Datsuncog's Heaps: May 2025 - Fleet Addition, Avensising

[The_Equalizer]

@Datsuncog Is this the (very early) beginnings of an import business?

[AnnoyingPentium]

6 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

And they're Australian, surprisingly. I'd thought the Avensis was only marketed in Europe, a handful of South American countries, and (in AWD wagon format only) as the Toyota Caldina in Japan.

I'm not sure if there is/was some sort of factory in Australia that makes these for all the manufacturers. My Vectra ones that @Lord Sterling now has were also made there.

[MorrisItalSLX]

4 hours ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

I'm not sure if there is/was some sort of factory in Australia that makes these for all the manufacturers. My Vectra ones that @Lord Sterling now has were also made there.

There was a company here called Protective Plastics that made headlight protectors, bonnet protectors and weather shields. They still exist, now part of Haigh Australia who make a plethora of car accessories including dash mats.

[Datsuncog]

8 hours ago, The_Equalizer said:

@Datsuncog Is this the (very early) beginnings of an import business?

Heh, hopefully not!

The driveway's getting kinda full, though a Camry from the same era does appeal in a 'collect the whole set' kind of way...

[Datsuncog]

Alright alright... I keep meaning to post more updates on Project Avensis, since stuff is ACTUALLY HAPPENING with this car for a change, but I keep distracting myself. So! A whistle-stop tour of the recent highlights is well overdue.

Obviously, I got the car back home without serious dramas. Jumping into an unfamiliar car and immediately piloting it a couple of hundred miles does tend to give me teh fearz, even though I had a flexible ferry ticket and the AutoAid app front and centre on my phone screen.

Making my way from Bradford around the southwestern reaches of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, there was the usual cacophony of unfamiliar noises which my ears seemed preternaturally attuned to, and apparently portended doom - a metallic chittering that seemed to be coming from the boot, a slight roughness from under the bonnet, and a faintly uneasy ride that felt just a little off, and became more pronounced above 60mph.

The vendor assured me that he'd clocked up nearly 1,000 miles in it since picking it up in April, a claim which was backed up by the odometer pics in the original ad, so I was probably that rare sort of buyer who was pleased and relieved to discover higher miles than advertised on the car. I didn't think it was actually about to die on me, but I just felt... uneasy.

Usually in these situations I just crank the radio up to drown my concerns, but with the Sony unit remaining steadfastly blank despite pressing the reset button (and everything else), I just had to live with my gnawing self-doubt instead.

So, with time pressures being relatively relaxed and traffic surprisingly light, once I hit the M6 I just kept the speed down and it wafted along happily enough at an indicated 55mph.

First impressions - other than the rattles and slight vibration, the engine felt pretty perky and willing. It's the 2.0 DOHC lump of great antiquity, and indeed only a few months after this one was built, Toyota started shoving their new VVTi units into their mass-market family cars, so it really is the last of its type. Like my XM, the Avensis seems to be one of those cars where you can find yourself travelling a lot faster than you think you are. It's...calming, somehow. 

Interior layout is surprisingly ergonomic, with comfy big seats and all the controls not only where you'd expect to find them, but in many cases identical to those in the Corolla. The handbrake lever felt quite curious at first, being mounted so much further forward than I'm used to, but very quickly I found myself wondering why all cars don't have them here - much easier to go from gearstick to handbrake and back.

It's a nice place to be.

Other than the stopover at Tebay for lunch, the only other pause was at the delightful* Southwaite Services where I pulled off the motorway to try and tighten up the spare wheel mount. I fancied that a loose securing nut was the source of the metallic rattling noise in the boot, and gave it a firm twist to shut it up, but on rejoining the motorway quickly discovered that alas my ministrations hadn't made a blind bit of difference.

I did manage to get my dopey little bluetooth speaker thing synched to my phone, so at least I could try to drown out the worst of it.

Unfortunately, there wasn't really much phone signal about so I only had a choice of two apparently randomly downloaded albums on Spotify - Death In Vegas' third album and Chappell Roan. 

Pink Pony Club got me over the border, and all the way to Cairnryan...

[Datsuncog]

...and then the boat got me home, with only a further short hop back to Casa DC.

MrsDC had been on tenterhooks all day, following my progress on Google Maps and wondering if this had all been a Very Bad Idea, so was pleased when I finally backed into the driveway a little after 10pm.

For my part, I felt slightly apprehensive about rocking up in a 26 year old estate car which, although certainly by no means knackered, was in far from showroom condition. The brief had been "so long as it's no worse than the Corolla or Yaris", and truth to tell, I was becoming unsure. It was... different from the other two. Better in some areas, but maybe worse in others?

And although I was well used to buying assorted end-of-life heaps for my own consumption, somehow buying a car on someone else's behalf, with their money, was quite a different matter. I mean, most people recoil in horror when they see what I drive; MrsDC might know me better than anyone else, but I was starting to have qualms about the whole enterprise.

Still, I needn't have worried. Despite the lateness of the hour, MrsDC was very keen to have a good look at the new arrival, and we took it back out for a half-hour jaunt over hill and dale. I was perfectly happy to be in the passenger seat this time, as we headed out through Greenisland, up over the winding hills to The Knockagh, and back out as far as Dalways Bawn. The Avensis performed pretty well, and MrsDC pronounced herself well satisfied with its handling, performance and general feel.

Verdict: good job.

After sleeping like a very tired thing, the next day we were able to get a proper look at it in daylight, in a more leisurely manner.

While there were maybe rather more dings and scrapes than I'd hoped, it was important for me to remember that we weren't wanting a show winner - this was going to be a working car, and there was no point having something we were afraid to use in case it got a scratch on it.

I'd noticed a dent in the bonnet while checking the car over, and also the woodscrew apparently keeping the grille surround on:

This was probably the worst element. Closer inspection showed that a number of moulded-in clips that held the headlamp onto the grille surround were broken, and more woodscrews had been employed to keep things in vaguely the right place.

The grille was also broken on the other side, too:

Not the end of the world, but still - some attention would be needed.

We gave the interior a vacuum and dust, and it came up remarkably well.

I also noticed that the dashboard was cracked.

Some messing around with the original CD/ Cassette head unit revealed a blown 5A radio fuse in the main fuse box - I was hopeful that I'd discovered the problem, but replacing it just resulted in some horrid noises from the CD carriage mechanism, a flashing display, and then silence and darkness again.

So I pulled it, and shoved in the old OEM cassette player I'd liberated from the Corolla.

Strictly a temporary measure, you understand. But at least it worked fine, so it seemed the original unit was at fault rather than a problem with the car's wiring.

I made further efforts to reduce the metallic rattling from the back - pulling out the spare wheel to readjust it at least showed that the wheel well was in good shape:

Although we were mildly perturbed to find a bit of water in the underfloor cavities behind the rear wheels, on both sides.

Yeah, more on that in a bit.

At least there was a reasonable amount of original documentation in the glove box to browse:

Which indicated that it had received no little amount of attention, once upon a time.

The service record advised that it had received a new timing belt only 12,000 miles ago! Whoo!

Unfortunately, that was also nearly 16 years ago, and there was only one service stamp since then, in 2011. The curse of low-mile cars.

The general condition of the drive belt convinced me that we ought to bump a timing belt change up our jobs list, and make it a priority.

But with more of a handle now on the new purchase, we decided to head out to the shops and get a few things.

All good, except turning the ignition key resulted in not much starting and just a lot of tickatickaticka noises from under the bonnet.

Well, bugger. That's not the best start, in every sense of the word.

MrsDC was mildly alarmed, understandably. Her new car, already banjaxed?

A quick tickle with my cheapo Lidl battery tester showed the battery was showing as very low. This was what I'd expected to see, as my Corona made very similar relay-clacking noises whenever it blew a battery cell back in 2006.

At least this time we were only in the driveway, rather than in the arse end of nowhere in rural South Australia with no phone signal.

Well, the Avensis seemed to be fitted with a fairly recent Halfords calcium battery, and it had given me no trouble on the drive back the day before while starting and stopping a fair few times - so I started it with my trusty Ring jump pack, and put the whole thing down to having had the doors and boot lying open for a couple of hours, plus having the ignition set to position 1 while I was messing around with the stereo.

And we then headed over to IKEA.

Because what else do you do when you buy a boringly middle-class estate car?

It swallowed a garden parasol set without hesitation, as expected. Good big boot, these.

The metallic rattle from the rear of the car was still present though, so it wasn't the spare wheel as I'd made sure it was very firmly secured.

More investigation required.

Afterwards, we drove down the road a bit to Holywood Esplanade for a stroll, but were again discomfited when, on returning, all the sparks seemed to have fallen out of the battery again.

Once more, the jump pack did its thing but clearly there was something amiss here. 

Nonetheless, we got home safely and with a few more things to ponder.

More to come!!

[hairnet]

On 31/05/2025 at 15:03, Datsuncog said:

though a Camry from the same era does appeal in a 'collect the whole set' kind of way...

why is this not already happening

 

[Datsuncog]

8 minutes ago, hairnet said:

why is this not already happening

 

Who said it's not?

😜

[grogee]

7 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Although we were mildly perturbed to find a bit of water in the underfloor cavities behind the rear wheels, on both sides.

Must be an Avensis thing. Mine was full of water there too. I pulled the bung out and it's been fine since. I did also do some silicone leak proofing around various bits on the hatchback opening as well. 

Come to think of it, my Celica leaked from a blanking plug on the top of the tailgate opening. The rubber plug had got old and hard and wasn't sealing. 

Good luck with yours, I'm well jell of the estate format.

[beko1987]

Looks good overall! Hopefully the rust is nothing rather than turning into something, checked all under the bumper and arch liners?

Mildly odd that the battery hasn't taken a charge over that distance though... Put a multimeter across it? Equally it could just need a new battery and be fine forever*🤞

[AnnoyingPentium]

8 minutes ago, beko1987 said:

Hopefully the rust is nothing rather than turning into something

DC, right now:

[beko1987]

3 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

DC, right now:

I had the same feeling 😂 At least there were no holes found (yet...)

My tin of Hammerite underseal arrives today...