The new news 24 thread

[HMC]

P4 transport of choice to start off the b’hol weekend….

[Split_Pin]

2 hours ago, WillCarter said:

Been struggling to get stock the past couple of weeks but just struck up a deal with one of my neighbouring dealers to take on all of his cheap and P/X stock so that he can concentrate on what he enjoys selling, namely American, Performance and Luxury cars. Nothing overly exciting among them, other than this which might tickle a couple of your fancies. 

Mazda 323F GSi Auto 1.8 with a genuine 50-something K on the clock. Just been prepped for an MOT so will come with a full ticket too. 

Not an easy thing to price but being an Auto I'll probably chuck it up for £1995 and see how we go.

Bloody good result with that gold ZT.

I originally thought it was way too much being a 1.8 with a blown HG but evidently not! You may already know that Tom Force will sort that in a day or two and make a great car out of it. Well played.

[stuboy]

Changed the icv on the mighty mondeo and the range in the tank went up... huh?

 

Any ideas? 

[Lord Sterling]

Bought a replacement cap for the coolant tank on the Vectra. It has helped but only by half. Coolant goes down but only after a week or so. I can see some dry coolant marks on a part of the engine so further investigation will be required.

[Split_Pin]

9 hours ago, Lord Sterling said:

Bought a replacement cap for the coolant tank on the Vectra. It has helped but only by half. Coolant goes down but only after a week or so. I can see some dry coolant marks on a part of the engine so further investigation will be required.

At least it's coming out and not being burnt off internally!

[Lord Sterling]

14 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

At least it's coming out and not being burnt off internally!

Yep, just came back this morning and noticed a trail of coolant on the floor, there is definitely a split somewhere, so that'll need to be addressed as soon as.

[Lord Sterling]

22 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

My brain has too much activity in the wrong places.  What's the car in this picture?

The design of the Transport Museum frontage places it in the mid to late 1980s and the tired condition of the car ties in with that.

At first I thought Fiat 125 but the door/wing line is too rakish, the 125 was slab-sided. It's not a colour I think a 130 would have been available in plus I never ever saw one growing up.

Too big and shark nosed for a BL product.

Wheels are not BMW.

It's not a Simca 1301 as their front doors have a more vertical leading edge, this one curves back more.

What is it?

Morris 1300. What made it for me was the tiny curved line at the front of the wing.

Many of them have that stretched oval wing mounted indicator light too:

[Spottedlaurel]

Recently - and voluntarily - went down to a 4-day week. Means a bit less money coming in, but time is more important to me. Made good use of it yesterday by doing a bit of car stuff and seeing all sorts of things out and about - amazing what people are using on a weekday. Eg. P-reg Mini Clumban and Triumph TR4A at supermarket, a couple of Austin A30/35s, D-reg Morris 1100, early Renault 4 then a nice convoy of Jaguar XK (original type), Capri Mk3 and my favourite being the Cavalier Coupe (Manta B-type 2-door).

After its recent MoT pass it was time to change the tyres on the LS400:

I bought a set of four Dunlop SP Sports on tidy 15" Mk1 LS400 wheels off @Semi-C some years ago, for the grand total of £40. Didn't even have the Lexus back then so I ran them on the Camry for a bit, then eventually had the opportunity to put them onto an LS. If I've got the date code right they're from week 28 2011? With the cracking starting to show on a couple of them I think I got my money's worth....

Went for a set of Kumhos, not my first choice but there isn't a huge range available in the LS400's relatively small size (just 205 wide!) at a sufficiently high speed rating.

Next job on it is a long overdue cam belt change, thermostat and probably a set of plugs. I recently found out how much people pay for the 'thick rod' engines out of early LS400s so I really ought to look after this one even if everything else falls to bits around it.

Then popped along to the garage where they have the Laurel at the moment:

An amusing comparison with this Trabant that belongs to the owner's brother.

Laurel is in dry dock at present, awaiting a recored radiator and some replacement hoses to hopefully stop the little puddles it was leaving on my garage floor.

It's mainly the ones to/from the heater that need attention.

They also stuck a new set of plugs on which cured a misfire. Look forward to getting it back and be able to use it with confidence.

It had some older companions a week or so ago.

[Split_Pin]

The Laurel is beautiful man, I'm glad you've more time to enjoy it now.

[bramz7]

Went to Brooklands today, as it was Auto Italia day. I took along a new (to me) camera which had had decent reviews when it came out, yet the criticisms were mostly true, crap battery and unpredictable AF behaviour (and I cannot figure out how to manually adjust the focus if it's in Manual mode so...)

Anyway:

Lots of wonderful weird era Maseratis, someone turned up quite late in a Karif but having witnessed them nearly take out their car and a biker when told they were at the wrong entry gate, I didn't go looking for it.

The best 156 there. Couldn't get mine sorted in time but next year (and at Beaulieu this year).

This spiffing 33 is a long term attendee.

Proper old school brutal supercars are, rightly, one of my faves to see. Amazing how pure a Pantera can look.

 

I can't not fawn over a yellow Diablo.

Rarely seen (I think?) facelift Quattroporte. Not keen.

I like the 166, but when seen opposite two stunning 164s, it does look pants. 

Dreamy 456.

This Tipo was nearly my fave there...

But this sheddy Delta wins, epic.

 

There was some drama when a 355 rolled off of its handbrake, and into a 328/308. And then a crunch. I bet that was an awkward meeting for the owners, although they searched for the driver of the former for ages. Maybe they'd heard about it and done a runner!

 

A new Panda was on show too, but for some reason I only took this shot. There were people all over it mind you. I love it, I am considering it.

[barefoot]

First there was a diesel Maxi, now apparently a diesel Yugo with leather seats...

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2025/apr/29/tour-serbia-worst-car-in-history-belgrade-yugoslavia

[Markeh]

Very few photos of chod taken on my brief excursion out of the Turkish resort I find myself in, however this had to be taken.

Should pass an MOT*.

[Split_Pin]

14 minutes ago, Markeh said:

Very few photos of chod taken on my brief excursion out of the Turkish resort I find myself in, however this had to be taken.

Should pass an MOT*.

I think they made these up until about 2009. There were loads when I visited 2 years ago. I hope there still are when I visit next  month again.

[lesapandre]

Saw a Ferrari FF Coupe today. Never seen one before - ffugly. 

Driver executed a needless u-turn here in London - so don't expect it to last much longer undented.

Like this:

[mercedade]

Spent yesterday getting the Vitesse ready for moving on

[mercedade]

It is an 800 after all /Partridge

[Split_Pin]

I was about to type that you should have drawn 'the inevitable' on it but you delivered in the 2nd picture 😂

[Marina door handles]

Fixed the clock in my Subaru, in the eight or so years I have had the car its never worked until now....

Oh bollocks! 

 

[Split_Pin]

Ghost in the machine 😬

[EyesWeldedShut]

Had a happy day driving Miss Daisy.

Nope - actually drove Child Bride in Cilla the CLK from Bude > West Wales. Not bad for an old boiler (the car's pretty good too)
 

[catsinthewelder]

I was planning to do a bit of car tinkering today but ended up at the inlaws for the nieces birthday.  After a while it was noticed that 3 of us were missing as we popped outside to see why the boot wouldn't open on an uncles 207cc.  By this point I was upside down in the boot via a half unfolded roof removing the catch while the others held the trim out the way.  It left with the broken catch removed and the boot held shut with gaffer tape.

Tomorrow I'm delivering a van to a hotel next to London city airport as our other rental van sprayed oil everywhere and was recovered back (possibly just a loose oil cap).  Got the day to myself and a late train back as I visit London a lot but never normally get chance to wander round.

[crad]

given my lack of any real skills, i decided it would be an excellent* idea to try and sort the scabs on the corolla's rear arches, considering they were welded a few years ago and i'd like to at least try and keep them somewhat okish. armed with halfords finest rust scrubber, and some info n equipment gleaned from here (

) I went ahead. I brushed a layer of SUPER DESCALER on first, then went back an hour or so later with some hammerite. if you are a professional bodywork bod I apologise in advance, but for a moron like me I think I did ok? it probably wasn't clean enough, but 🤞 it lasts for a while. photos below- any feedback greatfully recieved.

[crad]

crikey, looking at it now I might have missed a few bits. oh well, live and learn!

[SiC]

Dragged it's sorry arse out of the bay and pump up the tyres. I'll do a walk around/poking video in a sec. 

[EyesWeldedShut]

Summer toy has landed …..

 

[Lord Sterling]

Vectra has been doing estate car things today:

Picked up a new to me 2-seater sofa:

Visited an old friend:

Covered up another one: (prior to sofa picking up)

Had to stick a days insurance on the Vectra as the new policy starts tomorrow. Had to cancel the old policy too as it was a little more than the new policy. It's actually gone up but not by much thankfully like others have.

Got back home and stuck in new sofa. Getting up the stairs tested me. I really am so out of shape, it's unreal.

In grump news, I managed to pick up a nail in the new rear tyre. I mean FFS! Where the fuck do these bastard nails come from. If it ain't random flying stones hitting your screen it's bloody nails in tyres 😤 😡

 

[Split_Pin]

What Sterlings do you still have Mo? I always think of those whenever you post, not least because of your username!

[Lord Sterling]

11 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

What Sterlings do you still have Mo? I always think of those whenever you post, not least because of your username!

827 Sterling:

I went to this one today and I REALLY want this back on the road.

My 825 Sterling:

Again, another one I'd like back on the road. 

And my 820e

This is the only car I own that I've never had on the road. In fact, in the last 10/12 years I've owned it, I've driven it literally a mile around the time it was stored at the place the above pic was taken (in Lower Moor, Worcestershire)

I've technically never had E50 UKJ 825 Sterling on the road legally either.  That's because I had an identical one which imploded it's own engine. As the then owner was looking to cut down on cars he didn't need, we did a straight-swap deal.

[MrGTI6]

43 minutes ago, Lord Sterling said:

Vectra has been doing estate car things today:

Picked up a new to me 2-seater sofa:

Visited an old friend:

Covered up another one: (prior to sofa picking up)

Had to stick a days insurance on the Vectra as the new policy starts tomorrow. Had to cancel the old policy too as it was a little more than the new policy. It's actually gone up but not by much thankfully like others have.

Got back home and stuck in new sofa. Getting up the stairs tested me. I really am so out of shape, it's unreal.

In grump news, I managed to pick up a nail in the new rear tyre. I mean FFS! Where the fuck do these bastard nails come from. If it ain't random flying stones hitting your screen it's bloody nails in tyres 😤 😡

 

Good to see the Vectra earning its keep, I also used it to transport a sofa!

Bad luck with the nail in the tyre though. 

[Split_Pin]

50 minutes ago, Lord Sterling said:

827 Sterling:

I went to this one today and I REALLY want this back on the road.

My 825 Sterling:

Again, another one I'd like back on the road. 

And my 820e

This is the only car I own that I've never had on the road. In fact, in the last 10/12 years I've owned it, I've driven it literally a mile around the time it was stored at the place the above pic was taken (in Lower Moor, Worcestershire)

I've technically never had E50 UKJ 825 Sterling on the road legally either.  That's because I had an identical one which imploded it's own engine. As the then owner was looking to cut down on cars he didn't need, we did a straight-swap deal.

I'm so glad you still have those. On the road or not, they wouldn't have survived if you didnt own them. I should love the Sterling the most but it's the 820e that's my favourite.