Volvo 240 Resto, Modified Vauxhalls & Suzuki Jimny
Discussion
Wow, thanks everyone! I'd always assumed that the content I put here was rather tame and a little boring compared with many of the cars being shared, much appreciated! There's a few things in the pipeline over the next few months hopefully;
-the Jimny's front wing still has a gaping hole from the snorkel, I'll be tidying that up somehow, soon
-the Corsa is now the car we take on holiday, so I'm going to make some changes to better suit motorway driving
-the van is finally getting new wheels fitted soon
-the Jimny's front wing still has a gaping hole from the snorkel, I'll be tidying that up somehow, soon
-the Corsa is now the car we take on holiday, so I'm going to make some changes to better suit motorway driving
-the van is finally getting new wheels fitted soon
The Bearded Tit said:
Wow, thanks everyone! I'd always assumed that the content I put here was rather tame and a little boring compared with many of the cars being shared, much appreciated! There's a few things in the pipeline over the next few months hopefully;
-the Jimny's front wing still has a gaping hole from the snorkel, I'll be tidying that up somehow, soon
-the Corsa is now the car we take on holiday, so I'm going to make some changes to better suit motorway driving
-the van is finally getting new wheels fitted soon
If you've ever watched Derek on Vice Grip Garage you'll get this reference,-the Jimny's front wing still has a gaping hole from the snorkel, I'll be tidying that up somehow, soon
-the Corsa is now the car we take on holiday, so I'm going to make some changes to better suit motorway driving
-the van is finally getting new wheels fitted soon
"Just put enough duct tape on it until ya feel safe!"
Elf
Turns out I completely forgot to post any updates on the automatic Corsa after we bought the Jimny. Better 6 months late than never I suppose. So, there wasn't much that needed doing. Shaun fitted the quiet exhaust as you may remember, and I put those black wheels on, and the original wing mirrors. Afterwards, Shaun gave it a service, MOT'd it, and had to replace the handbrake cable, costing me roughly £150 all-in, including the labour for fitting the exhaust. A friend of his ended up buying the car for £1300, which was pure luck for me, as I wasn't expecting to sell it for that much. So, the profit made was roughly £500 (taking into account selling the old wheels and exhaust), which went towards the rust on the Jimny.
More recently, I had a clear out of some car parts, including two sets of Corsa rear lights, which made me roughly £40, the Jimny side bars (£50), the old towbar (£40), and the bullbar (£100). I also found the old Hagus mirrors from the Corsa I sold.
Originally I was going to retrofit them to the van, however I've decided not to, which I'll explain soon. So, I gave them a quick polish up, and managed to get £50 for them, making the automatic Corsa even more profitable. Naturally, all of it got pissed into the rust-holes on the Jimny.
That's all for now!
Turns out I completely forgot to post any updates on the automatic Corsa after we bought the Jimny. Better 6 months late than never I suppose. So, there wasn't much that needed doing. Shaun fitted the quiet exhaust as you may remember, and I put those black wheels on, and the original wing mirrors. Afterwards, Shaun gave it a service, MOT'd it, and had to replace the handbrake cable, costing me roughly £150 all-in, including the labour for fitting the exhaust. A friend of his ended up buying the car for £1300, which was pure luck for me, as I wasn't expecting to sell it for that much. So, the profit made was roughly £500 (taking into account selling the old wheels and exhaust), which went towards the rust on the Jimny.
More recently, I had a clear out of some car parts, including two sets of Corsa rear lights, which made me roughly £40, the Jimny side bars (£50), the old towbar (£40), and the bullbar (£100). I also found the old Hagus mirrors from the Corsa I sold.
Originally I was going to retrofit them to the van, however I've decided not to, which I'll explain soon. So, I gave them a quick polish up, and managed to get £50 for them, making the automatic Corsa even more profitable. Naturally, all of it got pissed into the rust-holes on the Jimny.
That's all for now!
The Combo
After a few months of deliberation, I have decided to sell my van after 5 years of service. I've realised I love the work I've done to it more than the vehicle itself. Commercial vehicle tax is getting ridiculous at nearly £300 per year, the turning circle is awful, and I've decided I really don't like diesel engines, and the prices are ridiculous too. So, the Corsa has become my new work vehicle.
So, with that, the van needed a lot of prep! When I last posted about the Combo, it was lowered, and rather compromised, thanks to the harsh front springs. I fitted some OE springs from a petrol model, which still lowered the front, but softened the ride a lot.
I had also splashed out on some new wheels, from a Dacia Stepway, of all things.
While they did look amazing, by the time I got round to fitting them, I was more or less decided on selling the van. As these wheels were fresh and new, I wanted to keep them, in case I ever found another use for them. So, the old wheels went back on, as well as the standard springs, to bring the ride height back to normal. The front discs and pads were also replaced, and the tracking was adjusted. Two of the tyres were nearly bald on the old alloys, and the other two were about two thirds worn, so they went on the rear, and the front received new rubber - the same Rotalla RH01 tyres as before. Nothing special, but they got the job done at a good price. As for the alloys themselves, they were looking in a sorry state.
They had been powder coated by Aerocoat near Great Yarmouth, as I'd had two sets done with them already, to a very good standard. However, this set looked utterly hopeless after three years. I had never kerbed or scraped them once. The paint simply fell off. Here's how they looked after being cleaned with the usual acidic wheel cleaner.
I couldn't very well sell the van like this, but couldn't justify spending on a proper refurb, so I did a very quick tart-up job to try and improve them a little. I started with a quick sand.
I then cleaned it with Methylated spirit, and very lazily masked up the alloys with some card paper. On went the first coat of primer...
I then slathered on a fairly thick second coat, moving on to painting with satin black, which I thought might mask the obvious imperfections a little better.
The results were not perfect by a long shot, but the wheels looked a heck of a lot better once dry, and re-fitted to the van.
The Interior
Next up, I had to do a little tarting up inside. With all my valeting gear removed, the load bay was in dire need of a vacuum, and a clean of the plastics.
Next up was the cab. When I originally fitted the Recaro seats, I removed the boomerang trims and part of the centre console to clean underneath, but then left it all apart for future projects. I put everything back together properly and re-fitted the boomerangs to lift the interior a little.
As for the rest of the interior, it wasn't terrible, but needed a decent vacuum and dust. I also got some cheap new mats from Amazon to make it look a little nicer, too.
The Engine
At the front, the engine bay hadn't seen any attention for almost a year. While not filthy, it certainly needed a good once over, with some APC and a few brushes.
With this done, the van was ready to have the exterior attended to...
After a few months of deliberation, I have decided to sell my van after 5 years of service. I've realised I love the work I've done to it more than the vehicle itself. Commercial vehicle tax is getting ridiculous at nearly £300 per year, the turning circle is awful, and I've decided I really don't like diesel engines, and the prices are ridiculous too. So, the Corsa has become my new work vehicle.
So, with that, the van needed a lot of prep! When I last posted about the Combo, it was lowered, and rather compromised, thanks to the harsh front springs. I fitted some OE springs from a petrol model, which still lowered the front, but softened the ride a lot.
I had also splashed out on some new wheels, from a Dacia Stepway, of all things.
While they did look amazing, by the time I got round to fitting them, I was more or less decided on selling the van. As these wheels were fresh and new, I wanted to keep them, in case I ever found another use for them. So, the old wheels went back on, as well as the standard springs, to bring the ride height back to normal. The front discs and pads were also replaced, and the tracking was adjusted. Two of the tyres were nearly bald on the old alloys, and the other two were about two thirds worn, so they went on the rear, and the front received new rubber - the same Rotalla RH01 tyres as before. Nothing special, but they got the job done at a good price. As for the alloys themselves, they were looking in a sorry state.
They had been powder coated by Aerocoat near Great Yarmouth, as I'd had two sets done with them already, to a very good standard. However, this set looked utterly hopeless after three years. I had never kerbed or scraped them once. The paint simply fell off. Here's how they looked after being cleaned with the usual acidic wheel cleaner.
I couldn't very well sell the van like this, but couldn't justify spending on a proper refurb, so I did a very quick tart-up job to try and improve them a little. I started with a quick sand.
I then cleaned it with Methylated spirit, and very lazily masked up the alloys with some card paper. On went the first coat of primer...
I then slathered on a fairly thick second coat, moving on to painting with satin black, which I thought might mask the obvious imperfections a little better.
The results were not perfect by a long shot, but the wheels looked a heck of a lot better once dry, and re-fitted to the van.
The Interior
Next up, I had to do a little tarting up inside. With all my valeting gear removed, the load bay was in dire need of a vacuum, and a clean of the plastics.
Next up was the cab. When I originally fitted the Recaro seats, I removed the boomerang trims and part of the centre console to clean underneath, but then left it all apart for future projects. I put everything back together properly and re-fitted the boomerangs to lift the interior a little.
As for the rest of the interior, it wasn't terrible, but needed a decent vacuum and dust. I also got some cheap new mats from Amazon to make it look a little nicer, too.
The Engine
At the front, the engine bay hadn't seen any attention for almost a year. While not filthy, it certainly needed a good once over, with some APC and a few brushes.
With this done, the van was ready to have the exterior attended to...
The Combo
With the interior done, I started on the outside. I didn't take any photos before I started because despite being left for 6 months, it didn't actually look all that bad. Either way, I did as follows;
-Gave the wheels and arches a quick once-over
-Rinsed the van and agitated every seam or rubber seal with some APC and a brush
-Re-rinsed and washed it
-Treated it with tar remover and a fallout remover
-Clay bar decontamination
-Dried and polished with Scholl S20 and my DAS-6 PRO
-Lazily slathered on some Supagard I had kicking around
My polisher doesn't seem to do the best job at removing swirls (I'm probably doing something wrong), but the end result was still very reasonable for a 12-year-old commercial vehicle with 108,000 miles.
Once it was all finished, I quickly ran it up the road to a scenic spot for some final photos.
I've got it advertised for £4000, which is probably a bit high for what it is, but we'll see how it goes. Seeing it this clean does make me think I'll miss it a bit...
With the interior done, I started on the outside. I didn't take any photos before I started because despite being left for 6 months, it didn't actually look all that bad. Either way, I did as follows;
-Gave the wheels and arches a quick once-over
-Rinsed the van and agitated every seam or rubber seal with some APC and a brush
-Re-rinsed and washed it
-Treated it with tar remover and a fallout remover
-Clay bar decontamination
-Dried and polished with Scholl S20 and my DAS-6 PRO
-Lazily slathered on some Supagard I had kicking around
My polisher doesn't seem to do the best job at removing swirls (I'm probably doing something wrong), but the end result was still very reasonable for a 12-year-old commercial vehicle with 108,000 miles.
Once it was all finished, I quickly ran it up the road to a scenic spot for some final photos.
I've got it advertised for £4000, which is probably a bit high for what it is, but we'll see how it goes. Seeing it this clean does make me think I'll miss it a bit...
The Jimny
After months without any attention (yep, there's a theme with my cars), I figured the Jimny deserved a damn good wash.
As you can see, it had plenty of mud spray all over it. I did the usual;
-Clean the wheels and tyres (with APC instead of acid cleaner)
-Thorough rinse
-Coat with snowfoam
-Contact wash with two buckets
-Decontaminate with tar remover
-Rinse and dry
After that, I gave the headlights another polish, as I don't really have any products to protect them, so I give them a five minute buzz with the mini-rotary every few months. Here's a photo dump of the lot...
The old yoghurt pot scrubs up fairly well for all the abuse in its previous life! It's been driving nicely, too, and is averaging 40mpg. It even managed 42mpg over one tank, which according to the Jimny facebook group is almost impossible! I've pumped up the tyres from 27psi to 35psi to see if we can beat it!
After months without any attention (yep, there's a theme with my cars), I figured the Jimny deserved a damn good wash.
As you can see, it had plenty of mud spray all over it. I did the usual;
-Clean the wheels and tyres (with APC instead of acid cleaner)
-Thorough rinse
-Coat with snowfoam
-Contact wash with two buckets
-Decontaminate with tar remover
-Rinse and dry
After that, I gave the headlights another polish, as I don't really have any products to protect them, so I give them a five minute buzz with the mini-rotary every few months. Here's a photo dump of the lot...
The old yoghurt pot scrubs up fairly well for all the abuse in its previous life! It's been driving nicely, too, and is averaging 40mpg. It even managed 42mpg over one tank, which according to the Jimny facebook group is almost impossible! I've pumped up the tyres from 27psi to 35psi to see if we can beat it!
The Jimny
Anyone who's been following the Jimny's journey may remember the smorgasbord of off-road modifications done to the Jimny before we took it on. You may also remember that removing the snorkel left a gaping hole in the wing, which still acts as a functional air intake.
In order to finally remedy that, I managed to find an original intake pipe from eBay. It arrived last week, so over the weekend I gave myself the little project of fitting it. I started by removing the airbox under the bonnet, and yanking out the flexible hose that connected to it from the hole in the wing.
I then unbolted the front wing from the top, and removed the headlight to give myself room to fit the intake pipe.
As you can see, it was bloody disgusting in there. I then played Tetris for a while, trying to manoeuvre the intake pipe into the small gap until it finally slotted in.
While everything was out, I decided to at least clean this corner of the engine bay, since it hasn't been done for a very long time. One slight issue I had was that whoever fitted the snorkel to our Jimny obviously got rid of the two nuts that secure the original intake, and our replacement didn't come with any either. Without any real workspace, I don't keep many spare nuts and bolts, but luckily, I had two that fit perfectly! Ironically, they were plastic nuts that are used to retain the wheel arch trims on a Vauxhall Corsa! While not a 100% match in size, being made of plastic, they were malleable enough to make work.
After that, I used the typical mix of APC and some brushes to clean off the worst of the grime.
I also noticed that the plastic battery tray was disgusting, and the battery was sitting in a small puddle, so I removed the tray, cleaned it, vacuumed some of the dust stuck down the side of the battery, and refitted the retaining bracket to secure the battery itself a bit better. At some point, I'll probably paint that bracket...
With that done, I cleaned the airbox inside and out, and refitted it, along with the headlight and the small rubber hose for the intake. This leaves us with a non-functional gaping hole in the wing...
In the next few days, I'll hopefully be sticking a fake vent over the top of that to hide it.
Anyone who's been following the Jimny's journey may remember the smorgasbord of off-road modifications done to the Jimny before we took it on. You may also remember that removing the snorkel left a gaping hole in the wing, which still acts as a functional air intake.
In order to finally remedy that, I managed to find an original intake pipe from eBay. It arrived last week, so over the weekend I gave myself the little project of fitting it. I started by removing the airbox under the bonnet, and yanking out the flexible hose that connected to it from the hole in the wing.
I then unbolted the front wing from the top, and removed the headlight to give myself room to fit the intake pipe.
As you can see, it was bloody disgusting in there. I then played Tetris for a while, trying to manoeuvre the intake pipe into the small gap until it finally slotted in.
While everything was out, I decided to at least clean this corner of the engine bay, since it hasn't been done for a very long time. One slight issue I had was that whoever fitted the snorkel to our Jimny obviously got rid of the two nuts that secure the original intake, and our replacement didn't come with any either. Without any real workspace, I don't keep many spare nuts and bolts, but luckily, I had two that fit perfectly! Ironically, they were plastic nuts that are used to retain the wheel arch trims on a Vauxhall Corsa! While not a 100% match in size, being made of plastic, they were malleable enough to make work.
After that, I used the typical mix of APC and some brushes to clean off the worst of the grime.
I also noticed that the plastic battery tray was disgusting, and the battery was sitting in a small puddle, so I removed the tray, cleaned it, vacuumed some of the dust stuck down the side of the battery, and refitted the retaining bracket to secure the battery itself a bit better. At some point, I'll probably paint that bracket...
With that done, I cleaned the airbox inside and out, and refitted it, along with the headlight and the small rubber hose for the intake. This leaves us with a non-functional gaping hole in the wing...
In the next few days, I'll hopefully be sticking a fake vent over the top of that to hide it.
The Jimny
Small post today - the hole in the wing mentioned above is now covered.
I started off by applying some smooth Hammerite paint over the areas where surface corrosion had started to hopefully keep it from getting worse.
Since the air intake had been redirected back to the standard setup, I didn't have any reason for this hole to be functional in any way, so I could completely cover it. I decided on using a plastic stick-on vent. While it's a bit cheap and nasty, it's better than having a gaping hole in the front wing, and it's cheaper than replacing the wing itself. The vent itself was actually functional, in that air goes through it, but that meant you could still see the hole in the wing through it. I didn't have many ideal solutions kicking around, and I didn't really want to spend any more money on things that weren't needed, so in the end, I decided to get some black 3M vinyl wrap, and cut it to roughly the shape of the vent. I stuck it over the top of the hole, and lazily slapped the vent on top.
Results weren't perfect by any stretch, but for the money I'd spent (or lack thereof), I was more than happy with it.
The vent wasn't quite big enough to cover the drill-holes completely, but it did the job well enough.
Small post today - the hole in the wing mentioned above is now covered.
I started off by applying some smooth Hammerite paint over the areas where surface corrosion had started to hopefully keep it from getting worse.
Since the air intake had been redirected back to the standard setup, I didn't have any reason for this hole to be functional in any way, so I could completely cover it. I decided on using a plastic stick-on vent. While it's a bit cheap and nasty, it's better than having a gaping hole in the front wing, and it's cheaper than replacing the wing itself. The vent itself was actually functional, in that air goes through it, but that meant you could still see the hole in the wing through it. I didn't have many ideal solutions kicking around, and I didn't really want to spend any more money on things that weren't needed, so in the end, I decided to get some black 3M vinyl wrap, and cut it to roughly the shape of the vent. I stuck it over the top of the hole, and lazily slapped the vent on top.
Results weren't perfect by any stretch, but for the money I'd spent (or lack thereof), I was more than happy with it.
The vent wasn't quite big enough to cover the drill-holes completely, but it did the job well enough.
So, I said goodbye to the Combo yesterday.
I was more sad to see it go than I thought I'd be, but I can't justify keeping it for no reason. I got £3,600 in the end, which was better than I thought I'd get, considering I paid £3,850 for it back in 2017. Such is the state of the market now. It's been taken on by a carpenter who had a newer van on a lease, but as he's approaching retirement age only needed a van for another two years or so. Mine was the best in budget I guess, and he could see I didn't want to let it go, so I guess he saw that as a good sign.
Either way, we're down to three vehicles. Most of the money from the Combo will go towards a mortgage (we've been saving a few years, and this little boost will help our chances hopefully), but some will go into making the Corsa a little nicer.
I was more sad to see it go than I thought I'd be, but I can't justify keeping it for no reason. I got £3,600 in the end, which was better than I thought I'd get, considering I paid £3,850 for it back in 2017. Such is the state of the market now. It's been taken on by a carpenter who had a newer van on a lease, but as he's approaching retirement age only needed a van for another two years or so. Mine was the best in budget I guess, and he could see I didn't want to let it go, so I guess he saw that as a good sign.
Either way, we're down to three vehicles. Most of the money from the Combo will go towards a mortgage (we've been saving a few years, and this little boost will help our chances hopefully), but some will go into making the Corsa a little nicer.
RC1807 said:
That's a decent outcome.
I'm pleased you had then almost free motoring for a few years out of the Combo.
Yeah it worked out fairly well. But then I did spend about £500 on wheels and tyres... and £200 on the seats... and another £200 on the remap... £150 on the headlights and then there was the insulation and carpeting... and the painted front bumper... and the interior bits... I'm pleased you had then almost free motoring for a few years out of the Combo.
Putting it all in one paragraph makes me feel a bit financially irresponsible... Woops
Oh for christ sake, another one?
Just as I had trimmed the fleet down to three vehicles, I've gone and bought another one. Apologies in advance for the wall of text. Long story short is I bought a 27-year-old coupe to take on holiday.
So, we go to Devon a few times a year. I refuse to take the Volvo, and the Jimny is about the last car on earth you'd want to take on the M25. So, that leaves the Corsa, which is loud, slow and uncomfortable, not to mention sentimental to me. So I've been wanting a shed for a little while to use for the journeys. A friend of mine, Winston, whom I used to work with, was being sort of forced by his daughter to sell some of his cars, and it came up recently. With a looming trip to Devon in a few weeks, I had a look at it, and ended up buying it.
So, what is it?
Why, a 1995 Toyota Paseo, of course!
So, yes, there's a few elephants in the room. Firstly, the roof is white. The car had some ugly lacquer peel on the roof, and my friend decided to spray it with whatever he had kicking around, which turned out to be white. Righto...
Second, why this? Well, Winston is around 80 years old, and has four cars, a moped and several bicycles. He has an old Ford Cortina as a show car, and a Fiat Punto convertible for summer. His Paseo and Aygo, according to his daughter, are pointless, and he should sell both to get something nicer. To be honest, I think her logic is a) wasteful and b) complete b
ks. He loves his Paseo, and you couldn't ask for a cheaper car to run than an Aygo. The idea that he should sell both to buy the inevitable pointless SUV that everyone drives now is completely stupid. But alas, Winston was left feeling like he had no choice. The Paseo was first on the chopping block, originally up for a grand, until eventually dropping to £600. A few punters offered him £500 at the time I inquired, and he offered it to me for £550. I insisted on paying £600.
The reason being, this car has four new tyres, new rear shocks, no kerbing on the alloys, and a very good service history in the 16 years Winston owned it. He also undersealed the chassis every few years, so it is pretty much rust-free. The only thing not done is the cambelt (which was changed before he bought it). Any car with that kind of maintenance, as well as a year's MOT is a steal at £600 in the current market.
Anyway, the car itself is basically a little-known coupe based on the Toyota Starlet (kind of like what the old Ford Puma was to the Fiesta). This is either good or bad, depending on your preference. The bad news is that it has a 1.5 litre inline-4 from the Starlet producing 90BHP, which is... acceptable, but not sporty. More than enough for me, mind. The good news is that it's a complete flyweight.
For comparison, the Corolla-based Celica weighed around 1100kg (or if you got the GT-Four, almost 1500kg). My 1.0 Corsa weighed 910kg from the factory. This Paseo weighs 920kg! Given it's lack of weight, the 90BHP feels very healthy indeed, and it can achieve 50mpg on a run! I look forward to testing that.
I also made my first change; I ripped off the steering wheel cover. Hate the damn things. I want to modify this car, too. I mean, it's a Japanese coupe, it's pretty much mandatory, right? I'm having to restrain myself.
The plan isn't to keep this car long. We're taking it to Devon once, and probably selling it afterwards. Trouble is I already know I won't want to sell. I am honestly surprised at how nice this car is. It genuinely drives brilliantly for what is basically a near-30-year-old milk carton in a nice dress.
All things considered, I feel bad for Winston. He clearly was sentimentally attached and didn't want to see this car go, and I actually feel guilty for being the one to take it away from him, especially since he's genuinely one of the nicest people I've ever met. I really don't know what his daughter's angle is, but the cynic in me doesn't think she has his happiness as her priority here. Maybe I'm just pessimistic.
Still, when we've finished our Devon trip, I'll give him the chance to buy it back. Maybe by next year he'll be in a position to have it back.
Just as I had trimmed the fleet down to three vehicles, I've gone and bought another one. Apologies in advance for the wall of text. Long story short is I bought a 27-year-old coupe to take on holiday.
So, we go to Devon a few times a year. I refuse to take the Volvo, and the Jimny is about the last car on earth you'd want to take on the M25. So, that leaves the Corsa, which is loud, slow and uncomfortable, not to mention sentimental to me. So I've been wanting a shed for a little while to use for the journeys. A friend of mine, Winston, whom I used to work with, was being sort of forced by his daughter to sell some of his cars, and it came up recently. With a looming trip to Devon in a few weeks, I had a look at it, and ended up buying it.
So, what is it?
Why, a 1995 Toyota Paseo, of course!
So, yes, there's a few elephants in the room. Firstly, the roof is white. The car had some ugly lacquer peel on the roof, and my friend decided to spray it with whatever he had kicking around, which turned out to be white. Righto...
Second, why this? Well, Winston is around 80 years old, and has four cars, a moped and several bicycles. He has an old Ford Cortina as a show car, and a Fiat Punto convertible for summer. His Paseo and Aygo, according to his daughter, are pointless, and he should sell both to get something nicer. To be honest, I think her logic is a) wasteful and b) complete b
ks. He loves his Paseo, and you couldn't ask for a cheaper car to run than an Aygo. The idea that he should sell both to buy the inevitable pointless SUV that everyone drives now is completely stupid. But alas, Winston was left feeling like he had no choice. The Paseo was first on the chopping block, originally up for a grand, until eventually dropping to £600. A few punters offered him £500 at the time I inquired, and he offered it to me for £550. I insisted on paying £600.The reason being, this car has four new tyres, new rear shocks, no kerbing on the alloys, and a very good service history in the 16 years Winston owned it. He also undersealed the chassis every few years, so it is pretty much rust-free. The only thing not done is the cambelt (which was changed before he bought it). Any car with that kind of maintenance, as well as a year's MOT is a steal at £600 in the current market.
Anyway, the car itself is basically a little-known coupe based on the Toyota Starlet (kind of like what the old Ford Puma was to the Fiesta). This is either good or bad, depending on your preference. The bad news is that it has a 1.5 litre inline-4 from the Starlet producing 90BHP, which is... acceptable, but not sporty. More than enough for me, mind. The good news is that it's a complete flyweight.
For comparison, the Corolla-based Celica weighed around 1100kg (or if you got the GT-Four, almost 1500kg). My 1.0 Corsa weighed 910kg from the factory. This Paseo weighs 920kg! Given it's lack of weight, the 90BHP feels very healthy indeed, and it can achieve 50mpg on a run! I look forward to testing that.
I also made my first change; I ripped off the steering wheel cover. Hate the damn things. I want to modify this car, too. I mean, it's a Japanese coupe, it's pretty much mandatory, right? I'm having to restrain myself.
The plan isn't to keep this car long. We're taking it to Devon once, and probably selling it afterwards. Trouble is I already know I won't want to sell. I am honestly surprised at how nice this car is. It genuinely drives brilliantly for what is basically a near-30-year-old milk carton in a nice dress.
All things considered, I feel bad for Winston. He clearly was sentimentally attached and didn't want to see this car go, and I actually feel guilty for being the one to take it away from him, especially since he's genuinely one of the nicest people I've ever met. I really don't know what his daughter's angle is, but the cynic in me doesn't think she has his happiness as her priority here. Maybe I'm just pessimistic.
Still, when we've finished our Devon trip, I'll give him the chance to buy it back. Maybe by next year he'll be in a position to have it back.
The Paseo
So, I recently bought the oddball Toyota Paseo as our holiday car. Having driven it a little bit before the big trip, I'd found one or two issues. Firstly, the clutch does not feel nice at all, and seems to be in need of replacing. Since driving from Suffolk to Devon involves very few gear changes, I figured it wasn't anything much worth worrying about.?
The other minor issues was that the car was fairly loud once up to speed. Hardly surprising, given the age and price of the car; it was hardly going for the luxury market after all. Before we did the big journey, I decided to try and insulate it a bit, like I've done with three other cars now. I had a sheet of carpet underlay insulation which I threw under the boot/trunk floor to start with. I also stripped out the rear seats and trims; since this is a coupe, the lack of rear doors leaves a lot of space in front of the rear wheel arch...
?With sunlight fading, I used Dodomat butyl sheets to cover the inside of the rear quarter panel; I didn't use too much, since you seem to get diminishing returns the more you use, and it's fairly heavy in abundance. I then stuck self-adhesive sheets of foam over the top, overlapping where I could since it weighs next to nothing. I stuffed Dacron foam in the remaining gaps to muffle tyre noise.
By the time I got all the trims back in, it was almost completely dark, so I had to wrestle the rear seats back into place while holding a torch in my mouth, which must've made me look like a tool!
Anyway, once it was all finished, I took it to a petrol station to brim the tank, we loaded it with luggage, and went on holiday. It was much quieter than before, thankfully, though still not a luxury cruiser by any stretch. Compared to my Corsa, it was better in every way, except fuel consumption. It developed a knock at the rear (which mysteriously disappeared on the way back), and the cigarette lighter stopped working, so we had no sat-nav on the way home, but other than that, it performed better than you'd expect of a 26-year-old car. Fuel economy wasn't too bad at 48mpg, though I was hoping for over 50mpg. I can probably blame that on taking too much luggage...
For now, the car is sitting doing nothing until the next holiday. I may get a few jobs done, or I may sell it. I'm not sure on the latter, though.
So, I recently bought the oddball Toyota Paseo as our holiday car. Having driven it a little bit before the big trip, I'd found one or two issues. Firstly, the clutch does not feel nice at all, and seems to be in need of replacing. Since driving from Suffolk to Devon involves very few gear changes, I figured it wasn't anything much worth worrying about.?
The other minor issues was that the car was fairly loud once up to speed. Hardly surprising, given the age and price of the car; it was hardly going for the luxury market after all. Before we did the big journey, I decided to try and insulate it a bit, like I've done with three other cars now. I had a sheet of carpet underlay insulation which I threw under the boot/trunk floor to start with. I also stripped out the rear seats and trims; since this is a coupe, the lack of rear doors leaves a lot of space in front of the rear wheel arch...
?With sunlight fading, I used Dodomat butyl sheets to cover the inside of the rear quarter panel; I didn't use too much, since you seem to get diminishing returns the more you use, and it's fairly heavy in abundance. I then stuck self-adhesive sheets of foam over the top, overlapping where I could since it weighs next to nothing. I stuffed Dacron foam in the remaining gaps to muffle tyre noise.
By the time I got all the trims back in, it was almost completely dark, so I had to wrestle the rear seats back into place while holding a torch in my mouth, which must've made me look like a tool!
Anyway, once it was all finished, I took it to a petrol station to brim the tank, we loaded it with luggage, and went on holiday. It was much quieter than before, thankfully, though still not a luxury cruiser by any stretch. Compared to my Corsa, it was better in every way, except fuel consumption. It developed a knock at the rear (which mysteriously disappeared on the way back), and the cigarette lighter stopped working, so we had no sat-nav on the way home, but other than that, it performed better than you'd expect of a 26-year-old car. Fuel economy wasn't too bad at 48mpg, though I was hoping for over 50mpg. I can probably blame that on taking too much luggage...
For now, the car is sitting doing nothing until the next holiday. I may get a few jobs done, or I may sell it. I'm not sure on the latter, though.
Edited by The Bearded Tit on Monday 9th January 14:54
Edited by The Bearded Tit on Monday 9th January 14:57
The Corsa
About 6 months ago, I stopped using the Combo van for work, and started using the Corsa instead. Other than having no rear seats, it wasn't exactly 100% suited for use as a valeting van, so I set about making a couple of changes. The standard boot floor is a flimsy sheet of carpet that doesn't really hold much weight before crumpling, so I made up a new boot floor panel from plywood wrapped in carpet, similar to the panel I previously got made up for the Jimny. It was a simple enough job, since I had the original boot floor carpet as a template, so I didn't bother with any photos.
However, in front of that was the space where the rear seats used to sit, which has an indent, making it a bit awkward, so I wanted to make up a second piece to make the entire boot flat. This was a little less simple, since I'd had help on the other pieces I'd made up, and because I had no template for this one. So, I started by making a cardboard template...
I then got some plywood sheets and bought myself a cheap electric saw from The Range for £25 to attempt one of my first proper DIY jobs. My first attempt at cutting out the template was decent enough...
I sanded down the edges, and rather crudely stuck on some adhesive foam to insulate and cushion it...
I then did the now-familiar job of wrapping it in carpet, and then screwed two wooden slats underneath for added strength.
The fit was fairly decent, but because of the shape of the floor, the new panel didn't sit level toward the rear...
So, I screwed two wooden blocks to the underside to boost the panel. Considering my lack of experience/talent/ability, I was pretty happy with the result!
At some point, I'll try some carpet dye to get a better colour-match...
About 6 months ago, I stopped using the Combo van for work, and started using the Corsa instead. Other than having no rear seats, it wasn't exactly 100% suited for use as a valeting van, so I set about making a couple of changes. The standard boot floor is a flimsy sheet of carpet that doesn't really hold much weight before crumpling, so I made up a new boot floor panel from plywood wrapped in carpet, similar to the panel I previously got made up for the Jimny. It was a simple enough job, since I had the original boot floor carpet as a template, so I didn't bother with any photos.
However, in front of that was the space where the rear seats used to sit, which has an indent, making it a bit awkward, so I wanted to make up a second piece to make the entire boot flat. This was a little less simple, since I'd had help on the other pieces I'd made up, and because I had no template for this one. So, I started by making a cardboard template...
I then got some plywood sheets and bought myself a cheap electric saw from The Range for £25 to attempt one of my first proper DIY jobs. My first attempt at cutting out the template was decent enough...
I sanded down the edges, and rather crudely stuck on some adhesive foam to insulate and cushion it...
I then did the now-familiar job of wrapping it in carpet, and then screwed two wooden slats underneath for added strength.
The fit was fairly decent, but because of the shape of the floor, the new panel didn't sit level toward the rear...
So, I screwed two wooden blocks to the underside to boost the panel. Considering my lack of experience/talent/ability, I was pretty happy with the result!
At some point, I'll try some carpet dye to get a better colour-match...
Edited by The Bearded Tit on Monday 20th February 21:35
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