Grizz’s OCD Awesome ASTRO Van 🚙 Megane SCENIC 1.5dci 🚙 MX5 JEEP For Sale.🚨 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 USA Road Trip

[grizz]

Saturday morning I was out earlier than normal, as we had a BBQ invitation to friends an hour from here for 2.00pm.

Lazy jobs to do, so I started with checking out the radio in the Van.

Still not able to figure the balance control on this rocket ship,radio.

So unable to test the speakers in the rear doors. 

But I did find this………

Anyone need it?

Next up, refitted the rear door retaining strap that @glenanderson had fished out.

Two handed job for sure.

Fitted though.

While out back, I did an asses,ent of the threshold, not too nice.

So a bit of paint repairing will happen .

I also measured the open section and went to order a 5 meter length of 150mm or 6 inch wide, anti-slip tape to put on the edge.

Whoever the genius put the bit on there before, clearly never loaded a van.

I will apply it o the edge and possibly fold it over the edge a bit. 

At £9.00 delivered it seems a good investment or added peace of mind in preventative maintenance.

While I was on that job, I looked at the second door (opens after the first one) on the left, it is missing a trip strip of some sort 

Does the van doors come with a protective strip? 

Or do I have to make one up? 

Answers please.

Then back to the floor……..

The rear retaining g strip for the carpeting has missed a few screws since day one, so I thought removing and replacing them all makes sense. 

They are screwed through the floor.

Some came out easy……

Some needed a bit of persuading, and rather than force them, a gentle tape, followed by a more persuasive tap on a Phillips screwdriver made the rust break and then allowed me to get them out.

This really does help, as having the head break off meant that replacing the screws with fresh ones would be a ball ache for sure.

I had very short replacements , but lucky for me, neighbour Tony at no1 house who does my boiler servicing and electrical maintenance, had some in his garage.

Longer than I need, but a swift cut with a grinder will see that sorted.

Once I have prepared all the holes with some rust preventative, and cleaned the edge strop, I will refit the strip with new screws.

That should make a difference too.

At this point, I had to walk away to go shower and shave for the afternoon out.

But even small jobs need doing.

So a good day again.

I need to go shower and then pack a small bag…….

Remember Bill who did the logistics for the Rezin Rockit?

He called me on Friday, offering to come down from Scotland for a few days to help me with anything random that needs doing here.

He is a fireman, so has extended shifts on and off work.

Currently dog-sitting, he wanted to bring his dog along, but of course George would not be happy.

So I declined his offer of helping me with servicing the Astro, and sorting the sound system out. 

450 miles is a long way to drive to randomly help someone (of course he gains time away as a break too) 

So last night I impulsively called him at 9.30pm and asked if he has a bed for me……..

I have about 10 days vacation time too use before I stop work mid November, and had texted my boss for permission while out at the BBQ.

Anyone near Glasgow? Whitchurch, Shropshire? 

Get the kettle going, send me a PM.

Life certainly is good.

[grizz]

Watch a wasp cutting meat.

 

https://youtu.be/P5s7rhhCSAM?si=FxFAqTRWXFpaB9Kt

[grizz]

Another one of those “I NEED” entries.

I need a spare wheel for the Astro van.

Steel, or alloy, but alloy preferred as it would use the right lug nuts. 

15” and 5x5 

Tire                      Rim.       Offset.     Range mm
OE 205/75SR15    6Jx15 ET13    11 - 15
OE 215/75SR15    6Jx15 ET13    11 - 15
245/60HR15    6.5Jx15 ET13    11 - 15

PM please. 

[grizz]

Interesting gift from mate Bill.

There you go, if it works, great, if not, bin it. 

[grizz]

My trip up to Scotland has been really enjoyable.

Seen loads of stuff, met some great people.

One of Bills long term friends shall we say is a money making machine.

Nonstop ideas and cations keeps money pouring in.

Last week he drove to Norway to strip down this Volvo truck, bringing back the parts to restore one of 6 that were meant to have been exported to South Africa years ago, that he now owns, three rusted away, one is on the road and one unknown.

The one he has, note the cab floor, and a birds nest in the roof.

Anyway….. he is the kind of guy who buys a Porsche Taycan new, drives it a few months and parks it up on the drive because it is disappointing in its range and ability as a daily driver, going back to his Mercedes Vito as daily.
He owns A load of interesting exotics and collectibles, including a beautiful Datsun 260Z , 911, a few Tombstone Benzes, two G-Wagons and then all sorts of interesting smaller stuff. 

Moss covered Taycan did not look like this.

Various barns, garages and stables filled with all sorts of future projects.

Just one of the barns, filled with loads, and there were three early Honda Accors and much more stuff.

Nothing for sale here.

But this had me calling him on Bills phone to just register my interest, if you know what I mean.

Tonight is steak…….

[bezzabsa]

hes a very lucky man!!!

[grizz]

On 10/10/2023 at 20:40, bezzabsa said:

hes a very lucky man!!!

I think he is a hard working man.

And he never sits still, always looking for the next million to make. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looks like I have sourced a wheel.

Just need to figure a way to get it from Hereford to Kent. 

And then get a tyre on it as well.

And paint would help.

[grizz]

While in Scotland, Bill and I took,Blue, his dog for a walk.

Perfect.

Also managed to go see the Falkirk Wheel.

Wikipedia says:

The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift in Tamfourhill, Falkirk, in central Scotland, connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. It reconnects the two canals for the first time since the 1930s. It opened in 2002 as part of the Millennium Link project.

The plan to regenerate central Scotland's canals and reconnect Glasgow with Edinburgh was led by British Waterways with support and funding from seven local authorities, the Scottish Enterprise Network, the European Regional Development Fund, and the Millennium Commission. Planners decided early on to create a dramatic 21st-century landmark structure to reconnect the canals, instead of simply recreating the historic lock flight.

The wheel raises boats by 24 metres (79 ft), but the Union Canal is still 11 metres (36 ft) higher than the aqueduct which meets the wheel. Boats must also pass through a pair of locks between the top of the wheel and the Union Canal. The Falkirk Wheel is the only rotating boat lift of its kind in the world, and one of two working boat lifts in the United Kingdom, the other being the Anderton Boat Lift.

Did a bit of a glued together bit of video of it turning nd lifting a longboat from one canal up to another system.

https://youtu.be/1nOVHFwgpL0?si=UnVttmjINJ6IIQFK

Time well spent, both for me and the dog.

[grizz]

While in Scotland, Bill and I took,Blue, his dog for a walk.

Perfect.

Also managed to go see the Falkirk Wheel.

Wikipedia says:

The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift in Tamfourhill, Falkirk, in central Scotland, connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. It reconnects the two canals for the first time since the 1930s. It opened in 2002 as part of the Millennium Link project.

The plan to regenerate central Scotland's canals and reconnect Glasgow with Edinburgh was led by British Waterways with support and funding from seven local authorities, the Scottish Enterprise Network, the European Regional Development Fund, and the Millennium Commission. Planners decided early on to create a dramatic 21st-century landmark structure to reconnect the canals, instead of simply recreating the historic lock flight.

The wheel raises boats by 24 metres (79 ft), but the Union Canal is still 11 metres (36 ft) higher than the aqueduct which meets the wheel. Boats must also pass through a pair of locks between the top of the wheel and the Union Canal. The Falkirk Wheel is the only rotating boat lift of its kind in the world, and one of two working boat lifts in the United Kingdom, the other being the Anderton Boat Lift.

Did a bit of a glued together bit of video of it turning nd lifting a longboat from one canal up to another system.

 

 

Time well spent, both for me and the dog.

[grizz]

S10 truck Collection on Sunday.

 

Truck now back to its original registration number.

 

Astro issued with GRZ733 

 

So the story continues.

 

Friday 13th and today at 11.00 is my final redundancy “consultation” not sure what part of this is consulting, as it is more a “tell you” 

 

It will be interesting to hear what they have to tell me. 

 

 

[Jenson Velcro]

Good luck with the consultation. I hope you get a reasonable settlement package.

[grizz]

32 minutes ago, Jenson Velcro said:

Good luck with the consultation. I hope you get a reasonable settlement package.

All Statutory Minimums.

 

Unfortunately, being a top performing member stands for nothing.

[grizz]

While I was up in Scotland visiting Bill, I managed to scavenge som plastic trim from a Mazda Bongo van he had chopped up.

Door lock and side needs trim.

This may be a plan.

Not quite a perfect fit, but a grinder, some heat gun action and we may have it looking a lot better.

During the week, while I travelled to Scotland, some anti-slip tape arrived at home.

So I removed the half-arsed attempt by some brain surgeon, leaned up many years worth of old hardened glue and proceeded to measure and cut.

Pretty messy and messed up.

Cut to length 

Cut to shape.

Up close.

Liking that a lot.

Cleaned up the removable tow bar and removed the original license plate.

Fitted, with license plate in place.

Not ideal

And replaced the front license plate. 

I am liking this. 

Next job is to drill the holes for the retaining stip, carefully, in order to get the screws back in to hold the strip down.

Fit the rear license plate, as I had to clean up and repaint the rear plate support.

 

[grizz]

Just how badly do I want one of these models.

 

[grizz]

Raining all day.

 

Working redundancy style…….

 

They can’t really fire me now, can they.

 

Wanted to get some rear entry action in today.

 

Cut, shape and see if it works to make up a blanking panel for the rear door.

 

The number plate recess has been tidied and the paint now dried, but rain prevents fitting.

 

 

Hoped some time over the weekend to get some stuff done.

[grizz]

Still not dry outside.

So spent money on Amazon instead.

£21.94 for a silly ornament, but why be normal.

[grizz]

Needing a Pony Express possibly to collect 5 wheels with tyres fitted in Milton Keynes to come to Rochester, Kent.

I went by there two weeks ago but they were not available then.

Big ask, big load but worth asking.

Just in case 

PM. Me.

Ta.

[grizz]

140 miles mini road trip yesterday to meet up with two awesome guys. 

One a member on here @sammo, and a younger guy who does 1% social media, only FB marketplace to sell stuff.

Spent an hour at least at Sam’s mums place and would happily spend a day working or chatting with him, got to spend time with his Mums cat, and also met his rescued pet tortoise, another cool creature. Bought and loaded some stuff, he kindly gave me some real winter emergency spares too. Thanks Sam. 

Then off to Chertsy to meet up with Curtis a builder (construction sort) 

How refreshing to chat for an hour with someone who is massively into cars, but has no PB, IG or other Stalker site presence. I just found him while doing a search for something arbitrary and unrelated, realising he also had some stuff I wanted (rarely about need) 

I bought some stuff from him and ended up with having to return stuff that did not fit in the back of the com-any wagon as it was a bit bigger than the hole. Also some bits that did fit.

However, more importantly, he declined money for the stuff I had not gone to buy, citing that he was brought up by a step dad who taught him everything he knows in construction as he was employed by him after school and that being honest (he offered to demonstrate the goods I had bought from him, working,  there for me) and paying stuff forward always left him with a full Karma bucket. 

What a pleasure.

I drove off smiling and thinking that if I had kids, this would be my template. 

Back home around 3.3.30pm after leaving at 09.00am

I was just moving the Astro over the street when I saw @nickwheeler waft by in his silver (actually it is grey) Ford Focus.

So I parked the van over the street nd reversed the company car up into the back yard for unloading. 

As I was done and moved the Focus back out front, Nick cruised up and parked.

A couple of hours saw him being able to get his weekly quota of pissstaking with me, and no paint was involved.

A good at indeed, wallet somewhat lighter…… for the greater good. 

No Astro work done, except unbox my new Hula Tiki. 

Life is good. 

[Asimo]

12 minutes ago, grizz said:

Life is good

🙂

[grizz]

Soon to be unleashed on here.

 

Remember this……

 

Redundancy…..

 

No Car…..

 

Etc….

 

 

Red golf panelvan…..

 

 

This was currently not for sale.

 

 

A year ago, almost to the day, I was kept in service after expecting 100% to be made redundant.

 

At which time I had bought the scruffy Micra to see me through till a new job happened as the company car would be returned.. https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/222766/grizz-nissan-micra-scruffy-daniels

 

So the Micra ended up surplus and at the same time my good friend and USA Roar=d trip travel companion, Craig, was looking for a spare, cheap car to add to their family fleet as backup to wife and son and a cousin who needed cheap transport. The Micra has just got a fresh MOT Last week, still working and is being traded by son Kyle for his Audi A4 estate while he heads to Ireland, back to university.

 

Micra continues to live its new life in Shropshire with Craig.

 

Daily duties shared with his AMG Mercedes Benz ML, so quite a contrast.

 

 

 

 

In September while on 2023 my USA road trip, I found out that this time, the 5th redundancy in 2 years, I would be losing my job.

 

So by mid November the Focus estate, company iPad , phone, headset, printer, data projector and any other clinical data sets etc go back

 

Leaving me stranded with a 26mpg smile generating machine.

 

The 1990 Chevy Astro 4.3l V6 automatic

 

It had replaced the S10

 

While employed.

 

 

So the search was on for something functional, interesting, cheap (failed that test) nearby.

 

 

Of course I had time on my side, though I did not really want to buy another car as there is also the Rezin Rockit still taking up space.

 

 

It is a fun toy and car to drive, but not how I want to do 159 miles to go do a job interview, neither is the Astro van ideal.

 

 

I seem to be good at complicating things for myself here.

[grizz]

Time on my hands…..

 

Never a good thing.

 

Full build will be here.

 

too much copy and paste and my internet sucks big time, so always a struggle to load photos on every site, as my Photobucket is a PITA.

 

https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/225915/mobile-43mpg-runaround-sliver-dream

 

 

please follow there if interested. 

[grizz]

I failed miserably at finding something cheap like the Prozac Berlingo.

I guess one of those in a lifetime is a bargain, not to be repeated. 

Looked right across to Markplaats and Scout24.de and found the market for cheap cars is limited. 

Some real sh!trees out there for strong money.

Considering the price of a scrap car, catalytic converters etc now……

Things are just more expensive..

My current total.

More later.

[grizz]

Right.

Friday the 13th October, I was in Shropshire at buddy Craigs place, after my trip up to see @oxb1l buddy Bill the fireman in Scotland.

I had an 11.00 appointment on Teams with my contract’s manager and the company HR representative obviously there for the whole farce of so called “consultation” there was no consulting and the statutory o days were not over yet….. but mehhhhh.

Told that my service/role terminates 15 November at which point the Ford Focus company car, IT equipment including the iPad I am writing this on (I never owned an iPad as one was enough) mobile phone and headset will get collected. Leaving me with the choice of Rezin Rockit and Astro to use as daily. Both are somewhat impractical for differing reasons, and I like them for those reasons, but it became obvious that I would do well having something like the Micra, sold a year ago. So I looked about, including on the autoshite.com For Sale section and saw a car that had previously made me smile, for sale. Sadly, prices of bangers have gone up a lot in the last few years, and when looking at some German and Dutch sales websites, they were even more pricey than the U.K. 
so a lot of thinking and a message to the seller followed, including an agreement to leave Shropshire a day early to go view this car. 

Resulting in the following. 

The New to me, Redundancy Runabout comes from the same retro cars community I am part of.

Firstly, I want to post a link to its previous life in the hands of a gent called @Zelandeth 

He is as meticulous and OCD as you want someone to be when you buy a car from him.

Weirdly……..

He and I share another link.

He has owned three cars, previously owned by Colin, I now own two of Colin’s former cars, and Zel retains two.

My Chevy Astro that I collected from Colin in Scunthorpe and the new car were his before.

FIRST INFORMATION SET.

LOOK FROM PAGE 53 IN THIS THREAD FOR ALL THE OCD WORK AND REPAIRS CARRIED OUT BY ZEL BEFORE ME.

https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/207975/model-invacar-visitors-occasional-distractions?page=53

Of course, as mentioned, the Astro belonged to Colin and is still getting a load of small jobs done by me, just to tidy it up to a standard that I can get along with. 

So there you have the preamble to the latest vehicle at Grizz-towers.

I had not intended buying anything else when I bought the Chevy Astro to replace the S10 truck.

In fact, the Rezin Rockit was and is also due to be sold to someone who wants to drive it and play with it. 

Simply the logistics of having too many cars on the drive taking up space and needing juggling when something needs doing, using or whatever.

I now need to do some corporate work first but will come back in a bit to post up the FOR SALE ad as originally posted by Zel. 

Then we can carry on with this ownership story. 

[grizz]

• Anyone who's followed Zelandeth’s blog thread on here will know of this little van.

  
  I have rewritten and copied his FOR SALE ad with all the interesting stuff….

  
  

  He bought this back in January 2022 from @Marm Toastsmith on here when I was in need of something that would Just Work (TM) following a debacle with a Mercedes with what I came to term Schroedinger's Engine - which may or may not have been about to blow up at any time.  It was really intended to be a quick stop-gap while I found something more interesting.

  However it very quickly became a proper member of the fleet as it drives several orders of magnitude better than I had expected and without a doubt has to be one of the most overwhelmingly useful vehicles I've ever owned.

  Since I picked it up I've covered somewhere in the region of 15K miles (odometer currently sits on approximately 115K miles), and save for fixing a couple of gremlins it had when I first collected it (which needed replacement of the air intake throttle assembly as the motor had gone senile, and a couple of bits of missing trim replaced), nothing aside from normal consumables have been needed.

  A few people told me when I told them I'd bought this that the 1.9SDI was "Dangerously slow."  Complete cobblers.  No it's not a racing car...but guess what...it's NOT a racing car, it's a little van.  She keeps pace with traffic absolutely bloody fine, and will comfortably sit well above the posted speed limit on a motorway all day long, knocking on the door of 50MPG while doing so.  I've averaged 46MPG over the last couple of years, and that's mostly been around Milton Keynes which is absolute murder on economy in anything.  I wouldn't be surprised if you saw high 40s day to day in a more normal setting.

  While this thing isn't *noticeably* exceptional in any department while on a long trip it somehow seems to have a downright uncanny ability to compress long motorway journeys.  I've done Milton Keynes to Aberdeen and Glasgow (twice), and have always got there feeling like I'd been on the road for about an hour, not six or eight.

  I did find the nasty plastic steering wheel this came with quite unpleasant though so a leather wrapped one (I believe from a Golf) was fitted which is far nicer to hold.

  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  In terms of rust the underneath of the dropped floor section at the rear looks quite scabby, but has withstood thorough prodding without issue.  It's all just thick box section and flat panels though so even if any future repairs to this are needed they shouldn't be difficult.

  

  The worst rust I know of on the car is on the nearside front jacking point where someone has helpfully folded the bottom of the sill over at some point and the damp has got in.

  

  Here's the same area on the offside for comparison.

  

  The underside in general is actually astonishingly clean for a 21 year old van.

  

  There are a few bits which look a bit scabby top wise, but aren't really a worry in terms of structural integrity or an MOT pass at this point in time.

  

  
  

  Engine bay is pretty presentable and surprisingly free of bodgery I was glad to find

  

  Timing belt is still a ways off being due.

  

  Tyres are a matched set of UniRoyal RainExperts, and are I'd say at 50% life (rears more than the fronts as I had some issues finding a garage who could actually set tracking properly, so there's a bit of shoulder wear on the tyres currently on the back).  Front brake pads were replaced a couple of months ago as it was noted they were getting low.

  So.  Current issues.

  [] Air conditioning is inoperative.  The system is gas-tight but the compressor doesn't pump anything.  A replacement is supplied with the car, I've just never had the time to get it installed.  The expansion valve was also replaced when trying to fault find the issue so that's new.

  [] Short MOT.  It's out on November 18th.  I'm struggling for both time and space at the moment hence taking a punt on it at this price.  If there aren't any takers I'll stick a fresh test on it and re-advertise then.

  [] Cracked windscreen.

  [] Apparently knowing it was about to be put up for sale, it threw a check engine light at me last week literally as I was about to write this ad.  This was a code for a needle lift sensor signal error, which was cleared and hasn't come back in another 200 or so miles of driving.  This was after it had been sitting for a couple of weeks and the battery isn't exactly new, so it could be a one-off.  However I'm disclosing it here as something which has popped up and I can't guarantee won't reappear.

  [] Clutch isn't in its first flush of youth.  Bite point is quite low and it does judder.  I was pretty much expecting to have to put a clutch in when I bought the van...and it's still exactly the same now as it was then.  So may well go on for a good while yet.

  [] CV joints click on full lock.

  [] The smaller rear door lower latch doesn't reset properly when opened so you need to manually flip the roller after opening the door.

  [] Paint is...well you can see in the photos.  There's not a single panel on it which doesn't have a ding, scrape or something on it.  The front bumper was in primer when I got the van and was very quickly painted with a rattle can by me - it's very much a 20' job but made it way more presentable at a glance.  I've always meant to paint the wheels as that would immensely improve the looks in a matter of minutes.

  [] Rear seats really are only suitable for short trips or children as they're very cramped.  They take about 60 seconds each to remove though if you just want the load space.

  [] Wheelchair ramp is NOT operable.  The actual ramp itself was removed prior to me getting the vehicle, and the dropped section of the bumper is no longer functional.  I don't imagine it would be that hard to reinstate that at least though - I'd always meant to look into it for the dogs, but it just never got to the top of the to do list.

   

  Reason for sale?  Simply that I really need to be able to carry four adults in comfort for longer trips, and the Peugeot you see in the background of some of the photos has been bought to that end.  As such this needs to move on.

  This could be a really useful little van for someone, or thanks to the dropped floor could be an absolutely ace base for a micro-camper build as it gives you a good bit of extra height over a standard van.  It's served me bloody well over the last couple of years and I will honestly be sad to see it go.  I'd quite happily jump in this tomorrow and drive anywhere in the country.  It's been one of those vehicles which really exceeded my expectations in every way, proving to be surprisingly a cheerful little thing to use as my daily.

  I always had wanted to do something about the paintwork, my idea there being to do something heavily inspired by the Polo Harlequin, as per this ten minute proof of concept I threw together.

  

  
  

  I don't think £750 is an unreasonable price for a vehicle like this in the current climate.  Or £1000 with a year's ticket on it - though if you want that you'll need to wait a couple of weeks while I organise it.  Will be valeted to eliminate as many traces of our dogs as possible from the back and will come with a full tank of diesel

  
   

[grizz]

I forgot to add the video introduction.

 

https://youtu.be/CgEzHp8Kgkk?si=HBiyXqM7fqLSv8re

 

 

 

 

.

[grizz]

Here is a short random video of just how sweet and smooth a £2750.00 sixty year old Rover P4 110 can be.

 

When collected to go buy the Caddy.

 

Salesmen ehhhh.

 

https://youtu.be/Qgg_Es9G-74?si=sQaAULVPteJHFI5x

[grizz]

Right.

Having agreed to buy the Caddy.

The rest was a bit of planning, praying, panicking, pfffft.

Report with words and photos coming up in a moment, or three for those who read.

Video.

 

 

 

.

[grizz]

Having decided to buy the Caddy Van from Zelandeth, the next point of interest was insurance………

 

That was a surprise as my rant evidenced.

 

Also ended up for some unexplained reason that management tossed a related thread in the whingebin, which is why people walk away from forums. Like it or not, despite any of the reasons maybe put forward for it. Anyway, it was a shock getting screwed by an insurer based on all their ducking and diving and reasons, none of which are actually applicable to me. 

 

Strange that.

 

My rant, hopefully not to get censored.

 

INSURANCE COMPANIES……. RIP OFF ARTISTS.

JUST CANCELLED THE S10 INSURANCE, 2.5 MONTHS LEFT ON THE POLICY.

ZERO REFUND.


SWAPPED THE GRZ733 PLATE TO THE ASTRO.

£46.80 ADMIN FEE.


WHAT A BUNCH OF THIEVES.



GOT A QUOTE FOR A VEHICLE OFF THE SAME COMPANY RECENTLY £578.00 WITH 3K MILES, SINGLE DRIVER, PERSONAL USE ONLY.
REPEATED SAME QUOTE ONLINE £337 UP TO £1000 
SELECTED TO BUY A £350.92 OPTION FROM CAROLE NASH - WENT TO CHECK OUT…… SYSTEM REJECTED PURCHASE.
CALLED CAROLE NASH DIRECT NEXT DAY TO CHECK.
NOPE…… PRICE NOT AVAILABLE, NEW PRICE NOW £372.00
I KINDA LOST IT, AND BY BEING REALLY NICE, INSISTED ON SPEAKING TO A SUPERVISOR, WHICH DID NOT HAPPEN, GOT THE ORIGINAL PRICE 20 MINUTES LATER.
IT IS CRAZY HOW THEY DIP THEIR HANDS INTO OUR POCKETS AND STEAL BECAUSE IT IS ALL LEGISLATED THAT YOU WILL HAVE INSURANCE.
AND OF COURSE ALL THE WRIGGLING TO NOT PAY WHEN YOU HAVE AN ACCIDENT/DAMAGE/BREAK IN. 


THIS REALY IS TIRING.

WATCH YOUR POCKETS.

 

So the plan, after seeing the car on Saturday on the way back from Scotland, was to take a train on Monday to collect, but having to sit for an extended period trying to deal with the insurance company would mean a late departure…… so I decided to leave on Tuesday instead.

Just as well, because the roads were murder on Monday.

 

So up early, Mickey next door earned his £10.00 pint money taking me down to the station at Strood, Kent.

 

Tickets bought. Add this to the purchase price, as well as Dartford Toll crossing and Mickey’s taxi fare.

 

 

Strood station wait. 

 

 

Then I minded many gaps, switching and using 4 trains on my way up to Milton Keynes.

 

 

First train change at Gravesend, broken public toilets and a 20 minute wait for the next train, used the ladies toilets as I identified as a guy needing to pee. 

 

 

Through to London, over the Thames river.

 

 

And into Charing Cross or Charing-X station for the next change.

 

 

Then onto the underground and up for air at Euston tube and overground station. 

 

 

 

Once I surfaced at Euston overground station, I got onto the Avanti train service.

 

Interesting to note the price of my connection ticket, online the same item was £8.00 but restricted to possibly one train only. Dickheads. 

 

The intercom on Avanti also warns you, reasonably clearly, that if you are caught on a different class carriage to what your ticket permits it will be another £222.00 fine/ticket. 

 

Very tidy trains, much much better than the stock I am used to travelling on on my routes. 

 

You kinda don’t mind paying the exorbitant fees for quality like that.

 

 

Uneventful, 30 minute trip, both comfortable, and without the usual riffraff that often polite South Eastern and whatever the other service is that I am reliant on.

 

Coming out of the station at Milton Keynes Central station, I had to walk as far as Subway sandwich shop and find my ride.

 

What a great surprise. 

 

Sublime.

 

 

And the interior……… Pure 60’s Britain.

 

What a lovely place to be.

 

 

And just for fun, a two minute inside video.

 

https://youtu.be/Qgg_Es9G-74?si=qYZs-wd2Wjb5r4ms

 

Getting to @Zelandeth ‘s home, we did the usual ritual dance of buying old cars.

 

Time to pay……

 

Hmmmm…. Transaction rejected in various ways. Barclays Bank proving why Cash is King.

 

System down, which meant jumping into the Caddy replacement, a Peugeot Partner van, slightly newer, but with the same familiarity as my old Prozac Berlingo.

So we headed back into the town centre to the actual bank branch, only to have the transactions declined repeatedly to the embarrassment of the staff member helping us navigate their future of banking machines.

Ultimately, thankfully, I managed to withdraw a pile of cash and hand it over to Zel.

Thanks for your patience mate.

We headed home to see me off to the motorway and going South on M1 and M25, followed my A2/M2 till I got to the Medway area.

 

Leaving and mileage as purchased.

 

 

Then went via Halfords to buy some VW Reflex silver paint for repairs already in mind.

 

 

Then home, and a big grin all the way.

 

This little van really was proving to be way more than the sum of its parts within the first 100 miles of driving in town and on the motorway.

 

Got home and parked up behind the outgoing company car. 

 

Happy.

 

 

Door to door first trip 104 miles, so just over 160km 

 

 

Then indoors, pee, coffee, gloat, walk around, gloat, smile.

 

And then the big decision, like buying your kid his/her/its first beer/cocktail.

 

The Caddy got its own front door key.

 

Not only that, a key ring.

 

Found in the gutter outside the house.

 

Honestly.

 

 

Later I went over to Sallys for dinner as she cooked.

 

100% gutted that she took no notice and was not interested in the new little lifesaver.

 

Well, she does not care for cars, does she? 

 

Went home and to bed later with that stupid grin we have when buying a new to us, car.

 

Little did I know there was pain ahead. 

[grizz]

RESTLESS.

Side glass, great, BUT…..

Security, privacy, Grizzification……

As usual I have/had a few things in mind before even buying the car.

So I ordered dark @95% limo tint for the side glass, and some black vinyl for the small strip of silver between the glass panels.

Only the side glass to go Limo tint, the rear doors will get 35%. 

Ideally it gets done on a warm day to help the tint and vinyl relax. So right now may be too much of a hurry.

But I will try later. 

Because 

May need extra hands to place it on the glass as well.

And my dirtiest of attempts at photoshop. 

Just edit with a black marker.

Get the idea? 

May or May not get to it today.

Lucky to have loads of other jobs to get done on the Astro and Caddy.

[grizz]

I know my young friend @nickwheeler will agree and look me straight in the eye, winking knowingly, when I say some people should never be allowed within six foot of a rattle can of paint.

Exhibit no 1 

So on the way home from collecting the car, I picked up a couple of colour matched cans of VW Reflex Silver. 

By Thursday I had already started to disassemble the car.

Prizefighter look.

And  Ugleeee……

Cleaned off, then repainted Simoniz chrome.

Mehhhh….. Fail.

So the rest of the grille was cleaned, scotch pad prepped and then plastic primer added.

Cold, wet day out there, so I used a paint stripping gun to add some heat and dryness to the paint drying.

Followed by silver all over , then cut out masks for the grille bars, and painted black.

Looking like this up close.

Tried out together.

Not quite.

Also repaired a tab that was broken before I dismantled it all.

Two pack epoxy.

So I fixed the wrong sized, curse word grille badge.

Not able to find one yet.

And next day when red paint dried, I tried it on.

Liking that.

So glued in place.

Following day, reassembly.

And of course a short video on the badge getting done.

https://youtu.be/ntRQT9w1wJw?si=RKs4lJavhKxhgCTL

Little things.

Bigger changes,

Whatcha think?