The new news 24 thread

[IronStar]

One of these cars is having a niggle or five every time it gets driven, and is being escorted to a shop for yet another round of infinite snagging. The other car is just stretching its legs on a lovely day. 

BMW is being escorted, why would it be the Mini? 🤣

[wuvvum]

Well today has been pretty much a complete write-off from a car fixing perspective.  I got the distributor off the Toyota and, after rather more buggering about than I'd hoped, managed to get the old distributor cap off and the remains of the old bolt drilled out.  Fitted the new cap, put everything back together, and it wasn't until I was trying to refit the HT leads that I realised the connectors on the new cap are completely different, so the leads don't fit.  So now the car is immobile until I can find a cap with the right connectors.

The bleed nipple on the Innocenti's rear brake is still refusing to come undone.  It's now rounded off - probably my fault for using a cheap Rolson 8mm socket on it, but that was the only one that would fit in the space.  I have one last weapon in my arsenal - my cheap imitation Irwin bolt removers.  Even if they will get a grip on it though there's still a reasonable chance it'll snap off, despite me dousing it in Plus Gas, so I may still be on the quest for a new wheel cylinder.

So I gave up after that.  It wasn't an entirely unproductive weekend though as I pulled up the carpet in the hall / stairs / landing in preparation for the new carpet that is coming on Tuesday - that will be nice to have as the old carpet was properly knackered.

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, EightMegs said:

Got in the Carina in Kimmeridge earlier, turned the key, and nothing happened, so I had a look under the bonnet, put the connector back on the starter solenoid and it started fine, funny that.

Anti theft device, innit

[HMC]

picked up a local runabout to go with the saab 9-5

[beko1987]

12 hours ago, High Jetter said:

Anti theft device, innit

Yep, you (8megs) want to wire that into a hidden switch in the cabin!

I had a zx td that the previous owner used to drive into London then dump it for a few days. He had a switch wired into the glowplug circuit somewhere so if the hidden switch was off, car would just crank forever and not start 👌

[Sigmund Fraud]

1 hour ago, HMC said:

picked up a local runabout to go with the saab 9-5

Am I right in thinking this is the 1-litre version ?

I learnt to drive in one of those ! They're surprisingly good fun and practically indestructible if you can keep the tinworm away.

[Sunny Jim]

On 15/08/2025 at 18:48, 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!

How do businesses make any money or why your electricity bill is so high. We arrived Saturday 6.45am at the power station gate and got our security passes sorted. It wasn't until gone 8.30am that we got called to do our inductions which had to be done online with your device's camera switched on to prove you had sat through all of it. We were told there was no rush as the grit blasters we were there to potentially rescue wouldn't be starting work until they'd set up a replacement machine which was due onsite at 9am. They were replacing the machine as the extraction on the other one had failed coating are large area of the plant in dust.

The machine eventually arrived onsite at 10.30am so they set to work* only for them to stop 15 minutes later as their Permit to Work was suspended because a coupler had failed on another unrelated piece of equipment elsewhere spraying an area and all the people and equipment within it in oil. Total work achieved day one: connecting three pieces of ducting together.

Meanwhile my colleagues and I had scoped out the area they'd be working in and; devised and rigged for our rescue plan which took all of 15 minutes. We then tested our plan and from initial shout to casualty extracted to a sterile area was under two and a half minutes. The previous team had taken over quarter of an hour. The rest of the day was spent waiting to see if anybody would actually get round to working in the confined space.

Day two the work team started grit blasting at 7.30am and we were on standby. They stopped for lunch at 11.45am and resumed work at 1pm. One man outside tipping a bag of blasting medium into a hopper every twenty minutes or so, one man stood outside the work area as Entry Controller and one guy actually inside doing the blasting.

By 2.15pm they'd decided they'd done enough blasting but because they finish at 3pm on a Sunday there was no point in doing any clearing up as the metal that had been stripped that day would have "gingered" over night and would need re-blasting and cleaning again in the morning before any paint could be applied.

Back again for day three. All permits were shut down on Sunday afternoon and it took until 10am for them to open a new permit so we sat around for the first three hours. They commenced work blasting and then cleaning down this morning before another hour and a half lunch hour. It's currently ten to two and they're currently carrying out dew point tests to see if it's dry enough - place bets now as to whether any paint will be applied today.

I've now been booked until next Saturday to act as Entry Controller and Rescue Co-ordinator for the principle contractor's Rescue Team, unfortunately not on the silly rate I was earning over the weekend but still at twice my normal daily rate.

[wuvvum]

I nipped out to the motor factors at lunchtime to see if I could order a correct distributor cap for the Toyota.

NLA apparently.  Epic.

So not sure where to go from here, short of getting a set of custom HT leads made up.   As a temporary solution to (hopefully) get the car mobile again, given that both the HT lead terminals and the distributor cap terminals are designed to clip over a 4mm brass pin, I've ordered a length of 4mm brass rod which I'm going to cut into pins to use as temporary connectors.

[Popsicle]

1 hour ago, Sunny Jim said:

How do businesses make any money or why your electricity bill is so high. We arrived Saturday 6.45am at the power station gate and got our security passes sorted. It wasn't until gone 8.30am that we got called to do our inductions which had to be done online with your device's camera switched on to prove you had sat through all of it. We were told there was no rush as the grit blasters we were there to potentially rescue wouldn't be starting work until they'd set up a replacement machine which was due onsite at 9am. They were replacing the machine as the extraction on the other one had failed coating are large area of the plant in dust.

The machine eventually arrived onsite at 10.30am so they set to work* only for them to stop 15 minutes later as their Permit to Work was suspended because a coupler had failed on another unrelated piece of equipment elsewhere spraying an area and all the people and equipment within it in oil. Total work achieved day one: connecting three pieces of ducting together.

Meanwhile my colleagues and I had scoped out the area they'd be working in and; devised and rigged for our rescue plan which took all of 15 minutes. We then tested our plan and from initial shout to casualty extracted to a sterile area was under two and a half minutes. The previous team had taken over quarter of an hour. The rest of the day was spent waiting to see if anybody would actually get round to working in the confined space.

Day two the work team started grit blasting at 7.30am and we were on standby. They stopped for lunch at 11.45am and resumed work at 1pm. One man outside tipping a bag of blasting medium into a hopper every twenty minutes or so, one man stood outside the work area as Entry Controller and one guy actually inside doing the blasting.

By 2.15pm they'd decided they'd done enough blasting but because they finish at 3pm on a Sunday there was no point in doing any clearing up as the metal that had been stripped that day would have "gingered" over night and would need re-blasting and cleaning again in the morning before any paint could be applied.

Back again for day three. All permits were shut down on Sunday afternoon and it took until 10am for them to open a new permit so we sat around for the first three hours. They commenced work blasting and then cleaning down this morning before another hour and a half lunch hour. It's currently ten to two and they're currently carrying out dew point tests to see if it's dry enough - place bets now as to whether any paint will be applied today.

I've now been booked until next Saturday to act as Entry Controller and Rescue Co-ordinator for the principle contractor's Rescue Team, unfortunately not on the silly rate I was earning over the weekend but still at twice my normal daily rate.

Seems like a nice number you're on there.

Nothing big businesses do surprises me these days. Being a courier some of the things I deliver are ridiculous. I shouldn't moan, it's how I earn, but some of it is baffling from a cost view point.

Last week I delivered some electrical sockets to a supermarket 230 miles away, the exact same sockets could have been purchased from the local Screwfix round the corner, but no we'll spend £500 sending a courier.

The other week I delivered some biscuits, rubber gloves and toilet roll to a dialysis centre over 200 miles away - we as taxpayers are ultimately paying for this, again there was a Screwfix and supermarket round the corner that could have provided everything I delivered.

[EightMegs]

2 hours ago, wuvvum said:

I nipped out to the motor factors at lunchtime to see if I could order a correct distributor cap for the Toyota.

NLA apparently.  Epic.

So not sure where to go from here, short of getting a set of custom HT leads made up.   As a temporary solution to (hopefully) get the car mobile again, given that both the HT lead terminals and the distributor cap terminals are designed to clip over a 4mm brass pin, I've ordered a length of 4mm brass rod which I'm going to cut into pins to use as temporary connectors.

I find Blueprint distributor caps are decent quality for the money, Denso stopped selling them at least 5 years ago though so you won't be able to find an OEM one. Check the contact that goes from the coil to the cap as well, they're made of steel so they can corrode and cause rough running. Did your's come with that weird cap where all of the leads come out sideways?

[wuvvum]

The one I bought is Blueprint - everything fits fine other than the terminal connections.  It's a standard format one with the leads exiting vertically (well horizontally as the dizzy is on the end of the camshaft).

The contact at the coil end appears to be a 4mm brass pin as well.  All the leads are new including the coil lead - although none of them fit the new dizzy cap obvs.

I've found what appears to be a correct set of HT leads which will fit the Blueprint cap - although the coil lead still won't fit so long term I'll probably have to have one made up.

[HMC]

5 hours ago, Sigmund Fraud said:

Am I right in thinking this is the 1-litre version ?

I learnt to drive in one of those ! They're surprisingly good fun and practically indestructible if you can keep the tinworm away.

Yes, its a 1 litre. Quite a sweet little engine and no PAS on this one. 30 years old in december.

[SiC]

The K11 Micra engine of that age was derived from the BMC A-Series lump. So much so that it can easily be retrofitted into RWD vehicles that took the A-Series.

[stuboy]

Nowt exciting.. finally started dallying the crv, covered in sand from the rain and spider webs

[SiC]

Well I never! You learn something new every day.
I guess that explains the 998cc/1275cc displacements in the K11 Micra.
The Micra looks superb by the way [mention=4673]HMC[/mention].

https://barrattengineering.co.uk/nissan-cg-engine-conversion-kit/

[bunglebus]

Weird day. My sister's 50th, and the memorial service for my school friend who died recently.

Both have made me consider the brief amount of time we get on this rock, and that some get far too few years. Best to enjoy every day and not worry too much I think

[bigfella2]

3 hours ago, SiC said:

The K11 Micra engine of that age was derived from the BMC A-Series lump. So much so that it can easily be retrofitted into RWD vehicles that took the A-Series.

How come it was never a 'thing' to put these engines in a mini? Instead of robbing old MG metro's of their engines. Seems like a far superior engine.

[wuvvum]

1 minute ago, bigfella2 said:

How come it was never a 'thing' to put these engines in a mini? Instead of robbing old MG metro's of their engines. Seems like a far superior engine.

End-on gearbox in the Micra so not a "drop in" swap in a FWD BL car.

[SiC]

How come it was never a 'thing' to put these engines in a mini? Instead of robbing old MG metro's of their engines. Seems like a far superior engine.

Only recently a thing to put them in Midgets. The difficulty probably be the gearbox as the gearbox sump arrangement is a lot more compact than gearbox on end. There isn't much spare room in a mini engine bay really.

[Sigmund Fraud]

32 minutes ago, SiC said:

 There isn't much spare room in a mini engine bay really.

😁

[EyesWeldedShut]

4 minutes ago, Sigmund Fraud said:

😁

Does that mean Bad Obsession have (finally) finished that there Mini from when?2012....

[captain_70s]

8 hours ago, Sunny Jim said:

How do businesses make any money or why your electricity bill is so high..

Sounds very similar to the levels of organisation and implementation applied by big pharma as well...

[EightMegs]

1 hour ago, SiC said:

1 hour ago, bigfella2 said:

How come it was never a 'thing' to put these engines in a mini? Instead of robbing old MG metro's of their engines. Seems like a far superior engine.

Only recently a thing to put them in Midgets. The difficulty probably be the gearbox as the gearbox sump arrangement is a lot more compact than gearbox on end. There isn't much spare room in a mini engine bay really.

Nissan actually kept the gearbox sump arrangement until 1982 on the Cherry, the engine and gearbox had separate oil though, unlike in a Mini. The MA engine in a Micra is derived more from the B series than the A series.

[Sigmund Fraud]

11 hours ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

Does that mean Bad Obsession have (finally) finished that there Mini from when?2012....

No, the thing in the picture is one of a handful of Mini/Clubmans with a transversely mounted V8.

IIRC the original one was done to settle an argument about how limited the underbonnet space of a Mini is... 

[Supernaut]

Bah, puncture.

[wuvvum]

3 hours ago, Sigmund Fraud said:

No, the thing in the picture is one of a handful of Mini/Clubmans with a transversely mounted V8.

IIRC the original one was done to settle an argument about how limited the underbonnet space of a Mini is... 

The Clubman does have a bigger engine bay though.  Might be a struggle to get a V8 in a bullnose.

[wesacosa]

With the departure of the C180K yesterday that's remarkably 3 cars out this year.  Who'd have thought the key when you've been struggling to shift cars is to sell them for a large financial loss

This should really help my stress levels as I'd been struggling to cope with so many cars.....

At least it would if I hadn't already brought the Xedos in a few months ago and now left myself without a ULEZ compliant car for work so another one is going to have to come in ASAP.  So net will just be -1 from last year.

However, selling the C180 and replacing with a cheap tax car was the reason for letting it go so that will at least bring some of by costs down.

It does leave me questioning the rest of the fleet though.

Favorit = Not driven for probably 2 years now aside from going to the MOT station. However nobody's gonna buy it and I can't bare to see it scrapped so I'll hang on to it for now and see if I get some inspiration to do something with it

Estelle = Got part way through commissioning but haven't touched it for about 18 months + now to my eternal shame

Xedos= Bought it for the summer shows. 3 out of the 4 completed now. Post Rustival (assuming it makes it) need to make a decision on if it stays or I try to find it a more permanent home

Westfield = Fck knows. Haven't driven it for many years, and last few drives were just taking interested friends and family for trips around the block in it when they'd come to visit for first time.  Still haven't driven it since the refresh I did during lockdown . Should sell it really

 

 

 

[comfortablynumb]

4 hours ago, Sigmund Fraud said:

IIRC the original one was done to settle an argument about how limited the underbonnet space of a Mini is

Not sure if it's the same one, but I saw some video footage of a yellow V8 FWD clubby doing a launch a while ago, it wanted the whole road.

Can you say "torquesteer...?" 😁

[wesacosa]

not necessarily a collection thread but a viewing of a car for sale via public transport and possible collection thread 

 

[wesacosa]

1 hour ago, wesacosa said:

not necessarily a collection thread but a viewing of a car for sale via public transport and possible collection thread 

 

these rush hour trains are very unpleasant. Packaged, no opening windows, no discernable aircon