Captain Beaky

Go Compare is officially on my banned list!! AND a letter of complaint has been sent!

Bad Man !!

I know I know! The Donkey has been part of the family since 2011 and there's' a lot of history. It's not a popular topic at home right now and there's a bit of a rebellion gathering, i mean i had to make my own lunch today! what's the world coming too But i'm looking at another E28 and i have Duncans old 528i here as well so it's a lot to think about, one of the Sprints will also be up for sale before long to add to the mix

Another Epic Tour Over! 1583 miles and the Little Donkey performed brilliantly, even in the highs of 38 degrees she was cruising faultlessly, yes we did have a few moments but nothing Top Gear style. Unfortunately I must also say the Jag beat us 4 -2 Donkey Radiator weeping slightly at the core 1st day but soldiered on Dashboard Failure (omaha) Bad connection Fan Belt adjustment (Pegasus) Noisy PAS on start up Day 3 Jaguar Horn stopped working during a french encounter Run out of washer fluid ! operator error I think she deserves a little Car Spa and some TLC now before I put her up for sale

LOL !!!

Went down to Omaha Beach to see "Long Tom" today

Bayeux yesterday to the D-day Museum, Tapestry and Cathedral, the long way around of course taking in the scenic route fantastic countryside but cant get use to no hedgerows !

Another Day touring the coast, amazing, unbelievable, sad, proud, so many things to take in ! Mulberry B port at Arromanches Juno beach Sword Beach

The 530D touring was fantastic all the way down considering it has done nearly 280000 and still on the original clutch.

Yes, It's a 3.6 manual, we are all staying in a little place outside Bayeux Kids in tow so that they can look and learn. The Little Donkey returned 30mpg overall travelling down and the Jag was not far behind. No issues so far other than a noisy power steering pump on start up for about 2 minutes and the slightest of coolant weeps from the bottom of the radiator, i lost about a cup full of coolant.

Cheers Dunc Came across Rye military cemetery today while on our was to gold beach, it was one of the first cemeteries to be created. It was a sobering experience, very very sad to see all those young graves.

Were on our way to France this time. Yesterday was horrendous driving from West Wales in the rain was heavy going, then today from Maidstone to Dover was ridiculously painful because highways decided to close the M20 all lanes for the weekend. Well done Highways England!! Anyway missed our ferry So we've arrived and set up and looking for a place to wash the Little Donkey tomorrow

Here we go, another day with the BMW trials and tribulations The day started well, all aboard and off to the beach, that was the easy bit !! As we arrived i felt and heard what i thought was a flat only to see the touring dragging its sorry arse on one side. By the time we pulled up and parked both sides were down! So sending the clan on their way I set about looking for the culprit with no tools other than the tool tray To cut a long story short i found the NS leaking from the top once the pump had cooled down enough to start up again, once the cover was off the brass valve popped off because the plastic circlip was broken. After a quick dip to cool the mind and focus i managed to repair it using the broken clip, some tape and the handle from the sand castle bucket but not satisfied i tried to improve the repair only for the pump to refuse to start up again, so help was summoned with plenty of onlookers to watch and offer advice Sods law when we arrived home and i started the wagon to reverse off the truck the Feckless pump fired into life and now its sat outside like a pony on tip toes Does anyone have a spare Circlip because i have read enough to know they can't be bought?

I don't think exempting cars from an MOT is a good idea and in fact which ever idiot dreamed it up probably pushes pens around a desk, uses a train, a bus or a chauffeur, one thing for sure they know nothing about cars. However i don't think classic cars should be subjected to current MOT standards, this has ended up in confrontation in the past for me. I believe Classic cars should be subject to a roadworthiness test every few years and a classic derived basic mot at a point of sale. I don't test my cars because i know them inside out as far as the major areas are concerned and as a classic car owner i am proactive with regards maintenance as this maintains the value in the car . Alternatively my wifes 530D touring, the philosophy here as with many everyday cars is don't look at it and fix it when it breaks or fails the test. But and a very big BUT! the MOT exemption has allowed unscrupulous people a free ticket to sell dangerous cars. I met one chap called Donald and his name was the only british thing about him this year before i bought my Humber Hawk, he was selling a 68 Daimler and my tree house was more roadworthy yet it was on the key, he got it rolling and running. The thing is I had seen the car and spoken to the seller but he bought the car from under my nose for £2.5k and put it up for sale a week later for £5k. As he was close to one of the clubs i look after i went to see it and made a offer, then outed him! it was a shit show Personally if mine are not right i don't use them because my kids are in the car, So the Dolly came out last weekend, a quick check over and a clean, so 150 miles later just to get the cobwebs blown out the front brakes are dragging a little and it does not pull up straight, so they are all off cleaned checked exercised, new fluid, joints, bushes, flexi's and lines checked and greased etc, rear drums, adjust the shoes etc, replaced the rear upper trailing arm bushes and she is good to go. It could do with an engine mounting change and the throttle cable seems tight but i would be lucky to do 1800 miles this year so i'm not overly concerned but I agree the floodgates for will pull utter shitters out of sheds and just put them on the road....

18 months tucked away in the back of the garage and back out to play No tax No mot required Fantastic ! What better way to spend the brightest of Saturday afternoons than cleaning down an old friend and polishing those alloys, then out for an evening spin to the pub for some well earned supper and lubrication