My 'Old' New Car

First off, I have two cars already. A Porsche that I am rebuilding (slowly!) and a Vectra SRI which I use for day to day. The Vectra fucked up and needs some major work which is not worth doing so I’m going to strip it for parts.

The new one… £150 for a 1993 Citroen! I got it on an absolute whim. 1.9 Litre turbo diesel with 204,000 miles on the clock. It’s awesome! Takes me right back to when I was 17. The drivers side wiper doesn’t work, there is one key to start it and one to open it, the key to open it makes no difference as the central locking is fucked so I can’t lock it anyway. There are bits dropping off it all over but the lump is completely 100% solid.

So far after just one day of driving it (I took my kids to the coast) I have found…

The fuel gauge is totally random. I half filled the tank and it said it was full. 10 minutes later on a hill it was empty. Cool.

The cigarette lighter socket is bust. Not that I use it for a smoke but I can’t use my laser detectors.

Doesn’t lock (as already mentioned)

Wiper doesn’t work (as already mentioned)

There are loads of missing panels in the car so you can see half the electrics.

The handbrake doesn’t work unless you are a 240lb big bastard that can pull it hard enough (Suits me fine)

The headlights are shit. They don’t move and are not xenon like I’m used to.

They (the headlights) do not come on automatically when it gets dark.

The wipers do not start automatically when it rains. (Big deal - they don’t work anyway).

The drivers seat does not auto adjust to whoever gets in.

There is no CD/MP3 player. It has a strange “Cassette” word on it and I cannot bung in my nine inch nails disks.

The anti lock braking does not work (close call that one).

Oh yeah, and at 105mph the bonnet (hood) looks like it’s going to make a serious attempt at getting in through the windscreen.

So far so good. I fucking love it!

Congrats on your new car!

I totally understand. I had a shit, hand-me-down van for about 6 years. 240k miles, AC didn’t work. The power windows didn’t roll down. I could only unlock the drivers door with a key, everything else had to be unlocked from the inside. Half the time the back didn’t open when I tried it. Shit gas mileage. It started to die randomly. I had to disable the rear wiper because if I turned it on it would blow the fuse for the radio. Eventually I was going up a hill near home and it started to rev really high and overheat and then smoked. That was it. No more van. I loved that thing.

LMAO!

Sounds just like what I’d expect for a £150 car.

Glad you’re having fun.

Great quality for 150 bucks…

You couldn’t get a car door for 150 bucks here…

[quote]Sick Rick wrote:
Great quality for 150 bucks…

You couldn’t get a car door for 150 bucks here…[/quote]

More like $280.

Sounds like a marriage made in heaven Renton.

Honestly though, sounds like a winner for the dough.
I hope it takes care of you best it can.

Cheers!

ToneBone

very nice…not gonna lie, I’m glad I’m finally driving a decent car (97 Camaro z28)…i’ve had more shitboxes than i care to remember, but they all provided lots of fun. I don’t miss wrenching on my daily driven at all!

Ah yes. It’s just a lot of fun. I really don’t think I’ll fix anything other than the wiper. The rest just adds character.

I’ve actually decided to sell the Vectra as it is. It’s still worth £2500 given the mileage and age and the fact it needs a new clutch and slave cylinder (I put over 120,000 miles on it in 3 years). I only paid 12,000 for it in the first place - brand new and should have been 22,000 but I have a friend or two in the business. It really owes me nothing.

Given the winter is setting in here now I’ll use the money I get for more work on my Porsche and maybe even get it finished in the next few months.

Meanwhile this piece of crap I have now is giving me a smile and a few laughs. It’s ages since I’ve had to carry a tool kit just in case!

I was going to buy a bike from a mate but he’s decided to keep it now so I’m going to wait until spring and shell out for a new Firestorm SP2 (VTR1000SP2 in the US?).

Well, I’ve gotta have something that’ll sit at 150+ without complaining.

We traded in my 88 Thunderbird last year when our Explorer died. I loved that car, but it is really cool to not fear a breakdown every day.

We still have my first car - no air conditioning, no power steering, casette deck as an after market, no e-break, heater is intermittent. We keep it because it is a 1966 Mustang Coupe I bought when I was 14, and he will go before the car does. :slight_smile:

wish i could find a car for 200 bucks. ( i think that is what the euro trades at not sure though)

and what is a vectra? a british car i suppose? what would it be like if it was made in north america?

[quote]Pluto wrote:
what would it be like if it was made in north america?[/quote]

Shit?

I keed!

It’s a Vauxhall - http://www.silverdalecc.com/Cars/Vectra%20Sri%20BlackB.jpg

Rents, what Porsche do you have?

Renton-- I hear ya man, nothing like a nice project car.

I had a '77 Firebird which I got for a song. I loved that car. Every time I smell transmission fluid, I think of her :wink:

At the same time, my friend’s project car was a Triumph TR-7. You can keep your Goddammed British electric systems :wink:

Lucas lights, right? My first car to work on was a Triumph Spitfire.

Renton I know exactly what your talking about, I bought a 87 Buick Wagon for $550. It’s mechanically sound but the paint is pealing allover, the passenger window won’t roll down, etc, etc but It fits all 3 of the car seats and room for my St. Bernard in the back plus it get 30+ mpg.

[quote]SteelyD wrote:

At the same time, my friend’s project car was a Triumph TR-7. You can keep your Goddammed British electric systems ;)[/quote]

My father collects british sports cars, he’s got 3 TR6’s, 3 GT6’s and a Mini…It takes a certain personality to work on them, no idea how he does it.

Good choice on the bike renton…nothing like a big, piped twin to make your neghibours love you. I had a gixer 750 and my buddy had a piped RC51, it was small block V8 loud.

What model Porsche? I’m just gonna go ahead and guess 944? Out of sheer habit, I still carry a tool kit/puncture kit/fire extingushier.

Wow, sounds like my first car. Only, I got mine for $75 because the woman I bought it from was old and rich, and she said her piece of crap son abandoned it in her drive. Add $50 for a hood from the junk yard and I was the happiest 16 year old around.

[quote]RSGZ wrote:
Pluto wrote:
what would it be like if it was made in north america?

Shit?

I keed!
[/quote]

LMAO - They don’t get great press but it’s been a good workhorse. It’s the 150bhp model tweaked up to 180bhp and (when it’s working) will cruise happily at 120mph for hours. Even fuel consumption isn’t too bad at that speed.

Fastest I got out of it was a calibrated 158mph which it held no problem for a good 20 minutes (when I ran out of road).

My current Porsche project is a 1991 model 911 Carrera 4.

250bhp on a 3.6 Litre lump. The car itself is very tidy but the engine needs some serious TLC and is being played with at the moment by a good mate who knows how to get the best out of performance engines.

I’ll throw up some pics when she’s finished (probably just before I sell and buy another wreck!).

Speaking of pics, this is the '57 Plymouth Savoy my mate Ian imported from the US about 5 years ago.

We had to build a new garage for it as it’s just too damn big to put in any regular sized UK garage.


5 years of blood, sweat and money later… Christine was reborn.

Not bad eh?