The new news 24 thread

[320touring]

Cheers, xtriple, I'd heard about the rust on the parcel shelf of the saloons, wondered if the coupes were the same.

 

It'd be tempting, although a sale for the Porsche would be ideal as my mate is selling his m3 very cheap which with a bit of work would be a cracker.

W126 beats e46 m3 anydayz

[r.welfare]

Ghosty I think you're on a hiding to nothing on this car hunt, let 'em get on with it. I can add nothing except to say my parents are similarly aged and had the same kind of criteria (but with fewer caveats) so bought a nine month old Note auto five years back for £9k and still think it's bloody ace.

[dome]

W126 beats e46 m3 anydayz

Aye, true but the m3 would be fun to smoke around in fix up and then sell to a profit hopefully. Then I could buy a 560SEL...

[Rusty_Rocket]

Ghosty I think you're on a hiding to nothing on this car hunt, let 'em get on with it. I can add nothing except to say my parents are similarly aged and had the same kind of criteria (but with fewer caveats) so bought a nine month old Note auto five years back for £9k and still think it's bloody ace.

 

This.

 

You're never going to win and they won't listen to you anyway.  I know they're your folks 'n all, but sometimes you just have to let them make their own minds up, family or not.  Certainly not worth getting frustrated about.

[320touring]

Aye, true but the m3 would be fun to smoke around in fix up and then sell to a profit hopefully. Then I could buy a 560SEL...

Dwpends if you be arsed dealing with gold chain wearing permatanned gym bunnies, sporting wifebeaters and nae baws.

 

Or you could be dealin steriods to the self same;)

[drum]

Driving through Glenisla on the way to the ski slopes of Glenshee when a roe deer jumped into the side of the car. The bumper has popped off at one side and there's a wee dent in the bodywork.

 

DSC_0276 by jboath1, on Flickr

 

The roads were a salty mess hence the state of the car. It has picked up a few deer hairs now too.

 

Deer hairs by 'The Shadow'.

DSC_0275 by jboath1, on Flickr

 

I'll try and pop the bumper back tomorrow.

 

The doe picked itself up and ran off although I expect it was a 20 minuter.

[155V6]

Stupid C70 window regulator.....aaarggh!!!

 

This is the worst job ever. Any tips?

Mine both work at the moment,one reason why I bought the car.Not sure if the ones on the spare car work,as the battery's dead.If they do,they'll be coming out.Are they really that awkward?

[coalnotdole]

My new years resolution was to make 2015 a year with less fooked more money spent on making things presentable / improving the cosmetics. With that in mind I've bought some leather replacement seats for the GTE. The old ones are totally worn out, the seat frame on the passenger one cracked over a year ago so that was swapped over for a tan one, The mismatched interior has been annoying me ever since.

 

The new seats are aftermarket cobras (marketed as a scimitar upgrade since the 80's) They look a bit more modern than the origonals but they have the advantage of having headrests and are very comfortable to sit in. This set have never been fitted to a car having been dry stored since 1990. The previous owner paied £560 for them in 1990! They are unusual as due to a mistake at the factory the rear of the seats is leather covered rather than leathercloth.

 

Hopefully if the weather stays fine I'll get them fitted tomorrow.

 

Finally got around to taking some photos of the cobra seats, In the end it took Dave and myself 2 days of messing about to get them fitted. We ended up reusing the original mounting holes in the floor and welding spacers to the cobra runners in order to move the seats as far inboard towards the gearbox tunnel as we could. This space was needed to allow you to get your hand to the backrest angle  adjuster without the need to open the door! The arm rest / door pull was also moved forward to make it easier to fit a hand into the limited space between seat and door.

 

I'm quite pleased with how the new seats look, while not as period looking as the originals they are comfortable and supportive and have the advantage of having head rests. They sit a bit higher than the old ones which took a bit of getting used to. I do miss the piping on the old ones and the small segment pannels in the middle which mirrored the style you see on the rears.

 

To complement the seats we fitted a brand new set of door cards, I'd had these made by the same trimmer Dave used for his red rebel interior, the detail is stitched rather than heat pressed but they look and fit much better than the old set they replace. They are mounted on a sheet of plastic mount board rather than the fibreboard used origonally.

 

A few photos showing the interior as is is now:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[darkfour]

Spent the afternoon working on the wiring for the Plymouth. Headlights, side lights and tail lights have been refitted. The front end wiring loom is now complete and my focus is now with the under dash wiring.

 

 

It's a bit of a rat's nest behind the dash but believe I mostly understand what goes where. I've added a new relay bank to control the indicators, sidelights and brake lights. Apologies for the reflective glare, the firewall is made from an old road sign!

 

 

I think I'm about 90% done with the wiring but I've yet to test anything so that estimate may be revised very quickly.

 

[dollywobbler]

It's been a beautiful weekend, so I've mainly been doing garden and wood/log duties. Nipped out to get some fuel though. Majestic! If your ego requires that people stare at you and smile, all you need is a 2CV, the roof back and sunshine. Don't waste your money on a Ferrari. People will then look at you for different reasons...

[HMC]

^  with different details could almost be brochure material (if they ever did them back in '48) aimed square at its envisaged market. Obvs yours has the sort of dragster power undreamt of back then!

 

How close are you now to the magic 200,000?

[gordonbennet]

Given the recently aquired Landcruiser a quick mini service and checkover today.

changed engine oil, not too dirty

wheels off checked brakes will put a set of rear discs and pads on asap, they're ok but i have a OCD about brakes and they have to be perfect, will do full brake overhaul when the weather improves

fitted a new drop link, bushes perished, old one snapped off

topped up transfer box and front diff but the rear diff filler plug is seized solid so have given it a blast of Plus Gas and will get a chap to put some heat on it, hopefully tomorrow

spark plugs are nearly new, haven't seen twin electrode sparkies for yonks

air filter's nearly new

better than i expected underneath, new set of Gucci shockers fitted a few years ago by someone

 

best of all dug me grease gun out and enjoyed that wonderful sound of grease coming out the UJ's...i love greasing up moving parts properly via real honest to goodness nipples,  feels like proper preventative maintenance

 

Can't wait to get on with rustproofing, full transmission oil changes and all the other jobs this summer

 

However, as usual i now have umpteen cuts and abrasions on me hands which sting like buggery and everything else aches, getting too bloody old and stiff in the wrong places for this lark

[scruff]

Going down the A1 yesterday lunchtime, at the Black Cat roundabout a double deck car transporter came the other way loaded with an old mk1/2 Transit and four or five shabby looking two door Sierras, all on euro reg plates. Can only assume they have been acquired for resto or Cossie replicaz?! 

[Angrydicky]

Estate cars: overrated.

 

[dollywobbler]

^  with different details could almost be brochure material (if they ever did them back in '48) aimed square at its envisaged market. Obvs yours has the sort of dragster power undreamt of back then!

 

How close are you now to the magic 200,000?

 

And a decent camera. Decent car that isn't held together with aluminium tape etc...

 

199,394 miles now. Creeping closer...

[Six-cylinder]

W126 beats e46 m3 anydayz

 

You need them both, they do different things!

[angle]

Todays life lesson, courtesy of my dad and his previously unblemished 35 year driving record - when taking a car that's been off the road for six months for a quick pre-MOT run around the block, take care not to pull out of the driveway in front of an unmarked police car. Even if they are extremely reasonable and just concentrate on a lack of insurance, it gets very expensive very quickly...

[trigger]

Todays life lesson, courtesy of my dad

 

Oh dear, that sounds like a story to share down the pub!

 

I dropped my Civic off at my tamed mechanics during the week as it needed the back box welding up and a MOT, Pleasingly after welding it up the car went straight through with no advisories, which i thinks brilliant for a 40 year old Japanese car. My mechanic said he couldn't believe the amount of attention it got at the garage too.

 

I think I'll be putting it up for sale again soon though, I really have a itch for a change so it will have to go, I've also been in contact to Honda UK about getting the confirmation for date of manufacture, they don't keep records for pre 1995 cars but I'm hoping that as it has so many tell tail signs of being a 1974 car they will grant me a certificate meaning that i can claim for tax exemption in April, if i get it that would been it's the first tax exempt Civic in the country.

 

The trouble is although it's clearly a 1974 car and i've sent them a link to a website that confirms the VIN number is a 1974 model is will that be enough for them to send me a Honda headed paper confirming it?. We will see.

[dave21478]

Ive done that. Except I was 19, the car was hanging and police were not at all reasonable. In court, if the judge had had a book to hand, he would definitely have thrown it at me.

[wuvvum]

Got a few bits done this weekend, although as always not as much as I'd hoped.

 

Yesterday I cleared the Golf out ready for its new owner to pick it up.  Not the most inspiring task, but in the centre console I found a tenner folded inside a Tesco receipt, which was a bonus.  I also finally got around to fitting the winter tyres to the front of the Rover - just in time for spring.   It does drive better now though - I think one of the old tyres was on its last legs as there was a bit of a wheel wobble at low speeds.  Then I fitted a new bonnet badge to the Merc.  Don't know how long it'll last, but it was only 8 quid odd and does improve the view from the driving seat.

 

Today once I'd waved the Golf off I had a look at the MG to see if the vacuum hose could be causing the running problems.  It's certainly not a very tight fit in its rubber end at the manifold end, so I've ordered a new one (which was only a couple of quid) and I'll see if that helps.  I also took it to the jetwash and gave it a good blast underneath to rinse off all the salt from last weekend's trip to Kings Lynn.

 

I had a quick look at the Volvo, unfortunately the turbo inlet pipe was too inaccessible to take off in the time I had available so I couldn't follow up on Bo11ox' suggestion to check for a fecked turbo.  I did have another check of all the turbo hoses for leaks (couldn't find owt) and tried unplugging the MAF sensor to see if that might make a difference to the running, but all it did was bring on the Lambda and traction control lights. 

 

Then I replaced the broken drop link on the front of the Subaru.  This was actually surprisingly easy, and I was done inside half an hour.  I still think it's stupid to make drop links out of plastic though.  After that I was going to treat the car to an oil change - I got all the bits together and got as far as putting the car up on ramps and taking the undertray off before I realised that my drain pan is still full from the last oil change I did and I didn't have any empty containers to empty it into.   So that's going to have to be a job for next weekend.

[darkfour]

Nearly finished the new dash for the Plymouth this weekend. The remaining hole is for the Temp gauge which is still attached to the car, along with the headlight switch and indicator switch. I'm hoping to get it installed this coming weekend.

 

[holbeck]

^^^ Reminds me of when I used to design instrument panels for marine diesel engines

[Asimo]

Risked an mot-less commute this morning to take advantage of the (new and a nob) boss being away for the week and work indoors, on the Insight leaking roof seams in the warm and dry. Removed  the plastic trim pieces along the roof edges, washed out fifteen years of crud, and scraped out the so-called seam sealer. Will leave it inside tonight to dry out properly before filling the gaps.

 

Some pretty large holes under the sealant where the panels meet.

 

I am inclined to use silicone mastic rather than "the proper stuff". It cannot be seen and therefore need not be painted, I have always found silicone to be extremely good at sealing other leaky problems. The good thing about aluminium bodywork is I don't need to consider painting, worry about scratches, bare metal etc. The bad thing is that it is really delicate, it would be really easy to dent or distort.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Please excuse the stupid questions, I know very little about these .

Why are there seams in the roof , is it made up of separate sections bonded together over a spaceframe ? Does it have a separate tub/ chassis or is it an all aluminium monocoque .

[gordonbennet]

Bloody hell,lovely dash for that Plymouth, haven't seen a proper dashboard ammeter for ages, used to keep an old one i liberated from a scrappy for testing stuff, jerry wired to a glow plug you could test them in situ, a good glow worm would draw about 15/20 amps, lent the bugger to someone and it never came back.

[Asimo]

Please excuse the stupid questions, I know very little about these .

Why are there seams in the roof , is it made up of separate sections bonded together over a spaceframe ? Does it have a separate tub/ chassis or is it an all aluminium monocoque .

It is an all aluminium monocoque. Mostly formed from pressings but there are some forgings or castings welded in at some points, such as suspension and engine mounting points. Spot welds and some continuous welds. All of the welding looks a bit untidy compared to that seen on a modern steel bodyshell.

The seams in question are where the roof pressing joins the rear side panel. The panels are joined with spot welds but there are gaps at points where the pressings meet on corners which are quite large and just rely on mastic sealing. All of this is hidden under a plastic molding between door and roof. It would have been much easier to make with an old fashioned gutter. (but less aerodynamic I suppose).

[ruffgeezer]

Last week I thought I'd better start getting the new axle ready for the Ax, "recently refurbished" and "ready to fit" were phrases that had been used.

 

So brake plates held on with thin wire, brake pipes made by Stevie Wonder and a week's worth of lunch times leave this:

 

This bit is buggered because of the broken off bolts:

 

 

I had to pull a nearly new wheel bearing off of the stub axle to get to this point:

 

This side of the axle is back to bare, I'll have to do the same trick on the old axle now to get it built properly.

 

 

 

Oh and after an hour of my time clearing the back workshop, this happened:

 

[stuboy]

popped to see a friend in sittingborne as was down in the dumps about so called got car turned out to be rotten, we went car hunting found some dog rough ones for sale, didnt buy anything..but my other intention was to sort exhaust on his project citrine mondeo, basically rear section was a bigger bore than centre section, he tried in the week but had to give up due to a dicky shoulder...

his and hers..

one side already up on ramp

i jacked it up and put stand underneath

mate got his grinder

so outta some exhaust pipe i chopped a sleeve..

fitted a treat

me and another friend ... im the hunk in glasses

me underneath installing rear section

done.

[vulgalour]

This week I will be posting my spare front crossmember and valance assembly from the orange Princess I broke to a chap in Germany.  I am as astonished as anyone about this.

 

I've also been busy researching suspension alternatives and, after talking to a friend who is an engineer and knows all about Hydragas, looking at the various options out there and trying to figure out what best will fit the bodyshell with minimal modification I've determined to go for a very basic hydraulic system as used on lowriders and the like.  I've already buzzed off a message to Rayvern Hydraulics because they've been in the game long enough and done enough bizarre cars to stand a chance of helping me out with prices and info, next will be to look at lots of diagrams and price it all up.

 

Realistically, the Hydragas system is becoming more and more untenable as time goes on and a solution has to be found.  I intend to press the Princess back into daily use but after 3 displacer failures in as many years and prices for replacements now starting at £100 it's just not tenable to keep, I need an alternative.  A new hydraulic set up has the bonus of offering a reasonable ride quality and excellent parts availability, it should also be robust and low maintenance while being in the spirit of the Princess' technology.

 

It's not cost effective, but then nothing about the Princess is any more.  I've already invested more time, effort and money in it than it's worth and it's a car I really enjoy, I have no problems with future proofing it providing I can afford to do it.

 

In the short term I'll swap my replacement displacer on and get it pumped up.  When (and it is a when, not an if) another displacer bursts I'll lay the car up until I can afford a more easily maintained set up.  Ã‚£350-400 to get displacers regassed and fitted with schrader valves, with no guarantee of longevity versus probably £800-2000 for a brand new hydraulic set up that will have longevity and ease of parts replacement.

[barefoot]

SHOCK HORROR - PRESS RELEASE FROM LEASING COMPANY!

 

Immediate Release

Write-offs back on the road: How safe is your taxi-cab?

Disturbing number of cabs have been previously written off by insurance companies

Up to one-in-ten taxis are insurance write-offs that have been repaired and returned to the road, it appears.

A national car leasing company says that Category D write-offs are being bought cheaply by taxi-cab operators, repaired, and returned to the road where they are effectively being 'run into the ground' on double or triple shifts with a number of drivers sharing the vehicle.

While there's nothing illegal about returning repairable insurance write-offs to the road with all the correct paperwork, the Flexed.co.uk company says the practice raises questions over passenger safety.

"We know of taxi cabs that have over 150,000 miles on the clock and are being driven 24-hours a day by their operators," Flexed.co.uk spokesperson Mark Hall says.

"These cars may well be a BMW or Mercedes, but they've been bought for as little as £130 from a salvage company or auction and repaired to pass the MOT test."

A gleaming car with a dark history can be back on the road for less than £1,000, Flexed says, and that's a risk from which taxi passengers should be protected.

What's a Category-D car?

• Vehicles that have been in accidents are categorised from A to D depending on the amount of damage they have sustained.
• A is the worst, and is a car that cannot even be salvaged and is to be sent to be crushed
• A category D car is one that has been damaged enough for the insurance company to decide it would be uneconomical to effect a repair.
• Category D cars are usually sold to salvage companies, and can be bought for parts or repair.

But it's how these Category-D cars are being used by less than scrupulous operators that is most surprising.

According to Flexed.co.uk, many of these cars that have been revived as taxi-cabs are being driven virtually non-stop with several drivers sharing the vehicle with shifts that go right around the clock. It's the kind of wear-and-tear to an already damaged vehicle that could compromise passenger safety, the company claims.

"You've got to be concerned that a vehicle that has already been written-off once is being used as a hire car until it's virtually been run into the ground," says Hall, "But as long as they're all properly taxed, tested and insured, there's nothing illegal about the practice."

These non-stop Cat-D taxis have led to darkly comical moments for clients, Flexed says. One passenger told us:

"I was getting into a cab at a train station one morning, opened the boot to put my case in and found somebody asleep in there, resting his head on a rolled-up coat. I was told that he was the 'other driver' who had just finished his shift, and he was going to be driven home once we'd driven my fare. Are they allowed to do that?"

Another passenger told Flexed.co.uk: "I once wrote my car off after some bozo on their mobile phone ran into the back of me and smashed up the tailgate at some traffic lights. A couple of months, I rang for a cab and my old motor turned up to take me into town. My flabber was ghasted, straight on the phone to the council the next day, they said it was entirely legitimate because they'd seen all the paperwork. Amazing."

Flexed.co.uk said that licensing authorities should consider a car's past when considering a vehicle for a public carriage licence.

"When you don't know how safe your taxi-cab is because it's been previously written off, you have to wonder how it got a licence in the first place," says Flexed.co.uk 's Mark Hall. "Councils should give careful consideration to allowing these Category-D cars to carry the paying public."

"And when companies are deliberately driving their modest investments into the ground with 24-hour triple-shifts, you feel even less inclined to take a cab."

NOTES FOR EDITORS

For more information please contact Johnny on 01943666444 or [email protected]

Images are available

Spokesperson is available for comment

Flexed.co.uk is a leading UK-based car leasing company that finds motoring deals from one month to one year.

 

 

What a load of old bollocks - thanks Johnnie.