The new news 24 thread

[Sloth in a bowl]

You may have been spotted by Practical Classics!

https://www.facebook.com/225407620810866/posts/1946997511985193/

 

If and when you get bored of it, I may be tempted...

5 years in the future...

"It all started when I was told on an internet forum that it would be impossible to fit a V12 Jaguar motor into a Hyundai."

[wuvvum]

the longest beard in motoring journalism.

But only due to the sad and premature demise of LJKS.

[RayMK]

5 years in the future...

"It all started when I was told on an internet forum that it would be impossible to fit a V12 Jaguar motor into a Hyundai."

 

I like the sound of Mat's V8 - far nicer than that of a V12 (other opinions are available).  I would be more impressed if a wankel rotary or BMW straight six was inserted  .

[clayts450]

Ah, diesel. Noooo!

 

That was a narrow escape, eh ?

[D Spares & Tyres]

What's wrong with diesel?

 

It's probably the best engine in Chryslers range.

 

Just needs a proper battery and it should be a reliable car

[dollywobbler]

What, apart from the smell, the soot and the hideous noise? I'm done with diesel.

 

Which means the next car will probably be heavy oil...

[clayts450]

Can I interest sir in a PT Cruiser ?

 

Oh...hang on....

[clayts450]

What's wrong with diesel?

 

It's probably the best engine in Chryslers range.

 

Just needs a proper battery and it should be a reliable car

 

Is that because it's actually a Merc engine, Tom ?

[Tadhg Tiogar]

.....No hiding place on the internet mate

Never a truer word.

 

In similar vein, never click something online whilst drunk, as you may find you've bought what you clicked on....

[wuvvum]

I've actually had quite a productive (long) weekend, which has made up at least partially for not getting to spend it being eaten alive by midges in a field full of drunk people near the North Pole. (Nope, I'm not jealous at all.)

 

Biggest win was obviously getting the ex-Bramz 205 through its test.  New rear brake shoes were fitted on Saturday, and the brake drum given another clean out as it had got a bit smeary again.  Thanks to some helpful advice on the Ask a Shiter thread, I wound the "automatic" adjuster out manually, as far as it'd go before the drum started binding.  Fitted everything back together and was pleased to note that the brake pedal felt a lot firmer than before.  The handbrake still had way too much travel, but that was easy enough to adjust, although the lock nut that the HBOL told me would be there, er, wasn't. 

 

Yesterday saw me crawling around underneath fitting a split CV boot to the nearside.  The last one of those I did (on the Rover of Doom) was a piece of piss, but space is a lot tighter on the 205, and I had to cut more of the boot off which was a pain as there is less flat rubber between the smaller, um, concertina bits for a retaining clip to get a grip of.  Got there eventually though.  Gave the headlight aim my best guess and then ran it back in to the garage this morning for sill weldage and retesting.  The sill actually turned out to be worse than expected (as grot always seems to be) but they stuck to their quoted price - £69.60 all in for sill weldage and retest was pretty reasonable I thought.

 

Now I just have to sort the tracking (it's toeing in visibly so need to wind the offside track rod in a bit), and remember to stake in the dollywobbler hub nut before I take it on any long runs - I hadn't done so before in case it needed to come off again to tweak the brakes.  I tightened it up with a 2' breaker bar so I don't think it's about to fall off, but better safe than sorry and all that.

 

The Volvo 164 now has working indicators and screen washers again after I replaced the flasher unit and screen wash pump I'd nicked for the Transit and 205 respectively.  It's also now charging again - I spent a while trying to trace the issue, which turned out to be a slightly loose terminal on the back of the alternator.  I then dug out the nearside brake caliper, which is now enjoying a bath in a tupperware tub full of diesel, in a last-ditch attempt to free the bastard thing off as I can't find a sensibly-priced replacement anywhere.

 

I took the Innocenti for a longer drive and the clutch is still slipping quite badly under hard acceleration.  I did notice however that pressing the clutch pedal in by even a fraction of an inch sent the revs soaring, so I'm wondering if it's an adjustment issue rather than a knackered clutch.  There is a facility for adjustment on the cable in the form of a large knurled plastic nut, and there looks to be plenty of thread available, but it's all a bit rusty and access is shite so I saturated it in GT85 and will have another look at it next weekend.  I also tracked the non-functioning offside main beam to a rusty headlight bulb (yes, really) so a shiny new H4 will be purchased shortly.

 

The C4 had developed an interesting* fault whereby when I pulled the wiper stalk to wash the windscreen, it washed the rear screen instead.  Using the rear wash/wipe also washed the rear screen.  I got the front of the car up on the ramps to have a look - turns out there's just one pump on the washer bottle, with two outlets, and presumably both switches operate the pump motor but the Canbus tells it which outlet to open - which seems a bit pointless really - and obviously the computer was telling it to open the wrong one, because French. 

 

Easy, thinks I, just swap the pipes around and normal service will be resumed.  Which it was.  For two washes,  Then it went back to only washing the rear again.  So I went out and bought a T-piece connector, snipped through both pipes and connected them so both go to the front washers.  Sorted.  Obviously that means there's no rear washer any more, but given that the rear wiper only clears about 6"² anyway, it's no great loss.

 

My Chinese motorbike hadn't been running right since I bought it, refusing to either rev or run off the choke.  I couldn't face the prospect of removing and stripping the carb again, so I just pulled out the throttle slider, undid the float bowl drain screw and blasted every available orifice with carb cleaner.  To my surprise it seems to have worked - the bike now runs happily off choke and revs cleanly, although I did have to back the idle off a bit after getting too enthusiastic with the idle screw earlier.  Now all I need to do is get a valve in the rear tyre and free off the front caliper and it should be rideable.

 

Then I trowelled some wob into the front arches of the Audi 80 - it's not pretty but it's got rid of the sharp edges ready for its MOT, for which it's now finally at the front of the queue.

 

After that I went for a pleasant walk down by the river and was treated to the unusual sight of a Citroën Picasso jump starting a Broads cruiser.

 

Then I took the Transit up to Tesco to put some air in the tyres, and somehow all the instruments are now working again, having been completely dead for months.

 

Oh, and I sold two bicycles this weekend, via Gumtree, both to the first callers, both of whom turned up when they said and paid the agreed price in cash.

 

In fact it's been such a good weekend I'm now waiting for something to go disastrously wrong...

[bramz7]

Being down to one car has been an eye opener. I've even set aside money for it next month as the not that old Hankooks are perishing all over, which is troubling. What's the best 205/60/R15 tyre now?

 

But I've also decided I'm being something nice as a second car. No more basket cases. I'm prepared to spend real money on a good car. I have a vague idea of what I want and stuff has popped up, but eBay is tiresome.

[egg]

What happened to the auto R8 Bramz out of interest?

[bramz7]

That's now with Ghosty.

[egg]

That's now with Ghosty.

 

Ah, ok (I'm not keeping up at the back)

[dean36014]

Much fun when everything locks up at 55mpj

[BorniteIdentity]

Yes, it was my car 

 

Jealously is a very ugly trait, but then so is dishonesty.  

 

I am very jealous.  It's a lovely car and a real credit to you, Ray. Hope your health isn't fighting you too much at the moment, and that we all get to see updates on the Hyundai regularly.

[wuvvum]

IMG_20180611_235959.jpg

IMG_20180611_235959.jpg

Much fun when everything locks up at 55mpj

'Kinell.  Did you lose an air line?

[artdjones]

I've actually had quite a productive (long) weekend, which has made up at least partially for not getting to spend it being eaten alive by midges in a field full of drunk people near the North Pole. (Nope, I'm not jealous at all.)

 

Biggest win was obviously getting the ex-Bramz 205 through its test. New rear brake shoes were fitted on Saturday, and the brake drum given another clean out as it had got a bit smeary again. Thanks to some helpful advice on the Ask a Shiter thread, I wound the "automatic" adjuster out manually, as far as it'd go before the drum started binding. Fitted everything back together and was pleased to note that the brake pedal felt a lot firmer than before. The handbrake still had way too much travel, but that was easy enough to adjust, although the lock nut that the HBOL told me would be there, er, wasn't.

 

Yesterday saw me crawling around underneath fitting a split CV boot to the nearside. The last one of those I did (on the Rover of Doom) was a piece of piss, but space is a lot tighter on the 205, and I had to cut more of the boot off which was a pain as there is less flat rubber between the smaller, um, concertina bits for a retaining clip to get a grip of. Got there eventually though. Gave the headlight aim my best guess and then ran it back in to the garage this morning for sill weldage and retesting. The sill actually turned out to be worse than expected (as grot always seems to be) but they stuck to their quoted price - £69.60 all in for sill weldage and retest was pretty reasonable I thought.

 

Now I just have to sort the tracking (it's toeing in visibly so need to wind the offside track rod in a bit), and remember to stake in the dollywobbler hub nut before I take it on any long runs - I hadn't done so before in case it needed to come off again to tweak the brakes. I tightened it up with a 2' breaker bar so I don't think it's about to fall off, but better safe than sorry and all that.

 

The Volvo 164 now has working indicators and screen washers again after I replaced the flasher unit and screen wash pump I'd nicked for the Transit and 205 respectively. It's also now charging again - I spent a while trying to trace the issue, which turned out to be a slightly loose terminal on the back of the alternator. I then dug out the nearside brake caliper, which is now enjoying a bath in a tupperware tub full of diesel, in a last-ditch attempt to free the bastard thing off as I can't find a sensibly-priced replacement anywhere.

 

I took the Innocenti for a longer drive and the clutch is still slipping quite badly under hard acceleration. I did notice however that pressing the clutch pedal in by even a fraction of an inch sent the revs soaring, so I'm wondering if it's an adjustment issue rather than a knackered clutch. There is a facility for adjustment on the cable in the form of a large knurled plastic nut, and there looks to be plenty of thread available, but it's all a bit rusty and access is shite so I saturated it in GT85 and will have another look at it next weekend. I also tracked the non-functioning offside main beam to a rusty headlight bulb (yes, really) so a shiny new H4 will be purchased shortly.

 

The C4 had developed an interesting* fault whereby when I pulled the wiper stalk to wash the windscreen, it washed the rear screen instead. Using the rear wash/wipe also washed the rear screen. I got the front of the car up on the ramps to have a look - turns out there's just one pump on the washer bottle, with two outlets, and presumably both switches operate the pump motor but the Canbus tells it which outlet to open - which seems a bit pointless really - and obviously the computer was telling it to open the wrong one, because French.

 

Easy, thinks I, just swap the pipes around and normal service will be resumed. Which it was. For two washes, Then it went back to only washing the rear again. So I went out and bought a T-piece connector, snipped through both pipes and connected them so both go to the front washers. Sorted. Obviously that means there's no rear washer any more, but given that the rear wiper only clears about 6"² anyway, it's no great loss.

 

My Chinese motorbike hadn't been running right since I bought it, refusing to either rev or run off the choke. I couldn't face the prospect of removing and stripping the carb again, so I just pulled out the throttle slider, undid the float bowl drain screw and blasted every available orifice with carb cleaner. To my surprise it seems to have worked - the bike now runs happily off choke and revs cleanly, although I did have to back the idle off a bit after getting too enthusiastic with the idle screw earlier. Now all I need to do is get a valve in the rear tyre and free off the front caliper and it should be rideable.

 

Then I trowelled some wob into the front arches of the Audi 80 - it's not pretty but it's got rid of the sharp edges ready for its MOT, for which it's now finally at the front of the queue.

 

After that I went for a pleasant walk down by the river and was treated to the unusual sight of a Citroën Picasso jump starting a Broads cruiser.

 

Then I took the Transit up to Tesco to put some air in the tyres, and somehow all the instruments are now working again, having been completely dead for months.

 

Oh, and I sold two bicycles this weekend, via Gumtree, both to the first callers, both of whom turned up when they said and paid the agreed price in cash.

 

In fact it's been such a good weekend I'm now waiting for something to go disastrously wrong...

The C4 needs a new pump.It works by spinning one way for the front.It pumps out of the other nozzle when the motor is reversed.Pattern ones are cheap on eBay.

[BorniteIdentity]

I took the Innocenti for a longer drive and the clutch is still slipping quite badly under hard acceleration.  I did notice however that pressing the clutch pedal in by even a fraction of an inch sent the revs soaring, so I'm wondering if it's an adjustment issue rather than a knackered clutch.  There is a facility for adjustment on the cable in the form of a large knurled plastic nut, and there looks to be plenty of thread available, but it's all a bit rusty and access is shite so I saturated it in GT85 and will have another look at it next weekend.  I also tracked the non-functioning offside main beam to a rusty headlight bulb (yes, really) so a shiny new H4 will be purchased shortly.

 

I've been fairly certain for some time now that I would like to buy that little Innocenti from you when you're ready.  It looks brilliant!

[worldofceri]

Much fun when everything locks up at 55mpj

 

Yikes! What happened, Dean?

[dean36014]

Yikes! What happened, Dean?

 

'Kinell.  Did you lose an air line?

 Much fun had. Was in lane 3 just moving into lane 4 due to upcoming roadworks. Sat on cruise at 55 when all of a sudden I thought the engine had cut out. Then looked in my mirrors to see clouds of rubber dust and a widely snaking trailer and cars going in all directions trying to avoid me. Actually ended up blocking 3 lanes initially, then managed to drag the trailer in crawler gear across the motorway to what should have been the hard shoulder but being m25 wasn't! Managed to get it virtually off the road with just the arse end of the trailer hanging out into lane 1. By this point I'd lost all air in the unit too and that was it, game over. Calls to breakdown and highways agency, and a quick nosy at the trailer revealed a broken fitting in the trailer chassis. Recovery boys were superb, bodged it up to get air into system then escorted by highways agency to a place of safety where a new fitting was put in. I'm looking forward to inspecting the skid marks properly tonight! I'm properly lucky that thankfully everyone around me was obviously switched on and managed to avoid me as I went flying across the road in a cloud of smoke, could have been much worse.

[worldofceri]

Well done for getting it (nearly) off the carriageway.  I bet some (eg me) would have bailed at the stuck-across-three-lanes stage!

[trigger]

Which skid marks are we taking about?

[Ghosty]

Anyone know of a show plate* supplier that can replicate plates from a photo, and doesn't require me to post them my V5?

[BorniteIdentity]

Anyone know of a show plate* supplier that can replicate plates from a photo, and doesn't require me to post them my V5?

Pukar designs on FB. But you will pay £40 for the privilege.

[Ghosty]

That's not much on DMB, factor in secure postage for the V5 and it's level.

[Kiltox]

Even the dodgy eBay sellers who don’t ask for docs don’t make “show” plates any more!

[Jams]

I always order off eBay. Never shown my v5!

 

Not been active of late. Shite buying has commenced well modern shite anyway.

 

Sunday before last noticed nice c180 coupe on Facebook. Travels to Rhyl does the deal.

 

Very tidy car bit of damage around the front but drove lovley. My car check advised all clear 1500 quid was handed over and car was taken home.

Cleaned the hell out of it. Mrs was inside trying to tax it. She was having issues! The log book we had was an old one! Spoke to seller he was no use.i noticed the v5 was a replacement! I had a gut feeling about this car... something told me to do a proper hpi check.

 

Only had a log book loan on it and Cat D 2 years ago!! Dishonest sellers and mycarcheck is shite.

 

Took the car straight back and demand my money back!

 

Proper put a downer on my car buying! I’ve had loads of cars and never had this issue!

 

So.... this Sunday.... noticed another car on Facebook up the road loads of miles slightly pineappled went to have a look. Made him a cheeky offer and drove it home. (Proper hpi done)

[Cavcraft]

Think I'll just run out of petrol on a busy roundabout in rush hour

 

 

 

FFS!

[fordperv]

Made this metal rose for mrs fps mum, she liked the one I made for mrs fp and wanted one so i knocked one up to give her on Friday to cheer her up as its the anniversary of her mum passing away, I did this one a little different and painted it im putting it in a small pot, not bad for a bit of scrap I had lying around, the stem is painted ford Pacific green and the flower head is ford radiant red

 

 

The stem looks straight but it isn't it has a couple of bends in it to look a little more natural but the perspective of the picture doesn't show it