June 2001
Does anyone have any idea how to remove hardtop. Cable appears to be still gripping roof despite the handle being in the release postion. Read more
Well its been long promised thought it might be a bit of a hoot. Made a few nominations please add your own categories
Nomination for The Jekyll & Hyde Award
Saab 96 V4, strange motor, on tarmac especially with a bit of a load up it felt like it was going to go off on every bend, but get it on a loose surface forest track and watch that baby fly! Fantabulous!
Nomination for Most Incongruous Driving Moment Award
Practising reverse flick cornering technique on loose surface forest track in a ??????????
Ford Crown Vic. Baby was it big! Like driving a tennis court with clapped shockers and recirculating ball steering.
Nomination for the Best Car Driven Ever Award
Original Elan, Chapman magic, did not have to steer, thought transfer did it, nice try Mazda with the MX5 but?? je ne sais quoi.
Nomination for Worst Car Award
Well if I nominated a Ford 4X4 I cannot face the ensuing heap of invective so it has to be????..
Mars Bar Viva on X-plies
Nomination for Worst Bit of Design,
Ford vacuum wipers, regulars will know that already.
Nomination for Best Bit of Design
First time clapped eyes on a Pug 205. It was before it had been launched, perhaps a test car.
Nomination for Biggest Brown Trouser moment
Well I could nominate that spin on the camber & surface change just after I had re-sprayed my Escort (sorry Mick D who after incident said ?well held?, little did the lad know) but just to provide a little light relief and have a laugh at my own expense will nominate an incident from a few years back.
Driving a rental car in US, not sure exactly what the car was, think it was a Chevy Cavalier, V6 transverse fwd, about size of a Carlton, which it resembled. Think it was the first US car I ever drove with a proper handbrake as opposed to that stupid pedal which is as much use as a chocolate fireguard.
Anyway meandering along a fairly twisty road in PA, limit 45, road similar to a minor A good B in UK, drop into fields on RHS and wall/grass banks on LHS, double yellows all the way down the middle. I speeded up a bit as I noticed I was being caught by a truck, which then continued to catch up. So I speeded up a bit more and by now was over the limit but not by much say about 55.
At this point two things happened, firstly I noticed that the truck was a plain unmarked white Mack, towing a bulk tanker semi-trailer, and secondly that it was still catching me quite quickly by straight lining all the bends which he could see over. By now, all I can think about, sad I know, is the Spielberg film Duel where Dennis Weaver is chased by an unmarked black Mack tanker. (what was Weaver driving in that film?)
So how do you think it ended? All I will say is could that b*stard drive! Read more
Worst moment: going down the suicide lane on the M1, fifth in a block of vehicles doing about sixty. Middle lane fairly clear.
Someone from behind undertakes up the middle lane and pulls out in front of the leader, who hasn't seen it coming. Leader throws out the anchor and cars two and three shunt. Car four dives into the middle lane. I stop safely behind the shunted pair.
Look in rear view mirror and see the car behind coming backwards down the outside lane, scraping the Armco on the central reservation with its nearside.
Move forwards as far as possible (about three feet) and pray that the car behind uses up its energy before getting to us. (it did).
I had a 'Senior Moment' today. Went to an unfamiliar garage and managed to put 17 litres of unleaded on top of about 45 litres of diesel already in the tank ie it finished up full. I drove 10 yards to get off the pumps and then got towed in for tankdrain/clean, system flush etc. Will this action prevent subsequent damageto the diesel pump and what would have happened if I had driven off in blissful ignorance with 25% petrol in a diesel car? Read more
Called out to a regular customer whose wife had just filled their Pug 405 Turbodiesel with petrol. The low fuel warning light had come on so she whipped into S*******ys and brimmed it with ULS. Then drove it till it stopped. Usually I draw the fuel from the tank via the filter using an old fuel injection pump and decant it into jerry cans. I then give the fuel to the customer to dispose of. Not this one! Pumped it into his Nissan Sunny till it brimmed then into his lawn mower and finally into his boy's motorbike!
Monday evening I was going through Avely in SW Essex with a pupil driving the car. As an oncoming car passed us there were two bright flashes ala our friend the Gatso, but a check all round failed to see any evidence of such. At the end of the village, we turned at the roundabout and retraced our route. Even driving sub 20mph it took a good look before I spotted the fiend. Painted dark blue, mounted on a tri-pod and standing no more than waist height behind a lamp-post was a temporary camera. It would have been very difficult for the poor sod who was flashed to see it, as it was neatly camouflaged among the surrounding street furniture. Nothing about his approach had suggested anything more than a nominal amount over the limit anyway. It's easy to tell if an oncoming car is really going for it.
Parked out of view down a side road was a blue van with a picture of a camera proudly displayed on it's side, along with the legend "Speed Check Unit". I would assume that the two ars... gentlemen sitting inside it were civillian contractors. They must have thought Xmas had come that night, even on the short time we were there three drivers got flashed. What a way to earn a living!
What made it more galling was that the camera was set up on the "safe" side of the road, no houses, shops etc., just fields. They really are starting to take the P with these things, I'm sure the govt think they have found a lovely little backdoor for extracting at least £60 a year from the 30 million licence holders in this country, no awkward questions in Parliament either.
FIGHT BACK! Never pay up until you have been sent the offending picture, see if the system can cope with the demand. Even better take your right to appear in court and state your case. As I've said here before, if we all done that the system would certainly break down. If it sounds like this is becoming something of an obsession with me, your right, it is!
Watch out, you could be next. If you drive for a living, it don't take long for them points to mount up. Read more
I live out in the sticks so a "Rural Myth" it is then.....
I bought an Alfa Romeo 145 in 1999 (P reg 1997 1.6TS) for just under £7000.
According to Parkers guide it is now worth only £3845. Can this be true? I am just about a 36,000 mile service including possibly new exhaust/cat and timing chain replacement/adjustment which could be costly. Is it worth my while spending probably a fair amount of money on the car when I would like to sell it soon? Cheers HJ. Read more
I WOULD not expect to have to replace these items at this age/mileage!
Perhaps the exhaust tailpipe, but NOT the timing chain or catalyst!
Keep hold of the car, watch out for the potentially expensive spark plugs and enjoy!
Taking the car to France, any alternative other than purchasing the Vauxhall converters at £25? Dealer tells me sticking tape on the lens not recommended as it will deteriorate the plastic lens, also the lens gives no clue as to where to put the tape. I know, cheapskate. Read more
Regarding lights what about your fog light its on the wrong side to be compliant in mainland Europe.
regards Andy Bairsto
HJ has a link to the BCA auction site. I tried registering and they wouldn't let me. Said for trade only. I din't tell them I wasn't. Do they have a professional register or something ? Anybody out there who has registered and convinced them that they are worthy to receive the price information.
Peter Read more
One of the (many) idiots of which I am one on the Golf GTI web-sites aplenty has asked whether 0W-40 oil is a good bet for his Golf as he's heard a BMW ran for many hundreds of thousands of miles on it with no wear.
I said, politely, "baloney mate."
I suggested the, recommended, 20W-50 or 10W-40 and semi-synthetic.
Can anyone advise? Surely 0W-40 would be too thin at the temperatures experienced in the UK?
Also, a large number of 17 year old GTI drivers run their 13 year old 160,000 mile motas on Mobil 1!!!!! With the notorious valve stem oil seals on the Golfs they must cost more mpg on Mobil 1 than the fuel itself. Is there any point running on Mobil 1 on such a car? Read more
Hi John
Thanks for clearing that upJohn Slaughter wrote:
Thinking of buyong an A3 in due course. Have settled on a diesel - currently the one I want is the 110 TD. Having had a look at HJs Car by Car listings made
me wonder whether the PD115 or 130 are going to be available. ? Read more
Ian Cook said
> The best source of info on diesels is "Diesel Car" magazine. Worth buying
> a copy - it's a mine of well balanced information.
In principle I have to agree about it being a good info source except that I sometimes think its objectiveness re diesels is sometimes as one sided as Quentin Wilsons is against them. Just read what it has to say and do what they said about the Millenium Dome, "Make your own mind up"
Just thought I'd add my own thoughts\views to insurance for young drivers:
Now, I'm not 'young' young, and I'm going to be getting myself one those SEAT Ibiza Cupras (not the 'R', mind) but I'm amazed at the discrepancies of insurers.
My order's going in in a month of so, and as part of any new car buyer's preparations, I've been 'phoning around for quotes. The basics: A 24 year old, professional male (not an actor...or journo!), with almost 5 years NCD (well, 25 days to go) - one claim for a chipped windscreen - a drive way, good post-code (no offence here by the way) and a completely clean license and no convictions.
The quotes:
Kwik fit: "Ha ha ha ha....I'm sorry, let me stop laughing..."
Admiral: "Yes, well it's not cheap sir but £1400 is one of the best quotes you will get.. I mean we search over TWENTY (count 'em) insurers..."
Norwich Union Direct: £1300.....
Tesco: "That's £702.45"
Elephant.co.uk: "£606"
Eagle Star: (Whom I am with presently) "No, we can't insure you unless you have 5 years NCD....and it'll be £1400"
The AA: Don't ask...
Now, I know I'm in the high risk band and "you're young and inexperienced", but the differences are quite staggering to me and a driver with no convictions, no bangs, nothing get's thumped with well over a grands insurance...amazing. I know it's not going to be cheap, but I know it's not THAT expensive..
Tesco's have it at the moment by the way. If anyone has any others please drop me a line and I'd be v grateful...
Oh, and of the car itself: I love it to bits (and so does our John from the roadtest on this site). It's fun, but safe, fast, but controlled... and gorgeous in metallic blue....can't wait!
Well, cheers for the rant... Read more
As I said in an earlier thread on an a similar subject: Try going back to your current insurer with your new figures along the lines of 'I've had a like-for-like quote from ......... and they're quoting .......... What can you do for me?' It has worked for me for 2 years with Hill House Hammond. A little cheek goes along way. Plus it saves you the hassle of checking policies etc.
Taylor Price should be in the Yellow pages (Taylor Price Direct).
Browse
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Talked to a bloke who's got one of these today. You need to fiddle with the cable catch accessed from the back seat. But if the cable has stretched you're in trouble.
HJ