# It's Here!!!!!!!!!!!&#



## pauluspaolo (Feb 24, 2003)

Picked "the car" up from Derby last night. My friend and I are going halves in buying/restoring it. I've been working on it in the cold light of day all afternoon and some bits of it are good and some bits of it are bad (the wiring looks absolutely terrible) - it actually has 11 months MOT but was sold as needing a new engine & gearbox but the engine runs well and the gearbox may have responded well to an oil change (the engine and gearbox share the same oil in a Mini/Metro "A" series engine so the oil has a hard time of it!) - the clutch slave cylinder needs replacing & also needs adjusting so this may help out in the gearbox department too. It's certainly worthwhile trying all the obvious options before looking for another engine & gearbox.

Anyway here are a few pictures of the the bug eyed contraption


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## pauluspaolo (Feb 24, 2003)

Another picture showing the rear three-quarters view, it's very yellow







also note the bicycle reflectors on the edge of the rear mudguards - only on a kit car


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## MarkF (Jul 5, 2003)

That has made me feel better, I thought I had bought a money pit









Now you have shown us it we will expect a finished article







Before and after shots, what we don't want see is a 90% "project" in the sales forum.









BTW, nice colour combo


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## pauluspaolo (Feb 24, 2003)

Finally (for now) here's a picture of the luxurious drivers environment - note the deep pile carpet, the burr walnet veneer and the rich leather upholstery














- you've got to laugh haven't you


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## LuvWatch (May 14, 2004)

Now that looks like a fun drive









I reckon the Japy would be the ideal watch to wear while driving









Good luck in the restoration

Derek


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## pauluspaolo (Feb 24, 2003)

It's already 90% finished







- we are going to get it insured tomorrow and the plan then is to unleash it onto an unsuspecting Leeds. I'm glad I joined the AA!

As an example of just how barmy the thing is - every time you get in it your foot hits the wiper switch so the wipers are on all the time, the stereo isn't connected to anything (and even if it was you wouldn't be able to hear it!), I've no idea what any of the switches do, in fact I'm not even sure they are connected to anything (so why are they fitted then??). Oh yes to ease entry into the vehicle the steering wheel can be removed, the driving position is actually very comfortable.

Plans we've made so far involve rewiring it and doing away with the Metro instrument pod (we'll be fitting separate instruments), moving all the column switches to the dash board (so the wipers aren't on all the time!!) and getting rid of the steering column cover - it won't be needed once the switches have been moved anyway. This will hopefully make the whole dashboard area a lot simpler, better looking and roomier.

Part of me thinks what the hell have I done but the other part of me knows that once it's sorted it'll be great fun to drive and a real tonic after a long week at work! Mid-life crisis? What mid-life crisis?

Light the blue touch paper and stand well clear


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## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

Nice one Paul









Looks great


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## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

It looks in pretty good shape to me.







Esp. if you don't need to replace engine & gearbox.

Should be a lot of fun to drive







I like the "Turbo" badge on the dash.









The only thing I really hate about it is that silencer at the back


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## pauluspaolo (Feb 24, 2003)

> The only thing I really hate about it is that silencer at the back


Yep I agree it's got to go - we've been offered a stainless steel one already and a motorbike part would probably look nicer and do a better job of silencing.


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## Roy (Feb 23, 2003)

Looks good Paul, I imagine the insurance will be high ?


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## pauluspaolo (Feb 24, 2003)

Insurance isn't much really Roy - Â£150 fully comp for a limited mileage policy (3000 per annum) and that's with two named drivers on the policy as well. Generally speaking insurance for kit cars isn't high though I've never had one with a big engine (both this one and my previous Midas were 1275cc). The Midas only cost me Â£200 fully comp with unlimited mileage, by comparison my Audi coupe costs me Â£300 third party fire & theft.

Anyway an update on the yellow bas**rd (named after a particularly unsavoury character in Sin City): we got it running reasonably smoothly with the engine sounding fine and the gearbox sort of working, so we made a phone call to the insurance company and off we went - I don't think I can adequately describe the experience. Loud I think best sums it up, as do skittish (and loud), boneshaking (and loud) and just the most fun I've ever had with my clothes on (and loud) - we didn't drive very far but all we did was laugh. We did plan on going for a thrash and then going to the pub but in the end the car started running really badly so we decided to just go to the pub (while it was still driveable) and knock the thrashing bit on the head. It's an awful lot better than as described in the Ebay advert but it obviously needs a lot of work doing on it still - it has the worst, I mean the WORST, gearchange of any car I've ever experienced, the gearbox is definitely on its way out, the ride is hard in the extreme making it very skittish over bumps (there's not a hint of roll when belting round corners and the steering is unbelievably direct - it's a go kart really), and it's not very fast (though it feels it) and it occasionally decides to overheat. I think the engine would respond to a damned good tune up which might well make it quicker - though 45mph feels more like 90 (I can't imagine doing motorway journeys in it)! So there you go a different (extremely ridiculous) car which definitely has potential to become a great little budget blaster.

By the way did I mention that it was loud







?


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## Roy (Feb 23, 2003)

pauluspaolo said:


> By the way did I mention that it was loud
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yes,









Sounds like loads of fun, well done Paul.


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## Roy (Feb 23, 2003)

Been wondering about how this is going Paul ?


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

pauluspaolo said:


> I'm glad I joined the AA!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I bet my colleagues in Leeds won't be soon!









Kidding aside that looks really good Paul, I like getting called to things like this, makes a change from mundanoes.


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## pauluspaolo (Feb 24, 2003)

To be honest we've done nothing to it this last week as we just haven't had any time to spend on it - last weekend was spent at Green Day (who were utterly brilliant) so there was no time then either. Also we are both short of money (hence the sale of my Caribbean) and would you believe that decent Mini (or early Metro) "A" series engines & gearboxes are thin on the ground? Neither would I, but they are!!

I'm going to try and spend some time on it this week (otherwise the project will just never get started!!) - trouble is I'm not sure what to do (could tidy up some of the wiring I suppose or re-route the throttle cable) as everything's on hold until we can find another engine.

It leaks oil like there's no tomorrow (the drive shaft oil seals are duff) so we've nicknamed it the "Exon Valdez"


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## Roy (Feb 23, 2003)

Green Day are great Paul,


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