The new news 24 thread

[Snake Charmer]

30 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

Saab 9000s are cracking tow cars.  I trailered a Maserati Biturbo back from Leeds with one, no problem at all.

Did the Biturbo get lighter over every bump and pothole? 🙂

[Snake Charmer]

11 minutes ago, SiC said:

The other problem is finding affordable trailers that have the right capacity. Like that Saab 9000 only has a towing capacity of 1800kg and finding a trailer with a max rated load of that isn't easy or cheap. Of course could run with a trailer with a rated load higher but then that isn't legal?

2100kg towing capacity for the S211? 

[stuboy]

1 hour ago, brownnova said:

Towing my tip trailer is fairly easy, especially with the XC90. I learnt a lot more about towing when I towed the Yugo back with a Saab 9000.

 

Surprisingly reversed it into my drive ok… which I actually find harder with the tip trailer! 

much hardness on the trailer

[stuboy]

6 hours ago, Metal Guru said:

I’ve been driving for 45 years ( yes I’m tired!) but have never driven any vehicle towing a trailer. Am I in a minority?

yes...lol

 

ive towed loads and still unable perfect reversing, 1/9 times i get it right

[MJK 24]

2 hours ago, brownnova said:

Towing my tip trailer is fairly easy, especially with the XC90. I learnt a lot more about towing when I towed the Yugo back with a Saab 9000.

 

Surprisingly reversed it into my drive ok… which I actually find harder with the tip trailer! 

The bigger the trailer, the easier they are to reverse.

Little tip trailers are about as hard it’s as it gets.  If you can reverse one of those around a corner accurately, you can reverse anything!

[High Jetter]

Trailers? When I were a lad we used ropes! Had a few scary moments though, both leading and following.

[loserone]

14 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Trailers? When I were a lad we used ropes! Had a few scary moments though, both leading and following.

You never lived until you have been in a range rover sport being towed by a 405 estate via a ratchet strap over the known-to-be-rotten towbar

[High Jetter]

1 minute ago, loserone said:

via a ratchet strap

Modern shite! 🤣

[Merryck]

When I was in my late teens we (my group of friends) were given an old Transit minibus by a friend's eccentric nan. It was big and red, and we decided we needed a van to lug around the equipment for our burgeoning DJ company we'd started. We ran it for a year or so, the whole thing was extremely dodgy.

Eventually it stopped running so we abandoned it on my mum's driveway. After a few months the MOT ran out, it wasn't taxed, it wasn't insured and it wasn't SORN'd. My mum wanted it gone, so a buyer was found. Charlie was going to tow it over to them, with Nick behind the wheel of the Transit. All still extremely dodgy.

So they get to Dover. Why they went through Dover I have no idea, there must be SO MANY cameras there. They're waiting in traffic, big red Transit lashed behind a Navara. The police pull up next to the Transit and motion to roll down the window. Nick starts to roll it down, and the officer begins the "What the fuck is that thing doing on the road" spiel, when the lights change and Charlie, not seeing any of this, drives off pulling the Transit with him leaving Nick to just shrug his shoulders at the officers with a look of helplessness on his face.

The police either couldn't, or didn't want to follow them to deal with it so left them to go on their merry way. Nick still can't believe his luck.

[cort16]

I've towed once and never again! I hired a trailer and went to pick up a Cortina I bought off yahoo actions in Fort William using my mates borrowed Frontera.

When I got to said cortina I found out the trailer didn't come with ratchet straps and the trailer hire place never mentioned this.  Luckily the guy I got the car off had some old ones he gave me. 

The trailer got a puncture on they way there. 

I completely confused myself with the trailer trying to get out the B&B car park and it took nearly 45 minutes and a near nervous break down before I could escape. 

The frontera blew it's head gasket on the way home.

These days thank god for shipley

 

[paulplom]

About 1990 I got towed by my dad from Pontefract to Blyth Nothumberland with a rope. Can't remember what his car was but it would have been shit. I was in a mk1 y reg mg metro that had a fucked gearbox and was given to him by his sister. It ran out of petrol after about an hour which made me lose the servo to the brakes. 10 mins after that the battery went flat meaning no indicators or more seriously the fucking horn.

Half an hour from home he put his foot down and we must have been doing 80 mph. I was standing on the brake trying to get him to slow down but it had fuck all effect. It was terrifying.  It still haunts me now as to what could've happened. 

He was always a wanker and I haven't seen him for 15 or more years. He'll be 72 or so now. I don't know if he's still alive. Fuck him.

[andy18s]

Said bye bye to the Ml this week,it having a few issues to sort  and the Mrs taking a dislike to it meant it's days were numbered. 

Despite having a few copper seals done on the injectors it had started stinking of diesel fumes again.

Hitting a pothole which cracked the windscreen and gave the steering a slight wobble at speed didn't help,and with all the yearly expenditure approaching,we got in touch with a specialist breaker.

They made a decent offer so off it went after spending time (and 5 lev) at the Kat office to deregister it.

 

[EyesWeldedShut]

On 29/11/2023 at 09:46, Stinkwheel said:

Crap, i can see that going very badly.

A few years back a mate who used to be an HGV driver towed my old CX safari behind his Saab 9000 and i tell you what that was nasty. Worst ive ever experienced. This, i expect would be much much worse.

Expect an accident damaged mini and audi for sale soon

750 kg tow weight on a Bini and I have just stuck new rear shocks on my wife’s R55 and looking at the arse end of the car, I would not fit a tow bar to one

[EyesWeldedShut]

Today’s Mini Adventure here….. did you know that if you tighten up the thermostat housing bolts on an R50 with a breaker bar you can:

1. Make round holes oval

2. Crack shit

3. Help blow the rad

Done some spannering and a smol Italian tune up would suggest that we have a result. EML is off  and no overheating. 👍

Just a small drip of coolant front right - hoping it’s me not clipping bottom hose on right -else it’s the new rad or the water pump 😠

[Bren]

23 hours ago, cort16 said:

I've towed once and never again! I hired a trailer and went to pick up a Cortina I bought off yahoo actions in Fort William using my mates borrowed Frontera.

When I got to said cortina I found out the trailer didn't come with ratchet straps and the trailer hire place never mentioned this.  Luckily the guy I got the car off had some old ones he gave me. 

The trailer got a puncture on they way there. 

I completely confused myself with the trailer trying to get out the B&B car park and it took nearly 45 minutes and a near nervous break down before I could escape. 

The frontera blew it's head gasket on the way home.

These days thank god for shipley

 

I got two thirds of the way through this and was surprised nothing had happened to the frontera.

[Bren]

Pontins to close two of it's sites including the one in Prestatyn.

[Metal Guru]

13 minutes ago, Bren said:

Pontins to close two of it's sites including the one in Prestatyn.

But they won’t use them for asylum seekers. Good enough for our holidays but not for desperate people from third world shit holes.

[Rust Collector]

26 minutes ago, Metal Guru said:

But they won’t use them for asylum seekers. Good enough for our holidays but not for desperate people from third world shit holes.

As if those poor folks haven't been through enough, just as they think that salvation has been reached they find out that they're going to Pontins.

[Rust Collector]

It is a worry that they're closing though; where are we meant to holiday now if we want to enjoy mouldy walls and shit stained beds?

I guess there's always Travelodge.

[Jazoli]

59 minutes ago, Bren said:

Pontins to close two of it's sites including the one in Prestatyn.

I worked at Pontins in Prestatyn in my early 20's, it was great, mainly because you'd get another load of sex starved nympho's arrive every Friday.

[Metal Guru]

38 minutes ago, Rust Collector said:

It is a worry that they're closing though; where are we meant to holiday now if we want to enjoy mouldy walls and shit stained beds?

I guess there's always Travelodge.

Never stayed at Pontins though have been to Butlins. ( I assume it’s much the same except they have blue coats instead of red). Stained sheets aren’t an issue there because the mattress is encased in a thick clear plastic casing. Hygienic maybe but it creaks with every move so you sleep really well*.

[beko1987]

Dropped child 1 and a friend off at some disco in Oxford earlier. Coming home, crawling around the fucking ring road (by cowley as it happens) I let a 23 transit tipper infront of me. I regretted it instantly as foul smelling white smoke pissed out of his exhaust. From behind it looked like a huge exhaust leak but was probably being blown back from the side exit. 

I pressed the recirc button for the first time in the Xsara  to try and filter it through the cabin filter at least and when I did there was a thonk from the heater box in the passenger footwell and suddenly a huge increase in air speed and from the drivers side which has always been a bit shit, the windscreen cleared from the pax side and slowly across... 😂 4 years I've grumbled about how fucking cold that car is and how it takes ages to heat up and all that time something might have been jammed... 

Will see how much nicer* defrosting it Tuesday morning is

[Dyslexic Viking]

I had the fun experience of trying to fix a diesel leak on a tractor in minus 14 degrees today and the damn tractor is still leaking. I've been fighting that leak for a while and can't get it to stop and it makes the tractor almost impossible to start. So have to try again on Monday.

And I have first degree/frostnip frostbitte on my toes.

Winter and old machines are fun, aren't they?

[JJ0063]

Local Saturday auction has just posted some lots for tomorrow, can’t work out what the very boxy tail light is from?!

[cort1977]

Early mk 2 granada maybe?

[JJ0063]

26 minutes ago, cort1977 said:

Early mk 2 granada maybe?

I thought that but they look to have smaller reverse lights/bigger indicators

[Asimo]

Fiat 130 coupé ?

[richardmorris]

10 minutes ago, Asimo said:

Fiat 130 coupé ?

 

[Ghosty]

Nobody will be surprised by this: 

1.5 VTEC, auto, 58k. Very nice drive, just needs one or two small bits. 

Paid 995, lucky Marketplace find. 

[Cord Fourteener]

Best advisory on an MOT ever