The new news 24 thread

[mercrocker]

^Agreed....The argument for  electric cars is almost  common sense for low mileage use.   Unfortunately I  don't have any common sense.   In a perfect world I should like to see everybody who is not interested in cars being teleported in some way to their destination which mostly seems to comprise of pigswill takeaways and gigantic consumer sheds.  Then I could drive my old crap around on semi-deserted streets like it was back in the day....

[drum]

I thought they were making electric cars with onboard diesel generators now? No problems with range then.

[Cavcraft]

Well I was going to change them, I was even offered a set of 5.5x13 dartboards by a mate for £50 which needed repainting which i agreed to buy but the more I thought about it the more I thought I may as well keep what i have (they are also 5.5x13 but 1600E wheels) and just invest in new matching tyres all round, looking at 175/70/13's instead of the 30 year old Michelin MX's (Made in West Germany) 165x13's that I currently have fitted.

 

185/70/13s would be better then, mate. 175/70s are a replacement for 155/13s, 185/70s the replacement for 165s.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Had my Rover van MOT'd yesterday, failed on a CV boot. DAYUM! At least thats a cheap fix.

[Cavcraft]

306 estate off to meet it's maker tomorrow, now have to get off my arse and swap the lock set over for the hatchback one and swap the battery for a shit one I have somewhere. Trouble is it's cold/the central heating has packed up/my lad is in bed after nights/I CBA.

 

I might as well switch the headlights and possibly a couple of other parts off it as well, no point useable or better bits going with a scrapper.

[Lankytim]

Why are you killing the 306 est? It looked like a useful little motor.

[cort16]

He's reached the maximum number of them you're legally allowed to own by law.

[Cavcraft]

IMPOSSIBLE!

 

Tim: fuel pump is leaking, MOT out, will need arsing about with and I can get more by sacking it off and CASH BACKING the tax than I can get selling it complete.

[drum]

The 147 failed its mot this week. Handbrake not doing anything on driver's side, airbag light on, brake light not working and a loose wire hanging at the front wheel rubbing the drive shaft. Think it's for the brake pad wear indicator.

 

All fixed apart from the brake light which is living up to the Italian reputation for temperamental electrics.

 

After playing Sherlock with the multimeter, I've traced the audi's battery drain to the radio. It's drawing 5 amps even though it switches off when the key is out. It's an aftermarket job and there's one of those parrot handsfree things wired in. Fused pulled until I can be arsed to investigate further.

[dollywobbler]

I think you're the exception rather than the norm Pete. I'm faced with a 24-mile round trip to get to town and back, so an electric car is fine.

 

And to tackle Hirst's point about electric cars being for people who don't like driving/cars, that's what I thought until I drove one. There's no way I'll be getting rid of my infernal combustion motors, but the idea of electric is now genuinely appealing.

 

That said, it's a lovely, sunny morning so I'm going for a drive in the 2CV.

[Sloth in a bowl]

Ordered a Octavia Vrs Petrol Manual this morning; that's the family wagon sorted for the next decade and I already have a 260Z for classic cruising.

So I just need an unnecessary piece of chod to annoy the neighbours, preferably one that will be a giggle on trackdays.

[Micrashed]

Airfix Kit Honda Bike has gone to pastures new (which is a tale and a half I shall recount on the Cherry Collection thread when I pick up the N12 in a week or two).

Bought a little something for the new addition...

[The Moog]

Got a set of winter tyres to xantia. Took two hours which really annoyed me, except when they returned the car they had washed and valeted it, checked all the fluids, topped up screen wash,checked tracking and carried out a winter check. All for free.

 

Couldn't really be upset about all of that, so used to being a shiter that when people do that you don't expect it.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Everyone is waiting for a miracle fuel or technological breakthrough to solve the electric car range problem. So we get the occasional minor battery improvement while we try to pretend we haven't already found the miracle fuel and burnt most of it over the course of the 20th century. 

 

Enjoy your ability to drive 400 miles a day while you can, because once oil is unaffordable you won't be travelling 400 miles a day any more. Travelling triple digit distances every day in 2050 will be as unlikely as doing the same in 1850. 

[Cavcraft]

I still don't really get the hatred and/or dislike of electric cars on here. I'm sure there are myriad bullshit reasons for them not actually being that green, but if they're cheap to run then why not?

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

I think they're great. I think it would be wonderful if they caught on in big numbers, imagine how much nicer town centres would be with quieter traffic and fewer exhaust fumes. 

[trigger]

185/70/13s would be better then, mate. 175/70s are a replacement for 155/13s, 185/70s the replacement for 165s.

 

See, I'm confused now, I asked on the Cortina forum and the reply was 175/70's as they are easier to steer with, I think 185/70's affect the speedo reading or something like that?, they are also a lot more expensive!

[dollywobbler]

I did indeed enjoy my little hoon in the 2CV, though the roof failed to dry and I was (perhaps sensibly) unable to go topless. It is bloody cold.

 

Then I went into town in the Sirion for some chores, where some doddery old twat managed to drive into the back of it as we waited for a gap on a roundabout. Fortunately, his nice, new looking Suzuki sustained damage but the Sirion did not. Incredible given how rotten its arse is. 

 

Then I checked the Disco's coolant to see if it was up to scratch. No, it isn't. A 1l bottle of antifreeze has gone in but it still seems weak. It must have a HUGE capacity, which is probably why I can drive it for more than 5 miles before the thermostat (brand new in June) even thinks of opening. Am tempted to remove the rad fan entirely - a common mod.

[Pete-M]

185/70 was the factory size on a 3.0 Capri and I think the 2.0 Cortina.

 

175/70 was MK2 Escort in sporty flavour. Everything from the 1.3 Sport upward was on them.

[vulgalour]

Golf MoT result:  fail.  Only a minor one though:  50p sized hole that just encroaches on a prescribed area and is basically a corrosion-enlarged drain hole,  gritty front wheel bearing, punctured rubber boot on one track rod end and one headlight aim too low.  One advisory for brake lines being painted over with underseal.

 

We were commended for the efficacy of the brakes, the overall condition of the body shell and the emissions which were well within tolerances.  All in, a satisfactory result for a car that's spent three years in a field and has had maybe £30 and many man hours spent bringing it up to where we were.

 

The run out today meant using a national speed limit wiggly road and I found the Princess doesn't really understeer at all now and I could happily blat along a road at 50-55mph that I'd normally not want to exceed 45-50mph on.  I could probably have pushed for greater speeds and it would still have stayed glued to the road.  Annoyingly though, the exhaust has started to blow again which I think is a result of scraping the exhaust on the dropped curb when the suspension was flat.

[Lankytim]

Hey Vulg, i'm friends with the guy who bought that princesses. he only was a few bits I think. Do you want his contact details?

[vulgalour]

I have just this second learned via the Princess forum that Mr Spreadbury has bought that beige car.  I've already asked about a sphere, if I can snaffle more useful things on some sort of payment plan, I absolutely will.

[wackywacerwill]

Garage roof, council spec circa 1960 predictably holds water like a sieve. Today I spent an hour or 2 clearing said roof for some magic rubber paint treatment.

 

I know I should go the bitumen route but the price of getting caught with one of the big kitchen pans is too high!

[Lord Sterling]

^^ 'Like' ^^

 

On the soon-to-be given up garages I currently rent, the roofs were also damp, the roofing is corrugated metal or something. I actually met someone else who was renting a garage there, he informed me that the roofs and garages were damp inside due to build up of moss. I also spent some time a year or so back clearing the roofs of moss with was clearly growing on the roof.

 

I had to wear hi-viz to make it look like I was some sort of workman rather than some random bloke on the roof as there were private gardens to rear of the garages.

 

The one garages now bone dry, but the other garage is still damp due to a hole, which I have covered with a piece of rubber/foam stuff I found lying around. Its not helped that much to be honest but the cars will be cleared out of the garages very soon.

[crapcarcollector]

 

I wonder what this fella does for a living...

 

 

Sent from my Nokia 3310 using the force.

[HMC]

Mo,  Are you just moving your 800s to new storage or having a clearout? (this I doubt!)

[trigger]

185/70 was the factory size on a 3.0 Capri and I think the 2.0 Cortina.

 

175/70 was MK2 Escort in sporty flavour. Everything from the 1.3 Sport upward was on them.

 

Cheers Pete, well looking online 185's seem to be a rarer size and are about £20+ a tyre more expensive, I think it'll stick to 175's!

[dollywobbler]

The aforementioned pleasant drive. Anyone else had a pleasant drive today?

[dugong]

No, I've been at work. 

I still am at work. 

[vulgalour]

 

I wonder what this fella does for a living...

 

 

Sent from my Nokia 3310 using the force.

 

He's probably a gardener.  A very successful/expensive gardener.