Battery Jacket

When I bought the Hyundai it first needed a new battery as the old one wouldn’t hold charge. This was all while the car was sat in the previous owners driveway. In my haste to get the car going I had fitted the new battery without its jacket which was around the old battery. The previous owner was most concerned that this needed to be fitted and when I collected the car, he pointed it out and I assured him I would get this done. So it was time to fulfil on this commitment.

A spare sunny Sunday afternoon was the perfect opportunity to open up the bonnet. I’d remembered that I needed a 10mm and 12mm socket so used my dinky Halfords socket set (max size 13mm down to 6mm) which has proven very useful over the years. The battery tray is nicely designed with a robust clamp at the back holding down the base and a stabilising strut at the top which attaches to the bulkhead.

Everything came off easily and I was able to slip the jacket on without lifting the battery out completely. I fitted it upside down first of course…It had these lugs sticking up which didn’t look right and would have fouled the terminals. I switched it around before anyone could see and then tightened it all back up again. Job done.

I took the opportunity to give the under bonnet a quick clean up to remove vegetation debris and cobwebs – it’s needs a proper wash but I’m waiting for the hosepipe ban to be lifted so I can (carefully) sluice it all out and make it look nice.

While I had the cleaning stuff out I sprayed the interior fabrics with a disinfectant as there is still a slight whiff which I think may be some mildew from when it was left idle. I also cleaned under the rear number plate light which was green and all around the hatch shut panels. Still lots of grime to steadily remove.

Post script – earlier on the weekend I washed the Hyundai’s stubby little bonnet and used a clay bar, then Turtle Wax’s Ceramic Hybrid polish. My Dad’s advice with cleaning a car is to do it one panel at a time, so I’ve started here. Roof next probably….

Goodbye Honda Accord

So it was time to say goodbye to our Honda Accord. Since buying the Hyundai a few weeks ago the writing was on the wall for the oldest car in the fleet and with only two spaces on the drive it was obvious to move on the old timer with 160,000 miles on the clock.

I paid for it to be cleaned inside and out by the guys down the road and put it straight onto Autotrader with a premium advertisement. The first proper interest came after two days and the punters were keen to come and see it. I’m not going to say too much about the buyers because that’s between me and them but I agreed a price just below the asking price and arranged to drop it off. The transaction and handover was straightforward.

On reflection this was a good buy – purchased from a friend who has passed away as part of their surviving partner clearing the estate, we knew it was an honest car. I had just changed jobs and it was going to be a ‘station car. But things changed and it became my 50 mile each way commuter hack, and well suited to this mission so it proved to be. Over 50mpg, quiet and reliable the Accord was an excellent motorway cruiser and was stable on fast A-roads.

Reliability was excellent with only a sticking brake caliper bringing it to a halt on two occasions, the first when it initially occurred and secondly when I over-optimistically thought that the road side fix had solved it.

There were running costs – in just over 60,000 miles I changed 7 tyres – 3 pairs and a single replacement when I hit a pothole. I replaced front disks and pads and the rear caliper and a rear wheel bearing. Services at 10,000 miles came around frequently and threw up the odd extra cost including having to remove the bumper recently to change a headlight bulb. The previous mechanic didn’t do this, so a mystery there. New wipers of course, twice in three years. I didn’t repair the stone chip on the windscreen which occurred last summer.

I gave the headlights a polish but by time of sale these were going opaque again. I scraped the rear arch slightly on a wall and left that as it was.

All in all a terrific car and as I drove to drop it off I was struck by the lovely shove of the torquey diesel engine and how it settled quietly into a cruise. I wonder whether it would have gone to the magic 200k miles but as I need it daily, it seemed too much of a gamble, especially since the Hyundai popped us with its low mileage.

Thanks Honda – Happy Motoring new keeper.

Oily bits VSCC Meeting, Prescott Hill Climb

Just a few snaps from the VSCC meeting at Prescott earlier. Glorious informal atmosphere and a beautiful setting on this late summer day. I’m sorry I don’t know all the makes and models but all the usual suspects – Bentley, MG, Riley, Alvis, Ford adj some rarer stuff like Hudson. My friend and I got a bit obsessed looking at the array of front suspension damping – many had so-called friction dampers, but there seemed to be lots of different ways to set them up with some even having twin damper set ups. Later ones had lever arm hydraulic dampers which would have led to telescopic dampers and modern set ups. Super interesting stuff.

A well travelled MGA

A new (Hyun)Dai is dawning

In a desperate bid to raise a laugh I’ve combined the phrase ‘a new day is dawning’ with ‘Hyundai’.

Didn’t really work.

Anyway, what’s important is that we have a new addition to our fleet in the form of this fine Hyundai IX20 1.4 NAV Blue Energy from 2017. I became aware of this vehicle, and the opportunity to acquire it last November when my wife noted that one of her customers was looking to get rid of his car as he was no longer able to drive. I considered it briefly, as one of our kids might have been interested, but dismissed it as not really being their thing. But the months rolled by and I asked Helen whether it was sold, wondering if we could offer to help move it on. So she made some enquiries and its appeared that the owner was having some trouble getting round to selling it, having seen off some cheeky offers and reluctant to go down the line of one of the online car buying firms as he suspected they would get knocked down on the headline price. We did our own research and the price offered by the one line buying firm would make a good basis for us to purchase, with no intention of knocking him down further. So we initiated discussions and I went to see the car which apart from being grimy from having been left outside was in fine overall condition. With mileage of only 34,000 miles the price versus the product appeared to stack up economically and with my own Honda Accord racking up the big miles, it would be good to have a fall-back and potential future replacement.

Initially, I though I’d just pay up and drive away, but life is never that simple. First of all, and no surprise, was the battery being flat. The owner had a jump pack which proved it would start up and run for a few minutes, but it would then stall. It took me several goes at this to realise that what was happening was the stop/start system was initiating and the battery didn’t have enough life to restart the engine. The jump pack was now tired so game over for the day. I took the battery away to attempt a charge on my trusty old charger at home but this showed the battery to be U/S as following an all-night charge it was showing only 5v. I bit the bullet and bought a stop/start battery from Halfords for £185, having been put off the dealer price of £302. Happily, the new battery restored normal service and with the stop/start system isolated, the little 1.4 petrol would start, idle and restart on demand. Great.

Next step was to organise an MOT so I could tax it and complete the purchase. No problem said the owner as he had a friend at a local garage who would sort this and how about about I pick it up in a week at the start of the new month and off we go. Great. Unfortunately, said friend did not return the owners calls, so when I called in for a progress check, there was no new MOT. Deciding we had to take control of the situation, we reassured the owner that we would get the MOT sorted, but would collect the car in the meantime and keep it on our driveway. We arranged a time for a smooth handover and before long the car was on our drive as the new owners.

At home I was able to appraise the vehicle and took the photographs above as a record of our starting point. The panels all look straight with no obvious dings and scratches. There is one visible scuff on the drivers door mirror is all I could spot. The alloy wheels have some light corrosion and scuffing, nothing horrendous, but something which could be improved on if I thought it would be worth spending the money. The tyres are matching Bridgestone’s all round and look recent, so a win there. The car was clean when it was left outside, but now has baked on dust in all the cervices and the beginnings of mould on the rubbers which is going to take a bit of shifting. Unfortunately, with a hose pipe in place, I’m not really able to get started on the exterior and until the MOT is done, I cannot even take it to the local hand car wash. So for now, the exterior will remain dull and cobwebby – the dark grey metallic will clean up nicely though. I have made a start on the interior. I emptied and brushed the mats and gave the front seats a good dosing of upholstery cleaner, more to freshen them up than anything as the car is a bit stale smelling. The rear seats have barely been sat on it seems and the boot floor was immaculate, the spare wheel and jack kit all present, correct and new looking. The steering wheel rim was shiny leather, so I dosed it with leather conditioner to try to remove some of the dirt, although not much was coming off. This will be a case of repeat and repeat until we can soak through the grime, one does just not being enough.

Everything electrical seems to work well and its a nice spec for a little car, the only obvious omission being cruise control and heated seats, but for the money who’s complaining.

Under the bonnet, lots more baked on dust and cobwebs – it will be enjoyable to gradually address this. On previous cars I have done a sponge wash with soapy car shampoo and then rinsed with a hosepipe at mains pressure. The electrics seem fine with this, as long as you avoid directing the jet directly at the electrical components. I will follow this with a cloth wipe over and cleaning spray to really remove the dirt and bring the finish up.

So there we go – this will be an interesting experiment. I don’t intent to run two cars for long, but also in no hurry to move the Accord on to a new owner as its such a good workhorse and the Hyundai is as yet untested. Watch this space.

Goodbye Beetle

Not having the energy to fully sort the Beetle out and unwilling to sink any funds into it, I took the plunge and put it on eBay with a conservative reserve. Really I only wanted to achieve a sale value above what the dealer had offered my daughter which I had thought was a bit stingy since she’d paid a lot more than that only two years prior from him.

Anyway putting all that to one side I wrote what I considered was an honest description of the car for the advert. I didn’t list every defect, just the ones that would need more urgent attention. I included a generic description which made clear this was an old car and to set expectations accordingly.

I only used about six photos, but the advert immediately got some views and a couple of messages with questions. After 10 days the auction was won by one of the buyers who’d messaged. I felt happy with this as they had obviously given it some sale and set a price they were happy with which was above the reserve.

So although it was all fine, I did go into an anxious overdrive and was very nervous on the day of the sale. Helen helped me to clean the car as I wanted it to look its best so we were outside with the key wash at 7:30am!

I needn’t have worried. The buyer was super chilled and seemed happy with the purchase. It was a sweltering day and I met him outside the train station with the roof down. The Beetle looked a million dollars. I showed him around the car and then we had the awkward payment process which was all online and a bit fiddly through eBay but we got there eventually. Once I was happy the car was paid for and we had filled in the V5 I waved him goodbye, stepped out of the car for the last time and walked away. I didn’t look back.

So there ends my latest phase with a convertible. I enjoyed having the Beetle for a few months. I was tempted to keep it but as it had such a low value it just wasn’t worth any investment so it had to go.

As a driving experience it was quite nice. The 1.4 engine was smooth with a nice character and the gearbox was slick. With the roof down it was quite blowy so under 45mph was most comfortable, above this it was blustery. It has an odd driving position as the drivers seat is set a long way back from the windscreen. But the wheel was in the right place and the dashboard had a bit of character with retro graphics. It was best suited to short journeys and when I would take it out it did turn heads in a nice way with lots of waves from people. It seemed to make people smile!

Sadly I never gained any confidence in the car – I was too aware of its foibles and all too aware of other unknown issues which were bubbling below the surface (like the rust bubbling in the sills!). I too readily imagined being stuck on the side of the road with a puncture, snapped cambelt, over heating, oil leak or any one of a number of electrical gremlins. Unlike my Hondas, the little Bug never gave off that reliability confidence.

So farewell black beauty, thanks for the fun times in this driest and hottest of UK summers, I’ll remember you fondly and hope you have great adventures with your new family.

Highnam House, Classic Cars, June 2026

This last Sunday I took my Mum to Highnam House which was hosting a car show to raise money for a local children’s charity. We met my sister there with her husband and their dogs. It was an overcast, warm and humid day but pleasant enough browsing the cars around the trees and beside the lake. I took a few photos, shared below:

Fixing Your Car: Dashboard Panel and Air Filter Replacement

I had removed the centre dashboard panel to replace the hazard switch but I was having real difficulty finding the correct part in all the usual internet places. I got a correct looking switch but it was the wrong alignment and although I tried cobbling a Frankenstein switch made up of the old and the new I reached a dead end. Cue refund and another approach. I even considered remounting the hazard switch where it’s put on the later model but this would bring other complications such as having mismatched dashboard parts.

Regrettably I had to purchase ANOTHER WHOLE centre dashboard panel to get the correct switch! I really could not see another way around and having checked with the vendor that the panel included the switch I went ahead and ordered it. Fortunately all was well and the panel arrived with the switch and it all went back together very easily. Of course I had a couple of screws left over. I wonder where they were supposed to go?!

As it was a nice sunny day I then went under the bonnet to fit the new air filter and this went fine although the incredibly tight space to fit the rear screws was as hard to do up as it was to undo. I also put back the plastic engine cover which I had cleaned.

Last job was to put the wiper arms back on. These are very worn but new units are expensive so I’m wondering about finding something from a scrap yard. These will do for the moment (post test drive note: they were not tightened up enough!).

So with the car looking more roadworthy I was itching to have a drive so I taxed it and drove up the road to Tesco to lob in some petrol as it was getting a bit low. One brake was slightly scuffing but not enough to actually bind, otherwise she drives like a 116,000 miles VW – not bad all round.

After refuelling I dropped the roof down and enjoyed that wind-in-the-hair thing we all love.

There are quite a few things left to do for eventual sale, next will be the passenger door handle which has pulled too far out. I’ve looked at how to remove it and it either needs refixing or replacing. Also I need to find out how to replace the battery in the remote – I can’t figure it out but without it the alarm keeps going off when I park it which is antisocial and very annoying. Also, with the warmer weather I’m more inclined to crawl underneath to explore the oil leak and hopefully remove the undertray which was previously reluctant to come off.

Tank IV lift

Beetle Progress Report

I managed to finish my repaint of the rear wheels through the week so first thing this morning I removed the last of the masking tape and refitted the wheels. There’s a nack to putting a large heavy alloy wheel on with studs and I started to get there today, with it between my knees and shuffling on my knees to ease it onto the stub at the same time threading one stud to secure it.

Given the aggro when removing the wheels (one broken wheel wrench) I applied a little Copper grease to each thread on the rear wheels. Then I had to remove the front wheel studs one by one to grease them. So that’s 16 studs I greased and then had to retighten to the correct torque with my torque wrench. I really do sometimes question my life choices and as I’m selling the car will anyone really care.

Anyway, a few mins of a puny compressor had both rears inflated and the Beetle was once again in its own four wheels.

I am never ever doing alloy wheels myself again, it takes such a long time and is very fiddly. The results are pretty average versus the effort but as this is a budget job it will have to suffice. The car sadly is not worth enough to send the wheels away for refurbishment.

In between doing this I had given the bodywork a quick once over with a spray on cleaner that you can use dry. This was just to give it a bit of shine as it was looking a bit sad.

Next I removed the wipers arms which are in a rough state. The sprung mechanism is worn and so it’s scratched itself to bits. To begin with I’ve oiled it but I may need to replace as I can’t see a way to repair them. New units are over £60 so I will see what can be had second hand.

As I still had some time I explored removing the air filter which is at the rear of the engine bay tucked under the scuttle. This means that the front three screws come out easily but the back two are very awkward. I tried a few different tools, eventually finding that my screw bits fitted a socket in my mini-socket set and that gave me a low profile screw using the ratchet. I was impressed with myself for my ingenuity! I was glad when the air filter was found to be dirty because that justifies the effort in removing it. I’ll order a new one online.

Unbelievably that little work took most of a day but to be honest I was just doing it all for fun really and just enjoying being outside in the sunshine. Oh – I did clean the interior of Helen’s car as well so not that unproductive!

Beetle Report: Dashboard

One of the face vents on the Beetle had ceased working a long time ago and with me also wanting to replace the hazard lights switch which is in the same panel it was time to tackle the not uncomplicated task of removing the central dashboard panel.

First you have to remove the front top panel which simply slides out and lifts off to reveal 2 x screws. At the bottom end there is a switch panel which comes apart with a combination of push fit and screwed fittings.

Next to remove is the radio and I’m going to give the short version here. I used two special keys which slide into slots on either side of the radio unit which unclip the radio and allow you to pull it out and disconnect it. I made that sound simple. It wasn’t.

This reveals the final 2 x screws which enables the panels to be removed and all cables disconnected. Only the panel doesn’t want to come off. Something is keeping it on – it comes so far then stops fast. Mmm. A wiggle. An exploratory tug and the brittle plastic creaks ominously. more perseverance, a few different angles and I can ease the panel off – phew.

Panel removed I can clearly see the snapped lever which operates the face vents. Later I try to screw it together and end up drilling a tiny hold and using a small cable tie. Not elegant but effective.

I borrow some long nosed pliers from a friend to free the hazard switch and order a new one online. It will be funny if the new switch doesn’t fix the clicky indicators….! (An internet search diagnosed this as the problem).

Watch this space!

A light scrub

I had literally one hour spare to give the Beetle a quick spritz. Since I’ve been keeping it, I’ve not given the exterior a base clean. With fair weather it was too good an opportunity to pass up.

I sprayed the bodywork and the algae on the hood with Demon Clean muck shifter and while that was sitting I got out the Karcher pressure washer and layered some snow foam.

I then gave it all a good rinsing off with the pressure washer which took a while because the suds were so thick, but it did shift the road grime off pretty well.

I towel dried the paintwork and quickly sprayed on some Turtlewax Ceramic polish which goes on damp. I was fairly liberal as I was looking to add some protection rather than obtaining the best finish. It buffed off alright with a bit of smudging, so I moved onto the hood, applying some Autoglym Hood Protector which goes on with a damp sponge. It’s a runny product so not an easy application and it has low coverage so it took a bit of doing but I got a good amount soaked into the damp hood.

So not a bad hour’s work and a degree of protection on some key areas. It does look great when it’s clean like all black cars although there are loads of small corrections to be done over time. For the moment this will have to do while I focus on priorities such as refurbishing the two rear wheels

Beetle Report – More Wheels

A brief easing of the relentless rain and a spare hour or two gave me the opportunity to pay some attention to the Beetle. First job was to inflate the two front tyres which had been deflated for repainting and torque the studs, duly completed with my trusty torque wrench. There followed a brief test drive around the estate during which nothing fell off.

Giddy with excitement I went to loosen the rear wheel studs which had apparently been put on by an ape. Hmmm. I was using my old wheel nut wrench with its useful extension which usually has the upper hand, but after loosening each nut by standing on it (approx 98kg) and breaking the bond with a rifle like crack the poor old wrench was split. Damn. As was my 17mm socket which was pretty stretched. Damn. Fortunately not my best 17mm socket.

Anyway the rear wheels are off and ready to refurbishment in the garage, then I will have a matching set!

Classic car events and fettling

Restoration of my MGB GT with occasional other stuff