alastairq

Oh? I dunno...just how fast is it wise to go with a bevy of skinny t@rts in the back? :)

On a lot of cars, mostly down to split, or displaced vent drains.... On my mk4 Sprite, I was amused to find that the floor pan also had drain holes, placed there by the factory...Not surprising seeing as it was a sports car with a soft top.. The nice touch was that, on the underside, each drain hole had a rearwards-facing scoop..[Only a small scoop, honest]. Thus the surplus water would possibly also get 'sucked' out when driving forwards at speed. Not wise to reverse at high speed through deep puddles,however. On so-called 'rebuilt' Spridget shells, I find it 'interesting' to discover whether the builder has actually replaced these drain scoops underneath, when fixing the rotty floor pans?

Mikkel, I believe the AA originally started as a means of warning member motorists of the presence of a Police speed trap up ahead. The AA rule was , the 'Patrol' must salute oncoming members. [Identified by the AA badge....Needed good eyesight to see the darned thing!] If the patrol had identified a Police speed trap, then, to warn oncoming members, the Patrol would not salute. The member was then expected to stop, and demand of the Patrol, why they had failed to salute! At that moment the Patrol would discretely warn the member motorist of the presence of the Police speed trap up ahead. Thus avoiding the risk of being charged with 'perverting the course of justice', which can happen now if one flashes one's headlights with the intention of warning oncoming drivers of the presence of a speed camera up ahead. {The Highway Code {UK} clearly defines the meaning of a flash of the headlights...no getting away from it!!] No such consideration nowadays from the AA, its 'Patrols', or indeed the corporate body that now owns what was once a 'public' service...[Is it British Gas, perchance? Or have I got the wrong 'friend of the motorist' here?]

Lovely bus, however [Crosville?]...I used to drive stuff like that for a living...

According to Wikipedia, the USA had the first dedicated 'filling stations', in the 9 years before WW1 breaking out. The AA filling station [at Aldermaston I believe] was opened in 1919, with the first retailers getting their licences in around 1922. Prior to WW1 for the UK it was generally the pharmacist, flogging gallon tins of fuel over the counter. I am not sure whether hotels in certain towns also sold petrol to guests, etc. A bit of research found this below https://www.exxonmobil.co.uk/company/overview/about-us/history-of-esso-in-the-uk I quote a relevant passage below from the above Pratts, AKA Standard OIl [my Grandad was a 'sales manager' with Esso and Standard OIl before & after WW2..he helped organise the fuel for The first Rover gas turbine car] had 'agents' all over the country flogging oil & paraffin before WW1 ....possibly direct to motorist customers too?

Yet that was where one purchased the motor spirit, before fuel companies got in on the act.... Given the amount of potentially flammable stuff a chemist might have kept in those days, floggin' gallon cans of motor spirit [probably alcohol based?] was considered all part of the service. I bet they didn't sell packets of paracetamol, though?

In those days, wouldn't the Pharmacist be a source of 'motor spirit?' I suppose the local Boots were more frequently visited?

I suppose clapping on a gag is one way to silence back-seat drivers?

...Or, the drips from the kitchen tap! All the cats that either live with me a home, or pop in from next door, seem to prefer the water from a disgusting old iron bird bath! Which they have to stand up on back legs to reach...

I think the driver has just passed wind [SAying ''Trumped'' might be construed as political by the RM algorithms] Or the big dog has, judging by its expression? The lady wearing the Christmas cake hat has also noticed, and blamed the driver[ the driver being of a lower order than the dog] I also note the shape of the front wings. Angled and flared to deflect mud and stones away from the occupants, onto the hoipolloi.. [Note the Dellow in my avatar? That sports similarly shaped front wings, for the very purpose mentioned above.]

That is pretty much my position! My pension income [there is no other] is 'on the cusp'....{I had, simply, had 'enough' of the workplace environment] and in itself [ several works pensions] performs pretty badly...but then until very recently, so did any 'normal' saving account! Anybody who imagines civil servants get gold-plated pensions is living in the dream world created by the media! There are thousands more civil servants who get pathetic amounts, and pathetic annual increases, than there are high flying Cabinet Office Civil servants! By 'on the cusp' I mean exactly that...I could in fact claim Housing Benefit [because I rent....amazing how life's curveballs can affect one's life plans?], but the amount I would be entitled to falls below the minimum amount the Local Authorities actually have to pay. I believe that amount is 'less than £2 a week?} That changed this year as the LHA was raised [to where it would have been 6 years ago!!!]...Now I qualify for a fiver a week! But, that fact may open up several other, benefits-linked, aspects. Unfortunately I still cannot afford to visit a NHS dentist! Unless I got pregnant....which is unlikely! The Winter fuel allowance was a vote winning trap. Nothing more or less. Those in fuel poverty always could rely on their local authorities for support. [well, most of them] I rely on lots of wooly cardies! I can get LA support because I live in a rural area, and don't have access to mains gas...relying as I do on fuel oil...so I can claim a benefit once a year [it's automatic round here] to offset the rising cost of fuel oil. That came into being around the pandemic era... The State pension really wasn't ever seen as a 'reward' for loyal service to the UK's economy! I accept that.....But it outperforms my other pensions by miles...well it does now, but it probably was on a par for the 5 years or so before interest rates rose. My other 'complaint' concerns energy costs...and how the ways to save money are skewed against those who are frugal with their energy usage. Sure, the cost of a unit of energy is set by a Government Offwotsit.....But what is not properly capped are the 'standing charges'...which to my way of thinking, are the real ripoff. So my electric bills remain roughly where they are regardless of how much I turn off...Yet a household that is profligate with their gas & electric usage by comparison, gets some magnificent savings via the fuel price caps. Of course, the ''far left'' would tell those pensioners who manage to not owe anything on the homes they live in....to sell up and move somewhere where they can utilise the rise in values of their homes to offset their increased demand for hot sweaty rooms in winter! As I said, many are asset-rich, but cash-poor! On the other hand, round here, our winters do seem to be getting 'milder?' I also understand that, being where we want to be, in our old age, has it's costs and downsides too. I would truly hate to be compelled to live in a block of flats, in the middle of some town or, worse still, some urban city!

I am increasingly dismayed at the [social??] media outcry regarding the removal of winter fuel allowance for all those drawing State pension! I was regaled by a pensioner [they looked old, at any rate] whilst out at my local [yet posh] farm shop today. How it was 'not on,' and they would freeze this winter, or give up eating for a week..... Only to then pay out for some very expensive gucci pies and cakes, etc at the till.....Followed by a short but tedious [for them, perhaps] trek out to the car park to climb into their brand new Lexus 4x4.... All that changes is the imposition of Means Testing for those who think they may qualify for the allowance. Those that don't qualify, due to their nett income exceeding the amount that qualifies one for a benefit, don't need that couple of hundred extra quid just before Christmas. The only fly in the ointment I can see is when the costings are done for the actual Means Testing, on a vastly increased basis.

Makes a change from carrying a wood alcohol stove, or a gas bag?

Prod-a-frog is a regular ''good game'' in my front garden....[where the pond is]

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Also, kerbs can be handy tools if needing to change one's engine oil......simply park the appropriate side wheels on the kerb edge, and crawl underneath using the gutter... Might help if, for a few days beforehand, one can get a mate with a Landrover to park over one's 'chosen' spot?....Then if, when changing one's oil, there happen to be some odd drips or spillages...the prior presence of a Land Rover would help disguise the fact.

I meant to add..doing jobs like replacing a busted half shaft in an upright Ford Pop...with the help of some empty oil drums..Outside my London flat decades ago. Or, replacing a cracked bell housing [which was creating clutch disengagement issues] in a large wheeled Bedford CA non-working-o-bus... The important thing when working out in the street is to mind you don't get your ankles run over by passing cars..

I've often done serious automotive jobs outside my home over the past 55 years of being a driveller. Whether they could be regarded as for ''gain'' is debatable. After all, I did/do those jobs because I'm a titewad, and cannot/could not afford to pay someone else to do the dirty work for me. Also I avoid the annoying position of having paid out hundreds of quids for someone else to do an automotive job for me, only to find that it turns out to be a half-harrised coh-up after all. But then, I have endured more disappointment having shelled out to purchase Michelin or Goodyear tyres, only to find them to be not what the financial layout would have me believe, and that I'd have been better off with 30 quid Chinese ditchfinders instead! Me? Cynical? Never!! But I have discovered, automotively speaking , that it is often a better bet to buy the cheapest, and have low expectations, than to shell out hundreds more quids, only to find the outcomes to be not a lot higher than my lowest expectations. That's why I like the old motors best..I get a perverse satisfaction out of getting more life out of what others would have ''thrown away!'' A Youtuber I quite like is the following fella....his attitude and humour appeals to me....Somewhat lacking in bullsh&te... https://www.youtube.com/@LowBuckGarage

One of my Not-mi-cat cats' two ''toms,'' {if that can be used to describe them...and a lady who has been with me a year longer, and is currently vying for snoozing space with my keyboard}.....anyway, the younger of the two lads....came in yesterday absolutely soaking wet. He'd been in the pond, yet again. Probably chasing frogs? He is rather a clumsy lad too...he's just leapt for the windowsill behind me, but a short distance...and fallen off. Definitely a 'can short of a six pack'...or a 'sarnie short of a picnic, '' that one. The other lad, a long haired object who likes to think he's black, but in reality is a caramel colour if he sleeps out in the sunshine for too long...All this cat-larkin' is all rather beneath his dignity....a proper Lord Muck, he is...

From the ebay listing, top right measurement, axle-end to axle-end?

Don't see many dropping the drivetrain out by the roadside these days, do we? Can't have that sort of behaviour, it lowers house values all around, for starters!

Shows how darned vain we are, as a nation, does it not? :(

As an aside, these changing VED rules really did make a monthly difference....Early Ford Pumas were indeed cheaper to tax than the later Pumas, due to the change to emissions measurements. I recently discovered the biggest recent change occurred in 2017....when identical models of various makes suddenly found their VED hiked considerably. { Last year I looked at various Dacia models, with a view to find which was the cheapest to run, within a limited price range. Models that were zero rated, or near zero annual rates , suddenly jumped up considerably after 2017 for the same model...The tax system had changed....So I concluded that, it was best to opt for a 2016 model rather than go for one year later. At that price, depreciation wasn't really an issue. Opted for a Suzuki Celerio instead, zero tax, reckoned to obtain close to 85 mpgs with care, suited my Ex#3 admirably. Left me having to eke out more years usage from my old Suzuki GV 4wd...Thank heavens for separate chassis! }

The only problem with Landrovers as far as 'strength' was/is concerned is the tendency for the chassis to 'lozenge' if smartly tapped on one corner! {Speaking as one who spent the last 20 years of working life training everyone in the UK Armed forces to do driving, and associated skills... How I discovered I didn't physically fit behind the wheel of a series, and how size 11 boots made it difficult to enter military land rovers when they had their rollover cages installed!] Eventually went over to Toyota Hiluxes for 'running about'...or, Rangers.. Isuzus were rejected due to limited 'broach' angles...IE would ground out in the middle over sharp knife edges. Another issue is the presence of 'trim' inside the vehicle..gets in the way of all the encumbrances personnel possess these days... If we had to fit three overly aged instructors in the rear of the four seat[5] cabs of Hiluxes, then it was wise to open the windows to let the 'overflow' bulge outside. [Nearly all vehicles 'hired in' these days] I also had fitting issues with Land Rover LWB station wagons [hired in]....supposedly able to seat five [not in the back...military H&S precluded that]...as not only could I not physically fit behind the steering wheel, I couldn't even get my frame [not overly fat, honest] into the rear seats...without actually secreting myself into the back with total lack of dignity. These were civian versions with gucci interiors...Ruddy useless for me! Which is a shame, as I like Land Rovers for spudding around, they suited my personality ....[not into washing motors!] It's why I went the Daihatsu 4Trak way instead...They could lawfully out-tow Landrovers, and I fitted into them with a lot less undignified hassle...Plus, the Daihatsu diesel engine was a joy to ride behind....[probably why it is the replacement Landrover engine of choice, too?] and would carry on forever.....or so it seemed.] Only downside was rot. I sold mine last year back to the farmer I bought it off years ago...[12]...needed some chassis plating for its MoT and I have got to the age where welding upside down lying o my back is far too painful to enjoy any more.

Because I have barred myself from contributing to the ''driving standards'' thread, I would like to point out to anyone on here who lurks on that particular thread, that a car-derived van {CDV] is defined in schedule 6 or the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1986 [added to 2015]..... https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/27/schedule/6 '' In this Schedule— [F8 “agricultural motor vehicle” ] “articulated vehicle”, “dual-purpose vehicle”, “industrial tractor”, “passenger vehicle”, “pneumatic tyre”, “track-laying”, “wheel” and “works truck” have the same meanings as are respectively given to those expressions in Regulation 3(1) of the M3Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1978; “car-derived van” means a goods vehicle which is constructed or adapted as a derivative of a passenger vehicle and which has a maximum laden weight not exceeding 2 tonnes;'' Thus, it will be up to the driver to ascertain what speed limits their van is expected to adhere to. Plus, a condition of issue of the UK driving licence is that the holder should make themselves aware of changes, addendums, etc to legislation, Highway Code, etc..... Ignorance is no longer bliss, unless one really doesn't give a figg...?