out in his car for some messages and noticed my plate at the end of the road outside the swing park, lifted it and turned back. That was really nice of him and has saved me about £40! 

There's only a wee chip on one corner and some grazing where it's sclaffed across the road but nowt too noticeable.

One good deed does deserve another you know. This morning my wife got a call from her sister who works with our neighbour 2 doors down the other side of us and she'd tripped over a laundry bag handle (she works in a hotel) and broken her wrist in 2 places. The rest of her family were at work so my wife went and collected her from work and took her straight to A&E. 

[Rust Collector]

32 minutes ago, Barry Cade said:

Sitting watching Ronin on TV.. saw it years ago and was amazed and enthralled by the car chases, but having driven in Paris a couple of years ago, I now realise it was just filmed on an ordinary Tuesday afternoon.

Driving through rush hour Paris, I learned that bumper to bumper traffic was a literal phrase. I met several junctions where the traffic lights were pointless as they were completely blocked by traffic from all directions, and the flow was maintained by cars gently nudging each other through to ensure that nobody sat giving way for too long. Just what you need when you agreed the sale of your car before you left, and some twat already knocked the front bumper off outside brighton seaside centre the week before.

[brownnova]

Found a vehicle as slow as my 2CV on the A55 on the way home from work! 

[Wibble]

2 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

Aye so that didn't last long 😂

Drove into my estate tonight,  past my neighbour who was out walking his dog and gave him a wave as always. 

As I was getting out my car he was just arriving back home too and he said "You know you've nae back number plate?"

Ah cripes! They were quite dear too and there is only one supplier (Demon plates) that's worth their salt that makes them. A boy on the Rover FB pages knocks them up but both sets I've had off him have been shite. One had faded lettering like his printer ink was low and the other set were full of air bubbles. 

Anyway, about 10 minutes later there was a knock at the door and it's my neighbour with my plate in his hand. He'd gone out in his car for some messages and noticed my plate at the end of the road outside the swing park, lifted it and turned back. That was really nice of him and has saved me about £40! 

There's only a wee chip on one corner and some grazing where it's sclaffed across the road but nowt too noticeable.

One good deed does deserve another you know. This morning my wife got a call from her sister who works with our neighbour 2 doors down the other side of us and she'd tripped over a laundry bag handle (she works in a hotel) and broken her wrist in 2 places. The rest of her family were at work so my wife went and collected her from work and took her straight to A&E. 

Glad you got it back and glad it’s on your car. Anything we can do to remember our late parents is worth every penny.

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

He'd gone out in his car for some messages 

Is he of Irish descent?

[artdjones]

9 hours ago, brownnova said:

Found a vehicle as slow as my 2CV on the A55 on the way home from work! 

Shame it wasn't a coach-built, you could have done an overtake.

[richardmorris]

[GMcD]

12 hours ago, High Jetter said:

Is he of Irish descent?

It's a scots thing anaw. 

[brownnova]

5 hours ago, artdjones said:

Shame it wasn't a coach-built, you could have done an overtake.

I slipstreamed…. And performed a textbook overtake.

Good job it wasn’t uphill! 

[Joey spud]

I went to use the air con in my Avensis last weekend and although the compressor engaged it wasn't really doing cold air. It's not been topped up for about five years and then it was with a disposable DIY kit.

So my thinking was another DIY is called for here and yesterday ordered one off Amazon from a company called Thompson's ltd for £47. 

Sure enough my gas content was indeed on the low side and with half a can added it's now colder that a witches tit.

And as I had some gas left I topped up the AC on the Granvia too although it was already fairly good.

Anyway I'm well impressed with this company. The parcel turned up in under 24 hours the hose and fittings are nicely made and they included a good "how to /idiots guide" for checking existing pressure and adding the right amount of top up.

[Jazoli]

2 hours ago, Joey spud said:

I went to use the air con in my Avensis last weekend and although the compressor engaged it wasn't really doing cold air. It's not been topped up for about five years and then it was with a disposable DIY kit.

So my thinking was another DIY is called for here and yesterday ordered one off Amazon from a company called Thompson's ltd for £47. 

Sure enough my gas content was indeed on the low side and with half a can added it's now colder that a witches tit.

And as I had some gas left I topped up the AC on the Granvia too although it was already fairly good.

Anyway I'm well impressed with this company. The parcel turned up in under 24 hours the hose and fittings are nicely made and they included a good "how to /idiots guide" for checking existing pressure and adding the right amount of top up.

They are useful but really a bodge as the gas capacity is done by weight not pressure, I’ve used them myself but as it’s usually only a few quid more to use a proper machine I tend to do that these days.

[Lankytim]

So after faffing about with the 2cv the headlights started to not work/all work at the same time. After extra faffing it was realised I’d assembled the switch stalk incorrectly. It now seems to be all working… except the wipers, brake warning light and indicators have now stopped operating. I think they’re all on one circuit so I need to do a bit more investigating.. 

The fog lamp works on sidelights but not on main beam… is this an MOT issue?

Theres no indicator tell tale but there is one for the hazard warning lights..

Also there’s no main beam tell tale on the dashboard. I’m not sure if it needs one at this age.. 

Slowly getting there! 
 

EDIT!

Cleaned the fuses up (again) and the indicators and wipers, brake warning light are working again! 
 

The hazard warning lights have stopped working now though, the telltale light illuminating but nothing else happening..but the oil pressure light has come to life which has never worked before. So everything works, just not at the same time.

 

[beko1987]

3 hours ago, Joey spud said:

I went to use the air con in my Avensis last weekend and although the compressor engaged it wasn't really doing cold air. It's not been topped up for about five years and then it was with a disposable DIY kit.

So my thinking was another DIY is called for here and yesterday ordered one off Amazon from a company called Thompson's ltd for £47. 

Sure enough my gas content was indeed on the low side and with half a can added it's now colder that a witches tit.

And as I had some gas left I topped up the AC on the Granvia too although it was already fairly good.

Anyway I'm well impressed with this company. The parcel turned up in under 24 hours the hose and fittings are nicely made and they included a good "how to /idiots guide" for checking existing pressure and adding the right amount of top up.

I went to ats with a voucher once and told the guy up front it was a blind test and sadly my system leaks it somewhere (sure the guy said the evaporator?) 

Haven't investigated any more but with the sun shining as it is today I do wonder if I should... 

Can you get diy leak testing kits? 

[richardmorris]

50 minutes ago, Lankytim said:

So after faffing about with the 2cv the headlights started to not work/all work at the same time. After extra faffing it was realised I’d assembled the switch stalk incorrectly. It now seems to be all working… except the wipers, brake warning light and indicators have now stopped operating. I think they’re all on one circuit so I need to do a bit more investigating.. 

The fog lamp works on sidelights but not on main beam… is this an MOT issue?

Theres no indicator tell tale but there is one for the hazard warning lights..

Also there’s no main beam tell tale on the dashboard. I’m not sure if it needs one at this age.. 

Slowly getting there! 
 

EDIT!

Cleaned the fuses up (again) and the indicators and wipers, brake warning light are working again! 
 

The hazard warning lights have stopped working now though, the telltale light illuminating but nothing else happening..but the oil pressure light has come to life which has never worked before. So everything works, just not at the same time.

 

Fog light is only supposed to work on dipped beam. It must have a tell tale light, but the main beam doesn’t have to have one.

 

if the indicator works but the hazards don’t then it will be the switch itself.