Jump to content

The new news 24 thread


Father Ted

Recommended Posts

Went to that “V-Ate” Diner on the A17 Boston roundabout yesterday and on the way home I had a chavved up black mk4 golf covered in lime green stickers and HID headlights sat right up my arse the whole way back to Kings Lynn.

My biggest gripe since having the 335D is that everyone wants to race - I’m in my 30s having a leisurely drive home with the mrs FFS. 
 

Second I got onto the A47dual carriageway in kings lynn this mk4 golf comes flat out down the left hand side of me undertaking just after I passed a lorry. The look on his face was that as if he genuinely thought he’d ‘beaten’ me in his 1.4 petrol..

I just pulled in to my lane and dropped back from 75 odd where I’d overtaken… what a knob. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

38 minutes ago, Fumbler said:

"THat's a LOt oF DaMAge!"
It's worth a try!

Stop light goes out once pressure is built so it's losing coolant somewhere within the system. I'll have a detailed* look at some point.

for non obvious leaks like that its worth getting something to pressurise the system when cold, you can knock something up fairly easily with a bicycle pump, some rubber hoses and a Schrader valve 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, wesacosa said:

for non obvious leaks like that its worth getting something to pressurise the system when cold, you can knock something up fairly easily with a bicycle pump, some rubber hoses and a Schrader valve 

Helps that I have most of that to hand. It seems like an easy enough test to do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been having a poke around my newly acquired Maxus over the last couple of days.  There were a couple of quick and easy fixes - the offside dipped beam had stopped working, so I fitted a replacement H4 I had in the kitchen drawer (bit of a fiddle as the battery is in the way but not the worst I've done) and the driver's side wiper blade had completely lost its rubber lip and so was doing very little - Roys of Wroxham supplied a replacement 22" blade for the princely sum of £2.79.  The passenger side blade could do with replacing as well, but I didn't want to go on too much of a spending spree - the driver's side blade is the important one.

The non-latching bonnet catch turned out not to be seized at all - it was stuck due to the fact that when the previous owner popped the bonnet to change the battery, the end of the cable sheath by the bonnet release had popped out of its guide and was sitting on the end of the guide, with the result that it was effectively shortening the cable to the point that the catch mechanism couldn't go back to its "closed" position.  So that was another easy fix - of course I found this out after I'd removed the whole mechanism from under the bonnet...

The van does have a bit of grot - it's the first Maxus I've owned with structural rust.  It's not too bad but it is going to need a patch on the rear of the offside sill before the next MOT.  Bodywork is a bit scruffy but not too banged about by Maxus standards, although the rear doors are going to need replacing at some point - the latch mechanism packed up so the previous owner cut holes in both doors and had been securing them with a padlock and chain through said holes.  Which is less than ideal.  The side loading door doesn't want to unlock for some reason, so I'm going to have to remove the plywood lining at some point and see if I can see what's going on there.

It has a few gadgets that previous Maxuseses I've owned didn't have - aircon for one (although I have no idea yet whether or not it does anything), and also a factory fit reversing siren with a button on the dash to turn it off.  It also has ABS, although the ABS light is on at the moment - that's going to need sorting for the next MOT, which could be interesting trying to find someone with a code reader that will talk to a Maxus.  It also has alloy wheels (the spare has a brand new tyre still with the label on it) and front fogs.  I didn't notice until I went to check the tyre pressures that it also has these amusing valve caps.

20220116_134059.thumb.jpg.47d9fa59c16c366c5e61f677bac4c6ad.jpg

The one thing it still needs to be properly usable at this time of year (now that it has working headlights and wipers and a locking bonnet) is the heater blower sorting - that doesn't do owt on any of the speed settings, not sure if it's a wiring issue or the blower itself packed up.  Over the weekend I'll take the glovebox out and try running a live feed to the fan motor to see if that does anything.  The heater does get warm and at motorway speeds there's enough warm air trickling through to take the chill off, but it won't be a lot of use around town or for demisting.

 

In other news, I got the bus to Norwich on Sunday afternoon to retrieve the Daihatsu, and I spotted this parked up outside a carpet shop:

20220116_155918.thumb.jpg.bb2c459286e83e399c45c7ebb25ab30d.jpg

First one of these I've seen in the metal outside of London.  They're an ugly bugger, but as the last of the proper Bentleys (i.e. ones that don't have a VW engine) I quite like them - if my numbers ever come up I'd probably have one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Fumbler said:

Helps that I have most of that to hand. It seems like an easy enough test to do.

plenty of articles on how to make one on the net. You can either buy a second hand radiator cap to drill and fit the Schrader vavle too. Or maybe pull the overflow pipe from the expansion tank and clamp on to there?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, wesacosa said:

plenty of articles on how to make one on the net. You can either buy a second hand radiator cap to drill and fit the Schrader vavle too. Or maybe pull the overflow pipe from the expansion tank and clamp on to there?

The overflow pipe is pretty accessible so I can do it from there. I have some bungs that'd fit quite well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/14/2022 at 12:24 AM, HarmonicCheeseburger said:

Anything to note of 1.8 or 2.0 1st gen Avensis in terms of problems or expensive borkage?

Nothing at all.  Squeaky steering racks is about the total sum of 'idiosyncrasies'.  Mine is about to tick over 270,000 miles without a single incident.

On 1/14/2022 at 12:50 AM, Ghosty said:

Not really as they're just facelifted Carina Es. 

It's an interesting question.  When is a facelift not a facelift?  I'd argue that, with every single body panel being different, it's not a facelift at all.  Only the engines were really carried over.  But, I suppose they look a bit similar (as do all 90s Jap Saloons though).  

On 1/14/2022 at 11:06 AM, wuvvum said:

Can't remember off the top of my head.  Borniteidentity was our resident Mk1 Avensis expert, but he don't come by this way no more.  If memory serves it's manageable as long as you don't let the oil level drop too low.

I'm here.  It's the 1.8 VVTi engines in the prefacelift MK2 Avensi you have to watch.  Facelifts are easily spotted as they have the indicator repeaters in the door mirrors from 06plate on.  One trick is just to run more oil in the early VVTi's; it's widely accepted that by having more oil - the contents don't get as hot and doesn't burn.  I read somewhere that an early 'fix' for the issue was to simply move the markers further up the dipsticks!

For me, the MK1 Avensis is the epitome of reliable motoring.  Mine is now tired and will be pensioned off in a couple of months, but if I needed another car I'd just go and buy another one.  Sadly, I now drive a modern for work purposes and the 'fleet of heaps' is full.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

MOT time for Felicia again. 

IMG_20220118_095952.thumb.jpg.ed701a835b821aa668f539aca5e1a40c.jpg

 

They were running late when I arrived so I offered to help. I've been coming here for decades and there were only two of them in today. Obviously I'm not a qualified MOT tester but by doing the job of sitting in the car and following the instructions shouted at me from underneath it does help them. 

The first car I had to do was this. 

IMG_20220118_100014.thumb.jpg.efb9677a7ba66bc2339dd6ab2c3b1df1.jpg

I don't really keep up with all the modernz so I was surprised to find out that this was ten years old. It doesn't look it to me. 

It didn't seem that bad inside for such a small car. It had lots of gloss white trim which seemed better than the fake metal silver painted stuff that seems popular. 

IMG_20220118_094749.thumb.jpg.5670e1fa6ba59eeeb464f8f3517fa79c.jpg

 

It had one of these. Also with gloss white insert.

IMG_20220118_094804.thumb.jpg.c227e71599d58b6e6d1bf969b2a1103c.jpg

 

And I was even more surprised to see these on such a small car. 

IMG_20220118_095051.thumb.jpg.f4c71fac110a2648bbeeb002e95b95cb.jpg

And this is what they were heating. 

IMG_20220118_095235.thumb.jpg.fb73f061519c977465e0b8eece404304.jpg

Bits of leather, possibly real, and two types of cloth. I thought heated seats were mainly for leather but what do I know, I don't drive any cars from this century. 

It passed with flying colours, Neil the tester said it was like new underneath and the interior didn't have a mark on it. I once owned a ten year old car, a Dolomite SE, my first Dolomite, and I can assure you it did not look like a new car. 

 

And the Felicia? It passed if course, it's a Felicia. 

IMG_20220118_100037.thumb.jpg.d718bbe9c3c815fe8d135b7b1f794b1c.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just bought a 90s French car with galactic mileage and no mot. Completely blind. From 100 miles away.

Sounds like sheer fucking stupidity a recipe for issues, but I spoke to the owner at length beforehand and got a good vibe. So I'm cautiously optimistic... hope my gut feeling is right! 

Guess we'll see when it arrives next week! 

 

I've bought two cars blind in the past, with a 50% success rate. Hoping to increase that to 66%... 😅

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 17/01/2022 at 06:25, brownnova said:

Did a collection mission yesterday… went in the Volvo, but came back with a baby rather than another car! 
A7B3D399-2B9D-4594-92DA-0BED62843B52.jpeg

Decided to keep us on our toes by arriving 10 days early! But all is well… :) 

very often supplied with a leaky neck gasket- TADTS 🤣

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@95 quid Peugeot answered my plea for cheap practical motoring with this belonging to a work mate of his.

 

PPNGSfC.jpeg

 

It's a 1.3 CDTI in bASe 'Life' spec which presumably references a prison sentence, given most cells will be more lavishly equipped. I'm slightly disappointed it still has fancy electric front windows, but you can't have it all.

It goes surprisingly well for a 1.3 estate, and the drive back across the width of the country was nice and easy. The wheel trims are going in the bin as soon as I can be bothered to cut them free.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/17/2022 at 6:25 AM, brownnova said:

Did a collection mission yesterday… went in the Volvo, but came back with a baby rather than another car! 
A7B3D399-2B9D-4594-92DA-0BED62843B52.jpeg

Decided to keep us on our toes by arriving 10 days early! But all is well… :) 

Hmm, old Saab, old Volvo and new born. I'm sat here trying to work the phrase 'it's like trying to pick your favourite child' in to a witty remark but it's not quite coming to me. But you get the idea. 

 

Congratulations by the way. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, w00dy said:

@95 quid Peugeot answered my plea for cheap practical motoring with this belonging to a work mate of his.

 

PPNGSfC.jpeg

 

It's a 1.3 CDTI in bASe 'Life' spec which presumably references a prison sentence, given most cells will be more lavishly equipped. I'm slightly disappointed it still has fancy electric front windows, but you can't have it all.

It goes surprisingly well for a 1.3 estate, and the drive back across the width of the country was nice and easy. The wheel trims are going in the bin as soon as I can be bothered to cut them free.

 Full Trimz horror, 

Doctor Retro, take note!!!!

Trimz.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...