Don't you just love previous owners
Discussion
Don't know if there is a thread on this, but what are the worst bodges you have found on your classic?
I will start of with this lot of wiring I recently found. 3 days of work later the loom is almost ready to be re-wrapped. About a carrier bags full of the previous owners wiring I have removed! This clutch change escalated quickly
And this gem behind the dash feeding the aftermarket washer pump. Looks like the original yellow wire burnt out and he soldered the blue cable onto the burnt out mess! This was tapped onto the radio and cigarette lighter feed. I have now converted it back to a manual washer pump
Show your worst!
I will start of with this lot of wiring I recently found. 3 days of work later the loom is almost ready to be re-wrapped. About a carrier bags full of the previous owners wiring I have removed! This clutch change escalated quickly
And this gem behind the dash feeding the aftermarket washer pump. Looks like the original yellow wire burnt out and he soldered the blue cable onto the burnt out mess! This was tapped onto the radio and cigarette lighter feed. I have now converted it back to a manual washer pump
Show your worst!
garagewidow said:
what an utter mess.
it surprises me how many 'restored' cars I see that also have awful wiring.i mean at least cable tie them up so they don't flop all over the place.
in the above pic I can't stand those coloured crimp only terminals,unreliability waiting to happen.
+1it surprises me how many 'restored' cars I see that also have awful wiring.i mean at least cable tie them up so they don't flop all over the place.
in the above pic I can't stand those coloured crimp only terminals,unreliability waiting to happen.
And you can see the marks where he didn't even have a crimp tool and used side cutters
No pictures, it's too long ago now. Late 80s or early 90s a friend bought a Triumph Herald convertible. We found body filler in the diff mounts (not welded / repaired, bodged with filler and painted) - how it got through the MOT I don't know. Ended up writing the full chassis off after further investigation revealed even more bodged repairs.
It's not just previous owners ,I have seen some shocking work done by supposed expert restoration companies .
A whole engine bay where everything was only finger tight ,Kenlowe fan systems wired wrong ,the same systems not connected at all.
A woods crew holding on a rear anti roll bar on a rover tomcat coupe .
A missing piston and conrod on a six cylinder rover .
A whole engine bay where everything was only finger tight ,Kenlowe fan systems wired wrong ,the same systems not connected at all.
A woods crew holding on a rear anti roll bar on a rover tomcat coupe .
A missing piston and conrod on a six cylinder rover .
garagewidow said:
in the above pic I can't stand those coloured crimp only terminals,unreliability waiting to happen.
The only thing I dislike more is finding Scotchlok connectors instead of running a wire back to an appropriate place.I can't say I buy enough cars to run into much like this - most of the terrible previous repairs on my current project were done by me last time I owned it, so I can't shout too much.
grumpy52 said:
It's not just previous owners ,I have seen some shocking work done by supposed expert restoration companies.
Yes I had one pre-Great War car with around a dozen serious mistakes by the restorer - I bought it from a man who seemed to think is was supposed to stop, go and steer badly, and he had bought it from the man who had paid the restorer. We were a bit concerned that the brakes (both hand and foot) were very poor and the steering had to be worked with all the time, and particularly so on rough roads and it didn’t go as well as it should. We found:Brake cam levers already past the point of max. effectiveness with the brakes off.
Front axle camber wedges fitted backwards giving negative castor.
Magneto timed with about 30 degrees retard.
also
Lamps wired for single-pole chassis-return but as the Bosch dual ignition system fitted needs double-pole, neither lamps nor battery-powered ignition worked.
many many moons ago I used to be involved with a garage that dealt mainly with aircooled VW's- beetles, campers, plus early porsche stuff, 924/944, 911.
the vw's bugs, bays and splits - wow- literally anything and everything to bodge up great holes.
chicken wire, newspaper and concrete.
expanding foam
buckets of filler
pop rivetted panels
bits of timber, plus filler.
what amazed me and still does with the scene- people saw a camper- saw a bed, cooker, curtains and thought- wow, holidays, vw festivals, cool man ! and ignored the fact that the van they were buying was a rotting hulk that wasn't likely to go anywhere without a massive restoration.
But yr average owners priority would be a thudding great stereo, as oppose to some functioning brakes, or replacing 30 year old rotting fuel lines hanging over a hot engine.
In fairness, you could buy a non runner/non MOT's then for £100-£500 that was pretty reasonable - now its £10k for a sheddy bay window and even more for splits
saw a grown man, once break down in the garage and cry, when we told him his newly bought £4000 bay, was worth £250 and needed another £4000 to make vaguely roadworthy, not actual full restoration. I'm not even taking the michael out him, I was devestated for him too.
the vw's bugs, bays and splits - wow- literally anything and everything to bodge up great holes.
chicken wire, newspaper and concrete.
expanding foam
buckets of filler
pop rivetted panels
bits of timber, plus filler.
what amazed me and still does with the scene- people saw a camper- saw a bed, cooker, curtains and thought- wow, holidays, vw festivals, cool man ! and ignored the fact that the van they were buying was a rotting hulk that wasn't likely to go anywhere without a massive restoration.
But yr average owners priority would be a thudding great stereo, as oppose to some functioning brakes, or replacing 30 year old rotting fuel lines hanging over a hot engine.
In fairness, you could buy a non runner/non MOT's then for £100-£500 that was pretty reasonable - now its £10k for a sheddy bay window and even more for splits
saw a grown man, once break down in the garage and cry, when we told him his newly bought £4000 bay, was worth £250 and needed another £4000 to make vaguely roadworthy, not actual full restoration. I'm not even taking the michael out him, I was devestated for him too.
Friend of mine recently bought what appeared (on the face of it) to be a superb 1602 Alpina. Amongst numerous 'issues' the most ridiculous was the choke cable which was left about two foot longer than it should have been, went right through the clamps on the top of the Dellorto's with the end of it hovering about an inch above the positive terminal of the battery!! 
This thread keeps nudging distant memories of old bangers that I have owned over the years with all sorts of bodges that usually caused the failure that made them cheap enough for me to buy .The choke cable reminded me of the Capri GT I got as a none starter .The wiring at the rear of the ignition switch had burnt out because the choke cable which on that model was fitted next to the ignition switch had been replaced with one that had a wound metal shroud insted of a plastic coated one .The choke over time had sawn through the main power cable to the ignition switch .
I bet that gave a few moments of excitment !
I bet that gave a few moments of excitment !
This thread keeps nudging distant memories of old bangers that I have owned over the years with all sorts of bodges that usually caused the failure that made them cheap enough for me to buy .The choke cable reminded me of the Capri GT I got as a none starter .The wiring at the rear of the ignition switch had burnt out because the choke cable which on that model was fitted next to the ignition switch had been replaced with one that had a wound metal shroud insted of a plastic coated one .The choke over time had sawn through the main power cable to the ignition switch .
I bet that gave a few moments of excitment !
I bet that gave a few moments of excitment !
grumpy52 said:
This thread keeps nudging distant memories of old bangers that I have owned over the years with all sorts of bodges that usually caused the failure that made them cheap enough for me to buy .The choke cable reminded me of the Capri GT I got as a none starter .The wiring at the rear of the ignition switch had burnt out because the choke cable which on that model was fitted next to the ignition switch had been replaced with one that had a wound metal shroud insted of a plastic coated one .The choke over time had sawn through the main power cable to the ignition switch .
I bet that gave a few moments of excitment !
Talk of choke cables reminds me that on quite a few occasions after engine transplants I would smell the burning outer covering of the choke cable because I had forgotten to connect the engine earth braid..I bet that gave a few moments of excitment !
Mk2 Granada Estate that when I replaced the heater matrix found the remains of around 5 mobile phone installs & god knows how many radio changes. Took 2 days all in to do!
TR7 V8 previously owned by a fireman, fitted with cobbled together electric windows. Did the heater matrix in that that & removed yards of unused wiring & crimps & scotchlocs.
Porsche 944 with around 3 mobile phone installs & 6 or so stereo installs. Putting a new stereo in took me about a morning!
TR7 V8 previously owned by a fireman, fitted with cobbled together electric windows. Did the heater matrix in that that & removed yards of unused wiring & crimps & scotchlocs.
Porsche 944 with around 3 mobile phone installs & 6 or so stereo installs. Putting a new stereo in took me about a morning!
Mercky said:
grumpy52 said:
This thread keeps nudging distant memories of old bangers that I have owned over the years with all sorts of bodges that usually caused the failure that made them cheap enough for me to buy .The choke cable reminded me of the Capri GT I got as a none starter .The wiring at the rear of the ignition switch had burnt out because the choke cable which on that model was fitted next to the ignition switch had been replaced with one that had a wound metal shroud insted of a plastic coated one .The choke over time had sawn through the main power cable to the ignition switch .
I bet that gave a few moments of excitment !
Talk of choke cables reminds me that on quite a few occasions after engine transplants I would smell the burning outer covering of the choke cable because I had forgotten to connect the engine earth braid..I bet that gave a few moments of excitment !
mywifeshusband said:
VW Bay Camper with 11 months MOT: the non-existent battery tray had been replaced by a piece of MDF held in by silicone sealant. The battery was siliconed to the MDF to hold it in place.
Sounds like that could have belonged to a friend of mine back on the 80s. I was following him to the Gower once and in the middle of Swansea he suddenly just pulled over to the side of the road. The battery had fallen out and unplugged itself taking all the electrics with it, luckily it was still hanging from the earth cable so hadn't disappeared under my Alfa. We called out the AA and when the patrol arrived he rummaged round in the back of his van and found a piece of wood which he wedged in place and re-fitted the battery on top of and strapped it all down with a bungee cord. "That'll get you home mate" he said.
Three years later that piece of wood and bungee were still there.
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