Soop Dogg

As Keron said - check for a failed pressure switch - it's on the passenger side of the engine, high up on the block close to the head gasket. You should be able to see it near the back of the power steering pump. (Has a single wire going to it) I had one of these go a few years ago and it pi$$es oil out! At least it only cost me about £40ish (I think) for a new one and an hour to fit it.

I want to know what you were doing on the Rover board!!

Sell them separately and you'll make more money. Then you can reduce the price of the car a little too - may get more potential buyers? That's what I'll be doing with my braid 18" split rims.

Erm....No??

Both of these years work out the same tax-wise as they are both pre-March 2001. I've looked at the Band 'G' stuff again and it does say 'NEW' cars registered after 23 March 2006. I'd still speak to DVLA though to avoid any nasty surprises! Yep - I'd heard about this too. Apparently it's an oil-control ring which doesn't really affect power, but does mean they use a fair bit more oil. 2001 and prior Z06's were apparently the worst. There are stories that GM replaced some engines under warranty when the owners shouted loud enough, but I'd still go for a later one to avoid this.

You do know that there's not much difference in pre March 2001 and pre 23rd March 2006, don't you? Pre March 2001: £180 Post March 2001, but pre 23rd March 2006 (Band F): £205 The expensive Band 'G' only applies to vehicles registered after 23rd March 2006. Actually, I'd check how that affects imports that with DVLA too as if you import one it'll be registered in 2007. Don't know if they let you into a lower band as it'll be manufactured in about 2001. I'd be interested to know what they say about this too!

I had some great quotes too - BUT - be careful to get a quote for the exact year of car that you buy. I started out getting quotes for a 2000 coupe. Then I bought the 2003 convertible, registered 2004. Some companies I went back to didn't have the car on their database after 2002!! FFS, it's the same car! I tried to explain it to them, but they just said if it wasn't on their list then that's because of some difference in that year that means they won't cover it. Total rubbish of course, but it did mean I had to go to other companies that weren't as cheap. In the end I managed to get it on my Supra policy with NUD until renewal. (After they had told me that they don't cover it either, but I found a back door into NUD via Hill House Hammond who do cover it. ) All worked out reasonably in the end. Next year I'll go to A-Plan I think.

Seriously mate, I would write a formal complaint to the practice manager. They've started with a treatment plan which should have been signed for and agreed at the start of the process. Just because they have had a change of staff shouldn't mean that they can suddenly turn around half way through the plan and say 'sorry mate but this is going to cost you 10 times as much because you've now got a different dentist'! If you get no joy with the practice manager, do a search on Google about how to complain about an NHS dentist. There's a patients charter and rules that regulate what they can and cannot do. This isn't the 1970's ffs! If you go through with a proper complaint, don't let them do anything until the full course of treatment has been agreed and documented and you have a copy of it. (As you might guess, I had trouble with a dentist recently and got the work completed for free! )

Matt you git! You just made me go back and look at that again! I think I just had a little bit of sick come up......

That's a bit harsh!

Absolutely - but I couldn't afford the maintenance. Luggage space was a consideration too for me - otherwise it would have been on the list of possibles.

They have to park only where it's legal anyway. So parking next to them shouldn't be a problem. Unless they've introduced some by-law or something to cover this circumstance - but even that wouldn't be a problem if you say you've broken down!

good point - I could sell you my black TT aerotop!!

Insurance is a little more than the Supe - just over £600 vs £500ish on the Supe. A-Plan is apparently the cheapest and best out there at the moment. Much of this increase could be down to the fact that my 'vette is worth a lot more than my Supe though. Parts - not normally a problem - especially for normal service parts - all should be in stock or within 48 hours at places like Claremont Corvette, Corvette Kingdom or Bauer Millet. You could also try talking to Martin at Ultimate Spares of America in Norfolk. Mine is an auto - I don't think there's too much of a difference in the prices - especially if you are importing. Check out the US forum for this. It is a little wider than the Supe, but only by a few inches. People like IanC will tell you how tight my driveway is for the Supra (he doesn't like to even watch me take the car to the back of my driveway - I have to fold the mirrors in for it to fit) but I can still get the 'vette down it too. Left hooker - doesn't really cause me much of a problem to be honest. I have to plan my overtakes a little earlier if I'm out on my own, and getting car park tickets can be tricky, but overall it's well worth it. I had a '75 Corvette in the past and always regretted selling it. I now feel that I'm back in the place I want to be with my cars and I'm extremely happy with it. The UK club does loads of special events too. The FIA GT this May at Silverstone for example - it should be £40 each to get in, but the owners club are getting entrance tickets, their own parking area in the middle of the event, pit/paddock passes, and grandstand seats for £10 per person. They also have their own hospitality marquee at Le Mans together with laps of the Le Mans circuit on race day for a limited number of owners. (That's a bit special!) It's about more than just owning the car, it seems. If there's anything you want to know about, just get in touch. I'll be glad to help. (I should be saying they're an awful car and LHD is a pain in the @rse etc. as I don't really want them to become common!)

That's exactly what I was wanting from a car. Modifying means I spend half the winter outside working under the car. It just takes up so much time. I wanted to be able to enjoy driving the car more and not worrying about breaking down - so I'm not intending to modify it. I've put an exhaust on it and may think about wheels, but for me, it's quick enough. Have a look on the owners forums and also Pistonheads. I think one went up for sale on the UK Owners site yesterday.

NSX costs too much to maintain IMHO if you are going to be watching your cash once you've bought it. S2K - I have used one for a couple of weeks and couldn't live with the noise of it - plus it's sooooo tiny and the engine has no torque. Just felt so good to get back into the Supe. Nissan 350Z - Not as quick as the Supe - BUT - they handle and stop brilliantly. Took one for a 90 minute test drive a while back and after about half an hour I really enjoyed it. Very confidence-inspiring in the bends. C5 Corvette convertible - I bought one! Great engine, (Enough torque to pull a house down!)wonderful soundtrack when you hoof it, cheap to run (33mpg on the motorway at about 80 to 85!! Around town expect around 20ish) cheap to maintain/service, fantastic handling and very, very different. You won't see many others on the road if you get one of these. The boot is MASSIVE when the top is down too which is great for going to Le Mans. For me - no contest I'm afraid.

So WE put them there and it's the cats fault?

There's an FAQ on how to check your O2 sensors. Click HERE. I'd like to add to what they say there though. If you're not getting the readings mentioned or want to confirm the operation of the O2 sensors, rev the engine taking it up to over 2k revs sharply and then let the throttle off quickly whilst looking at the voltmeter. As the ECU adjusts the fuelling for the sudden changes in load you should see the voltage vary up and down between 0v and close to 1v. If this doesn't happen, you'll probably see only a few millivolts or nothing at all. In this case, the sensor is probably knackered and the ECU isn't getting any signals from it. When the ECU receives low voltage (tending towards zero) from the O2 sensor, it interprets this as running lean and will try to add more fuel. In the case of a knackered O2 sensor, it will keep adding fuel, waiting for the voltage returned from the sensor to climb. When it doesn't climb to a normal level, the ECU never backs off the fuelling and the car runs very rich. Hope this helps. Let us know how you get on.

Damn - think I'm in trouble now....

Angie alternates between her Supra and an Audi A6 quite a lot and does the wiper thing. Funniest though is when she gets in the Corvette. When she needs to get reverse, (LHD) she automatically goes for the gear lever with her left hand and smacks the inside of the door! (She is blonde....)

And I'm off to the States in June - I think I'll be sending stuff home for the 'vette!

Will do!

I'm in no rush for it. As I think I "got in there first", does this mean I've got it? I'll do what I can to get it collected if that suits you better....

PM'd

I've got a set of Khumos I use on my winter wheels and have never had a problem with them. As for the 5mm thing - did you measure that? New tyres only have about 7 or 8mm, so 5mm sounds fine.