The new news 24 thread

[Tayne]

The Insight hasn't got a starter motor! It uses the electric motor to start the car - instant restarts and no churning! Smug grin on face (wait for it to go wrong.... then see the grin upside down!).

It's ok, Ferdinand Porsche was doing that with his hybrids back in 1905 and Mclaren do it with the P1.

[Cavcraft]

If you're going to get a shit car make sure it's shouter than normal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cat D (or one of those things) in 2013. Special 'hats off' to the pissed up, school-for-the-blind, rattle can wielding expert* who sprayed the bonnet. Presumably with a can of Mr Sheen he's blown Crayola water colours into, using a straw contaminated with WD40.

Oh, besides the bonnet and crap and battered bumper, it doesn't have power steering anymore. Several dreams are being lived here.

[Tayne]

If anyone can polish a Vauxhall*, you can.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Turd.

[cobblers]

Well I went to look at a 106 rallye much earlier today and it wasn't any good. Then at 7pm I saw a 106 GTI on ebay and it turned out to be about 3 miles away, so by half past 7 I'd bought it.

 

 

No tax or MOT again, but this one was MOTd a year ago and sat in a garage for all that time completely unused. It's not that rusty but the paint is a bit shit. It's hardly been buggered about with either.

 

edit: oh and its faster and under half the price of the other one.

[Cavcraft]

There's an absolute belter of a 205 Rallye for sale on a local Facebook page. Proper, stripped down and full respray with new graphics job, lovely looking car.

 

Except it's not a Rallye, it's a 1.1

[phil_lihp]

I wouldn't be surprised if clean, original sporty 106s start to climb in value soon, they must have more or less hit rock bottom now and they're as close as you'd probably get to a late 90's 205 GTi

[steve_earwig]

Not sure where to put this, I was thinking "girls and cars" but then it's not a car, and "One Shite Picture" won't do as I want to add text and das ist verboten...

 

Loads of tractors here, chugging hither and yon at 24.5km/h with their left inductor going (so you're not sure if it's safe to overtake them), belching clouds of smoke and, in wetter months, generously distributing mud all over the road. Drivers are usually an old boy with a grim "I don't give a toss how many cars are stuck behind me, I am not pulling over to let them pass, nor am I going to turn the indicator off" look on his face. Sometimes it's younger bloke and occasionally some grim-faced old biddy.

 

So anyway, I was coming back from my mate's yesterday and found myself behind...

 

 

Yep, a rather pleasant-looking young lady, maybe about 25. And she charged out onto the old highway like she'd been doing it every day for years, complete with the clouds of back smoke. I'm, er, ooh!

 

In other news, my mate's Moto Guzzi LeMans IV I helped him wire up is now running after being in thousands of bits for 2 years, best of all it seems to be charging which is something I was worrying about as it's a dynamo and he wanted to use LEDs for the dash (I know, he knows, but you should see the price of tiny lightbulbs with holders).

 

And somebody's selling a Mini Cooper Mk3 here, which apparently is all stripped out and used as a racer. 3,000€. And it's a right-hooker I feel like I should go and have a look but I'm not really one for the Minis.

[Pillock]

 

 

I'm sure I'm not the only shiter who used to dream of having a car that didn't cut out every time you stop.

I mustard mitt the first few times the engine cut out, I panicked. It was a flashback to driving a Beetle that wouldn't idle through Sheffield city centre every morning, my feet dancing on the pedals made a rally driver look like a crippled sloth.

[phil_lihp]

That Astra, on the other hand, is horrible.  Well done sir, you constantly appear to hit the bottom of the used car barrel and then manage to pull something even more grim from the depths each time.  Hard to believe something that new could already be that much of a mess.  

[richardmorris]

A 2CV friend has just compiled his video log of the recent French National.

 

http://youtu.be/4JEUEipU-1U

[cobblers]

There's an absolute belter of a 205 Rallye for sale on a local Facebook page. Proper, stripped down and full respray with new graphics job, lovely looking car.

 

Except it's not a Rallye, it's a 1.1

How much? I've got some engines in my nans shed that would make that into a nice car.

[Cavcraft]

A grand I think, fair play it looked really well.

[cort16]

Living the dream with that Astra Billy, hopefully the damage was no more than a shetland pony or something landing on the bonnet given the quality of that bonnet repair.

I presume the EML light is on?

[320touring]

320 now has new springs all round, new front dampers and brakes rebuilt and bled

 

Now a bit more pleasant place to be tootling along the m8

[beko1987]

Living the dream with that Astra Billy, hopefully the damage was no more than a shetland pony or something landing on the bonnet given the quality of that bonnet repair.

I presume the EML light is on?

Its a Vauxhall, you worry if its not!

 

A nice wet sand and polish will see that bonnet looking good again. Has the power steering been removed or is it an electrical issue?

[Richard]

How much? I've got some engines in my nans shed that would make that into a nice car.

 

I've a feeling you have to change the subframe to fit bigger engines to a 205.

[Sloth in a bowl]

Stupid question: Do stop/start equipped modern vehicles have anything special to do the stop/start or is it just a regular starter motor?

I've been bumbling around town in my 2008 today and it's OK but I can't help thinking that if it was mine'd be nervous about the starter giving up the ghost with all the effort. Even more of a concern when we're picking up these for £500 from eBay in 2035 after the starter has done millions of cycles.

 

Also, is it a genuine eco planet-saving move or a gimmick? What's the sort of values of emissions and money saved by turning the engine off for 5 seconds at a time? The Pug actually tots up per journey how much it's been off, today's journey of 20 miles in town was 1 minute 46 seconds of engine off instead of idling. What's fuel comsumption per minute of idle? 

 

I recon the stop start on my skoda saves about £10-15 of petrol per year (on about 16,000 miles per year), it gets turned off most of the time unless i'm approaching a set of lights that I know hold on red for ages.

[Cavcraft]

Living the dream with that Astra Billy, hopefully the damage was no more than a shetland pony or something landing on the bonnet given the quality of that bonnet repair.

I presume the EML light is on?

 

 

No, but the airbag light is on!

 

Beko: I think this has 'proper' power steering, not that awful electric one as per the Corsa C. It could actually be a dodgy fuse or relay, something no Vauxhall has ever experienced before, ever. Said nobody.

[wuvvum]

I've been enjoying some top-down motoring in the Golf over the weekend.  This is actually the first time I've owned a convertible that it looks like I'm going to get some decent use out of - although to be fair I haven't owned many convertibles, and the last one I had (the Saab) I bought in December.  I think I drove the MX5 a total of twice with the top down during the time I had it.  It's still embarrassingly noisy, but other than that it's behaving itself as well as can be expected - it doesn't seem too bad on petrol either.  I've also managed to persuade the driver's door window to go up and down - albeit with some help.  For what I paid for it, I really can't complain.

[stuboy]

noticed how big the new astras are compared to my 'family car'!!

wheels look nice though..

[Junkman]

The RoD is History

 

 

Fear not, it is still alive and well, and so are Mr. Conelrad and I.

 

 

Let me explain.

 

 

After months of tinkering, the configuration is now as follows:

 

- The newfangled tosh in form of an electronic ignition upgrade was removed, and replaced with the original points and condenser setup. The ignition was adjusted to bang on factory spec 6 degrees BTDC and 27 degree dwell angle.

 

- The two carburetters were overhauled, including new floats, new needle and seat valves, new jets, and, after extensive testing, the default for the year and type of car needles, coded BBV, were installed. The floats and jets were adjusted to the default factory 'date' settings specified in the book.

Note: Two different needles were removed from the carbs, i.e. there were not the same needles installed left and right, and neither of them was standard.

 

- The gearbox kickdown cable was adjusted to the factory settings.

 

So, everything is set to default factory settings, and the car runs sweet, sounds sweet, and performs sweetly. It's as smooth as it could possibly be.

 

 

Today, the car was taken on a 320 mile round trip to the Euro Championship for BriSCA F1 Stockcars near Northampton.

On the way down, the speed limit was pretty constantly exceeded. On the way back, the M1 was congested around Northampton, so the A45 was taken towards Oxford. On this road, another P6 V8 closed up to us, and we drove tandem almost all the way to the turn off onto the A423 towards Coventry. There, we continued towards Brum on the A45, where we joined the M42 and then the M6.

 

What I am trying to say is, that on the entire trip, no consideration whatsoever was given to mileage. The car was simply driven, and it was driven rather on the hard side.

 

The result is, that even under these circumstances, it returned in excess of 25 OMGMPG. This is a sensational improvement on the 18 MPG it managed hitherto, and a very respectable value for a P6 V8 auto.

 

Conclusions:

 

- I shit on newfangled tosh.

- All those self-declared experts, who in reality haven't got a clue of what they are doing, can't possibly improve on sound British engineering done by people like Spen King and Gordon Bashford. It is imperative to remove all traces of their bodgework.

- The RoD isn't really possessed by an evil spirit, it was pissed off by what all those twats that owned the car before me had done to it. It took a while for it to realise, that I am honestly trying to undo all that stupid nonsense, and recognise it, and love it, for what it really is - a mighty fine Rover P6 V8, with nothing reduced, and nothing added. You can't improve on excellence, so get over it and stick it up! If you don't like the car, don't mess about with it, just buy something different, that suits you better.

 

 

ANNOUNCEMENT

 

In recognition of the marvellous performance the car put on today, and the friendliness it displayed for The Environment, which exceeds everything a Toyota Prius can possibly deliver, the hitherto used moniker of "Rover of Doom" is herewith officially buried.

 

Welcome to the Rover Brown Motion (RBM) !

[drum]

I've been having a look at that facebook and in particular the AS group. I'm not very good at FB and most of it is pish, but there was a post by a chap who apparently has dash cam vid of a dodgy mot test drive. Being a nosey bas, I want to see the outcome of it all but can't find it again. How does one search for stuff on there? I've lost the will to scroll through loads of other stuff and this ipad only seems to let me scroll so far. I iz a spong.

[derskine]

You pretty much can't, it's a bit shit.

[Bucketeer]

Earlier today, whilst removing the battery, cat and suchlike from a 406 destined to walk the beige mile, I had a sharp rusty screwdriver/finger interface situation. There was an oddly satisfying popping feeling (like when you burst a grape or tomato) then the inevitable gushing. I could have sworn the blood pumping out everywhere smelled of wine, maybe a little bonus reward for my recent selfless one man crusade to sustain the French wine industry.

Anyway, if my future posts are more 'nnnng grnnndd bwrrrdnng' than actual comprehensible words then you know I've contracted lockjaw from the rust filled puncture wound. I'm all for new experiences though, and I've never tried Tetanus before, so it's all good.

[dollywobbler]

Ace news Junkman! You've almost achieved my record of 26mpg in a Rover P6B auto. Perhaps because the Series 1 V8 is slightly sleeker.

[Junkman]

26 MPG would be easily possible if I'd welly it less.

[forddeliveryboy]

25omg is pretty bloody brilliant for such a car driven briskly with little regard for consumption. Top result, next time you know you can go even more briskly without breaking the credit card and family harmony. The laws of physics never change, good engineering is good engineering. Setting up a car properly is always thoroughly enjoyable. Just watch out for low-quality points and condensors, now that nobody's reputation is at stake.

 

I love it when there is a chance meeting with someone else who has a similar appreciation for making good use of decent engineering, a trip passes ultra-fast. When they appear in the same model of car, it's usually terrifically exciting on a level which recreates the feeling of being a six year old at Christmas.

[brickwall]

This is good JM as it backs up my age old argument that if you put the car in it's element it will outperform 'on paper' specifications.

You can't beat carbs set correctly and I've found odd and unusual needles in them too. Way too often in fact.

[brickwall]

Oops! Forgot.

 

Backed the RR into the garage for some remedial work. A blob of welding here and there and a blast of primer and we're all go.

 

 

[dollywobbler]

26 MPG would be easily possible if I'd welly it less.

 

I was hooning around Welsh mountains when I did it. This is when I discovered just how shite autos are for engine braking...