messerschmitt owner

Another dilemma.

 

Do I stop pursuit of funds owed to me at the potential expense of a good friendship with someone who did me a massive favour, or do I tell the family Christmas is going to be somewhat restrained because I am not seeing the money owed?

 

Never work for a friend. Even with a watertight contract, it won’t end well

He is not a good friend if he hasn't paid what is owed!

Well, it's been a while since I did any kind of fleet update/report and I am sure the fleet has changed considerably since I last did. More importantly, while some of it is post 2000, it is pretty much all shite now.

 

We sold Mrs MO's Pug 306 within this very forum and replaces it with a Mercedes 270cdi CLK, which was a bargainous £1800*, 89,700 mile, two owner from new car in one of my favourite colours (black) and with full and comprehensive service history. What's the Merc like? Well, fwiw, I think it's the prettiest car they no longer make, still complicated but unemcumbered with the modern 'computer says  no' engineering. Certainly much less rusty than the model it replaced and a superbly comfortable cruiser. As always, with buying a new car, it has needed a few niggles sorted, the main one of which was an over zealous fan, whch has now been cured by a new coolant temp sensor. It's had a set of glow plugs as one had failed. Got to sort a couple of scrapes on the bodywork, but otherwise it's a lovely clean example.

 

I put my smart roadster light back on the road after a five year lay up and it has gone from old car to shite classic in the meantime, having reached the end of its depreciation curve and starting to head back up. The smart needed a new starter (rebuilt the old one), new alternator (replaced with the spare and had the old one rebuilt - I can recommend the Starter and Alternator Centre in Cinderford - £36 a unit rebuilt). I gave it a full C service, spark plugs, coolant, all filters, brake drums to rear, etc., and it is running beautifully. So much so, daughter and I are planning a 3000 mile round trip to Lublijana and back next year - Alps both ways, and as many countries as it is possible to visit. 

 

Messerschmitt requires a new wiring loom fitted (£190 from the owners club and delivered to me at home by a man in a fuel injected, souped up Goggomobil TS400). I have to fit it this winter and then try sort out the gear lever so I can put it back on the road.

 

Fiat 126 has gone from rusting outside to inside the garage. I need to pull the starter (sticking) and get it rebuilt - yep, you know where... It also needs some welding so I have to order an outer sill and an arch repair panel.

 

My UMM has been neglected and I am promising myself to get it back on the road.

 

Ford Transit - the one modern - just keeps going - nothing to see or report here.

 

 

 

Handbooks and history arrived yesterday, thankyou.

 

Had a cuppa whilst reading the service history

 

This one was made and sold in France but bought, imported and sold as new by a garage in London.

interestingly sold at about 2/3 the uk list price too.

I was lucky and got one of the first UK ones as a trial to help promote it. It is a cool little thing.

I’ve a fancy diagnostic called an x-gauge permanently connected via the obd socket. Battery voltage is the one I pay attention too. And I agree on the tip top battery. When I got diagnostics I bought the icarsoft one - which doesn’t do the clutch but does most other things. Handy too as a merc joins the fleet.

I’ve learned that you don’t actually need the adjustment. Third time actuator has been off. Basically, I have always put it back in the same position and within 50 miles it has self adjusted. I have to drive 30 miles to get an adjustment done anyway so have simply saved the money. I’m sure the infinitesimal difference an electronic adjust makes does help the clutch but after a short while the car ‘teaches’ itself the correct position. I’m also sure a knackered actuator does more damage than one that is working fine.

Lol £6-800 for a hardtop, £300 for the bag it goes into and £800-1000 for the suitcase. I find that you have to drive the roadster, actually thinking ahead and making sure it is in the gear you want just as you need it. If you let it do the gear changes it is hopeless but if you choose the correct gear for the roundabout or corner then it is bloody fantastic. Short ratios but intuitive when you have driven it long enough. You know what gear you want and make sure it’s in it. The change is no slower than I can do manually and is often quicker. But I never get caught out by leaving it in auto when it should be in manual mode.

 

The alternator had seized but as it had to come off to fit a new starter it was no issue. I had a spare and had the old one rebuilt so I still have a spare.

Sorry to go briefly O/T but how is the Smart Roadster doing? I rememeber that from back in the day (have a copy of The Smart Scene in front of me!). I still have my City Coupe but thoughts are turning to selling it due to lack of use.....

the smart was recommissioned this summer after a five year lay up. It’s now becoming proper shite I think and the cheapest ones are at shite prices. To put it on the road cost me an alternator and starter motor fitted at the garage plus brake drums and I gave it a full service. I’ve got some use out of the tyres that were on it but have replaced them all now. One failure to proceed only and that was a knackered clutch actuator. I changed that at £159 and 20 mins of my time. It is as much fun as I remembered and I don’t get annoyed by the gear change like the journalists all seemed to moan about. I love it and if all goes as planned I will never get rid of it. I think it’s cost me about £800 this summer but I think that should be it for a while. I will replace the rear brake shoes at some point soon as they’re getting a bit low. Strangely, it has a hardtop, the bag for the hard top and suitcase for luggage rack and if she broke terminally I could sell just those three parts and be able to afford another roadster. Such is the world of smart accessories.

PM your address and as if by magic ....

Nice to meet you and very happy that she is going to survive. Too good to scrap.

My guess was that it would have been in the same general area that I found the Mac hiding, however it seems I was mistaken. I've just got back from systematically going through every box up there marking each one as it was checked...no sign of the one I'm after.

 

This is starting to annoy me now.

maybe you’ve got my cleaner working for you. I’m sure she won’t like the criminal record she’s going to end up with.

Weather was good and the roof was bone dry so popped hard too on for Tom.

DSpares won’t be disappointed. They’re huge fun and go very well it’s 135 horses and half the metal of a hatch. They’re also just beautiful to look at.

well, I think worst case scenario is scrap and sell the roof for more than its cost. With a quarter tank of fuel, it'll be free to get home. I want to see it saved and for that it needs to go to someone who can do chunks of the work needed themselves. It'll be good for another 50k miles too. With the hardtop on, it'll last the winter and give a chance to do the work needed for its December MoT and fix the roof in the spring. Look forward to seeing it survive. And, like all pug convertibles up to and including the 306, it is a lovely thing to look at.

Excellent.  Very fair pricing and hopefully off to another shiter.  Incidentally my 306 Cabriolet remains untouched in "the car that hated you most" category.  It just loathed my existence and did everything it could to make me fall out of love with it very quickly.

 

Tell me more about the CLK.... I'm massive fan of them. Got this honey a month ago.  

 

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The CLK is a 2004, one owner from new with 89000 miles. Full service history, and coming with three months warranty, and an oil/filter service. Not the best equipped one I have seen, but like the Pug (bought with 24k miles four and a bit years ago), I do like one owner, well maintained cars for some strange reason. The MoT history is good - one fail on exhaust gases last MoT, so I am assuming a new exhaust is on it. There is but one advisory on the entire MoT history too. Oh, and it's not silver, so bonus colour content! Was £1800 with three month warranty.

Currently provisionally sold.

did I mention MoT till mid December and a quarter tank of fuel.

depends on what you want - I'd rescue the battery (swapping out its old dead one), stereo and a few other bits anyway as my local scrapyard will simply crush it. It is too good for that.

 

Currently owning a pair of these fine beast's, if anyone does take it on and needs any advice on sorting the roof or any other issues, feel free to give me a shout.☺️
I'd love to buy it myself but I fear I'm pushing my missus's Peugeot patience far enough at the minute!
If there is no interest would you sell some parts from it before scrapping?

the hydraulic hoses for the roof are £300 new if I remember correctly, for the pipes, less secondhand, I guess. The cabrio is basically a 2.0gti. You do get scuttle shake but it's nothing like a Vx Ashtray cabrio. The Pug is well built, goes like sh*t off a shovel and is relatively economical when pootling about. It also looks gorgeous. I would like it saved, it's just the money needing spent on it isn't justified unless you can do most of the work yourself. There is a spare roof - good only for handles, lining and the zip out rear window. I can get £100-125 for the hard top on its own and will do, if I scrap the car, but the tango/blue looks quite cool.

 

Campbell, how much would the roof be?

I doubt I can get this on classic insurance but I'll check.

Of all the 306s I've owned, I've never owned a van or cabrio.

OK, the Pug is being replaced on Monday with a one owner 89000 mile Merc CLK. She is uneconomical to repair at the local garage after my wife's cack-handed driving and general abuse of what was once a very smart and pretty convertible.I have a quote for scrap and it's £130, so I am not going to advertise for £300 or the scrap man gets it. It will be £130. Numberplate will be on retention later today and will revert to its original 52 plate number.

 

So, the bad bits:

clutch is expiring and hasn't got long.

needs a full service - badly! Some oil filters will come with car.

roof has a hydraulic pipe leak and rear window is knackered (spare ripped roof with good window (they zip out) available with car.

Two dents to rear

speaker trim and speaker on passenger side door buggered.

crack in windscreen that won't pass an MoT.

 

good points:

one careful owner and then my wife from new

two recent front tyres

49600 miles - yes, totally genuine mileage.

has an orange hardtop and fitting kit available for extra £70 - makes it look like a jaffa cake missing the chocolate but still looks cool IMHO. This offer is only available if you take the car - I will advertise the roof priced more sensibly if the car goes for scrap.

 

Has potential to be a nice car again - and these cabrios are very pretty.

 

Car located in the Forest of Dean. Available from Sunday.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Heinkel-Trojan-bubble-car-needs-restoration-BARN-FIND-spares-or-repair/122608795933

 

 

Nah man. What it needs is the coup de grâce.

For a Heinkel, that is bloody good! Easily restorable with new panels. And an engine is no problem. I'd rock that!

If they're >1kg I'd say Hermes is best bet.

Up that a kilogram - 2kg is where Royal Mail stops being cheapest and most convenient.

Goddamit I knew it had to be a joke   

sorry, had to be done....

Pictures or it didn't happen. I'm wary of Autoshite's dark sarcastic humour.

I have just been and checked again and it seems even the canvas repair on the C post has disappeared. I never knew the rust was so bad in these that the whole roof simply vanishes.

After reading this thread, I went out and checked the same point in my wife's Peugeot 306. I fear the worst as I have discovered her car has absolutely no metal whatsoever in the C post on either side and someone seems to have made a 'makeshift repair' using cloth in this area of the car.

I went to Fareham on the train last September with debit card and viewed a five year old Transit - was driving it home an hour after being picked up at the train station, having thrown a day's insurance on it and taxed it online.