My ultimate autoshite is here!

[Ratdat]

Behold!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Knackered drivers seat and a bead seat cover, a knackered clutch and comical levels of smoke under acceleration, rear spoiler held together with gaffa tape, front spoiler held on with a bungee, rotten as a pear, unloved and ugly as sin. w00t!

[Heidel_Kakao]

Very cool Judging by the number plate it is also up for a bit of Saturday Night Fever How quick are they supposed to be without a kippered clutch, engine etc?

[mk2_craig]

Jayzoz a Cherry Europe. By rights that should have been binned a dozen years ago at least. How come it's managed to evade the crusher for so long?

[Ratdat]

They lady I got it off has had it since 1985! She said that if it wasn't for the rust and the cost of getting it back up to scratch she'd have kept it as it's never let her down. Sadly, 60k miles of trunding round town at 20mph hasn't done the engine a world of favours.On paper they are respectable performance wise but not really fast as such. 0-60 in 10 secs and 112mph top end. The GTi is a 1.5 with twin downdraught delortoes and sounds lovely. It's very Alfa like to drive... even the driving position feels like an alfa with a kind of straight arm style steering wheel postioning. The clutch on this one is really bad, it even slips in 1st. However it feels like it would be very lively indeed if it did bite as the engine feels strong, despite the smoke screen.Looking round it, it's clear that these cars are way more Alfa than they are Nissan. Even the glass is made by Alfa Romeo despite being the same as a normal Cherry. I think they had to be 80% locally produced in italy.Heaven knows where I'm gonna get the parts needed to restore it but restore it I will!

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Absolutely wonderful!! I have had an alfa-badged 5 door one of these in the past. Seemingly only the doors and rear suspension (excluding hubs!)are obvioulsy interchangeable with a Nissan Cherry! Marvellous find ratdat, my hat is well off to you.

[reallyloud]

A great piece of Italia-jap tat there Ed, I assume this is the one you've been sniffing around for a while. Are there many interchangeable oily bits with a 33? It will good next to your 'cleaned' N12. Whats the deal with the 'BR brunswick green' livery?You know what will happen? I bet another one will be available soon......probabily on ebay.

[wuvvum]

Wow. Restecp to you for taking that on! Those really are rarer than rocking horse poo now though - I think I've seen more Arnas about than Cherry Europes. What it needs is a nice 1712cc 16v engine from a late 33 Cloverleaf - in that light bodyshell not a lot would keep up with it. Good purchase. Just hope the grot isn't too terminal...

[pogweasel]

ZOIKS!!!!Cherry Europe is a truly premier-league shite.Awesome cars though. My mates' dad had one when we were kids, made a glorious noise and not too shabby on the speed either (well certainly compared to whatever automotive embarrasment my dad had at the time). I've always quite fancied one as a result.

[Ratdat]

It is indeed the one I've been hoping to get hold of for a while. We first saw it about 6 years ago and there's been a couple of sightings since but it wasn't until about a few months back that I finally got chance to actually speak to the owner. I just left her my number and explained that whilst they were incredibly rare, they weren't exactly popular so I'd be glad to buy it if and when she wanted rid. Initially, her mechanic told her it'd be worth a few quid because of the highly desirable Alfa romeo engine and told her to look for about £600! In the end I paid £200 and in all honesty that more than it's worth as it'd really on it's last legs. I'm glad to have saved it from the scrapman though.I think the wings might be interchangeable too but I haven't compared closely. Back panel is different because of the lights but I've got a sneaking suspicion I might have a new one in the shed (and I'm sure it'll probably need it). The rust doesn't seen to be as bad as it looks really, although I have yet to check around the rear suspension. Ordinary N12's go there. It's unreal how different the structure is from a normal N12 under the bonnet.It doesn't have the Alfasuds indoard discs on the front (thankfully) so it probably has more in common with a 33 maybe. I've never poked about a 33 so I don't really know yet. As for the colour, the lady told me it was actually painted like that when she bought it. It would hav only been a year or so old then so who knows? maybe a dealers idea or making it a bit more "special". It won't be staying like that though!Mr.B, what happened to the one you had? That was that white 1.2 one that went up for sale a couple of times on the bay wasn't it?

[Spottedlaurel]

Well done! I'd rather have one of them than a Cherry Turbo I think.Would that back panel be like Pulsar/Langley models with the slender back lights?

[r.welfare]

That is just wondrous. Good work Ratdat chap!

[Ratdat]

Well done! I'd rather have one of them than a Cherry Turbo I think.Would that back panel be like Pulsar/Langley models with the slender back lights?

Me too. Partly because of it being about the most unlikely of automotive collaborations and also because it satisfies my like both of Nissans and Alfasud's in one car Unlike the other badge engineered version (Holden Astra) it isn't just a rebadged version with a different engine, it's completely re-engineered. The irony of the car is that whilst giving the impression of being a Nissan tarted up to look like an Alfa, it's actually really and Alfa wearing a Nissan badge. I might do a side by side comparison with Bernies cherry tomorrow and post up some pics.

[Mike D]

Quality!Shame it's as you suspected on the engine front, I'm sure it's sortable though :DEdit: Get that airbox lost pronto

[Ratdat]

You should see the smoke when you give it some boot. Never seen a car smoke so bad! It'll probably be the easiest bit to sort though I'd imagine. Fortunately, it seems the only knackered bits that are Europe Gti/Arna Ti specific are the drivers seat and the rear spoiler which is in a bit of a sorry state. The seats are no issue as they can be re-upholstered but the spoiler will be much harder. Carpet is a bit worn too but again that should be easy. All the lights, bumpers, grill etc that are Europe only are all fine thankfully.Just been reading the AROC forum. Amazingly,even after all these years, Alfa enthusiasts still despise the Arna I would have thought they would have grown to accept it as a curious bit of Alfa history but it seem not so. I daren't post anything... they'll probably find out where I live and come round to burn my car.

[Ratdat]

Would that back panel be like Pulsar/Langley models with the slender back lights?

Yes, I think so. No idea if it's exactly the same mind but the lights are slim like the Langley ones.Just out of interest, have you got much info on the Europe amongst you Nissan archive? I presume all the type approval work would have been done in Italy by Alfa as the Eurpoe and Arna apear to be virtually identical apart from very minor trim changes.

[Guest]

Here's the only bit of Cherry Europe in my pile.....

 

 

Fantastic buy! Funnily enough my mate who is a diehard Alfa fan thinks the Arna is a great little car, he must be the only one.

[Ratdat]

Cool! Cheers for that! I only have one brochure that shows it. I think the only other stuff relevant to the 920 model is a parts catalogue on microfiche (like I'm going to be able to order anything from Nissan ) and a factory service manual supplement which only covers the electrical system. Fortunate, as that most likely to be the bit I need with it being Alfa

[BD3]

You've hit the jackpot there I had never even heard of the Cherry Europe before I opened this thread!I had heard of the Arna but have never seen one. And it's been over 10 years since I've seen a regular Cherry N12.

[retrogeezer]

A mate of mine had a Cherry Turbo back in 1990 - I remember driving it home from a night out in London one night down the M3 - it was the quickest thing I had driven back then and very smooth.Not seen one since then I don't think!Top find.

[michiel]

Well done, that is pretty ugly and cool at the same time!

[Karmann Ghiaman]

You did get that bead seat cover too, didn't you Ratdat? (Clearly the rest of the car is worthless without it).

[nigel bickle]

Well done Ed -understand the need, well, to rescue knackered obscure shite!Dont 'know' these -but recgonise you're knowledge so it must be special.Well done -and 'bon chance'

[Mat.T]

What a fantastically obscure thing, excellent work!

[Mr Lobster]

What a truly superb bit of kit! Always had a fondness for these so it's good to see one alive.

[King Maz]

Fantastic work, sir.I'd heard of the Cherry Europe in mythical tales featuring the Mitsubishi Lonsdale.

[pompei]

Wonderful - sorry to disappoint, but the plate is from Grim sby Those 1.7 33 engines are great - had one in a Sud a few years ago, probably the best thing I've ever driven (until the driver's door fell off )

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I have a low-mileage one-owner 1.5 Alfa 33 flatface which will be in my workshop shortly, I have had a 1.7 in the past but thought it was a bit poor TBH, I hope the 1.5 feels more 'of a piece'. Allegedly the 1.3 is the sweetest version, I believe there are 1186, 1290, 1350, 1490 and 1712 versions. injected 1.3 with 16V heads FTW!I am blown away that you have got a Cherry Europe 'GTi', that is just pure 24 carrot shite. RESTPKL.

[Mash]

Just been reading the AROC forum. Amazingly,even after all these years, Alfa enthusiasts still despise the Arna I would have thought they would have grown to accept it as a curious bit of Alfa history but it seem not so. I daren't post anything... they'll probably find out where I live and come round to burn my car.

That's TAS - Triumph Acclaim Syndrome, it's quite a common affliction for 80s cars but there's no cure and is usually accompanied by terminal tin-worm. Rover 213s have the same disease Actually because the N12 body is so light, I bet it'll go like shit when the motor's sorted. Good luck with that one Ed.

[Spottedlaurel]

Cool! Cheers for that! I only have one brochure that shows it. I think the only other stuff relevant to the 920 model is a parts catalogue on microfiche (like I'm going to be able to order anything from Nissan ) and a factory service manual supplement which only covers the electrical system. Fortunate, as that most likely to be the bit I need with it being Alfa

I might still have the pair of manuals that covers this car, dual badging for Alfa and Nissan. Remind me if you think I've forgotten.

[Ratdat]

Having had a good inspect, I think possibly the quickest and easiest way to resurrect this Europe is going to be finding a solid 2 door Cherry I can use as a donor. It'd be easier to graft all of the Europe inner wings and bulkhead etc into a regular N12 body than repair this one I think. The rear panel is different but amazingly I have a brand new one amongst my stash of parts. And I had a new clutch kit too!I have to admit that even with a slipping clutch the Europe feels like it'll be considerably more lively than a normal N12. The engine is really responsive and free revving. There's a 1.5 engine from a 33 on t'bay at the minute so I have my eye on that. That would at least solve the poorly engine problem for now although I would really like to repair the original engine.Nigel, I'd be most keen to give those manuals a home if you find them. I only have one supplement but a full manual would be excellent.