The Dispatch | Expert | Scudo Hub

No, it wasn't a static collapse. It was nearer the gate as per avatar and yer one decided to stick the wheels vaguely on and moved it 6 ft from where it was. So consider it motion damage.

It looks better in the photos.

I've got to take out the shite quality used spares, out of the back too as I reckon my chances of passing the test are much improved without the rear seating.

Finally got here this morning to find it off it's axle stands.

Both stands under the vehicle, but one bent. Hammered it back into shape.

Propped it up again at the front and jacked the towbar. Wheels dropped off at the tyre place for a new set of four. 2013 tyres no good to me.

Hunting for wishbone bolts and trying to figure it all out. It's been two years since I was last here...

Having a play with the online version: https://citroen-documentation-modern-ba … thub.io/#/

Found a bug in the front end already and filed it: Translation of recent documents.

There's a load of data files, but only Citroen ones. I presume I could extract some Peugeot ones as I might have a long lost copy somewhere and I have a 106 & 306.

It would seem that the front end works well enough and isn't laggy and there's not much to download if the interest is in one or two particular models. Useful also to call up maintenance procedures where available too. Not sure how long it will last given half of that has always been on the paid access.

A lot of catalogues work in a similar fashion. I've got a Jaguar EPC which someone wrote a front end for easy offline use. I'm running a Linux desktop here and it's a PITA to fire up Oracle VirtualBox / Windows XP/7 whatever to run some old software to view some exploded diagrams.

Well there's been a slight delay in departure to the NW of England. Provisional plan was getting there for yesterday (Monday) as the weather was meant to be nice. Having had yet another look at the weather charts, it seems like it will maybe hold dry until Friday.

I suppose if I get there Wednesday...

Unfortunately there's no 2,500L personal allowance of bio fuel in RoI.  So no veg oil for me    If I can get over the MOT hurdle, then it may well spend a few months up in Glasgow. It's 30th (built) birthday was a couple of days ago and it was first registered 22nd October 1996. So despite the EURO 2 engine, it can smoke around Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee's LEZ zones as a historic vehicle. In Scotland, a HV only needs to be 30 years old.

Now the reason I never imported it to Ireland was taxes. When I first got it, I thought it'd do the temporary job in hand and be sold on. At that point there was only a Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) based on top CO2 band of 37%. This VRT isn't applied to what you paid for it, but on the Open Market Selling Price (OMSP) which is a pie-in-the-sky figure dreamt up by Irish Revenue and the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI), so you can guess who it favours. The minimum OMSP is €2000, so that's €740 just to get it registered. Add to that another €720 annual Motor Tax for a 1900-1999cc engine and it rapidly becomes uneconomic.

Then on top of all that in the name of air quality came the NOx charge. Introduced in January 2020, it put paid to any notions importing a dirty diesel. A Euro 2 diesel is going to get hit with the maximum charge of €4850!!

If all that didn't put you off, then import duty (10%) and VAT (23%) were further costs to consider when the Transition Agreement ended 31st December 2020

Since then though, conditions have improved, a lot of it just with the passage of time. Reaching 30 years old removed the CO2, NOx element of the problem, because it reclassifies it as a Vintage/Veteran vehicle. The VRT is still charged, but at a flat-rate of €200 regardless of engine size or notional value. The annual Motor Tax bill shrinks to €56.

I'll check with the insurance underwriting gods first, but unlike the olden days, just being a certain age doesn't get classic car policy. This could be tricky as motor insurance generally isn't particularly cheap here.

Anyway, back to looking at the weather forecast and ferry timetables.

A quick search shows the weapon of choice to be a cranked ring spanner

You can get them for around a tenner

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/186851247808

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspect … tion-4-3-1

If it works then 3 out of the 5 bulbs need to illuminate. (Well my Synergie has 5 up there).

2 out of 5 illuminating would fail.

0 out of 5 should be given benefit of doubt as to whether it's actually wired up or not.

With regards to number plate lights, they don't all need to work to pass.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspect … tion-4-7-1

1 working out of 2 or more would just be a Minor fault (advisory in old lingo). Had this on a Jaaag where someone had removed the wiring and holder for the offside bulb. Only found out when I removed the lens to replace the bulb.

0 out of 2 is a Major as is 0 out of 1.

The manual should really just say you need one working lamp.

Good to know. What alteration(s) were required?

The past few years I've been eyeballing the Budget, older vehicles haven't been subject to anything other than. RPI inflation rate increases (rounded up to the nearest fiver).

Usually that was a fiver or a tenner increase a year until there was a 10% inflation blip.

I've probably got a few old V149 tax tables on the computer saved for reference.

Good to see you're having some luck with this.

My late father has a 2007 Mercedes Sprinter which he bought because it had a wheel chair lift at the back.

It may have been a Gleneagles thing. What I do remember was it had an electric handbrake on a switch modification. The handbrake utilised a (rather expensive) linear actuator to pull the cable on and off and there was a rocker switch on the dashboard to operate it.