Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Onlyrwd]

Seen a 72 2.3 for sale locally and a mate is considering it (im trying to make him buy it as I cant afford it right now he does it to me too!)

The EBAY LINK is here...

Its taxed and tested until April, loads of history with it. Where do I look for rot, I assume everywhere being an old car, any problems with the slant 4 engine or gearboxes?

And last of all, what is it worth? Its advertised for £895ono so was gonna go for 800...
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Mick


78 Cavalier GL
78 Manta Berlinetta

67/68 Thomson Glenelg WANTED

[Churchill Johnson]

The engine and box are normally bombproof but when starting from cold the engine may rattle the reason is the oil pump is at the top of the engine stupid idea and the oil runs back overnight even fitting a new oil pump will not cure the problem so when starting keep the foot off the throttle not much you can do about it in the winter because of the automatic choke,as for rot well look everywhere sill's inner wing's, wing's, bonnet, bottom of the door's wheel arch's,use a magnet under a piece of cloth to check for filler,in general i rate them slightly better than the Cortina but not much more,i have no idea if any panel's are available,so tread carefully.

[Onlyrwd]

Thanks, I think he is looking for a cheap classic to use daily so doesnt have to be a minter. He has several old cars such as an Opel GT, Manta A, Manta CC, Monza, Carlton Diamond, 924, etc etc I lose track

This appeals as its already MOT'd and a bit different, but then the lack of spares could be an issue for a Daily...
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Mick


78 Cavalier GL
78 Manta Berlinetta

67/68 Thomson Glenelg WANTED

[Churchill Johnson]

I think i have a set of genuine w/shp manual's for this if interested i will look did have a lot of the special tool's as well as i worked at dealer's but most of the tools have been scrapped due to no interest being being shown by the v/h owner's club.

[Onlyrwd]

Shame but you cant keep everything... will see if he gets it or what other do's and dont's replies
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Mick


78 Cavalier GL
78 Manta Berlinetta

67/68 Thomson Glenelg WANTED

[MikeEdwards]

A neighbour of mine used to have an FE estate, I was told his car would regularly get to the end of the road before the oil pressure built up enough to dismiss the warning light, without any serious trouble. I think it was rust that killed it off in the end.

[34HF90]

Reminiscing......

I remember messing around with a 2.3 engine some years ago, fitting it into a Viva- donated from a Victor. The sump had to be swopped to do this and I was surprised at the torturous route of the oil pick-up pipe- and the distance to the pump!
It occurs that if anyone wanted to make an improvement, some form of valve down by the oil strainer would stop the pump from drying up and having to prime itself every time the engine started.

That engine was pretty tough despite that (Think they fitted an LC version to the CF van?).
Tappet adjustment was great too- allen screw in the side of the tappet buckets- easy!
The most discocerting thing about that engine as I remember was it's lumpy running. Not at all well balanced. I've since read that it was dubbed the 'Hay Baler' for that reason....

[Handyman]

Lovely cars, except for the rust! I owned both FDs and FEs but they all had similar problems.

Inner wings, scuttle panel, bulkhead and outer wing tops were all prone to rusting quite badly. If you buy this one, have a look at the repair panels I have for sale in Classifieds.

Engines were pretty bomb-proof. I moded one engine, in my FE VX/490 to 2.8 with a Blydenstein conversion, amongst other tricks. Faultless ZF gearbox, one of the best around at the time. Rear diffs, especially on VX4/90s were a problem though. Worth checking for noises but easy to repair.

My nicest one was a low mileage FE fitted with the 3.3L straight six engine, never used oil nor water, would purr along quite happily. Completely rustfree and unmarked, until some idiot shot a red light on the North Circular and T-boned me. Doorpost, inner and outer sills and two doors, but did not bend the floor or roof. Shows how tough the passenger cell was. I did repair the car, but it was never the same after that.

I still have some of the service tools for the slant lump and the carbs, along with a pile of service literature. PM me if you are interested.

Handyman

[MartinC]

Good cars, I've had loads of 'em.
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1937 Standard Flying Twelve
1942 Bedford OYD
1947 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty-Special
1954 Hillman Minx
1956 Austin A30
1957 Vauxhall Victor Super
1960 Car Cruiser Carousel caravan
1962 Car Cruiser Carissima caravan