The new news 24 thread

[egg]

Local spots, next to each other. Clearly an owner of taste.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

Filters and oil change of the Golf of many dents just done as I have a day off.  Picked up the VW OEM oil from eBay for £25 and the other bits from EuroCarFarts.  For once they weren't used when I checked the box.  Obviously managed to get more oil out than usual with my suction pump as it wanted exactly 4.5 litres back in, which is the stated capacity.  Pleased with that.  Forgot to prime the fuel filter as usual so it took a while starting up the second time afterwards (but fortunately can self-prime on the PD engine, unlike the VE, just don't try it with a low battery...). 

Took it out for a drive.  Feels a bit perkier.  It was well over the stated 10,000 mile interval.  Whoops.

MOT booked for Friday as I thought it was later in August - turns out it's the 4th and we're due to be elsewhere for a couple of days and want to take the car with air conditioning.  So my tame garage managed to squeeze me in.  Dropping it off with them Thursday lunchtime so it can get the earliest slot in case any work needs doing.  They're great like that.

[wuvvum]

The Toyota is now MOT'd.  That's the last one apart from the Innocenti - at least until the merry-go-round starts again in late October.

I'm having an interesting issue with the choonz in the Swift.  The original radio stopped working - it'd turn on but no sound would come out.  I replaced it with an old Sony CD player I had lying around - that works fine but there are some dodgy contacts in the plug so it occasionally switches itself off when I hit a bump in the road, which is annoying.

So I bought a cheapo mechless stereo from eBay.  Plugged that in and exactly the same issue as the original Clarion - switches on but no sound.  I initially thought I must have got a duff unit, but I tried it in the Škoda and it works fine.  Tried the radio/cassette from the Škoda in the Swift and same thing again - turns on but no sound.

So I'm at something of a loss as to why the Sony manages to get its output to the speakers when seemingly no other stereo will...

[DVee8]

Whilst sitting on the terrace of our holiday cottage having lunch, this afternoon. This pulled in. 

So I popped downstairs for a chat.

A 1960 Bentley.

Bought new by an electrical company in London, then sold on within the company. Later sold and moved to America then onto Sweden. Where it was bought by VW when they acquired the Bentley brand and recommissioned.

It then returned to the UK. The new owner was saying he had just retired, the money he had in the bank wasn't making anything so he invested in the Bentley.

[richardmorris]

Not much news on the merc resuscitation. The remains of the bushes have been removed but the broken Bolt remains are stubborn.

[anonymous user]

Right, you distract them and I'll go and piss on the wheels 

[reb]

The Volvo's dash is lit up like a Christmas tree:

Bulb warning and fuel light I obviously know why they're on, the rest of them? No idea.

[Lacquer Peel]

1 minute ago, reb said:

The Volvo's dash is lit up like a Christmas tree:

Bulb warning and fuel light I obviously know why they're on, the rest of them? No idea.

Do you still have VOL-FCR? I have it on a Google drive if needed. 

[reb]

9 minutes ago, Lacquer Peel said:

Do you still have VOL-FCR? I have it on a Google drive if needed. 

Yeah I have it on dad's laptop, every time I try to figure out the lambda light it goes off before I have a chance to plug it in. The SRS light is relatively recent and the coolant light doesn't seem to have an associated code. I'll probably plug it in and have a look over the next few days. It's not like I really drive the thing much anyway, I think it took me 2 months to get to the trip mileage!

[Craig the Princess]

That big fuck off hole is what was left when cutting back the inner wing...

Fortunately we have someone willing to weld so it now looks like this

Who said Belgian built Allegros were more rusty? He now moves on to the back of the offside sill, the boot floor, the entire nearside wing.

Then the engine and suspension both need work but just look at that face...

[wuvvum]

I've had a slightly lowball offer accepted on a car on eBay, so it looks like Sunday will be collection mission day.  Annoyingly I'll be passing within yards of the seller's house on the way back from FOTU on Saturday, but as I am yet to master the art of driving two cars at once I'll have to return the following day.  It's localish by my standards, and the journey is all doable by bus which keeps the cost down.

[Cord Fourteener]

The Mondeo is in a local garage for a service and investigation: it's smoky and boost feels not-normal. Plus it seems to be blowing oil out somewhere so I'm guessing maybe a boost leak, maybe the standard leaky injector or (hopefully not) a turbo seal. 

Anyway I'm too busy at the moment even to even partake here fully so it's in a garage...

I know its lame but as Wifey's commuter it needs doing and it does earn its keep. 

[Leyland Worldmaster]

On 7/28/2021 at 8:56 PM, Craig the Princess said:

That big fuck off hole is what was left when cutting back the inner wing...

Fortunately we have someone willing to weld so it now looks like this

Who said Belgian built Allegros were more rusty? He now moves on to the back of the offside sill, the boot floor, the entire nearside wing.

Then the engine and suspension both need work but just look at that face...

I used to live near Seneffe, the site of the erstwhile Austin/BL Factory in Belgium. My daily commute saw me passing the place. 🤓

 

https://www.aronline.co.uk/around-the-world/in-production-seneffe/

Edited July 29, 2021 by Leyland Worldmaster
Link added...

[Cord Fourteener]

Meaning of life. 

[cort16]

I just read that used Vauxhalls Mokkas are going up in value. This surely must be the sign of an impending apocalypse?

 

[BorniteIdentity]

5 hours ago, Cord Forteener aka Tim_E said:

I know its lame but as Wifey's commuter it needs doing and it does earn its keep. 

Not at all.  Some spend their whole lives spannering and very little motoring because that's the bit they enjoy.  Some are halfway and some are like me and just enjoy pootling about in a headturning old snotter.  

Sometimes the alternative to sending it to the garage is taking it off the road for months, and that's rarely a good move.  Best to keep the wheels a turnin', especially when you need "buy in" from the other half.

And, as I've said before, there's absolutely no shame in paying someone's wages.  Hopefully they're glad of the work and do you a good job!

[BorniteIdentity]

16 hours ago, wuvvum said:

I've had a slightly lowball offer accepted on a car on eBay, so it looks like Sunday will be collection mission day.  Annoyingly I'll be passing within yards of the seller's house on the way back from FOTU on Saturday, but as I am yet to master the art of driving two cars at once I'll have to return the following day.  It's localish by my standards, and the journey is all doable by bus which keeps the cost down.

Quickly get an ad up for the Skoda on here to be collected from FotU?

[aldo135]

Just back from 3 and a half weeks camping with the odd night in a Premier Inn, from Edinburgh to Cornwall and back via Lincolnshire. Over 2000 miles in a £650 Volvo S70 TDI bought from @Lacquer Peel, it ran faultlessly and is the most economical car I’ve owned. It was packed so full you couldn’t have got a Daily Record in there (other moaning faced Scottish rags are available) yet MPGs only dropped from 46 to 42! Thanks Cal it’s a brilliant car. 
To get all our camping gear into the Volvo I needed roof bars which @Minimad5had, I talked my Dad into going down to Liverpool for a night. We went straight to the pub ready for the England Germany game and Mark actually brought them to the pub, handy incase the Germans scored and we had to fight our way out 😂. So thanks to you too Mark! Made me and the kids holidays happen, top shiters both! 

[reb]

I have my engine crane back, so now I just need a willing helper to get the 205 ready for its new engine by taking out the HDI that's loosely installed* in the bay. Luckily one of my few mechanically inclined friends (well, one of my few friends full stop these days, but I digress) is free on Sunday, so it'll get done then. It is literally his only day off so I feel a bit bad for using it up, but he owes me for the extended loan of my crane, engine stand and welder, so I don't feel *too* bad.

I'll be sure to take pictures of the process because I'm sure it'll be done well within the rules set out by the HSE. I might even actually start a thread for the car!

[brownnova]

53 minutes ago, BorniteIdentity said:

Not at all.  Some spend their whole lives spannering and very little motoring because that's the bit they enjoy.  Some are halfway and some are like me and just enjoy pootling about in a headturning old snotter.  

This.

The realisation of this can be quite liberating! Otherwise if you are the third type (like me too mostly) you end up heaping unnecessary pressure on yourself to do jobs which end up with cars off the road for ages! 

[barefoot]

I used to mend things - very badly but now, some of my best friends are very skilled and well paid mechanics.

[anonymous user]

I no longer do much work on cars. My daily is always garage serviced and under warranty.

My plan to have something simple, that I would maintain myself, was thwarted by a Land Rover, as many of the jobs turned into big heavy ones.

I did my share years ago, mainly due to buying shit cars and poverty. I don't have the tools or inclination any more.

[wuvvum]

1 hour ago, BorniteIdentity said:

Quickly get an ad up for the Skoda on here to be collected from FotU?

If I was 100% certain it'll make it to FOTU, that would be a tempting option...

[reb]

All of the recent work on my Volvo has been done by a mechanic friend of dad's, I've just not had the energy to do the work myself. The 205 is a different matter though, I can work on that and leave a job partway through if I have to since it's not my daily and it's stored inside. It's also a hell of a lot simpler, I more or less completely understand how it works, which I can't say for the Volvo, or the C2, or the Fiesta.

I'm hoping to get back to spannering over the next few months, it's basically the only hobby I have enough patience for.

[Eyersey1234]

7 hours ago, Cord Forteener aka Tim_E said:

The Mondeo is in a local garage for a service and investigation: it's smoky and boost feels not-normal. Plus it seems to be blowing oil out somewhere so I'm guessing maybe a boost leak, maybe the standard leaky injector or (hopefully not) a turbo seal. 

Anyway I'm too busy at the moment even to even partake here fully so it's in a garage...

I know its lame but as Wifey's commuter it needs doing and it does earn its keep. 

No shame in paying for work to be done, to be honest I generally take my car to a local garage to get jobs done as a lot of stuff I don't have the facilities or come to that confidence to do. 

[catsinthewelder]

19 hours ago, wuvvum said:

I've had a slightly lowball offer accepted on a car on eBay, so it looks like Sunday will be collection mission day.  Annoyingly I'll be passing within yards of the seller's house on the way back from FOTU on Saturday, but as I am yet to master the art of driving two cars at once I'll have to return the following day.  It's localish by my standards, and the journey is all doable by bus which keeps the cost down.

How has a shitter of your calibre not got an A frame in the boot?🤣🤣

[wuvvum]

Neither vehicle has a towbar.

[Minimad5]

3 hours ago, aldo135 said:

Just back from 3 and a half weeks camping with the odd night in a Premier Inn, from Edinburgh to Cornwall and back via Lincolnshire. Over 2000 miles in a £650 Volvo S70 TDI bought from @Lacquer Peel, it ran faultlessly and is the most economical car I’ve owned. It was packed so full you couldn’t have got a Daily Record in there (other moaning faced Scottish rags are available) yet MPGs only dropped from 46 to 42! Thanks Cal it’s a brilliant car. 
To get all our camping gear into the Volvo I needed roof bars which @Minimad5had, I talked my Dad into going down to Liverpool for a night. We went straight to the pub ready for the England Germany game and Mark actually brought them to the pub, handy incase the Germans scored and we had to fight our way out 😂. So thanks to you too Mark! Made me and the kids holidays happen, top shiters both! 

Mate no worries, hope your night in Liverpool was alright 😎

The thought of you waving a pair of roof bars around when England scored 🤣

[Mrcento]

All Japanese cars are shit and i will never own another one.

The Civic electrical issue is way more severe than first though, Immobiliser has bricked the car. Wasn't through jumping, it was seemingly through water getting at a module and causing a short draining a full battery down to 7 volts overnight.

It's now effectively a paperweight.

I'm sleeping on the decision whether to call the scrap man on a car with a years MOT with no advisories. That's how bad it is.

Utter piece of shite. They all are. Needlessly complicated, too much unobtainable stuff. Not worth it.

 

[trigger]

I've been camping it up in the Cabriolet this afternoon, I'm actually really enjoying this one. 

I've painted the sills yellow again which have smartened it right up, I'm well chuffed with how cheap and easy it is to change parts on this, new Mintex brake pads £12, new Gates cambelt kit, also £12, new boot lock seal from China £1.86! £13 normally on ebay! All the little jobs are making a big difference now. 

The dash is all back together after replacing the voltage stabiliser so it now has working fuel and temp gauges and the stereo is wired up correctly again rather than turning on with the lights! 

I do need to replace the number plates too with more period correct ones but I can't justify £60 at the moment, especially after the starter motor on the Dolomite grenaded itself last week.