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I used to talk to the Hermes lady on my old delivery as she was an ex postie. Left to start a family then came back to Hermes as it was more flexible hours. She used to have a Transit Connect then one day I saw her in her car. Turned out the police stopped her and asked her if she had business insurance. She didn't so they told her to stop using it immediately. So she drove it home loaded the packets in her car and carried on. Used her from that day until she got a job in the mail room at the hospital, at least three years. 

Her main car was a Mitsubishi Shogun diesel. If that wasn't working she had a V6 Pajero. Sounded fabulous but probably used more on fuel than she got paid. 

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5 hours ago, Spurious said:

Ah I remember googling it and finding that I could buy an adaptors and then not being arsed. 

Must swap the wiring about then so. 

Every aftermarket stereo I've fitted (not many, but definitely a couple of Sonys among them) has had shrink-wrapped connectors halfway up the yellow and red wires, so you could just pull them apart and re-connect them in a few seconds. Probably stopped doing that on modern stereos though, to save 0.02p on production costs...

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5 hours ago, MrDuke said:

Every aftermarket stereo I've fitted (not many, but definitely a couple of Sonys among them) has had shrink-wrapped connectors halfway up the yellow and red wires, so you could just pull them apart and re-connect them in a few seconds. Probably stopped doing that on modern stereos though, to save 0.02p on production costs...

I'll have a look when I'm out in it next.  Thanks

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On 08/02/2021 at 21:47, Split_Pin said:

The old engine on the Corsa was knocking and it was replaced. I completely  stripped it down tonight and the piston which I thought was knocking has no play in the small end like I thought. 

However, I do recall taking the plugs out and an electrode was missing from the piston closest to the gearbox, looks like this is what it did:

20210208_214146.thumb.jpg.f15dc7b23277ec3514990f9d71846e65.jpg

This was the piston that I heard the knock from. The crown is also pretty howling and looks very chopped and potted, like its mashed something. All the bore looked fine.

Would that chip cause anything untoward?

Probably not. 

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6 hours ago, barefoot said:

The Rover 75 has just drained its brand new battery. Is there some clever sequence of disconnecting/reconnecting a new battery (like on the Peugeot 206 above) that I'm not following, or is it likely to be something more complex?

Not that I'm aware of - the 75 electrics aren't complex (or French) enough for that kind of thing to be required I don't think.  I've certainly never done anything special when removing / replacing batteries.

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6 hours ago, barefoot said:

The Rover 75 has just drained its brand new battery. Is there some clever sequence of disconnecting/reconnecting a new battery (like on the Peugeot 206 above) that I'm not following, or is it likely to be something more complex?

 

4 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

Not that I'm aware of - the 75 electrics aren't complex (or French) enough for that kind of thing to be required I don't think.  I've certainly never done anything special when removing / replacing batteries.

Same. I've changed batteries on a couple of different R75s and never had to do anything like that.

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19 hours ago, Yoss said:

Turned out the police stopped her and asked her if she had business insurance. She didn't so they told her to stop using it immediately. So she drove it home loaded the packets in her car and carried on.

Surely that would have just meant needing business insurance on her car instead?

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10 hours ago, barefoot said:

The Rover 75 has just drained its brand new battery. Is there some clever sequence of disconnecting/reconnecting a new battery (like on the Peugeot 206 above) that I'm not following, or is it likely to be something more complex?

Courtesy light on in boot or glove box ? . Do rovers have such luxury? . 🙂

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Day off work today, so after visiting the bank, petrol station, waitrose and Laithwaites ( get all the essential trips done in one go) I took the cover off the 2cv for the first time this year. Checked  the car was still there, and battery charged and put it back on again. My life is full of excitement like this!

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Just now, robinmasters said:

I worked in employers liability insurance, so was mainly interested in what training and PPE was provided. IR35 is to stop self-employed individuals setting themselves up as a limited company just to avoid tax/NI isn't it? 

Yes.  But surely the same principles apply.  

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30 minutes ago, New POD said:

Yes.  But surely the same principles apply.  

I've just had a look at the government's 'idiots guide to IR35' page, and the focus is on ensuring that a self-employed contractor is paying roughly the same tax & NI as they would it they were a direct employee. 

It doesn't really go into any detail about who should be considered an employee so I'm probably looking at the wrong source, but I would imagine the test would be similar. 

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8 hours ago, robinmasters said:

I've just had a look at the government's 'idiots guide to IR35' page, and the focus is on ensuring that a self-employed contractor is paying roughly the same tax & NI as they would it they were a direct employee. 

It doesn't really go into any detail about who should be considered an employee so I'm probably looking at the wrong source, but I would imagine the test would be similar. 

The only difference would be that lots of delivery drivers would rather be employed, with holidays, sick pay, employment law and someone else maintaining and insuring the vehicles, because the rates they are paid means if something goes wrong they barely achieve minimum wage, and the ease of being fired whereas most contractors are desperate not be employees because NiC/PAYE would take £££££ off thier net income.  

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8 hours ago, robinmasters said:

I worked in employers liability insurance, so was mainly interested in what training and PPE was provided. IR35 is to stop self-employed individuals setting themselves up as a limited company just to avoid tax/NI isn't it? 

I've read that again.  Most places I've worked have had a "safety" presentation for contractors, which basically made them aware of their obligations whilst on site.  But they were supposed to provide thier own PPE

 

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19 hours ago, wuvvum said:

Rover 75s have about eleventy twelve courtesy lights, thankyouverymuch.

And about double that number of other examples of clever electrickery that could cause a ludicrously difficult to find battery drain. Luckily, the problem has been resolved almost instantly with the diagnosis revealing a brand new, yet faulty battery - with a five year guarantee - which has been replaced and all is apparently good with the world. The Rover will be delivered back to me here at the towers later on today.

In other equally exciting news, I've been forced to admit defeat with the Scirocco. Constant fiddling & re-tuning just won't make this little bastard consistantly reliable enough for me to send the fair wife out in it. The £50 Webber that I bought to replace the original Pierburg was long since past its best when I had it. Another ten years have done it no favours and I've been obliged to cough up £375 for a brand new twin choke Webber to put on my £400 car. Not only that, but its being fitted for me, as we speak, by a renowned local VW specialist. The Scirocco will sadly not be delivered & I shall have to walk down & fetch it.

What a shit couple of months that has been. Pre-xmas, two lovely functioning motor cars & then two months of crap unreliable ones. The wife pointed out  that we had five motor cars in the grounds and there wasn't a single one she could use to get to work & back. I was obliged for a moment to seriously think about buying a newish used Dacia/Toyota/Honda.

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Pile of shit even put up a fight getting rid of it. It started throwing fluid out (brake or hydraulic, I think) but at least the bastard managed to drive on to the truck...

 

IMG_20210211_122245.thumb.jpg.d7dcad3d5059f4b703fff4cfa892070c.jpg

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26 minutes ago, barefoot said:

What a shit couple of months that has been. Pre-xmas, two lovely functioning motor cars & then two months of crap unreliable ones. The wife pointed out  that we had five motor cars in the grounds and there wasn't a single one she could use to get to work & back. I was obliged for a moment to seriously think about buying a newish used Dacia/Toyota/Honda.

I know the feeling.  I keep threatening to sell the Jimny.  It's a 2011 so modern enough but it's never put a foot wrong and always starts (except the time I forgot about the lights, my fault really, I needed a new battery).

I work such odd shifts and it's off a bus route (or a £20 each way taxi) so I can't really rely full time on a £250 "it's got one MOT left in it" type car, so I understand the ethos of driving fun old cars but sometimes, something that just works is a keeper.

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41 minutes ago, barefoot said:

The wife pointed out  that we had five motor cars in the grounds and there wasn't a single one she could use to get to work & back. 

Think we have all been there at some point. My best was when out of all the cars available a 1968 Morris Minor was the most trusted

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Mrs_brownnova in a sudden impulsive moment decided she wanted to take her 2CV for a spin... it hasn’t run since before Christmas.... WCPGW.... 

In other news I just spent a few quid on new rear wings (and a few other bits) for it as my half term project. Mrs_b had declared she wants to drive it to work on her first day post maternity leave. So it needs fixing! 

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1 hour ago, brownnova said:

Mrs_brownnova in a sudden impulsive moment decided she wanted to take her 2CV for a spin... it hasn’t run since before Christmas.... WCPGW.... 

In other news I just spent a few quid on new rear wings (and a few other bits) for it as my half term project. Mrs_b had declared she wants to drive it to work on her first day post maternity leave. So it needs fixing! 

Finger out - been told :D

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