For those interested in "Modern Classic" Cars

[Hobby]

No...

[Chris M]

28 minutes ago, Trainshed Terry said:

Could this become a moden classic. It is a nice little runner ecomnmical, it was at the right priceand only 23,000 miles on the clock. It ois a little under powered from what I was use to.

err - no.

[boxbrownie]

5 hours ago, Quarryscapes said:

MPG is already improved by some 5% and I haven't even got the tyre pressures up to their correct values yet. 

 

 

Just how much air volume have those tyres got?  

[big jim]

14 hours ago, Chris M said:

err - no.

people probably said the same about previous generations of fiesta too but wish they still had them now!

 

I had an E reg one back in about 2005 that I gave £350 for it to use instead of my jag S type, manual choke on it too, absolute minter, bought off a neighbour who got it for his daughter who didn’t get on with it, wish I still had that now! 
 

i like the previous fiesta to the one in the pic, about a 2005-2007 one, particularly the ST in lime green

 

we get a lot of fiestas as hire cars, they are a good little (or not so little now) car, quite nippy as well as economical 

 

 

Edited June 3, 2021 by big jim

[boxbrownie]

1 hour ago, big jim said:

people probably said the same about previous generations of fiesta too but wish they still had them now!

 

I had an E reg one back in about 2005 that I gave £350 for it to use instead of my jag S type, manual choke on it too, absolute minter, bought off a neighbour who got it for his daughter who didn’t get on with it, wish I still had that now! 
 

i like the previous fiesta to the one in the pic, about a 2005-2007 one, particularly the ST in lime green

 

we get a lot of fiestas as hire cars, they are a good little (or not so little now) car, quite nippy as well as economical 

 

 

We had one of the very first XR2.....it was actually a press photography/brochure vehicle, we bought it through the company employee scheme, slept all night in our Citroen Super-X outside Frog Island gates to get it.....the other XR2 we, or Mrs BB had was a Mk2 in bright red, lovely little car bought it off a lady who was a merchant navy 1st officer and it spent the majority of its life sitting on her drive while she bobbed around the world, Mrs BB loved it as it was perfect in every way.....until it got nicked in broad daylight from Wickford Station, the police showed us the video of the scrots driving through the exit waving at the cameras as they went.....never saw that again!  

Edited June 3, 2021 by boxbrownie

[Dunsignalling]

I had a 1985 Popular Plus, bought in a hurry when my Renault 18GTS failed the MoT beyond economic retrieval at the grand age (for those days) of 14.

 

The Fiesta was eight years old, one lady owner, 13k on the clock and in mint condition. Gutless (what the hell was the 950cc version like?), thirsty and on 135 tyres that made it dodgy on dry roads and next to lethal in the wet. Chucked them even though they were barely half worn and put 155s on; that at least made it safe to use.

 

I normally keep cars for up to ten years, but I got rid of that one in less than two. Chopped it in for a Peugeot 205XS that had twice the power, used less petrol, and handled beautifully.

 

Haven't even looked at another Ford since.

 

John

Edited June 3, 2021 by Dunsignalling

[boxbrownie]

1 hour ago, Dunsignalling said:

I had a 1985 Popular Plus,

Wow.....a rear wiper.....

[Quarryscapes]

16 hours ago, boxbrownie said:

Just how much air volume have those tyres got?  

 

Probably very close to what was on it before - 225/50 17 down to 225/40 18, 7J vs 8J. The improvement is down to Crappy budget winter tyres vs Michelin Primacy 4s. 

 

Dammit OCD compels me to calculate the relative volumes now! 

 

About an 11% decrease in air volume. 

Edited June 3, 2021 by Quarryscapes
Air Volumes calculated

[Dunsignalling]

2 hours ago, boxbrownie said:

Wow.....a rear wiper.....

And a lid on the glovebox, don't forget... 

[Andy7]

Had a 1991 Mk3 fiesta 1.6 s (90 bhp) as my first car in 1999. It was pretty decent but had already been repaired on the rear arches by that point (8 years old). Sold to my brothers mate who wrote it off within 2 weeks of having it.

[Dunsignalling]

11 minutes ago, Andy7 said:

Had a 1991 Mk3 fiesta 1.6 s (90 bhp) as my first car in 1999. It was pretty decent but had already been repaired on the rear arches by that point (8 years old). Sold to my brothers mate who wrote it off within 2 weeks of having it.

After I got rid of mine, in much the same timescale, the lad that bought it had his dad reverse his Volvo estate into the parked Fiesta while the hatchback was open, twisted the shell and wrote it off (the Fiesta, not the Volvo, naturally).

 

A couple of mates had  Mk3 Fiestas and they were much better than my Mk2, if that's not damning them with faint praise. Theirs were 1.3s IIRC and still not a patch on my 1.4, 85hp, average 43mpg, 205XS, though. That was 15 years old when I sold it with a new MoT and the only welding it had needed up to that point was a broken handbrake cable bracket.

 

John 

Edited June 3, 2021 by Dunsignalling

[peanuts]

 (what the hell was the 950cc version like?) absoloutly gutless had to suffer the indignaty of making three atempts to climb a hill to a rather nice pub outside Meltham my date was less than impressed when i reversed all the way up much to the merryment of the rest of our group who had arrived some time before 

[Dunsignalling]

4 minutes ago, peanuts said:

 (what the hell was the 950cc version like?) absoloutly gutless had to suffer the indignaty of making three atempts to climb a hill to a rather nice pub outside Meltham my date was less than impressed when i reversed all the way up much to the merryment of the rest of our group who had arrived some time before 

I remember my dad having to do that once, with an ex-GPO Morris Z van, but that had a better excuse as it was "powered" by a 918cc side-valve engine!

 

John

[Pandora]

On 19/04/2021 at 19:27, Chris M said:

And it was designed here in the UK albeit with BMW influence.

The MINI was designed in the USA, the USA BMW design studio,   BMW  led the UK Rover design studio on a wild goose chase, the UK designs such as the Minky 2 were ditched  with very little notice, unknown to Rover people , BMW had commissioned elsewhere  and the UK studio was been strung along with false hopes.

One of the UK engineers,  Alex Moulton,  took such deep  umbrage, his classic Mini Cooper  car ever after, wore a rear window emblem "100% BMW free"

[Pandora]

On 10/05/2021 at 10:23, boxbrownie said:

You have to be determined with the T-Cut but it will work (I used it in conjunction with an orbital rubber pad for the first “cut”), I have used the kits before and found no difference at the end, but your correct in that they need some UV protection as the original protection has long gone from the plastic.

 

Once restored from their very poor condition,  maintain them by using toothpaste as a polishing compound,  toothpaste is a very fine abrasive compound,  just right for the task of mild polishing, and a fraction of the cost of the polishing kits

[Pandora]

On 18/03/2021 at 22:28, Kickstart said:

GPZ600R? GPX600R?

 

Remember around 1992/3 the Cossie was dirt cheap 2nd hand as so many were stolen that insurance was a nightmare.

 

All the best

 

Katy

From memory, Ford dealer forecourt sticker price of a S/H Cosworth  £7995 as new condition

[Pandora]

On 19/06/2020 at 00:41, big jim said:

Speaking of fabric roofs (rooves?) 

 

With the rain we have had the last couple of days The mini convertible has steamed up something chronic, at first I thought it was the new seats being a bit wet after a clean causing damp/condensation however earlier I noticed the inside of the roof was covered in big water droplets all over the the rear Exposed cloth part and upon touching the outside the fabric (mohair) is absolutely saturated with water, so much so you can run your finger along it and the water rises up from the grain of the cloth ,had the car almost 2 years now and it’s the first time I’ve had it happen, it’s not leaking as such but so waterlogged it must be soaking through somehow

 

i had the hood cleaned and treated late last year/early this year with a supposed sealant solution added! 

There is a waterproofing product called Nikwax, used to waterproof motorcycle gear it is a liquid,  soak a cloth duster in Nikwax and you can use the cloth as a water bag. I do not know if it is suitable for the fabric roof  of a convertible car

[Hobby]

1 hour ago, peanuts said:

 (what the hell was the 950cc version like?) absoloutly gutless had to suffer the indignaty of making three atempts to climb a hill to a rather nice pub outside Meltham my date was less than impressed when i reversed all the way up much to the merryment of the rest of our group who had arrived some time before 

 

Sounds just like a 1.0l Micra I had as a courtesy car once.

 

The strange part is, the similar sized A series 998cc wasn't a bad engine, lower down torque perhaps? But the 850cc version was, ermm, lacking...

Edited June 4, 2021 by Hobby

[MJI]

Try a 1.0 Sunbeam, flat out everywhere. Luckily easy to fit 1600.

 

Which is why they all became body donors.

[boxbrownie]

2 hours ago, Pandora said:

 

Once restored from their very poor condition,  maintain them by using toothpaste as a polishing compound,  toothpaste is a very fine abrasive compound,  just right for the task of mild polishing, and a fraction of the cost of the polishing kits

Toothpaste works but works out bloomin’ expensive (mind you I’ve never done a Which comparison on it )....if you want a finer cut you can use the T-Cut metallic paint cutting compound, much less abrasive than normal T-Cut.

TBH I found just polishing with something like Autoglym keeps them shiney and has UV protection, or did have when I last used it, I admit to not having cleaned a car for about 6 years now.....

[boxbrownie]

2 hours ago, Pandora said:

There is a waterproofing product called Nikwax, used to waterproof motorcycle gear it is a liquid,  soak a cloth duster in Nikwax and you can use the cloth as a water bag. I do not know if it is suitable for the fabric roof  of a convertible car

I was told not to use Nikwax (I used to use it in the washing machine to keep my all weather gear sealed) as it might stain, although that was on a blue soft top, I did find a wash specifically for soft tops, but for the life I cannot remember the name now......probably was Nikwax under another name .....but it did work, got lovely beading in the fabric top.

[Chrisr40]

2 hours ago, Pandora said:

One of the UK engineers,  Alex Moulton,  took such deep  umbrage, his classic Mini Cooper  car ever after, wore a rear window emblem "100% BMW free"

My dads original mini cooper had a rear window sticker of "All Brit no German Shi...."

[Nick C]

On 03/06/2021 at 08:56, Dunsignalling said:

Chopped it in for a Peugeot 205XS that had twice the power, used less petrol, and handled beautifully.

 

The 205XS was a popular car amongst my cohort at University (early 2000's), cheap to buy, handled well, usually rust free as they were galvanised, but often plagued with electrical problems...

 

22 hours ago, Dunsignalling said:

A couple of mates had  Mk3 Fiestas and they were much better than my Mk2, if that's not damning them with faint praise.

 

I learnt to drive in a Mk3 1.1, and my first car was a Mk2 1.4S - at 13 years old, it was already as rotten as a pear, but taught me a lot! I found that the Mk3 didn't handle well at all though, higher centre of gravity left it wallowy.

[Dunsignalling]

3 minutes ago, Nick C said:

 

The 205XS was a popular car amongst my cohort at University (early 2000's), cheap to buy, handled well, usually rust free as they were galvanised, but often plagued with electrical problems...

 

 

I learnt to drive in a Mk3 1.1, and my first car was a Mk2 1.4S - at 13 years old, it was already as rotten as a pear, but taught me a lot! I found that the Mk3 didn't handle well at all though, higher centre of gravity left it wallowy.

My Mk2 was almost mint when I got it at eight years old, but the rot had set in by the time I sold it two years later. Plastic coating was peeling off the bumpers and one of the door mirrors was getting decidedly wobbly as the door supporting it deteriorated.

 

Bought my 1991 205xs at three and a half years old and kept it almost ten years, with very little spent beyond normal consumables. 34k when I bought it and 113k when I sold it to a mate. Warned him it would soon need a new clutch but he made the original last to 182k before getting it done. I certainly couldn't have managed that! It's still around, though I think the shell and back seat is probably all that's left from my time - it sounds like very hot stuff (and diesel with it) these days. It now belongs to a mechanic at the garage where I used to get it serviced.

 

After I'd had it a couple of years I had a drive in a Roland Garros which was basically similar but had 14 inch alloys with 185-60 tyres rather than the 165-70x13s on mine. I went straight out and bought a set, it transformed the already good handling into something virtually idiot proof. Cracking little motor.

 

John

[MJI]

I paid £40 for my 1600 and got £40 for my ex Imp engine off a trike owner.

 

Engine change, then cam change

40bhp to 69bhp to 115bhp