The new news 24 thread

[cort1977]

Spotted this honey yesterday.

My joy was short-lived however, because today I left my bag on a French train...

[Yoss]

17 hours ago, EspenO said:

BMW’s got a plant in Debrecen, but the electric Countryman is made in Leipzig, according to Google.

The train was in a strange place to have come from Debrecen. At least that was my initial thought but then it struck me, maybe it was going to Romania. My first though was it was heading to Western Europe but there's no reason it might not be heading further east or south.

[eddyramrod]

Have you missed me?  

I'm back.  I had to buy a new laptop in the end.

FFS.

[stuboy]

Evri delivered my latest aliexpress.com purchase

[richardmorris]

https://jalopnik.com/here-s-how-the-citroen-2cv-might-have-defined-the-tour-1851580555
 

[artdjones]

5 hours ago, 320touring said:

Felt this was worthy of a post here!

I saw it in February, but it was cloudier that day in Belem.

[artdjones]

I spent the afternoon fitting 2 Bilstein shocks to the front of the Megane to get rid of the knocking. It seemed the best thing to do as it's been doing it since the double pothole episode.  Also there was a 23% imbalance on the front on the NCT test.

[High Jetter]

3 hours ago, eddyramrod said:

Have you missed me?  

I'm back.  I had to buy a new laptop in the end.

FFS.

Yes. Where did you go for it? 😀

[eddyramrod]

3 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Yes. Where did you go for it? 😀

The dreaded Currys.  I know, I know... I hate myself for being so weak.

[High Jetter]

14 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

The dreaded Currys.  I know, I know... I hate myself for being so weak.

Markeh might have assisted, less painfully. 

[RoverFolkUs]

3 hours ago, artdjones said:

I spent the afternoon fitting 2 Bilstein shocks to the front of the Megane to get rid of the knocking. It seemed the best thing to do as it's been doing it since the double pothole episode.  Also there was a 23% imbalance on the front on the NCT test.

I think one thing that would be good to add to the MOT over here is shock absorber imbalance, I've driven so many cars that handle like shit but in cases where the offending shock absorber has previously been cleaned off by someone, it will never get to the point of failing an MOT.

Whilst tester opinions do vary, the current fail criteria is generally only if the entire shock casing is soaked in oil, or for negligible dampening effect where bouncing is clearly evident. For the in-between where it's clearly got a faulty shock absorber but there's not enough evidence of a serious fluid leak or negligible dampening effect then it's a pass and advise for the life of the car when it does actually has snatchy handling. 

[artdjones]

7 hours ago, RoverFolkUs said:

I think one thing that would be good to add to the MOT over here is shock absorber imbalance, I've driven so many cars that handle like shit but in cases where the offending shock absorber has previously been cleaned off by someone, it will never get to the point of failing an MOT.

Whilst tester opinions do vary, the current fail criteria is generally only if the entire shock casing is soaked in oil, or for negligible dampening effect where bouncing is clearly evident. For the in-between where it's clearly got a faulty shock absorber but there's not enough evidence of a serious fluid leak or negligible dampening effect then it's a pass and advise for the life of the car when it does actually has snatchy handling. 

The fail point for imbalance in Ireland is 35%. As I only put the old shocks on in June last year (grr) a 23% imbalance is obviously down to the pothole incident. But the car has never felt right since. So, two new Bilsteins (grr) and 4 hours gone. At least Autodoc did them for a reasonable price(€50 each).

Whether the UK will follow along is probably dependent on whether MoT stations have the space to dig up the floor, and the money to do it.

[wuvvum]

Got the Merc booked in to the local tyre place tomorrow for a new OSF tyre (the one on there is a cheap Chinese winter tyre which is completely bald on the outside edge).  Spent a while searching Blackcircles, Camskill etc, then checked the website of the local place just out of curiosity and they were offering a Uniroyal Rainsport in 225/45x17 for £81 fitted - which is only a tenner or so more than Blackcircles wanted for a no-name budget job.

[grogee]

On 10/07/2024 at 19:40, eddyramrod said:

Have you missed me?  

I'm back.  I had to buy a new laptop in the end.

FFS.

Terribly. 

Welcome back ER

[grogee]

Southam Cricket Club car show tonight, I made sure to wrap up warm as it's quite frankly November out there. 

@Cluffy kept me company and did a fine job rescuing me from Boring John (2 Pumas, 1 Quantum, no self-awareness). I even got a hot diggety dog.

Highlights included a De Tomaso but obviously I didn't photograph that. 

Check out the lovely R19 and Mk1 Astra. 

 

EDIT: Maybe @4wheeledstool knows the Astra? It was very tidy. 

[wuvvum]

That DAF 33 is brilliant!  I'm sure the diesel R18 has featured on these beige pages before.

[stuboy]

im guessing aftermarket bumper editions on the R18?

[eddyramrod]

That 66 Polara sedan is lush, but the 71 Continental looks more like it's ready for me!

[HMC]

R18 diesel? Ex @bramz7 ?

[EspenO]

2 hours ago, grogee said:

(2 Pumas, 1 Quantum, no self-awareness)

😄

I used to hang in BMW circles, our Boring John had a 320iS (before we knew the full extent of their horrors) and could - and would - list every single difference to a 320i. 

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, grogee said:

Highlights included a De Tomaso but obviously I didn't photograph that. 

You had one job! Triumphs, Elf, Daf, R4 & that gifferered 18 estate though? Might let you off 😀

[Cluffy]

10 hours ago, grogee said:

Southam Cricket Club car show tonight, I made sure to wrap up warm as it's quite frankly November out there. 

@Cluffy kept me company and did a fine job rescuing me from Boring John (2 Pumas, 1 Quantum, no self-awareness). I even got a hot diggety dog.

Highlights included a De Tomaso but obviously I didn't photograph that. 

Check out the lovely R19 and Mk1 Astra. 

 

EDIT: Maybe @4wheeledstool knows the Astra? It was very tidy. 

A few more delights including the aforementioned Pantera and someone's loved and cherished White Slice of BLs finest....:

[wuvvum]

Much like the Countach, the early Pantera without the later plastic carbuncles is by far the best looking in my book.

[wuvvum]

I can haz tread

[Spottedlaurel]

For various reasons I'm not driving the older members of my fleet as much I'd like to at present, so it's not very often I have to put fuel in them. Managed to use the Carina E today and it was getting low, so I filled up with E5. I'd managed 402 miles on the last tank, it worked out to just over 35mpg - not too bad for a lowish-tech '90s automatic petrol? This one doesn't have the lean-burn engine, must have been a few longer journeys and making good use of the lock-up on top.

Still not as good as the RX daily driver which is giving around 38-39mpg at present, but it relies on an awful lot of magic to offer that sort of economy on something much heavier and powered by a V6.

[grogee]

I got Maestro-stalked by a van driver. 

He said: "I saw you in the high street and just had to follow you!" 

It's really quite sweet I suppose, anyway he stopped and had a chat about his Maestro memories and showed me a picture of his Escort convertible ( @Cavcraft's folly).

Anyway it's flattering to be followed because of old shite, I'm sure it's happened to you lot as well. 

[High Jetter]

4 hours ago, grogee said:

I got Maestro-stalked by a van driver. 

He said: "I saw you in the high street and just had to follow you!" 

It's really quite sweet I suppose, anyway he stopped and had a chat about his Maestro memories and showed me a picture of his Escort convertible ( @Cavcraft's folly).

Anyway it's flattering to be followed because of old shite, I'm sure it's happened to you lot as well. 

Conversely, I was admiring a parked (on double yellows) Mk2 Prelude the other day. Driver gave me very odd looks as he got in and drove away rapidly.

[RoverFolkUs]

5 hours ago, grogee said:

I got Maestro-stalked by a van driver. 

He said: "I saw you in the high street and just had to follow you!" 

It's really quite sweet I suppose, anyway he stopped and had a chat about his Maestro memories and showed me a picture of his Escort convertible ( @Cavcraft's folly).

Anyway it's flattering to be followed because of old shite, I'm sure it's happened to you lot as well. 

Trouble is - you need to have that quick moment of calculation as to the value of said vehicle and whether they're persuing you to steal it or just talk about it 😂

[grogee]

11 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Trouble is - you need to have that quick moment of calculation as to the value of said vehicle and whether they're persuing you to steal it or just talk about it 😂

I don't think he had it in him. Although I definitely wouldn't swap for his minging 90s Escort cabrio. 

You're right though @RoverFolkUs, it must be a headache for people that drive genuinely pricey old classics. I mean if someone waved a knife in my face I wouldn't hesitate to hand over the keys. 

If I was the sort of person into stealing classic cars I'd hide at the top of the street and scope out the premises for a night time raid. In fact, Sunday evening would be the perfect time for some car theivery, when everyone is glued to the final on the TV. 

Having said all that I'm now going to put the crook lock on!!!

[wesacosa]

A few of photo highlights from Goodwood yesterday . The mk1 Polo was exquisite