barch
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- Feb 23, 2011
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Another grey and rainy day in Scotland eh Steve
General Bumble's Bee
- Thread starter bumble
- Start date
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General Bumble's Bee
OP
OP
August Bank Holiday and I've actually got the woodburner lit and burning the scraps left from the garage doors.
OP
OP
It seems to have been a very short summer. Car will be SORN at the end of this month and I'm hoping to get some dry weather to go for a blast before then. I don't think I have used a tank of fuel this year? I was cleaning out my garage today and if anyone is considering recovering their car interior and could use my original centre arm rest/stowage box, let me know.
Steve
Steve
OP
OP
Well, Christine is SORN for the winter. Washed and tucked away in the dry. I hope next summer will bring some drier days.
Steve
Steve
gar074
Prominent member
I've been delaying SORNing mine for the last few weeks, hoping I'd get another outing before tucking her up for the winter, but I reckon I'll call it quits and cancel the tax before we go into next month. Even if we were to get some sunny autumn days, I'm down a long farm track which gets very muddy after rain, and at this time of year it takes at least a week of dry weather for it to dry out (and no way am I going to get her underparts mucky!).
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Hello friends. Having charged her battery, Christine fired up immediately and I reversed her out of the garage into the sun for the first time this year. Although still SORN, she is insured and I am sorely tempted to tax her and take her for a run. I have the XC70, the Freelander and the SLK on the road at the moment so I think I might have to wait until the end of May. Anyway, good to be back on here - hope everyone is ok? Steve
Welcome back Steve
Hope you have a great Barchetta summer.
Hope you have a great Barchetta summer.
Welcome back. Mine's SORNed too while I've been working on another little motor.
gar074
Prominent member
You must have timed that carefully - blink and you'll miss it!
Welcome back, Steve. I've had mine back on the road since April, and have already used it more than last year (although not in the 2 few weeks - too wet & cold!)
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Thanks for you comments. Barchetta is in for MOT - will know tomorrow is she has been successful. Then six months tax and time for some fun. Unfortunately rain is forecast for tomorrow - Christine hasnt been in rain for four years! Take care - Steve
gar074
Prominent member
Hope that Christine was on her best behaviour today!
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Impeccably behaved. Passed MOT - advisories for rusty coil springs - same as last year and the year before! Just need to tax her now but have to wait for 1st June or I will lose a month. I took a quick photo back on the drive before the rain. She needs a good wash and a polish then on Saturday, she's good to go. Steve
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gar074
Prominent member
Awesome! (and she's looking lovely, too!)
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1st of June and car taxwd for six months. After a quick wash me and 'er indoors' went on a brief drive to Berwick Upon Tweed. Although the car performed superbly, there was a strong smell of petrol in the car after every burst of acceleration. My initial thoughts were a perished fuel line under the bonnet so we returned home to check it out. I could find no trace of any fuel leak then found the cause - I had cross threaded the fuel filler cap which, although appearing to be tight, clearly wasn't. With the cap secured properly we set off to Edinburgh for a run vis Duns where the Jim Clark Rally was underway. Although dry, it was too cold for the top down but even with the poor state of the potholed roads, we enjoyed a great drive. The two pics of the car are taken in the same position and although the car is unchanged, the change to the garden is dramatic. A better day is forecast tomorrow so I'm planning another blast. Drive safely. Steve
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Eat your heart out KC3 - two consecutive days of sunshine. Its almost like Cyprus here! Took Christine to work today and on the way home stopped for a quick photo-shoot. Thats Berwick Upon Tweed and the North Sea in the background.
Took Christine to work today and on the way home stopped for a quick photo-shoot. Thats Berwick Upon Tweed and the North Sea in the background.Attachments
Giorgio
New member
Very nice photos Steve. Don't forget to put this year's tax disc into the car though! ;-)
Regards
Giorgio
Regards
Giorgio
Nice to see another B enjoying the sun
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Good spot about the tax disc. As I had applied on line, it was taxed but hadnt actually arrived. Been out for a blast today and took this pic on The Union Bridge which spans the River Tweed about 5 miles upstream of Berwick Upon Tweed. When opened in 1820 the bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world. 
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Incidentally, the above post was a first for me and made using the Fiat Forum app for the iPhone. Not sure why the photo ended up in amongst the text though. Steve
Steve
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Latest developments on the Bumble fleet are a cracked rim on the SLK. The rim has been cracked now for about six months and results in the rear o/s tyre losing about 10 PSI per week. I have looked on eBay for ages trying to find a replacement wheel but the car has staggered wheels, that is 8.5 inch wide at the rear and 7.5 inch at the front and therefore I haven't been successful. Anyway, today the problem has been sorted. I removed the wheel on the drive and took it to my local tyre bay where they removed the tyre. I then took the cracked rim to Halston Engineering at Dalkeith, Edinburgh where the owner Gavin first drilled the end of the crack and then sawed open the split before welding it inside and out. The photos show the before and after. As the crack was inside of the rim, the finish is good enough. If it has been on the outside, it would clearly need more finishing work and a full refurb (which the wheels really need) Gavin charged £30 for the welding and I paid a further £8 for the tyre removal/refit/valve and balance. The only downside was 'er indoors' wanting to go to The House of Hell (Ikea) whilst the wheel was being welded. I know the post isnt Fiat related but after all, an alloy is an alloy!
