The new news 24 thread

[dollywobbler]

I have been 2CVing for exactly 18 years today! Here I am with my first 2CV in January 1997. 

 

That's a bit scary really. I've still got this car's bootlid. I covered it in stickers, but they're not very weather-proof, so that bootlid hasn't been fitted to anything for a very long time. 

 

EDIT - related thoughts reminded me that it is was our wedding anniversary two days ago. Eight years! I'm not in trouble for forgetting because my wife is too busy making a controller for our solar hot water project. Geek.

[HMC]

^ The original double digit DW wagon! Great pic, I passed my test later that year but being a penniless student meant a bicycle and five more years before I got my own car ( r8 214sei)

[dollywobbler]

Indeed. B82 PEA was the first. ABJ 53Y was another. C91 NUJ has got her claws in.

[Asimo]

Anyone else having trouble getting pictures from EBaY tonight?

[Lankytim]

That engine.

One of those W12 things from an Audi A8 or Bentley I reckon.

 

 

KORRECT. Apparently the engine came direct from Bentley. Next to it were brand new complete front subframes with huge discs and callipers, autoboxes and various new engine parts. Apparently anything that isn't spot on or gets damaged in transit gets scrapped. I bet the bits I saw would be worth thousands on ebay, but all have to be shredded....

[Lord Sterling]

Reading through Partidge's MOT thread inspired* me to check on the Vehicle Enquiry Service site which tells me my Coupe will need an MOT in late August so I'll have to get that sorted becore I leave again. Dead useful site if you don't have the car's paperwork to hand.

 

Still didn't sort the Insurance on the Coupe, my bank card has now expired so I'll have to sort insurance as soon as I get back to England.

[vulgalour]

The new house is very smart, a nicely proportioned Edwardian mid-terrace with a tiny back yard and a door that opens onto a quiet street in the middle of what the car insurers must assume is actually a war zone.  With the exception of having to have the electricity meter replaced, the gas meter reset - it's still not providing gas to the cooker, we don't know why yet - having no back door key on the first day of moving in, having no wheelie bin for putting rubbish out in, no curtain poles for hanging anything in the windows - I've improvised with sheets - no hot water bar what we boil in the kettle and having to use a gas camping stove for much of the cooking it's actually pretty nice.  I feel much healthier and happier at any rate.

 

That is until I called Adrian Flux about my change of address.  I'd run a few comparison site quotes and found the Xantia and Princess would be a little more a year to insure on average, but on calling AF they doubled my premium just for the change of address.  This made the Xantia £1500 to insure, and that made it outside of my budget much less my willingness to pay such a ridiculous sum, especially since Mikeknight would only pay £550 for the same car.  More comparison checks and I could get another insurer to quote £750ish, but without the relevant deposits and whatever my hands are tied so I've had to mothball the Xantia at the unit until Mike can insure it, gives us opportunity to at least fettle with it.

 

In the meantime I've kept insurance on the Princess - still a ridiculous sum of money, having also doubled - but since she's waiting for some hip surgery back in Derbyshire it means I'm without a car for the time being.  No great worry, everything I need is in walking distance here and I shan't really need the Xantia, a petrol car makes more sense here for me as I suspected it might.

 

So that means I'm a one car guy again, that being a rusty old BL offering.  Could be worse, I suppose, I've just got to weather out my hideous insurance - costs more to cancel than keep it going, oh the joy of it - until I'm in a position to get a better quote from a different company.

 

Did I miss anything exciting?  Has DW got a BX again yet?  How many Corsas has Billy saved/sold?  Has TooSavvy finally started to make coherent posts?  Did SambaS stop buying cars?  I can't wait to find out.

[Inspector Morose]

I feel your pain Vulgalor, I too,it seems, live next door to Syria according to the insurers. I'm in my 40s and claim free for many a year yet most things are just too painful to insure (£1250 for a 1.3 fiesta?)

 

Good to see you back and I'm glad the new abode sees you well.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

I don't generally like retrofitted indicators on old cars

[richardmorris]

I have been 2CVing for exactly 18 years today! Here I am with my first 2CV in January 1997. 

 

That's a bit scary really. I've still got this car's bootlid. I covered it in stickers, but they're not very weather-proof, so that bootlid hasn't been fitted to anything for a very long time. 

 

EDIT - related thoughts reminded me that it is was our wedding anniversary two days ago. Eight years! I'm not in trouble for forgetting because my wife is too busy making a controller for our solar hot water project. Geek.

 

 

Have you tried spraying clear lacquer over the whole lot? I put my meeting stickers on the inside (and on the toolboxes)  so that you can see them with the boot open.

[dollywobbler]

Yeah, I've taken to stickers inside - the current bootlid has a colourful montage when I open it. As far as I remember, it's only my Coal Chamber sticker that isn't particularly weather-proof. Perhaps that's no great loss!

 

Bit miffed with the weather. It's bloody horrible! Forecast for tomorrow is poor, which is a shame as I'm taking the 2CV to a local agricultural show. It'll be on display in the 'Classic and Vintage' section. Because it looks so shit, I was thinking of dismantling it for a bit of a laugh, then drive the rolling shell around the arena during the parade. Sod that if it's going to be pissing down!

 

Angry Dicky will be pleased to learnt that Sunday is meant to be very pleasant weather-wise. I might try and join him and his cohorts at the Brecon classic show thing if I'm not too knackered after tomorrow night's gig. Especially as a friend has offered me a lift in his Austin 3-Litre. I could always kip in the back!

[Sloth in a bowl]

Came close to bidding on a cavalier v6 tonight on e bay. It had t&t and was hovering around £300. Showing uncharacteristic restraint I ducked out of it as a few people seemed to be fighting over it in the last few minutes, the price went north and I backed away from the mouse.

 

Glad I didn't basically, a new toy would distract me from the gt6 and the range rover which needs a couple of weekends work before its second pop at an MOT in a couple of weeks.

 

I've suprised myself and the missus has no clue how close to the brink I came, thankfully for my sake!

My ebay technique for avoiding this issue is too put down a bid that I would be very happy to pay then walk away and don't look at the auction again till it's over.

I can't then talk myself into a bidding war and if I don't get the item, so what, I havn't lost anything.

[loserone]

Vulgalour - Assuming you haven't moved to Eastern Ukraine or Gaza 

When I first moved to Teesside, the other end of the street of quite lovely 1930s semis was described to me as being like 'Basra on a Friday night, only without the theatre'.

 

I thought he was taking the piss, but then the turf wars started between the two drug dealers with matching Megane Sports in the little block of flats opposite. They used to set their dogs on each other in the street, and the estate was closed relatively frequently by the police.

 

We moved back to Durham.

 

Did I imagine you saying you'd moved to Thornaby, Vulg? It's quite nice over there.

[Cavcraft]

Anyone else having trouble getting pictures from EBaY tonight?

 

 

Yes, it was a problem all over, my daughter said they were updating it so without doubt things will get worse.

[nacho man]

 

Even postman pats gone pineapple crazy. Looks good though!

[dave21478]

I sold my old trailer today.

 

Sold it for a fair loss, which is a negative.

But then I got a lot of use out of it, so that makes up for the financial loss, which is a positive.

Sold it to some pikies, which is a negative of sorts.

Had the sense to arrange the meet in a supermarket well away from my house, which is a positive.

 

Overall it balances out I suppose, but it always smarts to sell something like that for significantly less than I bought it for.

 

It was a little bit too small, and with the wheels under the bed it sat higher than I liked, so things could get a bit alarming when fully loaded.

Genuine Wolfrace slotmags too, which was strange for a trailer but they were some weirdo stud pattern that wouldnt fit on any car I have or am likely to have in the near future, and frankly I have enough piles of wheels at the back of the garage so just flogged the trailer with them still on it.

 

[Dave_Q]

Vulgalour, you can use this link - http://www.carinsuranceexplained.com/car-insurance-explained/car-insurance-postcode-risk-list.html 

as a guide to how much your new address is the problem and how much is just the insurance ripping you off because they can.

 

I wouldn't take it as gospel though, for example, it states all motorbikes must be garaged in D,E and F but I live in a D area and my bike lives outside.

[EssDeeWon]

^That is quite interesting actually, im in Band B which surprises me a little.

[ruffgeezer]

Welcome back Vulgs, I'd been wondering when your triumphant return would be.

[vulgalour]

That site is different to the other one I checked before moving that stated this place as a C-D, where I was they stated as a B-C, hence not expecting a big rise in premium.  I'd also run comparisons before moving too and for a few months beforehand while house hunting which is why we settled on this one... that site lists us as an E* so it's a wonder I can get insurance at all!  If I could afford to cancel the current policy and set a new one up with a different insurer my premium would drop back under a grand for the Xantia, even had one insurer offering a quote of £750 which, given the risk of this postcode seems reasonable.

 

Having said all that, though, the Xantia isn't much use to me up here.  I'd be far better served with a petrol car like the Princess because I have to drive much, much less.  The majority of things I need and want are within walking distance and would be more hassle to get to in a car, a diesel becomes counter-productive at that point as I just don't get the fuel saving bonus.  But for Mike, the Xantia is much, much more useful so he's going to take it on to become work hack and personal transport, we've already fallen foul of not having it by having to hire a van to move some white goods where the Xantia would have done the same job with less cost.

 

At any rate, the Xantia is staying with us and staying clean.  Mike is really very taken with it and just how competent and comfortable it's been and he finds it more comfortable to drive than I do.  Whereas for me, I just want my Princess back on the road so I can bumble about in it happily doing whatever I need to do.  It can and has returned 48mpg on the motorway if I take it steady and I can mid-to-high 20s around town which is perfectly affordable and respectable from a car that, usually, costs nothing to run.

[trigger]

I've collected the Merc, I'll update later on with some proper photos and write up but so far I'm mega chuffed! Everything works perfectly and it drives really well! Yay!

 

 

 

[Bren]

Fiesta appears to have cured itself (touch wood). I can switch between hot and cold settings and notice the difference.

 

Not sure if there was air trapped which has gone, or maybe plug is not a good fit on solenoid ( pattern items have pins that can be too short).

 

Lets see how long it lasts.

[Cavcraft]

Finally did something with daughter's FIAT. Got two ace part worn tyres from Station Road Garage in Ellesmere Port,  a Michelin that's like brand new and a very, very good Conti for £21 a piece fitted.  

 

It took the customary 5 goes to get it ticking over and by God it's slow on acceleration, but it's actually very smooth and sits very happily at somewhere around* the motorway speed limit. The n/s/r indicator only works when it wants to, the dent in the boot is now about 7.1% better and the fan still doesn't work.

[Largactil]

I'm taking my car to euroland in a couple of weeks, and will be passing within a couple of miles of a seller with a rare set of rimz for sale, which I fancy.

 

I pinged them an email a few days back using google translate, asking if they were still for sale and expressing interest if they happened to be available... Early days, I know, but nothing back yet.

 

Has anyone had any joy at getting a response to an email query on leboncoin? (No phone number on the ad!)

[vulgalour]

I thought the routine was to get a Shiter to translate such as Ratdat or Monsieur Bolleaux?

[dollywobbler]

I went to a delightful little agricultural show today. As well as girls in jodhpurs (no photos as I was with my good lady wife), there were sheep, tractors, horses, cakes, photos, homebrew (Mrs DW won five prizes for her various potions) and some old cars.

 

That's a wide-body Turbo Technics Capri next to my shambolic 2CV, with a dusty, never-restored TR4 next to it on steelies with hubcaps! The Rolls-Royce 20/25 next to that had paint that looked decades old. Fabulous that the owner wasn't put off by mud and rain.

 

This turned up later - needed a good run up at the boggy field entrance!

 

This had a lot of fans. Lancia Fulvia HF Coupe.

 

But car of the show for me might well have been this Saab 90. 4400 miles from new! Brought to the show by the chap who runs the garage that supplied the car in 1984. Astonishing.

 

My friend is hoping to take his Austin 3-Litre to the Brecon show that Angry Dicky is heading for tomorrow. I've decided I'll be broken after gigging tonight. Happy days!

[Skizzer]

I'm taking my car to euroland in a couple of weeks, and will be passing within a couple of miles of a seller with a rare set of rimz for sale, which I fancy.

 

I pinged them an email a few days back using google translate, asking if they were still for sale and expressing interest if they happened to be available... Early days, I know, but nothing back yet.

 

Has anyone had any joy at getting a response to an email query on leboncoin? (No phone number on the ad!)

 

Email?  France?  Aren't they all still on Minitel?

[Largactil]

I thought the routine was to get a Shiter to translate such as Ratdat or Monsieur Bolleaux?

 

Ah, spur of the moment, tentative enquiry - Had the seller responded, I'd be looking for translation assistance!

[Richard]

Email?  France?  Aren't they all still on Minitel?

 

I think they finally got rid of Minitel in the last year or two, I remember hearing something on the radio about it.

[Skizzer]

Shame!  All modern interwebs are crap (etc).