The new news 24 thread

[Split_Pin]

Despite thousands of pounds being spent in this car in March, someone forgot to include the auxiliary belt in the records, maladministration madness!

The belt drives the water pump via the supercharger so is important.

Anyway, a special tool is needed to release the tension

I scored 43,000,000 goals against the real nice guys of the Gasworks Gang.

Anyway, after that, quite a bit had to come off or be moved to get to the belt tensioner.

The tool is not quite long enough to give sufficient leverage on the tensioner but...

..and I managed it.

Old belt looked OK but had a small cut in the ribbed side.

Fitted and tested OK. 

Peace of mind!

Anyone who wants to borrow the tool let me know as it was quite pricey. Or you could just make one.

 

[Rustybullethole]

Picked up mom and pops Skoda from airport parking after paying the extortionate bill it had racked up for a overstay. 

It's big, red and diesely. Karoq?, sure its starts with a K, looks like it should be 4wd but is just a fat fuck 2wd. 

Handles a bit shit though goes well enough. Beeps at me lots though stereo decent enough to drown it out. 

Average MPG was 58.something when i left Bristol Airport. Got that down to 32.2 by the time I hit Cirencester. 

It's hard to put a price on a decent Italian tune up. 

[Bren]

Rover SD1 first went on sale fifty years ago today.

[Snake Charmer]

1 hour ago, Bren said:

Rover SD1 first went on sale fifty years ago today.

Mine was registered 28th September 1977.

[Somerset Suffolk]

8 hours ago, Rustybullethole said:

Picked up mom and pops Skoda from airport parking after paying the extortionate bill it had racked up for a overstay. 

It's big, red and diesely. Karoq?, sure its starts with a K, looks like it should be 4wd but is just a fat fuck 2wd. 

Handles a bit shit though goes well enough. Beeps at me lots though stereo decent enough to drown it out. 

Average MPG was 58.something when i left Bristol Airport. Got that down to 32.2 by the time I hit Cirencester. 

It's hard to put a price on a decent Italian tune up. 

Extortionate bill and Bristol Airport have a very close association with each other ... 

[Bren]

Some SD1 action.

I wanted to put the belly pan and lower spoiler back on but I thought I would pull the headlight washer bottle first and clean it out as I had never even considered it. It is held on by a bolt and big washer and a bracket bolted to the inner wheel tub - the bottle lives under the battery.

There was a bracket behind the bolts on the inner tub presumably to stop the panel flexing and the bottle is in my view unnecessarily large ( bigger than the windscreen washer bottle). As expected the two bolts were seized solid - one snapped and the grinder got the other. During this the bracket suddenly identified itself as bran flakes and promptly left the chat. So I made a replacement- 

I removed some of the underseal with the grinder so this will need touching up before everything is put back.

 

[richardmorris]

Bought a recon rad for the traction from the club spares today.  Fitted it, put the car back together,  nearly broke a finger with the bonnet , filled it with water, and the bloody thing leaks. Aagggghhh. Bought the uk rebuilt one rather than the foreign new one that was actually £100 cheaper! Now have to take it all out again , back up to the spares in Wokingham, and redo the whole saga. Again!

 

 

[richardmorris]

On better coolant issue front, my dad took the x1/9 to the Italian specialist on Monday. They investigated loosing coolant which I thought was either a thermostat gasket or cross pipe. Turned out to be a rotten jubilee clip underneath that fell apart when touched. So £50 labour and £1,50 part.

[paulplom]

21 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

Despite thousands of pounds being spent in this car in March, someone forgot to include the auxiliary belt in the records, maladministration madness!

The belt drives the water pump via the supercharger so is important.

Anyway, a special tool is needed to release the tension

I scored 43,000,000 goals against the real nice guys of the Gasworks Gang.

Anyway, after that, quite a bit had to come off or be moved to get to the belt tensioner.

The tool is not quite long enough to give sufficient leverage on the tensioner but...

..and I managed it.

Old belt looked OK but had a small cut in the ribbed side.

Fitted and tested OK. 

Peace of mind!

Anyone who wants to borrow the tool let me know as it was quite pricey. Or you could just make one.

 

Sell it to me. You don't need to see my identification..

[richardmorris]

1 hour ago, richardmorris said:

On better coolant issue front, my dad took the x1/9 to the Italian specialist on Monday. They investigated loosing coolant which I thought was either a thermostat gasket or cross pipe. Turned out to be a rotten jubilee clip underneath that fell apart when touched. So £50 labour and £1,50 part.

Anyone needing an Italian specialist in north wales/ Chester I do recommend them. They’ve been looking after the x1/9 for 20 years.

[beko1987]

My friends wife wants a new car, as her Astra K is shitting the bed in engine/turbo related ways. And is too smoll now they have 3 kids. 

5.30 me and him left the office and drove to reading to view a qashqai that was sat untaxed in the Holiday Inn Express Reading's car park in the back corner. 

I slid underneath first and it's very solid under there. Covered in mud but it has its boot floor corners and there is paint on the suspension and subframe with a bit of a rub. 

Externally though it's tatty as fuck. Rear door handle is sticky 

There's a huge chunk of filler about to fall off the back door

Lacquer has left the chat in places

And this was quite worrying

But, we spent 20 minutes going around the outside and all seemed fine and honest. But the inside? And the engine? 

The seller didn't show up 😂 Despite him saying 6pm, and giving us a first line of the address and postcode which was the holiday inn, he didn't answer the phone! Seems the ideal place to crawl around and steal a car is the holiday inn express in Reading, as no one came out to stop us 😂🤷 I was almost fully under at times for several minutes, and 2 middle aged blokes standing around 1 car for 20 minutes with 1 guy in his phone and taking pics should have set alarm bells! 

We gave up in the end, went into the hotel for a piss and to wash hands, then fucked off. Seller phoned us as we got to Maidenhead but my friend didn't answer. He got home and messaged back and the price is now £750... It's still on the list but we've found some actually_nicer ones for not much more since then. 

Was a fun trip out though

[Barry Cade]

This popped up on my Ebay saved searches fairly local, so I messaged,  and bought it 😯

The van bit is really good for one of these, but on the camper side, absolutely nothing worked. Heating, fridge, water.. all broken, disconnected or just plain Fuc*ed. Ive been putting a shift in every day on it. Sliding door is jammed shut and bearings have disintegrated..Fridge is upside down in the spare room awaiting a new element. Seized Propex has been ripped out to be replaced with a diesel heater. Water tank has been repaired and is full of sterilising tablets. Water pump has been rewired and new pump fitted. Consumer unit replaced and 240v all working. Split charge system all repaired and broken Zig unit replaced. Dash has been out and all connections soldered and odometer/clocks all work now. Luckily the units and furnishings are all original and very good.  I've even got round to polishing some bits up and painting the horrible black wheels an acceptable wheel colour.  Been really enjoying getting with something with wind up windows and no OBD2 socket again! Been toying with letting the Alfa go. Don't know if I can bring myself to do it- always tried not to get attached to vehicles, but now I have 4 that I can't part with 😟

Here it is as it stands today. 

And the GT that I have no room for and can't really afford to keep 😞

[Joey spud]

The Stag that I'm recommissioning after sitting since Covid is being a bit of a chore. I'm used to old Japanese stuff that just works.

With the carbs now fuel tight I restarted the thing only to find it's only running on six cylinders and the cam covers are pissing oil everywhere.

The cam covers fixings were loose but tightened up they still leak and once removed it seems the cork gaskets have gone hard and shrunk so new ones are on order.

The car has arrived with new set of coolant and breather hoses so I've been swapping them over. They're from a well known Triumph parts supplier and they seem very thin walled compared to the originals and some of the shaping is a bit off too.

I've fitted new belts too although a suprise was in store when I found one of the PAS pump to cylinder head bolts just spins around and won't tighten. Also the pump is empty and peeping under the front of the car it looks like the fluid is now inside the bulging o/s rack gaiter so it looks like a rack seal has failed (the rack looks quite new/not had much use).

Previously I had drained the fuel tank using the SU  pump in the boot and added 10 litres of fresh but every time I walk past the back of the Stag I'm greeted with a strong smell of gone off petrol so I need to see what's going on here.

We're hoping to get it back on the road before the car show season finishes but a spanner has been thrown into the works as I've been offered a technician/trainer role at the local college which will slow things down.

Nice looking car though.

[doug]

Wee bit of welding required to the T4 at the front of the sill. 

Needed to take the wheel off for better access. Noticed play in the track rod ends. Then noticed the steering rack boot burst. Trip into the town to get the parts. Got home, wrong parts. Back into town to get right parts. Back home fitted the parts. Then noticed a split in the CV boot. Luckily i had one that fitted. Went to go for a test drive. Battery flat. Gave up. The joys the joys.

[Zelandeth]

Why are all modern rubber parts absolute garbage?

That's two that have done this now from two totally different suppliers.  

[Joey spud]

I emptied the Stag's boot earlier and I think I have found the cause of the fuel smell.

A vent pipe from the filler neck that's supposed to pass through the floor was just pushed out of sight under the tank and a spare vent outlet on the tank wasn't connected to anything.

I decided to pull the sender unit out and suck the tank totally dry.

It's back together now and still smells but hopefully it will subside soon.

[Joey spud]

I've spoken to the Stags owner and it turns out it was rear ended on a motorway slip road/roundabout and a Triumph Stag specialist in Faversham did the insurance repair and it's whiffed of fuel ever since.

[stuboy]

9 hours ago, Joey spud said:

The Stag that I'm recommissioning after sitting since Covid is being a bit of a chore. I'm used to old Japanese stuff that just works.

With the carbs now fuel tight I restarted the thing only to find it's only running on six cylinders and the cam covers are pissing oil everywhere.

The cam covers fixings were loose but tightened up they still leak and once removed it seems the cork gaskets have gone hard and shrunk so new ones are on order.

The car has arrived with new set of coolant and breather hoses so I've been swapping them over. They're from a well known Triumph parts supplier and they seem very thin walled compared to the originals and some of the shaping is a bit off too.

I've fitted new belts too although a suprise was in store when I found one if the PAS pump to cylinder head bolts just spins around and won't tighten. Also the pump is empty and looking under the front of the car it looks like the fluid is now inside the bulging o/s rack gaiter so it looks like a rack seal has failed (the rack looks quite new/not had much use).

Previously I had drained the fuel tank using the SU  pump in the boot and added 10 litres of fresh but every time I walk past the back of the Stag I'm greeted with a strong smell of gone off petrol so I need to see what's going on here.

We're hoping to get it back on the road before the car show season finishes but a spanner has been thrown into the works as I've been offered a technician/trainer role at the local college which will slow things down.

Nice looking car though.

 

[richardmorris]

Picked up the brand new radiator yesterday, checked the core wasn’t leaking in work this morning, came home and fitted it.  Got everything lined up nicely, clears the fan blades etc. got the bonnet back on, mixed the coolant and filled the radiator, only for it to start pissing out the bottom hose mounting. Thinking I hadn’t tightened the jubilee clip enough I released it to get a better location and saw that it’s not the hose leaking it’s the actual metal weld. Aggghhhh. Now I’m pissed off. They’ve not got another in stock, a replacement will be about a week, or to get the original one recored about two months.

[richardmorris]

In slightly more positive news, the grease gun arrived. That’s all last month’s premium bond wins spent now.

[Marina door handles]

My Rover 827 hit a leggyish milestone today and I managed to capture it....

Yep that is 170,000 miles, the bus stop that I pulled into magically appeared in the nick of time other wise it would have rolled onto 170001 which would have been annoying! 

[richardmorris]

14 minutes ago, Marina door handles said:

My Rover 827 hit a leggyish milestone today and I managed to capture it....

Yep that is 170,000 miles, the bus stop that I pulled into magically appeared in the nick of time other wise it would have rolled onto 170001 which would have been annoying! 

I got my cx DTR to 174,000 on the original clutch, no photos though - was still using film in 2006!

[Zelandeth]

2 hours ago, richardmorris said:

Picked up the brand new radiator yesterday, checked the core wasn’t leaking in work this morning, came home and fitted it.  Got everything lined up nicely, clears the fan blades etc. got the bonnet back on, mixed the coolant and filled the radiator, only for it to start pissing out the bottom hose mounting. Thinking I hadn’t tightened the jubilee clip enough I released it to get a better location and saw that it’s not the hose leaking it’s the actual metal weld. Aggghhhh. Now I’m pissed off. They’ve not got another in stock, a replacement will be about a week, or to get the original one recored about two months.

Aren't modern parts *wonderful?*

It's not as though we haven't known how to make a fscking radiator for the last 100 years or anything...

[beko1987]

On 30/06/2026 at 22:11, beko1987 said:

My friends wife wants a new car, as her Astra K is shitting the bed in engine/turbo related ways. And is too smoll now they have 3 kids. 

5.30 me and him left the office and drove to reading to view a qashqai that was sat untaxed in the Holiday Inn Express Reading's car park in the back corner. 

I slid underneath first and it's very solid under there. Covered in mud but it has its boot floor corners and there is paint on the suspension and subframe with a bit of a rub. 

Externally though it's tatty as fuck. Rear door handle is sticky 

There's a huge chunk of filler about to fall off the back door

Lacquer has left the chat in places

And this was quite worrying

But, we spent 20 minutes going around the outside and all seemed fine and honest. But the inside? And the engine? 

The seller didn't show up 😂 Despite him saying 6pm, and giving us a first line of the address and postcode which was the holiday inn, he didn't answer the phone! Seems the ideal place to crawl around and steal a car is the holiday inn express in Reading, as no one came out to stop us 😂🤷 I was almost fully under at times for several minutes, and 2 middle aged blokes standing around 1 car for 20 minutes with 1 guy in his phone and taking pics should have set alarm bells! 

We gave up in the end, went into the hotel for a piss and to wash hands, then fucked off. Seller phoned us as we got to Maidenhead but my friend didn't answer. He got home and messaged back and the price is now £750... It's still on the list but we've found some actually_nicer ones for not much more since then. 

Was a fun trip out though

Went to see another qq tonight. Sold by a polish couple who didn't speak much English. Car was solid and tidy underneath, brakes good, no rust like mine bad bar a grotty repair to one back door arch where the rear trim has now come away but the chap knocked a bit off for that so we'll stick the trim back down to that and ignore it forever. Has a really shitty DIY paint job on the front bumper but nothing else. 

Drove fine so he paid £900 for it and away we went. I drove it and after putting some petrol in I experienced a 1.6 pez qq for the first time. Was no torque and it felt slower than mine when I booted it out of Chinnor but bar that specific thing (and being quite revvy at 60) it's really nice. Said it was doing 42mpg when we got doing 50 with traffic. 

His wife loves it, immediate plans are a service, there's a slight oil weep from the sump gasket which isn't dripping on the floor which wants looking at, and tyres fairly soon but she's gone out in it tonight very happy. 

Might merge tinkering with this into my own qq thread when that starts. 

[richardmorris]

19 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

Aren't modern parts *wonderful?*

It's not as though we haven't known how to make a fscking radiator for the last 100 years or anything...

Apparently * it’s the first one for a big 15 they’ve sold since the TOC parts moved to be part of Citroen classics. I think the recon one they sold me earlier was possibly a faulty one put back on the shelf, but this one was brand new in a box. I am not impressed. Especially at £400.

[richardmorris]

Oh, it’s my parents 60th wedding anniversary next month, and I’d really like to surprise them with the stupid traction to take them out for dinner. They’re off on a riviera travel river cruise before so hope to be waiting for them when they get back, at this rate it will be 30radiators later…

[richardmorris]

27 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

Aren't modern parts *wonderful?*

It's not as though we haven't known how to make a fscking radiator for the last 100 years or anything...

It’s the same problem I have with pattern panels that don’t fit. Surely it is no more difficult or expensive to make one that does from the same mould?

[BorniteIdentity]

17 minutes ago, beko1987 said:

Sold by a polish couple 

Any better pictures of the lady in question? You’re teasing me here fella… 😏😬

[High Jetter]

I've had several rads re-cored over the years, no failures and usually c7 days lead time

[beko1987]

38 minutes ago, BorniteIdentity said:

Any better pictures of the lady in question? You’re teasing me here fella… 😏😬

That was the sellers wife. She was driving a hard bargain until I pulled my oily hand back from under the engine and pulled the trim hiding the bodge back... She took an offer then (was up for £1100).

My friends actual wife drove it to her mums in Slough just now and has arrived so hopefully that's it good. Reading up on it it's a chain engine which is exciting. Sounds utterly silent so hopefully an oil change ASAP will keep it that way (0 paperwork of course, but it does have 2 locking wheel keys. Both different, but the seller told us which wheel was different which was nice