My New Zealand Shite - Yet Another Car Added

[fotorabia]

hey mate..yep im back..ive got heaps to sort out here..job-house etc..such is the status of how UK holidays bankrupt me for years..im currently staying on a Mongrel Mob street..they drive red Holdens..and eyeball me as they cruise past..so im not wearing blue around here cos thats a Black power color..but its fine to be back...and yeah..if we re heading nth at any point ill come see ya..chur bro

[STUNO]

Yes cav_. a perfect hot afternoon, even with some L & P you two are really settling into your very nice home.I learned that a Tagora is not Alpine based, but a very different beast.

That Commodore really is a very good one, and the Nissan diesel does suit it well. Those side skirts are shiny stainless steel,and make it look just that little bit tougher.

And the prospect of a good hunt around Horopito in the future sounds good. Interested fotorabia ? you are about the same distance south of there !

[Jon]

Crikey, i am a bit jealous! Can I come over and kip in your garage please? I'l just set up a little camp-bed and drift off to sleep admiring GMs finest...please?

 

Why kip in the corner when I can drop the rear seats and you can stretch out in the back - perfect if you're less that 6ft tall. I've even got a nice orange, brown and yellow striped knitted blanket in the back.

 

 

 

Actually, scrap that idea. Unfortunately, the one downside is that it does have a smell to its interior, though it's a sort of oily mechanical one, so perhaps perfectly acceptable to some. Any tips on how to clean seats etc effectively anyone? Had been thinking about hiring a carpet cleaner and then letting the seats and carpet dry in the sun.

[M'coli]

dry in the sun.

There'as no need to rub it in...!

 

Carpet cleaning machine or a Vax thingy should help, if that doesn't work, get a dog, feed it beans - you won't notice the mechanical smell after that...

[Phrancofile]

For those left in Blighty, here's the german version for $990:

 

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

[barrett]

That Rekord has been for sale longer than I've been alive, probably. Either it's hiding some serious horrors, or they will not budge on the price which seems a little over the odds. I wish someone on here would go and find out,

 

P.s - Welcome, Phrancofile!

[Negative Creep]

hard to tell from the pictures, but those sills look a bit ominous

[Jon]

Dredging up an old thread, just because I can. Almost a year has passed since we arrived in NZ, so naturally one car in all that time just wasn't going to cut the mustard.

 

On my 30th birthday we picked up a 205 GTI 1.9 for the missus which has provided sterling service for when I can't be bothered to drive around slowly. On a long run, driven with 'spirit', it still somehow manages 39mpg, which makes the Yorkshire part of me very happy indeed. Here it is at our old gaff:

 

 

Anyway, yesterday morning saw me scanning the latest vehicular attrocities on offer on Trademe whilst waiting for my wife to rise from the 12 hour lie-in she just has to have on a weekend. As usual the chod far outweighed the rough diamonds but something caught my eye and seemed pretty cheap . Then, since I was on my own and had no-one else to convince me otherwise, I began plotting...

 

Though Mrs_estate had mentioned a campervan as a nice way to spend some money and I was quick to agree (finding a pricey but pretty 1984 Nissan Urvan bus in brown), I think it's something that can wait, purely for economic reasons. However, we've a busy schedule of guests coming to stay over the next year or so, so what better to sweeten the deal of taking long expensive flights than the free use of a car when they get here? Plus, a pool car is always good to have when your fleet is a little older than average and you don't live in a big town. Which it is. And we don't. I'd sold my Sierra (to scaroldcortina), Imp (M'coli) and collection of various toy and model cars when we emigrated, yet had only 'cashed in' about half of it on the Commodore, leaving me a bit of credit, so a trip was organised.

 

The drive was just over 100km and around 90 minutes, taking into account the country roads and the campervans - summer's almost here. Part of the route was a road we'd driven along on our honeymoon a couple of years ago, so it was easy to make general conversation, rather than me banging on about a car, trying to justify its purchase even before we'd seen it. Anyway, this what greeted us on arrival:

 

 

In all fairness, we were near to a large lake and not far from the coast but the scale still made me laugh. Further down the driveway this was keeping it company:

 

 

It runs an Nissan LD28 diesel engine just like my Commodore, yet this one's supposedly 'good for 160 (km/h)', whereas mine gets very breathless (and sooty) above 100. It was also up for sale, is sort of campervan shaped and didn't get sneered at by the domestic management, so maybe one to look at another time.

 

Anyway, after some prodding and poking and half-arsed test drive of the car we came to see (I'd pretty much bought it prior to viewing), a deal was struck, money changed hands and I drove home in this:

 

 

A 1984 Peugeot 505 GTI in stunning brown with either a 2.0 or 2.2 petrol injection engine. Here it is basking beside Lake Rotorua on the way home, whilst we stopped for coffee and a scones from a newsagents (Total - $4. I know how to show a lady a good time). The GTI bit's a bit of a let down, especially after stepping out of the 205 but in all honesty, I think I was becoming a bit blase` about that car's handling abilities, so this grounds me a little. Within the first few minutes of buying it, I thought I'd made a mistake when I noticed a bit of succeptability to side winds but the weather wasn't that great today, so I'll forgive it. After a few kilometers, I became a little more confident so gave it a bit more beans, which seemed to make a difference. All I knew about these prior to buying it was that they were supposed to ride really well and I can confirm this. Having only owned small French cars previously, this feels so much more solid and refined.

 

Just time to catch a long (and slightly soft) shot of this heroic giffer driving a Honda Jazz Turbo, then onwards home.

 

 

Arriving back in style, I park it up to take a couple of shots and then notice a pool of oil on the driveway 5 minutes later. the oil cap has DIESEL written on it so obviously isn't standard and the vendor said not to loosen it, as it leaks if not put back on properly. Wanting to check for mayonnaise, I obviously didn't listen to him and seem to have paid the price. Oh well, it made it home and didn't sound bad, so I'll check it in the daylight. Anyway, more pics:

 

 

It'd be nice to have a full set of the original wheels but the front ones are pretty smart so I'm not complaining. Yes, that is a patch of gaffer tape hiding a hole in the wing. Other than a couple of holes in the bottom of the front doors, I didn't find any other rust. Give me time.

 

 

The interior really is very clean - a welcome bonus on a cheap car, especially one being lent to others more fortunate.

 

What works:

 

Electric windows

Power steering

Econoscope

 

What doesn't:

 

Rev counter

Electric sunroof

Central locking (?)

Radio - but it does look cool.

 

 

 

Forgot how elegant the rears of the early ones are.

 

 

I'd totally forgotten to empty out the boot before leaving for home, so I've inadvertantly stolen a trolley jack and a vacuum cleaner, amongst other bits. Bonus!

 

Anyway, plans are to matt black the sides, lower it and then give it some inappropraite headlights. Or perhaps just fix up the relevant bits and hoik it around to friends and family.

[Pete-M]

Good man, top shiteing!

[HillmanImp]

Nice to hear from you John. Both of those look well nice.

 

I keep 'nearly' buying 205 GTi's. What will happen is I will leave it too long and then they will rocket in value and I wont be able to afford one. My mate is on about selling his red one early next year so I might take a punt on it if I have sold the GT6 but will see how much work I get done on that over the winter.

 

What is the difference between the back of these ones and the later ones then?

[Lord Sterling]

Nice one John, those 505s remind me of Syria as I saw loads there. I remember passing a similar coloured 505 Estate on the way to school years ago in Telford.

[michiel]

Nice one!

 

I want a Jazz Turbo now.

[ProgRocker]

Nice Pugs.

 

Where are these 505 GTi s coming from all of a sudden?

[Jon]

Hey Scotty, here's a googleimages pic of a later 505 rear:

 

 

Not ugly in any way and I think they did a good job of modernising it but I just think the earlier ones look a bit more French, with the silver panel and the different rear lights.

 

Other than that, nothing else to report as the weather's been crap and I'm not feeling the best, so yesterday's efforts involved topping up the oil and screwing the cap back on a little tighter and coming to terms with the fact that it'll probably need a full set of tyres soon - thankfully all 15" ones. Only consumables I suppose, so musn't grumble (unlike my guts).

 

Anyway, here's the fleet; combined age - 80. Or 114 if you count the borrowed trailer.

 

[HillmanImp]

I am well jealous of that garage. How cool is that? Especially with the class collection of cars. Certainly better than when you were over here with the Imp paked on a tiny driveway and the Sierra and MX5 parked 20m down the road?

 

It even looks tidy. Mine is a bloody health hazzard. I have a much smaller garage now than I had at my old place and I have crammed several bikes, the GT6, most of an Imp (other than the shell) and several bits of furniture. Bloody nightmare finding anything. Keep my tools indoors but the understairc cupboard is starting to reseble a garage but with added vacum cleaners and mops.

 

I see what you mean about the 505 rear. I do remember the later ones with the lights similar to a 309 much better. Probably as my best mates parents used to have one when we had our 309.

 

I would keep hold of the 205. I assume cars dont rot too much over there?

[Jon]

It's amazing the amount of space we have now compared to our last place in Leeds. Our house here isn't massive by any standard but there's actually space for furniture, unlike the last place. Got to sympathise with you on the tools-under-the-stairs front, as that's exactly where mine lived too. I am also utterly spoilt by the double garage - it's got a room at the back (about 7 x 3 metres iirc) that's a bit of a dumping ground at the moment but I'd like to take up woodworking at some point. And the leccy garage makes me grin each time I press the button! The driveway is a little small and the shape is no good for parking on really, as it makes garage acces tricky (especially for women who drive fwd Peugeots with crap turning circles) but thankfully there's space down the side of the house for 2 cars in a line, so that'll get sorted properly in the coming months.

 

Looks can be decieving though, as the garage sadly is an utter mess - all self-inflicted of course. I picked up a trailer full of free native hardwood (rimu) that was going to the tip, along with some pine batons etc. A lot of them are stored in the rafters but a lot aren't and I constantly trip over them. The previous owner also left all sorts of guff here, so I really need to have a good clearout, which will give me space to put in a couple of workbenches and hopefully store all my tools where I actually want them.

 

Cars don't rust out here quite so much but I think I have been pretty lucky in many respects, especially with the Holden. They aren't anywhere near as cheap though, so I suppose you get what you pay for in terms of solidity. The 205 is mostly metal (and very little paint - looks like a sunburnt Brit) and will be around for a while yet I reckon. The 505 is actually the rustiest of our cars but in places such as the door bottoms and the lower part of the NSF wing, so I'm hoping these won't cause any issues for a WOF (warrent of fitness - MOT). I know the oil leak will, as it's pretty severe so is off for investigation tomorrow. Can't seem to find much info on common issues with Douvrin engines online - anyone have any good links?

[Jon]

Thread back from the dead!

 

I come bearing news, mostly that I've decided to get rid of the pool car 505 (commonly referred to as the turd) whilst it still functions as a car. Criteria were to buy something in better condition, much younger, more common and around the same size, with standard luxuries such as power steering and working central locking so as not to alienate people who use it that may be more accustomed to moderns.

 

Here's some photographic evidence that you can indeed polish a turd:

 

 

With all those strict criteria in mind and considering also that we own a small fun French car (205 GTI), I naturally opted for this:

 

 

[HillmanImp]

Hey, that Visa looks sweeeeet.

 

Its almost making me want to move over that end of the world as I think it will be chod-tastick.

[hairnet]

holy thread ressurection batman

 

nice visa

[michiel]

115 ch! Nice.

[dollywobbler]

115 ch! Nice.

 

Aye. They're rare enough in Europe! Fantastic.

[chaseracer]

This...

 

 

...needs combining with one of these...

 

 

 

[STUNO]

Look what happens when I go away for a few weeks. The man finds unobtanium ! I suspect this Citroen is just about 1 of a kind in this country. It does look as if the first thing it needs is a good clean though. Can't wait to get a look at it

[Split_Pin]

I was kind of sorry that you had to sell your 505 and the criteria for a new car looked like it was going to be something post 2000.

 

I was not expecting to see the picture of what you actually bought - fantastic!

[Jon]

Well, it's starting to look a little less disgusting,so expect some updated photos as and when over the coming days. I don't think it'll be at Volksangyl levels of cleanliness but already the interior is looking pretty snazzy (ignore the wob-laden door in foreground):

 

 

That picture was taken on my birthday - I know how to celebrate in style! I think the rarity of these and the fact that I've hankered after one since being a teenager meant that I had to go for this one when it came up (again), as I'd narrowly missed out on it late last year when it came up for sale on-line - I was sure the auction ended the following Sunday to the one it actually did end on.....

 

And talking of rarity, it certainly isn't unique over here according to information gleaned on the visa forum, though it's been rare from the start; a whole 8 cars (2 of each colour - red, black, grey, white) were apparently brought over and most took a while to punt on. Probably something to do with the asking price of $42000, or a roundabout equivalent at the time of £14000 Still,it undercut the 1.6 205 GTI, at $48000. The other white one appears to have survived in fine fettle and there's a red one which is very much a project. 3 others are known to have been rolled and written off, so it's pretty unusual over here I'd say!

[KruJoe]

Ooh, that's a bit special!

 

I'd forgotten how this thread started so I've re-read the whole thing.

Is the temp gauge in the Commodore behaving the same still? Of course it could be calibration problems from the Datsun lump in a Holden, but how's the thermostat? It may be stuck open. Gotta be worth chucking a fresh one in anyhow, it may help. Might allow it to run better too.

 

Keep us updated on the Visa, I'd love one sometime.

PS, it's cold and sleety back in Yorkshire this evening. You're missing nowt!

[SambaS]

What a collection of cars I am well jealous! More of the Visa GTi please

[Jon]

Shite-wise, 2013 has been my busiest year to date, so I thought this thread deserved a bit of an update to keep things, er, up to date..... Apologies in advance for re-posts seen on other threads.

 

January saw a line-up of 3 cars; 205, 505 and Commodore. No pics, as you've seen them all before. March saw the arrival of the Visa (as above), so I took a celebratory shot of our 3 GTis before the 505 parted company with us:

 

 

Then one day, I was passing through the next town along when I saw a Fiat 500 for sale, something my cousin had been interested in for a while.

 

 

He's got deeper pockets than me, so was able to stump up the quite reasonable (for a 500) amount of circa-£2500 for it. The paint loss on the top of the sill is from the seller's leg clamp on his left leg; he had suffered a stroke, which I thought was the reason for sale. Turns out it had happened in 1984 and he didn't buy the 500 until 1996! Anyway, he's a lovely old fella but I must admit his piloting of a 3 pedalled car with one working leg was a little unsettling.....

 

As an aside, here's a photo of a photo of a car he'd sold the year before, a late 50's Invacar:

 

 

 

Anyway, since it wasn't mine (other than on paper), I didn't do much to it before my cousin could collect a few weeks later, other than take it for the odd pootle round the back roads.

 

 

Though I did feel the need to hoik the Commodore out of its garage spot so I could keep it under cover:

 

 

The 500 also came with a mass of spares, including another car, this one being a 1963 suicide door model.

 

 

 

My mates farm trailer was put to use and the sorry lot was brought home:

 

 

Naturally, most of the spares constituted stuff which had been replaced and not thrown away, such as brake linings and even a pigeon shit welded driveshaft! My cousin picked through the stuff, taking a few items of use before selling the remains (including yellow 500) for a paltry £122 on Trademe. Guess you can't win 'em all.

 

Next thing to litter the driveway was STUNO's 200 Turbo quattro, when he left for Britain:

 

 

Mrs_Jon was beginning to tire a little of the 205 and had loved our SAAB 9000 in the past, so I thought this would be just the ticket. Turns out not-so but it looks like it might be of some use to its former keeper early next year, so for now it's taking up a rather large portion of the driveway, pending his return. Its self-levelling rear suspension and tow bar have come in handy though, especially when I travelled 200km north to Auckland to pick this up:

 

 

A 1985 ex-UK 1.6 GTi, which had been spruced up and subsequently crashed by its former owner. He'd spent something eye-watering like $3000 on an engine rebuild, so I thought it a wise purchase at a little over scrap value, to replace the Visa's rather tappety lump, plus offer a whole host of spares for our 205 to boot. Naturally, I've done nothing whatsoever to it in the last couple of months since removing the doors and interior, so space on the driveway is getting a little tight. In light of this, we then thought it a good time to buy something else:

 

 

A 1991 Toyota Hiace 2.0 petrol. It's much scruffier in real life and has covered a not insubstantial 448000km but it's the quietest motor I think I have ever owned and it bowls along OK, probably a little quicker than the Commodore if truth be told (though that's no great feat). You wouldn't believe how happy it made me when I locked it for the first time and found it had central locking! Simple things, eh?

 

It has a 'camper' conversion in the back, consisting of a raised plyboard bed bed base topped with foam mattresses and a plethora of plastic storage tubs stowed underneath, so allied to our pommie accents, everyone who sees us in it thinks we're tourists seeing the country on the cheap. Our eventual plan is to make it a certified self contained camper (essentially enough water for however many occupants for 3 days, a toilet with sufficient waste water storage and a sealed lid rubbish bin), so we can effectively camp where we please. However, the WOF (MoT) is due in a few weeks, so I want to see how bad it is first before taking things further.

 

Oh, and the less said about the Camira, the better. I don't think I've even set eyes on it this year, so it's easy to forget it even exists.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

We have cousins who emigrated to NZ and they absolutely love it over there. Having said that, they are surf fanatics, so it helps. To be fair, if I were guaranteed a garage on a par with yours, I'd be fekkin tempted myself 

[Jon]

Where have your cousins emigrated to in NZ? North or South Island? If it's NI and they're somewhere round Auckland, you can forget having a garage of meaningful proportions unless you have deep pockets. We're far more rural, so much more affordable. You just have to be willing to accept making your own fun, as there's not that much in terms of entertainment without a bit of a drive - albeit a nice drive, usually. Hence the big garage to keep me entertained!