The new news 24 thread

[NorfolkNWeigh]

When I was a lad ,the choice of engine transplant would depend solely on if I came across a rusty P6, Zodiac/Granada or maybe a 2.0 Cortina., first on my trawl of the roughest council estates.Auto or manual didn't matter and there was a bloke at the local metal fabricators that stitched props together or modded sumps that couldn't be hammered to fit, for £20.

I did a Google image search to find a picture of that silver Mk2 with with a 3.0 BMW sizzler in it,

And this came up

Is it yours before the repaint ?

Skilfull* photoshop apart,it's described as a 2000E on the dire site advertising recons

http://www.idealengines.co.uk/blog/top-ten-most-exaggerated-cars-of-history/

[Six-cylinder]

From AA site

 

[trigger]

Hey that photo is from the day that i bought it and was driving home from the old owners house! Great photoshop skills!

 

 

I think i must be mm's into that zone A, I've got Nationals coming to fit a screen on the 1st and I've got it booked back in for a retest that afternoon, Annoying as I'm working nights so christ knows when I'll sleep. I won't be using them again after this though.

[hairnet]

I like the idea of a MX5 powered Cortina although the purists would hate it! Seth has that set up in his Herald IIRC.

 

In other news today I had the mot on my wife's Starlet.

 

 

Annoyingly the lad who normally does my test has left and has been replaced by a bit of a jobs worth, I sat there watching him bashing away on my clearly solid sills with his toffee hammer before failing the car on a chip on the windscreen, he seems to think it's in the fail area although he never measured it or anything. What you think? It passed with it last year.

 

 

He was adamant that I made sure that it was fixed within 10 days or that he would charge me to retest the car again. After 5 years I won't be using them again.

in the swept area but if it fits in a 5p piece itll (should pass)

[barefoot]

Porsche 944 mot failue today, completely bizarre.

Headlamp test - headlamps didn't pop up.

No, because the lens fell off during the test and jammed up the mechanism!

Brought home, wound down manually, lens removed, will be stuck back on tomorrow and

taken for re-test next week.

[cort16]

Who and why did that weird photoshop on your cortina then posted it on a random website? The internet is weird sometimes.

[darkfour]

Last night I installed a 10lb residual valve on the rear brake line of the Plymouth. I'm hoping that it will keep the brake pedal travel consistent instead of getting longer as it currently does. Yet again I'll have to bleed the brakes but I can't locate my 3/8" wrench to fully tighten the new fitting in place.

 

Been looking at getting new tires and the ones I want are $200 each. I'll get some eventually but I'm thinking I'm going to get some part worn ones on there short term. Going to try and tackle installing the new transmission cable this weekend along with making a bracket for the rack and pinion steering rack that will relocate the inner tie rod ends in the center of the car. This should mean that the car will turn equally in either direction. At present right turns are very limited and I end up using both lanes.

 

The insurance underwriters have just requested pictures of the car and details of any modifications... I expect the premium to rise significantly from the $30/month or so I signed up for.

 

Also off to see Boston in concert on Sunday evening. I've got more than a feeling I'm going to enjoy that.

[Six-cylinder]

Collected my DS from service and MOT today, a bit of a list had to be done:

 

• Brake Imbalance
• Brake lights not working
• Washer pump low output
• Battery insecure
• Exhaust joint leak (stainless exhaust)

 

[richardmorris]

Is this worth getting for £99? ( I can get an extra 10% off with british cycling card).

 

http://www.halfords.com/motoring-travel/tools-diy/socket-sets/halfords-advanced-professional-170-piece-socket-ratchet-spanner-set?cm_re=Pillar+offers-_-content10-_-170pc

[cort16]

Yes the tools are really good. That's a right bargain

[Richard]

Yes it is. I can't help wishing I'd paid a little extra for the 200 piece kit but I don't think I've needed anything that wasn't in the 170 piece kit.

[richardmorris]

The 200 piece is half price at £150 ( £135 with my extra discount). Is it worth the extra £36 ? It was my birthday Monday so it will be a present to me.

[Richard]

Probably not, the 170 piece set does seem to cover most eventualities. It's bloody heavy too, the extra 30 pieces might make it too cumbersome for no benefit.

[richardmorris]

Thanks, I'll try and get a170 piece tomorrow.

[Six-cylinder]

I have taken my 2001 Volvo V70 XC to my local garage because after having 3 oil leaks fixed it has now stated to use water, 2 pints in 60 miles. I am keeping my fingers crossed it's not a major problem, no water in the oil, no oil in the water and no water vapour out of the exhaust but I can't see where it is going.

[richardmorris]

That's quite a lot of water. If it's not visible on the ground, it could be the head gasket.

[cort16]

I'm the same I've got the 170 piece one and it's never had me stuck .

[MrDuke]

My neighbour has bought an X-reg Kia Sportidge on my 'advice'. As in, I didn't actually tell him not to buy it, or stick my fingers through the sills. To be fair, the seller seems a decent bloke, there's 11 months MOT, and the only problems are a dodgy leccy window that won't close, and about 6 square inches of proper crust near the fuel filler. Obviously, when something fails on it, it will all be my fault.

[wuvvum]

Well the MG tentatively appears to be OK.  I took it for a quick run this evening and the temp gauge didn't go over the half way point.  I got home and checked everything over and was slightly worried to see a bit of white creamy shiz on the oil cap.  I went out for another, longer, run and when I got home said white shiz had gone.  So hopefully it's OK.  I'm still going to do a coolant flush'n'change at the weekend, and may bung in a posh Radweld just in case the coolant is going somewhere it shouldn't.

 

On the flip side, the pushbike has lost its gears again.  Or rather it's stuck in second and is making worrying crunching noises, just like the old hub did.  I'm not quite sure how an 11-stone bloke who doesn't own anything made of lycra can be pedalling hard enough to om nom nom two Sturmey Archer hubs in the space of a few months - I think the hubs must have been worn already.  Unfortunately I don't have any more spares, so this time it's going to cost me money.

[Jerzy Woking]

If you get the Halfords tool kit, what ever you do, don't open it "upside down". It takes ages to pick up all the sockets and put them back in the right place. Even on the third occasion.

[ruffgeezer]

Paint the top of the case.

[JohnK]

Agreed about the 170 piece kit. I've got the 200 and there's bits on there I have never used and probably never will. The smaller set will be fine and a decent price that as well.

[JohnK]

Happy shiting folks! Hoping to bring something back from that there Europe!

 

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Bon voyage JohnK!!!!

[richardmorris]

Bought the 170 piece in Woking,it's definitely workshop weight rather than a carry in the car one!

 

I was pricing up some individual things- ratchet spanners etc and for £99 I think it's very good value. They've also got three for two on cleaning stuff at the moment too, so got some more autglym stuff.

 

Three idiots totally ignored give way to the right at roundabouts though, must have pressed the cloaking device button in the X1/9! Or this could just be normal for woking- I try and avoid going there if possible, but that was a better option than the even worse Bracknell.

[nacho man]

My missus is out tonight, so in my head I have strippers, crack and booze planned for tonight.

 

In reality its eurovision and a meal for one from the chinky.

[Ghosty]

(Suspension not quite settled here).

 

At last! Just need to fix that shit paint and filler work at some point, whichever wheels it's on. Looks 999999x better - anyone fancy some tidy 15" Bini wheels with a set of Michelins?

[skattrd]

I really don't need them, but how much for the Bini wheels?

[skattrd]

Thermostat changed on the Delta, funkiest looking (and most expensive) thermostat I've fitted.

 

 

That's 5 different size pipes and 3 sensors connecting to it.

 

I've ordered a more normal (£6) thermostat for the Honda.

 

I have decided (again) it's time for a bit of a thinning of the fleet, so the Delta, Aerodeck and Merc are top of the list to go (that's 3 of my 4 currently legal cars). My plan is to buy a more economical (c220 cdi) w203 Merc estate for boring daily type duties to replace the w202.

[Six-cylinder]

As a Visa fancier I like this T shirt titled Evolution Of Man.

 

In fact I liked it so much I have ordered one for Mrs Cyl as they don't do my size.