Engineered like no other car. Not a single one like it. Thankfully.

[Talbot]

Is it possible to have too many grinders?  A different disc in each one is very handy:

[Talbot]

It's been a while since this thread had an update, so:

err.. where was I.

Yes.  I had a C250 that was now road-legal.  So instead of using it, I took the E300 on a road trip with a difference.  Drove to just south of Birmingham:

And then put a load of cryptic pictures up of an A-frame journey.. towing this:

 

The AA bloke was most interested in what on earth I was doing, as he'd brought someone in on a towing dolly too.

Got it up to @MrsJuular, what with it being her car and all, and left it randomly on her driveway.  Mainly to replace this little lot:

All of which went in the back of the E300, and got brought back down to my filtering setup.

As per bloody usual, I lost a glowplug at some point, so this was the view AGAIN.  I think the plugs I bought were a bit crap, as I always seem to be changing the same ones over and over again:

Not long after that, the E300 had to go in for MOT.  I am glad I had the C250 roadworthy, as this happened:

Bums.

Most of it was easily sorted, but yet again... corrosion.  And a lot of it.  What started out as a hole about 5mm wide and 30mm long...

Got worse:

ended up as this:

egads that's a hole.

Sheet steel from the local steel stockholder:

Thickness comparison:

The old steel has a fairly hefty burr on it here, so I'm going to say they're close enough.  I then got a bit "hammery" with the new steel, and made up a new floor section:

The stiffener that comes down from the engine bay was also looking fairly forlorn, so it got hacked off and replaced with some more folded steel:

A large pile of unwanted bits of mercedes were left over:

and I had had to pull the brake lines and fuel lines well out of the way of welding.  I did not want to remove them, so it was just easier to bend them out of the way and retain them with a ratchet strap:

Throughout all of the above, the C250, despite being a bit leaky, a bit broken and generally a bit on the tired side continued to do sterling service:

Rather out of focus, but that is a french registered LHD AMI8 that ended up being towed up to the FoD to be used as spares and parts for the rather nicer one that was A-framed up to Scotland.

It was also astonishingly rusty.  Various parts were removed simply by pulling them off up at the FoD.  Rather concerning having just towed it about 150 miles.  Although amazingly the brakes worked fine.  LHM is just so much better as a hydraulic fluid than DOT3 brake fluid.  Nothing siezed, working just fine.

I can't remember the timeline, but at some point this happened:

Two cars that I would not have owned had the E300 not caught fire.  A W202 and a W203.  They drive remarkably similarly, despite one being a diesel auto estate and the other a petrol manual saloon.  Given that Rover the absurd Teddybear, which is now the mascot for 2CV car 48 is in the passenger seat, I can only assume this was after a race meeting.  Probably Cadwell.

[Rust Collector]

Was that French Ami the one from Newhaven? It’s been taunting me for ages!

[Lacquer Peel]

8 hours ago, Talbot said:

Rather out of focus, but that is a french registered LHD AMI8 that ended up being towed up to the FoD to be used as spares and parts for the rather nicer one that was A-framed up to Scotland.

It was also astonishingly rusty.  Various parts were removed simply by pulling them off up at the FoD.  

 

 

 

[Talbot]

9 hours ago, Rust Collector said:

Was that French Ami the one from Newhaven? It’s been taunting me for ages!

Yes.  It is now beginning to be taken apart.  It is/was as rotten as a pear.  But largely complete, which is what was needed.

Thankfully the chassis is in great condition.. otherwise A-framing it would have been out of the question!

The body, however, has structural paint.

[MrsJuular]

10 hours ago, Rust Collector said:

Was that French Ami the one from Newhaven? It’s been taunting me for ages!

Indeed it was. I'm almost done with it.

Will have a thread about it shortly. Hopefully. 

[MrsJuular]

3 hours ago, Lacquer Peel said:

 

This wasn't the worst of it. I'm not sure why I even bothered trying to take out the last screw holding that in. 😂