classic car forum header
Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 
Register     Posting Photographs     Privacy     F/book OCC Facebook     OCC on Patreon

New classics for me..... Metro & MX5
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration. Forum Index -> All our old cars, vans, lorries etc
Author Message
xtriple



Joined: 03 Aug 2010
Posts: 31

PostPosted: Sun Jul 03, 2011 10:49 pm    Post subject: New classics for me..... Metro & MX5 Reply with quote

You may recall a while ago I was looking for a new project after selling my MG. After looking at Rolls Royce/Bentleys with a serious view to buying I eventually settled on a new car.....

An Austin Metro!

Found it in the local (ex) Rover dealers showroom where it has lived for the last three years after its one owner gave up driving. Absolutely bloody lovely it is. Base model (City) with no options not even a passenger side mirror, 62000 miles and full service history.

Had to buy a MK1 MX5 to persuade the owner to part with the Metro so I ended up with two cars for not much money instead of the thousands I was going to spend.









Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Ellis



Joined: 07 Mar 2011
Posts: 1382
Location: Betws y Coed, North Wales

PostPosted: Mon Jul 04, 2011 10:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well done !

Very good purchases both of them. I would be interested to know the year of the Metro you have bought. When the Metro was unveiled in October 1980 the lowest spec was base, then L, HLE and the top spec was HLS. The City came later IIRC.
My mother bought a 1.0 HLE on the 1st January 1981 in Snapgragon Yellow followed by a 1.3 HLS in August 1982 in the same colour.
The rarest variant of the early Metros, if you exclude the MG Metro Turbo, was the Vanden Plas from model year 1982 on and because one sees very few Metros of any sort on the road these days the Vanden Plas must be particularly rare.

I am looking forward to your assessment of the vehicle.
_________________
Starting Handle Expert

1964 Jaguar Mark 2 3.4 litre
1962 Land Rover Series 2a 88"
2002 BMW M3 E46 Cabriolet
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Rick
Site Admin


Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 22429
Location: UK

PostPosted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 7:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Funny how these one-owner cars still turn up isn't it, flood it with Waxoyl and it should last indefinitely.

Erindoors has had MX5s of that era before now, great little cars Smile

(that ZA Magnette looks trim too!)

RJ
_________________
Rick - Admin
Home:https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk
Videos:https://www.youtube.com/user/oldclassiccarRJ/videos
OCC & classic car merchandise (Austin, Ford ++):
https://www.redbubble.com/people/OldClassicCar/shop
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
xtriple



Joined: 03 Aug 2010
Posts: 31

PostPosted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 1:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Waxoyl? It's so flooded with the stuff it's floating Laughing

It's a 1984 City with zero options. Everything bare the windscreen was an option so it's very basic indeed. Had a very good dent man round to take out the myriad parking dinks out of her flanks and bonnet and sorted out a tiny bit of corrosion (flaking underseal and sealer) in the passenger side rear wheel arch, resprayed it and waxoyled.

Gave it a full service (oil filter £1.29 air filter £3.50 - lovely!) and had the book stamped by the supplying dealer and in all honesty, it really didn't need doing as everything was perfect... except that a vacumm hose was missing from carb to dizzy and obviously had been fo0r some time as the carb had been re-tuned to correct the air leak! Once a new hose was fitted and advance/retard restored, the old lass went much better.

Had a new windscreen fitted as the old one had a big chip in it (£89 fitted) and the little lass is looking absolutely lovely.

Taxed it last Friday and we took it out for a spin, it goes really well for a little 998cc job, sounds lovely and whirry and tight. My wife adores it as her second car was a Metro and she was right at home.

Polished it about twenty times so far

Terrific little thing. Taking it to a classic show in a couple of week so I'll get some decent pics of it soon.

The Mazda is also a great little buy - did I mention I only paid £1600 for the pair of them?

But, it really DID need a service as even though the miles since the last one was only 7000 it was nearly 6 years past! Other than that, waxoyled, waxoyled and then waxoyled again. Polished it a couple of times, fitted a new passenger side window motor and cables and had the same dent guy take out half a dozen little dinks in the sides and one headlight cover.

Had to get a new stereo for it last night as the old Japanese spec one died when my wife fitted a cd so went to Halfrauds and got a new Alpine double din jobby with blootooth and i-pod and usb ports. Not that I have the slightest idea what all those things are but they sound good

Embarassed
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Peter_L



Joined: 10 Apr 2008
Posts: 2680
Location: New Brunswick. Canada.

PostPosted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 2:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi xtriple

you said

Alpine double din jobby with blootooth and i-pod and usb ports. Not that I have the slightest idea what all those things are but they sound good
so let me explain.

Alpine double din jobby. (Swiss disco)
blootooth (caused by eating blueberries)
i-pod (related in part to pea pods)
usb ports (code for German U boat port)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
xtriple



Joined: 03 Aug 2010
Posts: 31

PostPosted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 5:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you Peter, that's cleared the mystery up for me nicely! Very Happy

Just been out fettlin......

The Merc has finally got intermittant wipers - only cost £555 for two relays! Honestly, one was £405 (and wasn't bloody needed - Mercedes of Exeter really don't know their arse from their elbow) and the other (which actually did the job) was £150. But they work so I'm happy.

Since I've had the Merc it's had:
New windscreen (£470)
New water pump (£150) +£100 labour
New thermostat (£90)
New belts (£55)
New aerial (£94)
Dentman (he really is awesome at his job £100 for a few little dinks)
Two relays (£555)
Full service (£846)
Two gallons of Waxoyl (£50)

And that's just the jobs I can remember! They total:

£2010!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then I fitted the new stereo to the Mazda which made me feel better but again since I've had that it's had:

New window motor and assembly (£54 cheap eh?)
Full service (£140 for bits only)
Alpine stereo (£216 and another £5 for the aerial adaptor)
A gallon of Waxoyl (£25)

Not bad to put what was a cheap car into really good fettle. Okay so it's had a fair bit of elbow grease and Autoglym products liberally spread about it but it really is a nice car.

And then the Mighty Metro.

It's just had a full service (£75 parts only and that was with good oil)
New windscreen as the old one had a chip in it and it bugged me (£89)
Shared visit from DentCure to eradicate all the various little dinks on the Metro and the Mazda. (£100)

And, and, well that's it!

So the moral of this story is that the older the cars get the less they cost you!

Of course that doesn't include tax and insurance (insurance alone was another grand) so it's no wonder that my wife questions my sanity and I've been feeling skint for the past few months.

I suppose that all this missive shows is that I'm a REALLY fussy and just can't live with faults in cars and what outrageous bargains the Metro and the MX5 were.

Hope this doesn't come across as showing off or anything as that is certainly not my intention. If you could put a price on how much you polish a car and hoover it though, I'd have spent the most on the Metro. Still only driven it about twenty miles since we've had it as well which is a bit of a shame but that will change in the next few months.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Keith D



Joined: 16 Oct 2008
Posts: 1127
Location: Upper Swan, Western Australia

PostPosted: Sat Jul 09, 2011 12:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's terrific to hear about somebody that has bought two classics and is over the moon with them both! And obviously got very good value! May I wish you a very long and happy ownership of them!

I certainly wouldn't mind that Mazda sitting in my driveway!

Keith
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
john-saab



Joined: 06 Dec 2007
Posts: 341
Location: West Dorset

PostPosted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 2:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have an original radio for an early Metro (it has the metro "logo" on the top right)...if you want to hide the modern thing and fit a period radio in the slot...a few beer tokens and it's yours. (in needs a good clean)

_________________
Rust Junky & oil addict.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Richard H



Joined: 03 Apr 2009
Posts: 2148
Location: Lincolnshire, UK

PostPosted: Mon Jul 11, 2011 2:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lovely! Being a 1984 model it must be one of the very first with the facelift dashboard and steering wheel as well. Lots of love for them here, I've still got my B reg Maestro 1.3 Base (not even a City!) and nearly bought a gold E reg Metro City for £20 when I was 14.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
xtriple



Joined: 03 Aug 2010
Posts: 31

PostPosted: Wed Jul 13, 2011 11:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you for the offer of the radio, but there isn't one at all, nor has there ever been one! The Alpine jobby went in the Mazda and looks fine there.

The Metro even has the standard bung in the drivers side wing where an aerial would go had the correct option in the list had been ticked. Unfortunately, no options were ticked.....

Went to Powderham classic car show at the weekend and spent a fortune on all sorts of stuff (got the wife a brilliant gear oil container that you wind to pump oil with a cast base - awesome that she loves this sort of stuff) and assaulted the Autoglym stand.... left considerably poorer after buying polish and Autoglym's fancy wax in a box.

Got home and waxed the Metro, bit of hard work (the wife had to polish it off 'cos I was knackered) but it looks fabulous you can really see the difference. The box contains :wax, two applicators which are already damp, and a fandango polishing micro-fibre cloth.

Bought a new bumper end cap off e-bay but the seller (a dealer) is being a bit reluctant to send it and I'd really like it as the lh front end cap is a bit scuffed up and spoils the car - if anyone has got any of the caps I'd be most appreciative....

Also just bought an "Austin Metro" red enamel and leather key ring and a new set of brake and clutch rubbers as the brake one is worn on the edge.

Yes I reckon it is one of the first with the updated dash and steering wheel - very modern!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
ukdave2002



Joined: 23 Nov 2007
Posts: 4100
Location: South Cheshire

PostPosted: Wed Jul 13, 2011 4:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

EWG wrote:
Well done !

Very few Metros of any sort on the road these days the Vanden Plas must be particularly rare.

I am looking forward to your assessment of the vehicle.


Funny how cars that you expect to be common are now rare... I must be getting old!

Dave
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Rick
Site Admin


Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 22429
Location: UK

PostPosted: Wed Jul 13, 2011 4:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ukdave2002 wrote:
EWG wrote:
Well done !

Very few Metros of any sort on the road these days the Vanden Plas must be particularly rare.

I am looking forward to your assessment of the vehicle.


Funny how cars that you expect to be common are now rare... I must be getting old!

Dave


I know the feeling, I remember when the first "minimetros" hit the streets. Mum had a tweaked W reg Metro, can't say I was a big fan of it despite having MG running gear in it, but the basic design (visibility especially) was good iirc. My brother put it through a hedge, although I think it survived to live another day.

RJ
_________________
Rick - Admin
Home:https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk
Videos:https://www.youtube.com/user/oldclassiccarRJ/videos
OCC & classic car merchandise (Austin, Ford ++):
https://www.redbubble.com/people/OldClassicCar/shop
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
xtriple



Joined: 03 Aug 2010
Posts: 31

PostPosted: Wed Jul 13, 2011 6:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I had a Metro 998 as a company car in the mid '80s and loved it! If I recall correctly, you were a Metro fan or a Fiesta fan. I never gelled with Fiesta's at all so always preferred the little Austin.

My wife had a Fiesta as her first car (cost her £500 and the service her Dad demanded she have performed on it cost her another £500) and a Metro as her second - bit posh though, cost her £1500!

She hated the Ford and loved the Austin so she adores the little hatch.

Done nothing to the Metro today but spent some time sorting out the big dent in the passenger side cill on the Mazda, no rust at all but the previous owner had obviously run over some boulder somewhere.

I've had a couple of "smart repair" type guys out to look at it and they both said to fill it rather than attempt to pull it back to shape.

So I had a go myself.

Used a "DentKing" type thing and pulled as much of the dent out as possible then filled it the last 10% to make it look spot-on. I was well pleased with the result while it was in primer.....

WAS happy!

Used some hammerite with added waxoyl underseal and the stuff has gone on major league thick and just will not dry! Touch it and its skinned but still sopping wet underneath - looks good but not a lot of use if it won't dry.

Looks like I'll be scraping it off tomorrow and re-doing it in something else.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Ellis



Joined: 07 Mar 2011
Posts: 1382
Location: Betws y Coed, North Wales

PostPosted: Wed Jul 13, 2011 10:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

These are the Metros we owned over the years :

1. YJC 276W - 1.0 HLE
2. CEJ 127Y - 1.3 HLS *
3 A365 SLG - MG Metro 1300
4. C137 KFF - 1.0 L 5 door
5. D145 MFF - 1.3 Mayfair 5 door *
6. E284 NFF - 1.3 Mayfair 5 door
7. G128 TFF -1.3 Advantage 3 door
8. H293 MJC - 1.1S 5 door

Those marked * were bad ones. Both had excessive oil consumption from new. CEJ 127Y was fitted with new valve stem oil seals at 3000 miles and D145 MFF was even rebored and given new pistons at 4k. Austin Rover refused to replace the engine and insisted on repairing it.

The remainder were all good cars. The 1.0 HLE was the high geared economy model when new and was capable of 50mpg in daily use. Of them all, E284 NFF was the best and the one we kept for two years. It really was a good car which my mother ordered in a stock but special order Burgundy colour. I remember the Austin Rover dealer - RJ Williams and Son of Talsarnau phoning us at 10am telling us that Longbridge had telexed them that it was being built. A further phone call later in the afternoon advised us that it had been completed and would be delivered the next day. I took this with a little pinch of salt but when I collected the car two days later the "stench" of newness was overpowering and every control was stiff from the indicator switch to the exterior door handle. It had 3 miles on it's odometer.

The last Metro - the 1.1S 5 door was the smoothest Metro of all but it somehow had lost the charm of the earlier models. The engine was creamy smooth as was the ride and the 5 speed gearbox was a novelty.
My mother kept this one for two and a half years and replaced it with a new Nissan Micra in March 1993.

The lowest powered one was the 1.3 Advantage. It was one of the "unleaded" engined ones but the thirstiest was the MG 1300 which rarely "did" more than 30-32mpg. The steering was very heavy IIRC.

Ellis

PS I have a photo of the "Advantage" one which I will rummage for tomorrow.
_________________
Starting Handle Expert

1964 Jaguar Mark 2 3.4 litre
1962 Land Rover Series 2a 88"
2002 BMW M3 E46 Cabriolet
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Penman



Joined: 23 Nov 2007
Posts: 4751
Location: Swindon, Wilts.

PostPosted: Thu Jul 14, 2011 10:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi
Had an early one (early8i0's can't remember the exact date) for a school car.
Used to bash my knee on something sticking out from the the RH bside of the column pratically every time I got in, it was either the key or I seem to remember there being another switch next to it (Not the stalk).
There was also an issue with the early ones having the fuel filler too low and centrifugal force, on a LH bend/corner throwing fuel from a full tank out of the filler and down onto the road just in front of the O/S rear wheel.
_________________
Bristols should always come in pairs.

Any 2 from:-
Straight 6
V8 V10
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration. Forum Index -> All our old cars, vans, lorries etc All times are GMT + 1 Hour
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
OCC Merch link
Forum T&C


php BB powered © php BB Grp.