The new news 24 thread

[vulgalour]

The Rover 200 I did the welding on was collected today.  After refusing to start at all yesterday I got in and tried it on the off chance we could drive it on to the transporter.  Only went and fired up no bother, aside from one sticky brake from it being stood, it drove off the drive perfectly fine so it could be turned around and lined up with the transporter.  Left it idling, got the truck ready, and then the Rover just died.  No drama or anything, just stopped running.  Then completely refused to start so had to be winched aboard.  Fortunately the guy driving the transporter was okay about it and he'll drop it off back in Kent for its owner to decide what to do with it.

Working theory is an intermittent ECU issue and/or bad fuel.  It's been stood around for months while the owner works out what he wants to do about things, with barely any fuel in it, which is just about the worst thing you can do with a car like this because now it has problems it never had while it was in regular use.  Ah well, not my problem.  Happily I've got the sheltered bit of the driveway to use now so working on the Princess should be a bit easier.

[SiC]

2 hours ago, vulgalour said:

The Rover 200 I did the welding on was collected today.  After refusing to start at all yesterday I got in and tried it on the off chance we could drive it on to the transporter.  Only went and fired up no bother, aside from one sticky brake from it being stood, it drove off the drive perfectly fine so it could be turned around and lined up with the transporter.  Left it idling, got the truck ready, and then the Rover just died.  No drama or anything, just stopped running.  Then completely refused to start so had to be winched aboard.  Fortunately the guy driving the transporter was okay about it and he'll drop it off back in Kent for its owner to decide what to do with it.

Working theory is an intermittent ECU issue and/or bad fuel.  It's been stood around for months while the owner works out what he wants to do about things, with barely any fuel in it, which is just about the worst thing you can do with a car like this because now it has problems it never had while it was in regular use.  Ah well, not my problem.  Happily I've got the sheltered bit of the driveway to use now so working on the Princess should be a bit easier.

Fuel pump? Listen in the fuel filler or screwdriver+ear on the plastic sender assembly 

[High Jetter]

Spending a few days in Portsmouth. It seems our visit has attracted much excite, tv crews, many police - even His Maj is popping down to say hello!

[bramz7]

Long time no post.

 

I have been lurking on here for the last 12 months or so but haven't felt it's been appropriate to post until now, and even then I don't really know if it's a good idea. 

Long story short, my (ex, phew) wife hated me being on here, I had to endure a lot in our time together, and it most certainly had a negative impact on how I was with people, how I reacted to things...and I know full well I upset one or two people in that time, so I am very sorry for that. 

 

On the flip side, I am in the middle of a career change in the same industry I was in, live by myself with a needy cat, and have managed to amass a little fleet of Italian cars. 

I won this on eBay in April, and went to Evesham to collect it. Turns out the owner had had it since 2005, and had spent various sums in the 4 figure region yearly on it, for a long time. And it shows. 168k now and it drives like half of that. Alas, it is still a twenty year old 156 so there are some areas of rust which are beginning to bother me, not least a front suspension turret.... Have to see how the MOT goes for the verdict, but easily the best long distance car in the fleet. 

I have long fancied a Panda, and my excuse for bidding on this one was getting itchy about having 'just' a 156 knocking about, so I obviously needed a backup. Conveniently, this was very local (Midgham), and I managed to win it on eBay as well. Registered in December 2003, one of the very earliest Pandas left, with the official press cars having reg dates about 3 days beforehand. It drives like every small Fiat does, but with a better gearchange.  I guess the potential financial ruin Fiat faced at the time really focused their minds when developing it, because they are great cars. 

And lastly, this. I had been owed a car from a friend for a while, and said friend has a vast array of cars. It was meant to be the ex forum Laguna V6, which he still has, but actually I changed my mind and have ended up with this. Now, I guess I could argue it was free (well, no, because technically it was the swap for an XC70 which I had swapped a Rover 75 for)....

It's a proper blast to drive, I really love the 20v engine and you end up surprising everyone (well ok, people in crap moderns, not powerful ones) with the traction and good midrange. 

 

Really though, I should sell one. But I have spent most of my time trying to justify all of them. The Marea probably needs about a grand spending on it to get it up to scratch and in a safe position reliability wise, thankfully it's unbelievably solid (former long term London car), the Panda rear axle should really be replaced, but the sills are solid, and the 156 will definitely need welding, yet everything mechanical, aside from a bit of front suspension and thermostat (because 156) is spot on. Even the DMF was done in the relevant past. 

 

Part of me is tempted to stick them all up for sale and whichever one sells first, decides it. But wouldn't I then just rebound buy something?! 

[Stanky]

18 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Spending a few days in Portsmouth. It seems our visit has attracted much excite, tv crews, many police - even His Maj is popping down to say hello!

It's the exciting prospect of new genetic material for the local gene puddle!

[vulgalour]

23 minutes ago, SiC said:

Fuel pump? Listen in the fuel filler or screwdriver+ear on the plastic sender assembly 

We did think that but it's actually getting fuel all the way to the single point injector.  The injector itself appears to not always want to open.  This could be an injector issue, a fuel blockage, or an ECU issue... or all of the above... or none of the above.  Not my problem, it's now several hundred miles away where I can't be tricked into helping diagnose and fix it.

[stuboy]

I know you all love my videos... I couldn't go to a car meet and the classic car show on the Isle of sheppey, so my BiL went and sent me some pictures... 

 

 

 

 

[Floatylight]

Welcome back @bramz7 we've missed you, sorry to hear of your trials & tribulations but sounds like things are on the up.

[HMC]

36 minutes ago, bramz7 said:

Long time no post.

 

I have been lurking on here for the last 12 months or so but haven't felt it's been appropriate to post until now, and even then I don't really know if it's a good idea. 

Long story short, my (ex, phew) wife hated me being on here, I had to endure a lot in our time together, and it most certainly had a negative impact on how I was with people, how I reacted to things...and I know full well I upset one or two people in that time, so I am very sorry for that. 

 

On the flip side, I am in the middle of a career change in the same industry I was in, live by myself with a needy cat, and have managed to amass a little fleet of Italian cars. 

I won this on eBay in April, and went to Evesham to collect it. Turns out the owner had had it since 2005, and had spent various sums in the 4 figure region yearly on it, for a long time. And it shows. 168k now and it drives like half of that. Alas, it is still a twenty year old 156 so there are some areas of rust which are beginning to bother me, not least a front suspension turret.... Have to see how the MOT goes for the verdict, but easily the best long distance car in the fleet. 

I have long fancied a Panda, and my excuse for bidding on this one was getting itchy about having 'just' a 156 knocking about, so I obviously needed a backup. Conveniently, this was very local (Midgham), and I managed to win it on eBay as well. Registered in December 2003, one of the very earliest Pandas left, with the official press cars having reg dates about 3 days beforehand. It drives like every small Fiat does, but with a better gearchange.  I guess the potential financial ruin Fiat faced at the time really focused their minds when developing it, because they are great cars. 

And lastly, this. I had been owed a car from a friend for a while, and said friend has a vast array of cars. It was meant to be the ex forum Laguna V6, which he still has, but actually I changed my mind and have ended up with this. Now, I guess I could argue it was free (well, no, because technically it was the swap for an XC70 which I had swapped a Rover 75 for)....

It's a proper blast to drive, I really love the 20v engine and you end up surprising everyone (well ok, people in crap moderns, not powerful ones) with the traction and good midrange. 

 

Really though, I should sell one. But I have spent most of my time trying to justify all of them. The Marea probably needs about a grand spending on it to get it up to scratch and in a safe position reliability wise, thankfully it's unbelievably solid (former long term London car), the Panda rear axle should really be replaced, but the sills are solid, and the 156 will definitely need welding, yet everything mechanical, aside from a bit of front suspension and thermostat (because 156) is spot on. Even the DMF was done in the relevant past. 

 

Part of me is tempted to stick them all up for sale and whichever one sells first, decides it. But wouldn't I then just rebound buy something?! 

Shitemeister is back in the room! Great to read about the current fleet.

[High Jetter]

43 minutes ago, bramz7 said:

But wouldn't I then just rebound buy something?! 

Yes, the true AS way. That you're even considering this shows you're well on the way to recovery/getting over her.

[RoverFolkUs]

On 03/06/2024 at 12:37, grogee said:

Good skills - sweep up any electrons that leak out. 

What's the best way to dispose of them afterwards? Is there a separate container or do they just go in with the box of mixed angle grinder sparks?

[loserone]

Great to hear you back @bramz7, sorry to hear of woes but that fleet will guarantee you winner status in every way.  

 

[goosey]

Drove my Sons new car back tonight, have a Petrol station pic

[brownnova]

10 hours ago, bramz7 said:

Long time no post.

 

I have been lurking on here for the last 12 months or so but haven't felt it's been appropriate to post until now, and even then I don't really know if it's a good idea. 

Long story short, my (ex, phew) wife hated me being on here, I had to endure a lot in our time together, and it most certainly had a negative impact on how I was with people, how I reacted to things...and I know full well I upset one or two people in that time, so I am very sorry for that. 

 

On the flip side, I am in the middle of a career change in the same industry I was in, live by myself with a needy cat, and have managed to amass a little fleet of Italian cars. 

I won this on eBay in April, and went to Evesham to collect it. Turns out the owner had had it since 2005, and had spent various sums in the 4 figure region yearly on it, for a long time. And it shows. 168k now and it drives like half of that. Alas, it is still a twenty year old 156 so there are some areas of rust which are beginning to bother me, not least a front suspension turret.... Have to see how the MOT goes for the verdict, but easily the best long distance car in the fleet. 

I have long fancied a Panda, and my excuse for bidding on this one was getting itchy about having 'just' a 156 knocking about, so I obviously needed a backup. Conveniently, this was very local (Midgham), and I managed to win it on eBay as well. Registered in December 2003, one of the very earliest Pandas left, with the official press cars having reg dates about 3 days beforehand. It drives like every small Fiat does, but with a better gearchange.  I guess the potential financial ruin Fiat faced at the time really focused their minds when developing it, because they are great cars. 

And lastly, this. I had been owed a car from a friend for a while, and said friend has a vast array of cars. It was meant to be the ex forum Laguna V6, which he still has, but actually I changed my mind and have ended up with this. Now, I guess I could argue it was free (well, no, because technically it was the swap for an XC70 which I had swapped a Rover 75 for)....

It's a proper blast to drive, I really love the 20v engine and you end up surprising everyone (well ok, people in crap moderns, not powerful ones) with the traction and good midrange. 

 

Really though, I should sell one. But I have spent most of my time trying to justify all of them. The Marea probably needs about a grand spending on it to get it up to scratch and in a safe position reliability wise, thankfully it's unbelievably solid (former long term London car), the Panda rear axle should really be replaced, but the sills are solid, and the 156 will definitely need welding, yet everything mechanical, aside from a bit of front suspension and thermostat (because 156) is spot on. Even the DMF was done in the relevant past. 

 

Part of me is tempted to stick them all up for sale and whichever one sells first, decides it. But wouldn't I then just rebound buy something?! 

Great to see you back!! Your Shite shenanigans have definitely been missed!

Out of those three it’s a challenge to know which to part with! I’d love all three! 

[Ohdearme]

Verdict on the Espace is in - It continues to land me with an annual bill in the sweet spot of not quite ruinously expensive enough to bin it but not quite small enough to not be miffed at it.

£850 and a gallic shrug required but a full ticket, serviced, new pads all round and a tyre - so to be fair mainly consumables...

Now, do I sell it at £2k firm as totally fixed and buy the gold 'tavia for £700 Hmmm...or keep running it?

[MXShite]

15 hours ago, goosey said:

Drove my Sons new car back tonight, have a Petrol station pic

Lovely, I'm looking for one of those at the moment that's 1994 or older, unfortunately most seem to be either completely rotten or 3x the price they were a couple of years ago.

[Zelandeth]

Finally have a bloody V5 for the Renault.

Still narked at having had to pay for it having been lost in the post not once but twice...however do actually have it now at least.

[JJ0063]

Today’s purchase to do up and flog, clean up. Paint the wheels, paint the mesh removable side panels, replace a light, straighten the light panel, should see a decent profit 

[DVee8]

Local 1st  Wednesday of the month car club meet.

 

 

[wuvvum]

I actually got a couple of jobs done today on the fleet, somewhat unexpectedly.  The correct fuel filter for the Getz was delivered this morning, so I bunged that on during my lunch break - pretty straightforward really, got everything back together and the car started straight up once the filter had been primed, and it doesn't appear to be leaking so I'm going to call it done.  Refitted the scuttle panel and wiper mechanism and went for a drive and the kangarooing does seem to have improved, but then it's somewhat intermittent anyway so I'm going to have to use it for a bit longer before I can declare it fixed.

Then mid-afternoon the Renault 12 bonnet lock mechanism I'd ordered arrived - which was bloody impressive seeing as I ordered it Sunday night and it came from Turkey, some of the stuff I ordered from the UK at the same time hasn't arrived yet.  I removed the part I needed and fitted it to the mechanism from the Renault 6 - again a surprisingly easy job.

Refitted it to the car and it's all working fine.  With its locking bonnet, non-sticky brakes and correct valve clearances the car's in the best shape it's been in in years.  It does still need a fair bit of welding though...

[High Jetter]

On 04/06/2024 at 20:22, High Jetter said:

Spending a few days in Portsmouth. It seems our visit has attracted much excite, tv crews, many police - even His Maj is popping down to say hello!

It got worse today. All the action* is in Southsea, right, so our visit to the Historic Dockyard should be media/drama free. Nope. Got back from the Explosions museum at Gosport to find Kier Starmer on a jetty. Some very bored security hanging about for 2+ hours, many journos present. Have you seen any footage of him in a landing craft? No? That went well, then...

[goosey]

11 hours ago, MXShite said:

Lovely, I'm looking for one of those at the moment that's 1994 or older, unfortunately most seem to be either completely rotten or 3x the price they were a couple of years ago.

This is a 2000 TD5 with 150k on it, my Son paid £6000 for it, the chassis is in excellent condition and the bulkhead is good but needs a small repair on the O/S A pillar. It’s 2 owners from new both of which were Country estates. The rear canopy has now been removed and is for sale 

[richardmorris]

[Marshall2810]

Not abandoned as on a driveway but may aswell be. Found this 94 cav last month near me and couldn't stop. Managed to have a closer look today and found it's a GSI. No one answered the door so posted my details...who knows.  Been off road since 2014 and you can tell

[wuvvum]

Due to a combination of unforeseen circumstances, I now need to do a 420-mile round trip in the Maxus on Saturday.  Which should be fun*.

[Split_Pin]

41 minutes ago, Marshall2810 said:

Not abandoned as on a driveway but may aswell be. Found this 94 cav last month near me and couldn't stop. Managed to have a closer look today and found it's a GSI. No one answered the door so posted my details...who knows.  Been off road since 2014 and you can tell

No GSis were hatches plus they had a deeper and completely different front bumper. Red insert in the bumper suggests an SRi.

[Marshall2810]

7 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

No GSis were hatches plus they had a deeper and completely different front bumper. Red insert in the bumper suggests an SRi.

I stand corrected, parkers says SRi cat. GSI wheels by looks of it i think?

[Split_Pin]

2 minutes ago, Marshall2810 said:

I stand corrected, parkers says SRi cat. GSI wheels by looks of it i think... 👍

Yes GSi Slabs, had them on my old TD.

Looks to be a 2.0 SRi model, hopefully it's a pre Ecotec 8v!

[Snake Charmer]

Letter from Nationwide building society thanking us for our overpayment this month, apt new monyhly amount for June 6th being D-Day.........

[Oi_Oi_Savaloy]

I'd like to put my hat in the ring for the trailer when you're ready to sell it please.