Bargain Basement Motoring

[Timmo]

The 240 was the 'Small' estate though wasnt it? The 740 being the grandaddy? Not so clued up on the volvos,

[Peter.N.]

I don't actually think that the 780 was any bigger (or was it 760), I may be wrong but that's what I remember. The CX was huge with something like. seven feet of length with the seats down.

Peter

[NewcastleFalcon]

Micra's got a starter motor! Cost £9 less than the whole car!

REgards Neil

[mickthemaverick]

Micra's got a starter motor! Cost £9 less than the whole car!

REgards Neil

Sounds a bargain, it probably has almost as much power

[NewcastleFalcon]

Just passed the 10,000 miles since I paid £100 for it back in February cant complain!

REgards Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

The return of the £100 Micra......

Got it back again as it has now served its purpose out on loan, so took it out for some fresh air in the countryside. Still a bit of the white stuff on The Cheviot.

MIcra enjoying the view from Corby Crags

Regards Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

Well I think my £100 Micra has already been more than well worth it....over 10,000 miles on it and not much more than oil changes and a starter motor and an ignition switch.

I stumbled across PetrolBlog in connection with his musings on the Matra Murena/Bagheera. I like his stuff.

Amongst his fleet is a £100 Renault Laguna, and in a strange coincidence it has a few painty hand prints on it, which my Micra also has as an inherited patina from its previous ownership



REgards Neil

[Gibbo2286]

One of my mates who worked countrywide installing supermarket pos checkouts had one of those, he did over a hundred thousand trouble free miles in it in under two years.

He's had more trouble with his two recent Mercedes and a Jag X type that were constantly at the dealers at huge expense.

[NewcastleFalcon]

Doesn't noticably affect the running of the Bargain Basement Micra, but I got a new 02 sensor for about £18 delivered from ECP so I thought I might as well replace the old one. I knew it was "loose" but it was more loose than I thought.....completely detached and the hex bit left behind on the downpipe.

bank 1 sensor 2

Exhausts I have come to the conclusion are not worth bothering about home-mechanicing wise. An absolute piece of cake relatively speaking up on a lift at the garage, but working "in the street" whether on ramps or jacking it up as high as possible and putting it on stands there is "never" enough room for it to be anything other than a PITA job.

That hasn't stopped me over the years saving the odd £50 or so doing them myself, and spending uncomfortable hours, grinding off rusty nuts whose hexagons have turned into circles, and fiddling about usually at arms length flat on your back to dismantle and reattach the pipes and unions.

So I have with the Micra a job of replacing the downstream O2 sensor. Only the most optimistic of optimists imagines that the hex bit of the O2 sensor is going to be removable "in situ". No the front downpipe...and its an overly long bit of convoluted tubing....needs to be removed. Joint number 1 after the cat is right at the front of the car. Joint number 2 is behind the engine up and over the subframe and right in the middle of the car. On a lift childs play, on ramps right at the bit where your head is beginning to be very very close to the bottom of the car more difficult. From the side....right at the extremity of an arm length.

Still almost do-able, and shopping around a downpipe is maybe only £30. Let's see what state the mounting nuts/studs/bolts are.....start at the easy ones the front. Looks like the hex is about a 15. Yes it is but only before the flakes of rust disintigrate. Try a 14....not much better. Looks like a hammering on of a 13mm or half inch hex would be the start of the dismantling nightmare, followed no doubt by grinding/hacksawing/swearing.

No just accept that a garage will charge you more for the downpipe and make a bit of profit on the part. They will also put down at least an hours labour....(quite reasonable compared to my own unspecified hours of rusty nut/bolt/stud wrestling and discomfort) but I will end up paying considerably more than £30 to get the job done, anticipating £80-£100.

I'll muse over that one but I have already decided if I do get the downpipe replaced its worth the extra at the garage. The car is just a back up, and a receptacle to be used for trips to the tip, and collecting DIY stuff so not a critical job to get done.

Currently the downstream O2 sensor is completely disconnected at the plug from the loom, and the car starts idles and runs OK.

Regards Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

They exhaust got solved a few weeks ago now, and new sensor fitted and working fine. The temporary rear silencer replacement, a section of straight pipe gives the micra quite a sporty note

I'm finding the Micra quite useful for lugging the bike in the back and taking it into the wilds.

Shiny Silver Micra
(living up to its name!)

Regards Neil

[white exec]

Found it, Neil, but it's smaller than I expected...

[Gibbo2286]

My most interesting exhaust job was when I was working back in Birmingham.

We had a customer arrive in a Mercedes, a 300 I think, he was an army RSM and somehow had acquired King Hussain of Jordan's Merc. it needed a new exhaust right through.

He arranged the parts from Merc direct, it came in five pieces which all had to be welded together, no slip joints and clamps just butt welds and aligning it all to the undercarriage. Not a one man job.

[Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur]

This Thread reminds me of a couple of Youtube vids I watched recently: the VW Golf and Toyota Corolla concerned are not very French, but definitely represent Bargain Basement Motoring





Unfortunately, you don't get to see him drive the cars, but the vids are entertaining anyway.

[NewcastleFalcon]

BB Micra on a tip trip

Regards Neil

[Paul-R]

BB Micra on a tip trip

One way?