The new news 24 thread

[catsinthewelder]

I've been converting a trailer today at work.

 

A reshuffle has given me a new boss who noticed that the mower we have happily driven straight through the town centre between the 2 sites for years has no lights or numberplates and has put a stop to such silliness before we're all arrested.

 

They muttered about buying a trailer but then we remembered that there was a canoe trailer sat unused on the field that just happened to be just the right size, a few 8' lengths of angle iron in a hedge and a stick welder in the workshop.

 

It's not finished yet but it makes a very welcome change from electrical testing

[beko1987]

I think I've decided to risk the BX for this weekend's mega-mile trip. I must have nudged a connector in such a way that it no longer leaks. I used it today and all is well, so it surely follows than another 200 miles will be fine...

 

Cancel that. I used the BX to go and look at a Ford Puma for sale 12 miles away. Sadly the Puma was a bit of a neglected pup so I walked away at £450. A rare occurence.

 

When I got back, I could smell the LHM and indeed, the back end of the BX was looking like a green-screen version of the Niagara falls. Balls. Guess it'll be the Merc then!

 

Was the Puma rusty? If so good man!

[cort16]

Those ebay changes are complete wank. It seems like they're determined to make it more difficult to use by moving everything around. I think they must have employed someone who worked on Windows 8.

[dollywobbler]

Am hastily trying to stop the Merc from running so rich it stinks. Not sure how the MOT man managed to get it to pass...

 

There must still be a duff sensor somewhere. Gawd knows where. I should know if I find it because I've cranked the idle mixture right back. If I can get it selecting the right mixture, it probably won't idle anymore. Unplugging the idle control valve seems to improve matters, but that shouldn't have anything to do with the mixture. Might be too late to sort it for the trip we're undertaking in a few hours' time. Was keen to try and do something because I've just filled up with fuel and I reckon the last tank delivered 16mpg! Mind you, I have been blatting around in it. Perhaps that's a reminder of what happens if you keep flooring it!

[cort16]

You should stick the Merc up on Swapz.co.uk and say you're looking for a modernish hatch back car. You never know you might end up with something decent and it's much less hassle than having to sell it then buy something else.

[dollywobbler]

You should stick the Merc up on Swapz.co.uk and say you're looking for a modernish hatch back car. You never know you might end up with something decent and it's much less hassle than having to sell it then buy something else.

 

Well, it's on Ebay at the moment. We'll see what happens. I wasn't desperate for another vehicle until the BX broke...

[cms206]

Had a job offer today which would mean better hours, almost twice the money and therefore more chod purchasing moolah. Is it wrong that I am second guessing giving up a driving job where I'm only working 190 days a year for a full time position with less hassle?

[wuvvum]

Had a reasonably productive day today on the car front. The Twingo passed its MoT this morning, which was nice - sadly I'm probably going to have to punt it on now as I don't really have room for it. Then I went to the post office and picked up the NOS Series 1 rear lights I ordered off Frogbay for the Renner Six - haven't had a chance to fit them yet though. I also picked up the tyre I ordered for the Rover 75 and got that fitted, then this evening my mate with the transporter dragged the Volvo up from the garage to mine and it's now taken up residence on the driveway, having unceremoniously evicted the Talbot. I've just been out there washing the thing to try and make it look like it hasn't spent the last five years sat under a tree - can't do it tomorrow as I'm out all day.

 

So yeah, if anyone wants a blue R-reg Twingo with a year's test, full length canvas sunroof and a bit of a scrape on the passenger door for £450, let me know.

[cort16]

Was Sporty-shite not after that twingo on RR but missed out on it?

[stuboy]

all i got done today was to change rear window winder on my mondeo...

[KruJoe]

If anyone wants a blue R-reg Twingo ... let me know.

Mr and Mrs D. Wobbler?

[Cavcraft]

My 306 'did a Peugeot' again today. Quick blast to Manchester, it was running great flat out on the 56. Got 3/4 mile from home at probably the busiest roundabout in Chester and the throttle cable departed company from the pump. To be fair it was almost certainly our fault as we'd taken it off to get the engine out to change the clutch, and probably didn't do up tight enough.

Anyhow, thankfully I keep an adjustable spanner in the car for my cycling shenanigans, so 10 minutes of pissing about later I was no longer stranded.

 

 

*Standard motorway driving moan: If you're sat in the middle fucking lane with no-one about then it'll be me in your mirror flashing my lights and gesticulating wildly. Thankyou.

[cobblers]

I was dicking with the throttle cable on my golf earlier actually, since due to inept suppliers and couriers I had no panels to weld onto the van.I generally work to the rule of not cutting panels out til you know if the replacement ones are any good or not.

 

I bought a new cable to fix the sticky throttle, but it turns out there was some kind of oil filled damper hung off the throttle arm and it obviously lost all it's oil about 135,000 miles ago so it just ground against itself and rattled about the place.

Levered it off it's mounts and slung it in the bin, throttle pedal is A OK now. (I also lowered the suspension another half an inch and put yellow HID bulbs in the headlights cos I'm a tit ). Then I remembered it could do with a wheel bearing, but I was too late to catch GSF for a new one. Maybe tomorrow...

[TagoraSX]

Put a deposit on this today, you can never have too many yellow Hunters

 

[cobblers]

Hey, that's fit! Could be worth 60k+ too!

[Lacquer Peel]

It doesn't have a throttle, Cavette.

 

At least you can bodge accelerator cables, not like drive by wire setups.

[trigger]

^ I demand more photos!

 

A friend contacted me today to say that he's found a Cortina badge on his old grill in his lock up and asked if I wanted it, Of course the answer was yes as I've been thinking my grill looks a bit bear for a long while.

 

He dropped it round this afternoon and I've just been out to fit it, I think it's a improvement, it's period correct now and it breaks the front end up a bit.

 

1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

 

In other news I've decided that I need to refurbish my Weber carb as it has a flat spot and it's blows back and pops, the garage that had the car during the week said my accelerator pump diaphragm was likely to be shagged, I've just ordered a repair kit of ebay for £23 then another power valve diaphragm for another £23 and my dad's agreed to strip it all down and rebuild it so hopefully so it will be driving a lot better soon too.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

My Doblo has a drive by wire thingy. I noticed the other day while sat at the lights that you cannot hold the engine at any speed between 800 and about 1200rpm, its either one or the other

[freebird]

Triggs Cortina

^^^

That car is an absolute honey!!

How strange that, now, those little badges are going back onto grills when we spent loads of time in the late 70s/early 80s removing the buggers and matt blacking the grills to look more like the last of the MK3s, which had no badge etc.

I wish i had kept all those badges now, Id make a bloody fortune selling them on.

[trigger]

I was well pleased my mate gave me this one (I will buy him a burger) as the last one to sell on ebay went for nearly £30!

[cort16]

Have you seen that on mk1 Renault Scenics the wheel bearings are in the fuggin brake disc of all things so when you change the disc you need change the bearing?

D- for whoever came up with that feature it's like selling a loaf of bread with every slice already having a toaster around it.

[Lacquer Peel]

I think some Hondas are set up like that.

[Rod/b]

Some VAG shite has that arrangement; my old SEAT Toledo had the bearings built into the discs. I actually thought it was fairly common on more modern motors?

[Wilko220]

There's too much pornography on this page.

 

Put a deposit on this today, you can never have too many yellow Hunters

 

Is that another GLS?

[cort16]

It was in the garage next to my lockup getting new discs. I didn't actually see it which is annoying as apparently it had 19 inch wheels on it (mk 1 scenic) and you don't see that every day.

[TagoraSX]

There's too much pornography on this page.

 

Put a deposit on this today, you can never have too many yellow Hunters

 

Is that another GLS?

 

Yes it is! a 1974 with overdrive.

[Wilko220]

I love you. We NEED more pix 'n' details...

[wuvvum]

Have you seen that on mk1 Renault Scenics the wheel bearings are in the fuggin brake disc of all things so when you change the disc you need change the bearing?

D- for whoever came up with that feature it's like selling a loaf of bread with every slice already having a toaster around it.

Mk2 Scenics are the same. Ask me how I know.

[wuvvum]

Today I went to a classic car auction in Wymondham. I didn't buy anything, largely due to having nowhere to put anything. There was one car there that I would have bought anyway and worried about where to put it later - an MoT-less but very tidy Fiat 127 Sport. Sadly it made more than double its top estimate of £800, and lovely though it was I wasn't going to pay that for it.

 

I almost put my paw up for a tidy low-mileage 205 Auto which only made £500, but I wouldn't really have had any use for it. The other thing that caught my eye was a Gilera Runner 180, which had an estimate of £300-400 - predictably it made more than double that, which was annoying as I'd held off bidding on a tidy CZ350 which only made about £300.

 

I did console myself by adding to my 1:43 scale collection though - a brown Norev Renault 18 estate and a white Solido Citroën Visa Mk1 were £3 each, and an unbranded but reasonably well-detailed R107 350SL was £2. I also bought a Corgi model of something called an Adams Probe 16, which is another of those daft '70s pseudo-futuristic concept cars - it has a sliding perspex roof though, so would have been rude not to for a quid.

[wuvvum]

Been out playing with the 164 today. I gave it another wash, and while it's still not perfect (tree sap is an absolute c*nt to get off paintwork) it's a lot better than it was. I think I'm going to have to end up attacking the roof with T-cut though.

 

I was trying to find the indicator relay, as the indicators are currently the only MoT-critical electrical item that isn't working (well the screenwash doesn't work either, but that's because the pump's seized so a cheap universal pump will soon fix that). Unfortunately because the indicators don't work I'm unable to follow the clicking of the relay to find its location - I did try following the wires up from the hazard switch but they disappeared into the depths of the dashboard. Looks like I'm going to have to try and find where the hell I put my Haynes manual when I last used it about five years ago...

 

I also managed to knacker the headlight relay whilst trying to clean the contacts, but fortunately I found a Saab relay on the floor at the back of the shed so that's doing the job for now. Once the indicators are sorted, all it needs is a set of wiper blades and a spare tyre. Oh, and a complete brake rebuild and all the rear suspension bushes replacing...