Woohoo! Got a (small) wodge of cash to spend, help me!
Discussion
I believe this is where I insert the following smilies...
I've seen 7 cars this past week or so, some nice, some dogs, this one has by far the best ratio of price/quality going, I loved it straight away and compared to some of the others it felt 'right' to drive.
Its a '94 Import S-Special 1800. Got the LSD, Yellow Billies, Engine bay/cabin braces, Nardi wheel, electrics, AC etc. Hood is great, and also got a heated hardtop.
Bad bits are it has an aftermarket front bumper, New tyres but cheap china jobs, paintwork needs a good polish and touch up. Hardtop paint is a bit manky. Interior is not very worn but needs a good clean also.
Good bits, however - theres no crash damage, no rust, the engine bay is immaculate, runs like a peach, brakes are good, feels spot on to drive, nice and straight and stable, new MOT and Tax, good history, recent service, fresh oil, pleasant couple used it as a 2nd car for past 9 years.
I am so chuffed. Its really high spec, a great base on which to make into a proper minter, cant wait to get stuck in with the cleaning and polishing etc. It drove lovely, sounded nice, got a S/S exhaust on it. Paid a deposit, gotta go pick it up during the week.
I'm gonna get on well with this car.
I've seen 7 cars this past week or so, some nice, some dogs, this one has by far the best ratio of price/quality going, I loved it straight away and compared to some of the others it felt 'right' to drive.
Its a '94 Import S-Special 1800. Got the LSD, Yellow Billies, Engine bay/cabin braces, Nardi wheel, electrics, AC etc. Hood is great, and also got a heated hardtop.
Bad bits are it has an aftermarket front bumper, New tyres but cheap china jobs, paintwork needs a good polish and touch up. Hardtop paint is a bit manky. Interior is not very worn but needs a good clean also.
Good bits, however - theres no crash damage, no rust, the engine bay is immaculate, runs like a peach, brakes are good, feels spot on to drive, nice and straight and stable, new MOT and Tax, good history, recent service, fresh oil, pleasant couple used it as a 2nd car for past 9 years.
I am so chuffed. Its really high spec, a great base on which to make into a proper minter, cant wait to get stuck in with the cleaning and polishing etc. It drove lovely, sounded nice, got a S/S exhaust on it. Paid a deposit, gotta go pick it up during the week.
I'm gonna get on well with this car.
Edited by snotrag on Sunday 19th October 18:30
Lots, and lots of cleaning, basically.
Machine Polish
Renovo on the Hood
Wheels off, cleaning arches, sills etc. Get some fresh underseal down there.
Clean inside, wet shampoo the seats and carpets etc,
Then just drive it for a bit! Have some fun as is before I start going crazy. Gotta sell my Gti now aswell.
Oh, and a decat too
Machine Polish
Renovo on the Hood
Wheels off, cleaning arches, sills etc. Get some fresh underseal down there.
Clean inside, wet shampoo the seats and carpets etc,
Then just drive it for a bit! Have some fun as is before I start going crazy. Gotta sell my Gti now aswell.
Oh, and a decat too
Edited by snotrag on Sunday 19th October 19:14
That does look very nice, especially at that price for a 1.8
Sounds like you have a lot of cleaning to do. Make sure you clear all the drain-tubes and the drain-holes in the sills! Also, when you clean inside the arches, you clean any mud/leaves etc from the sills inside the arches. Rust in there isn't important MOT-wise but it quickly spreads into the sills from there.
If the plastic rear-window is cloudy, using a slightly abrasive car body polish works wonders (I used to use AutoGlym Super Resin Polish). Other than that, the best thing to use is the stuff made for BMW Z3s.
For interiors, I use Turtle-wax gloss interior wipes. Much less mess than a bottle and a rag and much easier to use.
Will you be keeping or selling the HT?
Sounds like you have a lot of cleaning to do. Make sure you clear all the drain-tubes and the drain-holes in the sills! Also, when you clean inside the arches, you clean any mud/leaves etc from the sills inside the arches. Rust in there isn't important MOT-wise but it quickly spreads into the sills from there.
If the plastic rear-window is cloudy, using a slightly abrasive car body polish works wonders (I used to use AutoGlym Super Resin Polish). Other than that, the best thing to use is the stuff made for BMW Z3s.
For interiors, I use Turtle-wax gloss interior wipes. Much less mess than a bottle and a rag and much easier to use.
Will you be keeping or selling the HT?
The wheels are aftermarket Japanese jobs, some unidentifiable logo on them. There in good nick, I just dont like the style. Bit 90's! I guess I'll keep em over winter but look at something a bit more fitting, 15" minilites probably.
Mileage is 124k.
I'll keep the hardtop too. I didnt need one, but now I've got one, on budget, then I may aswell keep it hadn't I. The car will often sit for 3 or 4 days on the drive so might be a good way to keep the hood in good nick/dry over winter. I've already devised a cunning plan for one person removal, using my Sunny bike lift.
As for the cleaning, yes, I have my weekends booked now the next month or so! Its that its neccessary, and it probably comes across that the car is filthy. Its not, its fine. I've done the same with all my cars, its good to get it right, at the beginning, thus making it much easier to maintain and keep clean in the future. Best way to really get to knwo it aswell, getting stuck in.
Got an old wardrobe full of cleaning products, nothing for hoods though! Renovo and the BMW Plastic window stuff I've read about, will give it a try.
Cant do anything yet till I've picked it up though!
Mileage is 124k.
I'll keep the hardtop too. I didnt need one, but now I've got one, on budget, then I may aswell keep it hadn't I. The car will often sit for 3 or 4 days on the drive so might be a good way to keep the hood in good nick/dry over winter. I've already devised a cunning plan for one person removal, using my Sunny bike lift.
As for the cleaning, yes, I have my weekends booked now the next month or so! Its that its neccessary, and it probably comes across that the car is filthy. Its not, its fine. I've done the same with all my cars, its good to get it right, at the beginning, thus making it much easier to maintain and keep clean in the future. Best way to really get to knwo it aswell, getting stuck in.
Got an old wardrobe full of cleaning products, nothing for hoods though! Renovo and the BMW Plastic window stuff I've read about, will give it a try.
Cant do anything yet till I've picked it up though!
Edited by snotrag on Monday 20th October 10:10
Edited by snotrag on Monday 20th October 10:10
http://flickr.com/photos/simonholehan
There you go son. Keep looking, its taken me well over a year from first having the idea to actually looking for one, then laying down the folding!
Look at the usual sites every couple of days, and make yourself a bookmarks folder to put possible candidates in. I had a standard set of questions which I was asking the sellers (Rust, mods, history, reason for sale etc). best position to be is with the cash in the bank ready to go, and be prepared to drop everything and travel to see a car if it looks like it could be a bargain.
There you go son. Keep looking, its taken me well over a year from first having the idea to actually looking for one, then laying down the folding!
Look at the usual sites every couple of days, and make yourself a bookmarks folder to put possible candidates in. I had a standard set of questions which I was asking the sellers (Rust, mods, history, reason for sale etc). best position to be is with the cash in the bank ready to go, and be prepared to drop everything and travel to see a car if it looks like it could be a bargain.
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