AnnoyingPentium's Adventures - Once, twice, three times an MOT

[RoverFolkUs]

7 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

 

There was a good turnout IMO, I'll put up photos linked to Flickr later.

"Good turnout" 

Hmm, the atmosphere looks absolutely electric m9 🤣🤣

[AnnoyingPentium]

6 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

"Good turnout" 

Hmm, the atmosphere looks absolutely electric m9 🤣🤣

Whoops, missed a photo 😂

[RoverFolkUs]

That's better

[AnnoyingPentium]

5 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

That's better

Heid is mush after the amount of driving today. Left the house at 5am, home for about half an hour ago!

[Noel Tidybeard]

hmm can't see any proper skidoo's only vw crap! *mutters into beard* 😁

[RayMK]

54 minutes ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

hmm can't see any proper skidoo's only vw crap! *mutters into beard* 😁

I was thinking the same.  When the Skoda Owners Club used to have their Fest at Stanford Hall, rear engined Skodas were in the majority, with one or two old Octavias making up the numbers.   It was even better when the Wartburg, Trabbie and other iron curtain vehicles joined up with Skodas at Stanford Hall for a major gathering, but that was all 10-20 years ago.  

An excerpt from my diary covering the last Stanford Hall Skoda gathering that I attended says it all:

14th April 2019  Sunday: Skoda Owners Club Rally at Stanford Hall.  Cold but bright. (my son) took me to the Skoda rally where we got rid of the alloy wheel, Jikov carburettor and PAL starter motor to a chap who had several rear engined Skodas at home.  We also chatted to a chap who had a 135Ric which he had had converted back to Ric standard from carb!  There were only about 5 rear engined Skodas there and a couple of Favorits, a few Felicias and loads of Octavias etc of the VW period. We did not stay long, maybe an hour.   

Inevitably, time has taken its toll and the trend has continued.

 

[AnnoyingPentium]

1 hour ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

hmm can't see any proper skidoo's only vw crap! *mutters into beard* 😁

Howzat then?

The limo still runs the 55hp 1.3... amazing.

They're all in an album on Flickr should anyone wish to peruse the rest. I missed getting photos of the pea green 110R sadly.

[RayMK]

3 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

Howzat then?

The limo still runs the 55hp 1.3... amazing.

They're all in an album on Flickr should anyone wish to peruse the rest. I missed getting photos of the pea green 110R sadly.

Thank you!  Your Fabia looks good as well. Nice colour.  I did not attempt to look at Flickr from your earlier post because it usually locks on to an obstructive page requiring lots of boxes to tick.  Surprisingly your album, although it had the usual page of boxes, could be viewed by ignoring that stuff and scrolling down (not locked).   

[AnnoyingPentium]

1 minute ago, RayMK said:

Your Fabia looks good as well. Nice colour.

Thank you! It's still mostly the same colour which is very nice.

Glad that the album opened okay for you!

[wesacosa]

I had hoped to get up there in the Estelle but nowhere near enough time to get things sorted (been waiting on the box of parts I ordered nearly 2 weeks now)

Looks like a decent turn out.  I know the guy with that beige Estelle he spent lot of time and money on it. 

The guy with the limo has a nice collection of Estelles and Rapids too

[yes oui si]

On 21/05/2023 at 10:34, AnnoyingPentium said:

Somewhere along the A915, where I stopped for comfort* break in the woods. 

@AnnoyingPentium confirmed as bear. 

[RoverFolkUs]

So bears do shit in the woods? 😆

[AnnoyingPentium]

Has been a wee bit since I last bored you all to tears, so, let us commenceth thy bullshittery.

I've only really got a Fabia update - which of course, is a total fookin' shock, aye?

So, what have I done? Erm, I got to wander about U-Pull-It in Inverkeithing and have unlimited* storage in the form of a Ph1 Volvo V70 belonging to @JMotor's mate. So, £230 spent got me this...

*nobody was killed by doors sliding about the car near Bearsden on the return leg, I promise*

So, that's what is best described as, a shitload of doors, and just a whole load of goodies for the car to tart it up a bit, because even though I slag it off something awful, it's probably going to be a long-term fleet member (and has been for nearly two and a half years now). I've probably lost the plot but it's fineeeeeeee.

So, the doors, they're from a model with rear electric windows, a rare option indeed. They're getting fitted to my car, and the doors are less rusty than mine, which is a welcome bonus. Also got a driver's window switch from a Fabia Friend from Briskoda...

The door cards from that Elegance model were also retrieved. They have the 'running man' cloth, which breaks up the black dullery in the car. The cloth is also a damn sight less scratchy compared to the old fabric.

In addition, this car held the Skoda MS502 radio cassette system, with the optional 6 CD changer. For those unware, these stereo systems were optional, and nobody picked them (despite them being very good and better than the base systems) so they're very rare.

Oh, and we've surpassed 80,000 miles with this car, which makes it 28,000 miles since I bought the car, and should be 30,000 miles post Shitefest as well. Did I just drive around for a bit until I made it to this immature number? Of course I did.

Lol.

Finally, just been adding wee touches here and there to giffer, but still chav the fucker up, because I find it rather amusing. Enter thusly, an AA Silver Member badge which was poached from a scrap Avensis, and a Halfords cheap exhaust tip.

And lastly, because I'm still in a decent spirit in regards to this car, I gave it a wash and cleaned the interior out, since we're going away with it soon as the spare car and dog carrying thing.

Anyway, moving on to the mechanical side of things, all is well with the car at the moment. Touch wood. In the meantime I'm just keeping on top of things where I can. 

TL, DR? I spend stupid amounts of money on a car that's 17 in December. It's fine.

[Wibble]

Don’t worry about the money, it’s just what we do! Are your doors beyond saving, or could you just nick the rear  leccy windows from the gold ones and swap over? Might be cheaper to fix yours than repaint the others?

Those door trims definitely lighten up the interior though👍

[RoverFolkUs]

He's just trying to create a poor man's harlequin 😁😂

[AnnoyingPentium]

2 minutes ago, Wibble said:

Don’t worry about the money, it’s just what we do! Are your doors beyond saving, or could you just nick the rear  leccy windows from the gold ones and swap over? Might be cheaper to fix yours than repaint the others?

Those door trims definitely lighten up the interior though👍

My driver's side doors were keyed in the past, and neglected so have bubbled up and become very crunchy. Could probably sort it out, but these gold doors were mint condition, and have less dents, so going to get them painted as I'm getting it done at mates rates. So in the end, it just makes more sense to paint and then fit those doors, since they're in much better nick. If my own doors had been in good nick I'd have just swapped the internals over, but these ones are very clean. There wasn't a speck of rust on the 2001 Elegance we got the parts from, it had taken a slight front end dunt, hence ending up going through Copart before settling in their U-Pull-It.

[Wibble]

Reminds me, back in 1996 I very nearly ordered a new Polo Harlequin. Simply because the company car list was so shit for juniors like me, I thought I’d leave them stuck with it as I had no plans to stay. Sadly I ordered a 1.4L 3 door instead. Should have done it, wankers!

[Wibble]

2 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

My driver's side doors were keyed in the past, and neglected so have bubbled up and become very crunchy. Could probably sort it out, but these gold doors were mint condition, and have less dents, so going to get them painted as I'm getting it done at mates rates. So in the end, it just makes more sense to paint and then fit those doors, since they're in much better nick. If my own doors had been in good nick I'd have just swapped the internals over, but these ones are very clean. There wasn't a speck of rust on the 2001 Elegance we got the parts from, it had taken a slight front end dunt, hence ending up going through Copart before settling in their U-Pull-It.

Ahh, that makes sense!

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

Did I just drive around for a bit until I made it to this immature number? Of course I did.

Fair play. Car & friend looking good, well done.

[LoftyvRS]

Those elegance doors lying face down on the tarmac made my winkle twitch.....

I'm trying to think of the original colour of the gold from when I was selling them, but my minds a blank. Used to sell loads in that colour as the Giffers loved it. 

Edit - Sahara Beige. The OAP colour of taste and choice

[Rust Collector]

On 6/5/2023 at 9:20 PM, AnnoyingPentium said:

That one belongs to my mate Mick, the chap in the black t-shirt. He swapped the engine out for a K series, it's nuts 😅

[JMotor]

15 hours ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

 

It says boobs.

[AnnoyingPentium]

12 hours ago, LoftyvRS said:

Those elegance doors lying face down on the tarmac made my winkle twitch.....

I'm trying to think of the original colour of the gold from when I was selling them, but my minds a blank. Used to sell loads in that colour as the Giffers loved it. 

Edit - Sahara Beige. The OAP colour of taste and choice

It's golder than that, I think. A proper deep gold, less so beige. But Skoda may say otherwise lol. Worry not though, Matt. The doors are getting painted in the correct colour for the car.

12 hours ago, Rust Collector said:

That one belongs to my mate Mick, the chap in the black t-shirt. He swapped the engine out for a K series, it's nuts 😅

That's amazing. I didn't know it was like that!

[wesacosa]

 

 

[AnnoyingPentium]

Changer of compact discs was fitted today (1), OEM spec under the driver's seat with the original VAG loom, plucked from the gold Elegance donor. The system does work mostly, but the changer itself is a little forgetful, and gets confused with the locations of CDs in the magazine slots sometimes. Spamming buttons on the cassette head unit will eventually make it select the disc you're after, however.

The doors are awaiting paintage (new word of the day) so I don't have a car resembling the wrapper for a Tunnock's Caramel Wafer. Will update in due time. Should hopefully have them done after Shitefest.

Speaking of, currently had a mild issue crop up. Well, actually, I say this like I haven't known about it for a while and chose to turn a blind eye to it, but I've got to the roots of my wobble issues with the car, and as @JJ0063 also suggested via t'instagram... the wishbone bushes have finally began their gradual leaving of the car - they're doing the equivalent of Elton John's farewell tour. I'm not quite sure when they'll fully fuck off, but they're deteriorating over time... much like Elton John, again. As a result of this longwinded explanation, there's a tiny* bit of toe out on the front wheels, and the wobble is, errrr, wobbly.

Car could do with rear shocks being done too, as its bouncy as fuck over bumps, especially five up in the car. Something fell off at one point and I'm not brave enough to see what it is. But anyway, I'm now on holiday with both the Fabia and the Duster as our cars of choice*. So all is grand. I don't have any photos because my smart* phone is borked with the heat* and the Sony Ericsson is in the other room with all the photos on it.

 

(1) When I say I've went on holiday, I've maybe went about 60 miles down the road in a neighbouring county, and am near a mate's bit, who fitted the CD changer for me while I fannied about with other jobs on the car.

[AnnoyingPentium]

Just to add, phone of much smartness is now playing ball, so have some pictures to correlate with the drivel above!

Radio cassette:

CD changer:

Throwing the indicators into test mode with VCDS looks pretty cool too:

And finally, the car, a bit cleaner than it is now, and in a different location:

That is all.

[AnnoyingPentium]

So, my first Shitefest... what did I get up to? (warning - the following is image heavy, crap internet people look away)

Friday:

Tesco in Auchinleck was achieved, where much Pepsi Max was bought and stored in the car along with 23 Barr brand lemonades for mucho refreshment.

Left Abington Services around 10am in the Fabia, plodding along behind @davehedgehog31 for a decent bit of the way in his Kangoo camper (Campgoo (author's note: that doesn't sound that good... whoops)). We got as far as Carlisle before pulling in as something had hit a bit on the Kangoo. All being fine and well from there, we continued. Also saw this lovely Lupo SDI at the services in Abington, and an Avensis estate but didn't get a photograph of it.

Arrived in THA LAND OF DRAGONS AYE, AKA Wales sometime later in the day. Went to set up my tent, and bang...

Bloomin' tent pole snapped. At this point, my contingency plan of sleeping in the Fabia was in place. As a 5ft 10 (ish) man, this was far from ideal for my legs, which were dead the following morning, but it was dry and warm, which were the main things.

^ Camper-Fab, innit. #notquitevanlyfe, m9.

That evening, cider was consumed, and @KruJoe arrived in his Estima... the 'pleasure wagon'

Little did I know this van would later be saving myself and @PicantoJon from the side of a big hill. To Jon, next time you need an air bed for your tent we'll take your C3.

Saturday:

Woke up, deid legs. It was raining, in Wales. *pikachu shocked face meme*.

It was decided that travelling by the Carina II owned by @EightMegs was a choice of much sensibleness. Hence, we arrived at the RAF museum in style* and extreme comfort, and parked next to catsinthewelder's Dacia.

 

Pretty grim weather, even for standing in front of the Carina wondering where the hell Ben went... while he was looking around the museum wondering where I'd went...

Fast forward to Saturday evening... everything went a bit pear shaped sadly...

So, in order to avoid the traffic lights around Llanberis that we spent half an hour waiting to get through, we took the "quick" route over the hill to the other side, instead of around. In hindsight, the impatience did not pay off, as you'll see below.

Max put it best, I did indeed happen to find a section of road where a sunken part was not visible, the car pulled and fell down a hole followed by bursting the two passenger side tyres on a rock. However, things were much worse when I got out to see my front wheel having more of a squint than Columbo. I wasn't doing anything in excess of 15mph given how narrow the road was, and the fact I didn't feel overly confident on it.

As seen here, it looks to have sheared the front lower arm, which on these are designed to break in an incident like this. I believe the words I uttered seconds before this were "this actually has decent ground clearance, it's well suited for this road"... phone call to Ghosty made, which summoned Sunny Jim, KruJoe & Lin, and Ghosty, arriving in both the pleasure wagon and the Fabia vRS.

The car still had drive and could steer, albeit the wheel was rubbing against the arch liner, even after replacing it with @Sunny Jim's spare from his vRS, which slips into the second photograph above. So we moved it down to a more suitable lay-by for it to be recovered.

Still got a good side really. Was also recovered by an Iveco, a very much Cavcraft thing, but credits to Gwalia Rescue who were there within 40 minutes of me calling LV for recovery of my car.

At the time of writing, I haven't heard anything about it coming back up beyond what Jim called me about yesterday, which suggested it was leaving Wales today.

Credit to Joe and Lin for the cracking photos. I may frame the recovery one as I quite like it. Massive thanks to Jim and Max for also coming to my rescue, and the rest of the guys for supporting and cheering me up when I needed it most. Such a great forum this, all very supportive when there's someone in need.

So... Saturday night?

Thankfully, @catsinthewelder left me a tent to sleep in, since my place of sleepage had been carted off to a yard somewhere in Gwynedd hours earlier. I'm very thankful for that, and I do apologise that I wasn't completely able to get it all back in the tent bag so it's across two bags now, but should all be complete.

I spent ages on the phone trying to arrange a courtesy car through the breakdown cover, only to be told it was a Transit van that I wasn't even getting because the address I've lived in for nearly a decade and a half doesn't exist on some computer system.

After emptying my stuff into the tent I headed over to the wee shed type thing where everyone was sitting, and ended up scrolling through Facebook Marketplace with @beko1987 trying to egg me on to getting a car to get me home lol. I didn't buy anything sadly, so a bit anti-climactic really.

Sunday:

Thankfully, the SVM made sure that my way back into my home soil was sorted. With cms206 offering me a run up in his V70, but with the promise that he'd be playing country music in order to traumatise me... or something. I'll be honest, I actually quite enjoyed the tunes...

Don't think I've laughed so much than on that return leg home, was absolutely brilliant. I was dropped off at Abington services, unloaded my shite from the Volvo, and travelled back to the Doon Valley by MotherPentium's Dacia Duster to finally make it home.

The Status of the Skoda:

Uhhhhh, if I'm honest, I don't know yet. I'd fix it if it has indeed shat the wishbone without ruining anything chassis/structural, and would do the work myself as I'd rather do that than farm it all out (bar pressing bushes, will farm that bit out). If it was gubbed structurally due to the unexpected suspension ejection, then it'll be curtains for the thing, after I break it up to get the rare parts I want for another (yes, I'd have another, the masochist in me SCREAMS for a diesel one), sell some of the decent bits, and scrap the shell. I don't want to write it off for certain until I've seen it back here, and can have it up in the air on axle stands to investigate. Going to get one of my late Dad's mates to investigate it, as he repairs crash damaged cars and suchlike.

So for now, I'm a bit unsure of the fate of the car, and I'm not seeking a replacement until I know the status of this, as it's EITHER a replacement (1), or use the money repairing this. I'm in a decent position where I can mostly get to my work thanks to buses, or via my Grandad who has offered to run me to work for my opening shifts.

So aye, it's all a bit of a mess but we'll be grand one way or another. Will make another post once I've come to a decision regarding the Skoda, but I'm honestly hoping this isn't the end of the road for it.

(1) I'm aware I have a Ford Focus. I'm aware it doesn't work. I'm aware I could fix it, but I need the time and the transport to get there to actually repair it. So it's even further on the backburner at the moment.

[beko1987]

I'm in the 'hopefully it'll be nothing bad' camp still 🤞

I lost a wheel on a ZX at 55/60 on the m35 once and skidded down to the hard shoulder hundreds of yards on the bottom ball joint and after a new brake disc and a new balljoint (mainly for the new bolts it needed as 1 was gone and the other half worn out) she was fine!

If not then as you say, a nice cheap down on it's luck diesel and spend a weekend swapping parts! I did this going from the ex Kiltox laguna to the ex Ruffgeezer laguna, spent a while swapping wverything I could and scrapped the rest. One with a fucked up interior could be a bargain assuming it all swaps over easy?

[AnnoyingPentium]

4 minutes ago, beko1987 said:

If not then as you say, a nice cheap down on it's luck diesel and spend a weekend swapping parts! I did this going from the ex Kiltox laguna to the ex Ruffgeezer laguna, spent a while swapping wverything I could and scrapped the rest. One with a fucked up interior could be a bargain assuming it all swaps over easy?

Cheers Sam. 

You can just about disassemble the whole of a Fabia interior with a T15 torx bit and the other one that removes the seats (that I can't remember the name of), plus I've not started on the rear electric window retrofit yet, so I could just transfer what I was going to do, over to another one. 

Although I'm hoping this won't be the case.

[Cookiesouwest]

Fabias are brilliant. Buy another.

Then fix the Focus, cause they are brill too.