The new news 24 thread

[tooSavvy]

^^^ ... dare we have a 'detailing thread [alternate names]' ?

 

 

TS

[Richard]

There was a story going around a while back about a guy who spent a five figure sum having his brand new Astra VXR detailed. I think the original DW thread is still there but it's hard to follow because the pictures have gone.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Think I remember that, they did a mega spoof of it on barryboys

[ruffgeezer]

Just sight unseen offered on this:

 

Whilst itching my bid finger against a Scudo with no pictures...

 

Oh shit.

[dave21478]

^^^ surprisingly good vans. Load capacity is better than a Combo or whatever modern versions.

Non white ones seem to be a little more rust-resistant too. An 05 plate might even have such delights as power steering and electric windows. 

[ruffgeezer]

I've had 3 of them already, the one I sold to Wilko was instrumental in the sale of my Ax VTS.

I had that and the Ax on the road at the same time, tootling on my way to work in the scruffy C15 it dawned on me that I actually preferred driving it to the Ax... oops!

[Asimo]

Love the Van bleu.

 

I would love a Visa Van with the 650 twin engine. (Say it like that and it sounds like a Triumph Bonneville etc).

 

Q. Were the vans ever made with the 2 cylinder?

[dollywobbler]

Not to my knowledge. Very few vans had anything other than diesel power.

[Wilko220]

They are indeed good vans.

That's a very late reg isn't it?

[brickwall]

^^^ ... dare we have a 'detailing thread [alternate names]' ?

 

 

TS

 

Washing?

[vulgalour]

See also; crust removal, moss management, rain, depreciation preventative and archaeology.

[Sloth in a bowl]

^^^ ... dare we have a 'detailing thread [alternate names]' ?

 

 

TS

 

Polishing Turds?

[Sloth in a bowl]

The 24 hours of the Nurburgring is currently being streamed live on a YouTube channel at

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMIDFQxFKJw#t=7985

 

with some epic nose to tail in car camera chases through the forest.

 

The commentary is by some of the Radio Le mans crew so isn't too annoying.

just for shitists, there is an Opel Manta running (No 144)

[ruffgeezer]

No cheap scudos thanks to fucking eBay not letting me bid. 160 for one with t&t cuntburgers.

[trigger]

Had another play with the Cortina's front suspension today, WCPGW...

 

 

Well it seems the springs as it happens, The original front springs are tapered along the top to sit in the cup where as the new -1" one's I've bought aren't tapered, after much thinking and swearing me and the old man decided it was best just to fit the new shocks and leave the old springs on it as there was nothing wrong with them.

 

The old shocks came off and they were totally knackered, they were floppier than a horses dick which explains all the problems i've been having, obviously that now meant that we had to fit the original springs back on the rear again to level the car out... 

 

Glad i did though, it now rides SO much nicer, it doesn't wander across lanes anymore and the front doesn't hit the ground when i break either result! It just means I have a full set of lowering springs to sell now.

 

 

[saucedoctor]

Can you not contact the vendor of the springs and tell them they fucked up? Sounds like you may have been sent the wrong ones.

[trigger]

Can you not contact the vendor of the springs and tell them they fucked up? Sounds like you may have been sent the wrong ones.

 

I'm not sure they are wrong, I just think that's the design of them, our theory was without the tapered top edge there was more pressure on the second coil run meaning that it could be more likely to break and seeing that they are a pain in the arse to change it was best to just leave it.

 

This is what they are supposed to be like.

 

 

and there are what they do look like.

 

[saucedoctor]

Fair enough.

[richardmorris]

I think that's the reason many, many new cars are breaking springs - they're not tapered any more. My colleague's focus need one for its last mot, a friends 52 reg e class merc broke 2. stick to hydraulics -they're more reliable on today's roads.

[trigger]

I think you could be right, I had to replace a broken one on my old Mondeo that wasn't tapered, that's the reason we never changed this one.

[saucedoctor]

I heard it said that environmental bollocks means that spring cannot be tempered with oil anymore. Also, modern cars are heavy bastards. I changed a wheel for a bird at work a few weeks ago, and couldn't believe how heavy that W204 Merc C Class was.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

I think that's the reason many, many new cars are breaking springs - they're not tapered any more. My colleague's focus need one for its last mot, a friends 52 reg e class merc broke 2. stick to hydraulics -they're more reliable on today's roads.

Merc e class' break front springs for fun, I know at least 3 people who have had this happen recently on W211 (03-09 type) e220's. One of them parked on his drive, then actually heard the spring break a couple of hours later. Still a lot cheaper than fixing S-Class air suspension though.

[dave21478]

In other news, I am attempting an experiment in "dynamic wheel balancing".

I got a set of chunky tyres for the pickup....Insa Turbo Rangers - remoulds that use the BFGoodrich tread pattern. The internet suggests that they are a good tyre for the money but can be hard to balance. I fit my own tyres at home but dont have a balancer machine. Most cars seem to get away without balancing these days and if there is a vibration, I take them to a place I know that balances for a fiver per pair if I take the wheels in loose - ie not fitted to the car.

 

Anyway, with 4 of these remoulds on the pickup it was shoogling about all over the place so in I went. The fronts eventually balanced after a bit of faff and a lot of weights, but the last two needed 250 and 275 grams each. Thats seemingly more than most HGV wheels, and it was just not practical to fit that much weight to the rims.

 

Thinking I cant be the only person with this problem, I hit the internet for research and discovered an old truckers trick of putting a couple of golf balls inside the tyre has been updated to modern times and used a lot by muddy funsters in lifted trucks in USA with big balloon tyres by adding plastic BB gun pellets inside the tyre. As you roll, centrifugal force spreads them around the inside of the tyre casing and as the unbalanced wheel vibrates up and down, they arrange themselves in the optimal position to smooth out the vibrations. This all happens within the first few meters as you accelerate.

So, this afternoon I raided the local toyshop for a bottle of airsoft 0.2g pellets. I split the bead on each rear tyre and tipped 250g of pellets in, then re-inflated.

I will see how it goes and update accordingly. initial impressions are that it makes a beautiful* "swishing" noise at low speeds.

 

 

Yeah, this seems to work well - its much, much smoother to drive.

I havent had it up to motorway speeds yet since the nearest motorway is far away, but locally its much more pleasant to drive.

I would call it a success.

[Guest Breadvan72]

Well my dad and I painted the Maestro today, it came out pretty well for an amateur job! A few runs here and there, but nothing that won't cut out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Runs and won't cut out?  Not like the engine, then. 

 

[runs away]

[dome]

The 24 hours of the Nurburgring is currently being streamed live on a YouTube channel at

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMIDFQxFKJw#t=7985

 

with some epic nose to tail in car camera chases through the forest.

 

The commentary is by some of the Radio Le mans crew so isn't too annoying.

just for shitists, there is an Opel Manta running (No 144)

 

 

 

 

This is a truly cracking race.

 

Previous entrants include this fine beast

 

 

And the legend that is this thing

 

 

Pit Stops for it included a CD changer cartridge change for the next driver and on one occassion a tartan blanket for the driver who was getting cold behind the safety car. Oh and they set their fastest lap behind the safety car...   

[mat_the_cat]

Lots of cracking scenery on that route, should be a great trip.

 

You'll be missing out on me and anonymous user by a few miles, but you'll be but a sneeze away from Dollywobbler.

 

Pics or don't bother coming back

 

You'll be going right past my house! Good choice of the B4391, which used to be my route home from work.

 

[mat_the_cat]

This is what they are supposed to be like.

 

 

and there are what they do look like.

 

 

That's interesting - the Stellar has the spring seat shaped to fit the spring. I guess that was cheaper than grinding a taper on the spring.

 

My front end is too soft too, and really dives under braking. But I have other issues to sort first!

[Sigmund Fraud]

 

Cambelt russian roulette lost... The good news is that MX5s are blessed with a non-interference engine. The bad news is that I now only have one running car (out of five) which is also overdue a belt replacement and has an interference engine ! Guess who will be visiting GSF first thing tomorrow morning ?

[purplebargeken]

Ooooo, lucky'ish!

[beko1987]

How long were you stranded for?