Your fleet running reports

[NotoriousREV]

Tangent, but I used to really fancy a 75 3.0V6. The more aggressive Veloce looked too try-hard at the time, and just horrible now...

Still nice

Isn't that three cars badly welded together?

Yes. It’s an Alfa.

[McSwede]

Tangent, but I used to really fancy a 75 3.0V6. The more aggressive Veloce looked too try-hard at the time, and just horrible now...

Still nice

Isn't that three cars badly welded together?

Yes. It’s an Alfa.

Nope glued! The "steel" from which these were made of was just compressed oxidation, rendering it unweldable

[Simon]

The wife is noticing how both cars have been sitting on the drive unused for 99% of the time and is angling to sell them both (C Class and Yeti) and replace them with one car we'd both use - likely a GLC.

I think this pandemic has gone to her head.

Not that the GLC is a bad car, but the current usage is not 'typical' of how we generally use our cars.

[Carlos]

The wife is noticing how both cars have been sitting on the drive unused for 99% of the time and is angling to sell them both (C Class and Yeti) and replace them with one car we'd both use - likely a GLC.

I think this pandemic has gone to her head.

Not that the GLC is a bad car, but the current usage is not 'typical' of how we generally use our cars.

I wouldn't mind a 63 for towing

[integrale_evo]

I keep looking at compact's again, like some weird addiction you can't shake.

Just know I'll end up with one with the hideous sea of beige plastic dashboard

Do it ! Just not with the beige.

This looks quite tidy:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/153913487298

(plus I have most of a spare one if you want a "project" )

Still not sold, but now £3450

I probably would have given £2k for it but it's getting silly now.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 3950983822

[drcarlos]

Washed, polished and waxed the Subaru last weekend and while I was cleaning the glass the front screen cracked from a tiny, tiny chip I couldn't even see in the black band at the top of the screen. So I'll be getting onto the insurance and getting a replacement sorted.
Also needs a front set of pads and I had a not so wonderful experience with ECP who weren't letting anyone in but key workers even for click+collect (which I did because I was out at the chemists anyway) orders, they would only deliver them. Still managed to get a set of Brembo pads for about £30 which I'll do tomorrow afternoon.
Still for 1/2 a tank of fuel left from beginning of lockdown in it.

[Orange Cola]

Washed, polished and waxed the Subaru last weekend and while I was cleaning the glass the front screen cracked from a tiny, tiny chip I couldn't even see in the black band at the top of the screen. So I'll be getting onto the insurance and getting a replacement sorted.
Also needs a front set of pads and I had a not so wonderful experience with ECP who weren't letting anyone in but key workers even for click+collect (which I did because I was out at the chemists anyway) orders, they would only deliver them. Still managed to get a set of Brembo pads for about £30 which I'll do tomorrow afternoon.
Still for 1/2 a tank of fuel left from beginning of lockdown in it.

Which Subaru have you got and what do you think of it? The hankering for an Impreza has increased again lately, I’ve never driven one, but I’m between that and another Fiesta ST depending on how the economy hits car prices.

[drcarlos]

Washed, polished and waxed the Subaru last weekend and while I was cleaning the glass the front screen cracked from a tiny, tiny chip I couldn't even see in the black band at the top of the screen. So I'll be getting onto the insurance and getting a replacement sorted.
Also needs a front set of pads and I had a not so wonderful experience with ECP who weren't letting anyone in but key workers even for click+collect (which I did because I was out at the chemists anyway) orders, they would only deliver them. Still managed to get a set of Brembo pads for about £30 which I'll do tomorrow afternoon.
Still for 1/2 a tank of fuel left from beginning of lockdown in it.

Which Subaru have you got and what do you think of it? The hankering for an Impreza has increased again lately, I’ve never driven one, but I’m between that and another Fiesta ST depending on how the economy hits car prices.

2006 Hawk WRX Wagon, nothing particularly special on the surface and they are not as standard with only 227bhp the WRX is not really that quick by the standards today. They are really tuneable though and there's a bunch of bolt ons that will max out the standard block at 350/350 that won't cost the earth.
I've spiced mine up with an STi Turbo, Prodrive Exhaust, uprated fuel pump and clutch then a tune to 350/320 on 97 RON, so it goes well enough. It was a daily until I got the L200, now it's very much a fair weather and weekender.
It's an eager companion on spirited drives and likes to be pushed and the limits are quite high, even with standard diameter tyres (Running Dunlop Sportmax RT2's) and suspension. The tendancy at the limits is pushing to understeer but you can feel the rear squirming under highpower in corners telling you about grip. I haven't bothered to track it as racing the lawnmower scratches that itch, so my experience is all road and nothing extreme.
It's old school in power delivery with no twinscroll of VNT tech so it has lag (although the tune really helped that) until it hits full boost, then it really goes. The bigger capacity of the 2.5 engine helps to offset lag a bit, some JDM STi's use a 2.0 capacity with a Twinscroll turbo (I think MarkBT52's Type-RA was one of these), which I am a bit unsure as to why it wasn't a global thing.
It's not been a bad companion reliability wise the only failures so far have been a drivers window motor (common for the brushes to wear out) and a £1 o-ring in the powersteering return (also common and a 5 min fix). Mine had the common issue of strut knock, which is annoying at low manouvrering speeds
There seem to be lots of complaints about HGF, Ringlands and Gearboxes. Looking at the way they are treated and driven most of this is probably down to lack of mechanical sympathy, poor maintenence, bad mods (usually adding shit and not having it mapped in which critical) or general idiocy.
Looked after they don't seem any worse that previous cars i've owned, even the modded ones. Mines now done 105k, it does use a bit of oil (TADTS), but not excessive amounts and doesn't smoke and starts on the button.
They are quite basic cars compared to more modern stuff and sparsely kitted out. Yes you get, leccy windows, mirrors and climate control, but htey are the basics these days. There's no Nav or infotainment, no computer, no cruise, no electric seats (WRX SL's and STi Type-D's got heated leather seats), No ESP or TC. You do get big clear dials and a central rev counter and seats that are OK for holding you in, STi's get a variable centre diff with driver control, WRX's get 3 LSD's. Build is basic but hard wearing. I mean like interior wise a VAG group car will look well designed, look and feel great when new, but they wear badly and look tired after 100k, this starts more basic and functional but wears well and looks the same at 100k as when it did new.

[Orange Cola]

[mention]drcarlos[/mention] thanks very much for the response. It’s very much buying with a view to it being a toy so I’m not bothered about creature comforts. I keep looking and I find it hard to spot one that hasn’t got some level of questionable tinkering and it’s now looking to be £10k+ to get into a reasonable one. I did look at the lower end of the market with a view to picking one up and returning it to standard, polishing the paint and fixing a few minor issues but even at that price point they all seem to be more hassle or risk than they are worth with a fair few looking like they might need the engine pulling to fix certain issues. Worse still they’ve had some dodgy remaps which makes me question the driveline. Are there any reputable places too look out for ones up for sale? I don’t think I’d mind paying extra for one that comes with more peace of mind because the risks on certain cars don’t outweigh the want for me.

I have also tried to find somewhere doing Subaru hire/experiences but not found anything decent, the idea was to try one without buying because I already know the Fiesta ST’s very well.

[mik]

Do I get to post my Hawkeye WRX wagon pic now?

It was good as std, but after exhaust & remap I was kicking myself for leaving it so long.....

[Orange Cola]

[mention]mik[/mention] did you ever get any unwanted attention whilst you had it? I’m wondering if they need anti pikey devices fitting to them

[16vCento]

Fitted the 20 quid ebay roof motor to the Bini I got off ebay and low and behold, all is working!

The simple fixes are the best ones

[mik]

[mention]Orange Cola[/mention]. Nothing other than boy racers wanting a race.

Might get more attention with most body mods and nicer rims....

[drcarlos]

@drcarlos thanks very much for the response. It’s very much buying with a view to it being a toy so I’m not bothered about creature comforts. I keep looking and I find it hard to spot one that hasn’t got some level of questionable tinkering and it’s now looking to be £10k+ to get into a reasonable one. I did look at the lower end of the market with a view to picking one up and returning it to standard, polishing the paint and fixing a few minor issues but even at that price point they all seem to be more hassle or risk than they are worth with a fair few looking like they might need the engine pulling to fix certain issues. Worse still they’ve had some dodgy remaps which makes me question the driveline. Are there any reputable places too look out for ones up for sale? I don’t think I’d mind paying extra for one that comes with more peace of mind because the risks on certain cars don’t outweigh the want for me.

I have also tried to find somewhere doing Subaru hire/experiences but not found anything decent, the idea was to try one without buying because I already know the Fiesta ST’s very well.

You could spend more and get a WR-1 Blob, UK RB320 STi or a JDM Hawk Spec-C if you want something a bit special and less likely to have questionable mods on. The other stuff is all in reach of people who will do this kind of thing to it.

My car was cheap and a punt but has worked out well and the mods are thought through, it's not as far as it could go and i'm going to pull the engine and build it forged myself over the winter.

Forged engines in a 2.5 (2.0 already had forged pistons and rods) add to value in a big way as they mean that the owner has spent time and money on it and if running moderate power (400ish BHP) they are built to last.

The standard maps (even prodrive ones) are shite (to lean and too much advance in the lower rev ranges with a cough as they come on boost) to get emmissions down and actually contribute to the potential of ringland failure on a 2.5. So a mild map from a recognised tuner on an otherwise standard car will actually stop this as they all sort this out and is desirable, also I found my map has boosted fuel economy by about 5mpg if you aren't booting it.

Dealer wise it will be a specialist but I don't really know any apart from litchfield who i think have stopped doing them now and are into higher end stuff. I wasn't even looking for imprezas when I bought mine I just wanted a wagon that was also a bit interesting and was after a Spec-b legacy originally, running out of time, finding only sheddy Spec-B's and my car popped up locally. It was clean and drove well so I went for it.

[JonMad]

Hack time.

Whilst half keeping my eye out on eBay for a new Fabia front bumper, preferably one that doesn’t need painting, is there a cheap way to close up this crack on the corner in front of the drivers side wheel? I saw plastic welding kits at euro car parts to attach bits of mesh behind it, but those are £100. I could drill a couple of holes and cable tie it, but that’d probably look worse than the crack. Or some strong tape might hold it together?! Or just carry on ignoring it as I’m bound to twat it into something again at some point.

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[Sundayjumper]

Araldite and some small strips of metal or plastic on the back ?

Or just leave it; it's "character".

[NotoriousREV]

Drill holes at each end to stop it spreading, duct tape it, call it done.

[V8Granite]

There is some sticky mesh tape which you then pop araldite over to make a strong flexible repair.

Dave!

[integrale_evo]

Soldering iron and stitch it back together, push, lift, pull.

I have a plastic welding kit and in reality it's just a soldering iron with a flat tip with a hole in the middle so you can push extra plastic into the joint.

If you can find a bit of fine mesh from somewhere, preferably aluminium or stainless so it won't rust, then you can melt some into the plastic on the back to bridge the gap and give it extra strength.

[integrale_evo]

Honestly though, I'd probably gaffer tape over it and give it a squirt of rattle can paint in the right colour to make it a bit less distracting.