The new news 24 thread

[richardmorris]

0Got the 2CV out at lunchtime to go and see my friend Harp's 1959 AZU 2CV Van.

It’s the very definition of do not paint. Sadly it does need work from the sparkly stick, but also a bonus pick from a couple of years ago with one of his other cars.

[anonymous user]

Today was dry I finally managed to fit the new window mechanism to the Mx5. As it has been standing for a couple of weeks I was pleased that it started, but less pleased that my pipe lagging/gaffer tape window filler has not been watertight. My careful dismantling proved a waste of time, as I  have lost the piece of plastic that covers the one screw in the door pull (I remember putting it safe) also when putting the tools away have lost a socket (yes it's the 10mm one), it literally disappeared as I was picking things up off the floor mat. I have given up looking for it for now. I did give the car a run out with the roof down and heater on full, to try to dry it out a bit. When I got home, after an hour or so, I did think it might have been a good idea to close and lock the front door. As it doesn't look any worse than usual I'm assuming I haven't been burgled.

[Lord Sterling]

Set off today in the Vectra to pop and do some shopping for me and the old lady who lets me use her driveway. As I set off the rear sounded a bit louder than usual, the tyre was flat and there was small bolt in it:

So thats £30 I didn't have to spare down the drain because the tyre decided to collect the bolt. ?

[Craig the Princess]

16 minutes ago, Lord Sterling said:

Set off today in the Vectra to pop and do some shopping for me and the old lady who lets me use her driveway. As I set off the rear sounded a bit louder than usual, the tyre was flat and there was small bolt in it:

 

So thats £30 I didn't have to spare down the drain because the tyre decided to collect the bolt. ?

Is that the price of a tyre repair these days? The last one I got locally two years ago was £7

[richardmorris]

I also learned today that harp has sold his w126 s class 300, which was his daily driver, and pxd it for a vw golf thing. Apparently he’s tutoring golf full time now and 18mpg was eating into his income. But, he got £3300 in px for this car, and I know he paid £1600 for it 7years ago.

 

[richardmorris]

1 minute ago, Craig the Princess said:

Is that the price of a tyre repair these days? The last one I got locally two years ago was £7

I hope that’s the cost of a new tyre! I only seem to pick up bolts, nails and screws when the tyres are getting old. Last one ( touch wood) was 7 years ago.

[Lord Sterling]

18 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

21 minutes ago, Craig the Princess said:

Is that the price of a tyre repair these days? The last one I got locally two years ago was £7

I hope that’s the cost of a new tyre! I only seem to pick up bolts, nails and screws when the tyres are getting old. Last one ( touch wood) was 7 years ago.

£30 was the cost of a replacement tyre + fitting. I intend to get the both tyres replaced with identical tyres.

I tried a place local to me but as I had little time the chap was taking longer than I could afford so I left and found another place. The damage was too much to patch up and a replacement tyre was a better choice.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Coincidentally the diesel Borat had two new rear tyres (Roadstone brand, probably Chinese) yesterday, so that's £112 gone. N/S/R had been leaking considerably, whilst O/S/R had minimum tread left.

[mitsisigma01]

4 hours ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

Pela-pumping out the CX expansion tank. Taking feckin' ages for it all to be vacuumed out, but I can definitely see a foreign body in the bottom.

Extractor tool at the ready:

 

The anticipation is getting too much or was it your right training shoe you got in the expansion tank ?

[brownnova]

The Saab hit a milestone today.... 

Looks good for 200,000 don’t you think.., 

[richardmorris]

27 minutes ago, brownnova said:

The Saab hit a milestone today.... 

Looks good for 200,000 don’t you think.., 

I mentioned to my mum that you were organising the car meeting next month, and had the 2cv, Mazda, Saabs and c5 and had a new baby. She said that they must be paying teachers more now than the 70s when all they could afford between them was a Dyane! I did reply that the cv was probably worth the most.

[brownnova]

21 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

I mentioned to my mum that you were organising the car meeting next month, and had the 2cv, Mazda, Saabs and c5 and had a new baby. She said that they must be paying teachers more now than the 70s when all they could afford between them was a Dyane! I did reply that the cv was probably worth the most.

2CV definitely worth the most!! 

 What makes me smile is that when people meet me and see my car they assume I must be strapped for cash hence my old car...

 New teachers do get paid a pittance for the rigours of the job... but it’s alright once you progress. 

[richardmorris]

1 minute ago, brownnova said:

2CV definitely worth the most!! 

 What makes me smile is that when people meet me and see my car they assume I must be strapped for cash hence my old car...

 New teachers do get paid a pittance for the rigours of the job... but it’s alright once you progress. 

I’ve said before I think,, my dad was a teacher for fifty years, mostly in Chester but trained in Liverpool. At the time, In the late sixties,  my mum was working as a radiographer in capenhurst doing the staff radiation  testing. My dad had an Austin A40 at the time. I’m about to meet all my dad’s colleagues again in a fortnight at my godmother’s funeral (well the ones still allive anyway). All from kingsway in Chester. Last time I saw most of them, I was still in school in the ‘80s. 

[loserone]

10 hours ago, HillmanImp said:

Just taken the Legacy in to get the stereo code done and apparently theres an outstanding recall on it, so its getting booked in to get a new passenger airbag fitted. 

Didn't book it in today though, as I'm thinking I might have to investigate why its steaming up, as if theres anything thats behind the dash that needs sorting, I may as well do that at the same time whilst they're in there. 

https://youtu.be/G3OKixwUFS0

Think there might be another recall to check a brake hose for corrosion, so make sure that's done at the same time.

 

Sorry, I spent nearly 9 months trying to get it booked in and the local dealer here were utterly shit so I forgot about it.  It's the standard recall that affects 1/3rd of all cars globally, cars in hot humid climates have the airbag deployment thing corrode and instead of blowing a bag out it blows shards of metal round the cabin when it goes off.  Thankfully not being a hot climate makes it pretty much defunct.

 

Can't help with the steaming up, unless the cabin filter is dirty again? 

 

Assuming the stereo now works?

 

 

[Skizzer]

On 2/17/2019 at 7:52 PM, Skizzer said:

Meanwhile, the Audi fuel pump continues to frustrate. The pump and filter are mounted on a bracket that’s attached to the bodyshell via three odd fasteners. These look like rubber bushes with a bolt through the middle, but in fact it’s two separate bolts with big flat heads like drawing pins somehow glued to the rubber.

 

Except of course they’ve rusted and aren’t glued to anything any more, so the bracket is mostly held on by luck, rust and flexible fuel pipes.

Trouble is, there’s no obvious way to get the remains of the bolts out. I can’t grip the flat heads to undo the nuts, I can’t weld on another head or grind a slot because there are fuel pipes all around and there’s no room to get bolt cutters in there. Maybe a tiny hand saw and a lot of patience. Or leave as is and lash up with cable ties.

Better ideas welcome.

Oh, and Autodoc are being funny about returning the shit and wrong Chinese fuel pump they ripped me off with. Yippee.

Christ, was that a year ago?

 I finally got the bloody fuel pump subframe off today.

In multiple working sessions over the last year I tried bolt cutters, angled bolt cutters, an open-ended hacksaw and a nut splitter, all to no avail.

I also spent about £540 on a 2.5t scissor lift so I could get at it.

In the end I blocked up the fuel hoses, hung a welding mask over the fuel filter and pipes, took a brave pill and ground the nut off with a Dremel.

 

I now just need to clean it up, fit the new fuel pump, replace the rubber bobbin mounts and bolt it back on again.

[brownnova]

In other news I found this amazing book in a charity shop today...

 

It tells the tale of a Metro being bought including its first drive home running it in!!! 

[SiC]

It Doesn't look like a very jolly Metro

Maybe because it thinks that dog is about to piss up it's wheel arch and will start rusting in less than a week with its new owners. 

[Jmac]

Finally fitted the new exhaust to the van , have had the exhaust for two years and two advisories at the mot for corrosion , was going for 3 years but a baffle has broke and now it rattles like a cement mixer with two wheel nuts in it . It was easy ish to fit and the exhaust was cheap from Poland two years ago , only £80 delivered , £7 for some vht paint . The original one lasted me 12 years will have see how long this Oem " quality " copy keeps going . It probably won't matter because I live in the LEZ and it's a dirty diesel van and will have to crushed at a moments notice ! That last bit should probably go in the grumpy thread .

[SiC]

One year and four months with five "buyers" we finally exchanged on our house! ?

Still not got our purchase sorted, so racing ahead trying to get it finished. Got till early next month when we complete to get it done. Hoping that this big storm coming in won't do any damage to the house. Just my luck!

It's been absolutely hell of a shit experience trying to move. I know it's never that fun, but we've had it way worse than anyone else have. I'm not a religious man, but I'm praying the purchase doesn't become delayed or have problems. We're on our third attempted purchase now too. 

The other depressing part is the amount of cars I've missed out on in that time, because of it. Like @HillmanImp Triumph GT6, @Squire_Dawson MG Midget, @Sigmund Fraud Triumph Dolomite 1300 (I believe now owned by @garycox ) and of course @Cavcraft Jaguar XJS (now owned by @Zelandeth ). All of which I would love to have owned but I'm on a strict car buying halt until we got the house move sorted. 

Also the Austin 1100 had to be sold because of it being a hindrance to selling the house. Apparently a rusty, Purple/Black/Harvest Gold car on the drive isn't appealing to most types of modern house buyers! Still a bit bummed I couldn't really see that one through. 

Currently got my eye on @BeEP Austin 1800, if that doesn't sell in the meantime before we get our house purchase lined up. 

Today it's been a case of Mission pack the garage up. Not the tidiest in the world and loads of small little bits scattered everywhere. 

 

[Zelandeth]

45 minutes ago, SiC said:

One year and four months with five "buyers" we finally exchanged on our house! ?

 

You have no idea how happy I am for you hearing that!  You've been through bloody hell with that process!

[egg]

Well done. We got to buyer* number four on our last (only) house sale - but eventually got there...

[artdjones]

10 hours ago, Skizzer said:

 

I also spent about £540 on a 2.5t scissor lift 

Any chance of a short review of the lift?

[BeEP]

7 hours ago, SiC said:

Currently got my eye on @BeEP Austin 1800, if that doesn't sell in the meantime before we get our house purchase lined up. 
 

It's not currently advertised anywhere (other than vaguely on here).  Still hoping my friendly welder will have time next month to get it up to MOT standard (although it's perfectly useable as is).

[HillmanImp]

11 hours ago, loserone said:

Think there might be another recall to check a brake hose for corrosion, so make sure that's done at the same time.

 

Sorry, I spent nearly 9 months trying to get it booked in and the local dealer here were utterly shit so I forgot about it.  It's the standard recall that affects 1/3rd of all cars globally, cars in hot humid climates have the airbag deployment thing corrode and instead of blowing a bag out it blows shards of metal round the cabin when it goes off.  Thankfully not being a hot climate makes it pretty much defunct.

 

Can't help with the steaming up, unless the cabin filter is dirty again? 

 

Assuming the stereo now works?

 

 

I'll check. I assume not as I assume they'd have done that too, as I guess they'll get paid by the manufacturer for it? 

Stereo now works. Not tried a cd in it though.

Trains were fucked last night so I drove to the restaurant and left the car there so will try on the way home when I pick it up. 

[Skizzer]

2 hours ago, artdjones said:

Any chance of a short review of the lift?

By all means, if you’re interested

I might start a new combined thread about various tinkerings, it could go in there.  Up to now I’ve tended to have a separate thread for each car (starting with, and often ending with, the collection).

I’ve also started filming stuff lately, including the lift.  I set up a YouTube channel about ten years ago, maybe it’s about time I posted something. 

[Tadhg Tiogar]

11 hours ago, brownnova said:

In other news I found this amazing book in a charity shop today...

 

It tells the tale of a Metro being bought including its first drive home running it in!!! 

What are the delightful* contents and illustrations?

[artdjones]

12 minutes ago, Skizzer said:

By all means, if you’re interested

I might start a new combined thread about various tinkerings, it could got in there.  Up to now I’ve tended to have a separate thread for each car (starting with, and often ending with, the collection).

I’ve also started filming stuff lately, including the lift.  I set up a YouTube channel about ten years ago, maybe it’s about time I posted something. 

Yes that would be great.Obviously they aren't as good as a full size lift,but they don't need 15ft headroom or a power supply,so I have been contemplating one for a while.

[Zelandeth]

Yep...going to be one of those days.
 

Two fence panels making or made a bid for freedom and it's only 10am.

 

[SiC]

7 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

You have no idea how happy I am for you hearing that!  You've been through bloody hell with that process!

Thanks. It's been pretty horrific. My life nowadays seems to be give with one hand and take away with the other. E.g. we exchanged on the Friday but my Grandad died on the Wednesday... ?

I'm still dreading something will go wrong because it has gone wrong so many times. The big storm blowing isn't helping this either! No idea what happens if there is damage to a house after you've exchanged.

 

1 hour ago, BeEP said:

It's not currently advertised anywhere (other than vaguely on here).  Still hoping my friendly welder will have time next month to get it up to MOT standard (although it's perfectly useable as is).

I'm still holding fire on any purchases until we at least get an exchange on the onward house purchase. Not only because I have the fear it'll fall through (because I can't have that much luck altogether!) but also we're pushing the top end of our budget and I need to be a little bit careful with cashflow until then. 

The fact the 1800 needs welding actually was an appealing aspect of it! ?

Dolomite is going to take a fair bit longer than originally I estimated and probably ready nearer next summer. Everything is just a pig to work on it. Even just trying to get a coolant hose replaced took 2 hours yesterday! Perished pipes wouldn't let go and they lived under the intake manifold. Then another 2 hours of faff trying to get the steering column attached. I'd say many modern cars are easier to work on than the Sprint!

Bumbling saloon cars like the ADO17 don't usually appeal to me. Coupés and convertibles are normally my thing. However there is something strangely alluring with the front styling of the landcrab with its eyeliner around it headlights. It's rear was just ahead of its time - it took Renault in 2003 to bring it back with the Mégane II. Plus I still want to experience hydrolastic as I never did with the 1100 (apart from it not holding pressure!) and the B-series up front is a familiarity that is good to have. 

I see your 1800 as a great project car for me, that I can get finished quickly and sorted in the remaining months of winter/spring. Then get fun in it over this summer, while leaving me to potter on with the Dolomite this year. 

Just need to get this house purchase done in the next few weeks. Not least because the clock is ticking closer to our exchange date. 

[Mr Pastry]

2 minutes ago, SiC said:

I'm still dreading something will go wrong because it has gone wrong so many times. The big storm blowing isn't helping this either! No idea what happens if there is damage to a house after you've exchanged.

The buyer has to insure the house at the time of exchange, so any storm damage is their responsibility.  Obvs. applies to you on your new place as well.  But let's hope it all goes well for you.  It's always a nightmare.