Project Domes shonky autos - Grand Cherokee departs, Kangoo titivation and 911 dug out.

[yes oui si]

320touring has it on an extended test drive so with a bit of luck I can move house and send him a bill so he can't bring it back!

I keep hitting thanks instead of quote on here...

 

Either way - two randoms if it roffles

[dome]

The worst thing about the A2 is that it confounded me by not being broken! I was all on board with changing the head gasket but it just works. It is a cool little car though. I love the little touches.

[dome]

So, as you may have seen in the News 24 thread, Duncan and I attempted to buy another Corolla T-Sport the other night but the owner was a total dick so we've sacked that off.

 

Last night I went to look at another project because with the MR2 and Locost still in bits that's exactly what I need isn't it?

 

It managed to be both better and worse than expected. Owner was a character though and he offered to deliver it for free tonight so a deal has been struck.  

 

Stay tuned!

[dome]

It has arrived!

 

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

[mrbenn]

Looks like a Ford, struggling with what had the early style key but also came with remote locking.

[beko1987]

Did you buy a house with it? or does every door have a different lock?

 

I'm no good with key types so I'll wait for you to sober up and give us the big reveal!

[dome]

So, after the collosal fucknugget with the broken Corolla T-Sport we found for sale the other night (see my post in the News24 thread) my desire for some new shite was strong. 

 

One of my saved searches in Gumtree is "spares or repair" I perused for some time and the other day a suitable moneypit hove into view.

 

I contacted the owner and was pleasantly surprised by their ability to communicate, however it was divulged that someone had beat me to it and had already negotiated a healthy discount.

 

I duly left it and carried on, until a message popped up. The supposed buyer had failed to turn up so if I was interested it could be mine.

 

I headed an hour north of Dunfermline last night for a perusal.

 

The car managed to be both better and worse than expected. 

 

The seller was old money and regaled me with tales of breaking his neck 3 times(so far), having to give up his Aston DB6 and 246 Dino when he left his wife. 

 

He also used to own a TVR Chimaera and my purchase was to make way for his 4.7 V8 Grand Cherokee on LPG so rapidly went up in my estimations.

 

Naturally being in Scotland a Volvo was parked alongside the object of my desire.

 

The beast in question was pretty solid although it has definitely been used as intended and will benefit  from some care and attention.

 

[cort16]

Ford Maverick?

[hairnet]

ka 1.1

[Springer]

I'm stumped...that key is so early.

 

Old Granny estate?

[dome]

Here we go. First view

 

 

Yup, It's a Ford Exploder Explorer. XLT spec for maximum borkage comfort.

 

Registered 2001, 4.0 V6 on LPG

 

Here's the pics from the ad

 

 

MOT expired in November.  It had been replaced by the Grand Cherokee

 

Fluids the right colour and in the right places, no obvious signs of rust underneath.

 

It fired up and ran silently, however if another orange light came on on the dash we'd have Connect4.

 

I let him chauffeur me around and it felt pretty good. No worrying clunks despite it being a separate chassis with leaf springs on the rear.

 

I went home and did some homework. The price was cheap, but with the best will in the world it'll never be worth fortunes. 

 

I'd prefer another Grand Cherokee but none were around for what I wanted to spend.

 

I slept on it and messaged today saying I was still keen and the old chap offered to deliver for no charge. Said he was happy to see it go to a good home 

 

It'd be rude not to?

 

Fast forward to tonight and delivery was arranged. I get a call from his wife who had followed him down the road. In their 200000 mile Volvo 940 (?) with 6 dogs in it. I guide them to mine, they come in. Leaving 6 Spaniels in the car whilst mine chews on the old boy and his wife a bit in the house. Cash changes hands, some paperwork is handed over and I have a 20 year old 4x4 in my drive.

 

 

Perfect for the winter. 

 

Oh fuck, it's Spring.

 

Battery disconnected and on to charge to reset the warning lights, tomorrow you and I will all get to look at it in daylight for the first time...

 

 

[Saabnut]

A bit off topic, but if you are serious about moving the A2 on, I still have need of a cheap shopping trolley. This would have to be very, very very etc cheap and even then if you are not attached to it in any way because as soon as something semi serious goes wrong, it would not be fixed. A friend* has the lunatic idea of making a camper out of one, so it would probably go there to moulder for eternity be converted when it dies. PM me a price if you want a no hassle sale and an extra parking space!

[cort16]

I knew it was something American because of the weird key.

[Springer]

Top shiting Dome! 

 

Just the sort of folk I'd like to buy a car off of. Old money, an old Volvo and loads of spaniels

 

Anyone that own's a spaniel is inherently honest...don't ya know.

 

Not that I'd EVER own a spaniel...my forum persona is purely about water naturally springing from the earth  

 

I'd like to type more but my nose seems to be growing and getting in the way....lol.

[dome]

A bit off topic, but if you are serious about moving the A2 on, I still have need of a cheap shopping trolley. This would have to be very, very very etc cheap and even then if you are not attached to it in any way because as soon as something semi serious goes wrong, it would not be fixed. A friend* has the lunatic idea of making a camper out of one, so it would probably go there to moulder for eternity be converted when it dies. PM me a price if you want a no hassle sale and an extra parking space!

Noted, it's on extended loan to 320touring at the minute who has first option to purchase. You have second refusal!

[cort16]

Noted, it's on extended loan to 320touring at the minute who has first option to purchase. You have second refusal!

 

 

Can he handle the power? It must feel like a top fuel dragster compared to the Mercedes

[dome]

Can he handle the power? It must feel like a top fuel dragster compared to the Mercedes

Actual lol

[320touring]

Can he handle the power? It must feel like a top fuel dragster compared to the Mercedes

It does a thing called accelerating?!

[Matty]

Oh fuck, it's Spring.

Autoshite, all over that quote. Nicely done!

[cort16]

It does a thing called accelerating?!

 

 

It must be weird for you

[Lacquer Peel]

I'm looking forward to 320t trying veg in a PD engine.

 

How long were Explorers marketed in the UK?

I half remember GM, spurred by the success* of the Explorer, offering the Blazer in RHD here.

Isn't the Explorer engine a development of the Cologne V6?

[320touring]

It must be weird for you

It's no 172/335

[Mrcento]

Always liked the explorers.... In fact i was looking at them as an alternative to the Discovery before one finally popped up!, a proper yank tank SUV and an interior made out of wheelie bin plastics. Terrible yet somehow fits it.

 

Though i do prefer the squarer pre facelift rear end that makes it look more outdated. In fact i was pretty close to buying one in Aberdeen in delicious lilac.

 

Think the issues with them aside from rust are timing chain guides?

 

Mates dad used to have one on LPG and said it was surprisingly "decent" on fuel anyway up and down the A90.

[dome]

It's no 172/335

No, it's currently functioning

 

#runs away

[cort16]

The Explorer was famous for the cruise control jamming on and the dodgy firestone tyres, which killed a load of people. Other than that great cars

 

I always had a bit of a soft spot for them does this have the tombstone seats?

[yes oui si]

Top, TOP purchasing!

MissYOS and I would be all over one of these in lpg flavour

[The Moog]

Well bought sir! A (broken) car for every occasion

[dome]

So, let's see what I've bought then shall we?

 

From my brief look over in the dark a few worries stood out from an MOT point of view

 

Airbag light

EML light

The air suspension warning light

Handbrake didn't work

Driver seat adjust not working

 

So, out this morning and here it is as delivered

 

 

 

A quick root about showed just how lovely* the interior was

 

 

 

The boot was quite something...

 

 

Anyway, that could wait. Before I reconnected the battery I checked a mutliplug in the engine bay which can cause issued. It seemed OK so I moved on to the fuseboxes and checked them all. Sure enough I found a couple blown, including the one for the power seats.

 

This done I connected the battery to read the codes off the Airbag light-it flashes a code on startup. This pointed to an under sea tconnector. A quick wiggle and it went out.

 

The suspension light comes on if you switch off the air suspension, there's a switch in the boot and sure enough it was off. I switched it on and fired it up to see what 

 

 

Yaas!

[The Moog]

You are the car whisperer

[dome]

Next up was the handbrake. It's a disc in drum with the adjusters you can get to from the back and wind up to tighten. They are notoriously shit apparently on these

 

Up in the air-luckily I have a bottle jack from a sprinter so lifting this was no problem

 

 

I removed the caliper with a view to getting the disc off and cleaning things up but it was stuck solid.

 

I adjusted it up anyway and had a quick poke around. The dust covers on the air suspension were a bit rotten, I've cable tied some metal sheet round them for the meantime.

 

I also noticed a slight lack of exhaust...

 

 

This was a surprise as it wasn't overly noisy. It does sound good though...

 

I chopped it off just where it exits the centre box to tidy it up a bit-it's all supported so shouldn't be an issue for an MOT.

 

That was the extent of my MOT prep. Suppose I'd better clean the interior then...