The Dark Wob

My 36,000 mile Galaxy was written off a few years ago as there was a water leak and the some of electronics and loom, in the passenger footwell got soaked. I think that the parts alone came to the best part of 4k but it was classed as a total write off due to the nature of the damage.

Nothing. Every car I've owned has done its very best to kill itself despite my best efforts.

I suppose the Acclaim has been entirely reliable over my ownership with nothing more than regular servicing, only the galloping rot let it down.

Yeah every car I have had would have (or did) thrown in the towel at some point. Since I stopped abusing them they seem to be lasting better though. Rust nearly killed my old Escort Van (my first car) but I still got £90 for it - at that point it had a whole new front (wings and front panel) and a new left hand sill and was its third or forth set of rear doors from the scrappy.

I had a 1980 Datsun Violet 160J, bought for 100 quid when my dad traded it in for an unreliable Talbot Solara (which the Violet towed back to the dealers). The Violet was to replace my awful FSO125P 1300 which was newer but shit. It had a dented front passenger door (dad said a bus hit it) and a dented rear panel and broken taillight where a bloke in an Avenger swerved to avoid a dog and collected the parked Violet instead. Thus began five years of happy motoring and never did it fail to start or get me to my destination. I bought a replacement rear light assembly for a tenner and a friend's neighbour had a Porta-Power in his back garden (as you do) and said he would pull out the back panel and paint it, fit the light unit, knock out the dented door, all for about 20 quid as I recall. The boot lid rotted out (hmmm, not much paint on the inner skin) but there was another Violet in the breakers which was almost the same metallic blue but with a better boot lid so that was mine for a tenner. Eventually my MoT man failed it as the doors were getting a bit holey (that's character or today 'patina') so I sold it to him for 50 quid. He fixed up the body and gave it to his wife who used it for years, after I had moved from my house my old neighbour used to tell me that PGX (it was PGX830W) was still going as she used to pick her kids up from the school opposite in it. It may still exist as apparently there's a guy in the area who had managed to obtain about six of them, I hope it's still about.

I’ve owned this Volvo for 8 years, and now in it’s 17th year it continues to provide sterling service at 164,000 miles and feels like a much newer car than it is, I have every intention of keeping it for as long as I can as it’s such a good car that I still enjoy driving.

I've had a couple over the years that spring to mind, one was a Mk 5 Cortina 1.6 with a pinto in it, failed its MOT on rust, ended up going out in style as a field car. The bonnet flipped up at about 50 mph which was interesting as there was already no screen in it at that point. There was a big tump of shit in the field, the rad didn't like that much but the rad weld already in the system sealed it back up. Moving the rad to the back of the car and suspending it within a spiders web of bailer twine sorted that along with various lengths of dairy pipe. It was a particularly hot summer, ground was baked hard, it was literally fracturing at the seems, even away from the seems.

I killed it in the end taking it up too aggressive of a yomp and snapped the gearbox off the engine so that was game over

Flicking through my pictures , and found my Pajero , i guess not too long after we got it .. Still have it , it tows the horsebox belonging to the child ,who is 19 now ! Sorned now ,as there was no horse shows last year .. I see it still has the same front tyres on . They're dated 04 03 I musta photoshopped the number as it's a K reg !

Those Pajeros were like old Cortinas and W123 Mercs - everywhere one minute and gone the next. Even our local specialist has moved on to later inferior 4x4s although still runs one himself. Shame because I'd kind of bookmarked them as a future daily.

There a bit heavy on diesel..but very comfy , and i've just started it , all covered in hard frost .
First kick and it's away ...no churning over at all !!
No end of people knock on the door asking if it's for sale. Like Panhards Buick ,it's not undersealed like a Shogun ,Jap import see, i think that's what stopped it rotting away . I did weld the inner sill at the rear end, a couple of years ago. The chassis is still solid. We paid a £1000 for it


A minute ago ...

mercrocker wrote: ↑Mon Nov 29, 2021 9:57 am Those Pajeros were like old Cortinas and W123 Mercs - everywhere one minute and gone the next. Even our local specialist has moved on to later inferior 4x4s although still runs one himself. Shame because I'd kind of bookmarked them as a future daily.

I'll sell you mind when I'm done with it.