85 Talbot alpine Rapier

[JuridicalGrunt]

Evening all

 

I didn't need another project  but after having loads of trouble with the electrics on my celica and generally falling out with it, i decided i wanted something simple with a carb and with as few electrics as possible, so with very little money i found this and decicded i had to have it so for the sum of £280 it was mine.

 

 

first inspection its fairly solid it needs the rear ends of the sills ,lower b posts and some rear inner arch tub repairs. mechanicly it really needs the carb rebuilding and possibly a clutch. i do need some help finding some wing mirrors as both have been smashed off so if any one knows where i might find some that would be much appreciated.

 

Many Thanks

 

Ryan

[Shep Shepherd]

That's a tasteful two-tone. Reminds me of a Granada Sapphire 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Great find, and one of the last ones as well. History looks strange - tax was cancelled early July, but there's no MOT history online? Low owners too; looks to be a decent starting point

[Alexg]

Magic. Proper old skool Autoshite favourite. 

[stillOrange]

Was on my eBay watch list. Well bought!

[Yoss]

Interior shots are compulsory on here! More pictures please.

 

Well bought, that'll go down well here. What carb does it have?

[TripleRich]

I had a look under it the other day and most of the metal is still there.  Amazing how well its survived...

 

Quick, before its too late!!  It was raining today!

 

[mercrocker]

That's a tasteful two-tone. Reminds me of a Granada Sapphire 

  

I always thought that as well, especially from the front....

 

Excellent purchase, too....

[trigger]

What a bargain! Lovely looking car.

[JuridicalGrunt]

Great find, and one of the last ones as well. History looks strange - tax was cancelled early July, but there's no MOT history online? Low owners too; looks to be a decent starting point

from the tax disc i found in it i was last on the road in 1999.

 

Interior shots are compulsory on here! More pictures please.

 

Well bought, that'll go down well here. What carb does it have?

i shall grab some more pics tomorrow. it has weber 36dcnvh ive got a rebulid kit on the way,

 

 

I had a look under it the other day and most of the metal is still there.  Amazing how well its survived...

 

Quick, before its too late!!  It was raining today!

 

Wax.JPG

i was most impressed the sunroof doesn't leak !!

[eddyramrod]

Well bought sir!

[nigel bickle]

I recently acquired its near identical brother. The same car, in the same colour, needing neatly the same stuff!

 

Sadly, the door mirrors ( I need those!) seem impossible without a Queens ransom. Near extinct and highly prized.

 

So, once it's nearly road ready, I'm going to try and sort alternates. I'll let you know how it goes.......

[somewhatfoolish]

If there are decent examples of mirrors in captivity it might be worth getting the plastic bits modelled and 3D printed?

[AnthonyG]

I've got a feeling I've still got a Talbot Alpine handbook after it didn't find a home at Shitefest. It's dated 1980, but I don't think they changed much! It's yours for the cost of postage if you need one.

 

Nice colour scheme on your example.

[Split_Pin]

That is a bargain, considering these are now cropping up at Car shows.

 

Well played indeed.

[tooSavvy]

So, once it's nearly road ready, I'm going to try and sort alternates. I'll let you know how it goes.......

I spent a fair bit of my time sourcing 'alternative' parts for my Savvy... Keeping clear of the stealers/factors not knowing what it was

 

Never FTP. That said [ToMM© given as an example] originality is not a concept I suffer for/strive to.

 

TS

[stuboy]

shinier than my monturdo

[wuvvum]

mechanicly it really needs the carb rebuilding

TADT,S. The carbs on these are a royal pain in the arse.

[tooSavvy]

TADT,S. The carbs on these are a royal pain in the arse.

Whack on an S.U.

 

 

TS

[Paul Dupart]

Got a soft spot for these, I had an A reg 1.6 GL, the most reliable and cheapest to own car I've ever had.  It was 8 years old when I sold it, no rust issues then...

[Braddon81]

Identical to my old much loved Rapier. If you ever want to sell it, I'd buy it in a heartbeat!

The carb jets probably just need a blow through, there one each side of the carb main body that normally get clogged up with crud. Keep us informed how you get on with her ☺️

[TripleRich]

Popped over this evening for another look and grabbed some in interior pics...

 

 

The exterior is a little tatty but not bad, tyres need attention!  Some excellent paintwork on the tailgate.

 

 

Some ignition bits have arrived so an attempt to get it started shouldn't be too far off.

[Shep Shepherd]

What is there not to like? To me, Alpines (and Solaras) are the ultimate Autoshite 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Looking good! Video of first start required

[JuridicalGrunt]

ive been grabbing some time on this over the last few evenings as parts have been coming in, the carb has been stripped down and cleaned is now just wating for the gasket kit, it was absolutely coverd in oil so need a good wash.

 

 

inside wasnt too bad some rubbish in the bottom. Main problem it had was the rod that controls the choke was missing its clip so pulling the leaver in the car did nothing so i need to find a new clip.

 

 

As this has a ducellier distributor finding bits for it was a bit tricky but manged to find the right rotor and leads, one of the old leads was corroded into the cap, just waiting for the dizzy cap now i also replaced the vacuum line to the dizzy as it had turned to jelly after been covered in oil.

 

 

hoping to have it running better this weekend.

[Faker]

Awesome! That is all

[alpinerapier]

Delighted to hear that this example has gone to a good home. Was concerned that it might end its days on the banger tracks when it appeared back on E-Bay. Well worth sorting out the bodywork properly as they are getting sought after in good condition. Mirrors are a real pain but have recently heard that the Spanish club have made them but they chap speaks no English and does not do e-mail.

Parts availablility is good through the Simca Talbot club so well worth joining. Will make a ideal daily runner which stands out from the crowd and easily keeps up with modern traffic is comfort and style.....

[JuridicalGrunt]

Delighted to hear that this example has gone to a good home. Was concerned that it might end its days on the banger tracks when it appeared back on E-Bay. Well worth sorting out the bodywork properly as they are getting sought after in good condition. Mirrors are a real pain but have recently heard that the Spanish club have made them but they chap speaks no English and does not do e-mail.

Parts availablility is good through the Simca Talbot club so well worth joining. Will make a ideal daily runner which stands out from the crowd and easily keeps up with modern traffic is comfort and style.....

its definanly going to live again im looking forward to getting it on the road.  i shall definatly be joining the club, thanks for the info on the mirrors i was struggling to find any really good pictures of what they should look like as their is nothing left of mine. 

[JuridicalGrunt]

Evening all

 

i have been doing some more work on it, the carb has now been fully rebuilt with all new gaskets and is now running alot better its not perfect its still a bit rough on idle but revs well .the exhaust bangs on somthing undernath at idle so that needs looking at . ive cleaned out the rocker cover as it was quite sludgy it still need the valve cleances doing and an oil change.

 

 

next was the bakes the drives caliper appeared to be seized solid so i it took off to find the piston was free, i found the brake hose had collapsed locking the brake on. i managed to get the bleed nipple undone on the drivers calpier but the passenger sheared off so im now on the look out for a pair of new calipers.the rear breakes need new wheel cyliders as one is weeping and flexi pipes the shoes look ok but im going to replace them anyway.

 

 

Next i went rust hunting i found one place on the front chassis leg and passanger floor that need doing. the rear wheel archs are going to need doing a some point  both b posts the passanger side being quite bad and the rear wheel tubs have a few holes. it has one hole in exactly the same place on both sides on a flat section no with no obvious rot trap.  but generally its very soild.

 

 

more to come.

 

[TripleRich]

Can anybody tell me what the bloody hell this thing is?  Its a sort of roller switch thing at the back of the centre console.  It has quite a lot of travel before it stops but it doesn't appear to do anything.