MOTOR-BLOG from Coventry

Yep for those of you out there new to this site, I’d like to introsuce you to my fleet as it stands at the moment. So here they are in no particular order:

Dollis The 1976 Triumph Dolomite.

Dollis is a 1976 Triumph Dolomite 1500HL in Inca Yellow. Bought by accident of the dreaded eBay. Plans include painting the bonnet Matt Black (like a Rally car) plus sorting the problems out (such as refusal to start - electronic ignition required!) also the MoT is looming… Possibly for sale soon…  

Sabine the 1988 SAAB 900 Turbo 8

I’ve owned Sabine for well over two years now and she’s been nothing but a joy. Future plans include sorting out the few tiny bits of rust and blending the repairs in with colour matched paint. An LPG conversion is on the cards too, and after recently driving a 16 valve 900 Aero I’d love to fit a 16 valve engine (178BHP) to replace the current 8v unit (155BHP) which could then slot into the Dolomite quite nicely… I have tried to sell this car a couple of times but I just can’t bear to part with it.

Susan the 1966 Triumph Vitesse 6

My first ever car, now currently out of MoT and sleeping in the garage. MoT will be done in the next month of so and we’ll be back on the road again real soon.

1989 Range Rover Vogue SE 3.5 V8 LPG

Ok, so I only own half of this beast so I can’t claim it’s all mine. MoT will run out soon, and it’s bound to fail on something, if not lots of somethings… Oil light is always on, ABS absent presumed dead, Transmission clunks, Auto box works eventually, wheels are out of balance, the doors don’t lock, the indicator stalk falls to bits when you touch it, uses loads of water and oil. electric seats don’t work and it smells funny. I bloody love it. Recently managed an incredible 12.8 MPG on a long journey whilst running on petrol. Luckily it also runs on LPG. Is fitted with a low compression 3.5 V8 producing a heady 115BHP from its eight cylinders - when it was new…

1983 Suzuki SA310

A car I inherited. Needs a couple of bits of welding, new steering gaiters and another few bits and pieces for a MoT. Will be on the road soon. Has a 3 cylinder engine and an amazingly cool digital dash. Secretly I can’t wait to get it on the road…

Veronica (Lady Vi) the 1994 Volvo 440 Si Auto

 

Ok so not really mine - it belongs to my girlfriend - but as I have to look after it I’m claiming it. Has a blowing exhaust despite the whole system being new (fitted by myself and my mate Scott) - the only bit which hasn’t been replaced (the Cat) has now started to blow. Will it ever not have a noisy exhaust?

1973 Triumph 2000 Estate

Rescued from a shed in Wiltshire where it had lain for almost twenty years. Not seized miraculously and bodily in very good condition. Currently replacing lots of bits and hope to have MoT’ed sometime this year…

That’s it so far, but I also drive my Nans Peugeot 106 quite a lot too but I won’t include that. It is a woeful machine but cheap to run which is important as I drive over 700 miles a week. Will be replaced by Suzuki when I get it back on the road…

I live in quite a deprived area and in many ways this is quite an advantage. Firstly, most of the cars around here are old, dented and / or rusty, so no-one complains about my shoddy filler ridden aerosol can painted Inca Yellow Dolomite cluttering up the place - and no-one wants to steal it either. Secondly, there is a fine selection of inexpensive shopping options to tempt the hard earned moolah from out of your wallet.

For example, if you want to purchase cheap booze (as plenty of the residents around here do) - you’re in luck. Most of my local shops will retail you eight tins of wicked strength lager for £4.50. Not bad, especially if your choice of lifestyle requires complete loss of vision and mobility by ten o’clock in the AM. 

This is not so good if, like me, you don’t require early morning inebriation and just want to buy a Guardian and some croissants - neither of which can be found anywhere within a two mile radius of my flat. However, for the old car loving cheapskate such as I, there is a plethora of hardware stores just waiting to sell you some mind blowingly cheap tools and car related paraphenalia at seriously knocked down prices.

This morning I was tasked to go to our local Warehouse outlet (open to the public seven days a week and located only a five minutes walk from the flat) to buy the sort of goods required only at Christmas by Casa Campbell.  I’m sure you know the sort of place I mean - the Alladins cave that still sells C90 cassette tapes, lurid gold and purple filigree plastic tissue box covers and pictures with lights that change colour to make the waterfall on the canvas look as if it’s flowing. 

So off I merrily went clutching a shopping list including items such as greaseproofed paper, tin foil and casserole dishes (non stick if possible), which we would never buy at any other time of year. I did well - not only did I come back with all of the required items, I also managed to buy a twelve piece socket and driver set in impact resistant blown plastic case (£1.99), a Tow Rope (£0.99) a set of Jump leads (£3.99 - you never know..) and 4.5 litres of Comma 10W/50 mineral engine oil (for classic and older vehicle applications according to the Jug) for a bargain £4.95.

I also managed to pick up other assorted sub-99p priced goodies which I didn’t really need but seemed to good too pass over at such a low price. As a result, I don’t think I’ll need any more antifreeze or screenwash solution for some considerable time to come. I also came home with a selection of various bulbs of different wattage in both bayonet and Edison screw fitments - and a radiator bleed key.

Now I wouldn’t recommend anyone else goes out and buys these cheap tools. My new socket set is made of the sort of shiny silver metal which tears when you apply any pressure to in the same way a tool made of hardened marzipan would. Always buy the best equipment you can, and it will give you many years of fine service as well as preventing the inevitable knuckle / finger / wrist / forehead damage that occurs when a cheap socket set lets go whilst undoing a particulary stubborn nut. 

However, these bargain tools are good for occasional ermergency use, so slinging them into the boot of your car and forgetting about is a good idea. So if you ever have the misfortune of getting your car stolen / broken into or if it catches fire etc at least you won’t lose your best Draper / Snap On / Teng / Sealey tools as well. Just think of them as I do - disposable one-use only ‘get you home’ essentials that you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find lurking in your spare wheel well on a cold dark winters night in driving snow when your windsreen wiper has just fallen off…   

Wishing you an inexpensive tool filled and very merry Christmas from Motor-Blog.co.uk.

Yep the new Vectra model for 2008 will be called the Insignia. Nice one Vauxhall - inspired name that. It’s been no secret that the new model would move away from the Vectra moniker and Car magazine predicted ‘Insignia’ way back in May - it had previously been used on a GM concept car.

 Now don’t get me wrong - I know that the new car world is a very competitive place and the big boys like GM and Ford are up against it as far as cashflow is concerned, and I have nothing against new cars having new names. But have they really run out of good ones?

Insignia, I mean what’s all that about? What a crap name. I bet that they paid someone an awful lot of money to come up with that. They wanted to move away from ‘Vectra’ as they believe that this replacement is so new and fabby that they wanted to start from scratch (and if the new Mondeo is anything to go by, it will be quite a lot larger than the outgoing Vectra too). Good for them I say, but I’ve got a new name for them and it won’t even cost them anything.

How about this: Call it the Vauxhall Cavalier MK 4? It’s been so long since they used it (11 years) that it is like a new name again. Just a thought…

As a lover of all things Triumph, I wouldn’t like to say that they are unreliable, but what exactly is this sixties Triumph advert trying to say?…