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On 28/04/2022 at 21:58, Crackers said:

Had my first "proper Mini" experience today with a (very) short scoot in a 1999 Rover injected one. I liked it. That's it. That's the news.

My sister's first car was a bog-standard 1973 Mini 850; white with blue vinyl 'seats', 10" wheels and a huge two-spoke plastic tiller.  

It was like a go-kart compared to my (first) Dyane - you didn't so much steer it as think it round corners...

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2 hours ago, LabRat said:

Made it back from darkest Bradford with Mrs_LabRat's new steed, she's still grinning and to be fair it's an absolute hoot to drive for a modern. I want to meet the brave person who shelled out for a towbar on an Ignis, then never bothered to use it... (Apparently it'll tow a tonne, presumably slowly with a lot of noise)

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The shed of a C4 is going for scrap tomorrow, after a closer look it's really not worth saving- needs way too much work to justify keeping and I wouldn't want to sell it on in the state it's in! 

Was the C4 from "that there Goole" - the very strange OAP car dealers by any chance? 

£450 scrap - that's impressive!

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1 hour ago, wuvvum said:

And home.

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Smoll car is smoll.

Smoll car is also tremendous fun.  I picked it up from just the other side of Leicester and Google Maps sent me down some nice windy little back roads to get to the A47 - it really is a great little thing to chuck around.  It's a mid range model so has electric windows but no aircon - and seemingly no air recirculation button, so if you're driving past a pig farm you know about it.   Needs a bit of welding and a brake pipe for the MOT - it also had the EML on but that went out half way home after I stopped for pez.  It's surprisingly nippy given how high geared it is (a 1-litre shopping car shouldn't be able to do 60 in second gear) and the gearing means it's a lot more refined on the dual carriageway than the Daihatsu was as it's not screaming its tits off at 70.  Overall I really rather like it so far.

Was the original owner rich* enough to tick the box for rev counter? 

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12 hours ago, Cookiesouwest said:

To cheer myself up, I'm going to the Somerset Country Classics meet at midday. First show since before covid became a thing.

How was it?

I meant to go to it today but I forgot and ended up in Devon instead!

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3 hours ago, wuvvum said:

And home.

20220430_193032.thumb.jpg.95220a3277b16784090b8d726165ebb8.jpg

Smoll car is smoll.

Smoll car is also tremendous fun.  I picked it up from just the other side of Leicester and Google Maps sent me down some nice windy little back roads to get to the A47 - it really is a great little thing to chuck around.  It's a mid range model so has electric windows but no aircon - and seemingly no air recirculation button, so if you're driving past a pig farm you know about it.   Needs a bit of welding and a brake pipe for the MOT - it also had the EML on but that went out half way home after I stopped for pez.  It's surprisingly nippy given how high geared it is (a 1-litre shopping car shouldn't be able to do 60 in second gear) and the gearing means it's a lot more refined on the dual carriageway than the Daihatsu was as it's not screaming its tits off at 70.  Overall I really rather like it so far.

They are fun aren't they?  Rev limiter in 2nd should be 65.  Which mine saw far more often than I'd like to admit...the noise they make when worked hard is still great I reckon.

Keep an eye on the oil level as some of them like a drink - though mine never used a drop of oil the whole time I had it (9 years and about 65K miles) despite my driving it like I stole it a lot of the time.

Radiator is a bugger to change as it's sandwiched between the slam panel and crash bar so that has to be dropped off to change it, and make sure there's free play in the clutch cable or it'll eat the release bearing.  A lot of these have silly high clutches as apparently the dealer info says they're self adjusting... they're not!  The adjuster is on the nearside towards the back of the gearbox as I recall.

The wing indicator repeaters are a stupid design.  The bulb can't be replaced so the whole unit needs to be changed - though they are like £3 even from the dealer so hardly the end of the world.  Bugger me on principle though!

If you need a set of tail lights I think I still have s pair in the garage.

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10 minutes ago, Barry Cade said:

Spotted this odd thing through the week.. First time I've ever had to Google a car to find out what it was!

 

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Is that a SAAB 9-7X?  I've never seen one in the metal, so it's only a guess

LHD and square number plate, presuming a US import?

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1 hour ago, CaptainBoom said:

Is that a SAAB 9-7X?  I've never seen one in the metal, so it's only a guess

LHD and square number plate, presuming a US import?

Yes. It's a 9-7X, aka "Trollblazer"

 

Although as unloved as it is... I'd have a ton of fun with the Aero that has a Corvette engine and apparently handles very decently for the big thing it is 

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9 hours ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Was the C4 from "that there Goole" - the very strange OAP car dealers by any chance? 

£450 scrap - that's impressive!

It was indeed, we took a punt on it- "how bad can it be with 8 months test?"

Turns out the answer is grim. Very fucking grim indeed. But it's got her about, which has been the main thing... I'd be tempted to keep it for work, if it was just scruffy, but I can't justify spending the money it needs to get it through a test... Noticed both rear tires are going bald on the inside edge, so something's not well at the back either. 

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So, again I find that it's been a few weeks since I've engaged with stuff here. It's not that I don't like you, I do, it's just I'm working flat out and don't have time or energy to browse social media. 

Apart from the family, I have been working  my self employed gardening business, which is mostly a joy, but also since xmas I've really been pushing my bagpiping.

The aim is to live mostly from bagpipes, earning enough to be able to pick and choose my garden jobs. After all, i don't want to be crawling in the dirt on my knees all the way into old age, I'd rather dabble in gardening to top up my income rather than rely on it. 

So I've been really practicing hard, every day where possible, for as long a possible. This is giving me results and much joy! I've been playing my Welsh, Breton and English style pipes and I've just ordered some Highland pipes, because I love punishing myself apparently. 

Unfortunately it means going on Facebook to promote me but it's working and I'm getting loads of good gigs for better and better money. 

But it is leaving me with little time and energy, so that's why I've missed you all!

As for the cars, I've been farming out the work and using them sensibly...

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4 hours ago, LabRat said:

It was indeed, we took a punt on it- "how bad can it be with 8 months test?"

Turns out the answer is grim. Very fucking grim indeed. But it's got her about, which has been the main thing... I'd be tempted to keep it for work, if it was just scruffy, but I can't justify spending the money it needs to get it through a test... Noticed both rear tires are going bald on the inside edge, so something's not well at the back either. 

They seem to sell end of life sheds close to scrap money, very odd business model! Their reviews are quite amusing

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Got the Jag out of hibernation today. 

Stuck a battery on it, checked the fluids and started it for the first time in 6 months.

Nae bother🙂

I gave it a wash and then took it a drive and it's running very well(he says hesitantly as we're not home yet.)

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Sadly for me it's time for someone else to enjoy this fine beast, look out for a for sale ad soon. 

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Been working on the wiper motor for the Lanchester this weekend.  Lots of weird and wonderful smells as I gradually clear away 70 years of dirt, oil grease, and bad paint.  Dry fit demonstrated it's moving a lot smoother than it was so I'm hopeful that when the new paint dries, it will actually work properly.

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Been trying to record the process as I go, as with everything else on the Lanchester project, so there'll be a video on this at some point in the future. I never intended to strip this down so far, I was only going to clean out the old grease and put fresh in and then one thing led to another and now I know what's inside a Lucas SW4 wiper motor.

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do you even start a job you really wish you hadn't.  Trying to find source of a wet footwell in the XM and took the brake doseur valve off to check the rubber gaiter there.   After about an hour of trying to get the bloody bracket back on I set the torque wrench wrong and sheared one of the bolts clean off.  Stupid idiotic mistake I am kicking myself for.  Not sure how to sort this one.  Don't trust myself to drill and tap and think it too small for a stud extractor.  After the stupid amount of hours I have spent on this car I just want to cry

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Casually eating a chicken and stuffing sandwich in a cafe when a traffic jam begins to for outside…. 

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And what a traffic jam it was!! 
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It was the steam run from the Llandudno Victorian Extravaganza! He no idea it ran past where we had chosen to get lunch! 
 

Is it ok to admit I find Steam/traction Engines fascinating! 

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It works!  Runs really smoothly, especially compared to how it was with all the old grease in it.  Looks just right too, I was worried the cleaning and fresh paint would have made it look too restored, but I think I managed to tread the cosmetic line there on it.  Well chuffed about this job, never rebuilt something like this before.

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