Be Excellent To Each Other

Autotrader reckons I can pretty much swap my superb for a reasonable age, standard and mileage lexus ISF.

Hnnnng.

Good job that's one thing I can't do idly with beer in one hand and internet in the other.

Still though. One last hurrah for dinosaur squeezin's while I wait for Ford to sell me a Ranger lightning?

Lady T called, the big Mazda broke down on the way to work.

Given the descriptions she gave, Dr Google leads me to believe it's the transfer case or the transmission (it's an auto, AWD). I'm feeling pessimistic about it.

Given it's a 2008 model and has done over 260,000km I have a feeling this will be an expensive repair that needs to be compared against the actual value of the car

Transfer case? Take all the bits out, put a blanking plate ("scrap piece of steel cut about right") on the engine/gearbox output, job done while you save up. Which won't take long, it's an old Mazda, it's all in the labour and all under it on a lift.

Transmission? It's an old Mazda, it's all in the etc.

It's not like you've done anything daft and bought the high-output MPS or anything.

OTOH, at 260,000km there's probably an awful lot more stuff that's about to go wrong...

There's an ISF on the island that I see driving around sometimes, I think it looks and sounds magnificent.

If you're serious about it then do a bit of research, they made some tweaks to it mid-run that much improved it apparently. (The video linked below covers it from memory.)

My GS300 is still delivering exemplary service, we're doing 'hybrid working' now which means some office working and some WFH, so it is getting a decent amount of use, I'm even managing to get 33mpg out of it which for a big car with a 3 litre V6 in it, isn't bad going at all!

Depending on what has broken, whipping the front or rear propshaft off may "fix" it, too.

@hearthly ta. I'd like to say it was school-night-drunken-whimsy, but I'm still going "hmmm" to myself a day later.

After all, I'm lining up a grand on suspension, a grand on ECU and dsg remaps, and more recently at least a grand on airflow. And it's going to need at least 500 on brakes soon too, somehow after more than 4 years not even need pads yet but it's starting to feel a bit squidgy and the discs are very lipped all round.

So really, even if an isf cost me 2 grand, it'd be a saving.

I doubt it'd even cost more in fuel, I did 170miles mostly on cruise at motorway speed a couple of weekends back and got 34mpg average - the VAG EA888 is hilariously inefficient, much worse than I bargained for (Helens kodiaq in 180hp trim isn't any better).

The absurd, old man £217 I paid for fully comp insurance this year would no doubt change, but then all those mods I'm planning.

As it's the car Lady T tends to use for the kids, I'll probably hold off on things like that for now. If it was just a car I used for myself, possibly I'd try those things. Could that sort of 'repair' lead to failing a safety check (like an MOT equivalent)?



Well, yes, really we'd just be buying a bit more time. I would be OK spending, say, a thousand bucks on it, but much more than that would be hard to justify given the value of the car (its not worth all that much at this late stage in life).

By all accounts the ISF is very reliable, just make sure you get one that's been looked after and hasn't had a load of crap done to it. It's definitely on my list of 'crazy cars I'd like to own' whilst also being an under the radar Q car type affair. The rear aspect in particular I think looks stunning with those stacked quad exhausts.

And yes, it's literally the type of car that will never be built again, a naturally aspirated V8 isn't a thing in new cars, so perhaps enjoy one whilst you can.

Definitely watch the video I linked above, the guys know their stuff and there was a year where Lexus changed a couple of things to make it a dynamically better car.

The biggest problem with the ISF of course is there aren't that many around, and nice ones aren't cheap!

I did watch the video - makes it seem like I *definitely* wouldn't fit, which is a straight no go (especially as autotrader puts the nearest one at 70 miles away), the superb turned out to be borderline with how I need to sit forward and upright due to most of my 6'2" being in my spine.

Jared from Wrench Every Day is a tall, large guy and fits okayish but it's in the proportions I guess.

It has at least made me question all the superb mods I've been lining up, probably for the best.

Welp, the garage called Lady T and she passed on the message which I'll paraphrase as 'the transmission thingy is fucked innit, that's 5k for parts and about 2.5k for labour'

So, that's about the same as the car is likely worth, so it's bye-bye big car.

I know it's just the way it is, so all I'm doing is bemoaning a known circumstance, but if Lady T had stuffed the car into something we'd get the insurance pay out... but because it's a mechanical thing we get nowt but scrap value and that makes me and my bank account a bit sad

Lady T has borrowed a car from a workmate (young lass that's currently disqualified from driving for being caught on her phone TWICE, tch....... sucks for her, but is good for us).

The number plate is MN33QE ( ) - can you guess the owners name?

It's a Fiesta and it looks TINY parked in our garage, compared to the old one that we had to squeeze around. I also think it looks quite smart and whizzy, so I might see if she'll sell it to us for cheapz.

Hmmm, received a Community Speedwatch "Notice of Excess Speed" today. Gave me a spook at first as it looks like a speeding ticket, but basically it seems to just be a letter telling me off for going too quickly ( which I was )

How did they get your address?

DVLA will give out the address of registered keepers for a small fee (£2 I think, might be £10) but only if you have a Good Reason -- or at least, something that DVLA consider to be a Good Reason.

I would imagine that community speed watchers have arrangements with local police and/or DVLA to enable them to get addresses from DVLA.

It's odd - it's from the Police, but it's not a Notice of Intended Prosecution. I'm assuming they work with the Police but it doesn't appear to be "official" at all.

This suggests it's just a "Warning letter"

Pin it to a lamp post at the location with "Snitches get stitches and end up in ditches" written over it in red ink.

...wearing britches.

I’ll grass you up again, Stirling Bloody Moss!

Damn right. I'm off to Lydford-on-Fosse to beat up some Community Speedwarch narcs.

Good job I didn't rush out and buy an ISF, I remembered this afternoon that Helen now has to park on the side of Fiveways in Birmingham that's inside the clean air zone, needing euro 5 to avoid charges.

She doesn't have to use my car a *lot*, but we all know how fate loves an unfortunate coincidence.

MOT passed with no advisories. New set of Toyo Proxies CF2s on too, car feels much better and safer! Previous tyres were a mix of Landsail and Continentals.. all with badly cracked side walls.

The Landsail brand baffles me - like, all the skill in sailing is being able to predict and counter all the random stuff that happens in the low friction, random input seagoing environment, and it's only ever best effort.

It's not what I'm looking for in my car experience.

Remarket as Landsnail I’d say, “Stick to the floor like a shelled slug”.

Even though they don’t.

I'm going to have some difficulty fitting the wheels in the Fox wheel arches, so to make things go a bit easier I've swapped one of the tyres from a 195/65r15 to a 165/45r15
It's definitely made a big difference to the overall size but I'm not convinced it looks right, it's stretched on and looks a bit elastic bandy. I could go 14" wheel and get a bit of side wall back but that means buying all new wheels and I can't afford it rn. I can set up the arches with the one wheel and figure out the wheels thing later. Decisions decisions.

Attack the arches with a reciprocating saw

Got a FULL SET of NEW Toyo Proxie CF2s on my car. First time I’ve ever done that, always replaced as and when needed in pairs (mostly part worn too), so I’m feeling like a king of the road now.

Worried the extra tread has increased weight so I’m going to take the bonnet off.

You joke, but that's the next step

Ha, just seen I’d already boasted about new tyres, I’m so old and senile…

What?

DO IT!!!

Or roll the arches?

Wait, is this a new (to you) VW Fox?

Not a VW, it's cooler than that... A Reliant Fox.

And it's fiberglass so no rolling for me, it's out with the grinder.

Ah! Ooooooh!

Arts and crafts day has yielded:

A wheel arch.

Cor! That made from fibreglass sheeting?

It's hactually fomex board, the 5mm foam with paper covers stuff. You make the shape with it then lay up the fibre glass on both sides and it makes a really solid structure. I've used it in a few places just to make components and it's surprisingly rigid, for the arches though I'll be making the formers from board then using them to make the molds then using the molds to make the parts! Better be worth it.

I’m sure it’ll be worth it. Is yours a pick-up or do you have a full back? Don’t remember ever seeing a Fox, only Robins, Kittens & Scimittars.

Mine came with a full back, I think maybe they all did? I've taken it off because it's much cuter as a pick up.

A quick question.

Where is a recommended place to get tyres from, and who should I avoid.

My car currently has Bridgestone 225/40/19 Y 93. As I have not had to buy tyres for 20 years.. I am a bit clueless

I use these guys https://www.tyresonthedrive.com most of the time.

Hometyre.co.uk, tell 'em Gaz sent you (I'm their IT spod)

MOT day! And recent past me is cursing 2022 past me for not setting sufficient alarms leading me to realise I had a week to get it sorted.

Anyhow, the annual day of judgement came and....

Thanks folks

Project update plz, Krazywookie

Put the GT-Four into long term storage to stop it rusting away any more. Left an unsightly gap on our driveway.

Thought about an S2000. Decided against it.

Hopefully I haven't made a terrible decision.

Very nice. Is that the 3.2 or 3.4?

Get a 360

3.4. Hopefully not one of the bore-scored ones

Not you as well.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-detail ... 1143253516 ?