The new news 24 thread

[dollywobbler]

Hate to break it to you, but a cat doesn't make things all fine and dandy you know. Just in case you planned to go around sniffing car exhausts. Be careful though. If you poison your blood with carbon monoxide, it takes quite a long time to sort itself out. 

[Skoze]

Went round to wield spanners on a series 3 today. Been dealing with someone called Louise.

 

Find house, someone mid-40s comes to the door, sound. 'i'll let you round the back, Landy's round there'

Stroll on round; chit chat ensues, 'it belongs to my daughter, she's who you've been talking to' 

 

17 year old sticks her head out, spends the next two hours helping out and watching everything i'm up to. Landy needed a few bits, by the time I got home (half hour drive) she's remembered the lot and found out all the part numbers for everything we need, even the really obscure bits.

 

I'm only 21 myself, but faith in the next generation of classic Land Rover botherers/ shiters is high tonight. 

[twosmoke300]

More importantly, is she hot?

[320touring]

Went round to wield spanners on a series 3 today. Been dealing with someone called Louise.

 

Find house, someone mid-40s comes to the door, sound. 'i'll let you round the back, Landy's round there'

Stroll on round; chit chat ensues, 'it belongs to my daughter, she's who you've been talking to' 

 

17 year old sticks her head out, spends the next two hours helping out and watching everything i'm up to. Landy needed a few bits, by the time I got home (half hour drive) she's remembered the lot and found out all the part numbers for everything we need, even the really obscure bits.

 

I'm only 21 myself, but faith in the next generation of classic Land Rover botherers/ shiters is high tonight. 

"Love is in the airbox, evry shite i look around"

[fordperv]

I thought "lookin for some hot shite baby this evening"

[Mike D]

A very sketchy but productive day today, got the body lifted off the MX5, and bonus I can fit that and the rolling assembly in the garage still Chopping time next!

 

 

 

[phil_lihp]

Low-grade shite collection is starting well, top front seat on the bus. I'm easily pleased. Might not get front seat on the train.

[doobietoo]

Low-grade shite collection is starting well, top front seat on the bus. I'm easily pleased. Might not get a seat on the train.

FTFY

[Bren]

Our surviving gerbil has leapt off this mortal coil.

 

On the plus side, we now have an alternative to turkey.

[Volksy]

Extradited the Celica from the snowy carpark this morning, once I managed to get into it! Both doors were frozen shut, and with the frameless windows I didn't want to break the glass by yanking them too hard. I left it running for  good 15 mins to start to clear the show off it. After last nights freeze it was solid, even broke the broom I was using to clear it!

 

Sadly it looks like the wifes* 306 has been damaged by the weight of the snow, the rear wiper arm is snapped off, does anyone have one for a 306?

He's out in the south pacific visiting his sister, and enduring tropical beaches and coconuts. B@stard...

 

[skattrd]

306 parts you say ... Didn't Will (explosive_cabbage) have a 306 breaker around N. Yorks?

[philibusmo]

Low-grade shite collection is starting well, top front seat on the bus. I'm easily pleased. Might not get front seat on the train.

This was a collection of my Lancia, however Phil has had one of those very rare days where public transport has been better than a journey by car. He has some pictures and the whole story will be told soon enough by one of us, if he makes it home that is.

[Luckythirteen]

Went round to wield spanners on a series 3 today. Been dealing with someone called Louise.

 

Find house, someone mid-40s comes to the door, sound. 'i'll let you round the back, Landy's round there'

Stroll on round; chit chat ensues, 'it belongs to my daughter, she's who you've been talking to'

 

17 year old sticks her head out, spends the next two hours helping out and watching everything i'm up to. Landy needed a few bits, by the time I got home (half hour drive) she's remembered the lot and found out all the part numbers for everything we need, even the really obscure bits.

 

I'm only 21 myself, but faith in the next generation of classic Land Rover botherers/ shiters is high tonight.

I think more of us might go that way, if things like insurance were easier to deal with. The 'sign on the line' deal for a tinny box with wheels is far easier.

I was kinda offered a S3 2.25 County a couple of years back, but the welding needed, and insurance killed the deal.

It would've been a step up from assisting welding a Disco boot floor in, but Pa was all for it, so it could've been...

[HillmanImp]

Extradited the Celica from the snowy carpark this morning, once I managed to get into it! Both doors were frozen shut, and with the frameless windows I didn't want to break the glass by yanking them too hard. I left it running for  good 15 mins to start to clear the show off it. After last nights freeze it was solid, even broke the broom I was using to clear it!

 

Used to get the same with the Aldi coupe. Was a nightmare in the winter with the door freezing to the glass. Think PeteM suggested some stuff you can spray on which stops this happening but I used to just get in via the boot waking up all my neighbours as this would set off the alarm.

[Honey Badger]

Used to get the same with the Aldi coupe. Was a nightmare in the winter with the door freezing to the glass. Think PeteM suggested some stuff you can spray on which stops this happening but I used to just get in via the boot waking up all my neighbours as this would set off the alarm.

 

Silicon grease stops the doors sticking, just the cheap plumbers stuff does the job. Just smear it on the rubber seals.

[wuvvum]

I've done nearly 650 miles in the Rover of Doom over the last 5 days.  Down to my aunt's in Somerset and back, and a load of running around whilst there.  Never missed a beat, but only seems to have averaged about 45mpg, which is slightly disappointing - although I did get a bit of a hoon on on the M4, and there was also a fair bit of crawling in traffic and an evening driving around Bristol.  I've decided though that although I'm going to keep the Rover as my main running-to-work car, I really want something a bit newer and more refined for long drives.  I must be getting old.

[Inspector Morose]

Just found out that morette still do the twin headlamp conversion for the BX. I used to hate things like this in my youth (ha! Youth) but I'm talking myself into the advantages of better lighting.

 

£ lots though. £ots and £ots.

 

I'll do the cheapskate version first tomorrow and check to see that the bulbs are getting a full fat 12v. If not its relay time.

 

New interior out of a 16v has been fitted. The only mod has been making and fitting a third seat mounting stud for the rear squab as it now has a split rear seat instead of the single piece fitted originally. I'd have liked to keep the original interior but it my car and I like comfort. In a fit of stupidity I managed to chuck the seat belt clips away but thanks to Chaseracer and an XM clip, normality has been restored.

 

Interior lighting has been improved (?) by the replacement of the festoon bulbs in the pillar lights by LEDs. I found some surplus GE LED units for illuminated signs that just happened to use 12v. With a bit of modification and a waive of a soldering iron, I might have pillar lights that won't melt or go prematurely brittle due to heat.

 

Rear lights have been modded by substituting the rear fogs for the brake lights. I now have seperate brake lights, safer, I think, in night time running but it's easily reversible for Mr MoT if it's a problem.

 

In other news, the heater control lighting has now decided to work again. All those with French cars please note that your new fault has nothing to do with me, they decided to work again of their own accord.

 

Please also note that speedline wheels off a BX 16v don't quite fit into the rear arches of an estate. Must finish the bodywork mods one day...

 

Still undecided on the gearing of the car. Still feels under geared to me but it can wait till another day. Unless a TXD gearbox gets waived under my nose.

 

Plans for the next year is a cosmetic tidy and probably a dash of paint. It's a cheap car so originality isn't a high priority so it may turn grey. I like grey. Or beige. I like beige too.

 

Still love it. It's like a scruffy old collie dog. It may piss on the floor and fart in front of your boss but you wouldn't swap it for the world.

[MrDuke]

Just found out that morette still do the twin headlamp conversion for the BX. I used to hate things like this in my youth (ha! Youth) but I'm talking myself into the advantages of better lighting.

 

 

Even back then, the only Morettes I really disliked were on cars that had clean, minimalist front ends and/or had headlights that 'merged' into the indicators; I hated them on 90s Vauxhalls and Pugs, but didn't mind them on Fords. Even on cars that suited them, they always looked 100 times better if the corner indicators were blanked off and replaced with bumper-mounted jobbies. I think they'd look really good on a BX.

[barrett]

Moar pics of BX always welcome in these quarters

 

I'm going to ring my man and see if my one is ready for collection tomorrow. I really hope it is, I miss it more every day. What a flipping great car

[trigger]

I got bought a GoPro Hero 3+ for Christmas from the wife which I've been playing with, I still have a lot learn about it but I'm hoping to use it for a few car runs and stuff over the summer.

 

I bought a suction pad for it today and road tested it in the Civic as seen in this very boring video (I'm not up to Dollywobblers standards yet) and I'm not sure why the video quality is a bit blurry on Youtube as it recorded in HD and looks pretty perfect on my PC?. Like i say, I've got a lot to learn still.

 

 

Also let me take this moment to apologise for my awful singing too. 

[dollywobbler]

Just went for a roof-back hoon in the 2CV. 

 

Interestingly, most of the vehicles I saw were 4x4s. Some off greenlaning by the look of it. Sod having bullbars and big tyres to look macho. What you need is a convertible with the roof back, when it's two degrees above zero! Chilly.

 

Andy - nuff talk. Make with the pics! Speedlines will fit an estate with mild modification. Where's Mat-the-cat when you need him? Mind you, there are two widths of speedline I think...

 

As for stretching the gearing. My thoughts are that with turbo diesel gearing, you'll find yourself running out of steam in fifth a lot more often. The gearing really is spot on for the engine - so you can spend nearly all of your time in fifth. 

[Inspector Morose]

Ian, you're right about the gearing. The XUD likes revs and you can feel it breathes better at the higher speed in relation to other diesels but, and it is a personal thing over rational thinking, the N/A suffers over the turbo XUD because of this when cruising at or around the legal limit. The difference is about 500 rpm and it doesn't sound much but it changes the feeling of the thing altogether when on the motorway.

 

Around town I have a feeling it might be a pain but looking at the ratios in the TD box, there is a steady increase in gearing - 1st is about the same, 2nd very slightly higher, 3rd a bit higher, 4th etc etc etc

 

There is a thinner speedline wheel (5.5 inch as opposed to 6) but beggars can't be choosers. With a careful flaring of the arch at the back (it's more like a flattening of the kink in the bottom part of the panel really) there is enough room for the 6 inch wheels. When I put the wheels on I was running out of light and patience so I flared them redneck stylee (scaffold pole rolled around the wheel to push the panel out) and it looks a bit rough but that will be addressed when the weather improves. At the moment, it works.

 

Pics. Ah yes. I've even bought a new camera this year an still I can't get my photo mojo back. Off out in a bit and I'll take some then. Happy?

[dollywobbler]

Aye, I certainly know what you mean about a non-turbo at speed. 70mph is a LOT more relaxing with just 500rpm less. Still not as relaxing as an XM though...

 

And I won't be happy until there's a dedicated thread FULL of photos.

[dollywobbler]

Video looks fine to me, Trigger.

 

Main problem is sound. Exactly what I found when I borrowed a GoPro earlier this year. Though my Mobius also has a slight rattle to it.

 

Note that YouTube playback often defaults to 360p. Looks much sharper in 1080p.

[trigger]

Thank you, I uploaded it in 4k HD but last night it was only playing in 360p, It seems ok now though. The annoying rattling noise at the start is the GoPro rubbing on the headrest.

[dollywobbler]

In that case, you need to upload Moar Civic Love! It is an ace little thing.

 

And yes, if I'd had the patience to wait a bit, the sound quality does get better!

[Luckythirteen]

Video looked ok to me too, Trigger. I thought the creaking noise near the start was maybe the mount bracket.

Nippy wee thing that Civic! Sounds nice too.

[Ghosty]

Yep, video's fine, Trig. Higher resolutions take longer to process after uploading - 360p etc will be available pretty quick but 4K will take a while.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Today I went to Bristol and passed the UK headquarters of Proton, I thought a tribute to a classic AS moment was called for;

[daveb47]

Got a thermostat & fanbelt for ovlov,also very large can of deicer from motorist shop for £19.00.

Bit dearer han online but at least i can take them back when i inevitably find they are wrong ones.