nigel bickle Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 What manuals- am I being thick, Ed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spottedlaurel Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 What manuals- am I being thick, Ed?Wrong Nigel, he means me…I wasn’t born as Spottedlaurel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratdat Posted December 4, 2007 Author Share Posted December 4, 2007 Haha, sorry Nigel and Nigel for the confusion there. I'll stick to SL in future lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratdat Posted December 6, 2007 Author Share Posted December 6, 2007 Sir_bollox, can you remember the reg number off your Europe? Got any pictures of it?I've established they sold 6824 Cherry Europes here of which 1082 were GTi's. Now to find out how many are left!-Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Bo11ox Posted December 6, 2007 Share Posted December 6, 2007 Yeah, mine was actually an Arna and the reg was B831FVK, its defo dead though as my old GF's dad weighed it in after it cluttered up his farm for too long! All this was about 10 years ago now like.I have very occasionally seen Arnas on the bay but I cannot remember the last time I saw a cherry europe anywhere, must be years now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratdat Posted December 6, 2007 Author Share Posted December 6, 2007 Ah, my list only covers the Nissan flavoured ones anyway. I've identified three that exist so far including mine. I wasn't sure if you bought that 1.2 that was white with the blue stripe or not last year. I remember it being advertised in R-R. I wonder where that one is. It's still taxed. -Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewp Posted December 6, 2007 Share Posted December 6, 2007 Ratdat, I've got a March 1984 a4 sized Nissan Cherry brochure covering the gti (turbo & europe too), 8 pages including covers in excellent condition for just a couple of pounds. Drop me a pm if interested. I've literally hundreds of brochures from mid 70's to early 90's available inc mazda 818, 626rwd. Bluebird, accord mk1, plymouth fury, R21 turbo etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratdat Posted December 6, 2007 Author Share Posted December 6, 2007 Cheers for the offer on that one but I have got that brochure. be interested to know what else you've got though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reallyloud Posted December 6, 2007 Share Posted December 6, 2007 John Wrights yard, Wisbech circa 2002. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewp Posted December 6, 2007 Share Posted December 6, 2007 No problem, I've far too many brochures to list but I will try to find my Datsun / Nissan ones and list them, are there any specific ones that you may like?Requests from anyone welcome for any make. From 1977 Datsun range brochure - Laurel six. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratdat Posted December 6, 2007 Author Share Posted December 6, 2007 I remember that Arna from John Wrights yard. Amazing how Alfa could make a car from the exact same panels that N12's were made from and make it rust like any other Alfa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrogeezer Posted December 6, 2007 Share Posted December 6, 2007 Hey Andrew....I'll take that cherry brochure off you for £2.00 please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewp Posted December 7, 2007 Share Posted December 7, 2007 Thanks Retrogeezer, a pm has been sent to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pandamonium Posted December 7, 2007 Share Posted December 7, 2007 Amazing how Alfa could make a car from the exact same panels that N12's were made from and make it rust like any other Alfa pmsl. There must be a special coating the italians put on cars. The only really rusty cars I've owned were...... my 3 Fiat Pandas!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spottedlaurel Posted December 7, 2007 Share Posted December 7, 2007 Look what I found! Also had a look through the N12/920 file, there is quite a bit on the Europe/ARNA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratdat Posted December 7, 2007 Author Share Posted December 7, 2007 Coooool!! Let me know whenever it's convenient to visit. No hurry... I won't be fixing the Europe for a while, at least not until I can find a solid N12 shell to use as a donor anyway. Very keen to see the stuff on file. There's virtually nothing useful online regarding the 920 model. I aim to change that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2_craig Posted December 7, 2007 Share Posted December 7, 2007 Amazing how Alfa could make a car from the exact same panels that N12's were made from and make it rust like any other Alfa pmsl. There must be a special coating the italians put on cars. The only really rusty cars I've owned were...... my 3 Fiat Pandas!!!Hehe. I think it's the coatings that they used NOT to put on cars in Italy that was the problem. Such as primer, paint etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dead_E23 Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 My understanding was that they rusted so badly because they were made from rubbishy recycled steel from Russia got in payment for licensing old Fiat designs to turn into VAZ/ZAZ/FSO exotitat. (Or is that an urban myth? Enlighten me, someone!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratdat Posted December 8, 2007 Author Share Posted December 8, 2007 Probably in the case of other Alfa's maybe it is true but the Arna/Europe was built from pressings shipped from Japan. I remember my mum's Alfetta GTV needing major welding in about 1981/82 and it was only a T-reg car so not very old at the time. It required some rust repair and bodywork every year to keep it looking decent. I remember how it used to rust vitually anywhere. Not just wheel arches and door bottoms like most cars, but in the middle of panels, around the roof and tops of the doors. Last time i saw it was in the early 90's. it had been sat in a field for three years at that point and was in a terrible way with huge holes everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrRegieRitmo Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 I wasn’t born as Spottedlaurel Well that's a bolt from the blue!! In regards to the car, remind me why there was a Cherry Europe AND an Alfa Romeo Arna, isn't that doubling up for no reason at all? What was the difference? They were both joint ventures & advertised themselves as such so why market them separately, why not just jointly back the one horse?Great that there's still one around.....keep it away from Jeremy Clarkson, he blew one up on one of his videos saying that there were 141 left - Oooopss, sorry 140!!!and this was probably over ten years ago! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratdat Posted December 8, 2007 Author Share Posted December 8, 2007 I'm not certain what benefit Nissan thought they would gain from selling a Nissan badged version of the car. The Nissan version is just a badge engineered Alfa. The Cherry Europe was built in the same plant on the same line as the Arna and is, to all intent and purposes exactly the same car, just without the Alfa grille and badges.Whilst the Arna served a purpose, filling the gap at the bottom of Alfa romeos range left by the Alfasud, the Europe had no purpose at all. I've not actually see any evidence they were sold anywhere else but here too. Anyone know if the Nissan version was sold on the continent? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Bo11ox Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 I dont think it was sold in France as I showed one to a French old car forum and they couldnt make head or tail of it!Hey ratdat you say you are gonna get an solid N12 shell to help you restore this, what will you use off the shell? I think it would be impossible to rebuild a 'europe' into an ordinary shell cos the bulkhead and front structures are so different? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratdat Posted December 8, 2007 Author Share Posted December 8, 2007 I've no problem stripping apart the front structure of both cars and rebuilding the 920 structure into the N12 shell. The upper section of the bulkhead and scuttle are the same but the entire lower section down to the floorpan as well as the inner wings etc is different. The A post area looks to be the same. I have got to use the parts catalogs for both models to establish what's the same and what isn't before I can do it that way for definate though. Big job but cleaner and neater than trying to save this shell and in the long run probably no more work. If it's not possible to do it that way then a clean N12 shell will have to donate it's rear quarters, inner rear arches, sills and roof We have the technology. We can rebuilt it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Bo11ox Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 Yow! I am always impressed by such manipulation of car bodyshell structures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratdat Posted December 8, 2007 Author Share Posted December 8, 2007 It all depends on wether the structure can be seperated at the joins too. Don't like the idea of doing such a major graft unless I can assemble it as it was intended. Separateing outer panels from an N12 shell and attaching them to the 920 shell would probably be easier technically, but I'll end up with a lot more finishing to do and potentially more risk of rust in the future. I can't make the call until I have both shells sat in my workshop stripped down to the essentials. I actually enjoy that kind of work in a slightly perverse way. I think it's because I really feel I've achieved something when I get it all back together. I reckon it'll take a while to find a decent N12 two door for a sensible price. If I hadn't have done Bernies one up earlier this years I'd be chopping into that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2_craig Posted December 9, 2007 Share Posted December 9, 2007 Whilst the Arna served a purpose, filling the gap at the bottom of Alfa romeos range left by the Alfasud, the Europe had no purpose at all. I've not actually see any evidence they were sold anywhere else but here too. Anyone know if the Nissan version was sold on the continent?IMPORT QUOTAS. Jap manufacturers only allowed X % of the UK market in the 1980s, presumably Italian assembly a way round this. Ed, if it's any help this was still extant in Clifton (Nottingham) earlier this year, looked to have sat a while but in good nick. If seriously interested, bung us a private message and I'll provide a more precise location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratdat Posted December 9, 2007 Author Share Posted December 9, 2007 Ooh...ideal! Pm on the way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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