All the way home

[STUNO]

I have been very quiet lately, mostly because I left UK and raced home to NZ after the UK govt decided that I was staying too long and gave me 2 weeks to get out. Fortunately they did not (and will not) cancel the fortnightly payment I receive from the pensions people. I actually get NZ, Aussie and Uk pensions as I spent some years in all 3 countries. I also have permanent residence in UK but somehow that has expired !

But back to home, I left a somewhat damp UK mid-Jan and arrived to the remains of a tropical cyclone, very wet but very hot and 99o/o humidity, that had gone next day and now it is just hot and sunny every day, making me think you might all want to join me !

The Corsa went to a relative so is in good hands as wifely transport. pulled into my drive at home and there was the old Audi waiting for me (thanks Jon) it has been useful since but has to go as we old pensioners find it too expensive to run.

So the hunt has been on for something a wee bit more economical and with auto trans

Finally I settled on something Japanese, white and low to the ground for added speed, it was also close by so when collecting it tomorrow there will be no saga as it should make the 45 min trip home.

The car: 1994 Mazda Lantis ex Japan and in very tidy condition, small, and with 1800 cc so should go well and be economical. More after I get it home.

[nigel bickle]

Glad you got back OK, Stu  -good to hear you're OK.

[gordonbennet]

Neat Mazda that, I could have a drive full of Japanese tosh, the stuff we don't normally see in the UK.

 

Why are UK new car clones so taken with equally cloned hatchbacks, they're bloody horrible especially VW's.

Saloons/coupes/convertibles/even estates, unless they're little tiny shite, feel and look like proppa motas..

[STUNO]

Hello again Nigel, It was a great pleasure to meet you and have a good chat, all is well here and I hope you and the dogs are all ok. Were those Mazdas sold in uk?

[Pillock]

Back end of that looks more than a little Mk2 Mondeo Saloon-ish. Any shared DNA?

Sorry to hear about your hassles with DA MAN, will you be back when they realise they made a mistake or have they decided the matter is now closed? Mind you, hot sunny days and obscure chod..... guess what, it's still raining here.

[Split_Pin]

^{I've never seen one of these before, its very pleasing-looking. Elements of MK1 323F and Xedos 6 about it. You're not missing much in the UK!}

[dollywobbler]

Glad you're ok. That Mazda looks like a Xedos, disguised to confound journalists.

[Junkman]

^{You're not missing much in the UK!}

 

He's missing all the flooding and whatnot.

[wackywacerwill]

Hi Stu, glad all is well and your happily back in the land of sunshine.

That Mazda looks a decent buy, plenty swoopy for and clean for a 94 car too.

[STUNO]

Developments, I collected the Mazda today and it was a very pleasant drive the 45 minutes home, with 1800 cc it goes very nicely. Rare as heck though, I arrived back and parked in town between two others.

No photos yet until I buy a new camera !

I advertised the Audi at about Midday today on Trade Me our version of Ebay and at 7pm someone had "paid" the asking, they have not contacted me yet, but as the buyers e-mail address contains the word Audi I suspect it's a genuine buyer. All in all a successful day.

Yes Pillock it does look a bit Mondeo but is considerably smaller, it's the Xedos's smaller brother. And as for the floods etc, I am not missing anything !

[STUNO]

The "advantages" of living in a small country....The seller of the mazda turned out to be a distant relative. I knew of the families existence and where they lived 45 years ago. Found out the family name was the same and went from there, the person I new of was the sellers father.

The buyer of the Audi knows the car well. He contacted me to arrange the collection details. Knows the previous owner and actually supplied the leather interior that it has fitted.

It's a bit like inbreeding round here.

[STUNO]

 
A bit of a disaster ! Much smoke from the exhaust suddenly. A comprehensive check proved 2 things,

1. It is possible to create a smoke blackout with an 1800 cc Mazda

2. The engine is very close to death ! Trusted mechanic / friends opinion !

 

The solution,

Source a good low mileage engine and slip it in quietly. this is the route we are going to follow as there are plenty about with known history and it will be considerably cheaper than a rebuild.

 

In a word, F&ck.  It can't be used as the mot has run out and it will never pass the visible smoke test .

I actually thought it was valve guide seals as the worst was at startup from cold but that is not the case as testing showed it can be made to smoke a lot when pushed !

More to come.

[STUNO]

The offending article

[wackywacerwill]

Arse. Good to hear plans are in place though.

[STUNO]

And while I am here some pics of the rest.

 

 

[jonny69]

That's not a bad bit of chod there. It doesn't look particularly uncomfortable, unreliable or hanging, but I'd feel suitably embarrassed turning up at work in it so it's perfect. I like.

 

I have absolutely no concept of what NZ is like. What are the roads like in terms of size, appearance, typical journey distance and quality of upkeep etc?

[stuboy]

oh dear it died

[Guest Breadvan72]

How did your permanent residence lapse?  If you want to take some expert advice on that, contact my mucker Paul Simon - his firm goers by his name.    He is the acest immigration lawyer that I know, and a decent bloke.  

[Junkman]

Bloody hell. One just can't win, can one?

[Junkman]

That's not a bad bit of chod there. It doesn't look particularly uncomfortable, unreliable or hanging, but I'd feel suitably embarrassed turning up at work in it so it's perfect. I like.

 

I have absolutely no concept of what NZ is like. What are the roads like in terms of size, appearance, typical journey distance and quality of upkeep etc?

 

 

 

[Asimo]

[Jon]

Bloody Hell STUNO, you don't have much luck, eh?! I know we thought the Audi was a ticking bomb reliability-wise but at least you bust the myth that all Japanese cars are reliable and keep on running, a theory which I'm sure a lot of New Zealanders believe. I'd lend you a car from the pool but the Visa and Commodore both need work. Should've bought Japanese. Oh no, wait.......

 

 

 

I have absolutely no concept of what NZ is like. What are the roads like in terms of size, appearance, typical journey distance and quality of upkeep etc?

 

Roads here are both quite superb and also bloody shocking, often at the same time. We've just taken a 50km trip home from a large city (well, large for here: about 60000) and encountered a handful of traffic lights in the first 5km then free roads the rest. A bit like driving on an A-road in the Highlands, or something. My commute to work is 32km and I do it door to door at a leisurely pace, night or day, within 30 minutes in our Hiace. Only issues are other drivers, many of whom drive autos in a very passive manner. Also people casually tailgate here, like it's a national sport or something. Nothing road-rage related, it's just a non-confrontational way of demonstrating they can't drive. Overall though, outside of cities it's great. I got caught in rush hour traffic in another big city last week and took about 10 minutes to travel 2km the other day. Par for the course in Britain but I was almost having palpitations! 

 

Oh yeah, and quite often road surfaces are terrible and everybody brakes heavily at corners, like they're going to fly off the road or something. 

[Sigmund Fraud]

The offending article

 

That looks like a BP engine, as used in MX5s.

 

Are you sure it's dead ? It takes a hell of a lot of effort to kill one of those ! Perhaps a compression test would be in order before you invest your hard earned in a new engine.

[STUNO]

Having a bit of a rethink on the Mazda, It seems that they had a problem re oil rings being poor and wearing out early, also some models had only one substandard ring. I am at the moment contemplating a strip down to see what we find. It has only done 160,000 km so long as it was not clocked before being sold in NZ It still runs sweetly but smokey.  There is a chance that the good old rings and bearings may do the job. Driving gave no sign of reduced performance, so I actually did not suspect it was as bad as it is.

 

 

As Jon said the roads are good and bad !  Not much to add to that. Thanks for the offer Jon but the Suzuki ( Swift) is available and walking is good for me !

[Sigmund Fraud]

I reckon a strip-down makes sense, those engines are seriously strong !

 

You may find this write-up useful, despite your engine being the wrong way around.

[STUNO]

An update. The Mazda is not repaired yet, it is being worked on by a friend and parked in his workshop to be done whenever there is a lack of other work. He always has a workshop full of cars though!

In real news I am moving from Hobbiton next week, new house has ample garaging, room for at least 3 cars undercover, and Bickle's lot would all fit in the rear yard. Paradise captured.

[STUNO]

Just because I like o show off my new camera, this was taken a couple of weeks ago at Mt Maunganui. The main surf beach, but not that day !

 

 

[STUNO]

A wander about the town, and the drought broke temporarily. Baigent motors was where I had my first job (in 1965)

 

 

[STUNO]

More to come these are taking some time, then the last lot disappeared, shite !!!!!!

[STUNO]

I give up for today, will try again later.