Nugget the Corsa - 17/11 Winter Prep

[320touring]

Nugget ftw! Better than thon French Nougat;)

[vulgalour]

Mike reminded me that he sorted out the funny starting issue where you had to use a bit of throttle so Nugget didn't stall.  Turns out the idle control valve was completely jammed.  A replacement was got and fitted and now Nugget starts up and idles with no bother at all.

 

All the centre console controls illuminate properly.  The dash top binnacle with clock, date and temperature works perfectly.  The centre console itself fits a little more snug since it was refitted too.

 

Sadly, the on/off for the radio that's operated by the drivers door no longer does anything.  Wires have been checked, continuity has been sought and no problems have been found which is very strange.  Does anyone have a proper Corsa B radio cage?  If they do Mike is going to fit the original radio to see if it's actually the Alba head unit at fault somehow.

 

 

Nugget continues to be a great little car.  The only problem has been a tiny whisper of rust reappearing just to the edge of the repair I did on the driver's door.

[vulgalour]

Mike discovered the problem with the radio was the windows.  When you wound the front windows down they managed to partially and sometimes fully unplug the speakers, opening and shutting the door causing the connectors to meet or come apart.  This has now been fixed.

 

The Alba unit that was fitted has been removed.  It was going to go in the Porsche but it doesn't fit so if anyone wants it do shout up.  Instead, the OEM radio-cassette I sourced from eBay has been fitted.  The dash-top binnacle now displays the pre-selection code and the radio frequency and the sound quality is surprisingly good.

[Noel Tidybeard]

you need a nice car400 in there for goodly gm cassettepayeriness- auto reverse dontchaknow

[vulgalour]

The Car400 is way too fancy for Nugget.  I still have misgivings that Mike fitted a power socket in the blanking hole, even though I'm well aware it's handy for when he needs his sat nav.

[Noel Tidybeard]

just think the power socket was a "dealer fit option" and your concience will be fine

[rainagain]

If you want to go full luxury spec I still have this for sale:

http://autoshite.com/topic/15534-corsa-b-four-clocksri-dash-for-sale/

[vulgalour]

Rev gauge!  Luxury.  I'll let Mike know.

[Noel Tidybeard]

Rev gauge!  Luxury.  I'll let Mike know.

pah rev gauge evry one knos its a revometer f00!

[vulgalour]

Tacky graph Giraffe

[vulgalour]

It's 1994 all over again here.

 

That's right, Nugget is back on the road as Mike's daily while he throws money at his silly white Toyota car.

 

 

Yay~

[They_all_do_that_sir]

Future classic right there, especially in that condition and spec. Couldn't tell you the last time I saw a mk1 corsa b 5 door over here.

 

Are you planning on changing the rear plate?

[Angrydicky]

Have you got the Renault 6 in that lovely dry looking garage yet? If not, why not?

[vulgalour]

Renault is coming back once the engine is one piece so it can go back on its wheels.  The Princess will come back when the welding is done too.  At the moment, the garage is full of dismantled cars rather than a whole one.

[Station]

You weren't driving on the M56/M65 or M6 (I can't remember) the other night in the red Rover?

[vulgalour]

Not me, must be another red Rover.

[vulgalour]

Last year prices on hatchbacks went a bit silly up here.  We started seeing actual real genuine knackered old heaps of Corsa Bs up at £700.  We wanted a fairly quick sale locally so put Nugget up for a local-beating price but didn't try particularly hard with the sale.

 

 

Just as well really, we had some interest but no takers.  Mike had gone all out with the prep and Vax'd the seats which came up amazingly well.  These shots should make Dollywobbler happy.

 

 

 

 

After a while we stopped trying to sell Nugget and started using it again and have been using it ever since.  Some treats were snaffled from eBay, namely a good rear light unit as the one on the car had a crack that had been getting worse and the unit was really cheap.

 

 

Mike replaced the rocker cover gasket as that had started to leak.  He showed me the engine without telling me what he'd done and I thought he'd been silly and bought a new rocker cover.  Not so, he just used some chrome VHT on the old one.  Looks astonishingly good.  Makes everything else look a bit scruffy.  I think that's the old battery after it was cleaned up and reconditioned, it's been fine ever since.

 

Finally, I managed to find an early boot handle complete with badge on eBay.  Find of the century for this car really, I had got to the point that I didn't think a good one existed anywhere.  Cost buttons.

 

I'm behind the wheel of Nugget again because all three of my cars are non-functioning.  I suspect this might be a keeper.

[MikeKnight]

I'll get around to fixing the rear brakes at some point in the near future to make it not so scary. Maybe.

 

Self adjusters my arse.

[vulgalour]

The brakes were great the first time they were done and then shit again within about 40 miles.  If I drive it like it has no brakes then it stops just fine.  Doesn't handle so well with the vintage sewing-machine-in-cabinet in the boot though.

[vulgalour]

THIS JUST IN...

 

The arch trims on Nugget have always been a bit flappy on the edges, the moulding that the trim clips sit in are broken.  Ordered a full new set for less than the cost of a takeaway for two, I reckon Nugget's earned another treat just lately.

[Noel Tidybeard]

maybe as a treat nugget would like a set of alloys- now if you cold only find some period corsa wheels...

[oldcars]

Nugget is nice, well looked after clean wee car which i really like. Good work on the trims, i needed clips for the 75 trim and the cost ££.

[vulgalour]

We're at 115,700 miles as of today.  Mike had mentioned the temperature gauge climbs rapidly in stop-start traffic and even more so if the car is point nose-up on a steep hill.  Yesterday I heard a lot of gurgling going on when we were on the motorway, apparently it's been doing that for a while too though it's the first time I've ever heard it until I drove it to the shops today and it did it again.  All gauges normal but what power the car does have it seems to be a bit down on when it comes to acceleration.

 

Now, are there any Corsa botherers that know what this might be before we investigate further?  My suspicion is that air has got into the coolant system and Mike suggested possibly through a duff cap or hose but we haven't yet had a look.  The car gets a check every two weeks, more frequently if used more often, and there's been no coolant drop or mixing of fluids though it has been consuming a very tiny quantity of oil (that's probably down to mileage, to be fair).

[dollywobbler]

Sorry, delayed response. Yes, the interior shots do please me greatly. Wonderful steering wheel design.

[lisbon_road]

No comment on the gurgling but agree with the dire self adjusting brakes.  Fine cars from a great era, very little trouble but those brakes are dreadful.  I also loath the way on a Corsa that when you remove the drum, you get loads of shit in the wheel bearings very easily.  

[vulgalour]

We forgot to tell you all!  Back on the 24th of May Nugget passed its MoT with NO ADVISORIES.  Excellent stuff that.  There is a full and proper update to do on other works, Mike and I just need to get all the pictures and info in the same place.

[vulgalour]

So, the update in full.  Nugget has only done about 3,000 miles between MoTs so we did expect it to pass without too much trouble.  We'd addressed the advisories from the last MoT and found a few other jobs to attend to but overall, this little car was happy to soldier on whenever required and has served very well as a useful back-up car.  It was decided by Mike that Nugget should be rewarded with The Works.

 

 

When I bought the car back in January 2015 I was happy it didn't want much beyond a bit of cosmetic titivation, whatever that noise was (more on that later) and generally being looked after.  For the most part, that was the case.  Mike wanted more, he likes things to be just so and given how reliable and useful Nugget had been he determined to fit a new timing belt, water pump, tensioner, ignition components, fuel filter, starter motor...  you get the idea.  To begin with the old belt came off.

 

 

It was okay, but a replacement wouldn't hurt.  You'll have to imagine a picture here of lovely new belt, water pump and tensioner fitted, the parts you can see in the first picture above.  Even though I thought the ignition components were perfectly serviceable, Mike fitted a new rotor arm, distributor cap, leads and spark plugs.  He plugged them in too, he didn't just leave it like that, he's a professional.

 

The funny grounchy noise the car had been making all the while we owned it had been narrowed down to a starter motor or a flywheel.  No damage was present on the flywheel but there was some nibbling on the starter motor and since that was easier to replace it was given a shot.  You know what, that cured the issue, the car is now almost silent on starting up.

 

The old fuel filter came off...

 

... and a new one fitted.

 

Mike said this car had a pollen filter and I scoffed, believing this car to be too old and too basic for such modern fripperies.  I was wrong.

 

It was certainly due!

 

This also meant Mike found out the windscreen is delaminating.  That along with the inclusions in the glass on other areas of the screen mean it's likely the next 'big spend' on this little car as this screen has clearly seen better days.

 

The rear brakes had been proving troublesome.  Mike sourced and fitted some brand new adjusters and now the brakes are really rather good.

 

Presented for the MoT and passed with no advisories at all, and so it should with all that care and attention and parts lavished on it!

[RobT]

I always enjoy reading your updates on this. Having a pollen filter is a bit fancy, I'd never have guessed either!

[Rusty_Rocket]

Simple, reliable cars (I'm sure I said that when you bought it!) Is it still gurgling? Head gasket failure is a possibility on these but if it comes to that, you'll find it a simple, straightforward job- the engines were designed properly from the start and are a joy to work on really!

Long live Nugget.

[vulgalour]

The gurgling wasn't there last time I drove it so who knows what that was?  All systems healthy so I'm putting it down as just one of those random things.

 

@RobT:  I reckon this has to be the best value car I've ever bought and I'm happy Mike seems to feel the same way about it.  Absolutely cracking bit of motoring-for-beans really.  Mike's Dad might be borrowing it while his Jag is sorted in the near future.  It's been so useful having a car we can just pass around and know it's going to behave.