Insert witty title here ...

[Caffiend]

Not guilty yer 'Onour I even reversed out without hitting the door frames, and and no other vehicle ended up with green go-faster stripes.

[Caffiend]

tl;dr Life not car.

Rantmode = ON

In the field I work in, about 1% of people have degrees in that topic. Well, maybe a few more, but the vast majority of us are qualified by experience. It's not effing rocket science (or e.g. medicine/engineering/law, where you really do need the proper quals).

So, I've just gone to the online applications for the job I saw a week or so ago, and completed the shortest application form ever:

Do you meet the essential requirements for the job? YES
Do you have a degree in [subject]? NO

> Sorry, you cannot continue with this application.

Would have been nice to get a gap analysis on current skills/interview/'ave a go though. Oh well.
/rant

Looking on the bright side

a) Reading between the lines of the organisation's website (hideously out of date) and the phone conversation I had with my might-have-been boss, my price for selling myself into slavery is way higher than the salary. At least an extra 0 on the end in fact.
b) I would probably have been unable to carry on to IMI Level 2 course next year owing to commuting time.
c) I might have time to wash the car today if I stop whining and 'extract digit'

[Caffiend]

How you know you have a car you love: (feel free to join in)

1. It takes longer to clean the car than it does a 3-bedroom house (which isn't even a candidate for Life of Grime, honest!)
2. Mickey Mouse's spell with the broomsticks carrying buckets suddenly seems like a really good idea (bloody hosepipe ban)
3. Your neighbour of 8.5 years, having missed seeing you doing carwashing over the last couple of months and who has never ever seen you clean your previous sheds, stops by to say "Who are you and what have you done with Sandre?"

Before (bloody birds):


After:


Unfortunately a rather streaky finish - combination of shocking condition of paint leading to me being over-enthusiastic with the wax, the light starting to go and - the final nail in the coffin which made me give up polishin' - it starting to drizzle. Dammit. Will have to try to find time to have another go before Wetherby so it doesn't show up as Green Tiger Junior. At least it's clean!

[Paul296]

I have to say, I'm rather biased towards Triton Green TZDs, but I think that's a really nice car; just needs a little cosmetic work to get it really pucker. Get the bumpers and the wheels sorted and it will look like a different car. I wouldn't let bird shit hang around too long either - it's very acidic and can burn the paint in a very short time.

[Caffiend]

Ach, I know , but things have been so crazy the last few months that the poor car has been neglected. I really enjoyed taking the time out today to give it its first proper polish (only been washing it up 'til now, and that not often enough with all the rain the last few weeks and being overtaken by events last weekend). Since my lodger has apparently decided to disappear off the face of the planet (but still paying for the room, bizarre ...) I'm making an executive decision not to keep hotel-standard cleanliness indoors any more, being a mild slob will allow me more time to do the things I actually want to do ;P

The BX will be off to Rob's after Wetherby to get the welding done, sincerely hope that that doesn't turn into a 'Daisy' type rebuild!

[saintjamesy89]

Mmmm shiny! Shame the picture isn't quite in focus though, then we could see the shiny-ness better. I also really like triton green, lovely colour.

[Caffiend]

Those of a sensitive disposition should look away NOW.

Not a Daisy job, but sadly worse than Rob initially thought - I knew there was filler in there, but neither of us had any idea of the extent of it until taking it all apart. I've bitten the bullet and told him to do whatever necessary to make sure that we're not going through the same rigmarole in a couple of years time because the delightful previous owner just slapped filler all over everything ...











On the bright side, the insides of the wheel arches are apparently not looking too shabby at all, so if I can get in and sort out the rust on the top where it's *just* starting to come in on the doorstops, and waxoyl underneath, then hopefully I can avoid any more welding for a while longer.

At least I won't have to worry any more about the exhaust falling orf while merrily bombing along the A1(M) at *cough* 90.

[merlyn]

Ouch! At least you will now know what is under there and that it's sound. What made you go looking in there, was there rust showing through?

looking forward to seeing the "after" pictures.

Jane

[Caffiend]

Naw, the previous owner had filled it and painted it black and told me that he'd done it. So when the car went in for its post-purchase service and cambelt change I asked Rob to let me know what the score was - and he confirmed that exhaust would need replacing and bracket welding. There's a 'before' pic on p4 (just up a bit from here) where you can see the shiny black painted over filler. I was a bit glum, but not really surprised when Rob called to say it would cost more than he'd originally estimated - and it was just an estimate based on 'depends what we find when it all comes apart'.

My poor visa card

[mat_fenwick]

That looks a tidy job - I do like looking at work in progress photos more than the finished ones. I think the problem with the original design was that the metal was just a little too thin. So after a lifetime of slight flexing, the coating fails and allows water behind at that point, which rusts and remains hidden until the hanger falls off. Still, I can't really say it's a bit of bad design, as it's lasted beyond what the designer originally would have intended...

[Paul296]

Look's like Robs done a lovely job. As Mat says it's great to see 'work in progress' pics. It didn't look too bad to me - as BX boots go it's about par for the course, and once it's done you'll have peace of mind in knowing you have a really solid car. I'm always giving the boot cubby holes a bit of a press, to see if it feels like someones hidden a custard slice under there!

[Tim Leech]

Ive seen ALOT worse, once its done its donce Sandre, and should last a good while.

[citsncycles]

How you know you have a car you love: (feel free to join in)

1. It takes longer to clean the car than it does a 3-bedroom house (which isn't even a candidate for Life of Grime, honest!)
2. Mickey Mouse's spell with the broomsticks carrying buckets suddenly seems like a really good idea (bloody hosepipe ban)
3. Your neighbour of 8.5 years, having missed seeing you doing carwashing over the last couple of months and who has never ever seen you clean your previous sheds, stops by to say "Who are you and what have you done with Sandre?"

4. You're happy to spend more than it's purchase price on spares and repairs on a regular basis
5. Keeping the car seems a good idea even after Mickey Mouse's broomsticks would have come in handy to sweep a large portion of it off the drive
6. Your work colleagues think you're weird because you have pictures of the car by your desk instead of family or pets!

[Caffiend]

Mike

I needed that, 'cos "oh CRAP" - the bloody octopus is knackered. It's still the original, not bad after nearly 155K, but (whine) I wanted my car back so I could play with it - and it's going to be Friday now, possibly not until next week if Rob needs to replace the high pressure return pipe as well (unsure until he's got the octopus off and looked at it). Bugger.

7. The car causes you more ecstasy and angst than any man ever has/could. Or woman. Whichever floats your boat.

[Caffiend]

So, I have collected my car back. Spent a very happy hour poking round Rob's yard and workshop, everything is a bit crammed in, so even with the phone-cam on max 'zoom out' it was quite hard not to chop bits off the cars ... here's the best of the bunch:

Belongs to an Irish gentleman with (quote Rob) "an open chequebook". The bits that have been done look like new, right down to all the bolts and washers being zinc plated. This'll be quite something when it's finished ...


Not a Citroen, but wants it - I've always had a soft spot for these little guys:

Lovely and original, but shocking rust bucket, hence waiting for Len's tender care at Chevronics.

Tidy Dyane and GSA




Rob's Singer - WIP


There was also a nice looking H-reg Venetian red Volcane tucked in a corner - 1.9 pre-cat days, but too wedged in to get a good shot of it, and a black CX Safari which was parked in exactly the wrong place for me to be able to even attempt to get all of it in one picture and visible - but it was shiny.


There's a ?cream (no idea what the official colour is) Ami, a rare GS van in concours condition and a rather super looking black and chrome GSA all under wraps in the workshop - only had a peek at corners of all of 'em, but they'll all be turning up to the ICCCR.