My Allegro

[garycox]

It all started with this...

 

1275 lump and still with tax and MOT, 200 notes!!!

 

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C236131#

 

Posted on Thursday night, viewed by me, whist drunk, on the same night. I fired off an email to the seller, presumably asking if it was still for sale, fell asleep and forgot about it.

 

On Friday lunch time I got a call from the seller saying that it was still available and ready to drive although he wouldn't recommend driving it far. And if I wanted it, it had to be collected, from Nottingham, by 11am on Saturday as he was going on holiday and I think he'd promised it to someone else if it was still there when he got back or something.

 

Anyway I thought this sounded like an exciting challenge so I agreed over the phone to buy it. I booked the train tickets on Friday afternoon at work, and attempted to sort the insurance out online at about 10pm that night... This didn't quite go according to plan though as I just kept filling in loads of forms online and then being told that I'd have to ring up anyway.

 

During the evening I received at least 3 text messages from the seller asking whether I was sure I wanted to try driving it all that way, he couldn't guarantee it would make it etc... I just bought some AA cover.

 

So after about 3 hours of attempting to sleep I got on a train at 5:26am yesterday morning, then I got on a few more trains and eventually got to Nottingham station at 9:26ish and had time to finally sort the insurance over the phone. The seller, who turned out to be a really friendly guy, picked me up from the station in a tidy Maestro Clubman (also for sale on C&C apparently, £350).

 

The Allegro looks really shabby because he'd started to prepare it for a respray but time and money commitments etc seem to have halted work. He said that he'd bought it just a few months earlier and paid £500 before doing a load of work on it himself and replacing or repairing a load of parts. He said that he thought he'd been ripped off a bit though and it was not worth that much. I happily handed over the £200!

 

It's really solid, the engine and gearbox seem great, the interior's tidy and it's got a couple of months' MOT and tax on it. Before I set off he said that it hadn't been used from 1997 to 2010 as the original owner had died, and since being put back on the road it had only covered 50 miles or something. Despite all his warnings, it drove 250 miles back from Nottingham to Brighton, then to Lewes, then Newhaven because I wanted to drive it some more, than back to Lewes via Brighton again, with no problems whatsoever, even behaving perfectly in a boiling hot traffic jam for most of the M25.

 

The main annoying thing about it is that the fuel gauge isn't working, but also the original radio has stopped working too (and I haven't actually managed to locate the speakers for it yet...). I'm well happy with it though, I've just gotta think of a cheap way to put a half decent coat of paint on it.

 

Right, enough boring waffle, have some rubbish pictures instead. I didn't take any til I got back because I thought I'd save my phone battery for calling the AA if necessary...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rod/b]

The speaker (singular) should be behind that grille under the radio...

 

That looks like quite a late registration for what it is to me. My dad had a a V reg allegro (BUD715V) and it was a MkIII - bigger rear lamps, revised dash and interior etc.

 

I wonder when this one was built? [anorak]It seems to have a MkIII filler flap on it [/anorak]

[Cavcraft]

Certainly looks pretty solid from the pictures, bit of a bargain that, top work old lad.

[Rod/b]

15/10/79 first registered, so must be one of the last Mk2s i'd guess. Loving the 3 VdP hubcaps!

[garycox]

He said it had a Mk3 bootlid when he got it, and he'd 'corrected' it by fitting a Mk2 one. Maybe the Mk3 item was the original...

 

First job is to sort out the fuel gauge (TBH I have no idea where to start on that), then radio, then paint.

 

I'm not looking for it to be perfect, just all the same colour and looking tidier. If anyone has any ideas about how to paint it cheaply let me know! I'm not interested in matt black or red oxide or something obviously.

[ashmicro]

Brilliant! Well done. Fuel gauge on that would be fairly simple I'd imagine, most likely a simple sender in the tank.

 

Top work.

[Rod/b]

He said it had a Mk3 bootlid when he got it, and he'd 'corrected' it by fitting a Mk2 one. Maybe the Mk3 item was the original...

 

Shouldn't have thought so. More likely been shunted and fixed up with later bits. Any sign of welding or creases in the boot floor?

[garycox]

No damage at all to the floor, there's a tiny dent behind the bumper under the bootlid on the driver's side, it is very small but might have been the cause I suppose.

[wuvvum]

I had a Series 2 on a V plate - an 1100 SDL 2-door in bright orange. I seem to recall it had a blanking plate where the clock should have been. It was actually surprisingly nice to drive - not quick, but a lot better than the Series 3 1.0L I'd owned before. Nice save there GC. If you're looking for a cheap paint job, I find matt black rattle cans from Halfords a good option, and then of course you could let some pressure out of the suspension to improve the "stance".

[catsinthewelder]

Theres the famous $50 paintjob using gloss rollers and Rustoleum paint.

 

It can be acquired in this country but only from a few outlets. A good few VW types have tried it and some have got a good result but that's with a lot of effort going in. A good few others reckon that a good brush and a tin of quality coach paint will get you a better result for a similar low budget.

 

I've used http://bedec.co.uk/MSP%20COLOUR%20CARD-1.pdf to paint this

 

 

Which was quick and easy but not the greatest finish, hardly a surprise as the bodywork is fairly rough and I just wanted to brighten it up.

 

Good save there with the All Agro

[andrew e]

I tell you what as long as you use good rollers, the cannons repaint (as seen gathering dust in halfords) works well, but it is the primer prep underneath and no white spirit, thinners yes. Don't ask how I know... failing that Halfords has the most out of date rattle can range known to man - you can still buy B.L. Tara green for instance!

 

Sod it RAT IT! Stick a picnic table on the roof

[garycox]

That looks quite good, difficult to tell what the colours would actually look like though... what colour's yours?

 

How much paint did you use?

[Rod/b]

What are you asking about colours for? There are the three PRIMARY COLOURS DU SHITE, and that's all you need to know:

 

Beige

Brown

Orange.

 

Brown over beige with an orange coachstripe ought to look ORSUM.

[theorganist]

Looks like a bargain, nice one!

 

Shouldn't have thought so. More likely been shunted and fixed up with later bits

 

IIRC there were a lot of series 2 Allegro's going around in the eighties and nineties with Mark 3 boots, probably as a result of a shunt. Just like Fiesta's, used to see loads of mark 1's with mark 2 hatches.

[andrew e]

Orion's with 95> Escort saloon boots, Estates with 95> tailgates (with the central recessed badge).

[boobydoo]

The mark 3 Allegros came out September 1979 I think, so whoever bought that new probably got a good deal!

 

Nice save!

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Half primer grey A-Series Allegro.

 

Excellent.

[barrett]

Having just seen this UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL I can confirm that it is just as awesome as it looks. It also has some of the best prep/paintwork I've ever witnessed.

 

13/10

[Negative Creep]

What are you asking about colours for? There are the three PRIMARY COLOURS DU SHITE, and that's all you need to know:

 

Beige

Brown

Orange.

 

Brown over beige with an orange coachstripe ought to look ORSUM.

 

 

What about that "beautiful" flat green colour they came in?

 

[catsinthewelder]

I've used just under one and a half 750ml tins of Jade silk to paint the T2 up to gutter height. Theres a few patches which would benefit from going over again then I'm going to mix most of whats left with a small tin of white to paint the roof and wheels.

 

It suits the job as its cheap and easy to patch up as I get round to replacing the bits of bodywork that are knackered. This was the reason that I was driving it round in grey primer but the Jade should be a little more water resistant. I'm deliberately using a semi gloss paint as it hides the rough texture of the bodywork better.

 

More pics

 

 

[Des]

That cars ad tempted me, and my spidey sense tingled to tell me it was a good one, a very slated car but they certainly have character, nice enough to drive and they do look pretty good these days against the current blandness backdrop. rollering as mentioned is a good value means of painting, if you have the energy and patience for a lot of wet flatting and polishing you can get a nice finish. Should you go the ratlook route may I suggest avoiding the usual VW treatment, rather than slammin to the deck yo perhaps pump the suspension to an unnatural height, and skip the roofrack for an upturned wheelbarrow retained by ratchet straps, break up the grey with splashes of red oxide, line footwells, boot and rear shelf with patterned house carpet and some very muted stickerbombing, a gallon to litre conversion, coal not dole, holographic image of Elvis.

[barrett]

I can also confirm that just briefly coming into contact with this car has left my hands STINKING of oil. I think that's the sign of a top-quality car.

[Lankytim]

Nice agg!

 

I too have a 1979 series 2 model, funnily enough its off being resprayed at the moment.

[eddyramrod]

Great save! BA being a Mancunian combination, that dealer ID on the number plate is most likely original. Was she Pageant Blue before the primer? Whether or not, that's a good Allegro colour, I remember it well.

[BMC Dan]

Glad to see it's in the hands of a shiter now, looking forward to seeing updates

[dollywobbler]

Good stuff. Nowt like a hope-filled journey in shite - that actually goes well - to buoy the spirits!

[michiel]

Excellent. +1 for AS-colour scheme.

[scooters]

phenomenal!

well done sir!

[garycox]

It was raining pretty hard on the way back from work today... this caused a load of water to drip into the driver's footwell via my legs. FUN.

 

Probably ought to investigate that.

[Lankytim]

I bet those two rubber drain bung things near the top of the bulkhead under the bonnet are full of rotten leaves, they cause rainwater to pour into the heater and into the footwells. Clean them out and I bet that fixes the problem!