after years of pining i finally have in my possesion a van/camper . it wasnt an uneventfull trip , well going down to gloucester was ok , the mini handled it fine . got to the fellas lock up about 5pm so it was of course dark and inevitably raining , so i proceded to do the through automotive checks ...
i looked down the side " cool "
i opened the bonnet and was happy that it had an engine and it started first crank
job done
chatted about his ministocks and the strange grasstrack thing that had a midengine with bikecarbs and a very wide front independent wishbone track .
threw my bag containing my satnav and aa routplanner printout onto the passenger seat and started following the missus .
i think I'm addicted to the buzz you get when picking up a new car and you have to suddenly learn what all the switches do and you are suddenly holding a strange wheel with unusual pedals in a strange seat with unknown vehicle proportions , plus i forgot how cramped an escort is compared to a cortina lol . the brakes are amazing ive never had a car with a servo before but the van stopped rather suddenly
first stop after a few miles was the petrol station because the fella said the fuel and speedo gauges don't work lol turned the key and couldnt get it out ! after faffing about i found it had to be turned a bit to the right , then i started worrying about the filler when the ignition key didnt work , or the 2nd key i tryed , luckilly it was the key that looks like it should belong to a redundant security lock
nozzle in - click surely it cant be full ! wiggled it and gently squezzed until fuel shot out the neck £11 lighter and we were off
with the engine sounding correct i tryed my hand with the wireless lol never had music in any of my cars so it was all a bit new to me , sadly i couldnt find radio 2 so had to settle on 1
with my eyes pinned on the mrs mini in front all was well , then i started needing a wee . you know how it is , you wait until it starts to get irritating before you tell your companion and well , it was pretty uncomfortable by the time we were sat in traffic and i gave her the signal to phone me ( my phone cant make calls , just recieve them )
" i neeeeed a weee nowwwwwwwwwww "
" ok well stop at the next services "
trouble was the next services were 20 miles away and i was getting to know the biting point of 1st gear too well
i contemplated curse word in the footwell for about an hour but we finally made it and it was the best feeling ever
other than that it was the usual new old car trip
lights are non existant , the roof creaks , i hate the wheel etc
so here it is as i got it
none of thes garages are mine , guerilla parking at its best lol
ill be buying fibreglass mex wings then !
I'm glad my mates a great panelbeater
crappppppp
A pillar needs attention
astralli = curse word
not as bad as it looks
good mk1 2door cards might find their way onto ebay lol
80s tinny speaker
cool national trust stickers in the rear
undersealed both sides , i just hope it was good metal to start with
roof bolted in place , the owner previous to the one i got it from didnt even know the roof comes off lol
1300 xflow and bad wiring
these seem solid enough ( might regret stating that in the future )
i tryed ripping the white stripes off but they pulled my paint off !
much better without the crappy trims ( might weigh them to see how much unsprung weight i lose lol )
wings are a bit high ! but the wingrails are completely wrong
plans are
slammed with my mex steels on industry standard 175/50s
i have a 1700 xflow linned up , bikecarbs and drysump ready to go on
springalex will replace astralli
my quaife quickshifter will go on once the floors tidy
bumpers will go
roof will be matt black
a better grill will be bought and also get the matt black treatment
stereo and console will come out ( not even bolted in )
new seats are needed
the "popup" will be attained to the roof
mex stripes will be made with flowery pattern
and of course the bodywork needs tidying and electrickery tamed
campers are cool !!!!!
thisl be an idea of what itl look like on mex steels
i looked down the side " cool "
i opened the bonnet and was happy that it had an engine and it started first crank
job done
chatted about his ministocks and the strange grasstrack thing that had a midengine with bikecarbs and a very wide front independent wishbone track .
threw my bag containing my satnav and aa routplanner printout onto the passenger seat and started following the missus .
i think I'm addicted to the buzz you get when picking up a new car and you have to suddenly learn what all the switches do and you are suddenly holding a strange wheel with unusual pedals in a strange seat with unknown vehicle proportions , plus i forgot how cramped an escort is compared to a cortina lol . the brakes are amazing ive never had a car with a servo before but the van stopped rather suddenly
first stop after a few miles was the petrol station because the fella said the fuel and speedo gauges don't work lol turned the key and couldnt get it out ! after faffing about i found it had to be turned a bit to the right , then i started worrying about the filler when the ignition key didnt work , or the 2nd key i tryed , luckilly it was the key that looks like it should belong to a redundant security lock
nozzle in - click surely it cant be full ! wiggled it and gently squezzed until fuel shot out the neck £11 lighter and we were off
with the engine sounding correct i tryed my hand with the wireless lol never had music in any of my cars so it was all a bit new to me , sadly i couldnt find radio 2 so had to settle on 1
with my eyes pinned on the mrs mini in front all was well , then i started needing a wee . you know how it is , you wait until it starts to get irritating before you tell your companion and well , it was pretty uncomfortable by the time we were sat in traffic and i gave her the signal to phone me ( my phone cant make calls , just recieve them )
" i neeeeed a weee nowwwwwwwwwww "
" ok well stop at the next services "
trouble was the next services were 20 miles away and i was getting to know the biting point of 1st gear too well
i contemplated curse word in the footwell for about an hour but we finally made it and it was the best feeling ever
other than that it was the usual new old car trip
lights are non existant , the roof creaks , i hate the wheel etc
so here it is as i got it
none of thes garages are mine , guerilla parking at its best lol
ill be buying fibreglass mex wings then !
I'm glad my mates a great panelbeater
crappppppp
A pillar needs attention
astralli = curse word
not as bad as it looks
good mk1 2door cards might find their way onto ebay lol
80s tinny speaker
cool national trust stickers in the rear
undersealed both sides , i just hope it was good metal to start with
roof bolted in place , the owner previous to the one i got it from didnt even know the roof comes off lol
1300 xflow and bad wiring
these seem solid enough ( might regret stating that in the future )
i tryed ripping the white stripes off but they pulled my paint off !
much better without the crappy trims ( might weigh them to see how much unsprung weight i lose lol )
wings are a bit high ! but the wingrails are completely wrong
plans are
slammed with my mex steels on industry standard 175/50s
i have a 1700 xflow linned up , bikecarbs and drysump ready to go on
springalex will replace astralli
my quaife quickshifter will go on once the floors tidy
bumpers will go
roof will be matt black
a better grill will be bought and also get the matt black treatment
stereo and console will come out ( not even bolted in )
new seats are needed
the "popup" will be attained to the roof
mex stripes will be made with flowery pattern
and of course the bodywork needs tidying and electrickery tamed
campers are cool !!!!!
thisl be an idea of what itl look like on mex steels
