The new news 24 thread

[Angrydicky]

Well done, great purchase. I know it's a Honda design, but is this your first BL built car?

 

Love the interior, original dealer plates and nice to see it back on the original wheels as well. GR8 4 collecting pension.

[trigger]

Yep, it's my first taste of BL cars, an itch I've been wanting to scratch for a long time, just to see if they are as bad as some people say.

 

I've just completed a 100 mile drive to my in laws in it and the drive was faultless, at 70mph you couldn't even hear the engine and the seats are mega comfy, its pokey and economical too, it does need new discs as they are wrapped and the wheels need balancing and tracking but other then that mechanically is spot on.

 

Just need to tackle those rust issues next.

[vulgalour]

BL cars are as bad as everyone says they are.  They're also brilliant in ways that nobody but a BL apologist will ever tell you.  The Acclaim is likely one of the easiest BLs to live with, I reckon, since they're so very nearly a Honda.

[Cavcraft]

Were I not off on my travels next week I'd seriously consider trying to save the 406, I don't like to see good cars get crushed but obviously sometimes its the only sensible option. Dare I suggest a 24hr ebay auction?

 

 

I don't either, but it is just a jinxed car to me now and I want it gone. I had considered eBay but the likelihood is some knobhead will win the listing, then just never get in touch again, then I'd be lumbered with the car and another bill for the listing. If I had more inclination and what not I'd take the engine and box out and buy a 306 petrol to drop them into, it'd be one hell of a quick car!

[Cavcraft]

Right, the same insurance company who quoted me £95 for the Speedfight, and that based on 2 years NCB, have just quoted me £53.43 via Moneysupermarket. And that quote was based on having no NCB!

 

WTF?

 

Anyhow, I'm going for it. Even if I don't keep the funky 'ped for too long, I'll have insurance for a year which I could always swap to something else if (when) I get bored!

[Timewaster]

Yesterday afternoon whilst I was out working, I passed what HAS to be Dave Rapids house. There can't be 2 green estelles like that about.

I won't say where it is on here, but on the same estate I also saw a Toyota Sera, a bungalow with 2 protons parked outside, and an old beetle amongst all the other usual tat.

[treehugger]

Exactly what happened to us last week:-

 

[/url]

 

No warning -just an immediate violet shaking, causing us to pull over. If the 4th had gone too -we'd have been in the centre barrier at 70mph. The wheel is round, stud holes undamaged; no other damage that we can find -just 3 studs snapped off.

 

Cars off the road till they are all replaced!

Holy crap! Suddenly feel less complacent about the ride on the M1 I had in a mates' Avensis......which was juddering intermittantly. When we pulled over later, front driverside wheel was smoking and hot......brakes obviousely sticking on. And he said it had just been found to be fine at garage when he reported it....believe it's booked in again tomorrow (Monday).

[dollywobbler]

Not long back from the Citroen Car Club's Midlands Section meet thing. That's two 320-mile weekends in succession. I must concede that after comparing Golf with 2CV, the Golf doesn't leave my ears ringing after 320 miles. Jaysus are 2CVs loud! Despite which, a group of my friends are talking about driving ours to the Shetland Islands next year. I may have to take to using ear plugs.

 

I have utterly decided that I simply must have a GS. Hopefully I can squeeze a little scene tax out of the Golf at some point, but I need to get saving too. 

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Here you go Wobbler, heres a tax exempt one for 650 quid

 

http://www.leboncoin.fr/voitures/527786638.htm?ca=15_s

[cort16]

its not even that far south. bargwin

[dollywobbler]

Gorgeous! "Voulez Vous swappez pour un Golf? C'est un Driver Noir!" What's French for M8?

[dollywobbler]

Here's a pic showing the contrast between a concours-standard DS and an Autoshite-approved 2CV. No other car seemed to feature paintwork in grey primer.

[RobT]

The plan was to pop along and see you at Straford Ian but my new purchase had other ideas The brake 'squeak' that the seller told me about turned out to be a seized caliper so I just wanted to make it home. Looks like my run of luck with impulse purchases has left me at last, it's also got more rot than I was led to expect (the usual R8 arch crustiness). No more blind purchases for me!

[vulgalour]

I'm waiting on pictures of it at the moment, but someone has offered a 1981 2000HL Princess for free down in Plymouth.  They've described it as having a tatty interior and suitable as a donor vehicle.  There's a good chance it'll have all the bits I need for mine... but Plymouth is 300 miles away from me.

 

Of course I'm still considering trying to get it.

[Tayne]

.

[Ghosty]

If it runs... Megabus ticket and a fun* roadtrip. Autoshite at its finest.

[vulgalour]

As far as I'm aware, it doesn't run.... but if it does then there's the distinct possibility of trekking down with my Princess and convoying back with the other one.  I'm sure that'd end well.

[Cavcraft]

Taxi temp gauge has hovered near the YELLOW AREA OF DOOM since I had it, but never went any higher up the range. Until today on the A55 up that BFO hill coming back from Towyn. It made a loud hissing noise for about 10 minutes then once the road levelled out I just took it easy and it went to the middle of the gauge and ran like a dream. My lad thinks it has, or had, an airlock, and it certainly doesn't shown any signs of engine trouble, so fingers crossed.

 

Insured the funky 'ped today (£53) and gave it a run out. Took my daughter on the back who was very nervous at first, then absolutely loved it. Dropped her off at home then decided to give it a bit of welly and it was effing brilliant fun, I'd actually pretty much forgotten how much of a laugh 2 wheels are. The speedo seems a bit iffy, it just sort of stuck at about 24mph for ages, then the dizzy heights of 32mph, but I reckon it was pulling 50mph without too much trouble.

I'm off work this week and I can see my having some fun on it.

[vulgalour]

The Princess no longer has a purple wing.  I made this decision based on the fact people were not taking my intentions with the car seriously, all of the work I've done lately is under the skin and the bodywork makes the car look worse than she is by a good margin.  I was sad to do it, but with the car in one colour again (even if it is several different shades of that colour) I suspect people will believe me when I say I love the car to pieces.

 

I was impressed at how well it came up for a rattle-can job, all that prep work on the purple did pay off and my mispent youth of playing and painting miniatures clearly taught me how best to wield a rattle can to good effect.  Sadly, the car has lost a good portion of her council estate survivor look as a result.

 

But I know some of you will be please with this news.

[dollywobbler]

Nice that it's one colour (ish) again. Once you've focussed on other things, entirely purple is perhaps still an option? The in-between bit was never going to look good - like when you try to grow your hair long. First, it must look an unruly mess. (some would say mine still does!)

[Lord Sterling]

The in-between bit was never going to look good - like when you try to grow your hair long. First, it must look an unruly mess. (some would say mine still does!)

Yep, this is something else I'm trying to achieve.

 

Vulg - Hopefully when the time/money/space is better, we'll see a return to its all Purpleness? The job you did on the wing was great.

 

I need to tidy up my Rover, but I reckon I won't do it until Brussels is really looming, due to the fucking bastard twatty kids outside who insist on playing football right by my car.

[vulgalour]

I'm going to satin black the C pillars and boot top to match the door frames to fully tidy, leave the bonnet as is and just spend on maintenance and keeping the car healthy until I can get the purple done in one go.  I will have a purple car eventually, but I'm going to wait a while longer.

[tooSavvy]

.... and MrSavvy gets to meet a friend.....

 

 

two protons together.....

 

tooSavvy

[Cavcraft]

I refuse to believe that picture unless you take it again but put your face in it.

[vulgalour]

See, no more purple.  The compliments are nice, but painting over the purple made a little bit of me die inside.

[Lukas]

Looks a lot better now!

[beko1987]

Getting snifters of work for my Dyson repair business schnizzle. If the £120 worth of cleaners I've got listed currently sell then I'll be happy. If the lady I'm going to see tomorrow wants a full on stripdown and refurb (oo-er) rather than just unclogging then I'll be even more quids in!

 

May even throw this money at the XM when I have it (or just get a takewaway, some beers and let the missus spend the rest...)

[Junkman]

Insured the funky 'ped today (£53) and gave it a run out.

Them fuggin gangsurers quoted me £63.50! What a bloody ripoff!

Who did you insure your's with?

[cobblers]

Daily golf failed it's MOT today after I raised all the suspension by an inch so the tester would actually test it - A front brake flexy and a pair of rear beam bushes. Can't argue, the bushes are absolutely 100% shagged, a clear 5mm gap all round, but it says a lot about VW that it wasn't knocking it's bollocks off - I've had a lot better bushes on other cars sound like the wheel was held on with bits of old chain or something.

 

Proper bushes need the axle off and abusing in with a gret fuckoff 9000 tonne press, which would mean a world of pain with siezed brake pipes and the rest so I've bought some poly bushes that you can just shove in by hand with the axle still on the car. They're shit and don't last forever like they claim, but if they save me a days grief I don't mind spending an hour changing them again in a few years.

 

The pain in the arse painter has finally actually started doing something with my van, I dropped in on the way back from work for my daily "badger the fuck out of him" and he was actually painting the bumpers which was almost a pleasant surprise.

[Cavcraft]

Them fuggin gangsurers quoted me £63.50! What a bloody ripoff!

Who did you insure your's with?

 

 

Swinton, via GoCompare. If you ring them (Swinton) direct it costs more, f*ck knows why though. One thing I will say about Swinton is that they are bloody brilliant. I was insured with them for eons on a private car policy and they really were great.

I've probably jinxed that completely now of course.