What makes you grin? Antidote to grumpy thread

[AlabamaShrimp]

Just been clay pigeon shooting. Was good and actually managed to hit some, by some about 5, not bad seen as I've only had a few goes before. Think it's I applied for a licence

[M'coli]

This picture

from the "one picture per post" thread, when googley searched, comes up with the following article from Farmer's Weekly:

http://www.fwi.co.uk/machinery/quirky-county-forward-control-up-for-sale.htm

 

Apparently it's from a tyre test rig.

[spike60]

It looks like the overlander campers I see at the Nurburgring!

 

 

 

[dave21478]

If you are looking for unusual tyre testing rigs, look no further than the French....

 

 

I believe it weighed several tons and required all the wheels to spread its load out. 

[steve_earwig]

Blimey! Was it powered by a nuclear reactor?

[purplebargeken]

Modern Beetle coming soon!

 

 

Bucket List cars remaining:

 

Modern Mini - just because I want to try one.

 

Something American: not mega-huge, maybe a mid-sized pick-up or something.

 

I have been lucky over the years to have owned what I have. Just 2 more to go.

[dollywobbler]

Ignoring other alternatives, this evening we have watched a Hitchcock film and Guy Martin going on about his various motor-based passions. Someone on here gave me a heads-up about it. A longer programme would have been better, but it was still interesting. He is a proper bloke.

[mat_the_cat]

Modern Mini - just because I want to try one.

 

They're not actually a bad car IMO. Mrs_the_cat has one, and over the last month since I started working near her, have been driving us in it. Handles well, nippy enough and 40+ mpg over Welsh mountain roads is good in my book. Only non-service expenditure in the last 3 years has been a front wheel bearing, but it does 400 miles a week so will be interesting to see how it lasts!

[mercrocker]

Talking of things built at Cowley....I have just had a week off work (back tomorrow but that's not for the grin thread) and spent the whole 9 days using the Cowley constantly - joyriding, shopping, tip runs etc.   Its the first time it has fulfilled No. 1 slot since I bought the bloody thing three years ago.  Still some stuff to do but gets better every day.  I iz Happy.   Put away again now - Minor is outside ready for the morning.  

[dollywobbler]

Last BIGI I drove had stupid low profile tyres, the suspension comfort of a bobsled and torque steer that must have been inherited from the MG Montego Turbo. Another bit of heritage was the way you daren't open a window at anything above 40mph or it was like ramming your head under a Dyson airblade. Just like the original Mini. Perhaps Issigonis was right about sliding windows being better.

[M'coli]

If you are looking for unusual tyre testing rigs, look no further than the French....

 

 

I believe it weighed several tons and required all the wheels to spread its load out. 

It's a fascinating vehicle, but we've already seen it on here somewhere.  The other beast allowed many other manufacturers (rather than just Michelin) try out their tyres, measured the amount of traction and the damage to soil, allowed speedy changing of tyres whilst in the same weathger conditions (and if you've ever tried to get a tractor wheel/rim off, that's no small undertaking!), and is British to boot...

[mat_the_cat]

Last BIGI I drove had stupid low profile tyres, the suspension comfort of a bobsled

 

Maybe it helps that hers is on 175/65R15 tyres (narrow and small wheels by today's standards) but the ride is still on the firm side. No real torque steer though, but obviously the higher performance variants will be worse - hers is just the standard 115 bhp Cooper.

[inconsistant]

I found a photo of the r/c cars I had as a teenager. Check that 80's boys bedroom decor too.

 

[Luckythirteen]

My sis is on her second Bini Cooper S: I hope it's better than the last one, which was plagued with OMGEML. Four years old, and it felt like the interior had been rattled to bits. Chewed front tyres up for fun too. Front struts only lasted three years.

Not a horror car, but better would've been nice. It's so rough riding, but the supercharger is too muted. Wrong way round I think. Apart from arriving at the horizon very quickly, I don't see the point.

Her hubby insisted on one of those Recaro baby seats for my nephew, which is just as well. It's probably the comfiest seat in the car...

[Jon]

Just filled up Mrs_Jon's Clio 172 (and a couple of jerry cans) with 50 litres of BP's finest 98 (£1.05 a litre over here, currently) and redeemed our accumulated fuel saving points from the last 2 months. The bill came to the NZ equivalent of £3.99! 8p a litre - beat that!

[Ghosty]

Spotted a Brat in the wild!

[hairnet]

filled up with pez in ireland yesterday £1.08 a litre

 

2 months ago it was 1.35

[darkfour]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/embed/video/1147208.html

 

 

It is a highly sophisticated piece of British engineering and manufacturing
 

 

[beko1987]

Citroen CX on turbo pickers! The show is a bit wanky but some nice close up shots of it!

[trigger]

Citroen CX on turbo pickers! The show is a bit wanky but some nice close up shots of it!

 

I was just about to post the same thing, I don't think it's a bad soon, as these shows go.

 

I'm not 100% convinced that it was about to go in the crusher though? For these that didn't see it, these two guys basically buy shit cars, do them up and sell them on, this week it was a black W reg Citroen CX 2400 GTi that they bought for £600 from a scrapyard that had been of the road years and was missing it's ECU.

 

The interesting bit was the Citroen man who they went to for the parts, a chap called Nigel who had all his stock, and cars, in a big Church, there was stack loads of cars in there, from the 2CV from James Bond to a Tatra T603, Impressive stuff.

 

In the end they bought a ECU of him, as well as a new screen and door, tarted it up, got it running again and got told it was worth £1200 with a mot which they seemed happy with as there was £400 of spares in the boot when they bought it.

 

I'd thought £1200 was a mega bargain myself.

[beko1987]

The scrappie woman did seem a bit keen to send it to the crusher, despite a whole film crew turning up and I presume paperwork being signed for filming, she must have known it was a go-er?

 

Just got to Nigel (I'm on +1), I'd fucking LOVE to just look at all that stuff and chat to him all day! Is he known in the chevron circle? 

 

Not an XM or ZX in sight though, maybe he knows something we don't? Cool James Bond 2cv though!

[Timewaster]

Ive tried to watch that show but the patronising prick who plays the Ed China role makes me want to kick the TV in.

[meshking]

Yeah, Nigel is the ds sec or some such in the CCC . haven't watched the show yet, taped it for later.

[philibusmo]

Yeah, Nigel is the ds sec or some such in the CCC . haven't watched the show yet, taped it for later.

He's a wtf lol omg?

[meshking]

Sorry. He writes, or did write, the ds section of the Citroen Car Club magazine (Citroenian).

[trigger]

I'll probably go to hell for saying this but that Nigel fella didn't half remind me of Dave Hill from Slade...

 

[myglaren]

Yeah, Nigel is the ds sec or some such in the CCC . haven't watched the show yet, taped it for later.

He's always at the Citroen rallies.

I vaguely remember that the church burned down or he was forcibly evicted.  Something of that nature and his collection was vastly reduced.

[purplebargeken]

Never one to laugh at others misfortune, I will on this occasion make an exception.

 

Bloke next door visits here to see his wife number 2 and his 3 lovely* kids. 

 

He is a tosser who wound us up on day one by saying he was going to put broken glass into the stone chippings in her rented property back garden to stop the cats walking over it. Words were had about how the vets bills would be paid by him if anything happened, also casual mention was made of his very open dope dealing not being a very good thing and how it would be a real shame if he got busted. He shut up then.

 

Just heard some rumbling noises from outside and saw his silver Arsetra being lifted due to it being untaxed.

 

Some mornings you just wake up and things might just be a little better in the world.

[dollywobbler]

Nigel is certainly a character. I like that the Citroen world contains such people.

[beko1987]

Same here. TBH as nice as it was to see the CX it did annoy me that they didn't do more oily bits to it, just chucked the ECU on, fired it up for the first time in god knows how long then did the usual TV thing of rev the tits off it and say "yep, that works!"

 

I do agree with Nigel when he said that the suspension bits generally go wrong the least on these sort of cars, it's just everything else that can pose an issue! I do agree, in my experience anyway