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Dec 19, 2017 20:27:42 GMT
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Less than an hour left...... Sold for £120!!! Bu**er. It wasn't me. I think I probably dodged a bullet there. If it helps, I've started another madness inducing project involving a 300 Tdi Discovery Rolling Chassis. This will be complimented by a complete Discovery 2 body arriving at some point in the new year. Just need to find an engine for it now, but that's another thread in itself. |
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brothersgrimm said You could have them both. You'll need the Zafira still as the Sintra will never be on the road - it's like a large garden ornament. I was getting that impression! haha! |
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Sometimes it's fun to do the impossible
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düdo
Part of things
wide as house
Posts: 770
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Dec 20, 2017 21:35:30 GMT
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I would like to meet another Sintra owner. Hello? Anyone out there?
More weldron tonight. Winter is a time for poetry
Sintra
Sintra, tis a sin tra like you,
but rust you must,
and I will just,
weld away Winter,
to save ye.
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Last Edit: Dec 20, 2017 22:35:11 GMT by düdo
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düdo
Part of things
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Posts: 770
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Jan 10, 2018 21:33:10 GMT
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First update of the new year. I've spent quite a few evenings here recently in the winter refuge. There is a place called Sintra in Portugal - doesn't resemble where I've been   A lot of welding on a worthless white elephant? But the feeling of probably being the only person 'restoring' a Sintra - no owner's clubs, no internet sites, no footprints/tyre tracks anywhere - I can do what I want without any precedent or anyone being interested or offended. Like floating alone in outer space. Yeah, I've probably spent too much time shut up with the thing!    Not sure if I'm winning or not? Still a way to go. Got to get it wrapped by end of February. Had to do some work on the chassis rail too - got to drop the tank to get to the other side.  It's a winter meditation. Going to pick the remains of a Sintra scrapper on Saturday. Probably be next report. |
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düdo
Part of things
wide as house
Posts: 770
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Jan 12, 2018 10:22:32 GMT
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What time is it? Sintra O'clock. I've just seen this classy timepiece for sale. The real price should be €1.99 but the hopeful seller is asking €90! I think it was given away when some fool was induced into buying a new Sintra. The various chronographs indicate - how long you will have to wait for the recovery services to arrive - the hourly depreciation on your new 30k Sintra CDX - the time your Sintra has been broken in the workshop compared to how long it's been on the road. I've asked the wife if I can have it as a combined Birthday and Christmas present but she pointed out that the digital watch I got for my twelfth birthday is still working fine though it doesn't play the four Beatles' tunes anymore. Sadly that's true.   |
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Last Edit: Jan 12, 2018 10:29:40 GMT by düdo
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melle
South West
It'll come out in the wash.
Posts: 2,010
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düdo are you still alive? Edit: why can't I tag düdo?!
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Last Edit: Oct 4, 2019 17:23:42 GMT by melle
www.saabv4.com'70 Saab 96 V4 "The Devil's Own V4" '77 Saab 95 V4 van conversion project '88 Saab 900i 8V
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düdo
Part of things
wide as house
Posts: 770
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Nov 30, 2019 15:58:32 GMT
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Hello melle , Hello all, hope all are well, I'm still alive. The Sintra finally got TÜV last week after being off the road since Feb 2017. It's been a matter of dogged stamina to finish it then keep going down to the test station, getting a list of faults, fixing them, going back, getting another list.. always new problems. The TÜV made me fit the rear arch extensions as the wheels were sticking out too far since I fitted some 17" alloys. Also done - leather interior out of a Chevrolet Trans Sport (same body shell as the Sintra) - revolving front seat bases - lowered 3.5cm with H&R springs - Remus rear box and tail pipe ( which, apart from being scarce, doesn't really do or sound much) - welding was just stupid - months and months, never-ending - sills, arches, chassis, rear-end, - new stabiliser/sway bar, wishbones, brakes, discs - new brake and fuel lines - top end rebuild on the 3.0 V6 plus,plus and loads of 'etc.' that I can't list or remember. I was looking forward to making this post as a sort of closure. I don't know why I did it except to make up for having bought such a turkey in the first place and not wanting to let it beat me. Now for sale for not too much. It actually drives alright - the 200hp V6 gives 'Dad's Van' some go and it carries six of us in comfort. The general vibe with its automatic gearbox is like one of those small airport transfer coaches. But I want to move it on while it still works!    Here's the current scene in the barn. First the Sintra will be sold, then the Daimler-Benz 406D 'Düdo' van and eventually the R21 Nevada. I have to clear out of the barn by next summer. It's actually a blessing to have to clear all my junk. I had a health episode shortly after my 50th birthday this year and it woke me up as to what is important. I am now building up the Landcruiser to carry the six of us on one last diesel fuelled adventure back to Tas where it came from.  |
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melle
South West
It'll come out in the wash.
Posts: 2,010
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Nov 30, 2019 20:21:51 GMT
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Good to have you back on the forum! I hear you re health and deciding what's important in life...
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www.saabv4.com'70 Saab 96 V4 "The Devil's Own V4" '77 Saab 95 V4 van conversion project '88 Saab 900i 8V
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79cord
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,617
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Nov 30, 2019 22:33:51 GMT
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Glad to hear you survived that saga of Sintra sickness & are ready to move on, sad it left you so exhausted & doesn't sound good for the Tigra & Cabrio projects. Onwards to better adventures...
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Last Edit: Dec 1, 2019 6:19:13 GMT by 79cord
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düdo
Part of things
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Posts: 770
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Dec 20, 2019 16:27:55 GMT
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Good to have you back on the forum! I hear you re health and deciding what's important in life... Thanks melle . Like John Travolta I'm 'Stayin' Alive' - I was going to say like the Bee Gees but they're not 'Stayin Alive' anymore there's sadly only Barry left Glad to hear you survived that saga of Sintra sickness & are ready to move on, sad it left you so exhausted & doesn't sound good for the Tigra & Cabrio projects. Onwards to better adventures... Thanks 79cord . The Astra Cabrio went to scrap as did 2 x Tigras. I just sold the 3.0 V6 that was meant for the Tigra and the 2.5 V6 that came out of that really handsome Corsa in my avatar too. I think I've hit 'peak spannering' - just focusing on maintaining rather than building anything. Re The Sintra. I haven't sold it as the €1.99 I might get for it would just about buy me a Hot Wheels, so it's still here. I've been delving into some of its electrical issues which has involved my first experience of a BCM - Body Control Module or Comfort Module which controls the central locking, courtesy lamps etc. Trawling the scrapyards no one had any idea what I was talking about. I eventually found one which he described as an 'alarm control unit' as its got a small speaker built into it. But nothing to do with the alarm - this speaker emits the 'lights on' bleep. As the Sintra was produced in Georgia, USA with its cousins The Pontiac Montana/ Oldsmobile Silhouette/ Chevrolet Venture. There's scraps of info here and there and I've got the American Haynes Manual for 'The GM Minivan' which covers body/brakes/some electrics but no drive-train. Details for the 3.0 V6 are in the Omega Haynes Manual. I got the central locking going again with the 'new' BCM but the function of the courtesy lamps remains a mystery. A by-product of the scrapyard search - I found this kwality set of 'real fake wood' trim. I couldn't pass it up. The wife thinks I've lost it. Long ago dear. It was the perfect job for this afternoon, hung-over still from the studio Christmas party last night. When people post 'modifications' like this I laugh, but for thirty minutes work it's provided much pleasure. I predict a feeling of luxury and well-being on the road. We're driving to London next week. And back hopefully. I've got 2000kms to enjoy the placcy walnut trim, hopefully not waiting for the recovery services.    And a random one of my Simson Schwalbe, 2 stroke ex DDR ( East Germany) and for sale  |
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düdo
Part of things
wide as house
Posts: 770
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Dec 24, 2019 14:14:27 GMT
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I fixed the courtesy lamps yesterday with another BCM ( Body Control Module) from a wreck and new dome switching which I suspect had been compromised by the previously leaking sunroof and was preventing the other lights from coming on? Not a big job but satisfying and I did it in my civvies. More dignified than weeks of crawling around in and under the thing covered in weld splatter and grindings. And now we have interior lighting so I can clearly see the ADAC membership number on the card when I'm summoning the recovery services. I know 'de-badging' is up there in the 'heavy modifications' department but how about 're-badging?' Yeah, re-badging, like re-greening. Why did the previous sucker remove the 'Sintra 3.0 V6' badges? Cos it's like a Q-ship innit? You think you're overtaking a Dad/Uncle/Grandad in a flabby people mover, then it bites back. Well, maybe a small nibble in 1997 when it was new but these days when base Fiestas have 500bhp it relies more on 'presence' ( yeah, I've been at Santa's brandy) - so like hanging Grandad's service medals I re-badged. I did this a few months back but just mentioning it in case its significance has been over-looked And I mounted the Jetbag roof box of 1984 vintage to carry back the spoils of Tesco next week. Living incontinent we require thousands of PG Tips bags and gallons of Daddies Sauce to get us through the year.  And in case you're wondering what to buy all those Sintra fans you know for Christmas, I've taken the sweat out of it for you. Available for €10 with €4.99 postage. the Sintra mug, described by the seller as 'for tea or coffee'  And for the absolute Sintra sicko, the unbelievably rare 'MS Design' bodykit. Yours to own forever for €700 but you'll have to collect  This is what it would have looked like in its prime. I suspect they sold in single figures!   Merry Christmas! |
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düdo
Part of things
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Posts: 770
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Happy New Year everyone! We made it to London and back in the Sintra without major incident. Going round the southerly Surrey part of the M25 the surface is almost panelled and the repetitive vibrations dislodged the entire dash. Luckily it only fell forward a couple of centimetres! My late Dad took me to watch the M25 being built when I was a kid and now the traffic is so heavy that it makes me feel naive like a country bumpkin in that vast flow. I had further problems with the courtesy lamps not switching on or off and inadvertantly I discovered the solution - just switch the heated rear window off and on and lighting function is restored! Here's a couple of pictures near Bar-Le-Duc our half way point in France where we stopped for a night either way. The French roads were almost deserted between the cities such as Nancy or Reims.   |
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Last Edit: Jan 9, 2020 16:02:40 GMT by düdo
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Happy New year! I'm going to have to read back through this thread to learn about this Vauxhall Zafira looking vehicle! A new one on me
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melle
South West
It'll come out in the wash.
Posts: 2,010
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It's so much better looking than a Zafira though! I'm not really into Opels, but I've always had a soft spot for the Sintra (perhaps because it's hardly an Opel?).
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www.saabv4.com'70 Saab 96 V4 "The Devil's Own V4" '77 Saab 95 V4 van conversion project '88 Saab 900i 8V
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It's so much better looking than a Zafira though! True, it's a much better looking cousin |
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düdo
Part of things
wide as house
Posts: 770
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Happy New year! I'm going to have to read back through this thread to learn about this Vauxhall Zafira looking vehicle! A new one on me I can't imagine there's any Sintra still on UK roads. Because of its issues it was only available from 1997-99. The mish-mash of the existant GM American mini-van, the new UK produced V6 and the German concept must have seemed like a good short cut into the mid 90s people mover market - sadly not. The Zafira was therefore a completely new design and much more reliable. I'm not sure my nerves could take another 2000 kms run in winter in the Sintra with four kids like we just did especially as the motorways up from Dover to London didn't have hard shoulders because of road works - and that being the Sintra's natural habitat was slightly unnerving, especially as it throws up random warning lights from time to time that switch on and quickly off. |
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düdo
Part of things
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Posts: 770
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Greetings from the Opel Coast! My last post was in January - from a pre-plague world.. hope all are well enough. The Sintra has - against all expectations - delivered 20,000 trouble free KMs since getting its TÜV last December. There's just a few service items need doing and some rust control before the weather turns.
The future of the barn has finally been determined after fifteen years of uncertainty and chicanery. I have almost taken possession now, reprieving it from demolition. It's a huge undertaking but I couldn't let it fall. Almost every barn around here has been demolished for the building land.
And farewell to my troublesome Renault 21 Nevada 7-seater which I pulled out of a local field in 2012 and spent four years getting on the road. Finally the never ending, fruitless, searching for parts did me in and I put it up for sale. I was flooded with messages from blokes wanting to ship it to different parts of Africa where I think most of the survivors have gone as taxis? In the end I was contacted by a young fellow who had already tried to buy it two years ago when he saw it parked out front. He was the only person who ever showed enthusiasm for it ! I was expecting him to come and look it over first but he showed up in a 1959 MGA twin-cam with his well presented secretary who drove off in the MG while he slapped on his red ( trade) number plates, gave me the cash without hardly looking the R21 over and drove off. Bizarrely he restores and collects vintage MGs but was a perv for the series 1 Nevadas of which there are none left here.  After I'd sold that and the little DDR ( E.German) Schwalbe ( Swallow) moped ( pictured in a previous post) I had a small wodge burning a hole so I did the natural thing and got another old banger. After all my half-cooked/aborted tuning missions I decided to buy an unfinished project (which had already been on the road at some point) which not only would save me tons of work but also spare me the laborious and expensive task of getting every modification and addition written into the registration papers by the TÜV inspectors. I bought this in the middle of the Corona crisis and went a long way north to get it. I'd already been at home with the kids for weeks and weeks cos of the lockdown so I just told the wife I was disappearing for three days with the Landcruiser and trailer. 1500kms of empty autobahns, camping in the forest, sat round my fire basket to ward off the cold nights, glugging beer.. just what was needed. This is how it looks now. The previous owner got it mechanically sorted before he abandoned it many years ago but the body hadn't been touched so I've been fettling it for a few months - replacing panels and sorting rust and I have almost finished spraying the whole thing with cans! Just one rear wing to go. How proud I am in the land of perfect finishes to bodge rattle my cans. I did it because I only get snatches of time here and there so I sprayed one panel at a time. If anyone's interested I'll fill in a few details later on.. |
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Last Edit: Aug 27, 2020 9:17:16 GMT by düdo
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melle
South West
It'll come out in the wash.
Posts: 2,010
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After I'd sold that and the little DDR ( E.German) Schwalbe ( Swallow) moped ( pictured in a previous post) I had a small wodge burning a hole so I did the natural thing and got another old banger. I was expecting you to finally get that MS Design bodykit for the Sintra! |
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www.saabv4.com'70 Saab 96 V4 "The Devil's Own V4" '77 Saab 95 V4 van conversion project '88 Saab 900i 8V
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düdo
Part of things
wide as house
Posts: 770
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After I'd sold that and the little DDR ( E.German) Schwalbe ( Swallow) moped ( pictured in a previous post) I had a small wodge burning a hole so I did the natural thing and got another old banger. I was expecting you to finally get that MS Design bodykit for the Sintra! Hello melle ! Sorry to disappoint. He wanted €700 for the MS Design kit. It's about knowing when to stop isn't it? Quite a few Sintra tuning stick-on pieces crossed my path : full set of tinted glass, front nudge bar, rear spoiler, wooden steering wheel ( hard to resist) but I desisted.. it's the family wheels now and I don't want to fiddle with it too much. I saw an old girlfriend last weekend who I hadn't seen for years and she asked me if I still drove old Citroens. When she saw the Sintra she looked at me with a sympathetic expression like you might give an ill person and said : Oh, that's sweet . Not, that's hard/macho/ a potent beast.. I can't fool myself anymore - it's a flabby old Dad-Van!
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Last Edit: Aug 27, 2020 10:05:48 GMT by düdo
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melle
South West
It'll come out in the wash.
Posts: 2,010
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Aug 27, 2020 10:02:54 GMT
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I can't fool myself anymore - it's a flabby old Dad-Van! That's why you need that bodykit! Sorry to see the Nevada go, I've always thought they're great cars. Are they a Robert Opron design? |
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www.saabv4.com'70 Saab 96 V4 "The Devil's Own V4" '77 Saab 95 V4 van conversion project '88 Saab 900i 8V
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