When taking loads of pic's of the new Laurel it struck me that I've neglected to put something up about this one, so here's something for the beige fans. As ever, don't expect tales of great progress with it, more the story of how someone mechanically inept manages to keep himself motoring on interesting wheels.
So, the day after selling the red Accord 3dr and with cash in my pocket which I was going to spend on the Galant (now with Hirst) I saw this for sale just a mile or two from my house:
£225 in the window, couldn't resist finding out more. Had some T&T, and a quick chat revealed it could be mine for £150. Err, yes please! So, that little bit of money having burnt a hole in my pocket I cycled round that evening to collect it.
Apart from the time I bought my very first car off my mum, it was possibly the easiest car collection mission I've ever had.
It had three owners from new and was originally sold by County Garage or something in Nottingham (still got the sticker and number plates). Chap was selling it on behalf of an 88-yr old family friend who lived down in Essex, hence me not having seen it around before.
Mileage was 73k, lots of history to confirm that. Accordingly (ho ho) it's in great condition and appears to have been well looked after, though the inevitable rust is starting to set in (more later).
Like the 3dr, it has the 1.8 12v engine fitted to 1984-85 model Accords, which apparently is related to the engines that came later meaning silly engine swaps should be feasible. But not by me... It's on a carb with a manual choke and is quite torquey, pulls really smoothly even when cold despite the thermostat probably needing to be changed. Manual 5-speed 'box, possibly the nicest FWD shift I've ever experienced.
EX-R means it was top of the tree, with AC, PAS, EW/SR, cruise, headlamp wash/wipe, 4-wheel disc brakes and ABS. AC was a bit noisy so I've diconnected that, otherwise it all works well.
I used it for a couple of months until the tax and MoT expired, then it sat until October when funds allowed to get it sorted. Pre-MoT check revealed all it needed was a rear silencer, brake light bulb and repairs to sills, so it went round to UtterPiffle's mate Nick for the welding after i'd got hold of a pair of sills from Hadrian. He used those for repair panels rather than doing full replacements. I got the back box from my local friendly place (Breckland Tyres, recommended) for £55 after some confusion as the books wrongly said it was same as 3dr silencer. The bulb was an intermittent problem and didn't need doing in the end!
Got it back on the road just in time for the Autumn J-tin meet at Billing, its second trip there this year. Drove wonderfully as ever, and has been in regular use since. Couple of weeks ago it went to Derbyshire and back in a morning to collect Baz's new Renault 9.
I'm hugely impressed by how these things drive, the controls are so nicely weighted (steering is comically light at low speeds but weights up nicely) and it does its job brilliantly. Very comfy place to spend time on a long journey but equally good fun on the local lanes.
The rot in it means I doubt it'll ever get restored, unless someone did it ignoring what they'd ever get for it (I can't do that) or could do everything themselves (ditto). Needs a LH wing, rear arch repairs, bit of work around the fuel filler and sunroof and doubtless some other nasty, hidden places.
Mod's so far are basically to transfer across the travelling rug and old person stickers from the previous Accord. Hardcore stuff huh?
Ignoring tax, so far it's cost me £425 with a couple of recent new tyres, and it still could do with a cam belt change. I'll never get that back, so I'm just going to use it lots and keep the miles off the Camry (192k on that!) until Spring then move it on and find something else for the customary £300 or so. Expressions of interest before that time welcome!
So, the day after selling the red Accord 3dr and with cash in my pocket which I was going to spend on the Galant (now with Hirst) I saw this for sale just a mile or two from my house:
£225 in the window, couldn't resist finding out more. Had some T&T, and a quick chat revealed it could be mine for £150. Err, yes please! So, that little bit of money having burnt a hole in my pocket I cycled round that evening to collect it.
Apart from the time I bought my very first car off my mum, it was possibly the easiest car collection mission I've ever had.
It had three owners from new and was originally sold by County Garage or something in Nottingham (still got the sticker and number plates). Chap was selling it on behalf of an 88-yr old family friend who lived down in Essex, hence me not having seen it around before.
Mileage was 73k, lots of history to confirm that. Accordingly (ho ho) it's in great condition and appears to have been well looked after, though the inevitable rust is starting to set in (more later).
Like the 3dr, it has the 1.8 12v engine fitted to 1984-85 model Accords, which apparently is related to the engines that came later meaning silly engine swaps should be feasible. But not by me... It's on a carb with a manual choke and is quite torquey, pulls really smoothly even when cold despite the thermostat probably needing to be changed. Manual 5-speed 'box, possibly the nicest FWD shift I've ever experienced.
EX-R means it was top of the tree, with AC, PAS, EW/SR, cruise, headlamp wash/wipe, 4-wheel disc brakes and ABS. AC was a bit noisy so I've diconnected that, otherwise it all works well.
I used it for a couple of months until the tax and MoT expired, then it sat until October when funds allowed to get it sorted. Pre-MoT check revealed all it needed was a rear silencer, brake light bulb and repairs to sills, so it went round to UtterPiffle's mate Nick for the welding after i'd got hold of a pair of sills from Hadrian. He used those for repair panels rather than doing full replacements. I got the back box from my local friendly place (Breckland Tyres, recommended) for £55 after some confusion as the books wrongly said it was same as 3dr silencer. The bulb was an intermittent problem and didn't need doing in the end!
Got it back on the road just in time for the Autumn J-tin meet at Billing, its second trip there this year. Drove wonderfully as ever, and has been in regular use since. Couple of weeks ago it went to Derbyshire and back in a morning to collect Baz's new Renault 9.
I'm hugely impressed by how these things drive, the controls are so nicely weighted (steering is comically light at low speeds but weights up nicely) and it does its job brilliantly. Very comfy place to spend time on a long journey but equally good fun on the local lanes.
The rot in it means I doubt it'll ever get restored, unless someone did it ignoring what they'd ever get for it (I can't do that) or could do everything themselves (ditto). Needs a LH wing, rear arch repairs, bit of work around the fuel filler and sunroof and doubtless some other nasty, hidden places.
Mod's so far are basically to transfer across the travelling rug and old person stickers from the previous Accord. Hardcore stuff huh?
Ignoring tax, so far it's cost me £425 with a couple of recent new tyres, and it still could do with a cam belt change. I'll never get that back, so I'm just going to use it lots and keep the miles off the Camry (192k on that!) until Spring then move it on and find something else for the customary £300 or so. Expressions of interest before that time welcome!
