Ask a Shiter

[boobydoo]

I'm sure I read somewhere in the classic car press that  once a car was on SORN you no longer  have to annually confirm it unless there was a change of status. Hence my surprise when I received a SORN renewal V11 form for the Simca 1100.  Did anyone else read it or am I just turning into a doddery old giffer?

[SambaS]

I read the same thing and yet keep having to SORN my cars

[nigel bickle]

Because its a relaxation of the regs, it comes in next April. Takes time to implement -y'see.

 

However, had it been tightening the regs, adding an increased potential fine income, it would have come in 6pm that very evening.

 

Tis the rules.

[nigel bickle]

I got 17 SORNs this month (-3 to tax). Light month!!

[Bucketeer]

Anyone have any experience of not living in a conventional home?

 

I've had a few occasions in the past where I've had to resort to living in the comfort* of whatever vehicle I possessed at the time.

A month in a Citroen ZX, a couple of weeks in a Volvo 740 and, most recently, a couple of months in an Escrote van.

Vans are great because you can park them anywhere, they're inconspicuous, and nobody can see that there's somebody snoozing inside.

The cars were more problematic, I had to keep varying where I parked up and choose only secluded countryside areas so as not to be discovered/disturbed. Also, the perfect* remote parking areas I found were often frequented by the dogging fratenity, which hastened my departure towards another location.

It was a million miles from ideal, but sometimes needs must.

[KruJoe]

Hey Edd, I thought you said your problem neighbours have gone..?

Or are you struggling to find your rent now?

 

BoobyDoo, I read that too (on here I think) but I'm still getting reminders.

 

New Q:

I'm considering swapping my laptop hard drive for a SSD (either a nice big one, or a smaller one for Windows and programs, and gaffa taping my portable external HD to the back if the lid for photos etc).

Do I need to buy an SSD specific to the EXACT model of laptop, or will any SSD work (that fits in the hole)?

Can anyone recommend a web page to guide me through the whole process? Ta..

Oh, and is £150 reasonable for a 256GB job?

[SambaS]

If I did move into a camper it would be through actually wanting to opposed to having to so I'm lucky in that respect. I have the choice.

 

I realise it may sound mental to most.. but I just dont need this flat, I use the kettle for cups of tea the sofa to sit on with this laptop, my bed and the bathroom.

 

I cant drive this flat to Spain. This flat plus bills if very cheap, around £600 a month and that includes everything.

 

I could as well burn that money.

 

If I moved into a mobile home be it a camper, a van, or a caravan or even a converted horse box (yep mental) I could better spend that money on improving it.. after one year it would be fecking awesome! And it would be mine.

[SambaS]

yes cold, yes insecure, yes poor image, yes inconvinent with regards a nice bathroom, yes I have to find a base that I could rely on to park it longer term should it be off road for any reason, yes I would probably get grief off people for parking it in the wrong place but the Upsides in my opinion are just too great for any of that to matter.

 

Laundrettes exist, Leisure centres exist with shower facilities (excuse to go swimming), could set up webcam to stream to server for security very cheaply indeed, also could insure against theft. And if grief comes moving it ain't hard!

 

Could save through year and drive to spain for winter. What fun.

[KruJoe]

Good call on the converted horse box - if it's good enough for Prince Phil, it'll be ace for you! Or how about a retired prison van? No break-ins then!

 

Also my folks' camper will for sale shortly, you've seen it, it'd be VERY comfy for one, has shower/loo/LPG heating/fridge, but probably above your pay grade.

 

Also, the 'granny flat' will be available here shortly, with an all-in rent of much less than £600, email me if you're interested. You'd be too far from your job though, so you'd have to have the Jimp on the road as your works truck for your gardening business venture. You'd do well around here for sure.

There, I just fixed all your problems in one brilliant post.

KTHNXBAI

[SambaS]

Oh my so much to take in! Thanks Joe let me just digest all this, also my rents were looking at Hymer so inbox me a price. it was £15,000 I think they are mad personally.

[saucedoctor]

Hey Edd, I thought you said your problem neighbours have gone..?

Or are you struggling to find your rent now?

 

BoobyDoo, I read that too (on here I think) but I'm still getting reminders.

 

New Q:

I'm considering swapping my laptop hard drive for a SSD (either a nice big one, or a smaller one for Windows and programs, and gaffa taping my portable external HD to the back if the lid for photos etc).

Do I need to buy an SSD specific to the EXACT model of laptop, or will any SSD work (that fits in the hole)?

Can anyone recommend a web page to guide me through the whole process? Ta..

Oh, and is £150 reasonable for a 256GB job?

 

 

SSD will be SATA interface, so if it fits in the hole and your laptop is SATA (unlikely to be anything else) it'll be fine. SATA 2 or 3 shouldn't matter, as if you buy a 3 and your laptop only supports 2, it'll run like a 2.(For example, youll Probably see Seq. Reads in the 250-275ish range.) As far as a guide goes, take the old one out, put the new one in. You'll need to set up Windows again, though, so make sure you have all your hardware drivers. £150 is pretty good for a 256GB SSD, I paid the guts of £400 for a 512 not too long ago.

 

If you post/PM the make and model of the laptop I'll get you the driver page.

 

[KruJoe]

Thank you SauceDr, most of that is just noise to me at the moment, I need to do more reading!

It's a Toshiba Satellite L100 PSLAOL-02700F , I'll pm you with the same.

(I think) I have the CD which came with it when I bought new in Thailand years ago.

[KruJoe]

Edd, its' a '92 Hymer 544 (interesting layout) on a 2.5TD Ducato chassis, 80k miles, spotless inside, probably worth about £9,000, they'd maybe take a bit less for it, the folks are shopping for a new one at a big camper show somewhere down south as we speak.

[Negative Creep]

Is there any way of getting a refund on a tax disc without sending it off to the DVLA with the V62?

[Wilko220]

Sell it in the pub?

[drum]

Just watching wheeler dealers 'doing' a 911. The owner of one said that something to look for is white in the oil as this is a sign of blown head gasket. Why would an air cooled engine have white in the oil with a blown head gasket?

[nigel bickle]

That's how my old 911 started.

 

It would suddenly blow enormous clouds of white/grey smoke -rendering any travel behind me dangerous. Then it would stop. Just like that.

Never any warning, never any build up. Fine one minute, not the next. Downright embarrassing.

 

Oil looked like white goo -so I changed it, for it to do it all again.

Puzzled, I changed the filter & oil, for it to do it all again.

In desperation I dropped the (spotless) sump, cleaned the pickup, filters, relief valve etc etc. Checked the bearings (acceptable) bolted it all together, to find its too embarrassing to drive.

 

pre -internet days, I reluctantly A framed it to a specialist who took it to bits. Told me the dilevar bolts had stretched, allowing those symptoms, which was only going to get worse.

Sadly , the cost of a full rebuild was going to be huge, so I took the decision to swop out the engine ,and bought one from a Porsche breakers.

 

Kinda dread the white oil /smoke combo now.

[Station]

I have been homeless twice after being evicted by my then girlfriend. The first time was in my Astra which was in the winter (it was horrible). The second time was in the summer in my Whizzkid. Yes the kei car Whizzkid.

I always used to park in the hospital car park, because if anyone asked you could say you're waiting for someone or someone is ill, etc.

I expect the police would ask you if they saw you asleep, but it's not illegal to sleep in a car is it?

[M'coli]

Just watching wheeler dealers 'doing' a 911. The owner of one said that something to look for is white in the oil as this is a sign of blown head gasket. Why would an air cooled engine have white in the oil with a blown head gasket?

 

Because one of the presenters couldn't contain his sexuality?  The head gasket's already been blown...

[ShiteRider]

Just pondering something here......

New cortina has a shitty low comp transit engine, old BMW has a super awesome M30b35 straight six.

Could these be melded together?

Bm engine in the cortina obviously, i don't think i could handle the autoshite hero points i'd get for fitting a 7-series with a 1600 pinto.

[Tayne]

BMW engine, transmission, ECUs, most of the loom, custom engine and transmission mounts, custom prop and a high pressure fuel pump.

Or you could just put the pinto in the 7....

[trigger]

Are ex police cars normally twicked?, My neighbour a few months back bought a ex police Volvo 850 T5 Estate on a Y plate for £200, he only bought it as a works van as he's a painter and it's done something like 200k but he's just been round saying how he's going to sell it as people have been trying it steal it, he thinks it's non standard as it's goes like a rocket and must be about 280bhp, so do the police normally tune their traffic cars?.

[Richard]

I believe they do tune them, the Police Range Rovers in the 1980s had superchargers in them- though the sticker on the dash warning you not to exceed 110mph offset the benefit of the supercharger a bit.

[Spiny Norman]

Are ex police cars normally twicked?, My neighbour a few months back bought a ex police Volvo 850 T5 Estate on a Y plate for £200, he only bought it as a works van as he's a painter and it's done something like 200k but he's just been round saying how he's going to sell it as people have been trying it steal it, he thinks it's non standard as it's goes like a rocket and must be about 280bhp, so do the police normally tune their traffic cars?.

 

Most forces will tell you no, and if they do then any mods are removed before they get shot of them. My mate had an ex ARV Volvo V70T5 and the only thing it came with was a destroyed dashboard and boot from the gun safe.

[Bucketeer]

We used to have plenty come through the auctions I worked at, and if anything, the disproved the theory the ex-police cars are faster and better maintained than others. They were all rough as arseholes and seemed (through extensive research) no speedier than they would have been originally.

They were cheap though.

And cheap is better than fast.

[tooSavvy]

Just pondering something here......

New cortina has a shitty low comp transit engine, old BMW has a super awesome M30b35 straight six.

Could these be melded together?

Bm engine in the cortina obviously, i don't think i could handle the autoshite hero points i'd get for fitting a 7-series with a 1600 pinto.

You been down the 'Mans Aisle'.... at ASDA recently?

 

A guy has dropped a BMW Dizzler into a 2door Mk2 Cretin.... dunno what Mag is featuring it, though....

 

tooSavvy

[barefoot]

I have a street light outside my bedroom window.

It shines in.

It has an access panel at the bottom.

Is it possible to adjust it so that it goes off earlier?

Anyone know how to do it?

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Just pondering something here......

New cortina has a shitty low comp transit engine, old BMW has a super awesome M30b35 straight six.

Could these be melded together?

Bm engine in the cortina obviously, i don't think i could handle the autoshite hero points i'd get for fitting a 7-series with a 1600 pinto.

 

Please make a 1600 Pinto 7-series and then flog it to WeBuyAnyCar. Just to see if they notice at the inspection. 

[John F]

You been down the 'Mans Aisle'.... at ASDA recently?

 

A guy has dropped a BMW Dizzler into a 2door Mk2 Cretin.... dunno what Mag is featuring it, though....

 

tooSavvy

 

"Slap on another coat of beans, Mildred - the Ambassador's wife is about to rotate and I haven't finished polishing the geese!"

[DSdriver]

I have a street light outside my bedroom window.

It shines in.

It has an access panel at the bottom.

Is it possible to adjust it so that it goes off earlier?

Anyone know how to do it?

I think if you complain to the council about it they are obliged* to put a deflector to shield your windows. Regarding the timer, looking at those with the cover ripped off and not put back properly I seem to recall that there is just a clock like on your central heating. It may be a digital one nowadays but worth having a poke about if you get the usual "not my department mate" runaround when you call the council