The new news 24 thread

[trigger]

The same mate has been buying a lot of cars lately, I bought my Mondeo of him which he also bought in the auctions, one of his recent purchases was this 400000 mile TX1 taxi called Purple Haze, it had a petrol engine fitted and a LPG conversion a few years back as part of a  government scheme, it was my first time driving a taxi, it's a right giggle but I can't imagine doing that kind of mileage in one! 

It was last used for the Queen's Jubilee on Pall Mall so he's currently getting it so he can use it for taking his boy to school in!

Another one he's bought is this beautiful 1980 Volvo 345 DL with only 39000 miles, it's been of the road since 1993 so it's a bit of a project, I quite like it though, the colours nice too.

[wuvvum]

Looks like he's been cleaning out the King's Lynn auction!

[Cookiesouwest]

9 hours ago, trigger said:

My mate talked me into doing a YouTube video with him yesterday on a 2CV he's bought in auction, I've watched it tonight before it goes and could stop cringing! I'm just giggling and chatting shit all though it 🙈

It's my first proper experience with a 2CV, and shall we just say, they are an interesting car, especially this one which belonged to some well known Italian Motorsport artist and been held together with ducktape.

Which YT channel?

[Lankytim]

12 hours ago, trigger said:

The same mate has been buying a lot of cars lately, I bought my Mondeo of him which he also bought in the auctions, one of his recent purchases was this 400000 mile TX1 taxi called Purple Haze, it had a petrol engine fitted and a LPG conversion a few years back as part of a  government scheme, it was my first time driving a taxi, it's a right giggle but I can't imagine doing that kind of mileage in one! 

It was last used for the Queen's Jubilee on Pall Mall so he's currently getting it so he can use it for taking his boy to school in!

Another one he's bought is this beautiful 1980 Volvo 345 DL with only 39000 miles, it's been of the road since 1993 so it's a bit of a project, I quite like it though, the colours nice too.

Those early nose 340s were believed to be extinct in the U.K. at one time (or so I was told) what a nice find!

In other news, returning from that London to Stoke on Trent. Heard a bang from under the Laguna on the M40 just as we crossed the M25. Sudden loss of power but the Laguna still ran and drove so I pressed on- I didn’t want to stop on the HS and didn’t want to turn the engine off in case it didn’t start again. Clouds of clag on uphill sections and overtaking had to be planned in advance, all compounded by middle lane hogging morons- don’t they know I’m nursing my shite home?? Luckily I could give them the “red arrows” treatment when I finally got round them. We’ve stopped in Warwick services and as suspected, it’s a burst boost pipe, the top one too which should make repair easy. I’ve got some pipes at home which may fit but for now, the users of the M40/M5/M6 might have to use their headlights. 

[gm]

i’ve put the SLK on sorn and swapped the insurance onto the green mazda, so thought i’d give them a quick wash

and while i had the bucket and spong handy, the black mx5 got a scrub too

what a handsome fleet  

(in case anyone hadn’t spotted it, the slk is up for roffle - tickets are selling fast* get ‘em while you can !)

 

 

 

[TheOtherStu]

On 8/29/2023 at 2:37 PM, mercedade said:

I'm a student* again.

Figured I've spent so long being annoyed at my lack of mastery of the dark arts (AKA welding), and the ever-decreasing supply of back street garages that do it, that I'd sign up to the local Adult Education college for their Intro to Welding (MIG and TIG) course.

So I officially enrolled this morning and - best of all - despite having budgeted a couple of hundred quid for it, they found the magic box on the form that brought the cost down to £zero. Not quite sure how, but I'll take that as a win.

10 weeks of Monday nights, get my head around the basics of sparkly sticks and decide if it's something I've got a handle on or not.

I've had years of looking at welding forums, 'try this, get stuck in' kind of advice, but needed something to force me to get started as I've never actually bothered. My only experience of welding was literally 25 years ago when I tacked a sill on my old Chevette under the supervision of the patient garage I was doing Saturdays and holiday work in. Quite looking forward to it.

Out of interest, where is this and how much was the full amount?

I'm Southampton way and all the courses are 8-9 weeks and in the region of £250-450 pounds. The latter, sadly, is the closest.

[trigger]

6 hours ago, Cookiesouwest said:

Which YT channel?

I come across as a giggling fuckwit but I was proper nervous and awkward about it all.

 

[egg]

i10 headlight bulb gone, I think partial bumper removal required to replace! Not had to do one before.

[wuvvum]

The replacement driveshaft for the Renault 4 has been delivered.  It bears little more than a passing resemblance to the original.  Apart from anything else the inner CV joint is a much smaller diameter.  Hmm....

[somewhatfoolish]

Length and the ends are the decider; are the splines the same?

[Lankytim]

Finally got home. Apologies to everyone on the motorway network and a big FU to all the middle lane dawdlers, especially the ones who after I overtook discovered their cars can go over 60mph. The boost pipe was well and truly knackered but a dig around the garage provided some ally tubing and aftermarket silicone boost pipe taken from a V70 I scrapped years ago. These boost pipes are like many automotive pipes in that they’re carefully shaped to fit around everything.  After a lot of trial and error I managed to knock up something to fit and boost is now restored. I might need to finesse the fitting as there’s a couple of places where the pipes are rubbing against something but overall i’m pretty pleased with it. I’m even more impressed that I finally found a use for something I’ve kept in the garage for years, “just in case”!

[RoverFolkUs]

I wish I could understand the VW T5/T6 transporter/caravelle scene 🤣🤣

Was out test driving a customer's T5 caravelle this afternoon, and coming from the opposite direction was a very colourful T6 California (I think) who gave me a very enthusiastic flash and wave.. I smiled and waved back, albeit far less enthusiastically, to be polite, but seriously?!

Unbelievable 🤣 - it was a bog standard T5 Caravelle, regular traffic to me. 

[stuboy]

2 hours ago, Lankytim said:

Finally got home. Apologies to everyone on the motorway network and a big FU to all the middle lane dawdlers, especially the ones who after I overtook discovered their cars can go over 60mph. The boost pipe was well and truly knackered but a dig around the garage provided some ally tubing and aftermarket poly boost pipe taken from a V70 I scrapped years ago. These boost pipes are like many automotive pipes in that they’re carefully shaped to fit around everything.  After a lot of trial and error I managed to knock up something to fit and boost is now restored. I might need to finesse the fitting as there’s a couple of places where the pipes are rubbing against something but overall i’m pretty pleased with it. I’m even more impressed that I finally found a use for something I’ve kept in the garage for years, “just in case”!

harder pipe... stronger booost

[mercedade]

6 hours ago, TheOtherStu said:

Out of interest, where is this and how much was the full amount?

I'm Southampton way and all the courses are 8-9 weeks and in the region of £250-450 pounds. The latter, sadly, is the closest.

No worries, it's the Riverside College in Widnes, and the full cost was £199 for a 10 weeks x 2 hours evening course. 

They were cheaper than any other course I found that was running on a night I could do it, but I very much got the impression that paying customers were a rarity. They worked really hard to find a way to fund it for me, despite me having my debit card out and ready to pay, and somehow they found a loophole for me. 

[TheOtherStu]

3 minutes ago, mercedade said:

No worries, it's the Riverside College in Widnes, and the full cost was £199 for a 10 weeks x 2 hours evening course. 

They were cheaper than any other course I found that was running on a night I could do it, but I very much got the impression that paying customers were a rarity. They worked really hard to find a way to fund it for me, despite me having my debit card out and ready to pay, and somehow they found a loophole for me. 

Bargain!
But I'd have to move back up north and well, sadly, I rather enjoy the lack of rain down here (although it's rained a lot lately)

[High Jetter]

3 hours ago, RoverFolkUs said:

I wish I could understand the VW T5/T6 transporter/caravelle scene 🤣🤣

Was out test driving a customer's T5 caravelle this afternoon, and coming from the opposite direction was a very colourful T6 California (I think) who gave me a very enthusiastic flash and wave.. I smiled and waved back, albeit far less enthusiastically, to be polite, but seriously?!

Unbelievable 🤣 - it was a bog standard T5 Caravelle, regular traffic to me. 

Might be a dub thang. Though I do get waves at times from other idiots sensible people in smoll vans.

[wuvvum]

6 hours ago, somewhatfoolish said:

Length and the ends are the decider; are the splines the same?

Dunno yet, I'm going to have a go at fitting it on Sunday (weather permitting) so we will see.  As an added bonus*, whilst poking around under there I found a bulge in the inside sidewall of the otherwise excellent Uniroyal tyre.

[New POD]

7 hours ago, mercedade said:

Riverside College in Widnes

Interesting. 

[Stinkwheel]

Todays news from the home front,

collected a load of cheap visa parts, I’d won the wings and doors on eBay and when I turned up the guy said I’ve got more, extra 50 quid and it’s yours, so I said yes naturally. I don’t need all of it but I think it would have been rude to decline 

[Stinkwheel]

21 hours ago, trigger said:

I come across as a giggling fuckwit but I was proper nervous and awkward about it all.

 

It’s all good fun though, giggling or not.

I do find it strange how all the same lines come out when people new to 2CV’s get one, eggs etc etc 

now just use it as an car, it will be fun and really helps adjust your driving style when you have very little power but surprisingly good grip 

[egg]

i10 headlight bulb change...

7 easy screws, through snapped a little bit of plastic off the air intake. A coolant pipe also has to be unclipped from it's mounting.

Hopefully Amazon will deliver the bulb later.

[Stinkwheel]

Just now, egg said:

Hopefully Amazon will deliver the bulb later.

I do admire your optimism of taking it apart before having a replacement bulb 

[egg]

7 minutes ago, Stinkwheel said:

I do admire your optimism of taking it apart before having a replacement bulb 

As you posted....they arrived! Jus the cheap Bosch h4's like these. Will finish in a bit....hopefully!

 

[Shirley Knott]

20 hours ago, egg said:

i10 headlight bulb gone, I think partial bumper removal required to replace! Not had to do one before.

Nope- Just a but if trim around the slam panel and then remove the headlight.

Not a big job at all.

EDIT- If I'd bothered to read further down the thread I'd have spotted you'd already done it. Doh!

[egg]

12 minutes ago, Shirley Knott said:

EDIT- If I'd bothered to read further down the thread I'd have spotted you'd already done it. Doh!

yep, all back together, saw a Yootoob vid that explained. Should have changed the other bulbs while in there, I expect I'll be cursing that on a cold November day just b4 the MOT.

🚙💨

[Dyslexic Viking]

I have well water at home and have struggled with stains on the cars after washing. After some research, I am sure that the stains are lime stains. So today I have added/put together 2 water filters in a frame where filter 1 is a normal cotton filter while filter 2 is a filter for lime. I tested this when I washed the Hyundai today and it seems promising. The real test will come with washing the Mercedes as it is black.

[vulgalour]

Made and fitted my very first brake line today.  Amazingly, I even remembered to not only put the unions on before doing the flares, I also put them on the right way around.  Fitting the new brake cylinder was a bit of a war due to the spring washer thingy (there's probably a tool for this that I don't have) and I could finally adjust the shoes properly to get the drum on and off.

To celebrate, even though the in-tank pump is definitely running, no fuel is getting to the front of the car.  This is a problem that has developed all on its own in the last fortnight or so because that's when I last had the car running with absolutely no issues.  I'm really hoping it's not a blocked pick up in the tank because getting the tank to seal when you remove the pump and sender is just about impossible, and Princess tanks are predictably unobtanium.  They're also triangular so it's not even like you can easily use a generic one either.  OH WELL.  Tomorrow I bleed the brakes and I'll have a furtle to see if I can encourage some fuel up to the front of the car so it can be turned around to do the other rear drum.

New welding gas is ordered so when that arrives I can crack on with the arch and sill repairs on the Princess and the door corners on the Maestro.  MoTs (even though the Princess doesn't need one, I'd like it for peace of mind) and insurance swap and shuffling about so the Maestro can find a new home and the Princess can be back on daily duties full time again.

At some point during all of this I also need to find the time to make a more serious effort selling the Lanchester than I currently have.  There's only so many hours in a day, that's the only problem.

[D.E]

Lots of glorious cars at the Palace Soestdijk Concours!

A 1991 Vectra 1.6 allowed to partake in a fancy concours d'elegance. What a time to be alive!

Birotor.

[vulgalour]

Any ideas what the brown, possible gullwinged, car is in the penultimate photo?

[D.E]

1 minute ago, vulgalour said:

Any ideas what the brown, possible gullwinged, car is in the penultimate photo?

Yes.