Bargain Basement Motoring

[CitroJim]

Excellent

That book is of great interest to me Neil, having loved running along the trackbed of one of them

[NewcastleFalcon]

Excellent
That book is of great interest to me Neil, having loved running along the trackbed of one of them

Here's another!

Falcon Original
Mounting clips-The One Minute Job!

This sort of thing has probably entered Room 101 from the Falcon Keyboard before, like those silly little springs and fastenings on your typical brake shoes.

Extract from "The Falcon Workshop Manual-Working in a Muddy Puddle"

...Fitting flexible brake hose mounting clips
...If you only do this job irregularly, you may find that you have never acquired "the knack" of fitting these things in what should be less than a minute. Always allow at least 1 hour for fitting. If showers are forecast but it is currently dry when you start the job, please allow for a soaking, and a complete change of clothes at the end of the job. You will have entered into the rather foolish phase of being determined to finish the job, and will never take the sensible option of pausing the job and resuming in more favourable weather conditions-after all "its only a minute's job...". You will find that these clips are not possible to fit with a simple press using only your hands. They require a bashing tool of some sort. This is when you will discover that wielding any sort of bashing tool is restricted by the coils of a coil spring as the mounting is directly behind it, and various bits of bodywork to each side. This will result in many attempts to exert enough force to get the clips in place, and those clips will take the greatest pleasure at pinging off given the smallest of opportunities. At the same time you will find that the hammering such as you can generate will be very much an imprecise effort, more hampered by having to push up the flexible hose through the hole in the fixing plate so the required groove engages with the clip prior to any effective bashing taking place.

Eventually the clip will go on, and you will think why on earth couldn't it have done that an hour ago.
The sting in the tail is of course you are not sure of exactly what was different about the 50th bash attempt which was successful, compared to the 49 other unsuccessful ping offs!

Familiar, or just me

Neil

[Skull]

Neil

You need a special pair of pliers like these:

CLIP PLIERS

and then hit it several times

NB This one looks easier with a solid piece of 90 degree angle to hold.

[NewcastleFalcon]

Neil
You need a special pair of pliers like these:
and then hit it several times

Just watched the clip Skull Shows roughly the awkward access...I think I have a pair of those special pliers
The brand new clips probably added to my tribulations, they were considerably stiffer than reusing the old ones.

Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

...and so to the "rechnung"

I do like a decent word even if it is German...always feel its a language that adds a bit of drama. A simple thing like a bill turns into a dramatic "reckoning". Twenty-eight in German is one of my favourites "achtundzwanzig" which when spoken has a barky-ness out of proportion to its meaning.

MOT £40.00,
4 new tyres...£229.44 (165/70/14 LASSA)
Bosch Flexible Brake Hose £19.82
Brake Hose Clips £5.95
2 Copper Crush Washers £0.20
Bosch Wiper Blades Front(2) and 1 Rear £20.00
Brake Fluid £6.95
Track Rod End £15.00

The "Rechnung" £337.36 .

Last 3 years of Micra Motoring 2,100 miles, 2,886 miles, 2,522 miles.

I would say that was a pretty much normal maintenance MOT. The tyres at the last one were marginal, and the rears got the "exposed core" failure due to cracking rather than the tread depth, with the fronts again marginal. Couldn't be bothered with the part-worn tyres search, so just got 4 new ones at £57 a tyre all in at the tyre place right next to the MOT Testing Station. Biggest item the tyres, but they are done now.

Neil

[CitroJim]

That's pretty good economics Neil... Cheap motoring however you look at it

[NewcastleFalcon]

BB Micra back to its van like duties

Falcon Original
Open Wide
Plenty room for more

Neil

[CitroJim]

BB Micra back to its van like duties



Neil

Looks like yours and mine have both been doing good impressions of vans this week Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

With winter approaching, and BB Micra having a leaking radiator which for the summer months I have just been replenishing with pure tap water bought from our Chinese friends at Northumbrian Water, I finally ordered a new radiator from Carpartsinmotion. Ordered it Friday, turned up today free of charge delivery just over £60, can't complain.

Seems to have the various outlets and inlets in the same places and the same size, and look it tells me its "Easy Fit".

Neil

[CitroJim]

I read first that you bought the new radiator from Carpetsinmotion Neil...

Maybe if so, that would have turned the BB into a flying Micra....

[NewcastleFalcon]

The BB Micra got the nod today for a bit of flood chasing pleasure motoring. Has a high air intake...top of the grill, useful in negotiating a bit of deeper than expected puddle-age. The Breamish/Till as it heads up to the Tweed is normally not that big a river, and it is pretty much confined to its banks until it gets past Wooler when it enters a bit of flat terrain, and creates a bit of a lake district in times of flood.

Neil

[CitroJim]

Look like, apart from the excess of water on the road, you enjoyed a nice day up your way Neil... We down in the right-hand bottom end of the country had it a bit damp at times yesterday...

Forecast says it's going to be lovely down here in Cornwall today

[NewcastleFalcon]

Yes plenty of the blue sky, and it made for an interesting drive out. I have "previous" as they say with Flood water and cars with the low air intake Xsara Picasso floodwater hoover, and the Vectra Auto Gearbox vent pipe so I don't go taking up foolish challenges of ploughing through flood water. Some do of course particularly farmer-ey types in their 4x4's and pick-ups. Had our sandwiches at the road closed sign and 4 or 5 made the attempt, and creates a decent wash as they ploughed through. Other side of the bridge they came across the next bit of the deep stuff. All made it apparently but why bother with the risk.

Neil

[CitroJim]

Great photo Neil

Cornwall does some pretty good blue sky and water

[NewcastleFalcon]

Thanks Jim, nice to see some photo's flowing through from your tour. I was lucky to spend many childhood holidays down in Devon and Cornwall, one of the best being at a guest house in a small village called Breage in between Helston and Penzance when I was 11/12 ish. Loads of lovely beaches, playing cricket every night in the field next to the guest house, fishing down at Newlyn pier catching Pollack, prepared for breakfast the next day by the host family, RNAS at Culdrose air display, the spectacular Loe Bar and the Minack Theatre, Swimming every day in the sea, Loads of motorbikes which I was heavily into and started saving for, and a go-cart circuit which was noisy and I always wanted to have a go on but didnt get the chance.

Here's the Loe bar as a reminder for me. Probably also evidence that whatever you have seen on this trip to Cornwall, (and the same can be said for most places visited of course) , there always much more to see...



Neil


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