Ask a Shiter

[overrun]

Every SW22 T-Bar owners right of passage. ^

[Station]

Eevry MR2!

[r.welfare]

Let us know how you get on, Mr Lobbo. I suspect I will be doing a similar job soon on my BIL's Fabia, although I shall use gutter sealant.

[Mr Lobster]

Will do r.w. Very possibly this weekends job if the weather is dry / not freezing.

[overrun]

Eevry MR2!

I have no experience of the AW11, but I was about to buy one last year, to make a 'mk 1.5'.

I would have reluctantly opted for a sunroof model, or maybe tin top Supercharged variant, though.

 

Shame the T-tops are wank.

[Station]

My current one is fine - the one I had before that leaked like a bastard. I remember going round a corner with a girl in the car, and a big stream of gutter water going right down the back of her neck. Haha

[skattrd]

What's an easy way to clean an engine?

I do not own a steam cleaner or pressure washer and am lazy.

 

The reason I ask is that the boring has a small coolant leak which we cannot trace, and some muppet (it might have been me) spilt coolant all over the engine bay a while ago. My thought is that if I can get the engine cleaned then after a short while I should be able to see where the leak is coming from.

[Inspector Morose]

Neat TFR (traffic film remover) then hose it off. Good for making aluminium bits shiny and removing/oxidising paint rapidly.

[willswitchengage]

My garage always clean up oil stains with brake cleaner, and it really does the job

[Craig the Princess]

Has anyone any advise on getting a stainless steel exhaust made? Very tempted to do this for the Ambassador as it is a keeper, exhausts aren't easily gettable and the exising one is fucked beyond bodgery.

[philibusmo]

To those of you with units/lockups/barns and the like, what is the best way to go about finding these places to store and work on cars in the dry? Where is a good place to start as I'm ideally after some sort of dry space with some electricity with room for a couple of cars and tools but have no-idea where to begin looking for this sort of thing.

[cort16]

To those of you with units/lockups/barns and the like, what is the best way to go about finding these places to store and work on cars in the dry? Where is a good place to start as I'm ideally after some sort of dry space with some electricity with room for a couple of cars and tools but have no-idea where to begin looking for this sort of thing.

 

Wanted adverts on gumtree have worked for me before.

[Mr Lobster]

To those of you with units/lockups/barns and the like, what is the best way to go about finding these places to store and work on cars in the dry? Where is a good place to start as I'm ideally after some sort of dry space with some electricity with room for a couple of cars and tools but have no-idea where to begin looking for this sort of thing.

 

Have a look in the classified section of the local papers, sometimes get that sort of thing advertised in there. 

[philibusmo]

Literally two minutes after I posted that, I stumbled across what could be the perfect solution on Gumtree. I may report back soon.

[willswitchengage]

Has anyone any advise on getting a stainless steel exhaust made? Very tempted to do this for the Ambassador as it is a keeper, exhausts aren't easily gettable and the exising one is fucked beyond bodgery.

 

http://www.longlife.co.uk/

 

They made a bespoke one for a friend's BX 4x4, a far rarer car than the Ambassador so give them a ring and see what they can offer.

 

Also don't skimp on stainless, my motor cycle has a "bespoke stainless exhaust" that is starting to rust within a year of being installed.

[The Moog]

Is there any difference between a xsara and xsara picasso? looking for HBOL for 51 plate but normal xsaras go to 2000 then becomes picarseo

[willswitchengage]

Xsara is just a hatchback, Xsara Picasso was the popular MPV

[The Moog]

So HBOl will do both? was odd that it is labelled as a picasso

[phil_lihp]

Literally two minutes after I posted that, I stumbled across what could be the perfect solution on Gumtree. I may report back soon.

 

This I will await with interest, I'm paying far too much for a storage unit and a leaky lockup that's too small to work in but have never found a better alternative.

[Bobthebeard]

My 2003 Honda Accord (175,000 miles) has just recently started to use/lose coolant. Only slightly, like half a litre in 1000 miles. No sign of leakage anywhere. Strangely the coolant in the header tank/bottle has also turned from a nice blue to murky brown. Coolant and water pump are both under six months old. No obvious signs of HGF, no oil in water or water in oil etc. No overheating. Nothing, but something has changed( for the worse no doubt.)

Any ideas?

[willswitchengage]

In February when my insurance renewal is due, I will have gained four years NCB. However, I'm thinking of moving to a classic policy that has no interest in NCB (Lancaster insurance).

 

Could I still use this NCB in a few years time should I revert to a normal policy or does it have to be an unbroken period of insurance?

 

Was blue sky thinking and still think there's something wrong that a 23 year old can get insured on a W123 for £200 a year :s - the little Corolla with 4 years NCB is twice that! bizarre

[skattrd]

NCB lasts for 2 years if unused, or it did last time I didn't use mine for a bit. Just make sure you get proof of NCB when your policy expires

[Pillock]

Insurers will usually ask that NCB was last added to in a period ending not more than 2 years ago, so you can go at most 2 years on a classic policy. It's been like that for enough different insurers when I've tried it that I'd say it's usually the case, however it is down to the insurer you go with in two years time - what's your crystal ball looking like?

 

I used to have a "classic" for a year or so, maybe 18 months - then a normal car for a year - then back to a classic just to keep the NCB going.

 

My ex once went too long on a classic but she got a letter from her classic insurer stating that although no NCB was earned, she had not made a claim and the "modern" insurer accepted that and honourned the NCB. Again, that's not a guarantee though.

[willswitchengage]

Cheers, gonna get the calculator and some payslips out now

[M'coli]

The Co-op will honour a NCD for up to 3 years , but don't allow modifications of any sort

[HillmanImp]

I got insured through Adrian Flux recently with a 3 year gap between normal policies. Not all of them will do it but if you speak to a broker they can wangle it.

[spike60]

Privilege recognized my 6 years classic insurance with a Corvette when I went to a non classic Z3, they wanted proof from Towergate my previous insurer though. Dropped the premium from £470 with Admiral to £180 with Privilege. NCB is usually use it or lose it after 2 years.

[meshking]

Slightly new car question (it's a mk1.5 focus) - there is so much condensation on the windows that there must be a leak, but all the carpets are dry. Nothing evident in the boot which appears to be a classic leak point. Any ideas where else to look? The constant wiping is driving me mad!

[brickwall]

Pollen filter screwed up or old?  I overheard that somewhere...

[spike60]

My old Polio steamed up until I replaced the 110k mile old pollen filter.