Oh well, eventfull day today so far...
Dropped by Rotechniks earlier today for the compression test on the convertible I am/was thinking of buying. The lucky numbers looked pretty good although I\'m proud that I could feel a tiny unevenness in the compression when touching the engine while it\'s running. But nothing to worry about. That was good.
Inspecting the car from underneath unfortunately revealed more bitemarks from the dreaded tinworm than both myself and the owner expected. The car is very tidy overall but the sills/floor overlap (where they all go) was a bit more borderline that muggins here liked. The car passed its MOT like this a few months and 200 miles ago but I know myself and I\'ve got the distinct feeling that I\'ll put up with it for six months and then end up on my back wielding angle grinders and MIG welders. Which of course was exactly what I didn\'t want. As the seller is keeping the car garaged it\'ll probably survive like this for quite some time but with me having to park it outside it won\'t last that long before I\'ve got to get it patched up for the MOT... To be fair, the seller is willing to discount the car by the amount we were quoted for the welding.
Unfortunately (mainly for the seller, but potentially for my wallet also) RoTechniks has a very bog standard white convertible for sale at the moment. With original alloys and all that, basically a 100% match to what I initially advertised for. OK, so I\'m not too keen on the colour, but it\'s 99% original (apart from the exhaust) and it comes with a freshly rebuilt engine that had roughly 100 miles on it when I drove the car. It\'s *nice*. And it\'s got a warranty on the engine. The body is better from underneath - wirebrush & rustconverter rather than anglegrinder and MIG - but needs a bit of cosmetic restowork at another spot. Actually both cars need that (in different places) so that\'s pretty much par for the course.
The roof on the white car is in a slightly worse state than the one on the red one (both are ripping in the same place, where they all go) but I could get the one on the white car replaced at cost instead of paying full whack...
Oh phuck. I need to make a decision which one to go for before I go all mental and buy both :evillaugh ...
And that is before I even start thinking about a rather nice black FD, again bog standard with known good engine, that they\'ve also got for sale. And if I were nice to Mr Bank Manager I\'m pretty sure they\'d let me borrow the difference between the price of the convertible and the FD.
I guess if you want another Rex as bad as I do at the moment, one should avoid places like these.
i think it comes down to cost for both, weather you want to do/feel happy to the welding, or if you\'d rather \'touch up\' the other, i know i\'d rather have both and fix both up and sell the one i liked least! but i don\'t have the time or money for one more FC
chris
OK then lets cut to the chase :D
whats the price of all of the cars
like i said i can get you a very very very good Cab for £1995 that ran very smoothly and lots of bills from WGT ?
if you let us know the prices then we can work from there .. a wise man once told me though - buy one with a good engine and worry about the rust next
an engine is 2K to fix , it might only cost you a couple of hundred in welding .. and make Mr Bank Manager happy
( whats the price of the FD aswell !! )
Stu
Quote from: grinderOK then lets cut to the chase :D
whats the price of all of the cars
If I add in the welding on the red car (which I\'d really need to for comparison purposes), it\'s 2.7k vs 2.8k. So hundred quid more buys me an engine with 100 miles on it instead of 14k, a warranty on the engine and a slightly better body.
Quote from: grinderlike i said i can get you a very very very good Cab for £1995 that ran very smoothly and lots of bills from WGT ?
I haven\'t forgotten about that. It\'s just rather far away for a quick look, if you know what I mean...
Not to mention that these two cabs are pretty much known quantities...
Quote from: grinderif you let us know the prices then we can work from there .. a wise man once told me though - buy one with a good engine and worry about the rust next
an engine is 2K to fix , it might only cost you a couple of hundred in welding .. and make Mr Bank Manager happy
The trouble is that if you do the welding properly as opposed to just plating over existing rust (which was the quote we got), you\'re looking at a grand\'s worth of work. Proper bodywork is expensive and if I attempt it myself it won\'t get finished this century.
The whole point of buying a car that doesn\'t need anything much doing is because I have no spare time and two motorbikes to restore already. I need to get off the trip of buying heaps that I\'ll fix up eventually simply because eventually doesn\'t happen this side of retirement.
Quote from: grinder( whats the price of the FD aswell !! )
Stu
7k. It\'s bog-standard apart from the rear wing, got 45k on the clock and a year\'s warranty on the engine.
Tempted I am but the insurance cost would be murder compared to an FC cab as I can insure the latter as a classic car...
Decisions, decisions...
Still, it\'s nice to have choices!
If one car has a fresh engine under warranty and less rust then this is clearly the one to go for. I think the only debate you need to have is if you are happy with it being white. Personally I think white with a black leather interior is chic.
Having said that I am now going to muddy the waters even further for you by letting you know that you can also get an FD insured as a classic car.....
Quote from: ThudStill, it\'s nice to have choices!
If one car has a fresh engine under warranty and less rust then this is clearly the one to go for. I think the only debate you need to have is if you are happy with it being white. Personally I think white with a black leather interior is chic.
Well, I figured that if I really can\'t get along with the colour I could always get it resprayed. Not that I want to, it\'s too original for that.
Quote from: ThudHaving said that I am now going to muddy the waters even further for you by letting you know that you can also get an FD insured as a classic car.....
Arrrgh! How do you get a \'92 FD insured as a classic then?
I personally think cars look good in white, especially when the shape becomes dated, it seems to not look as old.
Quote from: ThudIm now going to muddy the waters even further for you by letting you know that you can also get an FD insured as a classic car.....
Yes Doctor , Tell me more.....
By both! No seriously if you keep the car for a long time both will cost you in the end one way or another and in two years time you have to end up with
the car colour you will enjoy pollishing/ being seen in most, red will always have a deeper shine where as white will look more and more like a fridge to
you when you spend 3days pollishing it before a show, but which ever choice you make it WILL be the right one :wave
Paul..
Quote from: KaptainbalistikYes Doctor , Tell me more.....
In the summer of 2003 I wrecked my FD. Right up until that point is was insured by AON under a "future classic" policy. This meant that I had to have proof of another main car I used everyday, the FD was limited to 5000miles per year and I could only "occassionally" drive it to work. After the accident they coughed up without any drama.
If I remember rightly it was £700, bearing in mind I was 30 at the time and not a member of MRC! You can get a contact for AON in the "insuring your rotary section" on this forum.
And why do I now own a FC? Three reasons :
1) the are REALLY easy to work on yourself
2) I feel much safer on the T2 than the FC. The twins on the FD made it feel quite skittish. The FC feels much more surefooted and stable in the wet.
3) you can peel the roof off on a sunnny day :Giggle
Quote from: ThudIn the summer of 2003 I wrecked my FD. Right up until that point is was insured by AON under a "future classic" policy. This meant that I had to have proof of another main car I used everyday, the FD was limited to 5000miles per year and I could only "occassionally" drive it to work. After the accident they coughed up without any drama.
That\'s actually not too bad, and I\'ve got a rather nice old VW Jetta GTI as the main car anyway, for exactly these reasons.
Quote from: ThudAnd why do I now own a FC? Three reasons :
1) the are REALLY easy to work on yourself
2) I feel much safer on the T2 than the FC. The twins on the FD made it feel quite skittish. The FC feels much more surefooted and stable in the wet.
3) you can peel the roof off on a sunnny day :Giggle
... and your forgot number (4) Your license has slim chance of surviving the next three weeks :cool
Quote from: Paul-TllBy both!
Not enough space around here. I\'ll have to keep them off road and I\'ve only got one space in front of the garage out the back. And the garage itself is off-limits for any kind of car, seeing that it\'s full of bikes :rollin
Quote from: Paul-TllNo seriously if you keep the car for a long time both will cost you in the end one way or another and in two years time you have to end up with
the car colour you will enjoy pollishing/ being seen in most,
That would be black but I haven\'t found a decent black convertible recently. Plus with the black interior it would be a tad too dark in my opinion.
Quote from: Paul-Tllred will always have a deeper shine where as white will look more and more like a fridge to
you when you spend 3days pollishing it before a show, but which ever choice you make it WILL be the right one :wave
Paul..
What is this "polishing" thing you mentioned? :p
The longer I think about it the more I tend towards buying the white one. Yes, it may look like a fridge but I\'m cool anyway :cool but at the end of the day it
is the better car. And one thing I learned from buying too many restoration objects is that the better car tends to be the better buy.
It\'ll be over budget with a new roof fitted but fuggit, the roof isn\'t going to cost much more than the welding on the other car plus I can probably convince them to fit it when I drop the car off for its 1000 mile service.
After all, you only live once.
Well, if white looks like a fridge, then black looks like a hearse. And red fades, and white doesnt.
The white one sounds like a better buy if you cant buy both, and you know it! Red one = lots of welding, white one = lots of fun!
Dont get me wrong, I love red, my FD is red. But there is nothing wrong with white, - does my RX2 in my avatar look like a fridge to you? :-)
Still touch up paint is easy you can use dometic white available anywhere,
oh and yes I did! and works very well in small areas.Pic of my old fridge
(I wish I had\'nt said it now!!!!!!!!!)
but the one at 2.8K - there you are buddy - job done :D :D :D
That\'s pretty much what it looks like - I\'ll be one the dog&bone tomorrow...
red looks faster, and the only problem with white is dead bugs!!! lol
I suppose that id go for the white one, its looks more mechanically sound and yuo have warranty.
Quote from: elford_timWell, I figured that if I really can\'t get along with the colour I could always get it resprayed. Not that I want to, it\'s too original for that.
Arrrgh! How do you get a \'92 FD insured as a classic then?
Usualy way - phone your classic policy insurance company and say "I\'d like to insure my 1992 FD on a classic policy please..." ;) Obviously classic would limit the mileage to 4 or 5k a year which isn\'t enough in an FD imo :)
Well, I phoned RoTechniks today and told them I\'ll have the car.
That\'s going to be a long two weeks until I find the time to pick it up but at least it\'ll give them time to have a new roof fitted.
Roll on spring, I say!
... and of course I better go and find the necessary money to join the club, don\'t I? :p
Excellent!!
Another FC in the club.
congrats matey!
Quote from: elford_tim... and of course I better go and find the necessary money to join the club, don\'t I? :p
i think you should do that NOW NOW NOW :D
Stu