The undesirables...

Transit wheels don't fit, I tried them once, they're really close, but not close enough. I thought about using land rover discovery steelies, and having an extra set of holes drilled into them in the Tata pcd.

DSC_7955 by srblythe, on Flickr

The Corolla is looking a bit cleaner...

DSC_7957 by srblythe, on Flickr

The car repaid me by melting its alternator and blowing its radiator. New radiator and thermostat fitted and alternator refurbished but there's a fault in the wiring and the alternator isn't charging correctly.

DSC_7997 by srblythe, on Flickr

Took the 240 out for a spin in the snow, got stuck a couple of times on some big hills but overall did quite well...

DSC_8002 by srblythe, on Flickr

DSC_8006 by srblythe, on Flickr

Here's another 2 to add to the collection...

DSC_8154 by srblythe, on Flickr

DSC_8155 by srblythe, on Flickr

DSC_8076 by srblythe, on Flickr

DSC_8077 by srblythe, on Flickr

Worth saving?

Great thread. Where do you find all these old cars?

309 is looking a bit better too.

DSC_9359 by srblythe, on Flickr

Some updates

DSC_9478 by srblythe, on Flickr

Got a new wiper motor from French Ebay, fitted it and it works, just need some wiper arms...

DSC_9499 by srblythe, on Flickr

DSC_9496 by srblythe, on Flickr

I love it, it's just the right amount of patina.

Lada news!

Build your own Lada kit... by srblythe, on Flickr

Got some bits

And used this

DSC_9515 by srblythe, on Flickr

for some of this

DSC_9511 by srblythe, on Flickr

Then chopped the crusty bits off

DSC_9560 by srblythe, on Flickr

DSC_9553 by srblythe, on Flickr

DSC_9571 by srblythe, on Flickr

New bits on!

DSC_9655 by srblythe, on Flickr

DSC_9660 by srblythe, on Flickr

DSC_9667 by srblythe, on Flickr

Need a bonnet and front doors and a lot more welding!

The list changes that much that I forget to update it.

Can you get spats for those?

I've been patching up the Tata piece by piece, the welding looks curse word horrendous, I started of with 1.2mm thick flux cored wire then managed to acquire 1.2mm solid mig wire and finally managed to find a reel of 0.8mm wire.

The Tata NotmuchBeta by srblythe, on Flickr

No close ups because I am ashamed of my shoddy welding...

I took the Alto out for a spin on Saturday

1983 Suzuki Alto FX by srblythe, on Flickr

It's still running sweet, no mechanical issues to report but there's some lacquer peel in places and some scuffs and scrapes appearing with light rust marks.

I gave these 360 glt alloys a quick clean up and paint with the aim of getting some tyres on them and fitted to the 440.

DSC_0972 by srblythe, on Flickr


The Ex Wilsonx2 309 didn't stay with me for long...

Snow in April by srblythe, on Flickr

I traded it with Derskine for the Renault 18 gtd, the deal was I got to keep the interior to fit to the phase one 309 and I got the good driveshafts but Derskine decided it would be easier/quicker to order a pair and fit them to my car than removing them from his, fitting to mine then having to source another pair for his 309...

Third time lucky! by srblythe, on Flickr

I'm thinking about going back to the original colour with the 18.

In other news I took the 305 SR in for a test at my local place.

Peugeot 305 Sr D-turbo by srblythe, on Flickr

Peugeot 305 Sr D-turbo by srblythe, on Flickr

Peugeot 305 Sr D-turbo by srblythe, on Flickr


Reason(s) for failure
Service brake: efficiency below requirements (3.7.B.7)
rear Brakes imbalanced across an axle Axle 2 (3.7.B.5b)
offside rear brake recording little or no effort (3.7.B.5a)
Exhaust has a major leak of exhaust gases (7.1.2)
Exhaust system not adequately supported (7.1.1)
Battery insecure (1.9.1)
offside Front position lamp(s) not working (1.1.A.3b)
offside Rear position lamp(s) not working (1.1.A.3b)
nearside Registration plate lamp not working (1.1.C.1d)
nearside Headlamp aim beam image kick up to the offside (1.8)
Hazard warning lamps inoperative (1.4.B.1b)
Hazard warning switch faulty (1.4.B.1d)
Hazard warning tell tale not working correctly (1.4.B.1e)
Rear fog lamp not working (1.3.2b)
Main beam 'tell-tale' not working (1.7.4c)
Horn not working (1.6.2a)
offside front Wheel bolt(s) missing (4.2.A.1e)
front Windscreen wiper does not clear the windscreen effectively both (8.2.2)
Windscreen washer provides insufficient washer liquid (8.2.3)
Advisory notice item(s)
nearside front Brake pipe slightly corroded (3.6.B.2c)
offside front Brake pipe slightly corroded (3.6.B.2c)
nearside rear Brake pipe slightly corroded (3.6.B.2c)
offside rear Brake pipe slightly corroded (3.6.B.2c)
nearside rear Tyre worn close to the legal limit (4.1.E.1)
offside rear Tyre worn close to the legal limit (4.1.E.1)
offside Steering rack gaiter deteriorated (2.2.D.2d)

So, a bit of a list to work through!