Ask a Shiter

[sierraman]

Been on t’ebay and they all request me to send the V5, my driving licence and a bank statement. Hmm... likely I’ll send someone enough ID to open a back account in my name or be chucking my details in the blue bin. Halfords do them for £16, I think I’ll make that my port of call.

[sierraman]

Do anyone how a Japanese import car will differ from a UK supplied one? Specifically a 1993 Merc. Will it have the same rust proofing, speedo, radio etc? I doubt it has just arrived in the UK, will a reg number show first UK reg or Japanese? Seller doesn't show cars with any plates on. Cheers.

Tyres are different usually both in grade and max speed rating. Some cars are limited as well. Besides all the usual stuff.

 

I’d check for grot underneath as well, Jap imports aren’t usually under sealed too well either.

 

I’d check it over thoroughly as well unless your comprehension of written Japanese is good. HTH

[Exiled_Tat_Gatherer]

Fuck! - I totally forgot I'd bought this ages ago - I do mean ages…. THE VAN - Ex Alcy, FOAD(Shite Knight) and Puddles….. It shat its diesel pump and was layed up by the mechanics place. I paid while Puddles was in NL. Life took over and I completely forgot the damn thing!

I need to get it shifted…… I did as k a shitely guy - but he never got back after the initial enthusiasm.  

Willing to pay whatever - for a place to keep it near Dover as I'll trek over and drag its arse over to the garage here in January/February.

 

Help - transport people - advice all appreciated. I really don't want to lose this - HELP!!!!!

[bigfella2]

Been on t’ebay and they all request me to send the V5, my driving licence and a bank statement. Hmm... likely I’ll send someone enough ID to open a back account in my name or be chucking my details in the blue bin. Halfords do them for £16, I think I’ll make that my port of call.

Look for sellers advertising show plates, that way you don't have to send documents. Have ordered quite a few plates from eBay recently and never been asked for ID, even those not advertised as show plates.

[twosmoke300]

What happened here ? Thread jumped back to June

[DeeJay]

I’m thinking about getting a compressor.

 

I could do with an impact wrench, finger sander and various other tools for getting into restoration work on the Rancho and SD1 (etc) next year, and was thinking that air tools make more sense than expensive battery systems or every tool having its own motor.

 

A sensible budget seems to be £170-180 for a 50 litre 2.5hp mains compressor.

 

My concern is that air impact wrenches appear to want about 18cfm of air at load, while compressors in range only shift 9-11cfm. In fact an 18cfm compressor seems to be a very expensive industrial thing.

 

Am I going down a wrong track here?

If you're going to be using it in a small space check decibels.

[puddlethumper]

Fuck! - I totally forgot I'd bought this ages ago - I do mean ages…. THE VAN - Ex Alcy, FOAD(Shite Knight) and Puddles….. It shat its diesel pump and was layed up by the mechanics place. I paid while Puddles was in NL. Life took over and I completely forgot the damn thing!

I need to get it shifted…… I did as k a shitely guy - but he never got back after the initial enthusiasm.  

Willing to pay whatever - for a place to keep it near Dover as I'll trek over and drag its arse over to the garage here in January/February.

 

Help - transport people - advice all appreciated. I really don't want to lose this - HELP!!!!!

Hey John, it's ok for Jan and poss till Feb. I can move it round the corner if that will help.

[DodgeRover]

Fuck! - I totally forgot I'd bought this ages ago - I do mean ages…. THE VAN - Ex Alcy, FOAD(Shite Knight) and Puddles….. It shat its diesel pump and was layed up by the mechanics place. I paid while Puddles was in NL. Life took over and I completely forgot the damn thing!

I need to get it shifted…… I did as k a shitely guy - but he never got back after the initial enthusiasm.

Willing to pay whatever - for a place to keep it near Dover as I'll trek over and drag its arse over to the garage here in January/February.

 

Help - transport people - advice all appreciated. I really don't want to lose this - HELP!!!!!

Where is it now?

[cort1977]

Tyres are different usually both in grade and max speed rating. Some cars are limited as well. Besides all the usual stuff.

I’d check for grot underneath as well, Jap imports aren’t usually under sealed too well either.

I’d check it over thoroughly as well unless your comprehension of written Japanese is good. HTH

It may need an Iva as well as not a version type approved for Europe. Although the importer should take care of all that presumably?

[Guest Hooli]

What happened here ? Thread jumped back to June

They do that everytime a thread is merged. I think you end up on the first post of the thread that was merged into this one.

[sierraman]

It may need an Iva as well as not a version type approved for Europe. Although the importer should take care of all that presumably?

I’m not sure tbh. A lot used to come via Ireland.

[puddlethumper]

Where is it now?

It's near Dudley.

[Snipes]

Do anyone how a Japanese import car will differ from a UK supplied one? Specifically a 1993 Merc. Will it have the same rust proofing, speedo, radio etc? I doubt it has just arrived in the UK, will a reg number show first UK reg or Japanese? Seller doesn't show cars with any plates on. Cheers.

Speedo probably in Kms.

No foglight on the back.

Tyres won't be E marked, as others have said.

Probably won't be undersealed.

May have funny shape rear number plate recess/trim.

[3VOM]

Radio FM band will be miles away from UK/European channels. Like 70something to 80something instead of 80something to about 108.

E marked lights? and headlight pattern?

[Kiltox]

Been on t’ebay and they all request me to send the V5, my driving licence and a bank statement. Hmm... likely I’ll send someone enough ID to open a back account in my name or be chucking my details in the blue bin. Halfords do them for £16, I think I’ll make that my port of call.

Not one of them will actually ask for ID.

 

nenpp / plate services are the ones I use all the time.

[Lacquer Peel]

Speedo probably in Kms.

No foglight on the back.

Tyres won't be E marked, as others have said.

Probably won't be undersealed.

May have funny shape rear number plate recess/trim.

Did Mercedes and other manufacturers delete underseal for some markets? I find that unlikely.

[Stanky]

Have any shiters got inspection pits in their garages? I have a garage but am not allowed to modify it, however if we buy somewhere ever (insert generic millenial whinge about property prices here) then I have said that it absolutely has to have a garage, and I intend to fit a pit, probably one of the vacuum formed poly-wolly-doodle ones?

 

I have a few questions.

 

How overstated is the risk of filling it up with carbon monoxide and killing yourself?

 

Are they as useful, less useful or more useful than they appear. What appeals to me is that it gives me access to the underside of my vehicles without having to have a 2-storey garage with a lift. They are pretty lo-tech too so can't really go wrong?

 

Do i need to be concerned about drainage or can I put sand in the bottomto soak up anything grim and then periodically sweep it out?

 

How likely am I to drive the car down the fucking thing, totally wrecking the car and pit in one short period of idiocy?

 

I regularly do my own servicing of the cars I own, and have wished for better access for all manner of jobs in the past. Changing the Almera gearbox would have been substantially easier with one, replacing an exhaust ditto. Properly cleaning and undersealing the cars would have been a sinch too.

 

Am I missing anything? Can you get a cover that'd take the weight of a portly human, or even better an entire car so when not in use it could be covered to prevent it becoming a trap for when I'm pissed and forget its there (for example)?

[panhard65]

I had a pit at my last house and they are pretty handy. I had boards down to cover it whilst not in use. They can fill with water depending on the drainage, but are pretty handy. The only downside is doing front wheel drive clutches as jacking anything up over one can be tricky and you have to shift a lot of dirt to dig one out.

[DodgeRover]

Did Mercedes and other manufacturers delete underseal for some markets? I find that unlikely.

Yes, landrover did for Jap export models, have seen some that have come back, on jap imports Pajeros etc there didn't used to be a trace of underbody protection, first thing we used to do was lather them in it.

[Stanky]

Thanks Panhard, useful hearing real world experience of having one. I reckoned I could sling some cat litter or sand in the bottom to soak up water/coolant/oil as required, and I'd be aiming to catch most of it as it came out anyway.

 

Understand your point about jacking things up above one, I appreciate there are some jobs which may be easier on terra firma.

 

Digging out is a fair point, I suspect it'd involve a mini digger tbh, sod digging out several cubic metres of soil and then filling around it with sand or something?

[catsinthewelder]

I'm planing to build a garage with a pit but am helped/hindered by the fact that the bottom of the pit is the current ground level of the garden as the level rises a few feet up to the boundry.  The vague plan is to construct a shed in the garden with a high ceiling and really strong workbenches that can be driven onto.  I'm assuming that if it is normal garage width and the pit is narrow then it will be fairly hard to drop a (4 wheeled!) car into the hole unless it is very narrow.  I'll just need to be careful if Ian visits with TWC.

 

A workshop I sometimes use has a pit covered with thick planks that are strong enough to drive over.  I've not looked below them as it is often flooded so probably grim.  I imagine something solid to bridge the gap would be required to support bits of car being worked on.  My MOT garage has a jack built into the 4 poster ramps that slides fore and aft which would be nice to copy.

[Guest Hooli]

You can get rails that go across and have jacks built in, the garage I get my MOTs at have one.

[Snipes]

Did Mercedes and other manufacturers delete underseal for some markets? I find that unlikely.

Those are the things that typically show a car to be from Japan but I confess I don't really know about "foreign" cars that were imported into Japan new, then subsequently exported elsewhere.

[Snipes]

Yes, landrover did for Jap export models, have seen some that have come back, on jap imports Pajeros etc there didn't used to be a trace of underbody protection, first thing we used to do was lather them in it.

I use to spend a lot of time under cars for work and imports were always in much better shape, even if they had been here for many years ie; Mk1 MX5s, Supras, MR2s, RWD Nissan's etc.

[sierraman]

I don’t think they salt the roads in Japan though, plus they have quite a rigorous MOT system there, possibly that’s to do with it.

 

Of course manufacturers will change specs on a car for a certain market, if they are selling enough then they will change it to suit. Ford sold the Mondeo with a slightly closer ratio on the 2.0 for the French market.

 

I’ve got to say the issue with lack of rustproofing was mainly on Jap stuff like Toyotas etc. You’ve only got to look at those Mazda Bongos, they rot like Billy Oh.

[spike60]

I've worked in pits most of my life and generally commercial ones used regularly are ok, domestic one used once in a blue moon a bit more prone to flooding. When I worked for the Forestry the pit in their new main workshop was about 60-80 feet long and it used to  flood enough over a weekend that boards covering it up when not in use were floating. Water used to seep through the walls above the level off the recessed 240v light tubes.Water seeping down from the fells I guess, where I am now 100 yard from a dock on flat ground we have no bother. I've never used one with a drain, they usually just have a 'sink' so you can bale/pump out. Can be a bit of a hazard for young kids.

[Guest Hooli]

You could add a 'sump' to the design and have one of those automatically triggered pumps to keep it empty. You can buy them with the float on the pump so it's as simple as drop it in and plug it in. Along with running a drain outside of course.

 

I've also been thinking the edge of the pit must need some reinforcement around it so the pit doesn't collapse

[sierraman]

At a guess, you would need a concrete former for the sides that’s thick. The one I had was a death trap, it was just a hole lined with some bricks.

 

I’d be tempted to get a mech mate, one of those GRP things. At least it’d be waterproof.

[mrbenn]

Have any shiters got inspection pits in their garages? I have a garage but am not allowed to modify it, however if we buy somewhere ever (insert generic millenial whinge about property prices here) then I have said that it absolutely has to have a garage, and I intend to fit a pit, probably one of the vacuum formed poly-wolly-doodle ones?

 

I have a few questions.

 

How overstated is the risk of filling it up with carbon monoxide and killing yourself?

 

Are they as useful, less useful or more useful than they appear. What appeals to me is that it gives me access to the underside of my vehicles without having to have a 2-storey garage with a lift. They are pretty lo-tech too so can't really go wrong?

 

Do i need to be concerned about drainage or can I put sand in the bottomto soak up anything grim and then periodically sweep it out?

 

How likely am I to drive the car down the fucking thing, totally wrecking the car and pit in one short period of idiocy?

 

I regularly do my own servicing of the cars I own, and have wished for better access for all manner of jobs in the past. Changing the Almera gearbox would have been substantially easier with one, replacing an exhaust ditto. Properly cleaning and undersealing the cars would have been a sinch too.

 

Am I missing anything? Can you get a cover that'd take the weight of a portly human, or even better an entire car so when not in use it could be covered to prevent it becoming a trap for when I'm pissed and forget its there (for example)?

 

My folks have had a pit in the garage of their house for 30 years (garage built and pit installed by previous owner), I've used it fairly extensively man and boy.

 

The only time I've had a bit of an "oh shit" moment was when looking at a fuel leak on our Morris Minor. You have to be very careful when doing fuel related stuff because, as I've had it explained to me, the fuel fumes essentially push the oxygen out of the pit. An occurrence made far more dangerous if the car is still mostly over the top of said pit. I got out jolly quickly and have been more careful since.

I have had cars running over the pit while I've been underneath and had no issues, though I wasn't under for long. Car exhaust facing out of the garage door at the time, of course.

 

To be able to stand up under a car rather than lying on the floor is, obviously, incredibly helpful for a lot of jobs. Not least because you actually have room to move, and can get more leverage on recalcitrant bolts etc. I would suggest having a breeze block or two in one corner of the pit to aid egress depending on depth of pit

 

The water table at my folks place is high, so the pit can fill with water during periods of persistant rain. However, it hasn't had more than an inch or so in the bottom for the last few months. They have a submersible pump which empties it of water in short order when necessary.

 

Their pit is covered by wooden boards (can get measurements if required) which I've driven over in a number of cars and never had an issue, though they have mainly been small/classic cars so are fairly light. Nor have I driven into the pit, amazingly. Moving the car around the opening is very much something to be approached with full attention, and you'll be fine.

 

Pictures and measurements available if interested, or required.

[twosmoke300]

I’d look into those dual platform lifts personally .

Having served my time down a pit I hate them with a passion