The new news 24 thread

[The Vicar]

Yet another arrival at the vicarage:

March ‘95 with the 1.3 from the previous gen Polo. Only 30k on the clock too. 

[Asimo]

With you for the last-rites?

[EyesWeldedShut]

4 minutes ago, Asimo said:

With you for the last-rites?

Growing salad on by the looks of it?

[Sigmund Fraud]

40 minutes ago, The Vicar said:

March ‘95 with the 1.3 from the previous gen Polo. Only 30k on the clock too. 

Great find ! Being so early, I presume it's German-built rather than Spanish-built ? They seemed better put together, and are generally more resistant to rust than later ones.

[The Vicar]

44 minutes ago, Asimo said:

With you for the last-rites?

We believe in resurrection round these parts 😇

[puddlethumper]

As I shall be going to Scotland on Friday, Daventry to Findhorn, near Forres helping a mate move up there, I've done a bit on my Mazda. Oil and filter, new brake pads and sliders all greased up, drop links and new belts for alternator and power steering. Eight and a half hours, according to Google, in a 33 year old Mazda. WCPGW. I'm betting nothing but who knows.

Met a guy in Screwfix today who was in a red BX. Turns out he has three of them plus a DS 21. 

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, lesapandre said:

First rule...don't get caught...

Learned that before secondary school 😀

[Rustybullethole]

3 hours ago, The Vicar said:

Yet another arrival at the vicarage:

March ‘95 with the 1.3 from the previous gen Polo. Only 30k on the clock too. 

Looks like that will clean up a treat. Its a rare one too, all the ones I looked at years ago had a rippled rear valance. 

Great colour and looks how it should with gingercators and steel wheels.

[Saabnut]

15 hours ago, puddlethumper said:

As I shall be going to Scotland on Friday, Daventry to Findhorn, near Forres helping a mate move up there, I've done a bit on my Mazda. Oil and filter, new brake pads and sliders all greased up, drop links and new belts for alternator and power steering. Eight and a half hours, according to Google, in a 33 year old Mazda. WCPGW. I'm betting nothing but who knows.

Met a guy in Screwfix today who was in a red BX. Turns out he has three of them plus a DS 21. 

You know where I am if you need owt.

[High Jetter]

Hosepipe ban has ended round here, an email announced today.

[Metal Guru]

28 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Hosepipe ban has ended round here, an email announced today.

Two dry weeks in March or April and it’ll be back on, since we aren’t able to store more than three and a half day’s supply despite the wettest winter ever.

[Bear]

Had to go to up to the Borders, we took the Chevy Spark because... it just got new tyres and it works. MOT is due soon, so I hope it passes.

So this is the Spark we got for gf to get driving a manual again, which given recent luck with cheap cars...

...has been a stubborn cockroach of a thing and just did a 500 mile round trip on slightly over one (tiny) tank of super unleaded, noisily maintaining motorway speeds. and causing my dad to remark that the speakers were much nicer than his 2022 Kia (I didn't do anything with them but I think the back speakers were replaced by the previous owner).

I'm now in so much agony from the driving position + manual gearbox I can't actually do anything, BUT, the car? It's earned itself a "you're getting a proper service and maybe new control arms" if it passes the MOT (or just fails on the control arms, it feels a little, very lightly, off - alignment pointless if anything's worn).

Definitely earned its keep over the past year and the cheap Frankberg brake calipers etc. I'd got to fix the sticky caliper still look like new.

Removing the tinfoil from the battery terminal also worked wonders for it being more lively at startup.

[EyesWeldedShut]

18 hours ago, puddlethumper said:

Eight and a half hours, according to Google,

🤣

500miles (ish) in 8 and a half hours? Nae problem. as they say. Just need a good tailwind.
Safe journey, make sure you grab some Lorne Sausage sandwiches for the return journey.
(My sister is in Elgin so I know the journey   - we're probably about equidistant with Daventry and it's just doable in a single journey but, these days, I tend to stopover someplace between Lancaster and Glasgow as I'm no longer hard core [never was tbh]. )

 

[Bear]

3 minutes ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

🤣

500miles (ish) in 8 and a half hours? Nae problem. as they say. Just need a good tailwind.
Safe journey, make sure you grab some Lorne Sausage sandwiches for the return journey.
(My sister is in Elgin so I know the journey   - we're probably about equidistant with Daventry and it's just doable in a single journey but, these days, I tend to stopover someplace between Lancaster and Glasgow as I'm no longer hard core [never was tbh]. )

 

It is easier heading south, as it's all downhill.

Forres is not too bad to get to - Daventry to Edinburgh should be about 4 1/2 hours of driving, it's the absolute SLOG north that feels like it takes forever.  The M1 and A1M are pretty clear at the moment and both Wooler and Cheviot sides into the Borders were running well yesterday, but  I reckon M6-M74 will be the low-stress fast route and Tebay services still has nice food for a sensible break. Don't know what M6 side roadworks situation is though.

[Momentary Lapse Of Reason]

59 minutes ago, Bear said:

Don't know what M6 side roadworks situation is though.

National Highways North West (select M6 from dropdown )

Lune Valley 40mph average speed camera enforced limit

Clifton Bridge 40 &  50 mph average speed camera enforced limit

Various other overnight repairs going on.

Black Circles M6 Info for next 7 days

HTH.

[Jazoli]

M6 Clifton bridge is a non issue really, about 3 miles of easy roadworks, use it every day.

[Momentary Lapse Of Reason]

9 minutes ago, Jazoli said:

M6 Clifton bridge is a non issue really, about 3 miles of easy roadworks, use it every day.

Agreed, none of the m6 roadworks are that bad.

 

[EyesWeldedShut]

3 minutes ago, Momentary Lapse Of Reason said:

Agreed, none of the m6 roadworks are that bad.

 

I always get a giggle when they shut a lane at Shap and warn you about queues - it's the quietest bit of motorway I know (not as quiet as it was back in the 1980s when I used it a lot- felt like they'd deliberately built it just so as you could view all the glorious scenery in relative safety. Unlike the A9 at Aviemore ......

[stuboy]

Nothing exciting,  got asked to help the training team as shot handed... m2/a2/m20 dreary and dull

[Split_Pin]

Hit and run on the Audi today.

The bumper was pulled forward so its worse than it looks, wing is pushed in and the mounts behind are all twisted so it won't push back on.

Thankfully there were several witnesses who took the reg so I called the police. Funnily enough the driver then surfaced, made a flimsy excuse and has agreed to pay me outside of insurance when she gets paid next week. I wish I'd asked for more now Ivl've seen the extent of the damage. Insurance will just put all 4 of my premiums up and write a good car off. She was keen to tell me there was 'thankfully' no damage to her car and that her excess was minimal should I decide to go down the route of insurance. 

I contacted the police again and extinguished the complaint.

I don't have a great deal of hope that the money will surface but what else can I do 😐

[Bear]

2 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

She was keen to tell me there was 'thankfully' no damage to her car and that her excess was minimal should I decide to go down the route of insurance. 

I'd do that then - third party claim direct to her insurance. They'll write it off and IME the settlements are usually not bad. I've yet to have a third party claim dent my quotes, either, even when someone ran into my parked, less than a year old Fullback when I was sitting in it!

[Split_Pin]

10 minutes ago, Bear said:

I'd do that then - third party claim direct to her insurance. They'll write it off and IME the settlements are usually not bad. I've yet to have a third party claim dent my quotes, either, even when someone ran into my parked, less than a year old Fullback when I was sitting in it!

Someone ran into my brand new at the time Dacia Duster when it was in a car park, left their full details, Churchill were great, but my premiums shot up for the next 5 years. 

It's also far too good a car to throw away, I will fix it and continue to use it.

[Sunny Jim]

Happy Palindrome Day 6 / 2 / 26

[Split_Pin]

17 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

Hit and run on the Audi today.

The bumper was pulled forward so its worse than it looks, wing is pushed in and the mounts behind are all twisted so it won't push back on.

Thankfully there were several witnesses who took the reg so I called the police. Funnily enough the driver then surfaced, made a flimsy excuse and has agreed to pay me outside of insurance when she gets paid next week. I wish I'd asked for more now Ivl've seen the extent of the damage. Insurance will just put all 4 of my premiums up and write a good car off. She was keen to tell me there was 'thankfully' no damage to her car and that her excess was minimal should I decide to go down the route of insurance. 

I contacted the police again and extinguished the complaint.

I don't have a great deal of hope that the money will surface but what else can I do 😐

Took the offside of the bumper off, adjusted it back up, pulled the wing out, cut the paint and then polished and it now looks a bit better.

I've still to get a touch up pen but forgot to get the paint code and Mrs_Pin has taken the car back to work.

[Snake Charmer]

BMW Mot, best method to hold the mirror  l have seen.

I think it's tile adhesive.

[Split_Pin]

I hope you advised on that, 'Abominable repair to rear view mirror'.

[Bear]

I didn't realise cars still played that game - back in the 80s my mum's Golf had the windscreen replaced and the mirror would never go back on, I'd probaby have done the same if I'd had a tube of no more nails and it had fallen off for the nth time that week...

[Lord Sterling]

Jag XJ has now been dropped off for welding work. As I'm in the middle of a working week, it was bloody cold and rainy going home this morning whereas I'm usually in the warm comfortable armchair of a Jag. 

Journey home was very straightforward though. 

Annoyingly though, the Jag XJ has developed an annoying fault. It thinks one of the passenger doors is open, and thus this morning, I had the interior light on all the way to Stourbridge. I also cannot lock the car on the fob and the interior light stays on ALL.OF.THE.BLOODY.TIME 😡

If I lock the car by key, the alarm will go off, which is what caused the issue I had last week with the local residents around where I parked it.

Its also a door card off job. 🙁

[junkyarddog]

Took my Mk2 Golf for a quick spin last week,to be confronted with a soft brake pedal.

Still stopped fine,but a lot of travel almost to the floor.

Not good,I guess it's the original master cylinder that had started to fail after 36 years.

So much for German engineering. 🙄😉

Ordered from my preferred local factors,arrived next morning. 

New and old.

Cleaned up the sealing face on the servo,luckily there is plenty of room to operate,once the airbox and intake pipe is removed. 

Back together,and braking performance restored.

Hopefully will clock up a few miles this year.

 

[auntiemaryscanary]

Their product isn't for me but a great picture at the top of the article.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2yq52q7jwo