Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Richard H]

The Cambridge is booked in for its MOT tomorrow morning at 10am. This car has really shown me the problems of buying a supposedly cheap vintage car with a short MOT, urgent work needed for the MOT included:

1) Welding to the sills, chassis legs, crossmembers, floors, inner wings, boot floor, in fact just about everywhere an Austin can rust! A lot of this work was cutting out previous bodged MOT type repairs, plates tacked over rust. The front crossmember was a classic example, at least three plates tacked one on top of the other over the original rusty metal. Why couldn't it have just been done properly the first time? It has all been done properly now, with the rust and plates cut out and new metal let in.

2) New brake master cylinder, a full brand new set of brake shoes and wheel cylinders (not cheap!) new brake flexi hoses, new front bridge pipes and one of the pipes that goes from the flexi to the brake light switch.

3) New wiper blades AND arms.

4) Adjust the handbrake as it didn't do anything at all, the main problem had been that the brake shoes were soaked from leaking cylinders.

5) New grille (not for the MOT, but spotted a brand new one on Ebay for a bargainlicious £20, so I couldn't miss it)

This little lot has taken a month and the best part of £400, and it still needs a new clutch and loads of cosmetic work, new front seat straps (which will have to be made as they're unobtainable) new front wings (already have one fibreglass one) and a new clutch slave cylinder as the one on it is weeping. Might try rerubbering it first.

This is the only picture I've got of it at the moment, but I'll start a proper thread soon



Anyone else had a car that turned out to be a bit of a money pit?
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Richard Hughes

[Nic Jarman]

Richard, you have not read my posts.
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1936 Morris 8 Series 1
1973 MGB roadster
1977 MG Midget 1500
Dax Rush

[P3steve]

Sorry mate but I think you've been had, that new grill you got off EBay is just a sheet of steel and not a proper Cambridge grill at all and it doesnt even fit that good. Seriously though it will all be worth it in the end as you'll have a well sorted car ready for next year.

[P3steve]

Any way to answer your question YES my Standard ten was brought as a (supposedly) runner from EBay with full MOT and fitted with new carpets (Ha! off cuts of house carpets more like) The car over heated as soon as it warmed up the brakes were suspect to say the least, the starter solenoid didn't work the clutch master to slave cylinder pipe was loosing fluid and you had to pump the pedal to get it in gear. Before it was safe to even point at a public road I had to change the brake shoes (wrong size fitted) a new pipe to the clutch slave cylinder, A complete decoke and a new (old stock found on the Bay) water pump, thermostat, a new radiator core (most expensive), new coil (which failed after one week) a new battery (went with the coil) a new starter solenoid oh and a new speedo cable which hadn't worked for years. I ran it as it was for a couple of years until it became obvious that's its previous restoration had been sponsored heavily by Isopon. its now in the work shop for a proper job which like yours has meant cutting off the patches to do proper repairs and fitting a set of good used but sound front wings. My P3 Rover on the other hand has been a gem and in ten years has only needed a water pump and routine servicing.

[Salopian]

All my cars have seemed to be money pits when first bought but once they are right have given great service. I always reckon it takes a year to get one to the standard I want.
You are very brave - my grandfather bought an export A55 Mk1 in 1958 and shipped it to South Africa where he was for a time. It was returned to the UK in 1963 and passed to my father on grandfathers death in 1965. It was scrapped due to being rotten in 1969 and believe me it was - extensively. I had just passed my test and drove it sometimes when the column shift usually disconnected itself at some stage.
It had 15'' wheels (one still around here somewhere) rather than the home market 13''.
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Jonathan Butler
Alvis SD 12/50 1928 MG TD 1950

[Rick]

Good luck with the MOT!

I've not had many money pits really, unless you count one large green machine sat idly in a workshop a few miles from here

Most expensive to run was the S1 XJ12L, fuel-wise anyway, but once I'd replaced all the coolant hoses it ran really well. The 6 cylinder XJs, while far from perfect cosmetically, ran well enough and needed little more than servicing. Handbrakes could be a bit of an issue at MOT time, but other than that no real problems.

The 2.5 Spitty was advertised as "just needs paint and trim" - new floors and a mountain of work later, the paint and trim still needed tlc

RJ
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[Roger-hatchy]

Don't let him near the headlight adjusters

Oh! and good luck with the test

Roger

[Richard H]

[Salopian]

Well done!
I recall pumping some water pump grease into the kingpins to get the old A55 mentioned before through the MoT - was told some used bodyfiller for a temporary fix pumped in before it hardened. Oh and thick gear oil in the front shockers to temporarily reduce the Austin bounce they were noted for then with good reason.
Ah to be young and skint--
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Jonathan Butler
Alvis SD 12/50 1928 MG TD 1950