Pistonpoppers MotorJournal.

[pistonpopper]

Like many of you guys and girls out there, i have a small car collection, and i was thinking about doing some sort of thread about it. It won't be so much a build thread, as I havn't really got the time or talent to build a car. However i like to tinker with them, and tinkering and fettling my cars is what i enjoy! I cannot weld, mainly because whenever i weld the flashing of the welder makes me feel very odd. I also will often farm out mechanical jobs to my local mechanic, this is due to the fact that often i just don't have the time to do it, besides, he'd do a better job than me faster than i would, and as i'd rather play with my kids, the Pistonpoppets instead, oh, and also because i'm bone idle! My thread will be more like a thread of tales about living with my little collection, think about it like Pistonpoppers Adventures In Car-Land... Maybe that should be the title of the thread lol! To be honest, i'm not sure that i will be writing anything worth reading, or following, but there you go, i shall try to put up a few pictures to break up the monotony of my writing though. So then, about my collection of vehicles, well it does tend to evolve, and i have quite eclectic tastes which covers just about every kind of genre of car out there, and it even extends to a few motorbikes, which i also have, and may or may not write about here. Currently my toybox contains a 2005 Mustang (my daily!), a 1969 Plymouth Barracuda, a 1974 Range Rover, a Volvo 262c, a Simca 1308, a Chrysler Alpine, a Talbot Alpine, a '32 Ford roadster pick up, a Sierra P100, a 1989 Mustang, a 1992 Mustang, a 1980 Opel Monza, two Yamaha TW125's, and a Yamaha DT175mx nope, sold it! Oh, and this little Ford Ka...











The 49th car i've ever owned! As you can see, quite a little mix. So where shall I start? Not with the Ka thats for sure lol! Mainly because hopefully the Ka will be sold by tomorrow. Obviously not all of my collection are roadworthy, some are on the road, but most are projects, and sadly some are just too far gone to even consider restoring, and are really best used to be turned into baked bean cans or something... So then where should i begin my little thread of madness? Well due to the surprising popularity of my 1985 Talbot, and because so many people asked to see some sort of Readers Rides thread, I shall start with it! I'm going to get this out the way first of all, I didn't build it, i bought it savagely low, and liked it that way! Having said all that, this is the sixth Alpine i've had (i think!), and back when i got my first one, i was an 18 year old lead-footed hooligan, and i constantly broke my car! Especially the clutch, and/or gearbox, and by the time my boy-racer era reign of terror was over i was able to change a gerarbox in my Alpine in little over half an hour! Anyhoo, enough of this babble for a minute, here's what i bought! Que classic first fill photograph!



I had several reasons for the purchase of this car, Firstly my two little girls (the Pistonpoppets) who were 8, and 4 years old at the time were looking through my albums of old photos of some of my old cars and upon stumbling across my old Chrysler (my first car) they said they liked it, what was it like, and could we get another one day (I still have the first one!) Secondly, nostalgia, listening to my girls talking about it got me thinking about it, not that the old car really ever leaves my mind being my first car, and even now i can still hear that old engine rattling away like a bag of rusty spanners as i drive along in my mind. Lastly, this 1985 Talbot Alpine was advertised right here on Retro Rides, and then on fleabay, so i bid on it, and won it!! By the time this photo was taken i had owned it for about ten minutes but to be honest, i felt like i'd never been out of one! The journey home was an interesting one, i've had some interesting, and pretty cool stuff in my time, but on the way home i noticed quite a few people taking photos of it as they passed me in their cars! Anyway, once home i immediately set about impressing my wife with my latest ride! She was VERY impressed, and soon insisted that i take her out to dinner as i oviously had too much spare cash! (Yeah, like that could ever happen!) So off out to dinner we went!



Anyhoo, as luck would happen mrs Pistonpopper liked it, and she even drove and enjoyed it! My girls thought it was great too, so everyone was happy! Infact, the wife was so impressed she bought me a couple of stickers, i'm not a sticker fan to be honest, but i kinda like these, and how they look on the car!



Well, within a week of ownership i had managed to put a hole in the side wall of one of the rear tyres, so a quick browse of fleabay for a set of 15" Fiat wheels turned up a set of Fiat Punto alloys with nearly new tyres on ebay for just £40, of course they were nowhere close, so i then had a 400 mile round trip to collect them and bring them home. Still, it gave me a chance to get out there and drive the Talbot, and it was my first long distance drive in it, it was great, although it was very cold as it was snowing, and the heater didn't work, and very noisy because, well it is very noisy!. I know that for most people the Barchetta steels are the preferred choice, and to be fair i love the Barchetta steels, I even still have them although they've been powdercoated white now, and some day they may go back on, however, as time has gone on, although i like the Punto alloys, and the Barchetta steels, they are not the wheel i want to have on it!





Inside i've fettled a little too. I've changed the gear knob! A big job i know, but the old Talbot one was a bit chewed, and didn't feel good in my hand, plus it looked dreadful!



I also fitted some gauges where the radio slot used to be. I always thought that it would look neat with gauges there, and as i didn't have a radio, or even hear it if there was one, i figured that gauges were the way forward!



So, where am i going with this car? Well, to be honest i don't know, part of me wants to fix it up and get it looking really good again! But, i really like that it is a bit scruffy, it's been a long time since i've had a scruffy car because i like my cars to be clean and shiney! So for this one, i'm going to fight all my urges, and OCD to have it looking perfect, and drive and enjoy it as it is, tinkering and fettling as i go!

[retroandproud]

Bookmarked!!!! I would love this!!!

[djefk]

Stop. Rust-proof. Enjoy. Rust-proof some more. Enjoy etc. etc.

[skozra]

What a cool car and a great story, enjoyed reading it ! Looking forward to more !

[scmick]

Looks well just as it is. Nice to see an Alpine low and with some decent wheels. Having had so many Alpines are you a member of SIMCA Club UK www.simcatalbotclub.org. A lot of Alpine/Solara fanatics hang out there. PM me if you want more info on the club.
Mick

[grifterkid]

These are very cool cars indeed...

It really does go to show that the design was 'right' when sketched as it did last quite a few years!

I believe the Peugeot 405 was its spiritual successor even though we never saw a hatch version of that car.

I will look forward to seeing updates of this car!

[scmick]

2015 is the 40th anniversary of the launch of the Alpine....originally as a Chrysler Alpine(SIMCA 1307 & 1308 on the Continent) and from '79 as a Talbot, after the Peugeot takeover.

[pistonpopper]

Jan 26, 2015 11:43:12 GMT scmick said:

2015 is the 40th anniversary of the launch of the Alpine....originally as a Chrysler Alpine(SIMCA 1307 & 1308 on the Continent) and from '79 as a Talbot, after the Peugeot takeover.

Thanks Scmick, i actually had a 1975 1307 once, of course it was left hand drive, but that didn't worry me as i bought it for spares for my 1979 Chrysler Alpine, which was my first car. I have had six Alpines in total (i think) In all Flavours! I've had three Chrysler Alpines, two Talbot Alpines, and one Simca 1307... I must admit i've got a real hankering to get hold of a Moskvich Aleko, as that would surely round off the set... Anyhoo, thats a saga for another day!

So continuing with my story of fettling. I keep looking at it, and thinking how low it was, and how cool it looked, so i decided to photograph it next to one of my other rides... No, i'm not doing a build thread for that one too! lol



For those of you who are not in the know, this is my 1979 Volvo 262C Bertone coupe, and it's roofline is low, and until this Alpine came along it is the lowest car i've ever had that has a roof! Anyway, by this point in time i was having some time off from work because i'd fallen down a man-hole, not once, but twice!! The second time broke my arm! So i was sitting around the house making a nuisence of myself apparently, so i decided to fettle a little more of the Alpine, nothing spectacular, i just wanted the clutter in the boot to be a little tidier... Que picture of clutter in the boot...



To be honest, it wasn't so much that it was messy, the problem was when you're driving along everything slides around the boot like snot in a kids mouth, and so i decided to just stop the movement! I also managed to snag a space saver from a Punto for just 99p on ebay! I kept the Punto tools for a bit, then found out they wern't a farts worht of use to me, so gave them away... It was all adding extra weight i don't need anyway!



There, now that's much better! Now, unless you're a real tyre anorak and work for Kwik-Fit or something the next three photos are my dullest yet!







Yawn... So the good news is that the Punto space saver fits! I thought it would, but i just thought i'd check it, because i'd hate to be in the middle of nowhere on a cold, windy, rainy night when i find out that although it bolts on, it now rubs the caliper or something, so it won't rotate... Very irritating!! Not to mention how much grief Mrs Pistonpopper would give me! Still, not to worry, the damn thing fits on both the front and the back, rotates and everything... Happy days!!

So, everything was going well, maybe a little too well... On Saturday 14 June 2014, I was out running some errands, I had to go and collect a set of Wolfrace wheels for my 1974 two door Range Rover, of course, as ever they were nice and local! NOT!! I'd promised Mrs Pistonpopper that we would go to see her Nan who lives about 100 miles north from our place, but i'd forgotton that, and made arrangements to pick up the wheels for my Range Rover aswell, these were getting on for 150 miles east of our place... No matter i thought, i'll get up early, fuel the Alpine up, pick up the Rangey wheels, back home for 12(ish) ditch the wheels in the hall in our flat, pick up the family, head of to see Mrs Pistonpoppers Nan, it's gonna be a peice of cake! So, seats down, tank full of BPs finest, well, no, not their finest, i'm not made of money! And off we go! It was going quite well, arrived at the sellers house, picked up the wheels, and headed home, back home by 11:37!! And i never broke the speed limit once! Infact i plodded along at a steady old 60, which if i'm honest i prefer! Slung the wheels in the hall of our flat, picked up the wife and kids, and off we went, not forgetting to point out to Mrs Pistonpopper that i was back by twelve as requested, infact 23 minutes before twelve, i could tell by her stearn look that she was VERY impressed!



So after driving for over an hour, and racking up about another 85 miles the Talbot decided that what we needed to experience was the joy of coasting to a halt beside a busy A34, which was lovely due to your fuel line being blocked with sludge from your fuel tank... Oh, with a grumpy wife and family on board just to add to the fun! After a brief argument about how i've run out of petrol i went to investigate the problem... Sure enough, there was no petrol coming through the line, which only added fuel to the Mrs Pistonpoppers fire! "See!!" She exclaimed, "You've run out of petrol!!" Well, knowing that i had over 1/4 of a tank left, i tried to explain that i still had loads left. But, of course, being a very angry, and by now hungry woman she was having none of it! So, reluctantly i did the walk of shame, some 2.5 miles to the nearest petrol station, or atleast, i would have, had i not got picked up by a kind fellow called Timba who not only drove me to the petrol station, but he drove me back too, and he even paid for the petrol!! I guess he probably took pity on my, let just call it play-worn car! Anyhoo, once back i put about 95% of the gallon into my car, and guess what, it still wouldn't start, but that mattered not to mrs Pistonpopper, who by now was even more angry than before due to boredom, the heat, the kids going nuts, and of course, HUNGER! I figured i wouldn't make a point of saying i told you so, as by now if we were in a cartoon, i would be looking like a big ham or something! So anyway, i tipped a drop into the carb, and away it went... Briefly! Proving to me atleast that the problem was feed, or lack thereof! But, i persisted with this method of starting my car until i watched a big lump of red sludge go up my fuel line and into the carb... A couple more splashes of petrol, and finally, away it went, i then drove the ramaining 130 odd miles without hitch... Almost! 10 miles from home, it happened again, so i went about trying to start it in the manner that i had tried earlier, but it wasn't having it, and eventually my battery was flat. So i then decided that my brother needed a trip out to the A34 for a bit of impromptue towing fun! Of course, he showed up, camera in hand, and photobombed farcebook with images of me and my car broken down on the side of the road! He then hitched my car up, and within about half a mile of being towed while it was in gear it was running again! Good times!

Incidentally, within a couple of weeks of my brother photobombing farcebook with images of me being towed in my Talbot by him, which is, obviously, quite frankly hilarious! I got this phone call one evening, it was my brother, with his "My Porsche is broken, can you hire a trailer and pick me up, i think a bearing in the trans-axle has let go, and it can't be driven!" Of course i can i said, hang on, let me just make sure my camera has good batteries in it!



He who laughs last... Probably hasn't got the joke, so incase you've missed it, heres a photo of it from the back!



Old cars, never a dull moment! Of course shortly after this photo was taken i decided that i would sell the Range Rover, so hopefully my brothers little Porsche won't decide to break down again, as i can't tow a big trailer like that one with my little Talbot, and thats the only car left in my collection with a tow bar fitted. Anyway, for you Range Rover fanatics out there, if indeed there are any out there on this forum, here's a few pretty pictures of my 1974 Range Rover two door.











What a great car, although it was a bit of a barn find when i found it, and it had been used as a kennel for years before it found its way back to the road... I never did get the smell of wet dog out of the car, and even when i sold it there was still loads of dog hairs in the interior, and i don't even have a dog lol!

[eternaloptimist]

I bought a 1976 Alpine in 1983. Youngest car I'd ever had - still a student - thought I'd hit the big time. Used a cushion to make up for the fact the driver's seat had collapsed and drove it hard. I'm pretty sure that car gave me my tinnitus. It got quicker by the day as more of the metal turned to rust and flaked off. I had a choice between it and a 1972 Peugeot 504 ti. Should have bought the 504....

This looks great - spotted it when it was up for sale and was seriously tempted. Dip it in Waxoyl and drive it - great car, pity they dissolved so quickly.

[pistonpopper]

Feb 8, 2015 7:39:18 GMT eternaloptimist said:

I bought a 1976 Alpine in 1983. Youngest car I'd ever had - still a student - thought I'd hit the big time. Used a cushion to make up for the fact the driver's seat had collapsed and drove it hard. I'm pretty sure that car gave me my tinnitus. It got quicker by the day as more of the metal turned to rust and flaked off. I had a choice between it and a 1972 Peugeot 504 ti. Should have bought the 504....

This looks great - spotted it when it was up for sale and was seriously tempted. Dip it in Waxoyl and drive it - great car, pity they dissolved so quickly.

I think you made the right choice there friend! When i got my first one back in '89, i too drove it pretty hard, that poor thing got driven like it was a racing car, a stolen one at that! But it taught me a lot about driving, and a fair bit about crashing too if i'm honest! But like yours, mine got faster as it got older, with bit's of rust dropping off and improving the power to wieght ratio! And remember, rust is lighter than carbon fibre! Just for laughs, here's a photo of my first one...



There it is, isn't it a beaut? Er no, as you can see, this is not the most beautiful specimen of the Chrysler Alpine (it did get better, honest!), but i learned a lot from that car, this picture was taken about 1989, so the car is only ten years old at this point, and by now it had had a very hard life. It was bought for me by my Dad for managing to finally get my shizzle together and pass my driving test, it cost him just £200, and it was immaculate inside and out, and ran like a dream when i originally got it! But, being a stroppy teenager i was very un-impressed by this car, and hated it! But i begrudgingly took the keys and proceeded to drive it like i stole it everywhere. It was in great shape when i first got it, but by the time this photo was taken i had been in a couple of minor accidents with it, and it had been roughed up by a head on collision with a Volvo 240, this didn't end well, especially as it happened to be a police car which was on the wrong side of the road on a blind bend! It wasn't good, but both my passenger and I walked away from it unscathed, although the front of my Alpine was peeled back like a banana exposing the engine and front suspension! My Dad and I also learned basic bodywork from this episode in the cars life getting it back on the road about a year after the accident by visiting scrapyards every week, cutting off parts from scrapped Alpines, and Solaras, and welding them back onto mine which was why it's so many colours in the photo. Then, inspired by far too much time being spent watching the Dukes of Hazzard, i painted the Confederate flag on the roof... No wonder i struggled to get girlfriends at the time lol! Yep, i learned a lot from that little car, and for that, i salute it!! Plus, it is also the reason for my current 1985 Talbot Alpine.

Anyway, moving on, after my little adventure by the side of the A34 i decided that my friendly mechanic would like to have a go at draining my tank down, and cleaning it out. He's a pretty thorough sort of chap, and he took my tank out, steam cleaned it, installed new fuel lines from the tank to the carb, and fitted an new inline filter, excellent! He had told me to bring the car to him with as little fuel as possible in it, and to bring some new fuel in a can, which i did. I picked up the mighty Talbot the following day, and it ran better than ever! This was great as the following day i was planning to attend 12th International Simca Matra Talbot Rally held at Beaulieu. I'm not really a fan of one make car shows, as i think the best thing about going to a car show is the variety, which of course you don't get so much of with a single make car show, but i figured i might not get a better chance to show my car than this, and as it was close to my place, my youngest daughter and I decided to attend! I figured that there would probably only be about 20-30 cars there...



Well, that was me wrong! It was a two day event, but i only attended on the Saturday. It was pretty good too, and i was surprised with the variety, and the amount of variety that there was!



Ofcourse, i was only really interested in the Alpines, however, i've always fancied a Tagora, and i'm starting to come around to the idea of having a Horizon at some point!



Well that was a bumpy old ride across the field!



I think it can be said with out fear of constipation that my Alpine may not have been the best condition car there, or even the cleanest, but it was damn well the lowest! And it gathered a little crowd around it most of the day! I saw on several occasions people taking photos of it (not that surprising at a car show) and i talked to many people about my little Talbot too. I had only planned to attend for a couple of hours, but my daughter and i stayed the whole day, and had a pretty good time, and a far better time than i had expected to be honest! Anyway, as a bit of a treat for you guys, heres a few photos that i took at the 12th International Simca Matra Talbot Rally for your perusal. I'll not put any captions as i don't want to look like an idiot when i identify a car wrongly!







I got to say i love those rear window louvres on that Simca 1308. I used to have some on my Alpine... Back in the day! I wish i could find them now!















On the way home, the Alpine started to splutter again, now my little girl was only four years old at the time, and she didn't enjoy the whole breaking down experience at all, and with the thing coughing and spluttering again, she was starting to worry. However, it did manage to get us home. Once outside my house, i popped the bonnet to have a look...



Now, as a rule i get my petrol from the same service station 95% of the time. And when i went to that service station and told them about the red sludge that was in my tank, the manager there told me that it couldn't have come from his tanks, has his were meticulously clean! I thought, well, thats fair enough, i mean i had never had any trouble with any of my other cars, and, rather foolishly i had put supermarket petrol in it the day it broke down on teh A34. But, since i'd had my fuel tank cleaned out, and new lines put in from the tank to the carb it had only had petrol from this BP service station. So i went in and had another word with the manager, but he wouldn't have it! I don't really know why i expected him to believe me, but i guess because i've been using that service station for nearly 20 years, he would. Anyhoo, no matter, i have since switched to Shell... As the used to say in the Adverts, Keep Going Well, Keep Going Shell!



Who doesn't?

[pistonpopper]

Moving away from the Alpine for a bit i thought that i would just take the time to introduce one of my other 'projects'... My 1980 Opel Monza.



Personally i have always wanted one of these, but sadly never driven one yet... No, not even this one!









As you've no doubt gathered it is a little bit rough around the edges, frankly i've no idea where i'm going with this yet, or what will become of it, but it is very VERY rusty. Sadly as i've lost my storage space lately i have a feeling that this will become one of the cars destined to lurk in your kitchen cupboards masquerading as soup cans et cetera! Hoestly the photos make it look better than it is!



I think this is too far gone for WD-40 to help, good as it is lol!

[pistonpopper]

Feb 12, 2015 0:49:42 GMT pistonpopper said:

I think it can be said with out fear of constipation that my Alpine may not have been the best condition car there, or even the cleanest, but it was damn well the lowest!

Err... That should read, I think it can be said with out fear of contradiction that my Alpine may not have been the best condition car there, or even the cleanest, but it was damn well the lowest!

DAMMIT lol

So, with September looming i felt i needed a sort a few things for the dreaded MOT... I don't know why the thought of taking my car for an MOT fills me with dread, but it does, and as this would be the first MOT for the Alpine in my care, i was even more paranoid than usual! I'd noticed during my wheel swapping fun that one of the rear shock absorbers was leaking quite badly, so i figured that i just as well replace it.





So out with the trolley jack and a fist full of tools i was off to fit my new shock absorbers. Its a pretty straight forward job that even an idiot can do, and to prove this i did it myself! However jacking up the car meant that the heavily chopped springs fell out. Thats not going to please the MOT man i thought, anyway, nevermind i thought, let just cross everything, and put it in for an MOT. Because i was feeling particularly lazy, and because Kwik-Fit is literally across the road from my house i booked it in there, and at 10:45 on the 2nd of September it was off for it's first MOT in my care... I had a feeling this wasn't going to go well...



And it didn't. The MOT inspector took one look at it in the car park and said, I HATE TALBOTS, THAT'S GONNA FAIL! He then said he couldn't test it because it was too low to get into his workshop. So i said, it's been in several times before for tyres, and that was ok. Then he said it was too low to go on his ramps, so i said, it's been on them before, and it was ok then. I then said, why don't you just give it a try and see how it does. He eventually agreed, and told me to return in an hour or so. When i got back i was told he refused to complete the test as in his opinion it was unsafe to do so as it had an oil light flashing, fair enough, it does but it's due to a loose wire, and after having it stood still for 45 mins with the engine running, it was starting to get warm! Unfortunately he was nowhere to be found, so i couldn't ask him what the problem was (what a nobber!)! So, not exactly a failiure, but without a sheet of problems to fix, where do i go from here...



Where i ended up was at my mechanics, who laughed at me for taking it to Kwik-Fit in the first place. He said i should get it booked in to a proper MOT station that doesn't have monkeys working in it, then come back to see him with the list. So i did, that went better... Sort of!





Ofcourse this was a fail too, but atleast now i had a list, and yes, those chopped rear springs were on it, but so was a little bit of rust, and a couple of other small items. All in all, not too bad really. So i headed off back to my friendly mechanics with the list.





Once up in the air a full assesment of the rust could be made, and repaired, and while he was at it, some new springs were sourced (origninally for the front of a Mk5 Escort) and fitted.









Once this was done it was back off to Best Autos for a quick re-test.



Which ofcourse it now passed, so the moral of this story is that apparently you CAN get better than a Kwik-Fit fitter! And i won't be going there for my MOTs again, and probably not for new tyres either!



Incidentally, it is the only lowered car i have in my collection (fleet), and fitting 1997 Ford Escort front springs on the back meant that my ride height at the back was higher than the front, so the front got wound up a spline or two meaning that it now sits just over two inches higher than previously... I can live with that, and it's so much more comfortable now it's unreal!! However, as far as my friends are concerned it now too high, and i've ruined it, but for me, i can't really see the difference, and apart from the new level of comfort, the other bonus is that i've not had to stop and pick my exhaust up once since i've raised it... Goooooood Times!



So with my new MOT clenched firmly in my hand i felt it was time for a bit of a road trip, so i pointed the Beige nose of the Alpine at the Severn bridge and headed off for Wales (boy-o!) Actually, this wasn't the only reason for going, i had purchased myself a Ranger for an upcoming job i needed to do in Germany, but i figured that i might aswell drive the Talbot there, then hitch it to the Ranger with an A-frame, and fill it up with some of the stuff i would be transporting to Germany. The trip to Wales went quite well, and although i thought that maybe the brakes were binding a little, buy the time we got to Wales (163 miles later) they had freed themselves off! I left quite early in the day so that i would have the time to eat some fish and chips on the beach before heading back home in the evening with my new purchase... Yep, i like it



I'd never towed a car with an A-frame before, and was a bit concerned about it, but i need not have worried, apart from the awkward connecting up of the Talbot to the A-frame (made awkward because of its ride height!) it was a piece of cake! The Ranger, now loaded with tools and other stuff towed the Talbot (also loaded with tools and other stuff) very well, infact you didn't really notice i was towing anything at all!





Pretty soon i was back home, and my Ranger joined my small (small as in, this is one of three pick ups i currently have!) pick up collection. No doubt some of you are thinking, thats a bit greedy isn't it, two cool Ford pick ups! Well, yes it is, but, i needed a pick up, a big one for a little job i have to do in Germany. I knew the job was coming up, and i had about eight months notice to buy myself a pick up. It had to be a crew cab, with a truckman type top, and a tow bar, and it needed to be big enough to drag a big trailer behind it. My first thought, Ford Ranger, I like them! So as i had eight months to find myself a suitable pick up I started to search on fleabay. Then this Cortina shaped P100 showed up, i've always wanted one of those, and this was a good one that had never been used as a builders truck, so i jumped on it!! Drove it around while still searching for a Ranger, with about two months to go before i was supposed to head off to Germany i found my Ranger, then sadly had to sell off my P100. To date, this is the only Cortina i've ever had... And i'm in my FORTIES lol...



Anyway, i'm guessing there's a fair few of you out there who love Cortinas, or P100s, so in fairness to all you good people out there, here's a couple more pretty photos of my P100 what i took. Enjoy...









Man alive that was a cool little truck!! But i knew our little affair together would be brief, as i knew it wasn't what i was looking for, but it was just so beautiful i had to have a little go, even though i knew that when our brief little encounter was over, it would break my heart to sell it. But sell it i must, and as they say it's better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all!



So away it goes... Thankfully i think it's gone to the right person, the guy who bought it has three or four other P100's in his collection, and i thought i was being greedy!! I know i shouldn't have sold it, but unless your the Sultan of Brunei or something you can't keep 'em all!

Onwards and upwards...

Next stop... GERMANY!

[pistonpopper]

Stand by, this is going to be a little on the LARGE side...

So, I have this friend, and many moons ago when i was living in deepest darkest Wales with my then girlfriend he was a new friend. When my girlfriend of the time decided that she was going to attack me, fracture THREE of my ribs, and destroy pretty much everything in the house as she was (A) Drunk, (B) A raving lunatic, and (C) Abnormally strong! My new (at the time) friend dropped everything for me, and helped me through a very dark time in my life without any questions or judgement. He also helped me to re-build my house after hurricane psycho-girl had destroyed everything in it's path! So, when he decided to re-locate himself to Germany and he asked me to help move all his stuff, i had to say yes... It's what being a good friend is about! The trouble was, even though he had quite a small flat, and had got rid of a lot of stuff, he still had plenty of stuff left for me to transport. An idea was hatched, i'd get myself a pick up, and i'd tow a horse-box behind it with all his stuff in it... Simple... Right?



Well that's the pick up bit sorted, that was easy enough, now the horsey box bit...



Unfortunately the horsey box bit didn't go so well... Those of you with sharper eyes will have realised that this is not a horsey box, it is a very tired, and very used steel garden shed!



What i decided to do in my wisdom or otherwise was to buy a car transporter trailer, and put a large garden shed on it! What could possibly go wrong? Well, i spoke about this to my two brothers, one of whom it has to be said is a pretty sensible type of chap. He said, it can't be done, you'll never get all the stuff there, the shed will come apart as you drive down the autobahn, and his stuff will be strewn across the autobahn, or more likely, the motorway before you even leave England! Thats the spirit! I had a look on Google maps to see just how far it was, and what i had gotton myself into... So from my house in Winchester, to my friends new house in Vilseck it was only 710 miles!! However, we wern't going from my house in Winchester, we had to go from his house in Swansea, so it was Winchester, Swansea, Vilseck... No worries, only 1,005 miles... GULP!! 1,005 miles!! I'd better make sure that shed it firmly attached to the trailer! So the shed was bolted to some pallets which were in turn bolted to the trailer. The shed was then re-inforced on the sides, and the roof, and hooks were attached to enable me to strap the shed down to the trailer from both the sides of the shed, and the roof. One of my biggest worries (although i didn't let on to my nay-saying brother) was that the roof gets blown off, as that would seriously affect the structural integrety of the rest of the shed. Once it was bolted down, my mate who was helping me said, are you going to take it for a test? I said, nope, the test will be when we go! We then loaded all my friends stuff into the shed. I loaded it so that the shed was absolutely packed, nothing could move about in the shed, and i started by packing it around the walls of the shed, in my mind turning the shed into one big solid object rather than a big box full of loose stuff! I then loaded Mrs Pistonpopper and the Pistonpoppets into the Ranger and we were off, next stop... Germany! Well, it would actually be Dover as we had to get on the ferry, but you get the idea!



To be fair to the Ranger it drove pretty well, and you didn't really notice that you were dragging a garden shed behind you. Pretty soon, we were at Dover, and getting onto the ferry!



The crossing was smooth, which i was glad about as even though i come from a family with a bit of a Naval background i hate ships! But before long we were getting off the ferry in Calais! Horaaah!! Only 551 miles to go, which means of course, that we're nearly half way there! Before getting off the ferry i had a good look around my garden shed to see if everything was ok. Everything was ok, it was all still tight, and still tied down nicely, it was looking good for the remaining 551 miles, so on we went!



About ten miles from my destination my trailer decided that it was going to have a puncture or two, which meant of course, that i could only change one wheel, so i was going to have to do the remaining ten miles with just three wheels on my wagon, while waiting for the Polizei to stop me for a chat!



The good news is that the Polizei didn't stop me for a chat, and the shed was delivered to my friends house, we then had a cup of tea, emptied the shed, then had another cup of tea...



Then removed the shed from the trailer. Good! This of course left me with an empty car transporter trailer! Hmm, that might come in handy! Over the next couple of days we did a bit of wandering around, acting like tourists. Mrs Pistonpopper bought some souvineers:-





Hmm... Not too sure about these...



And drank some bier... Wasn't too sure about that either as a non drinker! Still, never mind, while this was going on i looked at a few cars...



This was a pretty scruffy little Mustang, the bonnet's scruffier than mine!



I didn't have pick up envy... Honest!



Well ok... Maybe just a little!

This was going fairly well, y'know, just looking... But then we decided to leave my friends house, and go to Stuttgart for a look round, where i saw this:-



And it was for sale! And i had an empty car transporter trailer with me! So i asked mrs Pistonpopper how much cash she had with her? She asked me why i needed to know, so i said, well, she's been buying CDs, and souvineers all day, and i thought i might buy one, do you happen to have 700€? Yes i do she said. Great, i said, lets have it! Mrs Pistonpopper handed over the cash, and i bought myself a Rekord! It didn't run so we pulled it onto my trailer with my winch. However, while we were doing that, some fella drove into my trailer! My trailer appeared to be fine after his little shunt, but his golf was well and truly müllered! Still, as my trailer looked ok, he said not to worry, and he drove off with steam bellowing from under his bonnet, and i headed off into the night to our hotel! 50 miles later we pulled into our hotel car park, and one of the wheels on my trailer was smoking... A lot!



The next morning i had a look at it only to find that the bearing was shot. So in my wisdom or otherwise i decided to remove the offending wheel, to see how it looked. It looked ok, i moved the Rekord over to one side of the trailer in a bid to put more weight over the side of the trailer that still had two wheels attached to it, and thought that we'd head back to my friends place only 200 miles away, to try and formulate a plan there! 20 miles into our trip all was going quite well, but then...



POLIZEI! Great, i'm pretty sure he's not going to like this! I was right, he didn't!



He took us to a TÜV center where my trailer underwent some tests...



It didn't look good, A little man who looked for all the world like the Carl Freidrickson carachter from the Disney/Pixar film "Up" wandered around it muttering "Nein" to himself a lot while he looked at it. He wasn't happy about the condition of my trailer at all, and he was more than a little upset by its assymetrical wheel arrangement! In the end he said i could go no further with my trailer, and promptly fined me 400€ plus 68€ for the test!



Yep, that pretty much sums up what i thought of the situation. Luckily however i had the forethought to join a motoring organisation called the RAC, i called them up to tell them of our predicament. The first thing they said was that i didn't have European cover. I told them that according to my letter that they sent me that i was holding in my hand that i do have European cover, to which they replied, oh yes, so you do. They then said that my trailer wasn't covered. Again i pointed out that according to my letter, my trailer was covered, and i had to pay extra to cover it, once again the reply was oh, yes, so you do!! So, a fella arrived with a flatbed truck, and took my trailer, and Opel Rekord to a storage facility. We were told to follow them, and stay with it all while they (the RAC) decided what to do next. So we did...



So after waiting around so long for the RAC to decided what was the best thing to do, the garage where they had taken my trailer and car to closed, so i phoned them once again, and told them that i had a hotel booked about 100 miles away. They then told me that i should leave the trailer, and car on it, and it would follow me home in about 14 days time! Why they needed us to wait around in the freezing cold with two little children all day while they decided that i'll never know.



I must say that the garage that my trailer and Rekord was taken to was Hübl GmbH & Co KG, Dantestraße 15, 70197 Stuttgart, and despite their poor English, and my even poorer German they tried their very best to sort things out for us with the RAC, and kept bringing us hot drinks all day while we were waiting for the RAC to pull their collective fingers out of their bums, and sort something out!



I just thought i'd show you this rather cool little drain in the middle of the garage storage area, i thought it was kinda cool! Anyway, once i knew my trailer etc will be following me home. We hit the road again!



Ofcourse, by this time we had missed our hotel check in, and so had to drive a further 200 miles back to Köln to a hotel we knew was still open at 2 am when we thought we'd get there... This was a heck of a drive, we were running out of diesel. There was a sign that said there was a fuel station in 25kms, but there wasn't!! Then the fuel light came on, but no fuel station showed up... Somehow, by drafting behind trucks et cetera this little truck managed to get us over 50kms with the fuel light on... I don't think i'll ever know how it got us there that night! I was relieved when this place showed up! The rest of the trip went without hitch, mrs Pistonpoper bought me another car sticker for my car...



Not really had the nerve to put it on my car yet to be honest!





I found a cool old Renault...



And didn't try to buy it lol!



Before too long we were back in Calais waiting to get back on the ferry to go home.



Finally onboard the Ferry home i could sit back, safe in the knowledge that my trailer and the Opel Rekord upon it would soon follow me home!



Incase you happen to be of the inquisitive nature and you are wondering what is in the box on top of my truck, it's this bonnet for my Mustang, my friend bought it for me as a present for helping him move his stuff the Germany. Anyhoo, at some point that bonnet will find it's way onto my Mustang, but that'll be a tale for another time.

Once we were back home, and with the impending doom of the winter months looming i felt that i should atleast squirt a little paint on my newly repaired bodywork on my Talbot Alpine. I really had no idea what shade a beige it is, and figured that in Halfords it was unlikely to find any paint marked Talbot. I had already tried one can of Beige that i bought from Poundland which looked pretty close on the can lid, but not so close once it was applied (if you look at the fuel filler flap you can see what i mean!) And fearing that i might have to re-name project scrappage scheme survivor into project fifty shades of beige i thought that i would try to get something closer to the original colour, than just have a stab in the dark at it! Stood infront of the vast selection of colours in Halfords i wondered which beige it would be, i mean there must've been 30 to 40 different beiges! How can there be so many variations on beige? Ofcourse, none were marked 'Hearing aid beige' but i browsed and browsed until i had a bit of an epiphany... Actually, it was my six year old daughter who had the epiphany, picking up a can, and saying, "What about this one Dad?"



Peugeot Antelope Beige!! Ofcourse! What other colour could it be? GENIUS!! And as it turned out, she was right!



Once home i gave the red-oxide a quick rub down with a scotchbrite, ok, it was a scouring pad, but it did the job, cleaned it off, and applied the paint.



I will admit, it might not be the best looking repairs in the world, but it does the job, and besides, i'm trying to keep it imperfect, as i like that it's a little rough around the edges!! I have been tempted to paint the grille to match the bodywork, but i quite like the fact that it's green, however, i may yet paint the grille satin black as i think that might look good too. Any thoughts on the colour of the grille anyone?

[tedmunds]

I SEEN THIS ON YOUR WALES VENTURE. Looked great then and looks great now mate, i'll be watching this thread

[RetroWarwicK]

a stern email to kwik fit head office me thinks

[Speedle]

Great rare beast chap!

I've had similar stories at Kwik-Fit's they are shocking and I've been to at least 5 separate places back when I didn't know any better. Cowboys!

Nice Ranger too I'm a Mk2 man myself

[grifterkid]

Cracking stuff... It seems like your motor is giving you quite a bit to write about and that's just what it's all about!!!

If this was my car I'd keep the grille in the 'pea-green' shade it is currently in so as to keep the theme of the car going as it should be!!!

With regards to your Kwik-Fit and BP woes I'd most certainly email the relevant people (whoever they may be?!) to air your displeasure at their shonky services...!!!

Meanwhile just keep enjoying this beautifully beige bruiser as you've been doing so already!

Ace!!!

[envoycdx]

Love it really interesting way of updating the thread too

[Rob M]

This is a great thread FACT.
Love the car and love the enthusiasm.
Good stuff!

[recarouk]

awesome read, keep the updates coming buddy