http://passionate-about-cars.com How to survive the world of modern motoring Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:15:45 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 © andy@wireworldmedia.co.uk () andy@wireworldmedia.co.uk() 1440 Just another WordPress weblog andy@wireworldmedia.co.uk No no http://passionate-about-cars.com/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/powered_by_podpress.jpg http://passionate-about-cars.com 144 144 http://passionate-about-cars.com/2010/07/16-five-foot-cycle-lanes/ http://passionate-about-cars.com/2010/07/16-five-foot-cycle-lanes/#comments Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:15:45 +0000 admin http://passionate-about-cars.com/?p=148 http://passionate-about-cars.com/2010/07/16-five-foot-cycle-lanes/feed/ 0 19:02 Steve this morning showed me an article about cycle lanes in yesterdays newspaper. In todays show we discuss a Triumph Stag with engine trouble and ... Steve this morning showed me an article about cycle lanes in yesterdays newspaper. In todays show we discuss a Triumph Stag with engine trouble and daft cycle lane planning. faults andy@wireworldmedia.co.uk no No http://passionate-about-cars.com/2010/07/15-scimitars-and-black-ops/ http://passionate-about-cars.com/2010/07/15-scimitars-and-black-ops/#comments Fri, 09 Jul 2010 13:07:32 +0000 admin http://passionate-about-cars.com/?p=138 http://passionate-about-cars.com/2010/07/15-scimitars-and-black-ops/feed/ 0 23:48 On a beautiful morning in Brighton, I tracked down Steve Kennard on the workshop floor at 1st Class Garage. After discussing a mysterious starter motor ... On a beautiful morning in Brighton, I tracked down Steve Kennard on the workshop floor at 1st Class Garage. After discussing a mysterious starter motor issue on a Volkswagennbsp;van, I noticed the rear end of an exotic looking Reliant Scimitar - brake cylinder problems. We finished the discussion was a rant from Steve on the way the revenue from car tax is being spent in the UK. Photo: exfordy Andy: Hello everyone, Irsquo;m standing with Steve Kennard in the forecourt of his wonderful garage, First Class Garage. Hello Steve how are you today? Steve: Yes, morning Andy, no fine making the most of this nice weather wersquo;re having. Itrsquo;s supposed to be getting to sort of 30 degrees today, but I donrsquo;t know that wersquo;ll quite reach that down here on the South Coast. But yes, itrsquo;s lovely, nice, pleasant good working conditions at the moment. Andy: Yes, yes it is very. Irsquo;m surprised how acoustically quiet it is in here at the moment, why is that Steve? Itrsquo;s normally very noisy in the work shop. I mean you look busy, therersquo;s loads of cars here. Steve: Yes, it is, therersquo;s a couple of guys just gone out on a road test. And everything. Andy: nbsp;Thatrsquo;s more like it. Steve: Yes just on cue, the compressor fires up, you know. But no I meanhellip; Andy: Now it sounds like a garage. Steve: Yes, yes I donrsquo;t doubt itrsquo;ll sound even noisier as it sort of goes on. Someonersquo;s bound to pick up an air tool or something like they usually do, when wersquo;re trying to sort of talk yes. Andy: Actually itrsquo;s very much like that in an operating theatre, some of the tools they use on bones. Steve: Yes, yes yoursquo;re right actually. Andy: Thatrsquo;s a different story. Steve: Oh absolutely, you know I mean I guess if you were to see some of the instruments they use you know. Like hacksaws when theyrsquo;rehellip; Andy: Theyrsquo;re very similar to garage instruments, theyrsquo;ve got compressed air power devices. Steve: Absolutely, and joint splitters, I mean we remember you used joint splitters to sort of split ball joints. Itrsquo;s no different like in the operating theatres, except that theirs are not covered in dirty grease and road grime, you know. Andy: You mean you donrsquo;t dress up in greens and masks and things? Steve: Well they say theyrsquo;re meant to be clean but I donrsquo;t know, Irsquo;ve got my doubts in some cases. Andy: So whatrsquo;s been happening? Because there is lots of cars here. I can see a Volkswagen, a Renault Espace and a Volkswagen Van at the end I recognize from around Brighton, with the thing in the back window I recognize. Whatrsquo;s going on? I know that thatrsquo;s got an interesting story, because itrsquo;s a starter motor mystery isnrsquo;t it? Steve: Yes, yes itrsquo;s one- it came in a couple of weeks ago, it wouldnrsquo;t start, we had to go and recover it. Andy: So itrsquo;s a Ford Transit is it? Steve: No, this is a Volkswagen Caravelle. Andy: Just testing. Steve: Yes, okay. Andy: Thatrsquo;s why itrsquo;s got a Volkswagen sticker on the back. Steve: Obviously you need to go tohellip; Andy: Specsavers. Steve: Exactly, I didnrsquo;t want to mention it but, you know. Andy: I was looking at the wrong van, I was looking at the one in front which is a Ford Transit. Steve: Yes, thatrsquo;s the Transit, no the Transitrsquo;s just in for a knocking noise on the front. We know what that is. And on the Caravelle, had a starting problem, we recovered it back here. Had a look at it and itrsquo;s - there was no - the starter motor itself is dead. Therersquo;s power going into the starter motor, nothing happening. So we put a new starter on it. Fine, tried it, road tested it everything was fine, and off it went like, you know. So here we are again, two weeks down the road, its come back with starting issues. And when wersquo;ve sort of ... faults,,law,and,regulations andy@wireworldmedia.co.uk no No http://passionate-about-cars.com/2010/06/14-peugeots-parking-and-busses/ http://passionate-about-cars.com/2010/06/14-peugeots-parking-and-busses/#comments Fri, 18 Jun 2010 08:15:04 +0000 admin http://passionate-about-cars.com/?p=133 http://passionate-about-cars.com/2010/06/14-peugeots-parking-and-busses/feed/ 0 21:02 In today's show, Steve rants passionately about ho much he loves Peugeots, some observations of parking in Brighton, and an opinion about public transport and ... In today's show, Steve rants passionately about ho much he loves Peugeots, some observations of parking in Brighton, and an opinion about public transport and particularly the busses. Andy: So wersquo;re with Steve, this is the third take, Irsquo;ve had a bit of a technical problem, a bit of equipment failure here going on with the old recorder but never mind, this is the third take now. Steve yoursquo;ve had your brother down havenrsquo;t you, apparently he's a chef from Oz? Steve Kennard: Yes he is, yes. Andy: Have you been having nice barbecues and things? Steve Kennard: Absolutely, yes hersquo;s been making the food taste really wonderful. Being a chef you know hersquo;s ndash; as I say hersquo;s ndash; even something silly like mashed potato tastes totally different, absolutely different. So yes itrsquo;s been nice to see him and yes hersquo;s gone back to Oz now so I need to get my work head back on again. Andy: Yes and therersquo;s loads of ndash; is it Peugeots on the shop floor at the moment? I bet you love French cars donrsquo;t you? Steve Kennard: Absolutely, Fr- Andy: Let me guess, electrical problems? Steve Kennard: Yes French cars ndash; most of the problems we get with the French cars that come in are electrical problems. There is... [Car horn] Andy: Excuse me... Steve Kennard: Yes. Yes, this is live. Yes therersquo;s... Andy: No editing here. Steve Kennard: No definitely not. We actually have a ndash; there is a Peugeot 206 there, therersquo;s not an electrical problem actually, that particular one there has had a cam belt failure. But actually when we looked into it, it wasnrsquo;t purely and simply a cam belt failure it was actually a partial seizure on the engine which has then done the cam belt. Itrsquo;s had a total snowball effect. The result is it requires another engine; itrsquo;s not viable to pull that one apart and rebuild it. But- Andy: What caused it to seize in the first place? Steve Kennard: Well we havenrsquo;t actually taken it out and stripped it down that far; wersquo;ve taken the cylinder head off and had a look to see because it had a belt failure. The engine itself was fairly well locked up and you know it wouldnrsquo;t move either way so we took the head off and had a look at it and even with the head off the crank shaft was extremely tight to turn and it shouldnrsquo;t be. If yoursquo;ve got the cylinder head off, yoursquo;ve got no resistances; if the bottom end of the engine is in pretty good shape then it should rotate pretty freely. This one here itrsquo;s taking quite a length of bar on it to turn it over so itrsquo;s suggesting to us that the engine has suffered a bit of a partial seizure at some stage and itrsquo;s probably that thatrsquo;s resulted in the belt failure because the belt in fairness didnrsquo;t look that bad. If you inspect the belts, most belts when theyrsquo;re coming to the end of their working life have got evidence on the belt. If you inspect the belt you can see around the base of the teeth starting to crack up, just a general you know visible inspection of the belt will give you an idea on the condition of the belt. This one here didnrsquo;t really look too bad. It ripped off some teeth where the engine had obviously suffered this seizure and thatrsquo;s it. And of course then it runs out of sync, cam shaft to crank shaft and- Andy: You get things banging into each other? Steve Kennard: Yes yoursquo;ll get valves touching pistons which is whatrsquo;s happened, but even then with the head off the engine should still rotate pretty freely. It hasnrsquo;t been, or it wonrsquo;t do that, so itrsquo;s telling us itrsquo;s got a problem internally and thatrsquo;s going to result in ndash; you know we can take the engine out, strip it down and rebuild it but nowadays the cost of doing that is more expensive than actually buying a ready built unit to fit in. And thatrsquo;s what wersquo;re going to do with that ... faults andy@wireworldmedia.co.uk no No http://passionate-about-cars.com/2010/05/13-engine-refits/ http://passionate-about-cars.com/2010/05/13-engine-refits/#comments Fri, 07 May 2010 16:21:02 +0000 admin http://passionate-about-cars.com/?p=126 http://passionate-about-cars.com/2010/05/13-engine-refits/feed/ 0 18:58 Steve talks about engine replacements and the new road widening at Handcross Hill in Sussex, UK. Andy White: Hello Steve, itrsquo;s been a couple of months because ... Steve talks about engine replacements and the new road widening at Handcross Hill in Sussex, UK. Andy White: Hello Steve, itrsquo;s been a couple of months because yoursquo;ve been otherwise occupied the last couple of times Irsquo;ve come to see you. Wersquo;re standing by your big RV. So, yoursquo;ve been out in it? Steve Kennard: Yes, we went out in it last weekend, just to give it a bit of a trial run after its refurb, let's say. We went just along to Chichester way but it was a nice weekend. Andy White: I thought you were going to say for a minute, went to Chichester and then stopped. Steve Kennard: No, no, no. Just went down to Chichester, I mean because of the size of it, we towed a little KA behind. So, we get there, park up on site and then use the KA to run around in locally. Andy White: So, it doesn't fit in the boot like some of those big American ones? Steve Kennard: No, it hasn't quite got the garage, is what you're talking about. I mean a lot of them have what they call the garage in the back of them, which basically sort of goes underneath the bed. The bed is raised up quite high and you've got this large space underneath that you can put small vehicle in. Andy White: How was it, Steve? It wasn't the inaugural trip was it, you've been out in it a few times haven't you? Steve Kennard: No, this was actuallyhellip; Andy White: It was the inaugural trip! Steve Kennard: First trip, yes. The one we were going to go one towards the back end of last year, last October, that occurred - well I had my little attack let's say. Andy White: Yes, your little challenge. Steve Kennard: Yes, the weekend or the week that we were due to go out in it. We went out on it, the idea was just a long weekend, just to give it a run out and see if there were any gremlins, iron out the gremlins. Andy White: Did you find any gremlins? Steve Kennard: The one real annoying thing was the old satellite didnrsquo;t work properly. Couldn't find, it couldn't find the actual satellite itself. Which was a little bit annoying but it wasn't out the way, the DVD player and that lot worked. The most annoying thing was, when we got back after the weekend I switched it on to have a look to see what was wrong with it and it worked fine. Andy White: Isnrsquo;t that always the way? Steve Kennard: Yes, I guess there is a little gremlins in their somewhere, which Irsquo;ll have a look at and get to the bottom of but the bus itself ran absolutely fine, turned a few heads. It gets a few looks where it is at the moment, parked outside the workshop. Andy White: I bet it did. I was going say, itrsquo;s the first time Irsquo;ve seen it actually out in the open because when we saw before it was sort of tucked into your garage at the side, wasn't it? Steve Kennard: Yes, it was tucked in the corner but it's now out in the open. It's all been, as I say, all refurbed inside and it drives absolutely lovely. You just have to make sure you give yourself a little bit of room when you swing it because of the overhang on the back. Andy White: Yes, the back wheels, theyrsquo;re way forward, aren't they? Steve Kennard: Yes, like a lot of these vehicles they have what they call a separate bedroom on the back and that is, it gives you some sort of about a seven foot overhang on the back. Ah, perfect noise in the background at the moment. Andy White: Thatrsquo;s okay, this perfect technology can still pick our voices up despite the road cleaning device coming along. Anyway, let's get on to the shop floor, what's been happening? It's now April, it's nice and sunny, still a bit chilly; what sort of problems are you having at the moment? Steve Kennard: Oh well, where should we start? There are loads of problems. Andy White: You are mentioning a lot of engine changes, actually replacing engines. Steve Kennard: Yes, we've got a high Hyundai, its been here for a little while, sorry not a Hyundai, itrsquo;s a Kia wa... faults,,maintenance andy@wireworldmedia.co.uk no No http://passionate-about-cars.com/2010/02/12-dont-drive-your-mini-through-a-ford/ http://passionate-about-cars.com/2010/02/12-dont-drive-your-mini-through-a-ford/#comments Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:01:11 +0000 admin http://passionate-about-cars.com/?p=114 http://passionate-about-cars.com/2010/02/12-dont-drive-your-mini-through-a-ford/feed/ 0 17:35 Amongst other things, Steve tells the story of how driving a mini through a ford resulted in a new engine. Andy: It's Friday 29th January, I'm at ... Amongst other things, Steve tells the story of how driving a mini through a ford resulted in a new engine. Andy: It's Friday 29th January, I'm at 1st Class Garage with Steven. Steven's just been playing - not dominos - that game where you have to move things around to make space with cars. Steve: Well, it's almost like musical chairs with the cars, just shunting the cars around so that people can get in and out. And, yes, I mean, it's the same sort of problem wherever you go in the town. I don't know; I don't know what the answer to it is really. Well, I do know the answer is not to fleece the motorists. That's basically all that's happening; it's all about money. I mean, if you go not too far from here there's, like, it's 11-hour meters. And if you go up and down those roads you'll find that most of those are standing empty because, of course, the cost of parking now. So we've got roads around here that has got not a lot of vehicles parked on them because they're now metered. Whereas before the meters, obviously people used to park there, so all the cars that used to park there, where have they gone? You know, they've only moved them to another area. And this is the common practice: when they started zoning this town people used to park on the outskirts of the zones, so they moved the zones out. People park on the outskirts of those zones, so it is a little bit of a knock-on effect. And the parking issues in this town, I mean, I could spend hours talking about it and I don't really want to go down that - because it does make the blood boil. Andy: Have you had any nice, juicy run-ins with traffic wardens recently, Steve? Steve: Just lately, no. I've got to say, in fairness, the guys we've had around here have been very understanding, because obviously we work with cars; we're in the town; parking is a problem. When people drop their cars off, you know, we then have to move vehicles around to accommodate them or we have to find somewhere that we can park them, you know, safely and legally. So yes, parking is a little bit of an issue and we've had run-ins in the past with various wardens - I don't know what their, sort of, their actual job title is now, but... Andy: Traffic enforcement officers, I think, something like that. Steve: Oh, traffic enforcement... Andy: Or parking enforcement officers. Something like that, I think. Steve: Yes. That's a lovely term, isn't it? I mean, just directly outside the garage here we've got double yellow lines. We did ask if we could actually have, like, the white bar that they used to put across sunken pavements. Because this is a sunken pavement, or a crossover as they call it, which means that you - you know, that really other people - or people shouldn't really park there because we need access to it. So we asked if we could have the white bar there because of cars being dropped off; it'll allow customers just to pull their cars up outside there without getting hassled. And one or two of the wardens in the past have really hassled us, you know, they don't appreciate that we have a job to do like they have a job to do. We've got to have a little bit of sense and just - it is, it's common sense really. Andy: But on a bright note it's good news about the understanding wardens that you've encountered recently. We salute understanding wardens, don't we? Well, I do. Steve: Absolutely, I'm all for it. Everybody has a job to do and I'm sure they hate to get abused, but there are ones out there that actually encourage abuse with the way they go about their job. You can understand why people do get wound-up and do, like, howl verbal abuse at them. I'm not condoning it - I can't condone it - but yes, you know, it'll make your blood boil, particularly if you're having a bit of a bad day and their lack of understanding is - it doesn't help matters. It's just fuel to the fire really, isn't it? Andy: Now Steve, last time I spoke to you, which was in December, was faults,,law,and,regulations,,winter andy@wireworldmedia.co.uk no No http://passionate-about-cars.com/2010/01/11-driving-in-winter-conditions/ http://passionate-about-cars.com/2010/01/11-driving-in-winter-conditions/#comments Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:01:46 +0000 admin http://passionate-about-cars.com/?p=98 http://passionate-about-cars.com/2010/01/11-driving-in-winter-conditions/feed/ 1 17:57 Steve talks about driving in wintery and snow conditions. Andy: Hello everyone, itrsquo;s Passionate About Cars. We woke up this morning to thick snow, well, ... Steve talks about driving in wintery and snow conditions. Andy: Hello everyone, itrsquo;s Passionate About Cars. We woke up this morning to thick snow, well, I mean, for Brighton, itrsquo;s thick snow, three inches and Irsquo;m sitting in the main lobby, the main area where customers come at First Class Garage and Steversquo;s manning the lobby. Are you short of staff this morning Steve? Steve: Yes, Irsquo;m actually playing secretary as well today. The secretaryrsquo;s on two daysrsquo; holiday, shersquo;s back in on Monday, today being Friday. So Irsquo;m sort of manning the front desk as well as everything else. A general dogsbody, thatrsquo;s me. Wersquo;ve had a fair bit of snow overnight. I live just on the outskirts in Woodingdean and as always out there it does tend to get a little bit worse. Wersquo;ve probably had about sort of five or six inches of snow settling on the ground overnight in Woodingdean which has made it difficult to get out. Public transport, you know, buses not running. I came in from Woodingdean this morning and picked four women up on the way in actually this morning, like all walking to work along the Warren Road and it was still snowing quite heavily. It was a bit breezy out there and all the women said that itrsquo;s a bit of a first, they wouldnrsquo;t normally step into a motor with a stranger. So obviously I couldnrsquo;t sort of encourage people to do that but the conditions were such that, you know, itrsquo;s just Irsquo;m coming that way and Irsquo;ve got the benefit of a four wheel drive for the workshop so it just made sense rather than see them struggling on foot to work. Andy: Did you see any good examples of interesting snow driving on the way Steve? Steve: Yes, theyrsquo;re out there. The sort of people that are really not sure when it comes to these sort of conditions should stay at home. They ought never ever to get behind the wheel. If theyrsquo;re not sure about the conditions, stay away from the wheel. One of the big problems you get is yoursquo;ve got four wheel drive vehicles out there that do find it a lot easier to get through these conditions but then yoursquo;ll always come across the person that doesnrsquo;t understand the conditions, will drive at 2, 3, 4mph and constantly get stuck. Because you just need to keep momentum going, you need to just let the engine take it and you see people, theyrsquo;ll get up to 5mph so theyrsquo;re dabbing the brakes. Not really the thing to do. So if yoursquo;re not really sure, obviously the best advice is to stay at home, stay out of the conditions and you donrsquo;t have to drive, again, stay out of the conditions. Itrsquo;s only if you really have to drive then if you donrsquo;t have a lot of alternative but to venture out then obviously you donrsquo;t have much alternative, itrsquo;s as simple as that. Particularly if yoursquo;re living in the outer areas or if you know a neighbour whorsquo;s got a four wheel drive, you can cadge a lift with someone, then thatrsquo;s definitely the way to go. But, yes, therersquo;s more forecast for the weekend and although itrsquo;s nice and blue sky and bright out there at the moment, it is still hovering around freezing. And Irsquo;ve noticed one of the big problems wersquo;ve got, where the snowrsquo;s packing down and because the temperatures are so low, wersquo;ve got a lot of solid ice forming underneath. So, until the gritters get out there, itrsquo;s not a good idea to be on the road in fairness. Wersquo;ve had two of the guys from the workshop that live in the outer areas, havenrsquo;t made it in this morning. Theyrsquo;ve phoned in, canrsquo;t get in but likewise wersquo;ve had customers that again, whose cars are booked in, are not coming in. Not that wersquo;re expecting too many. We have had some come in and wersquo;ll continue to get people coming in with the non-start problems, the bad starting and then after the weekend wersquo;ll... winter andy@wireworldmedia.co.uk no No http://passionate-about-cars.com/2009/12/water-under-the-bridge-steves-rv/ http://passionate-about-cars.com/2009/12/water-under-the-bridge-steves-rv/#comments Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:11:03 +0000 admin http://passionate-about-cars.com/?p=92 http://passionate-about-cars.com/2009/12/water-under-the-bridge-steves-rv/feed/ 0 16:49 Steve talks about his personal challenges during our hiatus and shows us his new project, an RV Andy: Hello everyone. Wersquo;re back with lsquo;Passionate About Carsrsquo; ... Steve talks about his personal challenges during our hiatus and shows us his new project, an RV Andy: Hello everyone. Wersquo;re back with lsquo;Passionate About Carsrsquo; and with Steve. Alright Steve? Steve: Yeah, hi Andy. Seems to have been a while doesnrsquo;t it? Andy: Yeah, wersquo;ve been kind of off air ndash; sorry Steve you lead the way. Wersquo;re just going to the back. Wersquo;ve got an exciting project to talk about. Itrsquo;s kind of my fault and I do apologise wersquo;ve been off air for a year, wersquo;re back now with a vengeance. And the exciting thing is wersquo;ve got a new website, which if yoursquo;re listening to this on the website yoursquo;ll know about because yoursquo;re on it. But if yoursquo;re listening to it on the feed, through iTunes or something like that take a look at passionate-about-cars.com. You donrsquo;t need the www but you can put it there if you want. Thatrsquo;s the new website for hosting this wonderful podcast. Quite a lot of waterrsquo;s passed under the bridge the year wersquo;ve been off hasnrsquo;t it? Tell us whatrsquo;s been going on. Steve: Yeah well apart from motor trade, I mean therersquo;s always an awful lot going on in the motor trade ndash; business wise therersquo;s been a fair bit going on. And personally, I mean, as yoursquo;re aware Andy like I had a little bit of a scare a couple of months ago now, it was a heart attack actually. And it happened here at the garage and I think probably a lot of that will be down to stress of running a business, you know I mean some people might say diet and all this sort of thing like. But I used to smoke; Irsquo;m not a smoker now I gave that up quite a few years ago. Drink wise, no I used to drink years ago, you know in my sort of service days when quite a lot of us used to drink back then. But now therersquo;s really not an awful lot of alcohol passes the lips sohellip; So itrsquo;s not really down to that and the only thing I can put it down to is probably more the stress of running businesses, you know particularly in this day and age. Things get a little bit awkward from time to time. Therersquo;s an awful lot of things to sort out and whether you like it or not you find yourself getting stressed out and it happens. And I guess it happens to most people that are running businesses as I say particularly at the moment because things are quite sort of tough out there for people. The heart attack as I say happened here at work. Bit of a strange thing, wasnrsquo;t really what I expected, you know. When people talk about heart attacks the first thing you think about is chest pains. I didnrsquo;t really get chest pains. I had a little bit of what was seen to be a bit of indigestion and I know a lot of people have the same thing leading up to a heart attack. This was a little bit in the morning when I woke up. One of the main things I noticed at that time, that morning was my shoulders ached, particularly my left shoulder. I put it down to being in the gym. The previous day Irsquo;d had a bit of a workout in the gym and thought may be Irsquo;d overdone it a little bit so I put it down to a little bit of sort of may be muscle strain or something like that. But obviously it wasnrsquo;t and I came into work just feeling a little bit out of sorts, couldnrsquo;t really put your finger on it. Just felt a bit under the weather. By about sort of quarter past ten that morning I started to feel really nauseous and had to go to the loo in the garage and thought I was going to be bad but I wasnrsquo;t. I then just started sweating profusely. It was like someone threw a bucket of water over me. I was just totally soaked in sweat. Had to sit down and I felt really short of breath then, started struggling to breathe. And I guess I sort of suspected it was something to do with the heart at that time but I didnrsquo;t have the chest pains. So again I was like thinking like I gues... buying,a,car andy@wireworldmedia.co.uk no No http://passionate-about-cars.com/2008/12/9-politics-and-winter-motoring-tips/ http://passionate-about-cars.com/2008/12/9-politics-and-winter-motoring-tips/#comments Thu, 11 Dec 2008 20:00:53 +0000 admin http://passionate-about-cars.com/?p=26 http://passionate-about-cars.com/2008/12/9-politics-and-winter-motoring-tips/feed/ 0 17:52 A whirlwind of political commentary from Steve in this show, including motorist persecution, the toll increase at the Dartford Crossing, police doing speed checks on ... A whirlwind of political commentary from Steve in this show, including motorist persecution, the toll increase at the Dartford Crossing, police doing speed checks on Brighton Seafront and how some banks are not passing on the 2% interest rate change. nbsp;Oh, and we discuss driver safety, K-Series Rover head gaskets, Nissan rear door handles, and some tips on preparing your car for winter such as tyres (tread and pressure), lights, screen wash and good old WD40 in your locks. Enjoy! law,and,regulations,,winter andy@wireworldmedia.co.uk no No http://passionate-about-cars.com/2008/09/8-how-about-an-inspection-cover-mercedes/ http://passionate-about-cars.com/2008/09/8-how-about-an-inspection-cover-mercedes/#comments Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:00:39 +0000 admin http://passionate-about-cars.com/?p=34 http://passionate-about-cars.com/2008/09/8-how-about-an-inspection-cover-mercedes/feed/ 0 00:01:01 Steve talks about A class Mercedes starter motor problems, the Ford Galaxy phantom opening windows problem, his prize Cadillac loosing top gear and the indestructible ... Steve talks about A class Mercedes starter motor problems, the Ford Galaxy phantom opening windows problem, his prize Cadillac loosing top gear and the indestructible Toyota Hilux. faults andy@wireworldmedia.co.uk no No http://passionate-about-cars.com/2008/07/7-scored-brake-disks-and-speed-cameras/ http://passionate-about-cars.com/2008/07/7-scored-brake-disks-and-speed-cameras/#comments Sat, 19 Jul 2008 20:00:23 +0000 admin http://passionate-about-cars.com/?p=21 http://passionate-about-cars.com/2008/07/7-scored-brake-disks-and-speed-cameras/feed/ 0 12:33 Steve talks about scored brake discs, fabric skins on cars, Japanese cars coming into the UK and how wonderful speed cameras are - not. Steve talks about scored brake discs, fabric skins on cars, Japanese cars coming into the UK and how wonderful speed cameras are - not. law,and,regulations andy@wireworldmedia.co.uk no No http://passionate-about-cars.com/2008/06/6-two-post-ramps-and-parking-in-brighton/ http://passionate-about-cars.com/2008/06/6-two-post-ramps-and-parking-in-brighton/#comments Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:00:57 +0000 admin http://passionate-about-cars.com/?p=16 http://passionate-about-cars.com/2008/06/6-two-post-ramps-and-parking-in-brighton/feed/ 0 12:34 Steve enthuses about the joy of two post ramps. What is a two post ramp you may well ask? Ever tried parking in Brighton? Steve gives ... Steve enthuses about the joy of two post ramps. What is a two post ramp you may well ask? Ever tried parking in Brighton? Steve gives us a wonderful example of why the parking regulations in Brighton, UK are more like a type of Human Error tax. Enjoy! law,and,regulations andy@wireworldmedia.co.uk no No http://passionate-about-cars.com/2008/05/5-the-strangeness-of-control-modules/ http://passionate-about-cars.com/2008/05/5-the-strangeness-of-control-modules/#comments Thu, 22 May 2008 20:00:07 +0000 admin http://passionate-about-cars.com/?p=14 http://passionate-about-cars.com/2008/05/5-the-strangeness-of-control-modules/feed/ 0 15:25 Steve tells us about how modern cars can behave very strangely when their controller units go wrong. We hear tales of a Vauxhall Vectra with ... Steve tells us about how modern cars can behave very strangely when their controller units go wrong. We hear tales of a Vauxhall Vectra with a dead indicator switch and gauges, and a Kia Sedona with an accelerator pedal that refused to function, until a completely and apparently unrelated issue was resolved. Strange indeed. faults andy@wireworldmedia.co.uk no No http://passionate-about-cars.com/2008/04/4-worn-head-gaskets/ http://passionate-about-cars.com/2008/04/4-worn-head-gaskets/#comments Fri, 11 Apr 2008 20:00:59 +0000 admin http://passionate-about-cars.com/?p=12 http://passionate-about-cars.com/2008/04/4-worn-head-gaskets/feed/ 0 10:11 Take one Vauxhall Calibre 16v 2 litre with a worn head gasket and add Steve Kennard and we have a vibrant tips and advice fest. ... Take one Vauxhall Calibre 16v 2 litre with a worn head gasket and add Steve Kennard and we have a vibrant tips and advice fest. Did you know, for example, that Rovers are prone to worn head gaskets? And don't forget to check your water levels! maintenance andy@wireworldmedia.co.uk no No http://passionate-about-cars.com/2008/03/3-mazda-rx7-with-rusty-a-frames/ http://passionate-about-cars.com/2008/03/3-mazda-rx7-with-rusty-a-frames/#comments Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:00:43 +0000 admin http://passionate-about-cars.com/?p=10 http://passionate-about-cars.com/2008/03/3-mazda-rx7-with-rusty-a-frames/feed/ 0 10:44 Steve shows us a 1985 Mazda RX7 with a rust problem on the A-frames revealed when the windscreen needed replacing. Listen out for a few ... Steve shows us a 1985 Mazda RX7 with a rust problem on the A-frames revealed when the windscreen needed replacing. Listen out for a few things to look out for when acquiring an older car. buying,a,car,,corrosion andy@wireworldmedia.co.uk no No http://passionate-about-cars.com/2007/11/2-get-a-cadillac/ http://passionate-about-cars.com/2007/11/2-get-a-cadillac/#comments Wed, 21 Nov 2007 20:00:18 +0000 admin http://passionate-about-cars.com/?p=7 http://passionate-about-cars.com/2007/11/2-get-a-cadillac/feed/ 0 19:58 Steve shows me his pride and joy - a Cadillac, and talks about what can sometimes go wrong with air conditioning. Steve shows me his pride and joy - a Cadillac, and talks about what can sometimes go wrong with air conditioning. buying,a,car,,faults andy@wireworldmedia.co.uk no No http://passionate-about-cars.com/2007/10/engine-running-low-on-oil/ http://passionate-about-cars.com/2007/10/engine-running-low-on-oil/#comments Wed, 17 Oct 2007 20:00:22 +0000 admin http://passionate-about-cars.com/?p=1 http://passionate-about-cars.com/2007/10/engine-running-low-on-oil/feed/ 0 19:14 Steve shows me the damage caused to an engine when it runs low on oil. Steve shows me the damage caused to an engine when it runs low on oil. maintenance andy@wireworldmedia.co.uk no No