Back to the Shed!
Discussion
Thanks for your words of encouragement, and a few ‘bookmarkers’, makes it worth telling the stories.
I have to say, that Mini sounds fantastic, and not like the cheap turd I had!
I don’t have much time for an update, so only a short story.
This was my third Triumph 2000 or ‘Lemons’ as they are also known to some guys locally. I’ve heard mixed reasons of why the guys round here call them as such, either back in the day they had poor build quality and so were Lemons, which I don’t think is the case, being as the 2000s were some of Canleys better efforts. The other reason, is they ‘look like the kind of car and old guy sucking a lemon would drive’.
Either way, I love them. Quite big, but handle well and go well too with a bit of tuning.
For those not ‘in the know’, there are a few main types of ‘2000’ as follows;
They either came with a 2l six pot, or a 2.5l six pot, which later in life was developed into the straight six engine in the Rover SD1. There were only two body styles from the factory, a saloon and an estate, although people have home built their own pick-ups, two doors etc too. The Mk1 shape with the pointy nose cone is quite rare, and the estates even rarer as these were hand built shells by Carbodies, which later became known as London Taxis International (built in Coventry… not London). The Mk2 shape has the flat front and headlamps in the grille design and is more common.
Anyway, as often happens I wasn’t looking for another car, when this popped up for sale on Facebook in the Triumph 2000 owners page, and was only a few miles down the road, so I arranged to go and have a look at it. It had been laid up in a damp garage for years and years. It was for sale bereft of engine, gearbox and much of the interior. However, it came with two sets of glass, and most of the removed trim was in the boot. Along with lots of mice nests.
I cleared the lot out, and gave it a good vac out. It was a grim job, but it showed that actually the car was pretty good. The arches, sills, chassis and floor were all good, with only some of the hand built bit at the back being crusty. As it was missing it’s engine and gearbox it got me thinking about building it as a custom. Underneath the years of muck the paint wasn't bad either.
In my mind, this is how it was going to be built;
- Original yellow paint work, BUT with a very pale green pinstripe outlining glitterflake emerald scollops on the sides, bonnet and roof. Original green tinted glass too.
- Interior would be trimmed in cactus leather (original Triumph colour) with emerald green carpets etc. The front would be turned into a bench seat, possibly with Mexican blanket highlights.
- Suspension would remain mostly as intended, but with air bags for a ground scraping ride.
- Engine would be the 3l M60 engine with 5 speed auto box from the E34 mentioned at the start of the thread. This would feed out to straight through side pipes, with a butterfly valve to muffled pipes under the car, but using the same exhaust exits at the back of the sills.
- Wheels would be chromed TR6 deep dish steelies.
- Brakes would probably use bits from the BMW E34 too to ensure the stopping power matched the going power.
Sadly though, after owning the car for many years I realised I was never going to get round to it in the time frame I was hoping, with a list of other cars, including a TR6 waiting in the wings. It was also gradually losing some of it’s bits to my other 2000 when things were in need of replacement, and I didn’t want to end up stripping it right down.
I stuck it up for sale and within 2 days it had sold to a chap in France who paid the full asking price and giving it a much drier home than I will…
That leaves me with a 3L V8 sitting around looking for a home… I wonder where I’ll end up putting it…
I have to say, that Mini sounds fantastic, and not like the cheap turd I had!
I don’t have much time for an update, so only a short story.
This was my third Triumph 2000 or ‘Lemons’ as they are also known to some guys locally. I’ve heard mixed reasons of why the guys round here call them as such, either back in the day they had poor build quality and so were Lemons, which I don’t think is the case, being as the 2000s were some of Canleys better efforts. The other reason, is they ‘look like the kind of car and old guy sucking a lemon would drive’.
Either way, I love them. Quite big, but handle well and go well too with a bit of tuning.
For those not ‘in the know’, there are a few main types of ‘2000’ as follows;
They either came with a 2l six pot, or a 2.5l six pot, which later in life was developed into the straight six engine in the Rover SD1. There were only two body styles from the factory, a saloon and an estate, although people have home built their own pick-ups, two doors etc too. The Mk1 shape with the pointy nose cone is quite rare, and the estates even rarer as these were hand built shells by Carbodies, which later became known as London Taxis International (built in Coventry… not London). The Mk2 shape has the flat front and headlamps in the grille design and is more common.
Anyway, as often happens I wasn’t looking for another car, when this popped up for sale on Facebook in the Triumph 2000 owners page, and was only a few miles down the road, so I arranged to go and have a look at it. It had been laid up in a damp garage for years and years. It was for sale bereft of engine, gearbox and much of the interior. However, it came with two sets of glass, and most of the removed trim was in the boot. Along with lots of mice nests.
I cleared the lot out, and gave it a good vac out. It was a grim job, but it showed that actually the car was pretty good. The arches, sills, chassis and floor were all good, with only some of the hand built bit at the back being crusty. As it was missing it’s engine and gearbox it got me thinking about building it as a custom. Underneath the years of muck the paint wasn't bad either.
In my mind, this is how it was going to be built;
- Original yellow paint work, BUT with a very pale green pinstripe outlining glitterflake emerald scollops on the sides, bonnet and roof. Original green tinted glass too.
- Interior would be trimmed in cactus leather (original Triumph colour) with emerald green carpets etc. The front would be turned into a bench seat, possibly with Mexican blanket highlights.
- Suspension would remain mostly as intended, but with air bags for a ground scraping ride.
- Engine would be the 3l M60 engine with 5 speed auto box from the E34 mentioned at the start of the thread. This would feed out to straight through side pipes, with a butterfly valve to muffled pipes under the car, but using the same exhaust exits at the back of the sills.
- Wheels would be chromed TR6 deep dish steelies.
- Brakes would probably use bits from the BMW E34 too to ensure the stopping power matched the going power.
Sadly though, after owning the car for many years I realised I was never going to get round to it in the time frame I was hoping, with a list of other cars, including a TR6 waiting in the wings. It was also gradually losing some of it’s bits to my other 2000 when things were in need of replacement, and I didn’t want to end up stripping it right down.
I stuck it up for sale and within 2 days it had sold to a chap in France who paid the full asking price and giving it a much drier home than I will…
That leaves me with a 3L V8 sitting around looking for a home… I wonder where I’ll end up putting it…
A short update again...
Having sold the Volvo, I found myself with some space outside the shed, and a small amount of folding money. Or rather I was 'expecting' those two things to happen, as I agreed to buy this vehicle before the Volvo had gone. As it happened, this car wasn't THAT far from where the Volvo 740 Turbo was going to it's new home... so it made sense that I'd buy it.
Sell one crusty and broken estate, and buy another one for exactly the same price, with more wrong with it? I know, bloody lunacy.
https://scontent-lht6-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/7883...
It's another 2000 Estate! This being a Mk2 Pre-facelift. If you look back at my first yellow 2000 saloon, you'll see the grille on that was black plastic, the ride height was a smidge taller, and a few other minor differences. Also the post-facelift bumpers have rubber strips on them...
Anyway, this is the pre-facelift, and arguably a better looking car, and far more modern than the Mk1 2000s.
This particular example is a 2l with manual overdrive gearbox. Royal Blue outside and various blues inside. It runs and drives, although does need some work. It's had some rough repairs before, and is missing some bits of trim, but luckily most of the rare estate parts are there.
It appears to be mostly solid on the chassis rails etc, although the bottoms of the front wings and front valance are a touch crusty, although, these panels are on order for it now from Lloyd Reed at South Wales Triumphs.
https://scontent-lhr8-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/7860...
When I backed it off the flatbed the engine sounded f
king horrible, but ran smoothly at the same time. I recognised the sound of failed fan mounts! Sure enough when grabbing the fan by hand (AFTER SWITCHING THE ENGINE OFF!) I could rock the fan backwards and forwards by a fair bit, and rotationally had around 10 degrees of play. Upon investigation it seemed that someone had been in there before and attempted a repair by bodging more washer in to clamp the plastic fan itself, not the bushes. A few quid later and I had a set of fan bushes, lock tabs and bolts winging their way to me.
https://scontent-lht6-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/7722...
To make life easier for myself I also pulled the radiator out, which on these cars is pretty easy, with only 4 bolts holding them to the front panel. Or in this cars case, 2 bolts and some zip ties... They just use panel nuts so they do often seize in and then rip out when trying to remove. Luckily, you can also get to the other side through the grille easily. When removing the rad I noticed that it was pretty damp at the bottom, and a bit fluffy - as I was taking a radiator for refurbishment anyway for another car, I thought I'd get it checked. Sure enough it had blown, and in a big way. Every single swage in the top and bottom tank had split and ballooned a bit. Of course, this means that there's a good chance the head gasket has gone.
https://scontent-lht6-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/r270...
Before refitting the radiator I'll do a compression check and a blow-down test too.
I will be keeping an eye out for some interior parts too, as the front seats are in brushed nylon, but the rear seat and door cards are blue vinyl. Also, the wood cappings are missing from the doors, but I have a spare set. At the same time the rear woods in the boot have been painted with Ronseal (FFS), so I may redo all the wood including the dash as it's a bit cracked.
https://scontent-lht6-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/7849...
https://scontent-lht6-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/7868...
Other than that, plans remain a mystery even to me on this car. I may try to tidy it up a bit, and get some MOT on it, then move it on, or smoke around in it over the summer.
Having sold the Volvo, I found myself with some space outside the shed, and a small amount of folding money. Or rather I was 'expecting' those two things to happen, as I agreed to buy this vehicle before the Volvo had gone. As it happened, this car wasn't THAT far from where the Volvo 740 Turbo was going to it's new home... so it made sense that I'd buy it.
Sell one crusty and broken estate, and buy another one for exactly the same price, with more wrong with it? I know, bloody lunacy.
https://scontent-lht6-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/7883...
It's another 2000 Estate! This being a Mk2 Pre-facelift. If you look back at my first yellow 2000 saloon, you'll see the grille on that was black plastic, the ride height was a smidge taller, and a few other minor differences. Also the post-facelift bumpers have rubber strips on them...
Anyway, this is the pre-facelift, and arguably a better looking car, and far more modern than the Mk1 2000s.
This particular example is a 2l with manual overdrive gearbox. Royal Blue outside and various blues inside. It runs and drives, although does need some work. It's had some rough repairs before, and is missing some bits of trim, but luckily most of the rare estate parts are there.
It appears to be mostly solid on the chassis rails etc, although the bottoms of the front wings and front valance are a touch crusty, although, these panels are on order for it now from Lloyd Reed at South Wales Triumphs.
https://scontent-lhr8-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/7860...
When I backed it off the flatbed the engine sounded f
king horrible, but ran smoothly at the same time. I recognised the sound of failed fan mounts! Sure enough when grabbing the fan by hand (AFTER SWITCHING THE ENGINE OFF!) I could rock the fan backwards and forwards by a fair bit, and rotationally had around 10 degrees of play. Upon investigation it seemed that someone had been in there before and attempted a repair by bodging more washer in to clamp the plastic fan itself, not the bushes. A few quid later and I had a set of fan bushes, lock tabs and bolts winging their way to me.https://scontent-lht6-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/7722...
To make life easier for myself I also pulled the radiator out, which on these cars is pretty easy, with only 4 bolts holding them to the front panel. Or in this cars case, 2 bolts and some zip ties... They just use panel nuts so they do often seize in and then rip out when trying to remove. Luckily, you can also get to the other side through the grille easily. When removing the rad I noticed that it was pretty damp at the bottom, and a bit fluffy - as I was taking a radiator for refurbishment anyway for another car, I thought I'd get it checked. Sure enough it had blown, and in a big way. Every single swage in the top and bottom tank had split and ballooned a bit. Of course, this means that there's a good chance the head gasket has gone.
https://scontent-lht6-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/r270...
Before refitting the radiator I'll do a compression check and a blow-down test too.
I will be keeping an eye out for some interior parts too, as the front seats are in brushed nylon, but the rear seat and door cards are blue vinyl. Also, the wood cappings are missing from the doors, but I have a spare set. At the same time the rear woods in the boot have been painted with Ronseal (FFS), so I may redo all the wood including the dash as it's a bit cracked.
https://scontent-lht6-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/7849...
https://scontent-lht6-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/7868...
Other than that, plans remain a mystery even to me on this car. I may try to tidy it up a bit, and get some MOT on it, then move it on, or smoke around in it over the summer.
Mr Tidy said:
Another great Readers' Cars thread - why do most of the best ones seem to involve shedding? 
I'd say by and large it is because those running amusing sheds are often the best kind of petrol heads. Those who can see the positives and value in almost any old car, they feel a strange duty to keep them running with a passion to fix/maintain that no normal person would ever justify. Shedders must be applauded! Cracking effort Op, especially the E34s, such nice cars and I wish I'd snagged one over a decade ago. Oooo and interested in the 318is project, thats a worthy thread.
To be fair, you can still get a decent E34 for not much money. The 518 - 520 can often be picked up for less than a grand, 525 for 2 for a good one, 530 - 535 around 3k. The 540's are getting towards M5 money now, so I'm glad I bought mine when I did! The 525TDS seem to be gaining a bit, but last year there was a tidy 525TDS Touring Manual and it went for something like £800.... anyway, on with the shedding;
Here’s a bit of a write up on the 318iS, I’ve already covered how I ended up purchasing it and collecting it, so I’ll just write about the car itself… which lets face it is what you lot are interested in, not which motorway services we stopped at…
So, it was bought as a fully road worthy, but non running car, and after replacing the fuel pump she was running again, and great fun to drive. A few old friends chipped in with the idea we’d build a track car out of it together, although for them it would be a learning experience too as they hadn’t done much in the way of maintenance before.
After spending some time ragging it round the lanes of Warwickshire and Oxfordshire we set about prepping it for track and tidying a few things up, like repainting the badly peeling boot spoiler, in my home rigged paint booth... or 'Dexter Kill Room' as it got called.
A lot of the bushes were on the shot side, so we decided to strip some of the suspension and brakes etc down too. We also gutted the interior, and that’s when the real problems started.
The sills on the drivers side were bunged up with chewing gum, the front corner was rusty, and the back corner had been shunted too. Not as straight as expected, or promised. The rear panel had obviously been replaced too, but then I found that it was not welded to the boot floor. We had chucked the steering rack in the boot to get it out of the way, which meant it was oily in there, cue the first injury of the project; I cleaned the oil out with brake cleaner, then whilst it dried I went off to have a brew and look at other pictures of E30s as inspiration. 20 minutes or so later I went back in to the garage, and went to stitch weld the floor and the rear panel together… BOOM. Huge mushroom cloud as the brake cleaner went up around me and under the welding mask. Lost all the hair off my arms, and singed that on my head… and I’m a long haired beardy type! A few minor blisters too. I got away with it lightly though.
We discussed colour schemes too. I really wanted to go for a classic ‘red over white and gold’ like the Lotus Elan Gold Leaf, although this is partially for sentimental reasons as my Dad had an Elan Sprint in that scheme back in the day, although he had the white over painted in red. Other options included the BMW Motorsport colours, and one guy even wanted it matt black with flames… that was vetoed fairly quickly as that would look ‘fking st’ on an E30…
I also remade the rear valance corners that had rotted out, and set about lightening the doors down for race use. I don’t think this lightening work is an issue for safety as the car will have a full FIA spec cage with door bars, so that will be the majority of the side impact structure.
We also sourced a new front panel from a local breakers yard and a front wing as the old ones were rotten and full of pud.
Next job was cutting out the sunroof cartridge as that clashed with the cage, which was designed for non-sunroof cars. We’ve also been making the cage supports for the floor, A pillars etc.
We currently have all the suspension off the car, and that’s going to be blasted and strengthened as required, but remain fundamentally stock, other than uprated dampers and springs etc. The engine is a fairly sought after unit, as the M42 twin cam. We have also sourced a Z3 1.9 ‘purple label’ steering rack for it. I also want to get rid of the spare wheel well and the lower section of the rear valance, although the one guy left in the project from the start is resistant to it due to polar moment of area meaning the floor will flex more… we need to work that out and if a strut brace will effect that.
Progress has been slow of recent times, with being tied up with other projects and my mate buying a house and getting married, free time is at a premium for both of us…. But we will get it done!
We also moved out of the shared house we were in and lost the use of the garage so the iS ended up going into storage for a few years, here it's next to my 320i Coupe which I've had for about 9 years now, but it cost me £1010 so it's £10 outside my 'shed' budget!
Here’s a bit of a write up on the 318iS, I’ve already covered how I ended up purchasing it and collecting it, so I’ll just write about the car itself… which lets face it is what you lot are interested in, not which motorway services we stopped at…
So, it was bought as a fully road worthy, but non running car, and after replacing the fuel pump she was running again, and great fun to drive. A few old friends chipped in with the idea we’d build a track car out of it together, although for them it would be a learning experience too as they hadn’t done much in the way of maintenance before.
After spending some time ragging it round the lanes of Warwickshire and Oxfordshire we set about prepping it for track and tidying a few things up, like repainting the badly peeling boot spoiler, in my home rigged paint booth... or 'Dexter Kill Room' as it got called.
A lot of the bushes were on the shot side, so we decided to strip some of the suspension and brakes etc down too. We also gutted the interior, and that’s when the real problems started.
The sills on the drivers side were bunged up with chewing gum, the front corner was rusty, and the back corner had been shunted too. Not as straight as expected, or promised. The rear panel had obviously been replaced too, but then I found that it was not welded to the boot floor. We had chucked the steering rack in the boot to get it out of the way, which meant it was oily in there, cue the first injury of the project; I cleaned the oil out with brake cleaner, then whilst it dried I went off to have a brew and look at other pictures of E30s as inspiration. 20 minutes or so later I went back in to the garage, and went to stitch weld the floor and the rear panel together… BOOM. Huge mushroom cloud as the brake cleaner went up around me and under the welding mask. Lost all the hair off my arms, and singed that on my head… and I’m a long haired beardy type! A few minor blisters too. I got away with it lightly though.
We discussed colour schemes too. I really wanted to go for a classic ‘red over white and gold’ like the Lotus Elan Gold Leaf, although this is partially for sentimental reasons as my Dad had an Elan Sprint in that scheme back in the day, although he had the white over painted in red. Other options included the BMW Motorsport colours, and one guy even wanted it matt black with flames… that was vetoed fairly quickly as that would look ‘f
king st’ on an E30…I also remade the rear valance corners that had rotted out, and set about lightening the doors down for race use. I don’t think this lightening work is an issue for safety as the car will have a full FIA spec cage with door bars, so that will be the majority of the side impact structure.
We also sourced a new front panel from a local breakers yard and a front wing as the old ones were rotten and full of pud.
Next job was cutting out the sunroof cartridge as that clashed with the cage, which was designed for non-sunroof cars. We’ve also been making the cage supports for the floor, A pillars etc.
We currently have all the suspension off the car, and that’s going to be blasted and strengthened as required, but remain fundamentally stock, other than uprated dampers and springs etc. The engine is a fairly sought after unit, as the M42 twin cam. We have also sourced a Z3 1.9 ‘purple label’ steering rack for it. I also want to get rid of the spare wheel well and the lower section of the rear valance, although the one guy left in the project from the start is resistant to it due to polar moment of area meaning the floor will flex more… we need to work that out and if a strut brace will effect that.
Progress has been slow of recent times, with being tied up with other projects and my mate buying a house and getting married, free time is at a premium for both of us…. But we will get it done!
We also moved out of the shared house we were in and lost the use of the garage so the iS ended up going into storage for a few years, here it's next to my 320i Coupe which I've had for about 9 years now, but it cost me £1010 so it's £10 outside my 'shed' budget!
A couple more rusty gears have been grinding away looking at a few cars that are available locally to me, and the following hair-brained scheme has been cooked up.
There is a Jaguar S-Type 3L Manual available nearby for not much money, MOT for a few months. A bit ropey but cheap. 240hp, revvy and fairly light V6.
There is also a BMW E30 2 door rolling shell missing it's engine and gearbox...
The BMW engines and the Jag engine are both front bowl sumps, with roughly even mounts. The M20 BMW engine they are pretty much in the middle of the engine, and on the Jag engine they are between cylinders 1 and 2 (or 1 and 3 depending on how they are counted).
Both cars are currently under the budget for me to include on this thread... A bit of me thinks this could be quite the weapon....
There is a Jaguar S-Type 3L Manual available nearby for not much money, MOT for a few months. A bit ropey but cheap. 240hp, revvy and fairly light V6.
There is also a BMW E30 2 door rolling shell missing it's engine and gearbox...
The BMW engines and the Jag engine are both front bowl sumps, with roughly even mounts. The M20 BMW engine they are pretty much in the middle of the engine, and on the Jag engine they are between cylinders 1 and 2 (or 1 and 3 depending on how they are counted).
Both cars are currently under the budget for me to include on this thread... A bit of me thinks this could be quite the weapon....
Sorry it's been a bit quiet of late. Due to various medical reasons much of my car buying, selling and fixing has been put on hold... however, as a quick update it looks like 'Cliopatra' the Clio 172 is off to a new home soon. I've lost more money on it than I'd care to admit thanks to the dephaser going pop. A friend has agreed to buy it off me as he's selling his Defender 110 XS so will have a fair chunk of cash. I have reminded him that he needs to ensure he doesn't use ALL the performance of the 172 like he did with his Defender or he might find a ditch... and unlike a Defender, the Clio is unlikely to drive back out again!
I have however added some very Japanese turdery to my collection of other multi-national turds. This time I've gone and found myself a first Generation Suzuki Vitara JX Soft-Top. It truly cements my heterosexual credentials.
It's a pretty tidy example really, having spent it's entire life in suburban Essex. I don't think it's ever seen any mud, nor been used on a field let along 'off road'. Thank fully there aren't too many signs of having been used for excessive dogging. It's covered around 78,000 miles, so from 1998 to now about 3500 a year. The first owners used it for fundays and Sundays.
Slightly amusingly, (and i do mean SLIGHTLY), my cousin was a school friend of the children of the first owners. Once time in passing my uncle said 'if you decide to sell the Vitara then let me know' - this was when it was around 2 years old. Years, and in fact, decades passed. he got a phone call out of the blue asking if Mike still lived there and would be be interested in buying the Vitara... 20 YEARS after expressing interest. Talk about playing the long game.
It had been pretty well looked after, with the MOT only ever pulling up things like a cracked number plate, brake light bulbs and wipers etc. Nothing serious. My uncle bought it for my other cousin, had 5 new tyres on it, a new battery, fully serviced, replaced the roof... and she didn't like it. Having spent a chunk of money on it, he kept it for a while and enjoyed thrumming around Woodford Green. However, over Christmas during a few Whiskies (Notice a theme here????) we negotiated that I would buy it off him. My initial offer of 23p, a packet of Jaffa Cakes and a big orange were turned down, and even when raised to a fiver and a bacon sandwich the offer was turned down. However, when he told me how much he wanted for it, I knew it matched up well to what I had saved up in my car fund, so I agreed to buy it at the asking price.
Two full months later I finally found the time to get the train down to London to collect it.
Happily, the old truck behaved very well on the drive back, even when sitting in stationary traffic for THREE HOURS on the M40, it didn't miss a beat. The CD player worked well, the heater is fantastic and it's pretty comfy, even if the seats are designed for a 5ft tall slim woman. The headrests remind me a bit of ET...
It's probably the slowest car I've ever owned, feeling slower than my old Herald. It's quite good fun although I've not got brave enough yet to properly chuck it into the corners.
Not too bad on fuel, I've only had it in 2wd mode so far, and even with sitting on the M40 idling away for ages it returned just shy of 30mpg.
Few bits it needs - it's got an emergency fuel cap that looks very old, so you get fuel fumes when the window is down (which is all the time so I can put my shoulder there, much like a Defender). Ordered a new one of them.
Plan is to make sure it's all good and then go down to visit the other halfs family on the Somerset / Dorset coast. Would be nice with the roof off in the summer, even if I would look like an obvious grockle!
I have however added some very Japanese turdery to my collection of other multi-national turds. This time I've gone and found myself a first Generation Suzuki Vitara JX Soft-Top. It truly cements my heterosexual credentials.
It's a pretty tidy example really, having spent it's entire life in suburban Essex. I don't think it's ever seen any mud, nor been used on a field let along 'off road'. Thank fully there aren't too many signs of having been used for excessive dogging. It's covered around 78,000 miles, so from 1998 to now about 3500 a year. The first owners used it for fundays and Sundays.
Slightly amusingly, (and i do mean SLIGHTLY), my cousin was a school friend of the children of the first owners. Once time in passing my uncle said 'if you decide to sell the Vitara then let me know' - this was when it was around 2 years old. Years, and in fact, decades passed. he got a phone call out of the blue asking if Mike still lived there and would be be interested in buying the Vitara... 20 YEARS after expressing interest. Talk about playing the long game.
It had been pretty well looked after, with the MOT only ever pulling up things like a cracked number plate, brake light bulbs and wipers etc. Nothing serious. My uncle bought it for my other cousin, had 5 new tyres on it, a new battery, fully serviced, replaced the roof... and she didn't like it. Having spent a chunk of money on it, he kept it for a while and enjoyed thrumming around Woodford Green. However, over Christmas during a few Whiskies (Notice a theme here????) we negotiated that I would buy it off him. My initial offer of 23p, a packet of Jaffa Cakes and a big orange were turned down, and even when raised to a fiver and a bacon sandwich the offer was turned down. However, when he told me how much he wanted for it, I knew it matched up well to what I had saved up in my car fund, so I agreed to buy it at the asking price.
Two full months later I finally found the time to get the train down to London to collect it.
Happily, the old truck behaved very well on the drive back, even when sitting in stationary traffic for THREE HOURS on the M40, it didn't miss a beat. The CD player worked well, the heater is fantastic and it's pretty comfy, even if the seats are designed for a 5ft tall slim woman. The headrests remind me a bit of ET...
It's probably the slowest car I've ever owned, feeling slower than my old Herald. It's quite good fun although I've not got brave enough yet to properly chuck it into the corners.
Not too bad on fuel, I've only had it in 2wd mode so far, and even with sitting on the M40 idling away for ages it returned just shy of 30mpg.
Few bits it needs - it's got an emergency fuel cap that looks very old, so you get fuel fumes when the window is down (which is all the time so I can put my shoulder there, much like a Defender). Ordered a new one of them.
Plan is to make sure it's all good and then go down to visit the other halfs family on the Somerset / Dorset coast. Would be nice with the roof off in the summer, even if I would look like an obvious grockle!
My mate that's buying the Clio came down for a poke around it last night. Whilst it's been outside it's started having a strange electrical problem with lights doing very funky things... put the brakes on and the right hand indicators flash etc. Not sure if a connector block has got damp or something whilst it's been parked up, although he did find one of the rear light cluster connectors is a little funked up.
Also, he tried to change the lambda sensor but it was stuck in so blasted it with some penetrating oil... Maybe I'll finally get rid of that turd...
Also, he tried to change the lambda sensor but it was stuck in so blasted it with some penetrating oil... Maybe I'll finally get rid of that turd...
Slightly behind the times here; I have been off work for a few weeks with a detached retina, so I have been enjoying the time away from the computer. However, having all this CoVid-19 thing spring up means that I'm not going to bother the NHS with my vision problems. They have enough on their plates, so I am now back to work and sitting at a computer 8 hours a day.
In my time off I've done some work on my white MX5, my partners E36 318Ti Compact, a Nissan S14 drift car and a very rare version of a Triumph Herald... The work isn't up to my usual standard as I have impaired depth perception, so welding isn't the easiest thing ever...
The S14 rear end is pretty crispy... well, actually the whole car is... So I decided to chop the whole lot out and make a repair section to weld in.
There is a lot of grot on this car, sills need fully repairing etc. I may start a separate thread about it though as this certainly doesn't fit into the 'cars under a grand thread' idea.
However, I have added to the shed collection! A friend from work saw me cruising around in the black Vitara and said they knew of one on a farm that had been languishing for a few years and put me in contact with the land owner. The truck has been parked up for a few years due to an immobiliser issue that the owner couldn't be bothered to fix. After sitting in the corner of a field full of sheep crap (but no sheep???) I wasn't certain how easily I'd be able to dig it out. In the end though after getting some air in the tyres she rolled okay. I used the black one to tow it, which it did fine even just in 2wd mode. My mate James from Jimmy P's Speed Shop came to help as it's his cuppa tea to do this.
Unfortunately the lock down has put paid to getting it back home in the near future, so it's sill waiting for me to turn up with a trailer!
But, without further ado, here are a few pictures of 'Frank' as I have named him... Frank stara the Suzuki Vitara.
In my time off I've done some work on my white MX5, my partners E36 318Ti Compact, a Nissan S14 drift car and a very rare version of a Triumph Herald... The work isn't up to my usual standard as I have impaired depth perception, so welding isn't the easiest thing ever...
The S14 rear end is pretty crispy... well, actually the whole car is... So I decided to chop the whole lot out and make a repair section to weld in.
There is a lot of grot on this car, sills need fully repairing etc. I may start a separate thread about it though as this certainly doesn't fit into the 'cars under a grand thread' idea.
However, I have added to the shed collection! A friend from work saw me cruising around in the black Vitara and said they knew of one on a farm that had been languishing for a few years and put me in contact with the land owner. The truck has been parked up for a few years due to an immobiliser issue that the owner couldn't be bothered to fix. After sitting in the corner of a field full of sheep crap (but no sheep???) I wasn't certain how easily I'd be able to dig it out. In the end though after getting some air in the tyres she rolled okay. I used the black one to tow it, which it did fine even just in 2wd mode. My mate James from Jimmy P's Speed Shop came to help as it's his cuppa tea to do this.
Unfortunately the lock down has put paid to getting it back home in the near future, so it's sill waiting for me to turn up with a trailer!
But, without further ado, here are a few pictures of 'Frank' as I have named him... Frank s
tara the Suzuki Vitara.With the lock down in full force, and being on furlough, my car buying antics have slowed down... although my other post does detail me buying the 2nd most expensive car on my fleet, a Volvo V70 T6, so I have bought fewer cars, but more expensive ones.
Anyway, as this thread is about the cheap cars I have bought, this is my latest shed added to the fleet!
A beautiful 1996 Land Rover Discovery 3 door Commercial, 300TDi Manual.
It really is quite the turd... It was last taken for MOT on the 21st December 2018 and it failed on;
Nearside Inner Vehicle structure corroded
Nearside Rear Vehicle structure corroded
Offside Rear Vehicle structure corroded
Offside Rear brake pads worn down to wear indicator
Nearside Dipped Beam not working
Offside Dipped Beam not working
Nearside rear lamp not working
Nearside rear lens defective
Nearside washer blocked
Nearside wheel bearing excessive play
Front registration plate illegal
Sound deadening material insecure on bonnet
Service brake efficiency low
Offside front vehicle structure corroded
Oil leaks
Basically, it's pretty damn hammered.
However it has some good going for it - it's very local, and very cheap.
It has a set of five 'Freestyle' alloys on it in good condition, although I imagine the tyres are perished now.
Later R380 gearbox
Runs and drives fine
I think realistically this will end up as a breaker due to the amount of rot on it, and also the interior is a bit minging and the paint is very faded for a blue car. Almost like someone has painted it with diluted brake fluid!
Once I get the keys I'll have a good poke around it, but I think this is probably going to end up in the great scrapheap in the sky.
Here are what you all come here for; photos of old knackers.
Anyway, as this thread is about the cheap cars I have bought, this is my latest shed added to the fleet!
A beautiful 1996 Land Rover Discovery 3 door Commercial, 300TDi Manual.
It really is quite the turd... It was last taken for MOT on the 21st December 2018 and it failed on;
Nearside Inner Vehicle structure corroded
Nearside Rear Vehicle structure corroded
Offside Rear Vehicle structure corroded
Offside Rear brake pads worn down to wear indicator
Nearside Dipped Beam not working
Offside Dipped Beam not working
Nearside rear lamp not working
Nearside rear lens defective
Nearside washer blocked
Nearside wheel bearing excessive play
Front registration plate illegal
Sound deadening material insecure on bonnet
Service brake efficiency low
Offside front vehicle structure corroded
Oil leaks
Basically, it's pretty damn hammered.
However it has some good going for it - it's very local, and very cheap.
It has a set of five 'Freestyle' alloys on it in good condition, although I imagine the tyres are perished now.
Later R380 gearbox
Runs and drives fine
I think realistically this will end up as a breaker due to the amount of rot on it, and also the interior is a bit minging and the paint is very faded for a blue car. Almost like someone has painted it with diluted brake fluid!
Once I get the keys I'll have a good poke around it, but I think this is probably going to end up in the great scrapheap in the sky.
Here are what you all come here for; photos of old knackers.
My intention with the Disco is still undefined as such - once the previous owner has arranged to get the keys to me I'll get it up on my 2 poster and see how bad the corrosion is. It has sat outside on that patch of mud since it failed it's last MOT, so I imagine it may have got a lot, lot worse.
We shall see.
You are correct, the 3dr Commercials are not common, but they are worth nothing. The 3 door isn't very practical for the size of car, and being a Commercial it does limit it's market. You can still pick up fairly solid ones for around a grand, tidy ones obviously a fair bit more.
This Disco won't be put down without a fighting chance though,
We shall see.
You are correct, the 3dr Commercials are not common, but they are worth nothing. The 3 door isn't very practical for the size of car, and being a Commercial it does limit it's market. You can still pick up fairly solid ones for around a grand, tidy ones obviously a fair bit more.
This Disco won't be put down without a fighting chance though,
Following hot on the heels of the Discovery purchase and the Volvo T6 on my other thread, I am delighted to introduce the latest heap of crap to roll down my drive way... or more specifically my mates drive way as he's storing it for a bit for me.
Said friend and I (formerly featured with the white stara) have thought about doing one of these banger rallies or similar, and so we went shopping. On the internet. Always a good idea.
We wanted something that had no real redeemable features, so it couldn't be fast, fun, driftable. Ideally limited tuning options so we could use our motorsport engineering knowledge to good measure rather than just buying off the shelf. Above all though it had to be cheap. So cheap.
What we have ended up with is this Fiat Seicento 1100 in what I would describe as 'f**king orange'.
- Side Bar - I worked in Land Rover SVO paint shop for a while, and someone ordered an XJR in a very vivid shade of orange, and it was a big car. Upon walking out of the office and seeing this car someone exclaimed 'That's f**king orange!' it tickled me a bit so I started coming up with amusing colour names, although sadly none were taken on officially. Others include Hearing Aid Beige Metallic, Surrender White and Medicinal Jade... I think we had a 'Hardcore Buttercup' too.
Anyway, the Fiat has no MOT, so we got it cheap enough, £123.50. The seller wouldn't knock off 5p to make it a better number. Plans are a bit vague still we'll see if the MOT throws up any horror stories,
As this could end up being a bit of a 'build' it may have it's own thread started... we shall see.
So, here is the orange turd.
I've always wanted an orange car. I've never wanted a Seicento. How the FK did this happen??
Fairly low mileage. What an exciting lump of excrement.
Said friend and I (formerly featured with the white s
tara) have thought about doing one of these banger rallies or similar, and so we went shopping. On the internet. Always a good idea.We wanted something that had no real redeemable features, so it couldn't be fast, fun, driftable. Ideally limited tuning options so we could use our motorsport engineering knowledge to good measure rather than just buying off the shelf. Above all though it had to be cheap. So cheap.
What we have ended up with is this Fiat Seicento 1100 in what I would describe as 'f**king orange'.
- Side Bar - I worked in Land Rover SVO paint shop for a while, and someone ordered an XJR in a very vivid shade of orange, and it was a big car. Upon walking out of the office and seeing this car someone exclaimed 'That's f**king orange!' it tickled me a bit so I started coming up with amusing colour names, although sadly none were taken on officially. Others include Hearing Aid Beige Metallic, Surrender White and Medicinal Jade... I think we had a 'Hardcore Buttercup' too.
Anyway, the Fiat has no MOT, so we got it cheap enough, £123.50. The seller wouldn't knock off 5p to make it a better number. Plans are a bit vague still we'll see if the MOT throws up any horror stories,
As this could end up being a bit of a 'build' it may have it's own thread started... we shall see.
So, here is the orange turd.
I've always wanted an orange car. I've never wanted a Seicento. How the FK did this happen??
Fairly low mileage. What an exciting lump of excrement.
Jonny-Jimbo said:
Following hot on the heels of the Discovery purchase and the Volvo T6 on my other thread, I am delighted to introduce the latest heap of crap to roll down my drive way... or more specifically my mates drive way as he's storing it for a bit for me.
Said friend and I (formerly featured with the white stara) have thought about doing one of these banger rallies or similar, and so we went shopping. On the internet. Always a good idea.
We wanted something that had no real redeemable features, so it couldn't be fast, fun, driftable. Ideally limited tuning options so we could use our motorsport engineering knowledge to good measure rather than just buying off the shelf. Above all though it had to be cheap. So cheap.
What we have ended up with is this Fiat Seicento 1100 in what I would describe as 'f**king orange'.
- Side Bar - I worked in Land Rover SVO paint shop for a while, and someone ordered an XJR in a very vivid shade of orange, and it was a big car. Upon walking out of the office and seeing this car someone exclaimed 'That's f**king orange!' it tickled me a bit so I started coming up with amusing colour names, although sadly none were taken on officially. Others include Hearing Aid Beige Metallic, Surrender White and Medicinal Jade... I think we had a 'Hardcore Buttercup' too.
Anyway, the Fiat has no MOT, so we got it cheap enough, £123.50. The seller wouldn't knock off 5p to make it a better number. Plans are a bit vague still we'll see if the MOT throws up any horror stories,
As this could end up being a bit of a 'build' it may have it's own thread started... we shall see.
So, here is the orange turd.
I've always wanted an orange car. I've never wanted a Seicento. How the FK did this happen??
Fairly low mileage. What an exciting lump of excrement.
Awesome car, there is more fun to be had in that than you thinkSaid friend and I (formerly featured with the white s
tara) have thought about doing one of these banger rallies or similar, and so we went shopping. On the internet. Always a good idea.We wanted something that had no real redeemable features, so it couldn't be fast, fun, driftable. Ideally limited tuning options so we could use our motorsport engineering knowledge to good measure rather than just buying off the shelf. Above all though it had to be cheap. So cheap.
What we have ended up with is this Fiat Seicento 1100 in what I would describe as 'f**king orange'.
- Side Bar - I worked in Land Rover SVO paint shop for a while, and someone ordered an XJR in a very vivid shade of orange, and it was a big car. Upon walking out of the office and seeing this car someone exclaimed 'That's f**king orange!' it tickled me a bit so I started coming up with amusing colour names, although sadly none were taken on officially. Others include Hearing Aid Beige Metallic, Surrender White and Medicinal Jade... I think we had a 'Hardcore Buttercup' too.
Anyway, the Fiat has no MOT, so we got it cheap enough, £123.50. The seller wouldn't knock off 5p to make it a better number. Plans are a bit vague still we'll see if the MOT throws up any horror stories,
As this could end up being a bit of a 'build' it may have it's own thread started... we shall see.
So, here is the orange turd.
I've always wanted an orange car. I've never wanted a Seicento. How the FK did this happen??
Fairly low mileage. What an exciting lump of excrement.
Well, we are going to take it to a track day after lockdown for a good thrash, so we will see how fun it is...
The shopping list is growing considerably...
A load of T45 cage tubing
Voigtland suspension
Some form of alloys with decent tyres
A brake upgrade, aiming for parts bin engineered from bigger Fiats
A T-Jet engine running the 190PS spec if we can find one...
Lots of thin wall tubing for making a hilarious exhaust system...
The shopping list is growing considerably...
A load of T45 cage tubing
Voigtland suspension
Some form of alloys with decent tyres
A brake upgrade, aiming for parts bin engineered from bigger Fiats
A T-Jet engine running the 190PS spec if we can find one...
Lots of thin wall tubing for making a hilarious exhaust system...
My friend that has bought the Seicento with me has made a walk around video of it literally just as it was delivered. He is quite an amusing chap, so worth the nearly 9 minutes of orange glory.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCduKwOVw-U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCduKwOVw-U
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