The new news 24 thread

[Mr Livered]

21 minutes ago, captain_70s said:

When I sent my works van in to the dealer for its first service they managed to leave a bleed nipple on a rear caliper loose resulting in the brakes going bye bye on a motorway off-ramp terminating in a roundabout.

Next service it went to a back street garage that left the sump plug loose and it dumped a load of oil outside my house while parked up over the weekend.

Years ago I was in some town or other for the day on my Saab 900 auto and couldn't find parking; I was very pleased with myself when I came up with the idea of dropping into one of those Kwik Fit places, asking for a basic oil and filter change (which they had some kind of mega cheap deal on), and coming back for it just as they closed.

I paid and went out to the car on the forecourt as they were bringing the shutters down. I started the engine as the mechanics were driving away. I drove a couple of yards and failed to proceed.

The gits must have had some confusion about the location of the sump plug, because although the oil change seemed to have been done fine there was absolutely no ATF in the gearbox. 

I seem to remember walking around the town going to filling stations as it took a lot of tries to find somewhere within walking distance that would sell me enough ATF in tiny expensive 1L bottles to get moving again. The next morning they just denied it.

[Mr Livered]

21 minutes ago, The Vicar said:

I took these photos in 2018

 

Wow, it must have been left to deteriorate pretty soon after you papped it.

[Wibble]

1 hour ago, The Vicar said:

That’s not yours is it!?

Sadly not, a ULEZ victim gifted to my friend by a former neighbour of his since childhood.

[DavieW]

1 hour ago, Mr Livered said:

Years ago I was in some town or other for the day on my Saab 900 auto and couldn't find parking; I was very pleased with myself when I came up with the idea of dropping into one of those Kwik Fit places

My old boss did similar in Edinburgh. The office he was visiting for a meeting was next door to a Kwik Fit so he left his lease car with them for a wheel alignment, which the lease company would pick the tab up for and not our company for a days parking. 😂

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, The Vicar said:

Hello old friend..

The sound of silence?

[Split_Pin]

9 hours ago, The Vicar said:

Hello old friend..

I took these photos in 2018

Crikey what a shame. How has the paint got so bad in 8 years? Its basically all fallen off.

[SiC]

Possibly stored under a car cover. Cover rubs paint and keeps moisture sitting on the body to allow it really get eaten into. 

[Dyslexic Viking]

10 hours ago, The Vicar said:

Hello old friend..

I took these photos in 2018

This only reinforce my opinion that classic cars should be given the same protection as listed houses.

There are only a limited number of cars like this left and for every one that is destroyed, there is one less in existence.

[LightBulbFun]

12 hours ago, richardmorris said:

Just the person! Car I am looking at is jsk192 . Presumably an age related assigned plate?

Yeah tis an Age related plate from a block (101-200) allocated to Dudley in 1991

[Bren]

Oil and filter on the SD1

I couldn't see much if any glitter in the old oil - oil looks black but was pretty clean.

[wesacosa]

Favorit MOT day

Ashamed to report it's not been driven since the last one.  Cursory run around the block yesterday revealed my bean tin repair* on the silencer last year needed further attention, the rear wiper blade had seen better days, it needed a brake light bulb and the rear offside lights were not working (although this was fixed with a hefty tap of the dash by the fuse board as it usually does)

Another poor night's sleep and stress followed.  It's not so much the MOT that stresses me out but the jumping into an old car I've not driven in a year and heading out on the crazy awful roads in South London. I'm always ok once I set off but it's the lead up to it that stresses me out. Especially as I've probably only done 50 miles in it since it dumped its coolant in 2024 so still have worries about any HG issues since then

Anyway, all back now and MoT passed. I'd hoped it would pass as I've pretty much done all the brakes/suspension/bushes/bearing since I got it.  The rear nearside sill is looking like it might not have too many more MOTs in it before needs some sparkly stick action but it passed muster this time.

So what next ...

Well I don't know.  Aside from MOTs I've probably not done more than 50 miles since the blasted ULEZ extension came in. The poor thing just sits there looking sorry for itself.  I did look to sell it a couple of times but given that most of the favorits that survive are mint low mileage cherished ex-giffer cars I'm not sure there's gonna be much call for what is surely now the shonkiest one left on the road 

anyway, that's one for another day.   Hopefully I can get on top of all this worry and stress using these old cars too. This time was admittedly better than the last couple of MOT days on the old Panda and the Favorit so maybe making progress.  After all the worst that can happen is I conk out in the Blackwall tunnel and I'm sure they'd have me towed out pretty quickly 

[richardmorris]

Not really a collection yet. But it has been bought. V5 done and tax sorted online.

[richardmorris]

1 hour ago, richardmorris said:

Not really a collection yet. But it has been bought. V5 done and tax sorted online.

Insurance being a pain, online at Peter best doesn’t like the numberplate. I’ve got a quote for the model but I’ll need to speak to someone and they’re closed until Monday. 

[Pat Earrings]

New rear discs and pads and calipers both sides on the wife’s evoque. Bastard to bleed as my shitty pressure bleeder leaked and introduced air but got there in the end. Used genuine LR new caliper bolts and guide bolts all torqued up to spec. Should be fine for a while now! You can see how the inner pad was binding, making awful noises

[Mr Livered]

54 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

Insurance being a pain, online at Peter best doesn’t like the numberplate. I’ve got a quote for the model but I’ll need to speak to someone and they’re closed until Monday. 

Can you get some kind of temp cover for the weekend?

[richardmorris]

1 minute ago, Mr Livered said:

Can you get some kind of temp cover for the weekend?

It’s ok, John still keeping insurance on it for the weekend and it’s in their garage.  Collecting on Thursday. 

[Mr Livered]

1 minute ago, richardmorris said:

It’s ok, John still keeping insurance on it for the weekend and it’s in their garage.  Collecting on Thursday. 

Looks ace, keen to see more pics. Fantastic buy

[Bren]

I found this behind the instrument binnacle on the SD1. It had obviously fell off the screen.

I have cleaned the dust and adhesive away. I am not fussy about originality but I will stick it back on. It's nice to have.

[richardmorris]

18 minutes ago, Mr Livered said:

Looks ace, keen to see more pics. Fantastic buy

It was really cold and windy today so mostly stayed inside. From last visit… 

it was fully restored body wise and then kept on top of work for the 32 years he’s had it. Engine done with unleaded head , new interior and headlining etc. stainless exhaust and new tyres. All of which cost more than the car!

[davehedgehog31]

On 25/03/2026 at 10:36, Split_Pin said:

Goodbye, for now. Off to Duncan the Rover guy for some final work to get it road legal again. I just dont have the time at the moment to get it all done and to be quite honest, apart from the subframe, each and every MOT fail was due to me concentrating on getting the bodywork sorted and not attending to little things. All easily sorted and hopefully back home soon.

Last car ride my Dad ever took was in this (although he was very ill) and it now wears his plate, so it must live on.

A lot to be said for getting A.N Othercunt to do stuff sometimes, especially when they're a knowledgeable Othercunt.

[richardmorris]

4 hours ago, richardmorris said:

It was really cold and windy today so mostly stayed inside. From last visit… 

it was fully restored body wise and then kept on top of work for the 32 years he’s had it. Engine done with unleaded head , new interior and headlining etc. stainless exhaust and new tyres. All of which cost more than the car!

Oh and the wipers, are slow, slower and occasional. It’s not been out in the rain for ten years! John is one of those people who write everything down in a diary notebook- mileage, fuel, weather etc. He’s kept the roofrack which is fine as I didn’t like it and included all the new spares - window trims, twenty spark plugs ( eBay counting error!) and rubber seals for the vent and windscreen.

[Split_Pin]

1 hour ago, davehedgehog31 said:

A lot to be said for getting A.N Othercunt to do stuff sometimes, especially when they're a knowledgeable Othercunt.

Absolutely man, I just want to drive the blooming thing now 😅

[The Vicar]

23 hours ago, richardmorris said:

It was really cold and windy today so mostly stayed inside. From last visit… 

it was fully restored body wise and then kept on top of work for the 32 years he’s had it. Engine done with unleaded head , new interior and headlining etc. stainless exhaust and new tyres. All of which cost more than the car!

Was the gearbox/change difficult to get a grasp of? I’ve always fancied one of these and have come close in the past, but have never had the opportunity to drive one.  

[The Vicar]

Anyway..I may have overestimated my abilities in just about every aspect of what a full restoration entails, but this is being delivered to me on Thursday 

[richardmorris]

29 minutes ago, The Vicar said:

Was the gearbox/change difficult to get a grasp of? I’ve always fancied one of these and have come close in the past, but have never had the opportunity to drive one.  

It’s, well a deliberate action. Easiest if you think of it as a normal pattern but rotated 90degrees to vertical. So neutral is still a left - right, but first is right and down towards the floor, 2nd left and up and 3rd down from 2nd towards the floor. Reverse right and up. I have not got right yet !

quite how the police and villains drove them so quickly I am not sure yet.

[JJ0063]

Been trying to find an affordable box trailer for the business for a while now but they’re so expensive, I just couldn’t justify it.

 

This popped up on eBay today 3 miles from my house so as a compromise, it’ll be absolutely fine. Decent size, braked, caged body with cover which amazingly seems bone dry inside too. 
 

Will certainly do what I need for £450.

[Zelandeth]

1 hour ago, richardmorris said:

It’s, well a deliberate action. Easiest if you think of it as a normal pattern but rotated 90degrees to vertical. So neutral is still a left - right, but first is right and down towards the floor, 2nd left and up and 3rd down from 2nd towards the floor. Reverse right and up. I have not got right yet !

quite how the police and villains drove them so quickly I am not sure yet.

Next time I get in another car with a column/dash shift it is going to absolutely screw with my head as the Trabant seems to have it mirrored left/right compared to most.

Neutral plane there is fore and aft, 1st is down, second is up, lever towards you then brings you into the plane of third and fourth.  Reverse is forward away from you all the way past a really sturdy detent and down.

It confused the fluff out of me for about the first week of owning it, but has since become right up there in terms of favourite gear shifts on any car I've owned.  Really light and precise and just pleasant to use.

Really is an underrated layout though, having the gear level right by the steering wheel just gains so many points from an ergonomic perspective, and a good column shift really is a joy to use.

The one in an absolutely clapped out Bedford CA on the other hand, not so much.  Probably did help when I stopped looking for the non existent fourth gear mind you...

[Brigsy]

Ive never driven a column change before. Need to tick that box one day for sure.

Sat - airbag ecu recalibration on a clio3. Took approx 7 mins and set up properly / airbag off.

Lad had also asked to have a look at his recently fitted passenger window as he had added wiring and parts for one touch window raise/lower, which was working but not right and not responding to the calibration. The auto lift was enabled and looked all over for any settings that were related/not ticked in french, 45 mins of google lense to translate. No joy, i reckon it was hardware related aka faulty temic module in window regulator.

After that carry on went down my mates garage to look at a nova 1.2merit hes just got. Honest original car and tidy.

After sitting in it for 5 mins reliving my youth, i remembered how shit they are and the offset steering wheel from drivers seat😄 better to look at than drive!

[barefoot]

4 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Next time I get in another car with a column/dash shift it is going to absolutely screw with my head as the Trabant seems to have it mirrored left/right compared to most.

Neutral plane there is fore and aft, 1st is down, second is up, lever towards you then brings you into the plane of third and fourth.  Reverse is forward away from you all the way past a really sturdy detent and down.

It confused the fluff out of me for about the first week of owning it, but has since become right up there in terms of favourite gear shifts on any car I've owned.  Really light and precise and just pleasant to use.

Really is an underrated layout though, having the gear level right by the steering wheel just gains so many points from an ergonomic perspective, and a good column shift really is a joy to use.

The one in an absolutely clapped out Bedford CA on the other hand, not so much.  Probably did help when I stopped looking for the non existent fourth gear mind you...

I used to change certain gears in mine using my little finger, just because I could. Incredibly light and precise when recently lubed. Just a shame that the indicator stalk opposite had all the structural integrity of a BIC refill. Would I have another Trabbie?

Fuck right off. 

[hairnet]

8 hours ago, The Vicar said:

Was the gearbox/change difficult to get a grasp of? I’ve always fancied one of these and have come close in the past, but have never had the opportunity to drive one.  

youve never driven a fergie?