Kit's Khaos

[NARSES2]

Glad you didn't have another heart attack mate   

[Wardukw]

Just before the madness of my 'non-heart attack' the other day I'd had my 'new' Vectra into the garage where my old Signum was languishing prior to be scrapped.

I figured some of the Signum's bits would swap over, the wheels were MILES better than those on the Vectra for a start, and the exhaust system mentioned before could well be re-used with a small extension piece, so I had the garage do all that prior to scrapping Ziggie 2.

I'd been driving the Vectra about a little bit post the wheel change and it didn't feel 'right'. Those of you who do a lot of driving will know what I mean, the car doesn't quite do what you want it to, a tad more oversteer, a little more wheelspin perhaps, maybe it rolls a bit more than before etc. so I checked the tyre pressures as a starting point, and they were MILES out! 

Deeper checks proved that the garage guys had swapped the rear wheels from the Signum to the front of the Vectra and vice versa! AND they'd swapped them left to right as well, I knew that because the left rear tyre always had a slooooooow leak and needed topping up every few days.

With rear pressures recommended at 36 psi and the fronts at 42 psi, having them the wrong way round made quite a difference to the handling of course. So it was a 15 minute session with my electric tyre pump putting that all correct, and driving is a lot more predictable now.   

Yeah bloody strange how tyre pressures make all the difference eh   
The thing is how the hell would you know huh ? ,, yep the car felt wrong but thinking that the wheels had been reversed wouldn't cross ones mind 90% of the time and the fact your car runs 2 different pressures as well isn't something you come across all the often either ...on my car its easy cause the back wheels are wider than the front .can't mess that one up .simples 

Chuffed your health is good matey ..thats the sort of news i always like seeing 

[Rick Lowe]

Chuffed your health is good matey ..thats the sort of news i always like seeing 

I completely concur with the Member from the Peninsular! 

[PR19_Kit]

My 'new' Vectra Estate came with a private number plate, a very weird plate too, HXI 7179. I can't for the life of me figure what it could have meant, but no matter. I idly asked one of the reggie traders if it was worth saving, and they said yes, and would be pleased to handle it, result! So I needed a new number plate, and there lies a tale...........

I mentioned this to my lady love, Hazel, and she said, 'Why don't YOU get a private plate then?' I told her they cost a fortune and what would it say. She suggested it started KS as they're the local area letters where we'll be living soon, which sounded neat, and appropriate too. As the car's a 2008 model it would be KS08somethingorother, so I idly queried the DVLA about such a plate and they had LOADS of them starting KS08! Amazingly they had KS08HAZ available too, so I bought it. But then I had to go through the rigmarole of swapping it over while retaining the weird HXI reggie for the reggie people.

You would not BELEIVE how complicated and paper wasting that has been! The DVLA have 'had' to issue no less than THREE V5C documents, the 'logbook' in old money, to get there, one of which was only valid long enough for me to take the old HXI plates off and put the new KS08 plates on. And all this while they're pressurising US to save resources etc,!

My brain hurts sometimes, but now and then it's worth it. 

[NARSES2]

  

[kerick]

Well done!!! 

[Martin H]

That HXI plate is a northern ireland plate kit. The vectra may have been first registered over there.

Pre good friday agreement you would have caused all sorts of mayhem had you visited your daughter in it, where ever she was stationed at the time.

[PR19_Kit]

That HXI plate is a northern ireland plate kit. The vectra may have been first registered over there.

Pre good friday agreement you would have caused all sorts of mayhem had you visited your daughter in it, where ever she was stationed at the time.

Oooh I didn't know that. But how is it that YOU do? 

Ah yes, I can imagine a few of her camo dressed friends, holding SA80s all pointed at me, all saying 'Please get out of the car, SIR!'

[Wardukw]

That HXI plate is a northern ireland plate kit. The vectra may have been first registered over there.

Pre good friday agreement you would have caused all sorts of mayhem had you visited your daughter in it, where ever she was stationed at the time.

Oooh I didn't know that. But how is it that YOU do? 

Ah yes, I can imagine a few of her camo dressed friends, holding SA80s all pointed at me, all saying 'Please get out of the car, SIR!'

If you had replied back in a thick northern Irish accent ,,ohhhh that would makes things very tense 
So eyah ,,don't do that ..it's ok now tho but not then ,,   

[Captain Canada]

Nice looking ride.

[Rick Lowe]

'Please get out of the car, SIR!'

Is that as per PTerry's Vimes' definition of 'Sir'? 
(ref to the novel 'Snuff'    )

[PR19_Kit]

Nice looking ride.

Thanks Cap'n, I'm LOVING it. 

Here's the full view of its MASSIVE size, with my other, SAME colour, bolide behind it. 

[Rick Lowe]

  

[PR19_Kit]

Real world life has caught up with me hiding away in my 'country home' with my lady love, and I have to drive 'home' across snowy England for a medical check-up on Thursday. The word 'home' is used here in it's WIDEST possible sense as I actually think of Hazel's place as 'home' these days. And my house is uninhabitable for various reasons just now so I stay in a local hotel when I'm back there how crazy is that?

I'll collect the Italeri RF-84F when I'm there, Chris O'Nord, so should be able to post it to you soon, and I have some other stuff to haul out of The Loft as well of course.

[PR19_Kit]

As mentioned in the Weather thread, I drove back over to Northants today, and encountered some APPALLING driving on the way, the bad weather (For the UK....) having stopped many of the drivers thinking at all! I had two 'face to face' confrontations with two of those lunatics, and it's only a 120 mile trip end to end!

The first one was a prat driving an electric 'thing' (it looked like a mini-Range Rover, and it's very long name badge started with an 'E' and it had the green flash on its plate...) and was driving at maybe 25-30 mph under any given speed limit. There was a hint of snow on the fields but none at all on the road, but there were LOTS of very large puddles stretching out into the road. All of these puddles he avoided by driving right over the other side of the road. Me? I drove though them.

Then we got to a ford! He stopped in the middle of the road and put his hazard lights on, and didn't move! 

There wasn't enough room on either side of him to get past so I was stuck, and after a while I got pissed off with this, got out and went to have a 'free and frank exchange of views'.

Me : What are you doing please, I can't get past you?
Mr Electric : I'm warning people about the ford, you won't be able to get through.
Me : I know this ford well, it's never more than 6" deep so you can drive though easily if you do it properly.
Mr Electric : Oh but my car's electric and the battery is underneath! And your ignition will be swamped as you're driving a petrol car anyway!
Me : No it won't, I've done it numerous times in a car with exactly the same engine, and the ignition system is on the TOP of petrol car's engine! Please get out of the way so I can drive on!
Mr. Electric : It's very deep, you can see how it has waves on it!
Me : Like I said, it's never more than 6" deep. GET OUT OF THE BLOODY WAY!

He looked shocked and did so.

I drove though at normal speed and vanished over the horizon. He's probably still there.

Heading further west I was trucking down another country lane just west of Brackley (where the Mercedes F1 team have their HQ) and came across a woman driving a Nissan Juke (they usually are driving Jukes.....  ) in the centre of the road. There was NO visible snow anywhere and it wasn't even raining either. Again, there wasn't enough room for me go past her on either side. We both came to a halt obviously, almost nose to nose and she waved at me through her windscreen to get out of the way! 

I didn't even wait and got straight out, went over to her and asked what the problem was.

Her : You're in my way and I've an important meeting!
Me : You are driving in the MIDDLE of the road, just steer to one side and there's room for both of us!
Her : But it's dangerous, the weather is Code Red!
Me : Not here it isn't, and in any case that doesn't mean the whole road is yours. Please steer over to one side.
Her : Why don't you steer over to one side?
Me : My wheels are already touching the grass kerb now! And YOU ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD!
Her : You can't talk to me like that!
Me : Yes I can, and I can take a picture of you and your car in the middle of the road and send it to the local Police if you don't move to YOUR side of the road!

She looked shocked and got out of the way.

Me, I blasted past her at full,. 285 bhp. throttle! 

How do these people get driving licences?