|
|
|
They usually pay too much at the auction, spend too much doing up the car, then sell at a loss. If that's the case then they are doing a surprisingly accurate representation of what it's like to restore a classic. Total cost was over £85k. Sold in the end for £40k. Crazy. Selling for less than 50% of the effort, time and hard earned poured into it? Yep, seems about right. Everyone on here that's built and sold a car can relate.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pretty sure I have another pair of arms spare. No diff though. Beam is the same for all axles, so you can re-use your drum one.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oct 27, 2023 18:00:12 GMT
|
Struggling - and all self inflicted really. Passat estate I had been borrowing has to go back. Fixed my daily - lent it to uncle who's car broke down. So, bought another car. 2 days later lent that to mate of my PT who's car broke down. Fixed another car, for MOT on Monday, which is to be lent out as well. So I have that to use (with no MOT) for the weekend. I would use my work van but that's currently full and also protecting my (loaded) trailer which will 155million% go missing if the van isn't blocking it in. On top of that, currently working 16+ hours a day to try to get on top of things at work, which still isn't enough, turning away work despite taking on 2 more staff, can't get my head around some of the technical stuff we're working on at the minute. First thing that goes when I've no time is healthy eating, and trying really hard not to eat curse word - so just not eating at all lol. I've just over 4 weeks before I go to Nepal so I've to get some jabs and cannot get GP on the phone (they are useless..) and sort some other stuff out too. And get new staff trained up so they can manage themselves while I'm away and out of phone contact. Fun fun fun!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oct 25, 2023 17:35:40 GMT
|
I'm after an aftermarket steering wheel, preferably a leather bound one with silver metal centre and must have it's horn push. Trying to find an all-round one rather than the sculpted ones that all the usual brands make now. The centre needs to be a flat-topped curvature, not bumped up in the centre; and no holes in the spokes. Preference given to Momo or Raid brands but open to all decent quality types. What have you got squirrelled away? eg. (but with a round rim and in leather):
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oct 21, 2023 15:23:31 GMT
|
Those are great looking bikes guys, hopefully you get lots of air this autumn!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oct 21, 2023 14:53:29 GMT
|
I had a look around and alighted on the MG estate again. Right, we'll get that sorted and through an MOT! One patch welded up, tyres changed, all the junk inside it moved to another car for now, and a nice easy... fail..! That is inconvenient! Oh well, how important are brake pipes anyway? It'll have to do for now..! So the MG brake pipe fail was quickly resolved. The MOT tester had said they were "absolutely stinking", but 15 minutes up on the lift with a bit of sandpaper had them looking like new. They weren't even pitted or corroded, they just had some flaky underseal on them. Rubbed that back, got a re-test, and sent it through. I drove it straight over to my uncle and gave him that, taking back the rumbly X5. So, you would think I could just drive around in the X5 for a while, right? NO! I got one point five days use out of it before a rear suspension airbag let go and it slowly sank to the floor! OK, what to do with that? Fix it? No, it is tatty and not worth my time. I am being extremely ruthless at the minute with cars and I am being very precious about my spare time. I am not going to waste it fixing some rubbish while my "nice" cars do not get any attention and I haven't attempted or finished a restoration for several years. So the X5 got abandoned in the garden. For about an hour, and then a great situation arose. The black Discovery that had a FTP (failure to proceed) 18 months ago was also abandoned in the garden and looking pretty untidy with 2 flat wheels. Someone rang up needing a propshaft so I let them take the one off that, and having carved out an afternoon with a mate to do some car shifting at work, I got him to come over to the house with his TDV8 RRS and drag the D2 out of the garden. It came out surprisingly easy, but then was too heavy to winch on to his trailer. So... the X5 got rammed (in reverse) into the back of the D2 (I mean gently squeezed lol) and I oushed the D2 onto the trailer so it could be carted off to a more suitable location where there are big forklifts, so it can be taken apart. The 4 Discovery's I have are all essentially breakers now and have been coming apart reasonably well but I haven't been able to sell any heavy mechanicals yet as they aren't in the right places for disassembly... until now. So the question returned, of what to drive! and I went back to the one reliable ever-present car I have at the moment I said this about the E46 coupe. I took the Style 216 wheels off it to advertise it, and put some MV3s on it (the standard 18" Msport wheel) and one of them waited until I was 15 miles away from work to then go flat overnight. No spare wheel or air line there. Bah! Next option was to drive an E34 I had bought (for the 4th time) in work. But that was rotten and terrible to drive in the rain, which of course it decided to do. We'd had a couple of fairly dry-ish weeks, but the one day I took the E34, it lashed torrentially, so that was miserable. Any other options? I started looking for a car to buy but that seemed really stupid. Oh, why am I, I pondered, considering spending £3k for another runabout, instead of investing an hour or two into the Mini that is sitting right outside my door at work? I hadn't touched it since the long drive it got a couple of weeks back: On the way back from that trip, the Mini starting spluttering at various different rev intervals, and so it got parked at work So I did the easy option and threw another set of plug leads at it. The plugs all looked good - a couple slightly oily, but not anything like what a Mini can look like, and off I went. The leads didn't solve it, and I noticed that the car felt sluggish in general, and low on power. A good investigation revealed a uniform ~150psi/~10bar compression, clean, good plugs, and nothing out of place. However the airbox didn't look right and for some reason the lid wasn't screwed down. My next move was to see if the throttle body was dirty and jammed so that seemed the ideal time to rip all out and that's what I did. In doing so, I found, on the underside of the intake hose, that it looked complete but was actually really badly cracked. Like really badly: So, I wonder, could that explain why it runs fine at idle, but struggles under load (when there would be a vacuum pressure causing it to open up those gaps..? What do you guys think? The vacuum line to the throttle body was also replaced, and the TB cleaned up (it was slightly dirty inside but nothing concerning).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oct 16, 2023 20:32:39 GMT
|
On the way back from that trip, the Mini starting spluttering at various different rev intervals, and so it got parked at work, and I went back to the one reliable ever-present car I have at the moment: A while ago I found a set of Style 216 motorsport wheels from an E90 320si and popped them on to the E46 and I have done nothing else to it except the odd bit of servicing. So of course being ultra reliable and decent to drive means I've got bored of it and put it up for sale. (actually I'm trying to thin out, and while it's not quite surplus, it is one car that might actually sell) What is not selling is my Alfa 156 V6 wagon. It's been languishing for too long and it was time to see what state it was really in. Eugh! This was a rust free car up until recently so this was shocking. But that definitely put it into project realm and I knocked it up for sale just above frag territory and hopefully that will go. I had a look under the Impreza too and it's not quite so bad but needs other things and I have reluctantly put it up for sale too - will see how that goes. The white Skoda Felicia I had hoped to maybe one day do something with was consigned to the "get rid" pile and the easiest way to do that was dump it on a trailer and weigh it in. Yeah, life sucks when you don't have anywhere near enough time or resources to devote to cars you like!! So what to drive? Well the E46 is still on the go. I got PX'd an X5 But then my uncles car broke down, so he has the X5. I had a look around and alighted on the MG estate again. Right, we'll get that sorted and through an MOT! One patch welded up, tyres changed, all the junk inside it moved to another car for now, and a nice easy... fail..! That is inconvenient! Oh well, how important are brake pipes anyway? It'll have to do for now..!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oct 16, 2023 20:19:34 GMT
|
A short glamping break 300 miles away beckoned and I could only think of one car suitable for that kind of trip. So with the inlet manifold and new gaskets arrived, I started putting things together again. I got the carb on. I got the dizzy back into place. All the wiring threaded back into place, all the hoses - until it came to the thermostat housing. A piece of chrome tat, it would not for the life of me seal to the mani. I tried a variety of sealants and glues and anything else I could think of. Look how happy the Camaro is to be getting fixed... At one point I was cleaning off the mating surface of the thermostat housing (yet) again and I though, this feels very ergonomic. I looked at it funny, then put it on my flat workbench... and noticed it was MASSIVELY bowed. So yeah as I said, some absolute tat. With no time to spare mucking about, I absolutely lathered the thing in instant gasket and pressed it on. Amazingly this time it held tight and no coolant came spilling out. But then I noticed there was no way to get the temp sensor in. As standard it's quite far away but on this Edelbrock, its right next to the stat housing, and sits right underneath where the hoses meets it. I've no pictures of this faff really as it was dark and I was in get-it-done mode, but after more mucking about and looking for bolts with the right thread pitch (no chance!), I extended the wiring for the temp sensor, and ran it to the side of one of the heads where there is another factory position for it, as, of course, the SBC was used in thirteen billion different models. After that I took a spare coolant hose connector that had very fortunately come with the used edelbrock, and after taking a deep breath, sliced it apart. It was the only thing the right diameter and thread to fit the now vacant temp sensor hole. And then I plugged it with the welder So now I had myself a "core plug" so to speak. I could have made it prettier but I was just happy all the coolant was staying inside the engine. Well, actually, one of the welds was slightly porous so the next morning I had to take it all apart again, re-weld it, and re-seal the t-stat housing again... Finally, good? Erm, one day to go, and I'll just re-fit the instruments I took apart last month to investigate why they are acting so funny... Yes, that is at 2500rpm while the car is switched off. When it's idling, it shows 7000rpm. And then the temp sensor absolutely died, so that was pointless. So, sort of together, I filled the boot of the 'maro with tools and spares and set off for home with the excitement and dread of a 300 mile trip the next morning. How far do you think I got? Yes, that's right. 3 miles. The brakes seized. It took me an hour to free off the front right caliper, whereupon I took it back to work and got into the Mini Cabrio.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oct 14, 2023 14:43:43 GMT
|
Literally a year since I updated this one! ...part of that is some more upheaval in my life, so I haven't been on the bikes nearly as much; and part is my main riding buddy broke his arm (badly) in a freak (mtb) accident so he is still recovering, his brother and another buddy who were out that day have been shaken enough to not be out since, one other buddy is expecting his first child imminently, and a couple of others emigrated. The Sunn I built last summer got used maybe about twice. A better mech and a black head stem were fitted to make it just a bit better and a youngster I know 3D printed a bashguard for it... And then it was done. This summer I popped it up for sale as part of a big clearout of unused things. It didn't sell. Eventually needing some parts, I stripped it down. I also sold the Norco frame and some of the components. And turned my eyes to a bike I do want to build. I wanted to stick the Mission wheels on the Kona but it was just proving to be hassle, so I lifted down it's original Ditch Witch pair. However Given I was in a frame of mind where I just wanted to go jump something, I looked around and found a very good set of Halo wheels sitting spare since the Norco went! And I did pontificate a bit about the brakes - even trialling a set of Avid Juicys but I didn;t have enough suitable adaters to make them fit an is mount. Until that is, the Sunn fell victim to the parts robbing, and subsequently it got taken apart, giving me some Shimano (albeit only MT445) brakes for the Kona. Lovely. I packed it up the next day to go tackle a faraway track I hadn't been to, and that night broken-arm-mate asked if I wanted to borrow his brand new Specialised Epic Evo 29"er... So, yeah, yeah I do! Unfortunately the track I went to didn't deserve a bike like that so I had a very middling day out, but maybe I'll get a chance to take it again before he recovers, soon... Still, I like my Kona.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oct 14, 2023 14:22:04 GMT
|
So I asked on the MG FB pages and got a set of carriers ordered. Once they are here, I can build up a set of 190 brakes on my diesel tourer, and will have a reliable daily chugger again that maybe, this time, will actually be able to stop! Well it turned out that Tom Force, a well known specialist in mG circles, was very happy to take my money but not send anything. Thankfully I was able to successfully claim my money back but that soured things especially as the admin of that particular MG group decided to cover for him. So the MG remains small-braked. It had also been down on power and very smoky for a while. It would not rev past 3k while under load, but was fine when sitting still. I pulled the manifold off (again), having already put a set of injectors into it a few months ago, because to change the MAP sensor, it is a manifold-off job. When I got in there, expecting it to be blocked with soot, it was absolutely fine. So it was all bolted back together without the new MAP sensor, and as I refitted parts, I noticed this: Yeah that would do it! Fitted one from one of the spares cars and it immediately was 75% better. It's still not perfect, there is still the smallest bit of hesitation in it. That was there before but it feels more noticeable now. I don't know what it is but it feels exactly like sticking turbo vanes. They've been checked numerous times but I may just get to the point of doing a hybrid turbo swap in it. Also it needed a small patch on the sill for MOT - first time this 2004 car has needed any welding! So that was the MG sorted. Other than put two new tyres on the rear... and then one went flat, so it's rocking about on one of the 18" wheels I'd taken off last year - the only one of those which was still holding air. Classy look. Next job on this carousel was the Camaro. What a nightmare. Some plank had repaired the ally inlet manifold with some chemical metal in the past and it one day decided to just launch itself out and a big gap opened up, sending a stream of rust coloured coolant all over the engine bay. State of this. It's a nice easy job. The carb has to come off. Lots of plugs and a wiring harness to move out of the way. All the coolant hoses of course. And the distributor... I did not fancy a timing job, so lots of careful marking before that happened. Of course marking it on the inlet mani was pointless, so it was marking reference points on the car body etc to make sure it went back exactly as it was. Which left the job of the manifold itself... What a pig. Loads of difficult to access, very stuck bolts. Should have been 9/16ths but some were not, so a variety of 12-14mm sockets and spanners were also employed. I had a choice to make. An in-situ repair to the manifold had been thought about for 15 seconds, but if it was already cracked and corroded, who knew how bad it was internally - and how long that would last anyway? So a replacement - either a good original, or maybe an upgrade? Upgrade ones were more expensive as all new, and there were some choices of performance types, but after dilly-dallying for a bit, a used Edelbrock Performer came up on ebay and I snagged that.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Picked up these three absolute crackers in Smyths Toys today. The Group B set appeared in my Google News feed while I was perusing my phone over breakfast. Five minutes later, I had a Click'n'Collect confirmation Never even occurred to me that I could do click n collect with Smyths... so I went to do just that, and found that everywhere in NI is sold out, but I could get it for home delivery for free. So thank you. One ordered, and I'd never have got one without seeing your post.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sept 28, 2023 13:34:06 GMT
|
Impreza Turbo Project For Sale. Time to let this one go. It is a project car though - grab a cuppa, sit down and read on. This is a 2000 W-reg Subaru Impreza Turbo 2000 in Mica Blue. So that's facelift dash, crystal lights, Version 6 management - and other good points are black leather seats, only 115k miles, UK supplied car, and, as you can see, an ABW wide-arch kit, big bonnet scoop and extended height spoiler. There are also a load of upgrades. The turbo is a VF22 (as per STI/22B spec) and the intercooler is off a newer Impreza. The gearbox is an STI one, there is an LSD fitted, and the timing belt and clutch have both been done just a few thousand miles ago. The engine runs perfectly and there is a brand new genuine MAF in there. This should mean it's closer to the 280hp of a WRX than the 218hp it started out with. It has a big noisy fart can exhaust that sounds great, and currently a set of 18" Inovit wheels with 25mm spacers to fill out those arches. HOWEVER Despite these good points (well I like it!), the car suffers from the usual classic Impreza rust and needs a lot of work around the rear sills and arches. Like, lots of work. The arches were cut away for the widearch kit so would need built up again or shaped properly. The support for the rear bumper is also rotten. Every panel is dented although all are reasonably rot free. The car is not a complete stinker, floor and boot area are OK, engine bay also good, but the panels are dented and the sills and arches are gone so it'll need stripped and done right. ALSO it needs a section of wiring loom. The drivers footwell area has been wet in the past and corroded the wiring connectors, meaning the central locking and electric windows muck around and as this wiring loom goes up to the dash, it affects the dash lights. Now the car was in regular use up until this fault became apparent and the lower dash was stripped out, but this will need sorted. So, this is a chance to get a genuine GC8 Impreza Turbo with nice supporting mods, if you can do some repairs. It's a clean V5 but lots of owners (13 IIRC). Not sure where to price this but with good ones hitting 10k at the minute I think £4k is a fair guess. Or £3.5k if you bring your own wheels. Any questions ask away. Located near Dungannon, NI.
|
|
Last Edit: Sept 28, 2023 17:03:22 GMT by Rich
|
|
|
|
Sept 28, 2023 11:36:56 GMT
|
Continuing with the clear out, next up is this 1989 BMW M635csi Project. It is #515 of the 524 RHD cars made, making it quite a late model and thus a Highline edition. It is Cirrus Blue (almost silver) with black leather interior, which as a Highline means the dash, console, headliner and parcel shelf are also all black leather. This has been in storage for over a decade - call it a barn find if you like as it has plenty of dust to clean off. It is an absolutely complete car other than the wheels. Original wheels were missing long before I found it, so it's now on some space-savers to roll it about. It was a runner when put into storage, but no chances are being taken with the engine as it hasn't been turned over for many years. It will want a full overhaul right away, before risking starting it up again dry. It has just shy of 168k miles showing. There is a very complete service pack, with history up until 109k / 1999. The bodywork has some typical E24 issues (see pictures) so expect to be talking for a while with your bodyshop. It's not terrible though and could be probably tackled by the keen enthusiast. Worst is what looks like a bad repair to the drivers side behind the door, and as said the usual front inner corners and so on. It's located near Dungannon, Northern Ireland. Price is £23,495 firm. Viewing highly recommended; no timewasters please, had enough already - and this is the first time the car has ever been advertised this millenium! (loads more pics available)
|
|
Last Edit: Sept 28, 2023 17:03:59 GMT by Rich
|
|
|
|
Sept 28, 2023 11:35:31 GMT
|
It's time to clear out. First up is this 1986 BMW M635csi Project. It is #411 of the 524 RHD cars made. It is Zinnober red with black leather interior, and has only covered 108k miles. This has been in storage for over a decade - call it a barn find if you like as it has plenty of dust to clean off. Every part is included - all of the trims, lights, skirts etc are all there for it - except for front wings. Front bumper isn't pictured but is included. Wings will need to be sourced - still available from the dealer. Original wheels were missing long before I found it, so it's now on some space-savers to roll it about. It is a runner but no chances are being taken with the M88 Motorsport engine as it hasn't been turned over for many years. It will want a full overhaul right away, but at least it is known that no rare parts will have to be sourced. The bodywork has some typical E24 issues (see pictures) so expect a hefty bill from your bodyshop. Unfortunately this includes a rusty patch on the centre rear of the roof that some bodger had covered with filler and paint. This will need extensive surgery to repair. This is by no means an easy weekend resto job - this is a serious undertaking, but very worthwhile. It is not quite a basket case. It is a chance to get your hands on a reasonably good mileage extremely rare car that has been dry stored for a long time and has no hidden surprises, and no difficult parts to source. Even the battery box trim is still there (despite several vultures trying to acquire it over the years). It's located near Dungannon, Northern Ireland. Price is £15,995 firm. Viewing highly recommended; timewasters will not get any leeway. (loads more pictures available)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sept 28, 2023 11:32:40 GMT
|
After 12 years it is time to let my Alfa go. It is an early '01 156 SportWagon Veloce with a 2.5 Busso V6 and 6 speed manual box. It is of course in Alfa Rosso, with black leather interior. The front seats were upgraded to the facelift seats with attached armrest, but the originals are available too. Other upgrades were the facelift leather steering wheel, and colour coded mirrors. The front bumper is a rare Zender part in good condition. It has a Brink detachable towbar fitted and a few genuine new parts such as upper wishbones and bootlid badge/lock housing (common failures). It has been lying up for a couple of years now and while it still runs, the brakes need bled (always fitted with Brembo which are still very good, and all brake pipes are excellent) and it has now succumbed to the dreaded tin worm. For an Alfa it is actually not bad, but the whole rear of both sills is gone and there are one or two spots on the floor and front wing bottoms. Electrically it is all spot on and the interior is super clean. It has just 100,600 miles on it. The timing belt was done at 100k but that was 3/4 years ago. There has only been 3 owners, there is one key, and not accident history. Paintwork is faded and there are a few lacquer blisters on the bonnet. The Zender bumper was painted a few years ago so it's noticably brighter. It is a PROJECT and there is a few weeks work before it can be driven on the road. To be clear it has RUST and will need WELDING to fix it. It's located near Dungannon in NI and I'd rather see it fixed than break it for spares. To that end, the price is what I reckon it'd break into easily - £1200 firm. No, it probably isn't economical, but I'm hoping there's someone out there for whom an Alfa Red 156 SW 2.5 V6 manual Veloce with subtle upgrades ticks all the boxes, just as it did for me a decade ago.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sept 15, 2023 14:53:34 GMT
|
Conversely being in the trade the PO facilities for sorting various tax and V5 issues out is invaluable, not to mention the millions of people who are baffled by (or choose not to be) online stuff. I've signed the petition offered me in the local PO that I use regularly but what good it will do I can only hope.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sept 9, 2023 13:14:13 GMT
|
Definitely do a compilation, and maybe a top 20? Thanks, that's a good idea. Sorry for inflicting my market research on you (and anyone else with an opinion on this who may be reading), but what would you consider 'top' to be? Best pic? Most interesting back story? Most unusual? Oldest? Weirdest? Any thoughts welcome! Rather than a "top" because everyone's opinion differs, what about a "most unusual" or "oldest" as you say. Pick the 20 (or more) strangest locations and/or stories that you've found and compile those Or pick the 20 (or more) oldest ones Ones that can fill a couple of pages each with a good story and pics Maybe find one or two others that aren't featured elsewhere just to give the book a little bit of uniqueness? Just thoughts.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sept 2, 2023 11:03:35 GMT
|
Liked primarily for Austin 7 content [insert appropriate drooling or heart eyes emoji here]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sept 2, 2023 10:27:52 GMT
|
I was there too... and it's crazy that the first show is basically old enough to be retro itself now. I still have the FavorAt but it's very crispy and would probably be best to let it die. I met loads of Retro Riders at that show that remianed buddies for a long time, but all my car friends from over this side of the water have drifted off, the scene has changed quite a lot, and honestly I question whether I should too. I'm glad though of all the shows I travelled to England for back when I was young and prepared to stay up late and sleep uncomfortably for the sake of an awesome car show
|
|
|
|
|
|
Aug 12, 2023 13:46:08 GMT
|
Having a couple of these I feel marginally obliged to stick up for them. The red V6 saloon is an early Mk1 190+ so it has all the toys, and averages 30mpg. It could really do with a 6th gear. There is a short ratio and "long" ratio gearbox for them and I've no idea how to tell which is which. I find it an excellent handling car, spacious, reliable, comfortable, well balanced and still handsome. It's not quite quick enough, needs "driven on" to get the best out of it, and yes it eats front tyres. The bodies are not prone to rot, but the suspension parts are. There is very little shared componentry with BMW although everything looks very similar to an E46 in design. I've also got a diesel tourer for daily duties to and from work. The M47R is a reliable unit, heavy and low on power but adequate. Because the car handles, I can still push on (relatively) in this, but it is nose heavy. However I did invest in some brand new front strut assemblies as soon as I got it, which were several hundred quid each, but that is a weak point on them. Brakes on all models are vastly under-performing - the V6 190 is the only one with decent brakes, but they are hard to get. The rear spring perch arms rust like mad, are bolted into a captive nut in the subframe (which also rots). Can be sourced new (MG7 ones). Exhausts rot, but thats just old cars. Tourer bootlids rot, and the grab handle fails - BMW things. Diesel lift/inline pumps fail because they are strained with a stupid heater/cooler element that blocks up. Many cars have died because of failing lift pumps, which still make noise and pump, but not at high enough pressure. Not like other cars where it would just stop. They are a heavy, but solid, well built car, that handle well - but are often neglected, so then they don't. Keep the ECUs dry (clean drain holes), re-seal your rear lights (careful as the tabs holding them on like to break for fun), maintain the car and it will be a good thing in your life.
|
|
|
|
|