Forma Fiat Croma Owna, Now Tipo + others...

[Timewaster]

I had  a few years ago one that was a right heap. £100 with a few weeks mot.

First night I had it I gave my mate a lift home from the pub as it was pissing down with rain. A short run on a twisty country road I know very well. 

I wasn't expecting a Gti, but Jeez it was all over the place. Worst handling car I ever drove.

Next day I checked the tyre pressures. Can't remember the exact figures but the fronts were something like 15 psi in one side and 75 in the other. 

Funnily enough it was much better once that was sorted.  HGF was only days away though. 

[brownnova]

Cracking!! Do like. 600 series Rover. A 620ti being the holy grail of course! Well bought and I hope you can find a better insurance deal, there are good deals out there I’m sure. Make use of the 14 day cooling off period hit up the comparison sites and maybe get on the phone to the classic insurers as it’s definitely in the cusp of Classicdom. 

It still astounds me I’ve never owned a Rover. Definitely an itch to scratch soon... 

[jmsguzzi]

I've found a better insurance deal that I'll be making use of, will get most of my upfront payment back from Admiral barring the £25 cancellation fee. Had a little drive of this earlier, it's growing on me, the steering is what i'd describe as springy in feeling but maybe they're all like this? I know the Honda system in these isn't the best. It's right on the changeover so I have no idea if it has the better Rover system, it has the normal 600 badges from the facelift but lacks the body coloured mirrors and rubbing strips. Obvious oil leak but it isn't from the rocker cover gasket as that's been done, it looks like it's coming from lower down the block behind the timing belt cover, will get that off and have a look.

First task though is trying to get all the dog smell and hair out of the interior! 

[clayts450]

Changeover from Mk1 to 2 on these was from VIN ending 246797 onwards. The 1996 P reg 600s are always borderline - mine is a Mk 1

[clayts450]

BTW Good Facebook group worth seeking out at https://www.facebook.com/groups/31752176123

[wesacosa]

from memory on my 623 which had the Honda PAS it needs Hondamatic PAS fluid and not the pinky Dexton 3 AT fluid. Its a yellowish colour. When I had a leak I thought it was engine oil at first

[Jazoli]

46 minutes ago, wesacosa said:

from memory on my 623 which had the Honda PAS it needs Hondamatic PAS fluid and not the pinky Dexton 3 AT fluid. Its a yellowish colour. When I had a leak I thought it was engine oil at first

That's correct, I put the wrong fluid in my Accord and the steering went really heavy, once drained and filled with the correct stuff it was fine.

[jmsguzzi]

1 hour ago, clayts450 said:

Changeover from Mk1 to 2 on these was from VIN ending 246797 onwards. The 1996 P reg 600s are always borderline - mine is a Mk 1

So mine will have the Rover system then, therefore not needing the Honda specific PAS? 
 

Tyre pressures all done today, they were low but it’s still not made much difference,  it still steers like crap.

 

[Ghosty]

Ronda PAS reservoirs generally have fluid spec info moulded into them or something. 

[Cookiesouwest]

Well bought sir.

There's a p reg, nightfire red with lacquer peel and a coolant leak nr me for sale. Had to check the reg as thought you had bought it lol

Its tempting as ive always wanted one. 

[jmsguzzi]

Figured I’d turn this into a general thread for all my purchases due to the rate I get through em. Have had a couple of days with the Rovers replacement and it’s much more my style:

 

^^^very beige.

It’s a very comfortable barge, wish it was an auto as I think that’d really suit it.

It’s a super early 2.3T SE, built 1997, registered Jan 98, wouldn’t be surprised if it’s one of, if not the earliest example in the country?

[wesacosa]

looks nice. lovely cruisers and some of the comfiest seats ever fitted to a car

[brownnova]

Same colour and year as my 9000 the car which it replaced... would be awesome to get the two together for some pics/comparison... oh and dibs when you sell please! A matching set would look amazing on my drive! 

[Vantman]

Very nice and as you say very early,i ran an S reg 9000 for a while so your 9-5 must be right on the crossover point.

[jmsguzzi]

Previous owner messaged me a couple of days ago, “found a folder full of receipts, do you want it?”

Yes please, no expenses spared on this it seems. Full underbody rust protection treatment, bill from a few years ago of £1500 (😱) which included a new turbo. And most importantly it’s had the oil sludge fix done.

[wuvvum]

On 11/7/2020 at 8:18 PM, wesacosa said:

some of the comfiest seats ever fitted to a car

Indeed.  If only they had given them a couple more inches of rearward travel.

[jonathan_dyane]

I fixed mine so they go back an extra 6 inches however personally I don’t find the seats terribly comfortable, I found C900 seats better and Citroen XM seats in another league. 

[jmsguzzi]

Big car small boat/big boat small car 

[Six-cylinder]

55 minutes ago, jmsguzzi said:

Big car small boat/big boat small car 

Azura? v Inca

[High Jetter]

If it's running most of the time, surely it would suggest it's running hot?  Maybe the fan's thermostatic switch is playing up

[jmsguzzi]

1 hour ago, High Jetter said:

If it's running most of the time, surely it would suggest it's running hot?  Maybe the fan's thermostatic switch is playing up

Aye ofcourse, brain fart moment from me there!

[Isaac Hunt]

Lurching, might be the throttle pot.  I had that on a Rover (not a 620Ti but I have a feeling the part is the same).  The track wears or breaks and thus the signal to the ECU is not progressive.

Mine was better some days than others. It played up bad on my lads driving test, started kangarooing and the examiner said “ steady on” to which my lad replied, “its the car not me”.  It must have settled down because he passed.  

 

[jmsguzzi]

Haven’t updated this thread in a while:

In:

2000 BMW 528i SE bought off here:

This will be a great car once I get the replacement ABS module on and programmed along with a few other age related niggles, you can tell how great these are even with all it’s hopefully temporary faults.

1989 SAAB 9000 CD:

I wasn’t planning on getting this at all, I’d just managed to get rid of my 9-5, but was offered it for a great price by my friend Chris. It’s been nice experiencing it and bringing back memories of the Croma but can’t see myself holding onto it for long, not as fun as the 205 and doesn’t do the luxo barge thing as well as the BMW. Turns out a Pentax P30 and it’s accompanying lenses is a perfect fit for the centre console compartment though ...

Still have the Peugeot and I’m still enjoying it, off the road currently whilst I get a few things sorted on it, didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I have done!

[prepace]

Love those 9000's.........great purchase

[jmsguzzi]

Wrapped and glued the rear panel on the 9000 over the weekend, no ones gonna be asking me to wrap their lambo anytime soon but it’s better than it was and presentable enough...

before:

after:

Will have to try get that giffer sealant off the boot at some point as well.

And finally got the ABS module sorted on my E39, it’s crazy just how many functions it knocks off on the car when it’s not working. Only drove it for 5 minutes but feels like like a totally different car, all that’s left to sort is a camshaft sensor and then it’ll be mechanically sound..... for now.

[jmsguzzi]

Didn’t do a very good job of keeping this thread updated did I…

I’ve owned 15 cars since that SAAB 9000, here’s a brief run down:

1996 Jaguar XJR6

Never meet your heroes, sold to @straightSix who manual converted it, sold to another forum member now I believe? 
 

1990 Peugeot 205 GR 1.4 

Purchased from @loserone, unfortunately could never get it to run correctly.

 

2007 Mercedes CLK 280 Avantgarde 

Decided I needed a ‘modern’, nice engine, awful build quality.

 

1991 Mercedes 230TE 

Purchased from @HMC , fun old barge, found a mushroom growing in it once!

2003 Smart City Passion 
 

Roffle win from @gm, I’m glad it was only £25….

2001 Subaru Forester All Weather 
 

My current daily, bought from my mate who emigrated to Australia, thought I’d have it for a few months, two and a half years later it’s still here, longest I’ve ever owned a car.

1993 Peugeot 205 1.4 GTX 
 

Extremely fun and what a looker, shouldn’t of sold this one  

1991 Mercedes 300E 
 

Looked nice but turned out to be clocked and rotten…

2007 SAAB 9-5 2.3t Vector Sport 

The difference in quality between this and the 1997 9-5 I owned was startling, GM had really tightened the purse strings.

2000 BMW Z3 2.0i 

Purchased from @NorthernMonkey for my trip to the Isle Of Man, great fun, miss this car.

2000 Citroen Xantia 2.0i Exclusive
 

Purchased from @purplebargeken, saw my Dad right for a few weeks whilst his car was off the road, unfortunately snapped it’s clutch cable on the day it was due to be sold. Fortunately @Saabnut took it off my hands but believe it also gave him some bother. Think it’s been scrapped?

2006 Subaru Forester XTen

Purchased  from @Dabooka with the idea that it would replace my older Forester which I knew would need welding for it’s MOT, just couldn’t gel with it in the same way, decided to keep the old one.

 2003 Subaru Legacy Outback H6
 

Thought I’d give an Outback a try next, liked a lot of things about this car but the weirdly uncomfortable seats and driving position meant that once again the old Forester could not be replaced.

2000 BMW 323Ci SE Auto
 

Always wanted one, but found it a bit boring to have as a second ‘fun’ car. 

1995 FIAT Tipo Liberty 1.6 SX
 

Went on holiday to Turin and decided I needed a FIAT, chanced across this on eBay, picked it up about a month ago and loving it so far. Passed it’s MOT this week only needing flexi hoses on the front and brake cylinders on the rear. Should be taking it to FOTU in July so feel free to say hello.

And that’s it!

Will try and keep this updated with bits on the Tipo and Forester.

 

 

[DSdriver]

On 26/10/2020 at 18:00, stuboy said:

tyre pressure low?

Or type of tyres, I found changing the tyres on a Celica I had many years ago made an enormous difference and was only disgruntled that I hadn't changed the front tyres before a trip into the French Alps which was a real strain on my arms.

[Simon_punto]

Another Tipo!

congrats

[bramz7]

'went on holiday to Turin...'

 

Never, ever go to Italy without an Italian car already at home, it always ends the same way. 

(Unless you hate Italian cars of course).

 

Love the Tipo.

[jmsguzzi]

Bit more on the Tipo…

It’s an ever so 90s run out model ‘Liberty’ special edition, it’s party piece being the first FIAT to come with Aircon as standard (which I have in a box in my spare bedroom), you also got an electric sun roof, electric front windows and electric adjustable wing mirrors, all work to varying degrees of success and inconsistency. It’s also supposed to come with alcantara style seats, though mine have been replaced by a previous owner, it’s now sporting some rather nice blue velour.

I believe mine spent most of it’s life in London with the same owner from new, there’s a few pics online of it laid up on their driveway, probably a ULEZ victim.