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

[CitroJim]

That's an impressive bit of polishing Zel I'm delighted to see just how well she's scrubbing up!

That bill for the Lada spares is incredibly good for what's there Just the fuel pump would cost that on many moderns...

I'm always amazed at the ready parts availability for the Lada and indeed for the Skoda - PSA could learn a thing or two

[Zelandeth]

I have to confess that I was startled to discover that the injection spec fuel pump and tank were still available. The only bits that aren't I've come across are the long metal fuel pipes from front to rear (standard hydraulic type fittings, so should be pretty cheap to get made up by the likes of Pirtek) and the adaptor that goes in between the gearbox and speedo cable for the vehicle speed sensor to plug in to - and I've got people keeping an eye out for one of them. It's the same idea that's used by a lot of custom setups with the likes of Megasquirt ECUs though, so when I get to that stage I can probably find something off the shelf that will do the job, albeit probably plugging in at the speedo end rather than gearbox end.

[CitroJim]

There's a few cable specialists knocking around the classic car world who I'm sure will be able to fabricate a suitable one Zel...

[Zelandeth]

I have a V5 for the Activa!

...do I do the sensible thing and wait till the end of the month to tax it...like hell I do! Want to go for a drive.

EDIT: Activa now insured and taxed. Adrian Flux want £1300/year between the 107 and the Activa...They're having a laugh! Definitely will be shopping around in a few months when the renewal comes up - didn't have the opportunity the last couple of years because the world was ending and saving a few quid on insurance was utterly at the bottom of the priority list. They seem to think they can get away with daylight robbery now however.

I will actually ask around anyway and read the small print - I reckon they're charging me enough that even with the early cancellation fees it may still save me money!

[CitroJim]

I have a V5 for the Activa!

At last it's all resolved That's a huge relief, I'm delighted Zel DVLA finally came good and great kudos to them

...do I do the sensible thing and wait till the end of the month to tax it...like hell I do! Want to go for a drive.

I thought the same with ther Skoda... She's now insured and taxed

EDIT: Activa now insured and taxed. Adrian Flux want £1300/year between the 107 and the Activa...They're having a laugh!

Surprised about that as Adrian Flux did me the best deal of all on the Skoda Zel... After some haggling and comparing them with the best from the old price comparison sites I got mine for £66...

They even offered to price-match the very best I could find anywhere else...

[Zelandeth]

To be fair, they did me a decent enough deal a few years back - but the price has more than doubled since I originally took it out...and that's with two cars now insured rather than four as when I started out!

[Gibbo2286]

That C5 Estate I've just fixed up, none of the insurers would offer me a decent deal on it, the local broker said £1500 was the best they could get anywhere.

I have my other C5 with Direct Line, also my home and contents insurance, after a lot of whinging they covered it but still took £507, take it or leave it!

Considering that I've had a full license since 1954 and no claims at all in the last 45 years I think it stinks.

[Michel]

I have no idea why you lot have such ridiculous insurance prices! I pay £210 FC for the Picasso, £297 FC for the Focus (with remap declared, and business use!) , and my missus, who's a named driver on both but has no NCB of her own started a policy on the Ka with Direct Line who both my policies are with, and they gave her 6 years NCB discount and that costs £178 per year. We are classed as Reading too, so it's not like we live in a cheap insurance area. I've got 9 years protected NCB.

[Zelandeth]

They are the numbers they pulled out the hat...and because I didn't threaten to leave when they hiked the price up.

10 years NCB here too!

[CitroJim]

Sounds to me like they're using the Citroen parts price random number generator to determine the cost of these policies...

It's instructive to go on a price comparison website and just see the variance... The Skoda ranged from £70 right through to over a grand with just about every conceivable price in between... How can that be either sensible or logical?

I noticed the same with the Saxo...

[Zelandeth]

Very quick update...

Just been out to give the seats in the Activa a quick skim over with some leather conditioner.

It's really hard to get a decent photo of anything just now with clear skies but the sun at such a low angle...I think you can tell in the photo below which of the seats has been treated here though.

Yep, was just about to start on the passenger seat there.

Rear seat came up a treat too.

I'll probably put another couple of applications on over the next few days as I found back when I had the Cappuccino that it really did make quite a big difference and it was astonishing how much of the stuff the seats absorbed without leaving even the slightest hint of any greasy residue.

[CitroJim]

Looking excellent Zel I used to regularly feed them but I confess I've not for some time as the leather care stuff irritates me now - allergic to it

She's going to soon look an absolute stunner

[Zelandeth]

That's a shame Jim, though to be fair the seats really didn't seem bad - was quite surprised how big a difference the stuff made. At least it's one of those "ten minute" jobs that actually does only take ten minutes.

Have had another email from a friend back up north who is definitely seeming interested in taking the Saab on as a rolling restoration. He's the person who originally got me interested in Saabs (and Skodas...), and has both known the car since I picked it up in 2012 and has driven it a bunch of times. If that works out I'll be well happy as it would be nice to keep that "in the family" so to speak rather than just sold on to someone I've never met. He also knows them inside out, so knows well what the to do list is.

Current question is mainly going to be whether the head is sorted first and a fresh test on it or whether we just look at getting it transported up as is. I just don't want this to turn into another "when we have time..." project as I know what happens to those.

[Gibbo2286]

I have no idea why you lot have such ridiculous insurance prices! I pay £210 FC for the Picasso, £297 FC for the Focus (with remap declared, and business use!) , and my missus, who's a named driver on both but has no NCB of her own started a policy on the Ka with Direct Line who both my policies are with, and they gave her 6 years NCB discount and that costs £178 per year. We are classed as Reading too, so it's not like we live in a cheap insurance area. I've got 9 years protected NCB.

My 04 C5 2.0 litre HDI back was renewed at £241 this June, can't think why the estate should be so much more (apart from the 138 instead of 110) the policies are the same.

My Home insurance renewal though came in at £68 which is cheaper by 30% than anyone else was offering.

[Gibbo2286]

I have no idea why you lot have such ridiculous insurance prices! I pay £210 FC for the Picasso, £297 FC for the Focus (with remap declared, and business use!) , and my missus, who's a named driver on both but has no NCB of her own started a policy on the Ka with Direct Line who both my policies are with, and they gave her 6 years NCB discount and that costs £178 per year. We are classed as Reading too, so it's not like we live in a cheap insurance area. I've got 9 years protected NCB.

My 04 C5 2.0 litre HDI hatchback was renewed at £241 this June, can't think why the estate should be so much more (apart from the 138 instead of 110) the policies are the same.

My Home insurance renewal though came in at £68 which is cheaper by 30% than anyone else was offering.