The new news 24 thread

[JohnK]

 

Offered to do some work for me foc to make up for being a prat, but not sure I trust him, even at 'free'. Would you?

Definitely not.

[barefoot]

I ran over the fucker that sprayed the car this morning ...

 

 

ftfy

[Eddie Honda]

but not sure I trust him, even at 'free'. Would you?

Depends how his eyes were looking at the time.

[xtriple]

Depends how his eyes were looking at the time.

It wasn't until an hour later I realised something... He's back working full time at the Car Hospital as a sprayer. I saw him at 9:15 (ish). What part of the motor trade starts work at 9:30? Err, office staff and sales maybe, everyone else starts at 8 - 8:30. No idea whether to trust him again or not to be honest he does good (possibly 'great') work when he's on the ball, but by heck, did he fuck up Kyles car and the Bentley! Kyles car they even managed to spray it gloss black when it's Mica (got flecks and sparkles in it) black...

 

Anyway, the dollop has gone to Car Cosmetics for a couple of weeks rest and recuperation. While she's there, he will correct the balls ups that Mike did, fix the wing (bin/gale/dent!) the front bumper (biffed while parked outside, other bastard drove off rapidly!) the bonnet, tops of the doors (electrolytic corrosion).....

 

I am, strangely, really nervous!

 

I know I seem to knock the trade (which I do I suppose!) but having been involved with it for decades, I know a lot of what goes on and some of the monkeys that work in it. Trying to get recommendations for GOOD places is impossible:you ask one person and get an answer, someone else will knock that recommendation massively and say someone else is good, and so on... No one agrees and everyone has bad experiences with everybody! You can only go by how you find people yourself.

 

The other problem is: very few people want to work on the dollop!

 

Oh hum, it's all fun and games ain't it?

[Supernaut]

I fitted some Schwalbe Lugano tyres to my bicycle earlier.

 

Sounds a bit too much like Laguna for my liking... a bad omen?

Bicycle did not FTP on my way to work this morning in a cloud of HGF.

 

It instead sprouted a dashboard for the sole purpose of displaying a silly amount of warning lights.*

 

 

*not really

[Pillock]

I visited one of our suppliers yesterday who are right next door to a famous old racetrack.

 

So I followed AS tradition and took a photo of a piece of motoring history.

 

[nick]

I ran into the lad that sprayed the car this morning (typical on the day it's going to a different body shop!) and he actually apologised for the way he worked on my car!

 

Now split up with the girlfriend who was giving him grief, stopped smoking so much weed and back at home with his parents.

 

Offered to do some work for me foc to make up for being a prat, but not sure I trust him, even at 'free'. Would you?

 

I am half into that situation as a bloke did a bad job of my car. I have not bumped into him yet and been offered free work but not sure I would trust him to sort it. Sometimes you just have to write-off things like that as experience!

[SiC]

I fitted some Schwalbe Lugano tyres to my bicycle earlier.

 

Sounds a bit too much like Laguna for my liking... a bad omen?

I swear by Gatorskins on my commuting road bike. Only suffered one FTP with them on, when a glass shard got into the tyre and the razor sharp got between the kevlar reinforcement strands. It managed to create a tiny pinhole in the inner tube and lost all air pressure after a couple hundred meters.

 

Of course it happened at the best possible time - when it just started throwing it down with thunder + lightening and I was on the cycle path where there wasn't a main road for a good half mile. So no option of fiancée bicycle recovery services...

Bike pump then subsequently failed (made a mental note ... NEVER BUY CHEAP PUMPS!). So the gas charge canister was very much a buttock clenching moment when I discharged the one-shot-deal into my spare tube.

 

Changing that inner tube that day certainly was "fun".

 

Apart from that, I've cycled over broken slate, glass, metal, all sorts and they just shrug it off.

[cros]

Bentley have previewed their future luxury saloon cabin which will have apparently have a 'Holographic Butler' to cater for the needs of passengers. This is the work of Bentley's 50-strong design team and their leader Stefan Shitforbrains.

[richardmorris]

I swear by Gatorskins on my commuting road bike. Only suffered one FTP with them on, when a glass shard got into the tyre and the razor sharp got between the kevlar reinforcement strands. It managed to create a tiny pinhole in the inner tube and lost all air pressure after a couple hundred meters.Of course it happened at the best possible time - when it just started throwing it down with thunder + lightening and I was on the cycle path where there wasn't a main road for a good half mile. So no option of fiancée bicycle recovery services...Bike pump then subsequently failed (made a mental note ... NEVER BUY CHEAP PUMPS!). So the gas charge canister was very much a buttock clenching moment when I discharged the one-shot-deal into my spare tube.Changing that inner tube that day certainly was "fun".Apart from that, I've cycled over broken slate, glass, metal, all sorts and they just shrug it off.

 

I've got schwalbe marathons with slime inner tubes. Not light by any means. But not had a puncture over three thousand miles.

[Christine]

I ran into the lad that sprayed the car this morning (typical on the day it's going to a different body shop!) and he actually apologised for the way he worked on my car!

 

Now split up with the girlfriend who was giving him grief, stopped smoking so much weed and back at home with his parents.

 

Offered to do some work for me foc to make up for being a prat, but not sure I trust him, even at 'free'. Would you?

I'd like 2 litres of 1982 Ford Jasmine yellow cellulose please  ... And there's an A35 on here that needs a blow over....   

 

I thought you were really happy with their work at the time? What was the problem? Or was that the first Bentley?

[cort1977]

I've got schwalbe marathons with slime inner tubes. Not light by any means. But not had a puncture over three thousand miles.

Apologies for going off the News topic but agree totally with this, after a plague of punctures with cheap tyres a set of marathons solved the issue.   Cost 80% of what I paid for the bike but well worth it.

[Richard]

I find Continental tyres to be astonishingly prone to punctures, especially the puncture proof ones.

[richardmorris]

I find Continental tyres to be astonishingly prone to punctures, especially the puncture proof ones.

Me too! The bontrager hardcases ( sounds like a boxer!) that came with my trek were good too, but switched to the schwalbes when they wore out.

 

In other news, took the 2cv to the shops this morning- first outing it's had since about October. Only a few miles each way down the a30 to Sunningdale but it seems happy after the winter slumber. I was going to put petrol in it, but it see,s to have jumped up 3p/l since last week!

 

Like Mr DW's dolly it's going to need a bit of welding this year ( toe board and a bit of sill and floor) but in the meantime it's coming up to its twenty year anniversary since my sister had it ( April '96). It was bought from a guy I was in school with, who bought it from his mum who had bought it at three years old from the first owner. My friend's father also ran CXs so it's a proper Citroen household pedigree!

 

In some respects it's like Trigger's broom, but most of the body, mechanicals and all the interior is original.

[Supernaut]

No more about bikes after this, I promise.

 

But anyway, these tyres I got were £16 a pop in Hellfrauds. I only really needed one inner tube after getting a flat rear after owning the bike for a year. I thought I'd treat it to a pair of inner tubes (£2.50 each in there at the moment) and some new tyres as the Michelins that were on there looked a bit old and were cracking on the sidewalls.

 

I think these Schwalbes are definitely heavier though! Ah well.

[dollywobbler]

I'm struggling to know where to go with my 2CV. I'm spending a lot of time considering options. Do I go for something approaching its original look? Or do I go all-out with the hippy paint scheme I've been dreaming of for about 20 years? She's a very, very long way from original, and has been 'wrong' on many details since at least 2002. I've got different bumpers, different hood and lots of detail 'wrongness'. Is this the time to realise the dream? 

[trigger]

As I'm planning on selling the Toledo soon the logical thing to do would be spend a load of money servicing the car and getting it moted, I still need to book the mot in but I changed the oil and filters this afternoon, to be fair it's a simple enough job and I'd already bought the oil so it was daft not too.

 

 

This also gave me a good chance to get the Cortina and Dolomite parked next to each other for the first time. Not a bad pairing I think.

 

 

[richardmorris]

It's your car. Go with your heart. Don't worry about resale values- to be honest there aren't a shortage of mid 1980s 2cvs either so rarity value for an original red n white dolly isn't going to be at a premium.

 

There aren't enough hippy dippy paint schemes on 2cvs any more in my opinion- now they're worth money people paint them original colours. Mine is currently several shades of sky blue, and likely to remain that way for another decade or so. You could even get Matt damper to do you a psychedelic roof!

 

One I liked best ( a few years ago at a London to Brighton) had every panel a different colour and the seats and door cards upholstered to match- the owner was a painter and his son an upholsterer.

[dollywobbler]

That's what I reckon. Not that resale value bothers me - she's simply not for sale. I worry about what the classic world would make of it, but perhaps I just need to focus on making the car that's right for ME. I may need to see if I know any good artists. Stands a fair chance living where I do, surrounded by Welshmen and hippies!

[meshking]

I visited one of our suppliers yesterday who are right next door to a famous old racetrack.

 

So I followed AS tradition and took a photo of a piece of motoring history.

 

 

That's where I go for a run at lunchtime... That area stinks of dogshit that inconsiderate owners fail to take home with them.

[richardmorris]

Welsh dragon motif? Green sills and wheels, red dragon on doors and bonnet and a white roof!

With a grant from the Welsh development agency to pay for it!

[richardmorris]

That's where I go for a run at lunchtime... That area stinks of dogshit that inconsiderate owners fail to take home with them.

Yes, that's Surrey for you. I went for a walk round puttenham on Sunday ( near Roger Taylor's place) and the amount of dog shit around has put me off going back- some on the footpaths, most in little bags hanging from branches. Seems to be a doggy ( if not dogging) hot spot.

[meshking]

That's what I reckon. Not that resale value bothers me - she's simply not for sale. I worry about what the classic world would make of it, but perhaps I just need to focus on making the car that's right for ME. I may need to see if I know any good artists. Stands a fair chance living where I do, surrounded by Welshmen and hippies!

IMHO there's a fine line between a home brew hippy paint scheme looking shit or great. I say go for it.. there doesn't appear to be a shortage of red and white dollies. Careful research and planning would be the order of the day.

[meshking]

Yes, that's Surrey for you. I went for a walk round puttenham on Sunday ( near Roger Taylor's place) and the amount of dog shit around has put me off going back- some on the footpaths, most in little bags hanging from branches. Seems to be a doggy ( if not dogging) hot spot.

Yes, the council even mocked a tree up with those small bags and (I think) stones to persuade dog owners that there are no magical dog poo bag fairies to clear up after them.

 

Not sure what effect it had, haven't noticed much of a reduction.

[Jazoli]

Focus daily passed its mot with a clean sheet today, I thought it would but you never know, I can spent my slush fund now!

[xtriple]

Christine,it was the first one I was really happy with. The second and third jobs were a bit worse. The Bentley now has new paint flaking off where they didn't prep it properly and a few other things...

[nigel bickle]

I gave a local experienced yet enthusiastic mechanic a job I thought was simple, to replace the knackered starter and gearbox on the ex Bollox Fiorino pickup.

 

He did indeed fit the replacement gearbox, but has cut and rewelded the gear linkage ( I have no idea why) so now I can only select 3&4! How can you do that, with just 3 rods?

 

Then he refitted the OLD starter motor, binning the shiny new one, blew the fusible link and melted half the fusebox trying to get it to work. No dash lights, won't turn over and a definite smell of burnt plastic.

 

He failed to tell me any of this until after I had settled his invoice, when he casually mentioned that it seemed dead, wouldn't turn over and the ' code' light was the only one showing on the dash. Must be the key , innit?

 

His answer to all this, knowing I'm in Belgium?

Having bolloxed a running car, he's given up, towed it back, pushed it onto the drive and given the key to my wife,

 

My son has swopped out the starter for a spare Uno one, ( too small, but it will do for now) fitted a new fusible link, and several fuses, and it starts & moves. By manually operating the levers, he can get 1&2 so there's clearly nowt wrong with the box, but I'm told the linkage is a real mess.

 

Professionals, eh?

[barrett]

Go and get your flippin money back, man!

 

Anyway, I just accidentally bought a side valve Reliant Regal at auction

[Supernaut]

I gave a local experienced yet enthusiastic mechanic a job I thought was simple, to replace the knackered starter and gearbox on the ex Bollox Fiorino pickup.

 

He did indeed fit the replacement gearbox, but has cut and rewelded the gear linkage ( I have no idea why) so now I can only select 3&4! How can you do that, with just 3 rods?

 

Then he refitted the OLD starter motor, binning the shiny new one, blew the fusible link and melted half the fusebox trying to get it to work. No dash lights, won't turn over and a definite smell of burnt plastic.

 

He failed to tell me any of this until after I had settled his invoice, when he casually mentioned that it seemed dead, wouldn't turn over and the ' code' light was the only one showing on the dash. Must be the key , innit?

 

His answer to all this, knowing I'm in Belgium?

Having bolloxed a running car, he's given up, towed it back, pushed it onto the drive and given the key to my wife,

 

My son has swopped out the starter for a spare Uno one, ( too small, but it will do for now) fitted a new fusible link, and several fuses, and it starts & moves. By manually operating the levers, he can get 1&2 so there's clearly nowt wrong with the box, but I'm told the linkage is a real mess.

 

Professionals, eh?

Put a brick through his window. And his face.

 

Seriously, what the fucking fuck is wrong with 'professionals' these days?!

 

Had some so-called 'professionals' doing the alarm system on a new building at work. We looked into one of the control boxes and they had wrapped circuit boards that were live with mains voltage in small sandwich bags. The sandwich bags were the only things keeping the actual outer skin of the box from becoming live with 240v! Then the wiring itself... oh god.

[dave21478]

i found a bag of pills on the floor in the supermarket so i ate them then i drew on my car with a marker pen and now i can see through space and time