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

I’d go a6 all road all day long. I have a dog too so he’s going to be a factor. I have a habit of ruining things and a new car is an expensive thing to ruin.

My only other reason for the lease car is if it goes wrong they sort it. If I get my own car the repairs and all the other stuff is down to me. So it could wipe out and savings I’ve made by buying my own.

I’m normally very decisive but this one is a struggle.

Coconut oil

hi all. the ciggy lighter in my old pug is broken, then i broke it more more yanking it out in an attempt to fix it, having not considered it might have been a fuse issue at the other end, so to speak. I now want to fit a usb charger and would ideally like to go new fuse, new wires as well. If I tie the old wires to the new ones, where do I pull from to 'thread' the new wires, or where should I look? Or have I completely under estimated what is involved?

Solder and heat shrink the old wires to the new wires? Then lie in the footwell and reach up behind the centre dash area and pull it back a bit.

I went to look at that low miles 130i and it was as tatty as mine. Interior wear didn’t seem commensurate with the mileage and the fella’s drive was full of cars in various states of repair. Red flags all round. Not an entirely wasted 3 hr trip mind - it’s convinced me to persevere with mine and I know now that none of the Bangle-era cars have interiors that will stand up to the years so it’s not really worth continuing the search.

I know it is extremely unlikely but; Does anyone have a Haynes manual for a Citroen C2 or the requisite knowledge of the torque setting for the rear hub bearing nut? I'm getting nowhere on Google searches I may just go with two white knuckles and three blue veins and be done with it.

Torque it until it suddenly softens off, but just before “spang!”

That's my maxim for life in general

If anyone is interested in a garage to rent in se4, get in touch

My 2006 Volvo XC70 was getting a bit worse for wear, so I bought a donor car for £400 (scrap value due to mystery coolant loss) and have been harvesting its organs.

So far swapped rear light clusters, front grille, various trim pieces, wheels (mine were seriously corroded causing pressure loss) electrically folding wing mirrors (£150+ each second hand!!), about to swap headlights and loads more.

Also got a £20 driver’s door from a scrapyard to replace my caved-in and badly scraped one. Had to swap all the guts over, including wiring loom, door lock, window regulator, glass, trim… frikkin mission! Took literally all day yesterday, but so satisfying in the end.

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Also took the opportunity to line the outer skin of the door with sound-deadening mat. Makes the already bonkers factory ‘premium sound system’ even more weighty.

Re-fitted window regulator and speakers using stainless bolts with nylock nuts instead of rivets, so they’re much easier to remove if needed. Fuck drilling rivets out, such a pain!

I know it is extremely unlikely but; Does anyone have a Haynes manual for a Citroen C2 or the requisite knowledge of the torque setting for the rear hub bearing nut? I'm getting nowhere on Google searches I may just go with two white knuckles and three blue veins and be done with it.

Maybe too late but, from Citroen Workshop Manual
200Nm lubricated. It actually reads "20 ± 2 daNm (lubricated)"

Thank you, I've seen pdfs quoting 240nm or 300nm. I've done it bastard tight with a breaker bar as my torque wrench only goes to 140nm

No being rude, but probably less rust than when it was new ;)

Good work! I did a bumper swap on my V50 which was quite a pain but agree on satisfaction reward. Got a panel and light cluster that needs doing, wheels and some internal trim. Never thought about a donor. Did you go to a Volvo-specific breaker for the door?

I miss the premium sound system from my old Volvo..

Class. I have absolutely no need for an xc70, but I find myself looking at them on auto trader quite regularly. Which engine does it have?
Heard the d5 will make pretty decent power after a map.

Mine’s a 2.5 turbo petrol 5-cyl. Plenty of torque and power, and makes a juicy 5-pot warble.

Just skirting on the edge of ULEZ compliance, so I’m keeping it and giving it some love. Booked in for a transmission valve body replacement, and I’m going to swap the computerised ‘4C’ rear shocks myself.

It’s the perfect car for us; huge inside, seats fold completely flat, long enough to sleep in comfortably and fit 3x large bikes with wheels on, the seats are supremely comfy and the factory sound system is nuts (huge door woofers and a fuck off 12” sub with amp in the boot, those wacky Swedes).

I bought it for £2K seven years ago, and it seems to have gone up in price since then… Very thirsty around town though, but that just forces me and my daughter to cycle more.

I bought the donor car from a Volvo forum, guy just wanted rid due to the mystery coolant leak and took £400 for it (scrap value).

Already paid for itself several times over with the parts I’ve harvested, and it’ll likely fetch a couple of hundred when the time comes to weigh it in.

Any other cheap ovlovs? Love me an ovlov

I use G-Techniq C4 a very small bottle but it goes a long way

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gtechniq-C4-Revitalize-Discoloured-Unattractive/dp/B00IOMDUN0/ref=asc_df_B00IOMDUN0/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=310493449173&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4640180558180011512&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9044988&hvtargid=pla-470127168878&th=1

Had a pretty scare event this weekend. The new tires i was warned could be pretty slippy when not warm but they seemed just fine previous days and had a lot more traction than my previous tires. But on sunday i was accelerating out of a corner and the tale just suddenly lost all traction in a way i have not previously experienced on this car. Was pretty scary as i was not expecting it at all and not really pushing it hard either. Im not a pro driver by any means but im not a super novice either.
So i was able to counter the first skid to the left but on the rebound i couldent hold it and i was on my way over to the other lane when i just had to brake to a halt and ended up sideways with half of the car in either lane .) Luckily no cars really close.. Had my pulse up a bit as well.

Can a few degrees outside and sun vs cloudy really make a big difference with ZR rated tires? It just felt really odd that it went sideways at this amount of speed and throttle. I should take it super easy in the rain i think..

How’s the headlining in it? I have damaged mine a fair bit lugging stuff around :/ oh, and the steering high pressure hose…?

Mine is 2005 diesel, 220k miles and going strong, but generally needs a bit of love.

There could be any number of contaminants on the road and the road surface may have been poor. Combine those with greasy new tyres and all manner of shenanigans can take place. Riding motorcycles in the 70s with "Teflon Super Slide" Jap Crap tyres was like this most days.

Good old conti...