THE GUBBERMINT ALWAYS KNOWS BEST

9,058 · July 2, 2011

Lord Sterling said:

I take it the PXs are to be repaired and sold on or will they be just shoved through the auction?

As a rule of thumb, if a Merc comes in that's less than 7 years old and not completely horrible we'll do a quick check in the workshop to see if it's worth doing the full Approved Used Car treatment. If there's anything more than Ã‚Â£500 prep needed we won't bother, if it's a spec that doesn't have any particular USP, we won't bother, and if it's the kind of car that's likely to sit on the forecourt for ages and not go anywhere, we won't bother.

And we don't really bother with traders, either. With a non Merc, If it's interesting-ish or within warranty then one of the dealers in our group will underwrite it. If not it'll go straight to BCA. We never send anything over the bridge, incidentally.

28,111 · July 2, 2011

RoadworkUK said:
We never send anything over the bridge, incidentally.

Staff discount available? Surely that's the major perk of working for a main stealer, that you get first pick of all the old crud they don't want littering the forecourt? Or doesn't it work like that these days?

47,287 · July 2, 2011

Lankytim said:
The Audi survived Cornwall and back without missing a beat! Oh, and I have bought a Volvo 240 estate.

Great news for me if I need owt A-framed! Which i might shortly....

19,749 · July 2, 2011

M said:
That just needs something like this creatively placed on it!

or a Feck Drink Gurls sticker after it..

6,644 · July 2, 2011

The Moog said:

M said:
That just needs something like this creatively placed on it!
or a Feck Drink Gurls sticker after it..

Good call! Although I suspect a picture of Father Jack would be enough!

9,058 · July 2, 2011

eddyramrod said:

RoadworkUK said:
Surely that's the major perk of working for a main stealer, that you get first pick of all the old crud they don't want littering the forecourt?

Oh, aye, that's where my Audi and my Alfa came from, but we're only "allowed" one a year (presumably for the fear of us starting a splinter dealership).

Stuff does go missing from p/x'd snotters from time to time. I have a burgeoning collection of BMW E39 Scissor jacks...

26,977 · July 3, 2011

Went to the American car show at Tatton today, which was great - fewer cars than at the normal classic show, but much more variety and they're cars you don't see out and about much so very enjoyable.

On the way home my accelerator fell to the floor (the brass bit which holds the cable failed). This happened just before joining the A556, where I discovered that I had a top speed of 30mph and it took a mile to reach it. I hate that feeling of holding up traffic. Decided to press on, but hit every damn red light on the way

4,107 · July 4, 2011

I can has new motor too. Couldn't be left out, y'see! It's how I roll. Pics later...

44,499 · July 4, 2011

400 miles in the 2CV over the weekend. Only slight issues were the dipstick not being quite home, so we lost a fair bit of oil on the way there and the roof trying to jump off twice on the way home. Might need a new oil breather to cure the former while I'd already ordered new roof studs at the weekend for the roof issue.

S'pose noise is also an issue. Ears were ringing after 4.5hrs of driving. Definitely something I need to work on as every show is bloomin' miles away now!

Range Rover's new battery has arrived. Will lob it on in a bit and see if it'll actually start - though relatives are coming so tinkering time will be at a minimum for the rest of the week.

July 4, 2011

dollywobbler said:
400 miles in the 2CV over the weekend. Only slight issues were the dipstick not being quite home, so we lost a fair bit of oil on the way there and the roof trying to jump off twice on the way home. Might need a new oil breather to cure the former while I'd already ordered new roof studs at the weekend for the roof issue.

S'pose noise is also an issue. Ears were ringing after 4.5hrs of driving. Definitely something I need to work on as every show is bloomin' miles away now!

What's your soundproofing like under the bonnet - mine has the coconut type matting, suppose you could try a thicker material?

13,685 · July 4, 2011

I'm getting unreasonably excited that I'm still the top bidder on the purple 1100 on ebay

In other news I've been tinkering with the bus to try and make it run properly. If the HT lead won't go back on, check that the rubber insert from the plug socket is still in the socket and not on the plug

4.1k · July 5, 2011

Polystratus said:

dollywobbler said:
S'pose noise is also an issue. Ears were ringing after 4.5hrs of driving. Definitely something I need to work on as every show is bloomin' miles away now!

What's your soundproofing like under the bonnet - mine has the coconut type matting, suppose you could try a thicker material?

Soundproofing under the bonnet? Don't think mine has any at all...

4,380 · July 5, 2011

MOT is now sorted. A tyre, 2 front brake hoses, balljoint and a brake pipe for Ã‚Â£250 fitted. Oddly one of the indicators had blown today (insert "they aren't needed anyway" joke here) but I guess they either didn't check that or it literally blew just after driving off.

So.................who wants to buy an e30?

44,499 · July 5, 2011

My 2CV has none at all. Did have the glassfibre mat stuff, but that's crap so I pulled it off to stop it falling on the engine. None on the bulkhead really either so definitely work to be done! Not sure what I can do about the wind noise though, short of redesigning the entire body...

Range Rover seems to start fine with the new battery and the brakes seem good too, though still to find someone to fit discs and pads and quiz the ABS system as the light is still on.

128,710 · July 5, 2011

CreepingJesus said:
I can has new motor too. Couldn't be left out, y'see! It's how I roll. Pics later...

More than 24 hours have passed and still no news? Come on old lad, spill the bloody beans.

4,107 · July 5, 2011

^It's all gone a bit Pete Tong, courtesy of the Bank of Scotland. I should really change banks, they don't deserve my hard-earned cash.

More on Thursday when I actually pick the bloody thing up. Altho', it may be a bit cursory, as I've a serious need to get some work in.

44,499 · July 6, 2011

Went for a short spell of laning in the Rangie this afternoon. Was great - much more comfortable than the 90! Diesel engine is much better for that sort of thing as well. Sadly, the ABS pump kept cutting in for long periods - think I've still got air in the system.

128,710 · July 7, 2011

Jesus wept. Took the Frontender to work today to give it a quick run out and so my lad can have a poke round with it on his dinner hour.

Started first crack, drove well for about 500 yards then started spluttering and didn't want to rev up. Coaxed it to the lad's work and about a mile before we got there the sodding EML came on.

Think (o.k, hope) it's the fuel filter as the car hasn't seen much action the last few months.

4,283 · July 8, 2011

Sierra progress. Transmission selector bulb holder, boot lamp, windscreen washer jets and missing bit of dash trim all replaced with bits salvaged from the old brown GL. Throttle response has become poor when cold though - feels like the engine is momentarily flooding on pressing the accelerator. Any suggestions? It's the DOHC EFi engine built around Nov 1989.

44,499 · July 9, 2011

I think I've finally sorted the Rangie's brakes. You need a pressurised bleed kit - but I think I've managed to get away with just opening the bleed nipple on the pump. Some definite air bubbles in the fluid. It'll do to get me to a specialist who can complete the job properly.

So, I turned my attention to the electric windows. Pulled the passenger door apart and got the motor out. Jammed solid. Pulled the motor apart, and managed to get it working! Problem is, I now can't get the motor back together again. I don't think it's designed for DIY folk to pull apart and fix. So I might need to buy another motor anyway. Still, it's been interesting! And thankfully, it hasn't rained while the passenger door has been in pieces...

For now, I think I'll do the classic bodge of jamming a piece of wood under the window. Hopefully I can pick up a motor for not too much dollar next week.

4,380 · July 9, 2011

Repainted my rear drums as for some reason one had been painted yellow. Needs an oil change but not sure if I can be arsed faffing around and driving all the way to the tip to get rid of the old oil so might just get one of those fast fit places to do it

44,499 · July 9, 2011

Oh go on NC - how hard's it to change oil? Nice day for a drive too.

Pleased to report that I've managed to re-assemble the window motor. Bit of grease and it's working fine. Nowt like saving yourself a few quid to bring a smile to the face! That's two working windows now. Next plan is to find out what's up with the rears, as they keep blowing fuses even when not actually operating. Must have a short somewhere...

128,710 · July 9, 2011

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.

61,403 · July 9, 2011

My new camera arrived last night. It's a Fuji Finepix Z300, bought refurbished from the Fujifilm website. Haven't really had the chance to try it out properly yet, but it seems a nifty little thing - it has an internal 5x optical zoom, which I think is quite clever - I'm used to zoom lenses buzzing out of the camera body. All the mode selection functions etc. are done via touch screen, which I'm not 100% sure about yet but I'm sure I'll get used to it. I'm going to try it out by taking some pics of the Aggro tomorrow, weather permitting. Its main advantage over my previous camera (a rather bulky old 4MP Vivitar thing I bought six years ago) is that it has a Li-ion battery rather than running on AA rechargeables which last for about half a dozen pictures before they need changing.

I've also bought a couple of video cameras - a Samsung DV camera which was in the window of my local CEX shop for Ã‚Â£42 with a carry case etc. but 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, and one of those tiny little mini DV cameras people strap onto their cycle helmets or whatever, which I'm going to use as a dash cam for recording trackdays etc.

So hopefully more and better shite pics coming soon (I've lost track of the amount of times I've wanted to take a photo of something but the camera batteries have been dead), and maybe some Youtube videos at some stage too...

3,548 · July 10, 2011

In order to get The Volvo's odometer and trip meter working again, I have ascertained that I need to replace a small nylon gear inside the speedometer head which has shed some of its teeth and therefore won't mesh with a bigger gear which makes the numbers move:

Due to being completely unable to find a replacement in the UK, I have had to resort to buying one from the States. I bet that none of you will be able to guess how much it cost, including postage - I'm trying hard to forget! However, the prospect of the car having a functioning odometer and trip meter again more than makes up for the financial outlay.

I'm still looking for a reasonably-priced printed circuit board for the car's instrument panel, in order to get the dashboard illumination working once again. I fear that I'll have to bite the bullet and buy one from Volvo, as they seem to be virtually impossible to obtain in good order secondhand nowadays. If only I hadn't thrown out the spare one I had in 2006 - I wasn't ever expecting to use it and the broken instrument panel it was attached to was taking up space. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, isn't it?

1.4k · July 10, 2011

Was it more than Ã‚Â£20?

44,499 · July 10, 2011

Just been for another green lane session in the Rangie. Managed to avoid the ONE LIFE brigade, though there were a lot of Landies about today! Rightly so - a lovely spot for some off-road action. Very impressed with the beastie - the engine really is perfect for off-roading. Much better than a V8. Now about to give it a thorough hose-down, though I think it looks good muddy...(it isn't all that muddy, because I don't drive like a twat off-road. Gawd knows how some of the people today had got their steeds so dirty. Gawd also knows why they feel the need to dress their 4x4s up as if they've about to cross the Sahara!).

12,788 · July 10, 2011

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