Well I've been meaning to sign up here in forever, but kept forgetting. Thanks to someone over on another forum I frequent poking me about it recently the subject was forced back into my very brief attention span for long enough to get me to act on the instruction.

I figure that my little varied fleet might bring you lot some amusement...

So...we've got:

1993 Lada Riva 1.5E Estate (now fuel injected, as I reckon the later cars should have been from the factory...).
1989 Saab 900i Automatic.
1987 Skoda 120LX 21st Anniversary Special Edition.
1985 Sinclair C5.
2009 Peugeot 107 Verve.

Now getting the photos together has taken me far longer than I'd expected...so you're gonna get a couple of photos of each car for now, and I'll come back with some more information tomorrow when I've got a bit more time...

Firstly...The Lada. Before anyone asks - in response to the single question I get asked about this car: No, it is not for sale. Took me 13 years and my father's inheritance to find the thing.


Yes, it's got the usual rusty wings...Hoping that will be resolved in the next couple of months.

 






Next, a proper old Saab. One of the very last 8 valve cars apparently, and all the better for it. I've driven two 16v autos and they were horrible - the auto box works sooooo much better with the torque curve of the 8 valve engine. Just wish it had an overdrive for motorway cruising...









Next up a *real* Skoda...back when they put the engine where it belongs, right out the back. In the best possible colour of course...eye-searingly bright orange.







Seat covers have been added since that photo was taken as it suffers from the usual rotting seat cloth problem that affects virtually all Estelles.

Then we have possibly the world's scruffiest Sinclair C5...



Realised when looking for this that I really need to get some more photos of the thing...I use it often enough after all! We have a dog who's half husky, so this is a really good way of getting him some exercise.

Finally - again, I really need to take more photos of - we have the little Pug 107.



Included for the sake of variety even if it's a bit mainstream! First (and probably to be the only) new car I've bought, and has been a cracking little motor and has asked for very little in return for putting up with nearly three years of Oxford-Milton Keynes commuter traffic, before finally escaping that fate when my housemate moved to a new job. Now it doesn't do many miles and is my default car for "when I've managed to break everything else."

I'll fill in some more details tomorrow - I warn you though that I do tend to ramble...

Woke up this morning, had a little time before I had to leave the house for work, had a quick look at what’s new for sale on Retro Rides and saw an ad for a W124 200E manual, located 15 miles from home. I had no intention of buying a car today but I had to have it! I called the seller and arranged a viewing.
 
Faults:
 
2 x rusty front wings (TADTS)
1 x rusty rear arch
Needs a polish
Tracking is out because new track rod end was fitted for MoT
Engine has oil leak/s
 
Good points:
 
It’s a W124 200E!
5 speed manual transmission
New clutch
Brand new MoT
Superb MoT history
4 x as new Continental tyres
Last owner for 15 years, her husband before that for 4 years
Very tidy MB-Tex interior
Drives well
All electrics work
 
The dealer kindly delivered the car to my house but I managed a pez station shot on route:
 

 
Plans:
 
Remove front wings, cut away rust and apply plenty of wob.
In-situ similar repair for rear arch
Clean and polish
Service engine
Adjust tracking
Leave patina and enjoy the car as it is
 
I will update this thread once progress is made.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Hopefully these two will become good friends.
 

Big thanks to Panhard65 for transporting this for me.


 
Now unloaded and waiting for me to start work on it. First time I've seen it outside. I think Panhard65 thinks it's a bit of a turd but doesn't want to be nasty.

 
Entertaining Mrs SiC friends today, so I need to put these away from kids hurting themselves. Going to live in the garden for a month undercover. If I can get the 1275 in there running, these will be sold on. If I can't, I'll see if I can get any of these in.

 
For now, I have to earn some more goodwill credits with Mrs SiC.

I bought a lovely Mini Cooper S from @Sunny Jim which my wife and I collected yesterday. See here:
The Cooper made the 250 mile 4.5 hour journey to Buckinghamshire (from North Wales!) under its own steam but all was not well under the bonnet. The fresh air vents were providing anything but fresh air, I was choking on oily fumes. I stopped on route and wiped a lot of oil from the rocker cover and gently kept going, keeping the engine revs below 3k.
Before you read any further, I have absolutely no qualms about the car or the deal I made with @Sunny Jim I bought an 18 year old car with 120k, sold as seen, of course there will be problems! 
I investigated further this morning. There was oil all over the front of the engine and on top of the exhaust manifold shield.


I went to remove plug lead No 2 and it came off in two pieces, the metal connector has split from the cable.

Next I removed the sparkplugs. Plugs 1 and 4 were a little moist but plugs 2 and 3 were sinking in engine oil.


The rocker cover gasket and plug well seals were obviously knackered, a typical R50/53 fault. 
To get the rocket cover off...

All this had to be removed. It's by no means a difficult job but it was time consuming. There is a bit more space under the bonnet of my W123 & W124!

I've bought a new set of leads £18 and I'm picking up the gasket set tomorrow morning (£40). Hopefully the whole lot will go back together without any issues.
Look at this engine, it's hard to believe that it's done 120k miles in 18 years. Everything under the rocker cover looks mint!

In other news, to replace a blown brake light bulb I had to remove the entire light unit. How stupid. Modern* cars ehh?

The annoying rattle from the tailgate was silenced with a 4 inch length of insulation tape, wrapped around the lock catch.

I do like a clean exhaust pipe. Or two. Out came the Brasso and I am pleased with the shine.

And finally, I've noticed that the small lights in the front bumper flick on randomly. According to the experts on a Facebook group, the presence of LED bulbs is upsetting the system.

What do you get after 16 hours and 800 miles of driving on a Sunday to collect two cars? Well @sharley17194 picks up a 1997 Citreon AX from the depths of the Lakes on the North West coast past Keswick. However, we actually started the day by driving to just near Cromer on the East coast to pick up this!
An Austin Montego poverty spec estate with a 1.3L A-series engine! Yes you did read that bit right! Yes I know the DVLA lists the model as 1.6... Yes its correctly registered as 1.3L. No I dont know if its a factory 1.3L! 😂
My favourite part of all this??? (Apart from the doom blue colour and the absolutely terrible interior!) 281,000 miles on the clock!
Collection went really well and the below posts follows my initial assessment of what is quite frankly the best car I have ever purchased.