The new news 24 thread

[richardmorris]

20181110_135907.jpg

Yes I've been stupid again, unnecessary purchase collected from Liverpool, now on way home

Pedals or battery?

[HillmanImp]

Is that still not finished? 

I thought you'd fixed it and sold it a year or two back.

 

Nah, never got round to selling the bloody thing. It's languished in my garage under a huge pile of crap since my son was born.

 

I rolled it onto it's side about 3 months ago and finally started working on it last week, yer knaw just before winter. Friggin' tool that I am.

 

I was working weekends all summer or doing non car stuff in my limited non work weekends so nowt got done. Still busy with work now but for my own sanity I need to get this into a condition where I can drive it or punt the bleedin' thing on. 

[egg]

Ads from 1991 local paper

 

[GrumpiusMaximus]

Gave in and let Halfords change my awkward bulb. Feel pathetic.

[egg]

A regular weekend visitor that doesn't have long left...

 

[egg]

More 1991

 

[egg]

1987

 

[anonymous user]

Pedals or battery?

Two seater, two sets of pedals, right hand drive.

[vulgalour]

Mike and I finally had time to investigate the Princess fuel gauge wiring and reverse light wiring today.  More investigation to be done tomorrow when we have some light and it's not raining since this is being done at home on the drive rather than hogging space at the unit.

 

Reverse light - works if you give it direct power.  Switch tests okay for 80% of its operation but the wiring for it has got a bit close to the exhaust at some point.  Replacement switch ordered.  On bridging the contacts for the switch to make the circuit think the switch is activated, the reversing light still doesn't come on so we're going to investigate for a broken wire now since it doesn't seem to be an earth, bulb, bulb holder, or switch problem.

 

Fuel gauge - the wiring spur from loom in the car to the plug at the tank (for sender and pump) checks out fine for continuity.  The pump works perfectly fine.  The gauge works perfectly fine.  We already know the sender works from previous wire wiggling.  While it is possible the sender isn't working, we're going to run a temporary wire to effectively replace the presumed broken one to see if we can get normal service to resume.  If it doesn't resume then it probably is the sender and that's bad news because they don't make the sender any more and it's unique to Princess (and Ambassador).

[SiC]

Bought a book today. Fiver from a second hand bookshop in Hay-on-Wye.

[vulgalour]

On your dashboard, if you've got one of these round knobs to the left of this image (the upper one of the two), turn it as far to the right as it will go.

 

[meggersdog]

be careful with that heat shield

from the mot inspection manual

5. Fire risk due to fuel tank shield or exhaust shield missing where fitted as original equipment

Dangerous

[DodgeRover]

Aye best replace it with a nice piece of asbestos

[Supernaut]

I have just helped brothernaut buy AN CAR. Well, I gave him a lift to go see it and sat in the back during the test drive talking utter shit.

 

2007 Ford Focus 1.6 Ghia. Not quite knocking on the door of 100k miles, 12 months MOT and utterly utterly spotless, inside and out.

£1100. Seems fair. Not a super bargain but it is very nice indeed.

[wuvvum]

I've had a bit of a busy afternoon.  After I had bid farewell to Messrs 6-cylinder and Bucketeer, I jumped in the Rover 75 and headed to That London.  The weather and the standard of driving both got progressively worse as I neared the Smoke, but I got there unscathed - true to form, I managed to get lost, although on this occasion I got lost about 50 yards from where I was supposed to be.

 

Anyway, it turns out that a Raleigh Runabout will fit quite neatly into the back of a Rover 75 Tourer with no dismantleage required.

 

 

Apologies, my 'phone is utterly cack at taking pictures in the dark.

 

Anyway, loaded up and a quick chat with PBK and I was away, heading back northwards to a mate's 60th.  Conditions on the way home were hideous, with standing water most of the way up the M11, and the Rover was predictably shite on fuel - the computer said 40mpg, although it actually seems to have managed the 250-mile round trip on about 35 quid, which equates to nearer 45mpg - still not brilliant considering I was taking it very steady due to the road conditions.  Still, it's better than the LDV would have managed, and I haven't got owt else big enough to fit the moped in without taking bits off.  It's too late and too wet to unload the bike now, so I'll leave that until tomorrow when I might start to have a tinker, depending on the weather.

 

Thanks are also due to Lord Sterling for passing on messages between myself and PBK and enabling the collection to happen tonight.

[DVee8]

Gave in and let Halfords change my awkward bulb. Feel pathetic.

I let Halfords fit new wiper blades during the week,with my trade card it cost 1.60 to fit. Why bother.

[drum]

I think I might query that belt price.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

I let Halfords fit new wiper blades during the week,with my trade card it cost 1.60 to fit. Why bother.

 

 

I had a mate that was a manager at one.  Used to give me trade prices on everything when he saw me.

 

£8 to fit a bulb, though.  Really.  £8.  I get it if it's a modern, mind.  The chap yesterday was describing to me how to change the DRLs on the Fiat 500.  Sounds like an absolute arsewash.

[tooSavvy]

Bought a book today. Fiver from a second hand bookshop in Hay-on-Wye.

 

..... you catch 'South Main Auto' YouTube?

 

Eye opening stuff, what you can get with OBD & a Scope...

[xtriple]

Took Chester to the beach in the Jaaag, Phoebe stayed home as it's cold. That's not really news but as we went around a long downhill corner, the oil pressure light flashed... that, is news! Now, I knew the oil level was low when I bought it and as I am a useless piece of shit, never checked it properly or indeed, added any which it did need.

 

So I traipsed to the garage (damp inside, worse than outside!) and with the car slightly low on the left (dipstick side) I checked the oil and it was right on the minimum level, as it was leaning that way, it would read higher than it actually has! I added about 1.5 litres of Mobil 1 0w40 which took it to slightly above the high mark (so close when level. I also dug the proper tyre pressure gauge out of my toolbox as I again knew the tyre pressure were much too high and again, had done sweet F.A. about it. They were all set at 50psi!

 

Correct is 26psi all round...

 

I set them all at 30psi as the tyres were warm so about right when cold (or slightly high but not enough to bother me) but the level of things wrong with this old girl really annoys me. Always been looked after by a local garage or a Jaguar specialist and every stamp in the book is there. Why do people do this? Yes, I should have corrected all this before but there was always other jobs that needed doing to her, now that I am on top of things (it's even idling properly now    ) I should have attended to these things before this.

 

At least the oil in the engine is very clean

 

 

So with about the correct amount of oil in the engine and tyres that are compliant rather than rock hard, it drives even better Using it is definitely helping her get ready for action.

 

Oh yes, and while I was fiddling with the tyres, an old couple started talking to me about what a lovely car it is and how it has such beautiful lines etc. The chap asked if it was the V12 to which I replied in the affirmative, so as the bonnet was going up in a minute anyway, opened it for them and there was much 'oohing and aahing' over BIG engine

[dozeydustman]

15 days since I decided to quit smoking and use a vape instead.

 

I've had 32 roll-ups in that 15 day period, 2 per day roughly. I've none had since Thursday so nearer 3 per day.

 

It's tough sometimes, but I'll get through it. My chest hurts where my lungs are cleaning themselves out.

[vulgalour]

Did some more investigation into the wiring on the Princess and we've found that the reason the reverse light doesn't work is somewhere the live feed wire has a break in it.  Mike has ordered a tool that you plug into the wire somehow and it automagically tells you were the break probably is.  If we can't fix the original wire, we'll run a new one.

 

Fuel gauge diagnosis eliminated the main wiring loom as the culprit and the spur from the main loom to the tank itself.  That means our issue there is either behind the dashboard (this does seem unlikely, given other systems that share some of the wiring exhibit no problems at all, though there could be a fault in the fuel gauge specific wiring), or at the plug itself (seems most likely, given previous intermittent problems that were resolved with a wiggle of the plug), or the sender itself has failed (which I really hope it hasn't).

 

In the future I will remake the loom to eliminate all of these problems.  Fresh wires and connectors will go a long way to improving the reliability and efficiency of the wiring in the car and hopefully eliminate its biggest problem.  It's too large a job for me to undertake at the moment, certainly something to look forward to* when life is a bit more settled.

[richardmorris]

Took Chester to the beach in the Jaaag, Phoebe stayed home as it's cold. That's not really news but as we went around a long downhill corner, the oil pressure light flashed... that, is news! Now, I knew the oil level was low when I bought it and as I am a useless piece of shit, never checked it properly or indeed, added any which it did need.

 

So I traipsed to the garage (damp inside, worse than outside!) and with the car slightly low on the left (dipstick side) I checked the oil and it was right on the minimum level, as it was leaning that way, it would read higher than it actually has! I added about 1.5 litres of Mobil 1 0w40 which took it to slightly above the high mark (so close when level. I also dug the proper tyre pressure gauge out of my toolbox as I again knew the tyre pressure were much too high and again, had done sweet F.A. about it. They were all set at 50psi!

 

Correct is 26psi all round...

 

I set them all at 30psi as the tyres were warm so about right when cold (or slightly high but not enough to bother me) but the level of things wrong with this old girl really annoys me. Always been looked after by a local garage or a Jaguar specialist and every stamp in the book is there. Why do people do this? Yes, I should have corrected all this before but there was always other jobs that needed doing to her, now that I am on top of things (it's even idling properly now    ) I should have attended to these things before this.

 

At least the oil in the engine is very clean

 

IMG_20181111_141402.jpg

 

 

So with about the correct amount of oil in the engine and tyres that are compliant rather than rock hard, it drives even better Using it is definitely helping her get ready for action.

 

Oh yes, and while I was fiddling with the tyres, an old couple started talking to me about what a lovely car it is and how it has such beautiful lines etc. The chap asked if it was the V12 to which I replied in the affirmative, so as the bonnet was going up in a minute anyway, opened it for them and there was much 'oohing and aahing' over BIG engine

 

It does have lovely lines, and I think it’s aged very well indeed as a design. I know that everyone* hated it new replacing the e type. Honestly though I’ve never liked the style of the etype -the body is too large for the wheelbase, or the track is too narrow. Either way it’s always looked out of proportion to me.

[Guest Hooli]

Took Chester to the beach in the Jaaag, Phoebe stayed home as it's cold. That's not really news but as we went around a long downhill corner, the oil pressure light flashed... that, is news! Now, I knew the oil level was low when I bought it and as I am a useless piece of shit, never checked it properly or indeed, added any which it did need.

 

So I traipsed to the garage (damp inside, worse than outside!) and with the car slightly low on the left (dipstick side) I checked the oil and it was right on the minimum level, as it was leaning that way, it would read higher than it actually has! I added about 1.5 litres of Mobil 1 0w40 which took it to slightly above the high mark (so close when level. I also dug the proper tyre pressure gauge out of my toolbox as I again knew the tyre pressure were much too high and again, had done sweet F.A. about it. They were all set at 50psi!

 

Correct is 26psi all round...

 

I set them all at 30psi as the tyres were warm so about right when cold (or slightly high but not enough to bother me) but the level of things wrong with this old girl really annoys me. Always been looked after by a local garage or a Jaguar specialist and every stamp in the book is there. Why do people do this? Yes, I should have corrected all this before but there was always other jobs that needed doing to her, now that I am on top of things (it's even idling properly now    ) I should have attended to these things before this.

 

At least the oil in the engine is very clean

 

IMG_20181111_141402.jpg

 

So with about the correct amount of oil in the engine and tyres that are compliant rather than rock hard, it drives even better Using it is definitely helping her get ready for action.

 

Oh yes, and while I was fiddling with the tyres, an old couple started talking to me about what a lovely car it is and how it has such beautiful lines etc. The chap asked if it was the V12 to which I replied in the affirmative, so as the bonnet was going up in a minute anyway, opened it for them and there was much 'oohing and aahing' over BIG engine

 

She is a beauty, they look so damn classy.

[richardmorris]

On my very brief drive in the car today I was passed by some huge ugly SUV that had a Lamborghini script on the bootlid. I had no idea they made one, and perhaps wish they hadn’t!

[Guest Hooli]

I knew they made one, don't think I've ever seen one in the flesh.

[richardmorris]

I knew they made one, don't think I've ever seen one in the flesh.

 

Ha. I’ve just looked.

https://www.lamborghini.com/en-en/models/urus

 

From £160,000!

 

It was ugly as sin.

[anonymous user]

Ha. I’ve just looked.

https://www.lamborghini.com/en-en/models/urus

 

From £160,000!

 

It was ugly as sin.

Lamborghini will now be wondering why their website has had sone many hits today

[richardmorris]

Lamborghini will now be wondering why their website has had sone many hits today

Well im happy to test drive and get a brochure. It sounded good, just looked awful ( IMO). My nearest dealer is panghourne so unless they want to offer me an extended daily test I won’t bother.

[M'coli]

Found an oil filter for the 106 today, so the oil got changed. The engine no longer sounds like a couple of skeletons dancing the Strip the Willow in a biscuit tin.