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THE GUBBERMINT ALWAYS KNOWS BEST


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I went to Nottingham this morning to see Akku (sadly not of this parish) and pick up an LPG kit which has no fitting instructions, parts list or diagrams. The whole thing whiffs slightly of gas though, which is a good thing.

 

Yesterday I checked the oil, water, brake fluid, gearbox oil and diff oil on the Ginetta, the replacement axle I put on a couple of weeks ago seems to be in good shape with no leaks. The 2 litre Pinto barely uses or burns a drop of oil but I'm not convinced the heater is bled properly yet.

 

Filled the tank with petrol and up the M1 I went, had a very pleasant chat with Alistair, loaded some stuff into my car and zipped back home. 170 miles this morning at 40mpg. I'm quite pleased with that.

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I know it's not the Autoshite way, but I can safely say that Meguiars Trim Detailer is the best stuff I've used in 20 years of car ownership. It's not cheap, but very little goes a long way.

 

After I'd washed the car, and used the Meguiars 1-2-3 polish/wax etc, I finished the (Rover) off with the trim detailer. Later that day a bloke in the petrol station asked me "Where did you get a brand new Rover? Thought they weren't made any more"

 

CHUFFED!

Far from me trying to turn this into a "How clean is YOUR car?" thread - I actually went and bought some Meg's Trim Detailer earlier.

 

I washed and waxed the Astrashite and began to use the detailer. I was amazed to see all the dull plastics come back to life - worst was the mini-spoiler thing on the bootlid which was light grey - brought back to original dark grey and with a sheen too.

I did all the exterior plastics and all the interior too, came up like brand new. You only need one sqiurt on the trigger and it does a load of trim before the cloth dries up.

 

Oh and it smells absolutely lush too. It's well worth the £8.99 for the 500ml applicator.

 

Pics.

 

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Well, mini clear out today and I'm now down to two cars for the first time in bloody ages. Lad's Astra has gone (to a lad he works with) and the 50cc scooter has gone to a fellow 'shiter.

 

Now down to a non-working 190 (haven't looked for fuel pump relay yet), the Pisshat and my Vespa.

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Top notch, high spec stereo issues now.

 

Today amongst other jobs, I had a look to see why the HIFI in the Opel doesn't work, It's seems a bodgerly of dodgy wiring that needs addressing.

 

On the back of the unit is a plug with a cap on it, I'm guess it must be for 8 track units maybe?, Does anyone know if there's such a thing as a plug in adapter so i can play my ipod through it?.

 

The plug is the round one on the right with the clear cap

 

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Here a front view.

 

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Trig, you're on the right track with that plug. It does look like an old audio plug.

 

My memory is hazy so I can't remember if it's audio in or out... Try contacting one of those places that fixes classic car radios - they're bound to know and tell you which pin does what. If it is audio-in you can make up an adaptor easily

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It's an old DIN plug. Probably, as suggested, for an old tape deck or 8 track to play through the radio. It'll be easy enough to work out the pin-outs for it. Quick squizz with a voltmeter will tell you if there's any voltage going to it and which pin is earth. Then it's just a case of finding out which are signal and which are switching pins (if any). connecting a sacrificial old walkman to whatever signal wires you have and seeing if you can get an ipod or mp3 jobbie to play through it.

 

Be fun if you can get it working.

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You could try buying this and see if it works.

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0167244349

 

If it doesn't you can cut it in half and do what Pete suggested.

Good call Richard. Unfortunately, I think this is a 6 pin DIN.

 

I had a quick look online and couldnt find the appropriate lead even for canibalising. :roll: I think some old old computers used 6 pin DIN for keyboard connection before ps2 came along so computer places could be an idea then play with the connections as pete suggests?

 

That said I reckon using a radio sender thing with the ipod would be far easier as suggested.

 

EDIT: I reckon this would work with soldering to a 3.5mm plug lead (again, if you know the wiring! :?):

 

http://www.cableuniverse.co.uk/6-pin-din-plug.html

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The Griffin I-trip is the most common fm-transmitter. Try googling that.

 

The problem with them is that they are fine for short journeys but if you drive 50 or 60 miles you'll have to retune it to another empty frequency.

I'd be trying to hide a modern unit in the glovebox with a remote on the steering column.

I've had an itrip for about 4 years and never had trouble with the frequency ot having to retune it on a long journey.

 

Also got a really cheap one from homebargains that seems to work o.k too but not used that on a longer journey. Poundland have this kind of thing now & again I believe.

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The rental fleet i've been using goes back tomorrow, which ended up as a Golf, Galaxy & a DAF LF 7.5 Tonne truck :shock:

 

So went to the trusty Volvo, which has been stood for a couple of months. It fired up first touch, great news, although I only drove it round to the local garage for a Wheel bearing, tracking, two tyres, and a service, including the cambelt.

The bill will far outweigh the cost of the car, but once i got back in it, and sat in the comfy squishy seats, it was like coming home after a long trip away. :D:D:D

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Astrashite let itself down today.

 

Driving along in the pissing down rain, wipers stopped. First I thought it was a fuse but then I could see the arms trying to move. Aha, a dislocated rod I thought.

 

It wasn't until I got home and took the cover off that I found the mounting plate for the wiper motor, which bolts onto the firewall, had sheared clean in half, resulting in the motor sitting in the well of the bulkhead! How this has happened is quite a mystery.

 

So I trot off to my mechanic who wonderfully opens his doors up for me at 7pm, and welds the two halves of the mounting plate back together, charges me nothing and even made me a cup of coffee. Where else would you get service like that! Wipers are back and better than ever now.

 

It's off for a cambelt and aux belt change tomorrow - so I will be smoking around in the lovely courtesy Sloda Favorit estate they have. It's gotta do a fair few miles at the weekend bombing over Norfolk so it shall be quite fun :D

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Guest Leonard Hatred

Good old Volvos :) they are like an old friend - always there and reliable.

 

My old man had a lovely 940 S estate a couple of years back - was like driving in an armchair :D

I've driven a 940 S too, unfortunately a diesel one with the engine from an early traction engine.

They are great though, they seem such a friendly car to drive and sit in in spite of the old fashioned underpinnings - think that one has a live rear axle.

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