Car Talk

[BroadAmbition]

Correct, it’s a two piece so I can open the rear doors as they are fitted to top of doors

Griff

[RumPunch]

How may of us here are going to be affected by the change to 10% bioethanol petrol later this year, and the fact some cars can't run it

https://www.acea.be/uploads/publications/ACEA_E10_compatibility.pdf

[FairTmiddlin]

1 hour ago, RumPunch said:

How may of us here are going to be affected by the change to 10% bioethanol petrol later this year, and the fact some cars can't run it

If you thought that unleaded petrol didn't last long before it went stale.

watch some of the car auction sites on you tube and find out what the Americans think of ethanol fuel, three months and its off and clogs up injectors like crazy.

[RumPunch]

1 hour ago, FairTmiddlin said:

If you thought that unleaded petrol didn't last long before it went stale.

watch some of the car auction sites on you tube and find out what the Americans think of ethanol fuel, three months and its off and clogs up injectors like crazy.

The only reason I latched onto this is I’ve been having a lot of trouble with blocked jet  on my outboard. Consensus seems to be it’s because I’ve been running ordinary unleaded which gums up a lot easier.

[FairTmiddlin]

47 minutes ago, RumPunch said:

The only reason I latched onto this is I’ve been having a lot of trouble with blocked jet  on my outboard. Consensus seems to be it’s because I’ve been running ordinary unleaded which gums up a lot easier.

Never never leave unleaded petrol in a tank or the carburettor as it will almost solidify in jets.

 

 

 

[Paul]

Phew, looking at the list of vehicles it appears that one's Maybach is fine for E10, and at the rate it drinks, nay guzzles the stuff one should be fine 

[RumPunch]

17 hours ago, FairTmiddlin said:

Never never leave unleaded petrol in a tank or the carburettor as it will almost solidify in jets.

But between a Tuesday and a Saturday was a bit annoying ……….

[Upcycler]

On 16/06/2020 at 22:04, BroadAmbition said:

By 

Terri Lynn Coop

Updated May 24, 2019

In the 1940s and 1950s, no serious hot rod was complete without a set of fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview mirror. Today, fuzzy dice are a symbol of retro flair or amusing schlock. Believe it or not, there is history and symbolism behind those innocuous-looking fuzzy cubes.

World War II

The common lore says that fuzzy dice spring from a pilots' superstition in World War II. Before taking off for a sortie, pilots would put a pair of dice on their instrument panel, with seven pips showing, for good luck. Another, perhaps grimmer variant on the story is that the dice on the panel were a reminder that every flight was a figurative "roll of the dice" as to whether the plane would return safely to base. Considering that by 1942 the United States was losing an average of 170 aircraft per day, pilots had a right to be cynical about their chances. Every flight was a gamble and only the lucky winners got to go home.

The Home Front

When the veterans came home from World War II, they found a country transformed. An entire generation of young people, both men and women, had seen their comfortable, often rural, lives uprooted by the chaos of combat and wartime deprivation. Young people also had two things they didn't have before the war: freedom and spending money. Many translated their restlessness into "a need for speed" and the golden age of the street rod flourished.

A souped-up hot rod was a good outlet for the mechanical skills that many veterans had picked up in the service and could replace the adrenalin rush many missed from their days in combat. An illegal street racing subculture sprang up in many cities.

Dicing With Death

Nobody knows which street racer hung the first pair of plastic dice over his rear view mirror, invoking the old pilots' superstition and cynicism. However, before long, plastic dice became part of a look that identified the alternative culture, like a pack of Lucky Strikes rolled up in a t-shirt sleeve. Displaying the dice meant the driver was ready and willing to be "dicing with death" in the dangerous and unregulated world of street racing.

However, even super cool hot rodders had to be practical. The cheesy plastic dice melted in the sunlight and were soon replaced with stuffed fuzzy dice. In the United Kingdom, they were called fluffy dice or furry dice.

Modern Times

As times changed and racing became an organized sport, the kitschy dice remained part of car culture into the 1980s. Drivers would pick colors that matched their custom cars and the dice became more of a symbol of individuality than defiance. However, by the end of the 1980s, more than one state had outlawed hanging any items from rearview mirrors and the fad had, in general, become a cliche.

The practice had become so tame that a 1993 study found drivers with fuzzy dice on their mirrors were no more likely to take risks or become involved in accidents than the average driver.

However, as a new generation discovers retro fads and fashions, symbols like fuzzy dice are coming back into style. If you look around the parking lot at the supermarket and it is likely a set will be dangling from a tricked-out pickup and an everyday minivan. They are no longer symbols of rebellion and recklessness, but of nostalgia.

-----------------------------------------

Griff

With a reply like that, you either need a stiff drink or is missing blasting things out of the sky!

[Upcycler]

On 22/06/2020 at 09:54, OldBerkshireBoy said:

In the last photo it shows a gap between the two pieces, now that would annoy me tbh.

It was the same with the A Team van, they had to get the welder machine in some how.

[BroadAmbition]

The replacement windscreen saga  continues.  Three appointments all set by A.W to suit their diary not mine, yet still I am driving around with a screen that would now not pass an mot, which is due in just over three weeks btw.

To recap back in March after looking on my insurance policy and seeing that a repair was free I contacted the relevant screen outfit, waited a full month and in April they arrived to repair the screen.  Which failed and turned into a 4" crack. 

Now I needed a new screen. £75:00 excess paid, another month waiting and in May a chap arrived - With the incorrect screen in his van.

Their admin / office contacted me.  No apology offered, no explanation as to how they sent the wrong screen and informed me that due to the screen having sensors and the like the replacement would need calibrating after fitting and it was never possible to change it at the roadside / home therefore I would have to go to their depot.  They should have told me this back in April when they cracked the screen but 'Forgot'.  Yet another month wait for their allocated appointment Jun 27th  What was infuriating is that although I knew the date I could not find out their appointment time to suit them until the day before (26th) after 1600 by going onto their own website which made organising the following day / clients very awkward to say the least

Yesterday - Thirty mins prior to my allocated appointment time I get a phone call form A.W informing me that the new screen is with them but don't bother coming in as it is damaged and they don't have another one available.

Now I am really annoyed, on the last two appointments I have arranged my diary around their timescales, enough is enough

I explain to the man on the phone that I have now been attempting to get the fault rectified for three months and three failed appointments.  The mot is due in just over three weeks and will fail with the screen in its present condition.  If I have to wait another month I will be hiring a van which they will be paying for along with loss of earnings due to collecting, changing over tools, and returning etc.  Also any clients cancelled they will be paying for that too.

On hearing this it sharpened his mind somewhat and I was informed he would be ringing me back in ten minutes.

He rang back explaining that a third replacement new screen would be in their depot this coming Wednesday and when could I call to have it fitted? (First time I have been offered an appointment to set the time / date)  Friday morning 03rd I reply. That's fine can I be there at 0845? - Yes I can

So three appointments and three months but as soon as I point out a few facts involving them paying for the consequences of their actions they can organise supply / fitting in just seven days? - Impressive

We will see come Friday how things fair.  Once this saga is complete there will be a letter of complaint going off to Auto Windscreens along with another letter to my insurance company informing them of the lack of customer service from the outfit they recommend without one apology offered by A.W

Griff

 

[grendel]

Just a thought Griff, does your MOT fall under those granted an extension under Covid 19, if so that will give you additional time  to get it done.

[BroadAmbition]

Not sure but don't think so as MOT is due next month - I'll have a quick look see. 

Just checked on the Gov website - Its due mid July so no extension, I didn't expect one either

Griff

[ranworthbreeze]

16 minutes ago, BroadAmbition said:

Not sure but don't think so as MOT is due next month - I'll have a quick look see. 

Just checked on the Gov website - Its due mid July so no extension, I didn't expect one either

Griff

Hello Griff,

I think you had better contact your insurance company now and see if they can five you details of an alternative supplier, their track record up to now could be called poor at best.

Regards

Alan 

[BroadAmbition]

Agreed but Friday is now only five days away so I'll give them a final chance

Griff

[MauriceMynah]

As it is the insurance company who selected the windscreen replacement company, I would be tempted to contact them (the insurance company) informing them of the claim that you will be submitting for loss of earnings etc.

I would think that if it's likely to cost them, they would be the ones to be best placed to pressurise the windscreen company. Letters of complaint are rarely effective in the way hoped for..

[unclemike]

extension will not appear till 3 days before due date, mine was due may 29, extension appeared may 26

[OldBerkshireBoy]

Given that I used to rack up high milage every year I went through a fair few windscreens as well in that time with most be replaced by AW and I have never been through your saga Griff. 

[BroadAmbition]

Given that I used to rack up high mileage every year I went through a fair few windscreens as well in that time with most be replaced by AW and I have never been through your saga Griff. 

Well there has to be a first time and it seems its me and Trevor.  Oh well, we can handle it

 

MM - Agreed but there hasn't been any loss of earnings - Yet and if it's sorted this coming Friday there won't be any. Just plenty of frustration and being mucked about on my part.   I had booked Friday off an age ago now in anticipation of being onboard 'B.A' it's turned out to be fortunate that I am now aiming to travel down this Friday instead of Thursday evening.

 

extension will not appear till 3 days before due date, mine was due may 29, extension appeared may 26

Nowhere enough notice, my work diary is rammed, I can't afford to 'Hope' I get an extension then find out with only three days to go that I don't.  Trevor will be mot'd on or before the due date come what may, then a year in front with no hassle - He says optimistically 

Griff

[addicted]

Some years ago a  very nice person or persons smashed my offside front window presumably to access the car phone that had already been removed. I called the company referred to to get it repaired. They sent a young chap to the house to carry out the job.  He was full of the chat and when he announced he had finished and was about to leave I tried the electric window to see if it worked alright.  It did but  accompanied  by much crunching and grinding.  | pointed out this and said it wouldn't do. Oh said flash Harry, that's not ,my fault it's because these cars with electric windows develop this problem when they get old. The car concerned was an 18 months old Jaguar XJS.!  I replied Well is that so? You'd better be on your way then. I then phoned the office  and  very succinctly asked them to explain why they had sent such an unsuitable operative to work on my  car.  So succinct was  I that the area director accompanied by the depot manager arrived half and hour later and  carried out the job properly.

 

 

Carole

[grendel]

let me guess he didnt hoover out the broken glass from inside the door properly.

[addicted]

Yes I'm sure this was the case, If you had  heard the load of tosh he gave me by way of explaining the noise you wouldn't have believed it and of course I didn't!

 

 

Carole

[WherryNice]

Just had an email from DVSA, the 6 month MoT extensions will cease on the 1st of August.

[RumPunch]

17 minutes ago, WherryNice said:

Just had an email from DVSA, the 6 month MoT extensions will cease on the 1st of August.

I assume that's for new extensions not ones already granted

[WherryNice]

1 minute ago, RumPunch said:

I assume that's for new extensions not ones already granted

Yes that is how I understand it.

[BroadAmbition]

So does that mean the mot due on my van in July will be extended?

Griff