A breaker restored!
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Birchall
Dick Chown Award 2016
Hi
By transporter. (£150 was best quote)
Yes the engine may be ok but that would be.a huge bonus
I am not normally that lucky though
Steve B
Birchall
Dick Chown Award 2016
Hi,
Great, thanks.
I get the car on Thursday and I will be diving straight under the bonnet to see what the problem is. It will be hard to undo the bonnet release catches with my fingers crossed though.
Steve B
Birchall
Dick Chown Award 2016
I will,
UPDATE ---- I just checked on the DVLA website and it looks like it has not been taxed since February 2010 !!!!!
OMG, off the road for four years!!!
I don't know what to expect now!!!
Buying blind is always scary, but sometimes you have to take chances or life would be boring!
And whatever happens I shouldn't lose money on this. (My fingers are now permanently crossed!!)
Next report will be on Thursday night if the car arrives as planned!!!
Watch this space.
Steve B
Sorry Sol, I thought you just had the Diesel engine available. So yes another good option there then!
Won't be long for you to have the new car firing then Steve!
Cheers
Sarge
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Birchall
Dick Chown Award 2016
Sorry Sol, I thought you just had the Diesel engine available. So yes another good option there then!
Won't be long for you to have the new car firing then Steve!
Cheers
Sarge
Yes, it is a mixture of fear and excitement waiting to see if it is as good as it looks in the pictures (they always seem to look great in pictures even when they are not)
First job, check out the engine
Second job get those wheels off, check to see if and where they rub (so I can see what is involved in putting 18s on my "special" A2) then refurb and sell them
Third job, get rid of the badges!!!!
Fourth job, clean the interior and treat the leather
Fifth job, a trial RNS E conversion before I do it on my "special" A2
and so on
Steve B
Birchall
Dick Chown Award 2016
The water drains are fresh. So I am assuming that it was caused by leaving the window or door open, but we will see.
As for the roof, yes, I will have to be very careful. But not much I can do other than try it bit by bit.
There is going to be a LOT of finger crossing.
Steve B
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MikeMarsUK
A2OC Donor
If you manage to open the sunroof a small amount, then you could spray penetrating oil into the rails & leave it for an hour or two before opening it any more. But good luck.
Birchall
Dick Chown Award 2016
Catnip64
A2OC Donor
Steve,
I'd suggest you remove the motor and disengage the latches at the front of the rails, then you'll be able to ease the front section up and slide it back. The rear section should open once the front has been fully pushed back.
Doing it this way will allow you to free-up the mechanism and lubricate the rails before you consider powering it from the motor. Of course it's quite possible that the drive mechanism is already broken, but this will hopefully prevent any further damage being done.
Good luck and we look forward to the next instalment.
Steve
Birchall
Dick Chown Award 2016
Yes, that makes sense.
"Watch this space".
With a 4 year layup and the fallibility of the OSS anyway, it would be a big result if it works ok!!!
Steve B
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Birchall
Dick Chown Award 2016
Just a quick update, used a service called "ANYVAN" and found a few that would pick the car up from Exeter.
There was a lot of messing around with dates etc which added hassle for the seller.
But I finally selected the one I was going to use and they agreed to pick up the car this morning (Thursday) and deliver it same day to me.
The owner waited in all day and nothing, in the end he had to leave and so I suggested that he leaves the keys and stuff in the car and the transport company can collect it without him having to wait around. Had to go out tonight and I had heard nothing and by 9pm the seller texted me to ask if it had been picked up yet, but I didn't know and I could not get an answer.
I got through to the driver and thankfully he HAD picked up the car and it was on its way, BUT it was going to arrive too late for him to drop it off tonight and so he is going to drop it off at 7am in the morning (I was ok with an early delivery so I can then leave for work).
So I will have to keep my fingers crossed for even longer. Half of me is quite liking the suspense and the thought that it could be a really nice car, the other half (the sensible half) is worried stiff that I have bought a pup.
As I have said though it is not that the car may turn out to be an expensive buy, it is more the overall condition that matters, I don't want to break it and I won't, as long as it is generally sound.
I will post details tomorrow when it arrives !!!
Steve B
There was a lot of messing around with dates etc which added hassle for the seller.
But I finally selected the one I was going to use and they agreed to pick up the car this morning (Thursday) and deliver it same day to me.
The owner waited in all day and nothing, in the end he had to leave and so I suggested that he leaves the keys and stuff in the car and the transport company can collect it without him having to wait around. Had to go out tonight and I had heard nothing and by 9pm the seller texted me to ask if it had been picked up yet, but I didn't know and I could not get an answer.
I got through to the driver and thankfully he HAD picked up the car and it was on its way, BUT it was going to arrive too late for him to drop it off tonight and so he is going to drop it off at 7am in the morning (I was ok with an early delivery so I can then leave for work).
So I will have to keep my fingers crossed for even longer. Half of me is quite liking the suspense and the thought that it could be a really nice car, the other half (the sensible half) is worried stiff that I have bought a pup.
As I have said though it is not that the car may turn out to be an expensive buy, it is more the overall condition that matters, I don't want to break it and I won't, as long as it is generally sound.
I will post details tomorrow when it arrives !!!
Steve B
Birchall
Dick Chown Award 2016
The car arrived eventually (several hours later than the latest delay was planned for !!!! if you know what I mean)
But still not seen it because I am in work at the moment.
Hoping to get away early before it is dark to see what the heck I have bought!!!!
LOL
Steve B
But still not seen it because I am in work at the moment.
Hoping to get away early before it is dark to see what the heck I have bought!!!!
LOL
Steve B
Birchall
Dick Chown Award 2016
Phew, just got in to see it sitting on the drive at last.
First impressions are that it looked OK.
But it has been left standing for 4 years and a bit "Whiffy" inside.
Issues
The engine (of course) turns over but by the sound of it there may be some compression issues, but it is certainly not seized or smashed up
The door mirror is held on with tape (nearside)
The OSS clicks and does nothing
There was no battery
No Log book
No "wallet"
No MOT
The glove compartment is loose and doesn't close
The bonnet has poor paint and a large scratch and a small dent (Needs a respray)
There is a hole in the tail light (Offside)
It has had the spacesaver mount fitted but the bolts and the wheel centre bolt are all missing (and the spacesaver!!!)
Other than that there does not seem to be anything seriously wrong and so it is a BIG "PHEWWWWWWW".
It is not therefore going to be broken up, I will bring this one back to life.
The 18" wheels are Sooo ugly that I am buying five paper bags ( 4 to cover each wheel up and one to throw up in if any of the other bags blow away!!!)
BUT, they fill the arches so well. They don't come out beyond the arches at all, they just fill them nicely. Tomorrow I will be taking them off to see where they rub (and they surely MUST rub somewhere, they look like they may be 8J) (wil check tomorrow). But this does mean that I am pretty sure that the 18" Sport Alloy 9 spoke copies may well fit with only marginal work.
Good points
The bodywork is fine (apart from the bonnet)
The leather interior is perfectly OK with no rips and no real wear showing
The double DIN radio (Symphony) works well.
The tyres are good, but it makes me smile to see that they are such a low profile that there is not enough tyre wall to put the make or size on them clearly. Definitely "rubber bands" rather then tyres, But I was quoted £600 for these tyres to go on the 18s I will be fitting to my "special A2". That is a huge saving for me.
I may have to buy a bulk box of "Fixodent" to stop my teeth from shaking out on rough roads (or matchsticks in the road) with these!!!!
If anyone has any of the parts I mentioned above (Wassap? Anyone?) please let me know
Likely to find more parts needed I bet
Now to find out what the problem with the engine is (that is the expensive bit !!!) and also if the gearbox works,
Fingers re-crossed for that.
So all in all worth the £800 (wil get some of that back when I sell the wheels!)
More soon
Steve B
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