Hi all,
Although I'm not new to car resto projects, I've never bothered registering or posting on here, preferring to lurk in the background.
30 years ago almost to the day, my dad, aware that I was a couple of weeks from taking my driving test, decided to "surprise" me with a drunkenly purchased 1982 Talbot Alpine in a fetching shade of yellow mixed with brown scabby patches. At only 8 years old, this almost unlovable wedge of cheese had only done 60,000 miles but was already suffering from terminal rust, knackered door handles, an interior that smelt of a dying greyhound and a clutch that needed a concrete boot to push to the floor. Married to a lack of power steering it made for an awful driving experience accompanied by the sound of a skeleton masturbating in a metal bin. Never could get those tappets to shut up. £100 of your 1991 sterling secured this to our driveway with my dad quickly handing over the keys and telling me to cherish it - at which point he disappeared indoors and wouldn't ever discuss the subject again.
Being young and incredibly stupid, I tried to make the best of things, passed my test and tooled for about 4 months in this abomination. Women and friends shunned me - preferring to walk (sometimes great distances) rather then get inside. And yet, for reasons never comprehended, a bond was formed and tears were almost shed when it passed away in a fiery inferno caused by a split petrol line and a nuclear hot exhaust. A Mk5 Cortina soon followed, along with some restoration of credibility and soon the Alpine was consigned to history.
30 years and countless cars on (including 5 ongoing projects which I'll update on later), the Alpine memory remained unvisited. Until a recent late night trawl through ebay whereupon I stumbled upon a listing for a 1985 1.6 Alpine Minx in a hideous shade of yellow. It looked as unloved as my previous foray into Talbot ownership and a wave of ridiculous sentimentality reminded me that it was almost 30 years to the day that my first car was handed to me. Surely this was fate? A quick discussion with SWMBO brought forward nothing more than a grunt and a shake of the head which was taken as consent (turns out it wasn't but too late now). Ferocious last minute bidding absolutely blind led to a purchase price of £800 (YES I KNOW IT WAS FAR TOO MUCH) and delivery yesterday.
What I didn't realise until last night was this particular Alpine was previously owned and much covered on here by PistonPopper who parted with it back in 2017. Since then, it apparently has gone through a hideous dodgy recolouring with blackboard paint and subsequent recovering in Canary vomit yellow. It also sports some racing numbering and a few shell stickers apparently connected with some form of hill climbing events.
Early inspection yesterday after delivery confirm forwards and backwards movement under it's own steam and working brakes. The exhaust is laughably loud (although it does cancel out the tappets), however a lack of anything electrical working means further investigation with a multi-meter will take up next weekend. No indicators, lights, wipers, horn, clock, radio, petrol gauge present roadworthy challenges and any MOT attempt will be postponed until such time as these are working.
Rust - bubbling on the sills here and there. Looks like some repairs have been carried out previously and the whole underside is caked in under-seal. We'll wait to find what horrors await under that lot.
The future? A full restoration is planned which will not be straightforward given the scarcity of parts. Anyone who's holding on to some unwanted Alpine parts is welcome to get in touch. I had intended to restore in yellow, however in deference to PistonPoppers coverage and ownership, beige is the way forwards. I'll try to update as often as possible. Apparently there's less than 15 of these buggers left - this one is definitely here to stay.
If you're still awake, thanks for reading. Couple of pics hopefully attached.
Cheers
Mike
Although I'm not new to car resto projects, I've never bothered registering or posting on here, preferring to lurk in the background.
30 years ago almost to the day, my dad, aware that I was a couple of weeks from taking my driving test, decided to "surprise" me with a drunkenly purchased 1982 Talbot Alpine in a fetching shade of yellow mixed with brown scabby patches. At only 8 years old, this almost unlovable wedge of cheese had only done 60,000 miles but was already suffering from terminal rust, knackered door handles, an interior that smelt of a dying greyhound and a clutch that needed a concrete boot to push to the floor. Married to a lack of power steering it made for an awful driving experience accompanied by the sound of a skeleton masturbating in a metal bin. Never could get those tappets to shut up. £100 of your 1991 sterling secured this to our driveway with my dad quickly handing over the keys and telling me to cherish it - at which point he disappeared indoors and wouldn't ever discuss the subject again.
Being young and incredibly stupid, I tried to make the best of things, passed my test and tooled for about 4 months in this abomination. Women and friends shunned me - preferring to walk (sometimes great distances) rather then get inside. And yet, for reasons never comprehended, a bond was formed and tears were almost shed when it passed away in a fiery inferno caused by a split petrol line and a nuclear hot exhaust. A Mk5 Cortina soon followed, along with some restoration of credibility and soon the Alpine was consigned to history.
30 years and countless cars on (including 5 ongoing projects which I'll update on later), the Alpine memory remained unvisited. Until a recent late night trawl through ebay whereupon I stumbled upon a listing for a 1985 1.6 Alpine Minx in a hideous shade of yellow. It looked as unloved as my previous foray into Talbot ownership and a wave of ridiculous sentimentality reminded me that it was almost 30 years to the day that my first car was handed to me. Surely this was fate? A quick discussion with SWMBO brought forward nothing more than a grunt and a shake of the head which was taken as consent (turns out it wasn't but too late now). Ferocious last minute bidding absolutely blind led to a purchase price of £800 (YES I KNOW IT WAS FAR TOO MUCH) and delivery yesterday.
What I didn't realise until last night was this particular Alpine was previously owned and much covered on here by PistonPopper who parted with it back in 2017. Since then, it apparently has gone through a hideous dodgy recolouring with blackboard paint and subsequent recovering in Canary vomit yellow. It also sports some racing numbering and a few shell stickers apparently connected with some form of hill climbing events.
Early inspection yesterday after delivery confirm forwards and backwards movement under it's own steam and working brakes. The exhaust is laughably loud (although it does cancel out the tappets), however a lack of anything electrical working means further investigation with a multi-meter will take up next weekend. No indicators, lights, wipers, horn, clock, radio, petrol gauge present roadworthy challenges and any MOT attempt will be postponed until such time as these are working.
Rust - bubbling on the sills here and there. Looks like some repairs have been carried out previously and the whole underside is caked in under-seal. We'll wait to find what horrors await under that lot.
The future? A full restoration is planned which will not be straightforward given the scarcity of parts. Anyone who's holding on to some unwanted Alpine parts is welcome to get in touch. I had intended to restore in yellow, however in deference to PistonPoppers coverage and ownership, beige is the way forwards. I'll try to update as often as possible. Apparently there's less than 15 of these buggers left - this one is definitely here to stay.
If you're still awake, thanks for reading. Couple of pics hopefully attached.
Cheers
Mike
