... but I'm a bit knackered. Humph and other high-mileage drivers will be contemptuous.
We were taking some stuff, clothes and furniture, nothing much, to our youngest who has decided to live in Bristol. It's a bit awkward from here. We went A272, A34, M4 and M32 which ends just round the corner from where she's sharing a house with two Aussie girls - women really, like her in their thirties - and a geezer who wasn't there. The distance wasn't great but at my age after 6 hours' kip it was a bit tiring. I kept thinking we should have gone further but easier by heading for the M25 and doing the M4 most of the way. Less picturesque and all too industrial, but perhaps less tiring in the end.
Herself drove about a third of the way back, A34 and some 272. But then it got darkish so we stopped for a pint - just one, some sort of nice 3.8% bitter - and I did the rest. I'm quite a bit quicker than her and a lot smoother. All that hesitation and occasional unnecessary braking gets on my nerves. I try to be polite - she's intelligent and not dangerous - but it comes hard. Anyway we're still on speakers.
The jalopy did well and didn't put a wheel wrong. But the suspension's getting a tiny bit rattly. Two tyres lose a bit of pressure, at opposite corners which isn't favourite. But they're OK for three or four days and I did them yesterday.
I used to know Bristol well when it was a genteel disapproving place with a Will's factory. Now it's a bit like Birmingham or some awful American town. Bath has the same disease. The daughter lives in a part of town considered rough, but it's really just bohemian, like old Notting Hill but without the grand houses. It's a goddam labyrinth.
A proper drink at last! Alhamdulillah!
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No contempt here AC, Sunday afternoons always hell on the road anyway.
I have no problems at all doing any driving i have to in me lorry at work.
Long distance in my car with other people about though and i hate every second and tire easily, i want to travel at my speed which means not stopping at every roundabout or junction when there nobody coming for the next 10 minutes, i want to scream when we sit in a dawdling queue in the outside lane of a dual carriageway because some twerp in front previously doing 80 has to make it a huge 5 minute operation to eventually scrape past a lorry.
If the roads are quiet and we can get our own move on i drive.
However SWMBO (Latin temperament) takes over if the traffic's heavy, she has no road discipline whatsoever and slips through the traffic at speed without a care in the world, if there's a gap she's in it, i just can't drive like that and i can't keep up with her in traffic regardless of the vehicle differences.
I invariably recline and go to sleep, two reasons, i can stroke her thigh without it being too pervy, secondly i'd rather not see what driving she gets up to.
The only exception to the above was the Hilux, that was so truck like in size with good views out and fantastic mirrors, but also a delight to drive, it was the least tiring vehicle i've ever owned for long journeys.
Get yerself a Hilux auto test drive AC, Lud's got plenty..;)
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>>No contempt here AC, Sunday afternoons always hell on the road anyway.
Nor here AC. It's an old cliche but Sundays are a nightmare. Very little sublime and much ridiculous.
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Managed about 7 miles in the Vitara today.....that was quite enough. Went to Asda to get wine and found they still did 3 bottles for a tenner. Home via the new Tesco for £60 of DERV then via the car wash which was still closed due to the cold.
Off to Altrincham with SWM tomorrow but will go on the tram with trusty walking stick, mebbe have lunch out and certainly visit Walton's model shop whilst there ! Got me eye on a new loco.
Ted
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Good to hear you have been out and about Ted. I was in Waltons myself on Saturday, after an abortive trip on Easter Monday. Altrincham hasn't half changed since I last visited (1998!)
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>> Good to hear you have been out and about Ted. I was in Waltons myself
>> on Saturday, after an abortive trip on Easter Monday. Altrincham hasn't half changed since I
>> last visited (1998!)
>> Hi Al. Hows the layout going ? Nice to hear you were in Waltons......I hate you already....they were closed and all shuttered up today ! Managed to read some of a note stuck on the front door through the tiny holes in the shutter. Closed a few days this week, prob for holidays. Always closed on Wednesdays, by the way.
I wanted them to reserve me the forthcoming Aspinall 2-4-2 radial tank. Still, plenty of time. Trouble was, SWM had gone off looking in other shops and was going to come and get me from Waltons. I spent 30 minutes sat in the cold wind where she could see me.
Apart from Waltons, Altrincham hasn't got much to recommend it now although we did have a good coffee and bun in Rackhams.
Ted
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>>The only exception to the above was the Hilux, that was so truck like in size with good views
>>out and fantastic mirrors, but also a delight to drive, it was the least tiring vehicle i've ever
>>owned for long journeys.
Once upon a time I did many (tens of, probably) thousands of happy miles in a 1990 Hilux pickup that was a decade or so old. Super thing to drive, though somewhat noisy - you couldn't possibly listen to the radio when cruising with foot flat to floor.
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''Super thing to drive, though somewhat noisy - you couldn't possibly listen to the radio''
Mk6/7 2006 on is much different and softer.
Will cruise happily well above the legal limit all day helped by the surprisingly high gearing...i expect transmission whine on a proper basic '90 model (mk2 or 3?) at motorway speed was ear plug territory.
To be fair a bit of road noise was coming through the new one at first, which i traced to the rear bulkhead, removed complete rear seat assembly which was ten minute job, no soundproofing at all just a thin felt type cover, i added some good underlay under and upright (glued to rear wall) and reassembled.
Simple cure and after it would rival a good car for road noise.
I've done similar but better amateur soundproofs an a few cars since, mainly SWMBO's C2 VTS (now gone) and the family Aygo, a sizeable amount of road roar comes from the thinly covered rear wheelarch/bulkeahd/rear quarter/boot area in these budget cars.
The difference in transmitted road noise is well worth the effort and minimal cost.
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>>>done similar but better amateur soundproofs an a few cars
Same here and it makes a big difference as you say. Started with my Herald in the 70s where I lined every square inch of the interior and underbonnet/scuttle area with lovely thick felt taken from P6 Rovers in scrapyards.
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>> >>>done similar but better amateur soundproofs an a few cars
>>
>> Same here and it makes a big difference as you say. Started with my Herald
>> in the 70s where I lined every square inch of the interior and underbonnet/scuttle area
>> with lovely thick felt taken from P6 Rovers in scrapyards.
It was the lovely thick damp felt that sent them to rotten to the scrapyard!!!
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>>>lovely thick damp felt that sent them to rotten to the scrapyard
Very true. Often the felt was bonded to scabby rusty flakes that would pull out with the felt leaving a big hole. Had to pick the rust off before the felt went into the Herald to avoid it catching the rot.
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Actually soft felt doesn't do all that much for soundproofing in my experience. The soundproofing on the lid over the engine of my VW411 Variant, which did work, was very dense heavy stuff stuck to the metal all over. Soundproofing is heavy, which is why saloon racers tend not to have any.
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>> However SWMBO (Latin temperament) takes over if the traffic's heavy, she has no road discipline
>> whatsoever and slips through the traffic at speed without a care in the world, if
>> there's a gap she's in it, i just can't drive like that and i can't
>> keep up with her in traffic regardless of the vehicle differences.
>>
>> I invariably recline and go to sleep, two reasons, i can stroke her thigh without
>> it being too pervy, secondly i'd rather not see what driving she gets up to.
>>
He he. My wife is a good enough driver (we were both IAM members in the UK), but IMHO is not anticipative enough, if there is such a word - she accelerates harder than ncessary, then has to brake harder than necessary, whereas I try to keep up more of a flow of gentle acceleration and gentle braking. She has this dramatic habit of thrusting her hands against the dashboard when she thinks I haven't seen a hazard amd am going to have to brake hard, whereas I have but have anticipated it and am braking so gently she can't feel it. And when she gets on the autobahn, well, just don't get in her way! She has an amazing, ahem, vocabulary considering she was a lay preacher and teacher, and is now the far side of 60!
And like you, I normally go to sleep when we're on the autobahn. I have no qualms about her abilities, I just don't want to know what speeds she's driving at.
Memo to self: must try the thigh stroking but not speeds over 100mph ;-)
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>> However SWMBO (Latin temperament) takes over if the traffic's heavy, she has no road discipline
>> whatsoever and slips through the traffic at speed without a care in the world, if
>> there's a gap she's in it, i just can't drive like that and i can't
>> keep up with her in traffic regardless of the vehicle differences.
Mine's the same (Med temperament also), and that's why she's in the process of dealing with two speeding fines at the moment. Drives without a care in the world. I only let her drive me when I've had a drink.
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>> Two tyres lose a bit of pressure, at opposite corners which isn't favourite. But they're OK for three or four days
That would indicate they've probably got something in them that's slowly letting the air out.
I'd let a tyre place have a look.
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>> they've probably got something in them that's slowly letting the air out.
The ones on the back are new, fitted last week. The tyre place said it would do the tracking both ends for 30 quid, but then reneged saying it didn't have time. Neither did I so we agreed to do it later.
When we do I will get them to put the new ones on the front. Felt a high-speed tremor once or twice so the (fairly recent) front tyres would be better on the back for that reason too. Naturally I will mention the pressure loss, rim or valve I imagine. Elite Tyres in Pulborough, good outfit. But even they charge a tenner to take one off and put more gunge round the rim.
I don't think we hit 90 at any point although there was plenty of 85. Quieter than 75 actually. I suspect a blowing exhaust.
Of course I've griped about Sunday drivers for donkey's years. They were the usual carp, but there weren't so many that one couldn't make progress. And I have to say that the A34 is at its worst on a weekday evening with all the commuting eager beavers.
Oh yes: graunched a rim slightly against a high kerb in my daughter's street. Damn damn damn. Right in front of a big bald geezer cleaning his car. My cry of 'ovoids!' or word to that effect didn't make him smile. I hope he's all right.
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Sun 7 Apr 13 at 23:46
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I hope the Jowett's in good fettle Ted. A proper classic suppressed by Pressed Steel Fisher, the carphounds.
And there was that flat-twin van-like thing whose name I forget. Got a couple of lifts in those in my hitching days. Not a stormer but I'd like one now...
And thank you chaps for your alleged lack of contempt.
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Mon 8 Apr 13 at 00:35
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>> >> they've probably got something in them that's slowly letting the air out.
>>
>> The ones on the back are new, fitted last week.
Check the valve, a smear of saliva works well. I had a problem with a new tyre, puzzled me for a few days, it was a duff new valve core.
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As a family we've had 8 or 9 alloy wheels leaking from the beads in the last 12 months (not one puncture or valve leak), corrosion pitting all, grinding off with rough disc and reseal have cured every one...
well apart from two 18" wheels on my lads S type which split open in a mehusive pot hole together with their tyres.
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>>My cry of 'ovoids!' or word to that effect didn't make him smile.
I said b u g g a r a little too loudly when I got a static shock off a handrail yesterday. SWMBO was a little put out, it was in M&S and several heads turned.
I was conned into going there, she said 'let's have a pub lunch'.
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I had a tyre/wheel problem on a new Golf a while back; it would lose pressure but not go completely flat. Turned out to be a porous alloy which was replaced under warranty.
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The alloy wheels on my old Mondeo didn't like rubber replacement valves. They didn't even like aftermarket screw in ones either. Only genuine Ford screw in valves would get a perfect seal. One of it's very few foibles. That and the little fat yellow airbag guy who wouldn't go away and sat on my dash for years. He was never any trouble but he irritated me at first, although eventually we developed a understanding.
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Drove from Glasgow down to Bishop's Stortford for a wedding on Friday and went via the M6 which is the route I always go. Road was fine, no major hold ups.
Came back up the road yesterday but at my brother's suggestion, came up the A1M which is a lot different to the last time I drove it - no abundance of roundabouts to slow you down.
Think I might have been a bit lucky though, as we were going along the A66 (which is vastly improved as well), was passed by a Paramedic and 2 ambulances coming the other way. Assume something must have happened somewhere back behind us!
I drove all the way, both ways, am an awful passenger!
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I've heard of alloys going porous or the beads leaking but, touch wood, never had that happen - perhaps the nitrogen from Costco helps? :)
What we do get with living in rural area, and had another last week on daughter's car, is thorns - usually where the tread meets the sidewall so tyre shops won't repair them. Her car was only losing 1lb every couple of days and has been like that for a month, but with a trip to Corwall coming up I took it in and sure enough it was the same thing, so a barely half worn tyre replaced with a new one. At least it now matches the other new one, fitted a month ago after a huge puncture from a metal shard.
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BP you can get tyres with shoulder and sidewall damage repaired legally competently and safely by professional tyre repair workshops, these places do exist but finding one in your own neighbourhood is unlikely.
Northants is well served as two pioneers of the modern game, one of whom trained me in a previous life, lived here...there is another small one man band in Ely...not sure about other areas as its not an easily googlable subject.
A pro tyre repair bears no resemblance to a glorified cycle puncture repair patch as performed by tyre fitters.
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Anyway, what's a pound pressure every couple of days? How many cars on the road have all four tyres at absolutely correct pressures? One in four? More like one in forty I would think.
Once you know, you just check them every couple of days. Inflate them to high speed/heavy load pressure. Unless you're going racing a small anomaly here and there makes no discernible difference.
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Mon 8 Apr 13 at 22:03
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>> Anyway, what's a pound pressure every couple of days?
Two issues with that. There's clearly something wrong and it might get worse and if the tyre fails there's a good chance it'll be at the most inconvenient time and place.
Secondly, I wouldn't rely on my daughter to check and re-inflate the tyre. She'd say she would, and she'd have every intention of doing it. But she'd never get around to it.
On our other cars the tyres stay pretty well spot on and I rarely check them these days. The Michelin's on my Merc literally never change.
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>> I wouldn't rely on my daughter to check and re-inflate the tyre. She'd say she would, and she'd have every intention of doing it. But she'd never get around to it.
That's a point actually. If she hasn't got a competent boy friend and doesn't live with you she will forget creatively to do anything about it.
The problem really is that women don't like getting their hands dirty and operating a garage tyre machine, apart from usually costing 50p, takes a bit more mechanical sense and strength of wrist than most women of any age can manage. Herself can't really cope.
Even I find it a bit of a chore. It's horrible crouching down and using muscle at the same time. It gets worse as you age.
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We had a bit of an odd route to drive on Sunday.
Starting in Woodmancote just north of Emsworth we had to get to Weymouth, via Leatherhead and Sherborne in that order. The Transporter did sterling service fitting 6 people, 6 bicycles and associated luggage all inside, whilst easily cruising at good motorway speeds ;-)
It really is a handy vehicle, making a mockery of other multi-purpose cars, and since I fitted sound insulation to the roof and floors, and upgraded the stereo, it is a perfectly acceptable so far as NVH is concerned.
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>> BP you can get tyres with shoulder and sidewall damage repaired legally competently and safely
>> by professional tyre repair workshops, these places do exist but finding one in your own
>> neighbourhood is unlikely.
Actually the tyre place I'm using at the moment said they could send it away and get it vulcanised, but it cost would about £25 and would mean running on the space-saver for a few days. New tyre was £75 so as the other was half-worn there's not a lot in it - unless the new one suffers a thorn puncture while it's still fresh!
Also it's my daughter's car and it's worth the extra £50 just to be able to close the issue and not have a slight niggling doubt about it. You never know, she might even pay me back anyway. :rolleyes:
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>> The daughter lives in a part of town considered rough, but it's
>> really just bohemian, like old Notting Hill but without the grand houses. It's a goddam
>> labyrinth.
That will probably be St Pauls then?
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No, not St Paul's - Easton, very picturesque and a labyrinth. St Paul's may actually be a bit rough. As was old Notting Hill, really. But one was younger then...
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>> No, not St Paul's - Easton, very picturesque and a labyrinth. St Paul's may actually
>> be a bit rough. As was old Notting Hill, really. But one was younger then...
>>
>>
As property prices have increased some of the less desirable areas in Bristol have attracted new residents. I have a colleague who lives in that area - very well educated chap who lives with his university lecturing other half. I understand from him that there are many like him in the vicinity who like the slightly alternative ambiance combined with the cheaper property prices.
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Sussex to Bristol and back. Only 250-odd miles... - -
