The new news 24 thread

[Bren]

 

No it's not flat pack shite from ikea.

 

It's my SD1 wing. No wonder Rimmers P&P is expensive.

[trigger]

I've had a call from the garage doing my Dolomite clutch, apparently it's all back together and driving well, whist at it he's also done the timing probably, balanced and set up the twin SU's, done one of the rear wheel bearings which he says has quieten it down although he says the other bearing makes a little noise so he's ordered a new bearing and will be doing that tomorrow as well as adjusting the tappets too

 

I said how much extra will it be, other than the £11 for the new bearing and £7 for the rear crank seal he's not going to charge anymore than the original quoted £100?! I'll see when i collect it tomorrow if thats true or not!

[oldcars]

A garage that can work on old stuff and charge a fair price is like gold. Good on you for finding one.

[Wilko220]

So it's goodbye to the MSG 6...

 

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/mg-6-dropped-uk-line

[mercrocker]

Some fettling occurred today.   Actually it happens fairly often but usually by the time I have cleared away (in a monsoon), bandaged a finger and found a camera that doesn't need Bonusprints it is rare that I can be arsed to tell anybody else other than Samaritans.   

 

Today I finally started doing some Cowley interior.  I picked up the back seat cushion from the trimmers earlier in the week where some seam stitching had taken place. 

 

This reflects the better of the four seat sections that have been in the car for 60 years.... 

 

 

 

 

The original back squab had opened up right across the top panel adjacent to the parcel shelf and had rusted to the bottom rail attachment, luckily without serious repercussions to the car itself and had to be sacrificed.    

 

New rear sections in and received first coat of saddle cream.   These are actually out of two different Oxfords and are therefore leather, rather than leathercloth/Rexine, faced.   The long horizontal seam on the cushion part is what has been repaired, the squab needed nothing doing to it. 

 

 

 

Hammer not required in fitting process.   Yes, I know I should have prettied the inner wheelarch first and fitted some new Furflex.   However, I need the car for work at 5am so that will have to wait until my next day off.    

 

While I was buggering about in the boot tidying up the trailer pin wiring old Dave (not his real name) across the road ambled by and handed me something out of his shed which he had promised to me when he found it. 

 

An old Southampton Corporation taxi sign in need of some repairs but largely intact.  I couldn't resist plonking it on the roof for his amusement  

 

 

 

 

With its original Southampton registration and representing one of the most popular mid-fifties cabs (according to ex-cabbie Dave) it might be a bit of fun to smoke it about like that for a year or two.   One of the biggest fleets was Streamline Taxis who always painted the bonnet cream on their black cars.  I can foresee a bit of vinyl wrap nonsense happening.....

 

 

[Skizzer]

Anti-news: I didn't win the Skegness Gamma.

 

Buying the rusty London one isn't sensible. I should sort out the cars I've already got first. Probably.

[HillmanImp]

I went to see the MR2 tonight for the first time since we bought it.

 

As you may remember, we had a problem with one of the pop up headlights.

 

 

Well tonight we set out to mend this.

 

My mate had sourced a new motor from a breakers yard so we dismantled the light and fitted the new motor.

 

After a false start where we didn't put the light on its brackets properly, we tested the lights and they were popping up and down again! YAY! My lifetime dream of having a car with pop up headlights had finally been realised.

 

So we reassembled the light and its surround etc, adjusted it slightly so that it was lined up with the panels correctly and switched on the lights.

 

Luckily for you guys I recorded the moment to share the greatness.

 

[doobietoo]

Waiting at Bath and west showground for a guy to turn up with a couple of Allegro panels I am buying not bored though as every minute or so another nice car comes along there's another one. .......

[hairnet]

Lmfao at MR one

[Guest Hooli]

I went to see the MR2 tonight for the first time since we bought it.

 

As you may remember, we had a problem with one of the pop up headlights.

 

IMG_20160528_195103.jpg

 

Well tonight we set out to mend this.

 

My mate had sourced a new motor from a breakers yard so we dismantled the light and fitted the new motor.

 

After a false start where we didn't put the light on its brackets properly, we tested the lights and they were popping up and down again! YAY! My lifetime dream of having a car with pop up headlights had finally been realised.

 

So we reassembled the light and its surround etc, adjusted it slightly so that it was lined up with the panels correctly and switched on the lights.

 

Luckily for you guys I recorded the moment to share the greatness.

 

 

They aren't proper popup lights unless they are vacuum powered as per Lotus & drop away into the bonnet 2/3rds way through a full throttle overtake like the original Elan did.

[Guest Hooli]

FOURTEEN DAYS

 

THAT'S

 

TWO WEEKS

 

Without a FTP

 

Take that Goona doubters!

[Essex V6]

Best looking Vectra I have seen!

[mercrocker]

FOURTEEN DAYS

 

THAT'S

 

TWO WEEKS

 

Without a FTP

 

Take that Goona doubters!

 

Did you enjoy your 14 day sea cruise?

[darkfour]

Took the family for a week in southern Spain where I did a little spottage much their chargrin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was parked inside the bullring at Ronda...I can only assume it was waiting to be put out of its misery

[oldcars]

That 75 has a posh lower trim bit on the bumper.

[Guest Hooli]

Did you enjoy your 14 day sea cruise?

 LOL, I've driven it it on all but one of those days. Done near 400miles of FTP free goonering.

[skattrd]

Not really news, but I think I spotted Vulgalour in his Rover coming off the A1 at Newark. Either that or there are 2 red Rover 400s with black roofs driven by men in trilbys.

[Guest Hooli]

I thought ALL Rover 400 drivers had to wear hats by law?

[Craig the Princess]

Last five tanks in the Rover 414

39.5 mpg

43.2 mpg

40.2 mpg

47.4 mpg

40.4 mpg

 

Got to be happy with that

[egg]

Fusion failed it's MOT today, not too bad just a wheel bearing and rusty brake pipe. Should be sorted by Monday by my local mechanic.

[Kiltox]

Normal Renault FTP frequency will return shortly - I'm looking at a leggy Trafic tomorrow

[cort16]

Panda now has mot. Tally so far 260 quid + £100 for front struts. It's getting the timing belt done next week and now I've spunked that much cash I might as well get my mate to fix the door .

 

The odd thing is Today I got a rebate from the finance company I have my juke with for reasons I don't fully understand that should cover the costs of the panda. Result.

[For Fiats Sake]

Going to see a caravan tomorrow -I is officially middle aged/old giffer in waiting as it seems a nice way to avoid hotels &   B'n'Bs and take the dog.

 

The fact I haven't got a working towbar fitted despite having two of them is neither here nor there!

 

In work related news one of the assistant managers was taken away by the rozzers this afternoon on suspicion of theft.  Apparently he's been issuing no receipt cash refunds to himself for some time.

[Lord Sterling]

Well, the week started off fairly well, spent a couple of days in a rainy but nevertheless beautiful Scotland and came home a few more times this week than usual, but things started to go wrong today as I headed down South (again) got to my pick up late due to the lads who picked me up this morning mis-timing how long it'd take to get to pick up the 4th driver and get to our pick up which was in the middle of some airfield.

 

Eventually I got the van which was a bit surreal as it was exactly the same make and type of van I'd picked up/dropped off earlier up in Scotland and during the same type of weather, very rainy.

 

I left the site 4 hours later than I should have, then my PDA phone went wrong just as I was getting the number of the customer I was dropping to. It wouldn't switch on just started 'clicking' so a call to the office to explain what was going on and general faffing about added yet more time and less credit on my own phone.

 

Eventually I got the van to the customer, but he wasn't happy as the van wasn't ply-lined and had a few items missing. I was aware that the van wasn't fully kitted out but wasn't aware whether the customer had actually asked for the van to be like this, I'd picked it up from a PDI place near Peterborough and it was parked and signed off to me so I assumed it was ready to go, obviously not... The customer was a nice chap though, once the people who'd sold him the van had promised to finish lining his van before Monday he happily dropped me off to the car hire place where I picked up my ride home.

 

Now, normally I have 2 cars on the road in my local area that are my responsibility, now I have 4. No, I haven't bought anything (thankfully, as I can't bloody afford it) but when work sorted me out a hire car for me from Surrey to home, the local renting firm to me had also dropped another car off for me whilst I was on my way home so now I have 2 hire cars as well as my own cars. Thankfully by tomorrow it shoukd be 3 then by Monday, just my own cars.

 

Also, the M25 can fuck off.

[bub2006]

Going to see a caravan tomorrow -I is officially middle aged/old giffer in waiting as it seems a nice way to avoid hotels & B'n'Bs and take the dog.

 

The fact I haven't got a working towbar fitted despite having two of them is neither here nor there!

 

In work related news one of the assistant managers was taken away by the rozzers this afternoon on suspicion of theft. Apparently he's been issuing no receipt cash refunds to himself for some time.

Tell me more about the caravan. Delivery may be possible depending on location too. And it don't weigh more than 1400kg! Love my van easy to clear off for for a night or two. Dog is welcome too!

[purplebargeken]

I hear you about the M25. Oh yes.

[bub2006]

Well, the week started off fairly well, spent a couple of days in a rainy but nevertheless beautiful Scotland and came home a few more times this week than usual, but things started to go wrong today as I headed down South (again) got to my pick up late due to the lads who picked me up this morning mis-timing how long it'd take to get to pick up the 4th driver and get to our pick up which was in the middle of some airfield.

 

Eventually I got the van which was a bit surreal as it was exactly the same make and type of van I'd picked up/dropped off earlier up in Scotland and during the same type of weather, very rainy.

 

I left the site 4 hours later than I should have, then my PDA phone went wrong just as I was getting the number of the customer I was dropping to. It wouldn't switch on just started 'clicking' so a call to the office to explain what was going on and general faffing about added yet more time and less credit on my own phone.

 

Eventually I got the van to the customer, but he wasn't happy as the van wasn't ply-lined and had a few items missing. I was aware that the van wasn't fully kitted out but wasn't aware whether the customer had actually asked for the van to be like this, I'd picked it up from a PDI place near Peterborough and it was parked and signed off to me so I assumed it was ready to go, obviously not... The customer was a nice chap though, once the people who'd sold him the van had promised to finish lining his van before Monday he happily dropped me off to the car hire place where I picked up my ride home.

 

Now, normally I have 2 cars on the road in my local area that are my responsibility, now I have 4. No, I haven't bought anything (thankfully, as I can't bloody afford it) but when work sorted me out a hire car for me from Surrey to home, the local renting firm to me had also dropped another car off for me whilst I was on my way home so now I have 2 hire cars as well as my own cars. Thankfully by tomorrow it shoukd be 3 then by Monday, just my own cars.

 

Also, the M25 can fuck off.

This plating job sounds alright Ls. Driving cars and meeting folk. How is it realistically?

[rml2345]

I hear you about the M25. Oh yes.

Yes. Only ever encountered the M25 twice, which is seventeen times too many.

[Lord Sterling]

This plating job sounds alright Ls. Driving cars and meeting folk. How is it realistically?

In a few words; Utterly brilliant, unique, frustrating, tiring and expensive.

 

Utterly brilliant as you get to see parts of the country, your office window is often a wilderness of beautiful greenery, different little towns ditted all around and the countryside etc... You are not having to go to the same place everyday sat between 4 walls surrounded by a bunch of twats who don't like you that you are forced to work with and no one is really breathing down your neck.

 

But like most jobs, it has its frustrations; failed jobs, (cars you have reject due to dangerous defects/bald tyres) smarmy arrogant unhelpful dealers/customers, travelling costs, crappy public transport, other drivers, places that be found, time limits and not really knowing where your gonna be/sleeping from one day to the next.

 

It can be very tiring as I'm finding out now. Many early starts and late finishes are usually down to traffic and the distance you travel.

 

Travelling from job to job can be fairly wallett hurting. Depending on your employment structure, you can either have this cost reimbursed every week or get most of it back in a chunk by the end of the financial year if you are self-employed. If starting out in this game, you really need a chunk of money behind you and be savvy about finding overnight digs if you work for a company like mine.

 

Also, it is important that you can drive pretty much whatever they throw at you (and of course according to your licence entitlements) you can't turn up to a job and refuse it because you don't like a certain car's driving position/handling etc... it just wastes everyones time including yours.

 

It's not a job that suits everyone, money can be a bit up and down, some weeks are great, some not.

[Semi-C]

Purchased 4 x pneu tyres for my lass's Liana in 185/65/14 guise.

 

£114 fitted, at my local garage. They're Mohawks according to the sidewall, initial reports find them sufficiently adequate.

 

Also a coincidence is the tyres they've replaced were bald apart from a strip down the middle.