What's made you smile today?

[irc]

Ouch... about 50% of Australians petrol heads reading that would be throwing their stubbies at you. Although the other 50% drive Fords anyway.
Don't think they bother with German cars much.

 

[StevenRB45]

It was not without it's charm... perhaps a more modern 3.0 Capri would be it's place.

Main reason my mate sold it was too big and heavy to use on the roads round here at any real speed. It was forever bottoming out and the size meant if it went sideways you took up the whole road. A blunt instrument

Of course the irony being that a few weeks ago he was discussing getting a new car and one of his options was a BMW 4 series 3.0 turbo...which in the modern era manages to be fatter and bigger because that's progress. Of course he'd prefer the last gen M2 but the idea of running an out of warranty BMW gives him palpitations after years of running a Mazda.

Although in his defence last BMW he had never worked right in the 2 years he had it.

 

[PuntoHowTo]

Ouch... about 50% of Australians petrol heads reading that would be throwing their stubbies at you. Although the other 50% drive Fords anyway.
Don't think they bother with German cars much.

Given Holden no longer exists I think that it’s probably less than 50% but yeah I was generalising more about the uk car I’m sure there are plenty still about in aus

 

[irc]

Given Holden no longer exists I think that it’s probably less than 50% but yeah I was generalising more about the uk car I’m sure there are plenty still about in aus

TBH since Holden closed down I reckon nostalgia has taken that figure even higher.
And yep, the UK (well, European) car sucked.

 

[bugsymike]

the size meant if it went sideways you took up the whole road. A blunt instrument

I thought sideways was most of the fun, as a teenager driving a Ford Zephyr V6 on 6.70 x 13 cross ply tyres especially in the wet, simple pleasures in the early 70s
Tyres didn't last long , only slightly longer than the fuel tank @12 Mpg I used to get out of driving like that, mind you I wish it was 35 pence per gallon these days, yes per gallon not the 145p odd per litre now!

 

[StevenRB45]

I thought sideways was most of the fun, as a teenager driving a Ford Zephyr V6 on 6.70 x 13 cross ply tyres especially in the wet, simple pleasures in the early 70s
Tyres didn't last long , only slightly longer than the fuel tank @12 Mpg I used to get out of driving like that, mind you I wish it was 35 pence per gallon these days, yes per gallon not the 145p odd per litre now!

Sideways in a car with low weight, low grip and some space to play is fun.

Sideways in a car on Goodyear eagle F1s in something like 235 section on a small backroad generally means you've got about a second or so to rein it in before it gets expensive.

Of course reading the dimensions now it's the same length as a Skoda estate and lighter than most SUVs by a useful amount but at the time it was large and heavy.

It was apparently very nice to drift....but unless you had a quiet and quite large roundabout the dimensions and grip/power available meant it was an extreme sport.

 

[bugsymike]

Had to be done though
I was brought up on rear wheel drive, so hanging the arse out with opposite lock was the way to go.
Even when kart racing back then with a solid rear axle you had to throw it through the bends.

 

[The Panda Nut]

Wikipedia lists it as a variant of the Commodore which was related to the Omega... although how much they shared no idea. Earlier Commodores very much looked like a Senator..

It was indeed a drifty beast and pre-esp tcs so it would go sideways...then the TCS would come on...he did consider getting some bolt on bits for it (there was loads given it had a 5.7 LS in it) but in the end sold it and bought a superbike as a more interesting way to die. So he sold it and bought a Corsa B 1.4 for 250 quid and a Yahama R1...then pecked my head about getting a superbike for 2 years before he sold that.

Be a rare car now (in fact just checked 153 on the road), in that it wasn't the squishy standard one but also wasn't the later 6.0 which had a smaller fuel tank and much higher road tax...as well as a Halfords bonnet with nostrils.

I always love the styling of early 50s cars, something you don't see these days.
The Nash Metropolitan is a impractical car but I like them for some reason. As an apprentice in very early70s we had one on the forecourt for sale all road legal and shiny with warranty for £40 roughly, small chance of that today, much like the pair of J2 Allards I saw advertised in Exchange and Mart around the same time for £70 in need of repair that I would still yearn for.
The Honda Acty I used to hate if they came in the garage as highly inaccessible engine to work on and not the most stable on the bends.
The Ford GT40 if genuine must be worth millions, a real Le Mans winner and deservedly so. I seem to recall the few that were used as road cars used to bake their occupants due to the tiny perspex sliding windows and whacking great engine behind them, still it would have been fun to have a go in.

I passed a garage in Holbeach (Lincs) recently they had 2 parked outside and at least one more in the window. Masochism!

 

[bugsymike]

Wikipedia lists it as a variant of the Commodore which was related to the Omega... although how much they shared no idea. Earlier Commodores very much looked like a Senator..

In the mid 70s working at at a garage that also had a marine department, they used an Opel Commodore , I think it was an estate, 6 cyl, with hydraulic tappets to launch boats. Not sure how long it lasted rust wise in that environment.
Around that time I got a cheap(almost free) runabout Metallic green Opel Ascona 1.6 Auto with the 4 cyl. version. I didn't keep it long as the combination of an automatic gearbox, auto choke Solex carb and short journeys made for a very thirsty car.
Another thirsty car I got was a lovely Peugeot 604 Automatic, 2.6 litre V6 it was the twin choke Solex version with another single choke Solex that worked as the auto choke system so averaged around town 14mpg, although towing a car up to London for one of my sisters it managed 25mpg.

 

[porta]

My uncle leant his 504 to to workmate who’s car had been written off. That first day he lost control and hit the kerb side on stopping his spin. Wehn the car was put on a jig, at our bodyshop, it was a perfect palallegram…obviously a write off

 

[bugsymike]

My uncle leant his 504 to to workmate who’s car had been written off. That first day he lost control and hit the kerb side on stopping his spin. Wehn the car was put on a jig, at our bodyshop, it was a perfect palallegram…obviously a write off

I also had two Peugeot 504 Pick ups, a 504 Family 8 seater estate and a 505 8 seater estate (that one had been used by BBC and had the remains of a roll cage inside)

 

[porta]

I also had two Peugeot 504 Pick ups, a 504 Family 8 seater estate and a 505 8 seater estate (that one had been used by BBC and had the remains of a roll cage inside)

I had a soft spot for the old Peugeot, even that battered one that Columbo used to drive…like many a make since the eighties, everything has got blander and blander. And, with the pug, they’ve lost that ‘robustness’ and are now made of tin foil

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

I had a soft spot for the old Peugeot, even that battered one that Columbo used to drive…like many a make since the eighties, everything has got blander and blander. And, with the pug, they’ve lost that ‘robustness’ and are now made of tin foil

Agreed. My impression was they were built like tanks and mechanically very robust. Used to see a lot of them in places like Cyprus and Greece where there were a lot of dirt roads when we first started going abroad on holiday back in the 60/70s.

 

[bugsymike]

Agreed. My impression was they were built like tanks and mechanically very robust. Used to see a lot of them in places like Cyprus and Greece where there were a lot of dirt roads when we first started going abroad on holiday back in the 60/70s.

The 504 Family estates had the same twin rear coil springs each side as the Pick up so a very robust vehicle.

 

[FiatMatt94]

Finally got round to fitting the new genuine rear dampers I bought, the near on 25 year old bolts put up a huge fight though even with lots of penetrating fluid, one side came out eventually with loosening then tightening & repeating that process until they came out to avoid snapping the bolts, then the other side wouldn't budge at all until I got my dad's impact gun out of the garage to shock it which worked & it came out peacefully after admitting defeat all 4 bolts intact, new dampers put in with copper grease on the bolts to prevent them seizing in the future & job done, although it took a little longer than I wanted, it's worth it as she looks a lot tidier & also with damper bushes that aren't perished


& also the SX badge finally turned up after being over a week late


so now that's all the badges done, although I'm not 100% happy with the Fiat logo one as it was a non genuine part & I've had to redo the silver lettering bits on the badge already, it'll do for now but I'll be keeping an eye out for a genuine one

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Well, that's been a very interesting exercise. The insurance is due for renewal on my new Skoda Scala in a couple of weeks and my existing insurer has sent me a renewal quote for £573.00p It's difficult for me to directly relate that to last year as last year I was insuring a 7 year old Ibiza @ £461.48. I should say it's fully comp with nationwide recovery which this year I don't need as the new car is under warranty so covered by "all singing all dancing" Skoda Assist. So that makes this year's cover look even more expensive? as it's quoted without the breakdown cover.

Looked a bit steep to me so I rang them to see if they would quote me something a bit better but no, that was the best they could manage. I went onto Compare the market, put all my details in and level of cover required but without recovery and they came back with £438 for exactly the same cover but with a different, very large, provider. Decided that was good enough so went for it. The paperwork arrived very quickly in my Email intray and everything was as asked for except they hadn't listed Mrs J as a named driver. I rang them back and they said they'd do it there and then. After a few minutes of keyboard noises on the phone they said "That's all done for you, and we owe you a £53 refund on what you've just paid with Mrs J now being a named driver! What an outcome!

Oh, and by the way, I was very pleased they place a value on the car which is almost identical to what I paid for it back in March as a pre reg with 9 miles on the clock. Ok, I know, that's a substantial loss compared with the new price, but I didn't pay that so, up 'till now, I've lost almost nothing on my "investment" so I'm well pleased. Of course it's all downhill from now on!

 

[The Panda Nut]

Ra[id - as possible - run back from Manchester. I wen tin Ruby to try and work the cambelt in. Really opened it up as the traffic finally dispersed. 180 fast hard m,ile

Well, that's been a very interesting exercise. The insurance is due for renewal on my new Skoda Scala in a couple of weeks and my existing insurer has sent me a renewal quote for £573.00p It's difficult for me to directly relate that to last year as last year I was insuring a 7 year old Ibiza @ £461.48. I should say it's fully comp with nationwide recovery which this year I don't need as the new car is under warranty so covered by "all singing all dancing" Skoda Assist. So that makes this year's cover look even more expensive? as it's quoted without the breakdown cover.

Looked a bit steep to me so I rang them to see if they would quote me something a bit better but no, that was the best they could manage. I went onto Compare the market, put all my details in and level of cover required but without recovery and they came back with £438 for exactly the same cover but with a different, very large, provider. Decided that was good enough so went for it. The paperwork arrived very quickly in my Email intray and everything was as asked for except they hadn't listed Mrs J as a named driver. I rang them back and they said they'd do it there and then. After a few minutes of keyboard noises on the phone they said "That's all done for you, and we owe you a £53 refund on what you've just paid with Mrs J now being a named driver! What an outcome!

Oh, and by the way, I was very pleased they place a value on the car which is almost identical to what I paid for it back in March as a pre reg with 9 miles on the clock. Ok, I know, that's a substantial loss compared with the new price, but I didn't pay that so, up 'till now, I've lost almost nothing on my "investment" so I'm well pleased. Of course it's all downhill from now on!

Thats seems to be a good result! Well worth the messing about.

 

[The Panda Nut]

Rapid - as possible.... - run back from Manchester. I went in Ruby (2014 1.2 )to try and work the cambelt in. Really opened it up as the traffic finally dispersed. 180 fast hard miles to work the new cambelt on the way home. It is still noisy after replacement, but better than previously. MPG for the 450 miles - 50. Much the same I suspect as the average speed. The water level stayed where it should be after a top up half way, and not a drop of oil used. Even the catch can was dry so she seems to be running well. For a fully laden 1.2 the get up and go was fairly good. I was running it to the red line when overtaking lorries and was more than a bit suprised how well it did. The traffic was very heavy for almost the entire journey so the journey back took twice the usual time. Daughters garden is now largely clear of trees and I have a huge pile of firewood. Honour served all round. On balance I prefer my TA it really is in a different league of performance, especially going up big hills. The ride is much better and ecomomy fairly similar at similar speeds. Now I have to clean 'her' car again.

Nudge (Manchester Panda) now has a spare wheel - freshly painted - with a 175/65 x14 Falken tyre. This wheel is overall clearly bigger diameter than the 185/55 x15s on the alloys. It is the biggest size that will go in the spare wheel well. Better I hope than a space saver.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Stop press, news just in, oldest grandson - daughter's family who live down near Salisbury - just rang us with his exam results. His Dad is the one who works with Fast Jets and he wants to study something to do with Aviation/Space Technology. Got "nines" in everything which matters and "eights" in the rest so I think that means he's well set up to carry on with his chosen direction of study. Great to be getting some good news with all the cr*p that's going on around my brother's passing!

 

[The Panda Nut]

Stop press, news just in, oldest grandson - daughter's family who live down near Salisbury - just rang us with his exam results. His Dad is the one who works with Fast Jets and he wants to study something to do with Aviation/Space Technology. Got "nines" in everything which matters and "eights" in the rest so I think that means he's well set up to carry on with his chosen direction of study. Great to be getting some good news with all the cr*p that's going on around my brother's passing!

Truely good news.