Car Ownership Anniversaries

Yes indeed, it certainly surprised people back in the day as it weighs next to nothing & it's good on the track as it handles reasonably well & it's worth so little you can drive it like you stole it.

Luckily I bought a complete Lancer EX2000 Turbo (that had crashed into a tree) back in 1993 from a scrapyard for £125 with the theory it must have been running until it hit the tree?

Sadly even then the Lancer was too rotten to restore so I transferred all the running gear under the Chevette & transferred the wring loom & dash to give me a Turbocharged 170bhp Mitsubishi powered Chevette.

The EX2000 Turbo came with vented discs all round, 5 speed gearbox, Fuel Injection & a Mitsubishi Turbocharger as standard so it was a quick & capable car even in standard form.

Over the years I've fitted Four Pot Calipers to the Front, an LSD, Starion Gearbox, Multipoint Fuel Injection, Evo 3 Pistons & Garret T3 Cosworth Turbo running on Omex so thankfully it stops as well as it goes.

It's been to the Gathering in 2015 & ran up Shelsley Walsh on the Hillclimb & ran the Goodwood Circuit at the Weekender in 2018.

Probably because I built it & I've had it the longest it I'd say it's probably the favourite Retro I own as it still makes an impression & can hold it's own today.

The Donor car was the same as the below, just a lot more rusty & bent:-

11 years.
11 arduous and painful years.
What an idiot

I mind seeing that Avenger at the gathering 👍

Did it get fixed? 🤞

Yeah, the crash was in 2013, the last picture is from last years gathering

You're not alone there! I am just as bad!

The longest I've ever owned a car and it's surprising I've owned it that long was my MGB GT Sebring Replica. I owned it for 10 years




Like @quatermass said earlier on, I sold it as it seemed like it was getting a bit much. For the 10 years I tried to build the Sebring on a shoestring, but I wanted the quality right as well; it became a point of ridicule for me for quite some time. As a result it was built well, but the paint suffered on the car ; I couldn't bear to throw £2k at the car to paint it as grumpynorthener stated in another thread, especially when a very good MGB then was £5k then. I also didn't earn alot then either, being a unit student graduating in the middle of a recession. As a result, it got sold and got finished. For years I didn't really miss it. Many cars went by, but now I do sort of wish I kept it. Yes, it would have taken a few £k on engine/running gear I wanted to fit (RV8), and a chunk more on the paintwork, but wow, it would have been a cool old thing! But I soon forget about just how much cash it did soak up over the 10 years. It would have been enough for a small deposit back then I suspect (around £7k in the car rings a bell, albeit I sold it as well, so maybe not quite as bad).

For the above reason, I suspect that's why I bought my M3. I really wanted one for a while, but I also avoided them, as everyone seemed to have one! Everyone also seemed to rave about them! It's why I went with the Porsche 944 Turbo etc. over them. But, when my boyhood dream of a car, the Escort RS Turbo just kept on going iffy, I really couldn't ignore the urge much longer, especially when a friend offered to buy it warts and all with all of the issues known. I do happen to know that my RST wasn't too kind for the next owner after the mate I sold it to, who was also a mate.

Originally, I was only going to keep it for a year, maybe 2 tops, before I sold it to fund a house. Quite few things however changed that. Besides me doing all of the important work to it, it kept on having other things going wrong ; for now, the DSC doesn't work right and both front wings are in a bad way, and will need replacing soon. But a few things have changed. It's a known entity. Yes, it requires work, but any old car I buy will require work anyway! Maybe I'm being looser with the wallet, or maybe I'm realising I'll spend the cash anyway, but with more time and something I don't ultimately want anyway. Other things keeping it with me are:

-£7k these days IME doesn't get you as much car as it did 3-4 years ago, especially if you go older. I know it's nothing for a car to some people here, but it's still a good chunk of cash to me
-It's been with me through some great times and has been a faithful car in that time
-It's a car that's been on a quite a few roadtrips, both abroad and in the UK, and it's done them admirably.

For that reason, I've decided to keep it and sort out the bodywork issues. Normally at this point, I'd sell it for sod all, and repeat the exercise? Madness or maturity? I'll let you decide .




The next car? It's been in the family for longer, but not under my ownership; 3 months to be exact. It has been under my care mind you for the past 4 years.



I don't know what it is, but I do like a Mondeo. I've never thought about selling my previous one to this (a Mk3 V6 3.0 Estate) until someone wrote it off. This one will follow suit as being a great, usable all rounder, especially with the Focus ST engine to help keep the daily drive fun these days. Maybe it's the value of them and what they offer, especially with something fruity under the bonnet to make the most of the chassis.

It will be very interesting to see how long I keep these two cars for to be honest. One is a modern classic in the eyes of magazines, the other has something of a cult status, and now is a rare car in the UK ; I think only 1000 2.5T Mondeos were made for the UK market, with less than that now left on the road. Hardly a surprise when the ST220 was never a big seller.

a partner?