Ask a Shiter

[dozeydustman]

Car at junction earlier this evening pulled out behind me for a short while. It was a new BMW right hand drive in resale silver with two suits in it. The thing I don't get is the reg plate was silver numbers on a black background and ere just 5 numbers. Not a style I've seen before. Can anyone help my curiosity?!

 

Diplomatic plates or Channel Islands.

[bub2006]

I wasn't sure if diplomatic, military or even channel islands?

[skattrd]

Just numbers I think is Guernsey.

Jersey is J + numbers, I've got some here

[3VOM]

Can anyone identify these two machines, please?

Likely to be late 40s early 50s.

[wuvvum]

Yep, that big plug is a BMW one - there will be a socket buried behind the ashtray - you may need to take out the climate panel and the ashtray to get at it.

 

This is the only pic I can find on t'internet - obviously yours won't have anything plugged into it

 

 

Inked1_LI.jpg

 

I know it sounds weird, but that's hewn from granite German engineering for you - once you plug that BMW plug into the socket behind the ashtray, it will supply power to the box in the boot and that will energise the blue and white connectors and the screen should power up.  One thing the more beardy 75 folk have established is that if you have a cassette deck under that screen it's plug n play - but apparently the single CD player version doesn't work with the original Rover/BMW box in the boot.

I can haz satnav!!!

 

 

Thanks for all the pointers, muchly appreciated.  Now all I have to do is get it to fit in the dashboard and I'm well away.

 

Telly doesn't work though.

 

 

[Guest Hooli]

Oh that looks like analogue (at least I've never seen a digi tv do that) very retro, just put a set top box on the dash.

[wuvvum]

OK, another daft brake-related question.  I was going to change the rear brake shoes on the Rover 45 today, but I was stymied by the shoe retaining pins.  Normally I would expect the pin heads to be oval, so that if turned one way they lock in the springs but when turned the other way they can slide through the hole in said springs.  That is also what the diagram looked like in the HBOL.  However the actual pins look like this:

 

 

I couldn't see any way of getting them out without breaking them.  What am I missing here? 

 

(I've decided not to change the shoes for now anyway as there's still a bit of meat on them, but they're going to need doing before too much longer.)

[Guest Hooli]

Aren't they just a spring clip, you push it back so the head of the pin comes out of that indent & slide them off.

[wuvvum]

They didn't seem to be very interested in sliding anywhere, even with the tension taken off.  They looked like they were actually fixed to the inside of the drum.

[Guest Hooli]

I meant the clip normally slides rather than the pin.

[wuvvum]

Yep, I also meant the clip.  Didn't seem to want to slide, or even turn.  I might have to try twatting it with something heavy.  It looks like it's fixed in position, but that could just be the accumulation of brake dust making it look as one with the back plate.

[stephen01]

MOT question, 

MOT expires tomorrow, garage can't get the car in for the work until the 1st October. what are the penalities for driving with no ticket? google suggests death and points on your licence. and various fines? 

[Guest Hooli]

I think it's a non-endorisble fine. It was years ago when I got stopped having forgot about an MOT for 6 months. I got away with a warning though as I had it MOT'd before turning up with the 7-day wonder (remember them?).

[skattrd]

No MOT, I think it's £1000 fine, and death to all nuns and kitens within a 3 mile radius. 

[AMC Rebel]

Can anyone identify these two machines, please?

Likely to be late 40s early 50s.

 

My guess on the one on the right hand side is a BSA M20 or M21

[Tamworthbay]

Yep, I also meant the clip.  Didn't seem to want to slide, or even turn.  I might have to try twatting it with something heavy.  It looks like it's fixed in position, but that could just be the accumulation of brake dust making it look as one with the back plate.

Heat and penetrating fluid? I agree with Hooli that it looks like a spring clip. They do lose their elasticity and become brittle over time and finding new ones may be a pain. Have you tried pushing in inwards just by where the pin comes through? And I guess you have checked it’s not full of crap which could stop it compressing.

[HillmanImp]

Shamou muthafuckers. What is the best paint to put on yer chassis these days? I'm putting on coat of hydrate 80 to the bare metal but want to pop something hardcore (know the score) on top.

 

Obvs, Hammerite is Hammershite these days so any suggestions? Can you get Rustoleum boat paint over here or is that banned as it's made from radioactive isotopes or summink?

[AMC Rebel]

I can haz satnav!!!

 

IMG_20180915_185702.jpg

 

Thanks for all the pointers, muchly appreciated.  Now all I have to do is get it to fit in the dashboard and I'm well away.

 

Telly doesn't work though.

 

IMG_20180915_190806.jpg

 

 

 

Oh that looks like analogue (at least I've never seen a digi tv do that) very retro, just put a set top box on the dash.

 

What Hooli said - these were all analogue and there are no analogue signals transmitted any more.   There were some digi tuners you could fit in the boot but I haven't seen one for ages.

[sierraman]

Yep, I also meant the clip. Didn't seem to want to slide, or even turn. I might have to try twatting it with something heavy. It looks like it's fixed in position, but that could just be the accumulation of brake dust making it look as one with the back plate.

Press it in with a flat screwdriver then pull it up with pliers at same time

[Wingz123]

I got done about 10 years ago - was a £60 fine and that was it

[sierraman]

Shamou muthafuckers. What is the best paint to put on yer chassis these days? I'm putting on coat of hydrate 80 to the bare metal but want to pop something hardcore (know the score) on top.

 

Obvs, Hammerite is Hammershite these days so any suggestions? Can you get Rustoleum boat paint over here or is that banned as it's made from radioactive isotopes or summink?

About £30-40 gets you 5 litres of chassis paint, get the type they use on trucks. Very hard wearing. Volvo satin grey looks good.

[Aston Martin]

Hypothetically, I wonder how hard it would be to remove the Skydome?

 

https://www.u-pull-it.co.uk/breaker-parts/fiat-panda-2004/44523998-0

[HillmanImp]

About £30-40 gets you 5 litres of chassis paint, get the type they use on trucks. Very hard wearing. Volvo satin grey looks good.

 

Is this the shizzle you're on about?

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Chassis-Commercial-Vehicle-Satin-Finish-Paint-Volvo-Grey-2-5-Litre-/322526160188

 

Looks reasonable. Will pick some up if it's good stuff.

[sierraman]

Yes. If it will survive on the chassis of a truck for 50-100k a year it will survive a car.

[mrbenn]

Hypothetically, I wonder how hard it would be to remove the Skydome?

 

https://www.u-pull-it.co.uk/breaker-parts/fiat-panda-2004/44523998

 

Suspect the hardest bit would be dealing with the amount of poo coming out when cutting the roof of the receiving car.

[Tamworthbay]

Is this the shizzle you're on about?

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Chassis-Commercial-Vehicle-Satin-Finish-Paint-Volvo-Grey-2-5-Litre-/322526160188

 

Looks reasonable. Will pick some up if it's good stuff.

If you have decent auto paint supplier locally it usually works out cheaper to buy from them as it’s costly to send these days. I got a litre for a tenner a few months back and that is plenty for most jobs.

[Aston Martin]

Suspect the hardest bit would be dealing with the amount of poo coming out when cutting the roof of the receiving car.

It'd save on roof respray and I'd have the only manual Alessi with a Skydome. (Japan had Skydomes with the auto box)

 

 

 

(Possibly one of my stupid ideas that I'll never have the bollocks to do.)

[jakebullet]

My disco 2 TD5 loses coolant, maybe a pint / 500 miles. I can't find any external leak, so put it in to my friendly garage who also couldn't find a leak and it held pressure when pressure tested. So then he cranked the pressure up overnight, next day the level had dropped and it didn't want to run initially. So he's saying there's a smoll crack prolly in the head and it's losing into a cylinder.

 

He suggests I try K seal, or it's strip engine for £kerching.

 

What does the shite hive mind think? Is there a 'best way' to k seal or just chuck a bottle in and hope?

[Wingz123]

Do you plan on keeping it long term? If so get it done properly. K Seal maybe a short term fix but it’ll go in the end....

 

Are you running a remap on your td5?

[jakebullet]

I'm fond of the thing, but it is on 190K. Maybe K seal now, find a lower mileage engine for later?

 

Boggo map afaik.