Bluesman

I couldn't see Guy Martin doing it as its 2 wheels that interest him and I couldn't see me watching TG with a motor cycle section as they hold no interest to me whatsoever. There are already several motor cycle programs on Sky and they don't pull the greatest in viewer numbers and ultimately its viewer numbers that dictate as to what we watch. Mike

Dear Clunkfish. You need to read the archive threads not just what has been written on this thread go back months and you will find it all there I have no intention of doing it myself. I myself have reported him dozens of times to Ebay but they don't give a damn I reported him to Trading Standards West Midlands and despite them promising they would investigate it they didn't and when I asked why? they said they wouldn't move on anything unless they got at least 20 complaints about any business as they are far to busy. Typical government agency, bone idle and the same goes for the Police in the West Midlands. This is how criminals like lexuschap are able to function but one day they will over step the mark once to often sell a car to the wrong person and he will get what he deserves. This is my final response to you clunkfish on this subject because all that is happening is that you will not read the historic archives and all we are doing is "oh yes he did, oh no he didn't" and that is not a a reasoned argument. Mike.

This is still just one issue - the disputed mileage. That's it. All the rest of it is rumour and gossip. Pretty malicious too, involving threats of violence. "Nearly all his feedback is written by himself the prices that appear to show what he sold it for are also fictitious." OK, give us some evidence! None of it is rumour or gossip the facts are there do yourself a favour and look into the archives his dishonest doings are there in chapter and verse. You seem not to want to read the history of lexuschap that are already on the forum,incidentally a forum he joined for a brief period where he was given the chance to defend himself against all the allegations that are on the LOC but his replies soon just descended in to a torrent of abuse and threats, he was then banned. It was not the behavior of an innocent and genuine motor trader that sells on ebay as a NON REGISTERED TRADER which is against the rules of ebay but these days they don't seem to care. He will eventually get what is due to him one day as people that trade dishonestly are eventually caught. Mike.

He has had feedback four times in the last year for car sales, all positive. Lexuschap has also had four positive feedbacks for car sales - three Lexuses and a Mazda - in the last year. I really really dislike this witch-hunt against this guy or guys. One member is suggesting physical violence against him (I reported that to the mods but didn't even get the courtesy of a reply, so I suppose threatening language is OK here); another says beware, he sold a car for less than he paid for it at auction - what exactly is the complaint here?; another says he has had no recent feedback but clicking on his username shows you that he has. Let me tell you a little story. I have sold two cars on eBay in the last couple of years, one for my daughter and one for my son. My daughter's Berlingo was serviced and checked over at a good independent local garage before putting it up for sale. Geezer bought it without a test drive, called a couple of hours later and said it had developed a fault which I must have known about. I got the garage to call him (they insisted they had detected no problem, and I never even drove the car personally), but he still left nasty feedback on eBay. My son's Audi A3 was main dealer serviced before the sale. Geezer took it for a test drive, drove away, two weeks later said it had a fault that I must have known about. Again, I got the dealer to talk to him, they had detected no problem, but he still left very nasty feedback. The moral of the story is that even the most honest of people can appear to be a dodgy dealer. My feedback has had at the same time two car sales negatives, making me look like an absolute a***hole. Both times the car sold for quite a bit below market, had been serviced and checked over, and as far as I know was straight and true. It's very easy to get worked up into a rage against someone, but things here with Lexuschap have gone too far. I bought an LS400 off him - so, unlike virtually everyone commenting on him, I have actually met him and done business with him - and it was a good deal with a very nice bloke. If you sort through all the stuff that has been written about him, as far as I can make out one member is pretty sure that he mis-described a car's mileage. That's it. If that makes him despicable, then what am I? I hear what you say but the facts are their if care to look for them One in particular when he bought an LS400 with galactic mileage on it which was backed up by the guy that sold it to him but then mysteriously appeared on ebay a couple of days later minus 150,000 miles. I suppose he could have driven it backwards for a period of time but this I doubt. His history is there for you to find if care to look for it but you seem not to want to not acquaint yourself with that side of lexuschap. Nearly all his feedback is written by himself the prices that appear to show what he sold it for are also fictitious, I could go on and on. As an LOC member you should be glad that these dishonest dealers are bought to the attention of the membership. You had a good experience so you say but there are plenty that haven't. As for your dealings with selling cars through ebay. You are not an unregistered ebay dealer selling dozens of cars and your experience has no bearing on the subject of lexuschap. His ID that he using at the moment huzzy=sal has had no feedback left on it for up to a year. If it was just a few months it would show how many months the last FB was left. As for his Lexuschap FB its just a work of pure fiction. If his trading is so clean why does he have to change his ID? No honest trader has to do it. His dishonest dealings are archived on here and are there for all to read. I will continue to warn the membership of his dealings and you should perhaps be relieved that you didnt have a bad experience with him. Mike

Because at some stage his lexuschap name get so well known for bad things that he has to change it. The name he is using now has had no feedback added to it in a year. He has several of these accounts. Ebay may also be getting on his back for his total disregard to any of the rules. Mike

I cant stand people that sit on the fence. Mike

Speak for yourself! I was 'only' 34 when I got my Citroen DS23! My last Ser 4 was this colour. I must be alot older than you. They had only just done away with the man walking in front with a red flag (joke) when I started driving. Mike

Be very wary of any cars with the ID huzzy_sal = lexuschap they are one of the same.

OooooooooooooooooooAAaaaaaaaaaaHhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Why couldn't we have cars like this when we were young and single? What a fantastic looking car well done and enjoy.

I find that the most surprising thing about this whole affair is that our Prime Minister felt he should put his two penarth in when you think of all the things that are going on in this less than perfect world we live in that should have his undivided attention. I suppose he thinks it makes him a man of the people. Mike.

Party

He has been suspended after a fight with a producer. Will this be the end of him on the BBC? ITV must be rubbing their hands together. They will let him punch all the producers he wants if went over to them. Mike

He has been suspended after a fight with a producer. Will this be the end of him on the BBC? ITV must be rubbing their hands together. They will let him punch all the producers he wants if went over to them. Mike

It shouldn't be allowed. As a coach builder you are a very skilled man, as skilled as any of the professional professions ie solicitors, barristers, accountants etc down your way and they never go short in the wages dept. We have spent many a happy family holiday on the beaches of South Devon. Mike

Slapton sands!! Lovely part of the world. Get down there about 4 times a year. Beautiful part of the world. Mike

Our next door neighbour used to have one. I was in my teens but I still remember how smooth and quiet it was. I never liked the outside styling but the inside was very cool. Mike.

Is it smoke or steam. All engines in good condition when first started in the morning, especially on wet damp cold days they all emit steam until the system have warmed up. Smoke from engines is normally blue in colour and stinks of engine death. Mike

Just over 4 years. I came from Mercedes which was about as exciting as watching a skip rust. Couldn't believe what a great club this was when I first joined. The LOC is the best car forum there is. Mike

Do they blank the number plate out like that? if it does cant see ol bill liking that as speed cameras wont be able to pick up the plate.

I did. See post #78, I had forgotten to attribute it in post #76. I have now done the attribution for Steven P. Sparrow BSc (Hons) on post #76 I have still yet to hear from any LS430 owners of VSR which has firmly been attributable to LPG. The more likely hood is that the engine set up had been wrong. The 460 cannot at this time be converted because of direct injection and engine management issues which cant be overcome. Give it time and they will. Mike.

When I was going to do it on a 10 year old LS400 it didn't attract VAT and that was in the last couple of months. Mike

"Mad Max" Not for me, but I am old. Mike.

Hi Ian. Many thanks for pointing that out. You wouldn't believe I proof read that a dozen times and never picked it up. I will point it out to Steven P. Sparrow BSc (Hons) from who I got most of the facts and figures. Regards Mike

Hi Jimmy, LPG has only 85% of the calorific value of the same amount of petrol, so it is impossible for it to create more heat. It can only make 85% as much. The causes of VSR Valve Seat Regression There are at least 3 reasons why engine valve heads and stems recess into their seats; 1. Brinelling (flowing or change of shape of the metal that makes the valve heads and seats) 2. Erosion (through friction, resulting from the rotary motion of the valves when closing, caused by the helical valve spring(s) 3. Microwelding (ask your local Metallurgist or research on the 'net) Note that these factors and their combined effects are present when an engine runs on ANY fuel. A breakdown of these effects; Brinelling (factor 1). Brinelling is well demonstrated by a Blacksmith who heats the metal he wants to re-shape in order to make it flow (Brinell) more easily under his Hammer. The metal being worked on is said to become 'softer' (more Ductile) when it is heated. The more the metal is heated (up to the point where it becomes molten or liquid), the softer it will become. The Blacksmith could re-shape the metal when it is cold although it would take him far longer. From this we can see that more heat can accelerate the rate of Brinnelling. In addition, the rate of change in shape or flowing of the metal depends on its hardness and ductility at any given temperature. Lead, Copper or Gold would be easy to work when cold, whereas Tool Steel would have to be glowing bright yellow with heat before a heavy hammer could make any dent in it. Metal hardness is therefore a factor directly affecting the rate of Brinelling. In a Piston engine, the valve heads are taking the Blacksmith's place, hammering on the valve seats. The softer those valve seats are, the more they will change in shape as their metal flows. As in the Blacksmith's Forge, it is clear that the rate of Brinelling can be accelerated by more heating of the valve seat and the force exerted upon it by the valve steam /head. To carry the useful Blacksmith analogy a little further, the effect of Brinelling can be increased by using more force or a heavier hammer (which amounts to the same thing). Engine designers would like to make their valves as light as possible in order to reduce the force, although they have to be made of enough metal to do their job adequately. One way of reducing the force exerted on a valve seat by the valve head (the Hammer) is to use two valves to do the job of one. This will almost halve the weight of individual valve heads. This solution is demonstrated in engines having 3 or 4 valves per cylinder. Many think that 3 or 4 valves per cylinder are used to improve the 'breathing' or gas flow of an engine where, in fact, the method is used to reduce the weight of the valve heads and thus reduce the force exerted on their valve seats. If this design solution is used it will minimise the effect of Brinelling and retard the onset of VSR. Erosion (factor 2) This effect cannot be avoided by using any pure fuel, it is purely a mechanical problem which can only be overcome by stopping the valve heads and stems rotating. When the heads rotate, they simply rub metal off both mating faces, and the softer of the two will suffer more erosion. Efforts to resolve this problem are made by engine designers, the most common solution is to use two springs with opposing helixes. Because one spring must be smaller in diameter than the other (one spring must fit inside another in an axial fashion) then the turning forces cannot be totally balanced and valve head/stem rotation will still take place, although it will be reduced. Another partial solution for Erosion is found in lubrication of the valve head and seat. If we apply lubrication to surfaces that are eroding each other then less molecules will be worn off each surface. Lead used to be added to petrol because it provided a form of lubrication for the valve head and seat sealing faces. Nowadays, Lead is not added to Petrol so that lubrication benefit is gone. Microwelding (factor 3) Metallurgy shows us that any two similar metals that are truly clean (right down to a molecular level) will begin to stick back together if left touching for any length of time. The longer they are left this way (when the engine is not running), the more similar the metals are, and the cleaner their surfaces are, the more quickly they will begin to Microweld. When two Microwelded surfaces are pulled apart, molecules of metal are pulled from both, resulting in surface damage. After prolonged surface damage due to Microwelding the valve head and seat may not produce a gas tight seal any more. The simplest way to prevent or retard Microwelding is to add 'Dirt' to the surfaces of the two pieces of metal. That 'Dirt' could be the Oil we use to stop things siezing up, it could be Polish or Paint of some kind, it could also be the Soot produced by burning some fuels. It is convenient that Petrol combustion produces lots of carbon (Soot) whereas it is a little inconvenient that LPG burns much cleaner than Petrol and does not leave Carbon deposits. Thus, the cleaner combustion of LPG and other fuels (CNG for instance) can actually promote Microwelding. Can an Engine with Hard Valve seats be damaged? Valve damage can occur when running on any fuel. If the valves are made to run too hot due to incorrect fuel/air mixtures this may make Brinelling and resulting VSR much more likely. Incorrect fuel/air mixture, especially if too weak, can overheat the valves, resulting in accelerated Brinelling. It is important for the correct mixture to be supplied to the engine whether it is being run on Petrol, LPG or any other fuel. In Conclusion It would be incorrect to heap all if the blame for VSR on LPG. If an engine's valves are truly fit to run on modern unleaded petrol (for any reasonable length of time) they are good enough to run on LPG with no additional problems, and it must be remembered that all of the effects described above still occur when running an engine on Unleaded Petrol, especially if the valves have been 'engineered down to a price'. The plain fact is that ALL engine valves will reach the end of their useful life at some point. Nothing lasts forever, although valves with harder seats made out of quite different material to the head and stem assembly will definately last longer when running on any fuel, as will desmodromic valve arrangements. Finally, note that most modern LPG systems depend on the car's original [petrol] fuelling system to deliver the correct mixture at all times, e.g. if the petrol system delivers weak mixtures that is a problem in itself, and will be translated directly into weak mixtures when running the engine on LPG simply because the LPG system is doing what it is told to do by the petrol system. In a case like that, the LPG system and the installer cannot be held responsible - it is an ordinarily (as if it were unconverted) car maintenance issue, not an LPG issue Certificates for insurance companies. This is just a requirement that some insurance companies request, there is no legal requirement for the insurance company to ask. The request from some insurance companies who request further certificates X years later is not a request which backed or needed by law its just something some insurance companies request. I have never in 16 + years of LPG motoring ever been asked for further LPG safety certificates further on down the line. Hopefully this will give you the confidence to convert your LS to LPG and sleep peaceably knowing your bank balance doesn't go down as quick, as LPG is half the price of petrol. Your doing your bit to help the green brigade and your engine will last even longer because you don't have the pollutants that petrol has. Make sure you research carefully whoever it is you choose to install your system. All info with thanks to Steven P. Sparrow BSc (Hons) Good luck with it Mike.

Brilliant Pepe.