What makes you grin? Antidote to grumpy thread

[cms206]

  Cavette said:

Water based brake cleaner would probably work (and it does alloy wheels nicely too) but the best gear can be had from Brown Bros if you have one near you. Mix it with (hot) water, scrub it in then either let it dry 'au natural' or get a wet and dry vac on it. Or take them out and jet wash them of course.

 

Can't think of a Brown Brothers near here... buggers. I'll have a go at them anyway.

 

  Cavette said:

Can't think of an Achille's heel with leaking fluids though sorry, could only guess at something like power steering fluid. If it's like a Mk3 Astra the pipes on the bulkhead can 'go' but they're ridiculously simple to change and dirt cheap from a scrapyard. Heater motor another job I'm not aware of being a common problem but this would hopefully mean sourcing a decent second hand one shouldn't be a problem.

 

Me either tbh; the only thing I can think of is actually the washer resevoir as it doesn't appear to be a vital fluid or look particularly coolanty and the steering seems to be okay. Will look into it this afternoon and see what the score is.

[Spottedlaurel]

Managing to get all four of my similar-generation Camrys together for a quick photo:

 

A convention of Camrys by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

 

Contrary to appearances, they all drive and I’ve got to get them all back onto the driveway tonight now a skip has gone and the piles of building materials are diminishing.

 

A month into ownership of the new dark green estate, I’m still chuffed to bits with it – an excellent buy.

 

Also happy about the prospect of a week’s holiday in France, away from work on the house and if I get half the spots in that I did last year I shall be most pleased.

[CIH]

SL: Likes a Camry.

[RoadworkUK]

In Sainsbury petrol station, today, saw a wonderfully rusty Mazda 323, E771UKE with a reasonably well-presented looking family sitting in it.

 

Then I noticed the Turbo 4x4 badging on the tailgate, bonnet bulge and the machine-faced (corroded) wheels. And that it sounded fruity, too. But no lairy graphics; it could easily have been a GLS. So damn annoyed I didn't have my camera.

 

Coolest car I've seen in ages.

[Pete-M]

This impala restoration is bloody immense.

[RoadworkUK]

Utterly phenomenal. Shows just what you can be done with time, space and no fear.

[cort16]

I'm close to securing a deal on some XXX german tat.

[warren t claim]

  cort16 said:

I'm close to securing a deal on some XXX german tat.

K70???

[RoadworkUK]

K70 with Ro80 powertrain?

[cort16]

No that's xxxxxxxxxxxxx german tat.

I've over emphasised it's tatness in my excitement. It's an e28 (not) stanced.

[dollywobbler]

E28s are ace. There's a stunner for sale near here - thankfully way out of my budget.

[warren t claim]

Excuse my ignorance but what is "stanced"?

[autofive]

  Team Blitz said:

^^It's a meaningless term. It's about as descriptive as saying "cool" or "upholstered" or "weather". That's why tards like to use the word, to save them from saying anything.

 

 

mmmm, i thought it meant the cars suspension had been 'improved' rather then left original suspension height/camber of the car out of the showroom

[scaryoldcortina]

All it ever does for me is remind me of "Doing the Len Ganly stance" by Half Man Half Biscuit.

 

Cars sitting on the floor with huge neg camber say "broken" to me.

[barrett]

Shite Serendipity this morning whilst waiting for the bus.

A tatty red Vauxhall Astra Mk2 driven by a typical giffer passed by on the other side of the road. From the other direction a silver booted Belmont version driven by a matching giffer appeared and as they passed each other the Belmont driver gave the other fella a huge grin. I wish I'd had my camera out but I was too late to capture the moment....

[RoadworkUK]

  barrett said:

Shite Serendipity this morning whilst waiting for the bus.

A tatty red Vauxhall Astra Mk2 driven by a typical giffer passed by on the other side of the road. From the other direction a silver booted Belmont version driven by a matching giffer appeared and as they passed each other the Belmont driver gave the other fella a huge grin. I wish I'd had my camera out but I was too late to capture the moment....

 

That's the sort of tale you tell your grandchildren. Lovely stuff.

 

I always had a mild Belmont fetish, and, in fact, had to sit 'pon the Khazi tonight with my '87 Vauxhall-Opel catalogue. I WANT A BELMONT SRi.

 

What a crying shame they never did a Belmont GTE. That would have been every sort of The Bollocks imaginable.

[ashmicro]

Shirley you could "Red Top" (I hat that term) one of the beefier Belmonts, a GLSi maybe?

[RoadworkUK]

  ashmicro said:

Shirley you could "Red Top" (I hat that term) one of the beefier Belmonts, a GLSi maybe?

 

I've no doubt somebody's shoved a C20 up a Belmont L for Q-Car INNIT larks. And why not?

 

But Belmont shape and GTE histrionics strike me as a magnificent juxtaposition.

[Pete-M]

There's a lad in Wigan who had a Belmont fixation for a good few years. He had a 'red top' engined one, which grenaded spectacularly on the M58 trying to keep up with my old Cosworth. The Belmont was going bloody well until it threw a rod.

 

He built at least three others.

[cort16]

  dollywobbler said:

E28s are ace. There's a stunner for sale near here - thankfully way out of my budget.

 

They are if you get a nice one. This looks like a nice one.

I'm hoping that it's meant to be as the car's in Aberdeen and one of the guys from work happens to be moving his lad up to Aberdeen on Saturday and is taking a van with a spare seat.

All I have to do is humph some boxes around for a few hours. It also turns out his new flat is less than a mile from the guys who's selling the BMW's house, which is a bit of a result.

[trigger]

I've been fancying a E28 recently as well, I'd imagine that one would make a good daily and the don't seem too expensive yet, that blue one looks perfect to me, what engine is it?

[cort16]

  trigger said:

I've been fancying a E28 recently as well, I'd imagine that one would make a good daily and the don't seem too expensive yet, that blue one looks perfect to me, what engine is it?

 

They're creeping up in price but they're still cheap for what they are. There's a lot of stinkers out there as they rust like anything. I should know as I think my m535i was the worst one on the road.

This one is the ultim8 daily driver 525e auto. It's the 2.7 with the low compression engine for bonus mpg (apparantly).

I might spend some £ and get it minty as it's not far off just now.

[trigger]

There's a 525e local to me on ebay, a white one with black alloys for £2500, It looks mighty tasty.

[Vin]

This afternoon on the M180, I passed a Peugeot 306 estate A-framing a Bedford Bambi

 

Made a change from seeing the usual camper towing the car

[trigger]

It looks like i have some German competition now on Flickr!, I just wish i could understand it all!

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lesney78/sets/

 

 

 

 

[eddyramrod]

  cort16 said:

ultim8 daily driver 525e auto. It's the 2.7 with the low compression engine for bonus mpg (apparantly).

 

That's exactly what I took in part-ex against my first Cadillac in 2002. I pressed it into daily service, thinking: nice-looking four-door saloon, RWD, straight-six, fuel-injected, auto, with towbar even; couldn't get much better. I sold it for cash at the four-week mark and can say categorically I won't be having another!

 

*/not wishing to piss on anyone's parade, like; everyone to their own. My mate who bought it loved it.

[cort16]

I'm gonna drive it a bit until my Sd1's sorted then I'll sell it on. I always though the eta 525e was a bit of a fascinating quirk in the bmw line up. Did anyone else go the high capacity low compression route around the similiar time?

[trigger]

  Team Blitz said:

Gott im Himmel, Der HochsteManner von Dearborn gibt, Der Bobby Lutz. Mein Gott!

 

If you can read German Norm then I'm sure you'll enjoy this link then!

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lesney78/s ... 977670234/

 

[Negative Creep]

Sigh, those E28s are just so beautiful. I really can't imagine future generations saying the same about new BMWs

[ashmicro]

Just had a phone call from the Police, a cop who was about to go off shift. They found out who tried to rob me at the Ulster Bank cashpoint on Wednesday evening. He "presented at hospital" on Thursday morning with "multiple injuries", namely a broken foot and facial injuries. How he managed to run off is anybody's guess. Shock, adrenaline maybe? I stamped my heel on his foot, and when he let go of me I turned round and punched him as hard as I could. I'm not a big bloke by any means, but I put him on his arse. I reckon I got his teeth, as I have a cut knuckle. He admitted what he did when questioned, court on Thursday morning.

 

Nice to know us auld fellas have still got it.