jmsguzzi

I really enjoyed mine, but you're right about the tracking, it was awful on uneven road surfaces. Have heard there's a few things you can do to improve them, strut brace etc.

They are reproductions I had made of the original plates which I still have- they were just looking a bit tatty and were letting the car down, but these are 100% identical.
Thanks for all the kind comments.
Up until 2 years ago I worked as the Fiat/ Abarth specialist at my local Fiat dealer for 11 years, so most of the parts to rebuild it have been genuine Fiat, surprisingly hard to find, even with access to Fiat parts systems.
it spent a bit of time in the showroom too.
exploit yellow was the colour that Fiat did most of the early advertising with. My mum bought an exploit yellow 55sx (one up from base with black bumpers) in 1995 so I had to have one in this colour.
it also has a lot of very hard to find new old stock accessories, probably worth more than the car as a whole 🙈
headlamp protectors, mats, mud flap kit, boot liner, Philips 6 disc CD changer
I still have the original 14”steel wheels with correct brand new ELX trims, but you could spec Punto GT/ Sporting wheels as a cost option so I’m happy to run them.
its won a prize at the Scottish Italian car day last two years in a row- most people seem to be more impressed in a near 30 year old Punto than all the exotic Ferraris/ lamborghinis’s etc

hi there, thanks for having me.
This is my exploit yellow Punto 75elx that I have owned for 10 years, and have restored.
I love this car, enjoy the photos.
simon

Both my 3.0 Outback and N/A Forester are ULEZ compliant, tax is reasonable on both.

The Corona only made a brief appearance as its now switching storage spaces with the Z3, which is reawakened from its slumber over the winter. The Clubman isn't mine, neither is the Rover 200 convertible rotting away just outside the frame.

Today was actually the first time I could have a really close look at what I bought at Mathewsons back in October as the car went into storage not all that much later.

A wash was badly needed, even under a tarp the dust quickly built up.

So yeah, impressions are still very positive considering the silly low price I paid. There is a little bit of bubbling on the passenger front wing panel and outer sill. Since pretty much every exterior panel is bolt-on on the Z3 this should be a rather easy fix however, if I do anything about it at all for now. There's a scratch on the rear quarter and a few stonechips on the very large bonnet, other than that its really just very minor stuff for what is now a 25 year old car.

I've managed to clear the airbag light (driver seatbelt tensioner) and will keep an eye on any fault codes coming up over the next few days. The plan is to take the car out for a weekend in the Lake district tomorrow, plenty of time to get a little more familiar with it then! The cheap floormats will go in the bin once I got a proper OEM-like set. I want to replace the center console dials/shifter trim with the burl wood variant as well to brighten up the interior a little, if I can find a sensibly priced set for a facelift dash that is. The chromeline package helps a little but the less matte black plastic the better.

Its incredible to think that these were sold side by side in a BMW showroom back in late 2001/2002. With its E36 origins the Z3 feels easily more than a decade older inside, the E65 still feels somewhat fresh today.
Speaking of the E65 - the 18 quid pedal assembly actually fixed the limp home mode. It sucks that things appear to break all the time. At the same time parts are so plentiful and cheap that it almost doesn't matter. With the running issues sorted I was able to confirm that the windshield was sealing properly after all, no whistling sounds noticeable at any speed. That meant the A-pillar trims could go back on for one last time:

I've also had a moment to replace the bonnet badge. They are all prone to fading and its surprisingly hard to find a badge that's not clearly Chinese junk sold as OEM part, fake packaging and everything.

That's much better:

Still plenty of other things to sort but this was a satisfyingly easy improvement for once.

The Giulietta Folk by Moretti

Should anybody be bored from looking at the Celsior by now, great news! The Alfa is back! It actually didn't go anywhere for months. 166 are anything but resistent to rot so it hasn't seen the road since October unfortunately. Which sucks as its so fun to drive!
First up was a wash, it turned a little greener than usual in the time it didn't move much:

Took a little while but much better. I just can't get enough of looking at this paint. The color absolutely makes it, I don't think I feel that way about any of my other cars, so well done Alfa.


I've also finally put the wheel arch liner back on the car, it's been off since probably a year ago when I replaced the alternator. I'm not sure if I showed this before but the wooden steering wheel, shifter and center console trim from @sdkrc's old 166 are now installed and really improve things inside.

People keep complaining about American manufacturers and fake wood but that center console trim is by far the least convincing faux wood I have ever seen in any car. Still better than boring matte silver with broken clips though.

I still need to find a replacement switchpack for the fuel door release that also has the sports throttle response button. Harder to find than I imagined. At least the cigarette lighter surround lights up now, its the little things etc. etc. Hopefully some more progress in the next few days.
And since I can't leave a recent post without a Celsior photo, have a size comparison between Toyota's second biggest and its smallest domestic luxury car offering back in 1992.

There's a bit of of fish eye lens distortion going on here but the difference isn't as big as you'd imagine. The Celsior would be 7 series-sized while the Corona Exiv is more of a 3 series, although officially based on something one size smaller (Celica).

Good news! Fairly expected ones to be fair. The ULEZ refugee E38 passed another MOT, same advisories as before and 222 miles later, 6 miles more than the year before... With so many other cars around it doesn't see all that much action, the only long trip its done last year was taking family to Cragside in Summer and it's not seeing the roads outside the estate at all during the salty season (which is basically half a year now it seems). A quick trip into town to have some Chinese dinner (it was great) was enough to confirm everything is still spot on.

Why do these look so goooood?! I might replace the rear lower control arms eventually to get those two points off the advisory list, no clue where they still found a seeping powersteering hose. With the replacement rear bumper and plenty of other parts for preventative maintanance and cosmetics in the boot I'm hoping to have another wave of improvements done on it over the next few months.

Strong DO NOT PAINT vibes.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202403308135999?sort=most-recent&advertising-location=at_cars&page=1&postcode=SN15 4NZ&year-from=1980&year-to=1995&fromsra

Anyone else thinking that Daewoo looks pretty good on those minilites?

https://www.carandclassic.com/l/C1704901#&gid=1&pid=3

There used to be a Renner 11 in the same blue hue on here. It was mega low miles but had a wobbly carb if I remember correctly. 
Edit: it was a completely different colour 🤣. Owned by @RobT amongst other shiters. 

@jmsguzzi Check out the honeys on page 1...

Going to view this tomorrow, was brought home from the hospital when I was born in an 11 and have always fancied one.
This is right on my doorstep so would be rude not to, has anyone on here owned one?

Going to view this tomorrow, was brought home from the hospital when I was born in an 11 and have always fancied one.
This is right on my doorstep so would be rude not to, has anyone on here owned one?

Going to view this tomorrow, was brought home from the hospital when I was born in an 11 and have always fancied one.
This is right on my doorstep so would be rude not to, has anyone on here owned one?

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1473049436902715/?ref=browse_tab&referral_code=marketplace_top_picks&referral_story_type=top_picks

I’m fat and lazy, and most of the time I’m going from A-B in traffic. Why make my life harder by poking the gears around with a stick whilst mashing a pedal, when a mysterious box full of red goo can do it for me.
The 1% is a quiet, winding road in a sporty car; this is when a manual gear box is really good fun. Stop-start rush hour traffic through scenic Newhaven in a family wagon? Not so much.

Here's mine. So shoot me.
The Jaguar E-type isn't even in the top 10 'most beautiful' cars ever made. It's basically a clown shoe. The series 3 is actually a bit offensive (especially in 2 + 2 form)

To move this on. A 'coupe-fied' five door SUV is the most offensively pointless and unnecessary body shape of any vehicle type in existence.

Automatic gearboxes are the best gearbox for 99% of a normal person's driving.

Quite a nice looking £1400 525d with a years MOT


https://www.gumtree.com/p/bmw/bmw-525d-se-auto/1475926151

'99 Renault Laguna
1 owner, 10 month MoT, £995.

Marketplace – 1999 Renault Laguna RT Sport Auto | Facebook

£1500 for a that with 12 months tax seems more than fair.