Star garages - The Good, the Rusty, and the Delayed - How many Zastavas do you need to assemble one?

[IronStar]

I was thinking of how should I approach one of these and where should I start, so might as well start from the latest purchase, go backwards and see how far I can get and how far can I remember. 😄

 

Setting the scene for this one. March this year, I’m getting a phone call from my cousin and my brother. They’re cleaning and redoing some bits of cousin’s place, and there are two dead cars on the drive that need to disappear. I’m being called as the “guy with connections in the car world” aka “we can’t be bothered to fuck with this, so can you please do it for us?”. Car #1 is a blue Fiat Stilo. I hated it since I first saw it, and hated it even more after I’ve driven it. It’s absolutely rotten, untainted until it fell apart by brother that owned it and dumped on the drive in an absolutely unsafe to drive condition with 6 months MOT left on it, which was almost 2 years ago. I take a few photos and punt it onto FB marketplace to try selling it before I call in someone to scrap it (some poor sod parted 300 of Europe’s finest currency for it and plans to put it back on the road 😳). Car #2 is Fiat Bravo. I remember my cousin driving it around and it being in a nice spec, it was parked, but I never really thought about it, other than being a dead car on a drive. There was some casual discussion about me plucking an engine for a Yugo, but it was never really turned into anything. I take a look before taking any pics, and…

“This car is way too good to scrap! What’s wrong with it again?”

“Not much really. It needs belts, air filter casing is cracked, clutch cable needs replaced and I think there’s a leak in aircon. Some other stupid Fiat bits of that era such as stereo acting up and power window switches are broken. I didn’t have any money back then, and it was just left there since. There’s absolutely no rust on it, just this dent on the hood from snow falling from this powerline above it. Want it for the engine, or, IDK, whatever?”

“Oh bollocks, I really don’t need another fucking car. How much Star cousin?”

“300? just trailer it out of here as it’s taking up space”

“Balls.”

A battery and a couple of attempts later, it started on 4 years old fuel, ran like shit for a while, then just….worked absolutely fine. 300E and a towtruck later it’s sitting in front of my garage. 
It’s a 1.6 16v “Suite”. Leather, aircon, power windows, 15 alloys, HID headlights, the lot of it. It also has an aftermarket stainless exhaust and some other go faster bits on it. I *think* it’s lowered, but I’m not 100 certain. 
Unfortunately since I’ve bought it life happened, and I didn’t get to wash it properly, let alone tow it to get serviced and registered. On top of it it was registered to my aunt, which has sadly passed away since, before doing the paperwork ofc, so now I’m waiting for that to clear as well. 🤦

It’s a lovely car, much more interesting than a contemporary Golf, and I’m honestly really glad I saved it from scrapman. The color is an absolute peach as well!

Plan? I really didn’t need this car. I bought it to help out with cleaning up the place, and pass some money onto someone. I’d like to see it functional, drive around as a grocery getter and go from there. This would all be much faster if the bastarding Mini got fixed by now, but that’s a story for the next one of these 😄

[High Jetter]

Are you in Belgium (le belge)?

[sutty2006]

6 hours ago, High Jetter said:

Are you in Belgium (le belge)?

I thought Belgium plates were smaller with a red border? 
 

SRB area code, not seen that before. First guess is Serbia but I’m not familiar with it. 
 

im not a Fiat fan, but that looks like an interesting purchase! 

[fatharris]

Yeah, he's Serbian

I didn't even know about this one

[IronStar]

1 hour ago, sutty2006 said:

I thought Belgium plates were smaller with a red border? 
 

SRB area code, not seen that before. First guess is Serbia but I’m not familiar with it. 
 

im not a Fiat fan, but that looks like an interesting purchase! 

Yeah, it’s Serbia.

I had no idea they could be specced this high, this is the only one I’ve ever seen in full leather.

34 minutes ago, fatharris said:

Yeah, he's Serbian

I didn't even know about this one


 

Did I forget to tell you? Whoops! 😅 

[B4lljoints]

Looks lovely!

These are hugely underrated cars and are disappearing fast. There used to be loads in the UK but you just don't see them anymore.

Leather is delicious too. I've only ever seen leather in an HGT.

[IronStar]

Onto the next one we go!

 

A pre-facelift Saxo VTR 

Originally a car owned by a very very good friend of mine, responsible for at least some of my purchases with cheeky ads. Before this one he had an orange 1.4 Furio in a lovely mango color. He absolutely loved it and I wanted dibs, but… One evening, some absolute moron ran a red light and T-boned him. To car’s credit, everyone got out unhurt, but the car was…mangled. It was first sitting around crashed for a while, then taken to a bodyshop and shoddily fixed,  then sat for some more. Eventually, he decided to get rid, but I really didn’t want a car with extensive damage and welding needed. The car sold and he needed a replacement. Months have passed, I sent him a bunch of potential options, he sent over a bunch of options, but he didn’t even go take a look at any of them, overthinking most of them.  I knew he still had a Saxo shaped itch and void in his heart, but he didn’t want to admit it. One afternoon, a blue Saxo popped up for sale. Link was sent, curiosity peaked, messages with the seller were exchanged, I picked him up after work, and away we went. 
By the time we’ve arrived to take a look, it was already night, so we looked the car over with some torches. According to seller it was sitting for a bit, but it, erm, ran fine when parked, but needed some work. Test driven by him, test driven by me, and we were both smitten. It needed a grand or so of work, but it was an honest, if a bit shoddy car. Of the annoying bits, someone cut the exhaust and it was making A LOT of noise, many bolts weren’t bolted properly and already rattly interior was rattling like crazy. It was sitting way too low, and the ride stiffnesses was like driving around with no suspension. Some checks were ran,  some phone calls made, I may or may not have convinced him a bit as I loved it, but a quick trip to the ATM later and the car was his.

It was, registered* and road legal* on bald summer tires in January, it was now almost midnight, and it hasn’t been driven for months so I decided to do a logical thing of driving it back to his place, some 50km away. 😄 We decided to take some B roads to reduce the chance of meeting anyone who could, erm, validate Saxo’s legality. That still didn’t stop us from running into them, but they stopped him in my 159 which was pace car, and Saxo went past them unhindered. What we didn’t account for that there was some heavy snowfall in the previous days, and that the road we took probably weren’t cleaned properly by ever-vigilant Serbian snow clearing crews. Which was no problem for the 159 pace car, that had plenty of traction and an ability to brake on the snow, but less so for a Saxo on an absolutely shot tires. A screaming phonecall may have been made to a pace car after I almost rearended it after first braking, with a selection of swear words and I have next to no brakes, don’t brake in front of me you twat sentiment. We soldered on, and soon* twisty B roads turned into outskirts of Belgrade, and a victorious roar was had on one of the Belgrade’s bridges. We were in his building’s garage in no time, with me being a bit  dazed by the leaking exhaust, rattling interior, and semi-frozen because the cunting thermostat was stuck open so I had no heating in the car.  His girlfriend was much less impressed with being woken up and a realization that a blue shitpile was now occupying the garage and thawing there. A list of things wrong was made, and I headed of home, appreciating the comfort of 159 a bit more than I did before.

Now, my friend likes to do things…slow, and instead of taking the car in and getting everything done in a single go, he dragged it along, so what should’ve been a week at mechanic, with maybe some additional stops later on turned into a year. To his credit, he eventually got the car running nicely, torqued down most of the bolts making it much less rattly, raised it back to sensible height on ProKit, stupidly loud and leaky exhaust was welded and had a stock backbox fitted. It was never fully mended, and needed some more work, which needed some parts chasing, and he really couldn’t be arsed. He needed a car, but wasn’t really driving this as it was never really done, and couldn’t be blissfully driven. 
One day, some bits of the bodykit came loose and detached. It was re-attached only for it do get detached again at motorway. He  bought a new one, tried putting it on himself and failed. Took it to a panel beater who had it for a few months(!) before giving up (without even trying properly) saying he can’t do it. By that time, registration has ran out, and it couldn’t be MOT-equivalented with missing bodykit. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back, and he first wanted to set the car on fire, followed by wanting to get rid the moment he calmed down a bit. I offered help and contacts, but he just couldn’t bear it anymore. We had a tentative agreement on me buying the car when he gets something newer, based on car being assembled, but it was quickly changed into him knocking some money off it, throwing all the bits he had in the back, and it being trailered to a garage. 
He wanted to move it from the bodyshop to his place for towtruck pickup, which is a literally a minute away, but somehow managed to run into popo, have the plates removed, and be fined for driving an unregistered car. 🤣 Payback for our night #1 escapade?

After buying it I vaguely remembered that seller mentioned it that the car was known in tuning circles in Serbia and there’s a forum thread somewhere. Found it! The photos are long gone, and someone was in-there before us as most of the bits mentioned there are missing, with some having more obvious signs of removal than others - at some point car had buckets, the seats were mismatched when we first saw it etcetcetc. In best early ‘00s fashion, there’s also some vague engine was fettled with before that tread’s OP bought it, but there’s no evidence and no dyno print, so I’m taking that as BS. Engine is all right and it pulls, so I’m not complaining.

Oh, there’s 350k km on odometer as well.

Plan? I want the floor welded, and car generally getting a checkover for rust. Bodykit re-attached and possibly a quick respray as paint is a bit tatty. I know it needs torsion bar looked over, as well with something being funky with electrical stuff randomly acting up. It’s currently waiting for a guy that’s working on Yugo Cabrio to finish that before I send him this car. Yugo Cabrio is taking a bloody while, so it’s just sitting there waiting. 
 

First pic is the collection night, third how it’s sitting now. 

[IronStar]

Oh, I almost forgot - Saxo came with the most worn steering wheel I have ever seen. It was wrapped in ductape, which was gross, and it was even worse with it removed. 
It’s a genuine Momo Corse unit, so I sent it off for a retrim while waiting for bodywork shop. Before and after pics below. 😄

I have ordered the new screws to replace the tatty ones as well. 

[Erebus]

4 minutes ago, IronStar said:

Oh, I almost forgot - Saxo came with the most worn steering wheel I have ever seen. It was wrapped in ductape, which was gross, and it was even worse with it removed. 
It’s an genuine Momo Corse unit, so I sent it off for a retrim while waiting for bodywork shop. Before and after pics below. 😄

I have ordered the new screws to replace the tatty ones as well. 

Very nice.  Just curious, how can you tell a genuine one from a fake one?  Is it quite obvious if one is a fake?

[IronStar]

3 minutes ago, Erebus said:

Very nice.  Just curious, how can you tell a genuine one from a fake one?  Is it quite obvious if one is a fake?

They usually get the font and spacing wrong, and metal used for the fake ones is much softer, so it can be easily bent. By the time it’s this worn, fake one would most likely be visibly bent and disfigured. 

[IronStar]

The one before the Saxo was a Yugo Cabrio, briefly mentioned in the other thread.

It's the late 80s. Yugoslavia is still one country, the economy is good, and Zastava is churning out a bunch of 101s, 128s, and Yugos. Yugo sales in the US are booming (before they crashed completely as Yanks don't understand the concept of - even if it's cheap to buy, you still need to replace oil and belts, you absolute morons). Someone in Malcolm Bricklin's organization, which was importing Yugos to the USA, realized there was a potential market gap for a subcompact droptop. They connected some Detroit engineers with Zastava's engineers in Kragujevac, and the Yugo Cabrio was born. Supposedly one of the first cars with a roof that fully folds into a boot. It was a reinforced version of the "normal" one, and while the front of the car remained largely unchanged, they made a ton of changes from the hood back, with bits that are specific to the Cabrio. Now, all these years later, those parts are unobtanium.

They were produced in minimal quantities before the Yugoslav wars, and as Zastava's OEM parts network was spread out across Yugoslavia, now engulfed by a civil war, getting parts for anything was a problem. Buying a Cabrio of any sort, which was seen as a sign of luxury, even if it was a Yugo Cabrio, wasn't high up on anyone's list of priorities when they were literally starving. Sales in general weren't helped because the price was double that of a normal Yugo. Production of cars in the factory continued with really debatable quality from '92 until '99, when the factory was heavily damaged in the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.

After the wars and the fall of Milosevic, the Cabrio was seen as a sign of hope and better times to come, with the then-minister of finance buying one himself as a PR exercise. Still, it was too little too late for the car, which was based on 70s technology. Not many more were made before Zastava folded in '08 after being sold to FIAT. In total, some 500 cars were made, of which around half were exported. Seen as just another Yugo during the 90s, they were used, abused, driven on God knows what sort of abomination was sold as petrol back then. By the early 00s, what little was left was cheap to buy, "Barried" to death, and disposed of when the roof inevitably started leaking and the car rotted out. Speaking of rot, Yugos aren't really known for their great rust protection, and to no one's surprise, leaky soft tops didn't help. What also didn't help is that, as the numbers produced were so low, a lot of people, even here in the homeland, had no idea this was an actual model, not some barn cut'n'shut.

Zastava's cars have been experiencing a renaissance of sorts in the past 5-6 years, with prices of what's left of them in reasonable condition going up, prices of NOS parts following, and what little is left of Cabrios exploding in price. There's a rather passionate owner's club or five around them, and it's becoming not too uncommon to see someone restoring a Yugo, 750, or 101, which was unimaginable a couple of years beforehand.

Ahem, right, onto this specific car.

I've been looking to buy a Cabrio since I first realized it was an actual thing with some number still in existence here. I've been on an active lookout for at least 5 years, leaving "I'd like to buy your car" notes every time I see one, which is not all that often (so two notes were left). I saw a couple of them for sale, mostly absolutely shagged to death, with all the Cabrio-specific bits missing, making them next to impossible to get right again. There was one in reasonable condition at a great price that got away from me as I was 20 minutes late to see the ad. There were also two over those 5 years that were insanely overpriced, with one being 7k for a complete but rusty and shagged one with a leaking roof, and another one for 11k in what looked like great condition. I really didn't have that kind of money nor was I willing to part with it for what is still a bloody Yugo. All of my friends knew I was looking and were on the lookout; if they heard of one, they were to call me and get lunch for a piece of information. Nope. Nada. Not even one remotely complete.

One weekend, when Mrs. Star was away from home, I saw an ad on Facebook. The guy was selling not one but TWO! A red one, shagged but mostly complete, and a blue US-spec one with side marker lights, no roof, interior missing but a bit less rotten than the red one, both priced at 1500 each. They were being sold by a collector who had two completely restored ones, one Euro spec twin barrel carb, and one US spec EFI. I realized they were probably used for missing bits, but my heart raced as I was picking up the phone to call him. With Mrs. Star away from home, there was no one to stop me from RUNNING to the car and driving very, very spiritedly to go take a look. An hour's drive later, I was there, looking at the car, but... It was missing a lot of the unobtanium bits. I was really reluctant to part ways with money for something I really wanted, but I was fully aware it would be a very uphill battle from there to find those bits. I asked if we could cobble something together from that one and the blue one so I have a whole car at a higher price point. The guy went, "Nah. Buy both then. However, if you're willing to part with some more money, I may have something for you. Follow me!" And there it was, sitting in a field in front of a shed. A dark red Cabrio, with all the bloody trims in place, badged as Innocenti, the short-lived venture with the Italian manufacturer selling Yugos as Innocentis. Absolutely shagged and tatty, roof leaking, engine cranking but not starting, but - complete! It was obviously in an accident as it didn't have the correct front bumper and the front panel was bent. Beaten with an ugly Barry stick at some point, but none of it was on the unobtanium bits, and the ones that were Barried and fucked are available (other than the black door cards, as most of the cars had gray interiors, followed by beige). I was over the moon! I paid way too much for it, and it came with another rotten shell and some extra bits in it.

 

On the first, or second inspection really, it didn't seem too rusty. I towed it to an old mechanic who knows these in and out. I took all the bits I'd prepared for the other normal Yugo and got a shopping list as long as an average book not long after, as mechanically it was shagged. All the suspension components needed replacing, the steering rack was dead, the brakes non-existent, hoses perished, brake lines gone, all the cables rusted, the usual 30-year-old car shittily maintained and left in a field things. They worked on it on and off (well, mostly off) for two months or so, and what I got back was a mechanically sound car. In the meanwhile, I bought a ton of nice bits. Found an NOS roof that was extortionately priced at 650. Bought heated Alfa 147 leather seats to replace whatever the hell was in the car.

All the bits that were beaten with an ugly stick were sourced. I thought, quick win, though I was blissfully unaware of what was next to come. I got a contact of a great panel beater, saw some of his work, and thought - great, let's get this looked over, resprayed if it can't be polished, and away I go on an inaugural drive! There's something wrong with the front wing as well and the hood is not aligned properly, so might as well get that sorted.

 

Not so fast. Not at all so fast. It wasn't in one accident. It was at least two. The bent front panel was the least of its concerns. The passenger side was in a crash at some point and it was very, very, very, very shoddily repaired. The front wing? Those screws missing? It was tacked onto the shell. Full dismantle revealed the extent of the shoddy repairs and rust. Rust was hidden everywhere. Behind every trim that I couldn't have inspected beforehand. Behind every chassis support. Behind the carpets. It had an LPG install at some point and the holes in the boot were just drilled, no prep, and no coat to prevent rust afterward. The antenna died at some point and someone took an angle grinder to the bodyshell to open up a hole for a new one as he couldn't be arsed finding a proper replacement. All the screws were mismatched. The trim is held on by screws that really shouldn't be there (I'm really grateful for this one though. Plastic can be patched and resprayed, but that trim can't be replaced). That hood that wasn't closing properly? The chassis rails were bent in the crash and it wasn't put on a frame machine to straighten it out. Removing the carpet revealed they were using a hydraulic jack to straighten the car, bending the rear beam of the chassis support in the process. I almost started crying when I saw the state of it. Thankfully, the bodywork guy loves Zastavas and he reassured me it could be done, albeit it would be a lot more expensive than planned. Not fast though, as he has other things to do, so it will be worked on when the shop is not busy with other things.

 

It's been there since December. I've ordered every single NOS panel that could be found. Another Yugo 45 was sacrificed for bits. The spare rotten shell was cut up for reinforcements that were mangled on this one. It's still nowhere close to done. I have no idea about the ETA. I've asked nicely multiple times, alas... I understand it's not a super profitable project for him, and I also understand his "If I do it fast, I'll say fuck this midway and just throw it together because this is A LOT of work" attitude, so I'm not too pushy. I'm still looking forward to driving the bloody thing.

I have since met a guy who owns two through a Mini specialist who is working on both mine and his Mini. He was kind enough to let me drive one of his and it's an absolute blast and a giggle to drive! The one I've driven needs mechanical attention, so I expect mine to be a bit better than his. This experience has understandably left me wanting more, and I can't wait to have this done!

 

[IronStar]

I didn’t have the time for the rest of the fleet yet, but here’s a tidbit I just remembered I didn’t write. 
Innocenti badged Yugo Cabrios came with Momo Monte Carlo as factory fit, as opposed to the Yugo badged ones that came with unmistakably 80s but not really nice to hold 2 spoke wheels. Predictably, the wheel on mine, as is the case with the rest of the car was shot. The glue failed, and it had that terrible jelly-twisty thing that the old wheels with failed glue have. On top of it, it was looking rather tired and tatty, so away it went to my wheel re-trim guy. I expected this to take longer than the car itself as the dude is very busy and I was quoted a turnaround time of some 2.5 months. That obviously wasn’t the case, but I digress .😢 We decided that genuine leather Monte Carlos were looking a bit naff (this one is cheaper, rubber variant) so he freestyled it a bit

Before & after

He also very kindly threw in a leather of gear gaiter for the car on top of it for free as a bonus!

[fatharris]

That's bloody lovely!

If you don't mind, how much was the trimming?

[sierraman]

I think Yugos U.K. importers were based at Filton Airport near Bristol?

[IronStar]

11 minutes ago, fatharris said:

That's bloody lovely!

If you don't mind, how much was the trimming?

Thank you! 
Not at all, that was done in pair with another  steering wheel (there’s a pattern here 😅), and total was in the ballpark of 250€, with the other one being more expensive than this one, so I think it was ~120€ for this one.  Not too bad for something that looks better than factory and needed cutting up to glue it back together so it doesn’t twist IMO. He does retrims of the ones that are just torn not completely destroyed for 70€

In case you’re wondering what’s the other one (ignore the stupid horn button)

 

 

[IronStar]

Before the Yugo Cabrio arrived, there was the Beetle, which almost prevented me from purchasing the Cabrio.

A mate of a mate was looking to get rid of a car he inherited from his grandpa, as it was sitting unused. The mate thought, "Hmm, I may know someone who likes shitters," and forwarded the number.

It's a one-and-a-half-owner (the guy that inherited it drove it for like 200km) 1976 1200J. The "J" stands for Yugoslavia, as it was made by TAS in Sarajevo, a joint venture between VW and Yugoslav UNIS. It was a garage queen for most of its life, but almost 50 years and rattle-can sprays have made the bodywork very tatty. There's some surface rust and a couple of really bad bodges inside, but the car feels rather solid, and there's no apparent rot on the underbody. It starts, runs, idles, the brakes need adjusting, and the carb would probably benefit from a rebuild as it has some weird jerkiness to it. The rear wings have been crashed and repaired multiple times, so it would probably be easier to source replacements than to bother fixing them. It was driven to the garage where it's sitting now. The plan was a mechanical checkup and a respray with any potential rot that surfaces getting sorted, but it was superseded on the priority list by the Cabrio and Mini, which are both taking their bloody time and draining my wallet as if money grows on trees.

First impressions:

The what's wrong with it:

 

The first drive. Many happy faces, honks, love your car mate and LOOK A BEETLE! were had on the way.

 

[IronStar]

Cabrio bodyshop update!

I got a (honestly completely unexpected) phonecall yesterday. Hay mate, what’s up? I’m working on your car, that (NOS!) front wing that got bent in transport is really not worth saving, can we get another one? Oh, most of the right side of the car is done, wanna take a look?

New wing dully ordered, and I went today to check out the work. We have progress!

I don’t think the door closed this smoothly when it was brand new. 

[HMC]

@Benjyp10 also has a Yugo Cabrio IIRC

[IronStar]

RHD? That’s probably rarer than any Ferrari 

[IronStar]

Another update from bodyshop.

Unless they have never seen rain, or have been ripped apart as far as mine has, surely they’re all rotten under these chassis reinforcements? Unless I’m looking wrong at this, this sandwich panel reinforcement seems like a bad idea with even worse execution, and acts like a moisture trap, with inevitable happening the moment some water ingress happens around the spot welds?

 

[IronStar]

307CC (Yeah, that’s another one I have, its story some other time, residing in good* side of the garages) has returned from being loaned to the ex-owner of Bravo with some, erm, issues.

I’ve been told that aircon is not blowing cold on a week where average max temperatures in Belgrade are a smidge under 40C. How on earth did he drive it like that, and why as I would have footed the bill is a mystery to me.
One very very very crispy and sweaty trip to aircon repair place, I’ve been told all the refrigerant has escaped but it’s holding vacuum so will they’ll get it replenished, with some UV coloring to see if we can find where it’s leaking. This is 3rd year in a row that all the gas has escaped and for the previous 2 years they haven’t been able to spot the leak. Maybe this year? Honestly, even if they don’t, I’ll be happy if it lasts another summer and autumn, before it gets parked over the winter and we repeat the cycle again next year.

 

What I haven’t been told however, is that the roof is not working. I will leave a very very very small benefit of a doubt that he didn’t realize something is wrong, but car was complaining on every start with an audible *BEEP* that something is wrong. The navi screen has burned out and is only visible by night, but it’s very clearly stating- Roof mechanism not locked. 🙄

Absolutely pissed I wasn’t told, I went on to disassemble the boot trim, as I guessed it must’ve pissed out the hydraulic fluid out again. No fun doing this outside on 40 degree heat. 
No photos of this as it decided to rain as I was packing it up, but some 300g of LHM and a few roof cycles later it’s back in working order. I’m now really considering if it might be worth it trying to find the leak, but there’s so many moving parts in the system and so many lines, I’m not too excited for the prospect.

It’s due for a service as well, I’ll try to slot in doing that next week.

[fatharris]

I forgot about that 307 too didn't realise it got so hot out there, is Aircon a standard feature on all cars in the market?

[IronStar]

2 hours ago, fatharris said:

I forgot about that 307 too didn't realise it got so hot out there, is Aircon a standard feature on all cars in the market?

The 307CC keeps fighting me and is generally not really fun to drive. It’s the only car I have that I’ve seriously considered selling. It would probably have been long replaced with another, more fun roofless car, but Mrs. Star loves it, so it’s staying. I’m trying to make it a less annoying experience to live with, but those cars are not a great starting point.

Aircon has been standard since the early 2000s; I don’t think you can buy a non-aircon car unless it’s some sort of weird spec. It was very uncommon and considered a luxury before that. To be fair, though, these temperatures were unimaginable for extended periods of time back then. When I was a kid, virtually no homes had aircon. I remember us going to the seaside with no aircon and not getting completely molten, and when we saw the first heatwave in 2000 or 2001 with the temperature going into the 40s, which we now consider the norm, a national state of emergency was declared. Weather has really gone to shit since then, and driving a non-AC car is becoming a thing you can do (if you don’t want to drive it in rain or snow or generally too cold weather) for a month or two. This is why I’m trying to get all my cars retrofitted if they don’t already have it - they’re garage queens otherwise.

[IronStar]

307CC got serviced today, treated with Valvoline Max Life 10w40, courtesy of petrol station loyalty card. I have absolutely no doubts it will unhelpfully piss it out at the first opportunity to do so.

 

Turns out that the washer fluid reservoir is not empty, but the pump has packed up. Thankfully it’s not too bad to get to. I have a month until the technical inspection, so I need to get to it before that. Headlights are shockingly bad as well and are begging for a polish, you can barely see anything at night from the fogging. I need to find that Sonax UV sealant and do a quick polish to make them useable again. I’m hoping it’s not the reflectors inside and/or plastic housing burning from the inside as that would require a full rebuild which is probably not worth it.

I think I found the leaky roof hydraulic line as well. Any way to seal these that doesn’t involve a full replacement or is it just delaying a job for a week?

In other fleet news, I’ve picked up Saxo’s aircon, with the wiring harness and second fan arriving later this week. I’m really looking forward to getting this car operational, but some recent unexpected expenditure are probably going to kick that can a bit down the road.

Mini has left for a technical inspection today, but not before literally spitting on us through failed gasket on heater control valve, and leaking coolant over the freshly painted engine. That car really doesn’t want to work properly, and will be fighting me and the Mini specialist working on it until one pf us seta it on fire. So far, I’m around 6k into the rebuild since it blew up the engine.

It still needs to get dual carbs on it and tuned, relay for 2nd cooling fan installed so it kicks on at the behest of the thermostat not via the cabin override and it’s original mirrors fitted. Oh, it needs to go on 12 inch wheels and tires that I don’t have so it’s ready for front disc conversion. Current tires are ancient and a liability, but I don’t want to be buying twice. 

Have a photo of little bastard’s engine bay looking all pretty and rebuilt, ready to blow another fucking gasket or something. 🙄

[IronStar]

Knights of the road, here's your stallion!

The car for freedom (Freedom)

The car for hot excitement! (Excitement)

The car for a man who is alone against the elements! 

The Mini is back! It’s a power of a compact! It looks small but it’s so big! 

Points for anyone recognizing the ad from GTA 😄

It didn’t leak or blow up on technical inspection, so it’s now insured and registered for another year. Thankfully it was under 30 degrees with rain yesterday in Belgrade so I didn’t get a heat stroke driving it back from the inspection. It was promptly yeeted back to the specialist working on it for the remaining items to be finished up, and with a couple more items I’ve spotted driving it.

Other than the list from the previous post

Rebuilt speedo is not working, with the same odd behavior it had previously - odometer works properly, but the speedometer itself gets stuck at 20 and just….stays there.
Interval on the wipers is not working, but the first gear is. The wiper stalk has 3 positions, so I’d ideally like to have all of them working.
Something is odd with the first gear. When it’s cold it’s fine, but when it warms up it doesn’t want to go into a gear without doing a second-first maneuver.
Hood locking mechanism needs to be adjusted, the wiring harness is fouling the locking hook.
Washer jets are clogged.  
Radio cage is rattling like crazy. 
Exhaust needs to fuck the fuck off. It’s straight piped and obnoxiously loud. I appreciate cars making a noise, but not rattling the windows on 2k RPM noise.

 

Hopefully this all gets sorted fast(ish) and I managed to get some driving out of it with everything working 

[IronStar]

I’ve dropped off missus tonight, and headed home via B roads at legal* speeds in 159 which reminded me how great that car is in its current incarnation. It could go much faster but road surface condition was appalling and I don’t really know the road, so needed to brake early etcetc. Second part of the trip was motorway at 130 indicated, and it really excels at those, being built as a motorway cruiser first and foremost. 
 

Inspired by this, might as well introduce newest, nicest, and fastest member of Star Garages, the all-weather daily.

Affectionately called “Mighty number 9”, it is 2007 Alfa Romeo 159 SW, 1.9 JTDM 16v Lusso. Started its life in Switzerland, then imported to Serbia by the previous owners. Has quite a few options ticked, apart from TI kit, I think it’s navi, memory package (seats and mirrors), BOSE surround (mostly retrofitted, didn’t connect the subwoofer yet) and front parking sensors away from having everything you could have on it. Previous owners were head of the biggest Fiat/Alfa/Lancia club in Serbia. I actually ended up with this car by accident, it wasn’t even listed for sale. I was in IKEA and saw Missano Blue Giulia in the parking lot. Went to check it out, and next to the car were a guy and a girl looking absolutely devastated. I complimented the car, and quickly realized the reason why they look so sad - it was bought brand new on the day before, and some 80yo crashed into it taking out entire side of the car, every panel dented beyond repair. Giulia had less than 200km on the odometer. Spoke to them for a while, mentioned I’ll probably looking for a replacement for my then-daily 156, and got told that they’ll be selling their 159 as soon as Guilia gets fixed. It’s not going for a steal, but it’s maintained money no object, and is in great condition overall.  Went to check out the car a few days later, and despite being a bit sluggish (turns out it was DPF delete gone wrong), the car was even better than described, being absolutely spotless. Had a think for a few days, drove it to a service for a full check, and ended up driving it home.

 
Money no object maintenance was continued, and it has had loads of money thrown at it to keep it really nice. In 3 years with me it it managed to break the clutch+DMF, front wishbones, go through multiple sets of tripod bearings, multiple front right wheel bearings, have a catastrophic gearbox failure with shrapnel from diff flying all over the place, break PAS pipe, munch a few engine mounts, at least one them caused by leaky oil separator, have quite a few leaky seals, rip apart shift linkage bushing, and probably a few more things I’ve forgotten by now. 
Most of the gearbox and friends issues are caused by my heavy right foot, and car having a stage 2 remap, which showed 187whp/420nm on an absolutely FUBAR clutch when taken to dyno. It also got a stainless downpipe, full 80mm exhaust system with twin exits (like 2.4), 25% Racing Diffs LSD, Eibach Pro Kit springs, reinforced clutch kit, and is riding on 19” wheels. 

It’s on about 500k kilometers now, with the real number being lost when the previous owners changed the dashboard to a facelift one. 

Despite being annoyingly problematic with something is broken AGAIN throughout my ownership, it’s an amazing car. Much more Audi-like in execution than 156, but I honestly think I made it a better, more Italian car since I bought it. Has plenty of power and torque, and does really fast 0-60km/h because of its short gearbox.  It’s fun to drive, very chuckable on B roads, plenty of space, and great comfortable seats for long motorway drives. The condition it’s in despite being half way back from the moon is a testament to how well they made these. 
 

Would I recommend one? It wants to be pampered, and every time you don’t give quality parts to it, it will throw a tantrum, so prepare the wallet. Its bits are 2x more expensive than those of 156. 1.9 JTDM is amazing and happy to be remapped to ridiculous bhp with different turbo, injectors, MAF and fuel pump, but Getrag M32 gearbox is an absolute garbage. You can bodge in C632 to increase reliability and get cheaper clutches and halfshafts, or you can retrofit F40 which is fitted to 2.4 and is essentially M32 with all the problems fixed. Rest of the car is really well made, and despite my shit luck with it, I had just a single FTP when gear linkage detached. Gearbox grenaded itself in the garage, but it got me where I needed to be before blowing up. 

It looks absolutely astonishing IMO, and nowhere as old as it really is, and that pretty face really helps its case.  

[IronStar]

Inspired by the story of fellow shitter’s LNA, I’ve realized I have an emotional attachment car I haven’t introduced.

Introducing 1992 Mazda 626! Originally powered by 2.0 Comprex diesel engine, which is long gone and replaced by 2.0 16v petrol. 
The first car I’ve bought with my own money back in 2016. If asked, I would’ve said it’s been much longer, as it feels two lifetimes ago. Equipment? I have no idea how to check honestly. It has all 4 power windows, power sunroof with only tilt working, 5 speed manual box and came on some gash 14 Enkei alloys. 

It’s been daily in a time where I couldn’t afford fuel, and later saw me through some significant changes in my life. After I’ve switched careers and started earning something that’s more akin to livable wage than something you find in a pocket of a jacket you didn’t wear for a year, along with half-eaten bag of peanuts, it got some money thrown at it.

Mechanical checkup, with bunch of bits replaced, some welding, A/C was retrofitted, alloys bought, and was generally looked after.

It saw a 1500km round trip to Albania and Montenegro, with the return leg being driven with a failed clutch cylinder. 
Its healthy appetite for fuel became unsustainable with money I was earning when I started driving it daily, and it’s flaky A/C really wasn’t a match for Serbia’s increasingly warm summers. It was relieved of daily duty by 156, and has been mostly sitting ever since.

3 years ago, after being moved from one place to another it was driven into an underground garage, and it got two technical inspections after that which it scraped by with a very friendly tester. Every time I went to drive it for an inspection it had last year’s paperwork on a passenger seat, as it didn’t turn a wheel. It’s not really in a condition to be driven for anything longer than a few kilometers either. The welding was really not done to a high, or really even reasonable standard, so it needed welding again to my great annoyance, there’s something substantially wrong with rear subframe, A/C packed in again and I caught exhaust on something so there’s a significant blow. Oh, it needs a respray as well, it’s in 50 shades of mismatched gray.
This year I didn’t even bother to try to get it registered. Lease on the parking space is paid though. 

I can hear you, the reader, screaming - why don’t you scrap it, you Serbian moron? It’s not rare, in good condition, and needs probably 10x the amount of money it’s worth spent on it.  You have more interesting vehicles to stick in that garage that are parked outside as well! Which brings us to why LNA story reminded me of this car. This is my late uncle’s last car. My dad is a bit* of a twat, and my late uncle was his polar opposite. I got my love for cars, especially odd and interesting stuff, understand that a proper tool is needed to do anything, and many many many happy memories were made with him, in that car, or while he was driving that car. I can’t bring myself to get rid of it, and the sole thought of it makes me feel very uncomfortable and on the verge of breaking into tears. On its last journey seaside, I somehow managed to park on a very similar spot on the same beach I went with him as a kid. I cried for almost an hour just looking at the car and wishing he was there to see me with his car, and to tell him all the stories I made since he was last there. 
This car is never high up on priority list. Part of me is aware it’s a 500€ car needing 5000€ of work and parts put into it. The other, probably bigger part is afraid it won’t be done right. I have no idea who would I trust to undo 30 years of bodgework to keep it in service, to get it back to something that works and looks right. With every passing year, parts are getting more scarce, and I’m afraid I might be out of time to do it in a few years if I don’t get to it soon. If he’s seeing this from somewhere , he’s probably laughing a bit for me thinking so much about this. 

[IronStar]

307CC went in for a technical inspection, passed and is now good to go for another year!

However, on the way back it uncomfortably raised the coolant temperature to almost into red. While it is scorching, asphalt meltingly hot outside, that really shouldn’t be happening, and certainly wasn’t doing it before. It cooled down after it got to $uncomfortable temperature, probably final speed of the fan kicking in. It’s still loaned to the Mini specialist as he has some family health drama, and all 3 of his cars have helpfully packed up at the same time. 🤦‍♂️ I’ve asked him to check coolant levels when it cools down, maybe it just weeped a bit of coolant somewhere?

If it’s not the coolant, it’s probably “wtf is wrong with this car now?” time. Blocked radiator? Failing cooling fan resistor? Half blocked thermostat? Cooling fan relay? ECU controlling the fan? Anyone knows common pain points on these? Answers on the postcard pretty please?

 

[Stinkwheel]

7 minutes ago, IronStar said:

307CC went in for a technical inspection, passed and is now good to go for another year!

However, on the way back it uncomfortably raised the coolant temperature to almost into red. While it is scorching, asphalt meltingly hot outside, that really shouldn’t be happening, and certainly wasn’t doing it before. It cooled down after it got to $uncomfortable temperature, probably final speed of the fan kicking in. It’s still loaned to the Mini specialist as he has some family health drama, and all 3 of his cars have helpfully packed up at the same time. 🤦‍♂️ I’ve asked him to check coolant levels when it cools down, maybe it just weeped a bit of coolant somewhere?

If it’s not the coolant, it’s probably “wtf is wrong with this car now?” time. Blocked radiator? Failing cooling fan resistor? Half blocked thermostat? Cooling fan relay? ECU controlling the fan? Anyone knows common pain points on these? Answers on the postcard pretty please?

 

Which engine is it? If its the 2.0hdi I've had the heater matrix lines partially block that totally slows the cooling system circulation 

[IronStar]

4 minutes ago, Stinkwheel said:

Which engine is it? If its the 2.0hdi I've had the heater matrix lines partially block that totally slows the cooling system circulation 

2.0 16v petrol