My new ride.

[daveyl]

[frame][/frame]

And yes, it has disc brakes, servo and wider wheels, bigger engine. Heated rear window. Boring, I know. Although, only a 4-speed box married to a 4.1\1 ratio axle.
And it's almost impossible to buy any parts for it! Think how lucky you are to have a Minor.

[jagnut66]

You've forgotten to confirm what it is. I'm guessing a Vauxhall and for some reason I'm thinking Magnum estate, so how far wide of the mark am I??
I like it anyway.
Best wishes,
Mike.

[daveyl]

It's a Vauxhall Victor FE 1800. Although it had an MOT when I bought it, it has taken a long time to get it so that I can use it fairly regularly. Things just kept breaking every time i used it. And that was a long list of things to fix. I got very, very lucky with some NOS parts. I love driving it, albeit, a bit thirsty.

I will say, unlike the old Moggy, there is only one age group that seems to appreciate this car. 50+ year old men, I would say.

[amgrave]

You are lucky you have got that, most Vauxhall's of that age rusted away at the first sign of salted roads

[daveyl]

Yes, very true amgrave. I've heard that a lot of them rotted away within 5 years. i've no idea where this has been all it's life. Mine is one of the early FEs. Not very popular by all accounts. It is fitted with the 'slant 4' engine that was also fitted to the Bedford CF van.
I purchased it on a whim (eBay) not thinking I'd win it. And guess what, i won it. Bugger. Unfortunately, i had to collect it from Durham and I'm Portsmouth. Got the train there and drove it back, not without incident I will add. But made it.

[amgrave]

If your not really keen on keeping it do a few jobs on it then drive it into a barn. Get a mate to happen across it and put it on ebay as a "Genuine Barn Find" along with the usual jacked up price. You wouldn't be lying

[daveyl]

Ha! Good plan. it passed it's MOT recently. Bit of welding was all. I have changed the engine (from a bedford CF) as the old one liked to throw oil all over the engine bay as well as drinking it
The radiator sprang a leak, NOS radiator sorted that. And then by a stroke of luck I got NOS disc brakes. I had a 'collapsed' brake pipe that that binded and then locked the front N/S calliper. A lot of the electrics were intermittently working. The door lock 'popped' a lever and the window winder mech. corroded away. Engine mount rubbers ripped when I changed the engine and I had to fabricate ones from a Landrover.
And so, I can drive it now, almost without issue, fingers crossed.

[stag36587]

Well done on having such a rare beast. I really like them. My dad had the successor - an R reg VX 1800 which was just a slightly warmed over FE with larger headlamps. As a kid I loved the rear legroom but dad always complained that the engine was "slow to respond" especially compared to the 1800 Magnum that came before it.

[twincamman]

The FE estate (but not the saloon) is apparently one of the few cars made in the UK that had perfect 50:50 weight distribution.

[daveyl]

It is sloooow. The 1800 is gutless. Which is odd as, the valves and pistons are huge. The little carb and I presume the cam shaft are the limiting factors. It has a belt driven overhead camshaft and if the belt were to snap, none of the valves will touch the crown of the pistons. So, not a lot of lift on the camshaft.

[Gordi Smith]

I've got a pal who had a gold coloured VX4/90 saloon and he absolutely LOVED it back in the day.
I remember him raving about the "overdrive" button on the gearknob!!!

If I remember correctly it was quite heavy but had a lot of character.

G