Project Memoirs from the Hard Shoulder - ONE IN

[Dobloseven]

1 hour ago, BorniteIdentity said:

I've emailed the guy Len who runs the Ford Heritage place but I doubt they'll be interested.  Matthewsons will have such a limited market; I love cars but I have never once thought to look at their lots nor have I tripped over one of their adverts.  Ever.  I can just see it making £800 and then I either have to sell it for buttons or go and fetch the bastard and pay Matthewsons for trying.  It's a non starter for me.

Aren't you in Cambridgeshire or somewhere nearby? Wouldn't Anglia Car Auctions be closer?Can it be realistically driven any distance as it stands? Because if it can, surely that's a big plus, compared to something that needs transport arranging,or needs work to get it mobile.

[BorniteIdentity]

21 minutes ago, Dobloseven said:

Aren't you in Cambridgeshire or somewhere nearby? Wouldn't Anglia Car Auctions be closer?Can it be realistically driven any distance as it stands? Because if it can, surely that's a big plus, compared to something that needs transport arranging,or needs work to get it mobile.

It's absolutely turn-key.  It'll go anywhere.  But it's just ball-ache city.

[Cavcraft]

I know it's probably getting tiresome now, but how about a raffle? At least it'd have a fighting chance of going to a shiter, though obviously what they do with it afterwards may be of concern if you want to see it looked after. 

@RetroShite?

[BorniteIdentity]

17 minutes ago, Cavcraft said:

I know it's probably getting tiresome now, but how about a raffle? At least it'd have a fighting chance of going to a shiter, though obviously what they do with it afterwards may be of concern if you want to see it looked after. 

@RetroShite?

I would like to find a home where it will stay - if at all possible.  I like Scott but he's just going to make a few quid out of it, so I might as well do that bit myself!

On the advice of @triggerI've put it up on eBay at his advised price of £3,500 and will move it southwards until it gets interest.  I agree with a lot of the guys on the FotU facebook page - it's somewhere between a grand and five!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/136708298978

[RetroShite]

I'll give you £4000 for it.

[BorniteIdentity]

12 minutes ago, RetroShite said:

I'll give you £4000 for it.

Let me sleep on it.  (The idea, not the Sierra, it's got a jelly-mould roof and I sleep on my back)

[Split_Pin]

Once my L322 is MOTd next week I'd gladly give this a home next to my 75 and company. 

But Scott's offer is strong (double what I could afford myself!) and I can confirm he's given me 2 of the easiest and swiftest car sales I've ever had. A pleasure to deal with, absolutely no-nonsense.

 

[RayMK]

@BorniteIdentity: I have been browsing ebay (an evening habit). Your advert is nicely worded, far better and more informative than most. Good luck with the sale!

[RetroShite]

I bought a V6 auto Sierra ghia not that long ago for £3500.

I can totally understand your reservations in selling the car to me as I'm out to make money and cannot guarantee it'll go to a good home.

Take as much time as you need to consider my offer and no hard feelings if you decide to sell it to someone else.

Some of our cars do seem to find the "right" owners and others not so much but it's the luck of the draw.

[garbaldy]

2 hours ago, RetroShite said:

I'll give you £4000 for it.

You been drinking again 😄

[BorniteIdentity]

10 hours ago, RetroShite said:

I'm out to make money and cannot guarantee it'll go to a good home.

I have absolutely no problem with how you make a living at all.  Quite the opposite.  Nothing but admiration for you getting out of the job that you hated and bravely trying something new.  There's a lesson to us all.

Ultimately, I could find it the right home - they could have the best of intentions but run out of luck/money/appetite/time and then they can sell it to any old sod themselves.  I need to worry less about it.  I would like to think, at 42, we're out of the danger zone of it getting raced/scrapped and - if it gets passed around a bit - well that's life.  

If you're happy to trailer it away and not moan about anything I've not discovered - then I'm happy for you to take it on and make some money out of it.  Part of the reason for selling away from AS was to not be subjected to endless moaning when the buyer realised what a 42 year old Ford is like!  It's rough in places, but at no stage did the garage who took the exhaust off in the summer say "Hang on mate - this is really not safe".  That said, you'll need your welder.

Drop me a line and let's do business.  

Thank you.

 

[Snipes]

Its always seemed strange to me when people sell a car and act like the buyer owes them some duty of care. 

As far as I'm concerned you take the money it's no longer your business.

[BorniteIdentity]

1 minute ago, Snipes said:

Its always seemed strange to me when people sell a car and act like the buyer owes them some duty of care. 

As far as I'm concerned you take the money it's no longer your business.

I agree.  There's a lot of sentimentality tied up in this car.  But, ultimately, if I want to retain control then I need to keep it.  And, really, I can't.  

[sierraman]

Live life for the moment I suppose. No point worrying about what you’ve no influence over. You’ve done more than most of us would have the time and dedication to do, I’d take comfort from that. 

[danthecapriman]

2 hours ago, Snipes said:

Its always seemed strange to me when people sell a car and act like the buyer owes them some duty of care. 

As far as I'm concerned you take the money it's no longer your business.

Got to be honest, I’m in that camp! 
If I take the time, effort and expense to preserve a car that’s old and irreplaceable I expect the next owner to do the same, if not more. It really pisses me off that I put in the love and attention to a car and for it to last so long beyond what it reasonably should only for it to end up getting ruined by some oik after me. 
Call me an idiot (it’s true I’m afraid!) but I’ve had a car I was selling bought by a banger racer before, then I managed to back out of the deal by lying and making excuses purely to stop the car getting destroyed. I then found a good buyer and let them have it for much less than the racer offered. The car still exists now. 
I just hate seeing things I’ve cherished end up in the hands of a complete idiot who ruins them. It’s one of the reasons I don’t change cars much and I’ve got to be forced into selling them. 

Anyway, glwts @BorniteIdentity, I’d absolutely love to take this on myself as it’s right up my street. Being fundamentally solid and just needing a bit of cosmetic attention is ideal. It’d sit well with my other heaps of shit classics…

[sierraman]

If it was going to survive long term with anyone @danthecapriman it’d be with you. 

[lisbon_road]

When I sold my Sierra, I really wanted it to go to a decent home.  After it had gone, I found out that the new owner had put a personalised registration on it.

I was really pleased - it meant I'd lost connection with it and would never know anything about it.  After all, I can't control what happens to it, so happy not to know.  

[sierraman]

Possessions unfortunately become a burden eventually sad as that is. There’s things that I cherish and enjoy that probably before I’m cold in the ground will be chucked in a skip or sent down the charity shop. Enjoy the experience of things now and worry not about what happens to it after. 

[lisbon_road]

Yeah, well, I did what I shouldn't and googled Ford Sierra Belfast and found mine.

Used Ford Sierra 1986 for sale in Belfast at Cazoo (75773319)

Well that's a lot of money.  Wow.

Blue paint on the side trims is grim, and the carefully applied bodystripes seem to have gone, but it is certainly still around.

Partly apologies for the thread hijack but on the other hand, I seem to be boosting Sierra values.  

Edit: thanks to @BorniteIdentity for all the posts about your Sierra, has been amazing.

[sierraman]

1 hour ago, lisbon_road said:

Yeah, well, I did what I shouldn't and googled Ford Sierra Belfast and found mine.

Used Ford Sierra 1986 for sale in Belfast at Cazoo (75773319)

Well that's a lot of money.  Wow.

Blue paint on the side trims is grim, and the carefully applied bodystripes seem to have gone, but it is certainly still around.

Partly apologies for the thread hijack but on the other hand, I seem to be boosting Sierra values.  

Edit: thanks to @BorniteIdentity for all the posts about your Sierra, has been amazing.

This sounds shitty but at least at £18k the chances of it falling into the hands of some fool that rollers it pink then leaves it under a tarp outside his mums house is low. When it’s £2k or something is the danger zone that it ends up in the arms of someone that can’t process plans past about 18 minutes in front. 

[camryv6]

If you painted the front grill body colour it might be a bit more desirable 😇

[Dave_Q]

2 minutes ago, camryv6 said:

If you painted the front grill body colour it might be a bit more desirable 😇

Ban this man 

[camryv6]

Just now, Dave_Q said:

Ban this man 

It was a joke please don't ban me 😭

[N Dentressangle]

10 hours ago, BorniteIdentity said:

I have absolutely no problem with how you make a living at all.  Quite the opposite.  Nothing but admiration for you getting out of the job that you hated and bravely trying something new.  There's a lesson to us all.

Ultimately, I could find it the right home - they could have the best of intentions but run out of luck/money/appetite/time and then they can sell it to any old sod themselves.  I need to worry less about it.  I would like to think, at 42, we're out of the danger zone of it getting raced/scrapped and - if it gets passed around a bit - well that's life.  

If you're happy to trailer it away and not moan about anything I've not discovered - then I'm happy for you to take it on and make some money out of it.  Part of the reason for selling away from AS was to not be subjected to endless moaning when the buyer realised what a 42 year old Ford is like!  It's rough in places, but at no stage did the garage who took the exhaust off in the summer say "Hang on mate - this is really not safe".  That said, you'll need your welder.

Drop me a line and let's do business.  

Thank you.

 

Good decision I'd say. That £18k Sierra is daft - no-one's going to pay anything like that money, so best just ignore it.

You want an easy sale and you're being offered one for what seems to me like reasonable money. Everyone's a winner.

[rob88h]

I’d think there is a high likelihood that any new owner would sign up here if they’re told about it being the mascot/thumbnail/poster child of the forum... So it probably will stay in the group, it’s just a friend we’ve not met yet. 

[BorniteIdentity]

Well!  Here we are.  The end of the road, and the end of an era.

After nearly 10 years, 5,000 miles, some awesome journeys, countless laughs, endless oil drips, a bit of paint, numerous scraped knuckles, three house moves, two breakdowns and a thousand insults - the joke is over.  The Sierra leaves me tomorrow; in many respects better than when I found it - and in many, not.  

It is a gut wrench.  I've never owned a car this long, and it never ever fails to make me laugh when I see it or drive it.  Over the years, it's become such a part of who I am that - once it's gone - I wonder if I'll even still be me!  I have become it and it has become me.

My genuine thanks to everyone's benevolence and generosity with it over the years; both the car and I have been the recipients of great kindness.  Without it, I'd have had to bail long ago.  Thank you.  Thanks also to everyone who was their at the start - Skiz, John K, Graham, Richard and my ever patient ex wife.  In another life, I'd have the money burning a hole in my pocket to get it straight and - most importantly - somewhere dry to keep it out of season.  Alas.  As the saying goes, everything is temporary.

Good luck to @RetroShitewho has been a complete gent about the entire transaction, and I hope the new owner finds us here when the time is right.

One out.

 

[HMC]

Onwards and upwards! Whats next?

#lifeisoftenshorterthanwethinkitisbasically

(thats my philosophy- rightly or wrongly)

[BorniteIdentity]

4 minutes ago, HMC said:

Onwards and upwards! Whats next?

#lifeisoftenshorterthanwethinkitisbasically

(thats my philosophy- rightly or wrongly)

Something terrible, but without the irony or humour factor!

[Dobloseven]

Well done for keeping it alive and doing your best to ensure its survival from the awkward thirties into the golden no tax and Mot years.Why do we let the wretched things get under our skin though?Answers on a postcard......

[BorniteIdentity]

The lord taketh away, and the lord giveth. Or something. 

The new vehicle arrived 15 minutes before the Sierra left on its final journey. It came about via a random Autotrader search of 50 miles / £1000. Initial thoughts were “fuck that is cheap” and “woah full MOT”. Spoke to the guy and managed to convince him to let me view it at 0730 one morning on my way back from a night shift. He was the perfect gent and - having driven it - knew it’d suit me perfectly. 

There was just one fly in the ointment: my son, who loved the Sierra, wasn’t keen. At all. 

When I told him I’d bought it his heart sank. I can empathise. No 13 year old wants to be driven about in this, even though he’s a large reason I bought it. 

Things I needed in a replacement were

1. Value

2. ULEZ

3. Recycling Centre Compliancy

4. Fit mountain bikes within. 

This does it all with aplomb. I think.

So!

(It’s no Sierra)

 

 

As discussed in my WANTED thread, it has a couple of party tricks:

 

Tadaa!

Wheelchair Bicycle Ramp!

And. Best of all!

IT’S GOT A CUCKOLD CHAIR!

On my way home from viewing, I realised it’s definitely got micro-camper potential. The ramp has to stay (I think) as it forms part of the floor and the rear bumper - but even so it should be workable. Custom made frame to fill the lowered floor and off we go. It needn’t be The Ritz. 

First impressions are very positive. It’s only got a little 1.4 FIRE but it buzzes along just fine. It could do with approximately 16 more gears but for local journeys it’s very well geared. Everything works and it’s a nice high, upright driving position. 

Belt should probably be changed out of precaution as it’s due on age about now, but otherwise? Drive. 

One in.