As an update on the Fabia:

I'm keeping it, despite my latest purchase being picked up on Monday. The main motivator behind the newest purchase was that the Fabia was only getting worse being run daily without the time to repair the issues that have been mounting up.

 

So, it's going on a low mileage insurance policy, I'm going to begin a front suspension overhaul, and then going to use it for LEZ purposes, shows, and the occasional trailering as the new Vectra doesn't have a tow bar and I don't want to fit another.

On 05/09/2023 at 21:33, skomaz said:

 

That's what your knees are for...   One each side of the wheel once you've lifted it onto the hub leaves two hands free for other stuff 😁

Shins to hold the wheel, knees and ankle joints to raise it.

Sell it at a 'kind' price to a local friend Ryan, get them to put you on their policy as a named driver, then just borrow it whenever needed. That way they pay all the bills, you get to use it. 

40 minutes ago, Breezy_Pete said:

Sell it at a 'kind' price to a local friend Ryan, get them to put you on their policy as a named driver, then just borrow it whenever needed. That way they pay all the bills, you get to use it. 

 

That's what I'm doing with the Focus!

So, got the insurance sorted for the Fabia, so it's back on the road as of Tuesday.

 

In the meantime, it found itself a friend. Well chuffed with this Vectra, not sure if I'll make a project thread for it yet, as I don't plan on modifying it, just keeping it running and tidy.

 

 

So aye, I find myself with two lovely runners. The Vectra will be doing most of the summer mileage, and the Fabia will remain as the "everything else" car including LEZ, towing, etc.

Only 26,600 miles on the Vectra according to the MOT history, or has it been round the clock?

 

Also, like the way the last three letters of the registration are three letters in ANnoying PentiuM 😁

Edited 9 October, 20232 yr by TMB

5 hours ago, TMB said:

Only 26,600 miles on the Vectra according to the MOT history, or has it been round the clock?

 

Also, like the way the last three letters of the registration are three letters in ANnoying PentiuM 😁

 

Looks to be the first time around!

 

Aye, personalised plate and didn't even mean it! 😂

The Fabia is going for a track rod replacement tomorrow. Not nervous about that, but in case they find some more ****ed things due to my escapades with ditches and suchlike.

My aim for the coming (February) MOT, is to have it pass first time. Clutching at straws a bit, as I've never had a first time pass with this one!

Aaaaaaaand it's back. £131 later for a track rod and tracking. Now goes in a straight line, bonus.

 

Thank **** for that.

Did I last post here in October? Jesus Christ Almighty.

 

Anyhoo, just back in and defrosting from doing the rear wheel bearings. Driver's side one fell apart as we removed it, other side came out fine. One less thing to do regardless.

 

Got the towing eye out too, looks a lot better.

 

Photos to follow.

Photos as promised.

 

 

Somewhere there's an axel stand just out of shot  

2 minutes ago, @Lee said:

Somewhere there's an axel stand just out of shot  

 

Load bearing alloy wheel!

2 hours ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

 

Load bearing alloy wheel!

Done that, and indeed the jack and axle stand as well!

MOT for this one tomorrow.

 

I know it's going to fail (handbrake, exhaust), but it's a matter of whatever else is found.

 

Follow this space, or something.

 

Technically didn't fail on the handbrake!

9 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

Technically didn't fail on the handbrake!

 

Technically the offside rear parking brake might be working excessively well, and providing a high level of support and encouragement to the aspirations of the OSR Service brake 👍

 

Did you explain to 'em that you'd had the hole at the rear of the exhaust moved up front?

 

G

Fix it or move it on?

4 minutes ago, Breezy_Pete said:

Fix it or move it on?

 

Mechanic is confident he can have it sorted for not too much, so keep it until the test runs out again.

 

If it had been a bit more terminal I'd have went and bought myself another.

 

Yarrrr thar do be a pass, matey.

 

Handbrake was also knackered, so got new cables put on as they'd stretched something awful.

 

Not as expensive as last year but not cheap. Oh well. Next month I'm looking at getting these doors done so the rear electric windows are finished.

I appear to have forgotten to make a post, but this is still here. Lying about as the second car as the Vectra is picking up most of my mileage as the 'family' car.

 

 

Purchased 6th of March 2021. Which means I've had it three years now. 89k miles now, and plodding along slowly (very slowly) but surely.

New front tyres on this one today.

 

Falken Sincera or something. My usual tyre fitters are getting worse... don't think I'll be using them again unless I want argued with, belittled, or listening to my car being revved off its limiter.

Back to being my daily driver now, since the Vectra disgraced itself and left me stranded... yet again. Thin ice, it might see the summer out with me before it goes up for sale.

 

Fabia is on nearly 90,000 miles now, and lapping it up well. Took it (and the mrs) to Stirling last week as well. It's running really smoothly at the moment, not perfect, but it'll get there. I've got a proper THUMP coming from the front driver's side suspension, only if it takes a bump really hard or by surprise, it'll crash over it. No idea what yet, but suspect shock absorber.

 

 

I've got more I want to do with it, just waiting for better weather and all that.

Oh, erm, ****, I sort of forgot about this thread. Whoops.

 

You might be asking what came of me, this car yadda yadda yadda.

 

All is better (ish) now.

 

Back in May (?) I had a slight Vectra vs Fabia interfacing issue resulting in slight* damage to the Skoda... as outlined in another thread at the time I'm sure. This resulted in a sizeable bill to get it moving in an approximately straight line.

 

I do, however, think I've structurally knackered it somewhere though - something is scraping on full suspension travel, and it pulls to the left worse than it used to, plus it feels really rough and wobbly through the steering wheel. It hardly moves now anyway, doing about 20 miles a week - if that, as it can sit for a few weeks at a time. I'm seriously hoping that its just the console bushes that have disintegrated or something like that, it just doesn't seem or sound particularly stellar. It isn't looking too brilliant for the car but I'll investigate properly.

 

Now, onto some slightly more positive news... I bought a set of seats with arsewarmers!

 

 

Managed to claw a little bit of money back with my old Bohemia seats, and no longer have a metal bar sticking through the frame somewhat! Bonus. 

 

Despite what I've written above... I'm picking up another set of Bohemia alloys on Tuesday, because I'm a menace with no financial sense. Although, if this turns out to be the end of my Fabia, I'll just buy another Mk1.

 

Still scrubs up well - on 95k miles now.

 

 

 

Currently away for a decent amount of suspension-related work I've been neglecting to do since buying the car in 2021... whoops. That includes shock absorbers, the 'console' bushes that the wishbones sit in, a droplink, the dog bone mount, and another set of Bohemia 15" alloys like my old ones were.

 

It's got a chance of going in a straight line now. Will need tracked upon its return, and fresh rubber on all four corners. Thinking about going for something decent like Goodyears, but trying to get somewhere local that will fit them without them being more than £90 a corner is proving difficult. Currently it's sitting on two ditch magnet specials, a Nexen snow tyre from the prehistoric era, and a cracked Bridgestone. Tidy!

 

Beyond that, I've got some <Orange Man> 'concepts of a plan' </Orange Man> with a view to increasing nighttime visibility, and I've bought another set of Team Heko wind deflectors as I miss my old ones. Beyond that, the plan is to get the front wing painted so it doesn't look like an incompetent fool (me) had a shot with some rattle cans during a force something gale.

 

Anyway, I'll report back in a few days... or months.