JamesV70R

Thanks for that offer Adam, one thing I was considering for the new year was learning how to rotary/da polish. Might have to dive in and take you up on your offer! What sort of things would you recomend to buy if I were to step up and try it myself? I've had a browse on detailing world but got a little lost with what would be best for a total newbie .. so many types of pads / compounds, all different for different paint types etc.

I've not got a DA or such ... and I don't think I could bring myself to do it, not without having something to practice on for a few weeks before. I don't want to end up putting huge amounts of swirl marks in ... and then still have to pay a pro to fix it. Cheers for moving the thread ... I need to open my eyes more!

Can't think of which section this would be best in .. so the lounge it is! I'm looking at having the Volvo professionally detailed in late October/ early November before the NEC show in mid November ... Is anyone able to recomend a detailer? I was considering a Gold level detail from RefinedDetails in Aylesbury, Seems to be a reasonably priced service and has good results from what I can see. I've looked at a few others but the prices seem to skyrocket and hit almost £700 for the same thing ... While I'm at it after recomendations ... Looking for a wheel refurb too. They're starting to corrode a bit. Any recomendations? James

Impressive!!!

Ouch. Whats the point in even trying to drag race in that weather ... you're not going to set fast times or even accurate times ... or can they just put "W" on the end of the time like they do on Top Gear?

If you look very carefully at the top of the hill, between 0:01 and 0:04 seconds, you can actually see the landslide start! This video shows the size of the rock up close ... and the damage to the car from the stuff that did hit it ... www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRNDNC1ypZE Edit - it won't let me embed the video for some reason ...

Sounds like hes coming in with the throttles closed, then slams them open to max power at 0:37. I think the smoke is just unburnt fuel?

Doesn't sound like a particularly efficient anti-lag system ... you can hear the turbo have to spool up still when they put their foot down. I was under the impression antilag systems kept the turbo at almost full speed so there was no lag when you dump the clutch ...

Looks like she was off center of the runway with not enough room to line up correctly, so they decided to go around. Vulcan didn't have afterburners, but what you're hearing is the "Vulcan Howl" - no-one is 100% sure why the plane makes that noise, its something to do with intake harmonics as it only happens below certain speeds (takeoff, low speed from closed to open throttles, etc) Another good example: If you haven't seen her flying, find somewhere and go ... she won't be flying much longer, and it really is worth every penny!

They probably wouldn't let him do it if he wasn't strapped in ... but still ... standing on the bonnet of a truck, suspended over a dock 50 meters up ... thats not the usual place you'll find a president of a company! Wouldn't catch me doing it!

Ah yes - I know what you mean. There probably is a better way of doing it, but this may be an early iteration of it - photos from a few weeks ago don't show the car with any spoiler at all. Could have been a "temp" job while they worked out what works before building something a bit more stylish?

Is that a shopping trolley under the left hand side of the window?

Agreed. If I ever manage to afford a property I'll be looking for something thats not all photographed artistically. You don't know whats being hidden in a sepia image, or in a photo of a rose thats more in focus than the room its in ...

I'm not sure Rich - can you have a "chavvy" Bentley? Chrome alloys and limo-black windows maybe ... but something like that is actually functional and part of the track side of the car. You can't see from those pics, but its got a side outlet exhaust just infront of the rear right wheel too! Yep, Laser Blue, limited run for the Phase 1 V70Rs - A small number for the 98-99 model (260bhp 2.3L), and ~26 iirc for the 99-00 model. Flagship model for the year, 74 bought over total if memory serves right, fully loaded with all the toys - aircon, electric windows+mirrors, heated electric memory seats, model specific alloys, twin exhausts ... and a 265bhp 2.4L engine Turns heads everywhere I go - even in the Brooklands Paddock on Saturday!

Aha I didn't know it had been set up that way! Last thing I wanted to do was throw the formatting out! I think that Bentley could form part of my Garage of Shiny if I ever win the lottery, ive seen a pic of it without the spoiler and I think it looks like better with it, something to fill the huge area over the boot that is empty. Looks surprisingly functional ..mm maybe a bit smaller and lower would still do the job without looking quite so mental lol! James

As promised ... I didn't get a huge number of photos, but I was at the Brooklands Museum over the weekend with one of the Volvo clubs (Volvo 300 Mania - who kindly allowed other Owners Club members who don't have 300's to come along). I'm sure everyone here will have heard of Brooklands - home of British Motorsport and arguably aviation, with Vickers being based there during both world wars, building a large number of aircraft. On the same site is the Mercedes Benz world - a giant multi-floor showroom, with all kinds of new and old Mercs in. They do free tours, and for a fee they'll take you round the handling / skid circuits in AMG's. For an even bigger fee you can drive it yourself ... but thats a pre-booked session only! On to the pics .. all of which will be hotlinked as I'm too lazy to resize them! We shall start with the final picture of the day, as thats where all good stories should start. This isn't a good story, so less reading and more clicking links to look at pictures!! ONWARDS!! This "lightly modified" Bentley Turbo R was in the paddock as it was in the auction the day before. It was still there when we left at 5:30 so we aren't sure if anyone bought it. It looked like a right weapon though. From what I've read it is ~570bhp, with the possibility of 700 with a bit more tuning. Twin callipers on the front disks, strategically placed cooling vents, and a "launch control" switch on the dash. Now, being a Bentley I think it was supposed to say "Lunch Control", and was meant to call your butler Jeeves over, but without being allowed to experiment we could only guess. Carbon fibre doorcards, rollcage, bucket seats and what appeared to be a sequential box finished it off ... Looking in the vents you could see some clearly non-standard pieces, none of which I caught on the camera. Shortly after this we were escorted to ... the banking!!! I got a bit snap-happy here, I don't think I'll be allowed to do this again! Its a lot steeper than it looks, they wouldn't let us go any higher than where we did. The top of the banking is 28ft higher than the flat inner section, and it just gets steeper the higher you go, so where we were was high enough I think! A few more assorted shorts from around the museum - Annoyingly the light in the hanger was weird and I couldn't focus on much, so I put the camera away and did some reading. You'll just have to make the trip and support this amazing place! The VC10 was one of the last aircraft to fly in before the runway was demolished and housing/industiral/shopping places built on it - the last time I went I was able to have a tour of the aircraft with someone who remembers its arrival - I think he may have been the Flight Engineer on that flight - thats an interesting story! Maybe one I'll try and recount later! Most if not all of the aircraft are open on a daily basis, manned by willing and VERY knowledgeable volunteers, most of whom have years of experience with the aircraft they're on. The "stewardess" on the Concorde Experience worked on Concorde for ~24 years! Enough from me ... James

Looks like the little leaf point towards the top-left, just under the head of the rose. Was it a smartphone picture too by any chance?

Its meant to be "artistic"! At least they didn't just Instragram filter the photo before sending it in! James

This is how you make an advert if you really have faith in your product! Mental. James

Saw someone joining the motorway with a flat OSF ... not a lot I could do, he seemed determined that it was driveable. Mind you, I stayed well clear anyway as he managed to join the M1 without looking in his mirrors once ... at 50mph ...

Are we sure its not just the "party boat"?

When you're down by the sea and an eel bites your knee ... Thats a Moray! ..... I'll see myself out!

Aww, he just wants to be friends ...

Blue Whale spine!