mk2_craig

They do rub on the front when making a tight turn. Not aware of any issues on the back, though I haven’t tried it with any heavy crap in the boot. Tyres on these V70 rims are the same size as on my wife’s Astra Twintop. I might be able to get my hands on a set of 850 steels and tyres locally, in which case I would have a think about whether to get my tyre fitter mate to do some changeovers.

There’s a SF France? I’m woefully out of the loop these days I’m not in a massive hurry to get rid, I think the insurance policy runs until June, so that’s the deadline really. If I keep it much longer I’ll be at risk of being tempted to start restoring it!

I should pull my finger out and get over to Shitefest, in the absence of a yellow triaxle Olympian this would be the next most perfect vehicle to use, if I still have it. I could even do an impromptu on-site £2 roffle and inadvertently leave myself without any transport home.

Interesting as always DC. I wonder whether the displacement of the cars original engine was the same as that stated in the DVLA info, or perhaps it changed at the point the engine had to be replaced post-Sweden?

It’s Condor Ferries, regardless of whether you board on the English south coast and travel via Guernsey, or Channel Tunnel it to France then whip down to St Malo and get a (quicker) boat from there. For the real masochists, there’s a slow crossing out of Portsmouth that takes something like nine hours to get into Jersey, as opposed to the fast service which is closer to four.

This gang in Guernsey reckon they’re stripping a 500 at the moment (not the one in the pics), they’re on Facebook if you want to tap them up? Wonder if they could stick it on the ferry

Definitely not on DVLA, and as far as I’m aware not on MID. We don’t pay road tax - an “insurance disc” is displayed in the windscreen but nobody outside the islands gives a crap about that.

[adopts Irish businessman accent] Nahhh, it’ll be foine. Insure on the VIN and chuck in for an MoT which it’ll no doubt easily* pass* first* time. Alternatively, just trailer* it to track days, which I think was ETG’s plan for the car.

The 850 is a T5 of 1994 vintage. Search “eight fifty five tenners” for a thread containing more info on this awesome old motor car. Exiled Tat Gatherer attempted to pick the 850 up from me back in March 2018, it failed to start despite having been running earlier that day so he headed back off towards the continent vowing to return before long. I eventually stuck some more petrol in the tank and it fired right up, and been using it weekly ever since... however ETG has disappeared off the radar, so although he gave me about 66 quid for it and therefore it’s technically his car, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to conclude he’s no longer intending/able to collect. I know he seemed to have an enormous amount going on life-wise and perhaps this is one of the plates he just can’t keep spinning. If the planets align then ideally I would bring 850 over, use it to visit/clean/look over this Fiesta, then meet whichever one of you wants to give me bridge value for the Volvo, wherever in the country within reason. Then ferry/plane back to Jersey - with Fiesta collection probably being a separate adventure. Happy to enquire!!

I know what you mean DC. I think there could be a grand or so to get it into a thoroughly usable state, plus I’ve a job to get it Jersey-registered with various import duties and whatnot to cough up for. However it’s pretty much my dream spec Fiesta mechanically and should whip along nicely with that Mondeo donk up front. What’s important here is that the car “goes to a good home”, it’s been in the owners family since about 93 so there’s a heap of sentimentality associated with it and I did a bit of work on it myself back in the day when it started getting interior upgrades etc. It’s just that stretch of water which makes things a bit harder for me, though I’ll try to get an opportunity to see it if the diary allows (also if the wife allows, she’s blissfully unaware about this at the mo). @cobblers - Si bumpers on the red one?

Well. No response from the Tat Gatherer - I’m assuming he s just massively overwhelmed and picking this up from me keeps slipping down his pile of priorities. I think I’m gonna have to offer this back up, someone else did express interest by PM the last time round but I’ve forgotten who it was - we’ve had a forum rebuild since then and older messages seem to have disappeared. If I was to offer bringing this over to the mainland, would anybody be keen to take it on? Original rims (worth a bit now on their own) would be included too. I’ll chuck a mk1 Punto manual sunroof assembly into the boot if that helps sweeten the deal.

Thanks for all the input so far, crew. I’ve used the words “Free car” a bit liberally - I’d be paying the current owner a relatively token sum in recognition of the expense previously poured into it, while equally acknowledging there’s quite an investment in getting it back up to scratch (certainly wouldn’t be a daily driver by any stretch). I reckon that a fair number of the mods would have to be themselves modded, or reversed completely (Example: those rear clusters as flagged up by @Cavcraft above). I think recovering to a new location is probably the most immediate priority, which buys some time to arrange the recommissioning, onto which it could then be further transported, so if @worldofceri is happy to get involved on my behalf with extracting it from its sleeping place, the next step is to find a new shelter for it, assuming it doesn’t go straight to a mechanic. Open to offers and suggestions please - and remember I’m not looking for any freebies! In other unrelated news, anybody interested in my scruffy, never-MoTd 850?

Cheers WoC!! Do you know anybody in the game (whether local to you or not) who’d be a good bet for having a go at some of the work it’ll probably need, and then hang onto it for me until I could get over? I’d fully expect to be fronting up some money for a brake rebuild etc.

Cheers @SiC - I’m nowhere near as regular on the forum these days as I once was so I’m out of touch with who’s potentially in a position to offer some paid assistance. Really appreciate that. Edit - I’m open to the possibility of collecting the car from elsewhere in the country, if there’s a particularly suitable garage which would be ideal for giving the car a proper going-over and ensuring it would be in a driveable state in a few weeks time. Either so I can fly over, or bring the £50 Volvo over and pass on to another Shiter.

Here’s a couple of photos - engine bay one probably about 15 years ago, it was quite the show car at that point and no longer a daily driver. Car is basically an RS1800 replica, lovely Matisse Blue colour. I think it was genuinely cared for and loads spent on it over the years but fell out of use after owner bought her own house/got married/had kid etc. Battery is mounted in the boot (though I admit there’s no guarantee that jump leads and fresh pez would have it running instantly), my biggest concern Is probably about whether brakes would be seized on and what to do if that’s the case. Also those now quite elderly tyres, though I suppose it’s not the end of the world to source a spare set of rims and swap em over.