possible entry into the fold!
possible entry into the fold!
Author
Discussion

sean737

Original Poster:

40 posts

267 months

Sunday 29th January 2006
quotequote all
Hi all,

Have been a lurker for some time now but I am coming out! Went to look at a car today and its rear light covers were bloted on. I have not seen this before so I guess it was not a factory job. Has anybody else seen this and why is it done. The car also neeeds a new power rack, how much do these cost? If anybody recognises my name I have posted before as I used to own an S.

The car by the way was a 1996 model.

Cheers

sparkythecat

8,098 posts

285 months

Sunday 29th January 2006
quotequote all
You can get power steering racks refurbished. Shouldn't cost much more than £150 or so

Check this
out

If your trying to convert a non PAS car to PAS, you can source the bits but they are expensive. IIRC £1500 was about the going rate.

Not limp wristed are you?

codeChimp

79 posts

267 months

Sunday 29th January 2006
quotequote all
Hello Sean

I had my PAS rack rebuilt last year. I've got an invoice in front of me - for the rebuild only - for around £250. You'll need to budget extra for your garage to remove the rack and put it back in - unless, of course, you're going to do it yourself. I've heard that the easiest way to get the rack out is to sacrifice one or two of the PAS pipes so you may need to pay for them, too.

If that's the only problem with the car, you should go for it! A couple of hundred quid is pretty good going. If only everything else - apart from the engine - was as reliable...

Regards,
Dan

sean737

Original Poster:

40 posts

267 months

Sunday 29th January 2006
quotequote all
Cheers chaps,

That is about what I thought it may cost. I am not limp wristed, the car just happened to have power steering . You would not know it had whilst driving it is just lighter at parking speeds and of course a slightly higher ratio.

Still not sure whether to take the plunge. The chassis needs attention and the interior has seen better days though most of it is just dirt. I want to run the car as my only dailly driver but cannot decide if it is viable or not.

It has the external boot higes and one seems to be missaligned so that the center piece is rubbing (damaging) the outer part.

The thermostat has failled open so that it does not get up to operating temp. If has been like this for a long time (which I think it has) then it is not great news for the engine.

There is the usual gravel rash plus a few deeper scratches and the the mod to the rear lights that I just can't fathom (see first post) which makes it look a bit kit car like!

On the bright side money has be spent recently including new cam and followers, clutch and front shocks.

Think I will have to sleep on it!

Big Al.

69,336 posts

288 months

Sunday 29th January 2006
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What sort of money are you thinking of spending on this Chim?

sean737

Original Poster:

40 posts

267 months

Sunday 29th January 2006
quotequote all
It is not up for top dollar, under 8k so it really depends on whether I can be bothered to make the effort to get it back up to scratch as I recon spending the money would get a good car for still not too much money. It is more the prospect of wether it will make a suitable everyday car that is holding me back. I hardly used the S (which was a second car) because it lived in the garage and was a pain to get out. I was forever squeezing past it and scratching the paintwork. Will see how I feel after a good nights sleep!

dight-s

98 posts

254 months

Sunday 29th January 2006
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My advice is don't rush in by buying the first car that you look at. Given the time of year, there should be some real bargains out there at the moment. IMO it's worth spending as much as you can, any less and your likey to just end up spending the change on work that needs doing. Given you want the car as a daily driver you won't want the hassle of having / doing lots of work on it. There are plenty of people out there who use them as daily drivers so I see no reason why (if you find a good one) you cant too. Once you've got one there's no looking back!

MikeyT

18,400 posts

301 months

Monday 30th January 2006
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Better to spend slightly more and get a better one if you can - even the cheap sounding jobs on these eat up the £££ very quickly.

But, once running and looking right they are fantastic cars to own.

sean737

Original Poster:

40 posts

267 months

Monday 30th January 2006
quotequote all
Thanks for the advice. They are difficult to price as they sell on condition mainly. This means you look at loads before buying then eventually decide that the best one you saw was one of the first and such a bargin never reapears! It is a no win situation!

Still have not decided after sleep so will cost up for a worst case senario and think again.

TATTOODROB

201 posts

260 months

Tuesday 31st January 2006
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HELLO SEAN,i see no reason why you couldnt use a chim as everyday car ,as i do ,as long as its a good"un.were not allowed to plug on here so i wont mention that ive just put mine up for sale!!!rob