Because most people are car enthusiasts in here. What do most petrol-heads like?
Cookeh goes shedding...
- Thread starter Cookeh
- Start date
Because most people are car enthusiasts in here. What do most petrol-heads like?
This is motors though. The elitism displayed by some in here is borderline sociopathic.
@Cookeh there's only one destiny for this car:
https://c1racing.club
Go on, do it
How is it elitism?
So we should like all cars just because they're cars?
I love cars too but I don't see what's so bad about these. They aren't nearly as bad as people are claiming. Sure compared to an s class they are awful but if you actually consider the segment they're in and what they cost to run they're pretty good in my opinion.
Then you just change into 4th. It's not like hills last forever so it's a fairly minor annoyance. That's a problem I've experienced in all of the lower powered cars I've owned and something I'd expect from a car in this sector.
Well, very few people in here will have positive comments about underpowered cars and that's not surprising to me, nor is it elitist.
My reasons for hating it are fairly well covered so far, but I can do it further. I also don't believe I'm suffering from elitism, my dream car happened to a 25 year old I5 Volvo 850 T5, hardly a "V12UltraSuperDuperCar+" or whatever it was you spouted. I don't believe there is anything wrong with expecting a car to be actually driveable at all 'normal' speeds without causing discomfort. In any case its here for at least 4 months, perhaps more, and I will hate every second of it.
I got a bit more time to work on it today before the heavens opened. I was still trying to make it safe to enter without a hazmat suit at this point, but I'd say its now fairly respectable. Further maintenance cleans of the interior will only improve it, and if I'm honest I don't care about it enough to get it properly 'concours'.
First things first I figured the sparks plugs needed changing, my sister had been advised of this at a service some 200000 miles ago but never did anything about it - despite me offering to do it for her. As it turns out, they weren't terrible. Gap was only 33% larger than spec... Would I be right in saying it looks like it might be running a bit lean too? Removal requires unclipping the airbox (some 4 clips or so, then removing two squeeze clips), revealing your three DI coils with a single 10mm bolt. Spark plugs themselves are your fairly standard 16mm thread. Some pics of old vs new and the three old ones.
Spark plugs old vs new by alistair.hurrell, on Flickr
Spark plugs old by alistair.hurrell, on Flickr
The car runs a little better now, less dag-dag-y on start up and a fraction quieter throughout the rev-range. Still very unrefined but better. Can only hope it gives even more mpg to cover its cost.
Next up it was onto that interior. The rear bench was obviously removed previously, so I tackled that last night inside (thankfully I have an understanding and car-sympathetic fiancee!). This was by far the worst seat in the car, so it got a vacuum, a healthy scrub with upholstery cleaner and finally a steamclean. Came out fairly well I think.
Couple of reminders of the before...
Rear bench dirt 4 by alistair.hurrell, on Flickr
Rear bench dirt 3 by alistair.hurrell, on Flickr
Rear bench staining by alistair.hurrell, on Flickr
Then some 50/50s and finals:
Rear bench 50/50 vacuumed by alistair.hurrell, on Flickr
Rear bench steam cleaned by alistair.hurrell, on Flickr
Rear bench steam cleaned 3 by alistair.hurrell, on Flickr
Much better methinks. The rest of the car wasn't so bad and was unfortunately confined to the outsides so I decided against using the steamer (too much effort being wired and not being able to leave the seats by a radiator to aid drying). That meant a slightly different approach. Copious vacuuming, followed by a huge scrub with plenty of upholstery shampoo before vacuuming out the liquid and giving it a final dry down with some microfibres.
Rear bench upper 5050 2 by alistair.hurrell, on Flickr
Rear bench upper 5050 by alistair.hurrell, on Flickr
Apologies for image quality phone camera had a hard time focusing due to the pattern, and I'm a lousy photographer!
Rear bench uppers after by alistair.hurrell, on Flickr
Passenger seat after by alistair.hurrell, on Flickr
Drivers seat after by alistair.hurrell, on Flickr
And here is the dirt from just the headrest on the drivers seat... Scrubbed with a microfibre as I was curious just nasty it was.
Drivers seat base dirt by alistair.hurrell, on Flickr
So now that the seats are acceptable, minus some loose fibres, it was time to move on to the door jambs. I still can't wash the exterior (apparently), so this is as close as I can get. Quick clean with some APC, a soft bristled detailing brush paired with a small nylon brush, and some microfibres later:
osf after by alistair.hurrell, on Flickr
osf after by alistair.hurrell, on Flickr
osr edge dirt by alistair.hurrell, on Flickr
Area under this seal was grim, but came up well. Oddly there are some tar spots in there, and I'm fresh out of tar remover. Will get that at a later date.
osr after by alistair.hurrell, on Flickr
nsr after by alistair.hurrell, on Flickr
nsf after by alistair.hurrell, on Flickr
nsf after by alistair.hurrell, on Flickr
These were then treated with a spray sealant to try and keep them cleanish for a bit longer.
I got a bit more time to work on it today before the heavens opened. I was still trying to make it safe to enter without a hazmat suit at this point, but I'd say its now fairly respectable. Further maintenance cleans of the interior will only improve it, and if I'm honest I don't care about it enough to get it properly 'concours'.
First things first I figured the sparks plugs needed changing, my sister had been advised of this at a service some 200000 miles ago but never did anything about it - despite me offering to do it for her. As it turns out, they weren't terrible. Gap was only 33% larger than spec... Would I be right in saying it looks like it might be running a bit lean too? Removal requires unclipping the airbox (some 4 clips or so, then removing two squeeze clips), revealing your three DI coils with a single 10mm bolt. Spark plugs themselves are your fairly standard 16mm thread. Some pics of old vs new and the three old ones.
Spark plugs old vs new by alistair.hurrell, on FlickrSpark plugs old by alistair.hurrell, on FlickrThe car runs a little better now, less dag-dag-y on start up and a fraction quieter throughout the rev-range. Still very unrefined but better. Can only hope it gives even more mpg to cover its cost.
Next up it was onto that interior. The rear bench was obviously removed previously, so I tackled that last night inside (thankfully I have an understanding and car-sympathetic fiancee!). This was by far the worst seat in the car, so it got a vacuum, a healthy scrub with upholstery cleaner and finally a steamclean. Came out fairly well I think.
Couple of reminders of the before...
Rear bench dirt 4 by alistair.hurrell, on FlickrRear bench dirt 3 by alistair.hurrell, on FlickrRear bench staining by alistair.hurrell, on FlickrThen some 50/50s and finals:
Rear bench 50/50 vacuumed by alistair.hurrell, on FlickrRear bench steam cleaned by alistair.hurrell, on FlickrRear bench steam cleaned 3 by alistair.hurrell, on FlickrMuch better methinks. The rest of the car wasn't so bad and was unfortunately confined to the outsides so I decided against using the steamer (too much effort being wired and not being able to leave the seats by a radiator to aid drying). That meant a slightly different approach. Copious vacuuming, followed by a huge scrub with plenty of upholstery shampoo before vacuuming out the liquid and giving it a final dry down with some microfibres.
Rear bench upper 5050 2 by alistair.hurrell, on FlickrRear bench upper 5050 by alistair.hurrell, on FlickrApologies for image quality phone camera had a hard time focusing due to the pattern, and I'm a lousy photographer!
Rear bench uppers after by alistair.hurrell, on FlickrPassenger seat after by alistair.hurrell, on FlickrDrivers seat after by alistair.hurrell, on FlickrAnd here is the dirt from just the headrest on the drivers seat... Scrubbed with a microfibre as I was curious just nasty it was.
Drivers seat base dirt by alistair.hurrell, on FlickrSo now that the seats are acceptable, minus some loose fibres, it was time to move on to the door jambs. I still can't wash the exterior (apparently), so this is as close as I can get. Quick clean with some APC, a soft bristled detailing brush paired with a small nylon brush, and some microfibres later:
osf after by alistair.hurrell, on Flickrosf after by alistair.hurrell, on Flickrosr edge dirt by alistair.hurrell, on FlickrArea under this seal was grim, but came up well. Oddly there are some tar spots in there, and I'm fresh out of tar remover. Will get that at a later date.
osr after by alistair.hurrell, on Flickrnsr after by alistair.hurrell, on Flickrnsf after by alistair.hurrell, on Flickrnsf after by alistair.hurrell, on FlickrThese were then treated with a spray sealant to try and keep them cleanish for a bit longer.
Soldato
Well done for cleaning it up. Service it, drive it to save some cash and then sell it when you’re done for a few quid. Nothing wrong with this sort of car if you want something simple and cheap to run around town in. Would be an ideal first car. It’s no autobahn cruiser of course. More people need to drive the original fiat panda around tiny villages and farm tracks in Italy to really understand the appeal of this sort of simple motoring. You could leave this car unlocked and no one would give it a second look.
EDIT - I bet by the end of your tenure you’ll be a little fond of it given the fact that you’ve rescued it and given it some love.
EDIT - I bet by the end of your tenure you’ll be a little fond of it given the fact that you’ve rescued it and given it some love.
It's literally the definition of elitism.
Anyway. I've looked a but more in to that C1 racing and I'm probably gonna go for it. Ridiculous fun on pennies.
Soldato
I dunno, it was free and sitting in it disgusted me. Not really any love spent yet
Just trying to make it so I don't gag everytime I see it. We'll see, I may develop a touch of Stockholm Syndrome... Would love to, might consider it down the line. Would very much like to get into track days and that would be a very cheap way of doing it. Unfortunately the aim here is to save money not drop £3k on making it into a little racecar haha.
I dunno, it was free and sitting in it disgusted me. Not really any love spent yet
Would love to, might consider it down the line. Would very much like to get into track days and that would be a very cheap way of doing it. Unfortunately the aim here is to save money not drop £3k on making it into a little racecar haha.
Oh absolutely, for someone looking to save some coin there are few ways of getting further away from that goal
Still, a 24h race with 68bhp sounds amazing. I must do this. Will need a team.
If your idea of elitism is not wanting a car that struggles to do the speed limit in some situations then I have nothing else to say
If your idea of elitism is not wanting a car that struggles to do the speed limit in some situations then I have nothing else to say
That's not the purpose of the car. It's a cheap runabout for youngsters / those not that well off, and for that purpose it meets its expectations exceedingly well.
This attitude of "hurrr durrr crap car" because it's cheap is pretty poor tbh,
Soldato
Love the dog
Love the clean up, very well done.
If it were me I’d have to rub down those wheels and paint them!
Love the clean up, very well done.
If it were me I’d have to rub down those wheels and paint them!
It's the only thing expense I have planned for this turd. It pains me every time I see it.
Soldato
Caporegime
Run a DA over it, daub the scuffed corners with copious amounts of touch up paint, spray the wheels gloss black, and she'll be a tidy little shed.