The grumpy thread

[eddyramrod]

Took my lovely Granada to an exhaust specialist today so he could replace the downpipes prior to it going for MoT. Puts it up on the hoist and there are black-edged holes everywhere, the full length. No wonder it growls the way it does ( ). He checked out his catalogue and found a system for a Mk1 , but only with the German V6 engines. Damn Europe! Have to hope that when it comes he can twiddle the downpipes enough to fit. Rest of the system should mate up with the body ok. For the thick end of 300 euros, I bloody hope so! And I know that's not a rip-off-the-Brit price, as I had my Cypriot garage-owning friend with me.

 

On the bright side, I had a good look round under the car while it was on the hoist (shame not to, really) and it does seem remarkably solid. More solid than my head, which I cracked on the front suspension during this process! Ow!

 

And the battery doesn't seem able to cope with a cold V6, I had to push the bloody thing until I got on a downhill stretch to start it. Do you know how much a Granada weighs??????

[Pete-M]

And the battery doesn't seem able to cope with a cold V6, I had to push the bloody thing until I got on a downhill stretch to start it. Do you know how much a Granada weighs??????

 

Slightly less than a 2.0 TDCi Focus Estate....

[autofive]

Took my lovely Granada to an exhaust specialist today so he could replace the downpipes prior to it going for MoT. Puts it up on the hoist and there are black-edged holes everywhere, the full length. No wonder it growls the way it does ( ). He checked out his catalogue and found a system for a Mk1 , but only with the German V6 engines. Damn Europe! Have to hope that when it comes he can twiddle the downpipes enough to fit. Rest of the system should mate up with the body ok. For the thick end of 300 euros, I bloody hope so! And I know that's not a rip-off-the-Brit price, as I had my Cypriot garage-owning friend with me.

 

On the bright side, I had a good look round under the car while it was on the hoist (shame not to, really) and it does seem remarkably solid. More solid than my head, which I cracked on the front suspension during this process! Ow!

 

And the battery doesn't seem able to cope with a cold V6, I had to push the bloody thing until I got on a downhill stretch to start it. Do you know how much a Granada weighs??????

 

yes i do know how much it weighs - i pushed one for about 1/4 of a mile to the petrol station once

 

the essex engine is a bugger to start in the best weather conditions

 

all you can do is optomise the chances of it starting with:

good points, rotor arm and dizzy cap, spark plugs and leads

timing set correctly

tappets adjusted correctly (they can tighten up, seemingly on their own)

 

two pumps of the throttle (and without any trottle applied) turn it over - it should fire within a couple of seconds

[The Moog]

Thanks for that link. I am going to print it out and include it with my letter that I send it. At the end of the day it only goes up £20 if I have to pay the full amount.

 

I am going to sent it recorded to them so that if it does come to paying it then I can say that I should only have to pay the £35 as I challenged it as soon as I received it.

 

This has really got my goat.

[peter9000uk]

Took my lovely Granada to an exhaust specialist today so he could replace the downpipes prior to it going for MoT. Puts it up on the hoist and there are black-edged holes everywhere, the full length. No wonder it growls the way it does ( ). He checked out his catalogue and found a system for a Mk1 , but only with the German V6 engines. Damn Europe! Have to hope that when it comes he can twiddle the downpipes enough to fit. Rest of the system should mate up with the body ok. For the thick end of 300 euros, I bloody hope so! And I know that's not a rip-off-the-Brit price, as I had my Cypriot garage-owning friend with me.

 

 

Hope it does, because I couldn't get any UK exhausts to fit my old RS2600 Capri! Even the chuffin headlights were slightly different than GXL Capri ones FFS

[The Moog]

This stupid flipping college. I am a business lecturer so surpringsly I teach business. Most research is carried out on internet due to the fact books are very out of date now, but oh no the college in its infinite wisdom has blocked all shopping and company sites. So students cant research, i have to do it for them and give it to them. Way to go.

 

Spoke to someone yesterday and apparently i need to give them all the names of the 120+ sutdents I have plus their students id's, a list of all the sites I want (erm it is research it is up to them to find out), how long I want them unblocked for and the rationale behind it all. I am not a kid. I am trusted to deal with vunerable children and adults but i am not trusted to choose which sites I use. I am not asking for hardcore porn sites to be unblocked just tesco's !

 

Quicker to use proxy so started doing that (although can face dsiplinary action if caught). Fine.

 

Today was the final straw, had a lesson and the internet stopped working due to the switches or something. I sent the students home and told them to tell their parents they had been sent home and why. This year is 13 weeks old and in that time I have had rooms with no computers, rooms with comptuer that dont work, rooms with 4 computers between 25 of them, computers that spontaneously reboot losing all work, students cant save their work on the shared drive, all their USB pens say they have virus and then reboot pc's etc etc ..

 

Fucking useless the lot of them. Very close to walking out.

[Cavcraft]

Telesales callers. FUCK RIGHT OFF.

[Father Ted]

Boiler has packed up again.....

 

I'm concerned they are going to say it can't be fixed and we need a new boiler so what do I do? It will probably be a different bloke tomorrow so it will be start again form scratch. needs to get part, back wednesday etc.

 

Get a different engineer, and independent.

We have a 15 year old Baxi. I installed it I know it intimately.

Is yours gravity fed and if so does it have an over heat cut out switch - most engineers these days dont understand that these need bypassing if you have a gravity fed hot water system and so its not uncommon for them to trip out and the pilot light goes off as the boiler "thinks" its overheating.

I had to put a gas valve on mine last year because it failed. I was frankly amazed because they dont often go. £60 from Baxi. Not bad for 15 years of service

You can stick those combi boilers up your arse.

[retrogeezer]

British Gas bloke has just left - the solenoid had gone so thats been replaced and all is well at the moment. He said that the little circuit board probably failed due to the solenoid being close to failure.

 

To be fair, he was a sound fella, I guess they are all told to say your boiler is old so get a new one, just like cars really!

 

Oh, and it's a fully pumped system FT, and I had also heard these new combi's are shite too. Bloke next door said he wastes a gallon of water while waiting for the hot to come through!

[Richard]

We got a combi fitted in our last house and it was a huge mistake. The gallon of cold every time you turn the hot tap on happens even if you've only just turned the hot tap off, GR0.00001 4 running a bath or doing the dishes.

[Rusty Pelican]

Just had our back boiler seviced , cost £70 which isnt bad , Its a 21 year old Baxi and hes had to " retro " fit some parts recently , Told me to avoid combis unless you spend a massive amount on them , Baxi still do back boilers but with leccy fires not gas as ours is , thats the way im going when ours finally croaks it .

[Pillock]

Today was the final straw, had a lesson and the internet stopped working due to the switches or something. I sent the students home and told them to tell their parents they had been sent home and why. This year is 13 weeks old and in that time I have had rooms with no computers, rooms with comptuer that dont work, rooms with 4 computers between 25 of them, computers that spontaneously reboot losing all work, students cant save their work on the shared drive, all their USB pens say they have virus and then reboot pc's etc etc ..

 

We have a similar issue at work. The blocking isn't a problem, sites are allowed by default and only blocked against a strict list (facebook, gambling, pr0n etc). However, the hoops you have to jump through to get a working PC doing what you want..... we have to log in to the PC, and then log into a remote desktop. The remote desktop has all the apps on but doesn't allow access to any local files including USB drives. The local machine has access to local files, but can't access the apps on the remote system. IE on my remote system is broken and can't view any sites that use forms. I get a different list of printers (including some down south, and yesterday I noticed one in Spain) on my remote desktop to locally. I have two different company email addresses which don't share folders. To download a file, edit it and then print it I often have to GMail it to myself, work on it, gmail it back to myself and print it. I then get snotty mails about exporting company-sensitive files.

 

Sometimes, you have no option but to call the IS department. Amusingly, the department name used to be Mainframe Information Systems or something and all the PCs have stickers on requesting that you alert the "MIS information desk" to any problems. All too true. They publish a list of SLAs which states that it can take something like 3 days to reset a password, or 5 days to install a new PC.

[eddyramrod]

Bloke next door said he wastes a gallon of water while waiting for the hot to come through!

 

If it's any consolation, the normal hot-water system here is solar-powered and the same happens. Bummer, thought I'd left all that behind.

[eddyramrod]

And here's a grump: the cost of diecasts.

 

Having owned three varieties of Hillman Hunter (many years ago) I repainted my much-abused owned-from-new Corgi one to match the first one. Eventually I found another, and painted it to match one of the others, but the third eluded me for a long time. Rummage boxes at boot sales and collectors' fairs: no luck. Ebay: scampering away out of my reach, even quite horrible examples. Finally I found a third, and it's in my workshop (the desk behind me) as we speak. But! Why did Corgi completely fail to capitalise on the casting by making "normal" cars, police livery, etc? Why instead did they run it only as a rally car, and for a limited time, thus ensuring hens'-teeth status and commensurate pricing in years to come? Why have they so far failed to provide a Vanguards model of the same car?

 

And what the fuck is going on with the price of Vanguards and other diecasts at the moment?????? Even used examples of the models I seek are running away from me on the bay. Even away from the auction site, I checked out a number of sellers, including our own Mr Lobster, with regard to the FSO Polonez models that have appeared recently, but nowhere can I find them within reach of a shoestring expat. That's not a dig, btw, Mr Lobster; I mentioned you so you didn't think you'd been left out of my searches.

 

I've also been looking for models of Ladas, having driven several over many years, but again, they rush away from me like women have always done... Good thing I'm patient!

[eddyramrod]

That's a rumour I don't need spreading, Norm! FYI, I was 38 when I got married, and it was my first time. Considering there was supposed to be a s*xual revolution in the 60s, and I grew up right after it, it bypassed me completely. That's what I was alluding to. Fucking humans? Misinterpret everything you say and twist it to their own ends, and always your detriment. No wonder I prefer my cars...

 

That was a posting I never thought I'd have to make... (still waiting for my "sigh" emoticon)

[Mr Lobster]

And here's a grump: the cost of diecasts.

 

Indeed. I'd like to say its because retailers are making a fortune, but it's not Most manufacturers have increased prices at least once this year, some three times (hello Minichamps, I'm looking at you there), partly down to the cost of materials and partly because the Chinese want a living wage. Plus, the weakness of the ££ means that imports aren't getting any cheaper either. Whatever, it's meant stuff has gone up a fair bit. More pain to come with the impending VAT rise too. Still we do try to keep prices down but it's not always easy.

 

Why did Corgi completely fail to capitalise on the casting by making "normal" cars

 

Because at the time they just didn't seem to know what they were doing, built up a massive (and I really do mean massive) amount of stock that retailers and wholesalers alike wouldn't touch until it was reduced to a fraction of what it should have cost and hence went very bankrupt. Now they are owned by Hornby things seem better. The new releases are a lot better quality and are selling a lot better. One of the first things Hornby did was dump a huge amount of very old stock at very low prices just to get rid of it. That worked and now the new Vanguards stuff - Mk1 Golf, Sierra XR4i, Mk4 Cortina is selling really well. So hopefully they have got their act together now. Hopefully.

[seth]

I know the man who writes the Corgi car catalogue entries and those little cards you get in the box. He (obviously) has connections there. I'm visiting him in a couple of weeks and will enquire about the Hunter.

[Guest]

And here's a grump: the cost of diecasts.

 

What the fuck is going on with the price of Vanguards and other diecasts at the moment?????? Even used examples of the models I seek are running I'm patient!

 

Erm, are these fetching decent money now or something? I've got eight or ten boxed first edition Vanguards up in the loft. The one I can remember the most clearly is the cream 105E Anglia with the wing mirrors in a little plastic bag.

[RedSparrow]

Hmm, I sold all my vanguards a few months ago - they all went for next to fuck all on ebay.

[CreepingJesus]

Was annoyed today, to find that some kind child of mine, has inflicted some structural damage to my old Siku 3dr Rangie. I bought a fair few of those, as a kid, and I haven't many left - the Rangie is a favourite.

Did Vanguard do a Zephyr 6, back in the early days? I seem to recall buying my dad a few models, for the sake of it; stuff he'd mentioned from his youth. I know I bought him some Vanguard stuff, and I'm sure I bought him a Zeph 6, to remind him of his taxi driving days.

[Lord Sterling]

BANKS

 

Paid in a rebate check from the taxman a few days ago into my bank, as soon as it cleared, said bank help themselves to £150 in charges. I've got £300 left, of which I need £60 in the next few days. I've put it into a saving account, the money was meant to go towards PROJECT - RESSURECT ABANDONNED 827 STERLING. At this rate I wont have any money left for it

 

I'm very tempted to close down my bank account and go back to the days of paying everything directly by cash, I heard there are some people who still do.

 

SCRAP PRICES

 

Been informed that some flatbedder type was inquiring about my 825 Sterling whilst I was out, got me on the paras now.

 

GOOGLE

 

Trying to find what I'm looking for before I even finished typing it

[keef]

BANKS

 

With you on that one!

 

Why can't they just give you their best rate on an account? Found out one of my accounts is paying 0.45% when they now have a similar account offering 2.9%. Opened a "new" account but unable to find a way to transfer the money from the old to the new one.

[Pillock]

 

GOOGLE

 

Trying to find what I'm looking for before I even finished typing it

 

I find that quite helpful, but if you're not of that opinion you can turn it off

[wuvvum]

GOOGLE

 

Trying to find what I'm looking for before I even finished typing it

You can turn that feature off though - go into Search settings and then select Do not use Google Instant.

[wuvvum]

Oops, beaten to it.

[RedSparrow]

Latest ebay faff:

Why can UK sellers no longer set a reserve lower than £50? I can't think of any reason why they've done this.

If I wasn't desperate to get rid of stuff I would sell elsewhere.

 

Speaking of which, shameless plug:

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/riot-star/m.html

[eddyramrod]

Did Vanguard do a Zephyr 6, back in the early days?

 

Yes, and a Zephyr 4 too. They're also doing a Mk2 Zephyr, and I think Zodiac, which looks suspiciously like a retread of the 80s/90s Corgi casting. But since it was quite a good casting, no problem.

 

Red Sparrow, damn, I wish I'd known! Bet you had all the ones I want too...

 

Seth, tyvm kind sir, it would be nice to find out; if not, there might be a tipoff fee for giving them the idea (yeah right). I'd love to see the Mk1 and 2 Cortinas with 4 doors, the only models I've ever seen have been 2-doors, except the old Corgi woody. Maybe now they're doing the Mk4, we might get a Mk5 sometime?

[morris_ital_lover]

[rant mode]Students.... despite being one. Mainly the holy of holiest attitude about tution fees, oh 'cos we're students we shouldn't be given massively discounted optional education whn thousands area being laid off by the government and private industry. [/rant mode].

[Cavcraft]

Latest ebay faff:

Why can UK sellers no longer set a reserve lower than £50? I can't think of any reason why they've done this.

If I wasn't desperate to get rid of stuff I would sell elsewhere.

 

Speaking of which, shameless plug:

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/riot-star/m.html

 

I've never known eBaY to have reserves under fifty quid to be honest.

[messerschmitt owner]

Latest ebay faff:

Why can UK sellers no longer set a reserve lower than £50? I can't think of any reason why they've done this.

If I wasn't desperate to get rid of stuff I would sell elsewhere.

 

Speaking of which, shameless plug:

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/riot-star/m.html

 

I've never known eBaY to have reserves under fifty quid to be honest.

way back in 1999, they had all sorts - proper free listing days, no Ipix, a reasonable fees structure, much fewer aresholes, less tat, no paypal, etc!