Ask a Shiter

[Richard]

A 16 seat minibus is class D1 on your licence. If you have that you can drive one, but not for hire or reward. 3500kg is the maximum gross weight, the Transit will be under that.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Where those old Lexii J-tin waftbarges available at all without dead animals inside?

What you want is an import Toyota Celsior from before they used the Lexus brand in Japan. Most seem to have cloth.

[catsinthewelder]

I've heard that post 97 license holders can drive minibus's without a D1,  so long as you're not being paid to do it.  I do get paid so I had to take the tests.

[phil_lihp]

This helps a lot, thanks guys. I don't have D1 so next stop will be to find out what I need to get it.

[phil_lihp]

Yes the towing laws are mad, I concluded after much research that the correct answer to the question of "can I tow this?" is "no one really knows".

[Richard]

It appears that I was wrong, it makes me wonder what the point of having licence categories is.

 

https://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/@motor/documents/digitalasset/dg_4011275.pdf

 

I once complained to the "Crystal Mark" people about the DVLA website having one, and they don't have it now.

[phil_lihp]

Ok, just rang the DVLA and burrowed through 454 menu options to speak to someone in the know. It turns out that as long as it's not paid work and not for a commercial body you do not need D1. Why could they not have written that on their website!

[Richard]

 Why could they not have written that on their website!

 

Or even on your driving licence! It seems mad that they have dozens of categories, sub-categories and special conditions but what must be quite a common scenario has to go through "on the nod".

[HillmanImp]

The Visa failed on it headlight aim as I think the lights were put in the wrong way round after its bash. However which way do I put it back? Am I deflecting the light to the o/s (i.e. rotating it 90 degrees away from me in this photo) or what? Anyone have any ideas?

 

[Junkman]

What you want is an import Toyota Celsior from before they used the Lexus brand in Japan. Most seem to have cloth.image.jpg

 

You know me better than my mother!

This is exactly the velourtasticness I so cherish in waftbarges.

As an added bonus, I can answer the terminally daft insurance question "is it an import?" with "yer better believe it, luv".

[Richard]

The Visa failed on it headlight aim as I think the lights were put in the wrong way round after its bash. However which way do I put it back? Am I deflecting the light to the o/s (i.e. rotating it 90 degrees away from me in this photo) or what? Anyone have any ideas?

 

Isn't it keyed?

[skattrd]

Bulb - I've no idea, trial and error, you've got a 50/50 chance ... it might be better to try this when it's a bit darker.

[spike60]

The Visa failed on it headlight aim as I think the lights were put in the wrong way round after its bash. However which way do I put it back? Am I deflecting the light to the o/s (i.e. rotating it 90 degrees away from me in this photo) or what? Anyone have any ideas?

 

Look at the other one?

[M'coli]

The front filament is for the dip beam and should point upwards, so that it reflects off the top of the headlight and shines down onto the road.  Take a look at the orientation of an H4 bulb to get it correct.

[Sudsprint]

Sorry if this has been asked a thousand times before but am I dreaming it or was there some version of a Mazda 323 sold as cheap as chips in the uk about 20 yrs ago by another company?

[Ratdat]

Sorry if this has been asked a thousand times before but am I dreaming it or was there some version of a Mazda 323 sold as cheap as chips in the uk about 20 yrs ago by another company?

 

That'll be the Sao Penza.

[saucedoctor]

There was a brief flurry of them round here as minicabs, back in the day. To put the time period into place, the cab of choice was a mingebag spec Bluebird diesel, in white, and JDM diesel automatic Camrys. A mate had a Camry, and the back windscreen got broken by a drunk bloke falling against it. Many hundreds of pounds, and he was very lucky to get one at all.

[phil_lihp]

African company I think, pretty sure they've gone the way of the Lonsdale now.

[inconsistant]

I think they were owned by Mazda. Were there still Japanese import restrictions in the early 90s? Maybe it was a way to get around those?

[Spiny Norman]

I drove a Sao Penza as a hire car in Cyprus many years ago. I crashed it several times, went off road in it and ragged it as one does with a hire car, returning it to the hire shop surely only moments before it imploded..

[inconsistant]

howfewleft.com says that there are as many as 2 Sao Penzas left. 

[Pillock]

Wikipedia, where everything is always correct all of the time, suggests they sold around 1000 of them and the parent company Automotive Holdings were a subsidiary of Mazda - so probably to get around import restrictions yes. Or to get rid of old panels and parts without tarnishing the newer Mazda image. 

[Spiny Norman]

Would I be right in thinking that one old fashioned 12v ignition coil is much the same as another?

I discovered a brand new Valeo coil I'd bought but never fitted, either to the Royale or the Amazon, and as far as I can see it looks exactly the same as what's on the Volvo 240.

 

Should it work OK on the 240 or might I fritz the leccy ignition system? Are there different types of coil?

[tooSavvy]

Ballast type [fraud] H. Are 9v. Low volts on cranking @12v - cut back to 9v when running

 

TS

[mercrocker]

It will fry an aftermarket leccy box don't know about standard ones....

[Jimcit]

I'm selling a car for the first time via eBay.  I've never actually sold a car before - only ever done trade ins / company cars or just plain kept them (which is why I find myself with 6...).

 

It's finally had a bid, the buyer seems to have good feedback, but hasn't asked any questions / to view the car - is this normal behaviour? Should I ask him if he wants anymore info / pics?

[mat_the_cat]

Would I be right in thinking that one old fashioned 12v ignition coil is much the same as another?

 

For a relatively low power 4 cylinder engine, all you have to really worry about is whether one was designed for a ballast resistor or not, and even if so you'd likely get away with it as a 'get you home' measure - I've even used a 6 volt motorbike coil for a week or two!

 

I'm willing to be corrected, but I can't see why an aftermarket electronic ignition (which is designed to fit a wide variety of ignition systems) would be more likely to be damaged. All it has to do is switch a current to earth, and it doesn't know whether the coil has 9 or 12 volts across it.

[HillmanImp]

The front filament is for the dip beam and should point upwards, so that it reflects off the top of the headlight and shines down onto the road.  Take a look at the orientation of an H4 bulb to get it correct.

 

Sorry for the late reply on this, I decided to 'service' my computer as it was slow and a bit like when I do anything to my cars I royally fooked it and its not worked since. I got it running roughly last night and will hopefully be back online properly tonight once I have wanged some Redex in it. If its still not going I might chuck some K seal in it just in case.

 

Anyhow thanks for the replies, I think I was being REALLY stupid with this. The bulbs were in the right way, I just needed to adjust it so that the beam is facing the right way. For some reason I thought that the reflector bit was for stopping the light shining towards oncoming traffic and you would rotate it depending on what country you were in.

 

Hey, in my defence most of my old cars have had sealed units.*

 

 

* Although fuck knows how I thought you adjusted them for overseas driving. I don't think I am drinking enough.

[DeeJay]

What/where do you measure to find out which wheels will fit on a car?

PCD?

Dave.

[cort16]

Hillmanimp have you swirled your PC's porn filter out with petrol? It's common problem.