The new news 24 thread

[artdjones]

7 hours ago, richardmorris said:

Having the ac checked over now it's 4 yrs old. 

 

Edit-- Apparently half the gas has disappeared (or was never there to start with). So it needed doing. 5ºC out of the vents now with 28 ºC ambient.

It does slowly vanish, in fact it goes faster on cars that don't use it regularly. That's why I just leave ours on auto. Out C5 was still icy cold after 5 years with that. Of course that only works in cars with climate.

55 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

I got fed up trying to stop the rubber window trim fading grey unevenly, so bought some stainless trims from ebay.  Not too bad for £32. Some other tipos have them anyway.

Swanky!

[richardmorris]

1 hour ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

That looks much better.

I’d keep the plain black if it stayed that way, the n/s /f is still jet black but the n/s/r was pale grey. Even using the gummy pfledge and black hole stuff. Probably spent more on than than the stainless trims. Doesn’t look too bad as it already has silver sill and roof trim.

[richardmorris]

10 minutes ago, artdjones said:

It does slowly vanish, in fact it goes faster on cars that don't use it regularly. That's why I just leave ours on auto. Out C5 was still icy cold after 5 years with that. Of course that only works in cars with climate.

Swanky!

Yes, I always have the a/c climate on. Stops the windows steaming up too . It was still cold, ( or so I thought) but obviously not perfect.  Quite fun seeing him work outside my window- he must have handed out four or five business cards to neighbours who saw what he was doing.

[artdjones]

3 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

he must have handed out four or five business cards to neighbours who saw what he was doing.

I have often thought that a mobile A/C technician could do quite well.

[richardmorris]

Just now, artdjones said:

I have often thought that a mobile A/C technician could do quite well.

He does a lot of work for maranello Ferrari in egham, several other modern classics places and covers Surrey, berks, East Sussex etc. he was happy to work on the w124 that @Six-cylinder stole from me as well as this modern fiat.  I’m very happy to recommend him to anyone. Not bargain basement but he’s not just doing a top up of the gas and hope for the best.

http://www.air-care-automotive.co.uk
 

[bramz7]

This car is superb. 

Drove it home yesterday, and made the amazing discovery that the air con works. 

Average fuel consumption from Carlisle to Aberfeldy and back again to Carlisle was 41mpg, which given the twisty and fun roads past Crieff and the air con being on, is quite impressive. I haven't worked it out back to Basingstoke from there but seeing as I managed to do 65-70 the whole way to Newbury (roadworks aside) it will probably be very reasonable. 

Nearly 1000 miles in less than a week is certainly helping me trust it. Obviously it cost me a lot to get to this stage but I am so relieved it managed this without any drama. 

[Gaffer]

16 hours ago, artdjones said:

I have often thought that a mobile A/C technician could do quite well.

Can’t complain, currently booking til end of July 😅

[NorthernMonkey]

17 hours ago, Pat Earrings said:

Gave the Golf an overdue service. Oil/filter, air and pollen. I know the fuel has already been done recently. I’ll probably do the plugs in a couple weeks as I forgot to order them. Sounds smoother too.

also reset the DSG adaptations as I was finding it sometimes getting a bit confused with my relaxed style, and it’s sorted it. 

The oil and filters were done around eight weeks ago as mentioned on the thread…

[Asimo]

On 20/06/2025 at 00:13, lesapandre said:

As much as people said they wanted a Defender replacement these don't seem to sell much.

Perhaps it is because it doesn't replace a Defender any more than the new Defender does.

It fails as a utility vehicle by being luxurious, stuffed with trivial features and much too expensive for the utility role.  

But Grenadier can be had with a petrol engine, and has simple live axles.

Both Defender and Grenadier need a downgrade from project-drive!

[Snake Charmer]

What a stupid idea, rearrange the transport museum in this weather.

[Pat Earrings]

3 hours ago, NorthernMonkey said:

The oil and filters were done around eight weeks ago as mentioned on the thread…

Ha balls. I just went off the service book tbh! 😂😂

[NorthernMonkey]

16 minutes ago, Pat Earrings said:

Ha balls. I just went off the service book tbh! 😂😂

Err, yeah, I may* have forgotten to fill that in… 😳😂

[Dan29]

6 hours ago, Gaffer said:

Can’t complain, currently booking til end of July 😅

Which part of the country and do you do shiters' rates? 🙂

[Snake Charmer]

Just tried a few scrap my car quotes for the VW Transporter van, Mein Gott the prices have dropped. Struggled to break £200!

[Gaffer]

1 hour ago, Dan29 said:

Which part of the country and do you do shiters' rates? 🙂

Workshop is based between Doncaster and Scunthorpe but do travel a lot - mostly the full length of the M62 both ways. Always happy to help out a shiter a little but I’m not cheap to begin with (as I do a proper job!)

[Ghosty]

£295. Should make decent coin. I’d keep it but one of the rear quarters is rotting out from the inside. 

[richardmorris]

2 minutes ago, Ghosty said:

£295. Should make decent coin. I’d keep it but one of the rear quarters is rotting out from the inside. 

Corroding the plastic badge too!

[loserone]

Ooh with the blue I is that one of the 80mpg 1.4s?

[Ghosty]

3 minutes ago, loserone said:

Ooh with the blue I is that one of the 80mpg 1.4s?

It is indeed the 1.4 HDI.  £30 a year to tax 😁

84k on the clock and mostly really tidy.

[loserone]

What an efficient way to plod along 

[Ghosty]

The story is that a driveway trader that specifically deals in Peugeot 207s (?!) got offered it as a PX, presumably on account of the fact its MOT is running out. He didn't really want it, but it got him a sale so he accepted it and immediately put it on Marketplace for 295 to get rid, and that's where I came in.
It has a case of acne:

 

These are the only bad bits. Can't be arsed replacing the wing, given the state of the rear quarter - which seems solid enough as long as it's not poked. I'm not willing to open Pandora's Box so it's getting MOTd as is (it should pass unless the previously advised CV boot has split - I've tested worse) and sold on - being £30 tax, mostly straight and ridiculously economical, I think someone will be keen to buy it with a years test. 

 

It cleans up well.

The book's stamped to 71k/2021, the battery looks new, as does the aux belt, given that it's Dayco.

This will really do someone a turn  

Once it's tested, it'll be up for sale. 

 

[Split_Pin]

Broke into the world of RC crawlers today with this 1/16 Hilux.

There's a big range of cheap upgrade parts which I'll have fun with!

Goes well.

[comfortablynumb]

15 hours ago, Snake Charmer said:

Just tried a few scrap my car quotes for the VW Transporter van, Mein Gott the prices have dropped. Struggled to break £200!

Yeah, don't know whats going on, when I scrapped a P38 about 3 years ago, I got nearly £500, but a Freelander 2 only quoted about £215, and an s type Jag less than that!

I'd have thought with all the uncertainty on steelworks the price would have increased, I know scrap isn't the same quality, but still 

[loserone]

8 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

Broke into the world of RC crawlers today with this 1/16 Hilux.

There's a big range of cheap upgrade parts which I'll have fun with!

Goes well.

Before you spend too much on upgrades, these are fun but if you want to do anything really interesting a scx24 or FTX24 are massively more capable.  

 

Thankfully I have enough children to buy all three 😂

[loserone]

On 18/06/2025 at 14:30, juular said:

The trick is to buy the full size belts and cut them down into approx 1-1.5cm strips. Not only do they seem to last longer, it's a much cheaper way to get them.  If you have a guillotine you can get nice straight belts but a strong pair of scissors is enough to get something perfectly usable.

I agree though that finger sanders / aka power files are one of the best things.  

Only thing to watch is to never put too much pressure on it, let the belt do the work.  The bearing on the tip of the sander overheats and fails mega quickly if you lean on it for more than a few seconds.

I've been through a few..

 

 

 

[paulplom]

How many T5 does this twat want? He's owned the R for as long as I can remember. The other two seem to be recent editions.

[paulplom]

He also has a pair of 75s. I think they're v8 going off the exhausts.

[barefoot]

Following the untimely death of my best mate and VWBus co-editor, Alan Hayward. I seem to be in charge of the show and shine entrants at Camper Jam. There's a very nice looking drop top Golf but the owner claims to have added a pop n bang remap. Obviously I've moved him to the very back of the queue.

[richardmorris]

Blackbushe this morning. 

[New POD]

Daf museum this afternoon. 

I had a red and a white one on my tree last Christmas.