Messages

1

Classifieds & Useful eBay Links / SOTW: PEUGEOT 406 COUPE.

« on: November 20, 2011, 05:09:38 pm »

Pretty good car, engines are a little bland, as is the interor. Aluminium bodies thogh. The kid on the school bus was sort of right though, being designed by pinninfarina it actually was designed by the same people as ferrari

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General Banter / The great diesel con...

« on: November 20, 2011, 04:57:43 pm »

Diesel takes longer to warm up because its more efficient, I.e. more energy goes into propelling the car, and less is wasted as heat. Some bigger diesel people carriers actualy have diesel fired heaters rather than coolant fed ones.

There are some advanced petrol units now such as the multi air that can exceed diesel economy while giving more power and refinement.

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General Banter / 2013 Cadillac XTS.

« on: November 16, 2011, 09:29:20 pm »

Never did understand the northstar being deleted -surely it would be the best engine to use in a modern executive car?

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General Banter / Happy Birthday Zee.

« on: November 16, 2011, 06:57:15 pm »

I thought LS1's weren't actually 350 c.i. but in fact rounded down to 5.7 litres

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General Banter / 2013 Cadillac XTS.

« on: November 16, 2011, 06:53:34 pm »

the centre section looks quite mercedes CLS..

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General Banter / Chrysler saving Fiat ? Odd but true !

« on: November 16, 2011, 06:47:30 pm »

but chrysler IS fiat.......so its Fiat propping Fiat up. surely it just shows Fiat are actually doing a decent job with chrysler.

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General Banter / 2014 Corvette C7.

« on: November 14, 2011, 10:34:48 pm »

Quoting: HardRockCamaro

Shame they don't sell over here, a better interior (it is nasty plastic) and some slightly better build on that fiberglass body and RHD would make the next generation, or the one after that a real option for some people as the performance is great, not just in a straight line, but the quality needs ot be brought up so the name can be.

nail firmly on the head.

Its never going to worry ferrari and lambo, but thats the rarified air of the car world - their brand image is so strong you will never crack that market in a million years - even McLaren cant do it with a car that is if anything better.

It could be a serious contender slightly lower down though, and make a very viable skyline / porsche cayman / M6 alternative, finished to Audi standards and priced at 90k it could sell.

problem is, the Americans love it for what it is, making it better finished and therefore more expensive in order to shift a few units in Europe at the expense of a lot of US sales doesn't really make sense I guess.

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General Banter / AlloyGator Alloy Wheel Protection System.

« on: November 14, 2011, 09:48:55 pm »

quite a good idea, would smarten up already kerbed wheels, too.

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General Banter / 2014 Corvette C7.

« on: November 14, 2011, 08:16:19 pm »

looks like they are trying to go a bit camaro with it...not sure how popular ditching the corvettes trademark round tail lights will be..

looks ok i guess.   I doubt you will see many outside the US though.

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General Banter / Show your fleet..

« on: November 13, 2011, 10:10:27 am »

We had a couple of those Astras at palmersport, they were used as instructor training cars. reasonably quick for what they are. same engine in the VX220 turbo goes like bloody hell.

Interesting colour on the ZZR600 - not seen many like that. Is that Shelby sat on the ZZR? bloody el, how old is she now - i remember when you were on labour alert!

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General Banter / Show your fleet..

« on: November 12, 2011, 06:39:59 pm »

there is now a register, ALL insurance companies will need to know about a conversion (away from trade policies) but if its either got a certificate, or is on the register then they wont charge any extra.

http://www.drivelpg.co.uk/buying_preowned_vehicle.php

if its all legit, as i'm sure it is, the Jeep would be an excelent daily driver - i still rate them as the best vehicle jeep ever made.

quite quick for a 4x4 too.

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General Banter / Show your fleet..

« on: November 12, 2011, 06:18:56 pm »

If that 'negative' avoids someone ending up on the wrong end of a prosecution then surely the decent thing to do would be to mention it....

does the jeep have a certificate?

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General Banter / Show your fleet..

« on: November 12, 2011, 06:11:07 pm »

Quoting: HardRockCamaro

Careful.
Starting on LPG is a bad idea and risks an Intake explosion.
For the cost saving on probably 0.5L per cold startup, or around 30p, I don't thInk it's worth it. Handy for emergency use though...

absolutely right. Modern systems wont allow you to start the car on gas anyway.

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General Banter / Show your fleet..

« on: November 12, 2011, 06:07:10 pm »

Starting on petrol is very important - the gas id drawn from the tank as a liquid, then the vaporiser (large round thing with two hoses on it) turns it into a gas using the cars coolant to heat it. try and run gas before that has warmed up and you can seriously damage it (a clue is if its got ice formed on it) pure gas systems work differently, and draw gas from the tank - these are not road legal.

Trying to start on gas can lead to ice build up and improper vaporisation. Done properly LPG should smell. drive and feel no different to petrol, if you notice a difference, walk away.

Does the system have the green inspection certificate? you're insurance is void if it doesn't, although most gas installers will be able to inspect the car and issue one for a small fee.

Gas 4 cars in Bow Brickhill are the daddies - they do fantastic work.

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General Banter / 2 minutes silence...

« on: November 12, 2011, 06:00:51 pm »

Quoting: Andy

All our machines except the two new Haas' are set up in imperial. In my opinion it makes far more sense than metric.

wow. I'm genuinely shocked.

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General Banter / Weekend Weather is looking good 16c !

« on: November 11, 2011, 10:54:15 pm »

absolutely cacking it down here at the moment!

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General Banter / 2 minutes silence...

« on: November 11, 2011, 10:53:11 pm »

I used to machine caliper and master cylinder pistons, +0 - 0.02mm tolerance. not too bad with a decent manual lathe. Its a shame engineering services went under, for an old style machine shop they had some lovely machines.

who on earth was the job for with measurements in imperial?

18

Questions and Queries / Mondeo Klub for Bois - MK3 Help

« on: November 11, 2011, 10:47:52 pm »

with so much platform sharing, the 'brand and country' loyalty is pointless, even the Fiesta 1.4 TDCi engine is actually a (now rather old) fiat unit! fiat power train dominate the small engine arena, many manufacturers are now using fiat or Renault engines - this is why Nissan diesel cars carry the DCi script - it denotes Renault engines.

almost all cars share something with another brand. aside from the new Lancia Thema (which is in fact the new chrysler 300C for the European market) all B and C segment chryslers for 2012 are Lancias. (Ypsilon and delta) from previous small chrysler offerings, this can only be a good move.

the ultimate mass market (ish) car though is, and has always been the Mercedes S class - always a decade ahead of anything else. mind you for 70k for a basic one (if there is such a thing) it should be good.

My brother has an 05 S350, and its truly incredible, words cannot describe how smooth quiet and refined it is. but again, its not very old, low mileage (40,000) and cost well over £70k new.

quite a car for the £9k he paid though, even if it was bought 'mates rates - its book is about £14k

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General Banter / Fix It Again Tony.

« on: November 11, 2011, 10:07:50 pm »

if anyone ever needs it, i have a 22 piece piston rewind kit.

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General Banter / 2 minutes silence...

« on: November 11, 2011, 10:07:01 pm »

Quoting: Andy

My machine at work was running a hard roughing cycle all the way through, bloody 316 knackering out my tips!

Been there, done that..... quite a material to deal with. now, a nice bit of EN1A mild steel, just lovely.

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Questions and Queries / Mondeo Klub for Bois - MK3 Help

« on: November 11, 2011, 10:04:39 pm »

We all know the difference between a cheap Alfa and a more expensive one, been there myself.. the pricier car worked out far cheaper in the end.

you gotta be careful, they are complicated vehicles (the engine has quite a bit of hand down 70's F1 tech such as the keyless cam pulley arrangement). the same can be said to a degree of many more complicated cars (and bikes)

how far would you trust a cheap RS turbo? just like the RS, cheap = disaster, spend a little more for a good example and its absolutely fine.

I've had my alfa nearly four years now, and my confidence in it is solid with good reason. In fact its having a thrash to France in a few weeks - its fourth trip there.

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General Banter / can ya tell wot it is yet....again.....

« on: November 11, 2011, 09:58:31 pm »

I'm guessing its home brew based.....

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Questions and Queries / Mondeo Klub for Bois - MK3 Help

« on: November 11, 2011, 09:47:35 pm »

25,000 miles is 25,000 miles - time is irrelevant.

I know it causes pain, but even Stevie Wonder can see - the alfa is NOT an unreliable car, quite the opposite.

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General Banter / Fix It Again Tony.

« on: November 10, 2011, 06:00:53 pm »

rear discs aren't always much fun either, as the calliper pistons don't just push in, they have to be rewound. This can be bloody hard work.

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General Banter / Don't Sterotype Toyota Pruis Drivers ?

« on: November 10, 2011, 01:13:21 am »

screw top fuel - tractor pulls have the most amazing engine blow ups!