The new news 24 thread

[Cavcraft]

235 tyres sound a bit modern for an XJS, would have thought the spare was actually the correct size? Mind you buying one tyre is going to be cheaper than four!

[FredTransit]

Wow, a pressure cooker. Not seen one of them since I was a kid.

 

10/10 for effort.

 

completely agree but have to say its less effort to scrape some ice off the freezer and let it melt........

[ashmicro]

Demi-water/ De-ionised water is only a pound a litre from my motor factors. Or free from the tank farm at Ballylumford Power Station Water Treatment Plant . Gas turbine oil is excellent for XUD's, too.

[RobT]

The 325 passed it’s MoT this morning with two advisories, one for a tyre but not sure about the other so will find out later. I’m also getting the garage to change the starter motor to hopefully sort out an intermittent starting problem.

 

New front tyres were already on the shopping list but atleast it’s legal so I can wait till pay day! It’s got Michelins all round and new ones are £96 fitted so will stick with those. Other issues to sort are a temperamental heater blower motor, a heavy-ish oil leak, and an annoying metallic rattle under acceleration that sounds like something is about to fall off. It also runs a bit cool so may change the thermostat as the heater is shit now the cold weather is with us – the BX I ran last winter would toast your feet, this is just tepid.

 

I’ve also just taxed the Montego for another 6 months as old Father T has been using it for pottering around locally (he loves it!). I’ve finally decided to move it on May time though whilst it’s still got some T&T left. Is a shame but there’s just too much bodywork needed and I haven’t got the skills or money to fix it properly. Plus it stops me agonising anymore about do I/don't I get rid

[254575]

Not wanting to sound like a towing n00b but I've got a spec type towing dolly and I've never used one before.

 

Is the spec bit supposed to be freely moving when loaded or am I supposed to ratchet it down?

[254575]

First dibs on robs montego!

[wuvvum]

Not wanting to sound like a towing n00b but I've got a spec type towing dolly and I've never used one before.

 

Is the spec bit supposed to be freely moving when loaded or am I supposed to ratchet it down?

The spec bit should be free to swivel when you're towing - you only really need to ratchet it down if you need to reverse. Fixing it in place while towing normally will make the tyres on the towed car scrub like buggery round tight corners.

[Shep Shepherd]

I've owned The Volvo for exactly nine years today

[cobblers]

About 8 months ago I changed the heater box in the t25, VW made a couple of types, one of them only squirts cold air out of the dash vents for some reason so I put a normal one in. The heater blower was never that good on it, and I'd put off the job of changing it for months cos you need the dash out and to split all the plastic welds on the heater box to get at it. Finally completely packed in the other day so I got on the blower to GSF and they delivered one in about 25 minutes, which is pretty good going.

After I got done with welding bits into even older VW vans I pulled mine into the garage and got the dash out etc etc, split the old heater box open and found this lot waiting for me:

 

 

Tab ends, bits of fluff and some animal bones etc etc, I reckon something must have made a bit of a nest in there some years back,

no wonder the flipping heater didn't work all that well and occasionally stank awful. Quite pleased to get it all cleaned out, it blows now but sadly it's not all that much better considering it was pretty much completely blocked before, might need to give it a run to bleed the system properly or something.

 

If I get this job I'm being interviewed for on Thursday, I'll be commuting about 40 miles a day so might think about bunging the van in the garage and trying to buy my mates mk3 golf diesel off him, that thing does 55mpg and it'll sup £1 a litre veg oil. That said it would only save me about £75 a month so it might not be worth the bother or the £500 ish so he'll want for it.

[Pete-M]

Getting offers on the XJR by the bucketload on eBay, but nobody has actually bid. Grr.

 

It's times like these when I think I'd like to keep it instead of flog it for its current value. I hate this phase in the life of cars. Buy 'em when they're at their cheapest, keep 'em a couple of years and then flog 'em just before they triple in frickin' value.

 

Still, only time will tell..

[ashmicro]

Peugeot 206, now with non-fucked rear axle, passed the MOT today! I'll get it taxed tomorrow, and then I can take it to my cousin's place to stash it, so the new owner, my mate's daughter, doesn't see it until Christmas Day. It's a bit too big to hide in a wardrobe.

[Jimcit]

Just been notified that due a series of events, my company car has to go (one company in our group being liquidated and my company car is through them. Santander have refused to transfer the finance agreement / sell the car to the company or do anything other than repossess it).

 

I have liked my company car more than I have liked any other modern car I've ever had (our company cars always have to be new due to MD being scared of anything out of warranty).

 

It's an MX-5, which I would always have scoffed at, but it's tiny, RWD, it loves being revved and when you open the bonnet there's a real engine there as opposed to a plastic cover. The switchgear in it reminds me of a mid-90s honda, the heated seat buttons are out of a Golf and don't really match the surrounding plastic. The drivers seat squeaks, the clutch pedal squeaks and rust spots occasionally form on the spot welds under the boot lid. My head touches the roof and it's giving me dowager's hump, I look ridiculous driving it and after a year, my friends have only just stopped taking the piss. You can't fit anything in the boot, I had to drive from Wednesbury to Leamington with the roof down and a squashed passenger in the rain due to an ill-thought-out Quechua tent purchase.

 

I like cars with faults, they give them character, I even liked it enough to give it a name. In fact I think I might love it a bit.

 

The news of its departure has depressed me slightly.

 

BUT, thinking on the brighter side of things...

 

My sister smashed the door into a wall and put a massive scrape down the side of it the other day, looking at the scrape keeps upsetting me, and it's not really a big enough scrape to warrant getting it painted.

 

It means I get to use my Acadiane daily for a month or so as I said I'd wait till the new year to sort out a new car. This will do the Acadiane good as she hasn't been used a great deal in the last few weeks.

 

Not paying the BIK might help reduce my overdraft.

 

I'm also going to attempt to convince work to give me a company car allowance rather than another car, then buy something older that's got a bit more character. I'm craving an old Saab 96 or an early 99...

 

I'll also temporarily have a bit more space on the drive for pottering about. I like pottering.

 

I also don't know when I have to give the car back and have visions of it being loaded onto a trailer and taken away while I'm in Tescos. Might take my CDs out of it.

[RobT]

Work is boring me today so I’ve done some sums. In the 20 years since passing my test I’ve owned 17 cars (of which 5 Fords, 4 Volvo, 4 BL/Austin Rover) spent £15,742 and incurred £4,350 in depreciation – this includes scrapping four of them for a nominal sum in the days before mental scrap prices and losing £1,200 in one year on a 52-plate Mondeo five years ago. So £217 a year which ‘aint bad really. God knows about running costs, I’d rather not think about that bit!

 

I only ever made a profit on one, +£80 on a nice mk1 Fiesta Ghia four years ago which I sold for £500. Bloke turned up and within 5 minutes he'd bought it, easiest sale I've ever had

[HMC]

^^ ive never sat down to do that or i would get depressed by the numbers!

 

Did an 800 mile trip in the eunos roadster at the weekend visiting family etc and had a great trip tavistock- manchester and back. Did most of the outward leg with the roof down and header on full blast. Didnt use any oil noticable oil or water (except the windscreen washer bottle, which emptied itself and being shite weary, thought it had broken- no just empty) Doubtless considered by many to be an odd choice of winter car, the small cockpit volume and good heater means it warms up very quickly, and the rear window can be unzipped of a cold morning for instant demisting!

[trigger]

Here's a question, I know of a local 1985 Suzuki Alto FX with only 22000 miles and what i can remember clean bodywork that's going to be scrapped because the head gasket has gone.

 

The owner doesn't want to spend the money repairing it as it also needs a new rad and battery and quoted £650 to get it back on the road, unless the heads warpped i suspect it can be fixed for a lot cheaper.

 

The question is, is it worth bothering with? they can't worth much even as runners, it's not a car that excites me in anyway and i'm no mechanic although i'm happy to get my hands dirty also what are they like for finding parts?

 

I guess it also depends on how much he'll except for it too!

[Ben_L]

Here's a question, I know of a local 1985 Suzuki Alto FX with only 22000 miles and what i can remember clean bodywork that's going to be scrapped because the head gasket has gone.

 

The owner doesn't want to spend the money repairing it as it also needs a new rad and battery and quoted £650 to get it back on the road, unless the heads warpped i suspect it can be fixed for a lot cheaper.

 

The question is, is it worth bothering with? they can't worth much even as runners, it's not a car that excites me in anyway and i'm no mechanic although i'm happy to get my hands dirty also what are they like for finding parts?

 

I guess it also depends on how much he'll except for it too!

 

I'd say piss easy. Rascal engine part etc maybe? Either way, shouldnt be £650 for a HG, it was half that for the same job on one of my newer shite keepings.

[wuvvum]

Is there a new Astra out? It is an indication of the level of my disinterest in new cars that I have no idea, but I saw a car this morning which looked like it could be a new Astra - it had a Vauxhall badge and looked Astra-sized (well actually it looked Royale-sized, but that's the way of Vauxhalls these days). It was a rather odd-looking thing, with little LED rear lights and quite narrow headlights - had the typical high back and A30-esque rear window of most modern hatchbacks.

[Pete-M]

^^^^ Is exactly why I like MX5s.

[Lacquer Peel]

Here's a question, I know of a local 1985 Suzuki Alto FX with only 22000 miles and what i can remember clean bodywork that's going to be scrapped because the head gasket has gone.

 

The owner doesn't want to spend the money repairing it as it also needs a new rad and battery and quoted £650 to get it back on the road, unless the heads warpped i suspect it can be fixed for a lot cheaper.

 

The question is, is it worth bothering with? they can't worth much even as runners, it's not a car that excites me in anyway and i'm no mechanic although i'm happy to get my hands dirty also what are they like for finding parts?

 

I guess it also depends on how much he'll except for it too!

 

I'd say piss easy. Rascal engine part etc maybe?

 

It's a 3 pot engine, you might be able to get Rascal parts to fit if you chop 1/4 off them.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HEAD-GASKET-S ... 0708612917 Here's a head gasket for £9.62

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SUZUKI-Alto-R ... 0837735367 £52 radiator

[Guest]

Is there a new Astra out? It is an indication of the level of my disinterest in new cars that I have no idea, but I saw a car this morning which looked like it could be a new Astra - it had a Vauxhall badge and looked Astra-sized (well actually it looked Royale-sized, but that's the way of Vauxhalls these days). It was a rather odd-looking thing, with little LED rear lights and quite narrow headlights - had the typical high back and A30-esque rear window of most modern hatchbacks.

 

Could be the new Adam or Charlie or whatever the fuck that new Opel's going to be called when it comes here. The Sunday Times Motoring section didn't like it. They couldn't understand why it existed because the majority of their readership buys 'pre-owned' VWs off the dealer forecourt.

[trigger]

Cheers LP, there cheap enough, I've agreed to buy it now, it's only £130 and still has mot until May, i can't really go wrong from that kind of money.

[trigger]

Cheers LP, there cheap enough, I've agreed to buy it now, it's only £130 and still has mot until May, i can't really go wrong from that kind of money.

[wuvvum]

Trig, is it the older shape - the one that looks a bit like a Metro from the back? I quite like those little things

[trigger]

Sorry about the double post, having phone issues, yes that's the one Dave!

[Ben_L]

Sorry about the double post, having phone issues, yes that's the one Dave!

 

If ever you come to sell, remember me.

 

Cos' it sounds epic.

[FredTransit]

Cheers LP, there cheap enough, I've agreed to buy it now, it's only £130 and still has mot until May, i can't really go wrong

from that kind of money.

 

20 quid of K seal worth a try??

[cobblers]

I'm using this -4 day as an opportunity to put some antifreeze in my van before it's really fucking cold outside and I have to get wet and cold outside on a freezing cold day like a twat

[cobblers]

I'm using this -4 day as an opportunity to put some antifreeze in my van before it's really fucking cold outside and I have to get wet and cold outside on a freezing cold day like a twat

 

Well thank god the radiator bleed port snapped off and took the corner of the radiator with it, now I don't have to bother refilling it with coolant or driving anything until I can afford a new radiator, great news!

[skattrd]

My Scirocco has been moved, from outside the garage to inside, and it did it under its own power. I'll be starting a bit of re-comssioning work at the weekend. Fingers crossed I'll have it back on the road for the new year.

Hopefully driving that again will cure my current itch for another motor.

[wuvvum]

Had a rather bizarre voicemail from my insurance broker today - they have a Rover 75 listed under my policy, and they were calling to verify the reg. as they weren't sure about what was on their system. When I got home I checked the reg. they had given me and it doesn't match up to anything on the DVLA records. It also doesn't match, or even closely resemble, the reg. of any car I can recall owning, and it certainly bears no resemblance to that of the only Rover 75 I've ever owned, the one I sold to Skizzer - it's not even the same year. I'm going to have to ring them up in the morning and find out what's going on...