The new news 24 thread

[Jamie]

Looks like a Citroën bx 

[Yoss]

We have a new drive for Felicia to leak oil over. A simple tarmac affair. We looked at block paving but it was more than twice the price, would have shown oil leaks and be more awkward for jacking up cars. 

Had it widened a bit too. It was always a bit tight getting out the passenger side, now it's much better. Also gives me more room to get round a car when washing it. 

From the garage end. 

 

It arrived in a big lorry. 

 

These people did our friends drive and it looked OK so we thought we'd give them a ring. Rang them Tuesday afternoon. Bloke says he'd come and have a look, is 8.30 tomorrow morning (Wednesday) OK? By luck that was my day off. He turns up at 07.55 gave me a quote much cheaper than I was expecting. He said this was because they already had another job in the area. Sounds like sales speak but it was a good price. So when is it likely to be? 'I'll send a couple of my guys round this afternoon to start taking this (the old drive) up'. Blimey, ok. They turned up at 11.45 and by the end of the day our crappy old crazy paving was gone, less than than 24 hours after the first phone call. Yesterday they levelled it all and added some hardcore where it was being widened and by 2 o'clock this afternoon we had a new drive. I wish all tradesmen were that quick. 

The old drive looked like this. 

 Mrs Yoss hated it and it was a constant battle to deweed it. Not ideal for using engine cranes either. 

And this front edge had broken up since this picture was taken. 

And a few months ago I managed to trip over a bit of it whilst carrying the glass recycling box and landed face first in said box whilst also skinning both knees and six knuckles on the way down. At 5am. So I'm pleased to see the back of it too. 

Now I need to try and sort the Felicia's oil leak. 

[SRi05]

44 minutes ago, jamiechod said:

It's only to do with emissions just ignore it imo 

I had it appear a couple of weeks ago as well, I just cleared it. Might just do so again ?

[puddlethumper]

Getting the ferry back from Holland after spending 5 weeks here working.

Holland is not what it used to be that's for sure. The farmers are protesting

against the new regulations about cows farting, construction is stopped 

because the ground is polluted, the hospitals are striking and so are the teachers.

There are shootings every week and synthetic drugs, xtc, amphetamine, crack etc

are becoming a huge problem. Xtc is now 1.50 euros a time which is less than a small beer

and the youngsters here are buying shit loads to go partying on a weekend. The chemical

shit left over is getting dumped in the canals and making more pollution. 

It's all going to hell in a bucket which is a real shame coz I really like being here and have 

more friends here than in the uk. A lot of them are leaving to live in France or further afield.

Anyhoo, my old van is behaving itself as it usually does, and I got 61 mpg on the way here.

 

[loserone]

Pleased to hear about the 305, if not the rest of it.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

1 hour ago, puddlethumper said:

.....Holland is not what it used to be that's for sure. .....

There are shootings every week and synthetic drugs, xtc, amphetamine, crack etc. are becoming a huge problem. Xtc is now 1.50 euros a time which is less than a small beer and the youngsters here are buying shit loads to go partying on a weekend. The chemical shit left over is getting dumped in the canals and making more pollution. 

It's all going to hell in a bucket which is a real shame coz I really like being here and have more friends here than in the uk. A lot of them are leaving to live in France or further afield....

That sounds like the payback for turning a blind eye to the drugs "culture". But don't worry,  Britain and Ireland are inexorably going the same way so we'll all be meeting in Hell at some stage. 

[Jamie]

Fitted some new wheels to the wife's tt, she said thanks but they look shit. What do you think? 

[Timewaster]

14 hours ago, Yoss said:

We have a new drive for Felicia to leak oil over. A simple tarmac affair. We looked at block paving but it was more than twice the price, would have shown oil leaks and be more awkward for jacking up cars.

Be careful using a jack on that new drive. 

Changing wheels on a friend's Mk2 Cavalier on his tarmac drive with the crappy Vauxhall Jack, the jack sank into the tarmac and folded under the car just as the front wheel was coming off. 

Luckily the drive shaft nut caught on the wheel centre and held the car off the ground or it could have been much worse. 

Do not trust OE jacks or tarmac drives. 

Use a bit of hard wood as a spreader at least. 

[wuvvum]

You know when you see a car on ebay and think "bloody hell, that's cheap", but your watch list is full and you can't be arsed to clear it out, so you stick on a low bid just to keep an eye on it? 

Yeah, that. 

This is train 1 of 3.

[skattrd]

Lol @wuvvum you're on a bit of a spree atm mate, safe travels.

[spike60]

First MOT of the Lorinser SEC 500  since I got it. No dinosaur killers found and a good chance for me to have a looky see underneath as it's too low to put on ramps or jack easily. The only comment was a fuel weep from the Chinese pump I fitted when trying to cure the cutting out problem. It'll be garaged over the winter and I want to do the timing chain and a few other bits before spring. It also wants the tyres skipping unless anyone wants any 1999 Nankang M+S that go out of round if parked for 10 days.... I didn't have any worries really but the pass is always nice, even the occasional ABS flicker stayed away and didn't stab me in the back.

 

[cort16]

2 hours ago, jamiechod said:

Fitted some new wheels to the wife's tt, she said thanks but they look shit. What do you think? 

Don’t think the ride height or tyre profile is quite right for those wheels.

[hairymel]

I have been ignoring a small split on my voyager exhaust for 3 and a half months.

It's been very noisey for the last 3 months

In a act of extreme exertion I have dragged my arse out of bed before 11am and popped to work to have a look.

It's split and rusted out over half way round the middle box.

So up on the 'portable lift' and a quick buzz with the welder. Hopefully it will at least last to mot time

 

[Jamie]

1 hour ago, cort16 said:

Don’t think the ride height or tyre profile is quite right for those wheels.

Your dead right. Back to oem ftw

[Jamie]

@cort16and what about my new wheels, seein as your an e90 licker

 

[cort16]

Too big for my liking  , are they x5 wheels ?

 

[cort16]

You know what it needs? 320si wheels, probably the best thing about the car.

[dean36014]

I've finally got my c15 back on the road after taking it apart to do a little bit of welding at the bottom of the inner wings. So that turned out to be repair both sills, inner and outer, both inner wings and A posts, passenger floor, both headlight panels, front cross member and nearside chassis leg. Two new wings and bonnet lobbed on as originals turned out to be rotten too. New brake Flexi hoses, brake fluid flushed, and I fitted visa headlights as I prefer the indicators in the heaslights. Just need to sort out a bonnet trim now. Thankfully it drives lovely again. Now just the small matter of a mot due in just over a month.  Photo flatters it, the new offside wing is wobbly, paintwork terrible and laquer peel all over. Next year I'll sort out the more cosmetic welding needed, replace the full sills as I've tracked some down and I might even lob some paint on it.  I love this little van.

[HMC]

At the NEC show here. Great mix of cars; currently immersed in SIMCA

[HMC]

Also- isn’t that mr bollox old one that he got from an auction donkeys years ago?

Edit-

I never forget a number plate- it is the very same. Owned by a forum aluminus

[Jamie]

1 hour ago, cort16 said:

Too big for my liking  , are they x5 wheels ?

 

Yeah x5 19s 10 inch wide rears. Had a set of 216s on one before. Nice wheels but too much for me I paid less for these with tyres than a set of 216 motorsports go for without tyres 

[Six-cylinder]

47 minutes ago, dean36014 said:

I've finally got my c15 back on the road after taking it apart to do a little bit of welding at the bottom of the inner wings. So that turned out to be repair both sills, inner and outer, both inner wings and A posts, passenger floor, both headlight panels, front cross member and nearside chassis leg. Two new wings and bonnet lobbed on as originals turned out to be rotten too. New brake Flexi hoses, brake fluid flushed, and I fitted visa headlights as I prefer the indicators in the heaslights. Just need to sort out a bonnet trim now. Thankfully it drives lovely again. Now just the small matter of a mot due in just over a month.  Photo flatters it, the new offside wing is wobbly, paintwork terrible and laquer peel all over. Next year I'll sort out the more cosmetic welding needed, replace the full sills as I've tracked some down and I might even lob some paint on it.  I love this little van.

I thought you were going for pig noise?

[dean36014]

26 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

I thought you were going for pig noise?

I need to find a visa lower valance to do it. I've got visa headlights in now so that's the lighting sorted out. To fit the pig nose I just need to adapt the crash bar behind the bumper which is easy enough but i can't find that valance panel anywhere. Hopefully will find one at a citroen show next year. If that fails I'm going to have to make something to cover the cross member and wiring harness as it looks weird without it. 

[Yoss]

4 hours ago, Timewaster said:

Be careful using a jack on that new drive. 

Changing wheels on a friend's Mk2 Cavalier on his tarmac drive with the crappy Vauxhall Jack, the jack sank into the tarmac and folded under the car just as the front wheel was coming off. 

Luckily the drive shaft nut caught on the wheel centre and held the car off the ground or it could have been much worse. 

Do not trust OE jacks or tarmac drives. 

Use a bit of hard wood as a spreader at least. 

Thanks for that, but don't worry, I never use OE jacks, certainly not at home anyway. I have one of these in the garage. 

Which has a nice roller to spread the weight at the front. But even then I have a large sheet of steel that I'll be using for a while until it hardens properly. I used to do all my work in a council car park when I still lived at home. Different times etc.., you could get away with anything then. But they resurfaced all the car parks on the estate and they took a long time to harden properly. There are still triangular holes there where my axle stands sunk into the new tarmac. So yes, I shall be careful. Thanks anyway. 

[wuvvum]

Collected.  Newest car I've owned. 

[stuboy]

After babysitting and shower dodging got chance to get on with sticky handbrakecaliper Unexciting pictures of freeing off rear handbrake mechanism on the shalaxy...

[spike60]

When my son had a Mondeo the replacing rear calipers and wheel bearings was an annual service item.

[SRi05]

1 hour ago, wuvvum said:

Collected.  Newest car I've owned. 

New one to me, what is this fine beast? 

[wuvvum]

Hyundai Sonata CRTD. 

[clayts450]

Leather* and wood* for the win, Mister ?