Why did your shite survive?

[HMC]

Its been very easy for your Porsche 911s of this world to survive decades. High quality build, strong residuals, rich owners, sparing use, loads of enthusiasts-  911s have got it easy!

 

Life was very different for the kind of cars cars we like. Before they were even built, accountants and designers usually costed away rustproofing, materials quality, and often engineering intergrity.

What they didnt do, owners' abuse and neglect,  decades of rock bottom residuals  and the MOT tester with his little hammer and skint owners took care of the rest.

 

One look at how many left? tells the story. Statistically they simply shouldnt still be here.

 

image from https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS2X7IAUs5hJjGvV6EBHhzcbe95fmfqj8h1SpTixvShOmgCdW1C

 

So whats the story with your car? a long term giffer owner? left in a shed for years? A series of switched on owners or plain luck? Maybe you were the person that saved your car from becoming another statistic? 

[trigger]

The Cortina had the same owner from 1976 until 2011 when he retired from driving, keeping the car garaged and the same with the Civic, same husband and wife owners from new (1976) who again kept it garaged, it's done less then 10000 miles since 1986 which I'm sure saved it from going through cheap old banger territory to collectable classic.

[Jim Bell]

Shite survives for one reason only.

 

Nice old men in cloth caps who remember what it's like to have nothing, and value what they have.

[Split_Pin]

I think the above is really the only way a car will survives. As soon as it starts changing hands, unless it's got 9 lives, sooner or later it will descend into neglect, have a skint owner or get broken for parts.

[vulgalour]

Exhibit A:  1980 Austin Morris Princess 1.7 HL

Used regularly until the early 90s when it was bought by a garage who subsequently restored it to the usual 90s standard.  On paper, a pampered life of 300-500 miles a year, probably just going to shows, but with little attention to the real problems.  Taxed for only 6 months out of 12 normally and spend much of this time under cover, most likely.  Eventually it was sold to another enthusiast who kept it in much the same way but, when space was tight, it was sold again to the owner before me.  An attempt to push the car into regular use highlighted many issues and keeping the car outside on the drive must have been a shock to its system.  Really, this should have been the end, the car was (with the benefit of hindsight) in a bit of a bad way and needed a good amount of investment of time, effort and some money.  I stepped in and made a start only to then almost put the final nail in the coffin when bumping into a van on the way to an MoT.  Against all the odds I persevered, fixed the car with a Maestro and other primitive tools and am still enjoying driving it to this day.

 

Exhibit B: 1981 Austin Morris Princess 2.0HLS

Used even more regularly than Exhibit A, this car has done twice the mileage until 1996/7 when it was laid up due to something serious, most likely head gasket failure.  Looking pretty rough it was rescued to be used as a spare car but nothing happened until the car was offered for free.  It was likely going to get scrapped or broken for parts but I took it on and am in the process of restoring it slowly.  It's solid where it needs to be and will see the road again hopefully in the near future.

 

Exhibit C: 1983/4 Volkswagen Golf GL Cabriolet 1.6

Used regularly up until the late 90s/early 2000s and with signs it may have had a replacement engine before some poor modification and abuse saw it sold and stashed in a field for three years awaiting its fate.  I bought it, undid much of the poor modification work and then sold/swapped it with my brother for Exhibit B.  My brother took a few weeks with help from one of his friends to get it sorted out and the car is now on the road with MoT, tax, insurance and a surprisingly smooth and quiet engine being used regularly for everything.

[brickwall]

Shite survives for one reason only.

 

 

 

 

Aye, the MIG welder

[cort16]

It's the dark years of them being bangers and their owners at this time that makes the difference. In 5 years we'll be wondering where all the mk2 mondeos went as only ones locked away or cherished by their owners will survive.

[UmBongo]

Mine was garaged daaan saaaf for over twenty years and very well looked after by it's first owner.

 

It wasn't really used for the last ten years and only rolled out for it's MOT and annual service.

 

It's still not perfect, mind you, but what car is?

[Micrashed]

Its only 14 years old

Its still new yet.

[Angrydicky]

The Maestro had one elderly owner until 2010 who always kept it garaged. Despite the 29,000 miles on the clock, the wheelarches were starting to rust due to a build up of mud which hadn't been cleaned out.

 

 

This was laid up in a garage in 1979 with only 30,000 miles on the clock and one elderly owner for 20 years, who religiously kept it garaged and never took it out if there was a hint of rain. It then passed into the hands of someone else who did nothing but store it and I bought it from him. Never been welded.

 

 

This was garaged from 1975 when I bought it, with the same owner from 1959 to 2011. I think it was ungaraged before 1975 though, as it's a bit ropey in places.

 

 

The history of this isn't really known before the late 1970's, although there's only one owner on the original buff logbook so possibly only two owners before my dad bought it in '86. By the late 1980's it had been resprayed purple with a white roof and a duck sticker on the boot! It had also had cover sills welded over the rusty originals, one of which it still sports now, although I've patched it in a couple of places and it's just about due for replacement. It's been parked outside in all weathers for about 16 years of my family's ownership, has of course had plenty of welding and paintwork but it still looks reasonable.

 

 

And I know this was parked outside from 1988-2011, and I suspect it stood outside since at least 1980 as it had new sills fitted in that year and the bodywork was starting to get rough, according to the owner at the time.The paint on the roof was already crazed and rusty from years of rain landing on the roof! Sadly, unlike the car above the owner of this one couldn't weld so every year at the MoT when it inevitably failed on yet more welding he paid garages and mobile welders to patch the car up to get it through the test. Of course they just slapped yet another plate over the rust and by the time I got hold of it the underside was a mess of plates, fibreglass and poorly fitted repair sections, like the new outrigger box section that had been welded over the rusty drivers floor. Why did this one survive? I think it survived until I got it because it was very good mechanically and a particularly good Cambridge to drive. Why did it survive my ownership? Because I'm mad and used it to learn MIG welding, no one else would have bothered restoring such a rotten and bodged example. I'm also a sucker for lost causes and couldn't bear to be the one who scrapped it after 52 years of loyal service and surviving against the odds.

 

 

Front inner wing with three layers.

 

 

 

I think the moral of this story is...

 

If you own an old car the best thing you can do is garage it. If you can't:

 

1. Keep it clean

2. Regularly clean the mud out of the wheelarches.

3. Try and prevent water leaks.

4. Dinitrol the box sections, and keep an eye on the underside for any flaking underseal.

5. Learn to weld, and cut out the rot. If you pay a garage or welder to do your welding, make sure they are actually going to cut out the rust first, not just slap a plate/plates over it!

6. Don't stuff rust holes with fibreglass/filler/newspaper/expanding foam (delete as appropriate).

[DaveAspley]

My Ford Tempo, bought second hand in 1990, transported to the UK by a Canadian chap retiring to Lancashire (possible war veteran?) Who then died and left the car languishing for several years til it was snapped up and then resold on eBay to me with only 38000 kms on it. Now at 41000 and fully waxoyled!

[catsinthewelder]

Our BX is 25 and AFAIK spent it's first 21 years living in London with a French lady who had it serviced regually and generally looked after it.  It spent a year or so as an old banger with someone else before RobT bought it and tidied it back up.

 

The Austin ended up painted all over in underseal and black Hammerite with some old guy before going to a family who lived and breathed ADO16's.  They got it roadworthy again and sold it to a chap in London who stripped most of the paint off before loosing his storage and having to get rid.  The family bought it back cheaply to save it from the bridge and drove it back to Nottingham in bare metal before spraying it purple as they had 5 litres in the garage.  It turned up on the tat thread when I was supposed to be shopping for a diesel estate and it's been here for 3 years.

 

The VW started life as a minibus in West Germany and was converted to a camper at 5 years old.  9 years later it was imported to the UK and lived in London until the owner died and left it to a friend.   She couldn't drive so left it in a field on a hippy commune for at least 5 years until we bought it for the price of a laptop on condition that we get it back on the road.

[plasticvandan]

most of my Reliants survived because the scrapman wouldnt take them

[phil_lihp]

The 220 is only still here due to sheer bloodyminded determination by Mr_Bo11ox to put it back to rude health after a gentle life between 1994 and 2009 with its original owner couldn't save it from poor garage repairs.  I'm fairly sure the big but easy miles it clocked up after that were probably better for it than being sat dormant for several years.  

 

Semi retirement with the next two owners for a year and most recently some irrational decisions on my part have kept it going although I suspect it's in its twilight years and I'm working it fairly hard.  Its future depends on if its luck continues with whoever ends up with it after me.

[Guest Tony Hayers]

Its only 14 years old

Its still new yet.

 

 

I still call H platers (1990) new cars.

 

Everyone else calls me a Twat for doing that. Only shitters understand.

[Lord Sterling]

Rover Sterling 1:

 

Sod knows how this bastard thing survived.

 

I think it was then, when I received it, nearing the end of its life, but with a bit of money and enthusiasm I breathed a little bit more life into it. I reckon its still got a lot of life left in it, but it does need more money spending on. My poor financial circumstance makes this very hard to do.

 

I suppose being owned by a Dentist for a good while and then by the sellers brother-in-law or something helped.

 

Rover Sterling 2:

 

As above, I have no idea how it has survived this long.

 

It has, apparently, had no less than 16 previous owners. How or why is yet to be investigated. It seems to have been pretty well looked after, or at least that was the idea until I got my grubby hand on it. Its now been sitting in a bloody damp garage for about 3 years and shows it too. I hope I can breath some life back into it at some point, it will need money spending on it.

 

Rover Sterling 3:

 

Goodness me, what a mess! I've never actually had this car on the road, its one of 2 cars I've never really driven. The other being the 820E.

 

I had an identical car so I know what its like. This 825 Sterling was originally bought some years ago by another fella to use its engine for his supposedly C-reg Sterling (which I think is a tonne of bollox, I don't think he has this car, if he ever did) So having had 2 previous Rover 800 enthusiast owners has probably extended it life a little.

 

The fella who bought it for its engine couldn't bring himself to break it so used instead. It was then sold to VeryTallBrad who had the intention of breathing some life back into it, alas that didn't happen and when my E-reg 825 popped its engine, we swapped cars straight as can be seen here:

 

The likelihood of me actually putting it back on the road is currently 'very unlikely' due to lack of cash, other cars to worry about, being in a shit job and a possible impending move etc.... But I intend to keep it until I can do so.

 

Rover Sterling 4:

 

This has led a pretty cosseted life until about 10-odd years ago. It was bought by some fella in South West London somewhere (who worked at Dagenham Ford dealership in Surrey) who didn't seem to look after it much, although I'm told he loved the car

 

This was then sold to VeryTallBrad when the transmission went on it. Brad intended to get the transmission changed but ended up selling to me when he had run out of time and space. I had it stored for about 4/5 years until I got it back on road.

 

As per BASTARD usual, I'll get my hands a nice car that I actually like, and then something expensive will go wrong. I did everything right with this car. I had a new gearbox fitted, had it serviced, a new cambelt and waterpump had been shot on, I used it as my everyday car and then suddenly, it decided to pop its head.

 

Rover 820E 5:

 

Again, sod knows how the hell this thing survived, but it has, it was previously owned by my mate Dan, another Rover 800 enthusiast after it popped up on eBay. I bought it simply because it is a rare model 820E and its a D-reg, making it a very early car.

 

Micra: (Shed)

 

How did it survive? Probably because its owned by my mother and kept in Ok fettle by me. It was bought new by Mother_Sterling on finance and she has had it ever since. She isn't a car person. If it drives and still goes, she'll drive it. I reckon had her G-reg Fiesta not been crashed and stolen so many times, she might have still have it!

 

All these Rovers I have, I love all equally. But running them and keeping them alive is a serious uphill battle that I feel I am losing. I just don't have the money and skills that others seem to possess.

[Micrashed]

I still call H platers (1990) new cars.

 

Everyone else calls me a Twat for doing that. Only shitters understand.

Yup, Im only just getting the mental mindset that a 1986 D reg is knocking on a bit. H reg is still new too.

[Billy - Medhurst]

L.S Want to save another?

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10201990470514924&set=gm.10151804172626732&type=1&theatre

[mattblack]

This is an interesting thread. My Cortina is a bit of a strange case. I believe it had one owner for 25 years, then another owner for 5 years before it was part ex'd with the trader I bought it from. However neither of those owners seemed to have treated it as anything other than an old banger and had the bare minimum of work done to keep it on the road. When I bought it it needed 4 tyres, an exhaust, new cam, new radiator, new petrol tank plus other bits to get it to the stage I was happy to use it on a semi-regular basis. I have done a lot of welding on it, certainly not to 'restoration' standard but I didn't buy it as a 'project' so it's basically that or the oval.... I'm not too worried about the outer bodywork as long as the MOT man's happy

 

It's easy to moan about previous bodges, but that's how cars survive the old banger stage...

[DaveAspley]

Blimey those Rover 800's are looking old, it was only 3 years ago the local mini cab firm gave them up for 75's (had a ride in a lovelly blue one earlier, only 200k on it!)

[overrun]

 

17 previous owners, 230K miles and whored around since the day it was lashed together. Plate raped and almost broken for spares at least twice. Layed up for at least six years in two different garages and subject to at least one owner buying it purely to nick bits for his concours car.

 

This car is known as 'Kylie' in RS circles, as it just kept coming back.

 

It's not a pear and I have found no pics or evidence to think it ever was, yet it was clearly designated as one to die.

How and why it was given it's stays of excecution are unknown.

 

What I do know is that owner 18, me, is it's best owner yet. It has had many correct parts reinstated, as well as mechanical overhaul and it.will only continue to get better.

 

I kick it's head in and have a riot when driving it. I also keep it in good fettle and nice and clean.

 

I am confident that this car will still exist in another 30 years - as I plan to keep it and rack up the miles.

[Lord Sterling]

L.S Want to save another?

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10201990470514924&set=gm.10151804172626732&type=1&theatre

Thanks John, unfortunately due to expensive ongoing commitments, I simply cannot take it on. However, I have posted up on the Rover 800 site.

[greengartside]

 

SWMBO's K11.

 

As it's a Micra, it's had the typical 'once a week to the shops' kind of owners. First guy lived by the sea near Hastings and had it for 8 years, then made it's way south to the Stansted area (tax disc proves this) - wasn't there for long as it moved to Ipswich for a couple of years, then Needham Market in Suffolk where SWMBO bought it from. She has absolutely no intention of selling her and I plan to keep it in rude health for as long as it will pass an M.o.T which is probably going to be a hell of a long time as it keeps passing them with no advisories. It only cost £100 for repairs in a year and runs on fresh air. I feel proud to keep a bit of Autoshite on the road!

[dieselnutjob]

survived because the brakes rotted out 16 years ago and so was shoved in a barn like this

 

 

fortunately for me the master cylinder was okay as they are now unobtainable

[derskine]

 

Hasn't been taxed since 1983, was in a garage from 1983 to 2010.

Presumably failed an mot due to having been previously rotten, then repaired with catalloy, and then became worse than it was before

Engine changed in late 70s for ford exchange unit, which I think was pretty low mileage as it ran perfectly without the clattery ford tappet sound too.

[oman5]

volvo 240.  because it's a volvo 240.

 

 

as for the p6, it's only still alive because I rescued it from a scrapyard when it was condemned for having a duff engine. I don't know anything about it from before I bought it, but new front wings and lack of rust underneath suggests its had caring owners at some point.

[AndyW201]

Quite a feat for my 190 to be here still, the first registered owner was Kenning's, (remember them?)suggesting an early life as a company or hire car. Probably explains the then-unfashionable colour and povo spec. However, fanatical servicing for the first 15 years of it's life (MB dealer servicing all that time as well) has probably helped it. A look at recent history suggests an annual mileage of less than 1k per annum for the last five years or so. The guy I bought it from was also a 190 fanatic, spending about £700 getting it ready for regular use, before deciding he didn't get on with manual 'boxes.

 

In June this year, it could have easily ended up going over the bridge after the accident. But it's general good condition and rarity (less than half a dozen are known to have been sold in the U.K in Nutria brown) made me want to save it. It' just getting to the point where it needs it's first bit of welding (two small spots near the jacking points) and the water leak into the boot suggests it's going to need the rear screen out and the screen surround looking at before the rear bulkhead rots like my last 190.

 

But I'm determined to buy it a bit more time on the road yet!

[rml2345]

The 740 isn't really a surprise. I guess Volvo decided at the time that they would trade fancy luxury touches and quality interior materials so that they could retain their engineering integrity. Partial galvanisation and lashings of thick bituminous underseal have probably helped it survive although saloons are a bit rarer due to being quite useless for moving big loads of stuff. Other than that I don't know much of it's previous history or the 8 former keepers. 
Nothing else I've had has survived much longer than average I suppose. The last 740 was humped, the Rover was broken, and the other two I had for weeks so they don't count.
The Yaris would still have been my wheels had it not been for the accident though as I'd pretty much decided to keep it until the wheels fell off, something that it was resisting admirably before I stuffed it through a utility box and killed it. Would probably have passed 180k this year.

 

Edited to add;

[DLR]

 

 

Rover 820E 5:

 

Again, sod knows how the hell this thing survived, but it has, it was previously owned by my mate Dan, another Rover 800 enthusiast after it popped up on eBay. I bought it simply because it is a rare model 820E and its a D-reg, making it a very early car.

 

 

 

How do, Mo. Hope you're well.

 

If I may add to this car's history a little bit - the story I was told was that when this car was shiny and new in early 1987 it was owned by a cult of some sort. Then after one year the "old giffer" took it on from some sort of Motor World car dealership and he owned it from 1988 until 2012 when it was sold to me via his mechanic/garage-owning friend (he downsized to a cheaper car to run on his pension budget). I bought it in April 2012 with no tax or test (the reason I bought it was because it was cheap and I fell in love with the Mark 1 shape after visiting POL and seeing your G-reg Sterling!) but I did nothing with it. Sold it to a chap in June 2012 who was going to put it on the road. He didn't and in October 2012 I bought it back and it stayed in my garage and then on my driveway until Lord Sterling took it on this year (I forget the exact date as this year has been a blur and a haze). Despite owning it twice and not doing anything with it I regret selling it to this day, but it is of some comfort that it is in your hands Mo.

 

I'd say it was myself and Mo's reluctance to let this rare car go to the scrapyard that saved it from doing so. Had I not stepped in originally then it would have been scrapped. Shame as it is in reasonable condition, especially inside (still had seat covers fitted when I bought it!)

 

If you ever get chance to get the history from the DVLA I'd be interested to know if the cult thing was speculation or not. 

[Shep Shepherd]

All down to drunken eBay fumblings in late 2003; I'm pretty sure that if I didn't buy The Volvo then, it would have been scrapped around 2006, due to lack of interest or a snapped cambelt. If not, it probably would have met its fate during the scrappage idiocy.

 

The car celebrates its tenth anniversary in my ownership on December 11th