The new news 24 thread

[Split_Pin]

Cheers @paulplom I've sent you a PM. This book looks great!

[SiC]

3 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

Cheers @paulplom I've sent you a PM. This book looks great!

I know sharing is caring and all that, but if you buy a new copy from Amazon then Motorpunk will get a royalty payment. 

[Split_Pin]

I didn't realise that. @motorpunk how much would this normally be? Happy to fire you that over to cover.

[JJ0063]

Bought these for £10 on the car boot on Sunday, stuck them on for £89.99, offer just came in of £80.. happy days

[vulgalour]

On 9/17/2022 at 7:14 PM, vulgalour said:

I've finally got all my ducks in a row and the Maestro is off for its MoT next Tuesday.  It's not that the car needed that much, self-ejecting rear arches aside, it's just that I've had An Lot going on lately.  I'm convinced the tester will find something I haven't, but then that's basically their job so if it fails, it fails.  Realistically, I think it stands a good chance of a pass since it was basically a clean sheet on the last test and I've done a fair bit of work to it and not many miles since.

FAIL

Rear marker light - blown bulb.  Typically this happened on the way to the MoT since I tested everything before setting off.

Insecure headlight - the two screws holding the bracket in had backed out a bit, they need a fraction of a turn.  Already fixed that one.

Rust to inner wing/hole in chassis - I should have spotted this, somehow I didn't.  It appears to just be the inner skin, the structure behind it seems okay.  I'll know better when I get the angry disc on it, but I can't see it being too nightmarish to resolve.

 

Rust to inner sill - an historic repair with a loose edge.  There doesn't look to be any rust, just an unfinished edge that needs securing.  Don't have a photo of this to show you at the moment, so you'll have to use your brain pictures.

Advisory - oil leak to front.  It's the rocker cover gasket, TADTS.  I've got a new one to go on, I'll do the tappets at the same time, probably shan't bother for the retest since it's not vital and the leak is just your usual nonsense.

 

The nice thing is all the work I've done on it, like the rear arches, has been considered perfectly fine.  It's only work others have done, or general entropy, that's been flagged.

[motorpunk]

9 hours ago, paulplom said:

I've got both. Send me your address and I'll post you them.

Didn’t I give you those? 

[motorpunk]

8 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

I didn't realise that. @motorpunk how much would this normally be? Happy to fire you that over to cover.

I only make a couple of quid royalty per copy, so don’t worry, thanks anyway. If you’d give the book a mention anywhere else you are online (pistonheads? Facebook?) that would be appreciated.

[paulplom]

Yes you did. Sorry man I didn't think you'd mind because of that.

Pm me your deets and I'll send you the money.

[motorpunk]

23 minutes ago, paulplom said:

Yes you did. Sorry man I didn't think you'd mind because of that.

Pm me your deets and I'll send you the money.

No worries, no need, and thanks for the WhatsApp, you’re a gent 👍

[Split_Pin]

36 minutes ago, motorpunk said:

I only make a couple of quid royalty per copy, so don’t worry, thanks anyway. If you’d give the book a mention anywhere else you are online (pistonheads? Facebook?) that would be appreciated.

I can see if some more interest in my YouTube channel can be garnered by doing a car -related book review, which I haven't done before.

[HillmanImp]

35 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

I can see if some more interest in my YouTube channel can be garnered by doing a car -related book review, which I haven't done before.

I suppose he'd best wait to see if you like it before he accepts that offer.

[PhilA]

I thought the point of auto parts stores selling oil and filters was for it to be cheaper for the home spanner wielding idiot to change their oil?

Oil for my car, $63 (fancy synthetic water thin stuff) plus a filter for $23.

Oil and filter plus a carwash at the dealership $53.

 

At least the Pontiac costs $14 a change 

[brownnova]

A very different kind of Nova at my local car night tonight! 

[Stanky]

11 minutes ago, brownnova said:

A very different kind of Nova at my local car night tonight! 

Has anyone here driven one of these ever? I'd like to confess that I really like the styling and would actually like to own one of these one day.

IIRC they are built on a beetle floorpan and have VW flat 4 air-cooled propulsion, so the speed and handling are a bit at odds with the looks, is that right? Is the lifting hardtop as leaky as I suspect it would be in anything other than Sahara like conditions?

[brownnova]

I was trying to angle a word with the owner to ask pretty much exactly that… but he was having a lengthy chat with another chap and i wasn’t patient enough to wait! 

[wuvvum]

1 hour ago, PhilA said:

I thought the point of auto parts stores selling oil and filters was for it to be cheaper for the home spanner wielding idiot to change their oil?

Oil for my car, $63 (fancy synthetic water thin stuff) plus a filter for $23.

Oil and filter plus a carwash at the dealership $53.

 

At least the Pontiac costs $14 a change 

Why is it so cheap?  Is engine oil much cheaper in the US in the same way that petrol is, or is it just the economies of scale that come from the fact that Americans change their oil every 400 yards?

[wuvvum]

Maxus is in for its MOT tomorrow afternoon.  It's going to fail - the ABS light doesn't work and I've found a crack in the offside inner sill which either I missed before or it was on its way out and finally succumbed due to the heat from the outer sill being welded.  I'm hoping it doesn't need too much else though, I don't really want to start spending vast sums of money on it...

[Rust Collector]

3 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

Maxus is in for its MOT tomorrow afternoon.  It's going to fail - the ABS light doesn't work and I've found a crack in the offside inner sill which either I missed before or it was on its way out and finally succumbed due to the heat from the outer sill being welded.  I'm hoping it doesn't need too much else though, I don't really want to start spending vast sums of money on it...

For the retest, assuming that the bulb has been pulled to hide the fact the light is on, definitely don’t* cut the feed to the ABS lamp and splice it into the feed for the check engine light to buy yourself some extra time to fix it whilst still obtaining a ticket.

[wuvvum]

29 minutes ago, Rust Collector said:

For the retest, assuming that the bulb has been pulled to hide the fact the light is on, definitely don’t* cut the feed to the ABS lamp and splice it into the feed for the check engine light to buy yourself some extra time to fix it whilst still obtaining a ticket.

That'd be good, except that the check engine light quite often stays on too!  (Not an MOT issue though because pre-2008 diesel.)

I could splice it into the feed for the EBD light though, that comes on and goes out as it should.  I just need to find a wiring diagram as the instrument panel is all PCB with embedded LEDs for the warning lights.

[Wibble]

2 hours ago, Rust Collector said:

For the retest, assuming that the bulb has been pulled to hide the fact the light is on, definitely don’t* cut the feed to the ABS lamp and splice it into the feed for the check engine light to buy yourself some extra time to fix it whilst still obtaining a ticket.

Similar thoughts were going through my mind with the Senator ABS light. Thought of trying to connect that to the low screen wash light or similar so it would stay out but thankfully no need now 😬

[Noel Tidybeard]

On 08/09/2022 at 20:31, HillmanImp said:

We really ought to be making it gender neutral these days. 

no, no we shouldn't 🙄

[Popsicle]

2 hours ago, wuvvum said:

That'd be good, except that the check engine light quite often stays on too!  (Not an MOT issue though because pre-2008 diesel.)

I could splice it into the feed for the EBD light though, that comes on and goes out as it should.  I just need to find a wiring diagram as the instrument panel is all PCB with embedded LEDs for the warning lights.

Dash light timers are available on ebay to get round this issue https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/283034022787

 

[PhilA]

5 hours ago, wuvvum said:

Why is it so cheap?  Is engine oil much cheaper in the US in the same way that petrol is, or is it just the economies of scale that come from the fact that Americans change their oil every 400 yards?

I really don't know. The cost of oil changes here has gone down at dealerships massively in the last ten years. 

There's some economies of scale going on. I just don't understand them.

[Talbot]

12 hours ago, Stanky said:

Has anyone here driven one of these ever?

Yes.  I owned one and daily-ed it for a year or so.  I've driven about 5 different ones.  In theory, I still have the body of one stashed away in storage.

As they are 1970s-1990s hand built, there is "a range" of different qualities of build, ranging from acceptable to utter shit.

Getting them watertight is a challenge.  Getting in and out is a challenge.  Seeing out is a challenge.  Ventilation is non-existant.  Handling is dire.  They look very cool but are an absolute nightmare to live with unless heavily modified.

There are 3 different body styles of these with various changes over the years.  Later ones have more headroom.  (IE just "fuck all", rather than "I have no spine")

Some buffon in the late 90s tried to revive them with a spaceframe chassis and mid-mounted-rwd arrangement, which of course fell flat on it's arse.

My recommendation?  Avoid.

[Rust Collector]

11 hours ago, wuvvum said:

That'd be good, except that the check engine light quite often stays on too!  (Not an MOT issue though because pre-2008 diesel.)

I could splice it into the feed for the EBD light though, that comes on and goes out as it should.  I just need to find a wiring diagram as the instrument panel is all PCB with embedded LEDs for the warning lights.

Ah, you have a similar problem to my Mitsubishi then - on that I connected my check engine light to my ABS lamp, but then my vacuum reservoir got a hole in it and occasionally low vacuum seems to set off the ABS lamp 😅 I should really put the spare plastic reservoir on at some point.

RE wiring, I used a multimeter to trace pins in the cluster to points on the PCB - all the lamps shared a common earth so it was fairly easy to then work back and find the pins for the positive feeds. I then split the body loom and spliced the relevant wires. I'm not familiar with things modern enough to have LED MILs though so if it's a sealed unit I appreciate that this approach isn't really suitable and a wiring diagram is the way forward as you say.

[cort1977]

7 hours ago, PhilA said:

I really don't know. The cost of oil changes here has gone down at dealerships massively in the last ten years. 

There's some economies of scale going on. I just don't understand them.

Loss leader maybe?  Get punters in the door with a cheap oil change and then upsell them the paint protection package and underseal.

[beko1987]

51 minutes ago, cort1977 said:

Loss leader maybe?  Get punters in the door with a cheap oil change and then upsell them the paint protection package and underseal.

Using the oil they've just taken out of your car to do it? 😂🛢️

[wuvvum]

10 hours ago, Popsicle said:

Dash light timers are available on ebay to get round this issue https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/283034022787

 

I may* have already ordered one of those - it hasn't arrived from Bulgaria yet though.

[SiC]

15 hours ago, PhilA said:

I thought the point of auto parts stores selling oil and filters was for it to be cheaper for the home spanner wielding idiot to change their oil?

Oil for my car, $63 (fancy synthetic water thin stuff) plus a filter for $23.

Oil and filter plus a carwash at the dealership $53.

 

At least the Pontiac costs $14 a change 

I know the garage I use buy the bulk of their oil by the drum. They're considerably cheaper than the gallon jugs. Presumably because there is less packaging involved. Also they tend to use oil from TPS (VAG trade parts) and they won't have the cost of advertising and marketing to pay back either. 

[SiC]

After yesterday's irritating debacle in trying to buy a replacement for the Focus, it's got a stay of execution. If I drive it back to my in-laws, cartakeback will give me £405. That's versus £335 if collected locally. Probably the course of action to take is it's the least hassle.

Anyhow I decided to treat it to a new air filter. Hopefully it'll pay back in fuel savings. Not that it probably will pay back the tenner for the filter when doing less than 500 miles a month. 😅

Super easy to change and a big old filter.



The old one is an absolutely filthy thing



Looking at the date code of the filter it gives a manufactured date of April 2009 !?


If it was changed in the best case in 2010, that gives nearly 79k miles on this. I think this car has been run by changing the bare minimum. I suspect it has had oil changes in that period as I wouldn't have thought engine oil to last quite that long. The previous owner said it had them done 2 years ago - I asked after I paid and signed the paperwork, so he had no real reason to lie. Does potentially make the cambelt almost certainly original though. Or one replacement in the first three years of its life going by it was just under warranty when it had its first MOT.

It's taking a lot of effort to not do an oil change on it. Zero point as the scrap man won't pay any more for fresh engine oil and filter!

Still runs and drives really well mind.