Allow me to introduce myself...

[Squire_Dawson]

Greetings fellow Autoshiters.

 

I've been a 'floater' on this forum for longer than is probably healthy, ever since I accidentally discovered it years ago by searching for 'Wartburg Knight Tourist' on Google.

 

Well, I'm a relative stripling in terms of years of holding a driver's licence, but the old car disease was already well-advanced before I gained the freedom of the road in any case. I love to see old cars out on the road, and a well-used crock still giving good service spotted in the wild is of much more interest to me than the highly-polished cars you see at shows (though some credit should be given to these fellows for at least keeping the things going).

 

I expect you're all wondering what I have driven and am driving. Well, firstly was a 1997 Nissan Micra 2-door in red, handed to me by Grandad, which gave excellent service for about 12 years until rust finally claimed it. Secondly was a car I didn't have any particular desire to own, but a pathological compulsion drew me to it: a 1975 Austin Allegro 2-door in Harvest Gold. Despite not knowing much at all about the mechanics of old cars at that early stage in my car-driving life, it too gave faithful service for a few years until graduating from university, when I was advised that I would need a modern car due to the prospect of getting a good job... which hasn't yet happened.

This interim period was filled by Grandad's Honda Jazz: a good enough car but certainly not the enthusiast's choice. And definitely not the shitter's choice. Enter a Morris Minor Series II.

 

 

I don't care what you all say about really old cars not being shite - some of them are and this one really ranks amongst the best (worst?) of them. The supposed cheap running costs attracted me, as did the fact it retained many of its original features, but the bloody thing threw up a problem every week, and its 803cc engine (which I rebuilt after flogging it to death and running a big-end bearing - lesson learnt) was a truly gutless heap. But I respected it and even grew to like it after sorting its problems. It was a good drive when it was behaving itself.

 

Next came another Allegro, because by this stage I knew the bleeders inside out. It was another 1300 version, in a very fetching colour, but had already had quite a few owners before it came to me.

 

 

I sold it with over 74-odd thousand on the clock, of which I'd covered 10k in a year trouble-free. The engine was worn, though, and whilst the bottom end was sound it was doing 200 to the pint on the motorway - not a dire figure but when I go touring Europe it would've been a ball-ache of an expense.

 

Whilst driving around in this, experience had shown me what a tough old bastard the Allegro was - reliable, well built, fun to drive and superb in the snow. So when an unmolested 1100 in my favourite colour, plus lovely brown interior, came up for sale as a 'sale or it gets scrapped' restoration project, I jumped at the chance.

The owner wanted his garage back; it had lain there for 20 years after his father had passed away, and a mega-bonus to me was that the first owner was a former Austin employee. I returned this car to the road in August this year, and as my first proper restoration project, was pretty damn chuffed with myself. The plan is to drive this now and keep it for as long as is humanly possible.

 

 

 

So, that's where I am now. Keeping old shite on the road is the game - sadly no winter lay-ups for me. I only have the one car now until itchy bidder finger strikes again... a Hillman Avenger estate, Standard Vanguard III, Wartburg Knight or Moskvich all take my fancy.

[Jim Bell]

Well played mate. And welcome.

[Mr Livered]

Fantastic interior in the latest Allaggro. Welcome.

[trigger]

Welcome! You have great taste in cars!

[inconsistant]

Hello you

[purplebargeken]

Perfect AS credentials and welcome! This forum will now take over your waking and not so waking days, have fun.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Harvest Gold is a passport to service and RESPEKT.

 

Shouldn't have rebuilt the Minor 803 donk though, they were notoriously rubbish. 948 or 1098 with the thou back axle and box is the way to go.

[HMC]

Welcome to the forum! Great car history you have. Did your latest allegro need much to get it roadworthy? Plus moah pics plz!

 

You were a bit dismissive of the Honda jazz, but I recon one of the earlier ones would be drooled over on here!

[Angrydicky]

What brilliant cars you've had! I particularly like that green Allegro.

 

The steering wheel cover in the latest Allegro is a lovely period accessory, I think it may just be a genuine BL one as I have a NOS one for a Mini still in its BL packet that looks exactly the same as that.

 

It's a shame the 803 A series was so weak, the white metal bearings (changed to lead indium on the later engines) are usually completely shot after 60k. Standard-Triumph also used an 803 engine in the Eight, but that actually seems reasonably tough.

 

948 is a smoother engine than 1098 though, if I was doing a swap I'd always go for the former.

[wackywacerwill]

A man of wealth and taste.

[mercrocker]

Welcome into  the open glades  of the self-aware Autoshiter!    Harvest Gold, Allegro how those two words fit perfectly together  in a sentence....I almost want one now!

[Alexg]

Brilliant intro, welcome fellow Allegro bloke

[brickwall]

Welcome along mate

[Cavcraft]

Welcome along, class-in-a-glass selection of motors right there, no doubt.

 

Your 'new' Allegro looks surprisingly solid, have you had to do much to it?

[srad34]

I doff my cap to you sir, great intro and welcome onboard......   

[drum]

Welcome from a fellow allegro fan. Mine is rusty brown but one day I hope to own a harvest gold.

 

Those two dials in the centre dash - I tried to zoom in and the one on the left appears to have 'master beat' on it. What's all that about then?!!

[eddyramrod]

Cracking intro!  Welcome aboard!

[Asimo]

Those two dials in the centre dash - I tried to zoom in and the one on the left appears to have 'master beat' on it. What's all that about then?!!

"fasten seat belts"

[RedSparrow]

Welcome!
The more I read about people's experiences with Allegros the more I realise that they were actually bloody good reliable cars that unfairly got a lot of bad press.

[Sigmund Fraud]

Whilst driving around in this, experience had shown me what a tough old bastard the Allegro was - reliable, well built, fun to drive and superb in the snow.

 

The above sentence shows that you are completely mad. You are therefore in the right place, welcome

 

[HMC]

A man of wealth and taste.

Hes been around for a long, long year

[Squire_Dawson]

Thanks for the warm welcome.

 

To answer some of the questions, the Jazz that I was lucky enough to borrow was a perfectly good car, but I just found it so boring. It wasn't an enthusiasts car; I suppose if you're just a normal person who isn't really into cars but just sees them as a means of getting from A to B reliably and boringly, then it would be great. But I enjoy stopping at every next-but-one service station to check the oil level and worry about that slightly perished rad hose I keep meaning to change...

 

I didn't really want the Harvest Gold Allegro, not least because it was in Devon and I in Lancashire, but nobody else came forward to save it and it either went to someone or got crushed. Alcohol and emotions got the better of me and fortunately I went halves on the transporter up North with another bloke having a car brought up from down there. I paid £150 for it.

 

The restoration/recommision took me 6 months, it was really solid with only some surface rust here and there - there was and still is some rot behind those sill stone guards which has holed the sills, but I've treated it and as a semi-permanent measure covered this with Denso tape until I can afford/make time for the welding.

 

Mechanically I gave it a top overhaul - the engine was free and the owner had given it fresh oil before being laid up, but when I got it going for the first time my Dad sprinted out of the garden - he thought a Chinook had just flown over the house. New valve springs required! Rest of the work on the engine was straightforward usual stuff: oil & filter, new plugs, points, clean dizzy up, examine carb etc. Oh I had the radiator recored aswell by an old boy who charged a very reasonable £80.

 

Brakes got a full overhaul with new flexi-hoses, the m/cyl was seized solid so that was replaced. Clutch hydraulics and the clutch itself were remarkably still all working and completely free after 20 years standing unused, but I replaced the seals and slave cyl. as a matter of course.

 

Other things I did were clean and re-pack the wheel bearings with grease, grease cv joints and change the boots, it needed a new steering rack but luckily I had a spare. Swivel hubs saw the grease gun too. Petrol tank was removed and thoroughly wire brushed and really heavily rustproofed, as you can't get them for these cars now.

 

Other stuff was tidy up the body and most important of all the rustproofing as it was going to be a daily driver. Literally anywhere remotely rusty got a coat of POR-15 and at least 2 layers of primer before painting. I wire brushed the entire front panel of the car (they do go on these cars as they get clogged up with leaves and shit) and coated it in all manner of things - POR-15, Black Bitumen and that Rustbuster military-spec wax stuff.

 

One thing that got me really excited about this car was that it had a Lucas sealed beam headlamp fitted - but only on one side. The hunt was on for another to make a pair and I struck rocking horse shit at an autojumble when I picked a NOS one up for £3. Great stuff - best find of the day etc. I got it home and fitted it to the car and the filament went up in a puff of smoke. Crap.

 

Anyway, enough of this waffle. I am only too happy to oblige you with more piccys.

 

 

Outdoor storage wasn't ideal

 

 

Original Champion plug leads! Always nice to see and no doubt will get a few thighs being rubbed now

 

 

I made this gauge panel myself out of an offcut of Zintec which I also made a carb heatshield from. It went where the radio blanking plate was. Note blanked-off cigar lighter socket, this is a basic 1100.

 

 

A shot of the two little darlings together. The green one went to a new home to raise funds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[drum]

"fasten seat belts"

Aw, shame. Master beat would be much more interesting.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Great selection of cars there, welcome!

 

Those fasten seat belt lights are weird and great. They're not actually hooked up to the seat belts, they just light up when you turn the key and then you have to press the silver button to acknowledge you belted up. They go for strong money on eBay.

[phil_lihp]

Welcome along! I am amazed at how much room is under that bonnet.

[blguy1975]

Glad that my mate Mr Dawson is on here now ,

He is the fine chap I brought my Allegro From and Gave me a lift in a Morris Minor

Keep up the good work ,Sir

[oman5]

I like your style, dude. I've been a closet allegro fancier for years, not bitten the bullet and actually owned one yet though.

[twosmoke300]

Our local motor factor still keeps sealed beam units I'm stock!

[Squire_Dawson]

Glad that my mate Mr Dawson is on here now ,

He is the fine chap I brought my Allegro From and Gave me a lift in a Morris Minor

Keep up the good work ,Sir

 

Why do I never see you imbibing the fine products of the Jos. Holt brewery? And how did you ever guess it was me??

 

I like your style, dude. I've been a closet allegro fancier for years, not bitten the bullet and actually owned one yet though.

 

Do it. They're pretty decent cars.

 

Our local motor factor still keeps sealed beam units I'm stock!

 

Crikey, that's impressive. I could do with one as well...

[Partridge]

JBY 794N is still going. In fact, I was speaking to bloke who owns it now on Facebook a while ago