The new news 24 thread

[Tadhg Tiogar]

I've left a bit of a deposit in my pants seeing that.....

Hopefully not a rear one.

[JJ0063]

My Boxing Day treat is that my outside drain is blocked so my shitter is on the blink. My rods couldn’t get it flowing so I’ll have to pay an extortionate amount for someone to fix it. FFS.

[Christine]

Jim Bell popped round did he?

 

 

My Boxing Day treat is that my outside drain is blocked so my shitter is on the blink. My rods couldn’t get it flowing so I’ll have to pay an extortionate amount for someone to fix it. FFS.

[ruffgeezer]

Jim Bell popped round did he?

Never fear, help is here!

 

[cros]

No visitors today, thank fuck, so spent a while surveying Freelander woes. This was a one careful owner car, except that he wasn't too careful as neither head nor cambelt appear to have been touched during the 18 years since it left the factory.

I'm wondering if he was so immersed in waiting for the fabled head gasket failure that he decided to not do any other maintenance at all and just chuck the thing away when it expired.

I've never had a K series before, but feel I should shove a new gasket and water pump on while I'm changing the belt. All advice gratefully heeded.

One other thing needing attention is this wire. It's as if someone deliberately positioned the hose clip so that it rubbed through the insulation, something mentioned in a 'what-to-look-out-for article I've read. Naturally, the wire has to be the one that goes to the cooling fan.

[egg]

My Boxing Day treat is that my outside drain is blocked so my shitter is on the blink. My rods couldn’t get it flowing so I’ll have to pay an extortionate amount for someone to fix it. FFS.

 

Check the main drain in the road isn't blocked as well (or your neighbours are blocked too) - cos then it's a water company responsibility....

[catsinthewelder]

I don't see it being a particular rip off to charge £15 to fit a battery.  Main dealers charge £50-£150 per hour for mechanical work.  Most older cars are fairly simple, undo negative lead followed by the positive then hopefully one not too rusty bolt on the clamp but plenty of moderns have it buried god knows where and could cause loads of hassle dismantling.

[Steve79]

Halfords are the biggest rip off ever £15 to fit a fucking battery is just a joke. Even worse though I just saw and advert and they charge £2 to fit wiper blades.

Not ashamed to say that I paid halfrauds to fit new blades to the 75 last week as:

 

1. It was absolutely pissing it down with sheets of rain

2. I was in my new business suit

3. Could have done it myself but couldn't be arsed because of points 1 and 2

[fordperv]

Posh bastards paying someone to fit parts to your cars

[Steve79]

In my defence, it was at 6:30pm, I'd just been in a 2hr interview, then driven an hour and i still had another 1.5hr drive home and just couldn't be arsed.

[Stanky]

It was dry and the sun came out for a bit so treated the Saab to an oil and filter change earlier while the family had an afternoon nap.

[meshking]

Got two hours in on my acadiane before my in-laws arrived. Patch welded, floor fitted and ready for welding and managed to dodge a bullet: despite wearing protective glasses and a shield, a spark hit my eye.

 

Finished up and inspected the damage, my eye was beginning to itch. Resisted the temptation, removed my contacts and poured copious eye drops in. Redness cleared up and back to normal by mid afternoon (just the standard amount of red eye that I have).

 

Tomorrow: turn the van around, finish up welding and start prepping for paint

 

Do I purchase a new compressor? I have an eye (the one without sparks in) on a 100l sgs engineering beast...

[Jim Bell]

Deposit left, reduced to clear in the boxing day sales.

 

sec 002.jpg

*Stands up and salutes*

[Christine]

Someone abandoned a  big battery in Halfords car park  the other day .  Worried that a kitten or child might knock it over and die in acid ..I put it out of harms way,  in my boot ..   .It ain't new , perhaps someone bought a new one and changed it themselves ,and dumped it there . Perhaps Halfords changed it for £15 and forgot to put it inside .. It took a charge , but I haven't tried starting an engine with it . 

 

I might add , it sat there for a day unclaimed..

[DodgeRover]

I parked up once next to the bay where someone was getting a battery fitted. Being rather cheeky I asked if they were allowing the customer anything for the old one, obviously the answer was no so I asked the customer if they wanted it or could I have it.

[Datsuncog]

When I worked as a parts desk monkey in Halfords the customers' old batteries went into a big grey plastic tub out the back, and every coupla months a truck would come and swap it for an empty one.

 

If there was salvage value, it must have been credited to Head Office as I never remember seeing it returned to us on a store level. As far as we were informed, it was just waste.

 

We used to fit batteries and wipers for free, until Boots Group sold the company and the venture-capital bozos who ended up with the business saw fit to wring every drop of value out of the place. You can be sure that the staff never see any of the fitting fees, but every store will have a target for fitting values each week (which is why they always bug you about it).

 

Or mebbe it's all changed, that's over ten years I've been gone now.

[Christine]

I got 55p a kilo for batteries t'other day .. 5 batteries  was 99 kg

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Someone abandoned a  big battery in Halfords car park  the other day .  Worried that a kitten or child might knock it over and die in acid ..I put it out of harms way,  in my boot ..   .It ain't new , perhaps someone bought a new one and changed it themselves ,and dumped it there . Perhaps Halfords changed it for £15 and forgot to put it inside .. It took a charge , but I haven't tried starting an engine with it . 

 

I might add , it sat there for a day unclaimed..

"Keep Britain Tidy"....

 

It might not start an engine, but it might still be good enough to power electric fencing for fields....

[clayts450]

No visitors today, thank fuck, so spent a while surveying Freelander woes. This was a one careful owner car, except that he wasn't too careful as neither head nor cambelt appear to have been touched during the 18 years since it left the factory.

I'm wondering if he was so immersed in waiting for the fabled head gasket failure that he decided to not do any other maintenance at all and just chuck the thing away when it expired.

I've never had a K series before, but feel I should shove a new gasket and water pump on while I'm changing the belt. All advice gratefully heeded.

IMG_20181226_171545680.jpg

One other thing needing attention is this wire. It's as if someone deliberately positioned the hose clip so that it rubbed through the insulation, something mentioned in a 'what-to-look-out-for article I've read. Naturally, the wire has to be the one that goes to the cooling fan.

IMG_20181226_172038239.jpg

Yes to water pump also tensioner and possibly thermostat too. Head gasket shouldn't need touching if fluids closely monitored and no overheating. It's not a serviceable job, so I'd leave well alone if it all works and there's no coolant loss

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Have been drinking a lot of Guinness over the last 48 hours, resulting in a major Black Trumpet practice session this morning.

[vulgalour]

Neighbour's car has just come back on a transporter.  I lent him tools the other day.  Maybe, just maybe, I've passed The Curse on to someone else.  The urge to run around shouting "I'm FREE!" is particularly strong, tempered only by the knowledge a perfectly timed comedic breakage on one of my cars being the outcome if I do.

[Angrydicky]

Managed to get a few rare days in on a couple of the projects this Christmas.
Got the repaired petrol tank fitted back to the Standard, and the A post vent I made to replace the rotten original fixed on and operational. I also retapped the hubcap threads on the wheels and the brass hubcap centres. The screwdriver slots in them were all chewed up but after a year of looking for a set of hubcaps beggars couldn't be choosers! I got a chap at work to braze them up for me in exchange for me fabricating a part for one of his motorcycles. I then carefully recut the slots with a hacksaw.
The Royale has been fighting me all the way over the last year. The deteriorating running was traced to a loss of compression on no.5 cylinder, but not the HG but a cracked cylinder head, right through no.5 exhaust port!
I made tentative enquiries about finding another 2800 carb head but they seem like hens teeth, so I've bitten the bullet and I'm going fuel injection (Monza etc).
The first piece of the puzzle arrived today, in the form of a good low mileage (50k allegedly) head delivered by Derek from GM6 Spares. Will lap in the valves and chuck some new seals in there before fitting it next time I'm down (hopefully)
Today I whipped the calipers and master cylinder off to take into work (I work for a classic car brake specialist so have all the parts and equipment, so it's a no brainer really) and rebuild. The brakes are OK but one or more calipers were sticking through lack of use and they don't look particularly wonderful so its a good idea to 'future proof' the system along with all new pipes and hoses. All the hoses were the original 38 year old ones and were rock hard.

[dozeydustman]

I'm shattered.

One minor FTP in the Saab when the ABS fault magically cleared itself then immediately decided that Limp home mode was the order of the day on the M26 on Sunday.

 

I've done around 500 miles in 4 days, which has knackered me, prepared & cooked one banquet, had one at my folks' yesterday, imbibed not silly but still not sensible amounts of bordeaux or champagne.

 

Thank fuck that's over for another year.

[beko1987]

https://news.sky.com/story/jobs-axe-hangs-over-car-parts-distributor-as-top-team-quits-11592771

 

Who else will deliver incorrect but cheap car parts now? Maybe the independents can thrive again and people like me can use them!

[BorniteIdentity]

https://news.sky.com/story/jobs-axe-hangs-over-car-parts-distributor-as-top-team-quits-11592771

 

Who else will deliver incorrect but cheap car parts now? Maybe the independents can thrive again and people like me can use them!

I have tried so hard to get on with the two local companies; they’re both expensive and fucking rude. Even in the face of competition from ECP and this thing called the internet which, I’m convinced, will be big one day.

 

Fuck them. I’ll give my money to those who can be courteous and polite.

[richardmorris]

https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/hauts-de-france/video-sains-fressin-40-voitures-collection-sorties-hangar-vendues-aux-encheres-1557192.html

 

 

Large collection of French tat for sale from 150euro.

[DVee8]

Not ashamed to say that I paid halfrauds to fit new blades to the 75 last week as:

 

1. It was absolutely pissing it down with sheets of rain

2. I was in my new business suit

3. Could have done it myself but couldn't be arsed because of points 1 and 2

I got Halfords to fit new blades to my x-trail but with my trade card it costs £1.65.It was also pissing down with sideways rain.

Money well spent on that day.

[Lord Sterling]

And then there were none....

 

My office today...and tomorrow. Usually bustling with people.

 

Works carpark:

 

Passat and Astra belong to a couple of lads in the warehouse. The BMW 316 compact belongs to a girl called Ferne (anyone have any BMW wheel trims for this, she bought me my secret Santa car cleaning kit. PM me) and the Frontera is obviously my temporary appointment vehicle.

 

My boss does own other shitey-type cars. He manoeuvred this Toyota about the carpark today:

 

He also has these:

 

And an e36 325i convertible:

[D Spares & Tyres]

That red Toyota is gorgeous. The wheels look too far forward in the arches though. Are they all like that I wonder?

[Lord Sterling]

I think they might be. The other Green one is basically the same vehicle but on a swb chassis (I think).