Your fleet running reports

[John]

A Caterham is probably going to be my retirement car. I came very close to buying one this year but I know at the moment it wouldn't get the use it deserves.

[Mito Man]

I still want a Caterham/Atom

[Sundayjumper]

But a 7 would definitely require us to be a 3-car household of course, whereas the ‘vora is a great all rounder.

@integrale_evo & I both agree with you, three cars would be insane

[MikeHunt]

I still want a Caterham/Atom

Same, or a bac mono depending on a lottery win/bitcoin.

[integrale_evo]

But a 7 would definitely require us to be a 3-car household of course, whereas the ‘vora is a great all rounder.

@integrale_evo & I both agree with you, three cars would be insane

Ye gods, one cannot possibly comprehend owning more than two cars

[mik]

But a 7 would definitely require us to be a 3-car household of course, whereas the ‘vora is a great all rounder.

@integrale_evo & I both agree with you, three cars would be insane

Ye gods, one cannot possibly comprehend owning more than two cars

Yeah yeah I am just highlighting that it would be a change for a serial non fleet owner. I do appreciate that a 3rd (4th..... 20th) car can be more compromised, and there is nothing unappealing about that.... but I do prefer having cars in garages, so would probably want to build another..... which increases costs somewhat. I am probably more jealous of Harry M's barn-garage than I am of the cars he stores in it....

[drcarlos]

With the breakdown of the combo from the same thing as last year (sheared bolts in the gearbox mount) we decided to replace it now. It's likely going to need a few more things in the not too distant future, injectors and turbo being the biggest although it's slightly worrying that the expansion tank was empty too and we wanted something less flogged.
So after 30 years of driving we now own our first Frenchie. A 2012 Berlingo Enterprise (it got parking sensors and AC) 1.6HDi. Probably could have done better but we needed something quick so it was sourced locally from a dealer at not unreasonable money. It's also black so looks a bit better than a boggo white van.
Drives better than the combo with more guts (not 70 mph limited either) and has 3 seats up front (dash mount gear shift means it beats our the combo, caddy and connect for front seat space). We're now up to 5 vehicles with the broken combo hanging around until the replacement V5 (private plate transfer) arrives. Need to fit the headunit this weekend modules and fitting kit have cost £150! It needs an AC regas too but apart from that it's good.

Thinking I'd have to send it to one of the car collectors as no one would want it I put a speculative ad on FB marketplace for a little over what I'd get from one of those places, thinking was that If I got a nibble or two someone might leave a deposit to take it away when the new V5 arrived. How wrong was I, I proceeded to get over 40 messages in 2 hours about people wanting to collect now for asking price, so much so I had to delete to ad. Utterly bonkers but I guess for a quick fix for someone it's worth a punt.

[speedingfine]

Me and the missus recently went on holiday in two of our three cars, she carried the camping gear and the dog

4.30 start



7.30 arrival

[Ascender]

Me and the missus recently went on holiday in two of our three cars, she carried the camping gear and the dog

4.30 start



7.30 arrival

She's definitely a keeper for agreeing to this!

[Broccers]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175322772862 ... media=COPY

@Sundayjumper

Not done much with mine yet.

Boxster is having it's drive shaft reconditioned next week as still dropping grease. Not as spendy as a new one at over a grand.

[JonMad]

Yeti now has a thing.

BE8DE024-773E-4629-9990-1849C0414174.jpeg (88.85 KiB) Viewed 772 times

[Matty]

Me and the missus recently went on holiday in two of our three cars, she carried the camping gear and the dog

4.30 start

Why is the antenna so big? That's gotta ruin the power/weight surely.

[DeskJockey]

Me and the missus recently went on holiday in two of our three cars, she carried the camping gear and the dog

4.30 start

Why is the antenna so big? That's gotta ruin the power/weight surely.

How else can you 10-4 The Rubber Duck over great distances?

[mik]

So he can find it in the car park. Duh.

[Mito Man]

[Sundayjumper]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175322772862 ... media=COPY

Same place as last time ! A couple of broken clips but I'll keep an eye on the listing.

Time for an update on my MINI, because it's been a mini-adventure. Car was bought from a small-time dealer who'd got it in p/x with a knackered engine and fitted a replacement. I got the car and found it was smoking more than I'd expect under full throttle. I suspected the injectors from the "new" engine hadn't been coded into the ECU. I checked with the dealer who confirmed no, they hadn't, as he doesn't have the equipment to do it. I coded them into the ECU myself and it was a bit better but still not right. I started digging into part numbers and cross referencing things.

For those that don't know, this era of MINI used the PSA 1.6 HDi diesel engine that is shared with Ford, Volvo and of course Peugeot/Citroen. The injectors in the car only cross-referenced back to Peugeot/Citroen models. I spoke to the dealer again and yes, the engine came from a 307. D'oh. The engine might be physically the same but the manufacturers will do their own mapping in the electronics so no surprise that these injectors were not what the ECU was expecting. Fortunately he'd kept the injectors from the original engine and stuck them in the post to me. The car has masses of paperwork with it including two replacement injectors at different times. Interestingly neither had been coded in so the car presumably hadn't been running right for quite a long time.

All four correct injectors reinstated and the car seems to be running OK now. Very noticeably smoother. So much so that even my wife noticed and that's possibly a first. Was the dealer lucky selling it to someone like me who was able to fix it without making a fuss ? Or would a normal person have never noticed in the first place ? Who knows. On a 40 miles motorway test run, driving gently, the OBC claimed 83.5mpg. Even if that's a bit optimistic it should be a comfortable 70+. Pretty good.

The frugality was the reason for buying it, of course, for commuting, but because the Civil Service is so f**king useless I have only been to the office once in the first three weeks It turned out my line manager was already working her notice. She finished a week ago and hasn't been replaced. The two other people I'd be working most closely with are both on holiday at the moment. The department head is retiring is September and is showing a laissez-faire attitude to everything. People are *meant* to be returning to the office but nobody wants to (understandably) and because Civil Service there's a Union to contend with that will be defending people's "right" to WFH I'll just make the most of it for now.

[Sundayjumper]

And in the time it took me to write that, those a-pillar trims have gone. Arse.

[Mito Man]

I’ve been cracking on with my chainsaw, I found someone in China selling a top end replacement for about £50 - the reviews weren’t promising but a £50 gamble on a £700 saw is worth it.

Looked alright and after I did the break in and calibration cuts it ran like a peach!

At the same time I ordered another saw as a replacement so the old one can be for back up duties

Now for a beer.

[speedingfine]

Me and the missus recently went on holiday in two of our three cars, she carried the camping gear and the dog

4.30 start

Why is the antenna so big? That's gotta ruin the power/weight surely.

[mik]

At the same time I ordered another saw as a replacement so the old one can be for back up duties

Now for a beer.

What model is that then? Looks expensive