The new news 24 thread

[Fat_Pirate]

In 1997 I kept a diary (rare for me), it logs all the trauma I had with this X1/9 I bought for £1500 - replacing the brake master cylinder (twice) being the worst job.  Had I not bought this, and spent the money instead on Apple shares (~$0.13 at the time), I'd have roughly $3m now and no PTSD.

[Barry Cade]

2 hours ago, Fat_Pirate said:

In 1997 I kept a diary (rare for me), it logs all the trauma I had with this X1/9 I bought for £1500 - replacing the brake master cylinder (twice) being the worst job.  Had I not bought this, and spent the money instead on Apple shares (~$0.13 at the time), I'd have roughly $3m now and no PTSD.

You are one of life's winners and that decision has made you the man  you are. You are posting on here instead of being on your yacht in Monaco. If id invested the money ive spent on X1/9s over the years Jeff Bezos would havee been working for me...I take it you removed the entire steering column to replace the cylinder ( 4 or 5 bolts) ? Its a piece of piss !

[Marina door handles]

On 28/04/2024 at 22:51, Marina door handles said:

Well this evening didn't really go to plan...... I will just take the Honda for a test drive after replacing the front brake pads........

About 2 miles from home the Accord suffered some kind of electrical failure (the brakes were fine!).  Initially I was going to fit a spare battery but each time I tried to connect it sparked! And yes the terminals were the right way around, I think the alternator has developed an internal short.  I gave up on any idea of re electrifying the car and ended up getting my better half to tow me back home using my Forester.

Being towed was rather terrifying as my tow rope is rather shorter than I realised (possibly shorter than a cars length)  and unassisted Honda Brakes are heavy and useless .....  It felt like I was just about to rear end my spare/winter/tip run car with my main car for the entire journey!  😬

Hats off to Mrs Marina Door Handles for remaining cool calm and collected and putting up with my panicky riding of the brakes! 

The timing of this is actually not too bad as I am starting a new job tomorrow and breaking down on the way there would have been really unfortunate, its always best to break down in your own time! 

 

Slight update to the saga, I disconnected the alternator and fitted the battery off the Rover. The car burst back into life - so the culprit is definitely the alternator - a new one is on its way, just hasn't arrived yet.....

Which is an issue as my car luck hasn't got any better..... The Subaru is not behaving itself, the power steering pump (which is a second hand unit I picked up because the original was borked) started to only provide PAS intermittently - not ideal but I could live with it...  Well on the way to work this morning I realised that I had made a wrong turn and pulled to halt at this point my faithful Steed cut out....  oh.... Turns out the PAS pump had seized... Panic!

I ended up hacking the fan belt off with my pen knife, like some kind of Automotive Ray Mears! I then limped the car to work. 

Nobody seems to sell the emergency fan belts any more so that wasn't an option, you cannot fit a short normal belt as the pas belt only runs the alternator, which is fixed. None of the girls or guys were willing to lend me a pair of tights so that was option 2 out of the window. One of the lads charged up a couple of old batterys for me which was kind! 

On the way home, I fitted the one of the 2 batterys that actual fitted - just abouts. Tried to start the car.....Nah. Ref fitted the original battery and it fired. Oh well, here goes nothing... I then attempted to nurse the car the 20 or so miles back home, no lights (good job it was daylight hours!), no radio, no heater blower. Survived Stoke traffic and made it back home. Which is great but it means I have got 5 none working cars, brilliant! Thankfully my better half is lending me her car for tomorrow.

[stuboy]

12 hours ago, MorrisItalSLX said:

*insert punchline here*

i really couldnt joke

[richardmorris]

I remember watching it in between Sunday dinner with my parents. Awful suspense.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/may/01/ayrton-senna-30-years-f1-uncompromising-complex-genius

[richardmorris]

1991 Alfa with £55,000 of bills.

 

[Ghosty]

WagonR is fixed, the gearbox solenoids were seized. Replacements were sent to us from Sri Lanka, second hand… 

Buyer fell through so it’s for sale, £4k. 

[High Jetter]

7 hours ago, Ghosty said:

Buyer fell through so it’s for sale, £4k. 

A black day for you?

[HMC]

12 hours ago, richardmorris said:

1991 Alfa with £55,000 of bills.

 

An Alfa 164 as well. I suppose if done by a specialist garage, full mechanical overhaul +/- engine rebuild, + x hours of bodywork, glass out respray with a solid hourly rate it could easily top that. But presumably that worlds best 164 would still be less than £8k? Thats a very committed alfa 164 owner.

 

[richardmorris]

Lets see whats behind door number 1...

[EyesWeldedShut]

4 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

Lets see whats behind door number 1...

 

https://www.torqtalk.com/home/peking-to-paris-early-ford-hot-rods-rule-the-route

Dat looks like something different

[UltraWomble]

Plans to "buy" this from work are advancing rapidly.....

[Supernaut]

1 hour ago, UltraWomble said:

Plans to "buy" this from work are advancing rapidly.....

An Astravan!

Prepare to break the speed of light on the first motorway run.

[richardmorris]

3 hours ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

https://www.torqtalk.com/home/peking-to-paris-early-ford-hot-rods-rule-the-route

Dat looks like something different

Ah! There was a 37 cadillac around too - at least the plate says 37caddy.

[UltraWomble]

1 hour ago, Supernaut said:

An Astravan!

Prepare to break the speed of light on the first motorway run.

More like gentle flappage will be achieved....

This is the price we are working on - sills are all in good order....

[Lankytim]

I removed some obsolete wiring from my 2cv today. There was some sort of cold start gizmo which wasn’t connected to anything and the radio which was totally dead. The wiring was a real mess and the interior looks much better for not having it cluttering everything up. Behind the radio were some long lost titbits, I wonder what’s on that tape? 
 

The interior looks much better now and there’s no wiring to get trapped in doors/seats/ under the wheels etc. 

[wuvvum]

As it was a nice day today I decided to go to work topless.

It's pretty civilised with the top down, even at 70 - the wind deflector probably helps there.  The sticky steering was pretty bad on the way home though - so I hate to think what it's going to be like when (if) it gets properly warm.  I'm going to have to sort that before too much longer I think.  I've found a split in one of the little pipes that comes off the main inlet pipe, so I'm going to replace that and see if it sorts the running issues.  The battery drain problem doesn't seem to be so bad since I've started using the car regularly, so that's a bonus.

[wuvvum]

FFS, the cheapest I can find an inlet pipe for is 42 fugging quid.  For a short bent piece of black plastic.  Bloody German motors.

[Asimo]

Hot-melt glue and string?

[wuvvum]

It's a rubber concertina pipe which has perished and split, I'm not sure it's really repairable.  I might try seeing  if I can snip out the middle bit and find a rigid pipe of the right diameter to fit in the gap.

[SiC]

2 hours ago, wuvvum said:

It's a rubber concertina pipe which has perished and split, I'm not sure it's really repairable.  I might try seeing  if I can snip out the middle bit and find a rigid pipe of the right diameter to fit in the gap.

Are you looking at the right one? There are two types. One with a noise generator output and one without. The 3.0 should have the noise generator hose. That when I looked is the cheaper hose.

Check part numbers but I believe it's this one:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/184878385385

That's genuine from a BMW dealer. Might even be a similar price direct from a local dealer too. 

[JJ0063]

Picked up a fellow shiter from the station earlier who had come to collect the Ibiza, then straight over to a local van hire place to collect a Luton as mother JJ is moving house this weekend and I’m the designated pair of hands it seems. 
 

 

On the way home I stopped and picked these up, no real need but for £50 I couldn’t really say no! Set of BMW winter wheels with matching winter runflat tyres and a 5th brand new winter tyre on a new rim. Bargain for £50 and 20 mins from my house. I’m sure I’ll never need them but for that price I was always going to buy them. 

[Hawkeyethenoo]

Been getting the 2000 986 up to scratch. Getting there.... Rear struts replaced to match the front, garage serviced and MOT'd, I have also replaced drivers window regulator, ballache, and snapped in new set of frunk struts, it flies up and stays there now. New battery seems to have got the central locking working once more, faulty N/S door lock was also replaced, just need to see if I can get it working from the fob. I need to open the car with the key and then get the ignition on before the second horn beep, or all hell breaks loose as the aftermarket alarm is mega loud enough to make my ears wobble.

Might yet stick on a set of these. https://tirestreets.co.uk/products/accelera-651-sport-xtra?_pos=2&_sid=750946ebe&_ss=r

Or https://www.camskill.co.uk/m54b0s3991p135346

 

[wuvvum]

3 hours ago, SiC said:

Are you looking at the right one? There are two types. One with a noise generator output and one without. The 3.0 should have the noise generator hose. That when I looked is the cheaper hose.

Check part numbers but I believe it's this one:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/184878385385

That's genuine from a BMW dealer. Might even be a similar price direct from a local dealer too. 

Mine is a 2.5 and doesn't have the noise generator - I think the 2.5 and the 2.2 use the same hose.

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, JJ0063 said:

straight over to a local van hire place to collect a Luton as mother JJ is moving house this weekend and I’m the designated pair of hands it seems. 

Please tell me she's paying for the van, at least?

[SiC]

Mine is a 2.5 and doesn't have the noise generator - I think the 2.5 and the 2.2 use the same hose.

Ah I always thought you had the 3.0. My 2.2 had someone retrofit the noise generator. Tbh it's pretty loud at full bore. Enough to make your ears hurt. Tempted to remove it and put a standard intake hose in like you need.

[Supernaut]

Just now, SiC said:

7 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

Mine is a 2.5 and doesn't have the noise generator - I think the 2.5 and the 2.2 use the same hose.

Ah I always thought you had the 3.0. My 2.2 had someone retrofit the noise generator. Tbh it's pretty loud at full bore. Enough to make your ears hurt. Tempted to remove it and put a standard intake hose in like you need.

I wonder if one of these noise generators would fit an M52 generation straight six...

[SiC]

Just now, Supernaut said:

I wonder if one of these noise generators would fit an M52 generation straight six...

Dunno but it clips over the side of the engine.

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=BT51-EUR-04_2002_E85_BMW_Z4_30i&diagId=13_0999#13747514863

 

[JJ0063]

3 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Please tell me she's paying for the van, at least?

Oh of course, I’m just the driver and labourer!

[High Jetter]

4 minutes ago, JJ0063 said:

Oh of course, I’m just the driver and labourer!

Obviously! Sorry though, I was confusing you with JakeBullet when I posted that.