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

The bloke who did some work on my 205 many moons ago evidently didn't. When I unpacked the car having driven it to Cycliste's flat, I discovered two of the wheel bolts sitting on the rear seat. Both off the same wheel.

Probably a good thing to check, I have been overtaken by the rear wheel of a Triumph Spitfire, not my favourite moment as a passenger.

The first thing my mate told me when I started working on cars (admittedly not that long ago), was to never trust anyone else putting your wheels on. ALWAYS DOUBLE CHECK. Which reminds me that I need to double check mine after driving them for a bit.

the same goes for bike shops.

i'm looking at you, brixton skwyklz...

A few more from recent ramblings...

This amazing Merc

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And a project car gone sad. The badge says Range Rover. Kit car?

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Kit car?

Definitely. And not a good one.

I was going to guess it was a Dutton, but I think it's actually managed to be even uglier than they are.

Sadly my stop/start function was absent today when I popped to Sainsbury and then picked up a takeaway.

Looks like the new super expensive battery didn't fix it.

Sure its not working properly. It won't initiate the stop unless certain conditions are met, which can include it waiting to warm up properly amongst other things

Both oil and water were up to temp, but stop/start was still inactive.

Yeah; definitely check what the manual says on stop start conditions....

Usually above a certain air temp and engine temp. Very unlikely it’ll work for a quick trip to the supermarket at this time of the year.

Air conditioning on or sport mode disables it in my Audi, maybe the same thing?

I'd have to say though, I'd be happy for my start stop to be permanently off. It's such a stupid thing.

I'd be happy for my start stop to be permanently off. It's such a stupid thing.

Preach.

Not that the SuperFastWankerBarge has such a feature. Frankly, it would be a bit pointless.

If the car has it then I want it to work. It’s easy to turn it off.

The alternator/battery will probably be 'smart' on your merc so start/stop will only work when the computer says yes.. My alfa is fairly random at this time of year with s/s. Drove into town tonight and after 30 minutes s/s activated. Then after 20 minutes of motorway, no s/s.

I wish my car was a SuperFastWankerBarge. Currently stuck at the plain old WankerBarge.

Stick a 5 litre V10 in there, slap on a couple of turbos, job done. And, in my case, an increasingly epic oil leak from the dry sump scavenge pump drive shaft.

You mean you sometimes have the traction control/stability control turned on? Crazeeee...

Do you drive with your headlights on during the day? I know if I do the stop/start won't work...

Mine works great now, maybe too great sometimes...

PS Got my car undented and detailed this week, it's been months since it's even had a wash... Looks like new now, I should take better care of it...

Speaking of dents... My wife in a rush versus the garage door frame. Fair scrape on the wheels too.... It does mean I now have a fair chance of turbo upgrades being approved.

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That seems a little, well, small.

If the car has it then I want it to work.

Unfortunately you need to readjust your expectations of your definition of work.

If work means; that after driving for a decent length of time on fast A roads and motorways you then pull up to some traffic lights and it switches off you'll never be disappointed.

If you mean whenever you stop your car stops you will be disappointed more often than not.