The new news 24 thread

[Kiltox]

Anyone know where I can buy maroon / burgundy gaffer tape?

[vulgalour]

Is it for a Mondeo?

[BavarianRetro]

Just been out in BGD with the dogs (ferkin boiling out there and full of grockles) and stopped at the shops... when I came out, a vintage (I thought) Bentley 41/2 pulled in just up the road. I had to stop and have a chat, it would have been rude not to! It was a proper 'oily rag' condition car which suited it down to the ground and the radiator shell had been polished away to the brass underneath. It was lovely... but a fake. It was really a 1947 saloon that had been rebodied in the style of a late 20s 41/2, but it was convincing.

 

Bloke wanted to swap me!

 

I have to say I was seriously bloody tempted! But, he was saying how much trouble he has with it and getting anyone to work on it was a nightmare and it's not all that fast and very thirsty... not one of those things put me off! The lack of a roof or any sort of weather protection or security did though, it would last about 4 hours parked outside and it was so big (dwarfed the dollop!) it would never have fitted in the garage. God, it was gorgeous!

Sounds like a Mark 6 special. These were frowned upon by BDC and the like in the 70s and 80s and were available for - almost literally - pennies. Now they're sought after.

[Ghosty]

Is it for a Mondeo?

 

The Clot, I assume.

[dollywobbler]

I'm just experimenting with a new photo hosting website. Here's my 2CV 13 years ago.

[dollywobbler]

Sorry. Still experimenting. Shutterfly doesn't quite behave as I want, but has the benefit of not being Flickr, Photobucket or Facebook.

[stripped fred]

Been using my 406 on quite a few long journeys recently, often fully loaded. It's a great workhorse and soaks up the miles without complaint. It's pretty nice to drive too, smooth engine, good gear ratios and quite comfy. I've got used to the seats too although I think there are probably comfier ones out there. One of the rear discs is quite corroded and overall the brakes seem less good so I think I need to give them a check over. The handbrake is also crap and has been since the day I bought it. Quite happy to chuck a few quid at it as it hasn't cost me much at all since the day I bought it on here for £200. I am still playing cambelt roulette though...

[trigger]

I took the Dolomite to a little car show today, as i arrived the Mayor of Aldeburgh came running over complete with his bling neckpiece on "Oh would you like a Dolomite headset for £10?" seeing as i only recently just done the head i declined, "that's ok i only live around the corner!" with that he ran off to his Rover 75 roared off and came back 10 minutes later with this headset which i didn't want and i still felt obliged to give him the £10 for it!. All very random!

[wuvvum]

Aldeburgh is a funny place.

 

 

I finished clearing out the old garage today - with the Renner Six already gone, all that was left was the spares Spacy and various body panels, as well as random bits of exhaust and other crap that I'd slung in there over the last couple of years.  I took the Movano, and had enormous fun* backing it down the steep and very narrow access track.  I could have driven down, but then I would have had to reverse back up and out onto a busy main road, which would have been even worse.

 

As it's the August bank holiday and the weather was quite decent for once, I took the 620 up to the coast after lunch and went for a walk on the beach.  The choice of vehicle was deliberate, as being a sunny bank holiday Monday there was an enormous number of giffers, tourists and other dithering twats on the roads, which the 620 has the ability to dispatch with just a quick squeeze of the throttle.

 

When I got home I finished fitting the Volvo's water pump (apart from the final bolt in the bottom pipe which I still couldn't get to fit), added a temporary fan belt and fired it up.  I can confirm that the pump pumps water as both radiator hoses got nice and warm.  It's funny though - once it was up to temperature it was fine as long as the engine was running but the second I switched off it would start chucking coolant out - albeit only for a minute or so.  I took this to be a sign of air in the system so topped it back up and ran it for a while with both the expansion cap and the "OMG NEVER REMOVE OR NUNS AND KITTENS WILL DIE!!!!!1!11" cap on the radiator itself, and things seemed to calm down a bit after that.  With hindsight, it might have been running a bit hot (temp gauge doesn't work at the moment) as I haven't refitted the viscous fan yet.  The good news is there were no leaks, not even from the not-yet-fitted-properly bottom pipe.

 

Then I spent a happy hour or so rubbing down and undersealing the driver's side sill on the Rover of Doom.  I think it's pretty much ready for a test now, although I might treat it to a pair of wiper blades as the ones on it are getting on a bit.  Then I tried out my new portable jet wash which I bought yesterday - it's basically a BFO bottle that you fill with water, and it has a hand pump in the top to pressurise it - a bit like one of those weedkiller spray things, except this is bigger and comes with a brush attachment as well as the adjustable spray nozzle.  It turned out to work quite well - obviously nowhere near the pressure of a mechanical jet wash but adequate to wash a car with - one fill of water with a bit of wash'n'wax and the brush attachment, then refill with clean water and fit the spray attachment to rinse off.  A lot easier than a bucket and sponge, especially for rinsing.  Not bad for a tenner.

 

Oh, and I swapped the Perodua for a non-running MGF - although said F only needs an in-tank fuel pump to go again, so I've ordered one off eBay, as well as a HBOL for the DAF.

[vulgalour]

I've decided to set up a Tumblr gallery to share the very special bits of misery I endure with this daft hobby and necessity of old cars.  You can find it here: http://vulgalouria.tumblr.com/  There won't be any words, just pictures of disappointment, rust, broken things that shouldn't be broken, cars nobody likes and possibly the occasional bucket of filthy water.  It's essentially shorthand for those that don't want to trawl through the epic borefests that are my car diary threads and would rather look at pictures that make themselves feel better about their own lives.

 

That's Vulgaloria, a public service nobody wanted: http://vulgalouria.tumblr.com/

[Twiggy]

Nice purchase Trigbert.  I can confirm that the 2.2 engine is a worthwhile upgrade - not that much more power than a 2000SC but noticeably torquier.

 

Don't know if you'll get a Disklok to fit round a non-PAS P6 wheel though?  Those things make a W126 Merc look like a Peugeot 208.

 

Looks good though !

[tooSavvy]

Watching 'Shindlers list' atm......

 

Auto$hite is about... WHAT?

 

Remind me....

 

 

TS

[dugong]

Xedos managed 36mpg on a tankful over the weekend. Impressed with that given it's a stressed 2.0-litre V6.

[vulgalour]

That's quite impressive out of a Xedos, you're getting almost the same economy as my 414 which is known for being excellent on the MPGs.  I imagine the Xedos is a good bit more relaxing on the motorway too.

[dollywobbler]

Xedos managed 36mpg on a tankful over the weekend. Impressed with that given it's a stressed 2.0-litre V6.

 

Now I want it even more. Myself and Garycox had a quick drool over it at the show. That interior is fantastically grey.

[Lacquer Peel]

 

 

Sorry. Still experimenting. Shutterfly doesn't quite behave as I want, but has the benefit of not being Flickr, Photobucket or Facebook.

Imgur is a decent straightforward image hosting site if you don't get on with Shutterfly.

[Supernaut]

The spray wash thing sounds good for us flat-dwellers, where would I get one Wuvvum?

 

I was wondering this too. Not quite a flat dweller but a terraced house dweller using on-street parking. Very much worth a punt at a tenner.

[Cavcraft]

That's ace Alf, looks brilliant.

 

 

My fleet reduction has been going well, until last night when I bought another car that I haven't even sat in, let alone tried out.

[Supernaut]

Turns out that it's £30 per year cheaper for me to insure a Lexus LS400 than it is for me to insure my Xantia.

 

Insurance companies. Derp.

[plasticvandan]

I took the Dolomite to a little car show today, as i arrived the Mayor of Aldeburgh came running over complete with his bling neckpiece on "Oh would you like a Dolomite headset for £10?" seeing as i only recently just done the head i declined, "that's ok i only live around the corner!" with that he ran off to his Rover 75 roared off and came back 10 minutes later with this headset which i didn't want and i still felt obliged to give him the £10 for it!. All very random!

first rule of autoshite,never refuse spares! delivered as well,what would the postage have been on a gasket set,fiver? so £5 for a gasket set you will* need at some point.

[Kiltox]

The Clot, I assume.

Correct - I've found some on Amazon but it's £11 a roll!

[dollywobbler]

Imgur is a decent straightforward image hosting site if you don't get on with Shutterfly.

 

It's shit slow though. WilsonWilson's pics always seem to take forever to load on here. Perhaps just too much sheer damned yellow for their servers to handle?

 

Shutterfly isn't going to work for me. Smugmug has been recommended by two people now. Maybe I'll give it a go, though I'm always wary of free trials.

[Ghosty]

After noticing her somewhat spirited driving today I've just convinced the mother to go and look at a Cooper S...

 

It's also all black which appeals to her more than a red and white Cooper. 

[Bren]

This time it was Gene Wilder.

Previously it was Amy Winehouse, Robin Williams, Mike Reid, I could go on.

 

The rich and famous shit themselves when Bren goes on holiday to Devon..

[EssDeeWon]

Someone has papped my old SD1 recently.  Formally FHJ794T, but the chap who bought off me (Graeme, lovely guy) already had the MOO229R plate on retention.

 

From all accounts and looking at the MOT history its hardly ever used now.

 

Cowley's SD1. Remember "The Professionals" on T.V.? Well this is the Number Plate from Cowley's Rover as seen in the Show. It's displayed on my friend's matching SD1 just like the one Gordon Jackson used in the 70s. (My friend a by Miles Vincent, on Flickr

[DodgyBastard]

Went to see this heap

 

 

There could have been a deal to swap it for the 309 but the guy couldn't find the v5 for it so I walked away. it's a 1.0l 4 speed...

[Cavcraft]

This time it was Gene Wilder.

Previously it was Amy Winehouse, Robin Williams, Mike Reid, I could go on.

 

The rich and famous shit themselves when Bren goes on holiday to Devon..

 

If Jim Davidson ever has to visit A&E I'll book you in for a fortnight in Totnes.

[Richard]

There was a "Curse of Viz" for a while where a celebrity featured in an issue was dead by the time the next issue came out- Diana Spencer, Marti Caine, Reg Smythe and John Denver are the ones I remember. Apparently most of the people who wrote in about it suggested doing a feature on Noel Edmonds.

[For Fiats Sake]

Moar driveway fixings, did front discs and pads, changed spark plugs and new air filter in Gasket.

 

Pretty manky and the inner pads were very worn, the outer ones not doing much at all.

 

 

Cecil the selecta and the modern got a wash after I spent too much money on 5ltr drums of autoglym cleaning stuff whilst I was at MITCAR.

When the photos appear in my album I'll post em up.

 

 

 

[wuvvum]

The spray wash thing sounds good for us flat-dwellers, where would I get one Wuvvum?

I got mine from Roys of Wroxham - probably not a lot of help for you, soz...

 

They do them on ebay though for not much more money.