The grumpy thread

[eddyramrod]

 

I can't say I love everything they did, but I'd have had a lot less fun growing up without it. And 47 is no age to slip away.

 

RIP dude.

 

I'm sure I agree but... who, exactly?

[Guest]

In other news, I didst verily go to Sheffield for the Meadowhall meet.

 

Dear goose fucking Christ. Why does everyone drive like a lunatic in the wet?

 

Coming back over the A628, I was averaging about 35 - 40 mph in the Volvo. It was absolutely HAMMERING it down with rain, the headlamps are shit, and coming out of EVERY FUCKING CORNER this mong in a Honda Odyssey was tailing me. I lost count of the number of times I shouted 'FUCK OFF' at the mirror. I could barely see in front of me, the wipers were on full, I didn't know the road and this cuntbiscuit was illuminating my dashboard with his headlights.

 

I couldn't work out whether he was playing games or if he was just a bell end. On one of the very few passing lanes I hammered it away from him as hard as the 460 would pull up the hill in 3rd. Saw a stupid speed and scared myself to death, but it put some space between us.

 

Until he caught up about a mile later.

 

Seriously, what a fuckknuckle.

[MrDuke]

I'm sure I agree but... who, exactly?

 

Adam Yauch (on the right in the photo). He was in the Beastie Boys, a popular beat combo from across the pond who cut some groovy discs back when the world was a bit younger. Probably not the typical Shiter's musical taste, but it made me feel a bit pants when I heard this evening, so...

[alf892]

Hang on Wat......

 

So you are driving slowly in the rain with a car behind.........a bit close. You reach a place where he can pass so you accelerate............ presumably to 'teach him'

 

And you think he is the idiot?

[retrogeezer]

I was wondering that^^^^^

 

I would have just let him go past?

[Guest]

He sat behind me on the passing lane, getting closer and closer. I slowed down so that he'd get the hint and he just sat behind me. There was ample room and time for him to go round, and he didn't bother. He was pushing me faster and faster out of every bend so getting away from him was (in my view) the best option, seeing as he didn't want to pass me when he had the option to.

[retrogeezer]

gotcha......some folk like to follow a set of lights in dodgy conditions rather than have to judge the road for themselves, guess it was one of them.

[CYANIDE STEVE]

As the lovely folks in the FSO owners club already know, this morning I went to a farm which is near I used to live in Rochester Kent. The reason for this was they had an FSO Caro Pickup sitting in one of there Poly tunnels for months and it never seemed to move. Well lately I've had a serious yearning for another FSO as I haven't owned one for 18 years and regret ever selling my last one. I went to see the owner who I know quite well and asked him if he still had the FSO pickup and if he would like to part with it.

He said he had given it to the scrap man who comes around in february and he paid him fifty pounds for it and forked it onto the back of his truck!

Apparently the clutch had gone, the windows wouldn't wind up so were open all the time and the indicators didn't work and the brakes were a bit iffy.

To say I was gutted would be a massive understatement as it was actually quite solid bodywork wise and was a diesel!.

The only pleasure I got out of my visit was telling him I would have paid him £300 for it and seeing his bottom lip quiver!

[tonedepear]

The annual retention on my wanker plates (or cherished number as the DVLA call them now) runs out next week so I moseyed down to the DVLA office (still open, for now) and did all that. Come home and pulled the old plates off, and put my older ones on. Why can't car manufacturers standardise the location & spacing on screw holes in bumpers? My plates look like grubby colanders. Also, the read hatch is drilled for screws (which is handy as I don't have the requisite sticky bits to hand) but the only thing I could find that would fit were honking great bolts from a screwfix selection box of nuts and bolts. So it's now bolted on , and I'll get new plates off ebay.

 

Secure by Tony Lloyd, on Flickr

 

(Those looking closely will notice it's also far from level, but I don't care at the minute)

[Negative Creep]

As the lovely folks in the FSO owners club already know, this morning I went to a farm which is near I used to live in Rochester Kent. The reason for this was they had an FSO Caro Pickup sitting in one of there Poly tunnels for months and it never seemed to move. Well lately I've had a serious yearning for another FSO as I haven't owned one for 18 years and regret ever selling my last one. I went to see the owner who I know quite well and asked him if he still had the FSO pickup and if he would like to part with it.

He said he had given it to the scrap man who comes around in february and he paid him fifty pounds for it and forked it onto the back of his truck!

Apparently the clutch had gone, the windows wouldn't wind up so were open all the time and the indicators didn't work and the brakes were a bit iffy.

To say I was gutted would be a massive understatement as it was actually quite solid bodywork wise and was a diesel!.

The only pleasure I got out of my visit was telling him I would have paid him £300 for it and seeing his bottom lip quiver!

 

 

Off topic but I grew up in Rochester and remember walking past a blue 125p most days. I would imagine it's long gone by now though

[tonedepear]

http://www.dealerplates.co.uk/

I'm sorry, dealerplates.co.uk has now closed.

 

FFS!

[cobblers]

I put a golf engine in my t25 on the weekend, and as such the throttle cable at (4.1 metres long) is about 40cm short. It's stiff enough as it is without bodging an extension on, so I thought I'd splash out on a super fancy teflon mega race spec cable that one of the T25 parts suppliers sell. A bit rich at £40 but hey ho. The stiff throttle has always bugged me, you have to almost completely take your foot off the pedal to get it to return.

 

Anyway, the bloke selling them seems like he's trying to be helpful, but doesn't seem to be getting the message.

 

 

Cobblers: Hi, I'd like to buy one of your fancy throttle cable kits please, for a Golf engine in my T25. Can I pay you over the phone or via paypal? and when can you post it? I need it ASAP.

Bloke: I'm sorry I have no idea about the VW inline 4 engines, can you send me a picture of the end of the throttle cable?

Cobblers:

Bloke: Oh, that's nothing like anything I've got. Will any of these do

Cobblers: Yeah, #3 would be OK

Bloke: I don't have any #3

Cobblers: Ok well it doesn't matter, none of them will fit perfectly but they'll all do the trick, just send me whatever you have most of and I'll make it work. How do I pay you? I need one ASAP.

Bloke: What about if you fitted #4 and drilled a hole here blah blah blah (something that wouldn't work at all)

Cobblers: That wouldn't really work because ........ but just send me any cable, don't worry about the end, I'll put my own on or whatever. It doesn't need to look perfect or anything so long as it works.

Bloke: What about fitting xx and doing xxx abd blah blah blah

Cobblers: I'm sure I'll work something out when I've got the cable in front of me, I don't mind having to bodge it a bit - I just need some sort of throttle cable so I can get the van back on the road

 

 

AARGH!

 

It's taken two days to get to this stage, and I'm still waiting for a reply. I'm waiting on this cable to get my daily driver back on the road! How can I be clearer than "just send me whatever you have most of and I'll make it work. How do I pay you? I need one ASAP"

[RedSparrow]

I get ya. There was a little local hardware store near where I used to work. I like to support a small business and they had a good selection and decent prices, but I would dread going to the counter to buy something in case of the dreaded 'What are you going to use it for?' question. NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS - DO YOU WANT TO SELL ME SOMETHING OR NOT?!

[scaryoldcortina]

^ I would have been tempted to go in and buy duct tape, cable ties, some easy start, a large pair of rubber gloves and a set of jump leads just to see if they asked....

[autofive]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RkbVpGx ... ature=plcp

 

dead autobox? or exhaust/prop/diff damage?

 

either way it's looking like RIP granada

[scaryoldcortina]

If it still drives it probably isn't as serious as it sounds. Bring it over tomorrow so I can laugh (I mean look) at it....

 

 

Worst case, don't you still have a v6 type 9 and a flywheel kicking around? I found a mk3 gran manual pedal box yesterday...

[autofive]

If it still drives it probably isn't as serious as it sounds. Bring it over tomorrow so I can laugh (I mean look) at it....

 

 

Worst case, don't you still have a v6 type 9 and a flywheel kicking around? I found a mk3 gran manual pedal box yesterday...

ooooohh interesting

 

 

I might have to get an orange 4x4 replacement, if the box is dead

[scaryoldcortina]

Help yourself, I have plenty of XR spares too. Someone has to buy them

[SambaS]

Stuck bolts PISS ME OFF! Three days it has taken to remove one bolt from my Samba's bottom arm. Any way. Back on track now!

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

http://www.dealerplates.co.uk/

I'm sorry, dealerplates.co.uk has now closed.

 

FFS!

 

Bugger. Does anyone else trading even acknowledge the existence of the wider pre-2001 font?

[tonedepear]

Classic ebay scrote. Am sat outside some blokes gaff, cos he told me to come at 3. Is he answering the door, or his phone? Is he fuck.

[meggersdog]

 

dead autobox? or exhaust/prop/diff damage?

 

either way it's looking like RIP granada

 

Take the starter off and have a look at the flex-plate that the torque converter bolts to.Sounds like it's cracked to me.

[sporty-shite]

Now I don't what there tone is BUT... Its entirely possible that they think they might be able to help you out with complimentary products to the ones you are buying.

Or they're wearing of people coming back and saying "I bought these cable ties from you and used them to hold up a wall of my house and it fell down. I want a refund for my cable ties and you to pay for a new wall."

 

 

This. A couple who live across from me own the local DIY shop. The lady of the partnership was on the counter one Sunday morning, when a guy came in who'd knocked part of a wall down in his house. This had left a small trench where the wall once stood, probably about 20mm deep. He wanted something to fill it in, but just came in, bought the biggest pot of filler in the shop, paid and left. About 15 minutes later, he came back and bought another. On his third visit, Yvonne asked him what he was doing, because it was odd to go through so much filler in such a short time. He explained, and she recommended he bought sand and cement, as it would be bith easier and cheaper,not to mention the proper material for the job.

 

He said no. He obviously wasn't being told by a woman that he was doing the job wrong! So, she sold him yet more filler. On his next visit (within minutes, for yet more filler) the husband was now at the counter. Asked him what he was doing. Bloke toldhim. Dave replies, you need sand and cement for that, pal. Then, he bought sand and cement!

 

Daft thing was, Yvonne could have sold him a pallet load of filler, and he wouldn't have thought twice.

[scaryoldcortina]

 

dead autobox? or exhaust/prop/diff damage?

 

either way it's looking like RIP granada

 

Take the starter off and have a look at the flex-plate that the torque converter bolts to.Sounds like it's cracked to me.

 

 

It wasn't that. I'll let A5 explain though.

[tonedepear]

 

dead autobox? or exhaust/prop/diff damage?

 

either way it's looking like RIP granada

 

Take the starter off and have a look at the flex-plate that the torque converter bolts to.Sounds like it's cracked to me.

 

 

It wasn't that. I'll let A5 explain though.

 

Did it go on fire?

[wuvvum]

Some of you may remember that a mate had an accident in one of my cars at Easter and turned out not to be insured to drive it. I recently had a claim form in from my insurance company; I sent them an email querying it as the covering letter seemed to imply that they thought I was the driver. I had a message from them this afternoon saying that I would need to send them details of the driver's insurers and they would forward the claim on to them (I'm not clear at this point whether the third party is pursuing a claim or whether the form has just been sent out as a result of a police report - by the time I picked up the message their office had closed for the day.

 

So I've now got to ring them up tomorrow and essentially explain to them that I lent my car to an uninsured driver, which is going to make me look a right twat. My paranoid mind is now worrying about two things: 1) is this going to affect my chances of being able to renew my trader's policy next month and 2) if the third party is trying to pursue a claim, will they be able to come after me personally. Just what I needed - more stress.

[scaryoldcortina]

 

It wasn't that. I'll let A5 explain though.

 

Did it go on fire?

 

No, but I did laugh at it

[Cavcraft]

Classic ebay scrote. Am sat outside some blokes gaff, cos he told me to come at 3. Is he answering the door, or his phone? Is he fuck.

 

Did you get any joy? I'm just wondering if either someone made him another (or better) offer or if the bidding's increased and he's being a shit house.

[tonedepear]

Classic ebay scrote. Am sat outside some blokes gaff, cos he told me to come at 3. Is he answering the door, or his phone? Is he fuck.

 

Did you get any joy? I'm just wondering if either someone made him another (or better) offer or if the bidding's increased and he's being a shit house.

 

I did. Three of them rolled up at 25 past in two cars. Pleasant enough bloke, didn't apologise, of course, but exchanged my money for his goods. I was happy enough not to have been stabbed or shot in the time I was waiting tbh!

[Craig the Princess]

Classic ebay scrote. Am sat outside some blokes gaff, cos he told me to come at 3. Is he answering the door, or his phone? Is he fuck.

 

Did you get any joy? I'm just wondering if either someone made him another (or better) offer or if the bidding's increased and he's being a shit house.

 

I did. Three of them rolled up at 25 past in two cars. Pleasant enough bloke, didn't apologise, of course, but exchanged my money for his goods. I was happy enough not to have been stabbed or shot in the time I was waiting tbh!

 

I'm confused? He said turn up at 3 and he was there half-an hour early?