Chrysler Alpine shite

[Pete-M]

Why the hell does this happen?See car on internet, it's rare and you want it. Ring the fuckin' owner and offer them money for it. Talking about it on here isn't going to get you the car. If you prevaricate about the bush the owner is going to lose patience and break it if he's got to answer a million phone calls from people who aren't offering him money. I would.My P6. I saw it mentioned on a forum and rang the bloke, told him I'd buy it if he could wait a week or so as I was off to Czech and couldn't get to him before I went. Offered to get someone to go and drop him a deposit but he didn't want that. "I advertised the car this morning and I've had literally hundreds of phone calls from people asking me questions, expecting a new car, asking me if anyone had ever smoked in it, for fucks sake. It's 37 years old, how am I meant to know if anyone has ever smoked in it? They're asking me about the bloody switchgear and things I know nothing about. If you want it, I'll keep it until you're ready to collect as long as you're not going to mess me about". I gave him my word and collected the car when I got back.If any of you actually want that Alpine, I'd advise you to ring the bloke and offer him money for it - provided he puts it back together, or at least keeps the bits safe.

[mnde]

Where are the Simca/Rootes Car Clubs? You would have thought they would be all over this??M Bolleux has been strangely quiet...I have a friend who's up for doing a joint effort to save it, but as always with these cars, location is the problem, and what to do with it once you've got it :(I'm in the typical shiter's situation, not much cash, no workshop, no space, no welding skillz, would have to pay a garage to do most of the recommissioning work, and a girlfriend who can't stand exactly this type of car - angular, 70s/80s boxes.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Owners clubs are wankers, full of chat.There was a complete 1976 Capri 11 2000GL in my local yard. Rotten floor and chassis but very good replacement wings, bonnet, tailgate, lights glass and a very good interior. I saw not one but two Capri clubs at a classic car show and told them both about it.Needless to say they did the square root of fuck all about it. I think it got crushed whole after 4 weeks. Where would you find a pair of mint Capri 11 wings now??The Alpine was shit, but to be fair £300 was taking the piss. A £100 start price would have seen it gone.

[dollywobbler]

Yup, never going to get much interest at £300, especially as good ones aren't exactly pricey and restoring a rotten one can be a whole world of FAIL. Certainly sad, but I couldn't save it, so I'm not going to cry too much. Just a bit...

[Mr Lobster]

Shame for it to be broken but £300 was too strong unless you really really wanted one, which evidently nobody did.Owners clubs, yes, generally full of talk and little action unless you consider the big ones (i'm thinking MGOC, 2CV GB and probably Citroen CC) who can / will get things organised.

[Guest]

See car on internet, it's rare and you want it. Ring the fuckin' owner and offer them money for it. Talking about it on here isn't going to get you the car.

Actually, Vic made a pretty generous offer, but it wasn't taken up. The alternative of both getting some cash together was mulled over between us for quite some time, but £300 plus transport is a lot of cash for something which has no test and is likely to need a lot to pass, due to its nature.However, the big sticking point is that both of us already have a load of high-quality shite which needs our attention/money. There's limits to how many proper projects someone can take on and actually get through, sometimes you've got to forfeit stuff like this for the greater good of the fleet.Ultimately, you can't save everything.

[Mr Lobster]

Ultimately, you can't save everything.

I have to remind myself of this from time to time.Theres loads of stuff I'd really like to own, but I have to remember that I've been in the situation with way too many cars before and it generally made life hard work and that I only have so much time / storage space / money / skillz etc.

[Guest]

First post - so hello!My Dad had a Chrysler Alpine from about 1982 to 86. The reg no wasn't too far off that one, LSG 306T. It was utterly dire, there were nothing but problems with it. Looking back it wasn't even that old. Some young lad bought it as a trade in and smashed it up a few weeks later.

[pogweasel]

Bloody hell fire! Don't get many of them to the pound now, eh. I'd have happily handed over a ton, ton fifty for that, but like these other blerks, once you start factoring in transport £300 smacker is getting on a bit. Too late now anyway.

[MrRegieRitmo]

Perhaps we could just buy up all of the parts one by one, then eventually collect the shell once we've got somewhere to keep it, then build it back up like a giant Airfix kit?

[Station]

Drove up today, but it was too late as it was just closed. Couldn't see the car anywhere in the 'yard', but there's a place behind it.

[vicsmith]

Pete-M, your words are very true and make me feel slightly awkward/foolish/guilty.To be honest, the bloke has responded to my proposition saying that I ought to give him a ring, that was 2 days ago and I simply haven`t done it, mainly because the proposition was hastily thought up and only seems feasible until you start thinking about the logistics. I very much want the car but I am not in quite the position I was in when I got the 180, so a new angle of approach was being dreamt up when all this happened.However, I will not be giving up quite yet! I`m going to ring him tomorrow and find out if the breaking up process can be reversed, if so I`ll ask him what the bottom line is, £300 seems steep but maybe he`s realising that now.

[mnde]

Well I just phoned them about the car...The bad news is that the engine's been sold. The worse news is that they extracted it by chopping the crossmembers and driveshafts. Arse.Apparently it came from a chap who'd had it almost since new and it had been garaged for more than 20 years and told the yard it would probably start and run quite easily. The guy said yeah there was some corrosion on body panels but it actually looked quite solid underneath. He said they'd had quite a lot of enquiries about it...They'll take £100 for the rest of the car. Obviously a *slightly* more difficult proposition than previously. There's no deadline on anything as such on the shell being crushed.Well anyway, I thought I'd find out and let you know.Mark.

[Guest]

Vic phoned up this morning about it too, gutting.Though I have to wonder - where the engine's going?

[vicsmith]

I`d actually done a deal with him, the Alpine was coming to my place as of 12pm, he was under the impression that the engine had been removed sympathetically, but phoned me back at about 1 and told me to forget it for the reasons mentioned above.He sounded a bit put out by it all, someone obviously didn`t listen to him when he told them to use an engine crane.I wasn`t paying cash either, I was giving him some scrap that was no good to me in return, and he was going to bring it, effectively I`d have had an engine-less Alpine for nothing. Can`t say I didn`t try, for all I know the engine was pulled out before I even saw the link, it`s still on ebay as a whole car.

[Guest]

Just thinking now - if it's been removed by chopping the crossmember and driveshafts, could you feasibly swap those bits over from another Alpine? Dunno how you'd move it though.

[Mash]

Vic phoned up this morning about it too, gutting.Though I have to wonder - where the engine's going?

It's a scene thing - rattly tappets are the new dump valve.

[Gompo]

Damn that's a shame, I was seriously thinking about offering up a bit of cash to have part ownership of the vehicle if Vic/Hirst got it. I wouldnt really want to use it (unless circamstances were ideal) but it'd be nice to have the idea of sharing something so cool.

[Pete-M]

Vic and Hirst, that was a mighty unlucky series of events, folks.If either of you chaps manage to rescue it, I'll send you a completely unrelated but still to be treasured Autodata Fake-Haynes manual for a 72-84 Datsun Bluebird.PS, my rant earlier in the thread was more aimed at the general public than at Autoshitists. More aimed at the Practical Classics type who'll starts a 42 page long thread about someone not rescuing a car that nobody wants but won't lift a finger to do anything about it themselves.Autoshitists tend to fight for their crap. The old car equivalent of a Jack Russell, small noisy and faithful to their own brand of shite.

[mnde]

Just thinking now - if it's been removed by chopping the crossmember and driveshafts, could you feasibly swap those bits over from another Alpine? Dunno how you'd move it though.

Well, it would be a job for the A-Team.Seriously, it would be an truly heroic effort. It's not in danger of being crushed any time soon, for which all credit to the yard for at least trying to make something of it. I was impressed by their customer service guy who knew all about the car.Regards moving it - either a forklift onto a flatbed?, or you'd have to lift it at the front, secure whatever they've cut through, and hitch it up to one of those recovery trucks that tows cars with their front wheels in the air.Being off the road so long would mean incredibly dodgy tyres though, and who knows whether the brakes are all freed off etc. Then it would be off to France to source a parts car or cut the front end off a rotten one. Hmm.Mark.

[MrRegieRitmo]

Time for some imagination & some improvisation!

 

anyone got any, as I'm all out?

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

effectively I`d have had an engine-less Alpine for nothing.

That sounds a bit expensive. Surely a rusty old Alpine with no engine is just a piece of rubbish?

[vicsmith]

effectively I`d have had an engine-less Alpine for nothing.

That sounds a bit expensive. Surely a rusty old Alpine with no engine is just a piece of rubbish?

I don`t know, is it? I suppose if you don`t like Alpines it is, if you do however, then it would have been a potential working example for the cost of an engine, worth it if you have a spare corner to stand it in, which Hirst and myself currently have.The project has now taken on a new level of difficulty with all the front bits being hacked off. If anyone on here is still brave enough to get involved with this car, the offer of free storage for it at the Hirst/Smith storage facility is very much on the table,we also know a couple of really reasonable recovery truck drivers, if this is any help to anyone who might fancy such a challenge.

[MrRegieRitmo]

I take it you don't then?

[Guest]

He's got a Chrysler 180 and I've got a Stanza T11 saloon, with that duo we've done enough for the shite cause.

[vicsmith]

I was prepared to struggle with the engine, but it`s gone beyond my capabilities now, if I took it on it would be as good as condemned anyway, as if me and Hirst would ever get round to doing all that, I`m just saying that if some big shot wants to step up there`d be some assistance forthcoming if required.

[Pete-M]

I'm all crammed out with old Rovers at the moment, and the Escort is haemorrhaging money at a rate of knots.Besides, my dad used to sell Alpines when they were new, and that thing isn't going to live up to the memories of a brand new one, so I don't want it anyway.If it was a Mk1 Capri RS then I'd be there ready for a blast of open-wallet surgery.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

effectively I`d have had an engine-less Alpine for nothing.

That sounds a bit expensive. Surely a rusty old Alpine with no engine is just a piece of rubbish?

I don`t know, is it? I suppose if you don`t like Alpines it is, if you do however, then it would have been a potential working example for the cost of an engine, worth it if you have a spare corner to stand it in, which Hirst and myself currently have.

Well, given that a working example is worth @ a cup of cold piss, I'd just wait until a runner comes along. Sure they're rare, but there are a few left and I'm sure £300 would buy one with an MOT.For added kudos, check out French Ebay for a LHD Simca version!

[Guest]

That would be very nice, but as above - the deal was a swap between an engineless white-bumper Alpine and some not particularly rare/interesting/valuable scrap. No urine samples required, it'd just be a free exchange of useless items.Then we just wait for a cheap donor car (probably a facelift Alpine or a Solara), fit the engine at our leisure, get it tested and cruise around chain-smoking Gitanes whilst wearing rollneck jumpers. Total cost would no doubt be a lot less than £300, could be done at a leisurely pace and it'd save a weird old motor to boot.

[morris_ital_lover]

That would be very nice, but as above - the deal was a swap between an engineless white-bumper Alpine and some not particularly rare/interesting/valuable scrap. No urine samples required, it'd just be a free exchange of useless items.Then we just wait for a cheap donor car (probably a facelift Alpine or a Solara), fit the engine at our leisure, get it tested and cruise around chain-smoking Gitanes whilst wearing rollneck jumpers. Total cost would no doubt be a lot less than £300, could be done at a leisurely pace and it'd save a weird old motor to boot.

You may not be into that kinda stuff, but a chnce to make a killer alpine sleeper, the bastard child of an alpine rover v8 cross!m0rris