The new news 24 thread

[danthecapriman]

It's been absolutely pissing down and thunder/lightening here today, which pissed me off. So I decided as a pick me up to do a little retail therapy.

 

The plan was to buy a pair of recon calipers, front pads and fitting kit for my mk2 Granada. The mot is due soon and one of the calipers is sticking.

Anyway, I ended up on my favourite Ford specialist website (in Germany!) and spotted some other stuff I want for the car too...

 

So, some £700 odd quid later I've now got a shit load of bits coming over ready for my blitzing of the car in a couple of weeks time when I'm off work for a week!

One of the parts is a used but good bonnet which, try as I might I just can not find in this country. I was going to weld my old one but it really is dead. Rotten all along the front edge and it's full of filler too.

 

I probably shouldn't of spent that much with the Capri undergoing a full resto and all but sod it!

[xtriple]

Looks no more difficult than my old Discovery. The only way that'd take two days is because it's all rusted together & snaps when you start to undo it.

Rust? Do you mind chap? This is a fine and prestigious example of pre Brexit British engineering at its very best!

 

Rust, the very idea....

 

:)

[anonymous user]

Yes we all know, a Bentley doesn't rust; however, it may corrode slightly

[Keymaster]

Yesterday chodweaver & I went to a secret storage facility near Rhyl to help* with an engine swap on Ciaran's broken winnebago.

 

Neither of us had done an engine swap before, so naively went into it with an optimistic "how hard can it be!"

 

Thankfully there was a proper mechanic there to show us "just how hard it can be". Even though it was the same type, the replacement engine came from a Renault 21, so every bolt on piece needed swapping over. Flywheel, clutch, mounts, pulleys, water pump, oil pump, sump, turbo. Everything! We even had to take a hacksaw to the block so it could fit around the diff.

 

Brilliant day though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's still not finished

[anonymous user]

News 24 hours late, on the way to Shitefest I stopped at services on the M4 so the dog could have a pee, this was in the car-park

 

On the way back stopped at the same services, on the other side and parked next to a Bentley S3 Continental Flying Spur the chap was on his way back to Devon after a RREC Rally, I suspect that Shitefest was more fun.

[Ghosty]

A4 is handling a lot better and with less knocking. Susepnsion has settled and the back is at a nice height now but the front still has a reasonably silly arch gap. Good enough for now though and there's other things that need doing so front shocks (adjustable?) aren't on the horizon.

[Junkman]

The haunted Rover is ever more haunted.

 

It runs considerably better the more I drive it. During the trip to Shitefest, it morphed into a veritable race car. I guess the engine is finally breaking in after its rebuild.

Honestly, it doesn't accelerate anymore, it explodes forward. Thrust is uninterrupted until beyond 110 OMGMPH, although I vociferously deny having ever tested this on a deserted, dark, rainy A38 near Lichfield. I'd say 120 is realistically possible given a long enough run up. Interestingly, the wind noise disappears at speeds over 90, as if someone flicked a switch.

 

However, the headlights continue to play up in many entertaining fashions, i.e. they shine only left, or only right, sometimes even both, or suddenly none at all. I guess the fusebox being molten around the respective fuses might contribute to the issue.

 

But the most severe defect I had to fix today, was that the interior light did no longer come on, when the driver's door was opened.

[Keymaster]

It lives!

 

[Fat_Pirate]

I have been polishing.  Was satisfying.

 

 

 

 

[AlabamaShrimp]

^^^I did that with my red Fiesta. Though not as initially badly faded it's back to being patchy now.

[Tamworthbay]

Why does red paint do that?  My old Sierra did it too.

some red pigments are unstable in UV light, they do seem to be improving things a bit now but then you don't see that many red cars at the moment.

[purplebargeken]

You should have left it at 'half and half'. That would have got some looks!

 

Nice finish.

[Pillock]

Is there a UV blocking top coat you can use?

[For Fiats Sake]

I found using a sealing polish (can't think of the name but i use AutoGlym), goes on and dries like windowlene and buff off, will protect your handy work longer.

 

Extra Gloss Protection!

[Fat_Pirate]

I hit it with T-Cut then followed up with Turtlewax Colour Magic - it reckons it seals the paint, does it?  

[Tamworthbay]

Is there a UV blocking top coat you can use?

[burraston2006]

Yes we all know, a Bentley doesn't rust; however, it may corrode slightly

A Bentley doesn't corrode slightly; it merely looks lightly foxed after a decade or two.

[Junkman]

Why does red paint do that?  My old Sierra did it too.

 

Because red paint and red plastic are made by the devil. PHAKT.

[vulgalour]

Car shunting:

- Rover and Toyota taken to the unit.

- Renault booted out into the yard so the Toyota can go into the unit to leak on the floor indoors.

- Wanted to tow the Renault home, but the height difference between it and my Rover is too great to use the tow pole

- Came home in the Rover together, got the Corsa out of the garage so Mike can use it as his daily again and now have an empty garage.

 

Having a garage with no car in it feels wrong.  I'll see if we can use Chompy's Picasso to tow the Renault home instead.  There's no work the Renault needs to be at the unit for now so it makes sense to bring it home.  Then I *might* be able to get on with the welding on the Princess because I'm feeling decidedly guilty about my lack of progress on that one.

[Jon]

News just in from a rural-ish part of New Zealand, not too far from the nation's capital. 32 year old Daihatsu Delta still in frontline service for the fire brigade!

 

 

The above image was posted on my FB feed but I can't find the accompanying story that goes with it. It's a volunteer Operational Support vehicle and is apparently due for replacement this year. Attended 29 calls this year so far, which is quite respectable, I reckon. Here's a better photo of it from a fire engine lickers' website (http://www.111emergency.co.nz/) which has some prime examples of working shite amongst all the modern Ivecos and such like.

 

[richardmorris]

2cv MOTD with no advisories yesterday- only 800miles in the last year though

[fordperv]

Spent time at mrs fp's grandads earlier whilst the priest was there to discuss the funeral for mrs fp's nan, the priest told us a bit about himself and he was quite a high ranking fellow, the topic somehow got onto cars and how the best car he ever had was a rover 400 diesel which he bought at 1 year old and kept up until a couple of years back and racked up over 250,000 miles in it, i laughed to myself thinking shiters are everywhere

[ShiteRider]

I've replaced the faithfull yet terminally fucked fiesta, with a diesel vectra c............. I actually quite like it.

[tooSavvy]

I whizzed past a slew of Fraud Angelas, travelling East on A66 near Brough, yesterday afternoon....

 

Blezzing with rain and looking very sad for themselves (occupants, not cars)

 

 

Wonder what they were about... ?

 

Not one was 'Heartbeat' coloured!

 

 

TS

[fordperv]

But we're any of them omgosf type anglias

[tooSavvy]

If 'omgawd old skool fraud' means soupbowl hubcaps and (perhaps) a 'peakyblinder' sun visor..... Hmm

 

Mebbies

 

TS

[RayMK]

I gave my Stellar a once over between showers on Monday in preparation for its MOT today.  I could not find anything falling off, wobbling or worn-out and corrosion was staying away from key areas.  It also goes and stops ok, so I had tiny hope that it would pass without a wallet emptying session.  The dreaded 'phone call came an hour ago.  IT PASSED!!!!     .  Even the filthy wet weather cannot damp out my happiness.

[vulgalour]

Managed to pull out in front of a UPS lorry I didn't see.  A freaking UPS lorry.  No harm done, thankfully, but how my brain interpretted a lorry as a shadow under a tree I do not know.  In my (rather weak and feeble) defence it isn't the most visible colour in the rain and he didn't have any lights on.  Still, what a stupid thing to do.  Alarmingly, it's not the first time I've done this, a couple of years previously I pulled out of a road end and didn't see an oncoming car because again, it was a rainy day and they had no lights on in a car that was exactly the same colour as wet tarmac.

 

I honestly don't know whose fault it is in these situations.  Yes, I should have seen them but equally the main reason I didn't see them is because their vehicle just blended in to its surroundings where if they'd had just sidelights on they wouldn't.  I suppose I ought to get my eyes tested again too, just in case.

[richardmorris]

this was outside yesterday along with a lovely Lancia and Ferrari 400.

[andy18s]

 

 

More Morrys classics......