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Sept 9, 2012 23:03:31 GMT
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Can't believe some of the ones posted so far, shockers! I suppose the good thing to take from these is it makes your reliase what kinda shape some cars can be in hidden away (such as the rear seatbelt mounts) Real eye openers!  |
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Sept 9, 2012 23:12:36 GMT
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When I start tearing into the bodywork of my Imp I'll stick a link to the pictures in here...  Although it's not so much the previous owner's fault: I've been lazy and rather neglected the poor thing.  |
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Last Edit: Sept 9, 2012 23:13:34 GMT by jrevillug
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,194
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Shock Shock Horror Horror....ChasR
@chasr
Club Retro Rides Member 170
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Sept 10, 2012 0:04:00 GMT
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I've had a few! The Midget I bought looked great from the outside, but it was a patchwork (and tack weld...) quilt underneath. Most bits of that car had seen a plate (or 3!) with the bootfloor corners being made of underseal and Polyfilla!. The floorpans had been replaced but one of them was simply tacked in with 4 or 5 dabs of weld... It was a nice colour mind you:  The first V6 Mondeo I bought was a world of pain. It looked good, it had all of the service history etc. and for the test drive anyway it ran well enough. It had also been converted to LPG by a reputable firm in Leicester. Shortly after it started to use alot of coolant, pressurise the cooling system so much that it sounded like a bottle of coke was being opened whenever the header tank cap was undone in addition to finally overheating! The LPG system had not been plumbed in all that well either in a variety of aspects. An engine later, and many cooling hoses later (the Ford parts man told me that Ford themselves change the radiator and all of the cooling hoses after an overheated car (I was suspicious but in hindsight he was right!) from different hoses dying each week, in addition to other cooling system components I had it running fine, just. I was working on that car on a weekly basis, which is probably why I don't really enjoy working on cars now and aim for more pragmatic goals with my classic cars. I soon learned how to work with a lack of room! Saying that, I did take it to 300,000 miles in the end  .  For all the moaning however both of those cars did teach me invaluable skills so I prefer to see it more as a journey . |
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Last Edit: Sept 10, 2012 0:05:32 GMT by ChasR
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Sept 10, 2012 0:06:36 GMT
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I'm really glad it's not just me that this has happened to!
Worst I've had was a Manta hatchback that I bought a couple of years ago. I was told it needed a radiator and a pair of front wings, but it was so cheap I bought it unseen, taxed and with plenty of MOT left.
After driving it for a month or two I decided to cash in the remaining tax and have a good poke around it, mainly as the centre box had just fallen apart and it sounded like a tractor. Closer inspection showed the front footwells were made of plates "welded" on which I pulled off with my hands, and holes underneath big enough to put both feet through.
Worst bit was that the bracket holding the Panhard rod to the back axle had very nearly rusted off, there was about 3-4mm of steel left holding bracket and axle together. I've got pictures somewhere, I'll put them up if I can find them on my old computer.
Scrapped it with about 8 months MOT left.
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'77 Vauxhall Cavalier coupe 1.9 GLS - the long term project
'81 Opel Senator 3.0S
'81 Opel Senator 3.0CD
'82 Opel Manta SRB coupe
'90 Vauxhall Cavalier SRi
'93 Vauxhall Senator 24V
'93 Lancia Thema 16V Turbo
'94 Vauxhall Carlton Diamond
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Clement
Europe
ambitious but rubbish
Posts: 2,095
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Sept 10, 2012 9:06:04 GMT
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There's this guy that bought a 504 coupé, had a rusty chassis leg so had to sell it, bought another one, freshly restored, mint isn't it?   He paid quite a lot of money for it but...  Bodywork guy had just put stonechip on bare metal (and/or rust), so the new owner is quite a bit angry now. Quite a bit. |
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Sept 10, 2012 9:53:13 GMT
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My tr7 had lots of this when I bought it.  But I know that £150 of triumph doesnt get you a lot of good metal. But interestingly this; is only a fail if the SPRING mount is within 30cm of the hole. The rear shock is NOT a perscribed area for the MOT. Whilst its hard to have the shock and spring that far apart most leaf sprung cars with tube shocks can have the shock mounts rotted through but the spring mounts ok. As long as the shock still damps the car it MUST pass (With a strong advise!!!) Having said that the last cherry I saw like that the shock was knocking against the parcel shelf! |
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Sept 10, 2012 20:26:09 GMT
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I thought I'd had a few horrors but I've had nothing like that lot above. Thanks for beating me in all of those eBay auctions!
I went with a mate to get an eBay bargain from Newcastle, a taxed and tested Fiat Cinq for a few hundred quid. After getting the keys and docs off the bloke's Mum, we popped the bonnet and found the engine bay and everything in it covered in dried rusty dust. We thought CHG fail or some horrible thing so we had a cuppa at Sainsbury's and decided to limp it home. Took five hours at 40mph to get home (my modern TDCI got a staggering 72mpg trunudling behind the Fiat on the return leg) but after a detailed inspection there was no evidence of what actually happened.
The Fiat was written off in a rear end accident years later and my mate got twice what he paid for it. He still bangs on about how brilliant it was.
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Sept 11, 2012 10:54:48 GMT
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no major woes with cars, i always knew if i was buying a heap!!
i did however over winter spend a substantial amount of cash on a new turbo engine for the cavalier, fully rebuilt etc etc turns out its got either a cracked head or block as oil is curse word out of the head gasket joint at the rear of the engine!!! just goes to show you really cant trust anyone on forums or ebay!! such a shame really!!
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mercmad
Posted a lot
Flush Hard,it's a long way to McDonalds.
Posts: 1,740
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Sept 11, 2012 11:55:53 GMT
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Many years ago I changed my driving style to cope with rising fuel prices; I have now reached the stage where I am contemplating keeping my eyes shut in order to lower wind resistance.
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camper damper
Part of things
Another car bites the dust
Posts: 606
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Sept 11, 2012 12:11:10 GMT
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I bought a van once looked good drove good split in half when I went to tow a car trailer with a mini on it
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Sept 11, 2012 15:46:09 GMT
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heres my more disappointment, than shock horror; but basically fits in to the criteria; car looked good ontop; but was a nail underneath... Here its is a 93 mk3 Gol ?.?L, just after it bought parked at my brothers flat (once we reattched the arches n other bits that had attempted to fall off buckeroo style on the journey back from buying it...  Oh, er matron; checkz that sthancz' under the bonnet an, engine not supposed to be there; was told it was an 1.4 AEX; turned out to be an 1.6 AEE (wish id kept the lump; would be a good motor for my mk1 derby project; ah well...)...  as it was a lowhered n stunzed motor for quite awhile before I got it, had bashed up sills at the front with a rust hole in the middle of one the bumps, so ripped all that out n repaired it...   Was trying for an NCT test (fittness/MoT type test) - my mam obliged and brought it up for the booked in time; they managed to get the emmissions test done and were bringing it onto the rollers rto do the handbrake test, when they slapped the tank off the floor of the test centre n knocked out the fuel pump; it failed to restart, the handed back the keys and the full fee (virtually unheard of for them to do that without lots of appeals etc) and denyed all knowledge - had to tow it home that evening or face 'impounding' and the subsequent fees... Anyhow found more rust on the drivers side floor above the plastic fuel lines and thought 'I'll cut my losses here' - luckily!!! Myself and my brother then began pillaging it to part out; from being so low for so long the underneath had taken a real serious hammering; the subframe was under serious tension, as he discovered when he removed the pin on his side (car was massiveley raised up for the job) - after the last thread was wound out the bolt pinged out like a bullet and the subframe wobbled back outta tension... the wiring was a complete rats nest; and while taking out the interior, found a bunched up, blood stained designer white shirt behind the rear door card!!! Twas all up a real nail of a car, but the story has a happier ending than some; it gave up a serious wealth of parts and I made my money back selling all that off- all but the wiring and floor were sold on - even the rear quarters were cut off as the sills back there were good; destined for a 3 door vento project another vw saddo was attempting...  ...even the ignition amp/coil was retrieved, for a chap stuck for one; a year after the remains (front cut) was dumped on my uncles farm... |
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Last Edit: Sept 11, 2012 15:51:50 GMT by blzeedub
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