Cheezey

I had my 214 SEi. I truly loved that car. I put loads of miles on it. Going to Crail quarter mile racing in it at every opportunity. It was faster than any other 214 or 216 and would keep up with 2.0 stuff that was racing. Winning the forum bike 220 a while ago was a nice reminisce. 
Along side the 214 I then got a 200SX. It quickly developed a noisy exhaust and knackered brakes. I went to order new brakes from the motor factor but there were two types depending what callipers it had apparently. I phoned my Dad to ask him to pop a wheel off and check. He phoned me five mins later to say the jack was going up through the sill...
As I wanted to save for a flat I sold them both and got my 306 about a month before I turned 21. I think I had that nearly three years. Being an auto it was a bit more sedate. 
 
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dRSH-0UZLfw
 

Obviously I was cool as f*ck, I actually used "I've got a Montego" as a chat up line and it was successful 

I was 20 in 1994. I started the year with a white MK2 Fiesta 1.4S, F260 FHH.

(Not this one, but identical)
I loved it, back then where I live, you were nothing if you didn't have a sporty '70s or '80s Ford, especially one with front spotlights and red bumper strips.
However, one day I was nosing around the local Rover dealer (South Cleveland Garages, Skippers Lane), with my dad (he had an R8 Rover 214 at the time), and the facelifted R6 Rover Metros were in, with a few special editions in stock in some jazzy colours.
I was doing 2 jobs at the time, and worked out that I could pretty much afford a new Metro on finance. They had a Metro Rio in the showroom for £5995 which looked good in Kingfisher Blue. However, for £6995, I could have a Rio Grande, which added useful extras like remote central locking, 5 speed gearbox, colour coded bumpers, radio cassette, sunroof and rear wash wipe, extras which seemed well worth an extra grand.
So in June 1994, L551 JVN was my first brand new car, at the age of 20. It felt great, it was a bit less powerful than the Fezza, but I loved the colour and the extra toys it had. Being 20, and 1994 being at the rise of the Max Power/Fast Car era, I did pimp it up a bit with a set of KN softspoke alloys. I also removed the Rio Grande logos, de-badged the bootlid and put some green tape stripes under the rubbing strips, to match the bumper strips. I was going for a bit of a GTa/GTi replica. And yes, that is a Max Power sticker in the windscreen...

My Triumph Acclaim Avon Turbo!

It's OK on fuel, not that I'm getting much need to drive it at the moment. It's definitely lowering the tone of the neighbourhood. 

Got a new number plate on order, front one is like a jigsaw puzzle! Bonnet is fucked under the grille, but I guess that just adds to the 'look'. Wire mesh on the lights came from the bumper below. I'm trying to utilise scrap / waste to do things, so will be on the look out for some more mesh for the windows. 
If anyone decides to try to preach about declared mods to insurance etc, they can fuck off. I'll do what I want. 
 

@catsinthewelder might want the trims for the 220 bike. I fixed the broken one using an inner ring from a Clio wheel trim during my brief tenure but spares might be handy. 

@catsinthewelder might want the trims for the 220 bike. I fixed the broken one using an inner ring from a Clio wheel trim during my brief tenure but spares might be handy. 

... Bosch fuel pump? 



 

I'm starting a new thread, and hopefully turning over a new leaf (no, I'm not getting a bloody electric car). 
From now on, I'm going to buy and run what the hell I want, and have fun doing so.
I realise that a lot of what I do isn't exactly the 'Autoshite way', but then I've always been a bit of a inbetweener, not cool enough for Retro Rides, too nice for Piston heads, too childish for Autoshite, and too random for any one make sites. 
So yeah, I might spray a bonnet or wheels in Poundland rattle cans, or add a tacky roof rack, but that's just me, take it or leave it. 
I do have a car being delivered this weekend, so no collection thread I'm afraid. But wait and see what 'horror' appears next! 
 

I think, rather than try digging up my various threads, it might make sense to start a new one.
I'm back from Antipodean travels, though yet to wake up the fleet from its slumbers.

That's the (clockwise from far left) Daewoo Matiz (out of shot), Reliant Fox, Invacar, Toyota Tercel (acquired two days before departure and quite rotten), 2CV and CityRover.
While I was away, the MOTs lapsed on the Matiz, CityRover and 2CV. The Fox isn't entirely suitable for driving, the Tercel even less so and the Invacar has ended up full of magazines. So, resurrecting any of them was a bit of faff. There was only one solution. Buy a new car!

The GSA was the result. I bought it when I was still on the other side of the world. It met up with a friend's BX this morning in Aberystwyth. It's a 1986 Special, so very late. It would have been beige when new, but was restored last year, changing colour along the way. I suspect the restoration cost a LOT more than the £3500 I paid for the car. That's a lot for me, but it really is a clean example and it is anniversary year for the G range. It drives well, being 1299cc with the five-speed gearbox. The interior lets it down a bit, being a mish-mash of stuff nabbed from a Pallas, including the brown seats and speedo binnacle (which means a digital clock and rev counter). I plan to tidy that up a bit and hopefully not lose any money. There's a GS Anniversary event in Paris in May, virus-permitting, that I plan to attend.
I guess driving Stuart's BX around New Zealand left me needing some more hydropneumatic action, but I've never really got over missing out on 320Touring's beige beastie when that came up for grabs for far, far less than this one. Having been restored, I'm hopeful this one will be fairly Wales-proof, though as I have covered storage, I can at least hide it away to dry out from time to time.
Next week, I plan to start waking the fleet. Priorities are the CityRover and 2CV. The others all need work. Fox is meant to be at the NEC at the end of the month, but I guess that show's future is rather in doubt at the moment.
To Do List:
CityRover
MOT. I think it's pretty much ready to go, though the brakes are a little seized. Hopefully they'll free once I actually start it up. Could do with a service.
2CV
MOT, grease, get it booked in with a friend to check the carburettor jetting. I suspect it's not ideal.
Matiz
I reckon it's down on compression on one cylinder, so investigations needed. Also has an entirely dead battery. It killed a brand new one, so that needs investigating.
Fox
Blowing exhaust manifold joint, suspension needs a refresh, interior needs a serious overhaul, fuel tank leaks when more than quarter full. I'm not sure exactly how full as the gauge isn't working, so that's another one.
Invacar
Would like to do a compression check, need to see why it keeps losing brake fluid, I think both doors are starting to suffer structural issues.
Toyota Tercel
I need to assess whether restoration is realistic. A friend in Aus has salvaged a pair of rear quarters, so if restoration seems feasible, I need to find a way to ship those over.
At least Coronavirus leaves me with plenty of time to hide out in Wales and crack on with this lot...

that was a specially built/adapted Metro as a replacement vehicle for the user-owner of an Invacar New era DJN944  

Ever wondered what happened to this Visa you all helped to save?
The answer is it ran out of MOT and ended up needing to be saved again!
Dodgy Bastard leapt for the save when he heard of its plight, only to find the owner's brother had moved it to another location because of a traffic warden in the area. The same brother then arranged with a local garage to get it off the road and put it though an MOT, but it failed, although not badly.
Mrs6C spoke to the owner who explained while he had enjoyed his Visa over the years, he was no longer able to take care of it due to now looking after elderly parents. He wanted a good home for it long-term and offered it to Mrs6C. She agreed she would become its keeper and pay the bills to get it MOT'd and safe.
The Visa has now been MOT'd and taxed and we have paid the bills.
The plan now is to get it down south and maintain it on our fleet. Before that happens, if anybody who helped save it before wants to try it for a bit, that would be fine.
It is still parked in the street in Edinburgh, so the first move would be to collect it and park it safely off road somewhere, while we sort out the plan for folk who want to do so, to make use of it and help bring it south in due course.
We understand it drives OK and is ready to go, showing up on the DLVA  as MOTed, Taxed and insured. 
 

Without any further ado, it's time to start stripping the head. 
Rocker cover off:

Contaminated oil, that's no surprise. Also, the valve clearances are the slackest I've seen, so I'll be doing the stem seals before I set those. 
Rad out, expansion tank out, dizzy out, cam sensor out, intake out, all the pipes off the head, etc. 
I get to the point of taking the belts off, and this is the big end pulley:

The car had a cambelt about 10-12k miles and four years ago, but it's having another anyway, along with the water pump. I've got to have the cams out so might as well. 
Dad suspects when the cambelt was last done, some monkey had a chain around the pulley.
That pulley is just horrible, and also, the timing mark is in the wrong place with the cams locked TDC. That was weird. 
~wavy lines~
Remember the white Civic? 
Well, this time last year I was driving it on the M62 after doing its head gasket when it pressurised and shat all its coolant out. If it wasn't for the services a mile up that thing would have died on a smart motorway, either from being crashed into or a warped head. I'd have chosen warped head. HARD SHOULDERS ARE NECESSARY FOR SAFETY. FUCK SMART MOTORWAYS. 
I didn't trust the engine anyway so that's when I put a 1.6 VTEC in it. 
Never scrapped the old D14 though as I didn't have time. 

Thank fuck:

because that's useful. 
Rattle gunned it off, and the one on the car. 
The one on the Concerto was missing its woodruff key, and had slipped. WTF? 


The pulleys are identical, but the Japanese made D14 pulley is significantly lighter, which is a nice little bonus. That can go on the Concerto, with its key.
The old engine also yieded a dipstick, to replace a welded rod:


 
and this threaded insert which goes off to the heater matrix, as the old one was full of some sort of clag. That coolant temp sensor looks pretty fresh, too.


 
After some fucking about thanks to minor Rover/Honda design differences, the fuel rail and inlet manifold is off. Tomorrow, with the removal of an engine mount and the cambelt, the cams will be off and following them, the head. 

 
 

So, for the fourth time, I've got a HGFd D-Series. 
However, I'm told the car is clean and solid, but the car won't lock so a new set of locks have been fitted.

I'd been looking around the internet and found a few old for sale ads for the car. 
I'd also been told that a few years ago it'd been extremely well cared for, in a no expense spared sort of manner, but the owner had been forced to sell it as her elderly father who she regularly needed to cart around couldn't get in or out of it. 
She'd paid for welding, brake calipers, a cambelt, rear trailing arm bushes - everything that a Honda of this age would generally need had been done, the receipts with it proved. 

Since then it'd been owned by some JDM yo!! monkeys, one of them inexplicably painted one of the E30 rep wheels gold (?), one of them binned the rear wiper for scene points. and clearly another drove it til it cooked and binned it. 
I found an old Gumtree advert from while it was still clean that mentioned it needed a new windscreen, and it was for sale for £950/swap, and stated 'gearknob not included' as it had one of those JDM dildos. On an auto....????
The ad was dated last January,  wanky stickers in the eBay ad had appeared since then. It was driven until the MOT ran out in September, then sold and it's sat since. That's where this story starts.

So, I got it recovered here, as fuck 2-3 weeks and ££££££££££ waiting for it to be repaired to an unknown standard, and then I have to go and collect it.

This turned out to be a very good idea.... 

I like that the garage roof has been designed with a Princess in mind. 

I like that the garage roof has been designed with a Princess in mind. 

I like that the garage roof has been designed with a Princess in mind. 

This is my old one. 2.0 8 valve auto. Think it is 11 years since I sold it. Nice car. Far prettier than similarly aged cabrios. 

All is well. Driver fed and watered. Car is awesome but too dark outside to get a Woollard. 

RJC_3524 by srblythe, on Flickr
RJC_3526 by srblythe, on Flickr
RJC_3528 by srblythe, on Flickr
RJC_3529 by srblythe, on Flickr
 
Thankfully this one made it back without any issues!

This is my old one. 2.0 8 valve auto. Think it is 11 years since I sold it. Nice car. Far prettier than similarly aged cabrios. 

This is my old one. 2.0 8 valve auto. Think it is 11 years since I sold it. Nice car. Far prettier than similarly aged cabrios. 

In the 'end of year tat accounts' thread, I made mention of a 420GSi arriving on the scene (quite unexpectedly I might add). So with nothing much else happening this new year's afternoon, I'll make an introduction...

Anoraks will note the fog lamps indicate this is a Turbo, and the Coventry registration means that it was  also a Rover Group Company Vehicles car when new (27th August 1993). I do wonder if anyone ever actually ordered one of these at their Rover dealer, or did all 300 of them have a year with Rover, helping to make the price a bit more down to earth for the first proper owner? ? That aside, the first 'proper' owner was Barry - who lives in Eltham - and he took the car on in July 1994, pootling about with it right up until November 2019. Impressive! (Barry has replaced his 420 with a brand new Astra GTC). He wanted a good home for his Rover after all those years, and through various channels we were put in touch. Now, I wasn't really after another car, but some things you really can't pass up. It did mean moving on my Daewoo Espero (happily, now back on the road with its new owner!). A charitable donation was made for the car, and a day out to London planned, which went without a hitch. The drive home was exciting; you can drive it sedately and exactly how you would expect an old Rover to drive - in full-on 'grandad' mode - and it is a comfortable and relaxed thing. Put your foot on the accelerator though - in any gear, it doesn't matter, the response is the same - you are thrown forward with surprising speed. Crazy stuff!
The next week or so saw the car get some regular use to allow us to figure out just what we'd bought. The plus points are that it's quite possibly the only surviving unmolested 420 Turbo, it's all complete with everything working and it comes with twenty five years worth of bills and paperwork. The downsides are that despite Barry's admirable and generous spending on it over the years, it's not really been 'looked after' (if that makes sense). It's hardly been washed, the inside is a health hazard, and all the muck in the back arches means it'll require a date with the welder in the next year. Still, it has an MoT until August 2020 and is in fine mechanical form.
So, what next?
The first job made itself known quite quickly; It had spent all its life being parked on a steep driveway, pointing up hill. It now lives on a flat driveway in a part of the world that is nearly always raining, thus it's now soaked inside. Actually with the amount of water in the rear seat base and under the carpets, it has been leaking for some considerable time. It has just become more obvious now.

So out came the headlining and in went the dehumidifier!

It's taken a few days to clear the condensation from the roof panel, and thankfully the weather has been dry. I've taken the opportunity to cut some new gaskets for the rear lamp units, so I've eliminated one known water ingress point. Things are dry enough inside the car now to pinpoint the exact points where the water is coming in the next time we get some rain.  Sunroof is an obvious suspect, and also the top of the rear screen due to the corrosion there.


There's also a lot of silicone sealant around the top of the front screen, which is unsightly but must be doing something to help currently.

So the current state of play; I've got some black tape stuck across the top of the rear screen to try and keep the worst of the rain out. The dehumidifier is still doing it's thing, filling up every second day! I await further rain so I can investigate the sunroof some more. Either the seal against the roof panel or the drain tubes, I reckon.
Medium term plans are to clean up the interior and get some mechanical work done such as cam belt, water pump and a general service. Hopefully we can keep the worst of the weather out and be able to enjoy taking it to a few shows when the spring and summer arrive. There's an Astra in bits in the garage at the moment, so there's now some impetus to get that project completed so that the 420 can take its place later this year. In many ways the fact that it has come with such a long MoT takes the pressure off a bit, and I don't feel that I've just added an unusable wreck to the fleet. It'll be nice to show it off in its 'as found' state!
 
 
 

Pray for me

I won it from FOAD but charity roffled it pretty much immediately. Catsinthewelder won it. Lacquer peel picked it from me and it was relayed to its new home I think. I think it was reviewed by Dollywobbler en route. 
I think Catsinthewelder had plans for it. It needed an exhaust and windscreen.