gm Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 Would be good but its Maw_Pin's 70th that day. what better birthday gift than some hot laps round knockhill ? mother gm is the same age and keeps hinting that she wants to come along and join in Tickman, The Moog, dome and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtriple Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 All I have done today is spend money! Phoebe had her check-up at the vets and they are amazed she is back to being a four-legged dog, okay, one of four is seriously out of shape and she is limping worse than ever but she still has all four legs and she is using it again. So all bandages/casts off and she is on the mend (I really bloody hope so). Bought new injection coolant sensor, gauge coolant sensor and two rad caps for the XJ-S from David Manners, I don't think they will cure the problems but they are another possibility ticked off the list. I did intend to use the Jaguar today but it was easier to use the MB for running around, I need to put covers on the seats etc and also I don't trust it! If the gauges would give a true reading of what's in the tank and how many volts I've got or how hot it's running, I'd feel a lot better about using it! anonymous user and Stevebrookman 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fumbler Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 Rav4 needs some wheel luv as all the paint's now peeling thick and fast. Also needs some attention to the wheel weights as they're now all nice and crusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anonymous user Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 The red Land Rover has gone, I'm still not sure if I sold the right one as the grey one suddenly decided it needed clutch fluid (can't see any leak). I should be retiring again tomorrow, but might have to go in one day a week until the end of the month at least I have the C15 van to fall back on if the fluid all leaks out again. mrbenn and Tickman 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommotech Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 The Picarsole that has sat around, semi-repaired, was going nowhere fast so I removed the engine and other useful bits and bridged the shell. Needed the room and a 1.6 HDi engine is there to sell or useful for something in the future. Filled the back full of scrap and got £130 so not too bad I reckon. The Polo that I purchased last month decided not to start this morning, having moved it last evening. It had previously stood for a couple of weeks but ran OK and didn't make any strange noises. Good spark at the coil packs, good fuel pressure and injectors were switching OK. Thinking the worst I checked the cam timing, only to have my worst fears confirmed - Cam timing was indeed out. Exhaust cam has slipped, oh bugger! As FTP's go I could do without it just now.I also checked the compressions and the middle cylinder was at 8.5 bar, while the other two cylinders were at 12 bar so the head will have to come off too. That can now sit on the naughty step for a while, we don't need to be using this car until spring time anyhow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad D. Conelrad Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 Today I replaced the front suspension cones on the Mini. The cones were the originals, with nearly 50k miles on them. New and old compared: Squished! It wasn't a bad job, just filthy. I ended up with a bin full of disposable gloves and still needed to bathe in Swarfega. The Minispares cone compressor is a simple but very effective tool. The bonnet doesn't have to come off, but it only takes a minute and makes it so much easier to access the tower bolts and use the compressor. And job done. Wanna go off roading? LightBulbFun, GrumpiusMaximus, BorniteIdentity and 19 others 22 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpiusMaximus Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 That's a cracking Mini. Most envious and I've never even had the pleasure of driving one, sadly. Conrad D. Conelrad 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamworthbay Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 Today I replaced the front suspension cones on the Mini. The cones were the originals, with nearly 50k miles on them. New and old compared: Squished! It wasn't a bad job, just filthy. I ended up with a bin full of disposable gloves and still needed to bathe in Swarfega. cones-compressor.jpg The Minispares cone compressor is a simple but very effective tool. The bonnet doesn't have to come off, but it only takes a minute and makes it so much easier to access the tower bolts and use the compressor. And job done. Wanna go off roading? cones.jpgIt will feel so much better. I have lost count of the number of times I have heard people complaining about minis having bone shaking suspension and instantly you know it’s got fucked cones. MarvinsMom, Conrad D. Conelrad and LightBulbFun 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HMC Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 That must be the only 90s era mini not on minilite repicas. I’d almost forgotten those trims ever existed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiC Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 Today I replaced the front suspension cones on the Mini. The cones were the originals, with nearly 50k miles on them. New and old compared: Squished! It wasn't a bad job, just filthy. I ended up with a bin full of disposable gloves and still needed to bathe in Swarfega. cones-compressor.jpg The Minispares cone compressor is a simple but very effective tool. The bonnet doesn't have to come off, but it only takes a minute and makes it so much easier to access the tower bolts and use the compressor. And job done. Wanna go off roading? cones.jpgThis mini of yours. Is it new or have you had it for a while but hidden away? I've never seen a thread or even mention of it before, that's all. mrbenn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 It wasn't a bad job, just filthy. I ended up with a bin full of disposable gloves and still needed to bathe in Swarfega. Are you using Latex/Nitrile gloves? Palm gloves like these https://www.toolstation.com/shop/Workwear+%26+Safety/d70/Gloves/sd570/Palm+Gloves/p51069 are easier to work in, don't tear and don't make your hands sweat. Conrad D. Conelrad, dome and Stevebrookman 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpiusMaximus Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 Something amazing happened today. Saw another bloke coming the other way in a Golf Mk IV Estate like mine. I gave him a thumbs up and he waved back. That's never happened before. I think this officially means that my car is becoming unusual. Give it another ten years and it might actually qualify as shite. Tadhg Tiogar, mercrocker, michael t and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tickman Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 Are you using Latex/Nitrile gloves? Palm gloves like these https://www.toolstation.com/shop/Workwear+%26+Safety/d70/Gloves/sd570/Palm+Gloves/p51069 are easier to work in, don't tear and don't make your hands sweat. I usually wear these with a pair of latex gloves underneath as oil will leach through. I have also discovered expensive latex gloves can be very tough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad D. Conelrad Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 This mini of yours. Is it new or have you had it for a while but hidden away? I've never seen a thread or even mention of it before, that's all. My dad bought it in 1993! It was a surprise gift for Mum. We (him, 9 year old me and my 6 year old sister) waited for her to go out for the morning, then took a taxi to the dealer to collect it. The dealer cranked up the radio and gave us a bunch of helium balloons, which wasn't as fun for Dad - he seemed a bit stressed on the way home, driving an unfamiliar new car while a radio blared (we couldn't figure out how to turn it off) and several helium balloons roamed freely around the cabin. Before the Mini, the garage was home to the Capri Suns. The plan was for me to ask Mum to get me a Capri Sun, and be surprised by the car. Instead she told me to get my own damn drink. Dad suggested she might want to get the drink from the garage, and she liked this even less. Eventually we gave up and told her there was something she wanted to see in the garage. I started doing the maintenance a few years ago when I found out the garage who serviced it had been filling it with 5w30 synthetic and had fitted shitty cover sills. It gradually became my car over the next few years as Mum stopped driving so much. That must be the only 90s era mini not on minilite repicas. I’d almost forgotten those trims ever existed.I know, I'd buy a better set of those trims but no-one kept any! I was lucky enough to find a set in 1:24 scale... BorniteIdentity, Lacquer Peel, DeeJay and 18 others 21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuvvum Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 I've spent most of this evening attempting to update my spreadsheet of owned vehicles, which I've completely neglected and which hadn't been updated in years. It's quite hard to remember everything I've owned - I'm up to 544 but I'm sure I'm missing some - as I was going through I remembered a couple which I'd owned 10 or more years ago which weren't on there, so I'm certain to be overlooking some more recent purchases as well. I'm going to have to dig out my old digital cameras / phones when I get a spare minute and see if they can help me along the way. The new ARB brackets for the Rover arrived today, and there was a card through the door saying there's a parcel waiting for me at the PO, which I assume is the cat. Wheel bearing arrived yesterday, so it should be all systems go to try and get it fixed this weekend. If it all goes smoothly (LOL) I might even get time to do the Audi's CV joint as well. egg, BorniteIdentity, Skizzer and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghosty Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 I wish I could tell the same story about my mum's Bini. It's duller: my mum has traditionally always driven small auto hatchbacks, and British was her thing - her first two cars were 1275 Metros. She'd been taken with the Bini since its release in 2001, and eventually after a succession of shit cars (K11a, offset pedals; sad face Fiesta, gearbox routinely grenading and thermostat issues; 9N Polo, slow, gutless, dull, and regularly throwing up EMLs/limp home mode), it finally got to the point where she could afford a new or nearly-new car: we looked at VW Up!s, Fiat 500s, Kia Picantos, Binis, and so on. The Mini was a standout compared to anything else we looked at: the 500 came a close second, but the driver's seat adjustment was lacking, and the folding passenger seat on the dealer demonstrator jammed while we were looking at it, and the autobox option was... questionable. Mum decided on a Bini and even specced a new One, which would have been a 2015, and one of the first F56s. Times changed anyway, and we couldn't afford a brand new one, but used would be doable. We asked about it but there was sod all in the dealer network (or nationally), as auto Minis just weren't that common (Mini would have about 30 nationally at any one time). However, in stock the dealer had a low spec Cooper auto, MV60NXZ - it had a few styling options, but the interior had hardly anything ticked (it's the only auto Mini I've ever seen that didn't have paddle shift or a three spoke steering wheel specified). It was red with a white roof, mirrors and bonnet stripes - my mum was never that keen on the red, she always said it was her least favourite colour for a car. It was a case of having that or waiting who knows how long for another (I hadn't indoctrinated her to collection missions at this point!), and after saying to her 'nothing ventured, nothing gained' she decided to give the car a chance and didn't regret it. She could have been happier, but until something better came along she'd keep it.We knew the car was low spec, and after a year and a bit, out of interest we went to look at a nicely specced black Cooper S auto in a dealer in Sheffield, we'd have had it but couldn't broker a good enough deal on price so walked. A few months passed, and we didn't say much on the matter, then one day I brought it up, and my mum said 'why not look on Auto Trader?'. I duly did, and a very low miles Cooper S auto showed up, being described as low miles, auto, and white, easy on the detail and pictures hadn't yet been taken. It was listed at £6k or something that was an absurdly good price.We arranged to view, and it turned out they'd priced it on limited information sight unseen - whoops. When they saw it they wanted to raise the price - turns out it was sub-20k miles, one family owned from new, almost perfect bodily, etc. They'd also named the colour wrong in the ad, and it turned out to be Pepper White (that's just Old English White by another name), with black bonnet stripes and a black roof, and black full leather interior with cream piping, a colour matched dash, custom colour matched standard Mini option wheels, chrome mirrors, a full length sunroof, cruise, steering wheel buttons for that and the radio, heated windscreen, - the option list was endless - pretty much all it didn't have was satnav, and who needs that?My mum fell in love immediately: and as it happened, her red Mini was at about the right stage in depreciation that the upgrade to a slightly older but much higher spec car was academic: the values of the two cars were roughly the same, and a high spec MCS would bottom out much higher than a cooking Cooper ever would - not that she'd ever sell, of course - she has no intention to, and I'll likely end up with it one day, can't complain about that, the only way it could have been better is if it was a Clubman. I'll keep it too if I ever end up with it as it's a lovely car, decent enough to work on for a modern, and a nice enough thing to drive and knock about in, especially with it having so many options. We still have MT58EKJ, and it gets used sensibly and sparingly: at the moment, my mum is mostly dailying my 416GTi! I keep telling her to get her own Rover... she adores the GTi, we all do, it's just a better car than my GSi will ever manage to be.I'm happy to have the Mini around, and I'm looking forward to the day I finally get to noodle about in it, whenever that is. They're wonderfully built machines. GrumpiusMaximus, LightBulbFun, RobT and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SierraMikeHotel Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 That's a cracking Mini. Most envious and I've never even had the pleasure of driving one, sadly.If you get the chance, grab it. They really are as much fun as everyone says. I had use of a totally rotten Clubman 1275GT for a day and loved every minute of it. GrumpiusMaximus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuvvum Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 Yep. As long as you don't have to do more than 30 miles at a time, Minis are bloody brilliant. Christine, GrumpiusMaximus, Angrydicky and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobT Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 I'm biased, but Metros on the other hand aren't too bad on a run. Pedals are off set, but once placed in something approaching a comfortable position I can do 250 mile round trips and still be able to walk at the end of it. Lack of 5th is a pisser though, so nothing above 70 otherwise it's a bit deafening. GrumpiusMaximus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D Spares & Tyres Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 Something amazing happened today. Saw another bloke coming the other way in a Golf Mk IV Estate like mine. I gave him a thumbs up and he waved back. That's never happened before. I think this officially means that my car is becoming unusual. Give it another ten years and it might actually qualify as shite.Dubber camaraderie... GrumpiusMaximus, alf892 and egg 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
They_all_do_that_sir Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 Gen2 prius any good? Specifically longer runs, extra urban type mileage...... A thousand minicab drivers can't be wrong..... Sent from my F3211 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tadhg Tiogar Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 Gen2 prius any good? Specifically longer runs, extra urban type mileage...... A thousand minicab drivers can't be wrong..... They're the ones who won't go any quicker than 28mph because fear of petrol engine cutting in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exiled_Tat_Gatherer Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 RAF used to have Metros, Maestros and Montegos as staff cars...... god they got a hammering. Used to thrash the knackers off the Metro on the pool. It was mercilessly flogged to almost death consistently by all of us. Fantastic little thing - the whine was utter joy to hear. Mate worked for Mini Spares.... so his looked a bag of shite but Jesus it was special underneath all that..... just incredible. I passengered down from London to Brighton on one of their runs - it was great fun - but longer journeys would've driven me insane I think. Obviously looking for a 'proper' mini constantly. GrumpiusMaximus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtriple Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 Ordered bits from David Manner spares at 4:30 yesterday afternoon, here at 10:30 this morning and delivered by DPD! I would like to complain and whinge, but really can't! Pretty impressive I think. DVee8, GrumpiusMaximus and tooSavvy 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuvvum Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 Drove to work in the Rover 75 this morning, after almost a week of wafting around in the ex-Skattrd C270. Bugger me does the Rover feel slow after the Merc. I floored it to get past a dithering artic this morning and nothing seemed to happen. When I actually looked down at the speedo after getting past I was doing 70, so it's not actually that slow, I've just got used to the Merc which surges forward on a wall of torque [/cliché] as soon as you touch the throttle. The Rover's seats are comfier though. Lovely and squishy. michael t, Split_Pin and skattrd 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beko1987 Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 Does anyone live near Leyburn in Yorkshire? Got my eye on a hard floor washer but they wont post. There is one in Ealing too but I don't think my car is allowed to drive there. Neither will post annoyingly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tadhg Tiogar Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 ....There is one in Ealing too but I don't think my car is allowed to drive there. Neither will post annoyingly I happen to work in Ealing.... beko1987 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beko1987 Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 I happen to work in Ealing....Oooh! Do you ever happen to come out towards Buckinghamshire at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tadhg Tiogar Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 Oooh! Do you ever happen to come out towards Buckinghamshire at all? I was in Bucks a couple of Saturdays ago (Stoke Mandeville) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beko1987 Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 I'll PM you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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