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Finally the weather and free time have aligned to make a start on the VXR8, this was the state of play 5 mins ago in the near side wheel arch : The track rod and track rod end will also be coming off. The plan is to take the hub and lower arms to the workbench and deal with them there. Whilst they’re off, the alternator will be replaced: With the suspension out of the way it’s the easiest access. ARB bushes and steering rack bush will also be replaced, as well as a general clean up in the area. I might regret typing this but so far everything is coming apart very nicely, despite most of it probably having not been touched since it left Australia in 2007 and having minimal corrosion protection.

That’s a nice P38, glad to see it’s still on air too. Coil spring conversions on P38s and L322s ruin the ride quality.

It’s in Cornwall right now, but can be in Shropshire once I find a replacement.

In more MoT season news (they all seem to happen at the same time with me), the Kia Rio outstationed at the inlaw’s has a fresh MoT courtesy of @twosmoke300. It’ll be available for sale quite soon once a replacement is organised - Mother in Law has requested that the next car is an automatic as she finds the ultralight clutch on the Rio difficult to use.

First test of the year, Skoda passed with a couple of advisories for the rear tyres starting to perish and front discs being a bit worn. I’ll take that as a win for a car that was supposed to be bridged a few days ago.

To be honest they look the same as the single remaining cap, they’ll do fine. PM me with the details, though I won’t say yes definitely until it passes the MoT - no point spending any more than is necessary until then.

A couple more pictures: Its been pressed into service for a few days prior to the MoT, just to check for any odd rattles or other issues. So far though, it seems all good. It drives well, goes surprisingly well and stops without any grinding or squeaking noises. If anyone has 3x of the hub caps buried somewhere I’d be happy to throw some coinage your way to replace the missing ones.

PD100 I think. Certainly goes well enough, it should make for a good little runaround for a few months. Even has a towbar. MoT is booked for Tuesday morning, going to give it the once over tomorrow just to make sure I’ve not missed anything. Windscreen wipers were a bit smeary when I used the washers, though it might just be from lack of use. It’ll get a wash tomorrow too.

It all started with a conversation in the pub last night. A friend was sending their old Fabia to the bridge on Saturday, did I want to come and have a look before it went? Bear/Shit/Woods, Pope/Catholic references appropriate at this point. They described the car, warts and all. The biggest problem was that the ABS light was on, and a very short MoT. Now anyone who has seen my Wanted post will know I turned down an otherwise perfectly good S211 that would have ticked all the boxes for me, but because of the ABS light being lit I didn’t want to mess around fixing it. However, with the ability to go and mess around with the car before purchase to ascertain whether it was worth saving from the bridge, and being half a mile away, it made a lot of sense to at least go for a look. First thing was to get the diagnostic box plugged in and see the codes. Nothing for sensors, but one for ABS Return Pump. Sounded expensive. Just for a bit of certainty I switched to live data mode, and drove it a short distance - all 4 sensors providing data without issue, so definitely not a duff sensor or ring. After a bit of a search I found a post on BriSkoda referring to the same fault code, getting all sorts of silly quotes from garages to fix, and then finding the issue was a blown fuse. Took the cover off the battery fuse box and sure enough, fuse 6 was blown: Happy enough that it would be a simple fix I showed them what I thought the fault was, did the deal, dropped my car back home and then walked back to get the Skoda. Once it was home I popped down to Halfords for a new fuse, fitted it and job done - ABS light out and ready for MoT. I also removed an undertray that was loose, but I’ll refit it once I find the correct fixings. @AnnoyingPentium - yes, it’s a Comfort. 1.9 manual, 65k on the clock and aside from ruined paintwork it’s in tidy condition. More pics tomorrow.

You have reached your destination:

Stop for supplies at the shop:

Stage one: Leg power through the village.

Right, in my quest for an addition to the fleet I’ve found something that ticks almost none of the boxes in my wanted advert, but is going to be a useful little machine. So it’s time to pack a sandwich, grab a brew and set off on yet another collection mission. Stay tuned for more updates.

First stop, the n/s/f front: I reckon the easy solution is to unbolt the brake caliper, unplug the ABS sensor, undo the track rod end, unbolt the rest of the suspension kit at the body-end of each part and then take the whole assembly to the workbench. This will also allow a bit more space for a job I have to do on this corner only which is replace the alternator, most of the access for which is under the car. Also, I fucking hate locking wheel nuts part 94: Key element sheared flush, with the torque wrench nowhere near the 95ft.lbs I’d set it to. Guess who’s having a trip to the local Mini dealer tomorrow morning for a replacement key and 4 plain wheel bolts?

Last week three big boxes arrived from the States, containing most of the suspension stuff I need for the VXR8's suspension overhaul. I'm going for almost complete replacement as its already rattly, I know the car has had a hard life and piecemeal replacement of related parts becomes very tiresome when the car is being jacked up for the third time in as many months chasing yet another rattle. The only outstanding items are the dampers and springs, ARB polybushes, rear ARB links and the steering rack polybush. All the control arms, track rods and other bits are here and ready. What I am having trouble tracking down are standard dampers and springs, I don't really want to lower the car as the exhaust already touches the speed bumps in the village if it goes over at the wrong angle. I'm also trying to maintain the ride quality as something suitable for the cratered moonscape that passes for our roads here in Shropshire - for that reason only a few polybushes are going in and the rest will be standard rubber so should last well and not compromise the ride quality too much. The rest of the fleet has had a bit of attention too, my wife's Mini Countryman has received a new ARB bush on the n/s/r to cure a clunking noise over bumps and the Range Rover has has the rear upper arm eccentric bolt adjusted to try and stop the tyre wearing the outer edge off.

It’s the law that S124s (especially prefacelift) have the 15-hole 15” alloys. Nothing else looks anywhere near as good.

@Kiltox would be able to confirm but I thought it was the n/s/f wheel that got hit with the electric metal glue. I had to put air in it (and the other 3) a few weeks before you came, but the car had sat for ages so I just put it down to that. May be something as simple as a leaking valve or a bit of crud on the rim?

The most I managed on one tank was its last trip to Cornwall. Mixed motorway/A road there, some local trips there, motorway back. 720ish miles, and I hadn’t started with a completely full tank as I’d used it locally for a few days at home beforehand. Set the cruise at 70, mpg will sit around 45/46.

It will. N/S washer pipe, comes off where the washer jet motors up out of the front bumper. Remove the lower grille and the pipe is accessible from there. I did cable-tie the pipe back in place the last time it came off just after I bought it, I'd guess with regular use in the grim weather we've had it's slipped off again. If I remember correctly the headlamp wash operates every 5th time the screen wash is activated.

New year but business as usual here. The VXR8’s alternator has packed in, so along with a load of suspension bits I ordered one from Rock Auto in the states. Getting VXR8 bits here is a bit expensive, so if it’s not time-critical it makes sense to order from overseas. Two big boxes turned up a couple of days ago with lots of suspension goodies, but the alternator is coming in a separate package and seems to be on quite the adventure. From ordering on Monday it has visited a couple of FedEx depots in Connecticut, then over to Memphis in Tennessee, back to Connecticut, then back to Tennessee. From there it came over here, went through three of FedEx depots, and is now apparently back in Memphis 🤨 I’m hoping it’s just a tracking glitch, as there’s a few repeat visits back and forth between parcels depots on the tracking page, but I could do with having the alternator here ideally. Still, it’s apparently a genuine GM 140a alternator with no core exchange required for £150, so as long as it gets here it should be worth the wait. The L322 is getting fairly desperate for some TLC on the air suspension, I’ve been seriously contemplating buying another L322 but really I’m still waiting to see if the Maxus T90 ever actually arrives. Knowing my luck I’d buy something and then the next day get an email saying the truck is arriving the week after, and I’ve not got the space to be dealing with that. I need a garage of some sort.

Budget (sadly) blown at this point in the build: Does sound like a cracking build though. I’d really like a Mini.

I’d spend it on my L322. Base vehicle: £2500 Gearbox overhauled/uprated: £2000 Bodywork: £3000 Suspension/air system renewed: £1500 Engine given a bit more go: £1000 Not the most exciting project but it’d see the car good for another 10-15 years.

There isn’t a new car available today within a £40k budget that I’d buy and do that sort of distance and time in. The nearest I’d choose would be a BMW 540i XDrive Touring, and I got to just over £70k on the BMW car configurator before I was happy to consider it a very long term ownership prospect. The last thing I’d want over 250,000 miles is to be sitting there wishing I’d ticked a certain option box, or been able to spec a nicer colour, or the better engine etc. 1995 is much easier, Discovery 300Tdi.

There were a few Leopards rebodied with more modern designs of bodywork over the years, such as this Duple 320:

I’m amazed they’ve survived so long, most Duple products dissolved into scrap long ago. That one is on a Dennis Javelin chassis, so Cummins C-series 8.3 power (or the complete lack of).