Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

Neil, your Porker woes are starting to give me serious anxiety... It's like a never ending episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm... :(

@6pt You're in Catford, right? I have a "secure" garage in Downham. My space only gets used for a Vespa and some bikes. You could probably fit a wee Lotus in there. Just saying.

I scored 89. He did have the decency to accept that given the conditions it wasn't really that fast.

89? Must try harder....

In a 60 or 70?

@Dammit

That car's going up in value if you hold on to it, if you can afford the current spend rate with a view that it will slow down considerably, then it will take a few years but you'll be at break even, if not already?

By comparison, my dad's 996 Cab needs a respray and has done for about 5 years, the reverse switch in the cabin has gone so it doesn't know it's in reverse any more (no reverse lights or PDC), the exhaust has an epic rattle because the cat bolts on one side were too rusted when some work needed doing so a semi-bodge was done, the suspension has gotten a bit crashy, and one of the cables in the hood has become unseated so it's still 95% watertight but it's a little bit unsightly (new hood is the only fix at the cost that you're well aware of). We've DIYed about 50% of the work ever done to the car including coilpacks and spark plugs which are a crazy pain in the arse on the drive way, I ended up giving up after 4 and got a local garage to do the last 2. I also did 50% of the water pump change, I just got stuck at the point of getting it out of the engine bay and getting the new one into the engine bay and needed someone with 996 experience to do that bit. I did the headlight washer on the driver side which was a surprisingly easy job. The point of all this is that my dad may have spent a lot less than you, but his car will never command decent money with all that work needing doing, no matter how much the values go up on good cars. If you want to make money on this car then you need to do the work, if you want to have fun, then just stop and drive it.

Are mk3 and 4 ford escorts cheap to insure yet?

My defender should be gone in a couple of weeks and I want to replace it wth something obnoxious. Was thinking an xr3 or impreza GX.

Didn't you have a list of Porsches that this was the first stepping stone along to? I've no idea, and don't mean to be nosey, but wasn't this a reasonable price to start with - I assume you'd be able to get out of this one with a manageable loss despite the bills you've had.

It's a nice thing - have you been put off with work this one needed or just happy sticking where you are?

Just got a few quotes and it's not as bad as I was expecting.

Another them I'm thinking about is doing a ratty k10 micra with home brew turbo just because you can buy the cars so cheap.

Are there any left? Can't remember the last time I saw one.

Yeah, I spotted one in vauxhall the other day so had a look on eBay and they can be had for under 500 quid.

nissan langley?

my first wheelz. got nicked twice, got it back twice. make of that what you will.

I feel like you're just trawling Retro Rides for ideas now.

They should make a proper PH/Autotrader style classifieds for RR and then you can just sort by price.

That plan has gone out the window, I'll stick with this one now.

89? Must try harder....

In a 60 or 70?

70 mph section. Double carriageway section of the A14. Not even trying at all!

I've never actually been on retrorides, are they common there?

I just go on ebay and search cars>classic cars>ending soonest to get an idea of what goes and at what price. That's how I ended up with the citroen for 70 quid.

When the gearbox specialists say 'horror show' you know you are in trouble.

Audifail.

How much are you thinking of selling it for?

I honestly don't know, I've done a lot of work on it but there's still more to do. I'd say 2500 on here or I'll just stick it on eBay and see what happens.

Fair, probably beyond my reach but I dream of having a defender haha.
Got a picture?

Very open to offers too :)

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this is mine

Nice, series iii? What engine?

Yep, series 3

2.25 petrol, 4 speed no override

I bought it 3 years ago for a work banger rally, added 4 seats in the rear and then drove it to Luxembourg then Paris and back home in 3 days with 4 blokes + stuff. 884 miles in that one trip, I am thinking of doing this years in it again (Liverpool > Dublin). Last year was Poland...that was just too far even for me...

This was last years car (£460 eBay bargain, got it up to 135mph, 5 up on the autobahns) :

If I had my way... 😎

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If it's Ferrari, shouldn't it be an incredibly tasteless prancing horse, with a concession stand selling overpriced caps at the bottom?

Please, no more lens flare!