Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

More sold on a hybrid. 20 mile trip today through the NI countryside. 70mpg

Done 200 miles so far this visit and the tank is still more than half full.

I get about 160 before I have to stick another £50 in the C Max in London.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rear-Wiper-Blade-14-Inch-360mm-Exact-Fit-For-Fiat-Punto-MK2-3-5-Door-98-05-/302700822902?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l6249&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0

Cheers, for future reference how did you find that?

Double checked on GSF and ECP

GSF say 22or21 driverside and 18 passengerside and 13inch rear While ECP don't mention a rear but say the grand punto is 12 (h309)

But as Jonny said rear isn't an issue.

Focus 1.6 LX

In an interview with that Johnny fella. Tiff Nedell said this is the best chassis of any car. or something like that

Cheers all, hopefully it won't matter if I can't get the wiper sorted but the car is a bit ropey so the fewer reasons to possibly fail the better.

Managed to get a look at it and it is 14" so the ebay one looks like the best match but will have a closer look later.

@lynx I think I'm pretty near you so may take you up on the charger offer if the drive home isn't enough to get it charged (although I'd prefer having to avoid faffing around taking the battery out).

I had it MOT'd here last time and they seemed fair https://bestmotorsltd.business.site/

Emailed the camper place last week (the 19th), no response.

Called them this morning - rang out, left a voicemail asking whether they wanted me to pay a deposit. No call back.

Do you reckon they've seen your online posts and are scared?

State of this!

https://youtu.be/8h4EBDn5Hg0

Send them some Magura brakes in the post as a curse.

Of what?

I recently watched the Grand Prix film (it's kicking around on youtube) which sent me down a rabbit hole of the cars from then; they're such great things, but so unfathomly dangerous, and built with such disregard for their drivers safety!
There was something about Stirling Moss getting too hot in his Lotus, so they just removed body panels to get airflow and keep him cool - he was already so exposed maybe it didn't make any real difference, but seems unreal.

The racing in the film (and the bit in the Ferrari factory) is definitely worth a watch if you've not seen it. Quite interesting seeing some of the drivers (Graham Hill is quite recognisable) popping up every now and then too.

I remember interviews with Stirling Moss when he won a race he was driving his car on to the grass whenever he could to cool the tyres down and make them last the final laps :D true grit.

State of this!
https://youtu.be/8h4EBDn5Hg0

Is there a reason the tachometer and speedo are mounted wonky?

It's usually so that the parts of the dials you're interested in are visible through the steering wheel.

Anyone have a roof box I could borrow for 3 weeks?

Yes, but in Scotland!

Presumably swamped because since Covid everyone wants one.

Cheers.

Not quite that far north unfortunately.

Tempted by a fabric one. But the Thule everyone recommends is £££s and not often resold. Which I assume is because they're good quality and compact.

The film with James garner?

Yeah - that's the one.

The film itself is pretty meh (or maybe just of it's time), but the racing's fantastic. And mostly real as well apparently - the director didn't want to do the usual thing of recording slow sequences and speeding them up by running the film faster, so they got all the F1 drivers of the time to race and film all the cars around the tracks with massive film cameras hanging off them.

Anyone have a roof box I could borrow for 3 weeks

Yep. Got the long narrow Thule one.

In Herne Hill

Cool I'll drop you a PM.

I haven't seen that for years - I remember it had cracking footage. Both cars and circuits were lethal back then for sure.

Yeah, it is a great movie.

The cinematography is brilliant.

Watch it again, the racing is excellent. Sort of how it was then. People went to see the deaths.