The new news 24 thread

[captain_70s]

Just nabbed this in HellFrauds for €60, should be very handy for tinkering with the Fiesta with its almost endless rust issues.

I've got that set, it's alright.

 

Main complaint is the jack is nearly too high to fit under the Doloshite's subframe and doesn't lift it as high as I'd like, but at that sort of price you can't complain.

[beko1987]

This! Your never far away from £1/l veg!

 

I keep meaning to keep 5l in the boot, brim the tank with derv and see what it actually does, my fuel needle is hopeless, the light will be on and ill only get 35l in. But running out on the m40, or worse the twisty back road home that had fuck all places to pull over sounds like a faff...

[Richard]

Flat battery on the Volvo again, something must have been draining it.

 

 

I'm glad I invested in a decent set of jump leads.

[M'coli]

My Fiat 126 jump-started my boss's 3.5 SD1 back in 1992...

[captain_70s]

So I started drawing a thing and posted a WIP up here, apparently this was now over a month ago and I'm a lazy, slow bastard.

 

However, great news! I finished it and a second picture to go with the set! I also totally half arsed the backgrounds because I can't be fucked doing decent ones.

 

 

 

[Bren]

I noticed the oil separator and pipe work on our focus were covered in thick sludge.

 

Removing the separator was a PITA - lots of pipes held on with spring clips and not much room to remove them.

 

I cleaned it inside and out - to be fair there wasn't much gunge inside.

 

Pipework from the intercooler had only traces of oil, so it appears to be in good fetle for 124k.

[Alan_Green]

Woke my '82 Mazda 626 up from winter hybernation. Thought it might have a few issues, but no. Started first time and ran smoothly.  One tyre needed air but that's it.  20 mile run and all good, which is fortunate as it's going to be in regular use (as >2 seats).    

[xtriple]

My car has got Auto lights. I've only had it since October and never noticed before.

[Lankytim]

XM generally performed ok, though the indicator relay started randomly clicking briskly on occasion. BECAUSE FRENCH.

They all do that, it's a build up of metal dust on the indicator stalk contacts. Needs cleaning but a good workout for a minute or so can help.

[Urko]

I've spent the morning at the MAGICAL KINGDOM of Silverlake car spares near Southampton.  I didn't know such places existed down south - surely this land could be better used for exclusive executive apartments?  

 

Off topic, but there's a brilliant bit in Uncle Mort's South Country where he says (imagine Yorkshire accent) "bloody Southerners, they don't even know how to despoil t'countryside properly"

[Urko]

So I started drawing a thing and posted a WIP up here, apparently this was now over a month ago and I'm a lazy, slow bastard.

 

However, great news! I finished it and a second picture to go with the set! I also totally half arsed the backgrounds because I can't be fucked doing decent ones.

 

 

 

Is that Noel Tidybeard driving?

[Urko]

Went for a some go Karting with a load of folk I don't know. There were three very small young lads on the track too.  They had a massive weight advantage of course, but couldn't drive for toffee - one of them just went sliding around the whole thing with his foot planted on the slammer ramming anyone who got in his way.

 

By a mixture of low cunning and (a little) experience, I came third, beating one of the young lads who seemed to damage his kart in one of his numerous crashes

[doobietoo]

I seem to have accidently agreed to buy another car......

I know I said I wasn't even looking and I already have 5 and I love the PT and I have no space but its .....well most here understand.....

 

Trains and wing next Saturday all being well.....

[Ghosty]

 

Yeah, this is going to look good.

[Angrydicky]

So I started drawing a thing and posted a WIP up here, apparently this was now over a month ago and I'm a lazy, slow bastard.

 

However, great news! I finished it and a second picture to go with the set! I also totally half arsed the backgrounds because I can't be fucked doing decent ones.

Great stuff! Who's the girl?

[mercrocker]

Tramper Van out of hibernation ready for Summer (you never know which day it will actually fall on so pays to be prepared).   Usual day spent scouring mould off every piece of plastic above waist height (sounds like an afternoon in an Essex tanning salon) and restoring current flow to various bulbs that should have lit up in harmony with their switches but other than that quite a lazy Sunday afternoon.  

 

Then I found the list of all the shit I didn't do to it over the winter.  Including sorting out the screen leak.   Now its pissing down.   

[dollywobbler]

They all do that, it's a build up of metal dust on the indicator stalk contacts. Needs cleaning but a good workout for a minute or so can help.

 

Thanks. Maybe I'll try the bodge trick first! Back home now. Not an entirely problem free run (as discussed in my blog here http://wp.me/p1jtbd-K2 ) but my grumbling could just be because of sheer exhaustion. About six hours of driving Wednesday, same again Friday, same again today. I'd say the Welsh miles were the most tiring. Just bend after bend. With notchy steering. Wonderful roads when you're in the mood, not so much when you're really tired and the steering assistance isn't behaving. It has all reminded me that the absolute best place for an XM is the motorway. There, they absolutely excel. 

 

I keep thinking it must be time for a change, as the list of things I don't like about the XM continues to grow. Yet, logic refuses to play any part of my decision making, and I still seem to absolutely love it at the same time. Odd.

[hairnet]

IMG_20160409_163855838_HDR.jpg

 

So another car taxed and back on the road!

RIMZ HORN rimz want.

[stuboy]

After 3 times going to friends house to do stuff to friends cars, like yesterday for example... we decided to do it today as weather forcasted good... so back to friends house in sittingbourneand strip down rear legs and put matching -40mm springs that are already in the fronts... did these 2 years ago..

[Stanky]

I've spent the morning at the MAGICAL KINGDOM of Silverlake car spares near Southampton.  I didn't know such places existed down south - surely this land could be better used for exclusive executive apartments?  Anyway, you may remember I was moaning about having to potentially waste a couple of hours extracting an exhaust manifold from a breaker (and if not, why not?  I'm very important and it's imperative you keep up with my movements), but look!  Some kind soul had already pulled the front off a Picasso for me!

 

They have a flat pricing scheme, so all manifolds are £20.  Most of the yard is post-2000 chod like that above, but there's some '90s Jap stuff too.  It's all very professional and if it had a themed onsite hotel, it could rival Disneyland for entertainment value.  

 

 

Its been a while since I've been up that way but they are a decent outfit in an oldskool kind of way - do they still have the cars stacked 2-high or it it all ground level now? They used to have sort of c-shaped 'shelves' so they could stack them 2-high but it was a right ball-ache getting at the engines of cars on 'first floor' level without the yard minions getting the car down with a forklift.

 

Various people say they charge top dollar for parts but following the demise of Howards on Hayling Island, there isn't really any local competition so I can't blame them. They've almost alway got what I want available too, plus various things I didn't even know I needed so really can't knock them. They even have a system for where stuff gets put so its not a case of wandering around for hours to find what you are looking for.

[cort1977]

New radiator top hose has restored Pontiac temperature gauge to normality.  

 

Still has a loud ticking noise from the engine at speed, I'm guessing leak at the exhaust manifold.   Possible other causes in a pushrod V8?

[captain_70s]

Great stuff! Who's the girl?

Fictional I'm afraid!

 

Fun story actually. I designed two characters based on the quirks and "personality" of my cars that I intended to use in a web comic. The basic premise was that they were two neighbours who owned the same (highly unusual 35 year old) model of car but were otherwise polar opposites. Daisy is a reserved, stick-in-the-mud who is a bit uptight and temperamental. Trevor is a rowdy, care free idiot who bounces through life on ignorance and luck. Naturally it would have featured shit tons of crap old cars, because that's how I roll. The opening shot contained a sky blue Volvo 245...

 

This was way back when I first got the 1850HL. Problem being I'm too much of a procrastinator and perfectionist so actually committing to drawing a comic strip was impossible. I either couldn't be arsed doing it or wasn't happy with the results.

 

 

I do however quite like the character designs, so I keep using them.

[vulgalour]

Comics have the work:return ratio all fucked up.  It takes a disproportionate amount of effort to create any comic people will give more than a passing glance at.  If you don't enjoy the process then don't do it because they really aren't worth it usually.

 

That Trev, he reminds me of someone.  Just can't quite put my finger on it...

[LC Torana]

Comics have the work:return ratio all fucked up.  It takes a disproportionate amount of effort to create any comic people will give more than a passing glance at.  If you don't enjoy the process then don't do it because they really aren't worth it usually.

 

That Trev, he reminds me of someone.  Just can't quite put my finger on it...

 

Kenny, perhaps?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc9IpZ_f1lc

[xtriple]

Went and got a new battery for the dollop. Standard 069 was £65 and I was offered a higher amp one that was the same physical sized for £86. Whinged and whined (I'm good at that!) and they did it for £70. All in and fitted for that. So more power... got to be good!

 

Strangely, the voltmeter is now behaving very differently: before, after starting it would sit at 14.5 - 15 volts for ages (15 minutes?)  before settling down to a normal level. The new one, just sits in the middle of the gauge like it's supposed to right from the off. Maybe the old battery was faulty all the time?

 

Took it to John the painter who worked his magic on the run in the rear wing (you could only see it if you were looking upwards, which I was after one of my frequent falling over session!) took him about ten minutes and most of that was getting the stuff needed together. The quality of the paint is really rather splendid; smooth, shiny and a perfect colour match. The car looks as straight as a die. Very pleased with his efforts. Feel a bit guilty for suspecting him of messing with the speedo, but, I have had so many 'chancers' and such try it on with this car, I trust no one anymore!

 

Oh, and after I fixed the speedo, it still works and seems to be accurate, so I am pleased with myself there. Who would have thought I could get something right!

[Lacquer Peel]

 

GET IN THE SEA.

 

I think that's where the offside of the van has been, it's a lot rustier than the nearside.

The bolt was covered in copper grease but it still snapped, the thread was dry and rusty. It took destroying the wishbone with a grinder (I hate using grinders) and prying the remains out to find this.

Luckily it left enough of a stub to undo with my indispensable Irwin vise grips, I'm sure a cheap set of mole grips would have struggled.

I was thinking about getting spare bolts before I tackled the job but opted not to because the nearside wishbone bolts were ok to reuse, mercifully the local VW dealer stocks them.

[egg]

Wishing this was my parking hanger! (Chatham dockyard)

[vulgalour]

Speaking of getting in the sea, I'm tempted to push the Rover to Hartlepool.  Forked out for the EKA code which *should* disable the immobiliser and allow me to drive the thing.  No such fucking luck.  Put the code in (four times now, in fact) and as soon as the key goes in the ignition the immobiliser comes on and won't let me do anything.  Spoke to the local Rover specialist and they want me to take the car to them to get a new fob and have that programmed to the car, that's going to set me back £20 to transport it, at least £30 to reprogramme, however much they want to charge for a new fob, plus VAT and the rest.  I expect that'll be £100 or so.

 

I could cut through the immobiliser wires but that feels like a shitty way to solve the problem on a car that I've been bothered to do things right on and is otherwise perfectly okay.  At least it chose to fuck up at home, got to look for the positives.  At this rate I'll have the Renault on the road before I get the Rover sorted.

[Inspector Morose]

Cut wires, drive to specialist then reconnect wires when new key coded and proven to work properly.

 

Job jobbed!

[twosmoke300]

Is it as simple as cutting wires ? Most factory immobilisers are pretty integral to the wiring / ecu