What makes you grin? Antidote to grumpy thread

[philibusmo]

Amazingly I didn't buy a car today, I had just too much choice.

 

Firstly the sensible option; this Ford Falcon wagon had a 4.0 straight six with low milage and was in overall very nice condition. However it has an auto box which really doesn't suit it with changes at all the wrong times. I'm not sure I could live with driving thousands of miles with that.

 

I liked the idea of a wagon as there will probably be times I'll need to sleep in the back and a wagon of this size does lend itself to lobbing a mattress in the back. I also looked at a fair few Commodores but all but one were pretty ropey and that one was in a dealer where the owner was not passing attention to me as he was busy calling a previous customer a fucking cunt for trying to claim on the extended warranty he bought. I left him to it when he started kicking the happy customers Holden Barina - see also Corsa C.

 

The not sensible option is this Tickford Falcon XR6 which went like a pissed off honey badger but had done a lot of leg and really felt like it. The interior wasn't in a particularly pleasant state and the steering felt a little loose.

 

The next option (and admittedly one I saw on Monday) is this massive and incredibly comfy burgundy Ford Fairlane with a 5.0 V8 and an auto box which suits it well. While not a wagon, with the rear seats folded down there is easily enough space for sleeping and what ever else and is in really good condition, appearing to be giffer owned. However it has the abs light and traction control lights illuminated on the dashboard and when testing it out it was confirmed that the abs definitely doesn't work as it locked up under heavy braking. I wish I knew how hard this would be to fix as otherwise I really liked this and have known abs faults to cause all sorts of problems with brakes in the past, and I like my brakes to work how I expect.

 

Finally was this other Ford Fairlane 5.0 V8, not in quite such good nick and with no history whatsoever but still seems to be giffer owned if the bible that was in the glove box is anything to go by. This has a traction control fault but the abs is fully working as is the air con, cruise control and electric windows. The other feature of this car is that it has an LPG conversion which on the one hand is excellent as I will get almost double the range which is very useful in the outback but it does mean that the LPG tank sat behind the rear seats makes the folding rear seat useless and thus I have far less space to sleep. This one doesn't drive quite as nicely as the burgundy one but is a full $1000 cheaper which equates to about £500 and should be a little cheaper to run if I mainly use LPG.

 

Does anyone know if it is likely to be possible to turn the LPG tank so it sits lengthways in the boot, preferably behind the smaller split section of the rear seat? Bear in mind I have limited tools and suitable work space currently.

[320touring]

LPG tanks are usually held in with a cradle and mounting straps.

 

Assuming you can turn it round through 90 degrees and bolt it into the floor it should be fine. only issue may be the fill and feed lines need extending- but they're copper and easily made

[andy18s]

In the UK the lpg tank mount has to be able to withstand lateral g forces in case of an accident (head on/rear ended).

But thats the UK....

[alf892]

philbusmo.............love the idea of the bible in the glovebox as an indicator of good service history!!

 

Will try this on next sale...........any version more effective than another you reckon?

[philibusmo]

I really am torn now, I've decided that I do want a Fairlane, but one minute the burgandy one seems like a better idea due to the lack of LPG and slightly better drive and overall condition. Then I think about it again and the silver one seems like the better one due to the cheaper price, lack of abs fault and the cheap LPG fuel - if I can move the tank.

 

I think that if I can haggle on the burgandy one and see what faults a diagnostic tool brings up on the abs before I buy then that could well be the one to go for, otherwise the silver one will be better.

 

My opinion will change again shortly and I suspect that by morning I will have decided to actually get the weird looking Ford Laser Lynx that I wondered past early on in the day instead.

[cort1977]

Phil, my missus had a falcon wagon for several years in Oz.   They are great, very simple mechanically, can be fixed by any garage in Oz, parts availability and cost are second to none basically the first wagon in your thread is the go IMO.   A V8 is nice but as you're travelling the fuel cost will become much more important and you will only enjoy the acceleration about once every 3 hours.  

 

In all seriousness I know a guy who runs a ford scrapper in Bayswater who will usually have a couple of falcons hanging around.   All Ford Spares, 9370 1840.

 

Are you doing a lap?   I iz jealous.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Disappointing thread,needs moar Utes .

[burraston2006]

philbusmo.............love the idea of the bible in the glovebox as an indicator of good service history!!

 

Will try this on next sale...........any version more effective than another you reckon?

I know God was a bit of a builder- what with doing the world in 6 days ( I'm sure Dominic Tosserwood would have something to say about that! ) but I don't recall any mechanicing in the bible.So therefore I'm out!

[cort16]

By a ute' you flamin' galah. They don't call the back a bed for nothing.

[Pillock]

By a ute' you flamin' galah. They don't call the back a bed for nothing.

 

But as Top Gear proved, there's all sorts of wildlife in Oz and if you sleep in the bed of a ute, you'll be eaten by a snake or something.

You need a Citroen AX with a bed where the passenger seat used to be. That's how winners travel.

[drum]

Nice little F20 hard top van type thing spotted today.

 

2015-02-04_06-39-24 by jboath1, on Flickr

[vulgalour]

Solution.  Buy any car you like, add this roof topper.

 

[gm]

I've ben trying to get a pic of this all week but it's always been dark, I spotted it today at the supermarket and seized my opportunity

 

 

I assumed he'd had a flat and fitted a space saver, but there's one on each side !

[Craig the Princess]

Winter tyres on spare steel wheels on the rear only?

 

Looks giffer-tastic

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

This building I walked past today. It looks like one of those photos where someone's superimposed a photo from the past on a derelict scene (or vice versa).

 

[gm]

Winter tyres on spare steel wheels on the rear only?

Looks giffer-tastic

It must be a pig to drive, especially in the snow - what use is traction if you have no steering or brakes ?

[STUNO]

Be careful of LPG installations and regs. I'm not sure of Aus laws, but here the system has to be tested every 12 months, and if I remember correctly, has to have a complete test including tank removal and test every 8-10 years, There are regs around the fitting and there must be a drain to allow leaked LPG to exit via a drain pipe to underneath the car. all not up to scratch means no gas. Aust regs are usually the same as or close to ours. Do a bit of a google re this before buying.

And remember 4 or 5 litre engines will use a lot of petrol too. So don't come here and complain! Also the distance between towns etc in Aus can be vast, = a lot of fuel.

[philibusmo]

Its just been tested 3 weeks ago so the tank is good for another 10 years before it has another test.

 

I have considered a smaller car and looked at a Ford Laser, Toyota Corolla and a Mazda 626 earlier in the week but the idea of spending so long in a thrashy little car was quite depressing, added to the lack of space for sleeping and they don't make a vast amount of sense to me. I think the extra fuel consumption is worth it to me in Australia at least. In countries with roads that are more fun a smaller car is preferable.

 

Over night I have made a decision to have one last look and see if anything else pious up that takes my fancy, but if not I'll make an offer on the burgandy one providing the abs fault is sorted or at least diagnosed. If not then I'll go for the silver one and try and turn the LPG tank 90 degrees clock wise.

[STUNO]

Ok then , you are old enough to make your own decisions, and you seem to be clued up re LPG.

I do agree a waft-o-matic fairlane is just right for Aussie travelling though !

[Cavcraft]

Came to work in the Astra today and promptly smoked some tit in a BMW off at the lights. It took a couple of hundred yards or so, and he didn't half come past me at some speed.

[alf892]

Just looking at commercial property and found run down workshop...........marketed by estate agents called Shonki Bros

[seth]

47 year old Rootes steel (as far as I can tell) in not as rusty as I thought it was going to be shocker.

 

 

[fordperv]

I needed a pinto inlet manifold gasket so popped to my local friendly motor factors, they had some on the shelf and did me all 5 for £6 that's about the price of 1 on ebay so I was well chuffed and while I was there I saw this sad looking maserati sat outside the garage that's attached to them, i presume it's there for restoration as the roof resembled a pair of tramps socks

 

 

 

 

[phil_lihp]

That one was on ebay lately, from the photos on the listing the sunroof rot is quite shockingly bad.

[Pillock]

I'm watching a Top Gear (yeah, shut up a second) so old, James May has got brown hair. And is road testing a Rover 75 as a current, brand new, non-ironic car. They're not even going to drop a piano on it. They're talking about something called a "Rover Dealer".

[hairnet]

Not been near a TV for two days

 

Come home at 3 watching the news

 

The glitter twat - die in jail for real biatch

[AlabamaShrimp]

I needed a pinto inlet manifold gasket so popped to my local friendly motor factors, they had some on the shelf and did me all 5 for £6 that's about the price of 1 on ebay so I was well chuffed and while I was there I saw this sad looking maserati sat outside the garage that's attached to them, i presume it's there for restoration as the roof resembled a pair of tramps socks

 

 

 

 

On first glance I thought this was a BMW. Then see the back has merc lights. Is this a bit of a parts bin special?

[Craig the Princess]

The glitter twat - die in jail for real biatch

 

I don't want to be in his gang.

[jakebullet]

The bloke that keeps undercutting me on amazon by 5p has gone nuts and cranked his prices sky high. So I'm getting all his sales as well as mine and amazon owes me £900. This is good, but they're due to payout tomorrow, and I'm half expecting them to decided to keep hold of it to 'investigate' why I've got an extra £500 in a week. 'Cos after all robbing people with iphone scams is so last year, real crims sell dice at £2 a pop.

 

There's also a slight hint of does he know something I don't.

[MrDuke]

I don't want to be in his gang.

 

I don't wanna touch him there.