The new news 24 thread

[egg]

I've got (the usual) 5% off code at RockAuto, not sure if transferrable, but PM me if you want to give it a go as I don't need it.

[richardmorris]

From sublime

[richardmorris]

To ridiculous today.

[DVee8]

Strange but true . Whilst casually looking at the offside front tyre on my X-trail this afternoon. What's that?

 

That's my mud flap 

This is what I fished out, unfortunately dead.

[rusty998]

5 hours ago, SiC said:

I've been looking at Minis for a good few weeks now. Thanks to @Mr Laurence putting up with my rambling musings. 🤣

I was hoping for something ready to go that wouldn't need any work for the near future. However it seems no matter how much you spend they're all in varying states of decay or bodge up. Even the expensive ones look to have lashings of filler. I very nearly went to see a Clubman Estate yesterday and booked a day off to see it as it was a 6hr roundtrip away. But the seller sent me some pictures of the car and basically it was masses of filler in the awkward to weld bits. 

For the same money you can get much better condition Moggie. Mrs SiC and I like both the Mini and Moggie too, so it wouldn't feel too off-putting if I did get one instead. They also meet the criteria of plentiful local parts support (literally local being Charles Ware is in Bristol too). Something that I sorely miss on other cars I've had. I guess the thicker metal helps here and also by the 80s they were pretty much classics, unlike the Mini which still was a utilitarian car for many.

When I get a Mini, I think I'll just wait till the season quietens down at the end of a year. Also it's going to be a project either way, so buy one that already is at a good price and then weld it up myself. At least I'm not paying for someone else's filler lashings and quick blow over.

Going back to light part support, that includes my Dolomite. With a free day off I decided to go up and see the club parts man to relieve me of over 500quid of various bent pieces of metal. 😳

Hopefully this should be all that I need now in terms of panels to complete it. Just need to put in time now and get it all done.

Taken a chunk out of my budget for a Moggie but there isn't a huge amount out there of them at the moment anyway. 

Mini's, well unless it's had a new shell that's been double dipped and properly protected it will have rust hiding somewhere, I used to seal front and rear screens on the late classic Mini's when they were under warranty because the dry seal rubber just wasn't, if the factory thought that was acceptable then finding a non rusty one might take some time, I love Mini's and have owned quite a few but probably won't get another now

[Six-cylinder]

2 hours ago, richardmorris said:

To ridiculous today.

Ferrari Monza Speedster, 500 made about £1.5 Million

[richardmorris]

8 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

Ferrari Monza Speedster, 500 made about £1.5 Million

I’ll have mine with a windscreen and a roof for that price.

[Six-cylinder]

Just now, richardmorris said:

I’ll have mine with a windscreen and a roof for that price.

I think most will buy them as an investment and never use them so a windscreen and roof doesn't matter.

[stuboy]

Needed to sort out tools in the boot so had idea with cut down pipe.... 

 

Standby...

[MJK 24]

I thought I may have spotted @worldofceri this morning approx 10am give or take on the M6(N) in the roadworks around Stafford.  I was heading south on my way to Alconbury.

My suspicions were confirmed approx 7pm this evening when I was heading north back home around Sandbach services when @worldofceriwas spotted heading south with what looked like an Ice Cream booth on the back of his trailer!

I am guessing a nightmare was had around the Jct19/20 south closure?

🍦🍦🍦🍦🍦🍦🍦🍦🍦🍦

[SiC]

1 hour ago, rusty998 said:

Mini's, well unless it's had a new shell that's been double dipped and properly protected it will have rust hiding somewhere, I used to seal front and rear screens on the late classic Mini's when they were under warranty because the dry seal rubber just wasn't, if the factory thought that was acceptable then finding a non rusty one might take some time, I love Mini's and have owned quite a few but probably won't get another now

I was hoping I hadn't missed the boat. The boat appears not to have sailed away yet, just got a whole lot rustier!

Thankfully panels are readily available. Panels that I could only dream of for my Dolomite. I mean you can get whole frickin' bulkheads for not a lot!

http://www.minispares.com/product/Classic/CZH3216.aspx

Hence it makes sense (somehow!) to buy one that is rather rotten and then weld it up. At least I know its been done all properly then. Unfortunately cheap panels also mean that project cars still go for a fair old bit too.

If I do, maybe I'll save my pennies and go all out by getting a mk1. restoring cars takes a lot of time and energy so it makes sense to buy one that is the extra special one to do up. Even though my Dolomite has been a big project, I'm glad I got a grotty Sprint than a mint 1300/1500 which my budget would have got at the time - even if its not necessarily in the AutoShite way!

[BorniteIdentity]

I absolutely love finding the best car in the car park and then parking next to it for extra contrast. The bloke with the SUV looked utterly bemused. 

[richardmorris]

1 minute ago, BorniteIdentity said:

I absolutely love finding the best car in the car park and then parking next to it for extra contrast. The bloke with the SUV looked utterly bemused. 

Probably realised it wasn’t worth his while trying to sell you drugs.

[Six-cylinder]

16 minutes ago, BorniteIdentity said:

I absolutely love finding the best car in the car park and then parking next to it for extra contrast. The bloke with the SUV looked utterly bemused. 

This is my problem, they both appeal.

Mk3 Escorts were always good cars and I love living in the past, but 567 bhp Supercharged V8 in a super comfy and capable package has appeal as well.

[vulgalour]

27 minutes ago, BorniteIdentity said:

I absolutely love finding the best car in the car park and then parking next to it for extra contrast.

Didn't realise you'd inflicted a Range Rover on yourself.

 

*teehee*

[Eyersey1234]

15 hours ago, Ghosty said:

Anyone near York/Boroughbridge? 

Someone on bookface is selling an MX5 Momo steering wheel for cheap that I want but it's collection only. 

(Or if anyone has one they'll sell me...)

I'm about an hour from York if that's any good 

[Six-cylinder]

4 minutes ago, vulgalour said:

Didn't realise you'd inflicted a Range Rover on yourself.

I have had 5 in twenty years and they start as unmentionables and soon turn into Autoshite material. 

[BorniteIdentity]

19 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

This is my problem, they both appeal.

Mk3 Escorts were always good cars and I love living in the past, but 567 bhp Supercharged V8 in a super comfy and capable package has appeal as well.

Concur. I know it’s popular rhetoric to be completely self sabotaging and only drive miserable shit heaps, but I definitely see the appeal of something like that. Only mine would have a more beautiful 3x3 number plate in a more somber colour. 

[SiC]

1 hour ago, BorniteIdentity said:

I absolutely love finding the best car in the car park and then parking next to it for extra contrast. The bloke with the SUV looked utterly bemused. 

"86 HOW MUCH?" (Probably a lot more than 86k)

Edit: Starts at £102k

[rusty998]

1 hour ago, SiC said:

I was hoping I hadn't missed the boat. The boat appears not to have sailed away yet, just got a whole lot rustier!

Thankfully panels are readily available. Panels that I could only dream of for my Dolomite. I mean you can get whole frickin' bulkheads for not a lot!

http://www.minispares.com/product/Classic/CZH3216.aspx

Hence it makes sense (somehow!) to buy one that is rather rotten and then weld it up. At least I know its been done all properly then. Unfortunately cheap panels also mean that project cars still go for a fair old bit too.

If I do, maybe I'll save my pennies and go all out by getting a mk1. restoring cars takes a lot of time and energy so it makes sense to buy one that is the extra special one to do up. Even though my Dolomite has been a big project, I'm glad I got a grotty Sprint than a mint 1300/1500 which my budget would have got at the time - even if its not necessarily in the AutoShite way!

I have to agree with the "has to be worth while" part, my Allegro is never going to be show winning, the panels are expensive and rare and value of the car is quite low, I've got to sort the suspension out so that will cost me quite a bit so I might break even in the end, I'm enjoying the experience of putting it back together with solid metal

[MarvinsMom]

after the success of paying someone to come and put new hydragas displacers on the metro,  

today it was the turn of the mini 1000 to be subjected to some spanner waggling.

see that car has of late been running like a bag o' shite, it would tick over, but as soon as any throttle was applied it would splutter, and die, or try to die, only for the car to pick up and then a few minutes later it'd want to splutter to a halt again.

kerry thought it was fuel that was the issue, but first off we did check the ignition side over.

having tried both a known good coil, and plug leads and even a different rotor arm, all with no improvement, today kerry decided to look in the carb at the jet and needle. we had previously looked at the float and the checked it was working, after first cleaning it up. 

so today while i continued with painting and buggering about with the front guttering at home, kerry took the carb off,

and took it apart. and yep, it was full of gunk.....

anyhoo, once cleaned up, put back together and put back on the car, the running issue has gone, well on the short run about the village it certainly seems to have gone anyway!

tomorrow will be the acid test however, as kerry is going to bring the car up home for the first time this year.

i cannot wait.

[Spurious]

House buying is not an experience I would call stress free. 

There's issues with the title of the property we'd like to buy, our solicitor seems to think it's messy, perhaps due to the vendors previous solicitor who did a presumed remortgage and now there's a different charge on both titles.  There's a Leasehold and a Freehold which is in both the vendors name which isn't unusual, it seems to be there to facilitate an easement access route that's existed for the past century. And the vendors current solicitor doesn't seem to be any use either. We keep getting wrong paperwork off them. 

Fucks sake. I feel like pulling my hair out, it's bad enough with work, my tenancy lease being terminated and now all this. 

[worldofceri]

9 hours ago, MJK 24 said:

I thought I may have spotted @worldofceri this morning approx 10am give or take on the M6(N) in the roadworks around Stafford.  I was heading south on my way to Alconbury.

My suspicions were confirmed approx 7pm this evening when I was heading north back home around Sandbach services when @worldofceriwas spotted heading south with what looked like an Ice Cream booth on the back of his trailer!

I am guessing a nightmare was had around the Jct19/20 south closure?

🍦🍦🍦🍦🍦🍦🍦🍦🍦🍦

Yes, that was I.

Had a fuggin’ nightmare yesterday frankly.   One of those days where you really wish you’d stayed in bed! Took best part of two hours to get this on and strapped down. And today I’ve got to somehow get it off again...

[gadgetgricey]

32 minutes ago, worldofceri said:

Yes, that was I.

Had a fuggin’ nightmare yesterday frankly.   One of those days where you really wish you’d stayed in bed! 

 

Jeepers Ceri. Started to read this and though you were talking about the EOS. Scrolled down and saw it was your later pick up.

Day started badly with brakes stuck on, and seemed to end even worse.

[Amishtat]

53 minutes ago, worldofceri said:

Yes, that was I.

Had a fuggin’ nightmare yesterday frankly.   One of those days where you really wish you’d stayed in bed! Took best part of two hours to get this on and strapped down. And today I’ve got to somehow get it off again...

Unstrap it from trailer. 

Chain it to a tree. 

Drive away. 

You're welcome. (Saw a Scirocco unloaded thus at a scrapyard once) 

[New POD]

2 hours ago, worldofceri said:

Yes, that was I.

Had a fuggin’ nightmare yesterday frankly.   One of those days where you really wish you’d stayed in bed! 

Did you also go near the M56, M6 or Northwhich where crashes closed the roads (according to the Travel bulletins on BBC radio Miseryside and Mankcrapster) 

 

[Talbot]

2 hours ago, worldofceri said:

Was it not possible to simply tow the trailer rather than load it onto yours?

[worldofceri]

@gadgetgricey I must admit the brief panic over the Eos brakes didn’t help my frame of mind, but really it was barely an issue!

@New POD Yeah, the road closure cost me about two hours. I was just passing Charnock Richard when they shut the M6 at J20a.

@Amishtat It’s a tilt bed trailer, so it will be something like that... Tip it up and wherever it lands, hope it’s still on it’s wheels.

@Talbot It’s got no brakes at all, no working lights and the hitch isn’t properly attached. And I wouldn’t get involved in towing it myself anyway as my insurance doesn’t cover it. This is the safest and legal way to move it even if it is a pita.  

[beko1987]

Chris could do with one of those burger vans on the fod... 

[junkyarddog]

The old 1999 Ford focus developed some drivetrain shunt yesterday while out doing a few errands. 

A quick check around the wheels,suspension revealed nothing out of the ordinary, but on lifting the bonnet the engine looked at a slight angle. 

Gave it a rock,and sure enough it was moving freely.

The bolt on the bottom gearbox mount had sheared and fallen out!!

A gentle drive home was in order,fortunately it was only 10 miles or so.

Today I put it up on the ramps.

The bracket with the broken bolt is removable. 

Tried welding a nut onto it,but it didn't work,so had to drill the broken bit out.

Found a suitable nut and bolt from my stash. 

And all back together again. 

Hopefully the old girl will trundle on for another few miles yet.