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^ Yesterday got a call from a contact who knows a guy with exactly the same car as mine ... It has 1 month MOT left Your donor has MOT - you tax it - bring it home - park it (nice and legal) on the road - strip it before the tax runs out - crush what's left on the MOT date It still sounds like a legal solution to me, or have I missed something ?
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Not for me but many years ago I had a 8v Gti (mate had the 16v Gti), fun cars. That looks in better shape than many of the ones I saw for sale 10 years ago - very smart. Good luck with the sale, it looks like an ideal way for someone to get a tidy unusual car - complete with factory fitted lowering kit !
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^ see above, a mate has had a MGF (VVC engine) for many years, good power, decent economy, great fun - even when not topless. Similar options are MX5 and MR2. The smaller French motors are great for economical daily drivers - Citroen Saxo/AX - Peugeot 106/206 etc (our 1.5D 106s were often getting near 70mpg !). I looked at a couple of Saab Turbo, fun and very many have been chip'd (from 160bhp to 220 ?), topless is often an option. Renault Megan for cheap soft-top fun. 6 cylinder BMW 325i/328i made before the electrics got too complicated (choose pre-2005 ish, E36/E39 etc, economy >35mpg if you drive gentle but it drops if you put your foot down) Do you need carrying capacity (Hatchback / estate ?) or is it just for fun (2 seater sportscar ?) Technicalities : Cars in the UK need an MOT test every year, in your situation I'd buy something that had a long MOT so I could just drive it and sell / scrap it when I left, saves having to get it MOTd (this can often find difficult / expensive faults) You will then need insurance, with MOT & Insurance you can Tax the car, all 3 are needed before you can legally drive it. Tax varies depending on the car and it's age, some are free - others cost hundreds for the year. Check before buying ! Have you asked about insurance over here - you might find it's expensive for some of the cars you like. Pick anything from the Forum sales forum.retro-rides.org/board/58/cars-sale and ask here for opinions. Edit to add forum.retro-rides.org/thread/200855/1991-citroen-mot-east-sussex?page=1&scrollTo=2363597 Other car sales websites : www.carandclassic.co.uk/classic_cars.php?category=3&make=®ion=&country=1&era=&advert_type=&price=3&keyword=&S.x=49&S.y=11&S=Searchwww.gumtree.com/search?search_category=cars&search_location=uk&max_price=1000&vehicle_registration_year=over_10
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Last Edit: Nov 5, 2017 12:32:58 GMT by nomad
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"Throw-away" design features of new cars Some modern'ish BMWs have strip lights inside the rear light clusters as running lights, they look very posh when they're working Some of the lights use normal bulbs (50p each to replace), the striplights use LEDs - which are soldered onto a dedicated circuit board - then glued inside the assembled light cluster. Why make things so complicated When they fail (due to a cracked solder joint or dead LED) you need a new light cluster ... £120 each please* *Or try a DIY strip & rebuild to replace the 3p LED - only to find BMW have decided not to use industry standard 3mm or 5mm LEDs, and have gone for custom made 4.25mm tapered LEDs Next time - usless diagnostic errors : "You may have an ABS fault - you need a new £2k ABS pump and/or replacement wiring harness - unless it's just mud on one of the the wheel sensors or a bad connection"
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Last Edit: Nov 5, 2017 3:05:17 GMT by nomad
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Bookmarked - if you find a solution I'll likely copy it Your donor has MOT - you tax it - bring it home - park it (nice and legal) on the road - strip it before the tax runs out - crush what's left on the MOT date - get a tax refund Not quite as daft as it sounds - my daily is legal and I'm looking at parking it on the road and removing the engine - leaving it with no engine for a couple of weeks while I get the crank reground I did similar last month - it was parked on the road with no back axle for a few days !
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If there's 1 job on Hunter that terrifies me, it's having to replace a rear wheel bearing (experience says it needs a machine shop with at least a 40 ton press to get the hub off the tapered haflshaft! ) One bearing was replaced about 3 years ago, the other side was done recently, and once again I've ended up with a spare axle The bare axle casing will be going for scrap early next year - willing to listen to most daft offers before then rather than weigh it in ! ( I also have a pair of decent front doors going cheap )
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Rear wheel bearing / axle info added above
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I have limited storage so I can't keep unlimited spares. A spare engine got weighed in a couple of years ago as I didn't have space to keep it. Parts have been given away before (literally) just so I didn't have weight them in. Before my last housemove I tried to sell a set of 4 spare doors, got a couple of offers if I could deliver them a few hundred miles for free - ended up scrapping 2 usable doors. My next house move will be early next year, before then I need to get rid of the 2 spare doors I still have, and a back axle casing. The parts aren't worth a fortune but once I scrap them - they are gone for good. When I get offered parts, they are normally very cheap (sellers know there are few buyers) or very expensive (as sellers think the parts are "very rare", ie valuable)
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As an Ebay seller (tat & housemove items) - I get a lot of "whats your best buy-now price mate?" or folk winning then never collecting. As a buyer, I often see interesting stuff sell for more than I'm willing to pay - then it gets relisted "readvertised fue to timewaster" Out of curiosity I just searched for "Timewaster" in current Ebay sales and got 41,000 results, that's a lot of unhappy sellers Gumtree has some bargains as you can inspect first, then offer cash. - I'm currently selling a Hoover (boxed, near new) for £30 - had a text yesterday from someone asking if they can *rent* it - they even gave a me a website I can use to set up the insurance It hurts to see so much decent stuff in skips but I understand why folk take the easy option to get rid of stuff they don't want.
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Hi, a few ideas : What cars? (in case anyone reading this has a screeen or knows where there is one) Ask on "other" forums (rumor has it RR isn't the only car forum on the net, start with the Yank / Custom ones) Owner clubs etc? (pub trivia - new screens are being made for my 70s Brit motor in mainland europe using the original screen moulds, Weird !) Roof chop to to suit a screen you can get? Pics & info please
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Oct 31, 2017 11:34:37 GMT
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Ring your MOT place and ask them to confirm? AFIK the 14 days isn't up to the garage - part of their MOT licence (from gov'ment / VOSA / etc) says the garage can retest for free up to 14 days, after that the *garage* has to pay for a new test (so they pass the fee on to you) I went through this last month when I couldn't find the parts I needed in time to get the car repaired & retested in the 14 days. I had to pay for another test - my fault not theirs
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Oct 29, 2017 15:09:09 GMT
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This thread is overdue some photos <insert random car sales photo here>
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Oct 28, 2017 16:48:51 GMT
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Lots of things happening recently, but most bits have been preparation for stuff rather than jobs done and finished (hence the lack of updates) The halfshaft is now sorted (thanks to those involved ), it basically involved me having a trip to Lancashire for an axle (about 4 years ago I'd given it away to someone else who lived somewhere called "Not Lancashire" ). Halfshafts were swapped, my MOT chappie was happy so I'm happy Thanks also to BURLEN - recommended if you need any carb parts The diaphragm in my carb (CD150 ) was holed, a quick call to Burlen and I got a pair for about £4 each so I now have a spare. Fitting took about 2 minutes, it's helped - just a shame it's not fixed all the problems... The oil system also got some attention, full details forum.retro-rides.org/thread/200715/retrofit-oil-pressure-gauge-hunter?page=1&scrollTo=2361866The bypass valve in the pump body has been stripped and blow-off pressure increased (if anyone wants to mimic the process, the additional part you need is called "A Nut" ) First impressions are it has added sbout 10psi - will recheck after a good hot run. That gives us another toy on the dash to watch if we get bored / paraniod There's never a dull day when you have a Retro !
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Last Edit: Oct 28, 2017 16:49:47 GMT by nomad
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Oct 28, 2017 16:24:20 GMT
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A quick update for future reference : The cheapo kit is now installed, early signs are that it will be plenty good enough for my diagostics. Parts : Y Piece, oil pressure adaptor, 1/8" NPTF (item LUSIB748 ) £8 including postage from Moss Europe Low budget Eb@y gauge kit, £15 including postage As part of the work, I stripped the oil bypass valve in the pump body and added a spacer (nut ) to increase the preload on the blow-off valve. First impressions are it has added sbout 10psi - will recheck after a good hot run. End result is 50psi when the cold'ish motor is revved - have been warned not to aim for more than 90psi with a cold engine in good condition. I guess mine isn't in very good condition If I was doing this agin, I'd look into the combined pressure senders (they have 2 terminals, 1 for oil light, other is the gauge sender) - not to be confused with the sender I fitted (2 terminals, earth + sender)
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Last Edit: Oct 28, 2017 16:24:54 GMT by nomad
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Oct 26, 2017 20:44:31 GMT
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^ since you asked, topics for me this week are : I've just found out you can buy cheap Retro-fit Air/Fuel gauges (Ebay item 172947256219 - just add a lambda sensor), any idea if these are useful for tuning or are they a gimmick ? If it's stable at a steady throttle (tickover, motorway cruising etc) it might give me a way to improve my fuel consumption LEDs. I'm trying to fix a set of modern'ish tail lights that have 3 mini-LEDs wired in series as "running lights". Many reported failures due to dry joints. I have stripped 1 light - one of the LEDs seem to have "blown" so all 3 were out. When I replace it all 3 work ok. I thought LEDs lasted forever? Odd ! I've not stripped the other light yet... Both problems are a bit modern for me, I'm more used to 70s electickery (12 volts or nothing ! )
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Thanks everyone, the ideas are all appreciated ! I'm expecting to do what I can myself (stripping etc) and use my local machine shop for the rest. Many years ago I gave them 2 scrap (blown bottom end) Lancia engines and left them to pick the best bits - fix anything else - and I got a good engine back. I could give them this engine but I'd like to do what I can and learn along the way The head was overhauled 2 years ago when I burst a hose and it overheated, it should be fine to use that as-is (but I know the grooved rocker arms are not right) I have a few options but not decided yet, I like the car but I can't justify spending several hundred fixing the engine, if I can fix the knocking (big end ?) and low compression (re-ring the pistons / rebore?) I'll be happy. Having nowhere to work, and not wanting the car off road for weeks, makes it even more "fun"
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Oct 24, 2017 22:09:29 GMT
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Oct 24, 2017 17:19:51 GMT
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I often move tat around the place (and further afield), estates and hatches are very practical Beware saloons and convertibles ( I took a larger convertible to RRG. The tent + suitcase filled the small boot, the set of 4 wheels I was delivering had to go on the back seat, the only space for beer was on the front seat. Hitchikers had no chance ) Any small warm hatch will be cheap fun with carry space (small pug / citroen ?), BMW (E36/E30 estate?) is a sensible option for something a bit bigger. Loads of other choices ! I've had good results before by working out what I *don't* want and see what's left
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