THE GUBBERMINT ALWAYS KNOWS BEST

[worldofceri]

Done a bit of grovelling around cars this week for the first time in ages.

 

First up Mrs.Ceri's Scenic which has had a hole in the n/s headlamp for a while now. Looks like someone's shot it with a pellet gun or summert.

 

 

New one was only a tenner off Ebay but I was a bit miffed to find it had an undisclosed crack in it. Never mind, it went on easily enough. Last time I changed a headlamp - on a '97 Accord - I seem to remember I had to get it up on ramps and remove the bumper and sundry other bits.

 

Next up the Volvo which has a bent bumper due to some OMGAccidentalDriftingGrazingTheArmco action at the Nuerburgring last October.

 

 

 

Having not invested in any new parts I could do little more than take it to pieces and put it back together again after a half-arsed attempt to hammer the internal cross-member back into shape. Time taken: about 3 hours. Approximate percentage improvement: 3%.

 

 

 

As it was now dark I decided to have a look at the Beetle which I haven't touched for months since spending a load of money getting half a new floor-plan welded in.

 

 

Plan is to splash some Hammerite around and then put it back together. But how to get the front wing off? Messrs Haynes say "pull the wires and grommets through the holes in the wing..." No mention of the connector for the headlamp being bigger than the hole it's supposed to pass through.

 

 

So, butcher the wing or snip the wires?

 

 

After careful deliberation, I chose wires. Yay! Rusty metal be free! Time to get my paintbrush out!

 

.

[dollywobbler]

Is that a scotchlock? Pretty sure Mr Haynes wouldn't have encountered those when stripping the Beetle!

[worldofceri]

No, it's the original Hella fitting. Albeit covered in blue paint from a previous cheap blow-over.

[messerschmitt owner]

Is that a scotchlock? Pretty sure Mr Haynes wouldn't have encountered those when stripping the Beetle!

Mr Haynes wouldn't have bothered. He'd have taken a generic photo of some other car and used it in every manual since, then written some woolly cobblers that roughly tells you how to do the job, without ever actually doing it on the car the manual is about, thereby missing out a specific part of the job that only applies to the car you have part dismantled and now cannot put back together until you have a specific special tool that Mr Haynes forgot to tell you that you might need.

 

Mr Haynes, you're a lazy fuckwit!

 

 

Oh, should this be in the Grump section?

[Mr Lobster]

Newest vehicle in the fleet being troublesome again

 

Start engine.

 

Engage gear.

 

Release handbrake.

 

Start to drive off.

 

*Clunk*

 

*Grind Grind Grind*

 

Engine mounting on o/s snapped, cambelt cover now grinding happily away on pulley, belt wearing dramatically on edge Thats that off the road til garage get a new mount next week. I'm preparing myself for extensive open wallet surgery.

[oldford]

My car had a thorough MOT test yesterday. It was quality controlled, where the quality controller tester assesses the test methods and standards of another tester.

 

I was hoping that it would get a completely clean sheet, without any advisories. I thought that I had taken every possible step to acheive it this year, the bollocking bloody track control arm bushes are moving, I replaced them 18 months ago. Could have been worse as the tester was going to fail them, but took the pass and advise option from the quality controller.

 

Ah well at least that's over for another month, until it's due again.

[Vin]

But he does make exceedingly small cakes.

 

EFA

[trigger]

Ah well at least that's over for another month, until it's due again.

 

Another month?, It's rare to hear of a 20 year old Ford just fail on a TCA bush, You should be pleased!

[skattrd]

Aaaargghhh ... The fucking clutch has just gone in the Saab, pretty sure its the slave cylinder, as soon as thats fixed its up for sale. I was supposed to be getting the final bits done on the Alpine this weekend for the MOT.... More delays

 

I really shouldn't but I'm going to look at a Thema Turbo tomorrow

[Cavcraft]

Skattrd: Is that the one with the slave cylinder in the gearbox ala Vauxhall Vectra?

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

Wank slave.

[Cavcraft]

How much an hour do you get for that?

[Richard]

Can you access the Vectra slave without removing the gearbox? You can in the "classic" 900, it takes about an hour.

[scaryoldcortina]

Can you access the Vectra slave without removing the gearbox? You can in the "classic" 900, it takes about an hour.

 

No, it's concentric on the input shaft and has the release bearing built into it, so gearbox out to change. Also, getting the gearbox out on a vectra means removing/lowering the front subframe. It takes all day, and you need help lifting/pushing/swearing at it.

[skattrd]

Its a classic Saab 900, not vectra type. I didn't look at it this morning, but think the slave cylinder is next to the bulkhead behind the pedal .... I've just abandoned the car at the garage and asked him to fix it as I want it fixed and sold so I can buy something else. The Saab's just not me.

 

On the plus side the std Avanzato's back on the road. It now just needs a bit of a service, which I'll try and do one evening after work this week.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Slave cyl is a piec of cake to do on those clasic 900's, almost no dismantling required.

[rml2345]

Bought a diesel Rover 75 yesterday, so the Volvo will be moving on... Hopefully to a fellow shitter! Would love to have sorted it all out, but a lack of space/time/skills/favours have conspired against me this time. On the plus side, the 75 is rather nice.

[fiatdaft]

just bought a newer style 51 plate audi a4 1.8 t quattro se today,posh shite?

[trigger]

This afternoon i went and took this for a test drive.

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/04-04-Skoda-Octav ... 519780ac05

 

A bit flashy i know for autoshite but it ticks all the boxes for what I'm after, I was very impressed with it, It's very comfy, quiet, smooth and very roomy inside with a massive boot.

 

I was hoping to trade in both my Micra and the Bora in for it but the garage doesn't want them as they are a Ford specialists and only offered silly money for them.

 

I've now got to try and sell them both privately and hope the car is still for sale by the time they have (or if) sold.

 

On the plus side my dad said that if i sell the Micra he'd lend me the extra money until i sell the Bora, the garage said he's let it go for £4750 but I'll try for £4500 if i can, Anyone want a Bora or a Micra?!

[dollywobbler]

Why do you want a modern Skoda? You've got the Escort now! Sell all of this modern nonesense, buy some cassette taps and LIVE THE SHITE DREAM!

 

EDIT - if you're selling the Bora because it's boring, I can't see that another VAG diesel is going to do anything different.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

How many miles a year do you cover in the main car, is a diesel necessary?

 

Imagine all the shite you could buy with £5k.

[skattrd]

No pics of my afternoon test drive, but it was a series 3 Lancia Thema Turbo. A few cosmetic niggles, but no major rust, even after 182k ... it is however on a recon bottom end and replacement cams. Nice car, has all the toys (inc digital climate) and more surprisingly they all still work. It pulls well (does 60 easily and quickly in 2nd) has decent handling for a car that size, but nothing about it really grabbed me.

It ticks all the boxes, but I'm unsure .....

[trigger]

How many miles a year do you cover in the main car, is a diesel necessary?

 

Imagine all the shite you could buy with £5k.

 

I agree £5k does buy a lot of shite but I already have £5k of cars (if i don't include the Opel), I'm just thinning them down to one cars instead of two.

 

I've been running diesels for years, we don't do a huge about of miles, maybe 5k in her's and 15k in mine (not a lot i know). The Escort will be used for work and just as a second car so that won't do much more then 3k a year i guess where as the other car would do a lot more, I also get "cheap" diesel every so often so being a diesel is quite important.

 

I want something which will be reliable and safe for the wife (and a child if we get lucky again), Hannah's not been keen in the Micra after the pile up we had, it frighten her as it's a small car hence why she wants a Passat/Mondeo/Octavia size car.

[trigger]

I helped my mate move last Saturday and whilst i was there i had to move their 51 plate Mini Cooper, it was making a right racket as i moved it, a whirring noise from the gearbox, i asked them about it and his girlfriend (who's car it is) said it's been like that for a few weeks now, I told them to get it looked at ASAP as it sounds like the gearbox, it don't sound right for the CV joint to me.

 

My mates just rang me, it turned out it was the gearbox which has gone, the garage has quoted £1300 to fit a new one!, They have only had it 9 months after buying it from a garage for £5000, It's only covered 65000 miles as well, The steering rack (which is another common fault) packed up a month after they bought and had it replaced under warranty but sadly the warranty is now out.

 

It seems the gearbox going on them is a common problem, I told him to fill it up with sawdust and px it on!, The moral of the story is never to buy a BMW Mini!

[dollywobbler]

I want something which will be reliable and safe for the wife (and a child if we get lucky again), Hannah's not been keen in the Micra after the pile up we had, it frighten her as it's a small car hence why she wants a Passat/Mondeo/Octavia size car.

 

That I understand, but don't the Bora and Octavia share the same platform? Just seems a good way to lose a few more thousand on depreciation. I don't query the need for diesel - I personally don't understand why anyone would opt for a four-cylinder petrol if there's a diesel option - just wonder if the Skoda is actually going to deliver any benefit over the Bora.

[trigger]

It's newer, done less miles and i haven't really gelled to the Bora like i had my old Passat.

 

The Skoda is much nicer all round, has a bigger, quieter engine, bigger boot, a hatchback (which is a big reason I'm after it), It's the newer shape Octavia so it seems better put together compaired to the Bora and has better rear leg room, the Bora rear leg room is dire for it's size, Hannah's nan struggles to get in the back of it.

 

Ok, It's a bit dull to drive but i have my Escort and Opel if i want to enjoy myself.

[dollywobbler]

Furry nuff. They're certainly rated by most folk.

[Pete-M]

I rate 'em, nowhere near as good as a Superb, but they're good.

 

Party trick in the diesel ones, take the ashtray (and surround) out and the engine volume level goes up by about 1000000000000000000db.

[trigger]

I wondered what your verdict was on them Pete as i know you get to drive a few off them, I have a horrible feeling this one will be sold before i get my other cars sold though, and it's the cheapest/best spec one in about 100 miles radius.

[Pete-M]

If you can find a non-taxi Superb for sensible money, that's the better car.

 

Very like the Passat, but roomier, better ride, better handling and much less snotty dealers.

 

Slightly cheaper plastics, but like that's a problem in the real world.