TJB

Crikey Neil, with you and Mike selling up, that's 2 pillars of the community moving on.

Crikey Neil, with you and Mike selling up, that's 2 pillars of the community moving on.

Thanks. I'll see how it stands the test of time.

Before taking the plunge, I decided to take the old knob off and check the fixings / dimensions. As you can see from the pic below. Fitting the Renegade knob would have meant filing a flat on to the gear stick. So I decided against that, and went down the refurb route. Clean and flat with 1200 grit, 2 coats of aluminium paint 4 of clear lacquer later. Job done. Total cost; zero as I'd the paint left over from another job. I still might look for an alternative, but I don't dislike the original. I'll see how this turns out.

I'll explore the possibilities. Nearest place to me that does hydro dipping is a 100 mile round trip. The joys of living in rural Scotland.

I quite like the design, but it hasn't worn well, and I certainly wouldn't pay the insane asking price for a replacement that will just go the same way. I did some work on a 1.6 Multijet Renegade and noticed how similar the gear stick arrangement is and it got me wondering. I may just take the gamble and give it a go; it's cheap enough. I did think about hydro dipping.

My gear knob is looking pretty worn, a lot of the silver paint has come off, and I was considering replacing it - until I saw the price. Now my eyes have stopped bleeding, I had a look for an alternative and this popped up. It's for a Jeep Renegade which, having had a look at one recently, appears to have a very similar shifter mechanism to the Delta, and its one third of the price of the Delta item and it's leather, so probably a bit more tactile. Anyone else tried a knob exchange? If so, how did it go?

Thanks for the guidance, all done in about 10 minutes.

Ah, thanks. I'm still relatively new to this Italian car malarkey. My job for tomorrow sorted out then.

I've decided to change the fuel filter on my Delta; it looks as though it may never have been done. I've got a replacement from my local motor factor, a Bosch N2076 which looks to be very similar and says Fiat, Lancia, Alfa on the box. However, my original filter has a big black electrical connector on the bottom and the Bosch one doesn't. Anyone any experience with this. I'm guessing the electronics are to warn when the filter needs changing, so if I keep to a 2 yearly filter change will there be any other issues?

I have a 1.6 Multijet SR diesel. We recently took it on an almost 1000 mile drive from West Scotland down to the West Country via the Midlands and Welsh Marches and back. Very comfortable and pretty enjoyable on the A and B roads. It also averaged just short of 60 mpg for the trip. I'd aim for an SR or higher to get a decent spec car. Given the negativity around diesel these days, I would seriously consider the petrol option if I lived in or near a big city with the threat of ULEZ banning pre 2016 diesels from town centres looking like a very real possibility in the next couple of years. If you live in a rural or semi-rural area and, like me, have no intention of taking your car in to a city centre, then the diesel is still a good option. The one in the ad is a base model, I'd hold out for something with a bit nicer trim, given that there probably won't be much difference in price. What I would say is, when you find a car you like the look of act fast; nice ones seem to fly off forecourts very quickly. I missed out on 4 before I found mine.

Thanks, I'm pleased with the result. I was concerned there might be a bit of a boy-racer fart-box sound, but it's very subtle. New rear hanger arrived today, so I shall fit that over the weekend. All the Deltas I see with the cut-out seem to have the exhaust sitting very low, almost making the cut-out pointless. There's a silver one near me in Helensburgh and I noticed on that one first. Anyone else noticed it?

Friend of mine rented an Ypsilon in Sicily recently. he loved it.

I took both of my lights out to clean away 7 years worth of accumulated crud and algae. I noticed the little box of relays and fuses. Mine was taped to the loom that runs over the wheel arch. Looks to have been like that from the factory. So far all working fine. It all came apart and went back together again reasonably easily. Has anyone else noticed the little rubber "cushions"; 6 on each light unit that seem to fall off in to the void for the light cluster? I re fixed mine with some double sided tape and the light seems to have a little more clearance between its outer edge and the body. Wondering if these things are there to allow an element of drainage round the light but fall off, causing the light to drop slightly and get manky round the edge. On another light related issue, has anyone else had their rear fog and reversing lights fill with water? I've taken mine out, cleaned up the bulb holders, fitted new bulbs, smear of petroleum jelly on the bulb holder seal and sealed the casings up with Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure; brilliant stuff for sorting this kind of problem out.

The exhaust is now on; so a few pics. Nello is right they are bloomin' heavy. The old one put up a bit of a fight but eventually came off quite cleanly. The new one went on with no issues, other than one of the hangers seemed to have been bent in transit, but it straightened out OK. I've only driven about 10 miles since fitting and as far as the sound goes, it really isn't that different; perhaps a bit deeper note but no nasty booming, which was my big concern. I've also ordered a new rear rubber hanger, as mine is looking pretty tired.

The back box arrived yesterday. Having unboxed it looks to be pretty good quality. Nice stainless steel exhaust tips and well finished. My only gripe is that the cut ends of the steel pipe inside the stainless tips have been left as bare metal. Nothing a quick blow over with some VHT paint won't solve.

Following this, although I reckon I'll need discs in the not too distant future as well.

I'll keep everyone posted. It's a good job they're double-skinned. Mine is actually peeling apart and the inner skin is corroded too!

This popped up as one of my saved searches today. A rare beast at a pretty good price, even taking in to account the ferry back from NI: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201906249359795?postcode=g840lq&advertising-location=at_cars&model=DELTA&radius=1501&make=CHRYSLER&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=Used&sort=datedesc&page=1

Just took the plunge and bought one of these. I'll let everyone know how I get on with it.

This is the exhaust I'm looking at. They do 2 types, one for bumper with a cut out and one for a bumper without. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/112772366509?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&fromMakeTrack=true

That doesn't look at all bad. I was trawling eBay last night, there's a whole Delta SR interior for sale in Germany. Seller wants £700 for it: but that is with free delivery What did you use to stick them on in the end?

I don't think there is. A number of suppliers list back boxes as fitting all engine variants, petrol and diesel. I've seen a nice twin outlet one that I like the look of. Anyone ever heard pf Pro Master exhausts? a few reviews from Alfa owners who seem quite pleased with them.

On the subject of the rear lights. How do you go about removing them? Mine have a lot of crud and algae round the edge where the previous owner parked under trees and it annoys me every time I look at the car.

You're scaring me now.