The Latest 1st gen sightings

[Lucky]

We have to be careful with lingo, remember what they call greeks and italians in Aus, a word you dont use in Britain!

Do tell

[PatrickS9]

Does anyone know much about the white 12a turbo in South Wales (gumtree)? I'm considering having a look at it but it's 4 hours away!

The length of the MOT is appealing...

Patrick, have a read of this thread where we were discussing this white car...

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1832&hilit=12at&start=10

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Cheers Ian/Tool,

Seems to have been a hugely desirable and loved car not too long ago... I was planning on viewing it this weekend and after having a quick read through the thread ^^^, it seems like it could have gone through an MOT to get a sale. Listening to the motor (read engine) and seeing hot/cold starts is going to be vital. I'll keep you all in the loop though!

- Patrick

[mc turbo]

i was going to buy this just for the turbo engine & then stick my na block into the white one & sell it on but i did`nt cos it failed the mot that i paid for with excess rust on the rear suspension turrets & sills, brakes were seized lines needed changing as they were rusty don`t about compression as i was going to get dave hg to test it if it passed the mot!

[MelloYello]

i was going to buy this just for the turbo engine & then stick my na block into the white one & sell it on but i did`nt cos it failed the mot that i paid for with excess rust on the rear suspension turrets & sills, brakes were seized lines needed changing as they were rusty don`t about compression as i was going to get dave hg to test it if it passed the mot!

Interesting info there Mick. No mention of any recent repairs in the ad. So i would be suspect of mot.

[mc turbo]

yeah that was what i was thinking! but hey he might have had it repaired???

[PatrickS9]

i was going to buy this just for the turbo engine & then stick my na block into the white one & sell it on but i did`nt cos it failed the mot that i paid for with excess rust on the rear suspension turrets & sills, brakes were seized lines needed changing as they were rusty don`t about compression as i was going to get dave hg to test it if it passed the mot!

I saw the car yesterday. Engine and gearbox seem good. Started cold and hot and rode pretty well. It had welding done at the back but has an advisory on the MOT for inbalanced brakes. Bodywork is pretty terrible. Rust around sunroof slots, bubbling on all arches, needs new wipers and rear bumper needs a re spray. The A pillars need preventative work and the bottoms of the doors may have already had it! There was a puddle (no exaggeration) under the spare wheel and mould but no rust. The under layer was soaked but the top carpet was bone dry. Couldn't tell where water was getting in from. I offered £1250 as I'm willing to get the work done but he won't take less than £1500. He's not using it and I don't think he plans on taxing it which is a shame as the car will only deteriorate... Any thoughts!? Would £1500 with 6 months tax be too much to pay?

[ian65]

I'd leave it.... a proper respray will cost you 2 grand so at £1500, I think it's too expensive...... you can buy 1st gens in very nice condition for that sort of money. It sounds like it's already been resprayed once then because when I saw it 4 years ago, it looked mint..... was probably given a blow over without dealing with the rust first, hence it's all coming through again.

[PatrickS9]

It's a shame. I don't think he knows / is willing to do the work that's needed on it and I can't see him selling it at that price so it'll just turn to a spares and scrap car...

[ian65]

he had it up for a grand about 6 months ago and it was classed as a project car then.... if you need to start restoring it, I'd say it needs to come very cheap, bodywork is the most expensive stuff to put right isn't it?

[RamoNZ]

Sure is. The most worrying bit of a respray is what you can't see - it's only when you strip it back that you can tell if it was done well or not. You might fix up the spots showing now only to find more issues down the line.

If you can get it on a ramp and ensure the chassis and structure is good you might be ok for a quick blow over and tidy up of the trouble spots but it's very hard to say.

You could add an elford set up to an otherwise standard car to get similar power figures and neither are good for much more than 200ish bhp without decent money being spent.