herbiemercman

Hi Dudes, I was not in my Supra, but my Merc, it will sit all day at 120, but i try to keep a good look out for the "sniper vans". If you are travelling down from Glasgow on the M/Way going south, some parts of this wide, quiet road are totaly safe, bit like the Autobahn in Germany, but here in our "do good nation" you have to keep at 70 MPH, feels like you are doing 30 MPH on an A road. Speeding in the UK is no longer about safety, it is about money, and nearly all motorists know this. I will drive fast where appropriate as mentioned here, but equally i drive very carefully in populated places and where there are parked cars and schools etc. Not long ago there was talk in high places about lifting the UK M/Way speed limit to 80 MPH, they decided not to do it as some said, and i agree, that motorists would just move up to just under 90 MPH, as they currently do with the 80 MPH level. You all must have joined in with the 79MPH convoys on most M/Ways, and for the most part this has worked, the coppers look the other way. I think most of us now realise that congestion is spreading exponentialy and just keeping moving on M/Ways is a luxury, however there are still places where you can let go and drive carefully at good speeds, this what i was doing. I was doing about 90 MPH and i spotted a yellow van on a bridge a mile away, i thought it could have been a "Wimpey" van guy having his lunch, i slowed down just in case, it was a sniper hitting you without warning, (entrapment), as soon as you round the curve on the M/Way and see him, you are "shot", you have done nothing dangerouse and you know you have been duped by a Council worker on minimum wage with state of the art camera, this costs you £100 and three points, for some this could cost them their job. This situation IMO is not the same as the drunken / drug plebs who drive dangerously in built up areas, but "one size fits all" here in our righteouse nation, apparently 30% of motorists have no insurance, etc. Many good motorists are being screwed, we are responsible people who pay our way, and are an easy target. Cumbria police are the worst in the UK along with Wales for OTT hammering motorists, they have had to relent about the justification of safety as the stats are going the other way, Cumbria had 46,000 speeding covictions last year, and yes, no stats to justify. They offer a "Speed Awareness Cource" for £100, the caviat being you have not been on such a cource for the past 3 years, also there is a spped threshold, but Cumbria do not tell you what it is ? most other Police Authorities quote their threshold on line, Nottingham is 86 MPH, as is Birmingham, for exceeding the M/Way 70 MPH max, may be Cumbria want to keep desparate motorists cooking for a while, for people who need to avoid the 3 points for their jobs, insurance etc? I work hard and pay lots of tax and i get pi..ed off with the covert ways we are treated here in the UK, especially when we have imported thousands of strangers, who lay low and take what they can, and are imune from this, and i do not include the Jamaicans, they were genuine, and created a unfair by-pass for the bad imports, we all know who they are. Sorry, i am having a moan, but i know many of you will agree ? ? Herbie.

I agree with Dnk, I am a fighter, but don't want "my hands tied behind my back", in my experience the coppers and the insurance companies are a manopoly and never seem to be beaten. Icidently "Adrianflux" increased my premium for my current standard comprehensive insurance, £160 as i informed them about my BHP conversion from 220 to 452 BHP, i felt i had to tell them as if you are unlucky enough to cause a fatality, they void your claim and this could cost you your house. Herbie.

Hi Burna, May be i did not explain things very well, i was refering to the normal comprehensive for just being paid the "Parkers" guide book value, NOT "the agreed value", getting the agreed value is the whole point of my thread. Herbie.

Hi Dudes, I am negotiating an agreed value with "Adran Flux" insurance as i have just started to realise/remember that for theft you just get the "Parker's" guide value ! This would be a sick joke for my bus as i spent £6K on her 18 months back. The thing that alerted me was an aricle today in the Daily Mail about the current UK situation for car theft, aparently the cars, even with a "Tracker" like i have, are stolen and then put into "Soaking", this means they are put on a quality car car park for one week, to see if the police have cottoned on, lol, once the "soaking" is done the thieves take the car to one of many dismantleing shops, or if the car is top dollar stuff £40K+, then they are moved for a little more "soaking", to a close by ferry port, they are then placed into a large container amongst washing machines etc, and the container is then sealed, this is the bitter end, less than 10% are tracked down. So this is not Fu..ing nice, as i most of our Supra situations IMO, our cars will be dismantled as spare parts are big bucks. It would pee me off big time if i was unfortunate and my baby got taken, even if i get the agreed value, be better for me if they stole my partner.lol. What do you lot think ? Herbie.

Hi Dudes, May be i am wrong on this one and there have been Supras on Top Gear or Wheeler Dealers? If i am not wrong why have they never been on there as nearly every car i can think of has? Herbie.

Yep the UK "Dogooders" seem to be making great progress, IMO they are not objective and most of "The Powers That Be" do not drive or like a drink etc, so it's easy to see how quickly times are changing. Nicola Sturgeon in Scotland has virtually stopped all motorists from going out for an evening meal etc and having a safe moderate drink. Even the Isle Of Man has succomed, the main attraction of unlimited speed on the mountain road has been stopped as well as a reciprocal Mainland agreement on banning drivers. I am sad all this is happening , but glad i spent a few years enjoying sensible laws, it is not about safety,the stats do not support the case, it's about money and biggots in high office, who are not affected. Just out of interest, how many of you would consider appreciating the current value of your treasured Supra now, prior to the word getting out, that our cars are becoming "A Fish Out Of Water"? in the UK. I am sad and mad about it all and feel like the thousands of young guys who drive arround without insurance because they were being screwed with no good reason, they know they cannot win, but they voted with their feet. My every day car is a big Merc diesel, 7 seater work horse with 300 BHP, so i got another loser, roll on the bus pass. lol. Herbie.

When the powers that be get too greedy with raking in from the cameras may be there will be a reaction like that in the USA, all be it that is a much more serious issue, electrically rotating number plates are some thing that springs to mind, i remember on the bikes we had no front number plates, but this was only effective with the "sniper vans", most of which are operated by the council now. Most of our problems in this tiny island, IMO, is mega overpopulation, if we were to match the "elbow room" they have in most of Europe, we would have a population of circa 30Mill, not the 66Mill we have currently, it is giving us the road congestion, too much polution, full up schools, NHS full, dentists full up, over crowded property market, growing crime, however all this makes my moan about my car issue a bit trivial. I would move to Germany but my car is RHD lol. Herbie.

It is a great looking car for that money, and low mileage, not sure why you placed it so low? just look at what you can buy for that kind of money, it should sell quickly, good luck, but you are unwittingly downing the real values of these, fastly becoming, rare cars. Herbie.

Hi Guys, I just went for a quick blast on one of my local A roads, it was one which attracts local fast bikers, the road runs for 15 miles from Abbey Village to Bolton, mostly with moorland on either side,3 fatalities and 2 sheep in the past 10 years,anyway like many roads in Scotland it is now totaly screwed with the big yellow towers with the "Average Speed Cameras". This seems to be happening all across the UK, may be the powers that be want to promote electric and driverless cars, which will never understand "Petrol Heads". So guys i am not sure what things are like were you live, but in Lancashire we have mega congestion problems, parking problems, and when the real "driver roads" are clear we have the speed cameras, not good. I like looking at my beast and going to the pub in it etc, but my favourit to actually let it have a blast is fading by the day. May be your area is still ok , but i cannot see it being for long? Your Ok if you just like posing , which i have no problems with, but it is not for me, it is also getting harder to understand why car manufacturers are still selling their cars based on BHP and top speed? their argument is based on "Oh it is for overtaking safely", Oh yeh! Sorry i am being a sad bastard but it was today i visited my favouite road with the unnecessary cameras. What do you think? Herbie.

Cheers guys i can see what you mean now, it is still a mystery why all the other shields are sound and yet the FNS corroded, mainly at the base, could be that the base is very inaccessible where i tried to apply "Waxoyl", the curved top section which has the air flow louvers is not bad so i may be able to build up the bottom section with sheet ali and pop rivet on. The alternative is to remove both front shields, now that i know it will not be an MOT failure, the rear plates are now the most important as they would have to be in place for the functionality and would be an MOT failure, i need to ensure i give these a good corrosion protection treatment, great pitty that the OEM's did not bother about the cost and comlexity of replacing these simple mild steel pressings, just 50 pence to have had the galvanizing done prior to assembly! Herbie.

Hi evinX, Thanks for info, you said in your previouse post that "just 4 bolts out" and the shield comes off? why have you discovered that some cutting of the shield is required, i ask this as i have not started the job yet. If i buy new shields, surely i do not need to cut them? Herbie.

My local garage owner who is a long time served Mercedes man and MOT tests my Supra,and looks after my Merc, looked in his MOT manual yesterday and sent me the wording, it states " Providing no other brake assembly items are attached to the disc dust and splash plate, such as cables,calipers,wheel cylinders etc, then this will NOT create an MOT failure". However due to the high cost of replacement of these plates i am going to coat them with "Waxoyl Bitumastic" paint, this stuff will not wash away in high water pressure locations like there is under the wheel arches, the standard "Waxoyl", which i have always used, will eventually wash off, and i think this is why my shield corroded. Finally i just looked at the fixing arrangement on the front of my 1995 Supra, and once you remove the brake disc, you just remove the bolts to detach the plate, the wheel bearings are not involved, all be it this may not be the case on the rear plates removal process? Thanks again for all your comments. Herbie.

Hi Guys, I have now found out that the correct name for what i refered to as brake disc cooling/shield, is plate dust & splash shield. When i contacted my local garage who has lots of experience with all makes of cars said he has seen lots of cases where this thin mild steel shield has corroded and fallen away from their fixings and many owners just leave them off, it is only an MOT failure if just one side is missing, not sure i can see the logic in this as i do not think there are any cars which do not have these sheilds fitted? he also went on to say that the amount of water that gets onto the front discs at 70 mph on a very wet motorway is as bad as any splashes you would get and the dust is the same as the outer disc surface which has no shield, IMO this makes sense. The other thing is these things are quite expensive considering they are a thin mild steel pressing. What do you think? Herbie.

Hi Guys, Had my car 22 years from new and now the front offside disc brake cooling /shield has corroded and is flopping about, i am a bit amazed how this has happened as i am a big waxoyl fan, however, two questions, 1. How neccessary are these plates if you are not racing on a hot summers day? also does anyone know if and where these plates are available? I realise that the plates also prevent road debris getting on the discs and the disc pads and i like keeping my car to 100% spec. I will appreciate any replies. Herbie. SUPRA BRAKES REPLACED. AUG 2012. 003.jpg (993.4 KB) SUPRA BRAKES REPLACED. AUG 2012. 002.jpg (831.3 KB)

Thankyou for putting the link up Frank it was a good read. Herbie.

Come on boys "bury the hatchet" just have a fall out over things that matter, help and friendship is a major corner stone of this club. Banter and having the "crack" is ok but agro is better on "Twitter" or as refered to in my Local as "Shi--er". Herbie.

I must admit that i do not go on our Supra site as much as some members do, and yes i do rush to get on the site when i have a problem i cannot solve, or i want to sell something, it's a bit like going to the doctors when you are ill, however i do occasionally enjoy the activities around our car experiences, and yes over the past decade i have had the agro, especially when i tried , out of a good experience, promoted Dr Jekyll. You can also unwittingly break the club rules, something like stating a price for a car or an item and offering ONO, it is not alowed, then a good member explains why it is not allowed, no problem. Anyway i have had 95% of good help and advice from members and kind comments in my hours of need, i think the club is great, yes may be needs some tweeks, but one thing i do not know is how many cars do we have left across the planet? for us to live on and maintain the core reason of why we are here? It is fantastic and a credit for this long before it's time automobile to still hold it's own in a world where technology is mind blowing. Herbie.

Hi Guigsy, I fully agree with your coments, imo facebook covers everything from how to grow rubarb to lost dogs, it is a great tool, but to expect it to give proper support to a car club, forget it. Herbie.

I agree with ozy1986, I let my aircon go to sleep years back, it depends on how you use the car, if it is your transport then ok the aircon is usefull. Back to the unprecedented realisation of how these cars where an icon and well designed before their time, and still in most casess look fantastic, even against current cars which are circa 100k, also the Supra needs to be driven, this kind of car is slowly becoming replaced by high tech almost "driverless" crap. I have owned mine from new in 1996 and it still IMO outshines many of the high tech, lease hire robots etc, i have not to date been out performed by any cars, so it is not just the aesthetics we are looking at but the fact that i have 452 bhp at the back wheels, great arodynamics and great stability, even in bad weather, no wonder the well kept examples will grow deservably in value. Visit your local pub etc and look at the cars, most look the same, the Supra stands out, unfortunately, IMO, not the ones with big lumps of plastic front fenders and rear spoilers. What do you think? Herbie. SUP.BEST.PIC.NAT..jpg (203.2 KB)

Hi r2ck-p, Chris Wilson cured this very problem when my brother had the car, it was a software issue if i remember rightly, sort of comes on from age and lack of use, Chris will fix it, better than a box rebuild, which most of the uninitiated go for, as in fairness, they do not know any better.! Herbie.

Thanks Chris you are a gentleman despite what you did to your earlier girlfriends which was close to my early activities, have a great new year. My car is at it's best but if it gets "poorly" i know where it will be going for help. Herbie.x

I "Waxoyl" my car every 3 years, you need a warm day and a powerfull compressor, the smell goes after about two weeks but you know you can forget about any rust, anywhere. Garages which are not heated and car covers only provide some protection against rust as in the colder months the surface of the metal drops below the "dew point" and any moisture in the air will condense out, a car port is my choice as most of the time the air flow takes away external moisture and the "waxoyl" looks after the sealed cavities. Changing the subject, i have just fitted a bonnet catch, i purchased a pair but decided one in the centre looks better and does the job, the instigation was a fright at silly speed on the M65 and the bonnet lifed a couple of inches and fortunately was caught by the Toyota release claws. I have not seen many on our Club site who have fitted these as i think just one looks ok and gives you peace of mind, not sure what you guys think? Herbie. 20171127_090746.jpg (201.9 KB)

Hi Everyone, Not sure what other members think but why is it that this particular car does not age in it's aesthetic appeal to many petrol heads, all be it this car is known for its mechanical potential for mega performance tuning. Look at the E-Type Jaguar, in its day it was the nicest thing on the planet and now, IMHO it looks really dated and old, its the same with the Italian oldies, may be i am biased, but 20 year old cars do not cut it with me apart from the Mk4 Supra. Are any other members biased? it would be interesting to know. Some thing is very unique about these cars and this is starting to be noticed with the asking prices which are bearing fruit. I am sure the appeal for this car will last longer than the roads in the Uk where you can "let them run", most of Scottish roads are being muted by average speed cameras and England is moving in that direction as well as the levels of congestion where speed is totally eliminated, where i live with three major M/Ways there are only a few hours per week where you can get the boot down, the most of the time it is just a 50 mph convoy or a queue, so may be just looking at our cars will become the main pleasure in the near future. What do you think ? Herbie.

Thankyou all for your support and kind comments. Herbie.

Cheers Crossy,it is good news for most of us on this club site that own a good Supra, they are fantastic cars and now they look like they are on the up, i get lots of interest on my car at my local pub etc and it is a fraction of the value that some of the cars that visit the pub have, most are on lease as well. Good luck with your prospective purchase. I won't part with my rocket ship, it's a 1995, 5 speed manual, with limited slip dif,452 bhp, single turbo, drives like it is a smooth limo and takes off when you want it, owned it from new, cost me £30k. Herbie. 20160224_141942.jpg (200.9 KB) 20151007_161210.jpg (195.2 KB) 20160226_161927.jpg (206.3 KB) 20160114_140835.jpg (196.5 KB)