The new news 24 thread

[anonymous user]

1 minute ago, Eyersey1234 said:

That's a lovely looking Granny there

Said Wayne Rooney

 

 

Sorry

[Skizzer]

2 hours ago, skattrd said:

Looks good Mr_skizzer.
I mustardmitt to a little trailer envy, one is on my shopping list for later this year (along with doing a trailer test).

Thanks.

Mine is an Indespension trailer - seems pretty strong and solid, I drag it out of a caravan storage place from time to time and it just works.

I used to rent them, but they all get booked out  at weekends months in advance from March to  September.  

I bought it new as secondhand ones didn’t seem any cheaper unless knackered — I figured I’d get most of the purchase price back if/when I sell it on anyway.

[danthecapriman]

1 hour ago, Skizzer said:

I’ve missed it too!

It still has engine issues: the heads have been removed after it massively overheated when Junkman delivered it to Breadvan about 18 months ago.  Unfortunately the mechanic who was fixing it had a drastic career change, so the engine is still in bits. They’re all there though, and won’t be hard to reassemble.

Body-wise it needs a NSR wheel arch (more than ever) and a patch on the rear valence but   it’s solid underneath:

The boot lid is rough by the latch; I’ll look out for a replacement tailgate, but might just get away with Vactan and some body filler:

The interior is fine, the seats are actually better than I remembered.

I’ve got to shift a couple of other cars first then I’ll give it some love.

 

It does still look good underneath. I did do quite a bit of metal work underneath it when it was mine, although I do seem to remember it did have a few bits here and there needing attention. How’s the lacquer peel looking now!? Can’t be much left on the roof by now!

The wheel arch and boot lid handle were getting scabby when I had it so I’m not surprised they’re worse now! I did look out for a new rear arch but the estate arch is different to the saloon ones and not so easy to source anymore. You might be able to use a saloon arch, cut it down to about mid way to get the door shut side sorted then finish the bottom rearward section with sheet metal? That was going to be my plan for it anyway. And there was (no idea if still on there...) on eBay, a brand new old stock tailgate. I don’t remember it being cheap though!

Anyway, great to see the old beast again, I’m well happy you’ve got it still and it’s going to be ok! Keep us posted about it.

 

[Skizzer]

10 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

It does still look good underneath. I did do quite a bit of metal work underneath it when it was mine, although I do seem to remember it did have a few bits here and there needing attention. How’s the lacquer peel looking now!? Can’t be much left on the roof by now!

The wheel arch and boot lid handle were getting scabby when I had it so I’m not surprised they’re worse now! I did look out for a new rear arch but the estate arch is different to the saloon ones and not so easy to source anymore. You might be able to use a saloon arch, cut it down to about mid way to get the door shut side sorted then finish the bottom rearward section with sheet metal? That was going to be my plan for it anyway. And there was (no idea if still on there...) on eBay, a brand new old stock tailgate. I don’t remember it being cheap though!

Anyway, great to see the old beast again, I’m well happy you’ve got it still and it’s going to be ok! Keep us posted about it.

 

I’ve got a pair of saloon arch panels stashed away - that was my plan, to use it for the door side and improvise the estatey bit.

The work you did, including the other rear arch, bonnet and front wings, all still looks spot on

It’s a lovely old bus and a super smooth cruiser. Very much looking forward to getting it back on the road — it’ll go quiet for a bit but I’ll update progress on here, fear not.

[clayts450]

Off to Nigel and Debbie's Emporium in Redditch for Old MG Rover shite tomorrow. Anyone need owt whilst I'm there ?

 

[Ghosty]

Happy to see that Granada again, a while ago I sat in it on Junkman's drive and was mighty impressed, it must have been after SF17 as I was delivering an XJ40 wing to him and Conelrad.
Returning to Ghia wagons three years later with a view to buying one, I was disappointed and put off them, I got my S3 XJ instead. 

JM and Conrad are alive, well and in good spirits for anyone wondering, I see them regularly. 

 

In me news, the 306 sheared a bolt on the aux belt tensioner on New Years' Eve, and after driving it home the next morning with no power steering (ouch), it was restored to working condition by my dad (who I'm getting on with a lot better with these days), as I'd have never extracted the snapped off thread myself. 
The Jag needs new radiator hoses which are on order, it's mostly behaving itself but is having idle issues again sometimes, it must need some tension in the throttle cable and some more regular excercise again. I noticed a small bubble appear in the front wing which is a fucker, but there are enough blisters on the car's lower flanks that I'm not arsed - it's structurally solid and the windscreen surrounds are perfect and 100% metal so that's that. 

Whilst I'm very happy with the 306, if anyone waved a good condition Civic Aerodeck 1.6 auto at me, I couldn't say no to it. 

[loserone]

Lots to like in that post, @Ghosty.

[Kiltox]

10 hours ago, clayts450 said:

Off to Nigel and Debbie's Emporium in Redditch for Old MG Rover shite tomorrow. Anyone need owt whilst I'm there ?

 

Drivers seat back adjustment wheel for my 216 Cab. Provably need a roof pump too but I’m going to try and rebuild the existing one first (it works just leaks)

[clayts450]

I'll have a looksee for you

[Parky]

Another oil change done on the daily - 106600 miles on it and having had a sumpful of decent synth every 6000 miles the engine should be reasonably decent inside.  Used the Pela as per usual and I know it might miss some but a 90% change should avoid a lot of sludge issues considering it’s done so regularly and I only use decent stuff.  

This time around I decided to use up a few odds and sods I have lying about so it has a litre of Total 5w30, a litre of Unipart 5w40, and two litres of new Quantum 5w40 so I now have a sumpful of 5w37 by my reckoning.  3 litres of Quantum left over so I will get another litre lined up so I have enough for a future change

Mrs P also complained that her Mini’s headlights are a bit shite so bought a couple of Halfords 50% brighter ones to try out when she gets home later.  They are poor but I reckon they are either shite bulbs or could be the originals.  I found my Leon’s lights were fine until one blew and the replacement standard bulb was about twice as bright.  Will report back on how that goes

[Heidel_Kakao]

I have my first ever V8? Excellent is the word I would use to describe it.

[clayts450]

4 hours ago, Kiltox said:

Drivers seat back adjustment wheel for my 216 Cab. Provably need a roof pump too but I’m going to try and rebuild the existing one first (it works just leaks)

Fail, sorry. Nigel said they haven't had an R8 cab in for many years so no roof pump.  The only R8s they had in they didn't want to separate the adjusters from the seats, would rather sell the seats whole. Next time I go to Looms I'll have another look for the adjuster for you - they've had an R8 in there for months and it ain't going anywhere soon - most of the internal stuff was still on it when I last looked.

Could have spent hours there, but got what I needed for a tenner, had a chat with Nigel and Debbie and then split. 

[barefoot]

I've had half the dash board lights inexplicably missing for a week or two and I've been thinking about removing the cluster for a bit of a look. Today there were two magpies in the road chewing on a dead rabbit, I honked at them and the dashboard instantly lit up again like it should do.

Who says the magpie thing is an old wives tale?

[clayts450]

After much swearage and skin scraping due to impossible to get to bottom radiator hose clip, this finally happened on the Streetwise today:

Surprisingly not too shabby for a Kettle.

Same couldn't be said for the coolant expansion tank, mind

Yes, that's empty. And filthy.

Bad light stopped play, sadly, so the bottle has been removed, had a cursory scrub with a brush and is now in a bucket of dishwater tab water.

Tomorrow I'll be sticking the replacement top rad to expansion tank hose I got for a tenner today, flushing through, then the fun and games and bleeding/top up commences. Then  I have to put the air cleaner and battery back in, as they had to be moved to get to the bottom hose.

[320touring]

Had an impromptu Scotoshite meet at the unit today

From left to right

dome's Octavia Scout

Split_Pin's Audi cab

CMS206'S Stellar

Fowler's V70 T6

My ML

The da's Cr-V

Jaypee's 124

[stuboy]

Mate fat dan came round to help swap my interior over to the st recaro.. no major problems.. even gave old front seats away to a polish taxi driver.

 

 

[richardmorris]

2 hours ago, clayts450 said:

After much swearage and skin scraping due to impossible to get to bottom radiator hose clip, this finally happened on the Streetwise today:

Surprisingly not too shabby for a Kettle.

Same couldn't be said for the coolant expansion tank, mind

Yes, that's empty. And filthy.

Bad light stopped play, sadly, so the bottle has been removed, had a cursory scrub with a brush and is now in a bucket of dishwater tab water.

Tomorrow I'll be sticking the replacement top rad to expansion tank hose I got for a tenner today, flushing through, then the fun and games and bleeding/top up commences. Then  I have to put the air cleaner and battery back in, as they had to be moved to get to the bottom hose.

Is tomato soup a good coolant?

[brownnova]

Got the MX5 out for a run today.

 There are two rival MX5 groups locally. One spawned from the other following a row. I go along to both, as do lots of others. I’m into cars, not car club politics. Today was MX5 North Wales. The meet is at the guy who runs the groups garage where he mainly does MX5 work. Have some arty photos taken by someone there and robbed of Facebook...

I then ran it home roof down the long way round.

Found some lovely roads with sweeping bends and without traffic. I also found a deserted car park... would have been rude not to have a little fun there... sometimes I’m still 12 years old in my head!

 Tomorrow it’s the monthly meet of the other group, bunch of fives. 

[Cavcraft]

On 1/3/2020 at 4:01 PM, Skizzer said:

Not that one.

This one:

The tow car looks class, Martin. Is that the Skoda mentioned in your signature?

[Skizzer]

11 minutes ago, Cavcraft said:

The tow car looks class, Martin. Is that the Skoda mentioned in your signature?

Thanks - yes, that’s the Kodiaq.  It’s a fantastic long distance car, vastly better than the BMW I had before. And it’s very beige.

[HMC]

Passed what I think is/ was the legendary  tytes yard on the way from Weymouth to Weston today in the new sprinter. Would have stopped as I could see a load of old lorries and a stash of AS worthy cars but was wary of being a trespasser/ tourist (which of course we would have been)

 

 

[Saabnut]

On 1/3/2020 at 8:16 PM, Skizzer said:

 

It still has engine issues: the heads have been removed after it massively overheated when Junkman delivered it to Breadvan about 18 months ago.  Unfortunately the mechanic who was fixing it had a drastic career change, so the engine is still in bits. They’re all there though, and won’t be hard to reassemble.

 

 

I am pretty sure I have heads and exhaust manifolds for both 2.8 and 3.0 V6 engines in my shed if you need them. Will check and see just what is left.... (Might even be Scimitar 3litre ones if they are better/different)

[Skizzer]

11 hours ago, Saabnut said:

I am pretty sure I have heads and exhaust manifolds for both 2.8 and 3.0 V6 engines in my shed if you need them. Will check and see just what is left.... (Might even be Scimitar 3litre ones if they are better/different)

That’s very good to know, thanks a lot.  

My plan is to reassemble what I’ve got with new gaskets, attempt to run it and see what happens.  As things stand I’ve got pretty much no idea what the symptoms are, never mind the cause(s).

I need to fix the Audi first (fuel pump and its mounting) to make more space in the workshop, which will be a few weeks.  

I’ve ordered a 2t portable lift so I can get underneath cars better.  This will greatly help with the Audi, Rancho and probably the Granada too.
 

[skattrd]

28 minutes ago, Skizzer said:

I’ve ordered a 2t portable lift so I can get underneath cars better.  This will greatly help with the Audi, Rancho and probably the Granada too.

Will you be doing a little review on the portable lift when you get it?
I'm guessing one of these scissor things that lift the car a couple of feet?

[Skizzer]

11 minutes ago, skattrd said:

Will you be doing a little review on the portable lift when you get it?
I'm guessing one of these scissor things that lift the car a couple of feet?

Yes and yes

One of these: 

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F333196002474

I looked at the mid-rise hydraulic ones, but they are too heavy to move around and delivery is a problem down the narrow winding track to the sheds.

Some of the lightweight scissor lifts/tilters look terrifying, but this one looks ok especially with some extra stands underneath for safety.

Due to arrive in a week or so, they’ve been off for Christmas.

[wuvvum]

12 hours ago, HMC said:

Passed what I think is/ was the legendary  tytes yard on the way from Weymouth to Weston today in the new sprinter. Would have stopped as I could see a load of old lorries and a stash of AS worthy cars but was wary of being a trespasser/ tourist (which of course we would have been)

 

He's parked the van pretty well for a 5 year old.

[Tickman]

57 minutes ago, Skizzer said:

One of these

They are quite stable so no real need for an extra stand. 

I does take a bit of effort to get the right spot but once the car is up it is great.

A decent drill will also help otherwise it can be a bit of a workout

[cms206]

Start a new job tomorrow. Unusually nervous.

Also going to spend this week commuting in the blue Stellar. I want to make the right impression in the staff car park.

[cms206]

In other news I may have bought a car on Friday night. WIFE_CMS is furious and she doesn't even know yet. It's out of test and I have nowhere to put it.

 

Situation normal.

[bramz7]

So I've been trying to avoid posting here just to calm myself down with cars. Unfortunately old habits die hard and in the last few days I've acquired two new steeds. 

Firstly:

Now on daily duties. Late, Project Drive 45 TD. Yeah, I can feel the penny pinching going on with this one. Some utterly bizarre interior quirks, the wood is dismal, the seats are reasonable yet cheap, the mismatch of the window switches bizarre....the stalks from the long standing parts bin are the most robust feeling pieces inside. 

Saying that, it benefits from having the MG suspension (a late deletion of the Rover set up, again due to cost) makes it quite grippy and fun round bends. It's not really got any history, and JT makes a weird ' screeching bird ' sound when slowing down....good. It's quite something how old feeling the L series is, although the wave of torque it eventually builds up does give it a good shove. Happy to sit at 70 for ages and ages. 

Then:

This appeared on C&C for not that much, I had to raid my savings to get it (which I hate doing) but my plan was originally to get it, test it, tidy it up and flip it, but by god it's a nice thing to waft in. Being a Turbo, it's got some beans as well. I think this is just about old enough to still be the 182hp model...there is some service history with it, and it's clearly been looked after, but the last cambelt was a concerningly long time ago. Not due by mileage yet, but let's not mention age! A previous owner decided to tear down the headlining and the hard board? it's in the boot. No rust worth mentioning, some niggly bits on the rear arch passenger side but solid otherwise. Gearbox seems fine. Fluid a bit dirty, but it doesn't smell burned. It's really tidy other than the small defects mentioned. Has a massive roof rack which is fucking awful on the motorway blowing s draft and dragging the whole car back, grim.

Interior is nice: