HMC WBOD news

[somewhatfoolish]

DIY V bought hydragas fluid seems as contentious an issue as grease V oil in landrover swivels.

[High Jetter]

3 hours ago, Sigmund Fraud said:

[Enabler] Well, BMC did use to say the cars were perfectly safe to drive at 30MPH with the suspension deflated... [/Enabler]

It's not comfy tho. Dalek required.

[HMC]

Meanwhile, in a deal with @Tubbo , he has the beetle, and i have some money and a 1996 fiesta 1.25 Ghia CTX auto 5 door (take a breath)

Its a bit of a survivor, 31k on the clock, owned by an elderly childrens author for many years (it came with a signed book of hers)

 

“I’ll take it, in white!” Said Bev excitedly as she thumbed the dealer’s brochure.

 

Comes also with the usual books, and the lovely 1.25 engine. It also has the curious cvt box,  which is fun to punt it along with. Im trying to decide how well matched this combo is.

Full credit to @tubbo for giving it the tlc (alloys, cambelt, servicing, cosmetics amongst a host of other stuff)

So in the VDP1300 (auto)  and fiesta ghia (auto) i have upmarket wood* clad giffer transport of the 70s and 90s fully covered.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[hairnet]

rented a brand new one in 98

theyre ace - far better than mk3s

1.25 is the only engine to have in them

[grogee]

Welcome to the rusty Fords owner's club. I love those Fiestas, they are such a joy to throw around. 

I must admit I didn't realise they were sold with a CVT. I wonder if it's related to the Fiat joint-venture where they co-developed the CVT 'Selecta' that was in the Uno (and Panda I think) along with the Mk3 Fiesta. 

How are your rear beam bushes? If they're knackered you get some enjoyable* passive rear-steer. 

[Bazfr69]

21 hours ago, stuboy said:

stolen from google

Oh I like that. 😎

[Bren]

We had a ghia in pepper red with same lump - 51 plate. Lovely around town but too buzzy for the motorway ( the mpg at motorway speeds was not good ). Lovely beige interior and aircon.

Sadly once the rot appeared it seemed to spread at an alarming rate - I touched the rear arches up a few times and then spotted the sills had the integrity of fog.

It was like watching a bunch of flowers die.

I sold the car but it never went through another test due to terminal grot.

 

[mk2_craig]

Nice Fiesta! Internet wisdom suggests the gearbox is already on borrowed time, but if it’s made it this long, hopefully it’s a good one. 

[Split_Pin]

Crikey that's a superb Fester,  I loved my mum's old 97 MK4 with the 1.3 chapper. Handled so progressively which was lucky as I was an enthusiastic* new driver at the time. The original dealer plates are lovely, I remember lots of cars in Central Scotland with them. The slogan does not* have strong Glasgow Rangers connotations. I was amazed that didn't cause bother at the time!

[Tubbo]

Good news for shitters across the country, we could have a direct rail link to @HMC towers!

https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/tavistock-bere-alston-railway-reopen-8805732.amp

[angle]

I don't know what crimble stains are, but if any car has them on the drivers seat then that Fiesta does.

[Eyersey1234]

4 hours ago, HMC said:

Meanwhile, in a deal with @Tubbo , he has the beetle, and i have some money and a 1996 fiesta 1.25 Ghia CTX auto 5 door (take a breath)

Its a bit of a survivor, 31k on the clock, owned by an elderly childrens author for many years (it came with a signed book of hers)

 

“I’ll take it, in white!” Said Bev excitedly as she thumbed the dealer’s brochure.

 

Comes also with the usual books, and the lovely 1.25 engine. It also has the curious cvt box,  which is fun to punt it along with. Im trying to decide how well matched this combo is.

Full credit to @tubbo for giving it the tlc (alloys, cambelt, servicing, cosmetics amongst a host of other stuff)

So in the VDP1300 (auto)  and fiesta ghia (auto) i have upmarket wood* clad giffer transport of the 70s and 90s fully covered.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That is chodtastic 

[Jim Bergerac]

That's a survivor. I saw a (also Glasgow registered Ghia trim) Fiesta of that shape a few weeks ago and thought how you never see them any more:

[tooSavvy]

@Bren... "Sadly once the rot appeared it seemed to spread at an alarming rate - I touched the rear arches up a few times and then spotted the sills had the integrity of fog".

Such eloquence..... I hope [never... 😵‍💫] to recall such a perfect description of my own Hyundai 'returning to the earth' 😕

[New POD]

On 10/5/2023 at 7:48 PM, Sigmund Fraud said:

[Enabler] Well, BMC did use to say the cars were perfectly safe to drive at 30MPH with the suspension deflated... [/Enabler]

The pipe connecting the rear suspension on a metro 1275 sport I owned, leaked fluid and it was quite *fun to drive. Mind you it was only the rear. 

Fixed free of charge by Kwik Fit who had badly fitted the exhaust so it was touching. 

[Schaefft]

This looks genuinely good, the white on beige color combo definitely appeals, especially if it's a metallic color.

[beko1987]

In my group of friends 2 passed their test really quickly and were the first with cars. 

James had a 1.25 fiesta in doom blue and manual. James was a very slow and cautious driver, and his dad had bought him the car and he dared not break anything 🤣

Another friend of ours's parents had a 2nd house in north Devon. Many memories of leaving at 4am from Maidenhead and arriving at 10am in Devon, listening to James music, 4 up with luggage in a tiny fiesta! I laugh now but it was grim at the time. 

Was a happy day when others started passing, we got that trip down to quite a decent time, although we won't ever beat said friends dad, who having owned the house for 30 years knew the trip quite well, and got us back to maidenhead VERY quickly once for some mild emergency he had that we blagged a lift out of (some sort of Merc gl I think, would have been new at the time. Certainly sat very nicely on the cruise at a speed I'd never dare do for 2 hours) 

[EyesWeldedShut]

12 hours ago, Tubbo said:

Good news for shitters across the country, we could have a direct rail link to @HMC towers!

https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/tavistock-bere-alston-railway-reopen-8805732.amp

Sprog in Plymouth says that the 'news' in the Plymouth Herald is more gossip but he's said that, in this case, it's for real - new station @ Tavistock too (so it'll be what, five years and fifteen cars for HMC?)

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/south-west-to-benefit-from-65-billion-transport-investment

[EyesWeldedShut]

11 hours ago, angle said:

I don't know what crimble stains are, but if any car has them on the drivers seat then that Fiesta does.

We could make it a 'thing'
https://www.dmb.uk.com/prod/crimble-of-staines-ford-dealer-sticker

[JakeT]

1.25 rocks. I had a pair in runout ‘freestyle’ trim. Last one was silver, had AC and a dealer fit sunroof. Using the AC was like driving around with the handbrake up a click. Was a late ‘52 plated model. I think I took it from 90k-135k in three years.. It sat for a few months when I was using something else, yet still went back into service doing stellar service. I did 4,000 miles in a month in it, too. Liked a drop of oil when doing over 60 a lot due to the short gearing. But what a stellar handler, and the engine was so willing, and was ever reliable. Bar sodding heater valves usually sticking on full heat. They do like a rot though, mine needed the sills patching at 9 years old. I think I bought it for £900 in 2013 and sold it for £250. Great little car, and one reason the boss has a fiesta. Hers is a 2008 model with a 1.6TDCi of doom though, be better if it was a petrol one.

 

 

[grogee]

15 hours ago, Tubbo said:

Good news for shitters across the country, we could have a direct rail link to @HMC towers!

https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/tavistock-bere-alston-railway-reopen-8805732.amp

This old chestnut. It has been on and off since the Nineties. Bere Alston is the village in which I grew up. Tavistock was the 'big' town and Plymouth was the megacity. 

Sunak is a liar, he won't build this railway. 

[Jim Bell]

The geography teacher at the school on the next estate to ours had one of them.

Glwts. 

[beko1987]

1 hour ago, JakeT said:

1.25 rocks. I had a pair in runout ‘freestyle’ trim. Last one was silver, had AC and a dealer fit sunroof. Using the AC was like driving around with the handbrake up a click. Was a late ‘52 plated model. I think I took it from 90k-135k in three years.. It sat for a few months when I was using something else, yet still went back into service doing stellar service. I did 4,000 miles in a month in it, too. Liked a drop of oil when doing over 60 a lot due to the short gearing. But what a stellar handler, and the engine was so willing, and was ever reliable. Bar sodding heater valves usually sticking on full heat. They do like a rot though, mine needed the sills patching at 9 years old. I think I bought it for £900 in 2013 and sold it for £250. Great little car, and one reason the boss has a fiesta. Hers is a 2008 model with a 1.6TDCi of doom though, be better if it was a petrol one.

 

 

I forgot about the bloody heater valves! Mine went in my Puma but stuck on cold... In winter... Remember a few trips where I had the aircon on and windows open trying to drive at night 🤣 The fake leather and bloody aluminum gear knob weren't always great things to have

[grogee]

1 hour ago, beko1987 said:

I forgot about the bloody heater valves! Mine went in my Puma but stuck on cold... In winter... Remember a few trips where I had the aircon on and windows open trying to drive at night 🤣 The fake leather and bloody aluminum gear knob weren't always great things to have

I've already changed two on my Puma inside four years. Luckily they're not too hard to change. 

[beko1987]

Just now, grogee said:

I've already changed two on my Puma inside four years. Luckily they're not too hard to change. 

No their nice and handy for sure! I went for a genuine ford one as that's what every project puma answer said to do and it outlasted the car. Infact as I was breaking it for spares before scrapping the rest Amy's cousin's 51 plate one of these shat it's valve! So I took it off the puma at lunchtime and we went over that evening and I had it fitted before the kettle had boiled! It out-lived 2 cars did that valve... 

[HMC]

Fleet news-

 

The lop sided VDP1300 has sold to a shiter and is due to be collected in the next few days

 

The fiesta , meanwhile was far to nice for my lifestyle, (kids, dogs, Russian GF caning cars etc) And its lovely interior and unwelded silla would probably succumb to the Dartmoor climate pretty fast.

 

Despite its AS credentials, it didnt find a home here. Happily a good condition low mile small auto is an easy sell to the general public. 

I decided to move those two on and replace with something completely different for the same money- 

I dont like silver cars, nor cars with blacked out wheels. And im allergic to facebook marketplace.  But i had to get down and dirty for a cheap z4.

As a slightly scruffy 2.5 manual with heated seats (WBOD kudos) at a very decent price, i did a buy. Obviously it was at the bottom end of the market- and i cant get over what good value these are right now. Its not really shite at all, in fact its such a great vehicle for so little money its the ultimate antidote to the state of the used car, and classic car market.

When they were launched i REALLY disliked the styling, but over the years its grown on me. I would have liked a 3.0 manual in gunmetal grey with red leather- but i wanted one for rock bottom money and a functioning one of those is more expensive.

I found the driving position in the z3 a bit odd (i remember wanting the seat base to be lower and more angled) but this is much easier to get comfortable in. The rear tyres slither about on the damp dartmoor roads, and the dampers are a bit tired on the front end, but otherwise its great.

[2flags]

I remember those little 1.25 Fiestas. We had them as driving school cars. Great little things. First car we had with power steering and air-con! However, I do remember when you wanted to overtake, you had to turn the air-con off to get that little bit more power!! 😂 It's amazing how cheap these BMW's are now. Good buy. 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

24 minutes ago, HMC said:

Fleet news-

 

The lop sided VDP1300 has sold to a shiter and is due to be collected in the next few days

 

The fiesta , meanwhile was far to nice for my lifestyle, (kids, dogs, Russian GF caning cars etc) And its lovely interior and unwelded silla would probably succumb to the Dartmoor climate pretty fast.

 

Despite its AS credentials, it didnt find a home here. Happily a good condition low mile small auto is an easy sell to the general public. 

I decided to move those two on and replace with something completely different for the same money- 

I dont like silver cars, nor cars with blacked out wheels. And im allergic to facebook marketplace.  But i had to get down and dirty for a cheap z4.

As a slightly scruffy 2.5 manual with heated seats (WBOD kudos) at a very decent price, i did a buy. Obviously it was at the bottom end of the market- and i cant get over what good value these are right now. Its not really shite at all, in fact its such a great vehicle for so little money its the ultimate antidote to the state of the used car, and classic car market.

When they were launched i REALLY disliked the styling, but over the years its grown on me. I would have liked a 3.0 manual in gunmetal grey with red leather- but i wanted one for rock bottom money and a functioning one of those is more expensive.

I found the driving position in the z3 a bit odd but this is much easier to get comfortable in. The rear tyres slither about on the damp dartmoor roads, and the dampers are a bit tired on the front end, but otherwise its great.

Have fun!

I owned an 03 2.5 6 pot silver Zed a few years back. My mates ended up bored of me repeating how the designer craftily sculpted a Z onto the front passenger wing. Nice detail though. I ended up shifting mine and keeping hold of the MR2 as the E85 was way too refined. 

[Schaefft]

I mentioned it in my Z3 tread how crazy undervalued they are in the UK compared to pretty much anywhere else, this is even more so the case for the Z4 which objectively is the better car. I'm really not sure why this is though (aside from RHD market), all I can guess is that there are just so many around that supply outnumbers demand and that the weather in the UK just isnt good enough to make ownership of a convertible super desireable (which however would not explain the large numbers sold when new). Maybe people just wanted to look good driving a BMW roadster, which might be less the case when its just "an old car" 15+ years on. My older brother paid probably 4-6 times as much for his 2.5 in silver.

[Cookiesouwest]

Nice purchase.

Like you I disliked the styling when new, but now I've warmed up to them.

Well bought.