collection mission to SPAIN!!!! COMPLETED IT M8

[danthecapriman]

Good luck with this idiocy epic collection Bollox. 
The owner sounds like a total gent, fair play to the man. 
 

This thread actually inspired me to do the exact same thing…

 

…well, not exact but it’s got me my very own 1100!😄

 

Do us proud you madman!👍

[bezzabsa]

no good me looking on furrin sites, no passport and no speaka da lingo

[High Jetter]

4 hours ago, Mr_Bo11ox said:

Yeah I'd not noticed that aerial, looks cool.

The seller is unwittingly doing more to assuage my anxiety than I'm doing myself. Who polishes their old motor before it goes? He messaged me yesterday saying it was all ready to start its new life. He's leaving the insurance on it and says we'll have a beer together before I set off. They guy seems totally genuine and I'm sure he wouldn't do any of this if he just wanted a shit old car out of his driveway. So he must have faith in the car, even if I haven't (yet)!!!

He sounds a genuine guy, get him in here. Reassuring, chodspeed

[Noel Tidybeard]

 

[DodgeRover]

Someone tell Bollox that ADAC membership might be a good buy. Doesn't really matter what nationality you are to them.

 

[catsinthewelder]

1 hour ago, DodgeRover said:

Someone tell Bollox that ADAC membership might be a good buy. Doesn't really matter what nationality you are to them.

 

I've got DAS with my classic insurance which appeared to be more useful than AA membership when the Dacia FTPed last year.

 

Best of luck Mr B, looks an absolute honey.

[warren t claim]

Perished tyres and fan belt would be my biggest worry. Tyres you can replace en route but if you can slip a new fan belt into your hand luggage the all to the good. Maybe take a new set of points along with a Mark Feely gauges to gap them if needed, come to think of it, they'll also come in handy for setting the tappets every 50 miles or so.

France is a huge country and therefore the French built their cars with super tall fourth gears so if you keep your speed down the motor should cope. The problem is IMHO that you're going to "shock" a car that's had an easy life over the last five decades by subjecting it to the longest drive of its life. The grease in its wheel bearings probably hasn't seen the light of day since the last time you had a wank over Michaela Strachan.

Some European recovery policies may see it as a worthless old banger and therefore in the event of a breakdown may choose to bung you £750 cash rather than bring it back to Blighty.

Tonight I'll be listening to this in tribute to your Simca.

 

[warren t claim]

I'm wondering what the new and used spares situation is like for those in Spain and France. Will Le GSF or Las Halfords have a spare alternator on the shelf if needed?

[wuvvum]

1 hour ago, warren t claim said:

France is a huge country and therefore the French built their cars with super tall fourth gears

I'm going to have to take issue with that statement.  At 70mph my Renault 6 sounds like it's about to put a rod through the block. 

[loserone]

5 hours ago, warren t claim said:

the last time you had a wank over Michaela Strachan.

Yesterday morning!?

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I never miss an episode of Springwatch

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I did think of the fan belt being a high risk item a couple of days ago, too late to get a spare. At least it's something where a visual will most likely tell you of imminent failure. I'll inspect it and if it looks flaky hopefully the seller will have an idea where to get a replacement. 

[Frogchod]

14 hours ago, lesapandre said:

Less wind resistance...

Yellow bulbs? Looks like it...Retro fog lights too.

Cool antenna attached to the gutter...

It's sporting it's green insurance vignette - try to keep that in even though you've insured it separately - unless they have emailed you a replacement vignette to put in. It will attract less attention. You'll need to print off your insurance docs.

Black plate cars don't need to show their CT vignette - but you will need to keep the CT certificate that comes with the car in the glove box to produce if asked.

Since last month there is no need to display insurance vignette. 

ANPR exists and Les flicks carry an ipad type thing.  

[lesapandre]

That's very useful to know. Many thanks. I'd heard it was coming in.

I've just looked it up online:

https://www.economie.gouv.fr/actualites/assurance-automobile-suppression-carte-verte-avril-2024

There is a self check system too - to see if a car is on - using the reg number and VIN - embedded in a link to the above.

Myself I be inclined to leave one on if there is one present for these last few days.

[lesapandre]

1 hour ago, Mr_Bo11ox said:

I did think of the fan belt being a high risk item a couple of days ago, too late to get a spare. At least it's something where a visual will most likely tell you of imminent failure. I'll inspect it and if it looks flaky hopefully the seller will have an idea where to get a replacement. 

If you order online from Autodoc or a Spanish outfit you might just have time to get it delivered to the sellers home address. It's such a low-cost item if you miss it does not really matter. Alternatively you could get it delivered c/o one of the hotels or where you are stopping in France maybe?

If you can find out the part Quinton Hazell part number Amazon seem to do belts for old cars too...

Or using LeBonCoin and picking up en route.

I've got parts via these methods whilst away having stuff delivered en route. It does work out.

[Mr Pastry]

@lesapandreSlightly off topic, but while we wait for the excitement to start, how does the Voiture de Collection status work? Is it just an age thing?  What are the pros and cons?  And how does the French CT compare with the UK MOT?  

[lesapandre]

Briefly not to derail the topic:

The 'Voiture de Collection' status is open to any car 30+. Owners have to apply to get the vehicle status changed.

Plates then change to black and white.

The advantages are the MoT is then every 5 years not every two. 

Cars are also Crit'Air exempt. 

The MoT and CT test are comparable - it's just in France you have longer to get the work done - 2 months. Can also drive the car in the meantime as long as the faults are not major.

Set out here:

https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/N31200

(Should self translate - it does on my phone)

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Right our man is coming to meet me at the airport tomorrow using Simca 'power'. That's reducing my stress levels a lot, cos its a half-hour trip along the dual carriageway to his place, so I'll have a reasonable impression of how it goes before I'm sat inside it on my own looking down the barrel of a 2000km journey

[Rightnider]

This is fantastic! 

My mother had an early (maybe 1973) 1100 estate  in beige when I was born in 78. It was scrapped in 1984 due to rust and terrible parts availability in Sweden. I think she had had a brown metallic Mazda 323 estate for a couple of years then already.

Legend has it that it that the battery was flat on numerous occasions, due to me playing in the Simca,  turning the lights on and forgetting to turn them off. 
 

Good luck and all that! You’re going to be fine @Mr_Bo11ox, what could possibly happen? And whatever happens, it will be a story to tell. 

[garbaldy]

Were popping over to just outside limoges next week with the french diahatsu on the trailer, if I can't find anything to bring back it will be returning empty, we'll keep our ears open for the tapidy tap incase you get held up.  

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Good to know! maybe you can pick me and this thing up if disaster really strikes!!!!!

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Just making a note of this car parts shop a kilometer or so from my hotel on the weds night, could be handy

[loserone]

6 minutes ago, Mr_Bo11ox said:

Just making a note of this car parts shop a kilometer or so from my hotel on the weds night, could be handy

Ring them up and ask them to get the belt in for you?

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Hmm I think that might tax my Spanish beyond breaking point!!!!! I'm gonna inspect the fan belt when I see it and if it looks too flimsy I'll try and deal with it then.

In Spain they were building & selling 205's with this Simca Poissy engine till the early/mid-90's so I'm relatively confident there'll be plenty of consumable bits knocking about.

[andy18s]

Sounds like an epic trip in the making..

If the owner is as switched on as it seems,surely he will have spares kicking around?

[UltraWomble]

13 minutes ago, Mr_Bo11ox said:

Hmm I think that might tax my Spanish beyond breaking point!!!!! I'm gonna inspect the fan belt when I see it and if it looks too flimsy I'll try and deal with it then.

In Spain they were building & selling 205's with this Simca Poissy engine till the early/mid-90's so I'm relatively confident there'll be plenty of consumable bits knocking about.

In the boot of my first couple of cars I had one of these:

It was clearly shit and meant to ward off broken fan belts by witchcraft rather than actually be used - just a thought can you pick up one of these devices?

 

[loserone]

I've whatsapped you their email address.  Hotmail, typical Spanish business 😂

[wuvvum]

10 hours ago, wuvvum said:

I'm going to have to take issue with that statement.  At 70mph my Renault 6 sounds like it's about to put a rod through the block. 

Just checked the What Car? road test and the Simca is geared for 14.9mph/1,000rpm in fourth.  Which means that at a 130km/h autoroute cruise the engine will be turning over at a mere* 5,400rpm, which by my calculations works out to 360 tappet rattles per second.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

kinell, 4000rpm at 60mph

[camryv6]

Can you not go to Jock's garage from the discovery channel ?