Cars, cars, cars...
Comments
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That Alfa is beautiful, a proper hot rod.
The most fun car I have owned was a Sunbeam Alpine. It would fly when I was in it on my own, however when I took other people for a ride the power to weight ratio would plummet and they wouldn't get the full experience.
If I didn't have an expensive cycling habit and had the room to store it properly, I would buy this in a heartbeat
https://www.ashley-automotive.co.uk/used-sunbeam-tiger-bournemouth-dorset-5395096
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One of those Alfa's would be good, my money no object car would be something like the restomod Lancia Aurelia B20.
We supply a lot of parts to the people that do similar to MGBs, and also the electric ones. But I could never spend that kind of money on a B however rich I was.
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Yes the tl;dr version is cars with low grip are usually more fun as you’re on the limit of grip much sooner.
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We took the sills off an MGB once. The car bent in the middle. Could never fix that damn electric overdrive on them. They look good but like a lot of British engineering, never really delivered (IMHO). You need to spend megabucks on them to make them into practical classics. The Giulia 105 is a case in point. Damn rusty things. Have a look at the Greasy fingers channel on Youtube. The work needed to restore the Giulia is extensive. He's very good BTW.
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seanoconn - gruagach craic!0 -
P/x or swap! On you go.
seanoconn - gruagach craic!0 -
Hideous - I thought my car was shite but I wouldn't be seen dead in that
[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]0 -
Don't know if it is just me, but I just don't like convertibles (with limited exception, such as an AC Cobra or Austin Healy.)
There's a Lotus Esprit on there that looks amazing. And it is practical as well.
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First two things I pointed out were the completely shagged rear bearing (it would fail an MOT) and the dent, and he basically admitted the car was shagged. I just hope they get the bearing sorted, as the noise was worrisome.
Apparently, the trouble was that I specified a manual, and they've only got a handful (Focuses and Fiat 500s), the rest being automatics. I prefer a manual on twisty mountain roads where I know just what's coming.
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Back in the 80s a rear wheel bearing on our old Escort suddenly failed on the A14 and by the time I'd found a safe place to stop it had generated so much heat it had welded its remains to the axle. Had to find a replacement stub axle at a scrap yard.
It's possible the droning noise I'd been ignoring and blaming on the concrete road sections was a warning it was on the way out...😀
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Talking about wheel bearings, we once had someone return an old brake caliper against a reconditioned one. We couldn't take it as it was completely knackered, the wheel bearing was so bad the disc had ground through the caliper until it cut into the fluid channel. He only took it to the garage because his brakes got spongy 😯
I would think that was more than just a droning noise.
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A motorbike mechanic once showed me a photo of a bike that had been brought in because the rear brake was playing up.
They had worn through the braking material on the pads, then through the backing plate of the pads and ground down most of the piston!
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Just use the paddle shifters on the automatic.
We had booked a manual at GVA in early Feb but had to take an automatic as they had no manuals - no one is hiring them anymore aparently.
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Decided that I really didn't like the Focus - quite apart from the 66 buttons to share between 10 fingers, and the shagged rear bearing, it was wider than necessary (not good for narrow mountain roads), a much less fun thing to drive than my 21-year-old Almera, and I've decided (as a dinosaur) that I really don't like cars that are 100% dependent on electronics, even for basic things such as the handbrake. Doesn't matter how much I'm told that the mechanism is better than a lever and cable, pulling away without releasing the handbrake is just wrong, wrong, wrong.
A serious question: would current-day learners actually learn the skill of a proper hill start with proper handbrake & clutch co-ordination, or are all cars becoming (at best) manual/automatic hybrids, with a lot of the functions given over to the electronics?
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Telling Sixt that their hire car had a failing rear wheel bearing seems to have got their attention... a long and contrite email in response to my feedback form asks me if there is anything I'd like them to do to make amends... might push my luck if I can think of a good angle for some sort of (partial) refund.
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You need to think bigger. Surely you encountered fear for your life whilst driving it that has left you mentally scarred and forced you to give up work?
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Haha. Though they might ask why I didn't contact them when I realised that there was such a life-threatening problem...
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PTSD obviously. France though so they might just shrug their shoulders.
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I've gone for the "Perhaps you might consider a partial refund as a gesture of goodwill", as I've not yet perfected the art of a French wavy-arm tantrum.
Incidentally, I got charged an extra £30 for driving to a 'foreign country', as I hired the car on the Swiss side of the airport. The French side didn't give a monkey's last year which country I drove to.
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As of 1st January this year, most car hire operators at Geneva are charging a cross border fee.
You should hit Sixt hard that they gave you a vehicle unfit for the open road, and that they offer no comparable alternative. Full refund plus a contribution towards any future hire from them.
PS: Pross - Brian doesn't really work.
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Thanks for the info. I've written to EasyJet too about the cross-border fee, as I'm fairly certain that there was no mention of it when I booked the car as an add-on to the flights. If I do it again it might send me back to hiring from the French side and pretend I'm not going through a tiny bit of Switzerland to get to France. (I know you can do it without going into Switzerland at all, but the diversion is a bit of a PITA in comparison. It's easy enough to avoid the Swiss toll roads from St Julien-en-Genevois to the French side of the airport.)
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Difficulty arises in the winter if you need snow tyres as they are fitted by law on the Swiss side, but not on the French side. Although you now have to have winter equipment in the French mountains, the French side of the airport falls outside there area where it is compulsory/
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Thanks. Unless winter ends up being in May/June, that's probably not going to be a worry for me.
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It's not just you. I don't like convertibles, does the handling no favours and is only any use for a few weeks a year in the UK. Might consider a Caterham, but only as a toy for the weekend.
Talking of practical cars, does seem that a few modern performance cars are trying to be vaguely practical, like this offering from AMG: 320l of boot space with the kiddy rear seats up, 675l with the seats down. That could make a decent daily driver if you can afford one...
"I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]0 -
I don't think I could fit the rigger of my boat in it. But the design is pretty good - albeit for a modern car with an absurdly large grille where the design team have ducked the requirement to design the front, and assuming you could take that pointless wing off the back.
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There's an option with no fixed wing and one of those 911 style rear wings that rises out of the bodywork at speed. As for the front I like the 'Hannibal Lecter' style front grilles , but then I'm biased as its just a more exaggerated version of mine (see avatar).
Also its a proper V8 AMG with a cracking sound track and none of this small capacity engine + battery bollox that made the new C63s a virtual non-seller (although on the upside, it should keep second hand values of mine quite healthy). Prices in a few years could be quite tempting given how much they're likely to depreciate and with a decent trade in.
"I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]0 -
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The arse end has similarities, sure, but the front is nothing like it. Also a lot of other differences like front engined vs rear and the sound effects.
911 Turbo is a great car but holds its value very well. No rush though as I'm happy with what I have and no need to change for a good few years, by which time these things will have had a chance to depreciate.
"I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]0 -
How many hours to change driver side headlight bulb on a 9N3 Polo? FFS!! What were they thinking???
Sometimes. Maybe. Possibly.
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