AnnoyingPentium's Adventures - Hocus Pocus...

[mrbenn]

I'm chuffed to see you're taking on the Focus. I've only seen one S plate estate and that was a 1999, never actually seen another 1998 registered.

Re the seats, the Zetec seats have bigger bolsters than the Ghia so while they may be a bit less soft/comfortable they'll be more supportive if you're the sort to "press on" a bit.

I'm hoping to get my own mk1 Focus back on the road shortly (been hiding from the salt). Looking forward to the progress on this one.

[AnnoyingPentium]

8 minutes ago, mrbenn said:

I'm chuffed to see you're taking on the Focus. I've only seen one S plate estate and that was a 1999, never actually seen another 1998 registered.

Hen's teeth is the operative phrase here. They're rare, especially on any sort of earlier plate these days.

8 minutes ago, mrbenn said:

Re the seats, the Zetec seats have bigger bolsters than the Ghia so while they may be a bit less soft/comfortable they'll be more supportive if you're the sort to "press on" a bit.

I'll see how I get on with them, I'd prefer velour but it'll come down to how I fare with those seats.

9 minutes ago, mrbenn said:

I'm hoping to get my own mk1 Focus back on the road shortly (been hiding from the salt). Looking forward to the progress on this one.

Thanks, will keep updating this should I make progress. Hiding these from the salt is always the best idea, as they're keen to disappear into thin air when it's salty... 😂

[sierraman]

I think they continued with the old Escorts for another 2-3 years after the Focus came out for fleets and conservative buyers. Maybe after the Sierra they were bricking it they’d alienate everyone, which is funny because the Sierra went on to become one of the most iconic and popular cars of the 80’s likewise the Focus did. 

[AnnoyingPentium]

10 minutes ago, sierraman said:

I think they continued with the old Escorts for another 2-3 years after the Focus came out for fleets and conservative buyers. Maybe after the Sierra they were bricking it they’d alienate everyone, which is funny because the Sierra went on to become one of the most iconic and popular cars of the 80’s likewise the Focus did. 

Yeah that makes sense to me. It's not impossible to find a Y-reg Escort estate, which is quite an odd thing indeed.

[AnnoyingPentium]

Welcome back to another instalment of my nonsensical drivel... in today's ramble we go out and in the vague direction of Stirling.

This all started at 0845 when I sprinted* (read as hobbled) to the car because I was running late to pick up the mates. Once they were picked up, we grabbed a fairly subpar breakfast from the McDonalds that took the place of Little Chef just outside of Kilmarnock (RIP LYTL SHEF U WIV DA ANGLES NOW).

Anyway, by 1000 hours we were oan eh road again, and I'd got about two miles before shit hit the fan. Big feckin bang, big feckin stone...

  

It basically runs for about a foot and half, if not slightly more. Some of that will buff out thankfully, but it's properly gouged the paint. A bit annoyed, but accidents happen. It was bloody loud though.

So anyway, we eventually made it to Stirling after dealing with all the eejits on the road. I was only a little* crabbit.

From Stirling we headed out to Callander, one of my favourite places, albeit a bit touristy for my liking. Bought some nice stuff in charity shops etc. Just a fun time out for sure.

Bonus Skoda photo, or something? It almost looks good here.

Also, we decided to pay a visit to California...

 

 

No, not that one, the other one.

 

 

Yeah, it's just as grim as you'd have imagined. Still, I can now say I've been to California.

Although, I found this nearby, which made up for things, I suppose.

So yeah, Ryan's Roadtrip Rating? 8/10, points lost for stone chip and underwhelming breakfast, but points gained for nice Audi. Covered about 240 miles or so today, quite pleased overall.

[Wibble]

Sorry to hear of the stone damage and am thinking how much better your start would have been with an Olympic breakfast. RIP Little Cheff.

[JMotor]

38 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

A bit annoyed, but accidents happen.

After meeting you in person. This is what I expected you to say after that. Totally chill despite what happenend

But wondered at the same time if you had gone "foo radge" due tae it in aw😂. 

Still, I'm gutted for ya that happened. It'll be fully sortable though as ya say. Could touch in the lacquer, then wet sand and buff it to help blend it in. Take the eye aff it like?

[AnnoyingPentium]

7 minutes ago, JMotor said:

After meeting you in person. This is what I expected you to say after that. Totally chill despite what happenend

But wondered at the same time if you had gone "foo radge" due tae it in aw😂. 

I held it together, not sure if the shakes were from fright or the fact the wheels need balancing again... plenty other things to go aff ma rocker aboot anyway!

8 minutes ago, JMotor said:

Still, I'm gutted for ya that happened. It'll be fully sortable though as ya say. Could touch in the lacquer, then wet sand and buff it to help blend it in. Take the eye aff it like?

A good polish will be first I reckon, just to see if that'll take the edge off it. I can't feel most of the scratches with a fingernail so I'm going to say they're not that deep. I've touched in lacquer before, you can only see it when REALLY up close in bright sunlight. May go down that route, but one crisis at a time...

[GrumpiusMaximus]

Would have been a lot more irritating if it had hit the windscreen.  My car now has a windscreen manufactured in South Africa by Shatterprufe as a result of a similar incident.  Which makes sense given that Belron are originally a South African company.

[AnnoyingPentium]

3 minutes ago, GrumpiusMaximus said:

Would have been a lot more irritating if it had hit the windscreen.  My car now has a windscreen manufactured in South Africa by Shatterprufe as a result of a similar incident.

Fuyao here...

Had the OEM windscreen before, which was delaminating (or looked like it), and then a bit of bark smacked it, took paint off the A-pillar and cracked the screen something awful, and simultaneously nearly put me into cardiac arrest haha.

[JMotor]

39 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

Fuyao here...

Thought that was nearly an Uncle Roger reference for a minute. 

😂 

[AnnoyingPentium]

23 hours ago, Wibble said:

RIP Little Cheff.

You had me thinking about the Killie one, opened late 80s/early 90s IIRC, closed in 2012.

[Wibble]

I think the first one was in Reading, derelict for years and now gone. Much preferred them to what options we now have.

[big_al_granvia]

Did you not come home via Moscow?? Only Ayrshire and some weegies will get it

[AnnoyingPentium]

1 minute ago, big_al_granvia said:

Did you not come home via Moscow?? Only Ayrshire and some weegies will get it

That'll be one for another day, funnily enough my Granda and I were on about Moscow today as well!

[EyesWeldedShut]

I get it   and I'm not a weegie 

[GrumpiusMaximus]

You're barely old enough to even remember Little Chef @AnnoyingPentium

Admittedly the last time I went was probably around 2014 on the way down from Gravesend to Hereford to see my Grandparents with my Dad.  It wasn't bad.  That was after the significant menu changes.

[AnnoyingPentium]

2 minutes ago, GrumpiusMaximus said:

You're barely old enough to even remember Little Chef @AnnoyingPentium

Shit like that is what I remember, but ask me what I had for my dinner about three hours ago and I cannot tell you... 😂

[JJ0063]

The last time I went to a little chef was the one on the A43 in Towcester when I was working at Silverstone. 
 

7:30AM eating a shite breakfast with 100s of awful sounding chavbomb exhausts revving up at the hotel next door, woman who must have been 25 stone walks in and I shit you not lifts an arm to point at the menu behind the till and a full on tit hangs out the bottom of her top. 
 

It’s stayed with me ever since, and not in a good way. 

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, JJ0063 said:

The last time I went to a little chef was the one on the A43 in Towcester when I was working at Silverstone. 
 

7:30AM eating a shite breakfast with 100s of awful sounding chavbomb exhausts revving up at the hotel next door, woman who must have been 25 stone walks in and I shit you not lifts an arm to point at the menu behind the till and a full on tit hangs out the bottom of her top. 
 

It’s stayed with me ever since, and not in a good way. 

Olympic!

[SiC]

On 3/13/2023 at 10:58 AM, AnnoyingPentium said:

I've finally done what @SiC told me to do months ago and order a purge valve for the breather system on the Skoda.

We'll see the outcome in time.

A week in, has it made a noticeable difference in any way?

[AnnoyingPentium]

37 minutes ago, SiC said:

A week in, has it made a noticeable difference in any way?

I haven't fitted it yet, I'm waiting for it to stop raining so much before I do anything... with the way things are, July is looking good.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

 

[AnnoyingPentium]

Just a short update until I've got something more professional* and interesting* written up with piccies! There's loads I've got to write up that I've done, but I'll write about it properly later.

Scabia - EVAP purge (N80) valve done. Piece of piss to do. Hopefully will have sorted it out, time will tell.

Focarse of Doom (TM) - picked up key, went and had a look about the interior of the car.

[yes oui si]

Keep seeing a white mk1 focus estate around here driven by someone who looks about 98 years old... 

If anyone has a lead on one that isn't fucked, give me a shout

[AnnoyingPentium]

17 minutes ago, yes oui si said:

If anyone has a lead on one that isn't fucked, give me a shout

So you don't want mine then? 😂

[yes oui si]

7 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

So you don't want mine then? 😂

One with decent ticket and bodywork that can handle 30 miles a day will do. 

Fucked suspension is fine, I'd be putting it on its arse. 

[AnnoyingPentium]

18 minutes ago, yes oui si said:

One with decent ticket and bodywork that can handle 30 miles a day will do. 

Fucked suspension is fine, I'd be putting it on its arse. 

Okay so mine is oot then... 😂

I haven't driven it yet, as its not running (yet) AND without ticket. Although sitting in it was lovely, feels very well built compared to what I'm used to.

[AnnoyingPentium]

On 3/27/2023 at 11:38 AM, AnnoyingPentium said:

Just a short update until I've got something more professional* and interesting* written up with piccies! There's loads I've got to write up that I've done, but I'll write about it properly later.

Scabia - EVAP purge (N80) valve done. Piece of piss to do. Hopefully will have sorted it out, time will tell.

Focarse of Doom (TM) - picked up key, went and had a look about the interior of the car.

An expansion of this, now below, and over two posts...

I'll start with the Skoda. Since changing the N80 valve, it's done fuck all mileage, beyond nipping to a few spots to go for walks with ASBO dog and suchlike. The N80 was dead easy to change on this, it lives just beside the coolant tank. 

The N80 valve, below, to the right of the coolant tank.

Take the two hoses off, unplug the connector, and remove from the wee hauder-inny thing. Replace, refit. Done.

On top of this, I've bought YET ANOTHER car stereo...

This is pretty much the same as the one my Dad had in his ST205 Celica, only I'm not well off enough anymore to afford such luxuries like the matching compact disc changer, for now. Still, I really like this unit, sounds so good.

The Fabia recently ticked over to 75,000 miles. Still a young thing yet, I don't know when such a fragile petrol engine becomes "high mileage" anyway, nor do I particularly care.

Ignore the spanner, it keeps reminding me it needs a service, but I'm waiting till I'm paid to buy servicing stuff. It shouldn't implode in the time between now and April, surely? *looks nervously at infamous 1.2 HTP timing chain*

Anyhoo, this car has been on dog carrying duties. The boot is minging now, but it's fine. Car still smells okay, just the boot being hairy but the rest is fine and dandy.

That Skoda OEM dog guard was well worth the £HFM I paid to have it dropped on the doorstep. Freddie can actually get in and out of the Fabia which is good, as he struggles with the Duster. Although admittedly he still has issues with the lip on the Fabia. I'm hoping the flat load area of the Focus (once/if it's running) will help alleviate that issue somewhat, if not entirely.

For now, I'll round off this instalment of Fabia nonsense with a photograph from the other night.

See below some Focus updates...

[AnnoyingPentium]

Okay time to, erm, focus on tha Focus.

 

 

Naw, dinnae get yer hopes up, it's still aff eh road.

Anyway, moving on, I popped over to see @big_al_granvia and grab the key off him for the car the other week there. What with it being a nice day, I drove out to see the car, and have a nosey round about it all to get a feel of what I've unknowingly jumped head first into.

Here it is again. I was glad* to see it's still exactly where it was left.

First things first, check the sills. Solid. Surface rust making them look scabby, but it hasn't compromised the metal there yet.

The doors? A little bit brown, but not terrible yet.

Stepping inside...

Welcome to the world of Ghia, folks. As you can see, by the time I'd taken this, I'd whipped out the stereo. It's an original Ford unit that I don't intend on keeping in the car. It's been removed, but now my stereo clips are stuck in it. Good one, Ryan.

Moving on, I've sat in it. It feels very plush and well built. Much more inviting and cosy than the rugged plastickery that is the Fabia. Granted, the Fabia is very hardwearing inside, but it leaves a lot to be desired compared to the interior of the Focus (IMO). Below is also a series of photos I took that I thought were cool* or showed the car off well*.

^ including the Ghia wood panelling that is just amazing.

As I thought/was told, the car only has the original Ghia velour rear seat base, the rest is all from a Zetec. I don't mind this though, as I'll be throwing a blanket over it (cheaper than replacing it), although if this car proves itself I'll get the Ghia seats.

I also opened the bonnet, although the Ford system for opening the bonnet isn't something I'm used to, but figured it out.

Yep, engine's still there. Good stuff.

Will need to grab a battery for this at some point to have a go at trying to start it. I was informed elsewhere that hitting the tank near the pump (without damaging the tank obvs) may kick the pump into life, but not a guarantee... or if that's why the pump isn't working. Will start with fuses and suchlike though...

Anyway, will leave this with a parting photo...

Heh, out of Focus...

 

If you've read this far, thanks for reading. Here's something to listen to before yous go.