The Good News / Bad News Thread

[ElyDave]

Drove a car with a manual column change – a Peugeot 404 – precisely once, for about ten yards.  USAnian automatics with shift wossnames sticking out of odd places don’t count.

No 2CV in yours or Wowbagger's histories? I drove one, once, and decided to buy an Ovlov instead. Looking back I would have the 2CV for the lols

[Basil]

A previous partner and I had a Ford Consul with three gear column shift.
Yay! Bench front seat. We were kids(ish) and we loved it.

[Regulator]

Drove a car with a manual column change – a Peugeot 404 – precisely once, for about ten yards.  USAnian automatics with shift wossnames sticking out of odd places don’t count.

No 2CV in yours or Wowbagger's histories? I drove one, once, and decided to buy an Ovlov instead. Looking back I would have the 2CV for the lols

We had a Renault 4 (known as a Wendy House on Wheels).

[Polar Bear]

I recall having a "drive" of a Renault 4 on private land somewhere in Oxfordshire.  There was an umbrella handle jutting from the dashboard with which I had to select gears.  IRCC 1st was where you would normally expect 2nd to be, 2nd where 3rd would normally be, etc.

[Jurek]

A previous partner and I had a Ford Consul with three gear column shift.
Yay! Bench front seat. We were kids(ish) and we loved it.

My Dad was going to buy one of those as our first car.
I was beside myself with excitement.
Imagine my disappointment when he came home with an Austin 1100 instead.

[Polar Bear]

I'm wondering when the first bench seat EV will appear.  No gear lever or and brake lever to accommodate and a nice, flat floor surely makes it possible.

[barakta]

My parents had at least 3 renault 4s, a white one, a green one and a red one. The red and green ones were used as parts to make one multicoloured working one. All before about 1984 so my memory of them is largely from photos.

[Cudzoziemiec]

The Renault 4 had that French knack of being utilitarian but in a stylish way.

[CAMRAMan]

I'm wondering when the first bench seat EV will appear.  No gear lever or and brake lever to accommodate and a nice, flat floor surely makes it possible.

My work Berlingo EV has a split driver/2passenger seat arrangement. I doubt a bench option will appear, as the passenger seats can be folded forwards and a hatch opened to allow long objects to be carried .

[mrcharly-YHT]

Bench seats are pretty awful.

They don't provide any lateral stability, so every sharp corner has you sliding into the person next to you.

Individually-bolted down seats are much better. They also give you the flexibility of removing or folding one seat.

[robgul]

I recall having a "drive" of a Renault 4 on private land somewhere in Oxfordshire.  There was an umbrella handle jutting from the dashboard with which I had to select gears.  IRCC 1st was where you would normally expect 2nd to be, 2nd where 3rd would normally be, etc.

Yep - we had one for a while in about 1977-8 - remarkably useful as a small van if you took the rear seats out . . .  and if you got the revs right you could change gear without the clutch.   Biggest issue with was rust!

[Mr Larrington]

Hurrah: 26 degrees in Seattle 

Bah: Shiny Metal Birb doesn’t leave for another six hours 

[Wowbagger]

2CV? Nein Danke!

I don't think bench seats will make a come-back. Where would the arm rests, cup-holders and mobile phone charging points go?

[Cudzoziemiec]

I'm mildly surprised bench seats are even legal, in a modern vehicle, for the driver.

[Giraffe]

I once drove a Bedford mini-bus that had a bench front seat, so no adjustment. The windscreen was rather lacking in height and I had to hunch down as much as I could; this gave a view that allowed a speed of about 25 mph, or 30 if the road dropped away a bit.
It was ideal for motons as there was never anything to avoid - couldn't see it, t'ain't there. I like to be able to stop in under half the visible or actual clear road.

[Mrs Pingu]

Plumber came this arvo to replace the leaking bleed valve in our radiator.
Unfortunately he left with our rad bleed key. (We do have a spare but it's the one with the tiny rod for a handle that makes it uncomfortable to use.)
I knew I should have moved the good key from the area...

[spesh]

Plumber came this arvo to replace the leaking bleed valve in our radiator.
Unfortunately he left with our rad bleed key. (We do have a spare but it's the one with the tiny rod for a handle that makes it uncomfortable to use.)
I knew I should have moved the good key from the area...

When I had my new boiler installed in 2019, one of the installers managed to leave a bleed key behind, so I guess the cosmic balance of the universe is now restored. 

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

I recall having a "drive" of a Renault 4 on private land somewhere in Oxfordshire.  There was an umbrella handle jutting from the dashboard with which I had to select gears.  IRCC 1st was where you would normally expect 2nd to be, 2nd where 3rd would normally be, etc.

Yep - we had one for a while in about 1977-8 - remarkably useful as a small van if you took the rear seats out . . .  and if you got the revs right you could change gear without the clutch.   Biggest issue with was rust!

Passed my test in one. Only 3 gears, no etc.  Top speed 65 and drum brakes that got brake fade on long hills. Beautiful design: at the end of its life everything failed at once, rust and mechanicals.

[robgul]

Plumber came this arvo to replace the leaking bleed valve in our radiator.
Unfortunately he left with our rad bleed key. (We do have a spare but it's the one with the tiny rod for a handle that makes it uncomfortable to use.)
I knew I should have moved the good key from the area...

I have a much-loved brass bleed key that's similar in size and shape to the sort of key that you'd use to wind a clock - beautiful (it lives on my desk, not in the plumbing tool box)

[Mr Larrington]

I've got one of those too.  Only problem is, it doesn’t fit any of the radiators in Larrington Towers and I've no idea where it came from or what it’s for

[Tim Hall]

I've got one of those too.  Only problem is, it doesn’t fit any of the radiators in Larrington Towers and I've no idea where it came from or what it’s for

Piling swivel adjustment. Which in your case you have not got.

[Giraffe]

I've several rad. keys of the clock type. One's in the toolbox for plumbing; the others are in a drawer with plumbing kit.
I learnt quite early on to put something in the key to limit the depth - nipple unscrewed all the way and was too far back to start the thread.
I always put a smear of Boss White or similar on the thread - it stops seizing and seals better.

[Mr Larrington]

Bah: Milk's off ergo no tea

Hurrah: Brewdog Punk AF to the rescue

[Tim Hall]

Bah: Milk's off ergo no tea

Hurrah: Brewdog Punk AF to the rescue

All power to your AF drinkage. Howsumdiver, Mr Brewdog is a bit of a knob.

[Mr Larrington]

Bah: Milk's off ergo no tea

Hurrah: Brewdog Punk AF to the rescue

All power to your AF drinkage. Howsumdiver, Mr Brewdog is a bit of a knob.

This is true, but the alcohol-free Leffe seems to be extinct, if not in the wild then certain in my local Mr Sainsbury’s House of Toothy Comestibles.