HMC- Return of the Cheeky 500

[mrbenn]

Carlton or Mini? Both, surely!

 

Sorry to hear of the life crap

[twosmoke300]

Know the feeling !

If you ever want a chat feel free to PM .

Or I can come and buy another car off you

[RobT]

All the best regarding the life situation old bean.  Been missing your car buying antics!

 

Has to be the Carlton if it's the one I'm thinking of.

[Split_Pin]

I admire your 'onwards and upwards' attitude, long may that continue.

 

Looking forward to seeing the upcoming purchase!

[320touring]

Hope things work out ok chap!

 

And that you are back in a steady stream of tasty automobiles soon:)

[Timewaster]

Supercharge the Carlton.

 

Sorted.

[holbeck]

HMC, sorry to hear that life is dealing some shitty cards.

 

Hope things work out for you in the end.

[HMC]

^thanks mr barnaby! (Or is that bergerac?)

 

So I ditched the fiesta as it was painfully capable and efficient and hence bored me.

 

As I’ve secretly always wanted to try one, I got myself a Mini Cooper S. I wouldn’t pretend it’s shite, but it was initially developed by rover bods, and oddly the supercharger whine is a little bit like (sort of) the first gear whine of Minis and metros. Future classic? Who knows, it’s certainly fun and to my eyes is the least unappealing of the MINI model line to date.

 

 

Yesterday I picked up a £350 merc estate. Obv it has rust but also currently has an mot. The rear suspension spheres are on their way out so the ride at the back is a bit abrupt. Maybe a job for the summer, I’ll see what the MOT brings first.....

 

 

 

 

[Marm Toastsmith]

I like the rusty one most. You might need to put some tape on it to hold that lump of filler in place.

[gadgetgricey]

Hope you are keeping well, but good to see that your car mojo seems to be returning.

Still got the Rx8 for a deposit if/when you get bored of the Bini.

All the best

[Broadsword]

Those two look very promising. I’m warming to those blower Minis.

[sporty-shite]

Still got the Rx8 for a deposit if/when you get bored of the Bini.

All the best

Was just thinking how much I fancy a Cooper S, then I read this, and remembered how much I fancy an RX8.

 

Then it dawned on me that I'm skint.

 

FML.

[HMC]

So it turned out the Mini was brilliant, such a fun steer even if the run flats threatened to destroy my spine.

 

 

Alas it was a bit too small for school run duties, and has been replaced by something slightly less sporty, slightly more spacious, slightly more rusty and also with 6 speeds and a supercharger. It’s a bit of a shed to be honest but starts, stops and steers. Any guesses what the replacement is?

[Jim Bell]

CLK?

[HMC]

Boooom! we have a winner! Yes a 230 manual, mit rost and various dubious repairs and some recent crash damage.

[Jim Bell]

Boooom! we have a winner! Yes a 230 manual, mit rost and various dubious repairs and some recent crash damage.

 

Theres probably more room in a Bini!

 

Great choice though. You are a man of exquisite taste.

[wuvvum]

An all-Merc fleet.  Interesting.  Which one's the rustiest?

[HMC]

Toss up between all 3 really! My customary mission critical fullsteering lock buyers check of the front coil spring perches on the w210 and clk were both fine. The clk has had poor accident damage repairs so the paint is a bit crap and might be hiding more than I can see... give it a few months in our lovely climate and I’ll get back to you!

 

It’s strange to think these end of life cars were not so long ago worth reasonable money, but that’s probably just me getting older!

[HMC]

An all-Merc fleet.  Interesting.  Which one's the rustiest?

Yeah a bit samey! The most interesting* thing in an odd way is seeing which has biodegraded more and in which places. The interior plastics especially on the clk haven’t worn very well (pretty crap really), much like the clk cabrio I once had.

[gadgetgricey]

What colour is the CLK. Only recall seeing them in light blue or Silver.

[New POD]

Didn't see a roffle for a Bini R53 on here. Did I miss it??

[Ghosty]

Barryjim Shitbell did one recently. This is a different one though, and it grenaded.

[HMC]

This Krusty kompressor koupe has had a hard life. It’s a facelift one (instant giveaway are the indicators in wing mirrors) Both bumpers have had Krazy paving resprays, the interior is battered (these always seem to wear badly on them) and at some stage someone has fitted a wobbly pinstripe and driven into things....

 

 

 

 

 

 

So why did I buy it? Well I’ve always thought I’d spec a clk 230k / manual and was curious to try “my” spec when I saw it was a manual, which is reasonably rare. Plus it was very cheap, yet has 10 months ticket. Plus for some reason I’ve always liked cheap ropey Mercs, something to do with faded grandeur maybe? Usually they are fairly mechanically robust in my experience. Drives better than it look looks, it’s a bit thrashy when you cane it (I think the exhaust manifold may have a crack which doesn’t help) but if you wanted Max waft you could have a 320 auto, and if you wanted something tidy you’d probably avoid a neglected merc of this era. The heater blower is dead....

 

 

And the boot is full of random tat....

 

 

Anyone fancy a VHS player?!

[Jim Bell]

My favorite bit is the sellotape on the mirrors!

 

Looks classy and brassy man.  

 

 

*edited to delete idiocy

[loserone]

Does that work on a manual too?

[Jim Bell]

Does that work on a manual too?

 

Ha ha ha ha ha.

 

Shit.

 

How did I not notice that?!

[Broadsword]

That Merc definitely has a crusty sort of charm to it. Never had a Merc myself, but the idea of an old supercharged SLK is appealing. They seem to be very cheap and look fantastic.

[Marm Toastsmith]

Nice.

 

What's happening with the estate?

[MorrisItalSLX]

I’d be well chuffed with a free VHS player in the boot.

[320touring]

That looks a tub, well bought!

 

Put up a post re your camper/superslowwoes on the news 24 thread..

 

Suffice to say, not the most rapid of tubs!