Advice on buying a Convertible please.

[bmcecosse]

As soon as you drive that ebay car away from the trader - it will drop at least £5000 in supposed 'value'... caveat emptor.

[POMMReg]

As Roy indicates(?), some dealers aim to catch the "more money than sense" enthusiast.

Request photos of bodyshell stamped chassis number AND body number - neither should be illegible - if no or excuses (added to the poor fitting panels) forget it, 13k WELL over the odds.

You sound like you know your stuff...

Here by mistake due to the Mirror enthusiast forum website being down...

[AliceDurose]

I'm a member of the East Midlands Branch and the Branch's Webmaster. We're a very friendly bunch and always willing to help new members, and people in search of a Minor. Everyone in the Branch has helped me no end since I joined, from helping me keep the car on the road, to lots of great tips and advice.

We'd love to see you at the next meet if you can make it. There are lots of people in the Branch who will be happy to chat to you about what to look out for and possibly point you in the right direction of cars for sale. I know there is a 2 door saloon a branch member has for sale at the moment, but alas no convertible. But several branch members do own one. So it would be a good opportunity to have a close look at some and pick their brains

Our next meet is on the 20th June, and its our Classic Car Night. So there will be more on offer than just Minors, but we will all be there in force . A lot of us will also be at the Autokarna at Wollaton Park on 5th of June if you fancy popping along and having a chat with any of us.

If you ever want to see where the branch is and what were up to, or get in touch, the website is:

http://www.eastmidlandsmmoc.co.uk/

Feel free to get in touch or message me if you have any questions

Alice

[Stuartandsue]

Thank you all so much for all your helpful advice so far.

Stuart and Sue.

[Stuartandsue]

I would prefer a standard 1098 engine yes, I am scared of modifications as it makes it more complex as you say.

[Stuartandsue]

Just out of interest....

This is what I received and it does sound ok to me but I think I would prefer an original one...

Quote


Hi Please find description of the car below.

This Modified 1275cc Tourer was one of the best driving cars we have had come through our doors at WRCC when she arrived,
She is an older restoration however and needed a little refurbishment to get her looking as good as she drove.

The reason she drove so well was down to the mechanical refinements fitted during her original restoration this includes a reworked 1275cc A series engine, fitted with alloy inlet manifold and high flow headers with HS4 carb producing a lot more power and pulling her without fault,
Coupled to a Marina gearbox with hydraulic clutch for better clutch feel, smoother gear changes including synchro mesh on 1st gear, so no crunches!
She is also fitted with Marina disc brakes and servo this pulls her up superbly, and alternator has also been fitted for more reliable charging.
Telescopic suspension has been fitted both front and rear as well as anti-roll bar to the front for a smoother less wollowy ride.
Given the extra power, smoother ride and better stopping, she keeps up to modern traffic a treat and is a pleasure to drive.

Whilst with us we have painted her in old English White and hand pinstriped in red to match the interior.
We have fitted new rear light clusters as well as chrome bumper blades front and rear, a set of reconditioned powder coated wheels.

inside we have fully reconditioned the front seats, fitted a new quality carpet and door cards.
A new mohair hood was fitted on arrival and is still in excellent order.

To summarise she drives and looks stunning, if we were to build a car of the same spec for our clients it would be £18k+, so you are getting a bargain in the deal too!

Viewing and test drives are encouraged and welcomed in our new Halifax showroom.

[bmcecosse]

Quite a 'puff' there. As I said - drop £5k immediately you drive it away. Surprising (?) that they don't specify any underside repairs - nor do they show any pictures of the underside - frankly much more interesting and informative than topside pictures. I;ve no doubt it;s a nice car (assuming underside is pristine) - just far too expensive.

[ManyMinors]

The "mechanical refinements" of...............a Marina engine and gearbox

I was working for a British Leyland dealership in the 1970s when Marinas were sold brand new. I don't recall that we felt mechanical refinement was their strong point

[bmcecosse]

It's a struggle to fit a Marina gearbox (but not impossible) - interesting to see how they did that....

[MrIan]

Please don't take this the wrong way but you appear to be pushing this vastly overpriced car rather than putting forward other suggestions when all here have said it's way overpriced and will stand at £1,000s lost as soon as you buy it. In fact what you'd loose in value purchasing this would buy you a good car.

[SteveClem]

A nice looking blue one has just appeared in the 'for sale ' section. Sensible money if it's as described.

[busguy]

A nice looking blue one has just appeared in the 'for sale ' section. Sensible money if it's as described.

I'd agreed with that, but they need to register their interest quickly.
Seems a very genuine sale, and says it is a genuine factory built car in the description. As always, check out any sale description details to satisfy yourself 100%.

[bmcecosse]

I agree - that blue convertible looks great value to me - move quickly to view it and buy it! And at that price -assuming you keep it indoors and look after it - it will hold (or even increase) in value over the years to come.

[SteveClem]

If I had another garage I'd be going to look at it. Too many cars..not enough space. B*gger.

[Stuartandsue]

Hi, Yes my first car was a 1300 Morris marina and I don't remember that being fantastic, in fact the rear suspension mount dropped up through the floor and last time I saw it it was sat with the back wheel arch resting on the wheel stopping it from moving...

[Stuartandsue]

Hi, Yes my first car was a 1300 Morris marina and I don't remember that being fantastic, in fact the rear suspension mount dropped up through the floor and last time I saw it it was sat with the back wheel arch resting on the wheel stopping it from moving...

[Stuartandsue]

Sorry I don't know the for sale section are we looking on this site here ?

I would like to see the blue one mentioned earlier in the posts, thanks again for the advice by the way.

[panky]

Here you go but it looks like you're too late, deposit taken I'm afraid. But it shows that there are cars out there a bit more reasonably priced,

http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=64029

[oliver90owner]

These old cars need regular maintenance, like greasing steering/suspension joints - and the dip stick probably needs oiling more often than a modern car. So , unless it needs to be into a garage for servicing very regularly for a good reason, it is better to do some of the basic maintenance oneself. I always found front drum adjustment was a regular job on Anglias, Cortinas and Mk1 Escorts (mine was soon changed for Corsair GT springs, discs and servo).

RAB

[bmcecosse]

Far better to buy a car from someone on this forum than from an expensive 'trader'. Always check the 'post count' of the seller (I suggest looking for at least a 3 figure number) - and don't be frightened to ask advice from folks on here about a car you fancy.