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1972 Austin 1100 - SOLD


vulgalour

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  • 2 weeks later...

It's nearly February and while it might seem like I've not been doing anything with the 1100, I've actually been getting parts together to sort it out.  Soon I should be able to start welding.  The only expensive bit left to acquire are the intermediate panels which I'm planning to buy since it saves me trying to make my own and should speed up construction considerably.

 

I now have new sill closing panels, new outer sills, a new clutch hose that looks correct (I won't know until I attempt to fit it).  Was investigating the new local Aldi and they had two dark green washable carpets that are a good match for the interior and I'm hoping they're large enough between them that I can cut them to fit the flat bits of the floor and bind the edges to tidy the cabin up a little more.  A new carpet set is £150+, these were just over £10, and even if I get a full carpet set for the car, they'll still serve well as overmats to protect the new carpet underneath.

25101023777_94c9627e5c_b.jpg20180129-01 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr

 

Depending how troublesome the clutch hydraulics are to fix on the Princess will depend just when I start work on the 1100 now really.  The only panel I need to acquire is the intermediate sill panel, something I'd rather buy than make since it saves me a lot of hassle in assembly.  There should be another massive weldathon and serious progress happening on this little car in the near future.

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Tomorrow should be the first 2018 day of 1100 fettling, woo!

 

I've now got everything I need for retrimming the door cards and hopefully the new clutch hose will allow us to bleed the clutch hydraulics so the car can be driven into the unit for welding.  I'm going to be booking a week off work soon to get through as much of the welding as I can by going at it full time for a bit.

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Vulg......... Hold fire on the carpet set a mo' - I have one in a bag in the cellar I just found in a tidy up. Forgot I had it. I'll open it (never been touched) and double check the colour.

I'm over in Brussels but it isn't heavy and if you're not in a hurry for it I'm up NE for family soon(ish).

I'll sort a pic or two out in the coming days once I'm back home again.......

 

Edit - forgot - FREE of course........ it will just sit there forgotten about anyway.

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At that price it can be skyblue pink with yellow polka dots!  Green would be perfect, obviously, but I'm not going to be picky when folks are being generous.  I'm not in a rush, I haven't even got the floors in yet.

 

--

 

Right, let's get this clutch hose changed shall we?  Little fiddly to remove the old one, and meant unbolting the brand new slave cylinder again.  One thing I did notice on removing this is that there was barely any flow of fluid through the pipe so I'm hoping that this really is the issue.

28338680009_c938d651d4_b.jpg20180206-01 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr

 

Get the new pipe I bought much cheaper than they normally are and not from a reputable 1100 source and... bumhats.  Old one on the top in this photo and it's got completely different end fittings.  Let this be a lesson to me about going for the cheapest online option.

28338680109_7f28eb291d_b.jpg20180206-02 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr

 

Not to worry, I can't do that job (and it's a bit cold and snowy today anyway, so I don't really want to be doing it if I'm honest), I'll crack on with the interior.  Bagged a couple of nasty looking fleece blankets which I've found are ideal for padding on door cards and cheaper than scrim foam for the quantity required.

28338680069_56858dcbcc_b.jpg20180206-04 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr

 

Removing the door cards was fairly easy once I'd figured out that the black trim around the front door release handles is what holds the card in place and can be gently pried out with a skinny screwdriver.  The problem is that they're all a little bit damp and wobbly, the driver's door one especially so.  I've got them drying out next to the dehumidifier and I suspect I'm going to have to make new cards and cover those, these are not looking too clever.  They'll be easy to make, they're a simple design and completely flat.

26245459228_bb5b0d5710_b.jpg20180206-05 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr

 

Not the best first fettling day of the year on this car.  I'll go and order that clutch hose from a reputable source now, like I should have done the first time.

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  • 1 month later...

There's good news and potentially bad news.  The good news is that I've finally been able to order a new clutch hose for it which should, hopefully, resolve the gear selection issue (a new hose sorted the Princess out and this problem seems much the same).

 

The bad news is the future for this car.  It doesn't matter how I look at it, I really need to let it go.

 

There's a couple of sensible reasons for this.  The first is that I can't comfortably drive the 1100, something I'm massively disappointed about.  Even without driving it, I can't get comfortable with the offset seating position and what's the point of a car if you can't even drive it?  The second is that I'm moving house this year and I could be moving several hundred miles, so I need to keep my costs down as much as possible.  Transporting three cars is quite expensive, even if they do it under their own steam, especially so if any of them need to be trailered, so I'd like to avoid that.

 

As a result of the above, I've fallen out of love with this little car somewhat.  Now I finally have the Princess in use, I'm less motivated to work on the 1100 and while I do intend to get the 1100 into a driveable state, I don't particularly want to do any more of the welding required, even though I have the panels to do 90% of it.

 

So I'm considering selling this on as a going concern.  I could do with the cash a lot more than I could do with a third car.  Even the lure of mystery swap car providing I do the welding is no longer strong enough to make me want to do it now.  The winter that seems to have dragged on for too many months certainly isn't helping either.

 

In the meantime I'm going to work on the Rover and Princess as required and if I get stuck into the 1100's welding after I've got the clutch hydraulics sorted, then I do.  I'm going to sit on it at least until it becomes MoT exempt, I rather suspect the value of a car that's both MoT and Tax exempt is going to be a bit higher, regardless of condition.

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That’s a shame, Vulg. I always thought you were the best custodian of this little motor, especially given your dedication and skills. Hope the move goes ok when it comes off and that you’re not leaving old Blighty.

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Si:  As long as you like welding and aren't too bothered about the looks, it could make you happy.

 

Cav: staying in the country, I've no desire to leave it even if I could.

 

On the 1100's work still needed, it's just as it was when I last updated.  There's some fiddly welding to do where the heater mounts, and some  fiddly bits where the front driver's floor meets the body.  There's a  front driver's floor pan to replace (got a panel for that), the intermediate sill panels (haven't got them, but they are just flat sheet so apparently very easy to do), outer sill panels (got new ones for both sides), sill closing panel (got new ones for both sides), a bit in the back of the driver's side floor pan and a bit to each rear outer arch.  By 1100 standards, the welding that remains is all normal stuff, I've done everything I know it needs ahead of the A pillars.

 

It does fire up willingly every time you stick a battery on it and the electrics have all worked on testing.  The only mechanical malady is the clutch hydraulics, which is why the hose has been bought.

 

The things making the decision is the driving position and the amount of time I've got to get it sorted before I move.  7 months might seem like ages now, but with other responsibilities going on in preparation for the house move, it's going to disappear pretty quickly.  I don't want to get stuck into a weldathon and spend every spare minute I've got on a car that I'm not even going to be able to drive when I'm finished and for which I'm not being paid.  I'd rather spend that time on my other cars.

 

I'm half-thinking of getting the clutch hydraulics fitted, getting the car tidied up, laying the spares out, photographing it all and putting it up for sale.  I doubt it'll sell here so I'll likely just go a generic route like eBay or something.  It should make £500-600 as it stands with the new panels and the work done from what I've seen of other project ADO16s that have sold while I've had this one, so that doesn't seem an unreasonable asking price.

 

I'd love if it could stay in the fold and someone else can pick it up where I've left off.  I very much doubt anyone will.

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It'll end up being an engine donor probably, the engine does seem really nice in this one.  I reckon even if I did all the welding and sold it on to someone to use, it would just be run into the ground or sit around doing nothing and gently rot away.  In some ways I regret taking it on because it's a car I'd wanted for ages and now I have it... yeah.  It's still a charming little thing and I still really like it, I get the appeal of them, it just doesn't fit me.

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I can't figure if I really like this because I want it saved or just simply because I really like it. Its different to a lot of 1100 in that its been rescued a couple of times and has quite a busy previous life. Also the 2 doors look nicer.

 

My problems with taking this on are:

  • Its miles away from me and I have no reasonably economical way of getting it back down to Bristol. I have a post 1997 licence and no tow car either.
  • I can't weld. I'm willing to learn to weld, but haven't started to learn as of yet. I've still yet to rewire the internals of the welder I bought to even be able to start! Because I can't weld, I'm not sure I'd be confident in welding structural elements to a good enough degree. Especially something in an area like the sills.
  • In terms of working area, I only have a fairly narrow drive. Off street and in front of my (single) garage, so not too bad. Just a bit awkward when working on two sides of a car or jacking up one side. Possibly not too much of a trouble for a 1100 though, as they're pretty small. 
My little secret hope was that Vulgs would have got the majority of the fiddly welding done and then decide to sell then (with an additional premium on the sale price due to the work). :?

 

:(

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Do it, SiC. You're the perfect custodian for this car. And what better way to learn how to weld than on a car that would otherwise be scrap?

 

Take this on, and I'll lend you my trusty Liqui-techniq drill-operated vehicle tilter so you can fettle the underside. 

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