The (sort of...) Jap scrap (sort of...) sensible turnip garage

[Gaz86]

A small update this time, have just been bumbling about in Olive of late. Just lovely to float around in. Old school auto is smooth and surprisingly agile in sport mode. Completely original car, nearly thirty years old but comfy and relaxing. Until you put your foot down and she comes on boost, lol

The old wipers were well gone, barely touched the glass on the driver's side. Never really noticed until the rain the last couple of weeks. At first I thought something was broken, then I realised they were still whatever was on when I bought the car New PIAA ones on now, should work better.

She has also gone all Scene on me after Elvington!

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Added to the memorabilia collecting. I'm not quite at @Gaz86 level , but finally got hold of one of these. They're ridiculously rare, and this one came complete with virtually unused manual and the original T-5R supplement

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Picked up a new decoration for the shed at Elvington, fits right in!

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Finally trying to decide what wheel to use in Olive while getting the original retrimmed. Have these two sitting. The one on the left is T-5R style, but a little thicker and with "ears". The right is a rare wooden one that was on Emma when she arrived. It's a bit "orange" but I think it might suit Olive... But the other one is nicer to hold, lol. We will see. First world problems, lol.

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Have a big pile of Volvo bits coming in from Germany, but more on that another time

Thanks for reading.

That's one thing I'm still on the lookout for and am fairly certain I'll never find is an original owners manual. I have digital copies but that's just not the same lol nice find mate

 

[svensktoppen]

Missing all that for Mitsi too, that and an original RS steering wheel. Both like golden rocking horse poo at the end of the rainbow

 

[Boydie]

What is the trim in both cars? Both wood?

 

[svensktoppen]

What is the trim in both cars? Both wood?

Dark walnut on dash and centre console. Leather and alcantara everywhere else. Proper old school, back in the day these were the most exclusive Volvos you could buy. Still feel pretty fancy to sit in. Audio is fantastic as well, proper electronics back then.

The T-5R steering wheel was leather and an alcantara bottom section. The 850R had a grey leather bottom section. Both unique to each model.

The T-5R also got a pretty amazing looking unique walnut gearknob. The 850R had to make do with grey leather knobs.

 

[svensktoppen]

Seriously That's an Aygo for crying out loud! Just about the smallest car on sale right now The monstrosity on the other side is a "small" Q5

Wee Olive has been over in Yorkshire, where basically every road was made by a drunk man. Blends right in

And, of course, a trip to Ikea. She was born for that. Literally A mattress, assorted beddings, a pile of storage boxes, etc. No sweat, no need to even drop a seat

Never missed a beat the whole trip, just sooo nice on English motorways. She has absolutely everything, and everything works. Nicer than my livingroom Did Cambridge to High Wycombe to Liverpool yesterday and still had 1/3 left in the tank. That's still a 50l top-up mind, lol, but the range on these things is immense.

 

[EF Ian]

Didn't realise Aygo's were so big,


You do a serious amount of travelling, nice that you have some very different vehicles to do it in.

 

[svensktoppen]

In fairness the Volvo is twice as long as the Aygo But still. The physical size of modern cars is just ridiculous. They have no glass either, you can't see anything at all. Hence all the cameras, blind spot detectors, parking sensors, lasers and lidars and all the other modern xxxx. None of it is because it's better, it's simply that you can't actually drive a modern car without all that...

Drive anything nice from the nineties and you'll see how much roomier and lighter they are, ten times better visibility, and so much easier and more enjoyable to drive. Yet much smaller on the outside.

I guess it's called progress, lol

You do a serious amount of travelling, nice that you have some very different vehicles to do it in.

See, there's a another completely rational reason for a bunch of old cars on the driveway

I know, it's a bit ridiculous sometimes, lol. All for fun and hobbies too. I just love a change of scenery, going to nice places, and I enjoy driving. Sad for sure, lol, but that's me I'm just so lucky that I can fit doing things I love around work.

The alternative is fly and rent. And that's just completely soul destroying.

 

[EF Ian]

Drive anything nice from the nineties and you'll see how much roomier and lighter they are, ten times better visibility, and so much easier and more enjoyable to drive. Yet much smaller on the outside.

Describes my EF perfectly.

 

[Gaz86]

I had a customers Kia Venga (described as a small hatchback) in my garage before the evo went in and thought to myself I wonder how much room I'll have to work with once the Evo moves in. The Venga is actually bigger! Width and lengthways! The modern hatchback is bigger in every direction than the 90's saloon

 

[SoobyDoobyDo]

Lol indeed. Parking my 05 estate next to a modern standard-sized saloon, the saloon is still bigger than my estate in many respects. And it’s an estate! Here’s one for you: my 1985 s10 truck (which I love, it’s the perfect truck for 99% of household tasks) next to a new truck. I’m glad I don’t drive in much traffic, newer cars are enormous, even newer “compact” cars. If a truck or suv pulls up behind me it fills the entire rear window…

 

[svensktoppen]

Love that S10

I bet it still has more room inside and in the back than the other monstrosity

 

[SoobyDoobyDo]

3 can fit…but it gets cozy! Lol. Only a lap belt in the middle too! Haha how the times change…I see that a lot though, newer trucks have more room in the cab but the bed is much smaller due to the cab being bigger. I have a 6ft bed, so I can still fit a lot in it. Funny to park it next to newer cars. I used to think 80s cars were big, but I think cars have gotten way bigger in the last few years than 40 years ago now…whew. That’s a long time…

 

[svensktoppen]

Mitsi out for exercise in the lovely weather this weekend while I'm tinkering with the Volvo May be the last time out, getting colder and darker quickly now.

In the meantime Olive has got new brakes - grooved Mtec discs and DS2500 up front. No idea what was on there before but whatever it was it was xxxx, lol. About as useful as the handbrake

New steering wheel is in, much nicer.

Spent all of last weekend on serious cleaning. Gave her a good coat of wax. First time in a long while since I've actually waxed a car, lol, had forgotten how much work it is But she scrubs up well.

Went over all the trim as well with C4. It's properly good stuff that. Needs a fair bit of prep, and care when applying, but the results are well worth it. Lasts a very long time too.

Some before and after:

Next up is going over the vacuum system on the intake side, but that's for another day.

 

[Jbridges522]

Mitsi out for exercise in the lovely weather this weekend while I'm tinkering with the Volvo May be the last time out, getting colder and darker quickly now.

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In the meantime Olive has got new brakes - grooved Mtec discs and DS2500 up front. No idea what was on there before but whatever it was it was xxxx, lol. About as useful as the handbrake

New steering wheel is in, much nicer.

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Spent all of last weekend on serious cleaning. Gave her a good coat of wax. First time in a long while since I've actually waxed a car, lol, had forgotten how much work it is But she scrubs up well.

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Went over all the trim as well with C4. It's properly good stuff that. Needs a fair bit of prep, and care when applying, but the results are well worth it. Lasts a very long time too.

Some before and after:

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Next up is going over the vacuum system on the intake side, but that's for another day.

I got a wee bottle of trim stuff off @Big Pimp ages ago, I think pre proper bottling/labeling at the time and its so much better than anything else I’ve used tbf. Really brought the colour back and lasted well, similarly took a few steps. Fleet looking well as always

 

[svensktoppen]

Thank you!

Yep, that is very similar to C4. Tiny bottles that go a very long way. They are not coatings that just wash off again after a couple of weeks. They work at a chemical level to restore the plastic itself. Not a clue how that works, lol, pure magic. But it does

 

[SoobyDoobyDo]

Always happy to see pictures of the Mitsu. Still one of my all time favorite cars. That’s a design that’ll never get old, it’s aged very well. Your Volvo still looks fantastic too…you’d never know it’s almost 30 years old. With knowing how long they last if well cared for, I’ll dare say it’d still be on the road in another 30 years!

 

[Boydie]

Olive looks class - brings back memories of our purple 850 - not sure what the model was but it was a 2.4 24v petrol automatic I think

 

[_James_]

You weren't bluffing, it really was you I seen in the Evo yesterday. In a sea of bland Audi's and BMW's, it just looks out of this world!

 

[svensktoppen]

Feels it too! Brilliant wee car. Was up in Carrick again this morning for wheel alignment and then up to the shed for a good scrub. All cleaned up now and getting tucked up in the bubble tonight. Likely the last time out before spring We will see how the winter weather turns out.

 

[svensktoppen]

Thanks to @Ben P , like carbon copies

 

[Boydie]

Where is best to search for these? I would love a S3 x2, Cayman S and Scirocco R

 

[Ben P]

Where is best to search for these? I would love a S3 x2, Cayman S and Scirocco R

Google and ebay for me!

 

[svensktoppen]

Yes, the Hotwheels stuff you can find anywhere. Even the likes of Lidls have them sometimes. The more collectible/limited edition ones might be a little harder to find but most can be found on Ebay, etc.

For the "higher end" models like Tarmac Works or Inno64 then have a look here:

Modelmatic

Modelmatic sells 1:64 (ish) scale cars, trucks, roads, vans and accessories.

modelmatic.uk

Just a friendly warning - if you go looking there then you will get hooked

 

[gary1365]

Tesco and homebargains is where I get mine. I have to open them and give them to my wee boy apparently we have quite a few of them now most recent acquisition is an rs6 avant

 

[svensktoppen]

A smaller update - mostly about lights.

As we all know, peak car was in the nineties and since then everything has got worse. Except one thing - lights. Lotus, Volvo, Evo, they're all barely more effective than shining the mobile phone out of the window, lol

With all the wonky or stupid bright lights on the road these days (Range Rovers and Teslas being the worst...), I bit the bullet and popped H1 led bulbs into Olive before the last trip to England. They were amazing, but I was flashed literally by every car the whole trip. Even in daylight

They could probably do with re-alignment, but I wasn't happy with how they fit either. Ok on the high beam so I've kept them there. On the dipped beam they didn't allow the cap to go back on, and felt a little lose for some reason. So I got "50% brighter" standard bulbs for dipped, and in all honesty they're absolutely fine. Much better than the original bulbs, but not stupid bright like the leds. High beam with the leds is hilarious though

Also got H4 leds for Mitsi. Fit much better, and work great. Not too bright standing in front of the car either. She is a bit squint eyed, lol, need to get the alignment sorted Should be fine after that I think. With the standard bulbs they're so feeble you'd never know they were wonky

Another thing that's annoying but has stumped me - the driver side wiper on Olive. For some reason it only sweeps top and bottom, but not the middle bit. Not a clue what's going on. Popped on brand new PIAA blades before the last trip but same thing. Emma is fine so it's something weird going on with Olive. Anyone any ideas? Obviously new wiper arms are unobtainable in rhd (still available in lhd), otherwise I might have tried that...

Finally, the windscreen washers on Olive had got clogged up so I got all of that stripped down and flushed out. Was a fair bit of gunk coming up the main feed from the bottle and that had clogged up the nozzles. All running clear now, hopefully stays like that.

A little thing, but matters at this time of year. You do notice when they are not working, lol.