Hello folks
Compared to some of the projects I’ve read on here (Green Goddess to car transporter springs to mind!), mine is neither involved or ambitious. Nether-the-less I thought a few might be interested to hear about my Sapporo quest so here goes!
For sometime I’d been searching for an affordable car from 1985 (my birth year). No rhyme nor reason - just for the fun of it. Most of my cars and projects are random thoughts and usually the cheapest, most worn out examples I can find! I had my heart set on a Celica Supra or a Starion and still do but they’ve never come up at the right price/condition. My endless search led me to the Retro Rides sales section and I cast a keen eye over the forum each week.
One day something came up and it just spoke to me:
This is (or perhaps what’s left of!) a 1978 Mitsubishi Colt Sapporo. I took it on from a fellow RR member (thanks Pete!), rust ‘n all, knowing it was fairly rough around the edges. He kindly brought it down to Sussex from Leicester for which I was incredibly grateful.
Now at this point I have a confession. My spannering talents are on par with my cooking skills. I.e. I consider cheese on toast a delicacy. I enjoy eating food more than I enjoy cooking it and the same could be said for my hobby. I could tell you everything you need to know about the Peugeot 406 Coupe – I love mine to bits but I've no desire to take it apart. I was reliant on my friends in their various trades to get this Mitsubishi going again....and they took one look at it and told me where to go.
OK, I under estimated the work involved here. Even with my finest recipe book and socket set, I’m waaaay out of my depth. I usually take on a basket case but never have I been able to see the ground through the floor.
I asked around backstreet bodyshop's and car restorers locally. The cheapest came in at £2,000...and that was pre-strip down. There be gremlins elsewhere, I be sure. Then you’ve got a respray ontop, the inevitable broken rarity, tyres, MOT and so forth. I wanted to get this car in good order for £1,500. Frankly twice that wasn't going to cut it.
I felt gutted, especially as this would be my third failed project in a row. I spent a few quid getting it running and she drove pretty well considering, which inspired a bit of hope. I put the car in storage and considered my options. Later a friend agreed to take on the welding over the summer evenings and I began sourcing spares. In the mean time the rear suspension completely collapsed on one side. Humph.
I turned to the internet for spares and this introduced me to other Sapporo owners – Stu and Andy, both of whom have been very helpful and I can’t thank enough. Cheers guys! Andy deserves a special thank you for providing me with all the technical drawings and part numbers for the entire car. This has been a lifeline and he is a true gent.
My parts quest later led me to an obscure classified site where a complete Sapporo was being offered for sale. What are the chances of that? Estimates put the number of Sapporo’s left in the country at around 30. No price and sporadic details so I called the seller up and found out a little more. It’d been in storage for the best part of 20 years, untouched since he moved to the other side of the country. It was in excellent condition apparently, though this appraisal came from when the car went into storage all those years ago. I was swapping Micro Machines in the play ground the last time this car saw daylight – there’s no way it could still be in good shape! Several months passed before we could meet up and see what two decades of storage had done to the car.
The day finally arrived and off to the outskirts of London I went, excited but anxious of what to expect. I met up with the seller – a fantastic chap who I’ve kept in touch with – and we opened the faded door to garage number 4...
It was still there!
And remarkably 3 of the 4 tyres still had air inside them!
And asides from a gooey steering wheel and the addition of a thousand dead woodlice, the car had been preserved like a museum piece. It was fantastic inside, outside and underneath. The only significant corrosion, which remained cosmetic, was to the diff housing, and of course condensation rotting the base on both exhaust boxes.
Well aware I was not going to get an opportunity like this again, a deal was done and transport hastily arranged before the seller headed back home. I was over the moon! How often do you dream of finding something in a garage and it being what you hoped?
Back at HQ I began to inspect her in the daylight. My mechanic mate popped over and with nothing to lose I suggested we try and start it. He re-connected the throttle cable and I borrowed a battery. It made some grunting noises...coughed...choked...belched...and spluttered into life. This was on 20 year old fuel. Idle was erratic, she stalled at low revs and a cylinder was down but even so, she slowly moved under her own power and made a lap of the yard. I was staggered!
Needless to say though she needed more than an oil change. The radiator was heavily corroded, all rubber pipes perished, carb bunged up, dizzy cracked, exhaust holed, suspension bushes sticky etc. As snow storms and monsoons permitted we set about a full service and tune up. She was treated to a re-cored radiator and we pinched a good carb and exhaust from Sapp #1.
Along the way there were a few hiccups, not least a dodgy carb gasket allowing coolant into the engine and ejecting enough smoke to keep an 80’s disco going all night. Initially this was diagnosed as headgasket failure, which put a dampener on things as that’s a huge job. Fortunately my partner in crime, far more savvy and experienced than I, worked out what was going on. Million pound re-build fixed with 50p gasket. These are the sort of friends you look after and reward with chocolate!
A couple of weeks later and I (yes, me!) installed the lovely new radiator, thermostat and exhaust.
All her other tune ups complete and still wearing her 20 years of grime, she made a second and third lap of the industrial estate, this time without hesitation or stalling. We reached the frightening heights of 25mph.
Afterwards the snow came...and that’s where we’re up to now. Providing the weather holds out next week, which isn’t looking promising to be honest, we should be able to get the front ball joints, brakes and fluid bleed complete. She’s then ready to go forth for an MOT. And a wash. Obviously there’s still plenty to do – clean up the fuel pipes underneath, underseal again, kink in bumper, find appropriate steering wheel (at least this ones not all gooey), clean interior etc. but I’ll be a happy man if I can get her back on the road before March is out
I’d like to do something the audio too while keeping it period. A cassette player would be lovely but at the very least an upgrade to FM from LW/MW. This car might be old but its owner would like tunes, not talk radio!
Plans for the blue Sapporo have not been thrown out. Work will start on the welding this summer and the search for bits continues. I've pinched some parts from it but nothing irreplaceable.
I’ll keep this thread updated – next one should be MOT news hopefully. And if anyone knows of a Celica Supra (1st gen Supra, not a Celica OR Supra), pleasedon't tell me!
Compared to some of the projects I’ve read on here (Green Goddess to car transporter springs to mind!), mine is neither involved or ambitious. Nether-the-less I thought a few might be interested to hear about my Sapporo quest so here goes!
For sometime I’d been searching for an affordable car from 1985 (my birth year). No rhyme nor reason - just for the fun of it. Most of my cars and projects are random thoughts and usually the cheapest, most worn out examples I can find! I had my heart set on a Celica Supra or a Starion and still do but they’ve never come up at the right price/condition. My endless search led me to the Retro Rides sales section and I cast a keen eye over the forum each week.
One day something came up and it just spoke to me:
This is (or perhaps what’s left of!) a 1978 Mitsubishi Colt Sapporo. I took it on from a fellow RR member (thanks Pete!), rust ‘n all, knowing it was fairly rough around the edges. He kindly brought it down to Sussex from Leicester for which I was incredibly grateful.
Now at this point I have a confession. My spannering talents are on par with my cooking skills. I.e. I consider cheese on toast a delicacy. I enjoy eating food more than I enjoy cooking it and the same could be said for my hobby. I could tell you everything you need to know about the Peugeot 406 Coupe – I love mine to bits but I've no desire to take it apart. I was reliant on my friends in their various trades to get this Mitsubishi going again....and they took one look at it and told me where to go.
OK, I under estimated the work involved here. Even with my finest recipe book and socket set, I’m waaaay out of my depth. I usually take on a basket case but never have I been able to see the ground through the floor.
I asked around backstreet bodyshop's and car restorers locally. The cheapest came in at £2,000...and that was pre-strip down. There be gremlins elsewhere, I be sure. Then you’ve got a respray ontop, the inevitable broken rarity, tyres, MOT and so forth. I wanted to get this car in good order for £1,500. Frankly twice that wasn't going to cut it.
I felt gutted, especially as this would be my third failed project in a row. I spent a few quid getting it running and she drove pretty well considering, which inspired a bit of hope. I put the car in storage and considered my options. Later a friend agreed to take on the welding over the summer evenings and I began sourcing spares. In the mean time the rear suspension completely collapsed on one side. Humph.
I turned to the internet for spares and this introduced me to other Sapporo owners – Stu and Andy, both of whom have been very helpful and I can’t thank enough. Cheers guys! Andy deserves a special thank you for providing me with all the technical drawings and part numbers for the entire car. This has been a lifeline and he is a true gent.
My parts quest later led me to an obscure classified site where a complete Sapporo was being offered for sale. What are the chances of that? Estimates put the number of Sapporo’s left in the country at around 30. No price and sporadic details so I called the seller up and found out a little more. It’d been in storage for the best part of 20 years, untouched since he moved to the other side of the country. It was in excellent condition apparently, though this appraisal came from when the car went into storage all those years ago. I was swapping Micro Machines in the play ground the last time this car saw daylight – there’s no way it could still be in good shape! Several months passed before we could meet up and see what two decades of storage had done to the car.
The day finally arrived and off to the outskirts of London I went, excited but anxious of what to expect. I met up with the seller – a fantastic chap who I’ve kept in touch with – and we opened the faded door to garage number 4...
It was still there!
And remarkably 3 of the 4 tyres still had air inside them!
And asides from a gooey steering wheel and the addition of a thousand dead woodlice, the car had been preserved like a museum piece. It was fantastic inside, outside and underneath. The only significant corrosion, which remained cosmetic, was to the diff housing, and of course condensation rotting the base on both exhaust boxes.
Well aware I was not going to get an opportunity like this again, a deal was done and transport hastily arranged before the seller headed back home. I was over the moon! How often do you dream of finding something in a garage and it being what you hoped?
Back at HQ I began to inspect her in the daylight. My mechanic mate popped over and with nothing to lose I suggested we try and start it. He re-connected the throttle cable and I borrowed a battery. It made some grunting noises...coughed...choked...belched...and spluttered into life. This was on 20 year old fuel. Idle was erratic, she stalled at low revs and a cylinder was down but even so, she slowly moved under her own power and made a lap of the yard. I was staggered!
Needless to say though she needed more than an oil change. The radiator was heavily corroded, all rubber pipes perished, carb bunged up, dizzy cracked, exhaust holed, suspension bushes sticky etc. As snow storms and monsoons permitted we set about a full service and tune up. She was treated to a re-cored radiator and we pinched a good carb and exhaust from Sapp #1.
Along the way there were a few hiccups, not least a dodgy carb gasket allowing coolant into the engine and ejecting enough smoke to keep an 80’s disco going all night. Initially this was diagnosed as headgasket failure, which put a dampener on things as that’s a huge job. Fortunately my partner in crime, far more savvy and experienced than I, worked out what was going on. Million pound re-build fixed with 50p gasket. These are the sort of friends you look after and reward with chocolate!
A couple of weeks later and I (yes, me!) installed the lovely new radiator, thermostat and exhaust.
All her other tune ups complete and still wearing her 20 years of grime, she made a second and third lap of the industrial estate, this time without hesitation or stalling. We reached the frightening heights of 25mph.
Afterwards the snow came...and that’s where we’re up to now. Providing the weather holds out next week, which isn’t looking promising to be honest, we should be able to get the front ball joints, brakes and fluid bleed complete. She’s then ready to go forth for an MOT. And a wash. Obviously there’s still plenty to do – clean up the fuel pipes underneath, underseal again, kink in bumper, find appropriate steering wheel (at least this ones not all gooey), clean interior etc. but I’ll be a happy man if I can get her back on the road before March is out
I’d like to do something the audio too while keeping it period. A cassette player would be lovely but at the very least an upgrade to FM from LW/MW. This car might be old but its owner would like tunes, not talk radio!
Plans for the blue Sapporo have not been thrown out. Work will start on the welding this summer and the search for bits continues. I've pinched some parts from it but nothing irreplaceable.
I’ll keep this thread updated – next one should be MOT news hopefully. And if anyone knows of a Celica Supra (1st gen Supra, not a Celica OR Supra), please