AOTB's random fleet - A fleet update, plus new arrival (of course it's broken!)

[aotb]

I'm the living embodiment of why you shouldn't buy someone else's project. 

[garethj]

I love a fibreglass wedge and you’re definitely batting above the average!  Well done!

[aotb]

I know I have been lax on keeping this updated. As a summary- BMW is still on default daily driver duty, including a trip up to Twixfest. 

 

Boring but useful. Annoyingly the ABS/DSC pump has failed, so that's got to go off to be rebuilt. I've also got new front shocks/springs to install-  I think the current ones are factory and certainly past their best. Thankfully over the recent weather the AC works perfectly which is a luxury I have never had before!

The Blue MR2 is the other car that on the road at the moment. I would have brought it to Twixfest, but it's not really suited to carrying a set of seats for a Fulvia,  an Oldmobile Dashboard and a freezer of ice cream. I did take it to Shelsey Walsh a few weeks ago for some non timed runs up the hill. The last trip before that was a road trip out to Czechia/Slovakia around Easter. I think my back has just about recovered now... 

Continues to run like clockwork, but some of the old bodywork bodges will need a bit of attention soon. 

 

The Fulvia continues to sit in storage but I have been steadly gathering parts for it. Got that clocked as starting in the Autumn kind of project. I did pull the Bagheeras out with the hope of throwing one together enough for the Shelsley Walsh event, but as it turns out the 'solid' one  had some interesting tape and filler over gaping holes rust repair on the A pillars. 

 

The solid appearing floors also have had some repairs that turned out to be less than solid. Nothing that can't be fixed, but it's too much for me to tackle right now, so both are back in storage. Really they need a full strip down to the bare sub structure and completely going through. The steel frame is actually fairly simple to work with , but time consuming. 

The other MK1 MR2 continues to sit in storage. The Celica is just waiting for me to pull the engine/box and cart the rest off to scrap. I want to get that done in the next couple of weeks so I can get it out the way as i need the space back- I wonder why?

The Elite I've actually been making steady progress on. Since the last update I have pulled the engine/gearbox, replaced all the gaskets and put it back together. I was surprised when I went to drain the gearbox oil and all that came out was clean water- which would explain why it didn't want to shift easily! Luckily the guy I bought my seat from sold me his spare gearbox for a very reasonable price. The front suspension is all done, cooling system mostly plumbed and I've started pulling the dash in preperation for a full rewire- the existing loom is more bodges that factory wire at this point. I rebuilt the carbs and got it running but it needs setting up properly. It did blow the oil line that fed the gauge and dump a load of oil in the driver's footwell, which was fun*

Putting the lift in has made it a lot easier to work on. 

The target for that now is to have it on the road for mid October for a trip away- I've missed so many deadlines now with it I might as well set another one! 

The MR2 Roadster had a trip up to the NC500 at the end of last year, then mostly sat over winter. It repaid me for a winter off by deciding to loose all it's coolant back in the spring.  No. obvious leak so it's mostly been sat since then. Hoping it's not HGF as that's an engine out job (again). 

Now with all the other broken cars I own, what I really needed was another one.

Now that's my kind of thing! Spotted this almost as soon as it was listed, popped a slightly cheeky offer in and picked it up the next evening.

 

It's a Bini! What could go wrong? It's been off the road for a couple of years- the owner moved abroad, now her parents who were storing it are following so just needed it gone. At a glance it's pretty good, obviously needing a good service and going through as well as the MOT bits. The worst part is the tailgate which has some rust around the handle which does seem like a TADTS issue with these now. Underneath there's nothing too worrying, but worth a clean up. I'll probably pick up one of the many used stainless exhausts - the one on there that rusted out still has the Klarius sticker on it which doesn't say much about their lifespan.

 

Something has had a nibble on the plug leads, but looks like nothing else. It runs well from a quick spin around the yard,  I am looking forward to being able to drive it properly as I miss having a sporty hatch since the last Ignis went. This should be a fair bit quicker but is on heavy side in comparison. 

Interior is reasonable, still with the factory tape player! Plus a six disc changer, filled with CDs that aren't my thing. It must have been heavily smoked in as it does still smell, even after two years. 

 

The plan is to get it MOTd then enjoy it for a bit. Not sure if it's a long term keeper, but I'll see how it goes!