AnnoyingPentium's Adventures - Fabia Fettling and Other Nonsense

[Rust Collector]

He’s a man after my own heart, my garage is similarly organised 😁 part of the fun of digging something out is finding all the things you forgot you had!

[AnnoyingPentium]

14 minutes ago, Rust Collector said:

He’s a man after my own heart, my garage is similarly organised 😁 part of the fun of digging something out is finding all the things you forgot you had!

So far we've found a jack, and a Woolworths bag full of cables... 😂

[AnnoyingPentium]

Today was nice. Finally got to meet @maxxo and his new C5 at the most AutoShite place imaginable, the weird car park at the side of the skating rink in Lockerbie. It's a very comfortable car, to say the least, that C5. That's the first time I'd ever been in one of the fancy suspensioned Citroens.

It does dwarf mine a little, however!

As a bonus, I somehow squeezed 56mpg out of this car... PD owners eat your hearts out.

[AnnoyingPentium]

Not too much to report since the last post.

The trailer came home, as seen on the New News thread. I haven't been out with it again but I did over 80 miles with it averaging about 36mpg which is alright considering this car can barely tamper with the skins of rice puddings at the best of time! Anyway, it's been behaving pretty well recently (it will probably break down now that I've written that) so all is well. Here it is with the trailer, somewhere outside Cumnock.

The biggest issue I've faced so far is my handbrake being the same as every other Mk1 Fabia handbrake I've ever dealt with... SHITE! So parking here was a bit nerve wracking...

Anyway, moving on, I can't leave shit alone (as is a theme with this thread), so I bought a leather steering wheel. I'm a wimp, and inexperienced, but mostly the former... so when it came to replacing the wheel I roped in @bigmancaff so that I had someone who knew what they were doing. Good news is that neither of us blew up, which is nice.

Looks so good and it's nicer to use than the standard plasticky one that was there.

That's another thing, I refitted a bluetooth stereo (a nice Kenwood KDC-BT640U) with microphone so I could receive mobile telephone calls whilst in the car, which is cool, I suppose. I mainly wanted it for playing back Spotify in the car. Potato cam photo incoming...

Speaking of potato cam pics, I got a little bored with my Sony Mavica (one of those ones that takes floppy diskettes).

Featuring bonus giffer-spec blanket in the back, could only be closer if tartan to be honest.

Anyway, going to be doing progress on repairing the heatshield on the underside too as I believe it's one of the many noises the car is producing when moving. So that's plenty for now.

[OM646]

Good selection of tunes I'd say

[AnnoyingPentium]

Just now, OM646 said:

Good selection of tunes I'd say

Thanks, got a playlist made up through Spotify. Been quite enjoying it when driving.

[LoftyvRS]

And you have the Sat Nav specific cup holder as well Ryan, the lickers will love that on Briskoda....

[AnnoyingPentium]

52 minutes ago, LoftyvRS said:

And you have the Sat Nav specific cup holder as well Ryan, the lickers will love that on Briskoda....

Oh yes, I got it off KeithCheetham on there a wee while back. Managed to snipe it FOC before anyone else.

[OM646]

On 10/3/2022 at 10:26 PM, AnnoyingPentium said:

Thanks, got a playlist made up through Spotify. Been quite enjoying it when driving.

Gave it a follow!

 

BTW, i think you can mod a MS402 or a Symphony to support BT through the cdc port, if ever wanting to go OEM again

[AnnoyingPentium]

1 hour ago, OM646 said:

BTW, i think you can mod a MS402 or a Symphony to support BT through the cdc port, if ever wanting to go OEM again

It's the same CD changer interface as a VW Gamma so it's probably possible!

[AnnoyingPentium]

In other news, leaky VAG... fnarr...

It was like this when I first got it but stopped. I don't think the driver's door drains as well as the others that don't seem to do it. That's a job for when it dries up a bit.

[SiC]

On 10/3/2022 at 9:49 PM, AnnoyingPentium said:

handbrake being the same as every other Mk1 Fabia handbrake I've ever dealt with... SHITE! So parking here was a bit nerve wracking...

Presumably you always leave your car in gear anyway?

[AnnoyingPentium]

2 hours ago, SiC said:

Presumably you always leave your car in gear anyway?

Yeah I do. For that reason and that my neighbours van once left a trail of chaos when the HB wasn't on.

[RoverFolkUs]

New drums should help. Or grind the lip off the old ones if you don't mind inhaling toxic brake dust to save £50.. 

Seriously, don't inhale the dust (🤣) - it's fine to grind them off but use a good respirator

When people adjust the adjusters on these they leave the rust lip on the drum so adjust it to the lip rather than the actual braking surface inside. Hence they end up with a shite handbrake

[AnnoyingPentium]

2 hours ago, RoverFolkUs said:

New drums should help. Or grind the lip off the old ones if you don't mind inhaling toxic brake dust to save £50.. 

Seriously, don't inhale the dust (🤣) - it's fine to grind them off but use a good respirator

When people adjust the adjusters on these they leave the rust lip on the drum so adjust it to the lip rather than the actual braking surface inside. Hence they end up with a shite handbrake

New drums have been on the cards for some time anyway. Its a job for the new year, post MOT too as I'm not expecting a first time pass. I can adjust the handbrake enough to get it through the MOT and then I'll consider drum replacements if I can get/am happy to pay for it to pass.

[AnnoyingPentium]

Drove to the train station this morning, as I pull into the car park I can hear the sound of plastic dragging. I stop, it stops, I start moving, it starts dragging. I'm no expert, but that would indicate that something is hanging off.

I park up, look underneath, nothing out of place.

This coupled with fuck knows what the other mildly disconcerting noises are has made me finally fold and ring the local garage. It's going in on Monday to be checked by someone more competent than me.

I'll get repairs priced up, if it's too much then I'm throwing in the towel with this car.

[MiniMinorMk3]

Did you check in the arches, could be a liner has come adrift?

[AnnoyingPentium]

Just now, MiniMinorMk3 said:

Did you check in the arches, could be a liner has come adrift?

I've had them all on and off and they're secure now. Front suspension is all taut and nothing loose or out of place. Massive exhaust heatshield is loose, but was reattached and now loose again. There's other noises too that I've not been able to pinpoint. So after months of prodding I'm letting my shite friendly mechanic have a bash.

[AnnoyingPentium]

The clunking is gone!

Was just a fucked drop link, something that I wasn't able to find myself as when we checked them they seemed okay. However, that's what got replaced and in the words of my Granda "it's like a feckin Rolls Royce"... big claims there as I don't think a Roller has an undertray held together with gaffa tape, but okay...

It's grubby, as I've done about 500 miles in 2 weeks, which is a lot for me. It's now somewhere close to 69,000 miles, meaning I've had about 17,000 miles use out of it. Will be looking at 20,000 miles use by the end of the year at this rate. Been soldiering on nicely, this little workhorse.

[There'd be a photo here, but as yous know, the site is mildly borked. I have substituted this with the red car emoji, which looks a little like my car anyway] 

🚗

[RoverFolkUs]

18 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

the red car

 

Is it the utterly fucked little red car though? 🤣

No, I'm not going to let that get forgotten 

[AnnoyingPentium]

2 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Is it the utterly fucked little red car though? 🤣

No, I'm not going to let that get forgotten 

No longer utterly fucked, jist a little now! Pulled the dent in the wing out with a varying degree of swearing, ranging from "this is shit" to "stupid fucking cunting car"

[AnnoyingPentium]

Berwick has been achieved... not too eventful but jesus christ there's so many 20mph zones that don't need to be that way in the borders.

In other news, car has developed an interesting knocking from the front. Thinking ARB bush.

[rob88h]

This style Fabia has really ripened into some Prime Chod. I enjoy reading about them now and break a smile when I see one. You’re a good ambassador for their profile. 

[AnnoyingPentium]

6 minutes ago, rob88h said:

This style Fabia has really ripened into some Prime Chod. I enjoy reading about them now and break a smile when I see one. You’re a good ambassador for their profile. 

Thanks man!

I've seen a fair amount of em today, they're more rife over on the East Coast than the West, at least in Scotland.

[AnnoyingPentium]

I'm home, been home for about an hour now.

So, as a little follow up to round off the trip today...

320 miles, one tank of petrol (about about 100 miles to spare in the tank). Works out about 42mpg average with four in the car and some lead footedness here and there on some exciting bits of the road (and trying to cross the A1, that was interesting*). While I'm here, I may as well share some photographs taken by my mate in the passenger seat and myself once out of the car. In a bid to save space on the server (as seen in the tech help thread), I broke out my Sony Mavica from 2001. It's a neat thing and fits the weird time warp I find myself living in.

The views were wonderful on the way over to Berwick. The roads got a bit twisty, but this car comes into its own somewhat when it comes to corners, it's a nice balance of decent handling and comfort. Definitely think it's going to need shock absorbers done though as it still likes to bounce a hell of a lot. That's a job for future me, before that I've got a sidelight bulb to replace as one seems to have died today. Just a small issue, so I'll write this trip down as rather successful.

Obligatory "one-eyed monster" pez station shot, from one of the cheapest petrol stations in the arse end of Ayrshire that no-one likes.

[Wibble]

Arse end of Ayrshire? There’s only one place that qualifies for that as far as I’m concerned and you know where!

320 miles , a good trip and fair play to you mate. Glad you had no major dramas.

[AnnoyingPentium]

1 minute ago, Wibble said:

Arse end of Ayrshire? There’s only one place that qualifies for that as far as I’m concerned and you know where!

I was going for Cumnock with that one... but realistically it's Dalmellington (or Girvan if you go down the coast) and I'm denial about it.

1 minute ago, Wibble said:

320 miles , a good trip and fair play to you mate. Glad you had no major dramas.

Nothing too major, turns out the road was a little... wet at Biggar. This may contribute somewhat to the lack of sidelight bulb, and condensation in the opposite headlamp. The sidelights are about 10 months old at most, going to clean the connector tomorrow to see if that's what's doing it.

320 miles was a bit gruelling given that everyone seems unable to drive these days, or maybe I'm just bitter... 

[Wibble]

24 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

I was going for Cumnock with that one... but realistically it's Dalmellington (or Girvan if you go down the coast) and I'm denial about it.

Nothing too major, turns out the road was a little... wet at Biggar. This may contribute somewhat to the lack of sidelight bulb, and condensation in the opposite headlamp. The sidelights are about 10 months old at most, going to clean the connector tomorrow to see if that's what's doing it.

320 miles was a bit gruelling given that everyone seems unable to drive these days, or maybe I'm just bitter... 

No, it is, and always will be Maybole! And you are absolutely right, the standard of driving is truly shocking now.

Looks like I’m going back up for Christmas now Dad has gone, so another 1000 mile trip is on the horizon 🙁

[AnnoyingPentium]

1 minute ago, Wibble said:

No, it is, and always will be Maybole! And you are absolutely right, the standard of driving is truly shocking now.

Okay yeah I'd say you're right actually. Much better now that they've bypassed it as I'm a lot less likely to be under a Tom French lorry. The standard of driving I saw today was appalling, does no-one know how to judge the speed of an oncoming car when they're meant to give way?!

2 minutes ago, Wibble said:

Looks like I’m going back up for Christmas now Dad has gone, so another 1000 mile trip is on the horizon 🙁

Ouch, if your Superb (or is it an Octavia, my head has went blank) is anything like my Fabia then it'll munch the miles quite nicely.

[Wibble]

1 minute ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

Okay yeah I'd say you're right actually. Much better now that they've bypassed it as I'm a lot less likely to be under a Tom French lorry. The standard of driving I saw today was appalling, does no-one know how to judge the speed of an oncoming car when they're meant to give way?!

Ouch, if your Superb (or is it an Octavia, my head has went blank) is anything like my Fabia then it'll munch the miles quite nicely.

Yep, the bypass is great but the memories remain! 
It’s a Superb thankfully and yes, it really does.