The new news 24 thread

[dollywobbler]

Gawd. That must have been pretty heart-braking. Hope they're not too badly affected.

[dollywobbler]

In other news, spent some time today recording video for my next road test exploit. It's the Discovery. It shakes so much at idle that it kept shutting my camera down due to a 'lens fault!' Managed to get the job done though. Us media professionals (ha!) can overcome such trivial issues.

[Pete-M]

Bought myself a Focus ST170 last week. Love it to bits. Spent a few days fiddling with it to get everything spot on and it's damn nearly there. Great fun.

Also, saw this today and it made me think of you lot.

 

[cms206]

Was thinking of moving on the Montego... but next year is Montego 30. Should I just hang onto it and cash in on the inevitable OMGSCENETAXFREEKAOS the anniversary is likely to bring? I actually like the thing, which has never happened to me in a misery spec car of any breed.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I would say don't expect ANY financial reward for owning a montego.

[cms206]

I would say don't expect ANY financial reward for owning a montego.

 

That is what I expected. If only Life on Mars had Montegos instead of Mk3 Cortinas I'd be beating all Trig's clunge off with a stick

[Pete-M]

That is what I expected. If only Life on Mars had Montegos instead of Mk3 Cortinas I'd still be struggling to get £50 for a Montego 

 

Edited for accuracy.

[greengartside]

In other news, it seems like I've just bought a modern bit of shite - '06 plate Hyundai Matrix 1.6 GSi. Shite in every way possible but it fits the bill for me. Picking it up sometime this week...

[Barry Cade]

Scenic half done, rear brake pipes on the fail sheet are the ones which have a flexy built in- stuff paying Renner for brake pipes, so grotty bits were chopped out and replaced with copper. Rear calipers freed off, front CV boot reatattched with new grease, ABS ring was broken and after a failed bodge nipped down to Dingbro for a new one. Front brakes cleaned up.. Just waiting for the new discs to turn up tomorrow then in for a retest. Actually a really pleasant thing to drive, and it's first MOT fail in 6 years in which it's had next to no maintenence.

 

Golf is finished- oil changed and it's a bit quieter, but still rattly, thermostat housing self tapping bolt snapped- plastic housing- so it was bodged , but it runs and drives really well now. All doors now open,shut and lock. Windows go up and down. This is something to be happy about on a Mk4....

[derskine]

Getting pissed off with the filler work on the cortina, endless and tedius as fuck, severely lack motivation.

Really want to start welding the 340 up but can't until the tina is finished.

Also desperately need to paint the polo as rust is coming through the crap poundland paint job, but once again, can't be arsed

[stuboy]

went to chatham, kent to collect a drivers window for my mate reliant robin..

had these beautys outside..

and this sexy machine in car park next to it

[vulgalour]

Anybody else catch the news about SORN returning to only being done once rather than being done annually?

[Lord Sterling]

Boy_Stu - Judging by your photos there seems to be an worrying amount of Rovers there. Two 75s and 45 from what I can see.

[vulgalour]

 
Some cars I'd like to own purely on the merit of their styling and the Proton Saga is one of them. 
 
They seem to be getting rare but also remaining dirt cheap even for really nice examples.  I wonder if it might be a more sensible thing to purchase than the BL crap I'm more partial to.  I know Jikovron has one and it's his exploits that are swaying me towards possible future ownership.
 
I have this urge to buy the best example I can find and keep it absolutely obsessively pristine regardless of the fact that it'll likely never be worth more than a half-eaten packet of salt and vinegar crisps.

[derskine]

went to chatham, kent to collect a drivers window for my mate reliant robin..

had these beautys outside..

and this sexy machine in car park next to it

 

I've seen those weird cars about and wondered what they were.

Seem like 21st century shite to me

[Cavcraft]

/\

I love old garages like that. 

 

 

 

Yesterday it was MOT part 2 for the Corsa. It failed the other week on insecure rear bumper (just a bloody screw!) one rear tyre (despite the fronts being much worse), insecure battery (bolt for retaining bracket had moved then rusted in) , washers not working (needed new pump) and brake imbalance. I gave the brakes a work out and sorted the other jobs. I took it to a different garage for the MOT as I have a sort of self imposed rule now where if one garage fails my car on MOT stuff I take it elsewhere for repair in case they're trying to have me off, which often they have.

Anyhow new garage put new rear shoes on and failed the one tyre we hadn't changed, but I'd trust these lads no problem and will use them in future. My lad has swapped his insurance over now so once done he'll be back in his first car.  

Oh, the insurance company that told him he wouldn't get cheaper than £2,400 on a 1.0 Corsa were proved wrong at the first attempt: he's got fully comp for £700 elsewhere!

[barefoot]

I'm buggered if I can see how to embed a movie, it's not quite a road test like DW's

It's a record breaking track test of my old T2.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8zav1zymzvesb6j/Lap%20Record.mov

 

Actually filmed on shite VHS.

[cort16]

This has got to be one of the worst front ends I've ever seen on a car. It looks like Jabba the hut.

 

[Joey spud]

Re Keygate motors in Chatham the owner Berne Marshall has been there for years selling Reliant and Aixam.

 

My dad has only got a bike licence so has had a long relationship with this garage buying a loverly primer grey Aixam 500 diesel off him a few years back after my mum said he couldn't have anymore 'bloody threewheelers'.

Its engine seems to use 90% of its power to vibrate the choclate box plastic dash rather than turn the front wheels but it gets the old boy to and from the shops ok.

 

Berne must be at least 80 years old and still going strong,i saw him back in the summer with his old Focus estate towing a Reliant laden trailer up near Herne bay. (respect).

[HMC]

I'm buggered if I can see how to embed a movie, it's not quite a road test like DW'sIt's a record breaking track test of my old T2. https://www.dropbox.com/s/8zav1zymzvesb6j/Lap%20Record.mov Actually filmed on shite VHS.

Great vid!

 

I've heard of racing drivers taking " a tow" from more powerful cars on the straights but that takes the biscuit!!!

[HillmanImp]

As I am moving house this weekend I lashed the GT6 together with bits of string and wishful thinking the other day and drove it over to its new home.

 

Drove fine considering its only done about 2 miles in 3 years. Forgot what an attention seeking whore it it. EVERYONE was looking at it.

 

Obviously I had to stop and do up a wheel as I don't think I have ever managed to ensure all the wheels are on a car I have been working on before I set off. And then when I got back I noticed something lying on the floor:

 

 

Thats the cover for the number plate lights that goes on the rear bumper. You can see at the top and bottom of the phtoto where I should have put the screws to secure it to the bumper. You can also see the middle where I drove over it after it fell off.

[dollywobbler]

Anybody else catch the news about SORN returning to only being done once rather than being done annually?

 

Not really news. This has been coming for some time now. Good.

[barefoot]

Hopefully clicking on the glorious pic below will reveal another viciously quick road test.

 

[dollywobbler]

I'm buggered if I can see how to embed a movie, it's not quite a road test like DW's

It's a record breaking track test of my old T2.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8zav1zymzvesb6j/Lap%20Record.mov

 

Actually filmed on shite VHS.

This forum automatically embeds YouTube vids, but not from other sources. How on earth did you manage track time in a VW bus towing half a Beetle?!

[barefoot]

I can't put it on you tube, they keep deleting it because of the soundtrack - copyright.

 

I walked into race control barefoot and blagged for all I was worth.

The bloke told me to come back at the lunch break on practice day and to bring 16 vhs cassettes.

[Shep Shepherd]

Tomorrow is the tenth anniversary of my buying The Volvo*. Here's a photo of it at Birchanger Green Services on the M11, on the way home to South Ockendon from Peterborough the day I bought it. Check out the spoilers on the wipers. I wish that I'd saved them instead of binning them later that day after I bought new wipers, as I'd never seen their like before (or since, for that matter):

 

 

Here's a photo of it this afternoon, having had a quick rinse-down with the hose:

 

 

Bless

 

 

 

*Posted today, as I have to get up stupidly early for work tomorrow.

[cobblers]

Picked this up for my mutha last night:

 

 

It drives flipping lovely, and it's an absolute minter by all accounts. 1800 auto, 48k, one old giffer owner (called Mr Race!) until fairly recently and 16 stamps in the book from Hayselden Barnsley, along with the proper number plates, tailgate sticker and even tax disk holder. Unsurprisingly these things drive totally different without 200k miles on, and before dickheads like me put cheapo ebay coilovers on and wind them right down til it'll only just get me to work and back (see the red one behind it). 

 

Can't see any evidence of a cambelt being done in the paperwork. I had the covers off and it looks in good shape but I suppose they all do until about 5 minutes before they snap, so that's probably gonna be the first job unless something else more pressing comes up beforehand.

[Shep Shepherd]

^

 

1800cc Golf 3s are pretty nice cars. Shame about the rampant rust, though.

[cobblers]

Aye, I've pulled a few apart (engine raped GTIs) and they are all hanging under the bodykit - the red one is relatively good compared to most but I wouldn't fancy taking it for an MOT without the side skirts on! I reckon the green one has been garaged, it's not got a hint of a bubble anywhere.

[Shep Shepherd]

^

 

Father Shepherd's 1994 Driver had perforating rust in 2001. Conversely, my 1994 Rover 214Si was rust-free...