The new news 24 thread

[Anthony]

Thought I might share my experience here though, better safe than sorry. NO NCB ON CLASSIC CAR POLICIES!

 

I've had the reverse happen this year.

 

My 205 has been insured as a classic for a few years now, and whilst I've swapped brokers in that time, has been with the same underwriter for at least the last three years.  This year it appears to have earned 1 years NCB for reasons I can't quite fathom...

[Cavcraft]

The ML has just gone through the MOT! New brake pads in the back, advisories for front pads and anti-roll bush/es. Celebrated by lobbing £20's worth of Shell's finest in the tank and give it a damned good old fashioned British hammering up the bypass. 

[loserone]

Has lockup

[Mally]

Probably just me being ignorant, but I might point out something that nearly caused me a right headache as regards car insurance recently. I had completed a full year's classic car insurance with Peter S. Taylor and let the policy expire as I was going to sell the car at the time, and did. All simple enough. I then recently took out a new policy with Flux Direct on a Jag XJS. Now when I did the quote I put down 1 year no claims on the back of having had that policy with Peter S. Taylor. Still seemed fine. Submitted the document evidence for that new policy and got queried on the NCB again. Called Peter S. Taylor and was told that classic car policies do not incur any NCB! This is not something they mentioned at the time and I cannot find mention of it in the small print, but I'm sure it will be there somewhere.

 

I got away with it by explaining exactly what happened to Flux Direct and the guy there happened to be on my side so I only got charged £20. Thought I might share my experience here though, better safe than sorry. NO NCB ON CLASSIC CAR POLICIES!

 

They read it out to me in the long waffle they give you on the phone, which you instantly forget.

[Amishtat]

Washed & polished ready for tomorrow's East Coast retro meet. Haven't been to one before as they usually seem to be on a weeknight so I'm really looking forward to it.

[mercrocker]

Has lockupIMG-20190405-WA0004.jpg

 

I love that brief spacious feeling in a newly-acquired lockup.   Doesn't seem to last, though.....

[clayts450]

POETS day and as I was owed an hour from work I did piss off early (tomorrow's Saturday) which meant I got home early in time for round two of the rear upper control arm challenge on the 620. I'd ordered a second pickle fork which was a tad longer - gawd bless Amazon prime, ordered at midnight on Wednesday, delivered yesterday.

 

One, two, three, four, five, six whacks with the lump hammer and the ball joint pinged out lovely. Top arm came away without a fight, new arm popped in lovely, all torqued, job's a good un.

 

Had another go at the handbrake as I'd wrapped up number 2 of the MoT fail list super quick, and was able to free the offside rear off even more - it actually works better than the nearside (didn't work at all for the test) so will have to service the other side now, else I'll no doubt have unbalanced brakes.

 

Then comes job number 4, the final hurdle - the proper bastard of getting the power steering high pressure pipe off and taking down to Pirtek. I do have the different pipe from a later 620 (£10 off Fuckface) so I can compare side by side and see which bits need to move where - should save on Pirtek having to add in more metal, just need them to do the do with connecting 'em all back together. Then I need to get it back on again.

 

Ho-hum. If I'm lucky, hopefully the 620 will be road legal again before too long. Which is just as well as the other two 'MOT failures' on our road got scrapped by the owners, so mine's the only illegal car out there now !

[loserone]

I love that brief spacious feeling in a newly-acquired lockup. Doesn't seem to last, though.....

My garage is two years old and 8 by 4 metres. It's full.

[Steve79]

Probably just me being ignorant, but I might point out something that nearly caused me a right headache as regards car insurance recently. I had completed a full year's classic car insurance with Peter S. Taylor and let the policy expire as I was going to sell the car at the time, and did. All simple enough. I then recently took out a new policy with Flux Direct on a Jag XJS. Now when I did the quote I put down 1 year no claims on the back of having had that policy with Peter S. Taylor. Still seemed fine. Submitted the document evidence for that new policy and got queried on the NCB again. Called Peter S. Taylor and was told that classic car policies do not incur any NCB! This is not something they mentioned at the time and I cannot find mention of it in the small print, but I'm sure it will be there somewhere.

 

I got away with it by explaining exactly what happened to Flux Direct and the guy there happened to be on my side so I only got charged £20. Thought I might share my experience here though, better safe than sorry. NO NCB ON CLASSIC CAR POLICIES!

Yep, no ncb on classic policies.

 

Photo shows where it says ncb not applicable. This is on my peter s taylor policy.

[SiC]

Yep, no ncb on classic policies.

 

Photo shows where it says ncb not applicable. This is on my peter s taylor policy.

So if your engine is stolen out of your car it's not covered but if your car is stolen with a spare engine in the boot it is!

[danthecapriman]

Washed & polished ready for tomorrow's East Coast retro meet. Haven't been to one before as they usually seem to be on a weeknight so I'm really looking forward to it. IMG_20190405_185443.jpg

Looks lovely!

 

Have a good time... and don’t forget your camera!

[HillmanImp]

Recently declassified documents released by the UK Government have revealed the real reason for the demise of the Rover Group or ‘Phoenix Venture Holdings’ which was the last alias of a British Government black operation dating back to 1968 with the incorporation of project ‘British Leyland’.

 

Set up by the then Prime Minister Harold Wilson the department was meant to proved cheap and transportation to the people of Britain. In the early 1970’s under a Conservative leadership the objectives of the operation were moved to use the advanced British engineering to put vehicles equipped with mind altering psychoactives into the hands of foreign nationals, ready to be deployed when Britain were ready to invade.

 

Sadly with U.S. car safety laws enacted in 1974, plus the strikes caused by communist leanings which were rife in the west midlands in the 1980s, the project was doomed to failure. Not a single overseas Ambassador bought the successor of the car that had failed to attract and kill Princess Anne. Even with heavy funding from the Japanese government the reach and influence of British Leyand was limited.

 

Largely forgotten the covert orginisation carried on until 1986 when another government organisation calling themselves the Rover Group took over.

 

This operation nearly destroyed the UK economy. Despite producing much better cars than other manufacturers, government overheads meant that every car was sold at a huge loss. Massive scrutiny in the press couldn’t even be overwhelmed by members of the Tory leadership supposedly strangling themselves to death in a bondage incident with an orange in their mouth and the black hole in the finances caused by ‘Project Leyland’ was there for everyone to see.

 

Things came to a head in 2000 under a Labour government, who when discovering the files tried to shut the Rover group down.

 

Five of the most dangerous operatives from British Leyland covertly took the helm and ‘went rogue’. The pictures below are the first released which show how it was the British car industry that caused that attacks in New York in September 2001.

 

Despite the new evidence to extradite the ‘Phoenix 5’ to the USA to deliver charges the operation has been swept under the carpet and little progress has been made to bring justice to the perpetrators. 

 

Now the photos are widely available the worlds media are awaiting a response from the UK government.

 

 

[clayts450]

Joking aside, I'm reading End of the Road at the moment - good God there were some dodgy shenanigans going on right from when BAe sold Rover to BMW, up to the Phoenix Four purchase. Everyone was as bad as each other, even the DTI.

 

The way BMW buried their heads in the sand was unreal, and it wasn't until the two guys behind Alchemy ('venture capitalists' looking out for a slice of the pie) pointed out just how much keeping Rover afloat was costing BMW that they agreed to sell.....to the Phoenix crooks, rather than Alchemy.

 

Not a book about cars, more about poor business practices, but a bloody good read. If anyone wants to borrow it after PM me - no cost.

[wuvvum]

The ML has just gone through the MOT! New brake pads in the back, advisories for front pads and anti-roll bush/es. Celebrated by lobbing £20's worth of Shell's finest in the tank and give it a damned good old fashioned British hammering up the bypass. 

 

Reading this and Kiltox' ad for his X5 on the For Sale forum has given me a hankering for a cuntmobile of my own.  It's amazing how cheap they're getting now (to buy at least).

[Cavcraft]

Reading this and Kiltox' ad for his X5 on the For Sale forum has given me a hankering for a cuntmobile of my own.  It's amazing how cheap they're getting now (to buy at least).

 

Absolutely, even 'new shape' Range-Rovers are dropping now.

[loserone]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-47784588

 

Is it just me that just uses the ladies after calling a warning?

 

Not saying men should have to, but trying to be realistic; not everywhere has space for everything duplicated, and history has not always catered for looking after children, nevermind men looking after children

[catsinthewelder]

They usually just have the sense to put it in the disabled loo with the additional bonus that you aren't having to take the babies big sister into the gents.

 

What confused me was;

 

 

Building regulations set no requirements for baby changing provision but the Welsh Government's deputy minister Jane Hutt said in a letter: "Where baby changing provision is intended the statutory guidance and related British Standard recommends it should be accessible and not be in unisex toilets."

 

So not in a disabled loo then?

 

I imagine disabled groups aren't keen on sharing facilities but I've only opened the door once to find a disabled person waiting against probably 5 times of finding another parent waiting.  I'm sure there are certain places where demand from disabled folks will be high enough to rule out using them or more sensibly provide more cubicles.

[stuboy]

Suffering a cold, being up 5am for work all week ment awake 630am so decided to get up and swap my headlamps over...

 

[Amishtat]

A few delights from the East Coast Retros meeting earlier.

And lastly my favourite..

A good day out, thanks to Trig for the organisation.

[RayMK]

I drive this most days.  Having removed the results of pigeons' target practice, a quick photo session ensued before they bombed it again.  The rear door paintwork which I attended to a week or two ago is now very difficult to spot.  Previously it had an ugly scab about 6" x 2" but I'm not organised enough to have a 'before' photo.

[SiC]

Front tyres are knackered on the A4, so ordered some more...

 

*faints*

 

In other news, it's passed the 180k barrier.

 

Actually 250 more miles than that now as I took that picture the other week.

 

Considering the miles it's done, the interior has faired extremely well. None of the soft touch plastic rubbing off like older VAGs and similar. Especially as no real care has been taken on the leather. Certainly never have been treated with any leather care products in at least 170k of the miles.

 

Seats themselves have held up impressively too.

 

Scarily I reckon if this was clocked back 100k, no-one would be able to tell.

[Split_Pin]

How do you find it to drive? I have always liked Audis of slightly earlier decades, 1980s to late 2000s but now that I own one I find it just, dead. I habe seen a few cheap MK1 A8s and I love the prescence they have but I'm now worried that I won't like one.

[SiC]

How do you find it to drive? I have always liked Audis of slightly earlier decades, 1980s to late 2000s but now that I own one I find it just, dead. I habe seen a few cheap MK1 A8s and I love the prescence they have but I'm now worried that I won't like one.

A A4 Avant TDI? Boring naturally!

 

Handles very well for its size but you are reminded that there is quite a lot of metal back there when on country lanes. S-Line on 18" wheels means the ride quality suffers to allow it to go round corners well. Also those miles on original springs+shocks+bushes means its going to ride even worse than originally designed! Seats are comfortable and have plenty of adjustment though.

 

However it does everything you need from a car and does it pretty well. Decent load area, nice place to sit, still half modern+fashionable, enough poke to overtake (even if this one has had the emissions "fix" applied) and drives well. Because of this, it makes a perfect car for my wife as a daily driver.

 

Its why she "owns" it (despite me buying it, paying for servicing, tyres, insurance and repairs), as if it was in my name I'd probably have sold it by now! Probably because the car is too competent and I don't gel with ones that are that! If I had to have one car and it had to be sensible, it would be this. Something that you buy to keep your wife/other half happy so you can get something not so sensible. Like a 19 year old Porsche!

 

My only grump on it is that its never been particularly economical for a diesel. Usually get 38-42mpg. On a really good run at 70mph, I can get it to just about 47mpg - but very rare it ever gets that high. Its been like that since my parents bought it when it had around 5k miles on the clock.

 

The intention is to keep it until either it gets written off by an idiot driver around here or if something mega expensive happens e.g. a rod through the block.

[stuboy]

Ordered new alternator for the mondeo..

 

Feeling poorer

[Split_Pin]

A A4 Avant TDI? Boring naturally!

 

Handles very well for its size but you are reminded that there is quite a lot of metal back there when on country lanes. S-Line on 18" wheels means the ride quality suffers to allow it to go round corners well. Also those miles on original springs+shocks+bushes means its going to ride even worse than originally designed! Seats are comfortable and have plenty of adjustment though.

 

However it does everything you need from a car and does it pretty well. Decent load area, nice place to sit, still half modern+fashionable, enough poke to overtake (even if this one has had the emissions "fix" applied) and drives well. Because of this, it makes a perfect car for my wife as a daily driver.

 

Its why she "owns" it (despite me buying it, paying for servicing, tyres, insurance and repairs), as if it was in my name I'd probably have sold it by now! Probably because the car is too competent and I don't gel with that are that! If I had to have one car and it had to be sensible, it would be this. Something that you buy to keep your wife/other half happy so you can get something not sensible.

 

My only grump on it is that its never been particularly economical for a diesel. Usually get 38-42mpg. On a really good run at 70mph, I can get it to just about 47mpg - but very rare it ever gets that high. Its been like that since my parents bought it when it had around 5k miles on the clock.

 

The intention is to keep it until either it gets written off by an idiot driver around here or if something mega expensive happens e.g. a rod through the block.

You've hit the nail on the head with keeping it as the sensible daily for the wife. That's the purpose my Duster serves for my better half but that's fine as it is mostly she who drives it.

 

But my 80 Cabrio is (one) of my cars and I like them to have some sort of character. Even driving with the roof down was a big anticlimax as it was just too bloody civilised. I thought it was just me. The 172 is just so characterful in comparison.

[Rusty_Rocket]

Two tyres cost £300, all you need to know!

[Broadsword]

Michelin Cross Climates are absolutely brilliant tyres even if expensive. I have them on the front of the Xantia. Grip levels are off the scale compared to cheaper brands.

[SiC]

Two tyres cost £300, all you need to know!

To be fair that was my choice of tyre that didn't help there. Went for Michelin Crossclimates as I want a tyre good for summer and winter. Mostly as this is our daily driver and when we (eventually) move, being in the countryside if it snows means way more inconvenience than being in a city as is now.

 

The only discount they had for them was on four tyres and the other two tyres are in good nick. Unfortunately needs must and I don't have a choice to wait for offers before change these tyres.

 

If I went for Michelin Pilotsports 4 (excellent summer tyres) it would have been £130 each. While replacing the Kuhmos on there already would "only" have meant £99 a tyre.

 

At least it didn't need runflats. They are £180 each in that size!!

[SiC]

You've hit the nail on the head with keeping it as the sensible daily for the wife. That's the purpose my Duster serves for my better half but that's fine as it is mostly she who drives it.

 

But my 80 Cabrio is (one) of my cars and I like them to have some sort of character. Even driving with the roof down was a big anticlimax as it was just too bloody civilised. I thought it was just me. The 172 is just so characterful in comparison.

Kinda surprises me even on that Audi they had managed to engineer out any soul. To be fair those 4 seat cabs were never meant to be a sporty car. Far too much body flex in that chassis from the lack of roof. The Saabs of a similar era had the same issue.

 

They are more for cruising along Malibu front or maybe more Malaga...

[clayts450]

Parking brake sorted quickly on the 620 today - after sorting the passenger side yesterday, I moved to the driver's side and had it done in 20 minutes.

 

Then onto the power steering. Before starting to contort myself into uncomfortable positions I thought best to check where the pipe connects to the rack first as these can be a pig to crack off - loosened off nicely with a flare nut wrench, so tightened up and set to work on disconnecting everything.

 

A bloody maze underneath the car, but liberal use of an illuminated mirror and lots of swearing had me with three of the connectors undone and just (so I thought) two to go. Went topside to unbolt number 4 connecting the high pressure line.....and it was then I realised the leak wasn't actually coming from the pressure line at all - it was coming from the fucking return line. FFS.... 

 

I then spent about 20 minutes faffing about rebolting the connection for the pressure line....

 

I then went onto bolt number 4 for the return line and, being, similar to one of these bastards....

 

 

...naturally it sheared off despite copious amounts of Plusgas

 

Then went bottom side again and realised that there was actually a similar connection right at the end I'd started from (circled) - any tips on how to get that fucker off without it shearing too ? Is undoing the bolt actually the right way to get these off ?

 

 

(the pipe to the right with all the gunk on it is where the leak is from, JB weld/chewing gum bodge - this then goes to the rack)

 

By this time I was cold, tired and sweary, so shut up shop for the day.

 

Plan is, if I can get the end bit out I can look to see whether more JB weldage could be done or whether I need to be more radical and find a way of replacing the entire corroded section.