Mundane News

[DCLane]

Was the Hungarian build a licence arrangement, or subcontracting like the one British Rail had with a Romanian builder for their class 56?

Apparently the tooling for the Maestro was sold to Bulgaria Hungary and the Montego tooling sold to China. It's covered in Tim Moore's book but I'll dig out a link. Linky - https://chinacarhistory.com/2021/04/26/the-complete-story-of-the-austin-maestro-in-china/

 

[fossyant]

I am imagining the amount of (and the style of) Wiggling required to put on the wetsuit.

Oh god yes, really hard to get in and out of - it's PU coated like good overshoes. They both got new boots and gloves from the sales, and they are difficult to get into.

 

[biggs682]

Morning stroll completed.

Washing out on the line and blowing nicely

Second cuppa going down well

 

[Illaveago]

After the Maestro I had a 205 with a puny 945cc engine.Was a bit like cycling. To stand any chance of getting up a hill at any reasonable speed a fast descent on the approach was required.

It possibly should have been written off when two cars stopped in front of me from 60mph using ABS and the 205 did not. It was nominally fixed, I presume having the miniscule engine it meant it was damaged less that might have otherwise been the case.

Then it died on the A658 one evening. Turned out the body shop had wired it up wrong and a free fix occurred.

Wasn't the end of the issue as one day going to York the speedo failed so a new one had to be fixed and work mileage claims subsequently had to be provided to verify to around 30 miles it's actual mileage.

After I sold it I saw it on a number of occasions in various conditions ranging from mint to how is that allowed on the road and back to mint... Remember seeing a HGV full of new 205 body shells so think it was quite likely when it was finally scrapped the body shell probably was not the original.

There is a red 205 down our road still driving around! It's not in bad condition for it's year.

 

[fossyant]

There is a red 205 down our road still driving around! It's not in bad condition for it's year.

My mate still has his 205 GTI 1.6. Sold it years ago, then found it, and restored it. Doesn't drive it too much as it's a bit un-reliable and he's not a mechanic. Lovely condition though.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Apparently the tooling for the Maestro was sold to Hungary and the Montego tooling sold to China. It's covered in Tim Moore's book but I'll dig out a link.

No worries; that makes a lot of sense.

 

[tyred]

There is a red 205 down our road still driving around! It's not in bad condition for it's year.

One of the best cars ever made IMO. I loved mine, small, light, nimble, easy to maintain, 55mpg, great ride quality and go kart like steering. It still drove great after 250,000 miles and 26 years on the road. I just couldn't believe how bad a Skoda Fabia that went into production 24 years later was in comparison.

I really want to restore it but I put in my sensible hat last month and put the money I had saved for doing so towards paying off some of mortgage. I'm going to start collecting some parts for it in the new year.

 

[Mike_P]

My lasting memory of the 205 was driving to a hamlet I had never been to before using a map that failed to distinguish roads very well. I ended up following a two wheel track bridleway. Had sufficient ground clearance not to be an issue.

 

[rockyroller]

the cleaning crew is coming back! GET OFF THE COMPUTER!

 

[Illaveago]

I'm watching Fireball XL5!

 

[Speicher]

Oh god yes, really hard to get in and out of - it's PU coated like good overshoes. They both got new boots and gloves from the sales, and they are difficult to get into.

One of my nephews once tried to put on a wetsuit, without realising that the zip goes on the back.

 

[tyred]

I now own a Brooks C17, something I've often fancied trying.

I might need to build up a new bike to put it on

 

[Andy in Germany]

I now own a Brooks C17, something I've often fancied trying.

I might need to build up a new bike to put it on

Well... yes, obviously. Duh.

 

[postman]

Tonight the meal is bbq chicken wings and chips.One of my favourites.

 

[tyred]

The boot light has never worked on my Yaris so I decided to have a go at fixing it. The switch is inside the door catch and commonly fails apparently.

I took the cover off and although I didn't actually remove the catch, it's not immediately obvious how I can remove the switch from the inside. I can see where the wires enter. I thought I could just clean it or spray WD-40 into it something.

I then closed the boot and realised I must have accidentally displaced something and I couldn't press the button to open it so had to clamber into the back, fold down a seat and release it from the inside.

All working okay now but I'll have a better look in the morning as it had got too dark to see much.

I have had a wonderful idea of why didn't I just buy one of those stick-on LED lamps you can buy in the pound shop and saved myself hassle.