THE GUBBERMINT ALWAYS KNOWS BEST

[Shep Shepherd]

Was it more than £20?

 

Including P&P, yes. The economics of older Volvo ownership are all over the place.

 

Ouch.

 

Needs must, I'm afraid. The fact that I have no reliable way of recording the car's mileage and trip distance is driving me mad, especially as my cla$$ic insurance policy limits me to 3,000 miles a year; using basic Shepmaths, I have calculated that the car has travelled a smidgen under 200,000 miles so far, so when I get the odometer working, it will be set to that mileage.

[RoadworkUK]

So, I've decided that my career has been one of almost total underachievement and that I desperately need to sort things out.

 

After Uni I decided that earning some cash would be a good idea, so I started selling cars. That turned out to be a bad idea. It's now 5 years on and I realise that my degree has got me nowhere, and worse still, technology has moved inexorably onwards since graduation.

 

My degree was in Transport Design, or "Colouring In" as my mates mock it. Basically I do (did) pretty pictures of cars. It's all I ever wanted to do. I've always dreamt of having a career based around something I actually had a talent for, something special to me. Of course, actually becoming a car designer was never extra-likely, but, had I put the effort in, maybe I could have ended up getting paid to design something.

 

The one thing that I just know will hold me up is that I have absolutely no CAD skill whatsoever, apart from Photoshop, which doesn't really count. So my new evening project is going to be teaching myself to use 3D Studio Max to create concept vehicle renderings. But you can't really start with a blank screen and just sketch something (well, you can if you're intensely skilled, but not if you're wet behind the ears like me) so I needed something on paper to aim for.

 

I had agreed to work on Saturday to cover the receptionist. Rather than get totally bored I got myself a sheet of A4 and a biro, and started sketching. I wanted to put something together which could be put together easily as a first project with 3D Studio Max, so it needed to be constructed out of geometric shapes and have as few curves as possible. So some kind of SUV, 4x4 would be ideal.

 

 

This was what I came up with. A bit rough and ready and not the most attractive vehicle in the world but challenging enough to for me to get stuck into. I was actually reasonably pleased with it since I haven't wielded a pen in anger for a few years. First step will be to photoshop it up into some kind of rendering, then, when I pluck up the courage I'll get the old 3D Studio Max Bible dusted off and see if I can 3D model it.

 

So I really ought to leave the internet alone for a while and concentrate a bit, which will be hard.

 

And I've just opened an account on RR. Probably not a good idea.

[Pillock]

You did that with a biro?

 

"sketching"?

 

Talented bastard

[RoadworkUK]

Talented bastard

 

...which must be why I was acting as cover for the receptionist!

[Craig the Princess]

 

Needs must, I'm afraid. The fact that I have no reliable way of recording the car's mileage and trip distance is driving me mad, especially as my cla$$ic insurance policy limits me to 3,000 miles a year; .

 

Is that not the ideal time to have a non-working odometer?

[Guest]

Pssst....! WataKnobbie, your "4th Eagle" has landed. I say, the "4th Eagle" has landed. That is all. Galahad out.

 

Oooh. Pics?

[The Moog]

which I'm struggling to find a DV to USB lead for so can't load owt to the PC from it at the moment,

 

it will probably need a firewire connection. USB isnt fast enough for a data transfer sothe cables wont work .. .

[John F]

Jag and BMW battery both went flat. Trusty Cavalier to the rescue on both occasions, there's nothing that car won't do.

 

Have been enjoying using all three cars recently, sort of playing their good/bad points off against each other. Out of the three just for everyday running round and whatnot I'd still chose the Cavalier.

It's not as comfortable (and far more basic) than the others (obviously) but I just love the way these things drive, you just know you'll get wherever you have to without any agro or without supping shit loads of fuel.

 

 

I'm 100% with you on that, Billy. I really miss my old '94 SRi hatchback.

[Rusty Pelican]

Took the Singer to Powderham car show on Saturday but had a bit of bother , A fire to be exact , just coming of the M5 and the interior disappeared in a cloud of smoke , shut it down instantly and shoved it on the grass verge , wrenched a few singed wires out , let the smoke clear and nervously turned the key , car ran but id no wipers , horn , indicators were erratic and main beam warning light was permanently on , got to the show and diagnosed an earth fault somewhere , bodged it so the wipers worked and got home ok, Had the dash out sunday and twas a right mess ,

Ive spent 15 hours rewiring it and traced the fault to the earth return on the horns

Fuckin lucky no-one was hurt and to still have a car left

 

Tail tail damage

 

 

Halfway through re-wire , what a bloody nightmare

 

[Lankytim]

Volvo 240 est arrived today on the back of a transit beavertail. Very pleased. Honeymoon period is over, now its time to spot all the dents and scratches I didnt notice when I first viewed it. I have already found a crunchy bit on the end of one sill!

 

Good news though. I bought very cheap as a non-runner, tried to start it and after a bit of misfiring it started up! Runs lovely .

[Angrydicky]

Took the Singer to Powderham car show on Saturday but had a bit of bother , A fire to be exact , just coming of the M5 and the interior disappeared in a cloud of smoke , shut it down instantly and shoved it on the grass verge , wrenched a few singed wires out , let the smoke clear and nervously turned the key , car ran but id no wipers , horn , indicators were erratic and main beam warning light was permanently on , got to the show and diagnosed an earth fault somewhere , bodged it so the wipers worked and got home ok, Had the dash out sunday and twas a right mess ,

Ive spent 15 hours rewiring it and traced the fault to the earth return on the horns

Fuckin lucky no-one was hurt and to still have a car left

 

 

 

That was very lucky indeed. Bloody lucky you spotted it before it became much worse, hope the rewiring goes ok.

[barefoot]

Originally looked a bit like this.

 

 

After 11 years, blew the bollocks out of it, now looks like this

 

 

the nice bloke Bruce at Supertrapp in the states supplied me with the following list of replacement bits

 

P/N 400-1140, core assembly (w/packing)…MSRP $156.50

P/N 404-6512, 12 pack of 4†discs………….. 40.00

P/N 406-3046, closed end cap………………. 21.10

P/N 404-7206, 6 pack screws………………… 15.50

 

At $232 I thought that enough was probably enough,

Turbo Thomas is currently engaged on building me a nice quiet silencer / muffler

 

pictures to follow

[tonedepear]

There's sommat in the end of it by the looks of that picture as well!

[Cavcraft]

BMW gone and another Kraut mobile taken as a chop-in. Goodbye 6 cylinders of adrenalin rush, hello VEG OIL FRENDLY, partially scene attacked VAG shit.

[sporty-shite]

hello VEG OIL FRENDLY, partially scene attacked VAG shit.

 

Shouldn't be too hard to punt on, then?

 

RAT LUK NOT BEETLE ROOFRACK PINEAPPLE OILDRUM WHITEWALL BIG TRAINERS CRAP HAIRCUT

[HillmanImp]

Took the Singer to Powderham car show on Saturday but had a bit of bother , A fire to be exact , just coming of the M5 and the interior disappeared in a cloud of smoke , shut it down instantly and shoved it on the grass verge , wrenched a few singed wires out , let the smoke clear and nervously turned the key , car ran but id no wipers , horn , indicators were erratic and main beam warning light was permanently on , got to the show and diagnosed an earth fault somewhere , bodged it so the wipers worked and got home ok, Had the dash out sunday and twas a right mess ,

Ive spent 15 hours rewiring it and traced the fault to the earth return on the horns

Fuckin lucky no-one was hurt and to still have a car left

 

And that is why I keep fire extinguishers in my old cars. Especially if I did the wiring.......

[Mr Lobster]

Lobster fleet news - Summary - Mojo very low, feel like selling up and buying a new Kia

 

SEAT has broken its gearbox. 1st, 2nd and reverse gears vanished this morning. Mechanic reckon its something broken inside the box. Deep joy.

 

I'm supposed to be taking the red R4 to France at the weekend, but partly because of the miserable weather forecast I really don't feel like I want to.

 

Deeply fed up with cars presently.

[Cavcraft]

hello VEG OIL FRENDLY, partially scene attacked VAG shit.

 

Shouldn't be too hard to punt on, then?

 

RAT LUK NOT BEETLE ROOFRACK PINEAPPLE OILDRUM WHITEWALL BIG TRAINERS CRAP HAIRCUT

 

 

Unfortunately though it's going to be a short-medium term keeper. Getting a bit fed up lobbing pez into (relatively) expensive to run cars so want to feel like I'm getting something back.

[Shep Shepherd]

Saw a mint-looking light metallic blue SD3-type Rover 216 Vanden Plas when I was driving out of the car park of my local Waitrose this afternoon, which is something I haven't seen for a very long time. Sadly, I couldn't stop to take a photo of it, but I'm sure that I'll see it again.

 

I did get a picture of The Volvo in the process of being detailed in the outer reaches of the car park, though:

 

 

Mer bumper and trim restorer is seriously good stuff

[MK5 Escort]

Bad news. My finances are becoming tighter with unexpected outgoings over the next six/seven months or so, so the Kangoo van is going to have to go sometime within the next few weeks. I had hopes of replacing the sills (or at least the driver’s side one) and bunging it through it's MOT in October before deciding whether to flog it on or turn it into a mini-camper of some sort. I've already got some interest in it, so it'll be easy enough to shift.

 

Oh well…

 

I'll definitely have to get myself another small, cheap van of some sort in the future though – it’s been really handy in the time I've had it.

 

Mer bumper and trim restorer is seriously good stuff

 

You can't beat fettling around tidying up grey/black bumpers! An embarrasing hobby of mine that goes back to childhood . I can't stand faded bumpers...!

[Rod/b]

The bloke i bought my old Rover from used to swear by peanut butter for shining up plastic bumpers. PHACT!

[mk1_4dr]

The bloke i bought my old Rover from used to swear by peanut butter for shining up plastic bumpers. PHACT!

 

Yeah, it works, but its damn messy (and thats using smooth, chunky is like thick T-cut).

 

Linseed oil or a heat gun for the win.

[Cavcraft]

Hey Mk5Escort, how much do you want for the Renner van?

 

In other news I turned down a Chevette saloon today because I couldn't afford the £500 asking price. Taxed/tested too, I just can't budge him on the money.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I've been down the DVLA office today with a wodge of papers and my chequebook. Now i'm sitting behind the front door with my mouth open waiting for a V5 and taxdisc to drop into it, so i can drive my Argenta! w00t!

[ProgRocker]

Not news as such but last night I dreamt I was driving a Lada Riva. I parked it in a car park next to 2 other Lada Rivas. Most odd.

[cobblers]

Golf running problem seems to have been fixed by me buggering about with the dizzy and coil. Unsure which fixed it , got a spare coil which I'm keeping in the car for when it plays up again.

 

I finally got paid for the work I did in october last year, so I've got it booked in at the "bloke in a garage behind some terraced houses who paints loads of cars and is unreliable but cheap and can do a good job if he feels like it".

 

He's putting the roof back to original metallic black (some pillock has painted it KANDY APPLE RED. Done a really good job, but it looks shit because the rest of the car is black). While he's got the paint out he's going to touch some lacquer peel in, a little bleb under the fuel cap, paint a spare (proper VW not shitty GSF) front bumper and sort out the mess someone made all over the front wing when they tried to stick an arch trim on, and have got filler, silicone sealant, araldite and tigerseal all over the place in.

 

All of these things I could comfortably do myself, but he only wants £180 to do the lot. I'd probably end up spending £100 on materials because I'd have to buy a stack of DA pads and 4.5 litres more thinners than I need, etc.

 

After a set of poly bushes, new ball joints, track rod ends, tyres and the tracking done it's still a proper handful to keep in a straight line when accelerating hard on uneven surfaces. I think I'm probably pissing in the wind.

[myglaren]

Working in Sunderland over the weekend, took the lady of the house to collect her car from the MOT place before they closed at 5pm on Saturday, dropped her and drove off then thought that if it wasn't ready she had three miles to walk home and is disabled, stopped the car and went back to check.

 

No sign of her car (a gray one ) but on the lift a gleaming DB8 that the garage fella said was theirs, ranged along the back wall was a Maserati GranTurismo, a very posh looking sporty BMW, possibly a 6 series coupé, a Porsche 911Carrera 4 and then five more covered sports cars that had more Porsches among them.

Otherwise the garage was empty. Just a hole in the wall place from outside.

 

Her rusty Almera was out the back.

[Tayne]

What's a DB8?

[Cavcraft]

 

Anyone got any spare used chip fat?

[cobblers]

 

Anyone got any spare used chip fat?

 

My mate has about 20 gallons of used engine oil, thinners and stale petrol. Are you feeling lucky?