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Jan 14, 2023 17:03:47 GMT
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This is the angle grinder I mentioned in my previous post from Machine Mart (albeit in updated form). My cheap grinder died and I told the guy there my budget and said "Which one's reliable?" He immediately pointed at this one and said "We've never had one back". I've had mine for nearly 12 years and I can't kill it, even after a lot of hard use. At this price it's almost disposable. Machine Mart Clarke Contractor Grinder
It's got a hell of a kick too.
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Last Edit: Jan 14, 2023 17:04:44 GMT by mrbounce
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Jan 14, 2023 16:56:29 GMT
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Jan 14, 2023 16:43:03 GMT
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Well, this week has not been without its ups and downs. My beautiful daily driver Mercedes was vandalised by someone thinking it'd be a nice idea to deliberately run their key along the side of it - of course in an area where there is no CCTV, so that has put me out of pocket. Not an accident - someone has specifically got their key out and made an effort to do this. Jealousy, pure and simple. I wish them nothing but Carolina Reaper chillis in their underpants forever. You complete ****. My replacement fuel pipe and hose clamps turned up so I once again headed under the rear end to fit it. Getting old stuff off proved to be a bit challenging, partly due to rubbish clips, but also due to hard old pipe which had stuck to the fuel pump. I ended up having to cut a piece off because it simply DID NOT MOVE. So that was a little bit of a struggle. Once everything was off, I got the new pipe, cut it to shape and filled the empty gaps with fresh stuff. Then the workshop light ran out of battery, so that had to go on charge. I love the convenience of a cordless work light, but they're a pain in the butt when they run out. Luckily I still have a corded light (I don't throw much away), so that went under the car so I could finish off. I also replaced the fuel pipes in the engine bay. My plan this afternoon was also to get the handbrake cable mounted on the drums, radius arms and the cable guides on the rear beam, but then I noticed that some idiot (no idea who) has mounted the handbrake quadrants differently on each side. This made me a bit disillusioned with the game, so I left the garage in search of something to drink... Fuel pump, filter and lots of new pipe with new clips. You can see how much the exhaust hanger is needed as it's about 3-4 inches lower than it should be. However, I need the handbrake cable in place before I can figure out where it's best to go. And replacement fuel pipe in the engine bay. Not that exciting, but you get a picture anyway!!
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Jan 13, 2023 14:57:46 GMT
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Incredibly sad, but ultimately inevitable news. Take comfort that you made his life better.
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Jan 13, 2023 14:56:30 GMT
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Were the latches shared with any other Renaults? Can't imagine that they'd be solely on the 25?
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Jan 13, 2023 14:54:44 GMT
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I have my crime number - just waiting to hear back from the insurance company. It's frustrating as I need a response but it's online only so I have to wait.
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Jan 12, 2023 10:29:01 GMT
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He also dated Julia Carling (before she was the Butt-chinned England rugby captain's Mrs). There was an article about her and her hot rod he had given to her in Street Machine. (?late 80s?)
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Surely you can still get a crime number? You don't have to have evidence that a crime was committed as the damage to the car is enough in itself. The police should just give you a crime number but with no leads won't be able to follow it up. I have reported it. Will see if I get a reference number.
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Jan 11, 2023 21:51:41 GMT
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Thanks guys - time to find out how much to repaint it then...
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Jan 11, 2023 20:10:07 GMT
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It's not strictly retro unfortunately, but I am hoping that someone knowledgeable might be able to assist here. Some utter kumquat has taken it upon themselves to run a key down the side of my 19 plate Mercedes daily which was immaculate until yesterday. There's no CCTV where it occurred (Supermarket Carpark) so I have no hope of getting a Crime Number registered as I can prove precisely nothing. If I can avoid an insurance claim, then great, but I haven't ruled it out. What I want to know is can this be dealt with by a "Smart Repairer" or am I looking at a body shop having to repaint the area? I took out a Damage Protection additional policy but that's mainly for car park dings and doesn't cover Malicious Damage without a Crime Number. The scratch starts on the door and goes over the rear quarter and through the petrol cap. Picture isn't great but it will hopefully give an idea of what it looks like. Any advice gratefully received. And yes, bringing the culprit here for a meeting with various tools of mine would be delightful.
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Last Edit: Jan 11, 2023 20:10:53 GMT by mrbounce
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Jan 11, 2023 18:47:46 GMT
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Bit of a silly one this; however, when I was a teenager I spent a fair bit of time on trains to London (used to get seen at a London hospital). The old "door slammer" trains were still in use and they used to have big windows with a small opening partition at the top. Beneath this opening was a guidance plate. I found one, so I bought it and screwed it to a shelf as there's no windows in the garage. It's a bit pointless, but it reminds me of my childhood, so it qualifies.
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I would look on ebay or speak to a local Mini club. You can also buy a brand new HIF44 on Mini Spares but it's eye-wateringly expensive.
Rebuild kits are reasonable too.
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I have both. Like Dez I only use my Makita cordless for cutting duties. My first corded grinder was garbage, eating its own innards and I replaced with a Clarke Contractor one from Machine Mart. It's a bit of a beast and will do no end of grinding/cutting etc. I've given it hell and it just chugs on and on. It wasn't expensive either. Grinding or heavy duty cutting for the corded, and light cutting for the cordless. Works fine for me.
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If it's an A+ engine from a 1985 Austin Metro (not really sure what a 1985 Austin Morris is supposed to be as both are BMC manufacturers), there were 2 types of carburettor fitted - the SU HIF38 and the SU HIF44. Depending on your state of tune will be what determines which carb you need.
If it's a basic standard tune with relatively low compression, the HIF38 will be fine as that's what was fitted to the later 1275cc Minis. If it's higher compression, or has a high lift camshaft or bigger valve head (MG Metro spec for example), then an HIF44 is bigger and has a better range for the more tuned engine.
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Last Edit: Jan 6, 2023 13:54:33 GMT by mrbounce
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I have decided that what I will do this year is to concentrate on doing little jobs, one at a time, rather than just going into the garage for hours at a time, getting distracted, and then not doing Midas stuff. Get in, do a little bit, then get out. It might work, it might not. But it'll be better for me than sitting around watching too much TV and/or YouTube stuff. I figured I would concentrate on sorting out the fuel filter. As some of you may recall, my initial choice of filter was one of the glass ones which are prone to leaking, which I definitely did not want. So I got hold of a plastic one (which are apparently much better as they don't fall to bits as easily) and created a nice holder for it from an old coil bracket. As I had put old Zippy up onto axle stands, I reckoned it'd only take a few minutes to change it all over. And how wrong I was. Yup, not only had I bought a rubbish fuel filter, but to go with it, I had used what turned out to be one-use fall-to-bits hose clamps too. As I tried to unscrew them, the screw simply turned and ate away at the ali, which in turn meant that I couldn't undo them. The first one I managed to get the screw out then prised the clamp apart. The other one, well, let's just say I got angry and cut the pipe with a pair of side cutters. All the fuel pipe needs replacing anyway - I installed it so long ago it's probably not ethanol proof and there was a date of 2017 on it. I'll get some decent stuff to replace it along with the hose clamps. This palava took considerably longer than it did to type it. I don't like lying underneath cars at the best of times... I measured up where the captive bolt plate needed to go and drilled the holes for it, making sure I'd removed everything from the boot beforehand. I pushed the plate through the holes and was then able to put the new filter plus its housing in place. I will take it off again to properly fit the new pipe and clamps, but it's very easy to fit now, which also makes it easier to replace. Excellent. Finally I have bought a replacement part. When mocking up the new exhaust mount, I'd used a small bobbin. However, these are notoriously fragile and I didn't think it'd last much more than a week. I got hold of something much beefier. It's a 40mm steel-backed item and I doubt it''ll fail anytime soon. This little lot is garbage - bin fodder! Captive plate in place (wiring for fuel pump on the right). New fuel filter loosely in place - new fuel pipe to follow. Difference between exhaust mounts. Think I will be using the fat boy!
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Another thing to check is which States use toll roads. Florida has a lot. These can soon mount up. Some hire companies will offer the use of their electronic Dart style tags. We probably saved a bit of money on our last trip doing this as we drove 1700 miles.
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Such a shame. Some of his ideas were a bit bonkers, such as the Bond Bug, and the Chopper Sprint GT which unsurprisingly only ran for a year then was canned. I had one as my first bike. It was a disaster to ride but looked cool. Thank you for the design classics!
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Last Edit: Jan 5, 2023 8:56:41 GMT by mrbounce
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Amazing bit of kit. I love the fact it's registered as a "Rover Monster Trike". That it certainly is.
I bet it's hilarious fun (if a little dangerous) and always attracts a crowd!
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Pretty sure the 037 was the last two wheel drive car to win the World Rally Championship I believe that this is a modern interpretation of it 🙂
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