The new news 24 thread

[4wheeledstool]

I took on the restoration of someone else's car today. It came to me as a pretty much bare shell, for which I was grateful due to lack of storage space!
Had to dig out and reassemble this.

It took a while to fabricate the necessary brackets to enable fitment to the spit, but got there in a couple of hours.

I'm planning to have a dabble at self employment some time this year, so hopefully there'll be more jobs like this to come.

As the weather was mighty fine today, I got a bit of time in this fine chariot once the shell was mounted on the spit

[Ohdearme]

De-hibernated the Cinq 

battery on and fired straight up.

throaty.

 

 

[wuvvum]

Very little to report on the fleet front this weekend as I was at the ACA auction all day yesterday and got up very late today.  I've finished putting the front hubs back together on the MG - the only missing bit was a bolt for the nearside bottom ball joint as I'd comprehensively mullered the original one due to having to use a lump hammer to remove it.  I found an M10 bolt of suitable tensile strength and a nut to fit it in my random box of useful bits - it was a bit too long but a dremel soon sorted that.  I haven't tried to remove the remnants of the old cat yet - I think that's going to require angle grinder action and I really couldn't be arsed with that today.

I took the Visa to Tesco this afternoon.  Went the long way round and it started misbehaving, farting and spluttering.  I think it may have just been getting low on petrol though as I went home and tipped in the three or so litres that were still in the can I use for the lawn mower, and it ran better after that.  It took a bit of cranking to start up when I'd finished the shopping but once it fired up it was OK.  I do need to do the valve clearances at some point though as it's got a definite noisy tappet.

The Volvo is going in to the local tyre place tomorrow lunchtime to have a new Nankang fitted on the back.  I think I might take the wheel off the car myself and run it in in the Peugeot - the Volvo is happy to be jacked up using the original pillar jack which slots into the jacking points, but I'm not sure how it'd react to a trolley jack.

Oh, and the Rover's sat nav has randomly started working again, which is nice as I thought it was terminally buggered.

[Rust Collector]

On 4/1/2023 at 9:13 PM, wesacosa said:

Not sure if its to do with being left or since I removed tow bar but there's now an annoying fault where sometimes when I turn headlight or reverse lights on the dashboard warning lights for foglight and heated rear window come on. assume there a dodgy earth somewhere

I left my Favorit estate to sit for a year or so and I got exactly the same fault with the fog light and heated window light coming on when the tail lights or reverse light should have been on. It shouted bad earth to me so I ran a piece of wire from the boot lid to the body of the car as a temporary measure and that sorted it, but at some point I will have to investigate the lack of continuity between the tailgate and the body. Or just run my temporary* earth wire more neatly 😅

[wesacosa]

33 minutes ago, Rust Collector said:

I left my Favorit estate to sit for a year or so and I got exactly the same fault with the fog light and heated window light coming on when the tail lights or reverse light should have been on. It shouted bad earth to me so I ran a piece of wire from the boot lid to the body of the car as a temporary measure and that sorted it, but at some point I will have to investigate the lack of continuity between the tailgate and the body. Or just run my temporary* earth wire more neatly 😅

Cheers. I did change the eyelets on the earth's and cleaned up the bolts but they were a bit crusty so will try as you have suggested. cheers 

[Schaefft]

13 hours ago, 4wheeledstool said:

I took on the restoration of someone else's car today. It came to me as a pretty much bare shell, for which I was grateful due to lack of storage space!
Had to dig out and reassemble this.

It took a while to fabricate the necessary brackets to enable fitment to the spit, but got there in a couple of hours.

I'm planning to have a dabble at self employment some time this year, so hopefully there'll be more jobs like this to come.

As the weather was mighty fine today, I got a bit of time in this fine chariot once the shell was mounted on the spit

I have no doubt self employment is a possibility with the amount of potential jobs from this site alone. Just need to keep quality of work consistently high and you'll be busy for years to come.

[Rust Collector]

14 hours ago, 4wheeledstool said:

I took on the restoration of someone else's car today. It came to me as a pretty much bare shell, for which I was grateful due to lack of storage space!
Had to dig out and reassemble this.

It took a while to fabricate the necessary brackets to enable fitment to the spit, but got there in a couple of hours.

I'm planning to have a dabble at self employment some time this year, so hopefully there'll be more jobs like this to come.

As the weather was mighty fine today, I got a bit of time in this fine chariot once the shell was mounted on the spit

The chap I bought my Zaporozhets from was self employed, he worked from a unit doing restorations for other people on a car by car basis. I asked how he picked up work, as I couldn't find a web presence for him; it turns out he got a name for himself with a couple of his own restorations that he took up to Goodwood. He then started taking on other people's cars, working on one vehicle at a time, and bills the client monthly. He was a really nice bloke and we spent ages chatting and looking back through pictures of his work. Due to doing work for folks on the Goodwood scene he had worked on some really incredible cars, I was a tad jealous!

There's definitely a living to be made from it if you can get in with the right customer base and make a name for yourself. I should think the biggest hurdle is building up a contingency fund to allow you to finish up an employed role and focus on your own fledgling business for the amount of time it takes to become financially viable.

[mat777]

GLWT restoration work, 4WS! Is it a Mk2 golf on the spitroast?

My new implement of financial ruination arrived on Saturday - it's a lot bigger than I remembered from viewing it 😳
It's a 1913 Cadillac, 6 litre 50hp speedster. Coming not very soon at all to a VSCC race series!
It's got all the mod cons - electric start, a 3-speed gearbox and twin-plug ignition - and being pre 1915, it's RHD too
Of course, if I tell people that I've bought a Cadillac with 25 inch wheels and button-back upholstery, they tend to get quite a different image in their head 🤣

[wuvvum]

That is absolutely fucking fantastic.

[junkyarddog]

15 minutes ago, mat777 said:

GLWT restoration work, 4WS! Is it a Mk2 golf on the spitroast?

My new implement of financial ruination arrived on Saturday - it's a lot bigger than I remembered from viewing it 😳
It's a 1913 Cadillac, 6 litre 50hp speedster. Coming not very soon at all to a VSCC race series!
It's got all the mod cons - electric start, a 3-speed gearbox and twin-plug ignition - and being pre 1915, it's RHD too
Of course, if I tell people that I've bought a Cadillac with 25 inch wheels and button-back upholstery, they tend to get quite a different image in their head 🤣

Reminds me of this🤣

[barefoot]

Is it legal for the road?

[mat777]

17 minutes ago, barefoot said:

Is it legal for the road?

That's the plan, once paperwork is sorted out

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, mat777 said:

It's a 1913 Cadillac, 6 litre 50hp speedster. Coming not very soon at all to a VSCC race series!

That looks very easy* to drive! Am guessing no height adjustment on the steering column?

[mat777]

3 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

That looks very easy* to drive! Am guessing no height adjustment on the steering column?

In pre-war terms, it's relatively easy to master which was a big factor in buying it - Cadillac was one of the first makes to adopt the "correct" pedal layout so everything does what you'd expect it to - it's just a case of remembering about the manual advance/retard for the ignition! 
The column is still set for the original, much higher touring body  - I am told that the steering box can be rotated a few splines on the steering arm shaft to lower the column down to a more sensible height. 

[davehedgehog31]

Not been very active on here for a while, mainly due to lack of car related mojo/activity brought on by the cold and dark. Been slowly emerging from hibernation and foutering once again. Enjoying the longer days and slightly less biting temperatures. 

It's been all change on the fleet front. Already this year the Subaru Outback, Rover 45 and Lexus LS have left. The latter two sold within the forum. 

My brother had been making noises about buying some newfangled EV nonsense, meaning his 2013 Lexus GS450H "Premier" would be up for grabs. With the proceeds of my sales burning a hole in my pocket and it being offered at a very keen price I was powerless to resist. 

I'm still struggling with the concept of owning a car worth actual money and the potential borkage is strong. It is however very comfortable, very fast and will astonishingly do 40mpg on supermarket E10 if driven nicely. Has a couple of small issues to sort that were reflected in the price. The shutter behind the front grille is stuck open which flags up an annoying error on the dash. The blind spot monitoring system is also inop and giving a code for the NSR sensor. Otherwise, it's very good. Near full Lexus history and lived in Hampshire most of it's days rather than seeing the salt up here. 



The Fabia continues to provide sterling service. It was treated to front wheel bearings and a new timing belt kit a few months back and hasn't missed a beat. The small estate is a great size of car for everyday use. Being the 1.9 PD100 it's great on fuel with more than enough performance for everyday driving, the low down torque makes for a relaxing drive. The seating position is good but the seats themselves pretty awful, very thin with a lack of support. It's the low-mid spec Comfort model, not sure if they were any better further up the range. 

It was given a wash, clay barring, polish and finished off with some Bilt Hamber wax. We're probably out the worst of the salt so after MOT in August I'll spray some lanolin rust proofing on for next winter. It could also use a thermostat as it sits about 2/3rds on the gauge. 



The Kangoo has ran out of test and insurance and has been in shed configuration. I recently got a council lockup near home for £cheaps so it's currently living in there. I don't see it needing anything for a test after it's reasonable overhaul last year, I've just been time poor and feeling a bit skint after all my recent expenditure so have let it take a back seat. Will get it back on the road for May. 

Finally, decided to do something about the lack of covered car working space. Have built this carport at the side of the house, I say that as if I done it but in reality I had competent help and I lent a hand. It's been great so far and is well sheltered at the sides so can be working under there in the dry even in pretty horrible weather conditions. It's a good sized space, being about 7.2M long. 

Wasn't sure what to do roof wise, went for boards with a rubber membrane covering and added guttering to stop it pissing into the neighbours property. Very happy with the outcome. This is the only photo I have to hand, it wasn't finished at this point but is now. 

[Noel Tidybeard]

6 hours ago, Rust Collector said:

I left my Favorit estate to sit for a year or so and I got exactly the same fault with the fog light and heated window light coming on when the tail lights or reverse light should have been on. It shouted bad earth to me so I ran a piece of wire from the boot lid to the body of the car as a temporary measure and that sorted it, but at some point I will have to investigate the lack of continuity between the tailgate and the body. Or just run my temporary* earth wire more neatly 😅

snapped/snapping wire in rubber gaiter

[Noel Tidybeard]

similar disabled boot release, fog light, reverse lights & made camers come on with brake lights on the spaceship!

[danthecapriman]

Definitely a nice spring day today. Glorious sunshine and not too bad temperature either. Must have easily been the best day of the year so far!

To celebrate, I’ve cleaned and polished the Mercury. I’m now absolutely knackered and covered in bites from little bug things that seemed to be attracted to my yellow T shirt! Just got the chrome bumpers to do tomorrow and it’s looking great. Fired it up too, started pretty much immediately after a few pumps of the gas!

I’ll probably give the interior a quick once over too, it’s clean but a bit dusty where it’s been sat over winter. Hopefully I’ll get it out on the road if the weather stays decent over Easter weekend.

[wuvvum]

Ran the Volvo in to the local tyre place at lunchtime to have the Nankang fitted on the back.

So it now has a full set of usable tyres.  In typical two steps forward one step back fashion though, I've lost the instruments - the speedo still works but the fuel and temp gauges don't, nor do the charge or oil pressure lights, and the alternator isn't charging the battery.  It's not the fuse because the reversing lights are on the same fuse and those are working; it's not the ignition switch as other "ignition live" circuits (wipers etc.) are working as they should.  So it's obviously a wiring fault somewhere in the dash, and those are always my favourite* job.  Doesn't help that the Volvo has a fairly complex electrical system for a 50-year-old car, with two fuseboxes, a PCB for the instrument cluster etc.  I do need to sort it though as I can't go very far with no charging.

I've been trying to buy a cat for the MG  but it's been a right pain in the arse.  Two sellers so far have demanded the reg before they will dispatch the cat, and when I've given them the details they've come back saying I've ordered the wrong one and I need a different one costing £100 more.  I've now tried a third seller but I've lied and said that there is no registration as it's a track day car - will see whether that works.  If this one refuses to send the cat then it's getting a decat pipe.

[SiC]

12 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

I've been trying to buy a cat for the MG  but it's been a right pain in the arse.  Two sellers so far have demanded the reg before they will dispatch the cat, and when I've given them the details they've come back saying I've ordered the wrong one and I need a different one costing £100 more.  I've now tried a third seller but I've lied and said that there is no registration as it's a track day car - will see whether that works.  If this one refuses to send the cat then it's getting a decat pipe.

What year is it? If it's post 2001 (iirc on date) then it needs to be a Type Approved cat. It's illegal for a garage or supplier to offer anything otherwise. Generally speaking the TA cats are more expensive as extra work is needed to get them approved. 

[Rust Collector]

12 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

Two sellers so far have demanded the reg before they will dispatch the cat, and when I've given them the details they've come back saying I've ordered the wrong one and I need a different one costing £100 more.  I've now tried a third seller but I've lied and said that there is no registration as it's a track day car - will see whether that works.  If this one refuses to send the cat then it's getting a decat pipe.

Are they making a fuss over whether it needs to be type approved / homologated or whatever they call it? I'd have thought the MG was old enough for it not to be a problem. I find the BM Catalyst website helpful as a parts lookup tool as they normally show date ranges on their listings - apologies if I'm teaching you to suck eggs.

[mat777]

8 minutes ago, SiC said:

What year is it? If it's post 2001 (iirc on date) then it needs to be a Type Approved cat. It's illegal for a garage or supplier to offer anything otherwise. Generally speaking the TA cats are more expensive as extra work is needed to get them approved. 

Interesting. I bought a set of ebay replacement cats for my L322 V8  to replace OEM ones that kept cracking at the seams - they definitely didn't look type approved, but were only £300 for a pair and passed the emissions test ok! I'm guessing I go lucky, in that case (and the car was written off shortly after, anyway....

[Kiltox]

Whipped this out of hibernation, obviously it’ll be making the 220 mile round trip commute tomorrow 👌 

[4wheeledstool]

8 hours ago, mat777 said:

GLWT restoration work, 4WS! Is it a Mk2 golf on the spitroast?

Many thanks! It's a Polo G40 - I know them pretty well now.👍

[hairnet]

17 hours ago, Kiltox said:

Whipped this out of hibernation, obviously it’ll be making the 220 mile round trip commute tomorrow 👌 

Audi not friend now?

[bunglebus]

Well it's all kicking off outside my house

I was in the back garden working on my bike, heard sirens getting closer until they were in the next road - then two bangs and tyres screeching. 

Walked out the front just as the black Passat skidded up, bloke got out and legged it down the ally with a copper on his heels.

Seems it all started on the A12, VW is on false plates, failed to stop and got chased into my estate, taking out a Focus on the way, then reverse rammed the police which was the bangs.

They got the guy, he was in one of the cars bitching his cuffs were too tight, then said he was unwell hence the ambulance. Looked healthy enough when he ran past me.

Both cars are knackered, suspension is pushed back on the Passat and the rad is holed on the BMW.

Recovery are here now

 

[Yoss]

I imagine a black Passat is quite a good vehicle for nefarious activities. About as bland as it is possible to be. It has no outstanding features whatsoever. Anybody who has no interest in cars probably couldn't tell you what it was, just that it was black. 

[Volksy]

A friend in Manchesters 'Purveyor of fine chemicals' always drove around in Avensiss followed by Octavias. 

Blends in great with minicabs.  

[Yoss]

10 minutes ago, Volksy said:

A friend in Manchesters 'Purveyor of fine chemicals' always drove around in Avensiss followed by Octavias. 

Blends in great with minicabs.  

Avensii? 

[wuvvum]

Avenses, surely.