I am the (proud) owner of a AX.

[Joey spud]

I have been given my late mother in laws AX.

It's been standing on the in laws drive since the summer 2012 and was looking a bit worse for wear but a fresh battery and a quick bang on the base of the fuel tank to get the pump working again and off it went.

 

 

I waited untill it was nearly dark before driving it all of a mile up to my house and it's as grim (in a good way) as i remember.

 

954cc mated to a four speed box and heavy steering it feels dated.

 It was A framed back from Crawley behind my Impreza wagon about ten years ago after i won it on ebay for £46 because the cam belt had let go.

 

The thing is i don't really know what to do with it,short term i will clean and wax it and park in the front garden for my Dad to use as his pipe smoking refuge (we sold his previous Aixam smoking room back in the summer).

[For Fiats Sake]

Don't EVER wash it!

[mouseflakes]

It's covered in greeown

 

If you do clean it up it'll be hard to then resist making it usable. Maybe.

[Six-cylinder]

Don't EVER wash it!

But I want to polish it!

[Matt]

That's even more grim than the silver Swift was. It'd be a bit of a waste to just turn it into a smoking room I think.

[stephen01]

I kinda like the idea of not washing it with that immaculate interior, MOT it and drive it round, watch everyone keep away from you, beit in a car park or on the road!

[richardmorris]

Do your feet fit the pedals? I always seemed to hit two at once when I drove my friends' dimension model.

[Matt]

I kinda like the idea of not washing it with that immaculate interior, MOT it and drive it round, watch everyone keep away from you, beit in a car park or on the road!

 

I drove this 17 miles from it's 4 year resting place to an MOT garage and trust me, nobody cared. Nobody. Police drove past it parked outside my house looking like this and didn't even look at it. Granted it's not as bad as the AX above.

 

[wuvvum]

I had a 954cc 4-speed AX as a daily for a few months.  Found it quite pleasant to drive - the wide ratio 'box meant 4th was quite tall and it cruised at 70 without sounding like it was about to blow up, and was brilliant on petrol.  Steering shouldn't be heavy on one of these - check the tyre pressures if it is.

[Joey spud]

Re the smoking room.

My Mum quite rightly won't let my Dad smoke indoors (they have their own annex) so he goes outside where he can sit and listen to radio Kent and puff on his pipe,but he is well trained and it will have seat covers fitted.

 

The body is really straight and no welding has been done on it but after sitting nearly four years its going to need all fresh brakes and tyres.

The screen has a crack in the corner thats gone cloudy and the gearbox works fine but makes a knocking noise like a worn driveshaft joint when cornering (both shafts were replaced trying to cure this noise) so straight away it's going to cost way more than its worth to put back on the road.

 

If it was a three door i would have thought about making a GT look a like,so a good clean and wax for now and see what develops later in the year.

[Kiltox]

Love the AX - never seen a 5 door one before!

[Joey spud]

This one lives in Biggin Hill

 

I'm guessing a 954cc / four speed Debut model was the poverty spec model yet its got the extravagance of four doors

[beko1987]

Leave it as standard, get it MOT'd and roffle it. Don't ruin a lovely original car by smoking pipes in it or making it into a replica of something else!

[rantingYoof]

What Beko said. I'd have tickets. I'd find bringing the grime out of that very therapeutic.

 

Although SnrYoof's new powerwasher would probably break the wee thing to smithereens.

[Joey spud]

Because it's been in the family for ten years and it's the late mother in laws last car before she passed away selling it on isn't going to be an option at the moment.

 

There are a lot of fond memories associated with this little car for the wife and her sister.

Hell the sister in laws waters broke on the passenger seat circa 2009.

[Faker]

Give it some love. Bet it's in some Nick.

[robinmasters]

...immaculate interior...,

 

 

Er, not quite...

 

...the sister in laws waters broke on the passenger seat circa 2009.

[rml2345]

Rubbish smoking shelter, get it on the road and use it instead as they're jolly things to blezz about in. The 954cc/4sp is surprisingly capable but needs worked to get the best out of it.

 

Steering shouldn't be heavy on one of these - check the tyre pressures if it is.

Mine is a nightmare at parking speeds on the right pressures. Whilst chatting to a mechanic he suggested the front strut besrings might be past it but seems fine once moving.

[For Fiats Sake]

 

Should keep the pipe fumes in check!

 

[Joey spud]

OK i had a day off today so went to work on the AX body work.

 

A strong mix of Flash floor cleaner with a dash of peach Fairy Liquid in a bucket of hot water and the power washer has shifted the worst of the moss and algae.

 

 

Then i followed up with the G3 applied with a suitably moistened Bar towel

 

 

A wash off of the G3 and a bit of sightly runny Autoglym super resin and its come up rather nice.

 

 

In other news Father has stated that the little AX is too tidy inside for him to smoke in so he plans to continue using my old MX5 that previously he complained was too low for him to get in and out of.

[Kiltox]

What a difference! Lovely.

[Twiggy]

Excellent piece of work that ! Bet it makes you feel good....................

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Blimey, that's tidy considering it's been sat for years! Looks almost brand new! Get it on the road and enjoy it.

[HillmanImp]

Thats an amazing difference. Well done. Get it on the road.

 

My Mum had a AX Jive when I was younger. I used to drive it a lot after I passed my test. Was a nice car to drive from memory even though I didn't have a lot to compare it to at the time. 

 

K91 NNJ. Was scrapped a fair few years ago though.

[oldcars]

Looks spot on, get it on the road if you can. Love these. Good on Dad too, i agree to good and to much history to waste it