mat_the_cat

Is that not just because they were French?

Thought I should probably start a thread, given that a few people have suggested it. For my sins, my first car was a 1985 Hyundai Stellar. Bought back in 1997, when the sun still shone, I had more hair, and the world was generally a better place.
 
This may be the earliest photo I have, I think from 1998:
 

 
Anyway, I drove everywhere in it, and clocked up over 100k miles before I was given an Alfa Romeo 75. So I took the Stellar off the road for some much needed TLC. Made some progress on it - Rebuilt all the suspension, fitted a rebuilt Cortina* rear axle, Princess 4 pot front calipers and Capri vented discs etc - before a couple of house moves and renovations put it on the back burner.
 
* before anyone says they are identical underneath, there are some differences. I fitted a replacement axle fairly early on in my ownership, only to fit that not only was the propshaft flange the wrong size, the UJ was totally different so I couldn't even fit a new yoke. Finding a company on the day before New Year's Eve who could cut off the end, weld a new UJ on and balance it wasn't too easy, especially one that was accessible by push bike!
 
Anyway, late last year I found some renewed motivation, and have been working on it when time and money permit. Here is what it looked like in October:
 
 
OMG barn find?

 
Front suspension OK at first glance...
 

 
...but it has turned out the calipers had seized (so are away being rebuilt) and all the (brand new) ball joint boots had perished:

 
 
Quite a bit of welding is needed too, but I had a setback just before Christmas when we were burgled and my welder stolen
 

 
Crusty roof rail

 
I've cleared some of the crap away from it now (it's not stored at mine - I'd love to own somewhere that big!) so might be able to get more photos. Currently working on the rear brakes, and disappointed to find that the shotblasted rear axle is now starting to rust after two coats of POR15 and 7 years storage under cover...
 

This. Output drops hugely with voltage (I've got the formula somewhere).
 
 
 
It's more difficult to weld neatly than mild steel, but is perfectly possibly using stainless MIG wire and argon gas. The part about rusting more quickly can be true, but it depends on what the composition of the stainless and the wire is. Basically you need the wire to be a higher grade (more chromium) than the bulk stainless steel, as some will be depleted in the weld to form chromium carbides. If the level drops to such that the steel is no longer classed as stainless, well you can guess what happens!

Buy it for epic shite collecting missions
 
After Years Of Loyal Service This Transit Was Put Out Of It's Misery by Bobert's Photostream, on Flickr

My wife bought a red 6 month old colour collection (Y reg) not long after we first started going out, it wasn't a bad little car and drove really but I never jelled to it, i found it a bit agricultural for the age of the car at the time, still considering it's size we did manage to have sex it it a few times. 

Thanks I dread to think of the time and money I've put into it! Probably the most expensive bit was the windscreen which had to be custom made, but fortunately not out of my own pocket. It was early 2006 and I had decided to weld up a few holes in the panel below the winscreen, using a genuine Hyundai panel I had managed to obtain. I checked with Autoglass to see if windscreens were still available and they had one in stock, so seeing as they didn't charge any extra for removing on top of the supply and fit charge, I got them to take the old one out. This was a wise move.
 
I finished the welding and arranged for them to refit the new screen. At this point we had sold the house where the car was and were living in rented accommodation some 150 miles away, so I went down for the weekend when they were due to visit. I was most pissed off to get a phone call saying they they were very sorry, but had damaged the screen when putting it on the van, and to make matters worse they, nor Hyundai had any replacements. Neither did any other glass fitter I tried. Fortunately I forcibly argued my point that as they took the screen out, they were responsible for putting one in at no extra cost to me, so they agreed to get one made. I think the cost was into four figures...
 
 
In a nutshell, all the suspension, hubs, brakes etc. The front clip is similar and swappable with a Cortina, but slightly different in that the camber is adjustable - the lower bolt has a slotted hole and an eccentric washer on each end to move the lower wishbone in or out. Maybe this was to cope with larger production tolerances than Ford?
 
They started off building Cortinas under licence, so presumably wanted to use up any inventory of parts they had. Even the gauges were Lucas designed, and made in the UK although I don't know if they are similar to Ford items.
 

 
From the 1987 model year they moved to a MacPherson strut front end, and added a Panhard rod to the rear axle, as well as updating the interior slightly.

Feast your eyes on this, erm, vision of loveliness!

^ Hey, haven't we got a Charmant and a Solara in our midst too? Recreating that test could be fun*. Looks like you're doing a Stellar job of restoring that, keep up the good work.

I've been thinking, when I do get it back on the road, what to do about paintwork? Although the body is pretty solid there's a bit of rot around the rear wheel arches, and doors/bonnet/boot lid are all from a mint donor car I bought in 2004 which was a non matching gold colour. So leaving it unpainted will look shit.
 
I'd probably want to keep it mainly silver, but later in its life I went for the two tone look which I think it looked quite smart. Found this old photo (sorry for the quality) so you get the idea:
 

(Notice my old bike on the back of the car, together with my girlfriend (now wife) and her 205 XS. I was helping her move house, hence the trailer with bed in it!)
 
Thing is, it's normally done (as it was in my case) to hide rust - matt black covers a multitude of sins - so am having second thoughts...any opinions?
 
When looking through the old photos I also found one of the engine, looking quite clean under there so must have been not long after I bought it!

 

Thanks I dread to think of the time and money I've put into it! Probably the most expensive bit was the windscreen which had to be custom made, but fortunately not out of my own pocket. It was early 2006 and I had decided to weld up a few holes in the panel below the winscreen, using a genuine Hyundai panel I had managed to obtain. I checked with Autoglass to see if windscreens were still available and they had one in stock, so seeing as they didn't charge any extra for removing on top of the supply and fit charge, I got them to take the old one out. This was a wise move.
 
I finished the welding and arranged for them to refit the new screen. At this point we had sold the house where the car was and were living in rented accommodation some 150 miles away, so I went down for the weekend when they were due to visit. I was most pissed off to get a phone call saying they they were very sorry, but had damaged the screen when putting it on the van, and to make matters worse they, nor Hyundai had any replacements. Neither did any other glass fitter I tried. Fortunately I forcibly argued my point that as they took the screen out, they were responsible for putting one in at no extra cost to me, so they agreed to get one made. I think the cost was into four figures...
 
 
In a nutshell, all the suspension, hubs, brakes etc. The front clip is similar and swappable with a Cortina, but slightly different in that the camber is adjustable - the lower bolt has a slotted hole and an eccentric washer on each end to move the lower wishbone in or out. Maybe this was to cope with larger production tolerances than Ford?
 
They started off building Cortinas under licence, so presumably wanted to use up any inventory of parts they had. Even the gauges were Lucas designed, and made in the UK although I don't know if they are similar to Ford items.
 

 
From the 1987 model year they moved to a MacPherson strut front end, and added a Panhard rod to the rear axle, as well as updating the interior slightly.

Feast your eyes on this, erm, vision of loveliness!

Thought I should probably start a thread, given that a few people have suggested it. For my sins, my first car was a 1985 Hyundai Stellar. Bought back in 1997, when the sun still shone, I had more hair, and the world was generally a better place.
 
This may be the earliest photo I have, I think from 1998:
 

 
Anyway, I drove everywhere in it, and clocked up over 100k miles before I was given an Alfa Romeo 75. So I took the Stellar off the road for some much needed TLC. Made some progress on it - Rebuilt all the suspension, fitted a rebuilt Cortina* rear axle, Princess 4 pot front calipers and Capri vented discs etc - before a couple of house moves and renovations put it on the back burner.
 
* before anyone says they are identical underneath, there are some differences. I fitted a replacement axle fairly early on in my ownership, only to fit that not only was the propshaft flange the wrong size, the UJ was totally different so I couldn't even fit a new yoke. Finding a company on the day before New Year's Eve who could cut off the end, weld a new UJ on and balance it wasn't too easy, especially one that was accessible by push bike!
 
Anyway, late last year I found some renewed motivation, and have been working on it when time and money permit. Here is what it looked like in October:
 
 
OMG barn find?

 
Front suspension OK at first glance...
 

 
...but it has turned out the calipers had seized (so are away being rebuilt) and all the (brand new) ball joint boots had perished:

 
 
Quite a bit of welding is needed too, but I had a setback just before Christmas when we were burgled and my welder stolen
 

 
Crusty roof rail

 
I've cleared some of the crap away from it now (it's not stored at mine - I'd love to own somewhere that big!) so might be able to get more photos. Currently working on the rear brakes, and disappointed to find that the shotblasted rear axle is now starting to rust after two coats of POR15 and 7 years storage under cover...
 

Thought I should probably start a thread, given that a few people have suggested it. For my sins, my first car was a 1985 Hyundai Stellar. Bought back in 1997, when the sun still shone, I had more hair, and the world was generally a better place.
 
This may be the earliest photo I have, I think from 1998:
 

 
Anyway, I drove everywhere in it, and clocked up over 100k miles before I was given an Alfa Romeo 75. So I took the Stellar off the road for some much needed TLC. Made some progress on it - Rebuilt all the suspension, fitted a rebuilt Cortina* rear axle, Princess 4 pot front calipers and Capri vented discs etc - before a couple of house moves and renovations put it on the back burner.
 
* before anyone says they are identical underneath, there are some differences. I fitted a replacement axle fairly early on in my ownership, only to fit that not only was the propshaft flange the wrong size, the UJ was totally different so I couldn't even fit a new yoke. Finding a company on the day before New Year's Eve who could cut off the end, weld a new UJ on and balance it wasn't too easy, especially one that was accessible by push bike!
 
Anyway, late last year I found some renewed motivation, and have been working on it when time and money permit. Here is what it looked like in October:
 
 
OMG barn find?

 
Front suspension OK at first glance...
 

 
...but it has turned out the calipers had seized (so are away being rebuilt) and all the (brand new) ball joint boots had perished:

 
 
Quite a bit of welding is needed too, but I had a setback just before Christmas when we were burgled and my welder stolen
 

 
Crusty roof rail

 
I've cleared some of the crap away from it now (it's not stored at mine - I'd love to own somewhere that big!) so might be able to get more photos. Currently working on the rear brakes, and disappointed to find that the shotblasted rear axle is now starting to rust after two coats of POR15 and 7 years storage under cover...
 

For a mate's stag weekend we bought a few scrappers from a scrapyard (a Ka being one of them) and basically just razzed them round until they died. I unfortunately clipped a telegraph pole...
 

 
...which pulled the lower suspension arm out...

 
...and rolled the car

For a mate's stag weekend we bought a few scrappers from a scrapyard (a Ka being one of them) and basically just razzed them round until they died. I unfortunately clipped a telegraph pole...
 

 
...which pulled the lower suspension arm out...

 
...and rolled the car

For a mate's stag weekend we bought a few scrappers from a scrapyard (a Ka being one of them) and basically just razzed them round until they died. I unfortunately clipped a telegraph pole...
 

 
...which pulled the lower suspension arm out...

 
...and rolled the car

Feast your eyes on this, erm, vision of loveliness!

Thought I should probably start a thread, given that a few people have suggested it. For my sins, my first car was a 1985 Hyundai Stellar. Bought back in 1997, when the sun still shone, I had more hair, and the world was generally a better place.
 
This may be the earliest photo I have, I think from 1998:
 

 
Anyway, I drove everywhere in it, and clocked up over 100k miles before I was given an Alfa Romeo 75. So I took the Stellar off the road for some much needed TLC. Made some progress on it - Rebuilt all the suspension, fitted a rebuilt Cortina* rear axle, Princess 4 pot front calipers and Capri vented discs etc - before a couple of house moves and renovations put it on the back burner.
 
* before anyone says they are identical underneath, there are some differences. I fitted a replacement axle fairly early on in my ownership, only to fit that not only was the propshaft flange the wrong size, the UJ was totally different so I couldn't even fit a new yoke. Finding a company on the day before New Year's Eve who could cut off the end, weld a new UJ on and balance it wasn't too easy, especially one that was accessible by push bike!
 
Anyway, late last year I found some renewed motivation, and have been working on it when time and money permit. Here is what it looked like in October:
 
 
OMG barn find?

 
Front suspension OK at first glance...
 

 
...but it has turned out the calipers had seized (so are away being rebuilt) and all the (brand new) ball joint boots had perished:

 
 
Quite a bit of welding is needed too, but I had a setback just before Christmas when we were burgled and my welder stolen
 

 
Crusty roof rail

 
I've cleared some of the crap away from it now (it's not stored at mine - I'd love to own somewhere that big!) so might be able to get more photos. Currently working on the rear brakes, and disappointed to find that the shotblasted rear axle is now starting to rust after two coats of POR15 and 7 years storage under cover...
 

Thanks I dread to think of the time and money I've put into it! Probably the most expensive bit was the windscreen which had to be custom made, but fortunately not out of my own pocket. It was early 2006 and I had decided to weld up a few holes in the panel below the winscreen, using a genuine Hyundai panel I had managed to obtain. I checked with Autoglass to see if windscreens were still available and they had one in stock, so seeing as they didn't charge any extra for removing on top of the supply and fit charge, I got them to take the old one out. This was a wise move.
 
I finished the welding and arranged for them to refit the new screen. At this point we had sold the house where the car was and were living in rented accommodation some 150 miles away, so I went down for the weekend when they were due to visit. I was most pissed off to get a phone call saying they they were very sorry, but had damaged the screen when putting it on the van, and to make matters worse they, nor Hyundai had any replacements. Neither did any other glass fitter I tried. Fortunately I forcibly argued my point that as they took the screen out, they were responsible for putting one in at no extra cost to me, so they agreed to get one made. I think the cost was into four figures...
 
 
In a nutshell, all the suspension, hubs, brakes etc. The front clip is similar and swappable with a Cortina, but slightly different in that the camber is adjustable - the lower bolt has a slotted hole and an eccentric washer on each end to move the lower wishbone in or out. Maybe this was to cope with larger production tolerances than Ford?
 
They started off building Cortinas under licence, so presumably wanted to use up any inventory of parts they had. Even the gauges were Lucas designed, and made in the UK although I don't know if they are similar to Ford items.
 

 
From the 1987 model year they moved to a MacPherson strut front end, and added a Panhard rod to the rear axle, as well as updating the interior slightly.

These billy bullshitters who achieve supercar performance from shopping carts once they've swapped the backbox for a lidless pedal bin and stuffed an airfilter shaped like a muffin case behind a headlamp, well there's actually a mental illness going on there. If you encounter a few of them you'll notice quite striking similarities in their mannerisms when they assume Billy Liar mode, one or both corners of the mouth retracts just slightly and their speech slows a little while the voice deepens. Their stories are mostly not contrived by themselves but repeated from another source, and this is the freaky bit, in spite of presenting as somewhat dim, these fuckers can recount their fruity tales exactly word for word like skinbag dictaphones.
I've studied a few of them, the first subject of my research I remember fairly well as I worked with the loser for a few years. He used to get 200 MPH from his fathers tuned Jag which had gold plated wheelnuts and all the rest, strangely the car in question looked awfully like a Fiat Panda that had at best a flash of zinc on the wheelbolts. He would do night time ton ups on a beach in his brothers Merc and burn a tankful between services whilst breaking the land speed record. His brother drove an Escort.
One Friday we all went to a trade evening, load of shit but one of the suppliers gave us a wodge of free beer tokens, the bullshit started a few days beforehand, 'going to go in the Renault Turbo, bring the old boy to drive home so I can have a few', '180MPH!', 'Cobra alarm!' etc.. On the day, up rocks a yellow turbo (19 I think it was), driven by the father in law, well, it was his car. Well maybe. This chap only turns out to be a parallel serial bullshitter, we have dueling bullshitters going on and tonights subject is this FUCKING Renault with it's THREE separate alarm systems fitted as being so wonderful and desirable a car even the most honest man wouldn't be able to resist it, 180MPH! blah, BOOST! blah. Once the beer tokens ran out a few of us left together, found Billy and Billy in law standing in front of an empty parking bay, both on the phone to the police, I laughed until I nearly passed out, too much beer and fresh air had already got me halfway there, composed myself down to a mild giggle, then one of the Billys started explaining to the police in great detail why none of their cars were fast enough to catch the Renault I puked with laughter.

The man has enough balls, if not enough wheels.

Domestic management has a friend who is full of the most spectacular bullshit. His crowning glory while I was present was claiming he used to own a 1.4 litre Vauxhall Nova which he and his friends fitted with Nitrous Oxide and on a dyno* it put out 780 (seven hundred and eighty) BHP. Apparently he could never drive it on the road because it was 'too powerful and tore up the tarmac' when he accelerated.
 
He is a massive bell end and is full of the most shit I've ever heard. I hope he dies of AIDS soon, since he has an overwhelming desire to mate with anything that moves, but its an amusing story nonetheless. The 780bhp nova has become the yardstick of all performance motoring between Brutha_stanky and me.
 
None of the other vehicles on here could possibly match the might of the imaginary 780bhp Nova. 
 
ALLVOXALLSRMADEUPSUPRCARZ

Don't you like the auto?

I was impressed with an indicated 130 from my camper van though that was KmPH
 
Previous owner claims that the Austin will hit the ton if you fold the mirror in and have a very long road,  I have too much mechanical sympathy to find out.
 

Every 17 year old should have one of these.
 
I see an autoshite trip to the Monaco Grand Prix in the offing. We'll park this on the T jetty beside abramovich and co, get the deck chairs out and watch the race with a tin of Tennents: Awesome.