July 2001
I have just purchased the subject car.
Do any readers have any experience good or bad with this model/ Read more
I have seen one. I have read about them.
They are Japanese which should mean no trouble, but complicated.
Any experiences, please? Read more
Are you interested in gaining the skills to renovate a Classic Car?
Welding,Chassis repair,body repair, sheet metal fabrication, spray painting etc.
I`ve just discovered a site :
www.restoredclassic.xrs.net
with list of courses run by your local college .
(Some of the full time courses ( 2/3 days per week) are FREE ) Read more
David
Absolutely right. I'd hate to try to earn my money restoring old cars. It simply isn't finanicially viable to do it, as you say. But. it's graet fum keeping them on the road.
I did a car bodywork restoration course for a few years as an evening class. Learned a lot, and such course certainly helps to ease the pain of a home restoration.
The major problem for the home restorer is cost of equipment. Fine on the course with a decent spray booth, and oven, but you need to be aware that some things may be best put out to the professionals.
Regards
John
Hi,
I'm looking for a new car- I was going to get a Peugeot 205 XS (1.4). They are nice nippy little cars with good handling & modding potential, but of course they stopped making them in 1990ish. (Whenever- none newer than around a G plate). I was hoping to get something a bit newer than this, but similar to a 205 for perfomance, insurance, fun etc. Does anyone have any suggestions other than the obvious 106 XS and 206 XS, as I don't really like them, basically.
Thanks,
Giles Read more
Trouble with Clios is that you get the telly-addicts who pull up alongside and shout "Nicole?" ot "Papa?" as appropriate.
While nearly breaking my back lifting the battery out of my sons car I had this thought:
Car batteries have never changed in basic design for well over a 100 years, you would think by now there would be advances in battery technology to give us something smaller for cars, just look how small the batteries are getting for mobile phones and watches etc.. Surely car manufacturers would like to fit something lighter to their vehicles. Seems to me car batteries are stuck in a time warp.
Anybody out there know the answer?
Regards Malcolm. Read more
John
If you re-read my message you will see that I was only suggesting a built-in solar panel as a convenient top-up for the battery, not as a replacement.
I do have one of the plug-in panels mentioned by Papaumau, but you have to carry it around and remember to plug it in, hence the suggestion of a built-in option.
On the charging topic, I wonder if any research has been done into using a bank of thermocouples (everlasting, no moving parts, no drain on engine power output) in the exhaust as an alternative to the alternator.
Regards
Brian
I get the feeling that you're going to laugh.....
My question: on a tyre it has its size, for example 325/50R18, or something like that.
What does the "50" indicate ? I am assuming that "325" is the width of the tyre and "18" the size of the wheel itself. Read more
David
Yes, I remember them. It was associated with the run-flat tyres and used a particular rim section to prevent the tyres coming of the rims. I can only assume it was marketing ploy to make sure that you couldn't subsequently fit 'standard', reasonably priced, tyres as replacements. Whether than would have been a safety issue on those rims I don't know - I suppose they wouldn't want people assuming they had run-flat tyres when they actually didn't.
Regards
John
Aircon acts as a splendid demister but, in the winter, one wants a warm interior. My Punto has a basic system (i.e. not "climate control") and seems to have no thermostat, so is there any objection to running the aircon while the heater is also on? Read more
Standard practice down here in Ozland, but we don't have problems with cold engine stalling. It's the benefit of a nice big (4 litre) engine and relatively cheap fuel, 'cooking' petrol is 29p/ltr!
Yes, it does get cold. Now is winter and early mornings are 3 to 5C, but it gets to 20C by lunch time.
Jeff Chambers
I've searched the forum on every key word combination I can think of and no joy, so at the risk of getting a slap for starting an unnecessary thread - here goes!
Can anyone tell me how to get anything better than a mess when using touch-in paint to repair a stone chip?
Without exception all cars I've had in the last 15 years or so have been either metallic or lacquer coated. There seem to be hardly any flat colours available nowadays.
All the vehicle manufacturers I've used supply 2 pots of paint with integral brushes in the lid. There are never any instructions!
Apply the base colour, if you're lucky it won't look too bad from 25 yards, don't even bother applying the lacquer as it will be dry on the brush before you get it to the car! If you do manage to get lacquer onto the area will be a different colour to the rest.
Any suggestions gratefully received, Jack Read more
I also like to thank you all for these tips they made my weekend of touch-in activity more productive and effective.
As an aside, it seems that the roads have more stones and grit on them these days.
Finally, I find that T-cut can be a bit too harsh for the feathering in. Try Auto-Glym Paint Restorer initially as this seems to be less coarse.
All the best,
Mike.
My request yesterday under "dulling Paint" seems to have been swamped by yesterday's heavy use of the Back Room, so I'd like to repeat it.
I looked up some threads on this for last December or Jan and there was reference to a blotchy lacquer finish. I have a similar problem. My Alfa 75 roof and boot has a lacquer finish which is coming off and the car looks awful as a result. Polishing the exposed paint with Autoglym improves the colour quite well.
I have a quote of about £400 for stripping and respraying the affected area which is above my current budget. The lacquer can be peeled off by sliding a thin Stanley blade under the lacquer, but this is an extremely slow and laborious task.
Does anyone have any better ideas please? Read more
The best thing you can do here is to use a very fine grade of wet&dry abrasive paper to remove the lacqer in the affected area - then simply have the panels "blown over"in lacquer by the local bodyshop.
I did this once on the bootlid of a VW K 70 - remember them, took great care not to remove any of the metallic base coat , and had it looking like new.
I used to walk past an alfa 90 every day - it was C registered and in very good nick - metallic dark blue - these had a 2.5litre twin cam motor and sounded gorgeous.
I need to carry children in the front passenger seat and am looking for a car that has the airbag as either an optional extra or as a switch that I can turn off. I also need the car to be automatic and to have three diagonal belts in the back. I was due to collect a new scenic in three days but the dealer is refusing to disconnect the airbag even though it will mean he will now lose a sale.
So far the only car that I have found that fits my criteria is the Freelander. I need a new car urgently, any help would be greatfully received!! Read more
Yes the Xsara does have passenger airbags which can be disabled but dare I mention Citroen's famous problem with airbag light faults (again)? Also, by the way, I was told by my garage that some Picassos are prone to cutting out as per the VTRs - ECU replacment needed.
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Apparently not! Is this site for motorists or mimsers?