Skut

Christ there's a lot going on there. None of it good.

If it's feeling flat I'd replace the vacuum advance on the distributor if you haven't already. The diaphragm in them pops fairly frequently. There is some test you can do like blow or suck into the hose attached to it but I can't remember. Just bin the fucker and get a new one.

Kept scrolling back and forwards through the pictures thinking I was missing the Titanic rot. It's actually that solid. Top Work!

Front drum brakes are so cheerfully arcane. Great work.

You drove Phil's old Y10 Gtie did you not. That's a Panda near enough.

Oof darling. Very Oof.

Scotland/Dundee is terrible for chod but I see we've covered that a lot already. The climate and the salt are terrible of course but it's also a pretty deep rooted disinterest in old cars and the recent past in general. It's not a recent phenomenon either. In the 90s when on holiday in Norfolk I was surprised to see Allegros in everyday use when normally I wouldn't see them outside the pages of Popular Classics. A car that's been in a Aberdeenshire field for a bit.

That's reminded me. Keep the front caliper sliding wedge things regularly greased or they will seize. The sliders are steel and the caliper alloy all of which is totally exposed to road dirt which has predictable galvanic implications. Then the caliper will wreak the wheel bearings. Selectas have better brakes and a CVT that by now will almost certainly be broken.

If you think you need a 5 Speed FIRE engine then you do. They're tough and the 5 speed makes them useable on motorways/autostrada. I put about 100,000 on mine and the only reason I'm under it in that picture is I broke the exhaust offroading. Huge inside, economical, boisterous handling and a lovely minimalist design. The steering is accurate and precise and if your willing to push through the initial lean they are grippy on 155 section tyres. The bad news is that they are extremely rust prone everywhere and they are old enough now that even Italian examples will showing the strain. Gear selection starts to go south as they age as does third gear synchro. The ride even with coil springs all round is ropey and the front suspension is prone to wear which makes the already ropey ride bone shattering. The FIRE engines are prone to HG failure, if the inner CV joint gaiters fail because its a wet shaft design they spill their gearbox oil everywhere which makes for a noisy gearbox. Electrics are prone to earth faults and tend to send the dashboard gauges insane if they are left standing for any length of time. Interior plastics are prone to getting broken. NVH is not their strong suite but it doesn't really get worse with speed. They start off loud and stay about the same so the crusing speed can be 70 or 80 as it all sounds the same. I never found them scary at speed. I think its just fashionable to say so because its a small light town car. To sum them up it's a 70s Fiat with an 80s engine if you go for the FIRE engine.

Superb find and the same colour velour as in my dads green 1800HL. I loved it but he hated it with a passion, declaring everything forward of the windscreen was hopeless. Having watched DW most recent video about the Twin Cam B series MGA it would be hilarious to see of those in a Wedge.

Amazing how many British cars there are in this overseas picture. Export or die.