Barry

Hi Wilfred. Welcome to carnity!

I think it’s probably safer flying Malaysian airlines.

Any mechanic who suggests opening an engine without doing basic diagnostic checks needs a good swift kick in the balls. A leak down test takes 30 minutes, testing for leaking valve seals takes a 5 minute test drive to see if it’s smoking on the over run etc etc When I got my first mechanic job in UAE I was given a VW Golf with an oil burning problem. I was busy on a POS Dodge Avenger so I didn’t get around to looking at it until the next day. When I got to it, the engine was in bits. The manager, crazy old Jordanian dude well into his 60s pointed at a pile of bits in the corner and asked me what’s wrong with that engine? How am I supposed to know? You stripped it before I could look at it. Customer ended up having to pay for a full engine rebuild when maybe all it needed was a handful of valve stem oil seals, who knows? Back to the Avenger, the transmission kept locking out. It got 3 valve blocks and a new transmission before anyone asked me to look at it. Nobody thought to check if the PCM was sending a signal to the transmission before firing the parts cannon. 10 minutes with a soldering iron and some heat shrink fixed the cracked loom. I hate incompetent “mechanics”.

What did I originally say? Check the shaft. But what do I know about cars? 😂😂😂😂 glad you got it sorted.

I get so many messages from people asking for advice on their car problems. Sure, if you’re a friend and I know you, feel free to call me and ask, but if you don’t know me personally, please post all questions on the forum. I will be civil and answer personal messages but it’s not the proper way to do it. Information shared in private messages is information lost. Share the questions and answers on the forum and people will be able to search it for years to come and your questions will help many people instead of just helping yourself. I do what I do for free, I don’t receive any payment. I’m just trying to share knowledge the same way it was shared to me years ago.

You’re not going to get live traffic data on an offline map. Joying is android based so you’re spoilt for choice with apps. Maps.me is pretty good though for offline maps.

Looks like custard. I’m hungry now.

A lot of nasty stuff can live in AC systems, legionnaires for example. There are cans of AC disinfectant you can buy. Just follow the instructions, usually spray it in the air intake along the outside of the windscreen. Usually works. Depends how blocked up the system is. If it’s just stinky, it should do the trick.

Demolition derby and banger racing are 2 different things. Demolition derby is just smashing everything and last car running wins. Banger racing is a proper race series with contact allowed, winner is the first person to complete the given number of laps. It’s ok to push someone out of your way or spin them but it’s in your interest to avoid getting hit.

Stick a roll bar on it and I’d drive it otherwise any open top stuff is a nope from me. I’ve been upside down enough times to know.

Next time you’re in Europe try to search out banger racing. It’s pretty low brow but it’s cheap entertainment and a lot of fun. I’m surprised they don’t do it here. Much more fun crashing a 500dhs sunny than wrecking daddy’s 100k patrol or land cruiser trying to climb a dune and spit flames to impress your friends. You can easily spend a 10 hour day at the track watching, eating burgers and drinking beer, there is always something going on, be it crashes or fights between drivers. Did a few events back in the day but it can get expensive quick. It’s not buying petrol or tyres, you usually need a new car after the race lol.

Estimate £80-90,000 (400-450k dhs) http://www.silverstoneauctions.com/steve-mcqueens-1945-willys-jeep-mb A lot of nice stuff on that site, but expensive, check it out.

Yeah it’s a proper FIA race series. Sometimes manufacturers like Porsche for example make road going versions. Think of it as F1 with road cars. Doesn’t have the same following as F1 due to lack of advertising but I think it’s better to watch. Less BS, just racing. The main stipulations are the cars must be 1,200-1,300kg and 500-600bhp. Nice series to watch if you’re into racing. Not the same insanity levels as LMP but nice nonetheless.

When you’re too poor to buy a LMP car, what do you buy? A GT3. I’m lucky to have experience driving most of the GT3 cars (thank you forza motorsport 😂). Wasnt a huge fan of the new NSX but I liked that it stuck to the original MR format instead of going 4wd. The new GT3 is a thing of beauty though. Can’t wait to see it in the race series.

Fit bumper headlights When I was doing a bit of mobile mechanicing, I used to have a spotlight on my parcel shelf so I could reverse up to something I was working on and night and see what I was doing. Before you ask why I didn’t use the headlights, it was easier to reverse up because my tools were in the back and I didn’t want to to run around the car every time. Used it on a few tailgaters and it works. Probably maybe definitely illegal but sometimes you have to fight fire with fire.

Electrician found. Thank you @Carnity

Electrician needed for job in Dubai Marina, immediate start. Work will include pulling cables, fitting lights/leds etc. Must be competent and able to work alone. 9AM - 5PM Job will last for 2 weeks. Possibility of further work. Payment will depend on experience. All nationalities welcome but English speaking is a must.

If the dashboard is missing, check if there’s a steering column or a hole for it in the bulkhead. Could be a rhd car someone tried to convert and give up.

It’s a S14 200sx. If you want it, buy it. The majority of engine and transmission parts are available here. If you need something else like body parts you can get it online. If you love the car enough you can wait 2 weeks for parts. Rocket Bunny body kits are available and are cooler than a field with 40 sheep. Like I said to @Binsaloom there aren’t enough JDM cars here. If you get the chance to own one and follow through, true petrolhead status is automatically granted. It might not be worth a lot of money. People don’t appreciate cars here unless it costs half a million or has a Camry or corolla badge but rest assured you will be one of the coolest mofos on the road and get invites to all the underground meets.

10k is nothing. I’ve bought cars with 3-400k on the clock and they have been fine. Ask yourself if you want the 3 or 400 bhp model and why. The 400 bhp model would be fun but will you use that extra 100 bhp? If you’re just commuting then it’s pointless. If you’re going to street race then it makes sense. 300 bhp is a lot. You can make good progress and accelerate to overtake anything at legal speeds. What are you planning to do with 400 bhp?

Toyota GT86. There was so much hype about them being the next driftbus. Mrs B was a massive fan and came to visit me in the garage one day when she heard I had one in. We were both utterly disappointed. Sure, if you want to drive like a twat and hang off the handbrake it might drift but I wasn’t going to do that in a customers car. Further 86s I have driven have been equally disappointing. Mercedes A class AMG line. A Brabus it wasn’t. 1.3 Renault engine was truely disappointing.

Here’s my first nomination, the Hyundai coupe. Nice looking car. Looks like a proper fast sports car but in reality it’s a FWD Hyundai Accent with a V6 engine. A friend had one back home. Pretty decent car but the looks didn’t match what it was.

I’ve had a few BMW M3s, E36s. 2 x M3, M3 Evo and M3 Evo Individual. I’ve had a couple of lesser model 318 and 325 too. All were flawless apart from one of the standard M3s which was a ball of dung, which was purely down to neglect by the previous owner. The Evo Individual had a Vanos issue but that was easy fixed with a cheap rebuild kit. If you want a BMW, buy one. People will say the brand is unreliable but if you believe everything you read on the internet you will stop driving cars and buy a bicycle. Sure they break down sometimes, just like any other car, but if you want a car with lots of extra features that’s the price to pay. People in uae rave about Japanese cars being the best thing since powdered milk and the most reliable thing next to a biryani from ravis. That’s because they’re simple, there’s nothing to go wrong. Engine, air conditioning and a radio. If everyone stuck wheels on their sofa and pedalled around, life would be no fun. Drive what you want to drive but make sure you buy a good, well looked after example and care for it properly. If the electric handbrake stops working, fix it. Otherwise go out and buy a Camry and be like every other boring taxi driver in Dubai. It’s not watching reruns of top gear that makes you a petrolhead, it’s going out and driving what you want to drive. Plenty of people have laughed at my car on here and other forums but I don’t care because it cost me under 10k and I know it would smoke many 100k+ cars.

Why do we not see more defenders here? Is it price? Is it reliability? Is it off road capabilities? My dad drives a RWD Mercedes. It’s awful in the snow so he wanted to buy a cheap defender for winter. I looked around and the cheapest was £2,000 (10k dhs) and it was a horrible ball of rust. £5k (25k dhs for a driveable one). The farmers there seem to love them though.

Aiwa aiwa Insha’Allah Hence my comment, make sure you get a 3D 4 wheel alignment done after lifting. I had a Pajero come to me around 18 months ago. I don’t remember his name and I’m not sure but I think you sent him to me @Gaurav? He got a lift kit fitted in an Iranian shop. Came to me and complained the car was unstable, kept squirreling and every time he went round a corner he thought he was going to die. I didn’t have alignment equipment but I took a look. The car was running like 15 degrees of negative camber, the tyre was hardly touching the ground so it was like yeah no that’s your problem, go to a proper alignment place and get it fixed. Never heard back from him so I assume he got it fixed. Its one thing fitting parts, it’s another making sure they work as intended. Would you let someone stick a carburettor on your car without tuning it? Probably not. So don’t let people fit suspension parts without setting them up either. Its incredibly easy to reset suspension geometry. If you have the equipment and many chancers here don’t.