Star garages - The Good, the Rusty, and the Delayed - Mini goes to car meet, picks up a trophy 😱

[Yoss]

What constitutes the seaside in your part of the world? 

[IronStar]

7 minutes ago, Yoss said:

What constitutes the seaside in your part of the world? 

This year it’s Croatia. Usual destinations for us here are Croatia, Montenegro and Greece by car. Regular destinations include Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia as well, but those are usually package holidays.

[Yoss]

31 minutes ago, IronStar said:

This year it’s Croatia. Usual destinations for us here are Croatia, Montenegro and Greece by car. Regular destinations include Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia as well, but those are usually package holidays.

A few years back we went to a place called Senj. I picked it because it didn't look like one of the major tourist hotspots. We flew to Zagreb had a few days there then hired a car and drove over to Senj for a couple of days. Can highly recommend. 

 

[High Jetter]

Zastava badge on the 'fiats'?

[IronStar]

14 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Zastava badge on the 'fiats'?

Yes. Zastava 750/850

 

@Yoss We’re off to place called Cres, to a hotel that kept its socialist charm. Looking forward to seeing the place!

[Yoss]

20 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Zastava badge on the 'fiats'?

Yes, the mk2 Puntos there had Zastava badges too, although the mk1 in the above picture is  still a Fiat 

10 minutes ago, IronStar said:

Yes. Zastava 750/850

 

@Yoss We’re off to place called Cres, to a hotel that kept its socialist charm. Looking forward to seeing the place!

Excellent. Looking forward to pictures of that. Maybe in the Archishite thread if not here? 

[IronStar]

29 minutes ago, Yoss said:

Yes, the mk2 Puntos there had Zastava badges too, although the mk1 in the above picture is  still a Fiat 

Excellent. Looking forward to pictures of that. Maybe in the Archishite thread if not here? 

Zastava 10s? Didn’t know Croatians were buying those! Competitive pricing I guess.

This hotel we’re staying in is called Hotel Kimen if you want to take a look. Expect a photo of an Alfa in front of it in this thread, and some more over there. 😄

[Yoss]

7 hours ago, IronStar said:

Zastava 10s? Didn’t know Croatians were buying those! Competitive pricing I guess.

This hotel we’re staying in is called Hotel Kimen if you want to take a look. Expect a photo of an Alfa in front of it in this thread, and some more over there. 😄

I've just checked Wikipedia, which is always* right of course, and it says the Zastava 10 was only sold in Serbia but I definitely saw several in Croatia. It's one of the things I remember from that trip. Of course they were all ten to twelve years old by then so they might have emigrated? I don't know how feasible that is. I know you have told us of some of the maddening bureaucracy there but it might be possible between Serbia/Croatia. 

I have checked out the hotel and am looking forward to pictures. 

[IronStar]

3 hours ago, Yoss said:

I've just checked Wikipedia, which is always* right of course, and it says the Zastava 10 was only sold in Serbia but I definitely saw several in Croatia. It's one of the things I remember from that trip. Of course they were all ten to twelve years old by then so they might have emigrated? I don't know how feasible that is. I know you have told us of some of the maddening bureaucracy there but it might be possible between Serbia/Croatia. 

I have checked out the hotel and am looking forward to pictures. 

I checked serbian-language internet, and they were exported to Croatia in small quantities in 2006-2008. (also Bosnia and Bulgaria). I doubt anyone bothered emigrating the cheap not-a-Punto car from Serbia. 

 

[Yoss]

17 minutes ago, IronStar said:

I checked serbian-language internet, and they were exported to Croatia in small quantities in 2006-2008. (also Bosnia and Bulgaria). I doubt anyone bothered emigrating the cheap not-a-Punto car from Serbia. 

 

When are you getting one? 

[IronStar]

2 hours ago, Yoss said:

When are you getting one? 

More expensive than I'm willing to spend on a Punto car I don't need

[IronStar]

Wasn’t sure if it was worth updating the thread over this, but here comes nevertheless.

How rare would you like your NOS parts to be? 
Yes.

 

[IronStar]

Surely going for a swim should be a distraction from cars? SURELY?

Ahem.

Found the shell for Saxo that wasn’t crashed back home. A very friendly bloke said he’s happy to wait for me to get back

100€ for it. I fully expect to get similar by weighing in the other shell. Additional costs for transport obviously, but meh.

Also got these images:

Engine is out of the red Palio, and is getting cleaned up and resealed. Thermostat is well past it though, as coolant is forever, and needs to be changed every 40 years or something, as it seems to be the case with the every car I buy.  Thermostat ordered, Yugo clutch ordered, show must* go on. 😄

[hairnet]

https://www.autoscout24.com/offers/fiat-palio-palio-weekend-1-2-75cv-gasoline-green-79631b74-2e91-412a-9d5a-5176442a917e?source_otp=t10&ap_tier=t10&source=listpage_search-results&boosting_product=none&relevance_adjustment=organic&applied_boost_level=t10&boost_level=t10#11mzaohgwep

[hairnet]

 

30 on da plane  @Sir Chocolate Teapot l'esportazione è molto semplice, vero?

[IronStar]

1 hour ago, hairnet said:

 

30 on da plane  @Sir Chocolate Teapot l'esportazione è molto semplice, vero?

Get a trailer in Italy as well and trailer that one away as parts car before I scrap what’s left of it? 😄

[hairnet]

the italian one might be scrap enough

[IronStar]

Got a photo today:

Ready to go in, that. Shame that the car it's going in is not ready, but those are minor details. 😄

I also just ordered about a grand worth of suspension for that car. New front and rear shocks, lowering springs, lowered and reinforced rear leaf spring, extended front control arms, extended rear wishbones, polybushes for antiroll bar, and rear disc brake mounting brackets. 2-month wait time for these, though, as they're all custom-made. Not that I expect the car to be ready before that, but heyho.

Also arriving today - rear crossmember that's rotten and about to break on the car all of this is going into. Another weldaton the shop must* be looking forward to.

The clutch, which is brand new but factory spec is not giving me confidence it will be up to 100+ BHP task. Maybe I should take that to be reinforced as well?

Stay tuned for more pointlessness. 😄 

[IronStar]

We have an FTP  

Charging light on Bravo came on, and doesn’t wanna go away. Slight* issue is it disgraced itself in Croatia, rather than somewhere in Belgrade. I was hoping it’s a loose connection as it was rebuilt less than 1000km ago, but everything I can see seems tight, so… 🤦‍♂️ Silver lining is it’s first place after the Serbia-Croatian border so it can be limped back to home country.

Thankfully the destination was Mrs Star aunt’s place, so we have a place to stay waiting for a shop to open up on Monday, unless someone can be convinced to open tomorrow. Cavalry is coming with work laptop, clothes and obligatory pisstaking tomorrow. 

In theory I could buy another battery, swap them when this one loses all power, and try limping it home, but losing all power on a motorway sounds like something I’d rather not do. 

[IronStar]

Day 4 days after FTP, I have the keys back. I was hoping it would be back on Monday and me on my merry way home, but, alas…

I’m not sure who was the last person fucking around in that department, exhaust shop shop or tame mechanic, but ground wire was touching the exhaust, burned through, then fried voltage regulator and dash circuit for priming the alternator. 🤦‍♂️ 80€, tip included later, there’s a bodge wire with bulb for priming the alternator, rebuilt alternator, and business is back to usual. 
Oh and I can hear one CV joint being unhappy, right after I did an alignment naturally. Onto the “replace this” pile it goes.

[IronStar]

Aaaand home. Made it back. 450km covered.

Impressions, other than the alternator?

To start of with negatives:
It needs Pro Kit. Back is too high up and too bouncy for my liking, resulting in quite a bit of squirming around. Not ideal. One CV joint is done for, there’s some shake at 130 coming from somewhere. One tyre not balanced right? They told me something is not 100% with one of the rear wheels but shouldn’t really have an effect. Speakers need an upgrade, and one is torn. Cars designed with aircon in mind need to have it functional, otherwise you’ll be boiling inside. Needs to be reinstated posthaste! I think warm air intake design of air piping is noticeably limiting performance. Whoever in Fiat marketing came up with an idea this should be named “torque engine” was taking the piss. It has all the torque of a lawnmower. No wonder turbodiesels became so popular in the early 00s.

Sounds like I don’t like the car then? Couldn’t be further from the truth! It’s ace! So fun! So chuckable! Absolutely lovely place to be in. The stuff above is just an improvement list.

Late 90s green instrumentation is so calming compared to more modern BRIGHT LIGHTS IN YOUR FACE design that came afterwards. What’s lacking in torque department, it makes up in revs. There’s absolutely nothing under 4k, but 4k-redline is just singing! It’s a bot hard for me, after dailying turbodiesels for so long to switch to the mindset, but when I finally do, it’s a joy! Long geared as well, so you can hold 2nd/3rd as long as you want to drive spiritedly. 5th is fine on motorway as well. Middle silencer should probably make a comeback though, this is a bit too much noise.

I’m in love with it. I spent probably 6x the car is worth since I got it, and I’m not sorry for a single penny. What an amazing machine. 25 years later name still holds up. Bravo Fiat! Grazie mille for building so fun cars back in the days!

 

 

[IronStar]

Today, I finally managed to find some free time to tinker with cars. For a nice bonus, it matched time cousin-Star was home, so I could work in a garage as opposed to my usual antics of working under my cars on a parking lot. Overdue oil changes, here I come!

Patient number 1 for today: Florida. Not so quick though. Even though everything is accessible, sump plug is hex key 12. Do we have hex 12 in 4 different sets of tools available? Do we fuck. Quick trip to tool shop 1 - out of stock. Not so quick trip to tool shop 2 - out of stock. As I was about to walk out, I realized that they might not have thought about o ratchet bits. Do you have those? Oh yeah, we actually do, I thought you needed an Allen key. 5€ equivalent, I had impact rated, honest, set of hex bits. 
Right, where were we?

4L of petrol station fines LPG blend 15w40, oil filter of suspiciously wrong size, and realization that oil pressure bulb is not working, we’re off. I got wrong air filter at the parts store, so that one will be going back.

Whilst under the car, I saw that gearbox side driveshaft boot has completely split, which would explain a bit crunchy gear changes and a bit of gearbox oil leak. Theoretically, I could DIY this, but in reality I have neither time nor arsed to remove a driveshaft. It will be carted away to tame mechanic. 

While I was at it, I also put the wrong-colored grille on.

I considered rattlecanning it into matte black, but decided against it, as it will make respray into the right color harder when the entire car gets done. I’ll be on the lookout for red or black on to replace this in the interim.

Patient #2: 307CC

Helpfully* it decided to drain the battery as it was parked up, which is really my bad for not disconnecting it. Jump started it last night, and it held enough charge to start today, despite just leaving it idling for 5 minutes or so last night. Result! It also decided to blow a headlight bulb, which I’m 100% sure was working when parked.

Ail filter swapped, pollen filter swapped for the first one I ever fitted to this car that actually fits and went in smoothly. Hopeful, I went to drain the oil, only to find the fucking plug seized in place, as it fused with the crush washer. No amount of attacking it with 21 spanner helped, I just managed to start stripping the fucker. Plan B then. 8mm hex on the ratchet. Nope, not that either. Ratchet can’t fit, as it’s hitting the rail. Much swearing ensued. Plan C then. Allen key with I wasn’t asking bar over it. I saw the bar starting to bend before the plug let go with a satisfying BANG. Naturally I spilled a about a liter of oil missing the catch can. For a final fuck you, despite making the oil filter accessible, there’s not really enough space to slide the adjustable filter wrench, so after being burned by hot oil, I also got burned by the engine trying to get it out. If someone asked Peugeot “WHY THERE?” The answer would probably be “Achetez une clé de filtre, paysan.”

Bulb and appropriate air filter purchased, and I’ll be swapping the air filter to the new one later tonight. Leaving it here so I can find it later: Yugo Florida Air Filter

2/2 (well, 4/4 if you consider bulb and 4 screws holding the grill jobs) for today, some tinkering mojo regained.

[IronStar]

Today, I went out to a car show organized by an oldtimer club from a city some 150km away from me. I initially didn’t plan to go alone, but people I co-opted into it both had work stuff to do today, so went alone anyway. 
Have a field full of cars

And a Mini in a field full of cars.

Plenty of interest about the car, and somehow not a single “what’s it worth m9?!” question. Picked up a birthday present for a bodyshop guy working on my cars at autojumble. Walked around the field, went for a lunch, chatted to a few people, and came back to the car with this attached to it:

Interesting. I wonder what gives. I was talking to a chap that owns a rather lovely Hungarian-plated black 89 Mini, when one of the organizers came over and handed the guy 2nd place trophy. Congratulated, and was preparing to get packing, when the organizer walked over as I was fiddling with the car.

Have you seen the owner of this Mini? Know whose car this is? 
Yeah, it’s mine. 
Oh! Got something for you then!

🙌 🙌 🙌

Am. Erm. Emmmm. What did I do to earn this? 
Love your car man. 
What’s this one for? 
Oh, that’s yearly Oldtimer club of Becej award. Hope you liked the event! 
😳 Wow. That’s…a lot. Thank you! 
No problem! BRB, gotta say bye to that guy over there. *walks away*

And like that, I have the first ever trophy. Never thought I’d have a car that picked up trophy in a car show. Do I have to hand over my AS membership card now? 

I also got a confirmation email today that Mini is accepted into the biggest and generally THE Cars & Coffee event in Serbia that’s very picky with cars being shown. I thought they’d say sod off as it’s usually cars much shinier, more expensive or at least mates with organizers, but… Seems that people really like Red Robbo era BL cars, eh?  😄

Have some picks from today’s meet:

 

 

Bonus for @LightBulbFun

 

[Yoss]

Well done! That Routemaster burger bus has all its original lights including front indicator ears. This would suggest it was exported before being refurbished and would probably still have its original AEC or Leyland engine. Shame you can't see its identity from here. If I'd known before I would have asked you to find out which one it is! It would almost certainly still have the fleet number in the cab, nobody ever repaints the cabs on these.

If you go back next year, or see it at any other events I'd ask you to have a look for me. Cheers. 

[IronStar]

2 hours ago, Yoss said:

Well done! That Routemaster burger bus has all its original lights including front indicator ears. This would suggest it was exported before being refurbished and would probably still have its original AEC or Leyland engine. Shame you can't see its identity from here. If I'd known before I would have asked you to find out which one it is! It would almost certainly still have the fleet number in the cab, nobody ever repaints the cabs on these.

If you go back next year, or see it at any other events I'd ask you to have a look for me. Cheers. 

Routemaster wasn’t part of the event, but a fast food joint I saw coming back home.

More photos here

https://maps.app.goo.gl/P74iEqQp8fbBjyjm8?g_st=ipc

No fleet number visible unfortunately 

[Yoss]

Thanks. According to my Routemaster Handbook which is dated 2017 Serbia only has one Routemaster, RM 83. It mentions a company called Promo Group in Nova Sad, which I assume is Novi Sad. This was in 2011 so plenty of time for it to be moved on. 

Going back to my Routemaster Dispersals book from 1995 it says it went to Keric, Yugoslavia in January 1990. Keric doesn't even register on Google maps so it could be a company or person. 

This also tells me it was withdrawn from Holloway Garage (HT, literally Holloway Tramshed as there used to be two garages there a long time ago.) 

And if we go back even further to my 1985 Capital Transport London Bus Handbook we can see it was still in normal service. This is the oldest reference book I have. 

This also shows I probably haven't seen it. The system here was if it was underlined I've seen it, yellow highlighter I've travelled on it and a P if I have a photo. I got bored with simply spotting them as that was too easy, so that got discontinued. Hence there are some highlighted but not underlined and it would be very difficult to travel on a bus without seeing it! 

This also shows RM 83 had opening upstairs front windows which the bus in your pictures does. The earlier buses were all built with non opening front windows but a lot gained opening windows during overhauls. The * denotes non opening windows and RM 83 isn't one of them. 

[IronStar]

21 minutes ago, Yoss said:

Thanks. According to my Routemaster Handbook which is dated 2017 Serbia only has one Routemaster, RM 83. It mentions a company called Promo Group in Nova Sad, which I assume is Novi Sad. This was in 2011 so plenty of time for it to be moved on. 

Going back to my Routemaster Dispersals book from 1995 it says it went to Keric, Yugoslavia in January 1990. Keric doesn't even register on Google maps so it could be a company or person. 

This also tells me it was withdrawn from Holloway Garage (HT, literally Holloway Tramshed as there used to be two garages there a long time ago.) 

And if we go back even further to my 1985 Capital Transport London Bus Handbook we can see it was still in normal service. This is the oldest reference book I have. 

This also shows I probably haven't seen it. The system here was if it was underlined I've seen it, yellow highlighter I've travelled on it and a P if I have a photo. I got bored with simply spotting them as that was too easy, so that got discontinued. Hence there are some highlighted but not underlined and it would be very difficult to travel on a bus without seeing it! 

This also shows RM 83 had opening upstairs front windows which the bus in your pictures does. The earlier buses were all built with non opening front windows but a lot gained opening windows during overhauls. The * denotes non opening windows and RM 83 isn't one of them. 

Promo group is this one:

 

The newest photo I could find is from December 2022 on their Facebook page:

The company is still active on the Serbian business registry,  so unless they sold it and someone decided to scrap all the trouble of importing and restoring one to turn it into a burger joint, it's a different bus.

 

EDIT:

FOUND BURGER ONE FOR SALE!

https://www.polovniautomobili.com/autobusi/27326109/aec-routemaster

[Yoss]

Thanks again! Yes it appears to be a different one. If it really is a 1965 bus that narrows it down to the last 100 or so standard RMs before the RMLs took over. I shall go away and do some more digging. 

[hairnet]

saab oof fiats oof z oof 

the r35 needs to be torched

[IronStar]

Just now, hairnet said:

saab oof fiats oof z oof 

the r35 needs to be torched

Not sure WTF is R35 doing there. It's a lovely car, but it doesn't really belong in that car meet, especially not as an exhibitor.  Won no favours by doing a donut when he entered the field, kicking up a ton of dust onto everyone 🙄