The Joy of Running an Old Shed (Vol 2)

[V6Nelo]

Bannock said:

Anyone need a near-literal mobile shed with 10 months MOT for £850 or haggle?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303195...

I have zero need but 1,000 tons of want.

Was curious what you meant by near-literal and clearly saw when opened the link, it probably stores as much stuff as the shed in my garden does

Wonder how many "interesting" cars like that will come up for sale in London between now and August

[davamer23]

Bannock said:

Anyone need a near-literal mobile shed with 10 months MOT for £850 or haggle?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303195...

I have zero need but 1,000 tons of want.

Bit too Boris for me that.

[RenesisEvo]

Challo said:

Might be back in shed territory soon. My eldery mum has just moved house into the local town and doesn't need a car now. She hates driving anyway but doesn't want to give up her licence just yet. Therefore this has been dumped on my drive, and I think she will just give it to me at some point.

91k Honda Jazz 1.4, lots of goodies inside (pano roof / aircon / cruise) painfully slow though. Its got lots of battle scars, but serviced every year and minty inside.

Reliable, practical, and its quite nice just pottering along.

Great sheds - wife has have the same, although 1.2 Si so slightly more glacial, and more battle-scarred. It just soldiers on, a few air con parts aside it's only wanted for wipers/bulbs/brakes. If you can get past the image (everyone pulls out on you, or wants to overtake) they're superb tools.

[Noesph]

James_N said:

Noesph said:

Just to comment that I had a 106 independence for 8 years. I still really miss it to be honest, I just really liked it. It had wind up windows, no power steering and 3 stud wheels like a 2cv. (I was on the 106 owners club at the time).

What spec is yours? (Independence, Zest, quiksilver if your posh or is it an older XN, XR etc? There where so many trim levels on the 106 over its life).

Its exactly that spec! Wind up windows, No PAS, 3 Stud 13" wheels! Originally purchased in Jan 2020 and broke all the rules. Purchased in dark, pouring rain etc!
I was in dire need of a cheap set of wheels due to the mrs getting a new job which required me to do the school runs. Not having much cash, this was the first thing that came up on marketplace at a reasonable distance away for £250. I took it thinking if it lasted 6 months, its got me out of a hole.

I had to take a stanley knife to the carpets thanks to (i presume) the sunroof drains being blocked. I've got it through a few MOTs now. Its really quite clean, no visible rust etc

So after running it as a shed for a good few years, even the kids want to see it bought back to its former glory, so against all shed rules, in the summer, i'm going to try and sort the undiagnosed leak from somewhere, sound deaden it, strip the interior and reinstall some carpets. Obviously i'm going to do all this as cheaply as humanly possible, but i've become quite attached to the thing!

It costs barely anything in maintenance, silly cheap to run and the 60bhp doesn't seem to bother me as much as i thought it would, despite regular motorway trips to see family.

I have debated chopping it in for something better, but then covid hit and car prices went through the roof, so I keep on shedding and loving it

I love a good indy. (Has they were called on the 106 owners club back in the day). I sent you an email with some tips and bits to watch out for. (I'm a bit rusty to be honest, I knew them inside out. But I haven't had a 106 for 10 years).

One thing I just remembered, yours is probably a HFX, with a TU1JP+ engine (A silver top engine). It has bosch motronic 7.7.4 fuel injection (I have the bosch workshop manual for it somewhere). It might be handy if you are looking for parts. The silver top TU's have roller bearings on the tappets, the black top ones don't.

(It's slowly coming back to me to more I write about it).

[Davie]

bearman68 said:

I enjoy your ongoing procrastination over the V50 shed. I've been following it on here now for at least a year, and possibly 2, when you first started asking for advice as to what to do with it (and then ignoring it anyway). It's such a typical way of running an older car, with little value, and not much used.
Anyway, it sounds like you have made a decision now to keep. Which means the injectors and DMF are about to fail in short order.

Cheers, I'll take that!

To be honest, I think my procrastination is more a reflection of where I am in life just now. I've pretty much always had something sheddy / daily then something nicer to pamper, not as in posh... just something 90's and tidy. But now, lob young kids and a wife who has zero interest in cars, more so when it comes to not using them to ram stuff and it's a different world. I keep thinking the V50 needs to go and I should and could technically get something nicer as a second car... then I go outside and think "Oh, appears she went to Tesco straight through the front doors" whilst I hoover Hula Hoops and dried up bogeys off the back seats for the 457th time that week.

And thus, sheddy V50 has somehow, rather unexpectedly managed to cement it's place in the family and to date is in 2nd spot for "longest car ever owned" title which at 6yrs by my standards, speaks volumes. And so yes, as an ex single bloke who liked his cars and now as a dad who still likes his cars, I do battle with myself almost daily about what is the ideal set up for my / our needs and no matter what I do and how much man maths I deploy, it somehow just keeps coming back to the fact that really, the V50 is doing everything needed and wanted and for next to zero cost.

I think it comes down to the fact the shedding is liberating... as we've all alluded to, a shed should be servant and not master. It should be that faithful, slightly wiffy old dog or those threadbare slippers, neither of which you could pat with as they just work, no hassle, no worry, no dramas and no f**ks! So yes, I fear I shall continue to procrastinate as I battle with my inner 18yr old who wants something fast and shiny and also my actual 40yr old who wants to lob 10 slabs in the boot and not give a st!

And obviously as soon as it was MOT'd and the spend had sunk it, it started idling with all the finesse of a 1970 Leyland double decker but that seemed to clear with a more enthusiastic drive home. However the caveat being is post MOT fail and "the list" and before dragging my debit card, kicking and screaming into daylight... I did give it a proper going over and sort of worked out what it may need in the next month / 6 months / year... but hopefully very little - tyres are good, clutch feels good, no dodgy noises, leaks etc... timing belt was done... at some point in its past but who knows so maybe when it goes, that'll prompt me to buy something else. Like another high mileage old V50 diesel.

Cheers!

[(steven)]

Davie said:

...I shall continue to procrastinate as I battle with my inner 18yr old who wants something fast and shiny and also my actual 40yr old who wants to lob 10 slabs in the boot and not give a st!

This I can sympathise with. 8 years into ownership of the current family bus and regular mental debates are had on the reality of the use case vs the desire not to drive something quite so tatty and dull.

[RenesisEvo]

steven said:

Davie said:

...I shall continue to procrastinate as I battle with my inner 18yr old who wants something fast and shiny and also my actual 40yr old who wants to lob 10 slabs in the boot and not give a st!

This I can sympathise with. 8 years into ownership of the current family bus and regular mental debates are had on the reality of the use case vs the desire not to drive something quite so tatty and dull.

I third this, I really like my XF but I debate all the time whether I'd be happier with something stress-free given how little time I have these days. Sadly my wife won't tolerate the finer end of the shed spectrum (ironic given the state of her Jazz) and isofix is non-negotiable, which rules out lots of interesting stuff. As lovely as it is, it feels overkill dragging nearly 2t of saloon 100 miles round trip to the office, but we need a large car for trips away and I can't take the wife's car to work as she needs it. Running a second (third?) econo-shed runs exactly counter to the decision to move on my MX-5 as costs vs benefit is increasingly hard to justify - the running costs of 2 vs 1 doesn't add. Plus I've suffered time and time again the faults that arise from using cars irregularly (see V50 above....). Until a solution presents itself, I'll just keep rolling with what I've got.

[weeve]

Bannock said:

Anyone need a near-literal mobile shed with 10 months MOT for £850 or haggle?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303195...

I have zero need but 1,000 tons of want.

I clicked the link intrigued but no longer listed. Could you say what it was pls? I live in rural land and hoping to buy a giant shed flipped as non ULEZ compliant just for lugging my kids bikes to the forest and back. Im rather hoping friends in the glorious south will see something over the summer that might make it up to the dark corner of engerlanderland without issue

Edited by weeve on Wednesday 22 March 10:13

[Bannock]

weeve said:

Bannock said:

Anyone need a near-literal mobile shed with 10 months MOT for £850 or haggle?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303195...

I have zero need but 1,000 tons of want.

I clicked the link intrigued but no longer listed. Could you say what it was pls? I live in rural land and hoping to buy a giant shed flipped as non ULEZ compliant just for lugging my kids bikes to the forest and back. Im rather hoping friends in the glorious south will see something over the summer that might make it up to the dark corner of engerlanderland without issue

Edited by weeve on Wednesday 22 March 10:13

Not surprised it's gone at that price. It was a 1995 Toyota Previa.

[Challo]

RenesisEvo said:

Great sheds - wife has have the same, although 1.2 Si so slightly more glacial, and more battle-scarred. It just soldiers on, a few air con parts aside it's only wanted for wipers/bulbs/brakes. If you can get past the image (everyone pulls out on you, or wants to overtake) they're superb tools.

In 90k miles its never broken down, and runs like a dream. Only issue is it it required some welding underneath for the MOT but that was it.

Its definatly not cool, but sips fuel and I dont need to care about it.

[weeve]

Ah yes .. Previa ...thought it might be... there are a few about but usually so very very old and very very damaged. Im really after a giant MPV shed like that but the (lack of) macho in me is also being swayed by an old double cab pickup as its literally only for hoofing boys and bikes in it to take up the road. The latter will of course cost more... Our current family car isnt much at all - but I simply never want to clean mud and dog xxxx off it ever again and need a back up....

[Bannock]

weeve said:

Ah yes .. Previa ...thought it might be... there are a few about but usually so very very old and very very damaged. Im really after a giant MPV shed like that but the (lack of) macho in me is also being swayed by an old double cab pickup as its literally only for hoofing boys and bikes in it to take up the road. The latter will of course cost more... Our current family car isnt much at all - but I simply never want to clean mud and dog xxxx off it ever again and need a back up....

If you can't find a Previa, I'd be after one of the Eurovan sisters:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209069...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303215...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303155...

Sliding doors will help with loading. You can even leave 1 or 2 middle row seats in one and still be able to load a few bikes, I reckon.

[weeve]

The fiat is such an appalling design and colour I allllllmost want it. But my kids might die when it snaps in two, so best not.

[bearman68]

Off to buy a Yaris tomorrow. Looks quite tidy from the pics. 125k miles, but the clutch has gone. £300.
It will go with the Astra H 1.8 petrol I bought yesterday. Absolutely cracking car (bought with no MOT, and an ABS light on) for £800. Really pleased with that one.

Less pleased to be selling my IS220d Lexus after lots of work, it decided to dump the engine oil into the coolant. Oil cooler or cracked head? I favour the later.

No more diesel Toyotas for me (unless it's the 1.4).

[weeve]

£300. Blimey. It’s like 2014 all over again. What year if you don’t mind me asking? Just last weekend my neighbours lad just bought one for £700 with 12 months MOT and new tyres and I thought that was decent…

[7 5 7]

Joy of running a shed...Hit a pothole in the road. DING-DONG "check left fog light alert" dinged on my dash with bulb warning light....

pulled over, the fog lights worked, gave the bumper a kick near the lens, go back to the car...light gone out. Sorted, that was cheap.

[Ryyy]

bearman68 said:

It will go with the Astra H 1.8 petrol I bought yesterday. Absolutely cracking car (bought with no MOT, and an ABS light on) for £800. Really pleased with that one.

What are your thoughts on the 1.8 and the vvt engine ? I have sour memories of my 1.6 but did have a lot of bother with a couple of garages fixing/bodging/ripping me off and didn't really treat it well to be fair too it but I do have a bit of an itch for a 1.8 sri, I think they look really good

[Baked_bean]

I have recently been shedding across a variety of cars and have two very different sheds, not sure which one to keep…enjoy this thread so wanted to get involved.

I have a Mondeo ST TDCI that has just passed its MOT, smokes a little on cold start, but is a solid efficient cruiser…owes me very little.

I also have a mk3 MX5 which is a lot of fun, but not very efficient and can be a little tiresome on long journeys- it is the 1.8 5 speed.

What would you keep?

[7 5 7]

Ryyy said:

What are your thoughts on the 1.8 and the vvt engine ? I have sour memories of my 1.6 but did have a lot of bother with a couple of garages fixing/bodging/ripping me off and didn't really treat it well to be fair too it but I do have a bit of an itch for a 1.8 sri, I think they look really good

Run the same engine in my Vectra, been quite happy with it, pretty robust, simple engines on the whole I have been led to believe.

[OldSkoolRS]

I'm getting a new windscreen fitted to my shed Ka on Friday due to a stone chip and cracking. After that I'm going to book it in for an early MOT (due in June) as it looks like I'll be replacing it with something a bit newer soon. I'll be selling it privately, so I hope a fresh ticket and the pile of receipts for the various parts it had fitted before and since purchase that it'll give the buyer some confidence in it.

Fingers crossed no nasty surprises, though after all the mechanical work I've done since getting it I genuinely think it's up to scratch. I'd planned to keep it a long while, so didn't mind putting the work in (including brake fluid change using Bearman's recommended one man kit ). Can't say I'm looking forward to dealing with private buyers, but will see how it goes otherwise it's a pretty expensive 8 months of motoring if I give it to WBAC or similar for half of what it owes me...

I'll still be doing as much of my own work as I possibly can though on all our cars, so don't think I've gone all posh. There's a bit of work on a certain 40+ year old RS2000 that I'm finally hoping to get round to working on now, so since I paid £1000 for it I guess technically it qualifies more as a shed than my Ka does.