Soundwave's selection of scabby stuffs - solo Southern SEAT sojourn

[Soundwave]

Right, since I'm sort of new here I feel I should probably add a thread to document the continued deterioration of my vehicles and my own mental well being. I'll go through an abridged history of my cars, and end on where I am currently. Ready? Set your excitement levels to "barely conscious" and don't bother to strap yourself in, because this is going to be a distinctly mediocre ride!

1986 - was born. Waited around for a few years, got tall enough to reach the pedals of a car before being given a license to operate a vehicle in 2004.

And my first car was this, a 1971 VW Beetle. Gave it a semi-restoration, and tooled around in it happily for 6 years. And by happily, I mean happily during the summer. Was NOT a fun car to use daily in winter. Still, I did all the usual "VEE-DUBBER" scene-by-numbers type stuff, went to all the shows, garnered an innumerable number of items which had VWs emblazoned upon them, most of which never left their wrappings before going to the charity shop, and all that kind of stuff.

It looked like this:



And then like this:


And then when it was starting to get a bit past its best, I garnished it with some natty 70s kitch, like so:

In 2010, the dear old Beetle went and did a rust. A big one, to the point where I actually lost the accelerator pedal through the floor on the A444 and had to retrieve it from the central reservation. So, it went into storage. Eventually I hired my welding genius man friend to start sorting it out for me. Two new heater channels, a new drivers pan half, and several body cuts later, here's how it stood in 2018...



And that's how it still is, because I live a fair distance from the lockup where it's kept so I don't get to work on it much. My friend regularly checks on it for me though, and assures me it's still solid to this day.

While all this was going on, I bought this Polo saloon in 2010 to take over as daily driver. Cost £350, used it for 3 years until various small problems annoyed me into selling it, something I bitterly regret to this day. It has since been restored however, and is in daily use by its new owner.



While all this was going on, I bought this super rare VW K70 LS in 2005, with the intention of restoring it. Upon digging, I discovered it was WAY beyond my abilities, and festered in the back garden until 2018, when it was sold to my welding friend for restoration. I don't miss this one, it was a millstone around my neck.



After the Polo, I had a generic yet capable 2004 Renault Clio 1.2 which I ran for 3 years, after which the sump decided to become porous and I decided I craved modernity. So I bought a 2013 Fiat Panda, quite charming as moderns go. Held onto this until this year when I chopped it in against my current modern daily, a 2017 Skoda Fabia. They get one photo each, as they're not really what AS is about. I liked all of them though, I don't shy away from moderns. Of course, you won't be hearing much about the Skoda here, since it's far too new and not shite enough yet.








In 2018 (yes, we're going back and forth in time here), my brain decided to do a sad. In an effort to counter this, I bought this scruffy yet oddly endearing Mazda MX5 Gleneagles special edition. It has special paint, wheels, and interior trim. All of which had seen better days, but it was great fun and helped me when I needed it most. Bought blind over the phone from over 100 miles away, actually turned out pretty well all things considered!





Unfortunately, as is often the case with MX5s, those outer bubbles were a symptom of deep inner problems. Last winter, I packed the car off to my long suffering welder genius friend who replaced both rear outer arches, inner and outer rear sills, and inner arches. Cue A-Team montage!







Which led to this. Paint is just stuff they had lying around, not bothered about colour matching right now. Eventual plan is for a full repaint.




And from there, it passed its next MOT and is still providing me with summer motoring fun! It's also helped me become more confident with mechanics and tinkering, I even managed to fully replace both rear brakes (calipers/discs/pads) which for someone as crap at mechanics as me, is quite something. Also did the infamous weepy rocker gasket a little while ago too.

So, that's the story so far. To summarise:

Beetle - all welding done, needs prep/paint/putting back together.
MX5 - all welding done, needs taking apart, prep/paint/putting back together. Having too much fun to bother at the moment, since it has an MOT.
Fabia - being modern and reliable. Not much to say really.


Apologies for the photobucket watermark on some of these, I don't have the original pics on this computer and the photobucket ones are the only ones I have access to. Future developments will be added to this thread, with the bulk of them likely relating to the MX5, at least for the short term. Working on getting the Beetle closer so I can do bodywork type stuffs on it.

[chaseracer]

Welcome along!  Seat/tea/pink wafers, etc.

Don't tell any of the others, but I quite like Beetles.  Nearly had a 1302S as my first car...

[Soundwave]

19 minutes ago, chaseracer said:

 

Don't tell any of the others, but I quite like Beetles.  Nearly had a 1302S as my first car...

 

I like them, although I think it's largely down to the emotional connection more than the car itself (first car, freedom, making new friends, going to shows etc). Objectively, they're actually kinda poor even by 1970s standards. I like to try and avoid the "OmG dUbBeR!" cliche of believing everything VW is automatically the best; they're fun cars to own, but definitely have many many flaws.

I admit both my projects cars are perhaps a bit "popular classics" for AutoShite, but I'm a big shite fan anyway - saw a Daewoo Nexia the other day and had to stop and take a photo...

[DVee8]

Hi and welcome along. Nice  collection  my mates dad was in the North East MX5 club he had a Gleneagles edition when he died around 2012 his wife couldn't look at it anymore so sold it on. Not many Gleneagles editions around.

[rob88h]

This genius welder friend of yours... where can I get one? ?

Your fleet is a nice eclectic mix, I look forward to hearing more from these (including the Skoda, broad church).

[bunglebus]

Beetle and MX5 definitely on my radar. Shame about the K70, very unusual and interesting - how's it doing these days?

[Soundwave]

53 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Beetle and MX5 definitely on my radar. Shame about the K70, very unusual and interesting - how's it doing these days?

 

It's awaiting restoration, my welding genius mate bought it from me. He's been buying panels for it, most of which had to be sourced from mainland Europe since parts availability isn't fantastic, as you'd imagine!

[Soundwave]

So... not much to report on the fleet as of late. The MX5 still needs tidying (there's some bubbles coming through on the front wing and the door) and the Beetle is still awaiting paint prep. With this in mind, do I either:

1 - Prep the Beetle and get it ready to go to the paint shop
2 - Get started on the MX5's bubbles before they take hold and require new panels
3 - Buy another completely unnecessary car


I think we all know the answer to that. Collection report to follow this afternoon.  

[dave j]

I am at the hateful stage of prepping my Beetle for paint, it seems to go on forever! 

[Soundwave]

Mission begin! 

"I'M ON A BUS. I'M ON A BUS. TAKE A GOOD, HARD LOOK AT THE MOTHERFUCKIN' BUS." 

[Soundwave]

Stage 2 - a two mile on-foot sojourn through an apocalyptic wasteland. Also known as Coventry. 

 

[Soundwave]

Collection completed! Tat acquired!

OK, quick rundown:

It's a Rover 216SLI, born in 1995, it's the first car I've ever owned that isn't blue or white, it's got 12 months' MOT and cost less than a year's tax on a new Defender.

Let's get the bad out of the way first...

- Clutch isn't slipping, but does feel very high. Might needs adjustment, might be just how the car is, might be a warning sign of clutch death. We'll see.
- Paint is peeling in places, small amount of rust on rear door. Roof and boot lid have lacquer crazing.
- One of the rear doors doesn't lock/unlock with the central locking
- Headliner is saggy, and there's some wear on the driver's seat.

Yes, I often get my belt sander and my chamois leather mixed up too...

 

However,  although cosmetically challenged, this car is subtly brilliant. One owner from new, ex Rover employee, passed away last year, registered to his daughter but she never really drove it. OK, that's technically 2 from new but I'm counting it as one.

History? Why, yes. And not pictured, a Haynes manual too.



Look at this rust on one of the doors. And look well, because despite the knackered paint this is the ONLY rot it has!



Look at these sills, and these arches, and these rear door shuts...

Boot floor? Yep, it's got one of those too.




Beyond the worn seat bolster, the interior's pretty good. It had standard-issue old person covers on the front seats so they've been pretty well protected. Also... V E L O U R.

Electrically... actually doing pretty well for one of these! All the essentials like the lights and wipers work, plus...

- Leccy windows - working on both sides
- Leccy door mirrors - ditto
- Original Rover cassette radio - working, although currently only making noises out of the passenger side speaker
- Leccy sunroof - tilts merrily, and slides...  under protest. Might need lubricating, might need a motor. Meh, I don't use sunroofs much anyway.
- Immobiliser and alarm - yes, and the former is a bit too keen sometimes. Amazingly, looking at the handbook it's supposed to do that. If you open the door with the key out of the ignition, it'll come on and you need to use the keyfob to disable it again. That's actually in the handbook. Oh, Rover...
- Central locking - works on the button (literally), except on the driver's side rear door. Key doesn't seem keen to turn in the lock either.



So, overall? Actually pretty pleased with it. There was a time I'd have turned my nose up at such a scruffy looking car, but now I'm somewhat more enlightened (enshitened?) I tried to look at the car for what it was, rather than that it wasn't. And I can say this car, though somewhat run-down in appearance, is an honest, solid, and pretty nice-driving example of a time when we knew how to make cars. And on the drive home... I actually came to appreciate some of its foibles.

What am I going to do with it? No idea. I have a daily, I have a project, I have a rolling resto... so I reckon this'll be just a nostalgia trip for a few months (my mum had one of these when I was growing up!) and then probably sell/roffle down the line.


After getting it home, I got back in my modern Skoda and nearly stamped the pedals through the floor because they're so light compared to this. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to take the Skoda out and learn how to drive it again.

[Soundwave]

.... and my friends are absolutely tearing it to shreds. This was supposed to be a distraction from depression, not another source of it.

[wesacosa]

lovely. Well bought. I remember trying to get my dad to buy one back in the day but he never did

[320touring]

Yaaay! A decently cared for car of any manufacture is a nice thing.

 

Enjoy

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Tell your friends to nob off, theyre only jealous!! It looks really nice and these are a great drive, I reckon you're onto a winner there.  I'd be lashing some anti-rust gloop on the sills and arches as they have done amazingly well so far!!!

[overrun]

12 hours ago, Soundwave said:

Mission begin! 

"I'M ON A BUS. I'M ON A BUS. TAKE A GOOD, HARD LOOK AT THE MOTHERFUCKIN' BUS." 

I'm on a bus mother fucker, take a look at me. Straight sittin' on a bus, Number 53.

[Soundwave]

15 minutes ago, overrun said:

I'm on a bus mother fucker, take a look at me. Straight sittin' on a bus, Number 53.

48C actually, which still fits the rhyme.

Fuck walking, I'm on a bus motherfucker
I'm on my way to buy toys, motherfucker
Fuck my bank balance, it's destroyed motherfucker
This bus engine make noise, motherfucker.

[overrun]

6 minutes ago, Soundwave said:

48C actually, which still fits the rhyme.

Fuck walking, I'm on a bus motherfucker
I'm on my way to buy toys, motherfucker
Fuck my bank balance, it's destroyed motherfucker
This bus engine make noise, motherfucker.

Haha YES. I've always got time for a bit of Lonely Island!

 

Never thought I'd be in A Rover

I keep wonderin where's the next hard shoulder

Green Flag, look away oh oh ohhhhh

Didn't think I'd make it home with the temp gauge pointin at stone 

Believe me when I say, I bought some K Seal

 

Nah, good luck with the car, mate. NOT AL ROVAZ R FKD HG 

[Soundwave]

Fortunately this is a Honda engine, so not prone less prone to OMGHGF.

[overrun]

10 minutes ago, Soundwave said:

Fortunately this is a Honda engine, so not prone less prone to OMGHGF.

😄 Missed that. OMG RHD JDM Yo. I'm something of a fan.

[Soundwave]

And now, in the cold, wet, harsh light of day after the rush of impulsiveness and the excitement of acquisition has died down, a question rattles around in my mind...

Just what the fucking hell am I going to do with this?  

[High Jetter]

Roffle?

[loserone]

13 hours ago, Soundwave said:

Fortunately this is a Honda engine, so more prone to OMGHGF.

FTFY

[Soundwave]

17 hours ago, loserone said:

FTFY

 

Funny you should say that, been going through some of the history/receipts and there's actually one from 2005 for a head-off engine rebuild, complete with HG and skim. At a cost of over £700 apparently, all the more impressive the last owner had it done given the car probably wasn't worth much more than that by then...

[Soundwave]

So, we're on Day 4 and amazingly the Rover's V5 has arrived! Definitely didn't expect such efficiency from the DVLA, so that's a bonus. Also discovered that the heated rear window and interior lights work as well, so that's an even bigger bonus. Been driving it around and I'm amazed at how nice it feels. I especially like the feel of the steering wheel, I know it sounds a bit odd but it feels absolutely fantastic in the hands. Even better than my modern. It really is a pleasant car to drive - not as fast as its output would suggest, and not particularly refined at motorway speeds, but yes it feels great. Just the right amount of weight to it without feeling too cumbersome. I like!

Gratuitous photo:

[DoctorRetro]

I'm so jealous. If you ever fancy trying a diesel.... 😁

[omegod]

Superb cars those Rovers, I found the clutch to feel high on the 220 sli forum bike 

[Macscrooge]

Nice that. I have fond memories of the 214GSi I had new as a company car in 1990. I think the list price then was about £12,500. The Suffolk terraced cottage I bought the same year was a bit over £40k......

[2flags]

These are great cars. Much better than the equivalent Ford Escort of the same era. These were, for a very short time, Britain's most popular car. They were everywhere. I had one for a while. Very swish.