What makes you grin? Antidote to grumpy thread

[dollywobbler]

Does that look like a late Maxi2 paint colour to you?  It's setting off some sort of alarm bells or ringing sound to me...

 

The tailgate is harvest gold I think. That'd be appropriate for the age. As mentioned, the Reynard metallic (one of my favourite BL colours) certainly is not...

[Bobthebeard]

I was working in Bognor today, me and my apprentice were driving down the road and spotted another van stopped on the other side of the road with the driver pissing himself laughing! He started pointing to something on the pavement so we look over and it's a man staggering around wearing a ladies floral pattern summer dress!!

He was a butch older guy too, facial hair, tattoos the lot. I think he was wasted tbh but it was hilarious.

That seems pretty normal for Bognor.

[danthecapriman]

That seems pretty normal for Bognor.

There's some strange people down there, I've always found it a strange place.

[oldcars]

Winners shop at lidl

 

 

It had what looked to be a cement mixer in the back

Maxi harlequin

[daveb47]

Norwegian F104 Starfighter took its first post restoration flight yesterday.

Doubt we will see it over here but live in hope

 

[andy18s]

Nice opportunity for someone

[Ghosty]

... And today driving down the A1 I pass 'Trophy Garage' a dealer specialising in MG/TFs he must have had around 50 of them outside, combined they must be worth at least £10k.

 

I think they might even have some unregistered ones. Something for almost every budget there.

 

http://www.trophycars.co.uk/

[beko1987]

was following a 57 plate fiat ducato out of thame this morning, with what looked like full on turbo failure. thick black smoke on acceleration, he didn't go over 35.

 

i did my bit and held back, stopping the dick in the range rover behind me going up his arse. he pulled into the local garage a few miles up the road. the front of my car is covered in soot now, the same as the back of it...

[Eddie Honda]

It's setting off some sort of alarm bells or ringing sound to me...

 

Tinnitus? I think I can smell* the Nitrogen leaking from over here. How saggy is that.

[Cavcraft]

I biked home a diffetent way yesterday and managed to have a brief chat with a bloke with an uber mint Capri 2.8 turbo at the lights. I also saw a barn owl again this morning, that's two now in the space of a week or so and I'd never seen one in the wild before in my life.

[twosmoke300]

Ducato prob blown a boost hose off or egr stuck open

[vulgalour]

WHEEEEE

 

YAAAAAAAY

 

I'M A RACE CAR!

[twosmoke300]

Cutest car ever made

[FakeConcern]

Just found this thread in my bookmarks and re read it.

 

http://autoshite.com/topic/13953-autoshite-lexicon/

[Guest Hooli]

I was working in Bognor today, me and my apprentice were driving down the road and spotted another van stopped on the other side of the road with the driver pissing himself laughing! He started pointing to something on the pavement so we look over and it's a man staggering around wearing a ladies floral pattern summer dress!!

He was a butch older guy too, facial hair, tattoos the lot. I think he was wasted tbh but it was hilarious.

 

 

Used to be an ex-builder in Goring-by-sea, built like a brick shit house & hands like shovels who'd ride round on the buses in a flowery dress & huge hat. Was funny as hell watching him sit next to some old dear & start chatting, the poor old bat would be trying to climb out the window.

[richardmorris]

Yes, odd 50yr old guy in Slough too would wear a floral dress and sit in the shopping centre. Quite at odds with his five a clock shadow!

 

Wasn't the Sprite designed with pop up lights until the bean counters said no? Or is that an old wive's tale? I think the lights certainly had to be that height though because of USA regulations.

[dollywobbler]

Yes, odd 50yr old guy in Slough too would wear a floral dress and sit in the shopping centre. Quite at odds with his five a clock shadow!

 

Wasn't the Sprite designed with pop up lights until the bean counters said no? Or is that an old wive's tale? I think the lights certainly had to be that height though because of USA regulations.

 

You is right sir.

 

IIRC, they also experimented with lay-back, Porsche 928-style lamps before realising that it was cheaper just to make the car look cute.

 

EDIT - No, the above is an after-market option. The original DID have 928-style lamps. I can only find a pic with them popped up.

[dollywobbler]

The Sprite's lights were supposed to be exposed pop-ups (like a Porsche 928) until the bean counters said no.

 

The car predates the US regulations by 10 years or so.

 

Was there an earlier set of rules? After all, the Minor had its headlamps moved for regulations - I thought US but that they decided to apply it across the board. Then I think there was another change in the late 1960s, which drove the headlamp move on the Series Land Rovers, before a whole host of new Federal requirements in the Seventies that caused the MGB to have its suspension hiked.

[Guest Hooli]

Don't forget it was bloody stupid Yankie rules that stopped motorbikes having the gears in the correct place, on the right.

[vulgalour]

Important Manager Sort: It's no use chaps, we're going to have to redesign the whole front end of the MG B to be in line with export sales.  It's a disaster.

 

Dave, work experience guy:  Or... we could just fit taller springs.

 

IMS:  I'm glad I thought of that!  Genius.

[Jack D]

Something made me grin today.  A lot.  I was joining the M25 from the M1 and on the slip road the electronic overhead matrix gantry thing channeled all the cars into one lane, citing a mystery "obstruction ahead" in the other lane.  As everyone was rounding the bend looking in the other lane to their right the real obstruction was taking out about 50% of the traffic.  It was a manhole cover complete with frame sitting at least 8" high.  There were under trays, front and rear bumpers, chunks of sump, gallons of engine oil and general driveline components everywhere.  At least 30 cars on the hard shoulder with chunks of alloy wheel missing and almost all had flat tyres. I only saw the manhole cover at the last moment but driving old shite that isn't tuned for the bastard Nurburgring (the 300 SEL) it just breezed over the offending lump of malleable steel. Many a school run 4x4 with rubber band tyres was sporting the new pac-man style wheels. The moral of the story is: high ride height, high profile tyres.  They are more useful in Britain than suspension and tyres approved for 200MPH motoring on ones 2016 Mini Cooper gluten free Cunt-ryman SD.   Shite FTW.  

 

One of these chunkers below. 

 

[cort16]

If I was BMW or Mercedes I'd have refused to sell my cars in the USA looking like this. The MGB's Streetwise spring conversion and rubber bumpers looks elegant compared to these two.

 

 

[M'coli]

Jay Leno always goes on about pre-69 as the period when the car designers could do what they wanted.

 

I believe Ralph Nader had a lot to do with this, Unsafe at Any Speed was published in '65.

It wasn't just Nader, pre-69 didn't have to worry about how much NOx and unburnt hydrocarbons they chucked out with high compression ratios and high-octane fuel, leading to the anti-smog gear fixed to many cars after '69.  Lower compression ratios ruined power and economy but meant cooler burn for less NOx, then there was kit like distributors having two vacuum devices (as fitted to the TR6), one to advance the ignition under part throttle as usual, one to retard under closed throttle to get it through hydrocarbon emissions tests...The mind boggles...

[dollywobbler]

It was US regs that were the issue for both Sprite and Minor - there was a change in 1949 about minimum headlamp height - 24 inches from road height.

[Coprolalia]

Sorted storage in the new city.

Double length garage, good width, power, roller shutter. Tucked away in a quiet cul-de-sac behind some shops. Enclosed yard behind for storing random bits.

All for a very reasonable monthly price.

 

I am a happy man!

[AMC Rebel]

[cobblers]

Sorted storage in the new city.

Double length garage, good width, power, roller shutter. Tucked away in a quiet cul-de-sac behind some shops. Enclosed yard behind for storing random bits.

All for a very reasonable monthly price.

 

I am a happy man!

I could really do with something like that round here but there's sod all about. How did you find it?

[Coprolalia]

Gumtree and an itchy trigger finger.

 

Nice guy, said he had been inundated with calls, but I applied first so got first refusal.

[RoadworkUK]

Right now I'm listening to a Phil Collins CD like the middle-aged bastard I am, And I don't care!

 

Got the Rover out of storage on Weds night and drove home with Hitch-hikers Guide on cassette.

 

Bliss.

[Cavcraft]

To eclipse the Capri I saw yesterday, today I spotted one of those Bitofshitty Warlord pick-up things that was absolutely raked in chrome shit. It had pin stripe style flames down the side,a  chrome bull bar and BFO 'Elvis' stickers on the tailgate, amongst much other shit. It was so awful it was fantastic. Sadly no pictures as he was going the other way at the lights, but I hope to see it again.