What makes you grin? Antidote to grumpy thread

[Honey Badger]

I found this an interesting way to spend an hour and a bit, something that a lot of you might know loads about but I'm still a bit of a mechanical dunce.

 

 

It's amazing how well the engine stood up to the abuse it received.

[gm]

I spent a couple of hours mooching around the local scrappies this afternoon and came home with this

 

 

it doesn't look much but I was very pleased - it's the dashboard trim panel from a modern civic - which I brought home and did this

 

 

the USB socket is wired directly to the cig lighter circuit

 

 

and the phone holder is screwed in from underneath - no more falling off the windscreen at inopportune moments

 

and I have the original panel to return it to stock when I get bored and come to sell it

[Lord Sterling]

  On 22/06/2017 at 21:57, AlabamaShrimp said:

Tbh I've no idea of the wage but I assume it's minimum.

The council hired five or six at once and weirdly one of them live across from me in some flats...

The hours seem very flexible but short like they do nearly sod all in July and August in the school holidays as there just isn't the traffic to count. Good for me with a child but crap if it was you main job.

I had though about what you do as it sounded good driving random stuff but the potential to be out all night and paying your own expenses would kill it for me.

I hear what you are saying, but not every plating outfit is as bad as mine. Mine are getting worse though with less work and micro-managing, they seem to be forgetting that we are "self" employed, not employed. BCA are just horrible, not heard a good word said about them, not by thier own platers and judging by thier massive size, you are just a number. IT Fleet aren't bad but not terribly good either. We seem to do some of thier aswell as BCA stuff.

 

It honestly isn't such a bad job but sadly like any job it's just finding the good amongst the bad. There are a massive load of various different outfits believe it or not. A lot of it is based on fleet/ex fleet stuff and single cars sold between dealers through middle-men outfits. As I said, it is only specifically my company that like (to try) keeping you away from home, all other outfits will endeavour to get you home with a "carry over" vehicle to deliver the next day. It does mean early starts often.

 

There is a company I came across who'll pay about £300-odd a week, get you home everyday for around 5pm to 7pm and you only need to do a couple cars per day. They seem to prefer employing older, retired people and are a small firm, so you don't have the rush and stress that outfits like mine, or BCA/IT Fleet have. Can provide details if you wish to give it a go or at least find out what they are about.

[AlabamaShrimp]

^^while it does sound quite good once you get past the crap and the last one seems good that gets you home I honestly don't think I'm right for it.

 

I can't stop over night as Mrs Shrimp works shifts so I don't want to have to be turning work down (so to speak). I had a lot of shit in my last two jobs so need to stay away from anything where I'm micro managed and although the job I've just got pays crap they leave you alone.

[Noel Tidybeard]

  On 21/06/2017 at 09:07, beko1987 said:

It was. Shes our project office manager, so not quite my boss but manages my workload. I'll service her and her dyson for the foreseeable I think!

 

 

FIFY

[PhilA]

Amused, sitting on the can in the spare bog of the new house, reading Autoshite, looking at the way the light reflects off the sparkling glitter on the ceiling from the chandelier (someone decided to put a chandelier in the spare bog!), reflecting with a smile that amongst the marble counter top and funny green glass vase full of marbles and fake cotton twigs, somebody decided to paint the room beige.

 

Phil

[UmBongo]

Just over a week to Japfest. I hope the Silvia makes it!

[dollywobbler]

  On 23/06/2017 at 06:21, UmBongo said:

Just over a week to Japfest. I hope the Silvia makes it!

 

The Bluebird isn't. It's mightily close now, but I've decided I'd rather just take the pressure off and take the Honda.

[Mr A Lawrence]

This just drove towards me.

 

Closely followed by this.

 

 

Connected I wonder??

[Pillock]

Took The_Boy to his prom last night - had he given us a bit more notice I'd have tried to arrange a better car than a filthy BMW to take him in but he only turned around Tueday and said he'd decided to go!

 

Anyway, there was the usual procession of awful tat that makes you want to scoop your eyeballs out with a spoon (Volvo XC90 with pink baloons all over it, various terrible Limos full of wob with "UMO" numberplates and a yellow bolt on the U, and quite a few dad's-mate-has-an-Audi-R8-or-BMW-M3-and-will-rev-it-until-people-are-sick-of-the-noise jobs) but I queued to get in behind this

 

 

It had some fairly serious looking tyres on and sounded fookin awesome. Quite amusing to watch everyone ignore the fancy cars that had clearly been hired for the day and stare at a slightly used looking Renault Alpine.

[oldcars]

Old pal passed away a few months back. His wife popped by the other day saying the car was not looking as good as when he had it. Popped around last night and gave it a good 3 hour clean. Interior, exterior clay cloth, polished, tyres slicked the full works. The wee car looks spot on now. She was fair happy with it.

[Spottedlaurel]

  On 23/06/2017 at 06:21, UmBongo said:

Just over a week to Japfest. I hope the Silvia makes it!

 

Blimey, so it is! Better spend a bit of time on the Laurel between now and then. I've been using it for work fairly regularly and it is starting to look a little uncared-for.

[Cavcraft]

I've just seen my mate in his truck at work, so I stood by the side of the road, made a few hand gestures and gave him a volley full of abuse.

 

Only it wasn't him, it was some bloke who looked like he fought gorillas for a living and ate Transit vans for dinner. I'm going hiding now.

[Captain Furious]

I remember years ago when I was about 20 driving around with a couple of mates in the car, middle of summer with all the windows down through a nearby town and the old giffer in the car infront was moving at an inefficient pace, crawling along in traffic letting every car out of every side turn...eventually I had to express my dissatisfaction in the form of "come on then you fucking bald headed cunt"

 

Right at this point some huge Neanderthal skinhead is walking down the pavement on the opposite side of the road giving me the deathstare thinking I was offering him out for a fight

 

Don't make eye contact....don't make eye contact...

[dean36014]

Not in anyway car related, but, work up this morning to a text from my daughter saying she'd got a first in her degree. Proud dad, or what! She certainly doesn't get her brains from me.

[DeeJay]

  On 23/06/2017 at 01:07, PhilA said:

Amused, sitting on the can in the spare bog of the new house, reading Autoshite, looking at the way the light reflects off the sparkling glitter on the ceiling from the chandelier (someone decided to put a chandelier in the spare bog!), reflecting with a smile that amongst the marble counter top and funny green glass vase full of marbles and fake cotton twigs, somebody decided to paint the room beige.

 

PhilA

I'd be wondering what they were so ashamed of they painted over with beige.

[fiatdaft]

Finally got it uplifted

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[AlabamaShrimp]

Did you have to look at some porn first?

[fordperv]

I have been in a sulk all day because I buggered my leg up at work yesterday and I havnt been allowed to do anything to do with cars today (mrs fps and the hospitals orders)

 

This is the damage

 

 

 

I needed to do something after sitting around for pretty much the whole of the day, so I came to a compromise with mrs fp that undoing 8 10mm bolts wasnt too strenuous, so I took the front seats out of my capri to clean and im quite chuffed with the results

 

These are as i pulled them from the donor LS i broke for bits (my laser interior wasnt that good)

 

 

 

 

 

All done for some reason the edge of the seat looks darker than it actually is, its probably the way the material is brushed thinking about it

 

[fiatdaft]

Pressure washer time.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Hendry]

  On 23/06/2017 at 11:41, shumarialto said:

Old pal passed away a few months back. His wife popped by the other day saying the car was not looking as good as when he had it. Popped around last night and gave it a good 3 hour clean. Interior, exterior clay cloth, polished, tyres slicked the full works. The wee car looks spot on now. She was fair happy with it.

 

Thats quick, id easily spend 4x as long doing the full works on a car, cotton buds in between the gaps in the interior plastic trims, hoovering every last bit of debris out the carpet, etc. which is why I was hopeless as a car valeter for a big dealer group, too OCD. 

[Hendry]

Big grin because I went back down to a breakers I went to last week who deal with a lot of insurance write offs and have various modern stock, when I was last there I spied a set of Scirocco dials with white lighting, Golf mk6 style dial faces and full function trip computer, menu settings, ability to see radio or audio display, bluetooth and sat nav info on screen, asked for a price and was told £45 plus VAT, which was mega cheap as they are about £500 new, and go for minimum £120 on ebay, sometimes £150-£200.

 

Well I got them, a rear view mirror rain sensor trim, a mint leather gear lever gaiter, and a VW media device in interface box which are rare and again expensive even 2nd hand, the full lot for £60.

 

Also got some more mega rare and obscure dealer stickers, tax disc holders, keyrings and business cards. Today even got a pair of VW dealer number plate surrounds id been after for years.

 

Only slight downside is we visited a breakers in Ayr which was massive with a varied selection of cars, they hadnt scrapped a single car since opening 2 years ago and had loads of really old stuff that other yards dont, plenty of old dealer stickers, tax holders, service books, business cards from dealers, the lot, but ran by Asians whowere the type everything has a price, they wanted £5 EACH!!! per dealer sticker, i.e, about 10times what they wouldve cost to make when new, and no use to anyone else and likely just going to get left on the cars when they were crushed, so we had to miss out on a lot of rare and interesting (to us) items. The old guy who obviously owned the place was fine, his son was arsey and followed us around, like standing with us as we checked different cars, walked round the entire yard with us, didnt even do the coming and checking up on us every so often like some yards or leave you to your own devices, he actually stood over us. 

[AlabamaShrimp]

Sorry but if someone stood over me while I was trying to get some bits I'd just be walking out telling them to stick it.

[Hendry]

  On 24/06/2017 at 00:34, AlabamaShrimp said:

Sorry but if someone stood over me while I was trying to get some bits I'd just be walking out telling them to stick it.

 

Sorry did I not mention that, yeah we just fucked off, vowing never to go back, £5 each for old window stickers as well!! Nah sack that!!

 

The other breakers i did get bits from cheaply I mentioned first just left you to do what you liked.

[beko1987]

Jesus I've not been up this early for a few months...

 

Let's go to Newquay! (after waking up and coffee)

[beko1987]

[twosmoke300]

You got the little one with you beko ?

I can recommend the lappa valley railway as a pleasant day out and not far from nq.

[beko1987]

They've been here all week! I couldn't get time off work. I got here before eva woke up, which was nice! Gooner sat at 85 on the cruise control from Cheltenham to Exeter quite nicely too, 41mpg average

[Sheefag]

Another story from the 'Boo Fucking Hoo Files'.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4634562/Mother-said-garage-tripped-ordered-pay-70-000.html

 

  Quote

Mother, 54, who falsely claimed that a garage worker tripped her up is ordered to pay £70,000 by judge who slams her story as 'implausible'

A woman who tried to sue a garage by claiming staff tripped her up with a hosepipe has been exposed as a liar, condemned by a judge and ordered to pay £70,000.

 

Yvette Thomas, 54, lodged a £200,000 compensation claim against the firm, saying the alleged fall had left her reliant on crutches and a walking stick and led to her being sacked from her job.

She also claimed that she had been forced to cancel a holiday to Gran Canaria, quit salsa dancing and stop going to the gym.

But the mother-of-two, who got family members to back up her absurd claims, was caught out by undercover footage which showed her strolling around without any sign of physical impairment. 

 

Staff at Southwick Car Centre in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, denied she tripped – and maintained that the hosepipe only brushed against her leg.

 

A&E records from the day of the incident show Mrs Thomas was examined by medical staff, but her X-rays showed no signs of trauma.

 

Now a judge has thrown out her case and ordered her to pay £70,000 in costs, with £20,000 to be paid within 14 days.

 

District Judge Francis Goddard told Bath County Court: ‘In my judgment the case that Mrs Thomas puts forward simply does not add up.

‘I do not find her story in any way believable notwithstanding that she may well have by now convinced herself that what she said happened did happen.

‘Something happened on that day that caused Mrs Thomas to come up with a version of events that, on a hearing of the evidence, is quite implausible.

‘It was not a pre-thought out plan. The story put to the court germinated on that day and was elaborated upon over the months and years that followed.’

Mrs Thomas, who lives in a £250,000 semi-detached house in Trowbridge, said that on May 31, 2012 she took her daughter’s Mini Cooper to Southwick Car Centre for an MOT.

 

She later claimed that while she was there, car valeter Edward Slow, 62, deliberately tripped her with an industrial braided steel hose attached to a pressure washer he was using.

She claimed she made ‘direct eye contact’ with Mr Slow before stepping over the hose, but said he lifted it and she fell forward onto a concrete step.

‘The employee saw me fall but continued with what he was doing and did not come over and help me up,’ she said.

 

Two months after Mrs Thomas’s visit, brothers Andrew and Matthew Gregory, who own the garage, received a letter saying that she was taking legal action against them.

 

Mrs Thomas, who alleged she was sacked from her job as an account manager at media firm Archant because of her injuries, claimed £96,110 in lost earnings. She demanded £60,000 damages for injuries including to both knees and to her left wrist.

Among the other things she claimed for was £12,900 for additional employment losses, £11,268 for care costs, £950 for homeopathic remedies, £3,700 for gardening and DIY, and £2,000 for extra heating because she was housebound.

 

Mr Slow said: ‘I was rather angry when I heard what she was saying. I remember her coming in. She was walking around and she said the hosepipe rubbed against her leg and that it was an accident waiting to happen.

‘Then suddenly it became this whole story that I had deliberately tripped her up – something I would never do.’

 

Solicitor Tim Marshall, of DWF Law, which acted for the car centre and its insurers, said: ‘Mrs Thomas painted a picture of being a very disabled woman as a result of this. She said she couldn’t leave the house without a walking stick, drink a cup of tea or clean her teeth.

‘But a surveillance firm hired to follow her found that she was walking fine and there was no sign of any physical impairment – no walking stick, nothing.’

 

Mrs Thomas has declined to comment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest Hooli]

Oh I do like it when they get caught out like that.