The grumpy thread

[vulgalour]

Steep concrete drive + water on said drive from flatting back paint + work shoes with zero tread = sliding elbow tackle to the drive. The pain was massively disproportionate to the injury.

[Peter Griffin]Sssss.... aaaahh[/Peter Griffin]

[trigger]

I was just reading about this on the BSC site, this freshly restored stunning GXL burnt out recently after a pipe into the carb blew out and poured petrol over the engine, just like my Kadett did last year on the A14, It's very sobering to think how easily this can happen to old cars.

 

 

 

 

[Negative Creep]

Credit card companies who twice tell you on the phone what ID they will accept, then twice send it back saying they won't accept it. Then again, this wouldn't be a problem if my home phone company provided paper statements.

 

Also, my Wii has been off for repair for nearly a month. Initially I was impressed how they would keep you updated by text, but they soon dried up. Now it's "awaiting parts" and they can't give a date when it will be fixed.

[willswitchengage]

Also, my Wii has been off for repair for nearly a month. Initially I was impressed how they would keep you updated by text, but they soon dried up. Now it's "awaiting parts" and they can't give a date when it will be fixed.

 

That's a bit crap, my brother's xbox 360 took only two weeks to go to Germany and back for repair.

[AnthonyG]

Shame about that Cortina, goes to show how a fully functional fire extinguisher is just as essential as an RAC card with a classic.

 

Happens to moderns as well, last week's Watchdog was taking about an Insignia that had self-immolated to a suspected power steering fluid pipe breaking and dripping fluid to onto a particularly hot part of the diesel exhaust. Driver didn't realise it until someone pulled alongside and said smoke was coming out of his engine. End result looked similar to the Cortina.

[AnthonyG]

Shame about that Cortina, goes to show how a fully functional fire extinguisher is just as essential as an RAC card with a classic.

 

Happens to moderns as well, last week's Watchdog was talking about an Insignia that had self-immolated due to a suspected power steering fluid pipe breaking and dripping fluid to onto a particularly hot part of the diesel exhaust. Driver didn't realise it until someone pulled alongside and said smoke was coming out of his engine. End result looked similar to the Cortina.

[Pete-M]

Happened to me in 1989...

 

 

If a fuel pipe lets go, shit like this happens.

[retrogeezer]

Aren't most of those small car extinguishers about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike? They also say don't open the bonnet IIRC.

 

If you have an engine fire best to just get anything you can out of the car and stand back I think.

[tonedepear]

30 mins on hold on the phone to Barclaycard before they answered, and when they did I managed to drop my phone in the excitement and the bloody screen cracked. It still works, but I'm completely annoyed, and it'd cost a good many hundred quids to replace. And I use it all the time. Fuggit.

[trigger]

I bought a fire extinguisher after the incident last year with mine but my dad was telling me how he saw one go up a couple of years ago and the small extinguisher was about as much use as a wet fart.

[MrDuke]

IIRC they're not allowed to produce 'proper' vehicle fire extinguishers anymore. The really effective ones used Halon(?) gas, which went straight to the source of the fire and suffocated it rapidly, especially if there was under-bonnet 'plumbing' attached to the cylinder, however the manufacturing process for these was killing too many planetz and stopped a number of years ago. So yeah, you're best off grabbing whatever you can and watching it go up through a film of tears.

[autofive]

quote from BSC: Yes i am devastatated as is Denis the new owner

 

sounds it recently changed hands too

 

the fuel pipe problem with most weber carbs can be solved by drilling and adding a dowel, so the brass pipe can not detach from the alli. carb body.

 

I'm gutted for him, and those D1s that might be warped

[scaryoldcortina]

That's the same colour and spec as my mk3 k reg that got burned. That was a grudge bearing numpty with a petrol can rather than a carb fault though.

[DSdriver]

Was the Cortina a Ford V4 engine? with the carb in the middle of the vee? so that if there is a fuel leak the vee fills up with petrol? whoomph?

 

I had that in a Corsair a while back. First I knew about it was when the paint on the bonnet started blistering and turning brown. Hit the foot brake which just plummeted to the floor though strangely worked again when we towed the car home. I had to pull desperately on the handbrake which was one of those umbrella handle under the dash efforts.

I eventually rolled to a stop just before a main intersection on the North Circular Road. A helpful chap came running up with a fire extinguisher, turned it upside down and thumped it to set it off and eff all happened. Superstar that he was, he ran back and got another one which we fired through a slightly opened bonnet so not a total loss - just an insurance write off. That was my first experience of insurance companies being "not on our side".

The fire extinguisher chap said the car looked really spectacular coming down the road with flames gushing out all over the place.

 

edited for bad spelling

[ashmicro]

30 mins on hold on the phone to Barclaycard before they answered, and when they did I managed to drop my phone in the excitement and the bloody screen cracked. It still works, but I'm completely annoyed, and it'd cost a good many hundred quids to replace. And I use it all the time. Fuggit.

 

Screens for most phones can be had off eGay for less than a score. I bust the screen on my BlackBerry Storm 2 (touch) and a new proper BlackBerry screen was only 16 quid. It even came with 2 wee torx screwdrivers to do the job. Instructions on the interwebs aplenty, including videos.

[dollywobbler]

Was the Cortina a Ford V4 engine?

 

Nope, but stray petrol is a killer regardless. The Scimitars do have a Vee engine and they were good at popping the fuel line off and going flambée. Mine had two jubilee clips on the fuel feed pipe.

[Craig the Princess]

After watching seasons 1 and 2 of Justified on 5 USA I checked online and found they didn't have season 3 and no-one in the K is broadcasting it. I today find out 5 USA do have season 3 and are up to episode 8. I'll have to catch up on shonky torrent sites

 

EDIT: It is on 5 on demand so I can catch up, still

[ashmicro]

CSI:Miami has been axed. BOO!

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Good! It was shite!

[willswitchengage]

The selfish woman who parked on the double red lines outside our local hospital earlier just so she could be closest to the reception. As a result the bus behind couldn't get past, and neither could the 15 other cars behind. Just as she drove off five minutes later to the disgusted looks of all the smokers are loiterers outside, another car swiftly pulled up and parked at the same point.

 

Tbf I imagine none of this wouldn't happen if it was actually enforced that the taxi rank/drop-off area wasn't long stay parking.

[dollywobbler]

Rural living fail. Need a 35mm socket for the BX. Nowhere has one. Back to the internet again I guess! Wouldn't mind but I've just wasted an hour trying to find one. I even went to Halfords.

[messerschmitt owner]

have you tried Countrywide Stores - or a tractor place - either would have a 35mm socket (or in the case of countrywide a socket set of those kinds of sizes!)

[dollywobbler]

I did try agricultural places. One had nothing larger than 32mm. Are tractors shrinking? Have ordered one on-line. I'm just going to have to wait. Again.

[messerschmitt owner]

I did try agricultural places. One had nothing larger than 32mm. Are tractors shrinking? Have ordered one on-line. I'm just going to have to wait. Again.

I got a 35mm from machine mart for the XM hub nuts! If you were closer, etc!

 

You will probably also need a huge breaker bar too!

[nigel bickle]

Plenty on Ebay. Try Peugeot J7 hub nuts. And yes- you're gonna need a breaker bar & scaffold pole..

 

Good luck

[dollywobbler]

Thanks Nigel. I was amused (but only slightly) to see that the 35mm hub nut size is shared only with the Xantia, XM and Peugeot J7! Nice work PSA! I'd better dig out my scaffold pole...

[Lankytim]

I'm well behind with work needed to get the Allegro back on the road, was planning to do some this weekend but thanks to certain friends inviting themselves round for the weekend it's all been cancelled. Wife has asked if I can book a day off work to do some work instead. Fuck 'em all .

[dollywobbler]

Simply arrange a 'tinkering and drinking' party. Sorted! Don't blame me if it all goes a bit haywire though...

[Lankytim]

Said freinds hate cars. No. I'm in for a shit weekend, may as well face the facts.

 

Dad wanted to come round to visit too, had to say no because of these fucking "friends".

[vulgalour]

Austin Princess exhausts, particularly access and fixing them.