Corsa B - little mint green dream machine

[auntiemaryscanary]

Twixfest ready 

Far, far too hot for me. Shall be stopping every hour to stick my head under the cold tap.

Calling off at Blaydon/Gateshead to buy a mega shed, as you do.

[auntiemaryscanary]

Now at Hexham taking in the fine cafes, well their aircon, it's bliss after the heat of the Corsa.

I mainly do short, local trips in it so I'm always pleasantly surprised how well it sits at a satnav 70-75 (indicated 75-80). It handles really well and certainly doesn't embarrass itself on fast roads. It hasn't missed a beat even in the traffic jams when the dashboard thermometer was showing 33°c. 

Mind you the open window noise above 60 gets painful.

[JMotor]

They are surprisingly good on the motorway/longer trips.

My Corsa did Northampton and back last year with not too many issues. Well except one. Me being too tall to sit in it properly! Quick rest stop helped. 

BTW, I've packed my laptop and I'll hunt out the adapter cable for the Opcom tonight 👍. Even set an alarm to remind me 😆.

[auntiemaryscanary]

39 minutes ago, JMotor said:

They are surprisingly good on the motorway/longer trips.

My Corsa did Northampton and back last year with not too many issues. Well except one. Me being too tall to sit in it properly! Quick rest stop helped. 

BTW, I've packed my laptop and I'll hunt out the adapter cable for the Opcom tonight 👍. Even set an alarm to remind me 😆.

Much appreciated! After today's run I don't think there is much wrong with it now but intrigued to see what you might find.

Yes, I still had a bit in reserve for overtaking etc. I know it's limited on modern comforts and a 30+ year old design but it drives in a modern way I feel.

Couldn't figure wether I kept getting cut up by pricks cuz they thought I was an old dodderer or because they were, well, just pricks.

[auntiemaryscanary]

[stuboy]

great looking motor

[MrGTI6]

Glad to hear the journey was a success in spite of the sweltering heat! Time for a few well-earned bevvies. 

Just had a look at whereabouts you all are and that really is "Northern"!

The Scots on here will beg to differ of course!

[loserone]

32 minutes ago, MrGTI6 said:

Just had a look at whereabouts you all are and that really is "Northern"!

Howay man, get yourself up for tomorrow evening and a leisurely jaunt just into Scotland 

[auntiemaryscanary]

8 minutes ago, MrGTI6 said:

Glad to hear the journey was a success in spite of the sweltering heat! Time for a few well-earned bevvies. 

Just had a look at whereabouts you all are and that really is "Northern"!

The Scots on here will beg to differ of course!

It's northern for me, not often I get past North Yorks. 

[auntiemaryscanary]

37 minutes ago, loserone said:

Howay man, get yourself up for tomorrow evening and a leisurely jaunt just into Scotland 

Come on @MrGTI6!!

[MrGTI6]

12 minutes ago, auntiemaryscanary said:

Come on @MrGTI6!!

From my house (in Kent) by car: 

Brussels, Belgium - 206 miles
Paris, France - 261 miles
Amsterdam, Netherlands - 309 miles
Duisburg, Germany - 319 miles
Wiltz, Luxembourg - 320 miles
Hexham, England - 326 miles

Amazing how far the Corsa has travelled considering it likely spent a quarter of a century within the same 10-mile radius!

[loserone]

5 minutes ago, MrGTI6 said:

326 miles

An leisurely jaunt.  We do 700 miles in a day twice a year with three kids in the car and a trailer on the back, and don't even count the trip to the South coast for the ferry or tunnel as that's just the after work run. 

 

Come and experience roads which aren't shit and full of cars and lorries.

[auntiemaryscanary]

13 minutes ago, MrGTI6 said:

From my house (in Kent) by car: 

Brussels, Belgium - 206 miles
Paris, France - 261 miles
Amsterdam, Netherlands - 309 miles
Duisburg, Germany - 319 miles
Wiltz, Luxembourg - 320 miles
Hexham, England - 326 miles

Amazing how far the Corsa has travelled considering it likely spent a quarter of a century within the same 10-mile radius!

I  did drive the Corsa from Kent to Nottingham and then from Nottingham to Hexham so it's doable in any old nail.

Oh, those trips were 13 months apart...

[MrGTI6]

1 minute ago, loserone said:

An leisurely jaunt.  We do 700 miles in a day twice a year with three kids in the car and a trailer on the back, and don't even count the trip to the South coast for the ferry or tunnel as that's just the after work run. 

 

Come and experience roads which aren't shit and full of cars and lorries.

It was a pathetic excuse really! Clocked up 4000 miles last month, much of that over the course of a week across France/Spain/Portugal!

I'll make it an aim to join you next year; it's always good to put faces to names. I'd have to make a weekend of it and book the Friday off work to make it worthwhile. Could even bring MrGTI6 junior along! 

Something to put in the 2026 calendar, for sure!

[auntiemaryscanary]

9 minutes ago, MrGTI6 said:

Could even bring MrGTI6 junior along! 

Now that's a fine idea. He'd love the open space and freedom.

[auntiemaryscanary]

I got home from Twixfest at 5pm. The Corsa behaved impeccably over all 436 miles covered in the 3 days. It's just a shame late 90's base motoring didn't come with aircon - I was a horrible sweaty mess following the Friday drive.

I've a thanked few people elsewhere but thanks to @paulplom for bringing the camping fridge over on Saturday and it was a pleasure meeting lady friend paulplom today too.

Thanks too to @JMotor for bringing his Opcom  and Win 7 laptop. I've never seen someone jump so much whilst seated - he plugged the reader in and it simultaneously sparked and went bang. Bless him, he was worried he'd fried the Corsa electrics. I don't really feel the can of Guinness Zero I gave him was suitable recompense...

Final thanks to the Scottish trio for last night's pub meal and making sure I was going back in the right direction (left my phone and thus map app back at site) as they went to the border and to cross back into the promised land.

[JMotor]

To say I would mildly relieved the car was fine would be an understatement. 

"Ohhh shite!" Came to mind when it happened 😆. Not a nice feeling to have when you could of borked someone else's car. 

I was pleasantly surprised at how clean the little car was. Yes it's low miles. But it was rust free where you'd expect any Corsa to be surface rusty. 

[loserone]

It is *incredibly" bonny.  

 

When you have some of the spectacular cars which were there (and I guess a few which didn't make it) like the Maserati tearing up the gravel, this still stood out.  

 

If only it were a bit faster 👀

[JMotor]

9 minutes ago, loserone said:

If only it were a bit faster 👀

I've got a suggestion or two on that front....

😁

[auntiemaryscanary]

45 minutes ago, JMotor said:

I've got a suggestion or two on that front....

😁

Eh! I'm not letting YOU near my motor again FFS!!

[JMotor]

Very wise decision there sir! 

🤣🤣

 

[auntiemaryscanary]

I'm off to bed (a real one with a real wife in it) in a mo but if anyone is thinking about joining one these weekend long AS events then please do whatever the distance. Camping isn't obligatory, some folks stayed off site in hotels. Make a mini holiday of it, book somewhere overnight on the way up & back.

They are really friendly & good fun. Kids and dogs were in attendance. They even welcome a chuffing hearse complete with gold plastic skeleton...

Edited July 13 by auntiemaryscanary
Tiredness

[dome]

Was a pleasure to meet you @auntiemaryscanary and I very much enjoyed a run to the show in this little honey. 

Shame you couldn't have entered it, it would have sat quite happily in amongst the show cars!

 

[auntiemaryscanary]

16 minutes ago, dome said:

Was a pleasure to meet you @auntiemaryscanary and I very much enjoyed a run to the show in this little honey. 

Shame you couldn't have entered it, it would have sat quite happily in amongst the show cars!

 

Pleasure to meet you too @dome

[auntiemaryscanary]

You fat bastard's

I never get tired of the juxtaposition.

[MrGTI6]

12 minutes ago, auntiemaryscanary said:

You fat bastard's

I never get tired of the juxtaposition.

What are the other cars doing there? Can't they read? Elderly Vauxhalls only.

[auntiemaryscanary]

We've had the eldest daughter's 107 for a couple of months now (she's 17 in a month) and shamefully hadn't even cleaned it yet. Best remedy that then.

Dtr wasn't that keen on doing the interior but she found the snow foam and pressure washer much more fun - especially in Australian mode.

Will get the spot cleaner out on the fabrics another time. The only thing I dislike about the Pug is the bloody sliding front seats!

The Corsa B hadn't been cleaned since the July Twixfest so the bits of @Schaefft and Ms Schaeft's field were vacced out and it got the same external treatment as the 107 plus a dry.

Already for the Motorist in the morning.

I'd thought the slight oil weep had ceased but I could no longer see it so easily after the oil change so before the above it got an engine degrease.

Still very much enamoured with this Corsa.

[Dan302]

That's is the best Corsa B colour. Fact.

[auntiemaryscanary]

MoT time. Booked in last Saturday. A good razz round to get everything warmed up. Plus another 10 mins with the Corsa nose in a soft hedge to get it really hot. Last year they struggled to get it through the emissions.

The fan kicks in for the first time ever. Didn't even do it when sat on the A1 in 35°c on the way to Northern Twixfest 25! It had bothered me before so I tested the fan directly off the battery and it worked.

Turns up for my 10.30 MoT slot. Should be there at 10am. I felt a right tw*t. Profuse apology and rebooked for today.

Everything nice and hot again getting this morning and...

2nd clean pass in my ownership. 15th year on the trot for clean passes. It only failed once in the electronically recorded era and that was back in 2010 for a faulty headlight switch. What a little car.

There is a v slight blow on the rear box pipe where it joins the mid-section pipe and that is due to me and the neighbour struggling to get the new back box aligned. I asked MoT man about it and he said it's not really an advisory and just stick some paste on it. They are a really good MoT station and that's why I was unhappy messing them about on Saturday.

Something* has changed in the coolant system. It warms up quicker for sure. Not sure what it is but I ain't gonna worry about it!