The new news 24 thread

[Cavcraft]

Jesus wept, right bargain that, Trigger.

 

You can buy blank keys off the interwebs (or second hand ones) and anyone who has the programme on their laptop can code them for you. My neighbour does it though I'd imagine a second hand won't actually fit in the locks, but the 'plipper' bit will do it's job.

[trigger]

I'm yet to drive it Bo1 as my insurance company is piddling me about, I need to take a new policy out as they won't add it as a temporary additional vehicle and they won't take my 12 years no claims into account etc etc, might end up registering it in the wife's name until I sell it which is a mare.

 

This one's registered on the 19th September 2002 so It must be a pretty early one, I don't' know when they came out?, It's done 113000 miles but the engine is quite enough.

[retrogeezer]

I remember thinking how bloody HUGE they looked on the road when they first came out..

[Shep Shepherd]

I remember thinking how bloody HUGE they looked on the road when they first came out..

 

The one I drove felt a bit truck-like, largely due to the design of the dashboard compared to that of the Vectra B.

[r.welfare]

I know it was at mates-rates but what a bargain. £250! 1.8 is probably the most trouble-free of the bunch too. Can't wait to see the 'afters' pics once it's seen some polishing mop action.

 

I saw a late model Vectra in front of an Insignia earlier in traffic, and I struggled to discern any major size difference.

[Lord Sterling]

Yo Trig, that looks sweet. I must admit, I really do like these Vectras and having driven a fair few if these, I love how easy to drive, comfortable, yet spacious they are. They pull well, the gear changes are crisp and the rest of the controls seem strong and well put together.

 

I am very jealous that you got this fot £250. My "free" Sterling is costing me an arm and a leg at the moment.

[trigger]

I know it was at mates-rates but what a bargain.

 

To be honest, He also put it up on some Ipswich selling facebook page for £300 where he had loads of mongs commenting with chav text speak, luckily he also posted it on his homepage first so I told him I'd have it, he said as it was me I could have it for £250, but i did give him 30 cans of beers to say thanks!

[r.welfare]

These were touted as excellent motorway cruisers when new - about the only positive over the Mondeo the press at the time called out. Be interesting to hear what it's like. I've never driven one, but once upon a time Vauxhalls were known for having really tall top gear ratios. All that's changed these days and the Corsa, Astra and Zafira hire cars I was lumbered with for long trips a couple of years ago (1.4 or 1.8 petrol manuals) did about 4000rpm at 75. Barking. My Belmont 1.8 GLSi was pulling past 90 at the same engine speed.

[cort16]

Trigger Before I got trade insurance I used to use these guys when I got a car for a bit. You basically pay a month at a time and just switch cars on and off as you need them. It's a bit more expensive than normal insurance but handy and it motivates you when you know you're going to have to pay another month if you don't get shot of it,

 

http://www.ecarinsurance.co.uk/payasyougo.php/index.php

[Cavcraft]

1.8 is probably the most trouble-free of the bunch too.

 

I reckon so too. The 2.2s had an earlier rep for some sort of oilway problem and are a bit thirsty in petrol and diesel format, the CDTi wasn't too clever (in my experience) and the 2.0DTi could be ace but you always worried about the fuel pump.

[trigger]

Trigger Before I got trade insurance I used to use these guys when I got a car for a bit.

 

£66 a month, that's £20 more then a new policy with Tesco so sadly they are a bit steep for me, thanks anyway.

[trigger]

Today I popped to my dad's in the Cortina and we stripped and rebuilt the old weber carb, fitted new diaphragms, jets, o-rings etc, Wish i didn't it months ago!, what a difference it has made, before when I accelerated it had a flat spot so it would chough when i pressed the loud pedal making everyone lerch forwards, now it just pulls nice and cleanly, excellent, well chuffed.

 

Then this afternoon I found time to run a mop over the Vectra, C U L8RZ PINKNESS, It's come up great, tomorrow I'll invest in some Simoniz red colour polish and will give it a good handjob before waxing and then starting on the inside, I'm well pleased with the car, I'll chuck a couple of tyres on it during the week, change the oil and might stick it up for £600, if I fix the knackered shock then maybe £700.

[wuvvum]

Well the enforced fleet cull continues apace. Since I lost my storage I've got rid of one car and bought three more. I really am beyond help.

 

Still, at least I'm an Alfa owner again. I bought this today - I've wanted one ever since I saw one at Earls Court when they first came out, but for one reason or another I haven't got round to actually buying one until today.

 

 

 

 

It's the colour scheme I wanted, too - red with black leather. It's a bit of a strange spec though, at least to my eyes - it's quite well equipped (full moo, wind, cruise, ASR and a pretty decent radio / CD player with Bose speakers) but it only has the little 1.6 engine. This is a good thing in a way though, as the 1.6 does without the variators and balancer shafts of the larger twin spark engines, so less to go wrong - always a good thing with an Alfa.

 

To be fair to it though, it's not too bad, especially given that it was very much at the lower end of the 147 price bracket. All the electrical gubbins seem to work, including the remote stereo controls on the steering wheel (only about the third car I've ever owned where these have worked), and the aircon appears to be nice and cold. The EML is on and when the car is started the display flashes up a dire-sounding warning about "Engine control system failure", but it seems to drive fine, albeit a bit hesitant at very low revs. It does need a front wheel bearing soon though, there's a bit of a rattle over bumps from what sounds like an ARB drop link on the front, and the engine has a bit of a noisy tappet on a light throttle.

 

The paint doesn't seem to have Pogweaseled and actually isn't bad overall, although there's now a small patch of lacquer missing on the front edge of the bonnet where I got too enthusiastic with the jet wash and the water got in through the stone chips and lifted the lacquer off. Other than that and a few minor supermarket-type dings (which you always seem to get on Alfas as they don't have any side protection) it's not in bad nick. I picked it up from Berkshire this morning and it drove back fine - even had a tenner's worth of pez in it, although this was counteracted by the need to fork out £10.99 on a litre of oil to bring the level up onto the dipstick. Alfas always do like a bit of a drink of oil though.

 

So far it's looking like a possible keeper - it's due a test so I'm going to bung it in soon and see what it needs. Assuming it doesn't fail too dismally I'll spend a bit of money on it and run it around for a while. It's a nice thing to drive - comfy enough, handles well, not bad on petrol, and the cruise control is a nice touch on long runs. It's never going to set the world alight being a 1.6, but it's nippy enough, and the turning circle is nowhere near as dire as I'd been led to believe. I was a bit apprehensive that a car that had been on my want list for the last 12 years would turn out to be a disappointment when I actually bought one, but so far I'm pretty happy.

[vulgalour]

Those little Alfas are very nice, I find them quite inoffensive. That one does look rather nice inside and out.

 

I've been curious about fuel pricing trends. There's doubtless countless websites on the matter, but I wanted to know how it affected me directly. Using the fuel receipts I could track my fuel cost per litre over the last 12 months as I fuel up with the same fuel in a handful of petrol stations in a small area. What's immediately apparent is a price hike at the end of May and a steady rise through August. There's also a very clear drop in price at the start of June and November. I'm wondering what the causes might be for this, the end of May rise could be to do with the tax year being April-to-April and the massive drop of 11p a litre last June is most likely down to the fuel shortages that were happening at that time. I had expected there to be a steady rise in prices rather than this fluctuating wave throughout the year as that's what I've been led to believe by the media, the perception of my peers and indeed my own perception of fuel pump costs.

 

I don't know how I'll make use of this information, it's not like you can stock pile petrol when it's cheap, but I found it interesting and thought you might too. I'll be keeping track of the info so when I worry about the price of fuel I'll have a factual point of reference.

[Cavcraft]

Found out why the central locking doesn't work on the n/s/f door on the estate: the wiring has chafed/frayed same as driver's side, so there's another hour or so when I can be arsed. Although there's been a good few niggles with the car it's been enjoyable sorting them out and gradually improving the car. Next on the list is to be patient enough to wait for 2 hours with the ignition on so I can code the radio back in.

 

Did 160-odd miles in it yesterday after lobbing 40 litres of veg in and the gauge hardly moved. It's certainly earning it's keep moving cycles about here and there and has possibly saved me getting a small van.

[skattrd]

That looks very nice Wuv - are the 147's Tipo based?

I know the earlier 145/146 are and do find the handling of Tipo based motors rather good.

[cort16]

I've just swapped the Astra for a saab 93 convertible. It's pretty grim just now but a couple of easy fixes should hopefully have it looking and working a bit better. It's not showing any signs of cracked bulk head or blocked oil/tea strainer shite so far...

[Tayne]

.

[trigger]

I've spent a long and sweaty day today cleaning up the Vectra, I'm immensely pleased with how well the cars come up, the flame red is nice and bright again and the interior looks pretty good too, I'm thinking of selling it as it is, needing two tyres and a shock, for £550 as I've spied another car which is winking heavily at me...

 

2002 Vauxhall Vectra 1.8i LS by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

 

2002 Vauxhall Vectra 1.8i LS by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

 

2002 Vauxhall Vectra 1.8i LS by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

 

2002 Vauxhall Vectra 1.8i LS by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

[Cavcraft]

Oh God. What's the tax/test situation Trigger?

[Shep Shepherd]

That looks far better than a lot of cars half its age now

[trigger]

MOT & Tax is August but it looks like It's just sold, unsurprisingly, to a mate.

[vulgalour]

So you've effectively doubled your money by applying a bit of polish and a vacuum cleaner... why don't more people do this again?

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Well you've got to find the raw materials haven't you, there's not exactly millions of serviceable 52-plate vectras knocking about for 250

[cort16]

Didn't Cortina Dave say you need to clear the crap out of the sump immediately or its in danger of lunching the engine with no warning?

 

They do nomnomnom the engines but I've read that the turbos are more prone to it and this is an na. It's also got fsh not that means much. I'll do it anyway as for the sake of taking the sump off and some oil it's worth doing.

 

Red really does come up well the vectra looks very smart. There are loads of cheap cars at the auction that look like you could polish money into but they're usually there because of some crippling fault.

[trigger]

The Vectras just gone, £550 cash, no hassle to a mechanic friend who has a customer urgently needing a car as their Zafira has dropped a valve and burned a ring. Jobs a good one!

 

My friend was quoted by a local garage nearly £600 to have the knock repaired which was just a shock absorber, no wonder he sold it cheap.

[wuvvum]

That looks very nice Wuv - are the 147's Tipo based?

I know the earlier 145/146 are and do find the handling of Tipo based motors rather good.

I think the 147 was Bravo based rather than Tipo - not that that's a bad thing, the Bravo and its derivatives are pretty good handlers too. The 147 does have some tweaks over the Bravo though - steering is a lot quicker, for one thing, which makes it feel extremely agile - it's actually pretty light on its feet in general for a modern-ish car. I haven't managed to make it understeer yet either, although I'm sure that'll come once I get more confident in it.

[vulgalour]

Princess decided to be ungrateful and try and run me over while I was vacuuming the interior today. Maybe I didn't put the handbrake on all the clicks, maybe it's because I've not yet done the brakes, but it came as a bit of a shock and I was quite relieved neighbours were on hand to stop the car rolling all the way down the drive. I'm holding off doing the brakes until after Monday's RR meet because I'm expecting at least one bleed nipple to break off when I make the attempt, or a handbrake cable to snap or something and I'd rather that happen after I've done the event that I really want to make than just before. So if the weather's good, I'll make the attempt on Tuesday.

[vulgalour]

Just read about a Princess HLS down in Cambridge for £100. It's beige, has no tax or MoT and is in need of two front wings and a rear door... no pictures.

 

http://leylandprincess.co.uk/forum/view ... p=890#p890

 

I'm happy to help with cross-forum communication if needed, it could very well yield some good parts if it turns out to be a complete basket case, especially considering the price of even halfway decent panels due to scarcity.

[sporty-shite]

Picked up the 106 from retro80sboy last night, and made the journey home safely and with a big grin.

 

It's small, hard, bouncy and a bag full of fun. I'm not sure how long it'll stay around, like, as I really can see myself getting into trouble in it

 

However, just to piss on my chips, the battery light has just started to come on at low revs, so I'm off outside now to have a look around, in the hope (not likely) that it's just a loose belt.

 

Pics later.