Emperor Ming

When you factor in the cost of purchase then this little car could be a good little earner if my lad did not want to keep it. (He would now it gleams like it does wouldn't he) The car needs an MOT but as my other lad is a trained mechanic and gets all servicing replacement parts at trade prices and I service all my own cars the dreaded MOT is not realy feared in our house! Similar cars on Autotrader, albeit without the bent door are going for £400+ . The door was knocked out roughly in the dark. A few hours in daylight and I sure we could get a lot more of the rear part of the dent out. Not only that, it is the polish that has accentuated the dent. Cost so far Purchase £80 MOT Due £40 Bits for its test est £30 Total £150 That leaves approx £250 profit in the car and so far it owes me about 7 hours work! That makes my labour about £35 an hour Not a problem when you realise that I enjoy doing it!!

Easy Volvo estate for the long haul - possible petrol turbo T5 engine!! and a rattly smokey 307 diesel or similar for town work Ming he Easy pleased

Hi guys and Gals RobQuads Prter Cable polisher turned up on Friday and i just had to have a play. Its arrival coincided with the arrival of my lads Yellow Renault Clio - hence the CusTURD in the title. The car came in a very sorry state. It had 5 years of dirt 3 years of grime 4 years of Horsey crap a million little dinks and one big dent 2 years of mum and toddler junk and the results of two months stood in a stables but it did have 5 months of Tax 4 decent tyres and a peach of an engine It assaulted my senses parked outside the Ming household as ALL our cars are polished clean and shiney so It got Ming'ed (Thats Ming'ed not minged before you all start LOL) I have Washed it on arrival Hoovered it - on arrival Tarted it up and removed most of the big dent - on arrival Re washed it - FRIDAY Clay barred - FRIDAY Washed it again - FRIDAY Sonus FX2'ed it - FRIDAY Sonus FX1'ed it - FRIDAY Hand finished it - FRIDAY The results speak for themselves I think, but I honestly do not think I could have done it, and certainly not in the time it took, without the polisher. What a bit of kit!! Wait until I can get to work on a proper paintwork!! Ming the impressed. PS David now wants the engine doing!! LOL

Chris Mate, if they said they could do the work in two or even three days they wouldn't get their hands on my car. The paints is a whole day alone to get put on right. The bonnet hinges are behind the wings - have a look at yours next time you open the bonnet!! - and the windscreen is an ars* of a job! Ming the patient

I spoke with the garage today and they have got the authority to paint the bumper as well!! It goes in on the 30th of April and will take 7 working days. At least when I get it back it will be 100% right!! Ming the Happy

Hi Guys Spoke with the insurance company and they have given the go ahead today to have the car repaired I am now waiting for the garage to tell me they have the bits in and I will get it in to be sorted out!! Can't wait now as I am suffering Zed withdrawal symptoms. I will keep you posted on progress. Ming the impatient

Guess who bought this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now my car will REALLY shine. He He He HEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ming the impatient

Hi Andy Its just as nice inside as well. My lad spent quite a few bob on the bodywork when he first got it and then we both spent plenty of time getting it all up to scratch! Yet to do the engine bay but that is on the list of 'to do's' The wheels are a special one off from the powder coaters with Jyper black centres fading out to somked chrome outers. Seriously considering it for the Zed but need to find some replacement wheels as the powder coaters lift wont clear the Zeds side skirts!! Ming the Thoughtful

He copies his old man. If the traffic taliban want me they know where I am He He He Heeee! Ming the Lucky

Spent most of yesterday and some of today polishing my lads Corrado as he has lent it to me whilst the Zed is waiting to get fixed!! Was that pleased with the result I thought i would take a pic or two!! Ming the content. As it is the VR6 model it is in fact a very quick little car and when revved goes like the clappers Ming the quite impressed

As a guy who rode bikes for almost 25 years you would expect me to disagree with you but I don't. The 40 something numpties with beer bellies and 'blades' who think that because their bike can do 170 mph then they have a god given right to do that speed are the reason I hung up my kevlar reinforced jeans (No leather trousers/bright pink one pieces etc for this ageing rocker) I had a proper street fighter for a while and at certain times I let it have its head but when you see one of the above doing a 70 mph two vehicle overtake on a pedestrian crossing in a 30 mph limit its time to change your style of riding. Right now the only type of bike I would ride is a laid back lazy cruiser where the journey is more important than the time it takes to get there! The difference is that in my youth ANY bike that went over 110 miles an hour was classed as FAST. Christ they make scooters that touch that now!!! Less vehicles, quieter roads, slower bikes = more fun SAFELY God I sound OLD!! Ming the Aged

Declare them. When I got my policy I told them it was an import. All the bits that were on it were on it so to speak. Since taking out the policy I have powder coated the plenum and replaced the air filter and had not told them. When I went down to sort our the wind damage the guy down there told me to replace the air filter with the original otherwise the insurance company might void the claim!! As soon as this claim is settled I will be replacing the powder coated one and telling the insurance company. I will stress that it is cosmetic as the ECU learns and as such no performance is gained but I WILL tell them! I am just lucky that the garage guy was so helpful as he took very detailed pics of the damage and the filter would have shown!! There is I suppose some merit in the argument that the wheels/exhaust/filter etc were on the car when you bought it and as such you thought they were original equipment. Ming the Lucky/considered

How about D.R.D. A little fancy graphics colours etc When they ask what it means, the answer is:- "'Down Right Dangerous' mate!!" or Armageddon or Lethal Force or Maximum Force

Team .... Brutally Efficient Extreme Xtreme Brutal Lionheart Coeur de lion (Heart of a lion) Red eye Red mist (What we all get from time to time!!) Just a few thoughts!! Ming the Considered

Neons? The metal cover you have mentioned is that the engine cover or battery cover? Engine cover mate! I had one made up to get treated and the more I looked at it the less I liked it, so it is custom build time now! As for the lights wait and see as it is going to be different! Ming the Happy

Hi H5. Sorry to hear about your bumps and dings. It really gets me all riled up when folk just don't chuffin care. The cause of all this angst and ire was the attaching of my latest engine bling The new metal cover was a disaster and the painted plastic one only a little better - it looks great in the sun when the metal flake does gleam but otherwise it just looks ordinary. I am still looking at the metal option but the excess I am going to have to pay is going to slow things a little. As for the new bits all I am going to say is --- LIGHTS -- When the car is back and cleaned up again I will take a picture and post it up. At present the powder coated after market air filter etc is back in the garage otherwise the insurance company would have tried not to pay!!!!! I also have a custom rear boot liner cover on order that may or may not be what I am looking for. all I have to do in payment for this is to clean and polish a 15 year old 4x4 that has not seen soap or a sponge in about 10 years!! I think I got the rough end of the stick but it will make for interesting before and after pictures. I will update the bling on the bling thread as soon as the car is repaired. Ming the Happy

Hi Guys Took the plunge and rang the insurance company to find my excess had gone UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (They had miss written it on a piece of paper they sent me and when I found the original it clearly showed the 3350 they are asking for. Fortunately the windscreen comes in that so its really only £40 more than I had expected) Boy am I going to get my money's worth out of this. Had the car assessed and the guy was thourough with a big T There was a chip on the bumper the size of a pin prick caused by the bonnet arm and he has photographed it. His reasoning is, that if accepted, it will allow him to fully re-paint the front bumper. He is already going to remove the slight dent in the bonnet that was there when I got the car, together with the dent in the wing caused by a car door a few weeks ago. He is going to paint the bonnet and both wings as well. (The front of my car will weigh heavy with all the paint it has on it and maybe I will get the bumper done right now.) It should go in the middle of next week and take a couple of days or so! So far I have been very impressed with the service and quality of work displayed so fingers crossed it rubs of on my car!! Ming the - slightly - happier

The real annoying thing is that I remember thinking that the bonnet was bouncing a lot in the wind and that I was not overly happy working underneath it!! The thing is the wind was not THAT strong!! You are right though just get it PROPERLY sorted through the insurance company. Ming the surprisingly upbeat!!

Today has not been a good day. I have spent several hours fitting my latest bit of engine bling, hiding all the bits and pieces and making a proper professional job. Well happy with myself. It has been windy but warm and I even managed to catch the sun!! Came in to get a cup of tea went out to find the bonnet closed It was open when i had gone in! I then noticed the bonnet stay poking out the front of the car from under the bonnet Then I notice the two large cracks in the windscreen! Then I notice the top of both wings bent out slightly Then I notice that the bonnet is bulging in the middle I got the bonnet up eventually to find two VERY BENT bonnet hinges What has happened is that the wind has blown the bonnet that hard it has smashed into the windscreen with the two top corners causing both sides of the screen to smash. I might as well pay the bleedin excess!! This has caused the hinges to bend and miss-align the bonnet so that when it came back down it bent the tops of the wings out creasing the drivers side one and slightly bending up the nearside one. With a £250 voluntary excess and a £60 glass excess it is going to cost me a minimum of £310 (You have to smile otherwise you would cry) I did think about doing the hinges and stuff myself but it would mean taking the wings off which means the lights out which means the front bumper off!!!!!!!!! Have you ever tried re aligning stuff like that!! I have and it aint easy!! By the time I paid for the hinges and sorted out the paint work and then put everything back on I might as well pay the bleedin' excess! BOL*OX BOL*OX BOL*OX BOL*OX Ming the NOT VERY Happy

Hi Guys I have been thinking of changing my wheels for a while now and with a lot of miles to do this summer - more of that later I took the plunge and went for it. The good news is I have kept my old faithful as well. Heres the new wheels . . . . . . . . . . . She is a 'Quantum' Diamondback 'Fast Urban'. The new wheels are to assist me in training for my latest venture/adventure. I do an extreme charity event most years and this year is no exception! ( John O Groats to lands end, East to West in a Day, non stop 24hrs walk etc) I am part of a team of ten (5 pairs) that is going to cycle - one hour on and four hours off - continuously from Barnsley to Buckingham Palace, Buckingham Palace to Cardiff Dome, Cardiff Dome to Edinburgh Castle and Edinburgh Castle back to Barnsley starting on the 21st of July. We aim to do it in 4 1/2 days non stop and should get about a total of 10 hours sleep in that time. Support is a 15 seater mini bus in which we eat, sleep, change, drive and live when not actually on the road!! Allthough the mileage per person is not excessive - just over 50 miles a day - the lack of sleep and scottish terrain will take its toll and it will be a PROPER challenge. If folk are interested I will update this thread as things progress but to date we have been given/loaned the following! (Folks generosite never fails to surprise me) A 15 seater minibus for a week - paid for by a sponsor Two £2000 bicycles to use for the event - for those in the know they have RHOLOFF gears!! WOW I have NEVER even seen a set before let alone ridden a bike with them on! The rear gear set alone is £700!! (These bikes are a guys OWN bikes!! How good is that!) My force have offered to pay for two top quality all weather flourescent jackets at £100 a throw and two full tanks of diesel!! We have sponsored Tracksuits and T shirts and the offer of lots of 'air' time on all the local radios. If you have any ideas - reasonably sensible ones please - please post them up as we are always looking at different angles. This year I am collecting for 'Bluebell Wood' which is a childrens hospice for children with 'life limiting conditions' and I shall be after your money later on. My best result to date was last year when I personally raised over £2500. I aim to beat that this year. (The team who did the 'End to End' walk raised a fraction over £12,500 in total) Anyway. What do you think of the wheels?? Ming the long winded

Doh!! Sorry Ming the Stupid Link below www.professional-car-valeting.co.uk He's called Dave Naxton and his cars are top notch, unlike my computer expertise. (I could have sworn it was put on though )

I have had: Brown White (A couple) (One with a red Starsky and Hutch stripe LOL) Red (A couple) Silver Grey (several) Blue (several) Black Light Green Bronze Purple I am sure there are a couple more that escape me at the moment. So what does that make me except F**KED up!! What gets me is that ALLEGEDLY some bunch of clever numpty's spent god knows how long AND god knows how much deciding on this load of old TOSH! G G and Proud of it!! Ming the Grey (Faithful, passionate, horny, decision making, risk taker.)

Hi mate This guy is a freind of mine and is very very good. His car has been featured in several car mags and on photo shoots. He has done all sorts and his renovation work is second to none. Contact him and say that Emperor Ming sent you! Cheers Ming the Helpful

1. Adjustable suspension. My 1992 GTO had it and it was great. Sports mode tigtened everything up and normal mode was a much more forgiving ride. 2. A slightly less notchy gearbox. 3. Reverse parking sensors as standard. Just a few things that wqould make the drive a little better. Ming the wishful

Hi Kenny Welcome to the site mate. These cars are great. The only problem with mine is that Mrs Ming also likes it (she doesn't normally like my 'boys' cars) and as such is always pinching it!! Get one got. Ming the Happy PS That blue one is top dollar and would be on my shopping list if I hadn't already got my 'undercoat' car!!