The new news 24 thread

[artdjones]

On 09/06/2024 at 21:30, richardmorris said:

I’m planning on rotating the cars next weekend. So the x1/9 comes out of the garage and the TIPO goes in ( well outside, as it doesn’t fit) . In preparation dad took the x1/9 to all Italia in Wrexham for a service as it’s three years now. No problems noted. I had asked dad to enquire about servicing the new TIPO,  but they can’t do modern Italians as they won’t pay the money fiat want for the software, and Alfa want £5000 a year just to have access to the parts portal.

 

It's called total laziness/ignorance. Multiecuscan can do 21 on Tipos, as well as older models. The software is €50 for a one computer setup, and the cables are dirt cheap, as well as the SGW bypass. Or the software can be bought for €342 including a pro quality interface, again with a cheap SGW bypass needed on newer vehicles (17/18 on.)

[EyesWeldedShut]

LazyBoy here finally got around to doing the stretchy belts on the 2013 Boxer (only 27,000 miles on it) using the Trade Secrets from the team at Motor Trade Moments

The belts I took off looked mega-mint but that's no surprise as they're hidden by an undertray plus a fancy belt guard/shield that is held on by 4 x 8mm nuts (see that threaded bracket front and centre?).  Two of the nuts are only accessible by people with tiny hands and triple jointed wrists - total faff. I was tempted not to replace the guard but then thought why not? Fuck up the next owner's day off.

[High Jetter]

5 hours ago, Honey Badger said:

Nice shiny new 12 month MOT for the Legend today, only a couple of minors for rusty rear springs, not bad for a 16 year old motor.

 

Now who wants to buy it off me 😄

Nice one. Where & how much? Got a sale fred up?

[richardmorris]

1 hour ago, artdjones said:

It's called total laziness/ignorance. Multiecuscan can do 21 on Tipos, as well as older models. The software is €50 for a one computer setup, and the cables are dirt cheap, as well as the SGW bypass. Or the software can be bought for €342 including a pro quality interface, again with a cheap SGW bypass needed on newer vehicles (17/18 on.)

I’m just passing on what my dad told me that they told him. Could just be an excuse not to work on modern cars which is perfectly fine. 
http://allitalia.co.uk

 

We have invested thousands in necessary equipment to diagnose problems with the modern classic

Alfa Romeo, Lancia and Fiat are our main focus, but we have regular visits from other makes .. All Italian of course. Ferrari, Maserati and even Autobianchi.

[wuvvum]

Innocenti went in for its MOT yesterday, albeit a bit late as I came out to it and found that it had a flat tyre on the front and I couldn't remember what I'd done with the spare (eventually found it in the boot of the Volvo).  The good news is that the car hasn't deteriorated since the last MOT failure a year ago, so I've ordered a tyre which is being fitted on Friday, then over the weekend I'm going to sort the non-working dashboard warning lights then book it in for the welding and a retest.

So hopefully that'll be another one back on the road this "summer".

[AnthonyG]

The blue Cortina from the Sellindge show, I would need to drag out and power up an old phone to check but I’m 99% sure I rented it for a day from a classic hire firm nr Folkestone. The reg rings a bell, and there can’t be that many 1965 1500 Super automatics in Ambassador blue and original spec around! 

Was a lovely old thing, nice to see it’s still about and in caring hands. 

[dozeydustman]

Spent the last few days finishing the parquet. 

 

40 through to 240 grit papers, one sander mullered and dust everywhere. High spots were treated with a flap wheel on the angle grinder.

I filled the larger gaps with slivers, the smaller ones with a mix of sanding dust and some old Danish I had in the shed, and the patchy appearance makes it look like it’s been down a while (Or some fat oaf with some second hand flooring has done a shonky first effort, you choose)

First coat of Danish has just gone on and the excess wiped off. I’ll put another on around 3pm. I’ll put a final coat on tomorrow morning before starting other jobs.

One thing I wish I had done is set up my table saw to mill all pieces uniform in length and width, it would have prevented a lot of the larger gaps enabling me float a liquid filler before more sanding back and finishing. Live and learn.

With the spare stuff sold I now have my garage back, so tomorrow will be spent sorting tools between garage and shed, and over the weekend I can do the jobs on the cars which are outstanding.

 

[High Jetter]

Floor looks good

[IronStar]

More than a year ago, the floormats that I should’ve binned when I got the car finally fell apart in car wash, foam backing failing and them being vacummed in pieces. The guy in the carwash provided a “we have this in bin, but it’s better than fucking your freshly washed carpet” replacement. I said thanks, I’ll buy it tomorrow, and promptly forgot about it, just to get mildly annoyed every time I get in the car because it’s looking really shit, then promptly remember once again when I get out. 
Well, I finally remembered 😅

Out with the old (yes, Astra in Alfa 159, I know)

 

In with the new

Much better! It’s the small things, etc, etc.

Now maybe I’ll remember to book that driver’s seat bolster replacement! Next year? 😄

[lesapandre]

4 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

Sold at sothebys yesterday for £110,000 with recent invoices of £300,000!

Wow and it's nothing special really (relatively). 300k - they must have been mad.

[Tickman]

@dozeydustman that floor looks fantastic. 

[Marshall2810]

Helped Dad have a shift around and put the guzzi away. Got the old merc ready for some use. Looking nice with added wolfhound action

[Snake Charmer]

2 hours ago, richardmorris said:

Sold at sothebys yesterday for £110,000 with recent invoices of £300,000!

1956 Bentley S1 Saloon by James Young | Cliveden House | RM Sotheby's (rmsothebys.com)

They have ornate door handles with a square push button.

[Fat_Pirate]

There's some photos of some extremely fancy cars in this thread - I'm going to bring it back to the gutter with news of the 206K-miles ex-@loserone roffle E220CDI .  I had to spaff almost 50% of the car's purchase price on replacement number plate LEDs (£17.99), what an outrage!  Fitting them was an almighty faff too - all the trim had to be removed from the inside of the bootlid, then the plastic external trim panel had to come off too, which meant removing the number plate where all the screws had rusted to buggery - took 90 mins.   It was then ready for an MOT, which it passed with a few advisories.

The garage also found the cause of the lack of performance - the gearbox ECU is not communicating with the rest of the car, so it's going into a failsafe mode where kickdown doesn't work and it very quickly shifts up into top.  He advised just using the tiptronic thing, which does work and I can't believe it didn't occur to me to try that, but I've been happy to drive it about on the torque and enjoy the 45-50MPG relaxed driving brings.  Googling the gearbox ECU location (under the passenger side dash, apparently), I watched a YouTube vid where a guy finds oil has wicked up the cable into the ECU plug - given the mileage, I reckon that's a distinct possibility here.

[lesapandre]

Does the number plate light have to be operated from inside the car for the MoT. Otherwise it would be possible to glue one of these on for £2.

These are also useful if rear lights or sidelights fail  - as a last resort 'get you home' - in the spares box.

https://www.poundland.co.uk/kodak-led-push-light-pack-of-2

[lesapandre]

2 hours ago, richardmorris said:

 

1930 Bentley 6½-Litre Le Mans Tourer in the style of Vanden Plas | Cliveden House | RM Sotheby's (rmsothebys.com)

Not much original there - but very nice notwithstanding.

"The car was examined in prior ownership by the noted Bentley specialist Tim Houlding, who noted his belief that the cross members and side rails of the chassis are reproduction parts, as is the rear axle casing and aluminium differential casing, steering column, rear shock absorbers, gearbox, and firewall. The engine crankcase is stamped “FR2634” but is likely a reproduction component, as well as the sump, valve chest, and its cover, while the intake manifold is an original Speed Six piece, as are the genuine and numbered SU HVG 5 carburettor, magneto, Delco-Remy distributor, and starter. The front axle is stamped “VA 4090”, believed to be from a later 4-Litre, while the stub axles appear to be genuine components"

[lesapandre]

5 hours ago, richardmorris said:

Aurelia with 1700hour restoration. 

Background to this Lancia. It's a 1-of design.

https://www.carrozzieri-italiani.com/listing/lancia-aurelia-b53-cabriolet-pininfarina/

[richardmorris]

52 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

Not much original there - but very nice notwithstanding.

"The car was examined in prior ownership by the noted Bentley specialist Tim Houlding, who noted his belief that the cross members and side rails of the chassis are reproduction parts, as is the rear axle casing and aluminium differential casing, steering column, rear shock absorbers, gearbox, and firewall. The engine crankcase is stamped “FR2634” but is likely a reproduction component, as well as the sump, valve chest, and its cover, while the intake manifold is an original Speed Six piece, as are the genuine and numbered SU HVG 5 carburettor, magneto, Delco-Remy distributor, and starter. The front axle is stamped “VA 4090”, believed to be from a later 4-Litre, while the stub axles appear to be genuine components"

I also wonder about the chassis if the cross beams and side members aren’t original- what else is there on a ladder-chassis? Plus engine and other parts it’s a bit of a bitsa. Wonder how many other cars are driving around with the same original bits?

wasn’t a big Bentley dealer jailed for passing off cars as original in recent memory?

[Snake Charmer]

4 hours ago, richardmorris said:

Prince Of Wales spec Volante by the look of it.

[Snake Charmer]

4 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

X-pack it says. Is that pow spec in another name?

https://rmsothebys.com/auctions/ch24/lots/r0059-1989-aston-martin-v8-vantage-volante-xpack/

 

My mistake, should have noticed the side skirt, arches didn't look so pronounced at first glance in the photo.

[Stanky]

Doing most of the work on my own cars, and friends too - as well as being on here - has clearly skewed my perceptions of reality, and particularly price of mechanical work.

A colleague asked me a good few weeks ago about where I take my cars for servicing, as his 2018 Infiniti Q30 was due a service. I said that I couldn't help because I did my own servicing, but that Nissan ought to be able to help him out and keep the main dealer stamps up for maximum resale value. I did also suggest that a 2nd option would be to use a website called https://bookmygarage.com/secret-service/ who I've heard others using too. I promptly forgot all about it.

Fast forward to today and another colleague was muttering about his MOT being due soon and this prompted me to ask colleague #1 if he'd managed to get the Infiniti serviced yet. He immediately began extolling the wonderful experience he had at Kwikfit who'd done the service for him, provided pics and allsorts for what they had done and it had only cost £900 (!). I politely enquired what they'd done and it turned out that it was oil & filters, front pads and discs, a front tyre and a pair of droplinks. If the pics were indeed of his car then the work was definitely needed. The droplink boots were both torn, the tyre had a nail in it, the discs were scored and pads were low, but I was still rather startled that having those bits done at a garage was quite as expensive as that.

He's not at all hands-on, and earns a decent wage so was happy to pay for it all but it certainly made me re-assess how valuable it has been to learn how to do these things myself. If it were my car, then the only thing I couldn't have done on that list would have been the tyre, and I'd have probably spent £200 in total on parts plus an afternoon of my time. Net saving of £700 though.

I'm not saying he was robbed, but it has certainly helped put into perspective how much I save by DIYMFS mechanic'ing. 

[Schaefft]

On 12/06/2024 at 14:50, Honey Badger said:

Nice shiny new 12 month MOT for the Legend today, only a couple of minors for rusty rear springs, not bad for a 16 year old motor.

 

Now who wants to buy it off me 😄

Always depends on the price!😄

[DeanH]

19 minutes ago, Stanky said:

Doing most of the work on my own cars, and friends too - as well as being on here - has clearly skewed my perceptions of reality, and particularly price of mechanical work.

A colleague asked me a good few weeks ago about where I take my cars for servicing, as his 2018 Infiniti Q30 was due a service. I said that I couldn't help because I did my own servicing, but that Nissan ought to be able to help him out and keep the main dealer stamps up for maximum resale value. I did also suggest that a 2nd option would be to use a website called https://bookmygarage.com/secret-service/ who I've heard others using too. I promptly forgot all about it.

Fast forward to today and another colleague was muttering about his MOT being due soon and this prompted me to ask colleague #1 if he'd managed to get the Infiniti serviced yet. He immediately began extolling the wonderful experience he had at Kwikfit who'd done the service for him, provided pics and allsorts for what they had done and it had only cost £900 (!). I politely enquired what they'd done and it turned out that it was oil & filters, front pads and discs, a front tyre and a pair of droplinks. If the pics were indeed of his car then the work was definitely needed. The droplink boots were both torn, the tyre had a nail in it, the discs were scored and pads were low, but I was still rather startled that having those bits done at a garage was quite as expensive as that.

He's not at all hands-on, and earns a decent wage so was happy to pay for it all but it certainly made me re-assess how valuable it has been to learn how to do these things myself. If it were my car, then the only thing I couldn't have done on that list would have been the tyre, and I'd have probably spent £200 in total on parts plus an afternoon of my time. Net saving of £700 though.

I'm not saying he was robbed, but it has certainly helped put into perspective how much I save by DIYMFS mechanic'ing. 

Agreed. The only downside being that I resent paying for things I'm not sure I have the tackle to do properly.

[Noel Tidybeard]

On 09/06/2024 at 21:07, stuboy said:

.... screw it.... grrrr...

 

 

according to the bloke at halfords/national tyre 2 weeks ago doing this renders the tyre pump fcuked as the goo runs through it!

[richardmorris]

20 minutes ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

according to the bloke at halfords/national tyre 2 weeks ago doing this renders the tyre pump fcuked as the goo runs through it!

Doubt that. Single use pump?

[stuboy]

39 minutes ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

according to the bloke at halfords/national tyre 2 weeks ago doing this renders the tyre pump fcuked as the goo runs through it!

ill have too check the pump

[Noel Tidybeard]

Just now, stuboy said:

ill have too check the pump

will be interesting to find out one way or the other

[artdjones]

5 hours ago, richardmorris said:

I also wonder about the chassis if the cross beams and side members aren’t original- what else is there on a ladder-chassis? Plus engine and other parts it’s a bit of a bitsa. Wonder how many other cars are driving around with the same original bits?

wasn’t a big Bentley dealer jailed for passing off cars as original in recent memory?

Loads of nice saloons and other less glamorous cars have been chopped about to make fake Le Mans style VDP tourers.

[Andyrew]

2 hours ago, richardmorris said:

Doubt that. Single use pump?

Is a thing sadly, maybe not that brand but we get them in. The hose all blocks up solid and cannot be replaced. 

Utterly pointless. 

 

 

[JJ0063]

Stopped by the tip today for a quick gander at the shop.

Picked this up for £5. No grass box but starts first pull, should sell for £30 I’d imagine. 
 

They also had a Specialized Hardrock Sport push bike for £5, the front suspension forks were rusty and seized solid, it was pretty tired looking but if I had room in the car I would have grabbed it. Pretty sure they used to be a decent brand worth a few quid back in the day! Not sure whether to nip back tomorrow and see if it’s still there.