The new news 24 thread

[chancer]

2 minutes ago, Stinkwheel said:

Completely understand the thinking here and thats more than fair enough, its just that to my mind thick wall high pressure oil resistant etc tubing definitely exists off the shelf 

It will somewhere. But possibly in lengths that would be bought and never used again. Convenience comes with a price, and today it  was £136 😂

[mercedade]

Farmed out a job on the Saab because although @rainagain had done a cracking job of his 95 subframe bushes, I really didn't fancy getting that amount of shit in my eye, levering on heavy subframes about 3" from my face.

Shout out to RTJ Autos in Stockport - am thrilled to have found a mega local Saab specialist who aren't afraid of doing normal garage jobs. £150 to replace my rear most subframe bushes with polybush jobs, and scan to identify the NSR as the grumbly ABS sensor (likely dirty as it tested fine).

[rainagain]

11 minutes ago, mercedade said:

Farmed out a job on the Saab because although @rainagain had done a cracking job of his 95 subframe bushes, I really didn't fancy getting that amount of shit in my eye, levering on heavy subframes about 3" from my face.

Shout out to RTJ Autos in Stockport - am thrilled to have found a mega local Saab specialist who aren't afraid of doing normal garage jobs. £150 to replace my rear most subframe bushes with polybush jobs, and scan to identify the NSR as the grumbly ABS sensor (likely dirty as it tested fine).

That’s a good price, for the amount of faffing involved. How did you find the difference in ride? I thought it picked up the smaller bumps more although I’m loving the lack of knocks and bangs. 

[Rust Collector]

The scrap money E Class made it through the retest:

No expense wasn't spared, and the total remedial work involved a new set of front pads and sensors which came to about £31 for Febi parts plus a bonnet cable from Germany at £28 meaning I now don't have to fight the bonnet release to open it and use pliers to close it... Should've done that sooner really.

The long list of advisories mainly relates to corrosion so I'll need to do something about that before the winter, and I'll chuck a new set of brake hoses on it in the near future.

[mercedade]

5 hours ago, rainagain said:

That’s a good price, for the amount of faffing involved. How did you find the difference in ride? I thought it picked up the smaller bumps more although I’m loving the lack of knocks and bangs. 

It's a lot more precise - I've only driven 8 miles or so in it since picking it up, and the lack of clunking noise is already making it a significantly more pleasant place to be, but the biggest difference in ride is obvious when coming to speed bumps - it's removed the midpoint 'wiggle' that used to happen as the shite bushes were reloading after the front wheels had cleared the bumps just as the rear wheels were hitting the bump.

I don't know if the polybushing  would be more noticeable if I'd had all 6 done, but the garage said they were absolutely fine, so I'm not arguing.

I'm mostly excited that I've got Tech2 on the doorstep and everyone who works there drives massively Barried 95 estates, so share the enthusiasm.

[davehedgehog31]

Miss Hedgehog has this, it's a 2010 Volvo C30 D5 Auto. It's the 2.4 litre 5 cylinder diesel. It makes a nice racket in that clattery 5 cylinder diesel way, or it would if you could have heard it over an absolutely horrific noise from the auxiliary belt area. 

I like to take as little to do with the arsehole as possible (car for avoidance of doubt), but it really sounded awful and had visions of it letting go and wrapping itself in the crank pulley and fragging the thing. 

I think someone has been here before... Not sure what they thought coating the fucker in grease would achieve; 

It has a strange setup with two auxiliary belts and two tensioners. One is driven off the crank pulley and drives the AC compressor, the other is in turn driven off the AC compressor and drives the alternator. I was thinking because big engine and smol car that access would be shit but it was actually OK. The upper/rear one was a bit foutery but not too bad. 



The bearing on the non greased one sounds absolutely fucked, so hopefully that was our culprit. Just waiting on replacements arriving. 

It also had a warning on the dash for "engine service required" and a stored code to do with swirl flaps. They are actuated by a stepper motor which is linked to the swirl flap mechanism with a plastic rod/arm doo-dah made of the same plastic used in Volvo instrument binnacles presumably. The joint on the swirl flap end wears and the arm pops off, seemingly a common issue. I effected an ingenious* and factory standard* engineering solution by sanding the arm down thin, then drilling a hole in the plastic ball part and securing the arm with a tiny cable tie. 

It's actually a nice car. A little bit of a leggy example but it wears it pretty well. I like that it's a reasonably small car but with big car engine and gearbox. Seats are very comfy, it's pretty quiet and has cruise control so you could cover big miles in it. Good on fuel too for what it is. It's not as engaging to drive as you'd think looking at it and given that I think there's some MK2 Focus in it. Steering is light but pretty lifeless and it's definitely set up for comfort, suits me but it does betray it's looks (and red carpets) a little. 

[BorniteIdentity]

Anybody any good at removable towbars?

This looks like the sort of thing I'd have enjoyed years ago, but it's just giving me ballache now

[cort1977]

Those things are an absolute pain in the arse (fnarr). Got one on my van and it's always a faff taking it on and off and you're never totally sure it's seated correctly and it's another thing to make you nervous towing.

Don't have any useful advice except I always make sure the indicator is in the green zone even though it doesn't always seem to go back to the same position.

[Noel Tidybeard]

1 hour ago, BorniteIdentity said:

Anybody any good at removable towbars?

This looks like the sort of thing I'd have enjoyed years ago, but it's just giving me ballache now

be careful- doing it too often my affect your eyesight

[junkyarddog]

Wheeler Dealers Mk1 Fiesta stolen!

[somewhatfoolish]

Mike Brewer actually Roger Cook; has he started knocking on his own door and accusing himself of being a purveyor of turds and a terrible line in hackneyed car dealer cliche?

[High Jetter]

Changed the washer pump on the Combo van today - weirdly, the ebay ad listed it originally as one for a Citroen Relay and a Fiat Ducato, but it looked identical. Only £6.07 so I wasn't overly hopeful. Think Corsa C is the same, but pump may have two outles as rear wash/wipe fitted. Would have taken way less time if the reservoir cap hadn't randomly decided to ping off it's retaining pin when I wasn't looking and descend below the brake servo just giving a tiny little peek of it's yellowness. Much fiddling later with my General Purpose Straightened Wire Coat Hanger™️ I managed to catch the little hole on the cap's tag and bring it back into daylight. A bit like hooking a duck at a fair, but considerably less easy. A quick adjustment of one of the 4 nozzles with a safety pin and the guy who drives it for me should be able to see where he's going now.

[richardmorris]

7 hours ago, somewhatfoolish said:

Mike Brewer actually Roger Cook; has he started knocking on his own door and accusing himself of being a purveyor of turds and a terrible line in hackneyed car dealer cliche?

That he may be, but a stolen fiesta is still a theft of a neo classic.

[Split_Pin]

No photos because it's dark and I was moving at the time, but I have just arrived in Turkey. On the 1/2 hour drive from Dalaman Airport to Fethiye I have deduced that the most common type of car is still the Tofas Murat 131, followed closely by some kind of updated Renault 12 that I don't think is a Dacia. I also saw an even older Murat 124 and at least 2 Renault 9s. 

Superb.

[stuboy]

SiL looking for a replacement car, must automatic, budget of 1500 quid and medium sized..... think ive viewed 500 facebook market place, autotrader adverts,  all shes to find and likes are POS, wrecked and hidden write offs.

[Jazoli]

9 minutes ago, stuboy said:

SiL looking for a replacement car, must automatic, budget of 1500 quid and medium sized..... think ive viewed 500 facebook market place, autotrader adverts,  all shes to find and likes are POS, wrecked and hidden write offs.

Best of luck with that autos are silly money these days, I was looking for something similar and found nothing at all worth buying.

[stuboy]

2 minutes ago, Jazoli said:

Best of luck with that autos are silly money these days, I was looking for something similar and found nothing at all worth buying.

thanks..

 

i found foci 1.6 auto with years ticket and bonus lady owner added dents

[trigger]

The car fleet reduction is going well, I'm still waiting for the final two payments on the Dolomite and I've already agreed to buy a new car today that I really don't need! 🙊

Yes it's a 2000 Mondeo ST200! I've wanted one for years, ever since I sold my old ST24 and when a friend offered this to me I couldn't say now!

He bought it in auction last Saturday for a YouTube video he's doing and sold it to me for what he paid for it, the cars immaculate and I really mean that .

The first owner was BT Fleet who had it and 2 years covering 66000 miles and then the previous owner bought it in 2002 for £8995 and put another 33000 miles on it over the next 21 years. I don't think it even came out the garage much.

Its a bit modern compared to my usual cars but being 23 year old it's still old and interesting enough to enjoy it, plus it sounds amazing when you boot it!

[SiC]

23 minutes ago, trigger said:

Its a bit modern compared to my usual cars but being 23 year old it's still old and interesting enough to enjoy it, plus it sounds amazing when you boot it!

Iirc you're a similar age to me. 

I passed my test in 2003. 23 years before that would be 1980. So if I bought my 1979 Spitfire when I passed my test, it would be a similar age to your Mondeo is now. Or another way, your yellow Dolomite Sprint would be the same age in the same case too!

It's just different when you remember these cars when they were new/nearly new. And just getting old. 

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

No photos because it's dark and I was moving at the time, but I have just arrived in Turkey. On the 1/2 hour drive from Dalaman Airport to Fethiye I have deduced that the most common type of car is still the Tofas Murat 131, followed closely by some kind of updated Renault 12 that I don't think is a Dacia. I also saw an even older Murat 124 and at least 2 Renault 9s. 

Superb.

Yup, upload the pics when you can, lots of clones over there

[Rust Collector]

I couldn't sleep last night, so I did the obvious thing to help me relax - at about 11:50pm I insured the Disco of Doom and booked it in for an MOT first thing this morning.

I've just dropped it off 😬

[High Jetter]

16 minutes ago, Rust Collector said:

I couldn't sleep last night, so I did the obvious thing to help me relax - at about 11:50pm I insured the Disco of Doom and booked it in for an MOT first thing this morning.

I've just dropped it off 😬

Mr Big Cheese, being able to book a MOT next day! 🤣 Good luck.

[Rust Collector]

1 minute ago, High Jetter said:

Mr Big Cheese, being able to book a MOT next day! 🤣 Good luck.

I couldn’t believe it when I looked on the website! I thought it’s either a sign, or a cruel twist of fate 🤣

[andy18s]

1 minute ago, Rust Collector said:

I couldn’t believe it when I looked on the website! I thought it’s either a sign, or a cruel twist of fate 🤣

I thought ringing the tester on his personal number was the way to go....no?

[Rust Collector]

4 minutes ago, andy18s said:

I thought ringing the tester on his personal number was the way to go....no?

The rate I've been putting cars in there lately I should probably have something akin to the Bat phone, or a spot lamp to shine in the air over the town to summon the tester 😅

[Rust Collector]

Well fuck me...

Good to see that the replacement wheel bearing has just about lasted a year.

Now, should I cash out on my luck now or do I double down and use the Land Rover to do 300 miles of towing at the weekend rather than the Mitsubishi?

[wesacosa]

13 hours ago, trigger said:

The car fleet reduction is going well, I'm still waiting for the final two payments on the Dolomite and I've already agreed to buy a new car today that I really don't need! 🙊

Yes it's a 2000 Mondeo ST200! I've wanted one for years, ever since I sold my old ST24 and when a friend offered this to me I couldn't say now!

He bought it in auction last Saturday for a YouTube video he's doing and sold it to me for what he paid for it, the cars immaculate and I really mean that .

The first owner was BT Fleet who had it and 2 years covering 66000 miles and then the previous owner bought it in 2002 for £8995 and put another 33000 miles on it over the next 21 years. I don't think it even came out the garage much.

Its a bit modern compared to my usual cars but being 23 year old it's still old and interesting enough to enjoy it, plus it sounds amazing when you boot it!

that's fabulous. I desperately wanted one in about 2004 but I couldn't stretch to one so bought an ST24 instead. which were about a grand cheaper at the time  

[Stinkwheel]

1 hour ago, Rust Collector said:

Well fuck me...

do I double down and use the Land Rover to do 300 miles of towing at the weekend rather than the Mitsubishi?

As long as you get as far as me and take the stuff away, breaking down after is Okay with me (but probably not you? - so id use the japanese one personally)

[Rust Collector]

37 minutes ago, Stinkwheel said:

As long as you get as far as me and take the stuff away, breaking down after is Okay with me (but probably not you? - so id use the japanese one personally)

Indeed, the Mitsubishi is normally the safe bet for getting where you need to go!

[SiC]

I need to do a proper update but haven't had time/CBA especially with Tapatalk not working, this forum going down so regularly and loosing what you've typed. So excuse the mess of tags, I copied this from where I wrote elsewhere and this forum software can't handle them.

Anyway, we went on holiday to Majorca. Saw cars, trains and scenery.

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Came home. Cleaned the Boxster and the Spitfire. First time I've cleaned the Spitfire since I've owned it!

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Took the Spitfire out with my neighbour - the one that owns the Audi R8. He's just finished fixing the R8 and I've asked for a run around in it when he taxes it next month.

Also fixed the cigarette lighter on it so I can use a USB adapter. Pulled the Speedo to inspect but looked fine. Adjusted the needle slightly to get more accurate reading. Put in and working fine but it stopped on the last journey. Going to have to pull it again. 

I'll do a thread update in due course.

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Used the Boxster to see the in-laws. I really don't use this car that much now. I think I'll be lucky to hit 2k miles.

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Tided the garage.

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Last night I started back on this finally. Just grinding back the last work I did and panel fitting. Hopefully will start progressing better now.

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Insurance renewal has come through for the moderns and classics. Gone up a hell a lot. Looking at over £1.1k for all seven now. Then the road tax costs on top too. 

 

So I've been considering reducing the fleet a lot again. The problem is what...

Almost tempted to sell it all and get one really nice car. Lotus Evora or something like that. Wil

l be cheaper even with a small car loan.