The new news 24 thread

15,149 · June 5

46 minutes ago, Sunny Jim said:

underbody

I thought the bodies were supposed to go inside? 😀

28,112 · June 5

1 hour ago, captain_70s said:

Purchased a nice mid century cabinet.

With insides.

1960 Kolster-Brande QF80 Majestic. £115 new, £2.3k in today's money!

Sadly it ain't gonna be showing a picture again...

Oh it might. That's not a massively unusual screen size from memory, so a "no hoper" with a serviceable tube might turn up one day. Shame as looking at the condition of the dropper resistors in there it looks to be a really low hour set.

27,167 · June 5

1 hour ago, captain_70s said:

Purchased a nice mid century cabinet.

With insides.

1960 Kolster-Brande QF80 Majestic. £115 new, £2.3k in today's money!

Sadly it ain't gonna be showing a picture again...

Shouldn't be too hard to hack it all to bits and mount a cheap flat screen in there.

Starts putting on running shoes

15,149 · June 5

54 minutes ago, Supernaut said:

Starts putting on running shoes

Dead, before you can lace them. 😁

33,154 · June 5

Attended to the 75s sunroof drains today, I thought they'd been fixed years ago but I think all this torrential rain has washed any crap on the insides of the tubes down tho the bottom.

The drivers side was easy as the arch liners had been off a few months ago to weld the front of the sill and Gingernutzz had used new screws. The ends of the pipes stick out the bulkhead behind the arch liner. They are horizontal and have duckbills at the end so inevitably block up. The rears point downwards behind each rear wheel so gravity usually carries the muck away.

I snipped off the duck bill and a gush of stinky water came out.

The other side was a bit of a war as the plastic screws holding the liner on were all stuck and chewed up as soon as I started unscrewing them. I managed to get them off with pliers but they'll need replaced. Even though I'd snipped the end of this pipe about 5 years ago, it had totally blocked up, quite surprising. This emitted a huge gush of water, helpfully over my feet and legs.

It's in my garage drying out for a few days now and then it's good to go.

1,852 · June 5

This enlivened my tedious commute home today...

...on the very edge of a car repair forecourt.

15,149 · June 5

1 hour ago, auntiemaryscanary said:

This enlivened my tedious commute home today...

...on the very edge of a car repair forecourt.

Oo, Marathon!

4,144 · June 6

19 hours ago, Supernaut said:

Ha! Try 37.

I'm 36, if it makes you feel any better i've been looking at a diesel 3 series and the cheapest i can get on one right now is £710..... My average quote for pretty much anything is around £580. I can't and never have been able to get multicar insurance either, always near enough 1000 more than 2 policies would be, and 1000+ per car on top of that no matter what they are.

Insurance just take a scunner to some people for no apparent reason, something in the algorithm (or a combination of tiny things in the details) just add up to be enough to give the 'f off you aren't the perfect 54 year old professor, married, mother of 2, living in a rural cottage with a garage driving a grey Toyota Avensis type of client we want' price.

129,639 · June 6

Started an ad hoc new job yesterday, working at a garage a few miles away doing basic servicing and helping out as/when.

Turns out they specialise in VWs.

27,167 · June 6

2 hours ago, Cavcraft said:

Turns out they specialise in VWs.

I can never remember with you... Is that good or bad?

I suppose it's better than Iv*cos.

41,964 · June 6

Spendy week.

Dropped the Avensis down to the Mechanic Of Choice on Monday to get the belts done - service record reckoned they were changed only 13,000 miles ago - but that was also back in 2009.

New water pump, tensioners, and auxiliary belts were fitted too. The alternator drive belt didn't look too clever, so I imagine everything else was just as perished.

With fresh coolant, it came in at just a smidge over £600.

Not at all unreasonable given the work involved, but still the biggest garage bill I've had in recent years.

The tyres were equally suspect...

Five completely different brands and tread patterns, with one Michelin dating back to 2003 (oddly, that was the best in terms of wear and condition so probably the spare) and another harking back to 2007.

So, down to the local indie for a new set of shoes all round.

A matched set of Davanti DX390s this time - Michelin boots would have cost another £70 on top, and the last time I fitted them the walls were cracking after only about three years.

So I figured the Davantis were good enough, since we're not often on the Nurburgring with a couple of nuns and a bootfill of kittens on board. Not since COVID, anyway.

Simply having the same tread pattern and circumference was probably more important; and also getting the rims balanced.

Thick end of £300.

I'm too used to running cars with tiddly 13" and 14" wheels, me.

And that reminds me, the wheels and wheel trims could definitely do with some paint to tidy them up.

With a new battery needed the weekend we bought it...

...much-needed new number plates (which were bought online and nope, the seller asked me for no documentation whatsoever)...

...and a working double-DIN stereo with Bluetooth connectivity (the original Sony CD/Cass unit was sadly completely bricked)...

...that's over a grand we've dropped on it since purchase.

Still, hopefully it'll only need recommissioning once!

MrsDC loves it already, so we're seeing it all as an investment rather than a sunk cost.

Still cheaper than a couple of monthly payments on a new car...

26,679 · June 6

£600 inc labour for the belts etc isn't bad, I was just above £250 on just parts with the belt kit, expensive coolant and thermostat then got to spend a rainy Saturday morning fitting it all 🤷

Remember if she picks up a nail next week it's her fault...

20,708 · June 6

14 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Oh it might. That's not a massively unusual screen size from memory, so a "no hoper" with a serviceable tube might turn up one day. Shame as looking at the condition of the dropper resistors in there it looks to be a really low hour set.

There is at least one fella on the vintage radio form who's replaced a 21" tube in one of these beasts. The one in mine is a Birimar, which shared factory space with KB, so almost certainly the original.

Internally it's in really good nick, aside from being FILTHY. By far the dirtiest piece of electronics I've bought, the pictures are AFTER a brushing...

Back panel is missing, hence the smashed tube. It was previously a display piece in a vintage clothing shop from what I understand.

It is going to continue its life as an overly ornate sideboard for now. I haven't even fixed the '46 Pye radio I've had for 15 years, let alone a telly!

14 hours ago, Supernaut said:

Shouldn't be too hard to hack it all to bits and mount a cheap flat screen in there.

Starts putting on running shoes

A N G E R E Y reacts only.

33,154 · June 6

40 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

that's over a grand we've dropped on it since purchase.

That's pretty much my life as well, but if it's the right car then money well spent in my opinion.

41,964 · June 6

1 hour ago, beko1987 said:

£600 inc labour for the belts etc isn't bad, I was just above £250 on just parts with the belt kit, expensive coolant and thermostat then got to spend a rainy Saturday morning fitting it all 🤷

Remember if she picks up a nail next week it's her fault...

No, it's not dear at all when you think about it - all the parts totalled about £260, then nearly the same again covering four hours' labour @£60 p/h, then £100 in VAT on top. Pretty good, really.

It seems to be a fiddly enough job with the 3S-FE engine; there's virtually no gap between the belt cover and the offside suspension tower, so by the time I'd started pissing about with renting engine hoists I'd have been better off just letting a professional do it!

I should be able to change the timing belt on the Corolla myself though - there's a good bit more access, and no need to remove engine mounts either.

41,964 · June 6

58 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

That's pretty much my life as well, but if it's the right car then money well spent in my opinion.

Indeed - if we can get this one running smoothly and then slather it in underseal, we're hoping it should last us a good few years.

14,281 · June 6

First sensible move after selling the Range. Been a while! Time to be sensible for a change.

33,154 · June 6

I've just done the same!

27,167 · June 6

I've never had a credit card.

Student loan debt, though...

14,281 · June 6

42 minutes ago, Supernaut said:

I've never had a credit card.

Student loan debt, though...

Keep it that way! Hard to get out of.

Mrs JJ has a student loan too, I doubt that’ll ever get paid off with earnings these days though!

23,314 · June 6

3 x Lancia MonteCarlos, a Moke and a Brabus-Smart coupe (sounded epic) on the road to Hay just now. What is going on?

24,315 · June 6

I saw two entirely unconnected Lotus Elans on my way to work this morning.

6 hours ago, JJ0063 said:

Mrs JJ has a student loan too, I doubt that’ll ever get paid off with earnings these days though!

It was quite the day when I finished paying mine off a few years back… Mrs B reckons she’ll never pay hers off being part time.

11,504 · June 6

1,614 · June 6

With many people off on holiday and a lot of us who were in feeling a bit under the weather, there was a terminal case of Friday afternoon lightheadedness at work today.

Hence a couple of us collapsing in giggles whilst jointly reviewing an equipment qualification document translated to English from a French- speaking manufacturer:

"10.4 User Rights
Objective: Demonstrate how to restrain some users from accessing restricted data..."

....I'm guessing that a length of rope and some duct tape wouldn't be considered an effective solution 🫠

8,196 · June 6

1 hour ago, myglaren said:

'Kin 'ell. First I knew about LTN's was getting a fine for driving through one. Shall look forward to getting my cash back.

62,103 · June 6

Brief fleet update:

The Leaf is back together (more or less - still a few finishing touches to sort) and is back in use as the commuting car, which it's pretty decent at other than the fact that the current tyres are absolutely appalling in the wet. It's not perfect but it's good enough for my needs.

The Toyota has developed a misfire and is currently running on three most of the time. I've bought it a set of plugs which I will fit when the weather permits - hopefully that'll cure it, I'm hoping it isn't the leads as those are rather expensive.

I haven't fixed the Renault's fuel tank leak yet. It's not currently causing any issues - the patch I put on there a few years back is still intact, it's just starting to delaminate from the tank which means that once the fuel level in the tank gets above the top of the patch it seeps out the top, but if the level is below that it doesn't leak at all. I'm going to sort it but the stuff I used last time is apparently now obsolete (and my tin of it has completely dried up) so I've ordered some hopefully similar stuff which should do the job.

The Innocenti is now taxed and back on the road, I'm hoping to get a bit more use out of it this summer.

The i-Miev continues to trundle along happily - it's in for its MOT in a week's time, I think it might need a few suspension bits but hopefully not too much more than that.

The Merc and the LDV are both now MOT'd and ready to depart.

21,106 · June 7

8 hours ago, myglaren said:

I've not looked at the judgement in detail - but the High Court was not asked to look at the principle of LTNs - but the process around their public consultation and subsequent implementation in this case brought before the Court.

What in effect has happened is the Council involved have consulted residents - as required by law and then not properly acted on that consultation - ie they have been treated "unfairly". Thus this LTN is scrapped.

It will be down to how it was reported to local decision makers and the decision they made.

It does not 'scrap' LTNs overall - but means the legality of the implementation of others may be in question if residents seek review. This will be on a case-by-case basis.

Dulwich is the home of the well-off - so they have been able to fund this.

It would not surprise me if the residents group now takes civil action to recoup fines.

It's a debacle for the Council involved.

The High Court in this case has found the Council has not followed the law in their actions.

There are pros and cons to these LTNs - it really is up to local people to decide - but not as the High Court has set out to be ignored.

FTB Chambers report it more here - there is a link to the judgement itself if you want to look further:

https://www.ftbchambers.co.uk/news/news-view/high-court-finds-west-dulwich-low-traffic-neighbourhood-unlawful-wdag-v-lb-lambeth

If you do get involved with any council consultation - do ask 'how will my views be taken into account?'

Any future LTN implementation in the UK will have to take account of this HC judgement.

13,902 · June 7

Last year the Laurel clicked over 100,000 miles, a few days ago it was the turn of the daily driver Lexus RX:

Just had a 'reassuringly expensive' 100k mile service, which threw up no issues and the plan is to keep it for another 4-5 years, or longer?

I know the above should really be in the Modern section, but this milestone got me thinking about the overall fleet mileage, and it's rather neatly at half a million miles across the four current cars: LS400 = 167k, Carina E = 133k, RX = 100k and Laurel = 100k.

With me those four cars have done 113,000 miles, and the RX is the car in which I've done the most (77k).

If I then think about how much I've driven over the 37+ years I've had my licence that must also be at least 500,000 miles averaging 12,000-15,000 miles a year (there have been some where I've been at more than 20,000).

8,196 · June 7

Just quickly pop in the spare headlamp to cure the cataracts....

Obviously being a modern most of the front end needs to come off. Being a modern of over 20 on the road the lower bumper bolts just spin. Access just possible here so after much swearing and a bit of a fight one of us ended up with a black eye.

Looks much better now though.

62,103 · June 7

3 hours ago, Rustybullethole said:

Just quickly pop in the spare headlamp to cure the cataracts.... Obviously being a modern most of the front end needs to come off.

I think I remember reading somewhere that Audi A8s have a similar issue.

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