The new news 24 thread

[Ghosty]

10 minutes ago, Angrydicky said:

Nope - all petrol 600s had Honda engines and gearboxes with the exception of the 620 ti. Defo Ronda.

I think @Ghosty will correct me if I'm wrong, but I reckon you're thinking of the 400 series, where autos were Honda and manuals K series.

The nasp 620 was a Honda F-Series. 
I don't know much about HHRs (I'm more interested in Civics and R8s) but I think you're right in the case of the very early models, they carried over the engine and autobox from the R8. It took until about 1997 for Rover to work out how to mate an autobox to a K-Series for an in-house automatic option (I think this happened when the Honda partnership ended), which they did using a 1.6 K-Series and a CVT. The 'bubble dash' 2/400 (Tourer, Cab and Tomcat that lasted longer than the hatch/saloon, overlapping into HHR production) also had K-Series engines with CVTs for the auto option, whereas the earlier R8 dashed models from before the HHR's arrival were available with Honda engines and gearboxes. 

[Jamie]

Had the Axle swapped on my 206 Gti, exhaust was held together with a coke can #autoshite

[richardmorris]

The scenic left work today on the next stage to its new home. Battery connected and it started first time.  As @Wingz123commented , it is very quiet especially given its near 170,000miles. Given that the only other car movement outside was that white Lamborghini  I know which will be cheaper and more reliable!

[chancer]

5 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Man I hate decorating, but the pink had to go

 

Saw this and thought @stuboy had been let loose in your gaff 😂

[Cord Fourteener]

This beast is going to need a nearside rear wheel bearing I think. It's definitely starting to make noises.

[MarvinsMom]

 

today i have had to drag me dad round to sort out the jobbie pipe in the back yard.

i had wanted kerry to put a couple of brackets on the soil pipe to stop it bouncing about, as there were none fitted.

there had been some at some point, but these had long since rotted through.

brackets bought, but kerry starts twittering on about it been a bodge and something more permanent is required.

so the existing jobbie pipe got pulled out, and then we find that in spite of having some shiny new lengths of pipe and a selection of fittings, we didn't have, of all things a saw.....

so i put it all back together, and this morning, it had come to bits, resulting in jobbies in the yard.

oh for fucks sake!

one panicked call to me dad, and a couple of hours doing the most horrible job i've ever done, and the pipe is now replaced, new and shiny and not leaking and concreted in., though its not shown in those pictures.

and i have had words with kerry, next time i want a couple of brackets, well i'll get a couple of brackets (or call a plumber)

the worse thing though, is that my dad isn't the man he was, i mean he is still as fit as ever, but he is getting old and at 72 its starting to show.

and that is very fucking shit.

[MarvinsMom]

6 hours ago, Slowsilver said:

Interesting variety of vehicles on the Silver's drive yesterday:

Then about 10 minutes later:

An unexpected Fiat Panda no (A)less(i).
 

you know, once upon a time, the Maxi was a pretty big car..... and that one looks glorious.

a Maxi isn't never ever going to be a looker, but as i get older, the more and more attractive they look.

hmmmmmmmm, Maxi.........

[Slowsilver]

5 hours ago, Ghosty said:

Has it got a rear silencer yet?

Nope. It fell off and still hasn't been replaced. Sounds dreadful. But nothing to do with me fortunately.
 

[Ghosty]

MX5s are good for the soul. 

[LightBulbFun]

8 hours ago, Slowsilver said:

Interesting variety of vehicles on the Silver's drive yesterday:

Love this shot  its like a disabled persons vehicular progression throughout life

Gets issued a Model 70 by the Ministry when he turns 16 in 1973, then in 1978 he gets a new maxi via the recently introduced motability scheme, then after a long successful  career retires treating himself to a new Mondeo Ghia in 1993  

[wuvvum]

Retiring age 36 is pretty good going...

[cort16]

This popped up on my facebook from 5 years ago. Happy memories of breakdowns past when it was chuffing out steam like Thomas the Tank engine in M8 rush hour traffic on a section with no hard shoulder.

GR8tymz

[N19]

Yesterday I had a bad headache at work about an hour after I arrived, so went back to the car to take a couple of paracetamol. On arrival I realised I'd caught it doing the elusive leaking when cooling down. Seems to be one of the hoses coming off the temperature sensor housing, possibly owing to the notch in the housing... Chucking it down today so stuff going to sort it now, but progress! 

[N19]

Bluebird leaky place located, where the rear light seal has ceased to exist... Now just to see if the seal can be reinstated or whether it's bodge time. Seems to be some water sloshing around underneath the area too, so may have to find a way of draining that. 

[beko1987]

9 minutes ago, N19 said:

Bluebird leaky place located, where the rear light seal has ceased to exist... Now just to see if the seal can be reinstated or whether it's bodge time. Seems to be some water sloshing around underneath the area too, so may have to find a way of draining that. 

@Slowsilver has had rear light sealing success with foam rope... 

[N19]

7 minutes ago, beko1987 said:

@Slowsilver has had rear light sealing success with foam rope... 

Interesting. I might have a nosey around the DIY shops... 

[plasticvandan]

Given my verso has four part worns of various decrepitude including one Chinese winter tyre I've booked it in to have four Falkens fitted next week at a local independent garage,seem to have good reviews and I know roughly where it is so that's as good as I can hope for! £173 fitted for all four which I thought was fair.

[Slowsilver]

4 hours ago, N19 said:

Interesting. I might have a nosey around the DIY shops... 

Not sure DIY shops would have it. Got mine off ebay for about £2-3 per metre. Available in several different diameters to suit the application. Make sure you get the foam / sponge / neoprene stuff though, not the nitrile which is too hard to squash up and seal properly. See my "Early Mondeo Saved From The Scrapman" thread for all the gory details.
 

[RayMK]

When I had my '94 Tipo's clutch slave and master cylinders replaced a few weeks ago I asked the garage to give the car a general inspection. Its MOT is due in late December.  Their dispassionate verdict was that it required welding at the rear of each sill and in one other area which they did not identify. In their view, the cost of fixing it was way beyond the value of the car and they were not willing to take the job on.  I thanked them for their honest appraisal and turned to man maths for a more palatable answer.  Clearly, I don't need the car - I'm retired and have a modern car and an ancient Reliant in my garage.  I do however enjoy driving the Tipo.  It has better suspension than the modern CVT Mirage and thus gets used frequently despite being a manual, less economical (mpg), requires more frequent maintenance and has a poorer sound system.  Buying another 'interesting' car  to replace the Tipo would cost me at least £1500, perhaps more if the inevitable niggles with a 2nd hand car are attended to, so that gave me an approximate budget, though less than £1000 would be preferable.

I therefore got my son to drop the Tipo off yesterday at a different garage for inspection/pre-MOT, chosen for their greater willingness to weld and save otherwise decent cars from being scrapped.   They said it is in generally good shape except for the rusty bits underneath and estimated £500 plus VAT to patch it up and give it an MOT, or £900 + VAT if I wanted the whole underside cleaned, wire-brushed, derusted welded as necessary and undersealed. I'm probably going to go for the first option and book it in for sometime in November.   I don't like underseal and would prefer to use my own methods of rust prevention underneath.  In the meantime I'll be enjoying the car.  If anything significant breaks before the MOT, I will consider buying something else, so it's a win - win 😃.

[richardmorris]

Words cannot express the true gaudiness. JAZZ1 ex Liberace.

[SmokinWaffle]

On 10/21/2020 at 12:32 AM, Ghosty said:

MX5s are good for the soul. 

Why not make your soul even happier..... 

Would also love a PX for a standard MK1 or 2...

[richardmorris]

this is rather nice too - same delivery.

[richardmorris]

38 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

this is rather nice too - same delivery.

https://www.hagerty.com/media/videos/liberaces-gold-cadillac-barn-find-hunter-ep-84/

 

[Cavcraft]

Despite a fleet of modern*, reliable* cars, I decided that for a trip to 'that' London a 5 litre petrol Merc would be a bit expensive, the combo van too uncomfortable, the Sierra estate not the right car, the Transit would have fallen to bits, the Galaxy has had it and the Corsa leaks enough water to flood the average desert, which left one other option:  Borrow my Astra back for 2 days. It's actually an ex-hire car that I rent out to a local take-away. Some may remember this from when I bought it, it still looks like it's been washed in acid and wiped off with a house brick, but probs a bit worse now. The picture really does NOT show the full horror and makes it look half-decent, which it isn't. Here it is in snazzy Hampton Court...

 

For a 1300 it actually goes quite well, bit noisy if you welly it (like a slightly toned down version of the PSA 2.2 diesels in the big Citroen/Peugeot vans) but the cruise control made things a bit nicer. A half-decent stab at MPG figures suggests about 55-58 average, which is pretty good imho.

 

 

Soz it's a modern* car and all that. Anyhow, to keep it marginally o/t, we had gone to visit my dear old mum and spent a couple of hours chatting away about some of the cars she and dad used to have, two of my siblings and I had a bloody good laugh about the two Renault 4s, a Fiat 126 and a Riley Elf etc.

[omegod]

Just treated myself to an extravagant gift in the form of an engine hoist from SGS Engineering, seems they are better regarded quality wise than the Chinese stuff from Amazon. I'm an absolute tight arse with myself so this is very out of character! I have two engines awaiting plucking so am quite excited 

[richardmorris]

Today also had a bmw z8 ( with reg z8), and a Honda NSX with an NSX matching reg. sadly no pics as things got a little hectic at work.

[LabRat]

Just dropped the mg6 off at my friendly local garage for the wishbone replacement and retest. Total cost of repairs looks to be about £450 in total, £220 of which was the bloody part!

Interestingly enough, I got a phonecall yesterday from Stoneacre Mg who "noticed from their records that my car has failed it's mot and is overdue it's annual service".

They've "put together a really good deal" including transport, labour, parts cost and the cost of 2 continental tyres (one was advised for wear on the inner edge thanks to the wishbone) at £1077 + vat. (But I can claim £250 parts cost back in 3 months from the warranty)

Also it's due an annual B service, which would be another £350 on top. When can they book the work in for and would I like to book a courtesy car on top?

I laughed like a drain and put the phone down.

[RobT]

Rover calipers arrived so yesterday...

Copious amounts of heat, Irwin bolt removers and general fuck aboutery meant four hours later.

The part is a recently refurbished but used MGF caliper which are shared with the 800, and it came with the handbrake bracket.  This saved me as the bolts securing the bracket on the old caliper just wouldn't budge.

The other side will need a new brake hose as I can't undo the banjo bolt without mashing it with the Irwin.  And based on my experience with the near side, I've bought another cheap slave caliper that I'll plunder for the handbrake bracket.

The handbrake now works A1, and isn't pointing at the headlining.  So I'm very pleased with that.

[richardmorris]

[richardmorris]