project 1980 Austin Princess - Nearly Exploded (Probably)

[crapcarcollector]

You certainly have the motivation thats for sure. I really hope it works out well for you in the end insurance wise. I never wanted to piss on your bonfire or dampen your spirit. This thread has been a gripping read, In fact if you need any help straightening that leg with a porta power I will come round for a cuppa tea with mine.(depending on where you are of course!).

 

Best of luck, and don't let the bastards grind you down.

 

[dieselnutjob]

so are you saying it isn't cat B on the DVLA/insurance/whatever database?

that would make a huge difference

[Volksy]

Are the insurance company stumping up the costs for recovery and storage? Surely that's part of YOUR side of the claim... Have they told you how much it will be?

[trigger]

Is it recorded as it will need to be vic checked before it can go on the road although if it's been classed as Cat B, even if the claims cancelled then your in shit street with it.

 

You need it in writing that there's nothing recorded on record, I have a feeling you've shot yourself in the foot cancelling this claim though, you'll going to cop a massive storage charge if your unlucky and still ended up with a worthless pile of BL tin in the driveway.

 

I would have taken the £1000 or whatever they offered, and walked away from the whole situation and spent the money on a nice Maestro.

[vulgalour]

I have in writing that no additional fees are incurred and that the car is not recorded on the Total Loss register.

 

Car is coming home on Monday at a cost of £40.

 

I will probably be part exchanging the Princess for a Maestro as I can either afford to repair the Princess or buy a car to get me to work and back, but not both. The Princess will be with an enthusiast and restorer of BL stuff and in the company of at least one brown Ital and one other Princess.

 

For all the doom and gloom, it looks like it's actually turned out okay.

[Wilko220]

A fantastic conclusion. Well done for persevering.

[Angrydicky]

Great stuff. Shame you can't afford both, could you pop the Princess in the garage and gradually collect panels while buying a Maestro in the meantime to use as a daily? If you save up cash then in a few months time you could book maybe a week off work and blitz the Princess' bodywork. Well that's what I'd do anyway, but as long as it's going to be saved, I'm happy.

[trigger]

Brilliant news!, Good that it's all in writing too.

[vulgalour]

@Angry: I'd love to keep her and fix her myself, but I may well be able to get a decent reduction on the price of the Maestro I'm off to see and get the Princess restored by the new owner who is a professional restorer with the hinted opportunity to swap back with cash at a later date. The guy with the Maestro has already bought the Maestro back twice after selling it, you see, and he's decided that my Princess should not be allowed to be scrapped and should be saved if possible, or used to help another few live.

 

@trigger: The only reason I have anything in writing is because I was having a nightmare getting through to the insurer on the phone. Eventually, we resorted to e-mail and therefore everything is in writing, which is fantastic news for me. I've gone from fearing the worst to feeling sad about parting with an old friend but happy that she'll have a chance to carry on in some way or other.

 

What a rollercoaster this has been though, and I've learned so many lessons that previously had only been hearsay and rumour to me.

[coalnotdole]

Seems like the best outcome given the circumstances. Even though you've lost out in financial terms at least you've found a way to avoid the cat B and given the car another chance to live on...

[skattrd]

Glad things are working out for you VA and the Princess will live, albeit elsewhere.

[Spiny Norman]

Just add to what everyone else is saying, that's as good an outcome as you could have hoped under the circumstances. I've loved reading your resto thread on this car and it's great to hear that it's going to someone who'll hopefully put it back together and keep up the good work you started.

[Split_Pin]

Great outcome, all things considered of course. I'm glad the Princess will not go to waste.

 

Enjoy your new Maestro when you take ownership of it

[vulgalour]

Princess comes home tomorrow...

 

 

 

 

[vulgalour]

I've just got back from an eventful morning. Turned up at Pentagon Mansfield at the appointed time of 08:30. Gave the flatbed driver a call to let him know, and he then told me that he didn't think I wanted him to move the car because I hadn't called him... which is odd, because I'm fairly sure I had, but maybe I didn't, I have been dropping a few things lately by accident due to having a lot on. So, he then said he could be over in an hour, was I okay to wait? I was... then he called to ask if the Princess really did weigh getting on for 2 tonnes because if it did, it wouldn't fit on his lorry. It does. It wouldn't fit on his lorry.

 

Right. He gave me the number for a friend of his with a bigger truck, but he couldn't come out and even if he did it would have cost me at least £100. Brilliant. Spoke to the guys at Pentagon, explained the situation and they could get the car home for £90, which is what I had to do. Drama I could've done without really.

 

Got to the Princess, pumped the flat tyre up, checked the others, pulled out the choke, turned the key and she sprang into life immediately. That was a fantastic feeling. The crash damage looks nowhere near as bad as I remember it doing when it happened. Stuck her in first, back brakes were a little stuck from being sat with the handbrake on for a month and something was making sloshy noises. Set off and water came pouring out of the passenger foot vent which is usually the drivers side trick. Oh well. Started pulling out and realised I needed to reverse a bit because of having the turning circle of Vatican City and then reverse just refused to happen.

 

Now, I've had the reverse gear selection in the past on this car, but this time she just plain wouldn't go into reverse at all, which is very strange and a bit of a nuisance. Eventually, with the help of the new recovery truck driver, we got her out of the car park and onto the truck then set off home with me following in the Maestro. I had a grin on my face the whole way home. Got back without incident, unloaded, paid the man the money I owed which I only had because the Council had made a surprise payment for some money they owed me (I know!) that I didn't know about and put her away in the garage.

 

It felt good to get her back home. The smell, the feel, the look of the car, it's all just how I want it to be. Now I have to do the important thing of getting it all fixed again so she can return to the road anew but this time, I'm in no rush because I don't have to rely on her as my daily.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Theres no way a Princess weighs nearly 2 tonnes, I say 1200-1300kg

[vulgalour]

I've always been under the impression they weighed just shy of 2 tonnes/tons (I don't know which is correct here).

[flat4alfa]

Octane Car Specs, he say

 

Weight: 1089kgs

 

Which is likely the B-series or O-Series and not the E-series or any other contraption.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

No way, a Volvo 240 estate is only about 1350kg. I’d bet a 4-cyl manual Princess weighs less than 1200 actually.

[vulgalour]

Well... I didn't like that £50 anyway, probably better of without it.

[whitevanman]

From some dodgy kewi site

 

official base curb weight 1160 kg / 2557 lbs, gross weight GVWR 1565 kg / 3450 lbs

[vulgalour]

I think from this we can likely conclude that he didn't want to do the job then and/or I was ill informed as to my car's weight. Expensive way to learn it, either way.

[trigger]

What Car? magazine says it weighs 21.3 CWT, what ever that is in English.

[keef]

What Car? magazine says it weighs 21.3 CWT, what ever that is in English.

 

1082 Kg - http://www.convertunits.com/from/cwt/to/kilo

[trigger]

There you go then, a little over a ton like fiat4alfa said, and that's from a 1980 issue of the magazine too.

[Split_Pin]

Glad you got it home again, quite an event.

 

Onwards and upwards as they say now.

[Des]

Do you still want the front lamp sending? I actually thought of it today and dug it out from a big messy pile at my unit, then forgot to bring it with me.

[Morgan84]

Does this now mean she is staying with you,and not being re-homed ? I hope if she is staying you manage to get her back as you want her and enjoy driving her again

 

Are you going to leave the 'donor' Princess for now until funds are more favorable ?

[rml2345]

This hasn't half been a roller coaster VA, but I'm glad the Princess is home.

Look forward to the mending whenever it happens

[flat4alfa]

There you go then, a little over a ton like fiat4alfa said

Cheers Trogger

 

Who's this fiat4alfa?

 

Must be an imposter!