BL Bloke's Motors - 205 still here but the garage has gone

[BL Bloke]

1 hour ago, Lord Sterling said:

I *may* have a couple of thise wheel trims in that style spare. If I do, they're yours foc. I'll even drop them to Birmingham as I seem to be there most weekends.

If you do that would be great as it would be nice to have a full set, if only to hide the rusty wheels. ?

[Noel Tidybeard]

On 7/30/2019 at 11:46 AM, BL Bloke said:

the central locking only unlocks the car with the key from the passenger side, although it will lock from either side.

sounds like a worn key- fraud chubb keys will always lock a door even if it is completely the wrong key!

[Dannyk]

On 7/30/2019 at 11:46 AM, BL Bloke said:

 ?another small problem is that the central locking only unlocks the car with the key from the passenger side, although it will lock from either side.

 

Not sure if it will work on yours but on my mk4 it done that and i found not putting the key all the way in worked,put it in normaly then slowly start pulling out whilst trying to turn it, worked on a mates ka to.

[SiC]

Those Fiestas were banger cars of choice when I passed my test in 2003. Back when we were 17, that 1.25 engine willingness to rev made it feel super quick. 

Naturally our generation either ragged them to death or barried them to death. My mate managed to get through 2 handbrake cables and 3 clutches in 30k miles. Handbrake turns and rallying doesn't do the cars much good...

[BL Bloke]

Things were going well with the Rover as I had taken it for a few longish runs with no sign of coolant loss after the new water pump. Then last Thursday I had planned on taking it to the seaside and thought I'd check the coolant before I set off as I'd done a few short trips to the shops over the previous couple of days. Lo and behold the level had dropped and had to be topped up so the seaside trip was cancelled but I decided to risk a trip to Shrewsbury instead (around 45 miles). Got there with no problems, checked the level before starting back and it was fine. Checked it again a few hours after getting home, once again fine. Another couple of days of short trips however brought the level down again. ? To be honest I don't know what to do next, do I spend more money on it or try and move it on to someone who can sort it out?

[BL Bloke]

On ‎8‎/‎5‎/‎2019 at 7:58 PM, SiC said:

Those Fiestas were banger cars of choice when I passed my test in 2003. Back when we were 17, that 1.25 engine willingness to rev made it feel super quick. 

 

Banger of choice when I passed my test were Minis and Mk1 Escorts. Me, I had an Austin 1300. ?

[BL Bloke]

With a new arrival due on Friday I have had a serious think about what to do with my cars as realistically I only have room for four and can afford to run three at the most. This is what I've decided:

The Rover is up for sale. 

The 205 is staying as it's my 'classic' car.

The Fiesta is due for it's Mot in the next few weeks. If it passes it will probably be staying at least until the insurance is due for renewal, if not it depends on how much work needs doing to get a pass. 

The new arrival will be assessed when I get it home, if I like it I'll keep it for a while, if not it will be for sale.

My modern Skoda is staying as I know I can rely on it to take me anywhere.

 

[BL Bloke]

As another car is arriving tomorrow I thought I'd better try and find somewhere to put it. I'd already got two cars on the drive but I wondered if I could squeeze another one in so after some tidying up it was time for the acid test. First of all though I took the Poundland wheel trims off the 205, revealing silver steelies complete with the original centre caps

  DSCF0622 by timothy jones, on Flickr

The cheapo trims haven't gone to waste though as two of them are covering the Fiesta's rusty wheels. 

DSCF0623 by timothy jones, on Flickr

I took advantage of the occasion to take the 205 for a spin as it hasn't been anywhere for a couple of weeks, I'd forgotten how much fun it is to drive. Anyway, the plan worked and there is just enough room to get three cars on the drive. ?

DSCF0624 by timothy jones, on Flickr

[BL Bloke]

Collection day again so it was a leisurely stroll to the railway station.

DSCF0628 by timothy jones, on Flickr

A bit too leisurely as it turned out as I just missed one train and had to wait half an hour for the next one. Shortly after that I arrived in Brum where I was distracted by a delightfully pogweaseled Zafira.

 DSCF0630 by timothy jones, on Flickr

DSCF0632 by timothy jones, on Flickr

I had another long wait but not as long as this chap, who'd been waiting so long he'd turned into a statue. ?

DSCF0631 by timothy jones, on Flickr

My carriage awaits.

DSCF0633 by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/149878910@

N05/]timothy jones[/url], on Flickr

Journeys end reached and the target in sight.

DSCF0634 by timothy jones, on Flickr

DSCF0635 by timothy jones, on Flickr

The seller was out when I arrived so while I waited I admired the shadow dappled flanks of the lesser spotted Saxo East Coast. I was also entertained by someone playing a clarinet in one of the nearby flats.

 DSCF0637 by timothy jones, on Flickr

After filling in the relevant  paperwork and the handing over of 200 of the Queen's pounds it was off back home. The other side of this road is the ULEZ zone.

 DSCF0638 by timothy jones, on Flickr

A quick stop was made at Beaconsfield services for a Greggs baguette and a drink for me and some pez for ELF.  I also checked the tyre pressures as I noticed they were in the handbook.

DSCF0639 by timothy jones, on Flickr

Due to an accident on the M40 traffic was at a crawl so I came off and went up the A44 and A3400 which may have included some mild hooning. Just over four hours later I arrived home.

DSCF0640 by timothy jones, on Flickr

As I mentioned in the news thread it has a yellow gear knob.

 DSCF0641 by timothy jones, on Flickr

Other interior trim highlights include yellow tops to the door lock button and different coloured seat belts for each passenger. ?

It does have some scratches, a dent on the n/s front wing and a bit of lacquer peel but it's great to drive, has an Mot until the end of March and only cost £200.

More tomorrow when I get a chance to take more pics in daylight.

[Dan302]

I had a diesel 106 and a Saxo VTR both in full shed condition but they were ace fun back from a time when small cars were actually still small

[BL Bloke]

I took ELF out to the shops this morning. When I came back it had attracted three more blue cars to it.

Then it was off somewhere scenic for some photos.

You can see the dent in the front wing here.

As well as the dent there are some roughly touched up scratches and a couple of small areas of lacquer peel. No sign of any rust though, although I haven' looked underneath yet. Under the bonnet looks solid but there's a lot of leaves and other detritus under there.

What do you do when the retaining clip for your bonnet support breaks? Bodge it! ?

On to other grubby bits, when I saw the photos in the ad I couldn't tell if the rear window hinges had broken and they'd been glued in or if there was just a lot of dirt behind them. Turns out it was the latter. Not very nice but easier to sort out.

 

If anything the other side is even worse. Luckily the windows are only held in by three screws so I should be able to take them out to clean behind them. There are also things growing in the drain channel of the sunroof. It does work though and has a sliding cover inside, the condition of which hints that it doesn't leak.

For me though the highlight has to be the interior. While it may not be to everyone's taste I love the garish fabrics used in some of these late 90's limited edition smoll hatches.

How many other cars have different coloured seat belts for each occupant?

As well as having all its original wheel trims it also still wears its dealer plates, has Saxo front mats and a City of Westminster parking permit which I'm thinking of leaving in the window as a part of  its history.

So first impressions are it's a solid, original but battle scarred car that needs a really good clean.

 

 

[egg]

Looks gr8 that little Saxo, nice save. I reckon the Fiesta or Saxo would roffle well on here (particularly if the Ford has a year's test on it) and surely would get back what they owe you if you decide to downsize.

[BL Bloke]

To be honest I do need to downsize. The Fiesta will be going in for its test in the next couple of weeks and a roffle could be on the cards if it passes.

[Eyersey1234]

Nice save of the Saxo, looks a really honest example from the pictures. 

[BL Bloke]

Yes it is. It looks better in the photos as the scratches don't look as obvious as they do in the flesh. I did manage to resist it the first three times it was listed on eBay but as soon as the word 'breaking' appeared I knew I had to step in. 

In case anyone's in any doubt as to which limited edition this is ....

 

[Zelandeth]

These were great little cars. We sold a ton of them back in the day.

Ka has the edge slightly in overall driving dynamics but the Saxo is a good deal comfier and would be the easier one to live with I reckon.

Don't these have blue faces on the instrument panel too, just to add to the randomly coloured everything?

Remembered the yellow bobbles on the door lock buttons, yellow piping on the seats and the randomly coloured seat belts, had forgotten about the yellow gear knob though.

[BL Bloke]

It does have the blue faces on the instruments.

DSCF0668 by timothy jones, on Flickr

[Noel Tidybeard]

9 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

These were great little cars. We sold a ton of them back in the day.

Ka has the edge slightly in overall driving dynamics but the Saxo is a good deal comfier and would be the easier one to live with I reckon.

 

there is NOTHING dynamic in the way a Ka(k) drives- phact!

[Zelandeth]

1 hour ago, BL Bloke said:

It does have the blue faces on the instruments.

DSCF0668 by timothy jones, on Flickr

Go my memory!

Next question: what differentiates the East Coast and West Coast editions? 

Remember we had a West Coast in that lovely burnt orange colour back when I worked at the garage.  Parked next to a lime green Ibiza Cupra it could detach retinas from 500 yards.

I really wanted that car...the colour alone would have sold me!

Only gripe I had with the Saxo/106 is the pedals being so close together.

Didn't realise you could pick up as tidy a Saxo for this little coin...dammit... something else on the list.

[BL Bloke]

I'm by no means a Saxo expert but according to Wikipedia the West Coast was a sporty 1.4 model which was replaced by the Furio while the East Coast was one of the many 1.1 special editions. I think the only reason I got it for such a low price was that it was listed under 'Other vehicle parts & accessories' on eBay. If it had been listed under 'Cars' I expect it would have sold for more. I only knew about it because @wuvvum posted it in the 'eBay tat' thread.

[Zelandeth]

That does tie in with my memory that the West Coast was basically a VTR but with the same or similar cosmetic stuff to the East Coast.  It's a long time ago though so wasn't sure how much I was making it up.

[paulplom]

I'm sure the west coast had the vtr body kit as well like you say. An insurance friendly vtr.

[BL Bloke]

The Fiesta was registered on 26/08/98 so that means that it's..

DSCF0715 (2) by timothy jones, on Flickr

To mark the occasion I gave it a run out to Chaddesley Corbett as there was a Classic car show on.

DSCF0671 by timothy jones, on Flickr

After a look round the show it was off for another photo then home. On the way back a wheel trim made a successful bid for freedom (at least it wasn't the spare wheel this time ?).

 DSCF0715 by timothy jones, on Flickr

DSCF0716 by timothy jones, on Flickr

It does look better now that it's had a wash. 

As the Fiesta was out there was a French connection on the drive.

DSCF0717 by timothy jones, on Flickr

[Eyersey1234]

Happy birthday to the Fiesta, I hope it had a chodtastic day. 

[Split_Pin]

A MK4 has become my favourite Fiesta over time. My mum had one from new in March 1997, P881 FMS and I must have put at least 25000 miles in it. Great handling and driving wee cars and they looked neat too, very late 90s.

[egg]

On 8/25/2019 at 10:57 PM, Zelandeth said:

Only gripe I had with the Saxo/106 is the pedals being so close together

Indeed, I learnt to drive in one, and in some ways not an ideal learner car for that very reason.

[Eyersey1234]

1 minute ago, Split_Pin said:

A MK4 has become my favourite Fiesta over time. My mum had one from new in March 1997, P881 FMS and I must have put at least 25000 miles in it. Great handling and driving wee cars and they looked neat too, very late 90s.

What spec was your mums? We never had a Mk4 but had 3 Mk3s, my dad had a H reg 1.0 Popular, my grandparents had a M reg 1.3 Equipe that became my first car and my stepdad had a N reg 1.1 Azura. 

[Split_Pin]

8 hours ago, Eyersey1234 said:

What spec was your mums? We never had a Mk4 but had 3 Mk3s, my dad had a H reg 1.0 Popular, my grandparents had a M reg 1.3 Equipe that became my first car and my stepdad had a N reg 1.1 Azura. 

It was a 1.3 Flight. You got PAS, electric windows, 'truffle' interior trim, metallic paint with colour coded bumpers and a tilting sunroof. 

They chose the 1.3 chapper engine because it was cheaper to insure with a 17-year old me tagging onto the policy.

They had it 8 years. Loved that car.

Before that they had a '92 1.1 MK3 Popular Plus, badged by the dealer as a 'Fresco' to shift the last of the old carburetted HCS models before that year's change to SPi. It had 4 gears and a manual choke.

[BL Bloke]

As mentioned in the news 24 thread the Fiesta failed its MOT yesterday on a few items. To be honest it was better than I expected.  

As the MOT doesn't run out until tomorrow I popped out this afternoon and got a couple of new tyres put on it. Now to get it booked in to get the rest of the work done.

I think I need to get some tools so I can start doing some work on the cars myself. 

 

 

[egg]

Well done for deciding to save it, some folks would see that relatively minor fail as an 'end of life' moment for this old thing.