The new news 24 thread

[HillmanImp]

I liked that as nobody died. What a bad crash.

[worldofceri]

That's nuts.

[HillmanImp]

Update on the Mister Two. It failed onthe following:

 

Nothing too unexpected other than the welding, I didn't spot that when I was looking on Monday. Not looked to see how much there is, wont be much.

 

Not sure how much of a pain the exhaust will be to sort out, either really easy or absolutely awful considering where the engine is.

 

I had bought a fog light to go on but the wiring that was already there wasn't working. I swapped relays to see if that would resolve it but to no avail so just left it as knew it would fail on other things.

 

Have two weeks to sort it out before the retest.

 

Unfortunately I am on holiday till Monday so will have to start it then.

[For Fiats Sake]

I took the head with cam and shims fitted to have the shims corrected for the parade.

 

Meanwhile after the Regatta was collected by a fellow ASer for another ASer turns out he'd done some work on one of my Pandas- changed the autobox for manual.  To my shame I haven't done anything with the car during my ownership as I thought it was the gearbox mount which needed changing, turns out it was the engine mount at the top left of the engine.

I set about removing the old mount from the donor car, which was different to the one fitted to the car and swapped them.  Turns out not only the mount, the arm connecting to the engine and the mount onto the wing is different on both cars, talk about making life difficult!

 

Anyway it got swapped over, I had a rounded stubborn 13mm bolt so went and bought a swanky new spanner which managed to undo it - bit steep at £20 but just shows how a decent tool can save the day.

 

Now I've got 2 blue pandas I started to have thoughts about number plates and swapping them about when Plod from a couple of months ago turns up on the drive.  He'd just come to have a look and had the special with him.  I told him about the council planning lot and he said it wasn't due to him.  He had a nosy at a few of projects on the go and left, wonder if I'm forever to get little visits?  Won't be rearranging number plates now with being under surveillance and all.

 

I don't get the engine back until Friday so don't look good for getting away in the caravan this week now!

 

 

A swanky spanner earlier today. 

[purplebargeken]

Cool spanner. Wouldn't worry too much about being under 'observation'. Go for it. 

[fatharris]

 

Ladies and gents, the Harris household has been christened.

WE'RE HOME OWNERS Y'ALL!

[fatharris]

Exactly, it's like this house was made for me.

[trigger]

"Hey sweetheart, can you take a photo of me having a shit in our new home so that i can share it with a bunch of strangers on the internet"...

 

"Of course Fatharris, because that won't be a strange thing to do at all..."

 

Congratulations on the new home!

[Cavcraft]

For a fleeting moment I thought that was a still from Barry Chuckle's short lived stint as a presenter on Homes Under The Hammer.

[fatharris]

STRANGERS' APPROVAL IS THE BEST APPROVAL

 

Nah, I asked MrsH to take that pic of me to send my friends but that was the only one that was taken before the battery died

[beko1987]

Congratulations! Is that step up to the bath for bracing a leg against for an extra tricky one?

[fatharris]

 

I'll say this though, I was planning to have a mixer tap put in so the downstairs bathroom could also have a shower...

 

...that vision ended as soon as I stood up in the tub and banged my head on the ceiling!

[hairnet]

STRANGERS' APPROVAL IS THE BEST APPROVAL

 

Nah, I asked MrsH to take that pic of me to send my friends but that was the only one that was taken before the battery died

cos of stink ??

[wuvvum]

There's actually been some vague progress on the fleet over the last few days.  I had a day off work Monday so ran the Rover of Doom up to my mate's and he weldaged up the sills.  As that was the only obvious MOT fail (apart from the fucked tyres, but I have quite a selection of Rover wheels now), I'm going to spend this weekend tidying it up then book it in for a test as soon as practicable thereafter.

 

Yesterday the carb rebuild kit for the Mobylette arrived in the post.  As sometimes seems to be the case on the more obscure corners of ebay, it worked out cheaper to buy the whole kit rather than just the bit I needed (needle valve).  This evening, unusually, I got home while it was still vaguely daylight so thought I'd better check that I'd bought the right bit.  Not only was it right, but once it was fitted and the carb put back together and refitted, the bike started second kick and ticked over perfectly - not bad for an old 2-stroke awakening from a 5-year slumber.  Only slight fly in the ointment was that, after over 20 years of loyal service, the choke cable chose that exact moment to snap, so I had to take the air filter off and hold the choke on manually.  Still proper chuffed though.  I even took it for a ride round the garden - the projected spin down the road will have to be postponed until I work out how the fuck I wired up the lights 21 years ago - the Halfords switches have long since disintegrated.

 

The new water pump for the Volvo arrived in the post today, so I should be able to get that fitted at the weekend too - it's a new old stock Quinton Hazell job, and came in its delightfully musty-smelling original cardboard box.  I'm going to have to fit it using a temporary fan belt though until the replacement alternator arrives - I haven't heard anything back on that yet, but apparently the seller has been ill.

 

I've hit a few snags along the way though - I'd booked the Spacy in for a test on Monday but couldn't find the paperwork in time (needed for the VIN as neither I nor the MOT tester has ever been able to find the VIN plate, and Google is no help either) so it couldn't be tested.  The Alfa went in as well and failed, albeit not too badly - headlight aim, sidelight too dim (serves me right for being a tightwad and fitting the wrong bulb), sharp edge on the rear bumper (gaffer tape will sort this), a drop link (6 quid off ebay), and the only bit I can't do myself, a 4" by 3" bit of welding on the offside outer sill.  I could probably have a bash at it, but I'm not really confident enough yet to start welding stuff that's actually going to be visible.  I'm in two minds whether to do it or not - on the one hand it'd be a shame to see the car go for scrap for the sake of 40 quid or so (including the retest), but on the other it's going to need a new clutch soon, which is going to be well into three figures, so when it dies completely the car will probably get scrapped anyway.

 

Oh, and the seller on eBay who apparently had over 10 brand new front calipers for the 164 in stock has removed the listing as "the item is no longer available".  There aren't that many 164s on the road, let alone ones needing new brake calipers.  FFS.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Got my MAserati started this evening - first time in 4 years!!! 2 previous attempts to get it going were thwarted by me fitting the timing belt wrongly!!!! Good job we didn't smash any valves

 

[rml2345]

Well done sir!

I'm off to Lincolnshire on Friday to collect a Rover 75 for FATHA_RML which doesn't really seem exciting enough for a thread.

[Noel Tidybeard]

AutoShite NEWS

 

FAT HARRIS PUTS DEPOSIT DOWN IN NEW HOUSE

[Cavcraft]

Can you fit the Alfa clutch yourself, Wuvvum? Just thinking you might strike gold and find someone with a new old stock one somewhere on the cheap.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

What Alfa is it?

[phil_lihp]

Marvellous to see the Maserati running, it sounds like it's in good health.  Is this the precursor to more welding antics?

[Six-cylinder]

Got my MAserati started this evening - first time in 4 years!!! 2 previous attempts to get it going were thwarted by me fitting the timing belt wrongly!!!! Good job we didn't smash any valves

Fantastic to here you are progressing again with it.

 

If you need to look at ours or even drive it you are welcome.

 

I always wanted to line up the three Biturbos of this parish, but can't even remember who has the 3rd one?

[panhard65]

I had a Biturbo last year for a short while. You were very lucky with the valves the one I had dropped a valve head due to standing. They have the sodium filled valves that can let go if left sitting for too long. I think mine had been sitting at least 10 years mind.

[Six-cylinder]

I had a Biturbo last year for a short while. You were very lucky with the valves the one I had dropped a valve head due to standing. They have the sodium filled valves that can let go if left sitting for too long. I think mine had been sitting at least 10 years mind.

So you were the third man, I am guess you sold yours?

[dollywobbler]

The original third man was JohnF I think. So that's FOUR we've had on here!

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Yo 6-cyl, I might take you up on that offer, will give you a shout next time I am in Oxford and see if you're about! I have only driven one other Biturbo and it was awful, be interesting to try another, yours looks in very nice condition.

[plasticvandan]

 

Ladies and gents, the Harris household has been christened.

 

WE'RE HOME OWNERS Y'ALL!

Autoshite calender pic right there

[BorniteIdentity]

An acquaintance contacted me on Facebook saying "these any good to you?"  

 

They're a set of Mercedes CLK wheels in what look like decent condition.  I don't have a CLK but she has told her husband in no uncertain terms to take them to the tip this weekend if they're still there.

 

I said I'm broke at the moment because children - she said have them.

 

I will try them on my 190e for a laugh, but I fear they'll make me look like an asian gangster.  In which case they'll get sold on.  Pirelli rubber too and "staggeredYO"

 

More reports as we get it.

[BorniteIdentity]

An acquaintance contacted me on Facebook saying "these any good to you?"

 

They're a set of Mercedes CLK wheels in what look like decent condition. I don't have a CLK but she has told her husband in no uncertain terms to take them to the tip this weekend if they're still there.

 

I said I'm broke at the moment because children - she said have them.

 

I will try them on my 190e for a laugh, but I fear they'll make me look like an asian gangster. In which case they'll get sold on. Pirelli rubber too and "staggeredYO"

 

More reports as we get it.

 

£6 bottle of Zinfandel later and they're home.

 

Winner.

 

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[dugong]

 

£6 bottle of Zinfandel later and they're home.

 

Winner.

 

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

Do you want another dish wheeltrim for cost of postage? Took it off a W124 I donutted round Bentwaters for a programme.

[mercedade]

Would anyone be able to make use of these?

 

Original Volvo hubcaps, complete with removable centre caps. Complete, no breaks or cracks - a couple of dents and marks.

 

These were liberated from a now-dead 240 (I think) because I decided that anything which looked so cool must be worth an absolute fortune and eBay would make me rich.

 

Then I forgot about them.

 

Now I just want someone to use them.

 

15" of 80s joy.

 

Any takers?