THE GUBBERMINT ALWAYS KNOWS BEST

[dollywobbler]

Um, thanks - I think!

[oldford]

I'm doing the lower arm bushes on the Sierra tomorrow. Luckily I'll have the luxury of a 2 post lift, some air tools and a hydraulic press.

 

Trigger, if you're in the vicinity of where I work tomorrow morning, pop in for a cuppa.

[tonedepear]

Unbelievably the gImpian won a full year's MOT today. After I fixed the washer pump and dodgy air bag light I thought I'd best stick it in for a ticket before anything else broke, bit I never expected it to actually pass. Hooplah.

 

Another victory for MOTMax! In your face VOSA!

[trigger]

Trigger, if you're in the vicinity of where I work tomorrow morning, pop in for a cuppa.

 

I'd love too John but i have 101 things to do tomorrow inculding getting my anti roll bar bushes changed on the Bora at my dads and showing off in my new car which i collected tonight.

 

There's something very strange about watching Smokey and the Bandit of the back seat of your car on two TV screens...

[pogweasel]

 

There's something very strange about watching Cock Smoking & the Bum Bandit of the back seat of your car on two TV screens...

[Mr Lobster]

Yeh, them in car DVDs must be GR9 for getting 'warmed up' before a bout of dogging. Or so I would imagine.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Got my cavalier booked in for an MOT tomorrow at 8am!!! I was gonna go down the garage and stick the A frame on tonight, but i've drinked 2 many beerz! So I will have to get up at 6.30 or something ridiculous.

[pogweasel]

Great work, Bo1. Beer is for winners.

[Pillock]

Beer is also for losers, but turns them into winners.

[Pillock]

Oh yeah. News 24.

 

BMW quiet-aux-drive-belt-situation was short lived as the replacement idler pulley lunched itself, seized solid and threw the belt off. Luckily it was low speed so I noticed the alternator light on, felt the steering go heavy so stopped and rescued the belt from being the fan's dinner.

 

I'd chucked the old, noisy pulley in the boot instead of throwing it away, thankfully, so I swapped it back over but the motor factors have to send it off "for tests" so I've had to shell out for another new one and wait for a refund. I can picture some CSI-style lab dissecting a pulley and telling me what it had for dinner.

 

Maybe paying £14 instead of £36 for a dealer part was false economy. I'll try one more.....

[pogweasel]

Surprised dealers were moar tbh.

Just ordered new clutch gubbins for mine, three quid less from Specialist Cars than euro car twerps. Mental.

[dollywobbler]

Sorry for the disappointment KruJoe but quite unexpectedly, I've sold two cars in one evening! Landy sold on Ebay, BX sold to a mate of mine who's carless and doesn't want to be.

 

So, that leaves me with a completely unknown Reliant and the 2CV as my 'modern.' Ace.

[autofive]

Fitted fresh plugs to the pinto Cortina today, now running on four pots all the time, and starts first time

 

added plug leads to the 2.8 Cortina (borrowed them for my Scimitar last summer), drop of petrol down the carb and a borrowed battery and the cologne fired up on 6 pots and sounded good, no smoke no tappet noise. the bodywork hasnt faired too well in the 12 months or so its been parkd up. i might have to break it unless I get a cash injection this summer

 

still cant find my NOS clutch slave cylinder so i can get the Scimitar back on the road, too many spares, too many sheds, not enough organisation skills

[KruJoe]

Sorry for the disappointment KruJoe but ...the BX sold to a mate of mine who's carless and doesn't want to be.

Never mind, congrats on the two sales anyway. If matey decides he doesn't like it, or fancies something else, let us know.

[greengartside]

Had the Carina E a week now and thoroughly chuffed with it, apart from the incident on Tuesday night...

 

I won a good secondhand rad from a 2.0 off ebay for 40 notes and will fit this when I get it. Also popped up the scrappys and got a million and one trim clips and screws that were missing from the car plus a set of genuine Toyota headlamp protectors for a tenner!

 

I also saw a driver's side wing in exactly my colour for £40..so I may cancel my claim on the insurance and bosh another wing on myself. Haven't heard from the other guy's insurance yet....

[Pillock]

BMW noisy tensioner? Pah.

Picked the new one up from the motor factors today.... luckily aimed to fit it in the carpark, since it's literally a two minute job. Totally wrong part in box, right part number on outside but they've sent the tensioner pulley, not the deflection one. BASTARD. Won't come till Monday now.

[Cavcraft]

Keeping it German I have to 'fess I actually really like the E46. Have spent a few enjoyable days razzing round in it and got used to it now. It doesn't half go when you welly it and even the fussiest git in the world (aka the fuhrer) likes it.

The flip side is the fuel economy which is (unsurprisingly) considerably shitter than the Passat diesel I had before it and may be the key to me offloading it sooner than planned.

 

Oh well, junior is after a car now and a couple of right old shitters have popped up locally for sale. Just waiting to hear back from one of them before we whang down for a looksee.

[trigger]

I know quite a few of you have already seen my latest purchuse on facebook.

 

I collected my "new" Mondeo ST TDCi on Friday and have already clocked up over 200 miles in the last day!, Of course it's not shite and it should be frowned upon but it's the first proper nice car's I've ever owned so ner!

 

I really can't fault it yet, It cruises along so well, at 75 mph in 6th your only doing 1900 rpm, and for a diesel it's really quiet.

 

And above all, It's not a Volkswagen

 

2005 Ford Mondeo ST 2.2 TDCi by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

 

2005 Ford Mondeo ST 2.2 TDCi by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

 

2005 Ford Mondeo ST 2.2 TDCi by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

[Negative Creep]

Always thought that shape Mondeo is a really smart looking car

[Cavcraft]

Got some ace (shite related) news on a new purchase. It involves eBaY, txt msgs and a right bloody bargain. Just off to Halfrauds, more later...

[boobydoo]

Had planned to travel up to Walton near Manchester today , to pick up a recently purchased ,low mileage , one lady owner piece of eighties tat. Was really looking forward to the trip...early start...brekkie on the way....driving the old chod all the way back to Hertfordshire.

 

But had to abort the mission due to work commitments. Whats the betting it'll piss down with rain when I re-schedule!

[Futuramic]

Hooray! My Suzuki GP100 lives! Again!

 

I went and got some petrol, put it in and kicked the starter. She fired up without too much effort. Even the carging circuit works. Now all I have to do is fix the ignition timing and get an MOT.

 

I did get some funny looks on the walk back from the filling station. A young man in decrepit trackies carrying a petrol can tends to upset elderly types.

[greengartside]

Weather today was cold but not raining so decided to clay bar and wax up the Carina E. Also did the wheels with proper wheel cleaner which took years of muck off them.

 

 

Still no word on the insurance situation, the guy who hit me is not answering his phone so I'll be ringing his insurance company tomorrow and may well get the old bill involved too. I'm fed up with this now.

[retrogeezer]

thats looking great!

[wuvvum]

Last night I put the carburettor off the CZ back together, having had it laying on a bit of newspaper in the dining room since October. I charged the battery overnight, refitted the carb this morning (using Hermetite as the gasket looked a bit fooked), and after a quick application of 800 grit to the points I turned on the petrol and kicked it over - to my amazement it burst into life after about a dozen kicks. I didn't get any further with it as it was too bloody cold today, but at least the beast lives.

[mk2_craig]

I have just rewound 25 years with my latest ICE acquisition, but it is still an upgrade on what was fitted to the XR2 when new in 1984:

 

 

Sounds shite like.

[trigger]

That's the same stereo that's fitted to my Escort, It doesn't sound to bad for a 23 years old tape player.

[oldford]

Bloody suspension bushes, what a pain it is getting the roll bar in the last lower arm and getting it bolted up. It was worth it, as the car drives noticeably better.

 

Talking of old Ford radios, I've got this in mine:

 

[mk2_craig]

Smart, I've always wanted one of those Ford 'twin-DIN' setups, or the later one with the separate CD player, however to fit them in a high-spec mk2 Fiesta you need one of these from a (low-spec) Festival special edition:

 

 

which then sits under here

 

 

Unfortunately said centre consoles aren't exactly thick on the ground so I'll have to live without for now

[dollywobbler]

Seem to recall the standard stereo in my Dad's Sierra LX had a lovely bassy sound. Much better than the one fitted to his facelift Montego that preceded it.