The new news 24 thread

[xtriple]

It's now ten days since I last started my car!  

[trigger]

I've got a quick road tax question, My Civic is due for renewal this month but I don't plan on keeping it much longer.

 

Is it worth paying £79 for 6 month or can i pay direct debit of £12 and cancel at any time?.

 

I've never done the direct debit thing before but I looks like the cheaper option in the long run but i don't understand how it works.

[vulgalour]

DD it, but be sure to cancel the DD, informing DVLA that you've done this (and your bank, to be double-extra sure) once you've sold the car.  No waiting for a cheque in the post and it should all be easy enough to achieve.

[twosmoke300]

Shep , any history of the sump being dropped and cleaned ? And the latest pcv kit fitted ? If not get it done ASAP. Looks nice in red

[Shep Shepherd]

Shep , any history of the sump being dropped and cleaned ? And the latest pcv kit fitted ? If not get it done ASAP. Looks nice in red

 

Yes. It has a full service history from day one, with the services all being done by Saab dealers or Saab specialists (one of whom dropped and cleaned the sump a couple of years ago), and as it's only done 83,600 miles, it runs beautifully. However, I will be getting things checked out in the near future.

[twosmoke300]

Bonus , the latest pcv kit / pipe work near the servo has white writing on it if you want to check.

They are a lovely car for the money

[Shep Shepherd]

^

Just checked the pipework and it's covered in white writing and looks practically new. Cheers for that!

[twosmoke300]

Woo hoo , I've got two of those breaking if you need any bits

[Shep Shepherd]

^

Excellent! What colours, specs and years are they?

[Twiggy]

Seeing as everyone else is doing it, I thought I'd give it a go...

 

https://retroshite.wordpress.com/

 

You'll clearly see why magazines are lining up for my words and photos...

 

Brilliant ! Love it.

[twosmoke300]

Got an 01 mid blue aero estate and a 2000 dark blue 2.0 se lpt saloon .

[Shep Shepherd]

Both potentially useful. I'll see if I need any replacement bits tomorrow. From what I can see at the moment, the car is only bereft of its washer bottle cap, but I ordered a new one from Neo Bros. yesterday

[EssDeeWon]

Looked at an MG BGT with Mike today to assess it for a prospective customer.  The car itself is a really nice unmolested example, seems really original bar a possible 90s respray that's done just what the Princess paint has.  I knew MG Bs are easy to get panels for but what really amazed me was just how many of the awkward, fiddly, annoying parts can be got off the shelf for not hideous amounts of cash.  A few years ago it was easier to keep an MG B going that other classics, now parts supply is so good it's probably easier to keep an MG B in rude health than it is a brand new car!

 

I heard recently there are more MGB's on the road now than Ford Sierra's

 

MGB's are like the Mondeo of the classic car world, other than other MGB owners no one really cares about them.

[dieselassist]

Looked at an MG BGT with Mike today to assess it for a prospective customer.  The car itself is a really nice unmolested example, seems really original bar a possible 90s respray that's done just what the Princess paint has.  I knew MG Bs are easy to get panels for but what really amazed me was just how many of the awkward, fiddly, annoying parts can be got off the shelf for not hideous amounts of cash.  A few years ago it was easier to keep an MG B going that other classics, now parts supply is so good it's probably easier to keep an MG B in rude health than it is a brand new car!

 

theres a lot available for them alright - I think it was practical classics mag in the 90s, that virtually built up a roadster MGB 'out of the catalougues; they are like 'old' beetles in terms of nearly everything is available, n like beetles there can be a huge difference in quality of replacement parts, from one supplier vs another, vs the quality of the original part ; some of the replacement 'new parts' are of poor quality n don't last- I spose they are a 'popular classic' n its not that unusual for one car to have been restored twice or even three times at this stage...

[Sloth in a bowl]

I've found my target for Autoshite motorsport at http://www.motorpunk.co.uk/features/sprint-series/2015-motorpunk-sprint-series/

 

Basically 'Come along and set your benchmark time and come back as often as you like to try and beat your benchmark time by the biggest margin you can. '

 

 

So you are only trying to beat yourself and PPC mag are planning on running a £999 class in some form at the events.

To be held at Curborough which isn't to far from me as well. 

 

Now I just need to sell the Kia, buy a cheap Puma, put on really shit ditch finders for the benchmark setting then fix the brakes and find some 2nd hand semi slicks for the win.

[HillmanImp]

'restored' 

 

FTFY

[320touring]

I've found my target for Autoshite motorsport at http://www.motorpunk.co.uk/features/sprint-series/2015-motorpunk-sprint-series/

 

Basically 'Come along and set your benchmark time and come back as often as you like to try and beat your benchmark time by the biggest margin you can. '

 

 

So you are only trying to beat yourself and PPC mag are planning on running a £999 class in some form at the events.

To be held at Curborough which isn't to far from me as well. 

 

Now I just need to sell the Kia, buy a cheap Puma, put on really shit ditch finders for the benchmark setting then fix the brakes and find some 2nd hand semi slicks for the win.

only 300 miles each way from here!

[saucedoctor]

Mate was heading for Londonderry today. Just outside Toome, the Rover 200 that was 2 cars in front of my mate (that's his Volvo) got clobbered head-on by the lorry in the pic, and then hit up the arse by an A6 estate. Driver completely OK.

 

Not all old cars are the deathtraps that some would have us believe.

 

 

[stuboy]

drove this...

from ashford to chelsea westminster....via

took 3 hrs to get back as like this..

[stuboy]

repaying a favour and helping a friend take car back for its retest..

at garage..

mot bay..

pumps

view

me

[coalnotdole]

The Blue Rebel Van passed its MOT this morning, makes the few mornings i spent messing about with it this week worthwhile.

 

I picked up 2 Advisories for an oil leak and handbrake adjustment - They all do that sir*

[dollywobbler]

Off to jump around an old scrapyard. Sounds like a private scrap collection, so Joe Public not allowed to explore. I'm hoping that he'll let me take pictures. There is also a rumour that there's a Fiat Fiorino van in there so I'm hoping to find a headlight for Herr Bollox.

[HillmanImp]

If there is a Citroen Visa I will swap a kidney for the rear springs.

[HMC]

Hope you can get some scrapyard shots DW, old yards are brilliant places.

[Mike D]

Steel arrived the other day, this happened today

 

 

 

It's getting there! Crossmembers to add tomorrow and the ends to box but it is looking good

[vulgalour]

I need to find a local supplier of welding gas.  Ideally, a place I can hire or buy outright a single middling-sized bottle.  So far, the companies Mike and I have approached want £bumrape to set up a trade account (even as a private buyer, rather than business) and hire a bottle that's either massively oversized for purpose or hilariously undersized.

 

I'm in Middlesbrough, anywhere in the North East will do really.  I'm hoping some people on here already hire/purchase bottles from a trusted source to make the search easier.

[Angrydicky]

I now use a local fire extinguisher firm for my welding gas, but before I did, I bought 5% CO2/Argon mix from a company in Grays who were an agent for Adams Gas. They were only a little more than the standard pub gas, certainly a lot cheaper than BOC and the others. A bit of googling leads me to this company which I don't think is far from you:

 

Gas 4 Welding

Wayside

Rock Road

Spennymoor

Co. Durham

DL16 7DD

 

http://www.adamsgas.co.uk/dealer-locator/gas/search-results?field_65=Stockton%20on%20Tees,County%20Durham&radius[0]=10&cats[0]=94

[dollywobbler]

If there is a Citroen Visa I will swap a kidney for the rear springs.

 

Sadly the closest I got to finding a Citroen was a pair of BX rear lights. And one chavved up Saxo.

[vulgalour]

Top man, Mr Dicky!  They're not too far away at all and according to the link do the gas I want.  I'll give them a call on Monday for some prices and whatever

[cort16]

MikeD did you think about making the beetle body sit over a cut back mx5 body rather than making a new chassis ?

When I've seen this kind of thing done before this is usually what the do. Are the dimension all wrong for that ?