MJI

I have been doing a rather boring job today.

Soldering on door hinges on comet sides

I have been stripping and recycling all my old railway magazines, going through early 2000s.

I can spot a TW loco build at first glance now.

Keeping between 0 and 10 pages per magazine.

Oh and I can get in my garage.

24 minutes ago, durham light infantry said:

 

Definitely, just googled it. An American International day about as inclusive as the World series of Baseball.

 

As a sufferer we could do with more awareness and help. Nearly 4 years on and still trying to cope.

I consider myself lucky, mainly digestive issues, and fatigue.

Netherlands with shunters, and EM2.

Portugal with EE stuff.

Bulgaria 87.

Mexico HST.

Australia various

NZ the Bo Bo Bo ftom brush.

Only found out this afternoon.

Very little about it.

2 hours ago, Flanged Wheel said:

Congratulations to @Tony Wright for receiving the accolade of RMWeb modeller of the year (and by a considerable margin)! 

I know he will be far too modest to raise it himself but I thought it was worth a mention on this thread.

He churns them out, very high profile, helpful.

So very expected.

Who do you think I voted for?

6 hours ago, BVMR21 said:

A new tooled MK1 range of the gangway type providing some form of accessible variants would be interesting (if feasible), and given the longevity of the MK1s, you have to tool up a wide range anyway, personally I would be happy to see Accurascale produce MK1s as it's rather difficult to acquire SKs, SOs, etc as mentioned previously, not to mention would go well with practically the entire Accurascale range.

I am goig to Comet for future ones looking at teh poor RTR availablitly

51 minutes ago, Dunsignalling said:

 

Just to make the owner look like a complete loser to those who can recognise the real thing.

 

There used to be a kit to make a Chrysler 300 look like a Bentley....

 

And even worse to the original car owners.

Why would you want your car to have a worse badge?

3 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

ISTR reading they only made about 21k in total. Like a number of other prestige models in ordinary marques, I bet the vast majority "sold" in UK were actually Dealer Principal cars. 

Usual badge thing, buy a car for the badge not the car, hence Mercs, BMWs, Audis over the top models of more mainstream companies.

I have seen on sale body kits to turn your normal brand executive car into an Audi branded one.

1 hour ago, 30801 said:

 

The sound rattles in my skull to this day...

Legal reason to assassinate people, calling a Sunbeam, a Horizon.

2 hours ago, Jol Wilkinson said:

I joined Peugeot UK in late 1984 when the Alpine/Solara and Horizon were in their final years of production. The engines did suffer from tappet noise. As a District sales  manager, one of my tasks was to wholesale Peugeot and Talbot product to the dealers each month. As I was responsible for London and the Thames valley, shifting Talbots and Peugeot diesels was a bit hard but I couldn't get enough 205 Gti's or 405 Family estates to satisfy demand.

 

The 309 used the same engines as the Horizon IIRC but Peugeot had modified them to make them quieter. Later the Peugeot TU engines were added to the lineup.

 

 

I liked the Avengers and Sunbeams.

3 hours ago, Buhar said:

Given that many computers now do not have the facility to play DVDs and so we are increasingly reliant on streaming and downloading Chris Walsh putting these out makes perfect sense. Despite us all being that bit older the content remains useful. Thank you.

Alan 

I unplugged my Pioneer BD burner as I accidentally kept opening it with my knee, if I need to burn will plug back in.

1 minute ago, Dunsignalling said:

 

Another mate has a 2014 turbo diesel Focus, that's just fine. It has a Peugeot engine... 

 

They do seem to be, unlike teh 1.0 and the V6s

28 minutes ago, Dunsignalling said:

 

If the one on my 206 had let go, I'd have had no one to blame but myself for pushing the envelope, but it does show there's not a huge margin beyond the recommended intervals.

 

It seems unlikely that very many of the "Ecoboom" engines will last long enough for the cars containing them to get old..... 

 

A pal of mine recently shifted on his 15-plate Fiesta with 45k on the clock via an auction after paying for the other common big expense, a new gearbox (for which he had to wait several months), after the original jammed for the second time.

 

He now has an ex-demo Nissan Micra, which  feels and behaves like a real car. How do Ford keep getting away with it? 

 

There is a warning badge on it which says Ford. I do not trust Ford engines at all.

Enough that I would not buy any Land Rover product newer than 2007* due to engine problems.

* That is Defender, but a cheap blown engine newer Defender with a rusted out Discovery 2 as parts donor would be OK.

V6 Diesel - cranks

2.2 2.4 Diesel - not that long lasting and not very reliable

Ecoboom - engine a service item, an expensive service item

Essex V6 - generally unreliable

Cologne V6 - poor compared to competitors (see Vauxhall Opel 6s of V and straight)

Pinto - just not a good engine

year 2000 about 2.5 and 3.0 V6 petrols, wear out (boss had a X type).

The 2.2D was fine though

Peugeots used to be really good, 405 was good, I did like the 504.

Mercs are not premium now, but overpriced tat.

By my favourite large saloons were GM when GM was still going, the V Cars, Senators, Carltons, Omegas, they were better than the so called premium brands.

I have had 5 of them.

1 hour ago, Dunsignalling said:

What size Sunbeam?

 

The XS was only a 1.4 but, if you had the nerve to ignore the red line would pull 7000rpm to no apparent ill effect. Probably wouldn't have been smart to make a habit of it, though! In normal driving, 4500 was enough to get it into the meat of the next gear.

 

I put 185/60 x 14 wheels/tyres on mine in place of the standard 165/70 x 13s which gave it longer legs and improved the road holding to the extent that, with just 85 bhp on tap it was pretty much corner-proof! 

 

What I really liked about it was the contrast from the gutless 1100 Fiesta it replaced; 55% more power and 20% better fuel economy. It was almost impossible to get it to do less than 40mpg, whereas the Fiesta had to be driven in maiden aunt mode to reach that figure. 

 

John

Tuned 1600 which valve bounced just over 7200 rpm and was 90 at the rear wheels. Was fast road not race.

So about 115 or so at crank.

2 hours ago, Dunsignalling said:

Basic 205s were a bit harsh, but the XS had much better sound insulation and seats, bigger brakes and an 85bhp, 1.4 engine, sort of a half-way-house to a GTi but better balanced (I drove both and wouldn't have swapped). I kept it ten years and regularly towed a half-ton trailer with it. Only time it missed a beat was when the filler cap vent got blocked and air-locked the fuel tank!

 

The friend who bought it followed up with a 106 Quicksilver (also a 1.4) but neither he or I were all that impressed. I replaced the 205 with a 206 D Turbo, that I also kept for a decade, then a 207sw that I never took to and sold on within three years. He currently has a brace of 206s, a 1.4 Sport and a GTi; the former running on the 6x14 second-hand aftermarket alloys I put on the 205 ten years before his 206 was built!

 

For the past five years, I've had 2013 Skoda Yeti CR170 TDi, and that's staying with me while I have breath in my body!

 

John

A 205XS tried to beat me at traffic lights once, (Sunbeam) first lights I did not really try, next lights I hit power band when he hit max revs, mine had close ratio box and tall gearing. Third set, nothing.

So tall gearing Sunbeam was similar up to 20 to 30 then the serious power cut in. Would JUST do 60 in second.

When i last serviced mine people kept asking what was wrong with it.

What is wrong with spending a couple of hours changing diff. oil?

Just having a nose at new sales, and if you want to buy blue grey carriages, there are not many available.

Decided I will most likely be taking the Comet route for a couple of sleepers I want.

But those Portholes look nice from Bachmann.

For my next mark 1 set may just put Comet sides on Lima and Triang  bodies.

Family barges are quite cheap to insure for young drivers as not the usual purchase,

Will do handrails once the glue has dried.

Still too many 0.7mm holes to drill.

Plenty of clear piccies of the buffer beam and to see differences between the kit and the real one.

9 hours ago, kevinlms said:

The Australian figures are going up since Covid too. It's considered that a lot of young people are not wearing seat belts. In fact they are closing the seat belt and sitting on them - to stop the beeping. FFS.

There is nothing like hacking down lanes late at night after pub closing with a drunk strapped into back seat in a car built years before compulsory rear belts.

Means they overlook the rally exhaust system and 130w driving lamps. And the not hanging about.

119 and 117 chassis are similar 120 are totally different.

I need to finish glazing mine.

40 minutes ago, wombatofludham said:

On the Electrostar debate, I think the fact they have run on a wide range of services from semi-rural single track (Seaford, King's Lynn) to four track high speed mainline (GN, GW, Brighton Line) does give modellers a chance to justify one, especially those of us who prefer to model "prototypically literate" fictional layouts.  A single track semi-rural layout with an Electrostar wouldn't look odd for anyone concerned that their plans wouldn't allow an Electrostar thinking they are main line only.  I could, for example, see a fictional semi-rural East Anglia layout set in the time of changeover between the Flirts and the Electrostars running both, together with Cross Country 170s and East Midland 158s, plus 66s on intermodals, being prototypically literate whilst offering a "recent history" level of interest for those who are interested in the relatively contemporary scene, and the only missing part of that plan is currently the Electrostar.

I don't think the time has passed for the PEP units - whilst the last few in Merseyside are on their last innings, their high degree of standardisation must surely make manufacture simpler, and being BR-Privatisation era stock will be tapping into what some have observed as a growing area of interest. There's nothing to stop a manufacturer releasing the one off liveries that might appeal to non-modelling ordinaries as they won't be fussed about whether the train is current or not, although I can't actually see a Beatles fan buying a three car Merseyrail unit as a souvenir, Hornby's wagons might just do it but a single train north of £300 isn't going to appeal even to the most rabid Beatles fan.  I think there is room for both PEP and Electrostars and both would help stimulate a new interest, in much the same way I have modified my plans for my rebuild of "Wednesford" in my new home on the back of the announcement of the Dapol 323.

The PEPs suffer from Cross Country DMUitis, never modelled RTR.