The new news 24 thread

[grogee]

Southam Cricket Club car meet tonight with @Cluffy. Great turn out tonight and some fab cars. 

Cluffy's:

My mate Nick's:

Mine, but spiritually still @Yoss's:

[High Jetter]

Dolly sprint for me, tho the R18 estate is tempting

[paulplom]

23 hours ago, reb said:

I need to find something to buy the demon girl, she told me "not to waste my money on her" but I think if I find something thunderously shit it'll make her laugh enough to be ok to break that rule.

There's a nice knife and bb gun shop on the corner of one of the streets on the main drag.

[Joey spud]

Mot was up today on my old Toyota and embarrassingly I had left it to the last minute. But once again it passed with just a couple of minor advisories.

I've got a lot of love for this van its been a faithful friend these last five years.

[richardmorris]

Should have taken a photo when I arrived and parked away from anyone else.

[JakeT]

It's been a busy week or so, which has been nice. The unemployment moster bit me, with my last working day being on the 30th of April. Fortunately last week I was offered a job, and they wanted me as soon as possible, which is nice. To treat myself? I thought I'd spend my last week and a half of total freedom doing various jobs I'd been putting off since May.

 

First up, fix a couple of foibles on my Mum's Fiat 500. She's had it from new and it's on 120k now, and its MOT is due soon. It's a nice spec, and has Xenon headlamps, which are the cause of our issues today.

The automatic levelling and cleaning both didn't work. An MOT failure where they're fitted. The levelling hasn't worked since it had front arms last year, so I started there.

That tiny droplink and sensor were inverted, so the sensor arm was pointing downards. This meant that the module that controls these things saw a value it didn't like, and pointed the headlamps at the ground. Two bolts removed, the sensor re-arranged to be correct and the headlamps raised to the correct position. No parts needed which is ideal,

 

The next issue that I noticed was a washer fluid leak when filling up the washer bottle. Because of Italian reasons, 500s with xenon headlamps have two washer bottles. One for the screens, and one for the headlamps. After some research, it was noted that the headlamp washer bottle was leaking, which is probably hard to find parts for. More investigation into where the leak was from needed.

Fortunately it was just the pipe to the offside washer had popped off which meant that the system would drain itself. Hose must have popped off when it was cold during the winter. re-fitted and some gardening wire was wrapped around to make it a little more secure, as it's only held on by a slight barb usually. Headlamp washers now work. Yay for more no parts needed!

 

Following this, I said to my Mrs that we should go away for the weekend as we won't get a chance for a while now, and I don't need to be so careful with the pennies. So we nipped off to Antwerp for the weekend. Took the car, so that we could stock up on favourite Belgian drinks and snacks.

Some nice building and fountain.

Proper Merc, think it was a 280, but also possibly not.

I did have a small issue though, in spite of having ridden the little fuckers all over various cities, in various states of impairment, I finally fell off of one of those rental scooters. I was even sober!

My cheek bone and shoulder took most of the brunt of it, as did my glasses. 

Oops! An early morning trip to a Mr Bricolage for some super glue and we're back in business. Albeit with a sore face...

 

Took the Mrs' Honda Jazz for an MOT too, which it went through with no advisories. She took it on from her Nan late last year when she gave up driving. It's done 45k, in classic fashion.

[reb]

I spent just under an hour playing 10p coin pushers, just because I could never afford to play them long as a kid. I may or may not have fed them most of my weekly shopping budget.

I shouldn't be surprised that the machine designed to take all your money, err, took all my money.

[wuvvum]

19 hours ago, grogee said:

Southam Cricket Club car meet tonight with @Cluffy. Great turn out tonight and some fab cars. 

 

 

I've seen that bullbarred R18 estate somewhere before - was it for sale on eBay a few years back?

Is the 1500SE Dolly @trigger's old one?

[grogee]

11 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

I've seen that bullbarred R18 estate somewhere before - was it for sale on eBay a few years back?

Is the 1500SE Dolly @trigger's old one?

I have papped the R18 before at the same show, so maybe you've seen it before. Worth a pic though because it's still the only one I've seen in over a decade. 

The Dolly Toledo was car of the show in my view, absolutely showroom condition. Clearly megabucks spent but it was really nice. Either that or the Riley Kestrel. 

There were two RS500 Cosworths which I didn't photograph, they don't need any more publicity. 

[Sunny Jim]

Late for work this morning as even my alarm clock couldn't be arsed.

Then at half three this afternoon we got a phone call from a local power station which is currently on shutdown, could we provide a rescue team for this weekend as the people they usually use aren't available? The answer was yes, if they're willing to pay. I don't know how much it costs if a power station is shut down for an extra two days but I'm going to earn more this weekend than I usually take home each month. I'm setting three alarms for tomorrow morning!

[richardmorris]

6 hours ago, richardmorris said:

Should have taken a photo when I arrived and parked away from anyone else.

Chirk Castle. 

[richardmorris]

16 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

Chirk Castle. 

 

 

 

[doug]

C15  water pump was leaking coolant. Dont think it was doing much pumping either.

[grogee]

1 hour ago, Sunny Jim said:

Late for work this morning as even my alarm clock couldn't be arsed.

Then at half three this afternoon we got a phone call from a local power station which is currently on shutdown, could we provide a rescue team for this weekend as the people they usually use aren't available? The answer was yes, if they're willing to pay. I don't know how much it costs if a power station is shut down for an extra two days but I'm going to earn more this weekend than I usually take home each month. I'm setting three alarms for tomorrow morning!

Wow that's a really weird error message! It knows it didn't work, but it doesn't know why! 

Maybe go back to good old clockwork for tomorrow morning! 

[EightMegs]

On 14/08/2025 at 13:17, wuvvum said:

I'd been hoping to get there last night but I don't have a suitable roadworthy car at the moment (Carina E is still misfiring, Innocenti has neither MOT nor brakes, Renault still has a leaky fuel tank, and I wouldn't trust the Volvo on a 160-mile round trip even if I could afford the fuel bill).

I should be able to make the 29th though - Innocenti should have been re-MOT'd by then, and I'm hoping I will have sorted the Toyota's misbehaviour too.

Have you done a compression test? My blown head gasket just seemed to be a misfire for a couple of months before it started affecting the cooling system. The Toyota A engine has siamesed cylinders so if it blows in between two cylinders it doesn't necessarily pressurise the cooling system or emulsify the oil. It's not especially hard to change either as long as you don't cock up like I did and crack a camshaft.

[stripped fred]

XF

I'm still deciding what to do. I'm going to get it on the ramps at the weekend and go over it carefully to see what would be involved in getting it through the next MOT.

So far:

Address rust to sills and if not terrible then get a mobile welder to fit some players to it. It's not a long term car but would be nice to get a couple of years of of it.

If the advice is satisfactory then:

See where the exhaust is leaking.

Sell the 20 inch wheels and get dinner 19 inch replacements. 

Change all worn suspension bushes, drop links, control arms, tech rod ends.

Micra is getting a new bumper and has had new socks and a here as she and bilt hamber under the back to keep it in good nick.

The MR2 fuel tank had been cleaned up and had new hoses, ready to go back on when the fuel pump arrives. 

 

[wuvvum]

I haven't done a compression test, but the misfire is intermittent - if the car was losing compression I'd expect it to be permanent, and also if the HG had F'd between two cylinders I'd expect it to be misfiring on two rather than just the one.

[wuvvum]

In other news, it seems the Innocenti doesn't in fact have the same wheel cylinders as a Fiat 127.  They're the same size and they fit OK, but the 127 cylinder seems to be designed for a "straight in" hose whereas the Innocenti uses a banjo bolt.  So the thread on the new wheel cylinder isn't long enough.  That was a waste of a chunk of my evening.

I also can't get the new brake shoes to sit properly - I have no idea why.  I ran out of daylight before I managed to sort them, so I've pulled them all out again so I can get the wheel back on and I'll try again in the morning.

I fucking hate drum brakes.

[JJ0063]

I’ve been doing some prep work for collecting the Z3 tomorrow.

Bought a 13 to 7 pin adapter as I’ve never towed anything 13 pin in my life so seeing that’s what the BMW has was a surprise and I assume the BJT I’ve hired will be 7 pin. Also had an extra number plate made up as the only spare I had was the taller Range Rover dimensions.

Haven’t towed a car on a trailer for probably 10-12 years so slightly apprehensive but only got a 40 min jaunt back from Wisbech to mine and the 5 series is more than capable I’m sure.

[trigger]

6 hours ago, wuvvum said:

I've seen that bullbarred R18 estate somewhere before - was it for sale on eBay a few years back?

Is the 1500SE Dolly @trigger's old one?

Nope, not that one!

[EyesWeldedShut]

I'm in the doghouse again.

Turns out that the SLK of The Child Bride has a sticky caliper piston, diagnosed about an hour ago. She's supposed to be off to Cornwall bright and early in the morning - so she's now got to slum* it in the CLK while I fix the smoller car (or else).
Already ordered in a new caliper + flexi pipe + pads  but I have a question:

Being a lady of little taste (hence still married to me after 20+ years) she likes the red overspray** on the existing calipers.
Anybody recommend a brush or spray on paint that's going to last more than ten minutes?
Fake AMG red preferred so it matches the back caliper on the same side 🤷‍♀️

Thanks

**whoever painted the existing calipers on her car rattle canned it without masking anything - not only are the ABS wires red, so are the pad wear wires, and some of the flexis? I bet they even sprayed the effing discs and pads?  The outer edges of the slider pins are also red in places - I had hoped that would be the cause of the binding brake but, nay lad, split seal has let to quantities of grit, grot and rust.

I've cut a load more of the seal off to provide you with an atmospheric, after dark, West Wales, Friday night, 18+ only image, look away now if you are of a delicate constitution

[EyesWeldedShut]

2 hours ago, wuvvum said:

I also can't get the new brake shoes to sit properly ......

I fucking hate drum brakes.

If you get the feckers to sit right can you pop over and sort out the bloody shoes on the Boxer here? - 'top hat' type handbrake ones and I simply cannot get them to play nice.
After 3 days of faffing about with the bloody things (and t'internet, and the factory manual, and.. and..) they're either rather ineffective or just (ever so just) binding such that things get a little warmer than they should (but not as bad as a frying an egg type warm - naw, that's the other vehicle).
MOT due on the 26th so I think I'll just drive the bloody thing and 'bed them in proper like'

I fucking hate all brakes.

[reb]

Nearly time to go home. Blackpool has been fun, somehow very different from how I remember it, while being exactly the same. I think it's that I've changed, as much as it has.

When I was a kid I wanted to live here, so that I could go to arcades every day and ride the rollercoasters as much as I wanted. The strange thing is, I find myself still wishing to live here. I can't quite put my finger on why though. Maybe it's not about Blackpool itself, it's about being in a reasonably big town that still has loads of independent businesses (not just directly tourism related ones either) and has decent public transport. Even if I take off my rose tinted nostalgia goggles, I still love it here.

But, to finish with a line that I'm going to use to round out a bloggy essay kind of thing:

Blackpool is just a town. My dad was just a man.

[paulplom]

10 hours ago, stripped fred said:

XF

I'm still deciding what to do. I'm going to get it on the ramps at the weekend and go over it carefully to see what would be involved in getting it through the next MOT.

So far:

Address rust to sills and if not terrible then get a mobile welder to fit some players to it. It's not a long term car but would be nice to get a couple of years of of it.

If the advice is satisfactory then:

See where the exhaust is leaking.

Sell the 20 inch wheels and get dinner 19 inch replacements. 

 

 

 

 

My mate has these for sale. Can't remember the size or price but I can find out.

Located NE22.

[Split_Pin]

Congrats on the new job @JakeT. I know theres nothing better than finally being able to spend a celebratory quid or two that you've had to hold back. Enjoy 😊

[Spottedlaurel]

Looks what's appeared back on the driveway, after nearly four weeks of driving around France and a quick excursion into Belgium:

Waiting for a debrief and tally-up of the mileage, but it made it back here without any significant issue

[Brigsy]

8 hours ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

I'm in the doghouse again.

Turns out that the SLK of The Child Bride has a sticky caliper piston, diagnosed about an hour ago. She's supposed to be off to Cornwall bright and early in the morning - so she's now got to slum* it in the CLK while I fix the smoller car (or else).
Already ordered in a new caliper + flexi pipe + pads  but I have a question:

Being a lady of little taste (hence still married to me after 20+ years) she likes the red overspray** on the existing calipers.
Anybody recommend a brush or spray on paint that's going to last more than ten minutes?
Fake AMG red preferred so it matches the back caliper on the same side 🤷‍♀️

Thanks

**whoever painted the existing calipers on her car rattle canned it without masking anything - not only are the ABS wires red, so are the pad wear wires, and some of the flexis? I bet they even sprayed the effing discs and pads?  The outer edges of the slider pins are also red in places - I had hoped that would be the cause of the binding brake but, nay lad, split seal has let to quantities of grit, grot and rust.

I've cut a load more of the seal off to provide you with an atmospheric, after dark, West Wales, Friday night, 18+ only image, look away now if you are of a delicate constitution

Hammerite smooth red metal paint will do the job.

[EyesWeldedShut]

2 hours ago, Brigsy said:

Hammerite smooth red metal paint will do the job.

Thanks - I'll have a go with that next week when the caliper arrives.
I'm in a happier place now as all the components came apart/off the SLK without breaking any of them, or me (2003 car on 90,000 miles) - less than an hour on a beautiful morning.
It all looks to be the original parts and I'm dead chuffed that I'm not going to have to be flaring any brake pipes or the like. (New flexi & pads going on but, otherwise, reassembly using the existing parts).
Happy Days.

[wuvvum]

3 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Looks what's appeared back on the driveway, after nearly four weeks of driving around France and a quick excursion into Belgium:

Waiting for a debrief and tally-up of the mileage, but it made it back here without any significant issue

Normally this is the point where I would say "Of course it did, it's a '90s Toyota", but my '90s Toyota is broken at the moment so I won't.

[Split_Pin]

Im off to see that A30 this afternoon, I shall report back with pictures and hopefully a price.