1984 Triumph Acclaim - again.

[pandamonium]

I know I've been a bit AWOL on here, sorry for that. I just had to come on to give you all another chance to own this remarkable machine!

 

So - the news! My wife has gone and traded her Vauxhall Meriva diesel for a Suzuki Liana 1.6 Auto, and part of the arrangement for her to have a smaller automatic was for me to get a larger car for when we go out as a family. (Looking for a Volvo 740 / 940 etc) My idea really, you know I like to change cars a lot!

Here is the offending item...

 

This means I need to sell on the Honda Triumph.

 

Here's an excerpt from the advert where I bought it....

 

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Right, Good points:

 

51000 miles.

 

Good, strong engine which has recently a new head gasket, rocker gasket, cambelt, plugs, coolant, oil, filter, plug leads, radiator and fan belt.

 

New discs & pads and recent new rear shoes and very good tyres all round.

 

A very tidy brown velour interior with some fancy Bluetooth CD player which i can't work out how to use.

 

A new MOT with no advisories and tax until end of October.

 

Smooth 5 speed gearbox

 

Done a 600 mile round trip for Shitefest back in May loaded up with car magazines and it didn't miss a beat, 

 

Bad stuff.

 

Starter motor bendix slightly sticks when first starting which makes a strange noise.

 

Wheels could do with repainting again.

 

Bodywork a bit scabby around the edges, but not unsightly.

 

It's had a new pair of rear arches at some point but the offside one was poorly filled so doesn't have a swage line like it should.

 

Got a patch in the boot on the rear wheel tub, a common area but it's solid now.

 

Sunroof used to drip in heavy rain so I've sealed it with mastic, it still slightly drips in very rain but I suspect it's fixable.

 

Back box has just started to blow so I've bodged it for now with a tin can, screws and some exhaust paste, it's got a new mot so there's no panic on that one.

 

So there you go, warts n all. I'm making it sound worse than it is but trust me, It's pretty good for one of these.

 

The car genuinely drives really nicely, very light controls and it's perfectly quick enough for modern traffic, 1335cc twin carb Honda EN engine which is a dream, cheap tax and insurance too.

...

 

A nice, comfortable, cheap to run and maintain, nippy daily driver. 

 

 

Since then the exhaust broke at the front so I rejoined it and it has held for now - but budget in a new front section (available on ebay).

 

I also snapped the key in the ignition, so a helpful locksmith had to destroy the ignition barrel to get me moving again. There isn't an ignition key at the moment, but a toggle switch for the ignition and a push button to start it (like a Race Car)

 

I'd like £575 ono for this, but will consider a pre '94 estate car in trade / swap.

 

I'm located in Benfleet, Essex.

[pandamonium]

[Skizzer]

GLWTS.  As I think I said last time, this is a thing of much loveliness.

[DodgyBastard]

Damn I have a 94 estate car I'd swap...

[pandamonium]

Yeah, but why so far?

[DodgyBastard]

I'm only 462 miles away...

[skattrd]

I'm only 462 miles away...

 

So meet up half way, which at a guess means somewhere around Mr_Shitpez manor.

[trigger]

This beast would easily make a drive from Essex to Scotland, and probably back and forth again with much ease. It's a cracking car for not much dough.

[purplebargeken]

That is lovely. Rover 75 perhaps?

[DodgyBastard]

I'd meet halfway, probably around Sheffield or something...

[pandamonium]

So.....

 

My wife has commented that the Liana is probably sufficient as a family car*, and actually gave me permission to get whatever I want! Now that is the dilemma - do I look for another car for no reason or do I keep the Triumph?!

 

*The original car my wife wanted was a Honda Jazz....

[Skizzer]

I thought a Liana was a kind of creeping plant?

 

I'd keep the Acclaim, because brown velour.

[pandamonium]

It is actually Brown cordorouy, making it even more of a win. Must get a close up photo of it one day.

[trigger]

Keep the Acclaim, after the amount of money i spent on it, it should see you well for a long while.

[barefoot]

Is Liana really an acronym for Life in a New Age?

[Skizzer]

Or in this case, Life In A Nice Acclaim.

 

 

(ba-dumm tish!)

[purplebargeken]

Sure you don't fancy a R75?

[chaseracer]

Keep the Acclaim.

 

I have driven it (prior to the not-remotely-suspicious-looking transfer of boxes in a layby off the M54...) and it is a thing of wonder.

[pandamonium]

I'd love a Rover 75, but I can only afford a classic policy, hence the pre-94 only rule.

 

:-/

[purplebargeken]

The Rover was priced at £185 (or a tad under) for fully comp at Peter Best. Didn't think it was tooooo bad, but obv a classic policy would be better.

[Angrydicky]

Are you back in Hadleigh now? If you have this when I'm back there I'd love to see it, looks lush.

[londonm]

Funny to think that prior to this they'd been making Dolomite Sprints....

[chaseracer]

Real-world-performance-wise, there wasn't a lot in it...

[purplebargeken]

The local newsagent had the CD version in that light metallic green. Proper rust bucket though, now long gone. Shame. 

[EssDeeWon]

The Rover was priced at £185 (or a tad under) for fully comp at Peter Best. Didn't think it was tooooo bad, but obv a classic policy would be better.

 

I find Rover 75's quite cheap to insure when I have previously got quotes, just on normal policies. Having said that though, insurance companies value 75's in peanuts rather than pounds.

[pandamonium]

My insurance on my Suzuki Wagon R was £800 due to a bump I had a couple of years ago where the twats lied and my insurance company ended up paying out £9k in a 'whiplash' claim.

[pandamonium]

Yes Angrydicky, I'm back in Hadleigh now.

[Partridge]

My insurance on my Suzuki Wagon R was £800 due to a bump I had a couple of years ago where the twats lied and my insurance company ended up paying out £9k in a 'whiplash' claim.

9K??????? Did their heads fall off?

[pandamonium]

Unfortunately not. Insurance assessor who looked at the scratch on the side of my car(yes the SIDE), said there was no way there was any injury. The fact that the other driver managed to get out and repeatedly punch the side of my car also indicated no injury (I didn't allow him in as he was using a right turn lane to queue jump so he drove into my Panda with his van.) But as he had 'witnesses' that I undertook him 100 yards further up the road, swerved into him and then proceeded to verbally abuse him (the witnesses were his work colleagues in an identical van behind), Direct no-spine decided to pay out. Not bitter at all, honest.

[pandamonium]

Back on topic, does anyone actually want to buy this? I might have to threaten to scrap it or banger race it soon. This place just isn't what it used to be, eh?