Andys dabble in disco land.

[andyrew]

Okay, so not going to be everyones cuppa tea here. But if your anything like me. Youll like to see old heaps getting some love.

For the past 16months my daily has been an 1987 carlton gl, which should have been perfect due to its 40k mileage. And having had loads of stuff done. But sadly after a few months of daily use
issues came about. Mostly from having been in storage so much in its life. But it limped on but i knew something was going to be a miss and it was going to be an engine appart job. So it was sold to my friend whos loved the car since i bought it.

So what next? With the carlton being on a classic policy, the replacement had to be 20years or older or if it was a landy only
15years or older. So onto ebay i go and start looking.

Now My car purchasing isnt always done in the recommended manor, i tend to just take a punt on it as a gamble, most of the time its paid off but ive bought some real bad ones too.

So what have i bought?

Well its an £800 discovery with an MOT. This doesnt get you much
but it stops , starts and drives which is the main criteria.
Zero service history, 182 thousand on the clock. No carpets and a bit of water ingress. Ohh and rust, the sills are comical , if its dependable for a month or so ill maybe give it a tickle with the sparkle stick. Being non sunroof means the boots okay tho.
Knackered mud tyres are to be replaced with a matching set of part worns tomorow.

Its fairly minging inside from not being cleaned all the years it been used as a workhorse on the previous owners shooting range for the past 18years he had it. Headliner is rank and sagging so ill rip that out and paint the board which ive seen done before and is a nice cheap fix.

Door locks and windows are typical disco, some work and some dont. Again being a common fault the new parts are very cheap but hopefully i can nab these bits from a local donor car for added tight ass ness

The drive home was alright. Slow and steady, didnt overheat and trunddled along fine bar a uj that is worn. I rummaged throught the pile of new parts that came with it and in there was a uj so it must have been going for a while. Saves a few quid

It is what it is, and thats okay with me.

[ROBBIE]

Got to admit, I had a love hate relationship with my old one I hated how heavy everything was, which made it useless off-road, which I also hated. I also hated the rot in all things steel, including the boot floor, didn't have a sun roof but still fell to bits.

But I did love the comfort, the space and how it felt like you drove along on jelly.

What is it? I have a box of bearings and brake pads, front and rear and a uj on a splined end for a front prop. All for a 200 tdi. All things it will eat

[Jordi]

What is it? I have a box of bearings and brake pads, front and rear and a uj on a splined end for a front prop. All for a 200 tdi. All things it will eat

Whats the point Robbie? By the time you have sent the parts by same day express superfast courier the Disco will be beyond repair anyway.

[andyrew]

Its a 300tdi robbie, and the ride is something ive always enjoyed about old discos. Just so lumbering and comfortable.

When i picked the disco up yesterday i popped into a garage before heading back to see if they could have a look at how bad they uj was and if needed could they fit it. The garage had loads of old shite in the yard so seemed like my kinda place. The guy there said they was closing soon but said i could bung it up on the ramp and
have a look. There was play but not as bad as i was expecting from the noise. I knew it would get me home so after a bit of air in the tyres and a thank you, i was on my way.

This morning i went and purchased a set of okay wheels and tyres to replace the awful insa turbos on it. On the way back i swang by the barn and grabbed my breaker bar. I went to check id got the correct socket and thats when i found the noise. The rear wheel wasnt done up at all. About 3 or 4 turns and the nut would come off!
Noise problem solved.

I had a poke and a little look round today and its pretty much as expected. Rottern sills and archs. And everything else is pretty minging. I dont think it will ever see another mot, so going ott with repairs doesnt make any sense. So for now its just getting a bit of a tart up with anything thats very cheap or laying around the workshop.

[Jordi]

Can we burn it when you're done with it?

[donkeychomp]

If it gets you from A to B, albeit very slowly, then what the hell...it's transport.

[turbo-tom]

Sold my defender, bought a td5 to use off road, but miss the 300 lump already.

[andyrew]

Can we burn it when you're done with it?

If you buy it first you can do what you like with it

Today saw it get a clean and go hunting for where the water is coming from. Its a bad repair to some rust in the wheel arch.
Suprisingly its quiet good in some of the common rot spots.
And awful in others.

Bit of a clonk from the rear, but as theres a panard bush in the pile
of new bits that came with it so im going to assume its that.
Drives alot nicer with some road tyres on now.

When ive got the grinder out next im going to chop the front bump down as the whole front valance has been bumped then bodged back into place and i like the thinner bumper look.

[andyrew]

This evening a mate popped over for a catch up so we set about getting the disco semi stripped inside, its propper wet in the back so i knew theres going to be a hole or 7 somewhere.

So we pulled out what was left of the mangey old carpet and sound deadening and cleaned the floor. To my suprise the boots pretty good amazingly . I'll do two patches to make it water tight and repair the rear footwell whist im there. Then sunday if the weathers nice ill pop the glass out and seal the alpine windows with poly sealer or what ever i can find in the cuboard at the barn.

[Jordi]

I want to just have an all out abusive and mocking rant about this whole situation Andy. However, as it's you i am just going to save it until i see you next, then let loose!