The new news 24 thread

[Barry Cade]

Picked up loads of them now. Range varies because traffic, temperature and if you have radio 2 on. It may rain, or even get dark..Charging points seem pretty unreliable too. Had to truck some home because they've made it to a charge point with a few miles left showing,only to find charge point is fooked. What a chuckle that is. If it were me, I'd have a little Honda generator in the boot at all times... Because the only dealers that will even look at them is 60 miles away and range is between 35 and 40 miles.

[Cheggers]

Putting the indicators on doesn't usually effect the range of a petrol car

Strictly speaking it does [/annoyinggeek]

[Barry Cade]

Strictly speaking it does [/annoyinggeek]

Is that why BMW's are incredibly efficient?

[richardmorris]

Spotted a big new Renault in Calais earlier. I thought it was a Laguna, but apparently it's called a Talisman initiale and is not cheap at 40,000 euro!

 

https://www.renault.fr/vehicules/vehicules-particuliers/talisman/versions-et-prix.html#grade-FDL-4

[Six-cylinder]

Spotted a big new Renault in Calais earlier. I thought it was a Laguna, but apparently it's called a Talisman initiale and is not cheap at 40,000 euro!

 

https://www.renault.fr/vehicules/vehicules-particuliers/talisman/versions-et-prix.html#grade-FDL-4

That is not the most ugly thing I have ever seen but still no beauty, why would you spend all that money.

[MarvinsMom]

with the nice weather today, i've had all the covers off of the Metro, i've started it up, ran it around the drive and had the covers pegged out on the washing line while they dried off.

 

so once all warmed up, dried it off and having given the car a good airing (cos the car was proper drippin' wet with condensation), i notice that there is some dampness in the front carpets, and that there is some rust starting to show on the drivers wing.

 

well, duh, as kerry has said, its an austin, and its 27 years old, so some rust is inevitable. and that would be why i spent all that money on a pair of genuine wings, cos, lets face it i've always known that there will come a time when the wings will want doing.

 

oh yes, when it came time to come home i didn't really want to put the covers back on it

 

but the council in their wisdom* is spreading salt everywhere, so much so that the road over the moors to Castleton is white!!

 

so the metro is better off where it is.

 

poor old marvin.

[eddyramrod]

That is not the most ugly thing I have ever seen but still no beauty, why would you spend all that money.

This.

When for 40K you could easily pick up a gorgeous old Cadillac instead.  Does that vile blob do anything my Roffle Rover can't?  Except possibly change gear for me?

[Parky]

But with the inevitable depreciation that thing will suffer from, Bollox will be A Framing one back from France in about ten years so we all get to enjoy it!

 

Going back to RayMK's coolant catastrophe and the innovative use of citrus tinged fizziness, the following occurred to me.

 

"Would filling the cooling system with Coca Cola clean it, or ruin it?"

 

We know the degreasing/derusting properties of fizzy pop and I wondered if this was an innovative/insane alternative to dishwasher tablets? I await expert and inexpert responses with equal excitement

[dave21478]

Whats the boiling point of coke? it might turn to syrupy goop, which probably isnt great as a coolant.

[Richard]

I think your radiator and/or heater matrix would explode with the pressure.

[Parky]

Yeah that's a point. I remember cooking a ham in Coke (quite delicious) and that left a syrupy goop behind in the pan. Nice alternative to K-Seal though

[Bren]

Welded up inner arch panel on the SD1. Hopefully I will get the front wing on next week.

 

I am sick of welding this car.

[Barry Cade]

Pop a couple of mentos in to check for weak points.

[SiC]

Picked up loads of them now. Range varies because traffic, temperature and if you have radio 2 on. It may rain, or even get dark..Charging points seem pretty unreliable too. Had to truck some home because they've made it to a charge point with a few miles left showing,only to find charge point is fooked. What a chuckle that is. If it were me, I'd have a little Honda generator in the boot at all times... Because the only dealers that will even look at them is 60 miles away and range is between 35 and 40 miles.

There is a Twizzy I see in the morning. Looks enormous fun! Probably makes more sense for nipping around a city. Our local Renault dealer (<6 miles away) has a lot of electric cars, so I guess they specialise in them. We also have charge points in pretty much every multi-storey car park and retail parks. Useful because there is often a space available and they're close to the front of the stores!

 

[Kiltox]

If it wasn't for the battery lease I'd buy a Twizy tomorrow - half decent second hand ones for less than 3k

[Barry Cade]

Twizy doesn't have a fast charger..at least this one didn't. 240v and an extension cable.

 

Or a symphony adapter.

[SiC]

Yeah the Twizy battery isn't big enough to justify an exotic plug. It's only a 13KWh pack. Basically like running a hair drier continuously for 4.5 hrs to charge it.

[RayMK]

205 update:  On Friday it went in for its pre-booked, pre-coolant loss auto transmission service at a Peugeot/Citroen dealer where my son works (taking advantage of 'staff' labour rates).  The transmission filter and fluid were replaced as planned and a coolant flush or several was performed before refilling with the correct mix.  Various tests and checks were carried out and the car was declared as 'seems ok.'  The repaired long heater hose which goes from the head to the heater is still in place but a replacement is on order from a chap in Wales who still grows them.  It will have another partial flush when that arrives and is fitted.  

 

On Thursday, what seemed like a potentially BER catastrophe has, with thanks to the AA and my son, become a mere ripple and it is now business as normal.  Even the forced expenditure for joining the AA isn't so bad because I was going to join anyway.  It is probably wise, as driving older cars when one has difficulty walking does increase the odds of being stranded.  Meanwhile, the Stellar gets regular use despite its oil leak (from the head gasket!!) and the Reliant is sitting untouched in my garage waiting for me to get my arse into gear and get it MOT'd.  

[richardmorris]

In car news, the X1/9 passed the MOT with no advisories whilst I was on holiday- the tester told my Dad it was perfect- couldn't find anything to comment on never mind an advisory.

 

Once again the merc. boot swallowed a fair share of the EU wine lake whilst still leaving space for luggage...

[richardmorris]

In car news, the X1/9 passed the MOT with no advisories whilst I was on holiday- the tester told my Dad it was perfect- couldn't find anything to comment on never mind an advisory.

 

Once again the merc. boot swallowed a fair share of the EU wine lake whilst still leaving space for luggage...

[cros]

You wouldn't want this for a wart on the end of your nose, and its not a lot of use under the bonnet so out it comes and in goes this sporty little item with an actual twin choke weber. There'll be no stopping it.

[cros]

If it wasn't for the battery lease I'd buy a Twizy tomorrow - half decent second hand ones for less than 3k

3 grand? Surely there are cheaper ways of looking like a complete twat?

[Cavcraft]

I'll just leave this here #powerhouseChester @yolo #stylethatcouldgiveyouwhiplash

 

 

 

 

*Edit: I've got a video clip of my mate riding the RSW but I can't upload it here off my phone. 

[The Moog]

I'll just leave this here #powerhouseChester @yolo #stylethatcouldgiveyouwhiplash

Hello is that Chester French letter days?

 

I would like to book a track day round the estate with your 2 wheel 4 wheel high performance experience.

[Tayne]

I'll just leave this here #powerhouseChester

 

"This week on Salvage Hunters, Drew visits a Chester collector who needs to have a clear out thanks to his compulsive habit of buying loads of old shit."

[egg]

Air filter changed on Favorit as HBOL tells me it is time...Alas didn't giffer write on it in black pen. Then a couple of shots of Herne Bay out of season....

 

Tyre check reveals drivers rear down at 11 psi - means a trip to the tyre man next week for a puncture repair (hopefully not leaking off the rim).

 

Lack of wiper or working heated rear screen means zero rear window visibility in this weather!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[taxi paul]

My son looks at me odd when I say " one day all this will be yours" I do wonder how cavcraft"s lad feels when told the same.

[Guest Hooli]

My son looks at me odd when I say " one day all this will be yours" I do wonder how cavcraft"s lad feels when told the same.

 

You tell him that as punishment I assume?

[dave21478]

Since the weather is finally starting to turn grim here I decided to have a prod at the autochoke on the Panda as it has never worked. 

I will just pull the bonnet release lev.....SNAP

ok, I will get some pliers and pull the end of the bonnet release cable.....

I effected a temporary* repair with a loop of fence wire.

 

I fiddled with the choke mechanism and while doing so a tiny but crucial spring went BOING and vanished into the grass. I still have the old carb in an icecream tub in the garage so robbed the spring from it. A good clean out and adjustment and it closes the choke flap when cold and seems to open ok when warm. It can only be tested once though as the coolant is then hot so I will have to wait till tomorrow to see if it will close again.

 

 

I then went to the DIY store and chucked 500kgs of gravel into the back of the pickup, which hugely improved ride comfort but made handling rather frightening on the way home. I spread this out on the slope up from the garage as its just grass and gets very muddy over winter and non 4wd cars struggle to get out of the garage in wet weather. I should have done it properly and put in edging stones and laid a membrane to stop the gravel sinking into the mud but zero fucks were available today so I just tipped it out and raked it smooth in two strips wheel-distance apart. The lawn mower will not appreciate that in springtime, I imagine.

[taxi paul]

Yes when he helps me get stuff out of the loft which is full of non car shite and my shed full of camping and caravan crap.