GRIZZ’s ‘79 - 2WD BLAZER Challenge over in London, England. “~It’s not a Project~”

[Grizz1963]

Quick out of sync post.

Some of you may know that despite not going down the £1000 wheel route, I do like a wheel, and even more so of they are normal, but one can make them look a bit different.

And even more so, those wheels you find from other makes that fit your car and makes people scratch their heads in wonder.

So I was looking out for some interesting, non-standard/non-VAG wheels to maybe add to the Caddy.

Had seen some 1990’s Renault Safrane wheels that would go great in two or three colours.

Yea, I like to make work for myself.

But the offset was wrong.

Chatting to mate Matt @pegasus about wheels, he started throwing some very pretty £250.00 plus restored wheels my way, excluding tyres and shipping.

I declined all his suggestions, despite a few nice sets coming through and said I prefer ****ty sub £100.00 wheels that then ended up costing me another £200.00 to get looking good, plus tyres. The wheels and tyres on the S10 ultimately went on at £950.00 or thereabouts, completely stupid I know.

So next day Matt and I were chatting about other stuff and girls, when he again raised the subject of getting some nice wheels on the Caddy.
I said it is a scruffy 21 year old van, and I am not planning to fit expensive, super shiny wheels on it, because unlike ratlook or barnfind cars that have that distinct work look that really shows off the wheels, this thing was just not enough in either camp.
I would carry on looking to see if I could find wheels that I liked and could be acquired relatively cheaply and then either fitted directly, or cheaply, to blend more with the cars scrapes and age.

Next reply from him kinda bowled me over.

Of course I have done similar things in different ways over the years, but I struggle overall to accept kindness.



I did decline.

Then, typically a few days later I found some wheels I liked the look of on a Caddy group on FB.

Enquiring and realising they could be part of another trip, I had planned for the Sunday, I agreed with the owner to go look at the wheels he had. No price yet established.
But I told Matt I had found some cheap wheels I liked.

More in a bit.

[Grizz1963]

So agreeing to go see @sammo about some parts I decided to incorporate the trip to see the wheels I had seen on a random Caddy group post, which quickly led to a conversation with the owner
Sams thread: https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread...project-pedals

So once again, the time frame is back to front, because my 140 mile trip led me to Sams place first.

But here are the wheels, picture as seen on a chat thread.



They typically were not what I was looking for, but actually ticked a bunch of boxes automatically.

I like solid spokes, and 5 spokes are great when it comes to cleaning and maintenance. Any lace or multi spokes are beautiful, but on someone else’s car. IYKWIM.

A Messenger exchange and chat with the owner established a few things, yes they fitted, directly, yes they were for sale, yes he would sell me 5 of the 6 wheels as I had no use for a well and truly knackered one. And he seemed a nice guy. Bonus.



So when I got there, as often is the case, we spent over an hour speaking Caddy mods, issues and life in general.

When I asked how much he wanted for the wheels, his reply was £80.00 please.

So I agreed and we loaded the 5 wheels I had bought into the Focus.

The 5th black wheel is super scruffy and Kerbed to death…… but as a spare, with a silly stretched tyre, it will do.



Seller also threw in a Caddy rear floor mat, to be used once I have levelled out the rear floor and fitted a better bumper.

Cleaned up at home.



Eventually back home by 3.30pm

I had a coffee and sandwich for lunch, then went to lay stuff out to be cleaned.

At which point first @nickwheeler arrived, and followed later by Mickey next door.

So 3/4 of a bottle of Jif/Cif/Handy Andy and a couple of brushes later, we had some sparkling purchases.



Very importantly as well, four centre caps, one missing its retaining ring.

And of course a ring found yesterday when collecting the rear bumper 50 miles from here.



Butt ugleee spare. Decent tyre at least.



And the other four wheels had two good tyres and two that I needed to replace.





Pretty pleased and smug with my relatively cheap find, which would need another £160.00-ish for two new tyres, I told amongst others mate Matt @pegasus later in the evening.

Another exchange ensued, summarised in these comments.

Not always easy, but sometimes the right thing to do.




Have I mentioned before…….



Next job…….

Try on the wheels on the Caddy.

And buy tyres.

[Grizz1963]

Two days later…….

Test fit.

Of course you gotta do this.





Went for a drive to feel the front end.



Then came back, tried them on the rear.

Missing the rear shocks.



And of course all round.

16 inch alloys.

195/55 16 tyres to be ordered.






So…………


Opinions.


Yes, we all have them.


I think that unless some mind blowing wheels come along.


These can stay where they are.

[Grizz1963]

So part one of the day trip to collect the wheels was to go meet up with @sammo at his mums house.

To look at this Caddy…….





Sam had offered me a pair of Golf VR6 seats to fit into the Caddy.

Just plug and play was what he said.

Greeted by the most awesome cat…… of course.



I managed to buy the seats I had not planned on buying and also robbed the VW badge off the rear door, followed by a set of black bikini caps for the steel wheels I had at home.

Sam also gave me some door lock inners.



Loaded and headed out to Chertsy to see the alloy wheels.





Eventually back at home I got to look at these tired seats that I had bought from Sam.

Cleaned the wheels and rear floor mat.

Then headed back into the seats.







Also cleaned up the small centre caps I had bought for the steel wheels as fitted, as I did not like the flat caps.

Much better I would say.





And straight on.






Seats after all the effort……..

Yes, not too bad.





And of course approved and became the bed for the next four days 24/7

George cat scanned.




And of course all including a rant in a short clip.

https://youtu.be/ee6fKXnS0Cg?si=8-kFXS1JwooaikZj



Pan fried pork chops and vegetables tonight.

Maybe the rain will stop tomorrow.

[Grizz1963]

So.

One side done, loads of swearing under my breath.

Reached out for the matches, could not find them…..

Carried on installing this hateful stuff.

One side done, eventually.



Drivers side.

Glass out.



Cleaned up first.



Done and refitted, with lodgers help holding mounting button in place.



Last glass done.

And for some reason it was not easy.

Aaaahhh yes, concave glass.





Woke this morning.

And guess what……..?



Kept on working it, eventually settled and happy to move on.



And both sides behaving.





Time to move into the next phase.

Blackout.

Can you see what needs doing?



Template.

CAD to the rescue.



Done.

Needs to be seen stepping back a bit.



And next little job….

Curved ball.

Door window frame……..



Cut out.



Applied.



AND LOOKING AT THE COMPLETE PICTURE.

MEEHHHH…..





Another small job done.

Time consuming, and many people would neither notice or get it done.

But works for my head and need to make small changes.

Video.


https://youtu.be/mE2D4uY5A2Y?si=G2ua2KlcNw3kp-9v


That’s a load of time consuming, non sweat inducing work done.

Do I like it?/

[Grizz1963]

Yesterday ended up a bit corporate.

I had not done expenses since July, and that includes daily mileage claims.

Thankfully I am a bit weird, as I actually do keep a daily, written mileage logbook of my own in the cars door pocket.

But every trip has to be entered from postcode to postcode for the whole day, so minimum three lines of entries.

Departure, arrival, return destinations, get why it is a ball ache

Today it is all my parking, and other expenses from August on to next week when they collect all the IT stuff.

Posting up, video editing, all the stuff I use the company iPad for will cease.

As I do not own an iPad or such to work/play on.


Back to replacing the teats in the Caddy with Car seats from a VR6 as bought from @sammo from his VR5 Caddy build project.


The Caddy’s standard seats are such that a courier or longer day user would be comfortable, and they are good seats, but of course we always want to modify stuff, well…… I do.

So the standard VW interior, hard wearing, functional, dull.









Seats bought from Sam.

Before.



Grizzified (cleaned)



Changing seats should be a 5 minute job per side.
If you have the right tools on site , 10mm spanner and Allen key.
Undo a single retaining bolt, slide out original seat, remove.
Slide in replacement seat on rails, bolt down, Done.

But of course it took me two hours or more over two days.

Problem number 1 was this is a converted Caddy.

Done by a disability type company.

Cheaply as possible.

One directional “engineering” so not much stance of restoring to original.

Obstruction number 1 and 2.

Wheelchair safety belts. Electronic.

Made removing the original seats quite awkward.



Removing them, a significant hurdle as access to the retaining nut was zero.

So alternative leverage plans needed to be figured out and applied.

Locking the nut to the body with force.





Cats are weirdos, I am sure they watch their subjects die, and then start eating them…..

George waiting for me to die or give up.

Horrible back seats came out to give access, and coz they suck.
.



No chance getting in there, all closed and welded shut after original bracing had been removed.

Much struggling and swearing later…..

First one fitted, or was it just placed in position while I tried to figure how to fit it.

Problem was that the wheelchair seat belts stick into the rear footwell by 100mm and the rear seat back brace on the VR6 seats fouled against it, meaning you just could not get the runners to engage with the rails.

Trust me.



Drivers seat was a lot easier once the seatbelt was removed.

Another interesting thing you will see in the video, is that the adjustment lever for forward/rearward move,ent on the Caddy seats are to the left…….. under the seat.
On the VR6 seats, they are to the left.
So I had to modify and flip the release levers as well.
Nothing in the manual to warn you about it.

Once done, it looked great and like it was always this way.






Despite liking and being very happy with the original Caddy seats, the replacements are a lot nicer.

I found myself going and sitting in both after fitting them, grinning and gloating to myself as they are that nice.

Video is a bit longwinded, but it captures some of the process and fighting to fit these 5 minute job seats.

https://youtu.be/yDGPDgdkB_s?si=HWvdpspLIpFX0Sca


Hopefully the video is of value to anyone who is faced with this sort of change.

.

[Grizz1963]

While I was over at mate Darren’s engineering shop to get some steel for @pauly to build a restoration rotisserie I noticed this car he is currently building.

3.5l V8 Ally block Rover.

The rest of it weighs almost nothing as well.

He was saying that just test driving it locally on some private land was “Interesting, scary”





So it will be run at Pendine Sands in Wales at the next beach races.

Check out on GOOGLE if you want to see more.

It is along the same theme as these races in France:

CLICK LINK FOR PHOTOS:

https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread...es-2023-photos

Looks a great day out.


.

[Grizz1963]

So the Caddy continues to:

Firstly, MAKE ME SMILE
Secondly, MAKE ME WORRY
Thirdly, CHALLENGE ME.

I have never owned a diesel, Fly by wire type car, company cars are fully maintained, so do not count.

Having bought it and faultlessly driven home the first 104 miles, then refusing to start outside the MOT station, followed by later self correcting and starting 3 hours later, I was still happy to do stuff to it, and for it.

When you buy an old car, or a new one (enough examples out there) you buy it with a great big prayer stuffed in your top pocket that it will just keep going until it is time for you to move it on for something else, or it becomes part of your deceased estate/fails MOT catastrophically.

So having done 13k plus miles in the last 22 months, my expectations are that it will always need some wear and tear fettling, and service maintenance.

AND OF COURSE MODIFYING.

So on Tuesday I headed out to go price up some 16” tyres for the alloy wheels I had bought previously, before going online and looking at Black Circles and other options. Despite spending unnecessarily on the Caddy, I want to still try contain the fiscal damage.

So I headed out, enjoying the clatter of the diesel and the drive, which in all honesty, is MUCH MUCH BETTER than some people make out, this includes people who have actually never driven or lived with one.
It has to be pretty decent, or else you would not have seem as many sold in the years of productions, and most of them being commercial vehicles, they would have been ragged to an inch of their lives.

Imagine my surprise when I left the second roundabout from home, a mile or 1.6km away when suddenly there was no throttle to accelerate from the roundabout…… The engine was idling happily, but prodding, feathering, stomping, swearing at the throttle and car made absolutely not one iota of a difference.

So I cruised to a standstill at the bottom of the road, even trying to bump start and turn the ignition off and on before coming to a halt, all four wheels, only just on the grass verge, but it beats the way I have seen people break down and abandon cars halfway in the road before.
This road is used by loads of heavy goods vehicle and construction and farm vehicles, and there was no side road to drop into.

Opened the bonnet/hood, of course greeted by a beautiful expanse of plastic, no tools in the Caddy because not expecting to have to undo anything, except a spare wheel in case of a flat.



So obviously not much I could do there.
In the mean time, the engine was happily sitting idling away.

So I considered calling Green Flag recovery, of course the last time, they never actually made it to me as after 3 hours the car fixed itself.

So plan B

Call Mickey next door, he is a good one for helping with recovery and having towed him home years ago in his Focus that had stopped running one day, knowing he would have some heavy duty strops/straps to tow me home with.
He agreed and said give him 5 minutes.
So I set to, removing the cover over the towing eye in the lower bumper, using the key to get it removed, Zelandeth had engineered it into position before.
Once removed, I tossed it in the rear along with the little blanket I had kneeled on.
Tried to turn on the car again, success !!!!!!
And the throttle, which was dead 5 minutes before, was functioning like before……
So I called Mickey to tell him it was working and that I would drive it home in front of him, just as he came off the roundabout in the distance.
Drove it home, accelerated a few times, pulled up onto the drive and thanked Mickey.

I needed to get to the GP and a couple of other appointments, so took the Company car, Focus.

On the way back, I stopped at a local garage that Sally and her sons uses, I have used their tools before and gave them some tools a few years ago when a lodger brought some massive sockets home, they also did the servicing and some repairs on the MX5 for me years ago.
I went in and said that I had a problem with the Caddy and needed to read the codes that it would obviously throw up, what charge, and did they have some time to pop it on for me same day.
Yes, bring it down or take the OBD reader, so I opted to fetch the car and hope it would go the one kilometre down to their workshop without bother.
So we hooked it all up when I got there, Cliff headed out to get their own work van MOT’d and some tyres fitted, so Steve the other mechanic helped me, fortunately, they were waiting for parts delivery on two vehicles on their lifts.

Steve crawling around





Cubby hole/glovebox held in place with a panel screw….. Yup the result of 21 years and 103k miles on the road.
Stuff wears out and breaks.

The reading.



Steve Checking and cross referencing results, also a phone call to some specialist, and more Google searching.



Next up, we opened the air intake just to see if the throttle body was maybe dirty, causing something, like the butterfly to get stuck open and send an error message to put the car into limp mode.

What we found.



No butterfly and no screws.

120 miles of my driving and it had never felt weird, hesitant, or made a scary noise.

So we checked the price of a new throttle body, only available on back order, and at £628.00 plus 20% VAT it was going to mean a car scrapped……

BUT…… if I could find a broken throttle body, I could rob the butterfly from it and fit it to the van. Searches by @westbay Tony revealed that the price of a used unit was a whole lot more palatable.

So I stood chatting cars, bikes and trials riding with Cliff and Steve for another half hour or so and agreed that I would try source the parts and then fit them.

Feeling quite insecure because of the missing parts, but also a certain amount of F@CK1T I drove the van home and pulled it through to the back drive. I still had tinting to do to the glass.

Next, I went indoors, made a coffee and started a WhatsApp chat with @zelandeth who once again engaged in a chat and explained stuff to me.
I am so thankful for the times he has patiently answered the phone or text messages to talk me through stuff.
Conversation as per WhatsApp below.

Grizz

Morning,
My little VW Caddy van just stopped working a mile from home. Engine running and no acceleration on pressing accelerator pedal. Called my neighbor to tow me. 5 minutes later I tried throttle again and it was fine.
Are they drive by wire?
Guess I need to find out.

Zelandeth

That's an odd one, yes it is fully fly by wire, so hopefully just a pedal sensor on the way out.

Grizz

Well……
The throttle boddy is missing its butterfly and screws.
Somewhere something happened.

Zelandeth

That can be disregarded - that throttle body is only used by the EGR system to generate manifold vacuum, and apparently they are well known for disintegrating so the plate was removed when that throttle body was replaced when I first got the van as it was acting up then.

There is no throttle in the traditional sense on a diesel, it's all done by controlling the fuelling.

So the components of that are not in the engine you'll be glad to know.

Grizz

Lololol.

And…….
You will know by now that I am no mechanic.
The quote for a replacement on back order was £628 plus vat.
I am suspecting it could be the actual throttle pedal whatever thingy.
And 13k miles later it still was not needed.
I said to Steve the mechanic that I had done 120 miles without hassle, except the non start at the MOT station.

Zelandeth

Yeah, the replacement cost £35 on eBay for a used one which I then removed the guts from as you've seen as it serves no real useful purpose.
Throttle position sensor error code definitely fits - it's a moving part that's got 120K miles and 22 years behind it so not a hugely unexpected item to be wearing out.
The original throttle had completely lost its marbles and was randomly closing on light throttle, causing loss of power and a proper James Bond smoke screen.

Grizz

I honestly have no clue.
Other than losing the ability to fuel and rev up today, and being a smelly diesel, and then 5 minutes later being fine…… I have xero clue.
But if the throttle regulator needs replacing that would be a good/great fix.
You type fast like a teenager

Zelandeth

Wouldn't surprise me if it was related to the non-start you had before, hard to say for certain but it seems suspicious that it's popped up very soon after that happened.

Grizz

And there is an intermittent immobiliser fault

Zelandeth

Missed that, that could also explain it. Though I've no real advice on that one as it's modern enough stuff I've no prior experience to call on.

Grizz

Gotcha.
Driving it, still is a pleasure. And I like it.
Just glad you are prepared to share your 22 months, 13k miles of experience as I am clueless.

Zelandeth

It's by a long shot the most modern vehicle I'd owned until the current Peugeot in terms of engine electronics etc, so there was definitely a learning process for me too!

First common rail diesel, first using fly by wire nonsense, and only the second vehicle made this side of 2000.



So that was last Tuesday.

Since then I have been occupied by various things that needed doing.

Over the weekend @joem83 and I had a chat that ended up with his reply confirming more wear and tear theories.

Including this……

This is what problem I had lol.

At the top of the pedal in the car is the poteniometer thing, it's just hooked to a normal accelerator pedal. It's dead easy to replace. I replaced mine to no avail.

Ended up pulling the ecu, taking the pcb out and cleaning all the corrosion off with PCB cleaner and a toothbrush.
Put it back in, cleared code and it was fine.

I made a rain cover for the ecu out of a plastic folder thing & cleared all the drain holes.

So this is possibly the culprit.




So at the weekend, between all the rain I crawled into the drivers door-twill, did a bit of disassembling and found this……

Glovebox removed, cover in place.



Exposed.



And the possible culprit.





There certainly is some damp in there, so of course 101 other gremlins could be waiting to be flushed out.

We will see.

There you go, always interesting stuff happening here.



.

[Grizz1963]

Late yesterday afternoon while dry, I went and removed Relay 109 after some more reading about it and other reasons for the potential failures.

Seems Relay 109 is a really big culprit in the VW scene for letting people down, and causing intermittent break downs, limp modes and various issues, that then resolve once replaced.








So I pulled it and went down to Euro Carparts.

Price quoted by the really helpful lady behind the counter, an eye watering £28.00

Knowing that a Chinese version would take up to 3 weeks and more to arrive, we looked at other parts suppliers, not much better news, then I checked my Amazon app and came up with a variety of prices.

I do not have Amazon Prime as I am not a very regular user, maybe 5 transactions a year, so £8.00 per month to save the £5.00 shipping fee makes not a lot of sense to me on a £10.00 part.
To the rescue comes @craigrk whose home runs on Amazon products, and Ienvy him for it, but not enough to justify his lifestyle.

So he placed the order on my behalf, hopefully delivered later today.

Prices vary widely on here as well.



Ordered.



While I was there, I also bought a tin of electrical contact cleaner for when I go in under the hood and under the dash later.

£5.39 hopefully well spent.



Next job is to dress warmly, including shoes and then head out and see what I can find under the hood/bonnet.

Wish me luck.

[Grizz1963]

And another quick question.

Possibly for the likes of @joem83 and other VW buffs.

I noticed this bridge, which seems to be “aftermarket” but clearly has a role to play.

Any ideas?







ONLINE EXAMPLE. Not bridged.




Thanks.

[Grizz1963]

Amazon delivered last night.

So we have Relay 109 which is often blamed for issues.

Interestingly, half the address was not on the label, including house number and postcode and of course it was Craigs surname on the label.

Yet it made it here.

Pretty Pleased about that.

Made in Germany.




Overnight, another response to a damp interior question from another guy that I had replied to, got another definitive answer.



It confirms in part my and @kevins thoughts about drying out the interior to possibly solve or prevent recurrent issues.

I will report from my iPhone later today as the company iPad and phone are being collected later today.

I will be so naked and vulnerable 😉

[Grizz1963]

So back to Relay 109

Replaced it.

Caddy runs well

Throttle worked as well.










VIDEO.

https://youtu.be/ncyvBoziOhs?si=NqS7MCToYgkL4E05


After this I got on with the Scuttle cleaning.

[Grizz1963]

Remember the Seat 16” alloys I bought.

Centre caps needed a retainer ring. Fixed ✅

Logos or decals were knackered ‼️

Ordered some frpm Ebay not realising its China.

Delivery today.

Surprise!!


Old vs New



Needed doing.



Picked old logos off.

But not good enough to add new aluminium pieces on top of.



Sharp pointy knife and carefully worked them all off.



Cleaned off old automotive double sided tape.

Applied new badges.

OCD gang……….

Note all aligned.




I an really happy with that.

Will make a noticeable difference when the wheels and new tyres are fitted

Small steps every day is Progress

.

[Grizz1963]

So I started to dismantle the scuttle, wipers etc.



I found a royal mess in there.





And on and on it went.



Eventually read to rinse it all



Loads of leaves and dirt dug out.

Even more flushed out with all the water used to rinse the area.



After all the cleaning I recalled @joem83 mentioning an added bit of water protection.

So I rummaged through my supplies.

Found one of these.



Destroying one as I tried to make it.

Success



Looks like this.



Total job results



And reassembled.



I had also fitted the new 109 relay

Started the car up and it all seemed good.

I will take it out for a drive in the next few days when it stops raining.


Video a bit long winded

Editing on the phone really is a PITA.

https://youtu.be/CwewL5uiBYE?si=5uBqxTnGKsgm7K6r


Happy with the clean up.


.

[Grizz1963]

Out for the first time in three weeks, driving the Astro.

Not got all the parts that I wanted but at least got a new pollen filter for the Caddy

Super nice to drive the Astro around

Big silly grin all the way.

An Irish guy in a Vauxhall Vivaro van came up to me in the carpark where I had pulled in to find out more about the “beautiful noisy van”

I like it when strangers show interest.

He was shocked when I told him its just standard 4.3l V6 Auto. Stating that was surely too much power for a small van.

Went into Euro Carparts for a pollen filter and also a Throttle Position Sensor which they didnot have in stock.





Came home and removed the old one

Compared.



And fitted.



Another small job done.

Progress every day I guess.

[Grizz1963]

Right

No.

Not really right.

Something silly and small still screwing around.

Throttle response intermittently disappears.

So starting with basics again.

Disconnected battery and isolated it.



Opened up scuttle again and got to the very crusty ECU



Cleaned outside

Then inspected plugs and sprayed with contact cleaner.

All clean.





Reconnected, reassembled and tested.

All good.

Closed up hood and started on TPS disassembly.

This is three legged octopus territory.

Eventually left with base minus sensor.





Next job……..

Shower and shave, go to town to mobile phone shop to get iPhone 12 Pro repair done.
Also visit Turkish bakers for bread and yummyness.

Then off to industrial estate to try source a replacement unit for the TPS.

No luck.

Not kept or available

So headed home and started looking.





Will only know by Saturday if the spare that @sammo has, is the same and if he wants to sell and podt it to me next week.

Pity no new ones available out there it seems.

[Grizz1963]

Two small jobs done.

One cosmetic.

Someone in the past smeared some paint on the sills, followed by spraying something over it.

So not having a throttle control fitted to drive I thought cleaning, sanding, priming and painting was the perfect way to start the day.

Loads of thinners on a rag removed all the gloopy whatever was on the sills. Sandpaper and Scotchpad next.





Masked up and painted.



Result was as good as it needed to be.



Other side was worse.



Prepped.



Done.



Very pleased with that.
Bugged me on the original photos and when I saw it.
Knew I would get it done though.

Then thanks to @westbay forwarding me some info and a chat with @zeberdee I took three parts of the problem down to the specialists.

Relay 109
TPS
EXU

The ECU is a terrible mess.

I hope they can sort it for me.







Will be a few days



So that’s another couple of things ticked off.

Video uploading took 20 hours.

Later.


Sills tidied up video:

https://youtu.be/3ibj0DJZo7M?si=orD41S-qtedFsYB7


ECU and TPS removal

https://youtu.be/DE5qvmF6_8Y?si=PNxNAxP9cVqUdTSL


.

[Grizz1963]

Had a message from a pilot friend in Johannesburg this week, asking if I wanted any *Woolworths Biltong, which I automatically declined as I have decent UK supplies but I mentioned that I love Ostrich as it is zero fat and very different to beef or game.
A quick bollocking from mate Fil for declining saw me reply differently to accept the kindness.
Tonight when I got home there was a courier package and it contained three packs of my favourite things. Chilli, BBQ and OSTRICH.

Some of you know that I believe Life is Good despite challenges we all face from time to time.

Once again proven.

Thank you Arsey



I look forward to opening the Ostrich when mate Fil comes here tomorrow to inspect the three new to him cars on my drive.
Amazingly all bought off auto****e.com (Scruffy the Micra was as well)

Life really is good.

[Grizz1963]

So this afternoon I was chatting with @glenanderson about life and how to manage the hobby we are into.
Had a missed call from the guys at Remanx Automotive. Called them back and was invited down for a chat.



So I went there around 4.30 and Matt and the other guys showed me the ECU which they suggested I was better off replacing with a remanufactured unit than trying to repair mine.

I was met with this little pile of sadness.



And after showing me more and discussing the alternatives, Matt suggested that rather than them try repair what I had in front of me, I consider buying a remanufactured unit online, coded for the specific engine that I have and also with the immobiliser removed as they often cause problems.

One of the guys, Ion who had managed to open the ECU had also taken a bunch of photos for his brag file…. Saying it was not the best he had seen.








So after a really nice chat about life and working for yourself I headed home with the scrap remains of the ECU and ordered a replacement unit online.

£150.00 is adding a chunk of change to the cost of the van but hopefully fixes the irritation of unreliable service.




Delivery will take a few days to about 29 or 30 November after which I can refit parts and hopefully the Caddy will work as it should.

Pictures for those too lazy to read.

Video.

https://youtu.be/sK5L-iQASQY?si=S4jU3b2az4ehG0La

Mini Road trip in the morning with mate Kevin “Woodsie” to collect the Green Turtle, newest car to make it to Grizz Towers.

I am really looking forward to driving what was described by @pegasus as a rollerskate or gokart with its 135bhp on a small body.

Not sure if it needs a separate thread of its own.



More tomorrow


.

[Grizz1963]

So by now everyone knows there is a new car at Grizz Towers.

For those unfamiliar with these….

Seller certainly under-described it like this.



2002 Peugeot 206 CC, 2-litre petrol

MOT OCTOBER 2024

IT'S A PROPER HARD TOP CABRIO AND NOT DAMP INSIDE

FREE PIE IN BOOT ! [edit: plus other things, see below!]

ULEZ / CAZ COMPLIANT !

AN OBVIOUS FUTURE CLASSIC, blah etc



103k, NEW MOT, had oil and filter while up on ramp to fit the new CV boot they failed it on (the sole failure point), done at same proper garage and was a bit costly, but done now

I replaced (£80 used) the COM2000 unit behind the steering wheel. which was haunted, as the immobiliser decided to lock me out at the CO-OP (yes really). Common fault apparently, the unit I took out was dated 2004 so it's already had at least one in its life

Good things:

A convertible hard top with the electrical trickery of one button open and close and is in working order

In a quite swish METALLIC GREEN

The 2-Litre in this one, not the usual 1.6 and you know it. 135 BHP when new and doesn't feel like too many of those have escaped, really eager out on the road.

Drives alright, (think powerful rollerskate) without the expected bangs and knocks and squirms you expect from a car of this age and value.

Auto lights and wipers which are a bit spooky if not expecting them

Most things work OK, has LED side lights, radio CD with dash display and steering wheel radio adjust, manual seats, electric windows, electric mirrors, etc

21 years old, so went straight onto my Classic Multicar Insurance, without even a plead.

Bodywork is generally pretty decent, no corrosion advisories at MOT although it would benefit from some Lanoguarding under there

Dry inside, with the hard top up you would never know it converts.

Interior is black leather and ok, though does have seam split though on the side bolster as not got around to sewing that just yet- maybe this weekend. Nope.

Taxed to get you home end of month. as it is in daily use on the school and allotment runs. Daughter hates it, a bonus.

Moaner's Manual in wallet along with original salesman's card, Renwick's Plymouth

V5C says just 3 previous moaners

Not so clever things that aren't actually 'bad', more 'feature'

The Air is not conditioned.

The Trip Computer suffers from confusion.

Service stamps to 43k in 2007, so a Service Mystery. No other bills, so the Cambelt is roulette

The tax is a bit fruity at £30 pm, but that is what fleet SORN flipping is for.

One rear electric window needs a bit of help in its seat when raising, simple and not a big issue. I thought I'd break more things getting in there trying to adjust it.

It does have a very small ding on the offside rear arch (but you can get behind and I have pushed it out a bit so is better since the photos), a couple of small areas of lacquer peel and a few very small rust bubbles, not much or even that noticeable. Dare you to find them.

Advisories minimal: old rear tyres, chunk out of wheel lip and an oil leak (apparently) But it's a leak that just hasn't happened on my driveway, the wheels all hold air and are round.

I still don't trust that immobiliser, due to the haunting, so just use the key. It will blip. I just daren't.


If someone wants it outright just PM me. I need to raise funds for Motorhome work, house repairs, the usual. NO MORE CARS THE WIFE SAID, so swaps are out

Location: near M1 corridor Hemel<>Luton area






Photos from the seller.















For those who made it this far

More to tell in a while if you are interested.

Let me know.

[Grizz1963]

Mini Road Trip at 06.45 to go fetch the latest addition to the growing Grizz fleet.

I really had neither planned nor solicited for this one.

Just a stoke of luck �� or something like that.

We will have to see how this plays out.




I will obviously try to weave some stuff into the story including misdirection and deception as expected.

These cars are all related

Chronically as they came here.







And today this one.




For those interested.

All four came to me via auto****e.com

I still have three here.

The Caddy and Astro belonged to one member before though I bought them from different places and people.

Lets see how much fun this small toad can deliver.

TRANSLATED FROM ENGLISH TO FRENCH.

SMALL TOAD

PETIT CRAPAUD.

That could be the name.

Not sure yet.

[Grizz1963]

For those looking for more reassurance that this is another car that does not take itself too seriously.

Original advertising

https://youtu.be/1oMs5h-qCZo

And one that resonated with so many people.

Dreams.

Not the same car but dreams are there to remind you.

https://media.tenor.com/yEudieHyfhMAAAAd/206-india.gif

[Grizz1963]

Most of you know my life motto continues to be that LIFE IS GOOD.

YESTERDAY was one of those days.

Up at 5.30, showered and ready to rock n roll by 6.30am

Mate Kevin collected me at 6.45 and we drive up to Dunstable to collect La Petit Crapaud (The Little Toad)

Petrol filled at a truck stop and great bacon and egg rolls at leisure (I am always in a hurry to get home) on site plus a nice chat with Jamie the chef before heading down the M1 and onto the M25 homeward.

Amazingly all the roads were open during the whole day.

Back home on my drive by 10.45

I had not even switched the kettle on when mate Fil @sparkplug pulled up outside in his new Citroen Relay van. He is building his new camper, having built an Ambulance camper before and then a yellow Sprinter which eventually blew up on him. The Relay is not quite two years old.

He brought me a really nice amplifier that @engineer had sent.

We did the whole looking at each others cars thing and then went out for a Turkish lunch we had booked.

Back home I managed to force him to take some of my clutter home in his van.

Postman also delivered a parcel from Ernie @pedalcarjoe with some super nice vintage VW T-shirts, stickers and a watercooled badge.

Did I mention life is good.

Amazing day.






Today I will make time to look the Peugot 206 CC over and list things that needs attention.

Upholstery and torn leather seat bolster and exhaust hanger
are on the list.

More to be found I am sure.

Caddy is awaiting a new ECU and Astro just needs to be driven.

.

[Grizz1963]

Soooooo

Why??

Not really sure if I should try understanding the universe or Karma.

Sometimes life throws you a curved ball, sometimes it tosses a turd.

And once in a while you strike gold or is that [font color="19e66a"]GREEN[/font]?

The seller was an accomplished purveyor of tat.

Knowing that “Free Candy” would attract a certain audience.

So he stepped up his game to warp speed.

Adding a Fray Bentos steak pie to the offering.

Absolutely intrigued of course but resisted.



Not having the desired effect he added in quick succession a Pink Prime energy drink to attract those too tired to realise how alive they are.
Followed shortly by the foreign sex tourists beacon, a cream Panama hat.



I nearly walked away when the next offering was added to the steadily growing sacrificial pile.
A half dozen faggots to start the party off.
I make better meatballs.

Just in time, his next offering had my interest reignited.
Home brew beer making kit. Much more grown up.



I was still not quite convinced that I needed to drive a little green French toad.

Until he played to most dirty, unfair and trumpest of trump cards.

BEHOLD !!!!

THE CUCUMBER BUCKET HAT OF GLORY.

I threw my money at him and made a buy.

My life would be complete.




So I got insurance and road tax shaken out of my piggy bank and agreed a collection date as long as not a Tuesday.

Next job……. Figure collecting this thing of beauty.

The Chevy Astro was a few trains and station collection followed by 200 miles drive home.
VW Caddy was three trains and a tube, station collection in Zel’s awesome Rover and 104 miles drive home.
I really did not feel like three trains and a tube to then do a 77 mile drive home.

So I hinted really hard at good mate Woodsie to help and he offered to drive me up early on Saturday morning as we both had appointments by midday.

6.45 we headed out, still dark.



Woodsie stuck to the left lane at 65mph maximum 70 and proved a point. We were there quicker than my usual right lane driving.



By the time we got there at exactly 08,00 and thirty minutes earlier than anticipated it was -3’C out on the sidewalk where the seller met us and handed us car, documents, keys, and all the sweetners.
Kevin pounced on the cucumber bucket hat like a cat on a tin of tuna. His new music festival hat. His wife was not impressed when I sent her the pic below.



So after half an hours chatting we headed back to the motorway via a truck stop so I could get some unleaded in the cars belly.



Parking up behind Kevins not so subtle camper bus showed how small the little toad is.



Next up….

Breakfast ordered from Jamie in the food van.

Totally open to the elements I felt sorry for him freezing his nuts off.

And he just stayed happy and chatty. Making our bacon and egg crusty rolls and coffee.



Tell you what, someone is going to marry a good cook.

Super nice and really nice quality bacon.



Pose time.

Then scoff.



After breakfast we headed back onto the M1 motorway down to the M25.
Amazingly quiet and easy driving.

I took a pic of the speedo as we started out.

Nice baseline to work from.



The two litre engine is so eager and willing on the riad.
Totally unstressed
I think it could do with a 6th gear to drip the revs down from 3k at 70mph.

Home by 10.45



All my treasures unpacked from the cavernous trunk/boot.

No spare wheel but a tin of PUCK tyre gloop in French.

Not ideal but insurance came with RAC recovery.

Hopefully better than my experience with Green Flag.



In short succession mate Fil @sparkplug and then @nickwheeler arrived.

The usual pisstake from Nick and Fil.

Not jealous at all.

Maybe surprise.

We tried to get a thumbs up from Nick.

Failed.



I did also approach the onboard super computer and set the time and date.
Oh, and the radio.
Could be a pointless exercise though based on the sellers disclosure and advertising.




And for those interested in a shorter video…….

https://youtu.be/BD0eotY2Ao4?si=sylWn5G8oazMFTIZ

Cold out today but I look forward to investigating it all.

Another day.

[Grizz1963]

Got home from getting a spare key cut for the Caddy.

Another £20.00 added to the burn pile.

Neighbour came around just when I pulled the Astro through to the back and dropped off a parcel.

ECU.

Fast delivery.

Fitting planned for tomorrow.



I really hope it sorts out the previous issues.

Dead ECU looks dead compared to this one.