The Dark Wob

I chucked a few hundred quid at mt tame welder and the Buick now has floors. It does still need work to the boot floor and the outer sills but will do for now. Then this afternoon I had a look at the fiat. First up the pair of floors that cost me over 400 quid won't fit without serious modification so I am going to just use a flat panel and put crossmembers in to mount the seats. Originally the large X frame that strengthens the shell has a gap between it and the floor of about 1/4 of an inch. This is a bit of a rust trap and why it had already been changed. If I go for a flat floor I can lower it and weld it to the X frame for even more strength. It will also hav a 2 inch box section that joins the corners of the X and runs along inside the sill. By the time this lot is done it will be stronger than new I hope. Some of the quality repair that has been removed.

That Buick is such a lovely looking old thing.

I can understand eventually letting the fart go, but the Buick really is a doozy. That would be in my forever garage.

Nice to see them both being saved.

The Buick will certainly be out on it's ear. It does look the part and the fireball 8 sounds the business but it has no power steering. Before you all say I should man up then yeah it isn't the end of the world but when it has to be manoeuvred around the workshop everyday it gets pretty annoying. I don't suppose it is a problem in it's home country with nice big roads and plenty of room. Maybe I will change my mind when I do actually get to drive it on the road rather than just moving it in and out of the workshop. The Fiat is a nice little thing and easy to find a place for it inside so stands a better chance of staying a bit longer. At the end of the day they were bought as a business opportunity which would hopefully earn some money but I suspect it isn't going to pay off with this pair and I don't think I will be doing it again, certainly not with the proceeds of the Bentley sale (if it sells). I do enjoy the hunt for these old motors but it gets seriously expensive when you end up doing too much. I still fancy a Citroen DS at some point though but that will have to wait until the cash reserves can take the hit when I buy a supposedly good car that turns into a money pit.

Corsa EPAS column retrofit?

As I'm sure you are already aware Cross ply tyres could help? As could an overhaul of everything steering related, I bet nothing had been greased in a couple of decades.

If only we knew somebody in the States near a port to look at stuff..

panhard65 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 10, 2021 9:51 pm Before you all say I should man up

Man up!

The next stage of trying to flog off a few motors has begun. Car and Classic sold a Turbo R with an mot measured in days and a blowing manifold for over 11k the other day. It was a year newer than mine slightly higher mileage and twice as many owners so things are looking good I hope.
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/auction ... id=1&pid=1 I have set the reserve at 10k as I am a bit concerned it might be the wrong time to sell but we will see. The Dodge is also up as well with an unrealistic 8k reserve. I don't expect to sell it but you never know.
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/auction ... rse-n7Qdr8 I have also had an offer on the Buick as it stands of 8k so I might let it go only the guy wants it registered for that which is ok but will take a few weeks at least.

I thought you were keeping the red Bentley, that was always the impression I'd got at least.

The chance of doubling my money on it is a strong reason. It has been on the fleet 18 months which is pretty good going for me. I know I will regret it but there are a couple of things I quite fancy G27 Ginetta might be a bit of fun if I can fit in one.