The new news 24 thread

[Metal Guru]

4 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

The replace in pairs agenda really gets me, no need whatsoever to waste money on replacing components that aren't worn out or otherwise faulty, unless it's a performance car the slight difference isnt going to be noticeable. It's just a myth circulated by fast fit centres to upsell. Maybe do the other rear at that price for peace of mind but I'd leave the fronts alone if I were you. 

Realistically if a shock isn't leaking then it's not going to do it's job much worse than a brand new one. 

I always say you wouldn't be replacing it if the other hadn't gone so there's no reason to do it now, they're two independent components. 

Save your money

I had a single shock replaced by a main dealer on a Subaru WRX. I queried it “shouldn’t you replace them in pairs?” They just laughed and said “ that’s how Kwikfit make their money!”

 

[RoverFolkUs]

10 minutes ago, Metal Guru said:

I had a single shock replaced by a main dealer on a Subaru WRX. I queried it “shouldn’t you replace them in pairs?” They just laughed and said “ that’s how Kwikfit make their money!”

 

It's true tho

I only recommend pairs when they're both worn (obviously) or when the other side is showing signs of following, e.g slight play in a ball joint /bush or a small weep from a shock when the other side has completely failed etc. 

The one that gets me most is springs! If the spring is intact how will there ever be a perceivable difference between it and a brand new Starline one which might only last a year or two compared to the 15 year old OEM one 🤣

[Cord Fourteener]

I feel stretched and lacking in time and and money to give three cars the care they need so I've been thinking of downsizing .

Then Wife Shite runs out of MOT without telling us and 740 steps in again. 

I'm so confused about the right thing to do now. Maybe be more organised... I think I'll need drugs for that though. 

[JJ0063]

Just spotted this in Dereham, no idea what it is but I want it.

[Ghosty]

6 minutes ago, JJ0063 said:

Just spotted this in Dereham, no idea what it is but I want it.

Jiffy - Mini front subframe and a fibreglass cab. 

[Amishtat]

4 hours ago, Cord Fourteener said:

      740 steps in again. 

 

And again.

And again.

There's your answer.

Fuck that other scrap off.

[wuvvum]

3 hours ago, JJ0063 said:

Just spotted this in Dereham, no idea what it is but I want it.

There was one of those parked up outside a garage in Bacton for ages.  Not sure if it was the same one though, I don't remember the graphics on the front.

[Asimo]

19 hours ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Realistically if a shock isn't leaking then it's not going to do it's job much worse than a brand new one

I have had dampers fail completely, with no external damage or leak at all. Absoutely zero damping effect and looked like new.

[RoverFolkUs]

2 hours ago, Asimo said:

I have had dampers fail completely, with no external damage or leak at all. Absoutely zero damping effect and looked like new.

In the case of a gas filled strut, entirely possible. But then you'd notice with the bouncy ride.

If there's no reason to suspect anything is wrong there's no need to change both

[wuvvum]

Got a few bits done this weekend, although not as much as I would have liked as yesterday I got up late and the weather today was rather grotty.

Yesterday I fitted the shiny new* back seat that @Lankytim had kindly nabbed for me off of social media into the Volvo.

Not done the fronts yet - that looks like a rather more involved job so it'll have to wait until I have more time and it's a bit warmer.  Definitely a big improvement though, and it didn't take too long to do - the longest bit was sweeping out the bits of broken glass that were under the seat from when the rear window got smashed about 15 years ago.

Then I mowed the lawn - the first time I can ever recall doing so in December, but it did need doing quite badly.  I had been meaning to do it for a few weeks to be fair, but Saturday was the first time in ages that I'd been free at a time when the grass was dry enough (thanks to a combination of a bit of sun and a stiff breeze) to be mowable.  After that I went for a bike ride, which was quite chilly due to the aforementioned breeze but at least it was dry and reasonably bright (unlike today which was twilight pretty much all day).

Today I had a brief play with the Visa, and got the offside rear indicator working by running a wire directly from the multiplug to the positive terminal on the bulb, thus bypassing the knackered PCB.  It's a bodge but it works.  

I then slapped a liberal coating of Hydrate 80 over the most obvious rusty bits - it's going to have to spend the winter outside so I'm trying to stop it from deteriorating too much.  The car is actually starting pretty reliably now with the 123 ignition module connected to the battery, but it'll only run for a few minutes before it floods itself and dies.  I couldn't run it for too long at the moment anyway because the cooling fan is off waiting for me to drill and tap proper mounting holes for the ignition gubbins, but the carb is definitely going to need further attention at some point.

The only other thing I got done today was to connect up the backlighting on the Toyota's new stereo - I'd not done anything with that wire when I fitted the unit but now it's dark all the time I thought it better to have the buttons lit so I can see what I'm doing.  I gave up after that and came back indoors as it was just too bloody cold.

[Lankytim]

23 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

Got a few bits done this weekend, although not as much as I would have liked as yesterday I got up late and the weather today was rather grotty.

Yesterday I fitted the shiny new* back seat that @Lankytim had kindly nabbed for me off of social media into the Volvo.

Not done the fronts yet - that looks like a rather more involved job so it'll have to wait until I have more time and it's a bit warmer.  Definitely a big improvement though, and it didn't take too long to do - the longest bit was sweeping out the bits of broken glass that were under the seat from when the rear window got smashed about 15 years ago.

Then I mowed the lawn - the first time I can ever recall doing so in December, but it did need doing quite badly.  I had been meaning to do it for a few weeks to be fair, but Saturday was the first time in ages that I'd been free at a time when the grass was dry enough (thanks to a combination of a bit of sun and a stiff breeze) to be mowable.  After that I went for a bike ride, which was quite chilly due to the aforementioned breeze but at least it was dry and reasonably bright (unlike today which was twilight pretty much all day).

Today I had a brief play with the Visa, and got the offside rear indicator working by running a wire directly from the multiplug to the positive terminal on the bulb, thus bypassing the knackered PCB.  It's a bodge but it works.  

I then slapped a liberal coating of Hydrate 80 over the most obvious rusty bits - it's going to have to spend the winter outside so I'm trying to stop it from deteriorating too much.  The car is actually starting pretty reliably now with the 123 ignition module connected to the battery, but it'll only run for a few minutes before it floods itself and dies.  I couldn't run it for too long at the moment anyway because the cooling fan is off waiting for me to drill and tap proper mounting holes for the ignition gubbins, but the carb is definitely going to need further attention at some point.

The only other thing I got done today was to connect up the backlighting on the Toyota's new stereo - I'd not done anything with that wire when I fitted the unit but now it's dark all the time I thought it better to have the buttons lit so I can see what I'm doing.  I gave up after that and came back indoors as it was just too bloody cold.

I seem to remember the float continually sticking resulting in a jet of fuel down the carb when the float chamber was full, it’s easy to access by removing the top of the carb. Id get it all moving correctly only for it to jam again and cause flooding. So annoying! A word of advice though, there’s a manufacturers hole in the middle of the manifold and any liquid fuel ends up there leaks all over the top of the engine, it’s a bit of a fire risk. 

[wesacosa]

The Barn Find* Estelle 130 I went to view with @barrett in the summer has resurfaced for sale now with MOT and a bit closer to me. I had been having non-buyers regret given not much else has come up and the impending ULEZ expansion but not sure if the rose tinted specs are kicking in as it wasn't just the lack of MOT and the cost of trailering from Brighton which put me off

[stuboy]

Collegue asked me too checked out her car and the tester says it's high charging... so either regulator on the alternator or its the alternator itself I think... skoda octavia. 

[Ghosty]

With the Type R sold, and the Civic sedan needing a run, I'm going off to look at an MX-5 to see about replacing my current one with a better example. 

[Ghosty]

Mission success. Not going to find a better MX-5 for the money. Collecting tomorrow. 

 

[artdjones]

7 hours ago, stuboy said:

Collegue asked me too checked out her car and the tester says it's high charging... so either regulator on the alternator or its the alternator itself I think... skoda octavia. 

That's reasonably high, but not over the top if the car has a smart charge system 

[Markeh]

Plans are afoot for me to buy something that manages to both be shite (or at least future shite), shit, dull, and interesting all at once, and as an added bonus the purchase will be supporting a local charity. Bonus points for the fact it has so far made everyone I told I was buying it do a double take.

At least it's cheap (~scrap money) and I've got someone who's already called dibs not too far from the AS fold should I wake up in horror and realise what I've done, obviously provided its not a total dog (which given its done enough miles that it was probably used by Lisa Stansfield to find her baby, the jury is still out on!)

Seems like I only ever buy project cars in the last 4 months of the year, the 206, Sedici and Meriva were all bought around this time. 

[Cord Fourteener]

3 year olds wants a story...

Ok, very good. 

Wait, I know these!

Vauxhall Astra, orange Astra, I had a Belmontin that shape and that colour, BMW, BMW, Saab. And look those prices, pretty much Shite prices.

Is that an orange Sierra?

Looks at the editorial, 

1992.

Of course. 

[cobblers]

18 hours ago, stuboy said:

Collegue asked me too checked out her car and the tester says it's high charging... so either regulator on the alternator or its the alternator itself I think... skoda octavia. 

That's absolutely fine, especially in this cold weather. A smart charge system will bump the voltage up a little bit in the cold to get the battery topped up and balanced nice. You wouldn't want to leave the battery at 14.9V for weeks on end, but for a car battery it's fine. Plus, once the car has been running for 15 minutes the charge voltage will probably drop to a gentle ~13.6 float.

 

[Ghosty]

Here we go again. Trainsplits a blessing. 

[Ghosty]

On the train to Sheffield now. 

I took the Civic saloon to view the MX5 yesterday. It was a good thing I did as the rear brakes had seized on from lack of use - that's the problem with not having any level storage for my cars. I've missed driving that car! 

[Stevebrookman]

Another years MOT for the Sierra. Needed a track rod end and two bits of welding on the rear arches-£185 -couldn't be bothered pulling the MIG out and freezing for that! Heres a before pic-too dark tonight. They replaced all the rusty bits you can see on the wheelarch near the door on both sides.

 

 

 

[Zelandeth]

Sweet.  Stereo works.  Well, sort of.

Tape does anyway - which was probably the most important bit.  Radio appears to be dead.

Neither the upper control panel or steering column controls do anything.  So the radio *may* actually work, but this system as I recall has muting if off station, and the seek controls are on the upper control panel, not duplicated on the head unit itself so I can't currently try to tune into anything or switch bands.

Could it really be as simple as a dodgy connection or someone not having plugged things back in (I have an invoice for the 12V outlet having been rewired, so this will have been out to access that)?

Not holding my breath, but would be a nice surprise if so.

Also, yes it still sounds bloody decent, even on the original speakers, must have been absolutely epic back in the late 80s.

[MrGTI6]

Passed my Mod 2 this morning! Much easier than the Mod 1 although I was shitting myself just before.

I now have a full motorbike licence!

Now I need to get myself a bike. Which means I'll probably need to sell a car (or two).

[andyberg]

27 minutes ago, MrGTI6 said:

Passed my Mod 2 this morning! Much easier than the Mod 1 although I was shitting myself just before.

I now have a full motorbike licence!

Now I need to get myself a bike. Which means I'll probably need to sell a car (or two).

Well done chap 👍

[andy18s]

The Mrs sent me a pic of the train that took her from Gorna Oryahovitsa to Ruse,then onward to Bucharest airport.

A fairly uneventful trip so far is reported.

[MJK 24]

2 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Sweet.  Stereo works.  Well, sort of.

Tape does anyway - which was probably the most important bit.  Radio appears to be dead.

Neither the upper control panel or steering column controls do anything.  So the radio *may* actually work, but this system as I recall has muting if off station, and the seek controls are on the upper control panel, not duplicated on the head unit itself so I can't currently try to tune into anything or switch bands.

Could it really be as simple as a dodgy connection or someone not having plugged things back in (I have an invoice for the 12V outlet having been rewired, so this will have been out to access that)?

Not holding my breath, but would be a nice surprise if so.

Also, yes it still sounds bloody decent, even on the original speakers, must have been absolutely epic back in the late 80s.

What’s that from?  Renault 25?

[stuboy]

32 minutes ago, andy18s said:

The Mrs sent me a pic of the train that took her from Gorna Oryahovitsa to Ruse,then onward to Bucharest airport.

A fairly uneventful trip so far is reported.

big old bugger that

[stuboy]

2 hours ago, MrGTI6 said:

Passed my Mod 2 this morning! Much easier than the Mod 1 although I was shitting myself just before.

I now have a full motorbike licence!

Now I need to get myself a bike. Which means I'll probably need to sell a car (or two).

well done chap

[stuboy]

3 hours ago, Stevebrookman said:

Another years MOT for the Sierra. Needed a track rod end and two bits of welding on the rear arches-£185 -couldn't be bothered pulling the MIG out and freezing for that! Heres a before pic-too dark tonight. They replaced all the rusty bits you can see on the wheelarch near the door on both sides.

 

 

 

very nice