What have you done to your car today?

Watched a woman pulling out from a side road just stop on my side of the road trying to cut across. She seemed bemused when I beeped - maybe next time wait until it’s clear, it’s a pretty quiet road!

Then another woman stop completely on a multi lane roundabout to try to get across to the other side instead of taking the exit. There are some special people about.
 
Managed to get our new off road buggy started up. Had to get fuel through the carb since they drain it for transport. Haven’t had a chance to properly try it out, but it looks fun. Of course the track is a swamp, so it needs to dry out a little.
 
Had someone reverse into my pickup today... the one time it would have been nice if they weren't honest because it was parked unattended at the time and there is zero indication on the vehicle itself cosmetic or mechanical, not a scratch, nothing moved a millimetre so wouldn't have even known while it has pushed their boot lid in a fair bit - fortunately the softest bit of theirs hit the hardest bit of mine - sucks for them though. Still gonna have to report it to my insurance company which no doubt will end up costing me :(

I'd even taken the time to park in a nice big bay out the way - but it was a new driver apparently only passed their test last week.
 
Passed the MOT for another year. Few advisories though!

The usual brakes one as they cannot test on the road and their rolling road test does not allow the brakes sufficient time to heat up so performance is low! So they flag this which is a bit iffy as I had new pads & discs only a few thousand miles ago & they are working really well.

Then the other one is 2 mildly corroded springs...well once again most get mild corrosion with the amount of salt thrown on our roads over the winter :rolleyes: these were all replaced last year. I had a look myself its just on the surface like most shocks so I am not going to do anything about this .

I guess they have to justify their existence it only took them 15 mins for the entire test nice work if you can find it :rolleyes: & have the testing equipment.........
 
Rroff said:
Had someone reverse into my pickup today... the one time it would have been nice if they weren't honest because it was parked unattended at the time and there is zero indication on the vehicle itself cosmetic or mechanical, not a scratch, nothing moved a millimetre so wouldn't have even known while it has pushed their boot lid in a fair bit - fortunately the softest bit of theirs hit the hardest bit of mine - sucks for them though. Still gonna have to report it to my insurance company which no doubt will end up costing me :(

I'd even taken the time to park in a nice big bay out the way - but it was a new driver apparently only passed their test last week.
Click to expand...

Ours is in for repair at the minute after it was hit twice. Nobody stuck around after either incident although we know who it was in at least one case...passed their details on to the insurers but doubt it'll go anywhere.
 
skaif said:
Parked up and some curious onlookers pointed to the car at which I gave a casual "Yeah its different" :)

Turns out it had ****** itself of all its coolant so had to get it recovered :(
gPLc3um.jpg

Hope its not too bad and just a hose has popped off or something along those lines. Was due to go in for some maintenance work anyway so lets see what happens.
Click to expand...
So the car dropped its coolant and upon inspection turned out a pipe had burst at the back of the engine feeding the cooling system. Long story short the head gasket needed replacing so engine has been out of the car getting the head skimmed etc.

While its there the plugs are being replaced and all fluids are being replaced along with all filters, new pads and bushes etc. Also the non working bonnet struts are being replaced.

I am hoping to get it back tomorrow and equally hoping that this countries cheap labour will be easy on the wallet...
 
Fitted a wireless carplay and android auto head unit. Had to get a used facelift stereo from eBay to cannibalise the separate AC controls from and a faceplate some guy in Russia makes but altogether it looks nice. Also has a camera backup feeding into it for reverse now as well as a separate mic for decent call quality.

IMG-4823.jpg
 
Bled the brakes on the Mrs's beloved Astra. Also did a DIY pre MOT.

Bit of rust where the subframe bolts to the body.

1 rear fog light bulb gone, which I'll replace.

Apart from the rust she looks in good shape for a 13 year old car. Fingers crossed for the MOT on Saturday.
 
Was quite surprised at how quickly brake discs seem to get surface rust. I changed the rear discs and pads on my wife's X3 a couple of weeks ago and they had this light dusting of surface rust after being out in fine rain for only a few minutes:

IMG-0026.jpg


I've left the discs outside until I get to the tip and was surprised to see that only a week or so later they look like this:

IMG-0387.jpg


They look like they've been out in the elements for years, not days.
 
Where do you live? Taking discs the tip is definitely not in my vocab. You have to be careful even with the new discs with the eagle eyed scrap men knocking about.
 
Phemo said:
Was quite surprised at how quickly brake discs seem to get surface rust. I changed the rear discs and pads on my wife's X3 a couple of weeks ago and they had this light dusting of surface rust after being out in fine rain for only a few minutes:

IMG-0026.jpg


I've left the discs outside until I get to the tip and was surprised to see that only a week or so later they look like this:

IMG-0387.jpg


They look like they've been out in the elements for years, not days.
Click to expand...
Get a carbon steel saucepan - it'll have red streaks by the time it's dry after washing up, unless you hand dry it.
 
Washed, applied some BH Korrosol and clayed the F10 530d I’ve recently purchased and happy the paint is in good enough shape for 6 years old. Need to make time to remove a little bit of tar I’ve found low down and apply proper protection before winter arrives.

Put some petrol in my Integra, then drove it a little bit. Sat there with my foot on the brake wondering why it wouldn’t start. Crazy how quickly I got used to the auto so fast :D
 
I took it to a Straightliners event at Elvington to get some standing mile runs in, so I could establish a baseline before I carry out more significant modifications.

I was hoping it would do around 130mph in the standing mile – bearing in mind its top speed was 153mph when new, which probably took a few miles – but it managed to clock 144.239mph. Not bad for a very lightly fettled Corvette that's 33 years old!

It was consistent as well, running ~144mph three times in a row. It still had a little bit more to give, too, but a mile flashes past in no time at all.

Eaeef3Q.jpg


2fO0bLu.jpg


9SBv2nn.jpg


qFnhjQW.jpg


I really couldn't have asked for a better day. Great people, great organisation and fine weather. The car did superbly, too; 260 miles, six runs, no issues. It's recently completed a 450-mile trip to Castle Combe and back, and four sessions on track as well, so it's really earning its keep! :D

Now I can go shopping for more serious speed parts...
 
Last edited:
I would love to take my Saab to one of these just to see what the old brick can do. Book figure of 155MPH but has been remapped. Most people think a stage 3 will do around 165-170.
 
Noticed a rear fog light was out on the Mrs's Astra when checking the lights. Peered into the light cluster and there was an unilluminated bulb, so I assumed it was a car with 2 rear fog lamps and one blown bulb. Removed light cluster and the bulb which wouldn't illuminate looked suspiciously new and unscorched, but I changed it anyway figuring it could be a hidden fault. Bulb still wouldn't illuminate. Did some googling and it turns out that the Astra actually has only one rear fog light, but the clusters house a bulb on either side and the relevant side is activated depending on whether it's a right or left hand drive!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom