Some of you will know that I purchased a 1983 (with 1985 bodyshell) Silver 1st Gen which had been owned from new by John Odd, a former MRC member. Sadly, John recently passed away and his car was put up for sale by his widow. The car was transported down from Yorkshire on 29th March 2011 and now sits (for the time being) in my double garage, alongside my RX-8
. The car did have an MOT until 23rd March 2011, but has been on SORN for a year or so, due to John Odd\'s illness.
The car\'s bodywork is generally in very good condition, with just surface rust in a few places. There does not appear to be any need for welding work as the main structure appears solid. As far as we can tell, John bought a "C" Reg S3 in 1995 and arranged for the S2 running gear to be transplanted into the bodyshell of the "donor" S3, reasons inknown.
The engine runs well but, due to the SORN and no MOT, we\'ve only been able to move the car a short distance in 1st and reverse, but all seems well. The brakes are binding a bit, probably due to lack of use, but there are NEW pads in place all round. The wheelrims are in a very poor state, but we also have a spare set of rims with the car which look far better. We\'ve got a different brand of tyre on each corner too
The plan is for the car to be shared with 3 other MRC members; Seanp, Will66 and Hypothermia. Our initial strategy is to clean the car up from a year\'s worth of grime, do a full mechanical check and service, get a fresh MOT and then maybe get her onto a ramp to deal with the underside surface rust before it takes hold.
The project started today when 3 of us; I, Will66 and Seanp spent 4-5 hours cleaning her inside and out, plus a quick cleanup in the engine bay. We\'ve also taken out the back seats to give them a thorough clean and inspect around the inside of the wheel arches. Thankfully, there is only a small trace of rust on the nearside arch, the offside looks like it just left the factory!
The car is now back in my garage and up on 4 axle stands with all 4 wheels removed, ready for some serious under arch cleaning and brake work.
So far, the car is beginning to look better than I\'d hoped for. We\'ve found lots of little things that need doing, but all fairly basic stuff, nothing major spotted today. A few pictures after the first wash, no claying or waxing yet......
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