1979 Allegro S2 1500.

[Lankytim]

Ok, first things first. I bottled it.

If anybody here remembers my last Allegro they will remember me shaving the moss from the paintwork and removing a sill and alot of the inner and outer wings prior to welding. I did have someone lined up to weld it up but the further I delved into the BL beauties bodywork the more holes I found. Suspension mounts, boot floor, arches. Eventually the body sagged and the door began to catch on the frames. Bumsticks.



The final straw was the seemingly ok that engine began to smoke like a patio chair on a BBQ. I admitted defeat, removed any good parts and sheepishly took the hulk down the local metal processors.... Id had enough of Allegros.

Fast forward a few months and I spy a nice 1979 Allegro for sale on this very forum. Temptation gets the better of me and I arrange a viewing. The Allegro looks very straight but the engine just wont run properly. A deal is struck but not far from the vendors house the rear oil seal pops and the clutch is soaked in oil. I had to limp back the the guys house where a financial adjustment was made, fair play to the guy. Ive sold cars before and had similar happen to me and its horrible! Not one to be put off by a silly oil slick the Allegro makes its way back to Stoke on the rear of a recovery truck! Total cost of recovery, £340!



Thanks to Rowley classics Ive now pumped up the suspension to the correct height, Low rider allegros are not good fun to drive! Plans so far include fitting a new engine and box from a Maxi which I picked up dirt cheap from ebay. Ive already removed the old engine in preparation, its leaking oil from everywhere and has low compression on one of the cylinders. Ill have a proper look when I get chance.


P!ss taking pal. He loves old motors like this!

Its had alot of attention from neighbours and friends. Later in the year a mate and I are planning to drive into Europe in it. Possibly to Prague via the Nurgburg ring or maybe to Norway in similar fashion to Jeremy Clarkson (except he used an Aston With a bit of luck we'l raise some money for our local branch of the Samaritans at which my wife is a volunteer.




Maxi engine... Ive swapped round the allegro mounts and water pump. I'm just waiting on a replacement clutch before I can pop it back in.

[xbo11ox]

Excellent! These 1500 Aggs are great to drive, can keep up with the traffic no sweat, the smooth OHC engine and 5-speed box is a treat.

[dollywobbler]

Ah, Lee's old motor. Glad it's in good hands! Gorgeous colour for these, even better than brown! (but only just)

[lordyoung1980]

Hey!my mate owned that car a few months back,its fantastic to drive.If i had the money and space back then i would have had it myself ;D

[Lankytim]

Ive heard its great to drive. Cant wait to get it back on the road and get it prepared for its mainland Europe invasion

[Deleted]

if the old motor is leaking oil everywhere and popped an oil seal then I would think its a combination of blocked breathers and maybe a headgasket gone to where the oil drains back from the OHC,

[rowleyclassics]

thanks for the mention glad to help, looking forward to seeing the car in the flesh

[street]

Blimey, you haven't had much luck with Allegros have you! Glad to see your not phased by it, it'll make a very nice, capable classic once you've popped that Maxi lump in there. Good luck!

[jiminwatford]

lankytim said:

With a bit of luck we'l raise some money for our local branch of the Samaritans at which my wife is a volunteer.

you should make it more ambitious then, why not Central Asia? Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan etc ?

[Lankytim]

street said:

Blimey, you haven't had much luck with Allegros have you! Glad to see your not phased by it, it'll make a very nice, capable classic once you've popped that Maxi lump in there. Good luck!

Meh.. excessive rot, mechanical failure.. All par for the course for an allegro I think. To own an allegro you need a sense of humour, As long as I keep mine everything will be ok, no matter what happens.

jiminwatford said:

lankytim said:

With a bit of luck we'l raise some money for our local branch of the Samaritans at which my wife is a volunteer.

you should make it more ambitious then, why not Central Asia? Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan etc ?

Because I want to drive it back too, not leave it there! Although its a good thought... Maybe next year. Eastern Europe or Scandinavia will be a practice run.

Plus ive only booked a week off work.

[77allegro]

Shame about the other Aggy but liking the new one.
I remember my brother having a Sandglow 1500 special on twin SU's years ago. Gave the Mk2 Escort boys a bit of a surprise at the time!
Does yours have the matt black rear panel? I fancy doing that on mine.

[mskinner]

Do these use the same engine and gearbox as an austin princess?

[mercurypaul]

I do love Allegros.
Nice car dude!

[Lankytim]

I don't think they have the same engine as the princess, I think they used an O series engine and the big 6 cyl thing (forget what it was called)

Yes it was a shame about the other allegro but you have to draw the line somewhere. I liked the colour, the interior, everything about it. It was rotten as a pear though! The strange concrete like underseal did it no favours.

I'm looking into putting twin carbs on this engine but the parts seem too hard to get hold of. Ive got the new clutch to go in now (thanks BMC nut) so hopefully this weekend will see it all up and running again.

The lower part of the boot lid is indeed matt black. Looks pretty funky. My dad used to have a marina estate in exactly the same colours, vynil roof, denim blue body and matt black lower tailgate.

[Lankytim]

*OMG UPDATE*

Right, the new engine is fitted. Me and a pal had fun last weekend reassembling an inboard U/J that I pulled apart whilst removing the engine and insering bolts where they're not meant to go. I was suprised how easy and straightforward the engine swap went. Took about 4 hours to get everything bolted back together and great fun was had by all.

Problems...
I managed to snap the exhaust, no idea how but its broken where it enters the first silencer so i guess it will have to be welded and I just cant get it to run properly. Theres a weak spark at the points and it runs very lumpy and is very reluctant to rev up. I havent had time to investigate quite why but ill have another pop this weekend. Any ideas?

Wrong

Correct

Nearly there...

Oops

Yay!!

[y282]

LOVE the old allegros. one of the best VFM classics you can get.

[Rich606]

I forget how smart these actually look. Last one I saw for real was a Vanden Plas in the same colour about a year ago in Bath, and the VdP grill really doesn't help...

[y282]

anyone ever seen one of these with anything fast in it?

now THAT would mess with people.

[Lankytim]

Theres someone on the forum building a 2 door agg with a mustang V8 engine in it, rear drive too! Ive seen anohter being built with a 2.7 rover 800 engine v6 in it. Neither are on the roads yet.

[y282]

jesus, one of those in rwd with a v8 in it? love it.

like trying to take the school nerds dinner money off him and having him pull a gun on you.