28-04-2014, 07:52 PM
I've owned this car for about 3 and a half years and for the most part it has wanted for nothing and cost peanuts to run. The expense came after a radiator leak lead to the engine overheating last year and I fitted a replacement engine myself, and at the time replaced the clutch, cambelt and water pump but retained the original tuned Bosch pump and T2 turbo set up as it ran perfectly on veg oil and made good power. Very shortly afterwards I was unfortunate enough to have another radiator leak and tried limping the car home by stopping to top up the coolant, but this didn't work and I overheated a second engine. Lack of time to replace this again myself meant that I spent £1500 on having a replacement engine fitted by a mechanic (I have the invoices to prove this work) along with changing to a TD04 turbo setup and HDI gearbox. I bought the engine from a member on 306oc and was told the head gasket had been replaced 10k miles ago, however after only a couple of thousand miles of running since then it has begun to pressurise the coolant and the coolant temp is creeping high at slow speeds (stays cool when on motorway etc), so I am working on the basis now that the headgasket is on it's way and will need doing soon. I've stopped using the car as I don't want to cook another engine, however I can't afford to put any more money into it and don't have the time or space to carry out the work myself, so have decided to offer it up for sale.
The car is a workhorse. It has lots of cosmetic imperfections and has been my run around for a long time, and although I've maintained it mechanically, it hasn't been treated like a garage queen cosmetically. There are odd dents, scratches and marks etc.
The shell has done 190k miles (part of the reason I spent so much getting it fixed was because I wanted to take it beyond 200k as I'd developed quite a fondness for the car) but the engine is supposed to be significantly lower mileage, though obviously given that I may have been lied to about the headgasket already being done I can't really say what the engine is likely to have actually covered. Throughout my ownership it has sailed through MOTs needing only ball joints and track rod ends a couple of years ago, a £10 spot of welding to one of the sills the first MOT I took it for, and then an indicator bulb on the most recent one.
Along with this recent engine replacement I had it fitted with a newly rebuilt TD04 turbo and HDI gearbox, and had the clutch, water pump and cambelt taken from my old engine and swapped over as they had only done around 8k miles. I also had the bulkhead modified to accommodate the TD04. Prior to the car going off the road the Bosch pump was not leaking, but whilst the car was sat having this work done it has started to develop a small leak. I had 2 of the main seals replaced but then another one started to leak a small amount, so although it is working fine, if I were to have the headgasket replaced now I would most probably get the pump seals changed at the same time.
The only other modifications to the car are Saxo VTS wheels powder coated in gloss dark grey and fitted with Toyo T1S tyres, and a boost gauge fitted in the driver's side air vent location.
The car has MOT until March 2015, but I will be shortly declaring it SORN so there will be no tax.
It drives and handles very well. The suspension is all good with no funny noises. It develops good power and accelerates rapidly, especially at high speeds the acceleration is surprisingly quick and it will pull to the top speed with ease.
I'll let it go for £600. The car is located in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. If you have the time and space to change the headgasket I believe this will provide many more years of fast fun bargain motoring.
![[Image: IMG_5591.JPG]](http://juzee.com/files/l417dju/IMG_5591.JPG)
![[Image: IMG_5592.JPG]](http://juzee.com/files/l417dju/IMG_5592.JPG)
The car is a workhorse. It has lots of cosmetic imperfections and has been my run around for a long time, and although I've maintained it mechanically, it hasn't been treated like a garage queen cosmetically. There are odd dents, scratches and marks etc.
The shell has done 190k miles (part of the reason I spent so much getting it fixed was because I wanted to take it beyond 200k as I'd developed quite a fondness for the car) but the engine is supposed to be significantly lower mileage, though obviously given that I may have been lied to about the headgasket already being done I can't really say what the engine is likely to have actually covered. Throughout my ownership it has sailed through MOTs needing only ball joints and track rod ends a couple of years ago, a £10 spot of welding to one of the sills the first MOT I took it for, and then an indicator bulb on the most recent one.
Along with this recent engine replacement I had it fitted with a newly rebuilt TD04 turbo and HDI gearbox, and had the clutch, water pump and cambelt taken from my old engine and swapped over as they had only done around 8k miles. I also had the bulkhead modified to accommodate the TD04. Prior to the car going off the road the Bosch pump was not leaking, but whilst the car was sat having this work done it has started to develop a small leak. I had 2 of the main seals replaced but then another one started to leak a small amount, so although it is working fine, if I were to have the headgasket replaced now I would most probably get the pump seals changed at the same time.
The only other modifications to the car are Saxo VTS wheels powder coated in gloss dark grey and fitted with Toyo T1S tyres, and a boost gauge fitted in the driver's side air vent location.
The car has MOT until March 2015, but I will be shortly declaring it SORN so there will be no tax.
It drives and handles very well. The suspension is all good with no funny noises. It develops good power and accelerates rapidly, especially at high speeds the acceleration is surprisingly quick and it will pull to the top speed with ease.
I'll let it go for £600. The car is located in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. If you have the time and space to change the headgasket I believe this will provide many more years of fast fun bargain motoring.
![[Image: Untitled-1_zpsc57da38e.jpg]](http://s112.photobucket.com/user/w1n_2006/media/Untitled-1_zpsc57da38e.jpg.html)
![[Image: 20120704_212316.jpg]](http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/yy175/DanHargrave/20120704_212316.jpg)