The new news 24 thread

[SiC]

The tank display 

 

 

[Snake Charmer]

Mmmm Bren carrier. 

[High Jetter]

Never seen a Unimog that early, some great other old kit there

[Split_Pin]

I didn't get an invoice for the gearbox service on my 75 a couple of months ago. Given that it's the only Pearl Black Contemporary SE on the road in Scotland, there was always another way I could prove I took it to the best Rover mechanic in Central Scotland - Google!!

The Streetview car was right outside his premises at the time I arrived. My A4 is in the picture too.

2nd time my 75s been on Streetvoew and 3rd time in its whole life!

[Popsicle]

Drove across the peak district today, Woodhead reservoir was looking a bit low. Get washing your cars, I think a hosepipe ban might be incoming.

Also saw a car fire on the M1.

[Lord Sterling]

On 13/06/2025 at 18:21, Sunny Jim said:

@Lord Sterling your jag's an X300 like my hearse isn't it? Providing the torx bolts which hold the radiator bracket aren't too recalcitrant removing the rad isn't too much of a chore and the condenser is in front of that. Presumably the system no longer contains any gas so you don't have to worry about any escaping? Could save yourself a chunk of garage labour, I'm no star mechanic but replaced my rad without any issues.

X308 (I think yours is too?). Yes, I could probably do it myself but knowing me, I'll fuck something up and end up damaging the condenser. I'd rather not be messing around with it myself. Plus, access isn't great for where it's stored, doing the outside on an unpredictable day and possibly rendering it unusable just doesn't interest me. I can just about afford it and rather it was done than not. I've put up with this for years and its time to make a change. I just want air-con like any normal person who wants air-con working in their car. Unfortunately for me, I'll have to pay a premium. And then, there is the Vectra to do yet....

[drewd]

On 13/06/2025 at 14:08, jonathan_dyane said:

I just need to get some acetone or some shit to melt off the soft touch crap

Elbow grease degreaser has worked for me in the past. Available in most supermarkets and discount shops.

[Metal Guru]

2 hours ago, drewd said:

Elbow grease degreaser has worked for me in the past. Available in most supermarkets and discount shops.

That’s great stuff, works really well. Used in my mother’s kitchen after she died. 40 years of cooking that usually involved the frying pan.

[andy18s]

My old Escort up on ebay.very little rust and no damage when I sold it though.

https://ebay.us/m/3snCy6

 

[bramz7]

Last time I drove to Scotland:

And today:

I was really nervous taking it this far as I'd not actually done a long drive, but it did well. It's not perfect, but it drives very well, and somehow averaged 44mpg over the first 300 miles. For a 1.6 Twinspark, that seems amazing. 

The diesel was the nicer cruiser, and I'd love another one to make the perfect pair. 

Hopefully my drive back is without drama too! 

[N19]

16 hours ago, drewd said:

Elbow grease degreaser has worked for me in the past. Available in most supermarkets and discount shops.

Yes, definitely one of those things to keep in the garage as well as the kitchen!

[Schaefft]

1 hour ago, bramz7 said:

Last time I drove to Scotland:

And today:

I was really nervous taking it this far as I'd not actually done a long drive, but it did well. It's not perfect, but it drives very well, and somehow averaged 44mpg over the first 300 miles. For a 1.6 Twinspark, that seems amazing. 

The diesel was the nicer cruiser, and I'd love another one to make the perfect pair. 

Hopefully my drive back is without drama too! 

I should really get things moving and get the 156 through a test. The 20V diesel is such a gem of an engine, it's a shame to just have it sit. Great to see a photo of it I haven't seen before.

[wuvvum]

Had a reasonably productive day today despite the changeable weather. 

Got the Eos emptied out and refitted the offside front arch liner which I'd removed when I did the spring - that was a fairly straightforward job but took a little longer than it might have done as I was trying not to disturb the two collared doves which appear to be building a nest on my satellite dish.

Emptied out the Maxus and fitted the new front drop link.

Actually the easiest one I've done in a long while - took about 15 minutes.  The old one was really quite knackered so I'm glad I decided to do it.

Jacked the front of the Leaf up and removed the arch liner so I could put a bolt through the end of the bumper to hold it onto the wing - so with the new bracket as well it's as properly fitted as it's going to be.  I didn't get around to investigating the knocking from the nearside, that's a job for another day.

Backed the i-Miev up onto the ramps, gave the rear inner sills a jet wash and a wire brush then sprayed them with anti-corrosion wax - they were the one advisory on the MOT, still very much only surface rust but i-Mievs are somewhat rust prone so I didn't want to give it a chance to get any worse.

The only job on the list I didn't manage to get done was sorting the leak on the Renault 6 fuel tank - I'll hopefully get that done next weekend.

Got bugger all fettling done yesterday as I was kept awake half the night by a quite spectacular thunderstorm and then had to be up early to take the Mitsubishi in for its MOT, so I then needed a nap in the afternoon.  Must be getting old.

[comfortablynumb]

My god, it started, and actually got out of hibernation under its own power!

Mot Wednesday morning.

Showing the better side...

[stuboy]

A father's day stop for egg chips and ham saw these at the stag pub....

[stripped fred]

The horn on my Jaguar S type has always been feeble. It stopped working completely last week.

I got my son, who's car mad and training to be an electrician, to check all the connections and he confirmed the relay was working. I bought replacement horns from an XJ which are going on today. My son opened up the old horns and this is how they looked. Hoping for quite an improvement!

[Bren]

My 530d has gone in for an EGR recall. I had been warned I may lose the car for a couple of days - the receptionist said it would be ready between 3 and 5pm but I took this with a large pinch of salt.

When my e60 went in for the battery cable recall I was given a load of old bollocks as to why it had taken so long - the receptionist said the car had needed "welding" ( I doubt it's something techs are taught  any more )- nothing on the walkaround video the tech does mentioned welding and there was no aroma of burning underseal when I picked it up.

Excuses Excuses.....

[Bren]

I fittwd a powerlite starter to the SD1 at the end of March but I had urgent jobs around the house so it had'nt been touched for about ten weeks.

The oil pump on the Rover V8 can empty if left too long - starting ones of these that has been left standing can be risky.

So off come the rocker covers. No 1 cylinder/ piston needs to be TDC with the two valves closed. Mark the dizzy - or take photographs.

Then the distributor clamp can be removed. Then the distributor.

Years ago I made a tool that fits an an electric drill - it has a slot in it to locate in the male end of the oil pump drive.

As the drill spins it will slow as the oil pressure begins to build - 

Once you have got oil pressure you will start to see oil at the rockers.

Now I need to refit everything and fire it up. I dont enjoy doing this because the plugs are usually piss wet through from all the cranking.

[Pat Earrings]

Headlights on the Golf wet sanded and compounded/polished. In my opinion they look absolutely crystal clear, pleased with the outcome. 
also took advantage of the weather and wet vacced the interior..the amount of dirt that came out made it worth it. Smells much fresher.

[vulgalour]

Finally got around to ordering myself a finger sander (not for sanding fingers, I hasten to add) so I can have an easier time of some of the bodywork repairs on the Princess.  Couldn't afford a big name one so just got the Titan brand one from Screwfix and hopefully it'll be at least as good as anything I'd get out of the Midl of Lidl.

[Zelandeth]

36 minutes ago, vulgalour said:

Finally got around to ordering myself a finger sander (not for sanding fingers, I hasten to add) so I can have an easier time of some of the bodywork repairs on the Princess.  Couldn't afford a big name one so just got the Titan brand one from Screwfix and hopefully it'll be at least as good as anything I'd get out of the Midl of Lidl.

I've got a few Titan tools here, no complaints about them.  Have never had any failures yet, so they seem perfectly adequate for normal DIY levels of use.  Couple of other things I've had to return there and had no stress over it.

[comfortablynumb]

I've had several power tools from Screwfix, including a mouse sander. They've all been fine, except swombo didn't realise the sanding pad had come off the mouse, and was trying to sand with the velcro 🤣

Obviously this screwed it up.

I was in the local branch for something else, and jokingly mentioned it. The response was ' bring it back, we'll change it!'

I said it was user error, but they said they didn't care, we could have another!

We did, their guarantee is great

[Popsicle]

27 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

I've got a few Titan tools here, no complaints about them.  Have never had any failures yet, so they seem perfectly adequate for normal DIY levels of use.  Couple of other things I've had to return there and had no stress over it.

Same here, Titan battery drill, sander and jigsaw, never given me a moments trouble for average DIY usage.

[Markeh]

I'm still rocking a Titan drill bought from Cash Converters about 10 years ago, although the batteries are about shagged now.

[vulgalour]

That's all very reassuring to hear.

[mat777]

Well, it was a shitty journey traffic wise but the Discovery survived towing my Sea King from Cheshire to Lincoln in 25 degree heat, although it definitely didn't like the hills on the way! 

Now installed at Lincolnshire showground for the county show tomorrow and Thursday along with my friend's Phantom.... If you're attending, do come and say hi! 

[Spottedlaurel]

After being at the garage since early April the Laurel was delivered back to me tonight:

Recored radiator and a few hoses were required to address a slightly leaky coolant system. Although it seemed to lose only a negligible amount I was getting drips on the garage floor, and it would only have been a matter of time before something went pop. Will be great to use it again.

In other news the Auris is hopefully being collected by its new owner on Sunday, and the Carina E is going to be loaned to Miss SL and her BF while they work out what to do with the Land Cruiser Colorado that doesn't seem to want to behave itself. This may end up with trips abroad for both cars, permanently in the case of the Colorado (i.e. let it go for export) and the Carina E spending four weeks tootling around France and probably a trip into Belgium. Remember they have form for this sort of thing, taking the Avensis SR to Dubrovnik and back. BF is going to look at resurrecting the Carina E's A/C. It was an expensive option even on this top-spec estate, so it would be good to get it working again. 

Still waiting for news about the Carina E's replacement......

[Wibble]

31 minutes ago, Spottedlaurel said:

After being at the garage since early April the Laurel was delivered back to me tonight:

Recored radiator and a few hoses were required to address a slightly leaky coolant system. Although it seemed to lose only a negligible amount I was getting drips on the garage floor, and it would only have been a matter of time before something went pop. Will be great to use it again.

In other news the Auris is hopefully being collected by its new owner on Sunday, and the Carina E is going to be loaned to Miss SL and her BF while they work out what to do with the Land Cruiser Colorado that doesn't seem to want to behave itself. This may end up with trips abroad for both cars, permanently in the case of the Colorado (i.e. let it go for export) and the Carina E spending four weeks tootling around France and probably a trip into Belgium. Remember they have form for this sort of thing, taking the Avensis SR to Dubrovnik and back. BF is going to look at resurrecting the Carina E's A/C. It was an expensive option even on this top-spec estate, so it would be good to get it working again. 

Still waiting for news about the Carina E's replacement......

I was wondering what was happening with the Aerodeck.

[Popsicle]

1 hour ago, MrGTI6 said:

The toll for the Dartford crossing will be increasing to £3.50 in September. Doesn't seem like long ago that it was 50p.

I'd sooner drive through central London or go the long way round the M25 than pay that. I'm sure my one-man boycott will teach them.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cedg1z2dz8zo

Wasn't the original plan to only charge the toll fee until it covered the building costs?

The article mentions it was paid for by 2003, something doesn't add up to me. Or are motorists being used as a cash cow again?

[Metal Guru]

1 hour ago, MrGTI6 said:

The toll for the Dartford crossing will be increasing to £3.50 in September. Doesn't seem like long ago that it was 50p.

I'd sooner drive through central London or go the long way round the M25 than pay that. I'm sure my one-man boycott will teach them.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cedg1z2dz8zo

I commuted through the tunnel (before the bridge was built) for most of the 80s. It was 50p then.

The cost increase is to “manage demand”.

Going the long way round is hardly practical if you live in Kent and work anywhere in Essex. If you’re heading north, it can work but then you have to pass Heathrow which is as much a nightmare as the crossing, albeit no charge.