I had, when I was in Tuscany, until my mate drove it off the mountain.  When he took a sweeping corner far too wide and lost it, and plunged 50 metres down: a 1968 Fiat Spider.

Riddled with electrical challenges, and a very random wiring loom.  No central fusebox, just in-line fuses on circuits scattered about the car, and not necessarily where you'd expect them to be: just for added fun there was no continuity in wiring colours and traces either.

Ooh, you've been bargain gathering tonight

 

24 minutes ago, GMX said:

I had, when I was in Tuscany, until my mate drove it off the mountain.  When he took a sweeping corner far too wide and lost it, and plunged 50 metres down: a 1968 Fiat Spider.

Riddled with electrical challenges, and a very random wiring loom.  No central fusebox, just in-line fuses on circuits scattered about the car, and not necessarily where you'd expect them to be: just for added fun there was no continuity in wiring colours and traces either.

Ooh, you've been bargain gathering tonight

 

Indeed I have.  I love picking things up at bargain prices, and seem to be rather lucky/good at it.

What an unusual item to collect, no reason why not, it's just I've never heard or thought of anything like that..

1 hour ago, jmurray01 said:

Indeed I have.  I love picking things up at bargain prices, and seem to be rather lucky/good at it.

How many vacuums do you have now in your collection? 

Did the retired Kirby dealer offer you any spare parts for that, and any other Kirbys you may have in your collection?

1 hour ago, Ianb said:

What an unusual item to collect, no reason why not, it's just I've never heard or thought of anything like that..

We have a vacuum collector down here, although he's quite an eccentric.  He styles himself as "Dr Vacuum" and his vacuum repair shop  "The Vacuum Cleaner Hospital".  Dressing in a medic white coat or scrubs, depending on his whim.  My parents  used to get their bags for their old Electrolux He's also a Numatic dealer, although keeping up the hospital theme, it really should be....."...and he runs a Numatic maternity unit; where young new Henry's, Georges, Edwards and Henriettas are bought into the world"

2 hours ago, GMX said:

How many vacuums do you have now in your collection? 

Did the retired Kirby dealer offer you any spare parts for that, and any other Kirbys you may have in your collection?

We have a vacuum collector down here, although he's quite an eccentric.  He styles himself as "Dr Vacuum" and his vacuum repair shop  "The Vacuum Cleaner Hospital".  Dressing in a medic white coat or scrubs, depending on his whim.  My parents  used to get their bags for their old Electrolux He's also a Numatic dealer, although keeping up the hospital theme, it really should be....."...and he runs a Numatic maternity unit; where young new Henry's, Georges, Edwards and Henriettas are bought into the world"

I've got over 15 in my collection at the moment (I do know the actual figure but it is early and I've not had sufficient caffeine yet to make my brain work properly - sorry!).  My particular brand of interest is Hoover and this is actually my first Kirby, which I bought as it was cheap (£40 and I got it down to £35) and could be used for my mother's home help business when cleaning houses etc...

Basically, far too good an opportunity to pass up on!

I'm trying to think if I know of this man you mentioned, but I don't think I do.  We do have an online forum which is surprisingly large and features members from the USA and UK, with a few from other countries too.  A lot of people think it is a strange hobby - but the way I see it is at least my vacuums are all 100% functional.  I once had somebody ask me what the point was (not in such a nice way, though).  A quick search revealed the person in question collected postage stamps, so my response was "I can vacuum my house with any one of my vacuum cleaners.  Can you post a letter with a vintage stamp?". 

I haven't a problem with stamp collecting, or collecting anything for that matter - we are all unique and it is these little things that make people/life interesting.  Anybody who thinks they are better than someone because they have more "normal" hobbies is very closed minded, in my opinion.

It's a totally legitimate hobby, it's just I've never heard of it or thought about it - which is more me than anything else... But I suppose you're right in that if you look at the 'point' of any hobby then it's a bit closed minded. I know a stamp collector and I'll admit its nice to see someone else enjoy something that I have very low understanding in....

I do like picking up a £100 car with 6 months MOT tonight...  Not too keen on the fact it is a Fiat, but hey-ho.

I had one of those - same number of doors, same colour lol

They are amazing little cars - so many smiles from the little 1.2 engine. Lots of noise, lots of fuss, not a lot of action. But they are quite chuckable :D. Surprisingly big inside too!!

Things to watch out for:

- Rocker Gaskets leak easily. New one's are less than a tenner from Fiat. Just be careful when tightening the cover back up. Pinch it too hard and it's gonna leak!

- Coolant system. They are notorious for air locks (characteristic gurgling sound). As a result, head gasket failure is quite common.

I miss my little Punto sometimes lol

Talking about hobbies, I suppose I don't have any, as I'm working all the time and so when I get back, what time I do have, I'm to tired to do anything.  Well I suppose I do like playing guitar and I'd like to do my grades in guitar, I like collecting tools(don't really need to use them on a 61 plate Focus lol, touch wood) Other half likes collecting kids toys and so does the loft.  There's nothing really that takes my interest.  I'm really quite boring.  I do like that this time tonight, I shall hopefully be clocking out for a 3 day weekend.  Can't wait

I suppose gym/rugby is my hobby... I'm in a crazy busy moment, so work is sort of my time on and off...

In down time I guess I like to go for walks on the moors, take photographs.. Also play guitar when I get a moment on the odd evening... I guess that's a few hobbies, but not really collecting hobbies...

33 minutes ago, Ianb said:

I suppose gym/rugby is my hobby... I'm in a crazy busy moment, so work is sort of my time on and off...

In down time I guess I like to go for walks on the moors, take photographs.. Also play guitar when I get a moment on the odd evening... I guess that's a few hobbies, but not really collecting hobbies...

Ohh forgot about photography.  That's one thing I love about being a farmer.  Some of the views/pictures you get can be awesome.... As long as your phone isn't flat.  Can take some really good pictures around my area, especially at our farms as we have a river that runs through the contracting farm and home.  So miss the dairy herd at home, we rent it out to beef at the moment

5 hours ago, Preecematt said:

Talking about hobbies, I suppose I don't have any, as I'm working all the time and so when I get back, what time I do have, I'm to tired to do anything.  Well I suppose I do like playing guitar and I'd like to do my grades in guitar, I like collecting tools(don't really need to use them on a 61 plate Focus lol, touch wood) Other half likes collecting kids toys and so does the loft.  There's nothing really that takes my interest.  I'm really quite boring.  I do like that this time tonight, I shall hopefully be clocking out for a 3 day weekend.  Can't wait

What sort of kid's toys does Cheryl collect?

I sort of slipped into collecting soft toy fruit and vegetable characters, both the promotional ones and those designed to be both promotional and kid's toys.  Initially just those made by Sun Toys, then by those imported  by the Wallace International Group ( now known as The Woodland Bear Company). 

Both issues/series one and two. The earlier ones, have painted circular plastic eyes and sewn on eyelashes and no nose: whereas the later ones have painted eyes and eyelashes on oval plastic discs and velvet/fabric nose

Here are my grapes, demonstrating the differences.  The series 2 grape has a more representative leaf too

 

Branching out to encompass the promotional characters from the Del Monte marketing campaign of late 1980's to early 1990's, the more recent Co-op Retail "Goodness Gang"  (including the rare Chloe & Charlotte cherries with an intact joined stalks - see here, as to why they're rare https://suffolktradingstandards.wordpress.com/2013/05/15/charlotte-chloe-cherry-toy-recalled-from-co-op/) and am now embarking on the "Eat Your Greens" series.  Which I think is connected to an US children's TV program.  At present, I only have one character, a watermelon.

I have personally imported characters from all over the world

2 hours ago, GMX said:

What sort of kid's toys does Cheryl collect?

I sort of slipped into collecting soft toy fruit and vegetable characters, both the promotional ones and those designed to be both promotional and kid's toys.  Initially just those made by Sun Toys, then by those imported  by the Wallace International Group ( now known as The Woodland Bear Company). 

Both issues/series one and two. The earlier ones, have painted circular plastic eyes and sewn on eyelashes and no nose: whereas the later ones have painted eyes and eyelashes on oval plastic discs and velvet/fabric nose

Here are my grapes, demonstrating the differences.  The series 2 grape has a more representative leaf too

 

Branching out to encompass the promotional characters from the Del Monte marketing campaign of late 1980's to early 1990's, the more recent Co-op Retail "Goodness Gang"  (including the rare Chloe & Charlotte cherries with an intact joined stalks - see here, as to why they're rare https://suffolktradingstandards.wordpress.com/2013/05/15/charlotte-chloe-cherry-toy-recalled-from-co-op/) and am now embarking on the "Eat Your Greens" series.  Which I think is connected to an US children's TV program.  At present, I only have one character, a watermelon.

I have personally imported characters from all over the world

So how many toys have you collected in total??  She's into the little kids toy's figurines, so say for example figurines of Beatrix Potter(we don't have them, just using them as an example)  And I'm looking at getting back into model building and collecting

I do like my first formal driving lesson tonight at 19:00, although my anxiety is acting up a bit.

I actually went to get a bottle of wine a minute ago to calm me down and then realised "oh wait, I can't"

Messy desk makes me feel uncomfortable there lol!

 

I wish I had a hobby, just not interested in anything. :( 

12 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Messy desk makes me feel uncomfortable there lol!

 

I wish I had a hobby, just not interested in anything. :( 

Is there anything you enjoy doing??  Maybe take that a step further?

Just now, Preecematt said:

Is there anything you enjoy doing??  Maybe take that a step further?

Nope.  Spent years trying to find something I enjoy, but just doesn't seem to be.

1 minute ago, TomsFocus said:

Nope.  Spent years trying to find something I enjoy, but just doesn't seem to be.

Come on dude there must be something

Just now, Preecematt said:

Come on dude there must be something

Genuinely isn't lol.  I really wish there was though, makes motivation pretty much impossible!

57 minutes ago, Preecematt said:

So how many toys have you collected in total??  She's into the little kids toy's figurines, so say for example figurines of Beatrix Potter(we don't have them, just using them as an example)  And I'm looking at getting back into model building and collecting

Including spares 37 toys.

Most of them are BNWT (apart the Del Monte Crow, who is rarer in mint condition than the Co-op conjoined cherries) and in the case of the Del Monte,  COAs - There is counterfeiting in soft toys would you believe!

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

Messy desk makes me feel uncomfortable there lol!

 

I wish I had a hobby, just not interested in anything. :( 

I wondered who was going to notice that first.

In which case, you'd find my office traumatic and as for the garage, which is more chaotic than chaos itself at the moment

Aren't Fords specifically and cars in general your main hobby?

Tom, just think of what you do in your time off... There must be something you tend to enjoy doing more often than not...

I like a successful first lesson which has completely removed my anxieties and given me the confidence that I can soon get on the road with my own car.  My main worries were that I wouldn't get on with the instructor and/or would make a fool of myself (stall etc...).  Neither happened, so I'm relieved!

The main issue I had with driving our Primera was keeping it on the road, worryingly!

I was either almost into the verge or veering onto the wrong side of the road.  Having had the lesson and had it explained to me, what I seemed to have been doing (and did initially tonight before being corrected) was looking at the road immediately ahead and the side/centre to try to keep myself correctly positioned - but as it turned out it had the opposite effect. 

Having my first lesson at night made it easier for him to explain, as it is a case of looking towards the end of the headlamp beam (further away than I would have naturally) and not keeping your eyes on an object as it approaches, because that will cause you to veer off course (if you are watching a road sign to the left, you will start to veer to the left as it gets closer).   Once that was pointed out to me, I realised that was exactly what I was doing before.  By the end of the lesson I managed to travel 2+ miles on a (barely!) 2-file country road at around 30-40MPH without needing any assistance in keeping the vehicle correctly positioned. 

The main issue (in my defense) is that I have been a passenger for 7 years so chances are if I were to have driven a left-hand drive vehicle, I would have held the road fine, as I am used to seeing the road from a N/S view.  Switching to the "right" side was the problem!

My second lesson is for this coming Monday, and from there on things can only improve...  I hope!

If I can get to a stage where I can drive the Punto as a learner (chauffeuring my mother around), I would happily do that for months just to get fully comfortable and confident before taking my practical test.  As for my theory though, I do need to get that over and done with ASAP as I'm confident that with my knowledge of the highway code et cetera I should be able to pass that with little difficulty.  The practical test though is the one I need to work on...

I'm sure you'll get there. I'll race you! 

I enjoyed the new Traffic Cops series tonight...it resulted in;

1 dead Corsa 

1 suicidal Astra*

1 dead Passat * killed by above Astra

1 dead Golf

And a woman who was very cross when the police relieved her of her Corsa. You'd think she'd be pleased! 

 

 

 

Well done buddy! Glad it went well! You've got many years ahead of you to motor around and it's just the beginning so making mistakes or stalling is totally acceptable....

In fact, I've been driving for near 10 years now and I stalled on my wedding day as me and the wife left the church... My defense was that it was a classic car, pedals were so close I had to take my shoes off, I was still shaking with excitement and emotion from the day, and I had only just sat in it for the first time! People had a good chuckle and a "whaaaaay" and my expense, but I gotta say it was fun!

Well Done Jamie, it'll get easier now and your anxiety will lessen as you do

27 minutes ago, chrisroberson99 said:

I'm sure you'll get there. I'll race you! 

I enjoyed the new Traffic Cops series tonight...it resulted in;

1 dead Corsa 

1 suicidal Astra*

1 dead Passat * killed by above Astra

1 dead Golf

And a woman who was very cross when the police relieved her of her Corsa. You'd think she'd be pleased! 

 

 

 

That looks a promising view, I've got that on i-player downloading as I type.

 

33 minutes ago, Ianb said:

Well done buddy! Glad it went well! You've got many years ahead of you to motor around and it's just the beginning so making mistakes or stalling is totally acceptable....

In fact, I've been driving for near 10 years now and I stalled on my wedding day as me and the wife left the church... My defense was that it was a classic car, pedals were so close I had to take my shoes off, I was still shaking with excitement and emotion from the day, and I had only just sat in it for the first time! People had a good chuckle and a "whaaaaay" and my expense, but I gotta say it was fun!

That's true - I just get very self conscious and nervous, as part of my anxiety disorder.  Ideally once I've passed my test I'd like to acquire a nice automatic, such as a Volvo estate or Ford Granada/Scorpio.  That might sound strange as I've taken to driving a manual very well, and I'd never want to lose that skill, but driving a sedate auto would give me much more pleasure in the long run.