Your fleet running reports

[Markcoopers]

Morgan in rude health but at dealers for sale.

MX5 still awaiting ITBs but going well

New Merc still on order some 6 months waiting

Focus ST diesel is dull if competent

Fiat 500 convertible twin air still going well but too small for kids and cricket bags apparently.

Been test driving TVR Griffiths (old) Ultima and E36 328 convertible, not purchased any yet.

[_andy]

Ford Transit T350

I had some holiday to use up recently, so decided to spend some of it tackling a few problems with the Transit van. It seems like during its previous life with a power company it spent a lot of time in the mud, most of which was still in there under the carpet.



What should have been at tops a hour to remove the seats, pull the carpet out and clean/dry everything out turned into a two day battle royale, mostly due to one of the five bolts (which are RIBE bolts, never heard of them before) holding the passenger seat in being completely seized, and of course it's the one thats hidden away with virtually no access. In the end I had to cut a hole in the bulkhead so I could drill the head of the bolt (using a 90 degree drill attachment), remove the seat, then drill out the remains, this is what it looked like by the time it finally relented:





I also fixed some rust, a hole in the roof being the worst bit, I think from where a roof rack was fitted:



I was going to weld it up but I didn't trust my welding skills, and the hole was bigger than I thought so ended up cutting it out and filling it with some isopon, then sprayed it over with some Blazer Blue touch up paint I bough on eBay - it's on the roof so not too bothered about getting a great finish, the only people that will ever see it will be on buses.

The MoT is due next week and I'm having trouble finding anywhere local that can do it, it seems that the hightop is a probem...

[_andy]

Honda CR125

The MX bike has been going great since the headgasket was changed, and has had a couple of good kickings at the Milk Run track which is just the other side of the Dartford Tunnel in Purfleet, and easy to get to.

In celebration I've bought a new set of plastics to replace the rather tired stuff thats currently fitted, including a 2016 front number plate and mudguard which will update the front nicely, and some new graphics:

[speedingfine]

Morgan in rude health but at dealers for sale.

MX5 still awaiting ITBs but going well

New Merc still on order some 6 months waiting

Focus ST diesel is dull if competent

Fiat 500 convertible twin air still going well but too small for kids and cricket bags apparently.

Been test driving TVR Griffiths (old) Ultima and E36 328 convertible, not purchased any yet.

Info on the Ultima test drive and spec etc would be great... Separate post maybe?

[McSwede]

C220d - New rear boots fitted. 245/45 R18 P Zero s/c taken off and Michelin PS4's fitted and are superb as per last time I had them. Wet and dry grip is very impressive and they seem quiet enough.

On a side note the Merc still seems to be very good on diesel regularly getting high 50's to the gallon on motorway runs. It's just turned two years old and has hit 67000 miles today. Via work it's on a 3yr 25k lease deal so it may go back or mileage extended so just waiting to find out. It's a cracking car with a great spec (AMG line Premium Plus) and I've enjoyed the two years with it.

[JonMad]

Megane booked in next Friday to get the bonnet catch fixed. Will be handy to be able to close the bonnet again without risking bending it.

[Sundayjumper]

Info on the Ultima test drive and spec etc would be great... Separate post maybe?

Yes. I love the idea of one, but they're way too hardcore for me !

[ShockDiamonds]

Panamera - Generator issues traced to faulty steering column causing a short. All done under warranty, as was a new sports chrono clock as the old one showed an analogue time slightly different to the digital time.

Had the wheels done in Porsche GT Silver, well pleased with the result, £360 plus VAT pics to follow.



Two new rear tyres, tad over 600 quid.

So far, so good. Thankfully.

[duncs500]

Exciting upgrade for the 7.

LED rear lights, mik will be pleased.

I'll be glad to get back to the standard clusters, the last owner put clear ones on but I prefer these. Reassuringly expensive though.

[Maurice]

Exige - Fresh from a service and MOT, it's had a new set of rear boots and pads. I also asked the dealer to strip and clean the brakes as they were looking a bit sorry for themselves after the car had sat for most of the winter without moving. It's also had new plugs fitted and a new HKS filter cone for the CupR intake.

I don't know if it's a placebo effect of having had a bit of TLC or just the fact that I haven't driven it properly for a few months, but took it out today and my god it was absolutely monumental. Completely ballistic in a straight line and throttle response felt markedly better, with the brakes being back to their mighty best. Grip everywhere and the turn is as fabulous as usual.

Put to rest any niggling thoughts I had of selling it - it's utterly won me over. Again.

Golf R - continues to be a faithful white goods daily. Really comfortable, reasonably quick, a bit anodyne. Exactly what I expected.

[duncs500]

I get that feeling whenever I take out the seven after having not driven it for a while, but then my daily is a lot slower than yours!

[Carlos]

I only know of two other 968s that it's happened to, so I think it's a relatively rare problem. But for companies to sell replacement cogs, maybe it's not?

There has always been people saying that if you reset the trip meter while the car is in motion, it can strip teeth off the cogs...not sure if that's actually true, but needless to say I've always avoided doing that!

Yep, I did exactly that on the drive home from buying mine, you could here a 'graunching' noise and the odometer worked intermittently there after.

I ordered a kit from America and was told that there are 2 different types and on my head be it, sods law the wrong one came

I ended buying a corrected and calibrated 944 S2 unit from one if the breakers for peanuts.

ETA- the 944 unit only had a max 160 instead 180 if I recall correctly.

[NotoriousREV]

The Golf is running like you'd expect a Golf to. The only problem is that I've done 9200 of my 20000 miles in 7 months out of 24. The shit weather means I haven't used the bike as much as planned. Ah well.

[integrale_evo]

Needed to take the prop out to check the centre bearing which I suspected had collapsed and was making nasty noises.

This involves taking the exhaust off which is the original and one piece from the flange by the front wheel to the tailpipes and weighs a lot!

While it was off I thought I'd have a go at fixing the flanges which I knew were in poor shape when I did the clutch last year.

Bomb site


Manky flanges


Chop off the lug


Drill out a suitably sized nut, use the gasket as a guide, stick the nut on with a welder and add some more to build up the sides, tidy with a grinder, that'll do.

[McSwede]

Top work Harry!!

[mik]

Superb bodging Harry

[Carlos]

M2 is now 6 months old so I thought I'd treat it to a wash, pretty much the first time since I've had it. I also waxed most of it using Autoglym HD Wax which left a great finish, I'm not sure where this premium ish product came from as I certainly wouldn't have spent £40 on a wax

Nothing else to report after 4000 miles of lolz.

[dan]

Exige - Fresh from a service and MOT, it's had a new set of rear boots and pads. I also asked the dealer to strip and clean the brakes as they were looking a bit sorry for themselves after the car had sat for most of the winter without moving. It's also had new plugs fitted and a new HKS filter cone for the CupR intake.

I don't know if it's a placebo effect of having had a bit of TLC or just the fact that I haven't driven it properly for a few months, but took it out today and my god it was absolutely monumental. Completely ballistic in a straight line and throttle response felt markedly better, with the brakes being back to their mighty best. Grip everywhere and the turn is as fabulous as usual.

Put to rest any niggling thoughts I had of selling it - it's utterly won me over. Again.

Golf R - continues to be a faithful white goods daily. Really comfortable, reasonably quick, a bit anodyne. Exactly what I expected.

I mean this in the nicest possible way and it’s not intended to sound like a wanky comment even though it might come across as one, but if you think your exige is ballistic I’d love you to have a go in one of the 300hp S1’s I’ve built, almost the same power as you but 450kilos lighter....I really like the v6, they make a wicked noise and are lovely to drive, but fuck me they feel slow after you’ve been spoiled by almost 500hp per tonne

[JLv3.0]

I get that feeling whenever I take out the seven after having not driven it for a while, but then my daily is a lot slower than yours!

Posted before obviously, but I had a rental 1.5 diesel Focus in Turkey for a few days.

Holy mother of God did the Audi feel quick when I got back to Dubai

[Maurice]

Exige - Fresh from a service and MOT, it's had a new set of rear boots and pads. I also asked the dealer to strip and clean the brakes as they were looking a bit sorry for themselves after the car had sat for most of the winter without moving. It's also had new plugs fitted and a new HKS filter cone for the CupR intake.

I don't know if it's a placebo effect of having had a bit of TLC or just the fact that I haven't driven it properly for a few months, but took it out today and my god it was absolutely monumental. Completely ballistic in a straight line and throttle response felt markedly better, with the brakes being back to their mighty best. Grip everywhere and the turn is as fabulous as usual.

Put to rest any niggling thoughts I had of selling it - it's utterly won me over. Again.

Golf R - continues to be a faithful white goods daily. Really comfortable, reasonably quick, a bit anodyne. Exactly what I expected.

I mean this in the nicest possible way and it’s not intended to sound like a wanky comment even though it might come across as one, but if you think your exige is ballistic I’d love you to have a go in one of the 300hp S1’s I’ve built, almost the same power as you but 450kilos lighter....I really like the v6, they make a wicked noise and are lovely to drive, but fuck me they feel slow after you’ve been spoiled by almost 500hp per tonne

Is that an offer Dan?

I’ve driven an S1 conversion before and it did make me laugh out loud when the VTEC kicked in (yo). Don’t think the one I drove (Al P’s) is anywhere near as powerful as some of your kit, so christ knows how I’d react!