Back to the Shed!
Discussion
Thanks Bobberoo, yes, it's not a bad old turd. The fibreglass isn't cracked or crazed at all, and the green gel coat is in mostly good condition other than a scratch on one wing. The interior is also pretty good condition, if a bit dusty etc. The side screens have gone very brittle and sun-damaged, but I don't think it's the sort of car that is likely to be out in the rain much.
I think I'll probably chuck an engine in it to get it running etc and then look to move it on, maybe with MOT maybe not. It's registered still as the donor car of a Triumph Herald, and all the numbers match up.
The Clio is shoved in a shed at my brothers house at the moment as I got fed up of knobs messing me around with it. Part of having a cheap hot hatch I guess, it attracts a certain kind of d1ckhead. It's now developed a misfire, which a plug in shows as being injector 2 down. I might fix that and valet the interior and look to move it on in summer. I think I'd probably take around a grand as it is just to get it sold, but even that seems impossible to get.
My brother is moving house soon from Warwickshire to St Neots so I'll need to get the StreetKa and Clio moved again as I won't have use of his garage anymore...
I think I'll probably chuck an engine in it to get it running etc and then look to move it on, maybe with MOT maybe not. It's registered still as the donor car of a Triumph Herald, and all the numbers match up.
The Clio is shoved in a shed at my brothers house at the moment as I got fed up of knobs messing me around with it. Part of having a cheap hot hatch I guess, it attracts a certain kind of d1ckhead. It's now developed a misfire, which a plug in shows as being injector 2 down. I might fix that and valet the interior and look to move it on in summer. I think I'd probably take around a grand as it is just to get it sold, but even that seems impossible to get.
My brother is moving house soon from Warwickshire to St Neots so I'll need to get the StreetKa and Clio moved again as I won't have use of his garage anymore...
It seems I really can not help myself and I am a total sucker for 'a deal'... so the latest lump of turd I can call my own has the following attributes;
It's quite British, but rather German.
It's sort of sporty, but mostly isn't.
It's black.
It's a convertible.
It's got alloy wheels which are of questionable taste.
It's had a very minor scrape down the side.
It's been off the road since 2017 due to said scrape...
I put a fresh battery on it and it fired straight up and ran really nicely... must be that BMW build quality.
So for not very much money I bought this delightful example of... a Mini Cooper Flop-Top!
Okay, so it's a bit green around the gills, but it has been parked up for a long time!
Even the interior isn't in bad condition...
The accident damage isn't much either, minor scrape on the side and the wheel arch spat has come off, but isn't damaged.
Those wheels though... apparently they are quite rare and were going to be part of the Mini Silverstone edition which never went into production. The retail price on them new was £830!!
I'm not sure what will happen with this one. I might see what it needs for MOT and get it back on the road, or I'll part it out. Thing is it's low-ish mileage of around 50,000 from memory, full service history and 1 owner from new. It also had just had a new clutch put in it before someone clipped it whilst parked outside the PO's house...
It's quite British, but rather German.
It's sort of sporty, but mostly isn't.
It's black.
It's a convertible.
It's got alloy wheels which are of questionable taste.
It's had a very minor scrape down the side.
It's been off the road since 2017 due to said scrape...
I put a fresh battery on it and it fired straight up and ran really nicely... must be that BMW build quality.
So for not very much money I bought this delightful example of... a Mini Cooper Flop-Top!
Okay, so it's a bit green around the gills, but it has been parked up for a long time!
Even the interior isn't in bad condition...
The accident damage isn't much either, minor scrape on the side and the wheel arch spat has come off, but isn't damaged.
Those wheels though... apparently they are quite rare and were going to be part of the Mini Silverstone edition which never went into production. The retail price on them new was £830!!
I'm not sure what will happen with this one. I might see what it needs for MOT and get it back on the road, or I'll part it out. Thing is it's low-ish mileage of around 50,000 from memory, full service history and 1 owner from new. It also had just had a new clutch put in it before someone clipped it whilst parked outside the PO's house...
After many tried... 4 of them in fact, the Clio has finally found a new owner. A friend of mine joined me on a track day last week in the Seicento and got hooked, so whilst he was excited about thrashing small hatchbacks round the black stuff I got him talking about quick Clios and how I just happened to have one in a shed... which he well knew about as it was he who transported the car when I first bought it.
Due to the fact 4 people messed me about on buying the car (2 with good reasons, and 2 were winning bidders on eBay that decided not to contact me...) I had shoved it in a dilapidated barn and forgot about it for a few months. We went back up to it and by god it was vile. A family of mice had moved in and it stunk. So the price came down... however I just wanted it gone, so we settled on £775 and a box of Jaffa Cakes. I was only expecting a standard pack, but I got a 30 pack which was nice.
Anyway, my friend has arranged for a valeter to come and clean the car, and then he will decide if he's going to strip it right out or leave the interior in for track fun. He has a new Mustang as his daily, so I don't think the Clio is likely to replace it!
In other shed related news, I have just started breaking the Mini, and the Vitara has gone to the great scrapheap in the sky. However, the farmer I store my cars with had the roof off it to use as a sledge behind his quad for moving scrap around the farm... it does an excellent job of it too!
I am also the current custodian of some of Retros
tes old cars. Another friend of mine won the Raffle of the Saab and Corina twin-pack, so they're stored with me whilst he finds the time to decide what to do with them.... it might be a while!
Due to the fact 4 people messed me about on buying the car (2 with good reasons, and 2 were winning bidders on eBay that decided not to contact me...) I had shoved it in a dilapidated barn and forgot about it for a few months. We went back up to it and by god it was vile. A family of mice had moved in and it stunk. So the price came down... however I just wanted it gone, so we settled on £775 and a box of Jaffa Cakes. I was only expecting a standard pack, but I got a 30 pack which was nice.
Anyway, my friend has arranged for a valeter to come and clean the car, and then he will decide if he's going to strip it right out or leave the interior in for track fun. He has a new Mustang as his daily, so I don't think the Clio is likely to replace it!
In other shed related news, I have just started breaking the Mini, and the Vitara has gone to the great scrapheap in the sky. However, the farmer I store my cars with had the roof off it to use as a sledge behind his quad for moving scrap around the farm... it does an excellent job of it too!
I am also the current custodian of some of Retros
tes old cars. Another friend of mine won the Raffle of the Saab and Corina twin-pack, so they're stored with me whilst he finds the time to decide what to do with them.... it might be a while!Jonny-Jimbo said:
I am also the current custodian of some of Retrostes old cars. Another friend of mine won the Raffle of the Saab and Corina twin-pack, so they're stored with me whilst he finds the time to decide what to do with them.... it might be a while!
Would love to see the pic of the Cortinates old cars. Another friend of mine won the Raffle of the Saab and Corina twin-pack, so they're stored with me whilst he finds the time to decide what to do with them.... it might be a while!carboy2017 said:
Jonny-Jimbo said:
I am also the current custodian of some of Retrostes old cars. Another friend of mine won the Raffle of the Saab and Corina twin-pack, so they're stored with me whilst he finds the time to decide what to do with them.... it might be a while!
Would love to see the pic of the Cortinates old cars. Another friend of mine won the Raffle of the Saab and Corina twin-pack, so they're stored with me whilst he finds the time to decide what to do with them.... it might be a while!
More additions to the fleet!
At the weekend I picked up this Citroen Xsara 1.4 LX. It's a 1 owner car, and very low miles; 31,000 in fact. It's lived in Wimbledon all it's life, just around the corner from the famous tennis grounds - literally a few meters!
Being as it's a London car there are a few minor scrapes on the rear corners from parking mishaps. However though it is very good condition, and the interior is like new!
The engine bay is also pretty much immaculate too!
It's never 'properly' failed an MOT, with only a few minor things like a bulb out, etc. it has full Citroen service history too. The MOT history also shows that it's done all of a few hundred miles in the last year or two, sort of as you'd expect. The back tyres on it are the originals from when the car was new! The fronts have been replaced, but are also 10 years ago, so they will need changing really.
I doubt that the car has ever been over 40mph, given where its spent it's whole life! After picking it up in Wimbledon, I spent an hour or so driving the 8 or so miles back over to my partners families place in Ealing where we were stopping for dinner. It behaved very well, considering it was stop start the entire way back. I think I boiled over a lot quicker than the car. I hate driving in London, and avoid it wherever possible.
Anyway, on Sunday I drove it back up to Warwickshire, and the 90 or so miles up the M40 went without a hitch, other than the usual bellends that don't know which lane to be in... But in terms of the car driving, nothing amiss at all. Maybe a slight stutter which I'm putting down to the old fuel which has probably been in the car for well over a year, if not two, and of course the old tyres. I did check the pressures before driving, just to be on the safe side.
I'm not 100% sure if I will keep it or not - it's pleasant enough, but a bit bland for me. If it was the VTS I would keep it, at least for a bit, but being as this is the base model I'm not sure.
One of the reasons I took a punt on it was because the previous owner was fastidious, and kept records of everything. There is even a note in the car of the parking charges from 2010! The MOT runs out soon, so I may stick it in for the MOT, and depending on what it needs, if anything, I may move it on before I start using it as a workhorse and ruin the few good things going for it - the low miles and the condition of the interior!
Speaking of condition, even down the back of the engine in the 'crap catcher' it's pretty much clean enough to eat from!
At the weekend I picked up this Citroen Xsara 1.4 LX. It's a 1 owner car, and very low miles; 31,000 in fact. It's lived in Wimbledon all it's life, just around the corner from the famous tennis grounds - literally a few meters!
Being as it's a London car there are a few minor scrapes on the rear corners from parking mishaps. However though it is very good condition, and the interior is like new!
The engine bay is also pretty much immaculate too!
It's never 'properly' failed an MOT, with only a few minor things like a bulb out, etc. it has full Citroen service history too. The MOT history also shows that it's done all of a few hundred miles in the last year or two, sort of as you'd expect. The back tyres on it are the originals from when the car was new! The fronts have been replaced, but are also 10 years ago, so they will need changing really.
I doubt that the car has ever been over 40mph, given where its spent it's whole life! After picking it up in Wimbledon, I spent an hour or so driving the 8 or so miles back over to my partners families place in Ealing where we were stopping for dinner. It behaved very well, considering it was stop start the entire way back. I think I boiled over a lot quicker than the car. I hate driving in London, and avoid it wherever possible.
Anyway, on Sunday I drove it back up to Warwickshire, and the 90 or so miles up the M40 went without a hitch, other than the usual bellends that don't know which lane to be in... But in terms of the car driving, nothing amiss at all. Maybe a slight stutter which I'm putting down to the old fuel which has probably been in the car for well over a year, if not two, and of course the old tyres. I did check the pressures before driving, just to be on the safe side.
I'm not 100% sure if I will keep it or not - it's pleasant enough, but a bit bland for me. If it was the VTS I would keep it, at least for a bit, but being as this is the base model I'm not sure.
One of the reasons I took a punt on it was because the previous owner was fastidious, and kept records of everything. There is even a note in the car of the parking charges from 2010! The MOT runs out soon, so I may stick it in for the MOT, and depending on what it needs, if anything, I may move it on before I start using it as a workhorse and ruin the few good things going for it - the low miles and the condition of the interior!
Speaking of condition, even down the back of the engine in the 'crap catcher' it's pretty much clean enough to eat from!
Yes, I agree - for a 20 year old car it is in remarkable condition really.
The scrapes on the back corners are very light, so you can hardly tell they are there unless you get within a few feet of the car. In terms of sorting the paint, I may get a quote on it to see. However, I'm dropping it off for MOT before work on Thursday morning, so I will see what, if anything it needs. That will also be the decider on if I keep it or not.
The scrapes on the back corners are very light, so you can hardly tell they are there unless you get within a few feet of the car. In terms of sorting the paint, I may get a quote on it to see. However, I'm dropping it off for MOT before work on Thursday morning, so I will see what, if anything it needs. That will also be the decider on if I keep it or not.
I took the Citroen for MOT today, and it sailed through. The MOT tester, who can be a little grumpy at times was very complimentary saying it was the best car I've ever taken him (although to be fair, that's maybe not the highest bar...), and it looks more like its 2 years old, not 20 years old!
The garage did say they might consider it as a courtesy car, but it may be a bit too nice for that. They let me have a look under it on their ramp, which they don't normally do. It was quite something...
I have however decided I think I will sell it on, as although its a very tidy example, it's pretty bland, and I already have a Pug 207 for a bland run about. Someone else can enjoy this one I think.
The garage did say they might consider it as a courtesy car, but it may be a bit too nice for that. They let me have a look under it on their ramp, which they don't normally do. It was quite something...
I have however decided I think I will sell it on, as although its a very tidy example, it's pretty bland, and I already have a Pug 207 for a bland run about. Someone else can enjoy this one I think.
An update on the fleet!
The Citroen is still with me; I've advertised it for sale in a few places, but no takers unfortunately. Yet. I may put it up for a short auction on eBay though and hope that moves it on.
However, the Clio has now gone to a new home... and then come back to me as it's now stored with my other cars. However, the new owner has gutted the interior, replaced the springs and dampers that I fitted and have done all of 10 miles, and put new boots on it as he's going to be using it as a track-only car. A proper OMP bucket seat has been fitted too. The misfire turned out to be one slightly damaged wire under the fusebox. However, although it was all a simple fix, I'm glad it's not my responsibility any more.
Also, the big blue bus has gone to a new home, but minus it's engine and gearbox. I'm keeping them as spares for now, and the buyer only wanted it as a parts car for his other Triumph 2000 estate.
However, in light of these cars being moved, I've bought something else!! Not a surprise. Last friday I bought a Subaru Impreza WRX Turbo. I wasn't looking for one as such, but someone at work dangled one under my nose. It's silver and on pretty high miles, over 172k! But the engine was rebuilt last year, and the gearbox was replaced some time previously. The photos show it before the owner cleaned it prior to my viewing, and it looked a lot nicer. For some reason the rear bumper in the photos looks to be a different shade of silver, but in real life, it matches.
She needs a fair bit of welding to pass an MOT, sills and strut mounts, but I took it on a very short test run, and she drives nicely so this one will certainly be saved and not broken for parts.
Oh, it's got a PPP back box too, which has a nice tone too it, not too loud.
She may not be perfect, and she may not be pretty, but I think I've done okay to get a UK model WRX Turbo for under a grand!!
The Citroen is still with me; I've advertised it for sale in a few places, but no takers unfortunately. Yet. I may put it up for a short auction on eBay though and hope that moves it on.
However, the Clio has now gone to a new home... and then come back to me as it's now stored with my other cars. However, the new owner has gutted the interior, replaced the springs and dampers that I fitted and have done all of 10 miles, and put new boots on it as he's going to be using it as a track-only car. A proper OMP bucket seat has been fitted too. The misfire turned out to be one slightly damaged wire under the fusebox. However, although it was all a simple fix, I'm glad it's not my responsibility any more.
Also, the big blue bus has gone to a new home, but minus it's engine and gearbox. I'm keeping them as spares for now, and the buyer only wanted it as a parts car for his other Triumph 2000 estate.
However, in light of these cars being moved, I've bought something else!! Not a surprise. Last friday I bought a Subaru Impreza WRX Turbo. I wasn't looking for one as such, but someone at work dangled one under my nose. It's silver and on pretty high miles, over 172k! But the engine was rebuilt last year, and the gearbox was replaced some time previously. The photos show it before the owner cleaned it prior to my viewing, and it looked a lot nicer. For some reason the rear bumper in the photos looks to be a different shade of silver, but in real life, it matches.
She needs a fair bit of welding to pass an MOT, sills and strut mounts, but I took it on a very short test run, and she drives nicely so this one will certainly be saved and not broken for parts.
Oh, it's got a PPP back box too, which has a nice tone too it, not too loud.
She may not be perfect, and she may not be pretty, but I think I've done okay to get a UK model WRX Turbo for under a grand!!
Well, once again I've added to the ever growing collection of dross. This time I have elected to buy an MR2 Roadster, after a trip round Mallory in my friend Justynas one.
However, I picked up a basically stock Mk3 in dark blue (all my cars seem to be dark blue!), but with a popped engine. Not in bad condition overall.
Picked up for the princely sum of £640, however my intention is to do a 2ZZ swap on it. I didn't want to buy a good running one and rip it apart, so finding one with the blown engine was ideal.
No photos yet as it will take a little while for it to get back up to Warwick from deepest Sussex.
It will be reasonably track oriented, so it may get it's own thread... we shall see.
However, I picked up a basically stock Mk3 in dark blue (all my cars seem to be dark blue!), but with a popped engine. Not in bad condition overall.
Picked up for the princely sum of £640, however my intention is to do a 2ZZ swap on it. I didn't want to buy a good running one and rip it apart, so finding one with the blown engine was ideal.
No photos yet as it will take a little while for it to get back up to Warwick from deepest Sussex.
It will be reasonably track oriented, so it may get it's own thread... we shall see.
Hot on the heels of the MR2, I've picked up another piece of excessive nuggetry. I didn't even want another car, but in a quiet moment the other day I did a sub-£1000 search near me. Theres usually not much around me for that little money, but always worth a look.
I was surprised to find a car that was pretty tidy overall, 79,000 miles or so from new, a few months MOT, full main dealer service history. It even has power adjust seats.
It's a slightly odd car... a semi-impractical coupe, but the size of a family saloon car...
But for the right money I picked up this lovely... FORD COUGAR
It seems pretty well kept, the interior is tidy too.
The boot however is HUGE, it is a many-body boot!
The engine bay is nice too, without any broken clips, and looks to have not been messed with.
I'm not certain what the plan is yet, the MOT is very short but I'm not certain if it will need much. It drive really nicely on the way back, and had no knocks, everything seems to work. So this might be a fixer upper and maybe look to move it on in spring.
I was surprised to find a car that was pretty tidy overall, 79,000 miles or so from new, a few months MOT, full main dealer service history. It even has power adjust seats.
It's a slightly odd car... a semi-impractical coupe, but the size of a family saloon car...
But for the right money I picked up this lovely... FORD COUGAR
It seems pretty well kept, the interior is tidy too.
The boot however is HUGE, it is a many-body boot!
The engine bay is nice too, without any broken clips, and looks to have not been messed with.
I'm not certain what the plan is yet, the MOT is very short but I'm not certain if it will need much. It drive really nicely on the way back, and had no knocks, everything seems to work. So this might be a fixer upper and maybe look to move it on in spring.
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