The new news 24 thread

[DS20]

We never know who he is going to be next, small child, my mother, my mother's carer, or me (although he struggles with deep bass voices).

On one occasion he asked one of my wife's friends (in the voice of my mother's carer) "do you want the toilet?" which caused much embarrassment and hilarity.

It's a bit like taking your small child to the doctor's. You never know what they are going to say when they have got an audience in the waiting room.

 

 

I like the sound of that - that's cool  I'd thought, maybe, that you never know whether he'll be in a good mood or a bitey mood, or something like that.  Which would be considerably less cool, and more painful.  

[Mike D]

It's a silver one, It's in reasonable nick as far as I can see, no gaffa tape! It's a mk2 zetec if that makes any difference?

[Ratdat]

My old man has an X plate Zetec 2.0l with a split front bumper. How much you after for it? Could do with an idle control valve too. I've not looked into it much but I think it's under the intake manifold somewhere. 

[Mike D]

I'll go and have a look at it check it's all ok, it's outside my mates now as he's removing the engine, If you come and take it off you can have it. I'm not sure if he needs the ICV or not, i doubt it

[John F]

John F, on 17 Nov 2014 - 12:43 PM, said:

Wow.

 

After much searching through a year's worth of receipts and my email inbox, I finally got in touch with the radiator supplier - Budget Radiators (ebay shop). The chap there took my word for the defect being a manufacturing fault (leaking from crimped seam) and is going to send me a new radiator out, free of charge, no quibbles.

 

I was expecting a long & drawn-out battle, with the supplier wanting to see the rad & probably having to forward it to the manufacturer for their comments, leaving me with the Disco off the road for the duration or having to source a rad from somewhere else... I have to say, I'm impressed by Budget Radiators' customer service ethos.

 

Follow-up on this... the replacement radiator arrived today, well-packaged and in good condition. The supplier is collecting the defective radiator (at their expense!) next Monday.

 

I am chuffed to bits.... and am going to start a thread on here for "Recommended suppliers" - this outfit are going straight to the top of the list

[M'coli]

There was an attempt at that called "The Limeflower Pages", IIRC.

[Ratdat]

I'll go and have a look at it check it's all ok, it's outside my mates now as he's removing the engine, If you come and take it off you can have it. I'm not sure if he needs the ICV or not, i doubt it

 Cool, just let me know 

[The Moog]

Fitted new speakers to 405 because energetic DnB blew one of the cones. £15 pair brand new from ebay and back to pumping base.

 

One thing that drove me mad was trying to fit crimp connectors. They are a right pain in the arse and kept popping off. In the end I had to wrap elec tape round the wire to make it thicker.

[John F]

M'coli, on 20 Nov 2014 - 11:58 AM, said:

There was an attempt at that called "The Limeflower Pages", IIRC.

 

Yeah, I remember now. Shame it never caught on

 

On the plus side, I fitted the new radiator this afternoon and the Disco is now leak-free   < deranged happy Nazi smilie, couldn't find a dancing banana...

[stuboy]

not much.. drove upto here

from ashford taking my mate to fat clinic..

 

 

usual idiots on the road, but worst ones were bus drivers!!!

[cms206]

not much.. drove upto here

from ashford taking my mate to fat clinic..

 

 

usual idiots on the road, but worst ones were bus drivers!!!

"Taxi drivers are BASTARDS!"

 

- c. The Bus Driver Marketing Board, 1984.

[dugong]

Because of a twitchy eBay bidding finger, I'm now the owner of this giffer-pinballed Autozam (AKA Mazda MX-3). 
Despite the parking dents it was cheap enough for a punt.

The paint's badly pogweaseled and there's a blow in the exhaust - not that this detracts from the glorious noise it makes cracking on for the redline. Despite the specification (1.8-litre V6 with 24 valves) it's not incredibly quick but more than makes up for this with smoothness. I'm not used to a peaky lump that does nothing until 4000RPM - then the VVT kicks in and swings round to the redline happily. Handling's tidy too, despite the tyre pressures being all over the place. 

 

It's not staying in the fleet for too long but I'm pleased I've had the chance to own one. I reckon a bit of detailing will see this sell again for what I paid. 

 

[rml2345]

Never have much luck with taxi drivers...
In shite news, today was quite productive. I broke a tail light the other day due to being a clumsy oaf so set off in the direction of Paisley Autobreakers in search of a replacement. Unfortunatley they didn't have one but I did manage to get a couple of bits to make the Volvo a wee bit more complete. Then a trip to Scotland's most thorough hand car wash had it shining like a new penny.

 

 

Next to the Jet garage on Hawkhead road, Paisley if you're ever in the area. 
Anyway. Then it was off to meet Andy CMS who very kindly arranged to borrow the inspection pit at the workshop for oil changing shenanigans which caused some hilarity* when we couldn't get the oil filter off. Glad it's all done though, especially since the stuff that came out was utterly mockit black.
Evening rounded off with seeing the blue 345 of much potential. It's a bit of a time warp motor really,
Next time on SVM news... Underseal; How easy is it to remove from beards?

[Craig the Princess]

Standing at March station at 05:40 waiting for this first train to collect the Saab rear windscreen. Too cold.

[Craig the Princess]

Yippee, it is my favorite train, 170103. Favourite because the windscreen wipers and washers work in the rear cab.

[Craig the Princess]

From good to better, the 08.12 to Bristol is an HST. Just bumped into my old course tutor on the train to, nice to catch up

[Asimo]

 

New set of tyres last week, the fourth the car has ever had.

 

First time the spare has been used.

 

Shame SWMBO didn't stop 10 miles earlier. 

 

 

[dugong]

Recorded some MX-3 noise (it's definitely the car's best feature, although I like the looks as well).

 

Stationary revving when up to temperature: https://soundcloud.com/stalin-will-eat-my-volvo/mx-3-rev-range

From 2nd to 5th, through the rev range: https://soundcloud.com/stalin-will-eat-my-volvo/mx-3-2nd-to-5th

[Craig the Princess]

Arrived, paid for screen, nice chat with the seller and caught the train due to leave 1 minute later as it was five minutes late. Hopefully that will save me an hours waiting. It is ask going far too well, something is bound to go wrong.

[Shep Shepherd]

Had the cambelt and auxiliary belts on The Wentworth replaced by my local garage today, as I intend to drive the car to the Netherlands next weekend and I have no idea when they were last changed. I suspect that as all of the belts were Volvo-branded and in the case of the auxiliary belts were cracking quite badly between their teeth (the cambelt looked okay), they had been on the car since the early to mid 2000s...

[Asimo]

Drizzly November afternoon, just right for a visit to a scrapyard; looking for steel wheels for my Connect van.

 

£50 for two dirty ones seemed a bit much. I'd want clean wheels and good tyres for £50.

 

Depressingly, an algae covered purple Avantime is the first car inside the gate, sinking into the mud.

[Craig the Princess]

Home after 12 1/2 hours, managed not to break the screen on the way back but my phone charger was left on the HST and is now in Plymouth.

[tooSavvy]

£50 for two dirty ones seemed a bit much. I'd want clean wheels and good tyres for £50.

 

...£50 got me 4.. and they took the tyres off for me (don't ask the state of them... black & round!)

 

 

 

Lovelly

 

TS

[Volksy]

Been pratting about in the rain with The Wifes* 306 yet again. Managed to fix the interior door handle and get the radiator fan to run, it's on with the ignition at the moment until I can get a new switch for it next week. I'm hoping that he doesn't manage to break anything else on it, as it's getting a bit silly now. 

[mat_the_cat]

Finished my first week in the new job...all seems good so far - decent people to work with, plenty of technical challenges, and they make some interesting things (mainly military stuff like night vision and head up displays). I got some feedback from my interview too, and apparently they'd never seen anyone so relaxed before! Must have hid the nerves well...

 

Best bit: had a full fried breakfast this morning, plus cheese on toast all for the grand sum of £1.55. Subsidised canteen FTW

[brickwall]

Subsidised canteen? Lucky so-and-so

[Bobthebeard]

Finished my first week in the new job...all seems good so far - decent people to work with, plenty of technical challenges, and they make some interesting things (mainly military stuff like night vision and head up displays). I got some feedback from my interview too, and apparently they'd never seen anyone so relaxed before! Must have hid the nerves well...

 

Best bit: had a full fried breakfast this morning, plus cheese on toast all for the grand sum of £1.55. Subsidised canteen FTW

Lovely. Sounds like a proper old school factory/works.

Just like it should be! I really miss working for Lucas Automotive back in the day.... All different now of course

[cobblers]

Little stuff like that can make or break a job! Working at a Next warehouse while I was in uni was a shit job on paper, but due to some discrepancies with the performance/bonus system and the fact that I was always put on the 2 man lift stuff with another lad and we just split the work 50/50,  we were working at 160% efficiency (40% off for massive slacking, razzing pallet trucks round like scooters and making statues out of parcel tape and documents enclosed labels), I came home with about £800-900 a month for 15 hours work I've never been as flush since!

 

The best part was the canteen though. Chip butty with cheese and gravy -  50p. Full english was about £1.25. I didn't start while 9am, but I would be there at about 7am without fault so I could get loads of snap down me and then have an hours kip in a pallet of expensive cushions down the bad end of the warehouse.

 

Nowadays I have to walk to the scabby burger van up the road and pay £5 for a manky breakfast in a box, and I've nowhere to sleep.

[cort16]

I loved working in a place with a canteen. One of the guys at work ended up in the prs( music money place ) and they've got a top chef running their canteen . It's all quals eggs and whales treacle ravioli and all that fancy gear but it's 3 quid a pop . I think he just had chips.

[Pillock]

We had a subsidised canteen but the prices started to creep up, so before I went field based I was just eating Chips 'n' Beans every day like some 12 year old at school. Even had some fruit crumble and custard you had to peel the skin back on if desired.

 

Now I sometimes head down to that big place with the M25 cordon around it, and have pretty much the same for three times the price.