Crazy Cat Lady

IIRC Lee charges £35 an hour, i think the labour charge i paid was around £120 When we changed the rear subframe we took the opportunity for a bit of de-rusting underside, and painting, plus application of some dinitrol. But we took our time [ waiting for paint to dry ] so time it took was longer than a straight forward subframe change. If traveling you need to have all your ducks in a line, new or reconditioned subframe, camber bolts, trailing arm all ready to go on for the swop-over.

Look on the bright side; it will be good after getting them changed and you feel how much better the brakes are

Yes, i suppose owning ones own barn or safe indoor garage/warehouse is a requisite for free rent, and i agree this most probably not a resource many of us have. But there must be loads of people who used to own a Gen 1 lift back and really wish they'd kept it... Mind you if we all kept stuff for future investment potential the supply with eventually outstrip demand, so the value wouldn't rise... and i am sceptical if the days of nostalgic value cars will be over with the impending 'electric' car future. Maybe too many ecological legislation hurdles coming our way too. It's plausible that no later day Gen Celica will every be worth the big bucks in 10 or 20 years time (?) But you never know

Gen 7s values are enduring the undistinguished age of being too young to be classic, and too old to be hip An alternative strategy is not sell if a reasonable resale value ain't there. Mothball Moo into barn storage somewhere safe, under a dust sheet with battery removed etc... Revisit in a decade from now - Gen 7s will be far rarer, more interesting, desirable, and most probably far more valuable.

Interesting information, i learnt something there, thanks for sharing I guess it's akin to the Yamaha three tuning folks logo - with it's link to musical instruments and to represent the three pillars of their business; technology, production, and sales

Girl Power!

My recently installed 20 year old Kenwood Radio/cassette player has alas malfunctioned; tape player is kaput I never did get it to play right, pitch instability was too noticeable, cleaning the pinch rollers and head didn't do the job hoped for, and after trying to ween the thing back to life the tape player suddenly croaked completely. It was a sad moment However, all is not lost, today a brand spanking new [albeit discontinued] replacement head unit arrived here from caraudiodirect uk! I have decided to go back to CDs again, have lots of new CD music to plug in and play can't hardly wait The Alpine CDE W296BT benefits from an FM tuner, lots of colour panel options, and no fewer than 9 parametric bands of frequency control - should hep tune it in to the acoustic abilities of the Alpine speakers already fitted in and waiting, and the CD player should be no slouch either

Tomb, do you need to update your Gen 7 Model profile? ....from VVT-i > L <

Today: Hoovered the inside of the car. Washed the outside of the car And changed the cabin filter!

That spotless Red Edition picture on the link is still 'on the road' with Tax & MOT passed last August with 75k on the clock I wonder who the owner is now (?)

Oil & Filter change - check around under engine, no problems to report. Quick basic check of all light bulbs, horn, washer jets. MOT - Passed! Advisories - None It was a bit nerve racking watching the MOT tester systematically going about his business. He must of spent a full fat 30 minutes poking about looking for something of issue. I though it had failed when he called another guy over to look at something underside [with steering or front shocks?] ...but after finishing he said it all passed fine. Asking about the exhaust system; still with the original and now looking very peachy, but he said it still functions fine, cat works well within emissions , no exhaust leakage anywhere - said not to worry about it. Apparently they give a fairly high failure rate for MOTs at this garage, and they are known for being very thorough, but on the other hand are becoming a more than a little specialised with older cars, and classic cars, and they seem to be very fair and knowledgeable. They also have a paddock of various old cars parked up [or dumped] nearby, took 5 minutes out to look around, should have taken my camera; couple of Triumph Torledo's, an Alfa Romeo Spider, Ford Cortina Ghia Mk IV, Austin 1100, a particularly nice old Humber Sceptre, and other stuff can't remember, like stepping back in time walking around that paddock

It was a very rainy day today, i am pleased the new Bosch wipers work very well

Over twenty years ago, i purchased a brand new Kenwood radio/cassette player professionally fitted to my [then] pride and joy VW Polo. The Kenwood stereo sounded fab, but after just a few months my musical driving fun was suddenly interrupted by a RTA which sadly wrote-off the Polo Just before the VW got trailered off to the scrap yard, the nearly new Kenwood HU was removed and put into safe household storage where is stayed for over two decades... until today when we swopped out the OEM radio/CD player for the Kenwood [with the help of a single din adaptor kit] The Kenwood radio sounds noticeable better, a bit more power & a smoother sonic quality. The tape player has a nice warmth which sounds easy on the ear, and delightfully analogue. A nice result, will need to go dust off my tape cassette collection now, some of them are almost 40 years old! Debs

I can recommend a Japanese car friendly garage in Shrewsbury (?) Unit 7, Hartley Business Centre, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY2 5ST lee.a.dent@hotmail.com 07922 752020 *not sure if the above number still works but the email is correct

Good luck with next years calendar! ...will there be any cats in it?

Spent 5 minutes fitting brand new Bosch AeroTwin wiper blades all round. Easy job! My old rear wiper was completely useless, just left a opaque smear. The new Aerotwin makes a perfect clean sweep The new Aerotwin seem to work well on the front too, under testing screen-wash conditions. I do prefer the traditional look of the original hinged type wiper blade holders, but have lost patience with the poor performance rubbers and would much rather see where i'm going when it's raining Debs

Thanks to CelicaDan94 for the recommendation Bosch Aerotwin Arrived in this mornings post, and very easily fitted a few minutes later, seem to work really well with a screen wash... i bet it won't rain for weeks now! Debs

They do look good, they won the Auto Express wiper blade 2018 group test https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/36172/best-wiper-blades-2018-group-test Has anyone tried the Michelin Stealth wiper blades? A few years ago i bought a boxful of Stadium wiper rubber replacements, and have replaced the rubbers a couple of times, but have found they don't last well, seem to split at the ends, probably heat/sun damage, also very noisy wipe and streaky. Scotty Kilmer recommends silicone wiper blades - and he has a lot to say about them

Over the past couple of years i've noticed one of my front screen washer jets squirting off aim, projecting most of it's squirt too high up the screen so most would go on the roof The thing is with these trivial problems, it's very easy to forget about them - until the next time you're out driving along the road again, and when washing the screen, say to one self, "i need to fix that when i get home", like you've said a hundred times before. And then when you get home, it's one of those jobs of not much importance in the big scheme of things so very easy to forget all about... until the next drive out onto the open road and one is reminded yet again about the naughty jet washer when pulling the screen wash lever and ...well you can see where this is going [ two years later ] Today between the showers and feeling bored indoors and wanting to get out for some fresh air, i found a pin, went out to the Celica and corrected the aim of that there washer jet. Jone done Next job is replacing all the wiper blades, anyone got good recommendations?, and any makes to avoid? Debs

That's probably slight surface rust - i simply don't drive it often enough It's a good tyre/wheel size choice for winter, more protection from pot holes, more comfort, more ground clearance

Yes, they score well in reviews driving on snow, i've been though a couple of winters with them but only cold and wet around here so far. I find proper winter tyres too extreme for typical winter weather, we seem to get very cold & wet but many days turn milder going over 10º which is not really cold enough for winter tyres. The Cross Climate tyres are also quieter and better MPG than proper winters, plus they can even be used in summer if need be, so very versatile.

Michelin Cross Climate - They grip really well in cold and wet, less sporty but more comfy with the higher profile on 16s. I only use them in the winter months, on a cheap set of wheels - helps to preserve my 12 spoke fondmetals

My pre-winter check kicks-off sometime in October with the ritual of summer wheels coming off for a clean up and carefully put away into storage, and winter wheels wax polished / tyres checked and to go back on the car. While the wheels are off, the brakes are cleaned, slider-pins cleaned and re-lubed with silicone brake grease. The suspension is checked over and tenderly wiped around with an oily rag. This fits in well with the MOT due in November which shortly follows the annual oil/filter change with a pre MOT check over. Yesterday, using a small screwdriver i 'de-stoned' the winter wheel tyre treads, a therapeutic activity fit for the rubber fetish, and it's strange how many little stones and specially sharpened council flints get stuck in the tyre treads, i don't think they really pose a problem if left but i like the way they flick out with a little struggle and the tyres look better for it. However i did find a nasty little nail stuck in one tyre; measuring 16mm it took some pulling out. Checked this tyre today and it's still inflated so i'm assuming it's okay to sign a relief

Would that be good to use on bicycle chains? BTW sorry for going

My shock absorbers are okay, purchased vis eBay seller: clickcarparts The replacement boots, bump stops, etc from Import Car Parts (but not their shock absorbers) https://www.importcarparts.co.uk/parts?cat=89&sub=1353&sec=1555&var=38&dc=y