The new news 24 thread

[Lacquer Peel]

True, but if you choose to run around in a reliable even older car the insurance gets cheaper. What you need is a BX dizzler.

Can you even get classic insurance on your *only* car? Commuting to work, parked outside, 10k a year? I'm not sure that's possible but happy to be proven wrong and justify* purchasing a 30 year old 309 or BX.

 

[loserone]

With some policies you can, I've also heard of a £60 scooter being the modern.

[LightBulbFun]

1 hour ago, Lacquer Peel said:

Can you even get classic insurance on your *only* car?

im going to find out soon enough!

well to be fair i'm just hoping i can get it insure it AT ALL 

(it doesn't have to specifically be a "classic policy" per say but any normal company wont touch cars older then 20 years let alone what I own so im guessing it will have go via a classic car insurance broker)

1 hour ago, loserone said:

With some policies you can, I've also heard of a £60 scooter being the modern.

is that technically allowed because that sounds like the car equivalent of fronting LOL

although I guess if they have nothing in their policy against it then its fine?

(tho I imagine if it did become a problem like fronting did they would write something against it)

[Tickman]

1 hour ago, Lacquer Peel said:

Can you even get classic insurance on your *only* car? Commuting to work, parked outside, 10k a year? I'm not sure that's possible but happy to be proven wrong and justify* purchasing a 30 year old 309 or BX.

 

Chuck just insured the 205 as her only car, classic policy and the added complication of bring under 21.

Wasn't too horrific either.

Adrian Flux though...

[loserone]

It's not fronting if you're genuinely using a scooter as the primary modern vehicle.

 

It's "access to another vehicle"

[captain_70s]

FJ insure my Acclaim as my daily car. Although technically I have access to another car (the Dolly). The Dolly is also insured with them and the Acclaim is declared as my other car...

[anonymous user]

12 hours ago, trigger said:

Thanks for the photos, I did spent some time looking into this, I even bought a pair of new belts for it, there's a fixing point in the wheel well and another under the rear seat for the buckle but there isn't one for the main unit body bit, I thought about bolting it to the rear side panel and having come over the back of the seat but the panel is thin and it really needs to bolt up high but there's no mounting point up there, also the cars so original I kinda feel bad having to drill holes into it too!

 

Is the upper mount along the roof edge concealed by the head lining?

[trigger]

I had a little look but couldn't see anything and didn't want to take all the headlining back as I'd never get it back in again!

[MikeR]

just lined the floor of the focus with plywood so the dog has a comfier ride  ,

it can just slide into the rear seat backs if I slam on as opposed to rolling ....

[vulgalour]

Our Ital estate had rear seatbelts after Dad retrofitted them.  I don't recall him drilling holes or modifying the car in any way so I wonder if the Ital had pre-made holes where the Marina didn't.  What I can't remember is if it was the Datsun Sunny or the Morris Ital that had the seatbelts that were uncomfortable because they were mounted in the C pillar, both cars were yellow with black vinyl interiors and I was small, so they sort of blur into one in my memory.

[busmansholiday]

I can thoroughly recommend Lidl's 3 in 1 gas soldering iron. Remove the soldering tip and it's a flame, a flame that's small easily directed, and hot. Did a cracking job of heating the bleed nipple and fittings on the osf of the Merc so I could remove the flexi that failed the MoT.

Shame a well known UK supplier of car parts, with blue vans, couldn't have supplied me with the right flexible. Bollocks!!

[richardmorris]

8 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

im going to find out soon enough!

well to be fair i'm just hoping i can get it insure it AT ALL 

(it doesn't have to specifically be a "classic policy" per say but any normal company wont touch cars older then 20 years let alone what I own so im guessing it will have go via a classic car insurance broker)

is that technically allowed because that sounds like the car equivalent of fronting LOL

although I guess if they have nothing in their policy against it then its fine?

(tho I imagine if it did become a problem like fronting did they would write something against it)

My 1994 Mercedes is insured with aviva as my standard car policy. 2cv and x1/9 with FJ as agreed value classic policies.

[barefoot]

I have '02 Rover 75 / '87 944 / '87 Scirocco on a single policy with Peter James - unlimited mileage & the 944 is agreed value @ £15k - about £350

T2 agreed value @ £25k / 6k miles - Lancaster - £123

& Vel Satis - ordinary policy - Aviva - £155

[clayts450]

I try to take the 214 out for a run a few times a week to keep it ticking over, a mix of urban, rural and Mway. Got home last night and it sounded like a bag of nails. Too dark to see what was going on.

Got home from work today.

Ah....that'll be it then : alternator hanging on for grim life. God only knows what's happened to the bolts... both missing. Fucking lucky the thing didn't drop off.

 

[mitsisigma01]

2 hours ago, busmansholiday said:

I can thoroughly recommend Lidl's 3 in 1 gas soldering iron. Remove the soldering tip and it's a flame, a flame that's small easily directed, and hot. Did a cracking job of heating the bleed nipple and fittings on the osf of the Merc so I could remove the flexi that failed the MoT.

Shame a well known UK supplier of car parts, with blue vans, couldn't have supplied me with the right flexible. Bollocks!!

Was it in "the middle of Lidl" this week? 

Lidl's down here never seem to have fk all of the current promoted items ever in store and no way of checking where they are in stock... Their advertising gimp must be fkd out of his head on something ?

[barmatt]

Not been up to much Autoshitey since I acquired the Focus off Scaryold cortina / JBell unwanted roffle win . It has proved to be utterly reliable, dependable and did everything that was asked of it apart from entertain me in the slightest. So as the emoty was running out I did a little exhaust bodgery and had a good check around it, bunged it in for a test and it went straight through.  

Only one thing for it then......flog it and buy something utterly broken to replace it as is the AS way. Meaning this happened...

 

06 Accord icdti thingy that's allegedly* been chipped by someone.

 

It has a coupe of issues, the handbrake not working at all the other big one is the crankshaft pulley outer ring managing to seperate itself from the inner. It was an interesting few miles home with no p/s or alteranator and constantly watching the temp gauge waiting for it to overheat due to not having a spinning water pump either but that's part of the adventure hey?

Some fettling has occured, it now has a working handbrake, the new c/s pulley arrived late today meaning I didn't have time to fit it so instead of waste time I decided to clean the living bejesus out of it starting with polishing the headlights which were pretty fubared. I let you guess which is before and after.

 

Quite satisfying. Although the car looks really angry without its eyes

Should hopefully have it all done and Mot'ed by the end of next week, never had a modernish Honda before and this seems quite civilised. 

 

Tldr? I'm waffling. 

 

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Just bought a new heap of MEGA SHITE off Facebook marketplace tonight. 55 plate Fiat Croma JTD 150!!! Its got no MOT but seems clean and tidy and honest. Few clonks off the front suspension but it's all Vectra stuff so I'm sure it can be sorted cheaply. I paid £400 which seems a lot for an untested one of these but I just properly wanted one! 

[J-T]

2 minutes ago, Mr_Bo11ox said:

I just properly wanted one! 

Possibly the only time that sentence has been written about that car!

Good luck with it Bo11, looks dismal! How long did they persevere with them in the UK?

[r.welfare]

I do hope that’s a pic of your drive and you’ve bought a PT Cruiser you haven’t told us about as well, you rascal.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

They only tried selling them for a couple of years I think. They did a 'facelift' (that looks even uglier) on the continent, but never bothered importing them here. Can't wait to get my hands on it!

[bramz7]

Yeah the facelift ones had Bravo front lights. 

There's loads in Italy but that's a given with any Fiat so not sure if that's a sign they're hardy or just Italian. 

 

Good luck, I hope it's worth the wait you've put up with to find one. 

[J-T]

I didn't think it was long, I only ever remember seeing them parked outside the Fiat dealers, I'm not sure I've ever seen one on the road.

It no doubt shares indicator stalks with my 147 or seat runners or whatever (other than the bloody engine, obvs!)

Look forward to hearing about it

[HMC]

Not your first “croma” I remember a white 80s one that you rescued?

[egg]

Well done, I've been waiting for someone to get one of these!

[Mr_Bo11ox]

The logbook states the weight as being '1605kg!!!!' Can you believe that? Appalling really

[bramz7]

That's more than the C5....

 

[J-T]

I've just had a read of the Wikipedia for the Fiat Croma. This bit made me giggle:

" In February 2007, Fiat UK announced that the Croma would no longer be generally available in the United Kingdom, after less than 900 were sold in the whole of 2005"

It was a bloody Giugiaro design as well! Happen he was a bit blind by then? Apparently it was described by Fiat as a "Comfort Wagon".

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Now I'm into my 40's I'm all about 'comfort wagons'

[J-T]

Now you know it's super rare, you can do the full white room palaver when you shift it on, about how Mr. Stanley Panini Bolognase, long time Italian car enthusiast, traded in his immaculate Fiat Seicento S in anticipation of his life's ambition of upgrading to Fiat's premier executive comfort wagon, the Croma. One of fewer than 900 to indulge themselves that year. and now just -23 remain, making this incredible proposition truly invaluable blah blahhhhhhhhhhh

[Broadsword]

I've just been offered a drive of a freshly restored Jaaaaaaaaaaaaag XJR6 *manual* (just got its MOT). It urgently needs a MAF to make it go (which I can borrow from mine for a day). It needs to make it to a special Jag meet on the 18th. I helped out the guy by offering him advice on running problems and selling a couple of important spares (like a throttle body) and he amazingly has promised me a drive. I just need to make it from the East Riding down to Southend next weeknend so that we can get going on the morning of the 18th. Any shitters in the Southend area, able to host? It's a very impromptu potential trip and I don't have much cash to spare on accommodation (I can't get down early enough on Sunday so need to travel Saturday). Could be quite an adventure.