The new news 24 thread

[r.welfare]

My news for this week was supposed to be the collection of a new modern work daily, a Skoda Kodiaq in beige. But when I turned up at the dealer this morning, it turned out Skoda has built it with the wrong interior. So I’m back at the end of the waiting list for them to build another one.

Out of interest, what does the dealer (or manufacturer) do in such a situation - underwrite your trade in at the age and mileage today, or provide a demo/hire car until the new one arrives?

[dave21478]

I appear to have fixed the air con in the pickup. 

I had previously found one of the rigid pipes, which are 8mm alloy things had a pinhole where it goes through a plastic clip holding it to the inner wing. Dunno if it was corrosion or rubbed through with vibrations or whatever. Anyway, I cut out a short section and fitted a straight compression fitting. I am generally of the belief that plumbing fittings have no place on cars, but what else could I have repaired it with? 

I have one of those hoses with the quick-release fittings for topping up ac systems with the aerosol cans, so ordered a few cans off the internets, including one that supposedly deals with humidity in the system without needing it vacuumed. Does what it claims? fuck knows. I do know that the system is now blowing nice and cold though....just need to wait and see if it lasts or if it will be fucked again by Monday due to some other previously undiscovered leak.

 

It hasnt had any over-heating related conniptions recently, so hopefully the change of radiator and water pump will have sorted that once and for all. 

 

Not much else is happening car-wise. The MGF is slowly shedding weight by developing rusty holes here and there. Its never going to pass another CT with the new rules outlawing its patchwork of previous welded repairs and thick coat of underseal and I can in no way whatsoever be arsed with cleaning it up and doing the needed welding. I will run it for the summer and likely scrap it to avoid dealing with the kind of fud who would buy a rotten MGF, so its getting no maintenance in the meantime. One of the rear calipers is binding slightly....hopefully it wont get worse.

 

I havent the faintest, foggiest idea what to replace it with. I have a little cash set aside, but literally nothing is catching my eye. I dont even know what TYPE of thing to get.....certainly not another convertible, but hatch...estate...4x4? no idea. Nothing appeals at the moment. I flick through LeBonCoin and Ebay most evenings and its all just meh.

[Skizzer]

Out of interest, what does the dealer (or manufacturer) do in such a situation - underwrite your trade in at the age and mileage today, or provide a demo/hire car until the new one arrives?

Neither in my case as I’m not trading in - I was disposing of the BMW separately so I’ll just hang on to it. The extra depreciation on it will roughly net off against the Skoda being 3 months newer when it does eventually turn up, I suppose. If I’d already sold it I’d be royally stuffed and very pissed off.

 

I’m trying to insist that Skoda UK honours a £1k free fuel offer that I should have been eligible for, but I bet they won’t.

[matt27]

As usual, I'm terrible at updating things on here! So, for now, here is my quick summary...

 

We had our ticket booked for the L2B in the Mini but the MOT expired on the 17th. I stripped out the ignition system last summer as I was going to fit my Megajolt kit but I got distracted with fitting a kitchen, decorating other rooms in the house and fixing our daily cars!

 

I got everything running, then this happened:

 

 

Shortly, thankfully, followed by this:

 

 

Then we camped in Crystal Palace:

 

 

Saw these:

 

 

and had this (or similar!) in Brighton (when we eventually got onto Madeira drive, that traffic never improves!)

 

 

[richardmorris]

Saw my first ever ( as far as I remember ). UA on a registration plate today, white van. I’ve just had to look it up to find the country. Any clever dicks know without looking on Wikipedia? Chocky biccy available at the field of dreams for correct answer.

 

In other news, the 2cv is going in for service and mot on Wednesday. I’ve been round it today and barring the odd hole (no officer, that’s an intentional water drain, certainly not rust), all seems ok. Also put the boot box on for the trip up to registers day next week.

 

And tested the twin tone horns on the merc. Having done so, I’m not sure they ever worked properly before in my ownership. It’s very Italian aggressive now!

 

 

It’s also quite warm here this afternoon.

[andy18s]

Been on a mini Bulgarian collection thread of my own the last couple of days

Friend wanted to "treat" his wife to a new motor and found a 306 cabriolet that had made it's way down from Switzerland

Spoke to the (English speaking) seller and it all sounded good,arranged an early meet on Friday

Ran down in her old car,a Celica that's getting past it's prime in looks but goes well enough

Seller was fairly easy to locate once we had sorted a mobile signal,car was viewed and taken for a spirited test drive

Friend declared himself happy,sorted a price and then we headed onto Shumen to sort transit plates,insurance ect

Cue over 6.5 hours of me sitting around in a shitty Celica (thank God for aircon) whilst mate is stuck in a queue to get the thing imported....

In the middle of a good punch up between some Hgv drivers and the Kat rep over queue jumping,various cars scraping sumps and exhausts on concrete piles in the overflow car park and a fecking cracking thunderstorm which killed the power for an hour, I had a brilliant day out...

Breakfast of champions

Awaiting pickup at a fairly nice McDonald's

Spotted at a fuel station

Maybe gone a bit far?

The pug in question,inc of roof box

few bikes in the same yard

Bertone 4x4 awaiting it's reg

Old girl that gots us there and back

The and on BG plates,plans maybe getting made for this

 

Edit

No idea how the pics and comments got split like that,but you can have fun putting one to another.....

[Eddie Honda]

The pug in question,

 

No interior shot? EYEZ DIZZAPPOINTED.

[clayts450]

Yoinks... blind purchase, no photos. WCPGW

 

 

This follows my earlier grumps - seller came through with the info I needed 

 

Collection capers most likely next weekend (but possibly Monday if I cannae wait) - deposit paid, car currently SORN.

 

A total bargain, it should* be a bit of a cracker, notwithstanding some minor damage to one wing (driveable). Even if I only get five months out of it, it's one off the bucket list.

 

Gonna shift the PT Cruiser on now - need to get outside and at least make it look vaguely presentable before fershale/roffle thread

[xtriple]

And it's broken! One day and I busted it. Tried to open the roof this morning and the sod would not unlatch at the front. Gave it a bit of a tug/twist/pull sort of thing and the bloody handle fell off! I was properly impressed I must say. Not MBs fault it seems, bodgers have been at it and it was all a bit mangled/gubbed.

 

I got out the tools and did what any self respecting cripple would do... cried a bit. Then I got all the covers off, opened the roof, took all the linkage and latches off and took the dogs out for a walk while I had a think as to how best to fix it all.

 

Got home, drilled out the old rivets, drilled far enough to put a self tapper in each side, re-assembled the whole lot, screwed it all together and then, having put it all back on the car, realised that with it assembled I couldn't get the handle back on! Aargh!

 

So I bodged. I am not proud, but there was no way I was taking it all apart again 'cos it was a right palaver getting it all in and lined up, so I drilled the handle on a slant so I could waggle the fancy screw in and then straighten up and do the actual screwing bit.

 

You will all be amazed to learn that it now works perfectly, opens and closes and I even got the windows to open automatically when the top is unlatched (don't actually know how, they didn't work before, now they do). I am quite enjoying having something I can faff with. The BGD was too precious to fuck up whereas this, I have no qualms about a tiny bit of bodging

[davehedgehog31]

Yoinks... blind purchase, no photos. WCPGW

 

won.png

 

This follows my earlier grumps - seller came through with the info I needed

 

Collection capers most likely next weekend (but possibly Monday if I cannae wait) - deposit paid, car currently SORN.

 

A total bargain, it should* be a bit of a cracker, notwithstanding some minor damage to one wing (driveable). Even if I only get five months out of it, it's one off the bucket list.

 

Gonna shift the PT Cruiser on now - need to get outside and at least make it look vaguely presentable before fershale/roffle thread

Just found your auction from that limited information! Haha

 

I do agree on the diagnosis of "should be a cracker" though.

[andy18s]

No interior shot? EYEZ DIZZAPPOINTED.

Only pic I can get atm....

[madrat]

Away for the weekend just outside Stratford, next to the river, was looking forward to kayaking today but the rain and the wind have made the current just that bit to fast to paddle against.

[Jim Bell]

Sorted my insurance over to the Prelude yesterday, got a refund of about £60!

I am genuinely excited to receive it tomorrow from Ghosty.

 

If thats not sad enough, I'M genuinely excited about looking at pictures of it on the internet man.

[Jim Bell]

And it's broken! One day and I busted it. Tried to open the roof this morning and the sod would not unlatch at the front. Gave it a bit of a tug/twist/pull sort of thing and the bloody handle fell off! I was properly impressed I must say. Not MBs fault it seems, bodgers have been at it and it was all a bit mangled/gubbed.

 

I got out the tools and did what any self respecting cripple would do... cried a bit. Then I got all the covers off, opened the roof, took all the linkage and latches off and took the dogs out for a walk while I had a think as to how best to fix it all.

 

Got home, drilled out the old rivets, drilled far enough to put a self tapper in each side, re-assembled the whole lot, screwed it all together and then, having put it all back on the car, realised that with it assembled I couldn't get the handle back on! Aargh!

 

So I bodged. I am not proud, but there was no way I was taking it all apart again 'cos it was a right palaver getting it all in and lined up, so I drilled the handle on a slant so I could waggle the fancy screw in and then straighten up and do the actual screwing bit.

 

You will all be amazed to learn that it now works perfectly, opens and closes and I even got the windows to open automatically when the top is unlatched (don't actually know how, they didn't work before, now they do). I am quite enjoying having something I can faff with. The BGD was too precious to fuck up whereas this, I have no qualms about a tiny bit of bodging

 

 

Bad news broke.  Good news bodged.

 

Youre due some good luck man, get the lottery on for tonight!

[Timewaster]

I thought of triple X this afternoon when I walked past an 88 Bentley.

 

Not seen one up close for a while and was struck by how small it looked.

 

I expected it to be enormous but the X5s and Q7s of this world have skewed our perception of a big car.

[clayts450]

Just found your auction from that limited information! Haha

 

I do agree on the diagnosis of "should be a cracker" though.

 

 

Yeah, I'm very happy so far, particularly with this on the rarity front:

 

 

 

Should have some photos tomorrow.

 

I like this quote the best from the seller:

 

 

The engine is faultless...only really looking for a return on outlay for expense on tyres.The car itself is actually free.

[trigger]

I got my insurance renewal come thru today for my Focus from ERS, £422! I nearly spat my chardonnay everywhere! so had a look on Go Compare and managed to find the same policy but with a lower excess (£100 instead of £150) as well as still having the breakdown, legal aid & PNC all for £240 with Churchill, how can it be £200 cheaper for the some policy?! So for the first time in 10 years I've changed provider.

[MikeR]

Churchill were good with my Focus , the girl tried very hard to hit £200 for me , we had a laugh over it as well , seems they listen when you have a few policies with them .

 

I am not one to claim for every bump or scratch , in fact I only claimed once in my whole life for a self inflicted injury on a Fiat .........looking back .. it was a Fiat , I should not of claimed , but it cost me in the long run more than if I had just lost the money by leaving it alone ......it was also my last Fiat   .. dam Tipo ... it was a load of sh....

[wuvvum]

The 205's brakes are continuing to test my patience.  Got everything back together this afternoon (albeit with the old shoes - new ones are on their way thanks to a kindly shiter but haven't arrived yet) - the brake pipe hasn't flared quite as well as I would have liked as my flaring tool was struggling to keep a grip on it, but it'll do.  Got the shoes fitted back in with little problem thanks to the handy Youtube video I've found, but the pedal is now spongy as fuck despite me bleeding the new cylinder through.  It firms up lower down the travel and the brakes stop the car fine, but it doesn't feel right - although to be fair it's been so long since I drove a properly sorted 205 that I can't really remember what they're supposed to feel like.  Last weekend the fluid in the rear half of the reservoir was proper low - I think the leaking cylinder had got worse through me pissing about with it and had been steadily dripping - so I think air might have got into the rear circuit.  The problem is that the bleed nipple on the nearside drum looks in a similar state to the old one on the offside, and its chances of coming undone are therefore going to be similarly slim, so if there is air in the pipe I'm going to be a bit stuck.  Unless I fit a new wheel cylinder to that side as well, but I'm really not sure I can be arsed to go through all that again at the moment.

[stuboy]

because ive not grown up i scooped out soundeading fibre from the original centre section to make the slushomactic focus more sexyful..

 

[spike60]

My BMW 530d touring which slightly disgraced itself in Holland last week with a popped Ebay suspension air bag has been having further attention. When we got it 3 years ago it had 2 marks on the drivers side front arm, the one that goes forward taking the braking strain and I assumed they were old wheel rubs caused by damaged or badly adjusted steering. While I was in Germany I had cause to look in the arch (rattley backplate) and it became obvious the damage was ongoing and wasn't happening on full lock. 

 

I would never have thought the battered plastic brake cooling duct could move and cut deeply into the hefty suspension arm.

 

 

 

When I changed the arm it fought me every inch of the way as 19 years old aluminium does and now the tatty plastic duct along with the rattly backplate have been flung.

[Shep Shepherd]

The Volvo-owning contingent at ConFuzzled out-SVM'd the SVM today:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cars all went down well, especially The Volvo, which was quite happy to idle away for a full two hours without any mishaps.

 

Also, we got given one of these each, which as nobody else appeared to receive one, I presume was some kind of Volvo awesomeness award:

 

 

All in all, a good time was had by everyone

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Currently at ConFuzzled, the UK's premier furry convention. Yes, really....

Maybe one day I'll be able to attend, if my costume ever gets completed....

[Shep Shepherd]

Wait, you're a furry? I had an idea that you were going by your user name

 

You don't need a fursuit to attend a furry convention; I'd say that a sizeable majority of the attendees of CFz don't have one. I do, but I currently only have constructive possession of it.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

Incredibly storm over Kent this evening.  Video incoming.

 

It's been literally continual lighting for over an hour.  Hundreds of strikes a minute.  I can quite easily say that in my 29 years, I've seen more lightning in the last hour than I've seen in the rest of my life to date.

 

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Wait, you're a furry? I had an idea that you were going by your user name

 

You don't need a fursuit to attend a furry convention; I'd say that a sizeable majority of the attendees of CFz don't have one. I do, but I currently only have constructive possession of it.

I used to have a partial, but I'm now waiting for version 2 which is designed to be either partial or full.

 

Incredibly storm over Kent this evening. Video incoming.

 

It's been literally continual lighting for over an hour. Hundreds of strikes a minute. I can quite easily say that in my 29 years, I've seen more lightning in the last hour than I've seen in the rest of my life to date...

Blow, Wind!

Come, wrack!

At least we'll die

with harness on our back!

[Shep Shepherd]

Excellent! 

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Excellent!

Got some photos of my old partial somewhere. It was designed to be ridden in.

[Shep Shepherd]

Here's a photo of mine, back in 2008, when both The Volvo and myself were much younger:

 

 

It's currently with its maker in the States, pending alterations. I really should get it back one day.

 

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Here's a photo of mine, back in 2008....

Difficult act to follow, but I've never taken things too seriously: