My slightly knackered old cars

Talk about your cars etc here. Keep it sort of sensible and on topic please.
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RetroShite
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My slightly knackered old cars

Post by RetroShite »

A thread dedicated to my changing collection of old cars which are all in various states of disrepair.

First up, the last car I bought. An E28 BMW 518i bought for £700.

ImageRJC_8189 by srblythe, on Flickr

ImageRJC_8184 by srblythe, on Flickr

ImageRJC_8183 by srblythe, on Flickr

ImageRJC_8180 by srblythe, on Flickr

ImageRJC_8172 by srblythe, on Flickr

It was laid up for a few years and had some kind of anti theft device fitted which fitted to the steering wheel and brake pedal, this has ended up either seizing up all of the braking mechanisms or worst case the master cylinder. It also has a slipping clutch and the instrument cluster doesn't work.
It does actually drive fine so if I can muster up the enthusiasm to spend money on it, it might turn out to be a decent old car.
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Re: My slightly knackered old cars

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Next up, another recent purchase.
A 1981 Vauxhall Chevette, still fitted with the original 1256 engine and 4 speed gearbox.

ImageRJC_8019 by srblythe, on Flickr

ImageRJC_8012 by srblythe, on Flickr

ImageRJC_8006 by srblythe, on Flickr

ImageRJC_8020 by srblythe, on Flickr

It's had some top quality welding by the previous owner (my welding would have looked much worse) in the drivers foot well, I brushed seam sealer into the welds and gave it a coat of black paint since taking the photo.
It's quite a fun car to drive, it has been lowered so handles really well on twisty roads, it's not particularly quick but it's fun pushing the car to its limits.
The bodywork is poor, there's rust all over it, doors are the worst followed by the rear arches. Underneath is fairly solid.
It's quite a noisy car to drive, there's a lot of road noise coming from the missing rubber bungs in the floor plus no carpets or sound deadening, the gear stick gaiter is torn and lets in noise from the tunnel.
I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do with it, a guy in the same yard as me has a hatchback shell I can get bits from so I'm hoping I can get a pair of doors.
He also said he has a set of weller steel wheels in white which might look nice on the car.
Other than that I just want to make it a bit more usable for daily driving.
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Re: My slightly knackered old cars

Post by 8BAK465 »

Welcome :D

Your Clearly winning carry on :mrgreen:
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Re: My slightly knackered old cars

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A couple of weeks ago I purchased a pair of Subaru MV (BRAT) Pick-ups from a farmer in Perthshire.

ImageRJC_7814 by srblythe, on Flickr

ImageRJC_7820 by srblythe, on Flickr

I really only bought them for spares, I have another Subaru which is currently roadworthy but has a big crack in the windscreen.

ImageRJC_7616 by srblythe, on Flickr

The black one drives fine, it has a little bit of play in the steering which results in steering wheel wobble when braking or driving at around 60 mph, it needs brake pads, a ball joint and the windscreen replaced which were all advised on the last mot.

On the hunt for a windscreen I found a local guy who had 3 Subarus, one he was building up to use on the road and two he had for spares, I asked him about buying a windscreen, he said I could have it for £80 if I removed it myself.
I did consider buying it but I knew there were a couple of complete ones on that farm in Perthshire so took a drive up to see about buying them.
The farmer wanted £100 each so I agreed to buy them and arranged transport for the following week.

The blue one was the worst (rust) of the pair so I stripped a few bits from it and sold the rest to a local guy who wanted the rear axle for £250.

ImageRJC_8023 by srblythe, on Flickr

ImageRJC_8024 by srblythe, on Flickr

ImageRJC_8022 by srblythe, on Flickr

Essentially this meant I had gained a complete Subaru plus a few decent spares and the much needed windscreen for £50 delivered.

The other one cleaned up quite well.

ImageRJC_7889 by srblythe, on Flickr

ImageRJC_7879 by srblythe, on Flickr

I have a pair of wings and a front bumper which I got as spares when I bought the black brat so possibly with a bit of work I could get the beige one back on the road.
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Re: My slightly knackered old cars

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I spotted this old E90 Corolla Liftback for sale on FB Marketplace, it looked pretty good in the photos but up close the arches were falling apart.

ImageRJC_7087 by srblythe, on Flickr

ImageRJC_7088 by srblythe, on Flickr

ImageRJC_7091 by srblythe, on Flickr

I paid £300 for it

It's a 1.6 Auto Executive, starts, stops and drives reasonably well, rear shocks desperately need replaced and I think the tracking needs done. Mot is up quite soon but I'm planning on getting it tested shortly.
It's a bit boring to drive but has been totally reliable in the short time I've been using it.
My main concern for the mot was the rear arches so I had a go at welding in some new metal.

ImageRJC_7670 by srblythe, on Flickr

ImageRJC_7671 by srblythe, on Flickr

I did the drivers side rear first, welded in new metal, flushed it back and applied a thin layer of filler. I think it looks pretty good, the passenger side I did the same minus the filler which looks a bit shitty, I could be doing with adding some filler to make it look more presentable.
The front arches I tried welding new metal in but didn't quite get the right shape on the drivers side so now it looks like it has a dent on the flared part of the wing instead of a frilly rusty bit. I'm so ashamed of the bad job I've done that I've neglected to take any photos of it, By the time I had gotten onto the front wings I had lost all enthusiasm for welding, grinding and filling so left it in a shoddy state. I think it'll pass the mot so might never get around to it.
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Re: My slightly knackered old cars

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I bought this shonky old 240D from down near London, it was advertised on Gumtree for £500 so I set about arranging transport for it.
I had to laugh when I asked for a quote from someone on the beige to shift it who does this kinda thing for a living and quoted me £900 to transport it because he would have to drive an hour (in my direction) to collect it.
I ended up getting a local guy to shift it for a much better price of £400.

ImageRJC_7538 by srblythe, on Flickr

ImageRJC_7537 by srblythe, on Flickr

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ImageRJC_7536 by srblythe, on Flickr

I've done the majority of the welding on it - enough for it to pass an mot when I get round to it but it needs a few other bits looking at. It needs a cv boot on a rear shaft and maybe some bulbs and I think it'll see a pass. There's a lot of play in the steering and it feels quite wallowy on the road so I want to look at fixing that and replacing the shocks all round, it has a bit of a lean to it so I think replacing the springs might be a good idea too.

ImageRJC_6745 by srblythe, on Flickr

ImageRJC_6771 by srblythe, on Flickr

I want to leave it as rough looking as possible.
When I book it in for a test, I'll probably have to leave a day in advance because it's so fucking slow!
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Re: My slightly knackered old cars

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ImageRJC_5365 by srblythe, on Flickr

ImageRJC_5370 by srblythe, on Flickr


I bought this Audi 80 CD 5S for £350, it's an automatic gearbox and has a rare 1.9 carbed 5 cylinder engine which is quite rare in these models, I think they were only fitted in these models for a short amount of time.

I bought it as a non runner and spent a minute spraying some easy start in it which enabled it to run long enough for the mechanical fuel pump to draw fuel through and keep it running continuously.

ImageRJC_6794 by srblythe, on Flickr

The (now deceased) previous owner had been restoring it over a number of years and had replaced the front wings and fitted a new sill. When I bought it, the front end was missing but came with the car in boxes. It was fun trying to figure out how to put it all back together again.
I had the wings painted by the painter next door, I gave him the filler cap to get a colour match for the wings which were in primer and had them painted. The painter did an excellent job but as it turns out the filler caps colour is a slightly different shade to the doors and bonnet so it looks quite mismatched. He was pretty unhappy with how they turned out when fitted to the car and offered to try blending them in at a later date. I said I wasn't all that bothered.

ImageRJC_5397 by srblythe, on Flickr

ImageRJC_6800 by srblythe, on Flickr

The car is on 26k miles and is pretty much immaculate inside, for an mot it needs the brake lines replaced and a new brake regulator on the rear axle - these are incredibly expensive to buy so I'm considering buying a cheap adjustable brake bias valve and fitting that.

ImageRJC_5367 by srblythe, on Flickr

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It came with a set of wheel I want to refurbish and fit.

ImageRJC_5376 by srblythe, on Flickr

I think it'll be a decent old car to run around on if I ever get it finished.
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Re: My slightly knackered old cars

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I do the odd bit of film and tv work providing old cars for various productions. There was a film being shot in both Edinburgh and Glasgow at the end of last year and were paying £400 per car, they were reluctant to use the same car twice so I soon ran out of cars to provide so thought about just buying any old pre 2000 shite to use, if I could get it for under £400 and use it in the film it would essentially become a free car.
I had a quick scan of eBay and ended up bidding on a P reg Skoda Felicia, I didn't win but typical eBay scenario of the winning bidder being a time wasting knob jockey meant I got a second chance and bagged it for £270 iirc.

ImageRJC_6244 by srblythe, on Flickr

ImageRJC_6246 by srblythe, on Flickr

When it came to providing it for the film I got stuck in traffic on the way there so they just shot the scene without me, It was pissing down with rain at the time and when there was a break in the weather they decided it might be there only chance to shoot it.
I got paid £200 for turning up 30 minutes late and not having to do anything, it was a bit of a shitter because I had bought a car for the occasion and was hoping to end up with a free car plus a little bit extra but really £70 for a Felicia was pretty good.
I've been using it over the winter, fitted a pair of winter tyres on the front and it's went anywhere without any issues, it's been utterly reliable and recently passed it's mot without fuss.
The rear arches are starting to look a bit scabby so I think it'll probably see some welding for next years mot.
For a car that I didn't particularly want or need it's been a great car to have, a car I can leave anywhere which I don't think stands out and a car that I won't care if it gets damaged.

ImageRJC_5744 by srblythe, on Flickr
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Re: My slightly knackered old cars

Post by John F »

You've got some some absolute belters there, mate.

I hope you do manage to get the beige Brat back on the road.
On the road:
1998 Disco 4.0 V8 (manual)
1994 Vauxhall Calibra 3.0 V6

Running but need fettling:

1986 Honda CBX750F
1991 Maserati 222 SE
1990 Yamaha XJ900F

Tax & MOT-exempt, woohoo!

1982 Suzuki GSX1100SZ Katana
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Re: My slightly knackered old cars

Post by CLINT »

Nice collection
OMG U OK HUN?
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