The Dark Wob

January 2020 saw some comings and goings within the fleet, there seemed to be a trend going on with most of them which were bought on a whim because they were cheap then sold quickly because they were a bit crap.
In December I bought a Daihatsu Charade for £300 and sold it in January for £400

RJC_3314 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_3302 by srblythe, on Flickr

There was nothing majorly wrong with it, it had some rust around the rear arches and there was some steering wheel wobble above 50mph but as a functioning car I had no complaints, I just didn't really like it.


RJC_3513 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_3512 by srblythe, on Flickr

The ranger I bought for £600 and soon discovered the clutch was knackered and it was letting in water - the front carpets were soaking. I was contemplating fixing it until I tried to open the bonnet and found that the mechanism underneath was missing making it virtually impossible to open so in a bit of a rage I sold it to a breaker for £450 because I was sick of the sight of it. Really I should have taken some bits off for my other ranger.

RJC_3565 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_3564 by srblythe, on Flickr

The LDV Pilot I bought for £450 and enjoyed the novelty of driving it around for a day until it rained.

RJC_3560 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_3583 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_3604 by srblythe, on Flickr


I welded a strip of metal along the top of the windscreen and plastered it with seam sealer then sold it for £800.

RJC_3632 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_3631 by srblythe, on Flickr

I swapped a Peugeot 305 which owed me £300 for the 190E, it drives well enough but needs a blower motor to enable daily use as it's prone to steaming up on the inside. I'm planning on keeping this one for a little while longer.

RJC_3695 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_3691 by srblythe, on Flickr


Last car bought and sold In January was a k10 Micra, I bought it for £500 with half a tank of fuel in it then used it for a week and sold it for £600. It was reliable and economical but I just wasn't really feeling it so sold it on less than a week after buying it.

That Charade has traded its way up country somewhat - it was registered on the Isle of Wight! LOL at the LDV water feature, though...You will probably find something similar under the carpets of that 190E. Sunroof drains are an easy fix but pull the back seat out and see if you have a fishpond in there. Handily, the fuel pump lives there too - in a big sponge wrapper which does what all good sponges do. Rear lights let in water which goes under the boot liner and can leach into the interior. Drain plugs in either side-well of the boot as well as in the rear corners under the back seat cushion. There is so much insulation and plastic under the carpets it can hold water for a decade before the carpets look wet.....

RetroShite wrote: ↑Sun Feb 02, 2020 12:42 pmthen used it for a week and sold it for £600. It was reliable and economical but I just wasn't really feeling it

You're not meant to. It's a Micra.

This lockdown period has been excellent!

Great work Foad. I take it you're furloughed?

Drum wrote: ↑Wed Apr 01, 2020 9:22 pm Great work Foad. I take it you're furloughed?

Yeah, something like that. I was at work up until the government said essential workers only and have spent the rest of the time welding the chevette and drinking beer.

We gave the ranger a quick paint job yesterday, spent £60 on primer, 2k paint and hardeners which was just about enough to cover the whole car.



RJC_4906 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_4908 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_4917 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_4919 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_4920 by srblythe, on Flickr



We did the bare minimum prep, masked off a couple of areas and wire wheeled some of the rust. I'm happy enough with the result, it certainly looks better than before.



RJC_4792 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_0770 by srblythe, on Flickr



Also got rid of that horrendous looking wing on the 305.



RJC_4473 by srblythe, on Flickr



RJC_4911 by srblythe, on Flickr



RJC_4912 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_4913 by srblythe, on Flickr



As rough as it looked on top I was pleasantly surprised by how nice it is underneath. I still think the scuttle drainage tube which goes from an area under the windscreen, through the inside of the car and out of the inner wing is a daft idea. 



RJC_4924 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_4922 by srblythe, on Flickr



I also compared my Chevette front ends after a quick blast of paint in the wrong shade of blue.



RJC_4904 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_4903 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_4902 by srblythe, on Flickr

That scuttle drain inside the car must be where renault got the idea to put the sunroof drains under the dashboard in the laguna!

Fair play, I spend ages prepping anything I paint, only for it to look shit anyway!

CLINT wrote: ↑Fri Apr 10, 2020 10:25 pm Fair play, I spend ages prepping anything I paint, only for it to look shit anyway!

I usually have very low expectations of how it might turn out so anything else is a bonus.