Aston On Clun. A forgotten Great Western outpost.

[chuffinghell]

@MrWolf Rob, I’ve sent you a PM regarding another ‘cough’ project 😉

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 26, 2023 by chuffinghell

[MrWolf]

We have lane control in the Memsahib's half-track, there's a big round thing in front of the driver that you turn left or right to change lanes, it works really well....

 

 

 

[Winslow Boy]

7 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

We have lane control in the Memsahib's half-track, there's a big round thing in front of the driver that you turn left or right to change lanes, it works really well....

 

 

 

 

Which way do you turn it if you want to go straight on.

[chuffinghell]

29 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

We have lane control in the Memsahib's half-track, there's a big round thing in front of the driver that you turn left or right to change lanes, it works really well....

 

 

 

Lovely!

 

My uncle had a Herald and a Vitesse cabriolet

 

I do like triumph, bikes and cars (except the TR7)

 

My first car was a Dolomite, modified it to look like a Sprint, in my defence I was only seventeen and everyone else had XR3i’s or SRi’s

 

Although I always fancied a two door Toledo since seeing a modified one that had been lowered and had minilite style alloys wheels

I’m still a closet boy racer maybe?

 

Edited June 26, 2023 by chuffinghell

[lezz01]

I had a Dolomite Sprint back in the day also a 2500 PI they were both fabulous. My fave old school motor has always been the Hillman Hunter. I've had every version and named variant they made, the best one was the Hunter GLS with a Holbay engine with twin DCOE Webbers and the second fave was the Humber Sceptre which was an estate it had all the bells and whistles including overdrive on 3rd and 4th gear.

Regards Lez. 

[MrWolf]

Not many Arrow series Humber estates left. They were what you drove if you had a couple of gun trained Labradors before Volvo estates became popular. A friend of mine had one, couldn't afford to run it and swapped it for a 1972 Fender Stratocaster.

Not sure which would be worth more now!

Several of my relatives had Humbers, hence the 1936 Humber Vogue parked outside Aston's garage. They also had a Super Snipe from about 1950, so when I had chance of one for £350 when I was 19, (the only other offer was from banger racers.) I ignored the raging thirst of the 4086cc sidevalve engine and bought it. I was rather pleased to see on the DVLA website that it's still on the road.

I did have a two door Toledo, UBH834N in French blue. As I had to gut it to repair the front subframe mounts and everything else, I rebuilt it with the running gear from a rotted out 1850 Dolomite, kept the original interior, added Sprint wheels and painted the back panel satin black.

Why British Leyland never built the Sprint as a short boot two door I'll never know, they could have had a lot of rally successes.

 

Always fancied a Rapier, particularly the last version H120 that looks like a miniature Barracuda. I did know someone who should have known better (He was a police sergeant) that had a 1958 Hillman Husky with a Holbay H120 engine, that really could leave smoking black stripes on the tarmac and from the outside it looked bog standard in shed green and battleship grey.

[MrWolf]

1 hour ago, Winslow Boy said:

 

Which way do you turn it if you want to go straight on.

 

Hit the brakes hard....

[The Stationmaster]

3 hours ago, chuffinghell said:

My car does actually have collision detection but I’m not sure what it actually does and I’m not that keen to find out either.

 

Although I have noticed it bleeps if the 🤬 in front fails to use their indicators and suddenly brakes to make a turn….not sure how a bleep helps when you can physically see the pillock do it

 

Apparently….

 

 

….you can turn it off if you don’t like cyclists or pedestrians though 🤪

 

 

And it's a right s*dding nuisance.  It sense - on the Qahqai - if you are accelerating when the vehicle in front of you is slowing or it senses the closing of the distance between you and the vehicle ahead in some situations.  Now imagine what happened to me - I was driving round a sharp left hand bend and accelerating (back up to abput 25 mph) as I began to come out of the sharpest part of the bend.  A lorry then approached in the opposite direction and on its side of the road - which wasn't very wide.  So the b**dy collision avoidance thing decided that the lorry and my car were approaching each other head on and duly appllied the brakes, and when it applies the brakes it os a very sudden stop.  I was left wonfdering what the merry heck Id done to cause the brakes to apply themselves while driving normally - downright ruddy dangerous.

 

So at the next service I asked the dealership to turn off the system as every time I followed the instructions in the manual it would not turn off.   'Not possible guv, it's a safety system and factory set so we' not allowed to turn it off.   Simple answer appears to be to let the battery go flat (a long & different story) and not fully reset the system to the default settings.   Iit still comes flashing away at me but doesn't now seem to work the brakes.   And at ththias time of year it no longer seems to apply the brakes as I enter my drive due to the lavender encroaching on the drive from both sides.    Totally barmy and if it is an example of AI  it sure isn't intelligent.

[lezz01]

In the words of the late great Terry Pratchett "Real stupidity beats artificial intelligence every time!"

Regards Lez.  

[Winslow Boy]

7 hours ago, MrWolf said:

 

Hit the brakes hard....

 

At ha that would explain the crash helmets then. I had thought you were making a fashion statement with them - like urban chic or something but I should known it being you that it would have a more practical bent.

[Donw]

I had a Renault Kangoo which developed a fun idea.  If you put your foot down hard to overtake  it would cut the engine power usually just at the point you have pulled out.

 

Don

[NHY 581]

2 minutes ago, Donw said:

I had a Renault Kangoo which developed a fun idea.  If you put your foot down hard to overtake  it would cut the engine power usually just at the point you have pulled out.

 

Don

 

That sounds like ignition timing or carbs.......or both. 

 

[John Besley]

8 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

And it's a right s*dding nuisance.  It sense - on the Qahqai - if you are accelerating when the vehicle in front of you is slowing or it senses the closing of the distance between you and the vehicle ahead in some situations.  Now imagine what happened to me - I was driving round a sharp left hand bend and accelerating (back up to abput 25 mph) as I began to come out of the sharpest part of the bend.  A lorry then approached in the opposite direction and on its side of the road - which wasn't very wide.  So the b**dy collision avoidance thing decided that the lorry and my car were approaching each other head on and duly appllied the brakes, and when it applies the brakes it os a very sudden stop.  I was left wonfdering what the merry heck Id done to cause the brakes to apply themselves while driving normally - downright ruddy dangerous.

 

So at the next service I asked the dealership to turn off the system as every time I followed the instructions in the manual it would not turn off.   'Not possible guv, it's a safety system and factory set so we' not allowed to turn it off.   Simple answer appears to be to let the battery go flat (a long & different story) and not fully reset the system to the default settings.   Iit still comes flashing away at me but doesn't now seem to work the brakes.   And at ththias time of year it no longer seems to apply the brakes as I enter my drive due to the lavender encroaching on the drive from both sides.    Totally barmy and if it is an example of AI  it sure isn't intelligent.

 

Was there anyone right behind you at that point as your lucky not to get shunted...

[Mike_Walker]

All of this helps confirm my decision to hang on to my 10-year old Focus* until it drops, which with some TLC should be years in the future and hopefully see out my driving days.

 

I did have a 48 hour test drive in the Mk4 Focus when it came out but took it back in less than 24 as I was so disappointed - it didn't hold a candle to mine.  The dealership took my rejection personally.  The thing that annoys me about modern cars is the seeming installation of tech for tech's sake.  Quite rightly, it is illegal to use a mobile phone when driving so why are cars now fitted with computer screens that require the driver to take his eyes off the road and scroll through menus for the most basic of tasks that I do at the press of a button that I can do without looking.  The latest Focus also had an "electronic handbrake" that gave no indication as to whether or not it is applied unlike mine that has a warning light in addition to a bl**dy great lever that is obviously either applied or not!  Remember KISS !

 

Yes, I'm a crusty old luddite and proud of it!

 

*  I realise this is "modern" for some of you.  😂

[Limpley Stoker]

I couldn’t agree more. Having driven my daughters’ high tech cars my requirements are simple- rust proof body , engine built for at least 200k miles , reversing beeper, spare wheel , somewhere in the shade of the dashboard for phone/satnav, mechanical handbrake,  bluetooth for phone and that’s it. So I’m sticking with my 18 yr old Audi A3 tdi - perfect for rural driving and I avoid cities !

[chuffinghell]

I only had a new Micra because Sarah had a new Juke and I was jealous plus it made my twelve year old diesel Fiesta look like a pile of scrap 😂

[MrWolf]

3 hours ago, NHY 581 said:

 

That sounds like ignition timing or carbs.......or both. 

 

 

Kangoos had a complex and totally unnecessary "fly by wire' throttle system.

 

There was what appeared to be a regular throttle cable attached to the pedal.

This went through the bulkhead to a sealed unit on the passenger side. It operated a quadrant, all perfectly sensible so far.

 

The quadrant operated a sensor which sent an electrical signal along a wire that ran down the nearside inner wing and across the front panel back to the driver's side.

It connected with another sensor, which operated another relay, which opened and closed the fuel pump rack. Allied to this was the fuel pump cutoff connected to the ignition etc.

 

If the cable snapped, you had to replace the throttle cable unit , which was £150 before you got the spanners out, or paid someone else to do so.

 

Or you could open the unit forcibly and fit a bicycle brake cable for the outlay of about £4 and a bit of solder.

 

Fortunately, the Herald runs on a bit of cable from pedal to carburettor and that's it.

 

[MrWolf]

8 minutes ago, chuffinghell said:

I only had a new Micra because Sarah had a new Juke and I was jealous plus it made my twelve year old diesel Fiesta look like a pile of scrap 😂

 

Probably your last chance saloon for buying a car that runs on petrol and can't be switched off by the manufacturer. 

Apparently if a Tesla is written off, a spike can be sent to all of the modules so that they can't be reused on another car. 

This is allegedly for safety reasons.

Keeping an old car going with used, surplus or remanufactured parts uses way less energy and resources than junking it for a supposedly greener replacement.

[lmsforever]

I learnt to drive in a Triumph Herald lovely car to drive wished I had bought one instead went for a mini van  which saw well in my travials across the UK but I still would not mind owning a Herald.

[chuffinghell]

6 hours ago, MrWolf said:

 

Probably your last chance saloon for buying a car that runs on petrol and can't be switched off by the manufacturer. 

Apparently if a Tesla is written off, a spike can be sent to all of the modules so that they can't be reused on another car. 

This is allegedly for safety reasons.

Keeping an old car going with used, surplus or remanufactured parts uses way less energy and resources than junking it for a supposedly greener replacement.

 

True as I definitely do not want a glorified milk float

 

 

Edited June 27, 2023 by chuffinghell

[lezz01]

Well I have to say that I do love my new Pug 2008. Lane control is easy to switch off permanently, all the toys are useful and easily accessible, it has a multi option 3D dash and colour options, yes I have to turn off the stop/start function which I don't like every time I start up but that's not much of a faff, it has a turbo the size of a wastepaper bin and goes like a scalded cat. It only has a 1.2ltr engine that gives me 130bhp. It's so far ahead of the 207 sport I had last that you need a telescope to see it and the fuel mileage is outstanding. The automatic gearbox has a manual option with flappy paddles on the steering column. It's a Motability vehicle so I have no worries about it as if it plays up I just take it to the dealer and I get a courtesy car until it's fixed but it's not gone wrong at all. I only have to put fuel in it everything else is down to them. I'm 18 months into a 3 year contract and it will be replaced by another one but this time I'll have the GT which has even more toys but is now the same upfront payment is this one. It looks fab goes great and I'm very happy with it. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to anyone and the dealers customer service is outstanding as well.  

Regards Lez.          

[Fishplate]

8 hours ago, Donw said:

I had a Renault Kangoo which developed a fun idea.  If you put your foot down hard to overtake  it would cut the engine power usually just at the point you have pulled out.

 

 

At which point it presumably became a Can'tgoo. . . .

 

8 hours ago, Mike_Walker said:

installation of tech for tech's sake

 

Agreed. In the cause of 'adding value'.

 

Worst example in a car I was unfortunate enough for Mrs FP to own was a Freelander. Why, oh why was the roof line above the rear door so low that the back window had to lower automatically when you opened the door ? . . . .

 

 

8 hours ago, Mike_Walker said:

The latest Focus also had an "electronic handbrake" that gave no indication as to whether or not it is applied u

 

Tried doing a hill start between parked cars with an electronic brake ? I had a hire car for work with this 'improvement'. Had to go back to the hire office and get them to tell me how to move the thing. Subsequently specified that any hire car for my use must have a normal handbrake.

 

Mutter.

 

if someone wants to make a proper improvement, how about a winter weather heated windscreen washer system?

Edited June 27, 2023 by Fishplate
Predictive text. Anyone know how to switch it off? Tech for techs sake

[lezz01]

Re automatic handbrake. In my Pug you just put it in gear and it comes off automatically when you accelerate there is absolutely zero drama with it at all.

Regards Lez.  

[figworthy]

2 hours ago, Fishplate said:

 

Agreed. In the cause of 'adding value'.

 

 

Some time back I read somewhere that we were rapidly approaching the point where 40% of the value(*) of a new car was the electronics.  I wouldn't be surprised if we are now past that point with infernal combustion cars.

 

* the manufacturers view of the value, not necessarily that of the user.

 

Adrian

[Tortuga]

11 hours ago, Mike_Walker said:

All of this helps confirm my decision to hang on to my 10-year old Focus* until it drops, which with some TLC should be years in the future and hopefully see out my driving days.

 

I did have a 48 hour test drive in the Mk4 Focus when it came out but took it back in less than 24 as I was so disappointed - it didn't hold a candle to mine.  The dealership took my rejection personally.  The thing that annoys me about modern cars is the seeming installation of tech for tech's sake.  Quite rightly, it is illegal to use a mobile phone when driving so why are cars now fitted with computer screens that require the driver to take his eyes off the road and scroll through menus for the most basic of tasks that I do at the press of a button that I can do without looking.  The latest Focus also had an "electronic handbrake" that gave no indication as to whether or not it is applied unlike mine that has a warning light in addition to a bl**dy great lever that is obviously either applied or not!  Remember KISS !

 

Yes, I'm a crusty old luddite and proud of it!

 

*  I realise this is "modern" for some of you.  😂

^^^THIS^^^
T’missus’ car has a lot of this (IMHO) “pointless” tech, but not to the extent of some vehicles - it actually has buttons to operate most of the controls!

 

Worst of all is the collision avoidance system - actually called “collision assist” - which, in a situation that might result in a collision, does it’s best to ensure you are sufficiently distracted at the critical moment by causing the centre of the instrument panel to repeatedly flash red, display “COLLISION ALERT” and loudly blare an urgent, incessant alarm.
The thing is, it’s inconsistent. I frequently use a road near our house where cars are parked on either side requiring a slalom-esque weave to get through, but “collision assist” has only ever activated twice on this road with several weeks in between both occasions.

Of course, when the car you’re about to overtake suddenly decides it needs to be in your lane without indicating, “collision assist” won’t activate.

Or maybe, just maybe, it might…

 

Nope. Apart from cruise control (on long motorway journeys and never trust it to hold your speed downhill) and Bluetooth radios (I don’t want to take a DJs case of CDs with me on every journey), you can keep the pointless technological b******* thanks very much!