Zel's Fleet Blog - BX, Jag XJ-S, Sinclair C5, Mercedes 208D & 230TE, AC Model 70.

[myglaren]

Hell of a long time since I have driven one but the SAAB three-pot seemed quite smooth and willing - though probably not by today's standards.

[CitroJim]

Hell of a long time since I have driven one but the SAAB three-pot seemed quite smooth and willing - though probably not by today's standards.

Yes, but that was a proper three-pot - a two-stroke A beautifully smooth and perfectly balanced engine with 120 degree firing intervals...

My favourite sort of engine; I loved two-stroke triples in my motorbikes Beautiful...

In motorbikes they made every other engine configuration seem very agricultural!

And they sound nice too

[Zelandeth]

Had a poke around the 107 today and failed to find any appreciable electrical drain, nor had the voltage dropped notably since the day before yesterday. Keeping an eye on it.

Had a quick poke around the Skoda as well and didn't spot anything amiss for an MOT. All lights working fine, no obvious play in any wheel bearings etc. Haven't poked the underside yet, but I'm hoping for no horror stories there given it's barely been driven since the last test, and never in the rain. Will give it a going over with the big red screwdriver that serves as my tool for attempting to poke holes in things after the weekend. Fingers crossed no remedial work will be needed though...

[CitroJim]

How old is the 107 battery Zel? It may be a sign it's nearing the end of its life...

Electrically, there's little to drain a battery in a 107... Wireless is about it for the clock. I don't believe it has a BSI or any of that sort of silliness that demands a constant supply...

Excellent news on the Skoda - hoping the big red poking tool finds no nasties!

[Zelandeth]

It's the original battery in the 107, so probably due a change really given how long they seem to last these days.

To be fair, it's more a sign of how rarely it's being used these days than anything.

Fingers crossed no holes appear in the Skoda, if they do though it will get sorted out as needed. Only area I'm vaguely worried about is the offside rear - but that was patched up by Two Wrestlers last year - so hopefully no horror stories await! That corner is obviously the bit that was the least well covered or subject to the least air circulation when it was in storage. The nearside (which you'd usually expect to be the worst) is fine.

Picked a friend who's spending the weekend up in Livingston with us from Heathrow this morning. It's hilarious fun watching the expression of complete bafflement on the faces of other drivers as the Lada is seen ducking and diving between the other traffic on the M25.

[Zelandeth]

So last year we made the trip up here in a Golf R Estate. That was torture.

This year was the turn of the VW Caravelle. Waaaaaaaaaaaaay more comfortable. It actually has suspension for one thing (not much, but it does have some) and a bit of padding on the seats.

Having the ability to have two rearward and two forward facing seats in the back makes for a much more sociable and less claustrophobic feeling trip too.

[CitroJim]

Excellent A bit of suspension and padding on the seats of a modern is rare indeed!

[Zelandeth]

Just been having a think about the one area of the Activa that needs work - that blasted laquer peel.

Long term, it'll want a proper respray - if I mesh with the car, that will definitely be on the cards, but probably a year or two down the line. It's a rare...and I'm going to honestly say exotic enough a car that it's worth it - but it'll be a while before I can realistically throw a couple of grand at it!

Potential colour list would probably be the original Dante Red (let's face it, examples without peeling clearcoat must be rare!), yellow or that lovely deep orangy yellow that was usually seen on Saxo West Coasts. I'd give consideration to a proper "Ferrari" red as well, or that almost copper gold colour seen on the 306.

In the short term though I need to think about possible things that could tidy things up in the interim.

Has anyone had any experience with that "Platicote" paint? I know a couple of people who have used it successfully on wheels and bumpers, but I know zip about how it behaves on larger panels...could I get away with a suitably decent finish to look better than if I'd painted it with Dulux and a roller!

It's not of critical importance...just I quite enjoy mulling over ideas in my head, so I'm currently pondering this one.

[Michel]

Ferrari red Zel, it has to be. It's close enough to the original red to not be too "non-standard", and it's an amazing colour. It's the best thing about Ferraris! I'm not a fan of them, apart from the colour.

[daviemck2006]

I must say I am seriously plasticoating the bonnet and roof of Gabby black. If I make a success of it then the rest of her a suitably different colour, like yellow or orange. Just a bit of fun if plasticoating is easy enough/cheap enough.

[Zelandeth]

I can see red working very well on it - especially being an S1 so having the squarer nose and the smoked rather than white tail lights...plus it saves having to give the DVLA yet another chance to foul up by making them change the colour on the V5.

Just pondering what I can do in the short term to help keep the car presentable as the sunburn is only going to get worse as time goes on. Good thing about the Plasticote is that it's easy enough to remove if it doesn't work.

As for Ferraris, have zero real interest in any of the modern ones. F-40 though, I'd have in a heartbeat if circumstances allowed...one of the few "poster cars" that both looks even better in person and actually lives up to the hype - even the turbo lag.

Take note VW...it has a ride that manages to not destroy your spine in ten seconds flat too, despite being a 200mph supercar!

[CitroJim]

One colour that works very well on an Activa is the (I believe) Renault red that Alasdair's V6 is finished in. I prefer it to Dante I must confess...

Also, something else that looks really good on Alasdar's is how the side rubbing strips and bumpers are sprayed in metallic gloss smoke-grey. I'd be tempted to do the same during any major revamp of the paintwork.

Ferrari Red would look magnificent too

That deep yellow Saxo colour is still my first choice though Love it! Wish my Saxo was in that colour...

[Zelandeth]

If it's red there would definitely need to be a pinstripe of some sort - or it would just be too large an area of solid red I think. Very pale grey and yellow maybe as I seem to recall being used on some of the Activa graphics? I'd like something that ties back into the Activa theme if I can make it work.

The dark grey/silver on the rubbing strips could look good I think, especially if the colour was chosen so as to match the smoked grey of the tail lights...

Methinks I may need to do some experimenting digitally once home to see what will look best.

[CitroJim]

Methinks I may need to do some experimenting digitally once home to see what will look best.

It's going to be incredibly interesting to see the various colour schemes tried out digitally Zel...

[Zelandeth]

Will indeed. Just need to track down a decent photo of one in white and a neutral silver, as that will make my life a lot easier than having to de-colour something to start over...otherwise it's a pretty easy bit of editing.