monkeyseemonkeydo Posted September 23, 2021 Report Share Posted September 23, 2021 2 hours ago, isitafox said: Doesn't matter, as long as it has an appointment you're allowed to drive it to a MOT test centre without a valid test Very true! I read it like Mike was just rolling it down the road checking something in preparation for an MOT, rather than on the way to the centre itself. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isitafox Posted September 23, 2021 Report Share Posted September 23, 2021 7 minutes ago, monkeyseemonkeydo said: Very true! I read it like Mike was just rolling it down the road checking something in preparation for an MOT, rather than on the way to the centre itself. Ah, I got the full story on FB the other day when it happened 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadManMike Posted September 23, 2021 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2021 7 hours ago, monkeyseemonkeydo said: So were you 'driving it' on a road without an MOT when he reversed into you? That could suck balls for you... Or was it still in MOT from last year? I was driving it to Cardiff for an MOT, after doing loads of work on it over the last couple of months... It was finally ready to be driven! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamKidney Posted September 30, 2021 Report Share Posted September 30, 2021 I’ve been struggling a little recently with the work life balance thing. Currently sat having a beverage and realising I’m in my own garage, fixing cars I love and the business is succeeding in turning over a profit in its infant years. Down here full time in the new year, can’t wait. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Rainbird Posted September 30, 2021 Report Share Posted September 30, 2021 The fact that you're not only surviving but are generating a profit so quickly is really impressive man, many either take a long time to get there or don't make it at all! From what I can make out from many miles away, you seem to be building a decent reputation for it too, which can only help out further. If it's all getting a bit mad and harder to see the balance, carve yourself out a quiet week and try to get away from it for a short while. Stopping it from getting on top of you is well worth a slight pay hit for the month, and you'll come back fresh 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Booth Posted October 2, 2021 Report Share Posted October 2, 2021 On 9/30/2021 at 10:06 PM, SamKidney said: I’ve been struggling a little recently with the work life balance thing. Currently sat having a beverage and realising I’m in my own garage, fixing cars I love and the business is succeeding in turning over a profit in its infant years. Down here full time in the new year, can’t wait. You never shrug the feeling that if your not at work it's wasted time I didn't have more then a day away from my business for its first 3 years, then after that just utilised long weekends and stuff. Eventually you get the hang of it but you'll always be on call, it gets tiring and you're never 100% relaxed, it'll always be in the back of your mind if you replied to a Facebook message or replied to an Instagram post. Once people understand how good you and your product is though, usually a day or so wait isn't a problem. Congratulations on it turning a profit though, its not an easy thing to do! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamKidney Posted October 4, 2021 Report Share Posted October 4, 2021 On 02/10/2021 at 3:45 PM, Tom Booth said: You never shrug the feeling that if your not at work it's wasted time I didn't have more then a day away from my business for its first 3 years, then after that just utilised long weekends and stuff. Eventually you get the hang of it but you'll always be on call, it gets tiring and you're never 100% relaxes as it'll always be in the back of your mind if you replied to a Facebook message or replied to an Instagram post. Once people understand how good you and your product is though, usually a day or so wait isn't a problem. Congratulations on it turning a profit though, its not an easy thing to do! Yeah that’s it mate. At present I’m effectively working two jobs and having time for my own work is difficult. Thankfully it seems most people are quite happy to wait (lots of them use them as weekend/second cars) until a slot is available which I hope is a reflection on reputation/quality of service. Work booked in well into next year with new enquiries and bookings coming in every week. Never expected a small venture to blow up like it has, you never see 90s Hondas on the road anymore but it turns out lots and lots of people still have them stashed away! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Booth Posted October 4, 2021 Report Share Posted October 4, 2021 8 hours ago, SamKidney said: Yeah that’s it mate. At present I’m effectively working two jobs and having time for my own work is difficult. Thankfully it seems most people are quite happy to wait (lots of them use them as weekend/second cars) until a slot is available which I hope is a reflection on reputation/quality of service. Work booked in well into next year with new enquiries and bookings coming in every week. Never expected a small venture to blow up like it has, you never see 90s Hondas on the road anymore but it turns out lots and lots of people still have them stashed away! In the new year when your full time at it you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner. I worked 2 jobs in the start as I was scared to make the jump, did eventually and realised what I'd been missing out on. Even using an extra hour a day to advertise and get yourself onto social media was a huge help. Its funny when you find a nice niche, you find there's lots more weirdos then you expected Glad it's going well though, always nice to see something come good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dann2707 Posted October 4, 2021 Report Share Posted October 4, 2021 8 hours ago, SamKidney said: Yeah that’s it mate. At present I’m effectively working two jobs and having time for my own work is difficult. Thankfully it seems most people are quite happy to wait (lots of them use them as weekend/second cars) until a slot is available which I hope is a reflection on reputation/quality of service. Work booked in well into next year with new enquiries and bookings coming in every week. Never expected a small venture to blow up like it has, you never see 90s Hondas on the road anymore but it turns out lots and lots of people still have them stashed away! In all honesty mate I thought you already had gone full time? Are you still at your uncles place too (sorry if it wasn't your uncles haha) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamKidney Posted October 8, 2021 Report Share Posted October 8, 2021 On 04/10/2021 at 7:49 PM, dann2707 said: In all honesty mate I thought you already had gone full time? Are you still at your uncles place too (sorry if it wasn't your uncles haha) No mate, it’s been a steady slog to equip my place to a point where I can comfortably work without worrying about buying more tools/specialist equipment and the extra/steady income from working at my uncles garage has been a big help. It’s just meant it’s been two years of working evenings and late nights. It’s done great in the way I currently operate, I can only hope that when I get in there full time in the new year it’ll pick up it’s feet another notch again. Already looking into potentially employing another mechanic but finding one that’s both passionate about the cars I do (that’s very important, it shows in the finished product and quality of work) and knowledgable enough about them is obviously quite difficult. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadManMike Posted October 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2021 The garage that had my new tyres ready called me today, they're getting rid of their tyre bay so I had to grab them. I now have a broken car and four new tyres in the garage. It's coming up to six weeks since I got hit, not really any closer to getting a working car. Fed up to say the least. Good things come to those who wait... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrayvon Posted October 13, 2021 Report Share Posted October 13, 2021 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJEHB Posted October 13, 2021 Report Share Posted October 13, 2021 (edited) Taken a bit of a gamble on a car. Really wanted a diesel estate again with some nice comforts for motorway miles. Picked this A4 s-line 2.0 TDI up for £3300 yesterday.. 162k miles is making me feel a bit stressed Edit: Problem 1 has arisen already.. Both drivers side doors don't seem to unlock very often Edited October 13, 2021 by DJEHB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manuel Posted October 13, 2021 Report Share Posted October 13, 2021 Took the banger for an mot (speculative) and it failed, but in such a way I would be stupid not to fix it and simultaneously be stupid to spend any money on fixing it. Bah. Coil spring and some dust boot on the anti roll bar. both garage jobs for me but relatively cheap, its just pretty much everything is now broken and its a ticking timebomb of a car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamKidney Posted October 16, 2021 Report Share Posted October 16, 2021 I’m reviving my old Civic Coupe. I had a look round at what I had to hand, how much I’d realistically have to buy and at what cost to make it a viable option. I have a gearbox, driveshafts, radiator, hoses, K swap engine mounts and a suitable chassis. The engine was going to be the deciding factor. As a result of everyone throwing K20s into just about anything these days they’re commanding more money than ever. Without spending serious money you’re looking at around 230-250bhp absolute peak too for your money. Ive had a K24 sat in here from an accord I pulled apart a long time ago with a view to doing a K24/K20 Frankenstein build until we found his Civic shell was rotten and it was abandoned. Cue a phone call, £350 later and the engine, box, headgasket, stem seals, head bolts... LOTS of parts essential for the conversion all included. He let me have the lot. Stripped the engine down to the bottom end only. Sump off, head off, oil pump off. The K24 uses a beefy pump incorporating a pair of balance shafts that aren’t RPM friendly. Searched the shelves and found a K20A2 pump in good order that was stripped and cleaned/inspected for wear before being modified to fit the 24 bottom end. (Requires some material removing to clear the main/girdle bolts) Another search through my spares and I found a K20A2 cylinder head along with the camshaft carrier/rocker assembly and a pair of camshafts with exh gear and 50deg VTC inlet gear. I had this head skimmed years ago for another engine destined for a customers engine that never went ahead. Big bonus! Replaced the valve stem seals, offered onto the block and torqued down. Bagged an RBC inlet manifold for £250.00 too. New timing chain, all re-assembled and I have an engine that’s capable of around 250-260bhp, makes more power everywhere in the midrange and a nice little increase in torque too (at the expense of peak RPM limit due to long stroke) for £600.00. In a world where Honda parts are doing nothing but sailing through the roof I’m over the moon. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Rainbird Posted October 17, 2021 Report Share Posted October 17, 2021 Happy days, that'll go well! Must be pretty cool having a treasure trove of parts lurking about. I have numerous 1.8t/mk4-Golf type parts in my tiny mess of a garage, but most of the good stuff has gone by now. Comes in handy enough when friends need stuff (Prawn needed a bottom end a few months back, and rather than having to hunt around I just stripped down one of 3 spare engines) - if it's useful on my level, must be even more so for you Sam! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manuel Posted October 26, 2021 Report Share Posted October 26, 2021 I has new car! finally! 18 Passat estate. Just got fed up and bought one. It was expensive, but meh, life feels too short. If anyone has any advice for keeping an actually nice car looking nice (products and techniques) I would appreciate it. Having had bangers that never got washed for the best part of 10years, I could use it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Booth Posted October 27, 2021 Report Share Posted October 27, 2021 Did me dirty with the sneaky delete! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamKidney Posted October 27, 2021 Report Share Posted October 27, 2021 A Ford.. with the right engine. Le Fonda. Very nice local chap approached me a while ago to get his Time Attack car ready for next season with its new heart. 5.1 final drive, plated diff, complete bearing/seal replacement for the box, light flywheel, posh clutch and a sump baffle. With how close the water pump pulley sits to the chassis leg it doesn’t allow the lot to drop on one side enough to remove the box conventionally, so out the lot came. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadManMike Posted October 27, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2021 Raised a complaint with the insurance company because it's taken 7 weeks so far. Chap emailed me today to say I'll have a response within 8 weeks. Facepalming so hard right now. Avoid Adrian Flux folks, they might seem good with pricing, but clearly no good when it comes to a claim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrayvon Posted October 28, 2021 Report Share Posted October 28, 2021 Jesus, they sound useless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyseemonkeydo Posted October 28, 2021 Report Share Posted October 28, 2021 21 hours ago, MadManMike said: Raised a complaint with the insurance company because it's taken 7 weeks so far. Chap emailed me today to say I'll have a response within 8 weeks. Facepalming so hard right now. Avoid Adrian Flux folks, they might seem good with pricing, but clearly no good when it comes to a claim. Sounds like one for the financial ombudsman or whoever deals with that sort of crap. See how quick they move when they get shat on from above... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Rainbird Posted October 29, 2021 Report Share Posted October 29, 2021 If it's anything like the regulation on Providers that we work with, they'll probably be regulated to give the "we've received your complaint and will get back to you within 8 weeks" placeholder. The more annoying bit in my experience is when towards the end of that (or after, because they don't seem to give a shit) they send another one saying "we haven't had enough time to actually pull our finger out, so will get back to you in another 8 weeks" ad infinitum. So long as they're sending the 8 week "updates" the regulator is unlikely to acknowledge it for some time, sadly. Keep a record of all communication and it'll help both with an internal complaint to Flux and ultimately to the ombudsman down the line. Does my head in, they're all c*nts. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamKidney Posted October 30, 2021 Report Share Posted October 30, 2021 DC2 and EG6 dyno day yesterday! Integra - K20. Was expecting a little more from it really, and I could tell that Jesse (tuner) wanted to see more too. MAP readings were indicating there’s a restriction somewhere. We picked up around 6hp changing intake tube lengths to alter resonance/frequency so there’s some improvement to be made there, and possibly a larger TB. 230bhp peak was the end result, but the midrange is far better, 16bhp increase from 5500 right through till about 8400rpm where it plateaus. Civic - B18. Really impressed me. I’d said if it cracked 200 I’d have been impressed. It ran 203 peak on the first run, but the graph on the existing map was terrible. So peak power was in the region I’d hoped, drivability and midrange to improve. Everything seemed to work really well together, intake temps nice and low, exhaust flowing well and the engine in general being very healthy with a hugely smoother/improved midrange too. 206bhp peak to finish. Great fun 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadManMike Posted December 30, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2021 Steering rack has arrived this morning and I've just ordered some poly bushes for it. Slightly concerning is that it needs five threads chopped off each end, I'll leave that to someone with the right tools as I'm sure I'll end up mashing the threads and writing off a £300 rack Now I'm just waiting for the carbon wings and headlights, then I can get it booked in and who knows, actually drive it... Not the most interesting update without photos, but I'm excited! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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