Fiat Punto HGT-V (van)
Discussion
So the rally car was delivered Friday night. Happy birthday to me. 
Saturday morning before work I took this shot...
...to remind myself what a good idea giving up alcohol for Lent turned out to be.
I got home from work early so I could give the old girl a once over with a wet sponge...
...but I haven't been able to look at the car properly until today.
Jobs for MOT
Knackered wipers.
Insecure spare wheel.
Insecure battery.
Leak from bodged coolant pipe.
Missing bonnet catch.
Split flexipipe (spare one included).
Quality Pigeon poo welded de'cat'.
This is the moment my HGT-Van became a part donor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUZiUORi3uQ
Oh well at least I might be able to buy the right one to replace it.
Before and after...
...rain stopped play and I only have the bonnet catch and a rear indicator bulb to change. Hopefully this will be okay for the test but idling at 68-70dB and drive by at 81-83dB I may need to replace the chavy back box for something more purposeful.
Saturday morning before work I took this shot...
...to remind myself what a good idea giving up alcohol for Lent turned out to be.
I got home from work early so I could give the old girl a once over with a wet sponge...
...but I haven't been able to look at the car properly until today.
Jobs for MOT
Knackered wipers.
Insecure spare wheel.
Insecure battery.
Leak from bodged coolant pipe.
Missing bonnet catch.
Split flexipipe (spare one included).
Quality Pigeon poo welded de'cat'.
This is the moment my HGT-Van became a part donor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUZiUORi3uQ
Oh well at least I might be able to buy the right one to replace it.
Before and after...
...rain stopped play and I only have the bonnet catch and a rear indicator bulb to change. Hopefully this will be okay for the test but idling at 68-70dB and drive by at 81-83dB I may need to replace the chavy back box for something more purposeful.
On the parts donor front and I haven't decided whether to refit the yellow skirts. Ten years ago this summer I took part in the PPC £999 Challenge in a Spanish registered BMW 320i with some moderate tuning and weight reduction.
Maybe paint the body violet and get some yellow bumpers for the Punto HGT-Rally?
If anyone knows the car I would like to know more about the history and provenance. I know it was built by a member of the Chelmsford Motor Club to take part in the Woodbridge Targa Rally 2017 and the suspension was set up for Brands Hatch by a chap called "Pete" in 2019
The last MOT had no advisories so I guess the cat' fell off between then and now.
Maybe paint the body violet and get some yellow bumpers for the Punto HGT-Rally?
If anyone knows the car I would like to know more about the history and provenance. I know it was built by a member of the Chelmsford Motor Club to take part in the Woodbridge Targa Rally 2017 and the suspension was set up for Brands Hatch by a chap called "Pete" in 2019
The last MOT had no advisories so I guess the cat' fell off between then and now.
MOT diary.
09:00 - Should have made a start.
09:30 - One more coffee.
10:00 - b
ks. Family stuff.
11:23 - headed to Elite Motorsport for a set of road legal-ish tyres.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254517724714
Do you know what? A Punto HGT van would be a really good idea. Can't think why nobody has thought of it yet.
12:something - Stuck in traffic on the A47
13:22 - One more coffee.
13:27 - I need a new kettle.
13:36 - These coffee bags aren't half bad.
13:39 - Took the bonnet catch off the HGT van.
13:41 - Cut the cable section off so it's just the secondary hook.
13:46 - Mounted it to the Rally car.
13:49 - Cracked the wheel bolts on the passenger side.
13:54 - Jacked the passenger side up on the front subframe bolts.
14:03 - Drivers side front wheel done.
14:09 - Rear wheel done.
14:11 - Dropped the car back down and torqued the wheel bolts. (Some very expensive 25mm hubcentric spacers on the car).
14:17 - Moved the car over so I can get to the drivers side.
14:19 - Cracked the wheel bolts.
14:22 - Raised the drivers side with the jack.
14:25 - Front wheel done.
14:29 - Rear wheel done.
14:36 - Dropped the car and torqued the bolts as before.
14:38 - Final check around.
14:40 - Swear a lot in Italian because the passengers side tail light and drivers side indicator have stopped working.
14:46 - Removed both tail light clusters.
14:48 - Undid the screws holding the bulbs in place.
14:50 - Checked the bulbs and they were fine, just dirty terminals.
14:53 - Checked the bulbs again. Now the passenger side is all flashing.
14:54 - Cleaned the plug terminals. All working again.
14:56 - Only put the centre screw in and replaced the tail light clusters.
14:58 - Leave for the MOT...
...15:01 - Made it in time as the last test was running late.
15:5something - Pass!
With a few verbal advisories and compliments about the welding on the exhaust. 
09:00 - Should have made a start.
09:30 - One more coffee.
10:00 - b
ks. Family stuff. 11:23 - headed to Elite Motorsport for a set of road legal-ish tyres.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254517724714
Do you know what? A Punto HGT van would be a really good idea. Can't think why nobody has thought of it yet.
12:something - Stuck in traffic on the A47
13:22 - One more coffee.
13:27 - I need a new kettle.
13:36 - These coffee bags aren't half bad.
13:39 - Took the bonnet catch off the HGT van.
13:41 - Cut the cable section off so it's just the secondary hook.
13:46 - Mounted it to the Rally car.
13:49 - Cracked the wheel bolts on the passenger side.
13:54 - Jacked the passenger side up on the front subframe bolts.
14:03 - Drivers side front wheel done.
14:09 - Rear wheel done.
14:11 - Dropped the car back down and torqued the wheel bolts. (Some very expensive 25mm hubcentric spacers on the car).
14:17 - Moved the car over so I can get to the drivers side.
14:19 - Cracked the wheel bolts.
14:22 - Raised the drivers side with the jack.
14:25 - Front wheel done.
14:29 - Rear wheel done.
14:36 - Dropped the car and torqued the bolts as before.
14:38 - Final check around.
14:40 - Swear a lot in Italian because the passengers side tail light and drivers side indicator have stopped working.
14:46 - Removed both tail light clusters.
14:48 - Undid the screws holding the bulbs in place.
14:50 - Checked the bulbs and they were fine, just dirty terminals.
14:53 - Checked the bulbs again. Now the passenger side is all flashing.
14:54 - Cleaned the plug terminals. All working again.
14:56 - Only put the centre screw in and replaced the tail light clusters.
14:58 - Leave for the MOT...
...15:01 - Made it in time as the last test was running late.
15:5something - Pass!
With a few verbal advisories and compliments about the welding on the exhaust. As before this is not a paid promotion for either Elite Motorsport or my local MOT centre. I'm just a happy customer.
So I basically ruined the rally car today. Corvid-19 depending I should be at a charity track day this coming Friday and the Sceneocide oval back box had to go.
It was 77dB at idle and over 90dB when the engine revved. NYMBY track limits are around that so to avoid being black flagged...
...I wondered if the 595 Abarth back box for the Uno would fit.
It's as if Fiat wanted a five year old box to fit a twenty year old car.
Ticks over at 60.2dB and fast idle at 80.1dB
Good result but meh.
It was 77dB at idle and over 90dB when the engine revved. NYMBY track limits are around that so to avoid being black flagged...
...I wondered if the 595 Abarth back box for the Uno would fit.
It's as if Fiat wanted a five year old box to fit a twenty year old car.
Ticks over at 60.2dB and fast idle at 80.1dB
Good result but meh.
My nephew has done a mechanics course and apparently been shown how to weld. He asked for the Scenocide back box from my rally car and if he could borrow my welder and grinder.
So ladies and gentlemen my nephews first attempt at making an oval peg fit a trapezoid hole.
Not the worst I have seen by a long way. My first was a Peco BigBore4 on a Panda 4x4
I had to cut it off and help.
My nephews first exhaust I would guess my 250th.
P.S Yes I know the bumper isn't symmetrical. He did that.
So ladies and gentlemen my nephews first attempt at making an oval peg fit a trapezoid hole.
Not the worst I have seen by a long way. My first was a Peco BigBore4 on a Panda 4x4
I had to cut it off and help.
My nephews first exhaust I would guess my 250th.
P.S Yes I know the bumper isn't symmetrical. He did that.
Due to the Corvid19 hysteria I'm off work for the foreseeable future. This means that I'll be earning zero hours wages for the next however long so all spending is now essentials only.
So no track day tomorrow. I can't afford to spend £60-100 on fuel, food and stuff when that money could be all that's keeping my head up in the next few weeks.
By way of protest and because it had the most petrol today was the first...
...take your rally car to work day.
I basically had to turn up, thank anyone else who turned up and send them home.
Gutted but glad to be doing my part to help with this problem. Also an opportunity for me to catch up with gardening and stuff around the home.
So no track day tomorrow. I can't afford to spend £60-100 on fuel, food and stuff when that money could be all that's keeping my head up in the next few weeks.
By way of protest and because it had the most petrol today was the first...
...take your rally car to work day.
I basically had to turn up, thank anyone else who turned up and send them home.
Gutted but glad to be doing my part to help with this problem. Also an opportunity for me to catch up with gardening and stuff around the home.
Doing my part for social isolation driving around in a car that only has one seat.
Even though it's a bit of a petri dish inside...
...this is what the second bucket of Flash with Febreeze water looked like.
Bleaugh!
Next I added some lightness with a pressure washer instead of a grinder...
...it was so bad under there I apologised to the MOT guys last week.
So my work situation show no sign of improving in the near future and early estimates suggest I'll be out of work for a month to eight weeks at least. So sadly the rally car will have to go to cover bills and stuff.
It's a shame I didn't get to see the cars potential but I have the project van and blue daily driver and can't afford anything nonessential right now.
Even though it's a bit of a petri dish inside...
...this is what the second bucket of Flash with Febreeze water looked like.
Bleaugh!
Next I added some lightness with a pressure washer instead of a grinder...
...it was so bad under there I apologised to the MOT guys last week.
So my work situation show no sign of improving in the near future and early estimates suggest I'll be out of work for a month to eight weeks at least. So sadly the rally car will have to go to cover bills and stuff.
It's a shame I didn't get to see the cars potential but I have the project van and blue daily driver and can't afford anything nonessential right now.
Social isolation continues and I have been raiding my shed again for stuff to do.
Grotty looking cam' and coil pack cover on the blue HGT so...
...I took the coil pack cover off the rally car and painted it with Fiat Racing Red from the Bravo bumpers.
This is temporary as I have a spare cam' cover in my shed so the both it and the coil pack cover are now in high build primer...
The cam' cover will be in wheel silver and the coil pack cover in 597 Teseo blue.
Sadly a bug landed on the wet primer...
...this always happens when you paint outside. I managed to get it off but the wings were covered in paint so I doubt it'll fly again.
Continuing the temporary red theme I hate the rubber mats that came with the car. They squeak if your feet are wet and ride up to the clutch pedal in the dry. For the time being I have the red mats from the Van in there.
Also the CD player has been acting up and the head unit screen knackered at best so I used the trim panel from the Wet Dog Punto and fitted the stero from my Panda.
My Underworld live at Up Yer Ronson tape was in there so win-win.
Grotty looking cam' and coil pack cover on the blue HGT so...
...I took the coil pack cover off the rally car and painted it with Fiat Racing Red from the Bravo bumpers.
This is temporary as I have a spare cam' cover in my shed so the both it and the coil pack cover are now in high build primer...
The cam' cover will be in wheel silver and the coil pack cover in 597 Teseo blue.
Sadly a bug landed on the wet primer...
...this always happens when you paint outside. I managed to get it off but the wings were covered in paint so I doubt it'll fly again.
Continuing the temporary red theme I hate the rubber mats that came with the car. They squeak if your feet are wet and ride up to the clutch pedal in the dry. For the time being I have the red mats from the Van in there.
Also the CD player has been acting up and the head unit screen knackered at best so I used the trim panel from the Wet Dog Punto and fitted the stero from my Panda.
My Underworld live at Up Yer Ronson tape was in there so win-win.
Social distancing day eight I thought I would have a look in my shed. Not happy with the red coil pack cover I found some appliance white from an MX5 bonnet I did a few years ago and some Fantasia green I bought for my Panda ten years ago...
...
...meh, but it looks better than just red at least.
...
...meh, but it looks better than just red at least.
A500leroy said:
looking good that man! But PLEASE tell me you've put the robbed parts from the van back on it..
As soon as I can afford to I will. Zero hour contract and working zero hours at the moment. As I'm neither employed or self employed I have no budget to do anything really. That's why the rally car is for sale.
Due to lockdown Practical Performance Car magazine has asked for home updates as getting about, writing and photoing so in case it doesn't get published...
I joked that having given up alcohol for Lent I ended up with three Fiat Punto HGT's but the truth is, it goes a bit further back than that.
"Twas a few weeks before Christmas and for some daft reason I was optimistic about the 2020 track day season".
I was looking for an MX5 (to drop a 13B engine in) or later model MR2 being Winter you wouldn't normally have the Vitamin D tax but due to it being one of the mildest Winter's ever prices weren't dropping as much as usual. After four bottles of Thatchers Cider I noticed a yellow Fiat Punto HGT for sale at £200 on everyone's favorite auction site. I thought I would bid just to get the ball rolling as the wheels were worth more than starting price and valued the whole car at around £500.
A few days later I was notified I had won the car. Thanks to my mate Tom he did the leg work to Preston and back to recover the car for £300
For my sins I was driving a VW Beetle (Golf in a frock) at the time and just sitting in another Punto HGT (I've owned a few before) was enough for me to start looking for one for the road. First off though I wanted to make the yellow HGT into a van. This is something I have always wanted to do. In the past whenever you see "This is what >insert manufacturer here< should have made" it was generally terrible. Ye Olde Max Power daze it would be something with more filler than the complete back catalog of Limp Bizkit, weighed down with so many speakers the tyres would rub and an undeclared engine swap for "Cheep insurwans innit". I digress this time I wanted to make a Punto HGT-Van. I used to have a Fiesta XRV and small vans are basically cool. A cheap (because it was completely knackered) Punto van turned up on an anti-social media market place and the plan was hatched. Stripped the donor van, painted the rear quarters, added a stripe and chevron. Ta-daaa! Punto HGT Van. Now I have to replace the gearbox and basically fabricate and weld in a new floor.
In the mean time I found a Punto HGT rally car near Glasgow but due to my cider fueled frolics I needed to save a couple of weeks to get it. I sent a message to the seller to see if they could hold it for me but they were going to relist it in the New Year. The next day a near perfect low mileage, low owner, blue HGT was listed. I bought the car, got the train and drove her home.
The Beetle was advertised and sold the next day. The blue HGT was a couple of little jobs shy of being a show car. So as well as the track day season I was contemplating standing in a field getting sunburned/rained on with a load of other people with nice looking cars. Maybe not.
Track day season was weeks away. The blue car is too nice and original to thrash around a circuit I did that with my green HGT.
I didn't want to take my standard HGT and the yellow car needed too much welding to get done in time. Luckily the HGT rally car was relisted so I made an offer asked Tom to collect the car again.
The old girl needed "E" marked tyres, a catalytic converter and some other bits and bobs for the MOT. Tyres thanks to Elite Motorsport for a set of scrubbed Michelin Pilotsport 3's from a Ginetta Jnr race car. The van project donated its cat' to replace the pigeon crap welded de-cat' thing. A week before the first Charity track day at Blyton she passed, but the Sceneocide oval back box was a tad too loud. My Uno project donated the 595 Abarth back box. The tailpipes fill the gaps in the bumper almost perfectly. It's as if Fiat wanted a five year old back box to fit a twenty year old car. As well as being a good fit according to the decibelometer app' on my phone the volume was reduced from a potential black flag inciting racket to a squirrel fart.
So my car was ready, I was ready, but I was called into the office two days before we were due to hit the track and told I would be out of work until the Covid19 situation is resolved. Not knowing when I was going to be earning money again I could not afford to spend £100 on petrol driving to the track, round about ten dozen times and back. The nature of the event and testimony of the character of my friends. Several offered a Jerry can of fuel for me to use. A humbling gesture but I wouldn't want to impose.
I did drive to work the next day to let everyone else know it had been canceled. What's the point of having a road legal rally car if you don't take the car out to keep the brakes clean and so on periodically?
Pre-Covid19 plans.
Finish the yellow van and use as my daily driver. Do the little jobs to the blue car so she's to a show standard and keep the old girl standard. The rally car however has got me thinking. The Punto HGT has a hybrid engine. Alfa 1747cc Twinspark block with a Fiat/Lancia derived cylinder head. None of this pretend to be saving the planet hybrid nonsense a proper hybrid. The 130hp the car comes with as standard is okay but...
Plan a/ Apparently the turbo exhaust manifold from the 1.9 JTD fits or making an after market Coupe' 16V turbo manifold fit is a day and bit welding and plumbing. Sadly this falls on its face due to the unique self healing ECU that resets back to standard when you try to remap or piggyback it. Stand alone ECU is an option but fitting a turbo to a standard compression engine would be futile or unreliable. By the time I've found forged low compression pistons to run more than 5psi boost it would cost more than finding a turbo engine to swap.
Plan b/ Find a Fiat Coupe' 16V turbo and do the swap. Both Tipo 2 platforms (so should be easier to do than the Mk1 176 Punto conversions I have seen). A few 20V turbo conversions have been done but I would prefer the 16V due to ease of fitment and no compromising the turning circle. Also the 20V is a lot of weight over the nose of a short wheel base. Made worse when you consider my rally has been completely stripped out for the cage. This idea falls on its arse as finding a 16V turbo Fiat Coupe' is as much of a faff as finding tuning parts and accessories. All of a sudden one of the best engines ever to don a Fiat badge is obsolete.
Plan c/ With the Fiat Alfa lineage I could raid the parts bin for something up to date. The 1750tbi as found in the 4C and Giulietta is a pretty safe bet. Based roughly on the Fiat SuperFIRE t-jet engine 235bhp standard and companies are getting 300+bhp out of them reliably (most offer 280bhp with standard parts and remap).
So I was looking into plan c. Sadly the Giulietta is well beyond budget even if I were to find one that needed the M32 gearbox bearing rebuild (as most do). The 159 had the 1742cc TBi engine as well but only made 200bhp so it wasn't as quick as the 3.2 V6. I was pretty sure the 159 TBi would be would be a remap away from the 235bhp the Giulietta had. A quick check on a few websites confirmed this. 235bhp in a car that was supposed to have 130bhp standard would be enough to start and going from 1747cc to 1742cc shouldn't set alarm bells off in Swansea. One of the tuning companies I looked into was using a manual 159 TBi as a test mule for 4C and Giulietta parts. This car was collision damaged, unable to be put back on the road and once development was finished surplus. I was about to ask if they were willing to sell as a complete donor when Covid19 hit the proverbial fan.
Post Covid19 plans? Scuppered.
I think all of us will just have to wait and see.
I joked that having given up alcohol for Lent I ended up with three Fiat Punto HGT's but the truth is, it goes a bit further back than that.
"Twas a few weeks before Christmas and for some daft reason I was optimistic about the 2020 track day season".
I was looking for an MX5 (to drop a 13B engine in) or later model MR2 being Winter you wouldn't normally have the Vitamin D tax but due to it being one of the mildest Winter's ever prices weren't dropping as much as usual. After four bottles of Thatchers Cider I noticed a yellow Fiat Punto HGT for sale at £200 on everyone's favorite auction site. I thought I would bid just to get the ball rolling as the wheels were worth more than starting price and valued the whole car at around £500.
A few days later I was notified I had won the car. Thanks to my mate Tom he did the leg work to Preston and back to recover the car for £300
For my sins I was driving a VW Beetle (Golf in a frock) at the time and just sitting in another Punto HGT (I've owned a few before) was enough for me to start looking for one for the road. First off though I wanted to make the yellow HGT into a van. This is something I have always wanted to do. In the past whenever you see "This is what >insert manufacturer here< should have made" it was generally terrible. Ye Olde Max Power daze it would be something with more filler than the complete back catalog of Limp Bizkit, weighed down with so many speakers the tyres would rub and an undeclared engine swap for "Cheep insurwans innit". I digress this time I wanted to make a Punto HGT-Van. I used to have a Fiesta XRV and small vans are basically cool. A cheap (because it was completely knackered) Punto van turned up on an anti-social media market place and the plan was hatched. Stripped the donor van, painted the rear quarters, added a stripe and chevron. Ta-daaa! Punto HGT Van. Now I have to replace the gearbox and basically fabricate and weld in a new floor.
In the mean time I found a Punto HGT rally car near Glasgow but due to my cider fueled frolics I needed to save a couple of weeks to get it. I sent a message to the seller to see if they could hold it for me but they were going to relist it in the New Year. The next day a near perfect low mileage, low owner, blue HGT was listed. I bought the car, got the train and drove her home.
The Beetle was advertised and sold the next day. The blue HGT was a couple of little jobs shy of being a show car. So as well as the track day season I was contemplating standing in a field getting sunburned/rained on with a load of other people with nice looking cars. Maybe not.
Track day season was weeks away. The blue car is too nice and original to thrash around a circuit I did that with my green HGT.
I didn't want to take my standard HGT and the yellow car needed too much welding to get done in time. Luckily the HGT rally car was relisted so I made an offer asked Tom to collect the car again.
The old girl needed "E" marked tyres, a catalytic converter and some other bits and bobs for the MOT. Tyres thanks to Elite Motorsport for a set of scrubbed Michelin Pilotsport 3's from a Ginetta Jnr race car. The van project donated its cat' to replace the pigeon crap welded de-cat' thing. A week before the first Charity track day at Blyton she passed, but the Sceneocide oval back box was a tad too loud. My Uno project donated the 595 Abarth back box. The tailpipes fill the gaps in the bumper almost perfectly. It's as if Fiat wanted a five year old back box to fit a twenty year old car. As well as being a good fit according to the decibelometer app' on my phone the volume was reduced from a potential black flag inciting racket to a squirrel fart.
So my car was ready, I was ready, but I was called into the office two days before we were due to hit the track and told I would be out of work until the Covid19 situation is resolved. Not knowing when I was going to be earning money again I could not afford to spend £100 on petrol driving to the track, round about ten dozen times and back. The nature of the event and testimony of the character of my friends. Several offered a Jerry can of fuel for me to use. A humbling gesture but I wouldn't want to impose.
I did drive to work the next day to let everyone else know it had been canceled. What's the point of having a road legal rally car if you don't take the car out to keep the brakes clean and so on periodically?
Pre-Covid19 plans.
Finish the yellow van and use as my daily driver. Do the little jobs to the blue car so she's to a show standard and keep the old girl standard. The rally car however has got me thinking. The Punto HGT has a hybrid engine. Alfa 1747cc Twinspark block with a Fiat/Lancia derived cylinder head. None of this pretend to be saving the planet hybrid nonsense a proper hybrid. The 130hp the car comes with as standard is okay but...
Plan a/ Apparently the turbo exhaust manifold from the 1.9 JTD fits or making an after market Coupe' 16V turbo manifold fit is a day and bit welding and plumbing. Sadly this falls on its face due to the unique self healing ECU that resets back to standard when you try to remap or piggyback it. Stand alone ECU is an option but fitting a turbo to a standard compression engine would be futile or unreliable. By the time I've found forged low compression pistons to run more than 5psi boost it would cost more than finding a turbo engine to swap.
Plan b/ Find a Fiat Coupe' 16V turbo and do the swap. Both Tipo 2 platforms (so should be easier to do than the Mk1 176 Punto conversions I have seen). A few 20V turbo conversions have been done but I would prefer the 16V due to ease of fitment and no compromising the turning circle. Also the 20V is a lot of weight over the nose of a short wheel base. Made worse when you consider my rally has been completely stripped out for the cage. This idea falls on its arse as finding a 16V turbo Fiat Coupe' is as much of a faff as finding tuning parts and accessories. All of a sudden one of the best engines ever to don a Fiat badge is obsolete.
Plan c/ With the Fiat Alfa lineage I could raid the parts bin for something up to date. The 1750tbi as found in the 4C and Giulietta is a pretty safe bet. Based roughly on the Fiat SuperFIRE t-jet engine 235bhp standard and companies are getting 300+bhp out of them reliably (most offer 280bhp with standard parts and remap).
So I was looking into plan c. Sadly the Giulietta is well beyond budget even if I were to find one that needed the M32 gearbox bearing rebuild (as most do). The 159 had the 1742cc TBi engine as well but only made 200bhp so it wasn't as quick as the 3.2 V6. I was pretty sure the 159 TBi would be would be a remap away from the 235bhp the Giulietta had. A quick check on a few websites confirmed this. 235bhp in a car that was supposed to have 130bhp standard would be enough to start and going from 1747cc to 1742cc shouldn't set alarm bells off in Swansea. One of the tuning companies I looked into was using a manual 159 TBi as a test mule for 4C and Giulietta parts. This car was collision damaged, unable to be put back on the road and once development was finished surplus. I was about to ask if they were willing to sell as a complete donor when Covid19 hit the proverbial fan.
Post Covid19 plans? Scuppered.
I think all of us will just have to wait and see.
Well the last few weeks have been challenging and depressing.
I sold the rally car to pay my bills.
Took a Meriva automatic as a part exchange.
Here's a top tip, when trying to sell a car describing it as the Automotive Antichrist can put potential buyers off.
Lucky I had the Meriva to fall back on because I finally got the cam'cover gasket for my HGT.
Looked good but leaked worse than ever. So Driveway CSI mode I took the cover back off...
...and discovered the new gasket was cracked.
Sent a message to the seller (eBay) and they accused me of cutting it or stabbing it with a screw driver. I could have argued about it but from the sentence structure and punctuation my guess was English wasn't their first language and urinating into the wind would have been too much effort.
So old gasket, new silicone and she's now leak free and looking reasonably good.
In other lock down news, we're allowed to wear masks in public now...
I'm not sharing photos of the Meriva as it's too traumatic. Needless to say the previous owner was a heavy smoker and after a three hour long interior valet it was okay-ish. A surgeon came along and cut the turquoise cancer from my drive (I sold it).
I'm back at work-ish but not allowed to use the works van. I used my HGT and bought a cheap Punto Van from a social media market place for £350
Interior from a 2001 model and the back seat had to go. Luckily I had the floor and other bits in my shed for the HGT van project.
The stereo sounded like History Today...
https://youtu.be/4ExnZY5fniU
A quick raid in the shed for some old Pioneers and for the back...
I've taken some 4mm polycarbonate too scratched for windows (I don't have any MDF and not going out unless essential)...
...painted red in case you were worried I was going full WCC and put LED's on the trim...
...draft excluder tape to reduce vibration...
...doesn't look half bad...
They sound pretty good to considering the overall cost is £0.00 as it was all stuff from the shed. Certainly enough to drown out the cement mixer Multijet under the bonnet.
After a week driving around in the van I can honestly say that driving my HGT today was like a Rolls Royce in comparison. But I'm getting 60mpg and can do my work stuff without ruining my car. The van is basic, but basically doing its job.
As for the van project. That's on permanent hold and I'm rethinking the whole idea. HGT's are too rare to faff about and the yellow car could replace my rally car once the track season reopens.
I sold the rally car to pay my bills.
Took a Meriva automatic as a part exchange.
Here's a top tip, when trying to sell a car describing it as the Automotive Antichrist can put potential buyers off. Lucky I had the Meriva to fall back on because I finally got the cam'cover gasket for my HGT.
Looked good but leaked worse than ever. So Driveway CSI mode I took the cover back off...
...and discovered the new gasket was cracked.
Sent a message to the seller (eBay) and they accused me of cutting it or stabbing it with a screw driver. I could have argued about it but from the sentence structure and punctuation my guess was English wasn't their first language and urinating into the wind would have been too much effort.
So old gasket, new silicone and she's now leak free and looking reasonably good.
In other lock down news, we're allowed to wear masks in public now...
I'm not sharing photos of the Meriva as it's too traumatic. Needless to say the previous owner was a heavy smoker and after a three hour long interior valet it was okay-ish. A surgeon came along and cut the turquoise cancer from my drive (I sold it).
I'm back at work-ish but not allowed to use the works van. I used my HGT and bought a cheap Punto Van from a social media market place for £350
Interior from a 2001 model and the back seat had to go. Luckily I had the floor and other bits in my shed for the HGT van project.
The stereo sounded like History Today...
https://youtu.be/4ExnZY5fniU
A quick raid in the shed for some old Pioneers and for the back...
I've taken some 4mm polycarbonate too scratched for windows (I don't have any MDF and not going out unless essential)...
...painted red in case you were worried I was going full WCC and put LED's on the trim...
...draft excluder tape to reduce vibration...
...doesn't look half bad...
They sound pretty good to considering the overall cost is £0.00 as it was all stuff from the shed.
Certainly enough to drown out the cement mixer Multijet under the bonnet. After a week driving around in the van I can honestly say that driving my HGT today was like a Rolls Royce in comparison. But I'm getting 60mpg and can do my work stuff without ruining my car. The van is basic, but basically doing its job.
As for the van project. That's on permanent hold and I'm rethinking the whole idea. HGT's are too rare to faff about and the yellow car could replace my rally car once the track season reopens.
Recycling tomorrow so...
...as we can't do track days we may as well do trash days.
On the topic of trash the power steering went on the van so instead of stealing more parts from the HGT I'm going old school.
Naturally aspirated steering is a damn sight better than trying to turn a dead motor and gears.
...as we can't do track days we may as well do trash days.
On the topic of trash the power steering went on the van so instead of stealing more parts from the HGT I'm going old school.
Naturally aspirated steering is a damn sight better than trying to turn a dead motor and gears.
So a Mercedes driver forgot to Give Way in my local supermarket car park...
...Bumper, brace bar, indicator, headlight, fog light, wing, nothing major right?
Door, B pillar, skirt, outer sill, inner sill, floor bent at the jacking point. Inner sill has compromised the lower seat belt mount. The insurance guys are coming out Monday but I'm not optimistic. The car pulled to the left on the way home so I imagine she's a write off.
...Bumper, brace bar, indicator, headlight, fog light, wing, nothing major right?
Door, B pillar, skirt, outer sill, inner sill, floor bent at the jacking point. Inner sill has compromised the lower seat belt mount. The insurance guys are coming out Monday but I'm not optimistic. The car pulled to the left on the way home so I imagine she's a write off.
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