Mat's BX Blog

[Tim Leech]

I havent yet Mat, mind you the original 1985 Radio Cassette isnt that hot...

[mat_fenwick]

Lana went to look at a horse last weekend, which turned out to be ideal for her. So she's bought it and we're collecting this Saturday - a 180 mile round trip. Hence I thought I'd better MOT the Discovery, as it has a little more power to spare when towing than the van does!

Fortunately it went through the test first time, but there were some advisories on the brakes. To be fair, it's been stood for longer than I'd intended and my first thought on trying to stop it was that they felt a bit wooden. So I stripped them down and freed them off, which seems to have done the trick although not sure they are 100% yet. Hopefully a longer trip will help, but at least I can get the ABS to kick in now! Working outside is a nightmare at present due to the midges, I'm itching all over where they've managed to get in through gaps in my clothing

Then after work next Tuesday I shall be heading up to Scotland! It's going to be close on 600 miles and 10 hours plus stops, so I won't arrive until the early hours, but it will be good to at least see the West coast again. Looking forwards to it a lot On the way back (with a little detour) I will be picking up a washing machine, and new gearbox for the van, as the original has noisy bearings. Saves money on courier charges so it's my little justification for the trip...

[mat_fenwick]

Well, horse collection went well, apart from the rear silencer dropping off a couple of miles from the end of the journey! Slightly annoyingly I'd not yet fitted the replacement I have, as I thought I'd wait for it to actually start blowing (it was looking a little rusty) before taking it off. A successful day though. I'm sure modern turbo diesels would beat it, but the V8 Discovery still makes a good tow car - I lost count of the number of people we overtook

A couple of photos of the new arrival:




I also managed to do a little bit of spraying on the van, as I'd painted the seams on the top half a few years ago with an off the shelf white paint. I finally managed to get a reasonable colour match (I'd no idea there were so many shades of white!) and blended it all in a bit better.

BX still working perfectly...hope I don't have reason to regret saying that!

[BX Bandit]

His he called ed? Can you get him to do the lip thing?

[mat_fenwick]

I've already been making him 'speak' by moving his bottom lip! He's called TC at the moment, but not sure whether another name is on the cards.

[BX Bandit]

Twin Carb?
Total C...
Tres Chic?
Tasty Cutlet?

[mat_fenwick]

Total Crock at the moment, he tried to escape last night and cut his back legs badly. Emergency call out for the vet in the middle of the night, many stitches and she's unable to ride him for several weeks To make matters worse she hadn't yet taken out insurance for him, so that's going to cost her hundreds.

[Dollywobbler]

Still, it starts making old cars look like a cheap hobby...

Sorry the new horse got off to a bad start though.

[Des Smith]

You'd never catch a car trying to escape in the middle of the night either. And even if they did, you'd be able to call the AA out.

[Dollywobbler]

Hmmm. Actually, my first 2CV once tried to escape from my girlfriend's driveway. Fortunately no damage (despite rolling across a busy dual carriageway!). I learnt to always leave cars in gear after that...

[merlyn]

He's a very handsome horse, hope he gets well soon and hasn't done any lasting damage. Hopefully being nursed back to health will teach him that you are nice people and that he shouldn't run away from you.

[MULLEY]

Oh dear, thats a rookie mistake not having the insurance in place before picking neddy up, fingers crossed its not too bad. The good news is that at least she'll soon realise that Horses are bloody expensive, & cars by comparison are quite reasonable.

[DavidRutherford]

I'm sure modern turbo diesels would beat it, but the V8 Discovery still makes a good tow car

a modern turbo-wiesel wouldn't sound half as good as a V8 though. Much as I like diesel engines, there's just something about the sound of a Petrol V8.

*walks off muttering about the current cost of fuel*

[Defender110]

I don't know, I once drove a tow truck with a V8 Detroit diesel with stacks, sure put a smile on your face.

[mat_fenwick]

not having the insurance in place before picking neddy up

I know, but the situation was complicated by the fact that the dealer she bought him off hadn't yet got his passport back from the breed society (think of it as getting a V5 from the car manufacturer rather than the DVLA every time ownership changes). And without a passport number she was struggling to get insurance
She's well aware about the cost of horses - when she bought Graham she bought a saddle from the seller to go with him. This turned out to be be the wrong size, so she had a new one fitted to him. This also turned out to be the wrong size, but it proved impossible to get any money back from the company who sold it. So she sold the second saddle at a big loss and had yet another fitted to him. (Bear in mind that saddles are £500 upwards even without fitting).
Then Graham was diagnosed with a spinal problem - realistically incurable. Simply getting the vet out with a mobile X ray machine (he couldn't walk onto a trailer) to confirm this for certain cost nearly another £500, and then he had to be put down - more ££ and no horse to show for it. I think I'll choose my moment wisely when I point out that old cars are a cheaper hobby...

Good news is that TC doesn't appear to have broken anything, and is recovering well

Back to engines - for me an engine has to have more than 4 cylinders to sound pleasant, petrol or diesel. For a slow plodding vehicle I prefer a diesel engine; there's something rather comforting about a diesel idling but a 4 pot just sounds clattery. A TD5 just cuts it But with a revvier engine I prefer petrol; revvy diesels just sound too harsh.