The new news 24 thread

[junkyarddog]

2 hours ago, Snake Charmer said:

Is that a Brotherwood wheelchair conversion?

No,GM Coachwork.

https://www.gmcoachwork.co.uk/

 

[cort1977]

7 hours ago, Lord Sterling said:

Anyway, in news. Called the garage to get a price on a new condenser for the Jag, fitting and gas: £650 😮😠 

FFS, why does this shit need to be so difficult?

2 air-con equipped cars and not one works, and to get even just one working is a King's fucking ransom. Pathetic.

If all the gas has leaked out then it's not that hard to change yourself and get it re-gassed after. A Haynes 2-spanner rating if there's space to get at the thing.

[wuvvum]

Had a passenger ride in this thing this evening.

I was quite impressed actually.  It looks a total heap because the paint is knackered, but the interior is more or less immaculate - it's only done 70K miles from new.  It rode very nicely over the shite Norfolk back roads and went better than I expected too - it's not fast but it's not as painfully slow as I'd expected being a NA 1.9 diesel, and it's reasonably quiet inside.  Seats are of course typical '80s Renault squishy.  Everything works other than the sunroof (sealed closed as the metal round the frame is rusty) and most of the wires in the HRW.  Not bad considering it was sat in a scrapyard for years before mate's daughter rescued it.

[Llessur]

16 hours ago, Lord Sterling said:

Nice. I have a V6. Mine is the later 2.6 in a sport "SRi" trim:

Got anymore pics of yours?

In fact, did you post this up on another forum (retrorides maybe?) And post up about how you bought this off an older lady who looked after it and garaged it and you'd bought a set of new floor mats for it? 

I came across it whilst looking for a set of mats for mine which I eventually got:

 

Yes that's me! There's a thread on RR - I haven't updated it for a while but there's not been much to report. The thing just keeps going. To be fair I only use it once or twice a week for an eight mile round trip but it's not caused me any trouble.

Actually, there is one niggle - it's an auto (like everything else out here) and the neutral idle does quite work as it should. The theory is that the box slips into neutral when you're stationary with your foot on the brake - it does this but occasionally it goes back into drive and it lurches forward slightly against the brakes. It's apparently fairly common for the system to cause troubles in old age but I can't find much info on exactly how it works or what the cause might be.

I've swapped out the brake switch which hasn't changed anything - I suspect the system must take some sort of speed reading either from the gearbox or ABS or similar but I can't find any specific info on it. There are no fault codes showing from a simple read involving shoving a paperclip into the right orifices of the diagnostics port, but I think a proper code reader would also show me transmission and other fault codes. Due to its age it's a weird set up though - it's got an OBD2 port but runs EOBD so most cheap code readers won't work on it and the proper GM Tech 2 diagnostic set up is pretty costly and boggles my non-electronic mind a bit with its incessant need for laptops and cables.

To be honest the problem doesn't really bother me enough to spend too much time on it. I've got into the habit of knocking it into neutral at traffic lights now. 

I've toyed with the idea of selling it but it will be worth bugger all out here so am not really keen on a steady stream of Uber eats drivers and meth heads turning up looking for ultra cheap transport.

I'm not sure how I feel about the Holden grille. I managed to pick up a 'correct' V emblem one from a seller in New Zealand where they were used for the first couple of years of production. Need to spray it the right colour first:

 

 

[Lord Sterling]

14 hours ago, Llessur said:

Yes that's me! There's a thread on RR - I haven't updated it for a while but there's not been much to report. The thing just keeps going. To be fair I only use it once or twice a week for an eight mile round trip but it's not caused me any trouble.

Actually, there is one niggle - it's an auto (like everything else out here) and the neutral idle does quite work as it should. The theory is that the box slips into neutral when you're stationary with your foot on the brake - it does this but occasionally it goes back into drive and it lurches forward slightly against the brakes. It's apparently fairly common for the system to cause troubles in old age but I can't find much info on exactly how it works or what the cause might be.

I've swapped out the brake switch which hasn't changed anything - I suspect the system must take some sort of speed reading either from the gearbox or ABS or similar but I can't find any specific info on it. There are no fault codes showing from a simple read involving shoving a paperclip into the right orifices of the diagnostics port, but I think a proper code reader would also show me transmission and other fault codes. Due to its age it's a weird set up though - it's got an OBD2 port but runs EOBD so most cheap code readers won't work on it and the proper GM Tech 2 diagnostic set up is pretty costly and boggles my non-electronic mind a bit with its incessant need for laptops and cables.

To be honest the problem doesn't really bother me enough to spend too much time on it. I've got into the habit of knocking it into neutral at traffic lights now. 

I've toyed with the idea of selling it but it will be worth bugger all out here so am not really keen on a steady stream of Uber eats drivers and meth heads turning up looking for ultra cheap transport.

I'm not sure how I feel about the Holden grille. I managed to pick up a 'correct' V emblem one from a seller in New Zealand where they were used for the first couple of years of production. Need to spray it the right colour first:

That is a very nice car, the paintwork is amazing. Mine, not so much, it's a 10 footer at best. Lots of rust blebs etc... the grille just looks right, but I get why the grille is a UK thing because of the "V" for Vauxhall whereas in Europe, it's an Opel.

Erm, strange question, what happened to the old mats? Do you still have them? I'm known in these parts as the mats sniffer (not literally you understand) but I wouldn't them if you still have them and something could be arranged....

[stuboy]

My oldest is in Greece holidaying and sent me these gems

[EspenO]

Ooo, for hire? I’d happily have either of those for a day or two

[dozeydustman]

Most unexpectedly, I done a buy

[wuvvum]

I like those.  They feel more modern than they are to me.  Has it got the built-in Tom Tom?

[dozeydustman]

On 14/05/2025 at 21:08, wuvvum said:

I like those.  They feel more modern than they are to me.  Has it got the built-in Tom Tom?

Indeed it has. It’s a top-spec 1.6dCi (chain engine). No knocks, no rattles, some history, just a grumbly wheel bearing. £1,350, plenty on local forecourts nearly £3k for same or similar spec.

[dozeydustman]

This means at the weekend I will clean up the Rio and bung it for sale on here. Could be a cheap sub £7 roffle. It’s not pretty but it runs really well it’ll do someone a couple of years before it really does need binning! Plus new radiator.

[WillCarter]

This turned up yesterday, something that would appeal here? Haven't had a chance to look around it yet but it has a load of MOT and a tank of fuel, so what more could you want? Both front and rear arches on the drivers side are bubbling up and it's got a multitude of parking dings, but doesn't look too bad all things considered. 

I'm away on holiday next week but it'll get a proper valet and a better look around it once I'm back, but if anyone is interested, let me know and we'll chat when I return. It'll be cheap.

[reb]

9 minutes ago, WillCarter said:

This turned up yesterday, something that would appeal here? Haven't had a chance to look around it yet but it has a load of MOT and a tank of fuel, so what more could you want? Both front and rear arches on the drivers side are bubbling up and it's got a multitude of parking dings, but doesn't look too bad all things considered. 

I'm away on holiday next week but it'll get a proper valet and a better look around it once I'm back, but if anyone is interested, let me know and we'll chat when I return. It'll be cheap.

If you ignore the face and squint a bit it looks like a squashed V70

[Momentary Lapse Of Reason]

4 hours ago, reb said:

If you ignore take powerful hallucinogenics and squint a bit it looks like a squashed V70

FTFY

[stuboy]

So still in Greece... sent me this adult images....lol

[barefoot]

Amazon couldn't publish my review - 5 simple stars - for a bag of MSG because;

"We could not post your review because it does not meet our guidelines for one or more of these reasons:

    Profanity
    Harassment
    Hate speech
    Sexual content
    Illegal activity
    Private information

Please edit and resubmit your review. Before you do, make sure it meets all of our community guidelines".

[richardmorris]

Bicester on fire..

 

[Split_Pin]

Flat battery on the 75 tonight.  It started fine last week after sitting in the garage for a few weeks and I've been using it all this week with no issues.

I was parked up while my son was at basketball and I fell asleep for a bit. The ignition was on but nothing was running, ventilation nor radio. The battery was almost completely flat after an hour!

I had jump leads and as I wasn't far from home, Mrs_Pin came out so I could jump start it.

The battery is only a couple of years old and a decent Yuasa one - can't understand it!

[Popsicle]

1 hour ago, Split_Pin said:

Flat battery on the 75 tonight.  It started fine last week after sitting in the garage for a few weeks and I've been using it all this week with no issues.

I was parked up while my son was at basketball and I fell asleep for a bit. The ignition was on but nothing was running, ventilation nor radio. The battery was almost completely flat after an hour!

I had jump leads and as I wasn't far from home, Mrs_Pin came out so I could jump start it.

The battery is only a couple of years old and a decent Yuasa one - can't understand it!

Hopefully the battery is still under warranty for you?

[Split_Pin]

4 hours ago, Popsicle said:

Hopefully the battery is still under warranty for you?

I'll need to check that, I'll still have the receipt!

[New POD]

On 13/05/2025 at 14:47, captain_70s said:

A luxury item on a premium car is never going to be cheap...

Yeah, but what about on a Jag? 

[lesapandre]

10 hours ago, barefoot said:

Amazon couldn't publish my review - 5 simple stars - for a bag of MSG because;

"We could not post your review because it does not meet our guidelines for one or more of these reasons:

    Profanity
    Harassment
    Hate speech
    Sexual content
    Illegal activity
    Private information

Please edit and resubmit your review. Before you do, make sure it meets all of our community guidelines".

Haven't they just defined the internet? It consists entirely of:

     Profanity
    Harassment
    Hate speech
    Sexual content
    Illegal activity
    Private information

😂

[cort1977]

After nearly two months of unemployment I have finally found another job.

Relieved about that as there have been more job losses in Aberdeen recently so it was only going to get harder.

[sdkrc]

Congrats @cort1977, awesome news. 

[adw1977]

12 hours ago, richardmorris said:

Bicester on fire..

 

Two firefighters and a member of the public have died in this fire.

[vulgalour]

I am settled in the new place.  Surprise twist; Pat and I got back together and we're giving things another go.  The year apart helped us fix a load of stuff, not least me getting the ME diagnosis so we understand wtf was wrong with me (this was one of the bigger issues that led to the break up, ignorance isn't always bliss) and now we're just restarting from a much healthier place.  I'm still wobbly, I want to do more than I can.  Pat is helping a lot which is sparing me the energy to do things like organise my studio space at a pace I can manage so I'm not having to rest totally and can keep my brain occupied.

Lots of challenges ahead and I do have to be careful for the next few weeks, probably won't be shoving the Lanchester about on my own or anything like that.  In spite of everything, I'm opting to be a stubborn little weed pushing through the concrete of life because I'm not dead yet no matter how many times I've been trodden on.

[Tickman]

That's is great to hear @vulgalour really hope everything settles into something you both want.

[Fumbler]

Yesterday my area experienced the worst hail storm in about 2 decades. Seeing icy golf balls fall from the sky is quite something!

I stashed a few in the freezer. This is what they do to vehicles:

The Ranger's slightly dented up now, as is husband's RAV4. The interior stayed bone dry however, so that's a win I guess. We were lucky. The poor girl who owns the Accord was between insurance policies, hopefully she can still make a claim. I helped clean the glass out but I think the car's destined for the crusher. 

[lesapandre]

46 minutes ago, Fumbler said:

Yesterday my area experienced the worst hail storm in about 2 decades. Seeing icy golf balls fall from the sky is quite something!

I stashed a few in the freezer. This is what they do to vehicles:

The Ranger's slightly dented up now, as is husband's RAV4. The interior stayed bone dry however, so that's a win I guess. We were lucky. The poor girl who owns the Accord was between insurance policies, hopefully she can still make a claim. I helped clean the glass out but I think the car's destined for the crusher. 

You might just - depending on the curvature be able to cut a flexible perspex sheet to make up a convincing medium-term rear light. Once you have a decent fit - if that is possible - two pack adhesive it to the existing window opening in preference to using tape which looks a mess and fails. Should stay in - in the medium term and save $$. 

[Fumbler]

1 hour ago, lesapandre said:

You might just - depending on the curvature be able to cut a flexible perspex sheet to make up a convincing medium-term rear light. Once you have a decent fit - if that is possible - two pack adhesive it to the existing window opening in preference to using tape which looks a mess and fails. Should stay in - in the medium term and save $$. 

She's going to contact her insurer and see what comes of it. Fortunately her room-mate also has a vehicle so she isn't completely immobile. I've told her I'm more than willing to help further clean the car out/bodge a new rear window in. Realistically speaking a perspex window wouldn't be too bad- 3M Windoweld urethane isn't too expensive, neither are large perspex sheets. We'll just see. The underside is pretty rotten.