stripped fred

Oooof, that's doing things to me on a Saturday night that in my yoof I used to pay good money for...
I like that a lot, top bombing good sir, it looks in awesome condition.
Also 740/10 for Danny John Jules inclusion.  Even The Cat would say that it's a decent steer.

A bit of a gap to the next one (2 kids arrived).  I about 2008 my Wife said we need something more practical,  I went and bought a series 2 Landrover and restored it, but apparantly that was too practical, so I sold it made a bit of cash and bought a rusty 1986 Range Rover V8.  

It was mechanically pretty good but needed all the usual rust repairs. sills body mounts, floors kick panels and inner wings, pretty much all flat panels though so easy enough to fabricate repair panels, It also needed 2 new back doors and a lower tailgate. I then re-painted it in the older colour of lincoln green and started using it.
Good news is my wife likes it.
The fuel injection system has been a learning curve, eventually I found the main problem was 2 M6 unplugged threaded holes in the bottom of the plenium, 
I also re built thd AC system and got that working with R290.
The only other major issue was a failed Auto box, a new one from Ashcroft cost a  grand and took me a couple of weeks to fit but has been great ever since.
Future plans are MOT it in January,  change all the fuel lines and  go over the underside whic is getting a few areas of surface rust again. 

next up is the Lotus,

 
bought in 1996 as a coupe I bought the parts from Chrstopher Niel and chopped the roof off,  adding some stiffening and a rear roll hoop, I've also fitted a Type9 5 speed gearbox. Otherwise there was new bodywork from the doors backwards after it was rear ended, an uprated cooljng system, improvements to the wiring and MX5 tombstone seats, the twin cam has been the most reliable bit All I've ever changed is a timing chain and done valve clearances.
Future plans are to use it more after I retire next year I also need to finoshe stripping  the paint off the front and re-do it, there are about 8 coats and it's got a few microblisters, I did the worst front wing a couple of years ago.

Thought I'd start a thread for my fleet, I'll introduce them in the order I got them.
The first one us the TR7V8.

this was bought in 1993 as a restoration project, It had been ziebarted from new but still needed 3 wheelarches, door bottoms and a number of smaller repairs, plus a recon engine.  my wife ran it for 5 years as her everyday car  until our daughter came along.  I then used it for another 8 or 9 years until the recon engine blew a head gasket, I couldn't get ghe head off so fitted a £100 secondhand engine and started hunting for RV8 bits.  The engine I bought was stripped and looked/measured  fine,  I made the engine mountings, cooling sytem and twin exhaust and fitted it,  what a tranaformation!  only problem was when it got hot it had a knock, after 3 strip downs I concluded it must be something like a liner moving and fitted another short engine which has been fine ever since, it's also lowered, has improved brakes and 15" mg maestro wheels.  Future plans are to  sell It!  I have run out of space and there is a limit to how many open 2 seat cars one can drive.  Before that it needs some new tyres and a few other odds and ends tidying up.

This will tick a lot of boxes for about two people in the country. 
 

Sole surviving example - check
missing bits - check
Money pit - check
Likely to fall apart when transported above 8mph - check
Roughly the same size as a LWB Sprinter? Check (apparently)
Located in the middle of butt-fucking nowhere - Check!!
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/386713154760
Ideal trigger for that divorce/nervous breakdown you never knew you needed. 

This is not on eBay and may have been posted before but if not then who fancies a £500 XM?
https://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/citroen/xm

This is not on eBay and may have been posted before but if not then who fancies a £500 XM?
https://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/citroen/xm

cool wood and picket range rover built for Peter Sellers


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/235402474591

This is not on eBay and may have been posted before but if not then who fancies a £500 XM?
https://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/citroen/xm

This is not on eBay and may have been posted before but if not then who fancies a £500 XM?
https://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/citroen/xm

Not just a car, but a bit of social history from an age when cheap eastern bloc cars were still a thing. Well bought. 

so in the cold light of day, how's it looking
Well ok I think.   Threw a bucket and sponge over it but nothing more. Paint is pretty grim but it looks good wet so hoping it might polish up better than it looks now . picture below is wet!

Found a little bit of grot I didn't notice before but hasnt gone all the way through 

The bit of grot I did notice in the engine compartment is a little worse for poking (why did I do that?!) but don't think Its a disaster as its pretty localised and even the car I viewed for £1200 more than this was going a bit around there

I have also changed the manky rear lights for a better but not perfect second hand pair I sourced. pattern replacements are available new but they don't have the cool made in Czechoslovakia stamping!

. Looking through the history its done most of its 29000 miles between 1990 and 1994.  I know it was laid up from some time in 90s until about 2011 when it was recommissioned. Its had new coolant, brakes, brake lines, fuel lines and other bits and bobs in 2011.  Its only done 3000 or so miles since. Main issue is all of the coolant hoses look original as it water pump etc so going to need a fair bit of recommissioning again
so am I pleased with it?  Yes, I think so. It seems solid in all the right places and the bits of rust I found don't seem too bad. sills, arches, inner wings etc all look ok. To be truly sure I need to polish up the paint and see how presentable it looks and get the MOT done to be fully sure.  only real question is if I paid a bit much for it.  They are so hard to value at the moment but I have a sneak feeling I perhaps did.  That said its in much better condition than the one @barrett and I viewed last year for same price (although that was a 130 so more saught after). Its also straight, original, low mileage, not rotten , has all five alloys recently professionally restored and the seller did pretty much hold it for me from January until May whilst I ummed , ahhed and then agreed to buy when I couldn't collect it for 3 or 4 weeks. So I will forget about the cost now and try and get it MOTd as soon a possible 

starting to have a little look around to see exactly what I have bought.  Some observations so far (most were already known from my viewings and speaking to previous owner)
- Paint isn't great, faded and blemished however hoping it will polish up. The NS wing has a fair bit of microblistering, not sure if it's had a blow over or perhaps a dodgy cover at some point..A few odd marks on the rear NS 3/4 panel
- Signs of fuel around base of carb , suspect this might be related to the poor running
- Rear lights clouded badly. Good second hand replacements already sourced 
- Heater appears not to work
- Washer pump doesn't work, apparently its the third one in as many years so I suspect some electrical issue somewhere
- Passenger side carpet is soaking wet. There is a small gap between the front quaeterlight glass and the frame, I hope this is the source of the water ingress
- Original dealer plates are tired. Planning to get some replicas made up. Rear number plate is gigantic for some reason!
Rear seat tops more far gone than I remember (TADTS).  rear squabs and front seats nice but need a clean. Carpet a bit manky but apparently they robust so can be pressure washed clean.  
- Wheels are nice , all refurbished a few years ago. Center caps all present which is nice surprise but one is off the car as its a loose fit since the alloy refurb
- I don't like the grille with the spotlights, there is a standard one in the boot but its from an earlier model. I think I have sourced a replacement
- Owner can't find the spare set of keys, will send them on as and when they turn up but might get a set cut especially as there are OEM blanks for ignition key on eBay at moment
- Some of the door locks/handles are a bit stiff due to lack of use
- bit of grot I spotted in engine compartment on NS wheel arch. Didn't poke it too hard on the viewing but seems like its not gone through and hopefully can be treated without the sparkly stick
 

This plan is flawless. 
*grabs popcorn*

All of these are very reasonable decisions around here. Chodspeed!

If you have read any of my posts on other parts of the forum you may know that that lovely man Sadiq Khan is putting the kabosh on my hobby in August by expanding his fresh clean air Eutopia to my house. I currently own 4 non compliant cars and have been debating what to do about it all
Well in true AS style my answer is to bury my head in the sand and buy another non ULEZ compliant car
Not only that, but a car that's been off the road for a few years, has done less than 1000 miles since 2013
Throw in the fact that whilst I have seen it in person it was a bit of a ten minute glance over it rather than a full inspection, and I haven't driven it due to no MOT. I also haven't seen the paperwork as the seller had COVID when I went to view it. 
Finally, due to some time and logistic constraints I wasn't able to arrange for Ceri to collect so have booked the cheapest Shipley bloke with a Beaver tail Iveco to bring it half the length of the country
WCPGW, folks 😳

Don't tell the wife? 

I bought myself an early fully loaded manual Golf V5 as a spares car for £500 in an identical colour to my Golf V5.
I’ve found that recently it’s getting really hard to get spares for my early automatic V5, so this was the ideal scenario.
The problem is it’s quite a nice example and only needs a throttle body, so I feel bad using it as a spares car.
 

She's just clocked it. Dam ebay linked to her email. Luckily is full of Christmas love/wine and whiskey so all good so far. 

Easy. Buy yourself a Christmas present then they wrap it and give it back. Ace!

Cant just be me?
Shes going to kill me when she clocks though have treated myself to this. 

Not picked it up yet, can't wait.

Chick magnet 

Its broken of course. At least in that respect it will fit in with the majority of the existing two wheeled fleet. Shouldn't take too much to get running and is of age to be reaistered historic thus cheap investment opportunity. Thats how ill be selling it to her anyway. 
Anyone else treated themselves for Christmas?

I took mine out last night for a last run out of the year. The garage is being turned into a bungalow in the new year so I'm culling the fleet.  The GTi is a definite keeper and probably the Cavalier Sri

We dropped off a vehicle at my local garage recently, and my wife happened to spot this awaiting work in their yard...

I enquired about it, and turns out it's in for a few jobs before sale. Started out life in Cyprus, and has had long periods of dry storage over here so the shell is very good - better than the ones she had when they were 10 years old.
It's also had a documented engine rebuild from a specialist, who she's been in touch with to confirm. The garage put it up on their ramp so we could check it over today, and although not perfect, it only seems to be minor stuff.
One trackrod end and lower ball joint
CV joint 
Fuel hoses
Temperature gauge inoperative and high idle when warm (I think seperate sensors so possibly not linked)
Sticking handbrake cables 
Low alternator output 
Coolant level sensor telling lies
Missing jack
Missing door pocket but otherwise great condition interior.



I know most will just say get it bought, but any sober voices of reason out there to say why not? £7.5k which although is a lot, now seems towards the cheaper end of the range. And I'd rather be changing suspension and brakes than welding a rotten shell!

Having a private plate is the worst idea when you’re a serial car changer. Costs a fortune. I never learn..

Oh and I nipped out on my lunch break to get the wheelie bin in and managed to see it in daylight for the first time 😂
Still very happy with the purchase