The new news 24 thread

[Six-cylinder]

I think I know the answer!

[anonymous user]

What the hell would the borrowers want with a car battery? My best guess is that you have put something on top of it like the laundry basket.

 

My father's advice when trying to find something lost by my uncle was "think like an idiot"

[holbeck]

They need to be more yellow for a Frenchy

I dunno, they're as yellow as the finger's of a Gitane smoker.

 

BTW I reckon Mrs 6C will be along any minute to identify the disused railway bridge I was parked on.

[trigger]

Car stuff has been on the back burner lately due to REAL LIFE issues, still waiting on a moving date which is taking for ever too but that's another story, meanwhile for various reasons I needed to move my Van from home and my Marina from the in laws garage until I move so dad managed to find a empty barn that I can use rent free for a few months.

 

Yesterday I took my van down to the barn which is about 20 miles away, it was good to be actually behind the wheel of something old for a change, even if it is loaded up with about half a ton of garage crap! After dropping the van off I went and got the Marina out of storage too, I forgot how well that drives, again that was loaded up with garage tat, mudflaps scraping on the roundabouts! Hopefully in about a month or so I'll be able to take them to the new house and get them emptied.

 

 

 

I've been thinking of selling the van for a while as I don't really have any use for it and sooner have a car, I've had someone who's seen it offer me a fair price for it which I'm tempted by but Practical Classics magazine also want to feature it so I might hang on to it for a little longer.

 

[Skizzer]

Yay, Trigger, been missing you. The Marina still looks amazing: it’s so blue you can probably see it from space. Although not in that barn, obviously. And an excellent barn it is too.

 

Let us know what happens with Practically Borassic, that’ll give me an excuse to buy a copy, as I occasionally do. You definitely deserve a feature.

[richardmorris]

Biggest ever posters on this news thread...

 

news.JPG

 

Well that’s possibly because I put all my rubbish on here not on a personal thread.

[MikeR]

today I rescued a broken little heart ..

 

a very young  local lad left his Thunderbird two in the park ,his most treasured toy ,  and later on wanted it ,

and his dad went back with a torch to look for it , but it was gone ,

so he got on FB and posted a message which I read in the morning ..

and in the morning I went out with the dog and looked for it ,and being a Thunderbird fan , my mind was tuned to the shape of it ..

which turned up in bits as the local toe rags had smashed it up ,,,,

so I posted back what had happened and

 

offered my identical Thunderbird two as replacement .....which has been sat on the shelf for many years

....

which has now been collected and all is now well again at the lads house

 

 

 

 

[holbeck]

today I rescued a broken little heart ..

 

a very young local lad left his Thunderbird two in the park ,his most treasured toy , and later on wanted it ,

and his dad went back with a torch to look for it , but it was gone ,

so he got on FB and posted a message which I read in the morning ..

and in the morning I went out with the dog and looked for it ,and being a Thunderbird fan , my mind was tuned to the shape of it ..

which turned up in bits as the local toe rags had smashed it up ,,,,

so I posted back what had happened and

 

offered my identical Thunderbird two as replacement .....which has been sat on the shelf for many years

....

which has now been collected and all is now well again at the lads house

 

20190203_103414.jpg

Nice one. You did a good thing there.

[cobblers]

Fuckin hell, I'm a thicko.

A light that looks like "brakes" comes on the dash of my VW T5 when I turn the wheel more than about half a turn to the left.

 

I work with vehicle diagnostics stuff for a living, and you know what they say - when you've got a hammer in your hand, everything looks like a nail.

Thinking it was the steering angle sensor, I plugged my knockoff Delphi gear into it - Spent half an hour ferreting round to try and find any faults - Nothing. Every module is very happy. Even found out someone has already knocked the guts out of the DPF and mapped it out for me.

No luck with that, I dug out my old VAG COM lead and spent half a day getting the knockoff software to work, then gave up and bought another for £18 off some bloke on facebook.

 

Plugged all this in, again no faults found.

Now I'm about going mad here, THERE'S A WARNING LIGHT ON FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. Of course there's a fault.

 

Yes, there is. There's a fucking brake pad wear wire that I routed wrong when I fitted the new disks and pads a few months ago, and it earths out on the backplate when I turn the steering wheel. The light wasn't brake fault, it was for worn pads.

[HillmanImp]

Now that Mrs Imp has a new car, to avoid another situation like this:

 

 

I've spent the weekend making this:

 

 

Look like this.

 

 

I am not going to be able to move tomorrow. My arms already ache.

 

The walls not too pretty at the mo but I can tidy it up in due course. Its cheaper than getting a whole side put on the Mazda.

 

Other good news is that we are going to now be able to get out of the nearside doors of the car without hitting them on the wall too, which every single passenger we ever had did without fail, despite us warning them to mind the door on the wall when they got out. The doors now clear it easily.

 

Mrs Imps Megane is up for sale and as soon as that comes I'll get a skip to take away the friggin huge pile of breezeblock rubble and soil in the front garden.

 

 

I thought id be able to take it to the tip in the car but there's quite a lot more than I expected.

 

Its worth pointing out that the top photo there was taken 2 months after she had the whole side of the car replaced after doing that exact same thing.

[doug]

Fixed the fuel gauge on the ebay Volvo 240....

Had to disconnect the battery to do it now no radio....

Emailed Volvo to see if they have a record of the radio code.

 

P.S. made up a tool to take the sender unit out of the tank if anyone needs a loan of it let me know.

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

Rotten- check

Christmas tree dash lights- check

Completely don't need a fourth car- check

 

'you're the highest bidder'- er... Check...

[BorniteIdentity]

Oi, that Sierra woollarding shot should be my picture credit!

I have requested it be changed. This was just me in a hurry dumping a load of photos on the journo. Apologies. Dx

[Skizzer]

Thanks No biggie, obviously, it’s a tiny part of the great story!

[BorniteIdentity]

Thanks No biggie, obviously, it’s a tiny part of the great story!

I WANT to see your name in bright lights tho!

 

Apologies. I actually forgot that you took that one. Upon reflection, it would have been a miracle if I’d taken it myself.

 

Honestly, it’s been a whirlwind. I’m used to stuff like this, but it’s taken on a life of its own which I’m a little surprised about. I guess everyone’s got a Mini story, and everyone has a car they wish they could have back.

[BorniteIdentity]

Fixed the fuel gauge on the ebay Volvo 240....

Had to disconnect the battery to do it now no radio....

Emailed Volvo to see if they have a record of the radio code.

 

P.S. made up a tool to take the sender unit out of the tank if anyone needs a loan of it let me know.

Volvo could tell me the one for my 1990 240. No charge. Remind them it’s yours, not theirs and they should oblige.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

today I rescued a broken little heart ..

 

a very young  local lad left his Thunderbird two in the park ,his most treasured toy ,  and later on wanted it ,

and his dad went back with a torch to look for it , but it was gone ,

so he got on FB and posted a message which I read in the morning ..

and in the morning I went out with the dog and looked for it ,and being a Thunderbird fan , my mind was tuned to the shape of it ..

which turned up in bits as the local toe rags had smashed it up ,,,,

so I posted back what had happened and

 

offered my identical Thunderbird two as replacement .....which has been sat on the shelf for many years

....

which has now been collected and all is now well again at the lads house

 

20190203_103414.jpg

 

 

When I was about four, we moved house.  My Dad, Mum and I had been building Tracy Island from the instructions on Blue Peter.

 

We moved house and I never saw it again.  Apparently it was broken in the move.  They only told me when I was about 13 and I was devastated even then!

 

Somewhere in a box, my parents have those Thunderbird toys.  My Thunderbird 1 has a chewed rubber cone from when I was about 3.

 

You've brought it all flooding back.

[HillmanImp]

today I rescued a broken little heart ..

 

a very young local lad left his Thunderbird two in the park ,his most treasured toy , and later on wanted it ,

and his dad went back with a torch to look for it , but it was gone ,

so he got on FB and posted a message which I read in the morning ..

and in the morning I went out with the dog and looked for it ,and being a Thunderbird fan , my mind was tuned to the shape of it ..

which turned up in bits as the local toe rags had smashed it up ,,,,

so I posted back what had happened and

 

offered my identical Thunderbird two as replacement .....which has been sat on the shelf for many years

....

which has now been collected and all is now well again at the lads house

 

20190203_103414.jpg

Glad for a happy ending.

 

And top marks for not filming yourself doing it and posting you handing it to the child via Instagram or something.

[Mrs6C]

I dunno, they're as yellow as the finger's of a Gitane smoker.

 

BTW I reckon Mrs 6C will be along any minute to identify the disused railway bridge I was parked on.

Indeed. it's Greenway Bridge, Greenway Lane, Stowford, over the old Southern Railway branch to Sidmouth.

[holbeck]

Indeed. it's Greenway Bridge, Greenway Lane, Stowford, over the old Southern Railway branch to Sidmouth.

Wow!....

Correct.

 

How on earth???

[dollywobbler]

Biggest ever posters on this news thread...

 

news.JPG

 

Oh gawd. I'm so terribly sorry.

[SiC]

Indeed. it's Greenway Bridge, Greenway Lane, Stowford, over the old Southern Railway branch to Sidmouth.

How the buggers did you work that one out?

 

I know Sidmouth a little bit from visiting many times over the years and now cycle around it often with my dad. However it still took a good lot of searching for me to even find it.

[Noel Tidybeard]

Wow!....

Correct.

 

How on earth???

 

because she has an anorak! lol :mrgreen:  

[holbeck]

because she has an anorak! lol :mrgreen:

I think I worked this out.

 

Re-looking at the photo there is a location ID on the bridge, although I can't decipher it. Maybe Mrs 6C can????

[SiC]

I guess remembered you lived in/near Sidmouth and there are only so many disused train bridges near Sidmouth!

[DodgeRover]

Now that Mrs Imp has a new car, to avoid another situation like this:

 

post-3133-0-48716600-1502826351.jpg

 

I've spent the weekend making this:

 

IMG_20190119_134232.jpg

 

Look like this.

 

IMG_20190203_150044.jpg

 

I am not going to be able to move tomorrow. My arms already ache.

 

The walls not too pretty at the mo but I can tidy it up in due course. Its cheaper than getting a whole side put on the Mazda.

 

Other good news is that we are going to now be able to get out of the nearside doors of the car without hitting them on the wall too, which every single passenger we ever had did without fail, despite us warning them to mind the door on the wall when they got out. The doors now clear it easily.

 

Mrs Imps Megane is up for sale and as soon as that comes I'll get a skip to take away the friggin huge pile of breezeblock rubble and soil in the front garden.

 

IMG_20190203_191905.jpg

 

I thought id be able to take it to the tip in the car but there's quite a lot more than I expected.

 

Its worth pointing out that the top photo there was taken 2 months after she had the whole side of the car replaced after doing that exact same thing.

I can't judge the size of the pile but a grab wagon is usually cheaper than a skip for hardcore and soil. Plus you don't need to load it yourself as long as they can get the grab to it.

[brownnova]

Saab needs screen wash.

 

In goes the screen wash...

 

And put it flows underneath...

 

Bugger.

 

Looks like the plastic bottle has split or cracked or something. It’s too cold and dark to get the jack out as it’s right underneath the car.

 

I’ll just pack a bottle of water!

 

So that makes two cars with inoperable screen squirters LOL

[JJ0063]

 

Anyone able to identify the car on the back? Rubbish screenshot from my dashcam.

 

Horrible crash on the A17, beavertail with the car on the back flipped into the OSF of a HGV then landed on its wheels. Chap was covered in blood.

[C1am]

Volvo 164?

[JJ0063]

Good shout. Gutted.