hazzalandy

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FIAT-X19-1500cc-X-YAMAHA-XJ600-TRIKE-UNFINISHED-PROJECT-NO-RESERVE-PX-SWAP-/331521781677?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4d303cefad
 
 
 
 
 
 
How bad did the Fiat have to be for that to be less work than waving a welding torch?

Nearly there.....
 

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FIAT-X19-1500cc-X-YAMAHA-XJ600-TRIKE-UNFINISHED-PROJECT-NO-RESERVE-PX-SWAP-/331521781677?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4d303cefad
 
 
 
 
 
 
How bad did the Fiat have to be for that to be less work than waving a welding torch?

I've just got to put a cylinder head on it and put it through an MOT and I'll probably give it to my Aunty and Uncle as my cousin is severely disabled and I know they were thinking about getting something like this. They don't know that yet. It'll be a nice surprise for them They'll have it by the end of March.

If you change the whole roof and frame( available from scrappies c.£100) it's half a days work. Doing a rear window is a pain in the fanny, as was mentioned. There's a guy on t'internet called Mike Fishwick who appears to know everything about these, maybe worth a look? 
 
(a random article by him:https://zroadster.org/articles/basic-bmw-z3-suspension-modifications-by-mike-fishwick.41/)
 
Oh, and Nikasil bores were never an issue with these before that comes up...

Mrs Trigger has been moaning for a long while about not having a car for herself and having to drive big thirsty cars so I decided to be a gentleman for a change and find something half modern and boring, after spending ages looking at some of the shit for sale and narrowingly missing out on a Yaris on ebay i ended up finding this Toyota Starlet SR about a hour away also on ebay.
 
The SR model was basically a run out model for the Starlet before it was discontinued for the Yaris. There was 1000 of them made in black, white or silver and they came with the standard 1332cc 16v 4E-FE engine kicking out a MASSIVE 74 bhp YO, they also came with some TTE (Toyota Team Europe) goodies, namely A TTE backbox, a TTE rear spoiler and a lowered suspension all round as well as a set of Speedline alloys, groovy hey!.
 
To be fair i didn't know anything about them before i bought it except that Mrs T wanted a Nissan Micra and i thought the Starlet looked like one but a little more manly.
 
Anyway i popped up to look at it during the week and a deal was made to collect it this morning, this all went well, the wind and rain was awful so it wasn't exactly the best day for it mind, I bought some fuel at Morrisons nearly in Bungay and I'm still kicking myself for not getting a photo as i was parked next to a old boy in a 1974 M reg Lotus Europa in brown! It was proper tasty, the old chap looked in his 80's too. Gutted!. The best photo i got was this ropey one on a back road.
 

 
It drives really nicely actually, it's only done 76000 mile so it should really, It's quite tinny and noisy inside, very much like most small Jap cars but it goes quite well and seems very frugal on the fuel. The power steering is a bit light for my liking but it handles really well but again it's a bit crashy over the bumps, i suspect the low profile 195/45/15 tyres don't help with that. 
 
So once it was home the first job was to pressure wash it, i don't think it had been cleaned for years. The last owner was a young lady whose first car it was and i don't think she cleaned it much.
 

 

 

 

 
It came up pretty well really, i done inside the engine bay too which looked better, after this the buyer for the Merc arrived and once he left with it (It made the 252 mile drive home faultlessly apparently which is excellent) I nipped up to ECP and bought some service parts for it, 10 minutes later that job was done (what a piece of piss!) so I got jiggy with the polishing mop.
 

 
Messy bloody job, it has a nasty scratch along the offside which i hoped would polish out but it didn't, tomorrow I'll wash it and give it a hand job.
 
It needs a few jobs doing, the rear parcel shelf is missing it's string and the wiring for the speakers and one of them has a hole, I should be able to fix this without to much trouble although i did think about fitting my old Kenwood 6x9's but they would have left holes exposed..
 

 
I think this was the original spare as it's a Conti but it's perished badly and needs changing ASAP, the spare is brand new though.
 

 
and the front bumper has well scuffed so will need painting (as well the alloys really).
 

 
Tomorrow I'll go over the inside, it smells a bit funky and there's dog hair everywhere which i hate, I want to get a new CD player for it do as the old one's wank.
 

 

 
and lastly it should have a full Castrol inspired SR sticker set but there missing which is quite common, I've found a chap on the Starlet forum who sells a full set of reproduction ones for £45 which I'll get, It should look like this.
 

 
You can see where someone in the past has painted the bonnet when the sticker was on it and just masked it off...
 

 
If any of you are still awake after reading this I'll post some more tomorrow once I've done the inside.
 
Konnichiwa.

Crikey, that's lovely inside!
 
The headlight is likely to be the automatic adjuster having a missing tooth on the little pinion gear. 
Looks like a great buy nonetheless.

I swear every other person on this forum is a journalist! 
 
No problem with that, it just makes for quality write ups of SVM endeavours and square sausages.

Happy New Year to you all.
 
Following a personal visit to Suceava (that's where the car is being restored by Danut) i managed to see his private collection of circa 6 or 7 cars. All absolutely faultless, one is even on show in the local Dacia dealer. Not that i did not trust him however i wanted to see for myself the car was being well looked after and work was being carried out the the highest standards. Needless to say i was pleasantly surprised. The inner wings have been replaced and a new original bed put in, one of the chassis legs has to also be replaced as it was way to rotten. Pics for you all, the project is going ahead at a steady pace but i am more than happy with the quality of work so far.
 
The engine has been stripped and new pistons, new gaskets, new pretty much everything will be put in. If my plans work out the car will be shipped out to America in August and will take part in a "little" race from coast to coast alongside another Dacia.
 
enjoy................

I swear every other person on this forum is a journalist! 
 
No problem with that, it just makes for quality write ups of SVM endeavours and square sausages.

I swear every other person on this forum is a journalist! 
 
No problem with that, it just makes for quality write ups of SVM endeavours and square sausages.

I swear every other person on this forum is a journalist! 
 
No problem with that, it just makes for quality write ups of SVM endeavours and square sausages.

I swear every other person on this forum is a journalist! 
 
No problem with that, it just makes for quality write ups of SVM endeavours and square sausages.

It's been tits cold this past week, and its only going to get worse as winter draws in. So, where big chod is too outdoors and chilly, little chod prevails! 
 
Those up for restoration are:
 
Golf MK1
Vw T2 pop top
Renault 17 TS
Sunbeam Alpine
Fraud Crapi
And... For Mr Lobster himself... a blue Renault 4 van
 
All are going to be restored, but colour suggestions are appreciated, so that preferably they are all scale replicas of real cars on Autoshite.

I saw this yesterday and I will be seriously impressed if it ever sees the road again. It's going to take a lot of filing cabinets.
 
I couldn't find the programme I was talking about yesterday on Youtube so I uploaded it myself. This is Clarkson just after he left old Top Gear.
 

 
The bit the FSO reminded me of starts at 8:27 but the whole thing is worth watching.

Can I just get this straight... I am not that much of a tit that I could manage to hook up a battery the wrong way round without even taking it out of its cradle!
 
I only assume that in the starter motor rebuild shop they discovered that the pinion didn't engage when bench testing the unit, so they reversed the connections.
 
P.S It is now fully functioning as a vehicle and has been helping the local police today in the SNO KAHOS

Soz, but I'm a maths geek.

Not me btw.

Can I just get this straight... I am not that much of a tit that I could manage to hook up a battery the wrong way round without even taking it out of its cradle!
 
I only assume that in the starter motor rebuild shop they discovered that the pinion didn't engage when bench testing the unit, so they reversed the connections.
 
P.S It is now fully functioning as a vehicle and has been helping the local police today in the SNO KAHOS

Frozen drips waiting to thaw and rain on me. Lovely.
 

20141227_134451 by jboath1, on Flickr
 
It's needed for a pheasant shoot tomorrow so spent half an hour messing about trying to start it today.
 

20141227_143316 by jboath1, on Flickr

This Land Rover hates everything.Two engine rebuilds and it is still not on the road! Here is the back story;
 
 
1:The engine was extricated using a borrowed crane (definitely not pulled down main roads by hand!)
 
It was pronounced dead at the scene. It leaked badly, drank oil and had main bearings with craters deeper than the moon. All parts were dutifully ordered. While waiting I decide to go climbing with friends and break a leg.Paddockspares supply the wrong bearings, so the engine is stiff to rotate once fitted.  
 
2:Engine rebuilt to this state with correct ( but Britpart) bearings by a one legged mechanic.  The doctors were not impressed wit my cast wreaking of 20/50!
 
 
 
3:Engine refitted and ran, but being a silly twat I forgot to re-prime the oil pump. This completely toasted the bearings. With access to the crane lost I changed the main and big end bearings with the engine in situ. NOT FUN!
 
 
4 Seizure had toasted the starter motor, so with my patience wearing thin I took it to a 'repair shop' in Leicester. They exchanged it for a rebuilt unit. Once fitted the engine would not start, and was blowing back through the carb. After days of investigation, the starter motor was found to be spinning the engine backwards. This caused the re-used cam chain to skip teeth so once rectified the engine ran like a bag of bats.
 
5:New cam chain fitted and the engine ran beautifully. This leads us to today, in which...
 
 
You guessed it, more bad luck happened.
 

We three louts, of Great Britain are,
One in a Hillman, one in a Saab,
One in a Datsun watching his floorpan,
Merrily roving we are.
 
O-oh car of wonder, car of shite,
Car of rusty shite-ness, quite,
First gear seeking, traffic beeping,
Why on Earth did I buy this shite?
 
One in silver, one in gold,
What's this Rover's colour code,
Is it steaming, yes it's steaming,
Give me some K-seal then, my friend.
 
O-oh car of wonder, car of shite,
Lacquer peeling suits you right,
Petrol's going, shite's a-slowing,
Why on Earth did I buy this shite?
 
Twenty pence in the handbrake, then,
Somebody stole my gearbox, when
I went to take it, seller faked it,
Curse these ebay jebends, men.
 
O-oh car of wonder, car of shite,
Would a Vauxhall suit you right,
No sir, go sir, oh how dare you,
Why on Earth did I buy this shite?
 
Once a Wartburg, never again,
Like a Renault it never went,
Smoke and noises, dodgy electrics,
I had to call the AA.
 
O-oh car of wonder, car of shite,
Battery's draining over night,
Start in the morning, no, you're walking,
Why on Earth did I buy this shite?
 
I'll get there, now that I know,
Buying on finance's the way to go,
No cash waiting, Beemer's a great thing,
Audi's the best car in the world.
 
O-oh car of wonder, car of shite,
Always will I drive this shite,
Merry Christmas Auto-shiters,
Please keep fettle-ing your shite.

This Land Rover hates everything.Two engine rebuilds and it is still not on the road! Here is the back story;
 
 
1:The engine was extricated using a borrowed crane (definitely not pulled down main roads by hand!)
 
It was pronounced dead at the scene. It leaked badly, drank oil and had main bearings with craters deeper than the moon. All parts were dutifully ordered. While waiting I decide to go climbing with friends and break a leg.Paddockspares supply the wrong bearings, so the engine is stiff to rotate once fitted.  
 
2:Engine rebuilt to this state with correct ( but Britpart) bearings by a one legged mechanic.  The doctors were not impressed wit my cast wreaking of 20/50!
 
 
 
3:Engine refitted and ran, but being a silly twat I forgot to re-prime the oil pump. This completely toasted the bearings. With access to the crane lost I changed the main and big end bearings with the engine in situ. NOT FUN!
 
 
4 Seizure had toasted the starter motor, so with my patience wearing thin I took it to a 'repair shop' in Leicester. They exchanged it for a rebuilt unit. Once fitted the engine would not start, and was blowing back through the carb. After days of investigation, the starter motor was found to be spinning the engine backwards. This caused the re-used cam chain to skip teeth so once rectified the engine ran like a bag of bats.
 
5:New cam chain fitted and the engine ran beautifully. This leads us to today, in which...
 
 
You guessed it, more bad luck happened.
 

This Land Rover hates everything.Two engine rebuilds and it is still not on the road! Here is the back story;
 
 
1:The engine was extricated using a borrowed crane (definitely not pulled down main roads by hand!)
 
It was pronounced dead at the scene. It leaked badly, drank oil and had main bearings with craters deeper than the moon. All parts were dutifully ordered. While waiting I decide to go climbing with friends and break a leg.Paddockspares supply the wrong bearings, so the engine is stiff to rotate once fitted.  
 
2:Engine rebuilt to this state with correct ( but Britpart) bearings by a one legged mechanic.  The doctors were not impressed wit my cast wreaking of 20/50!
 
 
 
3:Engine refitted and ran, but being a silly twat I forgot to re-prime the oil pump. This completely toasted the bearings. With access to the crane lost I changed the main and big end bearings with the engine in situ. NOT FUN!
 
 
4 Seizure had toasted the starter motor, so with my patience wearing thin I took it to a 'repair shop' in Leicester. They exchanged it for a rebuilt unit. Once fitted the engine would not start, and was blowing back through the carb. After days of investigation, the starter motor was found to be spinning the engine backwards. This caused the re-used cam chain to skip teeth so once rectified the engine ran like a bag of bats.
 
5:New cam chain fitted and the engine ran beautifully. This leads us to today, in which...
 
 
You guessed it, more bad luck happened.
 

This Land Rover hates everything.Two engine rebuilds and it is still not on the road! Here is the back story;
 
 
1:The engine was extricated using a borrowed crane (definitely not pulled down main roads by hand!)
 
It was pronounced dead at the scene. It leaked badly, drank oil and had main bearings with craters deeper than the moon. All parts were dutifully ordered. While waiting I decide to go climbing with friends and break a leg.Paddockspares supply the wrong bearings, so the engine is stiff to rotate once fitted.  
 
2:Engine rebuilt to this state with correct ( but Britpart) bearings by a one legged mechanic.  The doctors were not impressed wit my cast wreaking of 20/50!
 
 
 
3:Engine refitted and ran, but being a silly twat I forgot to re-prime the oil pump. This completely toasted the bearings. With access to the crane lost I changed the main and big end bearings with the engine in situ. NOT FUN!
 
 
4 Seizure had toasted the starter motor, so with my patience wearing thin I took it to a 'repair shop' in Leicester. They exchanged it for a rebuilt unit. Once fitted the engine would not start, and was blowing back through the carb. After days of investigation, the starter motor was found to be spinning the engine backwards. This caused the re-used cam chain to skip teeth so once rectified the engine ran like a bag of bats.
 
5:New cam chain fitted and the engine ran beautifully. This leads us to today, in which...
 
 
You guessed it, more bad luck happened.
 

This Land Rover hates everything.Two engine rebuilds and it is still not on the road! Here is the back story;
 
 
1:The engine was extricated using a borrowed crane (definitely not pulled down main roads by hand!)
 
It was pronounced dead at the scene. It leaked badly, drank oil and had main bearings with craters deeper than the moon. All parts were dutifully ordered. While waiting I decide to go climbing with friends and break a leg.Paddockspares supply the wrong bearings, so the engine is stiff to rotate once fitted.  
 
2:Engine rebuilt to this state with correct ( but Britpart) bearings by a one legged mechanic.  The doctors were not impressed wit my cast wreaking of 20/50!
 
 
 
3:Engine refitted and ran, but being a silly twat I forgot to re-prime the oil pump. This completely toasted the bearings. With access to the crane lost I changed the main and big end bearings with the engine in situ. NOT FUN!
 
 
4 Seizure had toasted the starter motor, so with my patience wearing thin I took it to a 'repair shop' in Leicester. They exchanged it for a rebuilt unit. Once fitted the engine would not start, and was blowing back through the carb. After days of investigation, the starter motor was found to be spinning the engine backwards. This caused the re-used cam chain to skip teeth so once rectified the engine ran like a bag of bats.
 
5:New cam chain fitted and the engine ran beautifully. This leads us to today, in which...
 
 
You guessed it, more bad luck happened.