:: Diary - July 2020 ::

:: Monday, July 6, 2020 ::

The car's MOT was due last month, but because of the COVID pandemic, all MOT's were extended by 6 months - so that would have been extended until December.

Garages are open again now though, so I decided that I would put the TVR in for its annual test - it has been home-schooled and swotting like hell for the hard questions anyway.

Same tester, 18th time - and it passed! I would have been bloody raging if it failed, since it has been rebuilt since last year!

But it's not all good news, oh no...

He calls me over to show me that one of the rear flexi-hose brake pipe connectors is cross-threaded. It's not leaking, but it's not right. Last month, the one of the other side WAS leaking, but wasn't cross-threaded - it just needed tightened up. These connectors were both replaced during the chassis refurb. Not too happy!

The MOT tester also pointed out a wee nook under the radiator mounting, that hasn't been sandblasted properly, but powdercoated over. Not too happy again!

But... I've got an MOT, so all good for another year! I'm going to fix that brake pipe though - don't like the look of that.

:: Tuesday, July 7, 2020 ::

Right - brake hose!

First I jack up the rear offside, and stick an axle stand under there before I take the wheel off.

Then I put a wee towel under the connector, and disconnect the metal pipe from the end of the flexi. I push the connector back and cut off the flare on the end, slip off the connector, put a new one and and make a new flare.

I bend the pipe back into shape and line it up, slip the connector on and tighten it.

Then, with the aid of an assistant, I bleed that one brake, then clean up the connector and check for fluid leaks. Sorted!

I have a wee drive to celebrate (erm, I mean, to check everything is working ok), and then take the car back to the gitcave.

:: Tuesday, July 15, 2020 ::

Remember last month I wrote about the saga of carparts4less.co.uk and the Mercedes brake disks?

Well, I waited another week, as they said, for the bits to arrive. They didn't.

I tried top call them again but again, the call queue was enormous and not moving fast, and the online chat feature predicted a 3 hour wait again. No point emailing because they still haven't replied to my email in May.

This is where I decided to use their own uselessness against them. I lodged a dispute with Paypal, in the hope that carparts4less.co.uk wouldn't find the time to reply to them either.

I was right! 2 weeks later (that's Saturday 11 July), Paypal told me that the seller hadn't responded, so they found in my favour and refunded all my money! Winner!

Oh and also on Saturday, a DPD van arrived and delivered a brake disk - yes, just one, not the two they promised (because they only send them out in pairs, they said). So now I have brake pads, wear sensors and one brake disk, and my money back!

Unfortunately, I can only buy brake disks in pairs anywhere else, so it's still going to cost me, this one disk is no use.

I'm going to wait and see if they realise their mistake, and come after me for payment for the goods I have. If they do, I'll pay, of course - eventually - but minus the cost of my time for sorting this out, which will add up to more than I owe them. Seems fair, no?

In the meantime, avoid carparts4less.co.uk at all costs - they are cheap but bloody useless. They have lots of good reviews on trustpilot, but a huge number of very poor reviewers, just like me, where their deliveries have been wrong and they have been totally incapable of sorting out.

On another update, last Monday I emailed the guy who repaired the chassis and rebuilt the car last year, about the missing sandblasting and the bad brake connections. I haven't heard anything back. What a surprise... But he'll be at a TVR event that I'll be at, one day. Maybe not this year, but one day, and he won't avoid me then!