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So, would you like to see how my crappy cars have been doing over the last 3 weeks? Not well. Last post I mentioned a blue E38, well that started misbehaving, running the battery down, other weird electrical things and it got culled sooner rather than later. So did the 2x 330ci cars I'd bought for breaking with MOTs. which left me with this stellar choice:  Now that's not bad, really. To save you the effort of looking back, that is an Oxford Green E34 525tds auto lowered on 17" Style 16s, and a Glacier Green E38 728i Auto lowered on 18"x10j RH Toplines. However, I couldn't use them that much. On the E34 I discovered that between when I'd sold the car and bought it back last year, the then-owner had changed the bulbs in the rear lights to the wrong ones, and melted the light housing for the tail-lights. On rare Hella upgrade lights, the idiot. I'd only driven it in the daytime since really, or I may have found out ages ago and forgotten to sort it, but yes it needs a new set of lights now. And the E38, well it was parked at someone else's house. But when I went and got it back... well, we will come to that. In the meantime a very colourful picture. I had to move the Skoda 120G to retrieve an E46 I had lying in one of the sheds out of the way. This was to make space for the M535i to come live indoors, but in the meantime a friend decided to buy an E36 shell I had hidden away in another shed, which means there is a space for the M535i there (and that's more accessible), so (if you're following...) the 120G went back in and the Estoril E36 Evo joined it in the new space in that shed.  More attempts were made to fix the Impreza which is still taking up space at work. Still getting nowhere with it. Literally everything was unplugged and the dash totally taken to pieces to try and find where the electrics are shorting out, and at least now it seems like the dash isn't shorting, but the car starts sputtering at 3k rpm and the CEL is still permanently on. Such a puke. Also taking up space at work is a dark blue MG ZTT, which manages to impress constantly by always starting when it needs moved - be it 2, 3 or 4 weeks since last moved, it always starts, so it has no drains ongoing, and the tyres all stay inflated. This makes it more reliable than 90% of the vehicles in the yard. Then I thought, why isn't this thing MOT'd? So I booked it in. So, with all of that, I've been using the Discovery daily despite still not servicing it. Haven't had opportunity! And no, I haven't fixed that side-step either. Driving towards a little church gathering one recent evening, I got a ping on the dash for the traction control. That was swiftly followed by the ACE light and then the SRS light. I knew I was in trouble but before I had a chance to figure out anything the rest of the lights came on, the headlights dimmed to nothing and I was running fast out of forward motion. I got it pulled up on to the pavement and it conked out. So I called for reinforcements and a friend came with his Passat and some leads and once connected the TD5 fired into life easily, and stayed running. Weird, I thought. Travelled on to destination, just 3 miles more, and shut it off. Tried a flick of the starter and it didn't have enough juice to start but wasn't stone dead so looked like the alternator was at least charging a bit. Later on, we jump started it again and I was given a battery and leads to take with me. I set off merrily and there was no sign of trouble. Well, until 10 miles later along the motorway. I knew from before that I had no time to spare but I did my best to keep it going and got to the next junction of the motorway... and then along the slip road... and along the next stretch of road... and through town...and out the other side... in fact I got another 7 miles before it really started going, and then I got some kangaroo-ing, and I really had to work hard at it then but I got it one more mile before it totally went. At this point I was 3 miles from work, which is where I was heading, as of course there was no sense taking it home if there was an issue needing fixed.  I tried jump-starting with the battery I'd been lent but it wouldn't take. It was now 1am or so and I tried calling someone I know nearby to come help out but he didn't pick up. Yes it's late but he's up to all hours usually. So there seemed to be no option but to walk to work. The first half mile or so was fine as it was through a little hamlet and all lit up. After that I was walking down pitch black country roads, which was still fine actually, and the clouds were low so it was relatively warm. I was glad it wasn't raining or windy, that would have made it much worse. Not much to see:  About half way to work, I realised I had no keys with me for work. Erm, that wasn't going to work out then. So I walked to the sleeping mate's house, and appropriated some transport. This is what happens if you tell people you know that you leave the keys in the car at night... I headed back to the Discovery and jump started it, and it fired up with no issue at all. So I drove that into the little hamlet, found a spot outside a shop to park it up out of the way, locked it up and walked another half mile back to the other car, and just took that home. 2am - so didn't get enough sleep that night. Up again early the next day to go finish off the customer repair job in work, so I could take that back and get my E38 which I'd left at the customer's house. Had to do a quick 2 hour round trip first thing to get some parts as we'd found some broken suspension and the only place in the country that had any stock was 40 miles away and had just one set left. That job went swimmingly and he was very happy with the results. So after chatting for a while I got going in the E38 (realising then that it didn't get up to temperature any more, so it couldn't clear the windscreen very well). This night was much different to the previous, being open skies so temperature was around 5 degrees or so and a bit windy, so I pressed on to get home now that the E38 wasn't going to help me out there. About a mile away from the customer and I come over the crest of a small hump-backed bridge and at about 50mph in the pitch black suddenly what looms in front of me is a massive orange cone planted right in the centre of the right lane! I had zero chance to avoid it - just not enough time or road-space. I had a flash of mental time to consider a flick to try and avoid it but all scenarios assessed, I would still have hit it, just with a different corner of the car. So I ploughed into it, making contact with the driver side of the bumper, about a third of the way across the car's 6 foot girth. I pulled up a few feet forward from there - far enough from the bridge to avoid any accidents happening - and looked around to see if there were any scallywags laughing from the hedges, but nope, none to be found. I got under the bumper and found minimal damage - just some plastic guards knocked into pieces, foglight wiring pulled down and a lump out of the bumper.  And of course the might of the E38 had obliterated the cone.  There wasn't much for it but to head home and forget about it (after picking up all the pieces off the road of course). I think the van was at home so I used that the next day to get into work. I was fast running out of cars but I had booked the MG ZTT for an MOT so I took that up, actually expecting it to pass and being a little bit nervous about it - which usually doesn't happen, so I guess I was hoping for a good result. Usually it's a case of whatever happens, if it fails it can be fixed, but the MG I actually wanted it to get through. Well, it didn't, a couple of suspension issues and a bulb out, so I've those to fix, but still no car to get home in then as I'd been hoping to press that into daily service. The E46 325Ci convertible was sitting in work and I thought I'd give that a try. Those stupid Xenons were annoying me though, with their pathetic light output that means I can't see a thing at night, so I decided I'd change those and give it a go. Opening the lights up I found that they were actually cheap HID kits, so I ripped those out immediately and put some proper bulbs back into the lights (some of those blue +50% types). Well, actually, one side was an HID, the other side had some stupid LED thing in it!  Once those were disposed of, I could see that one sidelight was bright white and flickering, the other side very dim and/or not working at all. Took a look at those and found the most useless of LED lights which were almost totally broken on both sides.  I just pulled those right out for the time being, and finally went to go home. Yip. That rotating scratching noise will be a seized brake caliper, bearing, or something is rubbing on the prop. Getting extremely fed up with this Cabrio and it's never-ending list of issues. One single more thing and it will be a parts car, of that there is no doubt. I can't tolerate a car that simply will not stay fixed for even one day. Not even enough for me to get home. I took the van again. And I hate taking the van home, it doesn't fit in the drive so I have to leave it on the roadside and people fly along this blind country road at totally unsafe speeds. The next day I got a call from the people that repair stuff and the alternator for the Discovery is apparently so burned out that it's beyond repair. I'm back in the E38 even though since the cone incident, there is a rattle from the front corner of it - droplink broken maybe, or ARB bracket pulled off? I've ten potential daily cars at the minute and not a one of them is in good enough order to use, and I have two big, long term project cars on the lifts in work and I'm still trying to down-size so I don't want to just buy another car to use for a while, I'm seriously trying to be good about that but this is frustrating, as if the stress levels weren't high enough! |
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Mar 28, 2021 13:50:19 GMT
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What an adventure!
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I'm not sure I could stand the stress of nipping round the corner for a packet of fags, knowing it may involve several different vehicles!  |
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Mar 29, 2021 10:23:51 GMT
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It'd be a good way to reduce your intake and quit!
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Previously, I said things... I was fast running out of cars but I had booked the MG ZTT for an MOT so I took that up, actually expecting it to pass Well, it didn't, a couple of suspension issues and a bulb out, so I've those to fix, but still no car to get home in then as I'd been hoping to press that into daily service. I praised the MG for its always-startingness, but it rejected that high commendation and refused to start again after being parked up when I got back. Turns out it was the in-line high-pressure pump. Again. When I'd first got the car, the pump had been changed as we tried to find the fault in the car (bad engine & bad injector pump in the end). Then it had failed a while ago and been replaced. This time it was not working again but started buzzing after being heavily tapped with a heavy tapping tool. It was changed thereafter anyway as it's not much use keeping a faulty or potentially faulty part on the car.  And I said this: Yip. That rotating scratching noise will be a seized brake caliper, bearing, or something is rubbing on the prop. Getting extremely fed up with this Cabrio and it's never-ending list of issues. One single more thing and it will be a parts car, of that there is no doubt. I can't tolerate a car that simply will not stay fixed for even one day. Not even enough for me to get home. Well that was actually the front wheel catching the edge of the coilovers we'd just put in. Come on! Agh! So I found some 20mm spacers and had them fitted all round. Great, no more catching. Drove it up the road that evening and got no more than a quarter mile, AGAIN! this time because the rear wheels were rubbing, AND there was a bad rattling/clicky noise from the rear axle. Sigh. I had that checked out a couple of days later.  A broken spring. The spring wasn't broken a couple of weeks ago when all was inspected and coilovers were fitted to the front... why now? It's not like it had travelled any distance whatsoever... So that was changed for another spring from another convertible - from the silver one I'd pulled out of the shed last week in fact. How annoying - the 318ci I'd pulled out, 2 years lying in the shed getting dusty, fired up instantly with a battery installed, on stale petrol, held perfect idle and temperature, drove immaculately and everything works on it just as it should - and my blue one can't even make it out of the yard without breaking... So after it got the spring I took it a test again and now, now the car pulls badly to one side, one of the windows doesn't work properly with the roof, the headlights are still rubbish, and it stalls at junctions. Man I hate it.  It's not like it's had a hard life either. And also: The next day I got a call from the people that repair stuff and the alternator for the Discovery is apparently so burned out that it's beyond repair. £200 for a replacement one. Yikes. Shope around and it's still £200 - maybe £175 on trade for an unknown make. End up finding one on ebay for £110 but it's a weeks wait. Well, 60-90 quid is worth waiting a few extra days for, so that's ordered and the Discovery remains blocking up the garage door. I said this too: I'm back in the E38 even though since the cone incident, there is a rattle from the front corner of it - droplink broken maybe, or ARB bracket pulled off? That was checked out. One droplink wrecked, and both lower control arms are in a bad way. Those are common E38 issues but the drivers one in particular is absolutely ripped away from it's bushings so I reckon although they were maybe close to replacement time anyway, the cone has definitely made that an immediate issue, not one for leaving any longer. And so to the last thing I said: I'm still trying to down-size so I don't want to just buy another car to use for a while, I'm seriously trying to be good about that but this is frustrating! Well. Each car needing actual work meant I got impatient and went to see a few cars. For once I decided to just pick something at random and something I hadn't had before, so I jumped on to the usual websites, set a budget of a grand with at least a couple of months test, and had a poke at what was available. Not much! But, I looked at a Ford Maverick, which was heaving, asked about a couple of other Fords, briefly considered another Subaru Forester (still thinking I should pick that up anyway) - but finally settled on this one as soon as I saw it.  I am a Jaguar owner now. I didn't realise it's also AWD due to being a 2.5 V6 model, and it's also a manual of course. AWD would explain why it felt fairly planted but under-steery on the test-drive, and also why it has absolutely no go at all, but it's a nice place to be. Honestly, not even close to as nice as an MG ZT, even though the interior layout and design is very similar, but it's all made up for by red leather.  I've always wanted a black car with red leather. This isn't a keeper, and to be honest I haven't driven it since the day I bought it, but that's just because I've been using the truck and the van all week. So there's not much I can say about the Jag just yet, I've no idea what it's like to use every day yet as, well, I haven't used it. But there it is. I had no car well enough to drive. Problem solved, for now. |
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So not the new tow vehicle then.
Can't get a jag of any form over here for about $2k..
Except for some real rotten examples from the 90s
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Don't think you could buy a Jag wheel nut for 2k here.
Strangely, I was sat behind an XJR at the petrol station today. The owner (a Filipino) came over and we wondered how many times they'd had two Brit cars at the pumps at once.
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Last Edit: Apr 5, 2021 11:06:35 GMT by georgeb
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So Easter was at the start of April and out of nowhere the sun started shining. That meant I needed to use the Cabrio despite it being a bit rubbish to drive. That didn't matter once the roof was down, obviously.  The MG ZTT needed a couple of suspension arms for the MOT. Tried to remove one:  We were at this for SIX! hours. Ended up putting it back together, which took an hour to get the bolts to do that even half lined up, not even tightened, and just drove it around the corner to a mechanic with acetylene and told him to do whatever was necessary. Good rear spring retaining arm sourced from a freebie Rover 75 an older gent had given me last year. The Jaguar sat in my drive for over a week before being used! It should have got more use when I found out is is AWD, and just a couple of nights after the glorious sunshine, we had this:  In the first fortnight of April, we had 24-degree tree-splitting sunshine, hail, nasty cutting winds, and snow. It managed to always be dry at the weekends though which has meant the bike was out again. The pedal-driven type. Although rather than going proper DH riding (partly because my buddy who was also into bikes moved away, partly [mainly!] because I got old and scared) I've been out with some other friends lately who like me are just getting back into it, although they all seem to have a better level of fitness than I do, no surprises there. But in order to keep up I need something more suitable for trails than my old Coyote full sus, so the Jaguar's first big trip out was to remedy that.  Specialized hardtail bought, I then did another couple of hundred miles in the Jag picking up wheels from the other end of the country. Fresh back from driving over the mountains, the Jag has now revealed that those rear brakes that were looking pretty close to done are now in fact, totally and completely done, and all the way back I got the grating sound of metal scratching against metal, so that has moved up the priority list to "immediate". Which, of course, means that the car I bought to use daily while I fix the other cars I want to use daily, needs fixed before the other cars that need fixed. Sigh. I've spent an hour of poking around online and found some NOS brakes for less than retail, as I always manage to turn up. Ripped boxes, people who bought some but didn't use them in the end, this sort of thing I always seem to find when I need them, so I've got brand new Mintex discs and pads all round coming for £110 instead of £150-175 RRP. I'll take that saving on my sub-grand Jaguar for sure. So I bought another car.  E46 320i Sport manual with 171k and 6 months MOT. It drives well enough and is presentable enough. That will literally be a daily until I have a better daily available, then I'll break it. I also bought another 7 cars in the space of 3 days, including yet another MG that I'd sort of forgotten about. The owner was very difficult to hear on the phone but he rang me at work to see if I'd be interested, and said he would bring it over. That was at least 3 weeks ago and as I'd not been able to make out his name or address, I couldn't find out where he was and so gave up on getting that car. Until he drove into the yard one day and sold me this 206k miler for scrap money, which seems about right...  The tiger-pug I found in the back seat was the best thing about it, and he now lives on the forklift as do all souvenirs found in the crappy cars I buy!  |
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Don't think you could buy a Jag wheel nut for 2k here. Strangely, I was sat behind an XJR at the petrol station today. The owner (a Filipino) came over and we wondered how many times they'd had two Brit cars at the pumps at once. I bet they were more concerned about double the oil drips on their forecourt..  |
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I bet they were more concerned about double the oil drips on their forecourt.. Cheeky monkey! Can't speak for the Jag, but I must have the only oil-tight Land Rover on the planet, and no, it's not empty! Maybe I shouldn't have said that. Asking for trouble.  |
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Well, it's been eventful. I finally figured out the 325ci - removed the coilovers we'd fitted, put good condition stock suspension into it, removed the Clubsport wheels and put it back to original MV1 alloys with decent tyres and all of a sudden it started driving really nice. Had it valeted properly and it turned into a gleaming, proper tidy, nicely driving car. I took it out for a decent long spin to get some mileage on to it and make sure there was nothing left to iron out - and met a 2018 Mercedes being driven well over the dividing line, on the crest of a hill on a narrow road. So now the 325ci needs a new mirror and some bodywork and the tidy little kicker is that even though it's completely their fault and not mine, the car I've spent 6 months making perfect will be written off if it goes through insurance so I have to foot the bill and fix it myself and not claim for the repairs. Finally, I had it finished - and then this! In the last post I had bought that 320i. It had a shiny go-faster exhaust on it so that was removed to go onto the little work project we've been building at:  This 316ti Compact has been around for maybe 5/6 years. I originally repaired it by replacing the 1.6 engine with a working 1.8, put it up for sale, then sold the engine and fitted a 2.0, then sold that engine, parked the car at the very bottom of the yard and forgot about it. It was dragged out recently and took 2 days to clean all the leaves and muck off it. Then it was given a new lease of life with a 2.2 6 cyl lump out of a black coupe we were breaking, and it's almost done now. The wheels were on a silver 318ci convertible I've had stashed away for years and only just brought out to do something with, and the wheels were due to go on my 540i drift car but the white compact needed something temporary to roll on - and they look fantastic on it so they will likely stay right there! I can just find something else for the 540. I don't need a huge excuse to go wheel-shopping! Hmm what else? A returning customer rang me and asked if I'd like to buy his E38 740i. Which I said yes to, of course, and a few weeks later he finally brought it over, with 9 days MOT left, and I ended up giving him 50% more than he had been asking me for it as it was far better condition than he'd told me and even at that it's still a bargain - even if it's green over beige. Pictures sometime, maybe. Did I mention that the Land Rover got fixed, at last? The alternator I'd bought for it was faulty, so a new warranty one was sent. That lasted 18 miles. So currently the LR is waiting for a new, better quality alternator to be purchased, while the two rubbish ones go back to where they came from. The Jaguar got it's new brakes fitted and has been really nice to drive since and I've used it a fair bit - between that and the Glacier E38. I should have been using the navy ZTT but immediately after it got fixed, and I drove it back from the mechanic to work, it refused to start again and I got fed up entirely. I cancelled it's MOT and left it to be broken for spares but I was then told by a proper MG fan that I was mad as it was such a rare example - but it still doesn't start and I'm still sick of it. So I'm at a point again of having too much junk and not enough time to fix it all - some of it needs fixed in order to sell it off. Seems like the perfect time to cross another unicorn off "the list" then... |
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Liked, but not for the Mercedes!
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Battenberg
Part of things
Time for Cake....
Posts: 745
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May 17, 2021 18:45:39 GMT
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Always had a soft spot for the Compacts since driving a 325 variant in a yellowy gold, went like a scalded rat..... where do you sell your project cars, word of mouth or via your company website?
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Current Fleet:
1968 Wolseley 1000
2022 BMW 430xd MHT Coupe
2007 L200 Animal - Dog walking transport
1998 318is Coupe
2007 Mini Cooper Supercharged
1989 BMW 530 - in storage
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Always had a soft spot for the Compacts since driving a 325 variant in a yellowy gold, went like a scalded rat..... where do you sell your project cars, word of mouth or via your company website? Word of mouth usually does it for project cars, or for anything we properly restore in work it gets the whole treatment, C&C and FB and Gumtree etc. But last few resto projects have all sold before they were finished without having to advertise. TBH I rarely sell project cars. |
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The unicorn I made mention of in the last post:
Five-ish years ago I had sold my Kawasaki GPZ500S on account of it being a tiny 90s Japanese bike, and even with a flip-up screen, at 6' I was getting nothing but buffeted in the neck every time I rode it.
I knew what I wanted to replace it with. I went with my dad from Dungannon to Bellaghy (or somewhere near there, maybe Port Glen One) to look at what was supposed to be a very tidy example, albeit yellow not a proper colour. Anyway I had a look at it and immediately knew it wasn't for me - it wouldn't idle, idiot lights on, mileage wrong, no history, bald tyres, spongey brakes - and it rattled like Joseph Marley on Christmas Eve. "They all sound like that m8" he said. "No they don't - I'm not an idiot" I replied (some would debate that). Anyway I didn't buy it. No regrets, but I've never found another one that was "right". So I'd already been messaging another seller about another bike which he'd then had immobiliser problems with, and we'd left that a month, so I got in touch with him and he said it was now fixed, so we drove another hour or so up the road and that is how I ended up with my Triumph TT600, a bike that I still have and am currently modifying, and I still think it's fantastic even if the rear tyre did go flat on the way home (rode it the last 20 miles with it deflating and the last 5 totally out of air!).
Fast forward to May of 2021, and I've just made arrangements to pick up a recovery lorry in England. Clicking through my saved searches on ebay at 1am one night, this classified advert catches my attention. I have a look and then go on with whatever else I was supposed to be doing. But my mind drifts back to this bike and I find myself looking through the pictures again and again looking for flaws, and finding none. I can't do a BIN on a classified advert so I note the number down to call the next day.
I did that, and I know the story is dragging on now, but it all checked out, according to the salesman, it was as good as the advert made it out to be, and I put a deposit on it then and there.
Later on I was told that 5+ people rang just on that same morning also wanting to purchase it. I do not doubt that. The advert had went live at 00.01am and I'd seen it at 1am. Co-incidence?
I normally avoid buying anything from a dealership (just natural aversion being in the [car] trade) but on this occasion I was really glad as it made it all seamless, I knew exactly where they were, what times were acceptable for collecting, and that there was a certain level of expectation as to the accuracy of their description, so I could expect it to be as good as they said (and I hoped).
Yes, I haven't told you what it is yet. Hold on a minute just.
I'm fussy on bikes. I've never had a bike with more than 13k on it, and although I've come to realise that that's very low on anything older or more rideable, it's a number that has stuck and so I won't buy anything higher, even 16k feels like far too many for me. The GPZ500 was sold on 13k and the Triumph I bought with 11k and still has only 12.9 on it. Other bikes I had long ago were all in the same region.
So this was the first one of these I'd seen for sale with this kind of mileage. 9,800 miles, to be precise. I mean... yeah, that's like new. It's the first one I've seen that hasn't had corroded crank cases and engine fins. No doubt due to the miles. And the fastidious "mature" (that means old) previous owner. Which also explains the full service history, the full set of keys, the excellent Pirelli tyres - but also, there is a set of carbon exhausts on it which is great, as standard these bikes sound a bit pants. There were some bar ends and some other minor upgrades - and all the perfect condition original parts were included in the sale.
Coming from a dealer, it was supplied with a fresh MOT (it still had a few months left on it) and was cleaned and polished and given a service before collection.
What more can I say? I didn't want an early lower power model with the dowdy rear end, I didn't want a Dark edition with it's lower power and single front brake, I didn't want the later 07-on version with it's gimpy front light - I wanted a 02-06 Ducati Monster 620ie with the single seat in red and in good condition and under 13k miles, and, well - this exceeds expectations on every account.
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Very nice. If I were to have a (very late) mid-life crisis, one of these would be right up there. |
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The Ducati is strapped to the bed of a recovery truck in the picture above and this is the story of that truck. Essentially a 3.5 Ton "recovery truck" is a van chassis with a flat bed rather than a box on it, but they're still called trucks anyway. So forgive me while I fall into that continually even though I don't consider it a truck. It's got a story too. Of course it does. Every major purchase I make does! Is it because I buy stuff with stories, or because I insist on being ultra-specific, or do I go out of my way to make sure I have tales to regale with later?? Years ago my first van, bought early 2012, was a ten year old VW T4. It was used for one delivery job to England and then sold on, as I'd already realised I was going to need a bigger van as my business approached a year old and kept on growing. I had a meagre budget, but somehow managed to procure a low mileage, heavily dented, almost undoubtedly clocked, six year old Fiat Ducato 2.3jtd '18' LWB. This van was, and still is, amazing. It did thousands upon thousands of hard, heavy miles. It towed cars the length and breadth of Ireland and a good bit in England too, was regularly loaded to the rafters with car parts and virtually never broke down. It was exceedingly easy to maintain, and had the best payload, best MPG, best tow rating, and best engine of any LWB van on the market at the time (and still). The Iveco 16v 2.3 diesel engine is still in production and up until very recently met Euro 4/5/6 emissions without the need for adBlue, showing just how efficient and clean it really is. I loved this van. You'll find mention of it in pages past, even an emotional last journey with it in late '18 when it was retired. I still have it. Because I get sentimental about old machinery that does it's job well. In running the business I ended up with a lot more of them. I bought another white Ducato LWB which got called Mildred. Then a blue 2.8 Ducato LWB called Millhouse, for spares. And a Citroen Relay spares van as well at some point, probably for non-creased doors, which was scrapped in a big clearout about 2015. Mildred got retired for rust reasons, and we got a Relay 2.2HDi LWB to fill in for a while. Mildred was slowly stripped for spare parts last year, only got rid of the body a month ago, and the 2.2 Relay is at work being used as a shed. Millhouse the blue one was a gearbox donor and it's at the home farm beside Lucy the Berlingo, Jumpy the red LHD Citroen Jumper and another 2.2 Relay LWB which never got named, all being useful sheds for various car parts. And that stupid Peugeot Partner that broke down after I paid people to fix it. Anyway, many vans. I think the point is that these vans were great tools, and in the meantime there was a couple of Transits that came and went and maybe something else too? And a few rented/borrowed vans, but still the Fiat is the one that shone through. The Citroen Relay and Peugeot Boxer were the same van (up until PSA bought Vauxhall and cut ties with Fiat recently), but the PSA vans got their HDi engines and the Iveco 12v 2.8, but only the Fiat got the 16v 2.3 engine which is so, so good. So much so that when I retired my original Ducato in October 2018, I had to replace it with another Fiat and in January 2019 I did that with the silver 2008 MWB 2.3jtd I'm still using as my main work van. It has however been kept as a "nice" van and it's not allowed to get too abused, so only I drive it and it's mileage hasn't increased all that much since I've had it. What has done a lot of mileage is my 2007 Iveco C15 Daily dropside "truck", a 3.5T 13-foot flat-bed little "lorry" that can haul just about anything. It's strong enough for 2.5T on the back of it - the same chassis is used in 16ft versions rated at 5.5T gross. The Iveco also has the same 2.3 F1AE engine in it and has similarly been incredibly reliable. Rust is the only issue, but with an unknown (it's also definitely been clocked at least once) mileage, it's unsurprising. Incredibly slowly I am coming to a point. I think this engine is great. I really like Fiats - in fact most Italian marques - I have loads of spares to hand, and if I was ever going to get a recovery truck, it should be a Ducato - or at least a Relay/Boxer. I'd settle for the Iveco 2.8 engine as well, or an Iveco truck although they're not as nice inside. But I don't need a recovery. I don't pick up enough non-running cars to warrant one. I have a phone full of contacts who will collect and pay for cars for me for work, and a mate with a big trailer for home stuff. In fact I gave away my BJ trailer a couple of years ago after it became too much of a drain to keep maintaining it, and my friend that worked for me as a driver left to go play with trucks. I haven't felt the need the need for a recovery for many years. If anything I need a small single axle trailer that can take a 950kg car and I will be able to move nearly all of my own projects. BUT - if I ever did get a recovery, it should be a Ducato 2.3jtd. It should be a Typ244, i.e. 02-06 facelift version of the Typ240, because they look better and have a much more modern interior. And, it shouldn't be a heavy steel body, because weight reasons. Aluminium please. Also, it shouldn't have to go over a rear axle, for height reasons. It should have side-wheels. Also, it shouldn't be single wheel at the rear, because that scares me, the thought of a blow-out with a car strapped on the back... Nah, it needs to be dual axle for load-spreading reasons. I have only ever seen one or possibly two suitable trucks come up for sale, and they were sort of right but not perfect. Well, this one hits every single mark. It's even had the life clocked out of it so it fits right in. Don't misunderstand me - I hate clocking vehicles, and it's rampant within commercial used sales. I hate it. But when I buy a vehicle, one that I need - it's at it's last owner and mileage doesn't bother me. I will be trying to figure out the correct mileage and clocking it back UP to what it should be. So that brings me to a month ago, when I spot the perfect recovery truck on ebay. I hadn't searched for absolutely months, but I just thought for some reason that I should click that saved search "Ducato" I set up a couple of years ago when I was looking for a replacement van. And just listed was this truck. I thought about it, looked at it again, went over the pictures again, and finally stuck a hefty bid in. There was a number so I called the seller the next day, and he didn't sound like a tool, and made no hint that he might pull the auction so I was happy to let it play out. Well, a few hours to go and someone started in against me and I was no longer getting it at a fair-enough price. I doubled my hefty bid and it pretty much ran to the most of that and then I did win, for way, waaaaaaaay more than I wanted to pay or the truck was or is worth. I'd looked at the MOT history and I knew it had failed repeatedly on rust issues and brake issues and the mileage was super dodgy - however! - all those issues I can fix. I have spares, I have a welder - the important bit is that it's the right KIND of truck. If you've borne with me thus far, here's a picture of it being super. It's very first job was to go get my Ducati.  However the rest of the trip was a lot more... eventful... |
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So, the truck. All was great when I got off the Liverpool ferry at 6.30am and it was waiting for me at the dock gate.  Chatted a while then off I tootled 100 miles northeast to get my Ducati. All remained fine while I tootled 120 miles southish to pick up some wheels.  And then I went another 50 miles to pick up a saw, and still all was fine. Until I went to turn around in the narrow council estate street I was in. Mid-turn there was an almighty BANG! and the steering went heavy, the exhaust note got much louder and the truck refused to reverse (mid turn!). I managed to wrestle it around over the pavements without using reverse and got it moved in so that traffic could get past. I jumped out and slid under the truck not knowing what to expect, and quickly had it figured out.  Looking up there was something clearly amiss. Looking down from the top once the bonnet was open showed it more clearly.  The engine mount had snapped in two. Bolts were missing. The engine was lying on the offside driveshaft. It was 8.30pm in the middle of England, auto shops all closed, no roadside cover, a freshly purchased truck in what I'd been warned was a dodgy area, with no forward drive. Time to think fast. See, I'm a solution person, and action-orientated, not a complainer, and I work best under pressure. So I got out a little blue strap (only rated for 500kg) and wrapped it through the lifting hook of the engine and around the brake master cylinder and wiper linkage. I got enough of a lift on it that it came up off the driveshaft and although it was still running skewed, it was enough to get forward motion and with a quick check on the digital map to find the nearest fuel station we (my dad was with me for this trip) were off. We just made it there before there was a smaller "thud" and the engine banged down onto the driveshaft again. I got the front wheel of the truck up onto a kerb giving me some space to slide under and get a good look.  I didn't see it at this point but there is a cable with some minor damage you can see there. Later on that proved to be a problem. For now though this one was the concern.  The bottom of the PAS pump had smacked off the rack or subframe, and the PAS fluid was now leaking out. The exhaust was fine, just a bit pulled out of shape but not broken. After a short while a security guard / attendant came over and asked what was up. I explained to him and he asked "what do you need?" "A jack" I said. He got onto his mate and five minutes later a noisy Focus RS pulled up with a Halfords trolley jack in the boot. What a legend. With the jack under the sump, I got the engine up into the right location. In need of a stronger strap, I unstrapped the Ducati and replaced the 5T yellow ratchet strap with one of the 0.5T blue ones. The yellow strap was threaded through the engine lifting hook. I needed leverage or height. There was nowhere higher to strap to, so I took the strap over the top of the wing, using the bonnet hinge as a retainer, and took the strap down to the chassis under the rear bed.  As completely hokey as it sounds and looks, this worked perfectly and the engine was held in place. Drive was restored. The exhaust settled back into place and quietened. However the PAS fluid was all lost now. We bought some more in the station shop and tipped it in. We also bought coffee. I doubled the blue strap up as a backup. The two extremely helpful guys were thanked, but I didn't want to head off without any way to rescue ourselves again so I appealed (and pleaded) to the owner of the jack and eventually won him over, giving him the cost of a new jack plus enough to buy a good feed for himself and his other half who had instructed him to get her some food while he was out. They were gents but unfortunately we didn't get their names. Then I made the call to drive back to the ferry immediately instead of the original plan of staying overnight and doing some stuff the next day. We were at least 120 miles from the ferry so I was allowing 3-4 hours at a slow pace with pistops so I knew we weren't going to make the ferry, but at least if we were there in the morning we could maybe get the booking changed to the morning one and limp on to the boat and get home. So off we set into the evening, with ever-worsening power steering, not quite enough power and a heavy clutch. Because of the location of the strap I had to climb in through the passenger side door. All was fine until it started to drizzle. With the blue strap around the wiper linkage, the wipers didn't want to move at all and just sat there stuttering when I tried to use them. But we made it. around 9.30pm we set off, and just after 1am we were rolling back into Birkenhead. I pulled up at the last fuel station before the port just to see if we could get another coffee but it was closed to the public. A couple of cops pulled up behind me then and sat for absolutely ages in their van. I didn't dare move - this rig was far too dodgy looking and I was sure they were checking the plates and finding very little (all was legit and covered, but trade vehicles don't show up on MID). However the garage storekeeper opened the doors for the police then, and they went in. As soon as they did I took my opportunity to get out of there, but with no PAS it took me long enough to carefully make my way out of the garage that the policemen came back out and were getting into their van. There was some long looks over at the Ducato with it's hi-viz strap coming down the side of the door and I feared the worst as I pulled away and saw some blue lights turning on! Two corners later though and the blue lights no longer appeared in the mirrors - I can only assume they got another call and headed off to that. Panic over and I was able to drive into the port waiting area, placing us firmly in international territory and free from police intervention! We had a terrible night. It's not possible to get comfortable enough to sleep in the front of a van, never mind that it started to howl with wind, and rain, so it got really cold, and all the worries were running around in my mind, and I was hungry, and sore - my dad snored away quite happily though! In the morning I checked the straps, and the blue one had let go but the big yellow one was still doing it's job, just moved very slightly. I got the ferry changed over at 7am, so I'd only been freezing, starving and miserable for 5 hours, and about 8.30am we were allowed on to the ferry. It sailed at 9.30 or so, and that meant about 6pm we arrived in Belfast. We got some daytime snoozing done on the ferry seats which were much better than the Fiat ones. Off the ferry successfully in Belfast, I parked up right away in an empty side-road and jacked the engine up again, re-strapping the straps in place once again and off we motored. I made it home at about 8pm and parked the new truck up. After that adventure I don't think I moved it or looked at it again for at least a week. |
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As soon as you mentioned you used the little blue strap on the bike, my heart sank.
Hope it made the trip ok!
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