Used car bargain year 1

 This is a story of life with an ’older’ car and a small budget! It had 8 owners between 1997 and 2017, it was SORN the last 4 years and had 74000 miles on the clock. 

I got it off a good friend for a little money and various favours. 

Completely expectable MOT repairs needed were a bit of welding needed to the back ends of the sill and a front brake was dragging on one side. 

First, my word on rust:

It is a well known to classic car enthusiasts that rust is a perennial problem and any car of a certain vintage will need attention unless it was extra-undersealed when still new. New car owners won’t feel the need to fork out on extra layers of ‘paints’ but it’s worth it if you’re looking at keeping your investment as a tool of service rather than a frequently replaced fashion accessory.

If steel can’t be cleaned or replaced back to bright clean, er, steel, there is no point painting it because it’ll turn rusty again. Rusty steel can still be saved in my opinion by smearing it with grease, or oil. Most grease types will do. Fresh engine oil, possibly mixed with a dash of diesel works well. I knew someone who filled his Morris Minor sills up with old engine oil to cure them of rust (however used oil acidity is questionable) .  This is OK I suppose if it’s too rusty there for Waxoil injection.

Second, my words on brakes:

Disc brake callipers  can be stubborn at properly releasing during service after they’ve sat still (gradually corroding) for a time. Driving without the servo assist pipe connected (and bunged closed) may dispel the notion the servo is faulty and is ‘pulling them on’ mysteriously. 

My servo and master pedal was in fact fine ( btw they come out the car through the cockpit apparently) and driving without servo assist is possible only if you have strong legs. Fun but not smart. Eventually the discs got hot and replacement was a sensible long term decision.

The only other recommissioning needed was an oil change, gearbox oil change and freeing off the electric fan. This rarely moves in the English climate but a bit of anti-seize spray oil did the trick.

The coolant was ok - a sample was put in the freezer without turning solid.