Hermes

[Kieran]

I've been fortunate to enjoy regular contact with Eric, whom most of you know as the nice American chap who comes to meetings usually armed with a crate of Mtn Dew* or some similar American drink. He's also Ariadne's current owner and reguarly calls to update me on what's happening and how things are going.

Contact usually tends to follow a similar format, which is one of pleasantries, followed by the odd question regarding Ariadne (or VR-4s in general) and general enthusiasm on Eric's part, usually in the form of announcing that he's just bought something else for her, or that he's been demonstrating her performance to other, unsuspecting motorists. It's quite nice actually and reaffirms that I sold her to someone who cares as much as he enthusiastic about her, and because of that I overlook his slightly less diligent approach to car cleanliness...

Anyhow.. One day last summer Eric called as usual, and during the call he mentioned that he was on the lookout for some replacement seats. Like many cars, the Leather in Ariadne has some wear on the side bolster where one keeps getting in and out...

"In fact I just missed out on a set that Peter Thomson had for sale..."

"Ah yeah, I saw those. Well, I don't know of any others for sale at the moment Eric, but I'll keep my eyes peeled. They often appear on Ebay for very little cash..."


And that my friends, is where the story of Hermes begins - And where, unbeknown to us, it was just about to end with a clunk and a bang...


* = Not tried Mtn Dew? Think lemonade with a dash of lime, then add about 800 bags of sugar and a good dollop of caffeine. It jacks you up good.

[aboo]

That will be the seats in my car now & I take it this is to be continued?

[I-S]

I didn't do it.

[Davezj]

nice to see some interesting threads coming back to CVR4.

How are you K. i was waiting to see the 20,000 post but i missed it. it was pobably the demize of the aconda hcrd.

[Kieran]

Not long after that phone call, I was swooping around Ebay as usual. Not that I really had any cash with which to buy items from ebay, but then I am a seasoned practitioner of Man-Maths, which as we all know diminishes the cost of something you want by at least two decimal places and as a by-product of the calculation process, turns a 'want' into a 'Need', via a series of Logical* , well-reasoned** and watertight*** arguments, that not only satisfy the voice of common sense in your head, but also sound incredibly persuasive when you talk to someone else about your latest wan.... Need.

Being a firm believer in Man-Maths has allowed me to survive life so far.

Anyway. It was around this time, that the previous, unfortunate owner heard the clunk & bang that now writes off a lot of early UK-Spec Galants. And so he put the car on ebay.

I spotted it and flung Eric a PM:

Hi Eric,

You could do worse than this car. As it's a UK-Spec it'll have electric leather seats on it. There's not much else that'll fit the Legnum on it I don't think but then, £250 buys the entire car.

And this was the advert - It's long gone from Ebay, but I saved the pictures and the wording so you could get a flavour of what I saw.... I have copied it verbose, typos and all:

-------------
Mitsubishi galant 2500v6 24v, in green, full cream leather interior, full electrics air con, limate control ,cruise control etc

engine runs sweet as a nut, although auto box failed other day so needs replacing, lower suspension arm has play in ball joint so knocks on bumpy ground, other than that in fair condition with the odd few scratches and minor dents etc.

front brake pads were replaced last week, and the air con was re gassed aswell,

car has tax and test, service history with it and v5 present,

sold as spares or repairs due to the gear box fault (box wont select any drive gears so its like its in neutral all the time), so car will need to be trailered away or could towed as taxed

winning bidder to contact me within 24 hours of auction ending regarding collection, collection within 7 days of ending unless notified, cash on collection,

delivery could be arranged at extra cost, depending on distance

happy bidding

please note cd player will be removed before auction ends


forgot to mention, exhaust isnt standard and blows slightly, have original but would need welding back on
--------------------

And these were the accompanying pictures:








* = Some say 'illogical'. Lies.
** = Some say 'irrational'. Also Lies.
*** = Some say 'tenuous at best'. Again, Lies.

[ritch_w]

why does james bond get to shag all the hot chicks?

[bradc]

Woot, I hope Kieran is going to go for 200hp

[aboo]

why does james bond get to shag all the hot chicks?

PMSL

[richy rich]

i can see this being 1 of k's epic threads. gets popcorn out.

[ANTHONY]

for some strange reason i thought Hermes was the older galant you was/are rebuilding

[richy rich]

wait for the rest of the story Tony

[raph]

Subscribed

OT* mountain dew is a big time favourite of mine, always asking people who work in the Mil to bring me a case or two .

** FYI : Pepsico does market mountain dew in some european markets , but instead of selling the cheaper 24 valu-pack , pepsico Germany sells 6 packs of PET bottles at a horrific price-costs more than the USAF 24 pack btw (costs more than redbull) ** bastards!

[Kieran]

So really, a fairly typical Ebay advert for a car of this provenance - Half decent but needs work, probably much like the car.

Eric asked me if I'd mind going to see the car and suggested that if I liked what I saw, I could go in with him on the purchase of the car. As it was only an hour or so away, I agreed, and went to see the car. I really wasn't expecting much. Usually 8Gs that are below £500 are, to use a technical phrase, buggered. They're usually rotten in all the usual places and have numerous mechanical maladies.

Hermes was a pleasant surprise. He'd started life in Cyprus as a H.M. Forces car, came back to the UK after a year, and was sold to the family I bought the car from in about 2004. Dad had owned the car and had pulled a caravan all over the place, and then when he bought a new caravan (which was beyond the Galant's towing ability), he'd let son have the car. Son had the car all of two months before the gearbox let go.

These were the major faults:

• The gearbox (Ever seen ATF so burned it's gone yellow-brown, not just red-brown?!)
• Electric aerial was stuck
• Front tyres were shot
• The Exhaust wasn't good
• The rear arches were frilly - Made worse by a very poor fill & paint job.
• Pulling a caravan around had taken it's toll on the suspension.

On the good side, arches aside the rest of the bodywork wasn't bad, the engine sounded well; even the lash adjusters were quiet! And the service history was good - Hermes had been to the garage once a year and had done about 10k miles per year. Can't fault that really. The interior, whilst not *my* definition of clean, it wasn't too bad. Being a late prefacelift, it has the bigger 275mm discs and the same twin-piston calipers as the VR-4, but still has the earlier (and not so stringent) emissions gear: Only 2 Lambda sensors rather than 4.
Also, being a import from Cyprus, though right hand drive, it had a couple of extras you don't usually see on UK-supplied cars. Traction Control (very handy on a V6 in the wet!), as I later found, self-leveling rear shocks - And yes, when I later checked in ASA, they were standard and not a retrofit.

But most importantly - When I sat in the car, I got the same feeling as I got with my 1st GLS - Which was also a little dog eared, but essentially sound and as many of you saw, tidied up very nicely:

My GLS (December 2003, where has all that time gone!!):
http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2528

I got that 'Yeah - This is good' feeling - when you know that something is just right.

And so - I left a deposit and returned to tell Eric that I'd bought it on the spot, and also to break the news to Isaac that although he was coming down to see Harry Potter with us that weekend and yes, that was still fine, he'd now also have the privilege of helping me get Hermes back home during the day....

[miller]

excellent read........

do continue

[Atik]

Good to have you home Kieran. We missed ya

[KiwiTT]

The V6 is an elegant car. A sort of "executive" car, without all the EVO bits of the VR-4. If I did not get the VR-4, I would have got one of these.

[The Vee]

Love the name "Hermes" and it's in green, and a sort of hydraulic transmission!!

[Kieran]

This, Ladies and Gentlemen, is Kelham Bridge.



It's lovely, isn't it? It spans the River Trent and carries the A617 across its back. The original timber Kelham bridge was destroyed by floods in 1855, and the structure you see above was put in it's place. Since 1858 the completed bridge has stood proud; A testament to the integrity of mid 19th century engineering.

This overhead shot shows the problem with Kelham Bridge:



It's rather narrow. You can see there's a lorry and a small van on the bridge near the sharp bend. It's quite a tight bridge to traverse and if one lane is blocked, that section of the Newark to Southwell & Mansfield Snarls up in minutes.

You'll see the relevance of that bridge later. For now, just bear it in mind...

[KHK]

what's your 20,000th post? u disappeared for a long time!

glad to see u back

[Eric]

Glad to push you back into the wonderful world of Galants again

And I clean Ariadne all the time, its just my water line going outside has been frozen and had a broken faucet so

Glad to see you posting again