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It was a purchase

Been while, I've replaced the front wings with brand new pattern wings that fit dead on. Only need a little shove to flex them back into shape after shipping. Panel beat the rear arches back into shape, It's still the original metal other than along the bottom where it had rotten away. It's been painted on the lower half where the repairs have been carried out, really shows the paint fade but only if you look at it from the right direction, sidewards on it isn't that noticeable. Engine could do with new tappets. The fuel sender's carbon strip has worn away so need a solution for that. I had to swap the gearbox out after it started whining and eventually ejected a drive shaft. That was scary as hell. It's now got a 5 speed from a later escort and the gear remote has been replaced with one from a Fiesta Zetec S (The shorter shifting one), as the gate on the 4 speed was in the remote too. Looking into getting the front seat material replaced with the original material. I recently moved home into a flat but I have two parking spaces so I get to keep the escort around along with the company vehicle. When there is space, it will go straight into the garage for a complete rub down and respray. Cost of ownership now that it is a historical vehicle is 94 pound per year for insurance. Thats it.

More random pictures. And is so much nice details on these.

I just had to drive to get away from the areas that get a lot of traffic this afternoon. But I have finally managed to find shade so have a break until the traffic calms down later. And glad you all like it will get to read through everything here now.

I am leaving soon to hopefully buy one of my dream cars. Updates will follow. Car was bought on page 2.

Random Merc pictures The chrome on the rear bumper has some defects. Bellow. The rear wheel arches is good. The parcel shelf is wood. But the worst part is the bottom of the passenger side front wing. After reading restorations of these, I know there is a rust trap behind there. So the archliner has to go out and I hope I don't find too many nasty surprises.

Early morning view on the way to transport 2

Thank you and i hope so. And can give some clues. The car is old, very old. Will be among the oldest cars on here and the oldest car I have owned, if it is a purchase. It most likely started life as a taxi and I wouldn't be surprised if it has done half a million kilometers or more. These cars were very popular taxis in their day. I have also never driven such an old car before and if I buy it, it is at least 6 hours driving home in a heat wave in it.

Transport 2

But one of the best things about this car is this folder from previous owners. Here there are receipts from repairs 30 years ago to a diploma from a classic car meeting, to old photos of the car. And best of all, the Norwegian authorities' registers only go back to 1970 in terms of owner history, but here someone has written down previous owners and there I get confirmation that this started life as a taxi, as I thought. Above. And gamle svarten is a former owners name for the car which roughly translates to old black.

Quick breakfast.

I've driven this a bit now and know it a bit. It has starting difficulties, Cluth is a bit strange, possibly needs adjustment? There is an exhaust leak on the engine so the windows must be down all the time. And under heavy load the engine coughs, lack of fuel? But I have to admit that I was initially terrified to drive this when it was on the motorway in heavy traffic and it didn't get any better when a Nissan cashcow almost crashed into me. So with the problems it has, it should perhaps have been picked up on a trailer instead of being driven home. It also looks better in pictures, but it has a number of paint and bodywork defects. But this and the mechanical problems are fine as I got this cheaper because of it and I wouldn't have been able to afford it if it was perfect. And will get more pictures taken.

And some specs on this. 4 cylinder diesel with 55 horsepower but is faster than you might think. 4 speed column gear change. And since early 1963, it still has 1 circuit brakes with drums at the back and front without servo. It also does not have power steering. Weight with driver is approx 1,400 kg so she is a heavy girl and is approx. 4.7 meters long.

Miss Masters is nearly seventeen, so obviously potential cars have been discussed. She told me she'd seen a lot of Nissan Micras around, I wasn't sure which on she meant so looked up their history-she had been taking about K12s, but when she saw a K10 said that's what she really wants. My work here as a parent is done.

MrsDC and I borrowed a slightly later 220 as a wedding car, so I've rather a soft spot for these... I just love the vertical speedo, and the fins.

Passed Mot with no advisories this morning. Though tester popped an exhaust rubber back on out the goodness of his heart. Done about 1400 miles since I bought it a year or so ago. There was a technical hitch with the emissions machine which held things up a bit. Suggested holding a canary close to the exhaust and if it was conscious after10 seconds, pass it.

*Peter Kay voice* A cake. Of breakfast? A breakfast. Cake? *Walks to far side of stage* Did you just say a breakfast cake? Am I hearing you right? A cake for breakfast? Bluddy world's gone mad. *Applause*

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/821861952507719/?ref=browse_tab&referral_code=marketplace_top_picks&referral_story_type=top_picks

And is not much to report and i am on the train for several more hours.

Transport 1

You can see how badly the valve faces were burned, with a gentle skim the divot is left behind. Easily two thou'. Taken back down to flat. And repeat. I'll do the intake valves tomorrow.

Small update. Got a few small odd bits finished since last time, nothing exciting really. I’ve been over the entire underside and fitted split pins to all the castle nuts and nut cages and made sure all the nut/bolt lock tabs are bent over - loads weren’t 😬 That sort of stuff really, and more waxing of box sections and bits of the underside and chassis which wasn’t a nice job in the recent hot weather! Today I ran it up warm and changed the engine oil, it’s been in the sump a good few years now since the car went back together but I wanted clean oil in ready for hitting the road. Didn’t bother changing the filter as it’s essentially new still and hasn’t hardly been used. Old oil came out slightly darker than new oil but still golden and pretty clean. No metallic bits in it, no moisture and no petrol so everything seems good inside. No bits of crap on the drain bolt magnet either. Stuck new 15W40 Castrol back in (which is what I’ve always used in this) with a dose of Marvel Magic oil mixed in just to help it a bit after sitting around so long. Also diluted some of that down in petrol and stuck it in the tank to help lubricate the top end/rings etc. can’t hurt! Also shoved a bottle of fuel system cleaner in the tank just in case there’s any varnish of crap in the lines or carb. It seems fine so far but again, can’t hurt! I’ve given the carb a bit of a tweek on mixture too, seemed a tad rich looking at the plugs and it seems to run a bit smoother now. Decided to change the front anti roll bar bushes today too. Old ones looked very tired and were likely original parts. Dead easy on these, two bolts each side to release the U clamp then just pull the old bush off the bar. New ones are polyurethane replacements in the soft ‘Road’ material so should be similar to new rubber ones in the way they feel. All contact faces were smeared in silicone grease that came in the pack and all went back together easily. Old V new. Old ones were really baggy and dry rotted once off, definitely worth changing them. The new ones are a superb fit too, really nicely made. This is one of those jobs made so much nicer by the car being as clean as it now is. All the bolts came out easily, no rust on the U clamps or mounts… lovely! Been shopping too. Got a really good condition base model instrument cluster with correct mk2 style lettering on the dials. Mines ok but nowhere near as good as the new one. Got that for less than £10 posted, which seems a bargain to me. And scored a pair of very good condition black front footwell kick panels. Been looking for some for ages but good black ones never come up. Loads of grey mk3 ones but no black. They’re in great condition and just need a wash and buff up with trim shine. My old ones were a mess, one had a hole melted through it from a welding job behind it way back whenever, and the other was cracked and had a hole through from an angle grinder! Always been like that since I’ve had the car and not ideal to put back into such a nice car now! Anyway, it’s on the home straight now. Very little left to do. Main thing is fitting the last bits of brightwork, odd bits of interior, under-dash panel, steering wheel needs bolting tight and pinch bolt on the steering UJ coupling. Probably other bits & bobs too but it’s close!

The first time I rode in one was so strange hanging out front. In fact, I think I have just worked out why I like them. When I was at school, about 15/16? an older brother of a mate of mine had a red Multivan Carat, when the other 19/20 year old lads had fiestas and stuff. He used to go camping in it, pick girls up and tackle them thoroughly in comfort, pack a load of band gear into it and whatnot. All the while I was pretending I wanted to drive fast in an XR2 or whatever. I remember we all went out somewhere together and I was sat in the back of this van while we drove along the motorway, I had the table out in front of me and a bottle of beer in my hand, the air conditioning was on and it just felt pleasurable and I think from that point on I just associate them with good times.

I know, I rushed out earlier and thank goodness there were still some left in the shops, so I bought four.

The car was in Nannestad Norway and this is the route home. And Google is as optimistic as always, I expect at least 6 hours of pure driving. I chose this route which is longer and takes longer time because it is less hard on the car, the alternative would be the motorway almost all the way home. I've been on break for a few hours now waiting for the traffic to calm down. And I don't think I'll drive all the way home today, so I'll spend the night somewhere along the way.

"Number plate deteriorated but not likely to be misread"

The Drive this morning, I am pretty pleased at how it looks.

And you thought: "Now if only I could somehow sleep outside of this thing, like on the roof, this would be the perfect vehicle"

I associate them with breaking down on the Kessock Bridge, breaking down in Germany, breaking down on the Isle of Lewis, breaking down on the Drumossie brae.

The person to really be jealous of is S.J Baxter of Brickwerks Ltd, who has seen this thread and put in the order for his second yacht 😄 Yeah, they're a bit needy. I genuinely can't explain why I like them so much? I just get a good vibe when driving one, and find them just that right level of "not too complex to work on" but "not too prehistoric" to drive every day.

I just want to say, that its highly unlikley he nicked the Honda's CAT, so I didn't do it.

That's amazing.

That's an almost exact representation of the headlight switch symbol in a Talbot Tagora.

1990 Ford TRANSIT 120 POPULAR Diesel Manual | eBay 'All original except rear carpeted' Funny how nobody can recall them having over-sprayed seats from the factory though, M8.

Uh-oh https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/592383272346673

Once a whippet has a taste for human flesh they're insatiable...

Clean looking bluebird for what must be pretty little money for them. Reduced from 2000 to 800 quid so probably needs to be gone soon... https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/975602093077472/?ref=facebook_story_share

Just over two weeks ago I MoT'd a Land Rover Defender 110. After a lot of faffing about booking in cancelling and rebooking, must have rebooked three times, it finally arrives and the customer leaves it with us. First thing I notice there is a ladder to the roof-rack blocking part of the numberplate. One headlight was too high and wouldn't adjust so I fail the car. Phoned the customer and the snotty cow goes "my husband fitted that and I can see the numberplate " whatever mrs just relocated the numberplate a few centimetres to the left. The headlamp surround and indicator and sidelight units need to be removed to see what is wrong with the adjuster. I could have looked at this if I'd known she wasn't going to collect for atleast 24 hours. I told her this when the snotty cow cameto collect the car. I also told her 10 working days and it's a free retest. Just scowled at me, paid, grabbed the keys and fucked off. Fast forward to today and one of my trade customers turns up in a Land Rover Defender110. The same car with the same faults. It's out of time for a retest by two days and gets the same fucking failure.

Two 4wd VW vans? Why not buy yet another. Bought sight unseen from Edinburgh with some quite upsetting pictures, the price was right. I was sort of convinced it was a scam advert, it was very cheap and the ad text seemed a little "off" but when the seller (who has owned it since 1998) showed me his spreadsheet detailing every penny he'd ever spent on it my mind ws put at ease, especially when he pointed out the 5 new "Tigar" tyres that have plenty of tread left. These are 17 years old and are falling apart. I've always wanted another panel van t25 after regretting cutting mine up to put windows in years ago, and I've got a soft spot (soft fucking brain!) for a syncro, and this is both. Seems un-buggered-about-with. It's a 1.6TD, which are pretty bloody agricultural so that might not stay (PD/1.8t?) This will be a bit more "hands off" to start with - Our very own Ceri will be collecting it and deliverying it direct to DST who did the welding on the last one. This needs much the same (and more): Dan is booked up into next year, but he seems OK with storing it there for a while. I'll pop up and we'll have a look over it and decide exactly it's fate - if it will make a very good van, then we'll make a very good van out of it. If it's too sore to be perfect then we'll make it safe and solid. Please form an orderly queue for the wheeltrims.

@twosmoke300 this was my solution to the water cycle problem

Real Cheap Rebuild, that's all. This valve, stored underwater, didn't fare well. It did clean up and I'm claiming now it's a performance part based upon golf ball physics; the pattern of dimples helps break up the boundary layer and allows for better gas flow. Some were better than others. That can go together if time allows.

a new, exciting thread will be starting on tuesday as i've done something even more stupid than any purchase i've made before well i've paid for it already so stay tuned! it'll either be fantastic or awful

It sounds delightful. Mechanically not much needed and the bodywork is solid but not to shiny. It is in ideal condition!

Mercedes W191, in diesel flavour?

You all are getting very close to guessing what this is. Not sure if I want to reveal it now as I like to surprise. And it has a diesel engine.

not worry! replacement stalk is on the way! i'm used to it by now i wonder what will catch fire next? this is a very reliable car, it doesn't break down, it just catches fire but in very small ways which are easy to put out

To my surprise, they all lapped in well. That's that one done. One more to go.

Another Buick for my collection 🙄 It's a 1976 Electra 225 coupe.