April 2008
If you are ever puzzled by body-style terms such as "Sedanca de Ville" and "Landaulette", you'll share my pleasure that HJ has responded immediately to my suggestion that he should add a FAQ using the information from the 1998/9 edition of his Book of motoring answers:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/faq.htm?id=118 Read more
Some doomster saying today that we must prepare for oil @ $200 a barrel I can't do that maths! If the taxation structure remained unchanged, (looks out of window to watch pigs flying by) what would that make petrol and diesel per litre - roughly?
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I knew it the moment the C5 was released ...........Sir Clive Sinclair was 40 years ahead of his time!
Does anyone know if HB3 and H9 mainbeam bulbs on the Volvo S60 are the same, seems to be a shortage of H9, but i was told HB3 are ok, thought i would check with more knowlegable folks on here, ta Read more
Thanks, ordered, getting ready to do the fiddly job.
Hello,
My Ford Focus Esate 2001 reg has a faulty tailgate/boot lock.
After a day trip found could not close the tailgate.
The door does not open when driving but the tailgate will not fully close.
Is it possible to do a DIY repair or adjust?
Help please! Read more
Hi, i own a 1998 Rover 200, before i got it my sister had it and she was driving one day when the water pump went she didnt relise it went until smoke poured out of the engine which snapped the cambelt iswell. i recently changed the cambelt and waterpump but it still sounds like a tractor, do you reakon it is cooked? and i had a quote from a mechanic that it could be making the noise because the timing is out.
Kall Read more
Kall
If a K-Series overheats and snaps the cambelt; then just fit another engine - this one will be an on-going money pit.
The valves will almost certainly be bent; the head gasket will be gone and the head warped or cracked. The cam-belt may have snapped because a cam seized in the head - let alone any piston/liner damage.
As cheap re-cons for these are usually rubbish; you'll have to consider the economics of the whole job. A clutch and new radiator are going to be needed too.
I have a Astra 98 1.8 Petrol but it keeps cutting out when coming to to stop. The revs are really low when first starting the car and when I pull up to a junction it virtually always cuts out.
This has been put on the diagnostic machine but no faults can be found, there has been work done to all sorts including the management box but after the a week or so the problem returns. Recently a friend of mine said he had a similar problem with his 2001 Astra and vauxhall changed the coil pack and it is now running fine.
Does anyone have/had a similar problem and was this rectified by replacing Coil Pack?
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Pretty sure its the Idle Control Valve, very common fault on these lumps, you can try cleaning it but that doesn't always work. A new one is about £120 and 5 mins to fit.
Looking for the cheapest most econmical legal diesel you can buy.
My current theory is use bio-diesel, and add 30% SVO As you are aloud 2500 litres of SVO without declaring it (Aslong as you keep records)
Would this work?
Is this legal with HMRC etc?
Any thought? Read more
You need to get on to www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk
The cheapest cars than you can use WVO straight into the tank are going to be Peugeots/Citroens with the 1.9 XUD (turbo or n/a) and the Bosch injector pump. The Lucas pump (also fitted to many) does not tolerate high concentrations of any veg oil, used or new. The engine is most commonly found in the 306, 405, ZX and Xantia. These cars are all available at banger prices. My 405 TD cost £265, and it's not a dog.
You can use 2,500 litres of used or new veg oil, and most people find 80/20 oil/diesel is fine. Bio-diesel is cheaper, but there are issues about quality. To use more than 2,500 litres of veg oil you'll need to be driving well over 20,000 miles/year.
I bought 1000 l of filtered waste veg oil for 40p/litre, delivered, but that was before the recent fuel price rises. You'd be lucky to buy WVO for less than 55p/litre now. You should get a collection round going, but bear in mind the cost/space of the filtering plant.
The HMRC 2,500l allowance of biofuels (oil or biodiesel) is per address, not car or owner.
A DRIVER (aged 21, but unamed) watched a DVD of rock star Bruce Springsteen while doing 125mph on a motorway.
The Boss?s hit Born to Run was playing when cops stopped the Renault Clio in the fast lane near Tours, western France.
An officer said: "He said he had a long drive to Paris and was bored."
The motorist was bailed, to face a possible £500 (or maybe euro?) fine and year?s ban.
www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1101170....e (Not clickable because of other content)
afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gbs8TTzR10KmkvgtSLkHn...Q
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I recall reading years ago about a Jordanian taxi driver booked by the police for watching TV while driving.
His defence was that it was much less dangerous than reading the newspaper.
I have bad memories of a taxi ride in Paris, where the (female) driver started cutting a cake on her passenger seat, and then turned round to offer me a piece.
tinyurl.com/6x49p4
Man doing 37 mph in a 30 at 5am with his wife in labour in the car with him. Taken to court, told the case couldn't be dropped and then it was, after a lot of expense. We know cameras have no 'discretion' or common sense - it now looks as though the courts don't either, until people stand up to them!
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If you read it carefully it also says he paid a solicitor. It's probable that he took the solicitor's advice, but equally possible that the solicitor was the wally!
Media comments suggest that the Dept for Transport could make its announcement on regional road pricing trials on 15th May (it was delayed from the turn of the year). The one proposed for Manchester will be the world's largest scheme if introduced and will saddle the region with £1.8bn of debt to repaid to be re-paid through charges.
Even if you don't live in or near Manchester, with the scheme being a test-bed for national road pricing, the proposals affect you. If you do live in the area, I urge you to find out where your local councillors stand on the issue if up for re-election. Three of the 10 councils involved have already said they oppose the scheme with a fourth promising a referendum.
More details can be found at www.gmmgroup.co.uk
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If they go through with this I will seriously consider getting one of those cycle cars that are popular in other countries, atleast then ill avoid all those costs :-)
Browse
I remember shooting brakes. They weren't just estate cars. They had wooden bodywork extending the back, with rear doors and seats down the sides. The front part of the vehicle was for family and guests ("guns") and servants and beaters sat in the back, along with guns, hampers, other clobber.
A shooting break is when you all stop for lunch and few drams from hip flasks. I remember as a child trying to pretend that I liked tea with a slug of scotch in it.